12.13.2010

Hedge Funds Betting on Commodities

With gold, copper and other precious metals reaching all or near-term highs, hedge funds are making their biggest bet in years that commodities will continue to rally.  According to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data, speculative bets on commodities reached the highest level since at least February 2006.

And, according to Barclay Capital, about 75 percent of respondents surveyed  last week in New York predicted a bigger inflow into direct commodity investments next year.

11.11.2010

Fund of Funds to Trade Publicly

London Stock Exchange
A London based hedge fund company with a  fund of funds product  is planning to list on the London Stock Exchange. The fund, the CQS Diversified Fund will invest its asserts in the Segregate Portfolio Alpha (DVA) a fund of funds.  CQS has over $8 billion in assets under management.

CEO of CQS, Michael Hintze, believes the multi-fund approach is appropriate for investors in the listed funds sector.


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11.10.2010

GS to Withdraw $120 Million from Major Hedge Fund

Goldman Sachs is withdrawing more than $120 million from Harbinger Capital Partners' most prominent hedge fund, the $3.4 billion Harbinger Capital Partners Fund. Harbinger has approximately $20 billion in assets under management. Goldman's withdrawal comes after revelations that Harbinger's CEO, Philip Falcone, borrowed hundreds of millions from the firm's other funds to pay personal taxes as well as the relatively poor performance of the fund.


Because redemption agreements with Harbinger limit quarterly redemptions to 25% it will take 12 months for Goldman to receive its entire investment. It is reported that Goldman had as much as $1 billion invested with Harbinger.

Philip Falcone, who grew up in Minnesota and was a star hockey player in college, helped Harbinger funds return more than 100% in 2007 with timely bets that the U.S. housing market would collapse.







Hedge Funds Have Strong October

Hedge funds had a relatively strong October led by Global Macro and Emerging Market hedge funds. Overall, the hedge fund sector posted returns of 2.35% for the month (a 32% annual rate), according to HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index. Overall, the index is up just over 7% on the year. By comparison, the S&P 500 was up just over 8% YTD.

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9.02.2010

Hedge Fund Manager Provides GOP Strategy

Though hedge fund managers have been characterized recently as leaning democratic, the head of a major hedge fund held a strategy session this week to discuss how the Republican Party can better position itself to win the mid-term elections.

Steven Cohen, CEO of SAC Capital Advisors held the GOP event with other hedge fund managers in attendance including Paul Singer of Elliot Management ($16B AUM) and Bruce Kovner from Caxton Associates. Paul Singer is one of the hedge fund industry's largest contributors to the Republican Party. Singer has also been dissaproving over Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan.

SAC gave 93% of its 2010 election-cycle donations to Republicans through Aug. 1

8.30.2010

Hedge Funds Scaling Back Risk

With the US economy and the major stock indexes taking a step back, hedge funds are putting their money into more defensive sectors such as utilities and other high dividend stocks.

Some hedge fund manages say that a lot of risk is being taken off the table.

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8.17.2010

Duquesne Capital Management to Shut Down

Stanley Druckenmiller of Duquense Capital Management
Dozens of hedge funds have closed already in 2010, and now you can add Duquesne Capital Management to that list. The $12 billion hedge fund run by billionaire Stanley F. Druckenmiller has not had a losing year and has averaged 30 % annually (though the fund is down 5% this year).

Duquesne returned about 11 percent in 2008, when hedge funds on average lost a record 19 percent. It rose about 10 percent in 2009, when the average return was 20 percent.



Druckenmiller is quitting the fund to pursue philanthropic goals.



8.10.2010

Metals Hedge Fund to Close

Apollo Management LP, a New York based hedge fund and private equity firm  closed its metals hedge fund in London.

The $40 million into the Apollo Metals Trading Fund started in March 2009, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. An outside spokeswoman for the firm declined today to say why Apollo shut the fund or to give the number of fund employees.

Commodity hedge funds fell in the first half of 2010 amid sliding commodity prices.

7.24.2010

Hedge Funds Off to Poor Start in 2010

Hedge funds had their fourth worst first half in more than 20 years according to the Hennessee Group. Though hedge funds outperformed the major stock averages in the first half of 2010, .2% vs -7%, it still ranked among the worst first half performances. In 2009, the Hennessee Hedge Fund Index was up over 11% January through June. In 2008, one of the worst years for hedge funds given the broad market declines, hedge funds were down over 2% through June and finished the year down 19.9%.

