General News

	Hedge Funds Lost Record 18.3% on Misjudged Markets	Jan 09/09
	Hedge funds lost 18.3 percent in 2008, their worst year on record, as managers misjudged the severity of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. A gain of 0.42 percent in December lessened the average loss f...Read more
	One fund removed from NHX – Two pending	Jan 09/09
	The Norwegian hedge fund Discovery Fund has been removed from The Nordic Hedge Fund Index (NHX) as the fund is winding-up. The hedge funds Scandium Fund Limited and Scandium Absolute Return fund may be removed from NHX in Febr...Read more
	Outsourcing at hedge funds on the march	Jan 09/09
	It used to be that if you wanted a job done properly, you did it yourself. That no longer holds for the administration of hedge funds. The practice of doing middle- and back-office administrative work in-house, especially prev...Read more
	Hennessee Hedge Fund Index Advances 0.51% In December	Jan 09/09
	Hedge funds gained a modest 0.51% in December, meaning they fell 19.15% for the year, according to data from hedge fund adviser Hennessee Group LLC. Hedge funds' December gain was roughly the same as that of the Dow J...Read more
	Alleged Hedge Fund Scammer Caught	Jan 09/09
	In case you thought Bernard Madoff was the only news involving scams and hedge funds, there are reports that Alexander Trabulse was taken into custody on Monday by federal officials in San Francisco for allegedly running a sca...Read more
	Madoff Investors Paid Fees to Funds for Profits That Vanished	Jan 09/09
	Investors wondering what happened to the $50 billion that disappeared in Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme need look no further than the fees charged by the hedge funds that marketed his money-making prowess. Many inve...Read more
	Mackenzie hedge fund victim of Madoff	Jan 09/09
	Canadian investors in Mackenzie Financial Corp.'s only hedge fund have become victims of Bernard Madoff's alleged giant Ponzi scheme.Mackenzie Alternative Strategies - a fund of hedge funds run by U.S. based Tremont Capital Mana...Read more
	HFs End Bad Year on Up Note	Jan 09/09
	Hedge funds were up slightly in December with some new funds being founded, but still finished the year with double-digit losses, according to industry trackers Hedge Fund Research and the Hennessee Hedge Fund Index.Hedge funds...Read more
	Investors joining hedge fund club get burned	Jan 08/09
	Two years ago, investors scrambled to snap up shares in elite hedge fund firms, eager for a piece of the lucrative action.What they got instead were big losses.Starting in early 2007, when hedge fund and private equity firms were ...Read more
	Universal banks winning battle for hedge business	Jan 08/09
	Broker-dealers such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are losing out in the battle for hedge funds' dwindling pool of assets, as funds seek out banks with diverse sources of funding in a major shake-up of prime broking. T...Read more
	Study uncovers large inconsistencies in Madoff investments	Jan 08/09
	Documents showing details of Bernard Madoff's funds highlighted major discrepancies that should have acted as warning signals to investors, including returns inconsistent with his investment strategy but consistently beating hi...Read more
	Madoff victims may get some cash within a month	Jan 08/09
	Investors who lost money in Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion (34 billion pound) fraud might begin recovering some of their funds as soon as next month, Securities Investor Protection Corp, President Stephen Harbeck told Blo...Read more
	Weight of the world on Schapiros shoulders	Jan 08/09
	As Mary Schapiro makes her way through the financial shambles and the regulatory malfunctions of 2008 as the proposed new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, all sorts of problems await her. With the SEC already ...Read more
	Uma Thurman No Help to Arpad Busson in Madoff Fraud’s Nightmare	Jan 08/09
	Arpad Busson is angry. He’s just looked at the latest returns of a hedge fund he used to invest in; it’s down more than 60 percent in the past nine months. “That a-hole!” Busson says of the New York-based manager, as he ...Read more
	Counterparty risk now much more critical for hedge funds, says report	Jan 07/09
	Managing counterparty risk is a much more critical component of a hedge fund's overall business operations today than it has been in previous years, according to a white paper published by Pershing, a subsidiary of Bank of New Yor...Read more
	SEC halts USD23m Ponzi scheme and affinity fraud targeting Haitian-American investors	Jan 07/09
	The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an emergency court order to halt an alleged Ponzi scheme and affinity fraud that collected more than USD23m from thousands of investors in the Haitian-American community througho...Read more
	FSA announces end to short-selling ban but plans to extend disclosure regime	Jan 07/09
	The Financial Services Authority has announced that it is not proposing to renew its ban on the short-selling of the stocks of UK financial sector companies, which is due to expire on January 16, but it plans to maintain its requi...Read more
