Hedge Fund That Made 60X Return on Volatility Now Takes Opposite Position

Austin, TX based hedge fund Houndstooth Capital Management earlier made a 6000% return by betting on volatility. They did this by betting against an ETF linked to low volatility.

Now, however, Houndstooth is betting on the opposite. Sort of. They aren't actually betting volatility will stay low, but instead have targeted a weakness or design flaw inherent to ETFs like ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF.

According to Bloomberg, "The theory is that after an initial spike there will be a snapback in vol that will decimate the product." In fact, Houndstooth thinks after a large spike in volatility, the snapback could decimate the product in a matter of hours or days.

New Crypto Fund Launches 2018

Crypto Hedge Fund Launches for 2018

Crypto funds have been launching at an extraordinary rate. In 2017 there were launches of more than 100 new crypto hedge funds and venture capital funds. The rate is expected to accelerate with as many as 140 new crypto funds expected to launch in 2018. Below is a list of new crypto funds that were launched in 2018 (through January 31, 2018).

Crypto Fund	Location	Website
Blackmoon Crypto	Cyprus	https://blackmooncrypto.com/
Block View Capital	United States	https://www.blockviewcapital.com
BullCoin Gold	Singapore	https://bullcoin.gold/
ChainLink Crypto Fund	United States	http://telegra.ph/Crypto-Fund-Research-06-28
MyBit	Switzerland	https://mybit.io/
Neufund	Germany	https://neufund.org/
Palmy Fund	United States	https://www.palmyfunds.com/
Prime Factor Capital	United Kingdom	https://www.primefactor.capital
Symmetry Fund	Cayman Islands	https://symmetry.fund/
1confirmation	United States	http://www.1confirmation.com

List of 416 Crypto Funds Including 2018 Launches

Top 10 Crypto Funds

The Top 10 Crypto Hedge Funds

Below is a list of the top 10 crypto funds. These funds invest in cryptocurrencies, ICOs, and blockchain companies. The list of crypto funds is compiled based on overall prominence and listed in alphabetical order. 

1) Arrington XRP Capital

2) BlockTower Capital

3) BKCM

4) Fenbushi Capital

5) Galaxy Digital Assetes

6) The Logos Fund

7) MetaStable Capital

8) Pantera Capital

9) Polychain Capital

10) Protocol Ventures

Download a complete list of crypto hedge funds

Crypto Funds - The Quickest Growing Hedge Fund Strategy

Crypto Funds Being Launched at Record Pace

What's the fastest growing segment of the hedge fund world? If you've been paying attention, this might not be a surprise - it's cryptocurrency hedge funds. In fact, more than 70 crypto funds were launched in 2017, more than the amount launched in all preceding years.

Cryptocurrency hedge funds invest in existing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Initial Coin Offerings of new cryptos, or in blockchain companies. Collectively, hedge funds investing in these digital assets have exploded. This is largely due to a growing perception that cryptocurrencies are gaining legitimacy as investments. Of course, the huge increases in crypto prices in 2017 play a large role in this as well. Bitcoin, for example, was up more than 1200% in 2017. A large number of crypto hedge funds were launched in the latter part of 2017 according to research from Crypto Fund Research. 

It remains to be seen what the effect of falling crypto prices in 2018 will have on existing crypto funds as well as the launch of new crypto hedge funds. 

While the number of new crypt fund launches was extraordinary, it's important to keep in mind assets are still quite low. In total, crypto funds have a little over $3.1 billion in assets, or less than .1% of total hedge fund assets. That number is expected to grow significantly as investors open up to crypto funds, and cryptocurrencies in general.

Crypto Fund Resources

Crypto Fund Infographic

Crypto Hedge Fund List

Top 10 Crypto Funds

2018 Crypto Fund Launches

Nice Hedge Fund Managers Finish Last? Maybe Not

We all know nice guys finish last. This is particularly true when it comes to high finance and hedge fund managers. It's a dog eat dog world and only the most ruthless hedge fund managers make it to the top right? Wrong. 