The best performing hedge fund sectors in 2010 have been the debt categories with Fixed Income up 5.69%, High Yield up 4.42%, and Distressed up 3.87%. This comes amid tightening spreads between high yield debt and government securities.

The worst performing hedge fund strategies in 2010 are, somewhat unsurprisingly, Europe funds down 6.46%, Health Care down 2.85%, and Growth down 1.95%.

7.21.2010

Alphabet Management Hedge Fund Attracting Top Talent

New York based hedge fund Alphabet Management landed Nelson Saiers, a managing director of derivatives trading with Deutsche Bank. Saiers will lead a group that trades derivatives including volatility options. The departure comes amid Deutsche Bank's decision to close down its proprietary trading operations.

7.19.2010

Even Successful Hedge Funds Face Withdrawals

Even the most successful hedge funds can face withdrawals. This was illustrated in June as giant hedge fund Paulson & Co. lost more than $2 billion in assets under management. Although, about the thirds of that amount can be accounted for by market losses, Paulson & Co. likely paid out about $600 million in investor withdrawal requests. In June, Paulson & Co.'s financial services Recovery Fund, lost more than 12%. Paulson's best performing fund was its gold fund, up more than 7% in June.

On the other hand, hedge funds actually did quite well in May in terms of investor flows, taking in more than $4 billion in new assets, even while the industry lost $30 billion in trading the same month.

Source: Market Watch

7.18.2010

Hedge Funds No Longer Bullish on Oil

Hedge funds are no longer bullish on oil. In July, hedge funds have been taking bullish oil bets off the table. Net-long positions on the NY Mercantile Exchange fell to 15 month lows in the first week of July. This as oil prices rose more than 5% to over $76 / barrel. Additionally, oil contract volatility has been rising of late.

7.14.2010

With Financial Bill Looming, What is Impact for Hedge Funds?


The largest financial reform bill in more than 70 years is expected to pass this week and many are asking what impact the bill will have on hedge funds. The impact of the Dodd-Frank bill—named on the hedge fund industry, remains an open question. The legislation is more than 2300 pages, and even a thorough reading won't reveal the ultimate impact of such a bill on hedge funds.

As the current bill reads, hedge funds would face some greater oversight. Hedge funds with more than $150 million in AUM would have to register with the SEC, though more than half of hedge funds are already registered.

One also has to wonder how the SEC, which so miserably failed to oversee the hedge funds and financial institutions it already regulates, will be able to provide competent oversight of even more firms. If the SEC couldn't devote the resources to police banks with trillions in assets, how can we expect them to competently oversee $200 million hedge funds?

The new bill would also introduce a water-down Volker rule which will permit bank holding companies to invest up to 3% of their assets in hedge funds and other alternative investments.

6.30.2010

Hedge Funds Hiring...Former Regulators

The good news is that hedge funds are finally hiring again. The iffy news, depending on your perspective, is that they are hiring a number of former SEC officials. And they aren't hiring mid-level guys for their risk management experience. Hedge funds are hiring top-level former regulators, possibly revealing their concerns about greater hedge fund regulation, oversight, and taxation. Surely hedge fund manager John Paulson's recent decision to hire Harvey Pitt, a former SEC Chairman, as an outside director was intended to get him some lobbying clout. Earlier in 2010, hedge fund Millennium Management hired two former SEC Commissioners.

The recent hires of high-profile former regulators raises a host of questions. Is Capitol Hill prepared to take on the financial industry or are they waiting for that chance at a cushy job crusading for multi-billion dollar funds? Are hedge funds hiring these experienced regulators for their ability to guide the firm as new regulations are enacted or are they being hired for their ability to influence the outcome of regulations themselves? Should the SEC, as suggested by Senator Ted Kaufman (D-Delaware), ban senior officials from taking jobs at companies they recently oversaw?


