Pentagon Capital to shut hedge funds

Thu, 27 Mar 2008, 08:09

Reuters

Hedge fund firm Pentagon Capital said it is to shut its funds, as tough credit conditions continue to hurt the hedge fund industry. The firm, run by Lewis Chester and Jafar Omid and which manages GBP1.1 billion in assets, told investors of the planned closures in a letter dated March 24 and seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Man Group to beat forecasts despite turmoil

Thu, 27 Mar 2008, 08:02

Reuters

Man Group, the world's biggest listed hedge fund firm, said on Thursday it would beat analysts' average profit forecast for the year ended March 31, despite turmoil in financial markets. The group (EMG.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said it had benefited from a bigger-than-expected rise in net performance fee income, as well as a strong performance at its AHL futures business. It said analysts' average forecast for pretax profit from continuing operations was GBP1.82 billion.

Meriwether hedge fund down 28 percent in 2008, says report

Thu, 27 Mar 2008, 07:10

Reuters

The largest hedge fund run by John Meriwether has plunged 28 percent this year, forcing the co-founder of the defunct Long-Term Capital Management to scramble again to stem losses and keep investors from fleeing, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday. Losses for the Relative Value Opportunity leveraged bond fund accelerated this month, after the fund had dropped 9.19 percent from Jan 1 to Feb 28. The broader JWM Global Macro fund, also run by Meriwether's Greenwich, Connecticut firm JWM Partners LLC, was down 6 per cent through February, the newspaper said.

Private equity consultant to launch hedge fund seeding unit

Thu, 27 Mar 2008, 06:06

FinAlternatives

3D Capital plans to add a hedge fund seeding unit within the next few months. However, this seeder will not market or help manage its underlying managers. Marc Bodin, managing director, said the Zurich, Switzerland-based firm is making its foray into the hedge fund space one step at a time. He added that 3D may include marketing and operational in the future if the market warrants it and it is legally cleared to do so.

Hedge funds, others hurt by sticking with Clear Channel

Thu, 27 Mar 2008, 00:06

CNN Money/Dow Jones

Highfields Capital Management's 7.7% stake in radio broadcaster Clear Channel Communications Inc. (CCU) took a big hit Wednesday, but Highfields isn't the only big-name investor that stands to lose if the now-in-jeopardy USD19.4 billion private equity buyout of Clear Channel doesn't go through. Among others, Perry Capital, Adage Capital Advisors and Third Point Management show up as holders of more than 3 million Clear Channel shares as of the end of 2007, the most recent filings available from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Those funds either declined to comment for the record or couldn't be reached for comment.

Liffe outlines clearing launch

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 21:21

Financial News

Liffe, the London-based futures and options exchange, has turned up the heat on rivals including Rainbow, the planned derivatives exchange backed by investment banks and brokers, by confirming it plans to launch a clearinghouse, a move that will hit its existing supplier LCH.Clearnet. Liffe, the NYSE Euronext-owned exchange, confirmed today it is moving into clearing services for the first time, as first reported by Financial News a month ago. The announcement came two weeks after Liffe reached an agreement with its existing supplier LCH.Clearnet to transfer clearing of Liffe's futures and options contracts to the new system while retaining the Anglo-French clearer for risk management and trade guarantee functions.

Partners Group closes US venture-focused fund

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 21:10

Alt Assets

Zug, Switzerland-headquartered alternative asset manager Partners Group has closed Partners Group US Venture 2006, a USD250m fund focusing on investments in established US venture and growth capital partnerships. Limited partners are corporate and public pension plans, insurance companies and family offices from the US, the UK, Continental Europe and the Middle East.

Syncova reports hedge fund implementations

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 20:49

FinExtra

Following the launch of OPTIMA/Fund, Syncova are pleased to announce that two hedge fund companies have recently committed to the platform. These are US multi Strategy, multi Prime Broker Hedge Funds that are focused on improving controls and accurately reflecting cost of capital in P/L reporting. They have set up the margin models from all their counterparty agreements in Optima, and implemented an automated daily reconciliation.