At least according to a new study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

According to this new research, hedge fund managers that show signs of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy actually underperform their peers. Sure, it's only underperformance of  1%, but this is still welcome news to the optimists among us.

Researchers at UC Berkeley and University of Denver attempted to measure the personality traits of over 100 hedge funds managers. They then compared this with 10 years of performance data. They found those with psychopathic traits underperformed in terms of annualized and risk-adjusted returns.

Of course, the sample size is rather small, representing just a few percent of US hedge fund managers. 

Still, the study also is supported by similar research that shows those who display courage, justice, and humanity tend to be the most effective leaders. 

So much fund data...

A New Way to Search Private Funds

Ever tried searching EDGAR records for fund data? Then you're probably have faced the frustration of trying to find anything useful. Not that it's surprising the SEC uses a outdated search form that makes it difficult to find the information your searching for. But still... one would think with million dollar budgets the SEC could make the data a bit more user-friendly. 

Maybe you've:

1) Searched for a specific fund/company information, only to find the data is spread across dozens of different forms...making it tiresome to find the data you're looking for.

2) Attempted to search for funds based on size, investment strategy, number of accounts, pooled investments etc. only to find that none of these are valid search criteria.

3) Wanted to sort or filter results to find the specific companies or people you're looking for...only to find this too is not an option with the SEC's EDGAR database.

Well, finally there is a solution.  A new company has launched that allows you to search records from more than 6,000 fund managers, 20,000 private funds, and more than 30,000 fund employees.

Anyone who has ever used the EDGAR database will find Private Fund Data to be a very welcome relief to the old days of painstakingly combing through SEC data. The search function is extremely intuitive and the results are clearly organized. 

As a test, we searched funds with more than $1 billion in assets in New York. It returned 145 results. 

We also tried searching real estate funds with a minimum investment of $50,000 or less. Instantly 749 results!

You could never do searches this way with EDGAR.

It's free to use (though after a certain amount of searches you will be prompted to sign up for a paid plan with unlimited searches) and its a far far better alternative to EDGAR.

Private Fund Data

What is JSEcoin?

There are now hundreds of cryptocurrencies, many launched within the last 12 months. One of the most recent, and one with a unique twist, is JSEcoin.

JSEcoin is unique because it uses javascript on your website to use your visitors web browser to hash/mine coins. JSE coins can also be mined in the traditional way.

Essentially, JSEcoin allows anyone with a website to monetize their visitors simply by placing a small snippet of javascript on their site. Anytime a user visits your site their web browser will be used to help you mine JSE coins.

Plus you get a small amount of free JSE coin simply for signing up!

It remains to be seen whether this latest entrant into the world of cryptos will take off, but signing up is so easy it is a must try for anyone with a blog or website.

Learn more about JSE Coin

Marketing to Hedge Funds

The Best Hedge Fund Lists/Directories

Top 250 Largest Hedge Funds 2017

250 Biggest Hedge Funds for 2017

Below is a list of the top 100 largest hedge fund managers for 2017, ranked by assets under management (AUM).

You can view the full list of the top 250 biggest hedge funds here:

Rank	Fund Name	Country	AUM ($millions)	Strategy
1	AQR Capital Management	United States	243982	Multi Strategy
2	Bridgewater Associates	United States	239323	Long/Short
3	Millennium Management	United States	207626	Multi Strategy
4	Citadel Investment Group	United States	152656	Convertibles
5	Goldman Sachs Asset Management	United States	106240
6	Wellington Management Company	United States	99740	Multi Strategy
7	Renaissance Technologies	United States	97006	Multi Strategy
8	Pine River Capital Management	United States	82775	Multi Strategy
9	DE Shaw	United States	81317	Absolute Return
10	Fortress Investment Group	United States	56936	Private Equity
11	Elliott Management	United States	56006	Global Equity
12	Element Capital Management	United States	55883	Global Macro
13	BlueCrest Capital Management	Switzerland	55100
14	Moore Capital Management	United States	53824	Global Macro
15	Och-Ziff Capital Management	United States	51744	Global Macro
16	Two Sigma Investments	United States	49269	Commodities
17	Cerberus Capital Management	United States	47973	Aerospace/Defense
18	Capula Investment Management	United Kingdom	45812	Absolute Return
19	Viking Global Investors	United States	43378	Global Macro
20	Adage Capital Management	United States	41969
21	GAM Fund Management	Hong Kong	40318	Fund of Funds
22	Tudor Investment Corporation	United States	39662	Multi Strategy
23	Angelo Gordon & Co.	United States	38253	Real Estate
24	Balyasny Asset Management	United States	37210	Multi Strategy
25	BlackRock Alternative Advisors	United States	33250	Global Macro
26	Lone Pine Capital	United States	33157	Long/Short
27	Discovery Capital Management	United States	33072	Equity
28	Lighthouse Investment Partners	United States	32568	Fund of Funds
29	Pictet Alternative Investments	Switzerland	31715	Fund of Funds
30	Baupost Group	United States	31563	Global Equity
31	Davidson Kempner	United States	31023	Global Equity
32	Graham Capital Management	United States	30308	Global Macro
33	GoldenTree Asset Management	United States	27384	Private Equity
34	Anchorage Capital Group	United States	27176	Credit
35	Centerbridge Partners LP	United States	26049	Multi Strategy
36	HBK Capital Management	United States	25448	Multi Strategy
37	Farallon Capital Management	United States	25436	Multi Strategy
38	Hillhouse Capital	Hong Kong	24960	Emerging Markets
39	PointState Capital	United States	24763	Energy
40	Tiger Global Management LLC	United States	23596
41	Bracebridge Capital	United States	23528	Absolute Returns
42	Appaloosa Management	United States	22845	Global Equity
43	Hutchin Hill Capital	United States	22809	Event Driven
44	Bluemountain Capital Management	United States	22788	Global Macro
45	King Street Capital Management	United States	21219	Global Macro
46	Winton Capital Management	United Kingdom	21157	Managed Futures
47	Select Equity	United States	20511	Equity
48	York Capital Management	United Kingdom	19975	Event Driven
49	York Capital Management	United States	19975	Event Driven
50	Magnetar Capital	United States	19895	Multi Strategy
51	Brigade Capital Management	United States	19731	Managed Futures
52	Polygon Investment Partners	United Kingdom	19650	Multi Strategy
53	Caxton Associates	United States	19427	Global Macro
54	Third Point LLC	United States	19412	Event Driven
55	Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors	United States	19358	Private Equity
56	Canyon Partners	United States	19149	Multi Strategy
57	Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co.	United States	18960	Emerging Markets
58	Carlson Alternative Advisors	United States	18882	Private Equity
59	Highfields Capital Management	United States	18796
60	MKP Capital Management	United States	18705	Multi Strategy
61	Platinum Asset Management	Australia	17954	Equity
62	ValueAct Capital	United States	17581	Long/Short
63	Alyeska Investment Group	United States	16532	Managed Futures
64	Spectrum Asset Management	United States	16509	Fixed Income
65	Egerton Capital	United Kingdom	16435	Long/Short
66	Glenview Capital Management	United States	16320	Multi Strategy
67	Tilden Park Capital Management	United States	16058	Multi Strategy
68	Comac Capital	United Kingdom	15984	Global Macro
69	Maverick Capital	United States	15922	Global Macro
70	Neuberger Berman	United States	15900	Fund of Funds
71	Danske Capital	Denmark	15500	European Equity
72	Cevian Capital	Sweden	15453	Activist
73	Marathon Asset Management	United States	15248	Credit
74	Candriam	France	15131	Fixed Income
75	Carval Investors	United States	14654	Fixed Income
76	UBS Hedge Fund Solutions	United States	14550	Equity
77	Arrowgrass Capital Partners	United Kingdom	14440	Convertibles
78	OrbiMed Advisors	United States	14400	Private Equity
79	Brummer and Partners	Sweden	14200	Long/Short
80	Lazard Alternatives	United States	14120	Multi Strategy
81	Paloma Partners	United States	14022
82	Cheyne Capital	United Kingdom	13940	Real Estate
83	Henderson Global Investors	United Kingdom	13927	Global Macro
84	Pershing Square Capital Management	United States	13811	Value
85	Coatue Management	United States	13755
86	Varde Partners	United States	13541	Distressed Assets
87	Senator Investment Group	United States	13388	Long/Short
88	Pharo Management	United States	13382	Global Macro
89	M Square Investimentos	Brazil	13379
90	Alcentra	United Kingdom	13330	Distressed Assets
91	Beach Point Capital Management	United States	13033	Multi Strategy
92	Fir Tree Partners	United States	13018
93	Trian Fund Management LP	United States	12478
94	Paulson & Co.	United States	12443	Multi Strategy
95	Blue Ridge Capital	United States	12410	Real Estate
96	Silver Point Capital	United States	12345	Multi Strategy
97	Arrowstreet Capital	United States	12200
98	Benefit Street Partners	United States	11829	Credit
99	Metacapital Management LP	United States	11734	Fixed Income
100	Soroban Capital Partners	United States	11626	Long/Short