	Dubai launches Islamic commodity hedge fund index	Jan 07/09
	The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC) governmental agency and asset manager Shariah Capita launched an index tracking the performance of Islamic hedge funds investing in commodities on Wednesday.The Dubai Shariah Hed...Read more
	Hedge Funds Try To Cope	Jan 07/09
	Bernie Madoff and a bad 2008 have made the secretive hedge fund world open up.The hedge fund industry has known little but growth, until now. At the 2008 Markets Media Global Financial Summit in New York City in December, Sam Hock...Read more
	Hedge funds year is worst ever, and fall may continue	Jan 07/09
	The industry was down 18.5 percent by November. But the funds have lost only about half as much value as stocks.Hedge funds, the high-flying darlings of the investment industry, have fallen to earth. These funds, meant for sophist...Read more
	Chairman of Hedge Funds Care to Ring the NASDAQ Closing Bell	Jan 07/09
	President and Chairman of Hedge Funds Care (HFC), John Budzyna, will preside over the Closing Bell to mark the 11th Annual New York Open Your Heart to the Children Benefit to be held at Cipriani 42nd Street on February 11, 2009.He...Read more
	Man Advances After Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates	Jan 07/09
	Man Group Plc, the largest publicly traded hedge-fund manager, rose the most since selling shares to the public in 1994 after analysts at Credit Suisse Group and Evolution Securities raised earnings estimates. London-based Man Gro...Read more
	Madoff Mailed Jewelry After Arrest	Jan 07/09
	Accused swindler Bernard Madoff mailed $1 million in jewelry to his family in the time following his arrest for running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Sending the jewelry would be in violation of the asset freeze the court imposed on...Read more
	Share fall could see Fortress delist	Jan 06/09
	Shares in Fortress Investment Group, the US first private equity and hedge fund firm to list nearly two years ago, rose Monday amid speculation that the group may opt to go private once more. Shares in Fortress, which fell below $...Read more
	Hedge Funds Will Be Ruined by Withdrawal Limits	Jan 06/09
	Looking for a new definition of a hedge fund? How about an organization that takes 20 percent of the profits on your money in the good times, then refuses to let you have it back when the weather turns rough? We all know the hedge...Read more
	Asia best placed to lead global economy out of crisis	Jan 06/09
	A combination of healthy balance sheets, structural improvements, continued urbanisation and consumer demand all point towards economic growth remaining robust in Asia over the long term.Barings expects China and India to account ...Read more
	Family Gave Madoff $10M Just Before Bust	Jan 06/09
	The family behind a leading Big Apple energy company gave Bernard Madoff $10 million to invest less than a week before he was charged for running the largest Ponzi scheme ever. The Rosenman clan grew Stuyvesant Fuel Service from a...Read more
	Regulators Probed Madoff 8 Times Over 16 Years	Jan 06/09
	Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC was examined at least eight times over 16 years by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators, who often came armed with suspicions, The Wall Street Journal reporte...Read more
	Paulsons Pellegrini Leaves to Start His Own Firm	Jan 06/09
	Investment manager Paolo Pellegrini has left Paulson & Co., which he helped transform into one of the industry's most successful hedge fund firms by betting the housing bubble would burst. Mr. Pellegrini, who co-managed Paulso...Read more
	New Role for Hedge Funds: Lending Money	Jan 06/09
	With banks and other traditional lenders sitting on the sidelines in the credit crunch and refusing to lend, hedge funds, funds-of-funds, and other alternative investors are stepping in to fill the financing void. Today, they are ...Read more
	Restructuring vote sought for Lawrence fund	Jan 06/09
	Lawrence Asset Management Inc. is asking shareholders in its beleaguered flagship hedge fund to approve a restructuring that would give some of its assets a new lease on life.The Lawrence Partners Fund, run by president Ravi Sood,...Read more
	Madoff Case Sparks D&O Reinsurance Surge	Jan 06/09
	The case against Bernard Madoff, who has been accused of masterminding a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme, has had insurers scrambling for additional directors' and officers' liability reinsurance cover, Chris Klein, global head o...Read more
	Careers in hedge funds: Job market alive and kicking	Jan 06/09
	Investment bankers out of a job might do well to consider a career in alternative investments in 2009. Despite media coverage highlighting investor redemptions and poor performance, data collected by Job Search Digest imply that t...Read more
	For Canadian M&A, CIBC World Markets Takes Top Spot	Jan 06/09
