General News

	UBS names Forsyth head of Singapore prime broking	Jun 07/10
	UBS (UBS.N) (UBSN.VX) has named David Forsyth as the head of Singapore prime broking, a unit that serves hedge funds, replacing Alastair Sclater who had held the post for less than a year. Forsyth, who will join UBS in...Read more
	Hedge fund seeding specialist NewAlpha backs G Capital	Jun 07/10
	The hedge fund seeding specialist NewAlpha Asset Management has made a strategic investment in G Capital Management, a global macro fund manager established in 2009 by former Goldman Sachs managing director Peter ...Read more
	Tumultuous month sees UCITS HFS Index down 1, 08% in May 2010	Jun 07/10
	After two positive months the UCITS HFS Index lost 1,08% in May 2010 after a challenging month for the financial industry. The loss of 0,27% in week one was followed by a slight win in week two of 0,14%, before the broad ind...Read more
	CLSA China JV aims to close $1.5 bln fund in Sept	Jun 07/10
	Brokerage CLSA's China asset management joint venture plans to close a 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) new energy- and new materials-focused fund and begin investing around September, the chairman of its local partner said. ...Read more
	Banks should prepare for tougher standards on liquidity disclosure	Jun 04/10
	The financial crisis highlighted the critical role that liquidity plays in the financial system, and has revealed the need for more transparency and better disclosure of liquidity levels among banks, experts said on Thursday...Read more
	Risk on the decline as global credit growth slows: Fitch	Jun 04/10
	As credit growth has slowed in many countries over the past couple of years, macro-prudential risk is on the decline, too, reports Fitch Ratings.In a new report released Thursday, the rating agency says that “last year’s slu...Read more
	Europe Faces Reckoning as Rescue Fails, Canada's Niagara Hedge Fund Says	Jun 04/10
	Niagara Capital Partners Ltd., operator of Canada’s two best-performing hedge funds over the last three years, is betting Europe’s almost $1 trillion debt- rescue plan will fail. “They’ve deferred the moment of reckoning in t...Read more
	Plenum Investments Closes Power Hedge Fund as Clients Seek Higher Risk	Jun 04/10
	Plenum Investments Ltd., a Zurich- based money manager, closed its Plenum Power Fund as of March 31 after customers opted to invest in the more risky Plenum Power Surge fund that achieved better returns. The Plenum Power Surg...Read more
	Pulling Away from the Pack: Hedge Fund Best Practices	Jun 04/10
	I attended the second annual SkyBridge Alternatives (SALT) Conference May 19-21 in Las Vegas, a fantastic opportunity to listen to global leaders and hear a "who's who" of speakers present investment ideas and stra...Read more
	Invesco launches non-traditional commodity product	Jun 04/10
	Invesco has spun-out the commodity portion of its Premia Plus strategy as a standalone product in response to investor demand for non-traditional commodity investments. In March the company ...Read more
	Scotiabank economists revise outlook for Canadian GDP growth	Jun 03/10
	Bank of Nova Scotia economists have raised their Canadian GDP growth forecast for 2010 again, but are trimming their outlook for into next year.In a research note, Scotia said that it has bumped up its 2010 forecast to 3.6% ...Read more
	SIFMA urges review of timelines for convergence between U.S. and international accounting rules	Jun 03/10
	The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is calling on accounting standards setters to review whether there’s a realistic prospect of convergence between U.S. and international accounting rules by June 2011,...Read more
	SEC San Francisco Chief Fagel Says Offshore Accounting Fraud Is Rising	Jun 03/10
	Securities and Exchange Commission investigators are increasing scrutiny of U.S. companies’ offshore operations amid concern that accounting controls may be too weak, the head of the agency’s San Francisco office said. “Some ...Read more
	Lehman Brothers Holdings Sells Real Estate Funds Business to Ex-Managers	Jun 03/10
	Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the investment bank liquidating in bankruptcy, sold the management contract for its real estate funds to the former executives who ran the business, Chief Executive Officer Bryan Marsal said. ...Read more
	BlackRock's Fink Joining Buffett Sees U.S. Stocks Ready to `Rock and Roll'	Jun 03/10
	BlackRock Inc.’s Laurence D. Fink, who leads the world’s biggest asset-management firm, said the U.S. stock market is poised to rally, joining Warren Buffett and Barton Biggs in calling equities a good buy. “We’re ready to re...Read more
	Sprott Physical Gold Trust complete follow-on offering units	Jun 02/10
	Sprott Physical Gold Trust has completed its follow-on offering of 24,840,000 units at US$11.25 per unit for gross proceeds of US$279,450,000.The trust will use the net proceeds of the offering to acquire physical gold bulli...Read more
	U.S. hedge funds lick wounds after May market mayhem	Jun 02/10
	Not much of anything worked for investors in May, including those known to be the savviest of the bunch. BP's failure to stop oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico caused tumult in the commodities markets. U.S. secu...Read more