6.21.2010

25 Largest Fund of Hedge Funds 2010

List of the 25 Largest Fund of Funds (June, 2010)

Below is a list of the world's larges fund of hedge funds (fund of funds) as of June 2010 including assets under management and website:

Fund of Fund Location AUM Website
1. UBS Alternative Investments Zurich, Switzerland 27.6 www.ubs.com
2. Credit Suisse Funds Zurich, Switzerland 26.4 www.credit-suisse.com
3. GAM Dublin, Ireland 23.2 www.gam.com
4. Blackstone Group New York, NY 22.4 www.blackstone.com
5. Man Investments London, UK 22.1 www.mangroupplc.com
6. BlackRock New York, NY 21 www.blackrock.com
7. Grosvenor Capital Management Chicago, IL 20.4 www.grosvenorcapitalmanagement.com
8. Permal Asset Management New York, NY 20.2 www.permal.com
9. HSBC Alternative Inverstments London, UK 19.2 www.hsbc.com
10. Goldman Sachs Hedge Fund Strategies New York, NY 19.1 www.goldmansachs.com
11. Lyxor Asset Management Paris, France 17.4 www.lyxor.com
12. Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners New York, NY 17.2 www.morganstanley.com
13. Bank of New York Mellon New York, NY 16.2 www.bnymellon.com
14. Pacific Alternative Asset Management Irvine, CA 15.7 www.paamco.com
15. Arden Asset Management New York, NY 10.4 www.ardenasset.com
16. Mesirow Advanced Strategies Chicago, IL 10.1 www.mesirowfinancial.com
17. Union Bancaire Privee Geneva, Switzerland 9.6 www.ubpbank.com
18. Silver Creek Asset Management Seattle, WA 9.1 www.silvercreekcapital.com
19. FRM Americas London, UK 8.5 www.frmhedge.com
20. Aurora Investment Management Chicago, IL 8.5 www.aurorallc.com
21. Lighthouse Partners Palm Beach, FL 8.2 www.lighthousepartners.com
22. Gottex Fund Management Lausanne, Switzerland 8.1 www.gottexfunds.com
23. EIM Group Geneva, Switzerland 7.8 www.eimgroup.com
24. JPMorgan Asset Management New York, NY 7.5 www.jpmorgan.com
25. Cadogan Management New York, NY 7.4 www.cadoganmanagement.com



Source: HedgeLists,com, Institutional Investor

6.15.2010

2010 Hedge Fund Launches

Below is a list of new global hedge fund launches for 2010. So far in 2010 there have been more than 40 hedge fund launches.

2010 Hedge Fund Launches

Fund Name Launch Date
3 Degrees Credit Opportunity Fund January-10 More Info
AN Commodity Fund January-10 More Info
Caerus Emerging Markets Opportunity Fund January-10 More Info
Cirrus Capital Management LLC January-10 More Info
Crystal Capital Fund Series LLC January-10 More Info
Diversified Synamic Solution (DDS) January-10 More Info
MAG MA2 Fund January-10 More Info
Permian Fund January-10 More Info
Select Forex Fund January-10 More Info
Stella Capital Real Estate Opportunity Fund January-10 More Info
Taurus Global Resources Hedge Fund February-10 More Info
Blackheath Futures Fund March-10 More Info
Darewind Commodities Strategy March-10 More Info
Goldvest Bullion Fund March-10 More Info
IFFX Foreign Exchange Program March-10 More Info
PENTAXON II Dynamic Protection Fund March-10 More Info
Salus Alpha Commodity Arbitrage March-10 More Info
AlphaSquare Sub Fund April-10 More Info
Brevan Howard Commodities Strategies Master Fund April-10 More Info
CAM Credit Opportunities Fund April-10 More Info
Dalton High Yield Mortgage Fund April-10 More Info
IC Income and Growth Fund April-10 More Info
JBCM Fund Limited April-10 More Info
Maritime Capital Partners Fund April-10 More Info
MutualHedge Frontier Legends Fund April-10 More Info
OM Global Investment Fund April-10 More Info
Transcendent Capital Management Trading Program 2010 April-10 More Info
Carrelton New Horizon Fund May-10 More Info
DB Platinum IV QCM GDP Index Fund May-10 More Info
ISAM Systematic May-10 More Info
Martello Equity Index Program May-10 More Info
Mondis Growth Fund May-10 More Info
StoneWater Capital Opportunities Fund May-10 More Info
Sunridge Short Opportunities Fund May-10 More Info
Tiburon Opportunity Fund May-10 More Info
World Invest Absolute Financials Fund May-10 More Info
Economic Time Bond Fund June-10 More Info
IPM Commodity Fund June-10 More Info
IPOfn New Issues Fund June-10 More Info
Prestige Multistrategy Fund June-10 More Info
UCM Union Delta Fund June-10 More Info
Vonda UCITS Fund June-10 More Info



We will update the above list of new hedge funds throughout the year so check back often or bookmark this page.