	With 44 deals worth more than $45-billion, CIBC World Markets took the top spot among financial advisors to Canadian M&A in 2008.RBC Capital Markets fell from first to second with $43.7-billion in 25 deals, while Merrill Lynch...Read more
	Seismic change in hedge fund outsourcing predicted	Jan 06/09
	The current challenge for hedge fund managers is to demonstrate comprehensive operational control in the face of redemptions, cost pressure and lower fees, reported the paper. It forecasts outsourcing as the best viable solution.T...Read more
	Madoff Investor’s Suicide Was an ‘Act of Honor,’ Brother Says	Jan 05/09
	Thierry Magon de La Villehuchet’s sense of honor led the descendent of French army officers and an ennobled shipping family to commit suicide after he put his friends and family in a “catastrophic” financial situation by inves...Read more
	SEC Must Defend Its Existence After Madoff Lapses	Jan 05/09
	The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may come under fire from lawmakers today for failing to quash Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme after an investor alerted the agency to the suspected fraud. The House Fin...Read more
	Aima promises close co-operation with policy makers in 2009	Jan 05/09
	he new chairman of hedge fund industry body the Alternative Investment Management Association has promised full and active co-operation with policy makers and regulators to facilitate the development of policy and any new supervis...Read more
	The Alternatives Route Was Tough Going in 2008	Jan 05/09
	As the market crashed last year, investors learned a hard lesson: Efforts to cushion losses don't always work.Over the past few years, investors and financial advisers have been pouring more and more money into commodities, real e...Read more
	Hedge fund tools may see revival in Asia	Jan 05/09
	MANILA, Philippines--Global asset management firm Bank of New York Mellon sees the Asia-Pacific region leading the revival of hedge fund instruments, such as the so-called structured products, despite the stigma from the financial...Read more
	The Year Hedge Funds Got Hit	Jan 05/09
	Hedge funds, the highflying darlings of the investment industry, have fallen to earth. These funds meant for sophisticated, rich investors just endured their worst year ever.The industry was down 18.5 percent as of November after ...Read more
	New Year to Change Hedge Funds	Jan 02/09
	The New Year is likely to see several important shifts in alternative investing, according to Don Steinbrugge, managing partner of Agecroft Partners, a global consulting and third-party marketing firm for hedge funds.Steinbrugge s...Read more
	Hedge Funds in Talks to Purchase Failed Mortgage Lender IndyMac	Dec 31/08
	Several hedge fund firms led by J.C. Flowers & Co., are closing in on a deal to purchase the assets of IndyMac, the failed mortgage lender, as of Sunday.The group of firms, which also include Paulson & Co. and Dune Capital...Read more
	Paulson Criticizes Hedge-Fund Managers for Limiting Withdrawals	Dec 31/08
	John Paulson, who runs the $36 billion hedge-fund firm Paulson & Co., has some harsh words for his peers and their tendency this year to block or curb clients’ attempts to get their money back. “We think it’s a mistake...Read more
	Liverpools Hicks in talks with hedge funds	Dec 30/08
	Liverpool FC’s co-owner is talking to hedge funds to help him raise funds to buy the football club and start building a new stadium, the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday.The U.S. billionaire, who wants to buy out the 50 percent ...Read more
	NY judge may weigh wider Madoff investor relief	Dec 30/08
	A judge presiding over civil claims filed against disgraced financier Bernard Madoff says he may be willing to consider extending relief from an investors' fund to those who invested in Madoff's business through third parties.U.S....Read more
	CME certifies proposal to clear credit default swaps	Dec 29/08
	The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has announced that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has certified plans to provide clearing services for certain credit default swap contracts through CME's clearinghouse, a registered deriv...Read more
	SS&C appoints industry veteran as head of alternative fund administration sales	Dec 29/08
	Connecticut-based SS&C Technologies, a provider of financial services software and software-enabled services, has appointed Fred Jacobs as vice president and head of global sales for SS&C Fund Services, its fund administra...Read more
	Madoff Must Reveal All Assets by New Year’s Eve, Judge Rules	Dec 27/08
	Investors looking to recoup some of the $50 billion they lost in Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme may get a better idea what the New York financial adviser has left when he is forced to reveal his assets to regulator...Read more
	Blackstone to liquidate two hedge funds	Dec 24/08
	Blackstone Group LP (BX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it plans to liquidate two hedge funds as a lack of outside investing amid tight credit markets will prevent them from getting big enough to be meaningfu...Read more