	British Pound Strengthens Against Dollar After Prudential Scraps AIG Deal	Jun 02/10
	The pound rose to its strongest level in almost three weeks against the dollar after Prudential Plc abandoned its $35.5 billion takeover of American International Group Inc.’s main Asian unit. Britain’s currency was little ch...Read more
	Central Bankers Shy Away from Holding Euros	Jun 02/10
	Wall Street’s foreign-exchange strategists say central bankers are showing growing reluctance toward holding euros as Europe’s debt crisis undermines confidence in the region’s single currency. The euro weakened 2.4 percent a...Read more
	Southridge LLC'S Double Alpha Group Ranks #1 in Barclays Top 10 Statistical Arbitrage Hedge Funds	Jun 02/10
	Southridge LLC is very pleased to announce its Double Alpha Group ranked amongthe Top 10 Statistical Arbitrage Hedge Funds in each of Barclay Data FinderHedge Fund Rankings. Double Alpha ranked #1 over the 36 month period betweenF...Read more
	Iveagh launches Ucits fund of hedge funds	Jun 02/10
	Iveagh Private Investment House, the Guinness family office and asset manager, has launched the Ucits- compliant fund of hedge funds Iveagh Newcits Fund. The daily-dealing, Dublin-domiciled Fo...Read more
	BluMont Capital selects Sherpa Asset Management to tend Core Hedge Fund	Jun 02/10
	BluMont Capital has announced that Sherpa Asset Management will be awarded the exclusive investment management duties for the BluMont Core Hedge Fund, effective July 1, 2010. "Sherpa is an exciting new investment m...Read more
	Rollover of Creststreet 2008 LP into Creststreet Resource Fund completed	Jun 01/10
	The rollover of Creststreet 2008 Limited Partnership into Creststreet Resource Class Shares of Creststreet Mutual Funds Limited was completed on May 28.The assets of Creststreet 2008 LP were exchanged on a tax-deferred basis...Read more
	Canada’s recovery not much threatened by weakening European markets: economists	Jun 01/10
	Canada’s trade surplus in the first quarter could fade as the debt crisis in Europe drags on, but the Canadian economy will likely emerge with relatively few bruises thanks to weak ties to the old continent, economists say.T...Read more
	Wood joins Creststreet as new SVP, sales and marketing	Jun 01/10
	Creststreet Asset Management Limited has named Kevin Wood as senior vice president, sales and marketing, the company announced Monday.Wood joins Creststreet’s senior management team after a highly successful career with mutu...Read more
	Parent departs as Caisse CFO	Jun 01/10
	The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Monday announced the departure of Ghislain Parent, executive vice president and CFO.“The search for a replacement has been under way for some time, and an appointment for this posit...Read more
	Paulson Drops 6.9% as Hedge Funds Post Biggest Monthly Losses Since Lehman	Jun 01/10
	John Paulson, Louis Bacon and Andreas Halvorsen navigated the global market turmoil of 2008 with little or no damage. They weren’t as successful last month as the Dow Jones Industrial average had its worst May since 1940. He...Read more
	China National Pension Fund Senior Adviser Plans Hedge Fund in September	May 31/10
	A senior adviser to China’s $130 billion state pension pool and a former Asia prime brokerage head at Morgan Stanley are teaming up to start a China-focused hedge fund in September. Hong Kong-based JT Capital Management Ltd. ...Read more
	Romano's Rampart Closes London-Based Energy Hedge Fund After Nine Months	May 31/10
	Rampart Capital LLP, a London-based hedge fund manager, decided to shut down its energy hedge fund after nine months because it failed to raise enough capital from investors. “Ultimately we never reached critical mass and the...Read more
	Robeco Aims to Double Japan Pension Assets in Managed Futures Hedge Fund	May 31/10
	Robeco Group, the Dutch money manager owned by Rabobank Groep NV, aims to double assets from Japanese pension funds within two years, said Tetsuya Tanaka, senior executive advisor of the firm’s Japan unit. Robeco Institutiona...Read more
	Mountjoy Capital looking for Asia Hedge Funds	May 31/10
	The independent hedge fund research firm has so far analyzed and ranked about 220 Asia-based hedge funds. If your group has not yet been in contact with Mountjoy. Please send strategy presentation document and latest mo...Read more
	Provincial opposition won’t scuttle plans for national securities regulator: expert	May 28/10
	Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has outlined his plan for the formation of a national securities regulator and there are strong winds blowing against him from Alberta and Quebec -- which might put a few kinks in the scheme but...Read more
	Confidence in U.S. equity market structure highly polarized since May 6 crash: survey	May 28/10
	In the wake of the “flash crash” on May 6, market players don’t have a great deal of confidence in the U.S. equity market structure, a survey by TABB Group finds.The survey, which was conducted in the week of May 13 and rele...Read more
	Emerging Markets Specialist Mark Mobius speaks out about shareholder activist responsibilities	May 28/10
