All Alternatives articles – Page 131
-
Features
Core satellite thinking in orbit
Funds of hedge funds are now pension funds’ preferred route into hedge fund investing. Of the €1.2bn invested in hedge funds by Europe’s 50 largest pension funds, €920m is in the hands of funds of hedge funds, according to Boston-based research consultancy Cerulli Associates. One effect of this has been ...
-
Features
Crunch year for pension funds
It would be wrong to make hasty conclusions about the value added by alternative investment strategies. Hedge funds should be allowed to show their worth over time. Nonetheless, this year could prove to be a turning point. Consultants Wilshire Associates managing director Howard Yata has suggested that it is too ...
-
Features
Mushrooming demand
Demand for currency management and overlay has ballooned in the last two years as investors embrace it as an alterative source of return. As currency managers tune their services to the needs of pension funds and other institutions, the future of the sector is beginning to take shape. Currency overlay ...
-
Features
Independence is driving force
When Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) was on the brink of default in 1998, one area of its operations gave no cause for concern - its back office-processing infrastructure. This continued functioning smoothly, and ensured that no payments to creditors were missed and that it did not have to re-state its ...
-
Features
Enemy at the gates
As institutional demand for hedge funds grows, not all providers will be able to meet the emerging standards for the industry, according to a recent report. Those firms that want to thrive in the maturing market will have to adopt new ways of doing business. Last year’s report, ‘Institutional Demand ...
-
Features
Risk exposure stalls growth
As can be seen from table 1, the main hedge fund strategies all fell short of their long-term average performance in March. Three of the five strategies, namely convertible arbitrage, long/short equity and event driven, even posted negative returns. These disappointing returns might be explained by the exposure of hedge ...
-
Features
Fighting fund fraud
Recently, Frankfurt’s public prosecutor began a criminal investigation into a senior employee at Phoenix Kapitaldienst, a German hedge fund manager that has now been told by the financial services regulator (BaFin) to cease trading. The employee is alleged to have siphoned off E700m from the fund. And while those hardest ...
-
Features
Getting it right first time
Following the poor returns of the last bear market, institutional investors have recognised the need for diversification in their investment portfolios. Post-Myners, many pension funds are seeking to match their liabilities by investing in alternative asset classes such as hedge funds. The mainstreaming of an industry that has traditionally been ...
-
Features
Too good to be true?
During our research of the hedge fund results, we analysed the 35 hedge fund categories available in the HFR database (www.hedgefund-research.com). The HFR database is one of the largest of its kind and covers approximately 4,150 hedge funds and fund of funds. From this database the HFRI indices are derived. ...
-
Features
A match made in heaven
In the aftermath of the bursting of the internet bubble, pension funds were forced to cope with an extremely unfavourable environment. Stock markets were plunging and interest rates were falling to historically low levels. Pension funds in general, and European pension funds in particular, have therefore seen the gap between ...
-
News
McAlpine taps SEI for equities
UK –Alfred McAlpine Pension Trustees has awarded SEI Investments a £45.6m (€66.3m) global developed markets equity mandate.
-
News
Equities forgotten as UK schemes shift €58bn
UK – Equities are becoming the “forgotten asset class” as UK pension schemes shifted £40bn (€58.3bn) out of stocks into bonds last year.
-
News
Pensions directive at risk amid German vote
GERMANY - Germany could miss the deadline for transposing the directive on occupational pensions if early elections take place, pension experts say.
-
News
GSAM names Curtis head of sub-advisory
UK - Goldman Sachs Asset Management has appointed Merrill Lynch’s David Curtis to the new role of head of sub-advisory.
-
News
Commodities need governance - consultant
UK - Lack of time and resources are among the factors behind the lack of development in commodities in the UK, according to a Watson Wyatt consultant, Alasdair Macdonald.
-
News
EU Commission eyes hedge fund regulation
EUROPE – The European Commissioner in change of the internal market, Charlie McCreevy, has identified the “patchwork quilt” of hedge fund regulation in Europe as something that needs to be looked at.
-
News
French reserve fund in SRI move
FRANCE – The French reserve fund, the Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites, has made progress in its move towards socially responsible investing.
-
News
German BVI sees no need to regulate hedge funds
GERMANY - Fund industry association BVI has urged the government not to tighten regulation of hedge funds active in Germany, arguing that current rules are sufficient.
-
News
Dutch schemes’ NIBC ends derivatives venture
NETHERLANDS – NIB Capital, the bank owned by the two largest Dutch pension schemes, is to wind down its 50-50 derivatives joint venture with Petercam following “continued substantial trading losses”.
-
News
AP3 says it increases level of active risk
SWEDEN – Tredje AP-fonden, the third Swedish buffer fund, says it is increasing the level of active risk throughout its benchmark portfolio – which will see a global equity group taking full responsibility for equity mandates.