US hedge funds managing USD3.9bn closed in 2008

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 20:39

Reuters

Hedge funds are collapsing at a rapid clip in 2008, with managers who oversaw some USD3.9 billion in assets shutting down in the first quarter, according to data released on Wednesday. Since most of 2007's failures came in the summer, with few at the start of the year, the industry may be on track to beat last year's closures of 49 funds that managed about USD18.6 billion in assets, data by hedge fund trade publication Absolute Return show.

Promotional feature - Thinking of investing in India? Do it through Mauritius

Thu, 20 Mar 2008, 00:05

HedgeWeek

Fund Managers, Investment Managers and Law Firms planning to invest in India or already investing on Indian Stock Markets, can route such investment through Mauritius to benefit from the tax unique advantages under the India-Mauritius Double Taxation Agreement (DTA).

Rydex makes fund of hedge funds offering

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 19:02

FinAlternatives

Rydex Investments has launched the Alternative Strategies Allocation Fund to bolster its portfolio of hedge fund strategies. The fund of hedge funds made its debut on March 7 and is currently managing some USD3.7 million in assets. The fund invests in a diversified portfolio of hedge funds and futures funds spanning the universe of absolute return, commodities, currency arbitrage, global macro, managed futures and real estate strategies, according to the firm. Investors in the new offering may also be exposed to exchange-traded notes, individual securities and money market instruments in volatile market conditions.

Optima replaces its chief investment officer

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 18:53

Financial News

Optima Fund Management has replaced it chief investment officer who has been with the fund of hedge funds manager for four years. Robert Picard, the chief investment officer with the USD6bn (EUR3.8bn) fund manager, plans to leave the company to spend time with his family and is expected to start a new venture, according to a source familiar with the company. Joining Optima as director of research in 2004, Picard previously worked for Carlyle Group where he was a managing director responsible for its fund of hedge funds business and developing its alternatives investments. Picard, who was unavailable for comment, will be replaced by Fabio Savoldelli, Optima's chief global strategist.

Promotional feature - Stay ahead in investment management

Thu, 20 Mar 2008, 16:00

HedgeWeek

London Business School's Investment Management Programme provides you with a toolkit enabling you to select individual instruments, evaluate investment strategies and measure performance effectively.

GlobeOp Financial Services sees improved preliminary results for 2007

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 17:26

HedgeWeek

GlobeOp Financial Services, an independent provider of business process outsourcing, financial technology services and analytics to the hedge fund industry among others, has announced its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2007. Pre-tax profits achieved USD15.1m against USD12.6m the year before, on revenues were up from USD135.1m to USD166m.

ICAP launches property derivatives in Asia-Pacific

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 17:24

HedgeWeek

ICAP, the world's premier inter-dealer broker, has announced that it has expanded its property derivatives business into the Asia-Pacific region, building on its existing European and US operations to deliver a global solutions group to professional end users.

Lawyers Dechert appoints new partners for financial services

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 17:14

HedgeWeek

Dechert has announced that Kevin P. Scanlan has joined the firm as a partner in the financial services group. He is based in the firm's New York office and was previously a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

NYSE Euronext to launch a series of high dividend indices

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 17:21

HedgeWeek

NYSE Euronext has announced the launch of a family of high dividend indices based on its European national blue chip indices: AEX, BEL 20, CAC 40 and PSI 20. This new series will be available from April 3rd, 2008.

Promotional feature - Have you considered having your fund of hedge funds professionally rated?

Thu, 20 Mar 2008, 06:03

HedgeWeek

With close attention being paid to the ability of fund of hedge funds managers to pick underlying funds that continue to prosper in more volatile market conditions, investors are increasingly examining the processes used by fund of funds managers and the capabilities of their operational structures as well as their investment skills.

Aberdeen welcomes new hedge fund stakeholder

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 15:19

Interactive Investor/Thomson Financial

Aberdeen Asset Management PLC chief executive officer Martin Gilbert has offered a hearty welcome to Toscafund, after the UK-based hedge fund took a near 10 pct stake in his company last week. Martin Hughes' Toscafund said that "indiscriminate" selling in the stock market prompted it to buy the 9.82 pct stake in Aberdeen, which makes it the group's second largest shareholder behind fellow hedge fund Lansdowne Partners, which owns just over 11 pct.