	Dr. Mark Mobius recently addressed what he terms the “right and responsibility” of shareholder activism . Dr. Mobius, who is executive chairman and top portfolio manager of Templeton Asset Management, opened his discussion o...Read more
	Financial Adviser Starr Charged With Fraud by U.S.	May 28/10
	Kenneth Ira Starr, a New York investment adviser who has represented actors including Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, stole millions of dollars from heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon and other clients in a scheme to buy a $7...Read more
	Two provinces dig in heels against national securities regulator bill	May 27/10
	The federal government has set off a constitutional battle with at least two provinces by introducing legislation for the creation of a national securities regulator with enhanced policing powers over stock fraud across the ...Read more
	Higher Tax on Buyout Firm Managers Would Hit Sales of Hedge-Fund Stakes	May 27/10
	Private-equity firms, trying to derail legislation that would boost taxes on their leaders' pay, are attacking a provision that would make it more costly for executives to sell their own management firms. The provision, which a...Read more
	Fund managers move towards emerging markets as Europe's performance declines	May 27/10
	Emerging markets continue to rebound strongly in 2010 whereas the outlook for Europe appears to be growing bleaker, according to expert fund managers speaking in London. “Emerging markets are...Read more
	India's National Stock Exchange Plans Short Sales in Weeks to Boost Trades	May 27/10
	National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., the nation’s largest bourse, plans to offer short sales within the next few weeks aimed at luring investors to the local market after expanding in the U.S. and Singapore. The company, wh...Read more
	Polygon Offers Hedge-Fund Investors Immediate Redemptions at 25% Discount	May 27/10
	Polygon Investment Partners LLP is allowing clients to exit its biggest hedge fund at a 25 percent discount rather than wait as long as two more years to get all their money. The firm, run by Reade Griffith and Paddy Dear in ...Read more
	Sarona impact investment fund makes first investments	May 26/10
	Sarona Frontier Markets Fund 1 LP has made its first five investments in funds focusing on global microfinance, renewable energy in South Asia and small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in Mexico, Africa and India, Sarona ...Read more
	Hedge funds cut back bets in tough May-Pictet	May 26/10
	Hedge funds have aggressively cut back bets in recent weeks during a difficult month that has seen the euro tumble and stock market volatility soar, said Pictet's head of alternative investments, Nicolas Campiche. H...Read more
	Ex-Citadel Manager Leversha Plans to Start Asian Event-Driven Hedge Fund	May 26/10
	Simon Leversha, a former managing director of Citadel Investment Group LLC, is starting his own hedge fund this week to trade securities affected by events such as mergers, spinoffs, litigation and regulation. Imperia Asia Of...Read more
	Rajaratnam legal team says DOJ, SEC probe leaks	May 26/10
	Federal investigators are examining possible improper leaks about the federal insider trading case against Raj Rajaratnam, the legal team for the Galleon Group founder said on Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Justice's Office ...Read more
	Mass. state fund chief leaving for hedge fund firm	May 26/10
	The executive director of Massachusetts' $44 billion state pension fund, one of the first to make big bets on hedge funds, is resigning and moving to a Chicago-based asset management firm. Michael Travaglini, 47, who has head...Read more
	David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital raises $130 million for Gold Hedge Funds	May 25/10
	David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital is the latest blue-chip hedge fund manager to raise assets for gold focused hedge funds. At the start of 2010, John Paulson’s Paulson & Co. launched a gold hedge fund with more than $2...Read more
	Hedge Funds Sell Oil Fastest in 8 Months as Prices Plunge: Energy Markets	May 25/10
	Hedge funds sold oil at the fastest pace in almost eight months, cutting their bullish bets by 32 percent as crude prices plunged on concern Europe’s debt crisis will hurt energy demand. The speculative net-long position in c...Read more
	HSBC Suffers Euro Collapse as Greek Debts Roil Banks	May 25/10
	Europe’s credit crisis is punishing Spanish and U.K. companies as if they were Greek, luring investors with valuations that suggest risk is the same everywhere in the region. The price-earnings ratio of London-based HSBC Hold...Read more
	GLG's Lagrange brings superstar culture to Man	May 25/10
	Long-haired art lover Pierre Lagrange is symbolic of the informal, star manager culture that Man Group (EMG.L) is seeking to acquire with a $1.6 billion purchase of GLG (GLG.N). Hedge FundsThe softly-spoken Belgian,...Read more
	Fund manager sees high growth opportunities in technology sector	May 21/10
	The North American technology sector is experiencing a cyclical recovery as firms ramp up spending on technological infrastructure, and this is creating attractive investment opportunities, according to Ian Ainsworth, senior...Read more