Compromise on EU Hedge Fund Regulations

Despite overwhelming support for increased regulation of hedge funds in the EU, government entities have been unable to finalize a new set of rules. This week it appears, the EU Commission is tabling a possible compromise for hedge fund operating in the EU. Included in this plan are rules that would prevent foreign hedge funds from benefiting from SU passport provisions which allow the entire trading bloc to be treated as a single entity.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that the recent compromise proposes national governments maintain hedge fund rules for up to three years. After that three year period elapses, a sytem-wide set of rules for EU hedge funds will take precedence.

6.14.2010

Senate Attacks Hedge Fund Tax Loopholes

This week, the US Senate considers a job and small business bill this week that may be funded by closing a tax loophole that allows hedge fund and private equity managers to pay capital gains rates on performance fees instead of ordinary income tax. By some estimats, closing this loophole could double the tax revenue generated by these hedge fund managers.

But of course, there are conflicting points of view. Len Burman, a professor at Syracuse University, describes the current taxation scheme as "a huge windfall to some of the best-off people in society." Meanwhile, those target by the bill claim they are being unfairly attacked. Because almsot a quarter of all investment partnerships involve real estate, these managerse could be hardest hit says, Jeffrey DeBoer of the Real Estate Roundtable. He adds, "What we're trying to do is make people understand this is very much a Main Street tax increase, not a Wall Street tax increase."

The bill, which likely has significant constituent support, will be voted on by the Senate this week.

25 Largest Hedge Fund Managers (2010)

The 25 Biggest Hedge Funds 2010
Below is a list of the largest hedge funds managers in the world as of Q1 2010 including website and AUM:

NOTE: Please see the updated Top 250 Global Hedge Funds 2017





Hedge Fund Location AUM Website
1. JP Morgan Asset Management New York, NY $53.5B www.jpmorgan.com
2. Bridgewater Associates Westport, CT $43.6B www.bwater.com
3. Paulson & Co. New York, NY $32B
4. Brevan Howard Asset Management London, UK $27.0B www.brevanhoward.com
5. Soros Fund Management New York, NY $27.0B
6. Man Group London, UK $25.3B www.mangroupplc.com
7. Och-Ziff Capital Management New York, NY $23.1B www.ozcap.com
8. D.E. Shaw Group New York, NY $23.0B www.deshaw.com
9. BlackRock New York, NY $21.0B www.blackrock.com
10. Farallon Capital Management San Francisco, CA $20.7B www.faralloncapital.com
11. Baupost Group Boston, MA $20.0B www.baupost.com
12. King Street Capital New York, NY $19.0B
13. Goldman Sachs Asset Management New York, NY $17.8B www.goldmansachs.com
14. Canyon Partners Los Angeles, CA $17.6B www.canyonpartners.com
15. BlueCrest Capital Management London, UK $17.3B www.bluecrestcapital.com
16. Elliot Management New York, NY $16.2B www.elliottmgmt.com
17. Landsowne Partners London, UK $15.0B www.lansdownepartners.com
18. Renaissance Technologies East Setauket, NY $15.2B www.rentec.com
19. Fortress Investment New York, NY $13.8B www.fortressinv.com
20. Eton Park Capital Management New York, NY $13.0B
21. Viking Global Investors Greenwich, CT $12.4B
22. Moore Capital Management New York, NY $12.4B
23. SAC Capital Partners Stamford, Ct $12.0B www.sac.com
24. GLG Partners London, UK $11.5B www.glgpartners.com
25. York Capital Management New York, NY $11.1B www.yorkcapital.com

Source: HedgeLists.com, Pensions and Investments

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