Hedge fund replication potential highlighted

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 15:17

Global Pensions

Hedge fund replication has moved into the spotlight following the Universities Superannuation Scheme's GBP200m allocation to the strategy. This represents one of the largest allocations to hedge fund replication in the UK and could mark a shift toward increasing use of alternative beta products in the UK pension universe. Mike Powell, head of alternatives at the GBP30bn USS, told Global Pensions: "Our view, supported by academic research, is that the majority of hedge fund returns are derived from beta, which can be replicated.

Bears in charge, says hedge fund guru

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 14:55

Joong Ang Daily

Jim Rogers, the co-founder of the Quantum Hedge Fund with financier George Soros and a legendary US investor, says the bears are in charge everywhere, except for commodities and Taiwan. He sees virtually all commodities picking up in the next decade and he is upbeat on Taiwan, hoping that the recent election there will result in improved ties with China and more robust cross-strait trade. The island has been separated from the mainland since the retreat of the Nationalist Chinese army to Taiwan in 1949.

1000 hedge funds may sink in turmoil

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 14:30

The Australian

Up to 1000 hedge funds around the world could collapse as the industry consolidates, casualties of the rush of long-short equity funds that entered the market during the global bull run. HSBC's global head of hedge funds, Patrick Tuohy, said yesterday that the role of hedge funds had become greater in directing trade, as the market endured one of its greatest ever routs. He said the ease with which hedge funds were set up while the market was strong had created a number of players who would not survive the current downturn.

Brisk business for Man's MI Trade, new hedge fund daily trading platform

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 13:28

HedgeWeek

MI Trade, the ground-breaking online platform created last year by Man Investments to provide daily trading in hedge funds, has handled more than USD110m in trading orders in its first seven months.

Universal teams up with BN & Partner to launch new German fund of funds

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 13:01

CityWire

As law changes in Germany turn the spotlight on multimanager products, Universal Investment and Swiss funds advisor BN & Partner are joining forces to launch a new fund of funds. The new AHF Global Select fund will be managed by Helmut Fickenwirth. Arzberg-based AHF Group Anlageberatung und Finanzdienstleistungen will be responsible for the distribution of the fund. BN & Partner's managing director is Volker Dietrich, who was highly ranked by Citywire during his time as a portfolio manager at VCH Capital Markets in Frankfurt where he ran a number of funds before he left to join BN in January 2006.

Asia's Value Partners posts 66% surge in 2007 profits

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 11:44

Deal Book/New York Times

Value Partners Group, Asia's second-largest hedge fund manager, said 2007 profit surged 66 per cent on growing assets. Profit reached HKD1.42 billion (USD183 million) from 856.3 million Hong Kong dollars a year earlier, the Hong Kong-based company said in a filing to the city's stock exchange. Value Partners' results announcement, its first as a publicly traded company, came as USD195 billion of asset writedowns and credit costs linked to US mortgage markets raise the risk of a global economic slowdown, bringing a five-year bull market to an end.

Hedge fund Scipion Capital launches third Africa strategy fund

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 11:18

HedgeWeek

Scipion Capital, the wholly Africa dedicated hedge fund manager, has announced the launch of its third Fund - the Scipion Alpha Seeker Fund - which will launch in April and invest in listed equities and attractive IPO opportunities across the African continent.

Long live hedge funds? Not quite

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 11:02

Euromoney Institutional Investor

Longevity is not one of the hedge fund's best features. In fact, of the 9,761 hedge funds recorded by Crédit Agricole Structured Asset Management, only 2.45% have been around 15 years or longer, with another 15.25% between eight and 15 years. According to the CASAM Hedge Industry Report for the fourth quarter of 2007, hedge funds between five and seven years old constituted the largest single group at 20.54% of the total. The report found that 10.29% were under a year old, with another 14.37% between one and two years old. In total, 38.6% of all hedge funds were no more than 2 years old.