Data as of June 1, 2017

View the full list of the top 250 global hedge fund managers for 2017

The top 5 largest hedge fund managers have $950 billion in combined assets under management

The top 10 biggest hedge funds have $1.4 trillion in combined assets under management (AUM)

The top 50 biggest hedge funds have $2.7 trillion in combined assets under management (AUM)

The top 100 biggest hedge funds have $3.5 trillion in combined assets under management (AUM)

80 of the 100 largest hedge fund managers are based in the US

10 of the 100 top hedge funds in the world are based in the UK

 

Top 30 Credit/Fixed Income Hedge Funds 2017

Top 30 Credit Hedge Funds for 2017

Below is a list of the 20 top credit/fixed income oriented hedge funds for 2017, ranked by assets under management (AUM).

For a complete list of the top 30 credit hedge funds click here:

Rank	Fund Name	Country	AUM ($million)	Strategy
1	Anchorage Capital Group	United States	27176	Credit
2	Spectrum Asset Management	United States	16509	Credit
3	Marathon Asset Management	United States	15248	Credit
4	Candriam	France	15131	Credit
5	Carval Investors	United States	14654	Credit
6	Benefit Street Partners	United States	11829	Credit
7	Metacapital Management LP	United States	11734	Credit
8	Lindsell Train Limited	United Kingdom	11342	Credit
9	Eton Park Capital Management	United States	11329	Credit
10	KLS Diversified	United States	10940	Credit
11	Onex Credit Partners	Canada	7738	Credit
12	Oak Hill Advisors	United States	7580	Credit
13	MSD Capital	United States	7436	Credit
14	Redwood Capital Management	United States	6927	Credit
15	BlueBay Asset Management	United Kingdom	5720	Credit
16	DW Partners	United States	5650	Credit
17	Finisterre Capital	United Kingdom	5646	Credit
18	PAG Absolute Returns	Hong Kong	5620	Credit
19	Monarch Alternative Capital	United States	5543	Credit
20	Chenavari Financial Group	United Kingdom	5475	Credit

Data as of June 1, 2017

View a complete list of the top 30 credit/fixed income hedge funds for 2017


With more than $27 billion in AUM, Anchorage Capital Group is the largest credit hedge fund

The 20 largest credit hedge funds have $209 billion in AUM

4 of the 20 biggest credit hedge funds are based in London

Top 30 Largest Fund of Funds 2017

Top 30 Largest Fund of Funds 2017

Below is a list of the top 20 largest fund of hedge funds for 2017, ranked by assets under management.

You can view the full list of the top 30 biggest fund of funds here

Rank	Fund Name	Country	AUM ($millions)	Strategy
1	GAM Fund Management	Hong Kong	40318	Fund of Funds
2	Lighthouse Investment Partners	United States	32567.5128	Fund of Funds
3	Pictet Alternative Investments	Switzerland	31715	Fund of Funds
4	Neuberger Berman	United States	15900	Fund of Funds
5	Pacific Alternative Asset Management	United States	10052.9554	Fund of Funds
6	K2 Advisors	United States	9808.29605	Fund of Funds
7	Prisma Capital Partners	United States	8540.35501	Fund of Funds
8	Crestline Management	United States	8410.4627	Fund of Funds
9	Pamplona Capital Management	United Kingdom	7100	Fund of Funds
10	Coast Asset Management	United States	6929.99361	Fund of Funds
11	MCP Asset Management	Hong Kong	6740	Fund of Funds
12	Amundi Alternative Investments	France	6580	Fund of Funds
13	Magnitude Capital	United States	6313.10929	Fund of Funds
14	Entrust Partners	United States	5184.62261	Fund of Funds
15	Barings	United Kingdom	5149.35294	Fund of Funds
16	Grove Street Advisors	United States	4981.148	Fund of Funds
17	Evanston Capital Management	United States	4786.79637	Fund of Funds
18	SEB Asset Management	Belgium	3890	Fund of Funds
19	Credit Suisse Alternatives	Switzerland	3482.557	Fund of Funds
20	Aetos Capital	United States	3281.24661	Fund of Funds
21	AlphaCat Managers	Bermuda	2735.73681	Fund of Funds
22	Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie	Switzerland	2348.52665	Fund of Funds
23	Silver Creek Capital Management	United States	2234.57124	Fund of Funds
24	Adamas Partners	United States	2156.40609	Fund of Funds
25	SAIL Advisors	Hong Kong	2016.76	Fund of Funds
26	Park Street Capital Advisors	United States	1997.22066	Fund of Funds
27	Aurum Fund Management	United Kingdom	1400	Fund of Funds
28	Protégé Partners	United States	1310.601	Fund of Funds
29	Olympia Capital Management	United States	1204	Fund of Funds
30	Seminole Management Company	United States	1062.84297	Fund of Funds

Data as of June 1, 2017

View the entire list of the 30 biggest fund of hedge funds for 2017

The largest fund of hedge funds manager is GAM Fund Management
 
5 of the top 20 fund of funds have more than $10 billion in assets under management

12 of the top 20 fund of funds managers are based in the United States

The top 20 fund of funds manage $221 billion in assets

Top 50 Largest Hedge Funds in Europe 2017

Top 50 Hedge Funds in Europe 2017

Below is a list of the 30 largest hedge funds in Europe for 2017, based on assets under management.

For the full interactive list of the top 50 biggest hedge funds in Europe click here.

Rank	Fund Name	City	AUM ($millions)	Strategy
1	BlueCrest Capital Management	Geneva	55100
2	Capula Investment Management	London	45812	Absolute Return
3	Pictet Alternative Investments	Geneva	31715	Fund of Funds
4	Winton Capital Management	London	21157	Managed Futures
5	York Capital Management	London	19975	Event Driven
6	Polygon Investment Partners	London	19650	Multi Strategy
7	Egerton Capital	London	16435	Long/Short
8	Comac Capital	London	15984	Global Macro
9	Danske Capital	Copenhagen	15500	European Equity
10	Cevian Capital	Stockholm	15453	Activist
11	Candriam	Paris	15131	Fixed Income
12	Arrowgrass Capital Partners	London	14440	Convertibles
13	Brummer and Partners	Stockholm	14200	Long/Short
14	Cheyne Capital	London	13940	Real Estate
15	Henderson Global Investors	London	13927	Global Macro
16	Alcentra	London	13330	Distressed Assets
17	Trian Fund Management LP		12478
18	Lindsell Train Limited	London	11342	Fixed Income
19	Lyxor Asset Management	Paris	10958	Convertibles
20	Polar Capital Partners	London	10861	Long/Short
21	CQS Investment Management	London	10500	Multi Strategy
22	AKO Capital	London	10240	Long/Short
23	Oxford Asset Management	Oxford	10200	Absolute Returns
24	RWC Partners	London	9817	Absolute Returns
25	HSBC Alternative Investments	London	9805	Multi Strategy
26	Aviva Investors	London	9599	Convertibles
27	Odey Asset Management	London	7917	Absolute Returns
28	Marshall Wace	London	7355	Global Macro
29	Blue Mountain Capital Management	London	7100	Managed Futures
30	Pamplona Capital Management	London	7100	Fund of Funds