SEC suit prompts Pentagon to shut

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 11:00

Euromoney Institutional Investor

This time it wasn't financial turmoil that directly claimed another hedge fund victim. Pentagon Capital Management, The Daily Telegraph reports, has decided to shut its operations and return its $1 billion in assets under management after Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against its multi-millionaire head, Lewis Chester. According to The Telegraph, the SEC is looking to settle an old score with Chester from his pre-Pentagon days, and citing sources, the paper said the hedge fund manager wrote to investors that he felt his legal woes would make them - as well as lenders and other counterparties -- jittery, prompting them to bail out and forcing him to unload assets in a down market to repay them.

Michigan pension funds seek injunction against JPMorgan-Bear deal

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 10:56

Financial News/Wall Street Journal

The legal fight over JPMorgan's planned $1.2bn (€764m) purchase of Bear Stearns pushed into high gear as two Michigan pension funds filed court papers seeking a temporary restraining order against the transaction. The pension funds representing retired members of Detroit's police and fire departments and other current and retired employees of Wayne County, Michigan, are asking the Delaware state chancery court to halt JPMorgan's plans to buy 95 million newly issued shares of Bear that would give it a 39.5% stake in the company. The Wayne County pension fund also sued Bear, its board of directors and JPMorgan on Monday, alleging that Bear's board breached its fiduciary duty by accepting a low-ball bid for the firm.

Music to alt investors' ears

Wed, 26 Mar 2008, 10:49

Euromoney Institutional Investor

Two new alternative investment options come with strings attached. London-based Anchorage Capital has composed The Guitar Fund, a USD100 million-plus number that will invest in vintage guitars, a commodity that has played to the tune of an average 31.6% annually for the past 17 years. "The main difference between guitars and wine or art or other exotic investments," Guitar Fund manager Thomas Byrne, who is also Anchorage's chief operating officer, told Financial Times, "is that not only can you buy its as an investment, you can play it." Indeed, the fund seems to be dedicated to the musical side of investors as well, as it plans to loan out vintage guitars for the cost of the insurance coverage. Meanwhile, elsewhere in London, Florian Leonhard hopes the idea of investing in violins resonates with investors. Leonard, reputed to be one of the city's most successful violin restorers and traders, according to The Guardian, has formed the Fine Violins Fund, which will invest in 50 of the instruments, mainly pre-19th century ones from Italy, with each valued at roughly USD1.5 million.

BoNY names head of alternative investment services

Tue, 25 Mar 2008, 14:56

FinAlternatives

The Bank of New York Mellon has named Alan Flanagan as managing director of its Alternative Investment Services business. In his new role, Flanagan will be based in Dublin and is tasked with leading the firm's private equity administration in Europe. He will report to Rick Stanley, executive vice president of AIS.

Summit Business Analyst, United Kingdom
Business Analyst – Fund Services – Business Analyst My client is a leading fund managem...


Hedge Fund - Middle Office, United Kingdom
A rare opportunity has arisen to work for a well-established asset management company within its rec...


Front Office Analyst, United Kingdom
A leading Fund Manager is looking for a highly motivated and diligent ACA to move directly into the ...

Investment Analyst, United Kingdom
A leading Asset Manager is looking for an exceptional ACA or CFA to join its Front Office research t...


Hedge Fund Analyst, United Kingdom
Robert Half International is currently recruiting 2 analysts for a leading global asset manager who ...


Corporate Credit Analyst, United Kingdom
Robert Half International is currently recruiting the position of corporate Credit Analyst for a lea...

Regulatory Assistant, United Kingdom
Assistant in Regulatory & Tax Department, which manages everything relating to regulatory a...


Quantitative Analyst, Front Office, Distressed Debt, United Kingdom
Highly competitive compensation + career growth opportunities London office of established global c...


Junior Portfolio Manager, Front Office, Distressed Debt, United Kingdom
Highly competitive compensation + career growth opportunities London office of established global c...

Portfolio Analyst , United Kingdom
Portfolio Analyst  Summary: Fund of Funds Analyst within a rapidly growing $3billion Fund of ...


Risk Analyst , United Kingdom
Risk Analyst Summary: An exciting opportunity is available with a leading international hedge fund...


Hedge Fund Manager, England
                &nbs...