Data as of June 1, 2017

View the full list of the top 50 hedge funds in Europe for 2017


The three largest hedge funds in Europe are BlueCrest Capital Management, Capula Investment Management, Pictet Alternative Investments

The top 10 European hedge funds have $256.7 billion in combined assets under management (AUM)

The top 20 hedge funds in Europe have $387.4 billion in combined assets under management (AUM)

The top 30 hedge funds in Europe have $477.0 billion in combined assets under management (AUM)

6 of the top 10 hedge funds in Europe are in London

21 of the top 30 largest hedge funds in Europe are in London

New Hedge Fund Launches 2017

New hedge funds are beginning to launch again in 2017, after an extended dry spell. At least according to Preqin

Some of this may be based on the improved performance of many hedge funds to kick off 2017.  In the first quarter of 2017, hedge funds gained more than 3% and outperformed fund of funds, UCITS, mutual funds , and CTA's.

Around 2/3 of new hedge fund launches were in North America, dominating Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world in terms of new hedge fund launches.

Read More

Top 25 Largest Hedge Funds in Asia 2017

Top 25 Hedge Funds in Asia 2017

Below is a list of the 20 biggest hedge funds in Asia, ranked by AUM.  

For the full interactive list of 25 top hedge funds in Asia click here.

 

Rank	Fund Name	Country	AUM ($millions)	Strategy
1	GAM Fund Management	Hong Kong	40318	Fund of Funds
2	Hillhouse Capital	Hong Kong	24960	Emerging Markets
3	Graticule Asset Management Asia	Singapore	8826	Global Macro
4	MCP Asset Management	Hong Kong	6740	Fund of Funds
5	PAG Absolute Returns	Hong Kong	5620	Credit
6	Dymon Asia Capital	Singapore	5610	Global Macro
7	SPARX Group Co.	Japan	5439	Asian Equity
8	Value Partners	Hong Kong	4681	Asian Equity
9	Myriad Asset Management	Hong Kong	4115	Multi Strategy
10	Tybourne Capital Management	Hong Kong	4080
11	Symmetry Investments	Hong Kong	3500	Credit
12	Greenwoods Asset Management	Hong Kong	3417	Global Macro
13	Prime Capital Management	Hong Kong	3214	Long/Short
14	CSOP Asset Management	Hong Kong	3094	Credit
15	APS Asset Management	Singapore	2128	Global Equity
16	Guard Capital Management Limited	Hong Kong	2093
17	SAIL Advisors	Hong Kong	2017	Fund of Funds
18	Ortus Capital Management	Hong Kong	2000	FX
19	ADM Capital	Hong Kong	1765	Distressed
20	Arisaig Partners	Singapore	1665	Emerging Markets

Data as of June 1, 2017
View the full list of the top hedge funds in Asia for 2017
 

The three largest hedge funds in Asia for 2017 are GAM Fund Management, Hillhouse capital, and Graticule Asset Management Asia.

The top 10 Asian Hedge Funds have $110.3 billion in assets under management

The top 20 hedge funds in Asia have $135 billion in assets under management

15 of the 20 largest Asian hedge funds are in Hong Kong

4 of the 10 largest hedge funds in Asia are in Singapore