Clik here to view.
Derivatives Traders Get Attention
Some large investors expect to put more money into futures and options trading funds while reducing their allocation to private equity. Global macro and managed futures look to be the winners in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mergers and acquisitions Spook Investors
Chidem Kurdas Getting more capital together is often the main motive for a merger or acquisition. But the resulting business is often less than the sum of the parts. It ends up with less assets than...
View ArticleClik here to view.
To Separate or Not to Separate
Chidem Kurdas Separately managed accounts looked like the way to avoid unexpected suspensions of redemption as happened in the 2008 crisis, as well as rip-offs. Separate accounts, unlike shares in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Resilience Despite Japan, Mideast Crises
Chidem Kurdas There were dramatic reversals in hedge fund asset growth over the past five years in response to certain incidents, as documented in the new capital movement index series from fund...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Highland Crisis Takeaway
Chidem Kurdas Credit specialist Highland Capital is bringing its crisis woes to a surprisingly successful end after three years. Remaining clients, among them large and experienced funds of funds,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can Permal Buck Trend?
Funds of funds as a group have not recovered from the Madoff scandal and the 2008 crisis. A few large managers did better than the rest but many investors remain skeptical. Among the better-placed fund...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Soft Lock-Up Fees Vary
Chidem Kurdas Managers’ need for long-term capital and investors’ aversion to irreversible long-term commitments, especially since the 2008 liquidity troubles, has resulted in a variety of “soft”...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Falcone Shuts Down Fund Slowly
Chidem Kurdas Philip Falcone, mired in persistent losses and legal problems, is liquidating one of his investment vehicles, Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations Fund. He’s taking his time with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pershing Square Double Gates, Expected IPO
Chidem Kurdas Activist investing requires long-term committed capital, something William Ackman apparently seeks to achieve through various means. One is a two-level gating structure, with a regular...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Asked to Vote, Some Walk
Fund managers sometimes seek their clients’ consent for changes in fund governance or policies. Often this is about routine matters such as the election of directors. But occasionally a manager wants...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Regulators Scrutinize FoF Products
Chidem Kurdas US Securities and Exchange Commission staff are apparently looking closely at the details of fund of funds offerings. One instance that emerged concerns products from Swiss-based fund of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Citadel Redemption Model Attracts Interest
Chidem Kurdas Citadel Investment Group may have found the right balance between clients’ desire not to have to wait too long to redeem with the need for stable capital that can be used for long-term...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stanford Beneficiaries Lose in Courts
Chidem Kurdas The political and investment beneficiaries of Allen Stanford’s Ponzi scheme have little recourse left in their efforts to keep the money they received from him. Yesterday a District Court...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Goldman Sachs Upholds Investor Differences
Chidem Kurdas A hedge fund investment vehicle managed by Goldman Sachs affirms the right to differentiate between groups of investors, either by issuing separate share classes or through side letters...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Long Afterlife of Credit Crisis Casualty
Chidem Kurdas The death of a hedge fund, unlike the end of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, takes a while. Often years. Even so, six years is long time for a dead hedge fund to linger on the books,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Eton Park Changes Leave Some Discontent
An attempt to placate investors by easing redemption terms may not have worked as expected by Eton Park chief Eric Mindich. At lest one large investor was opposed to the management’s proposal. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
SAC Exit Opportunity; Some Think Twice
Chidem Kurdas Beset by legal troubles severe enough to threaten its existence, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital retrenched but kept going. Some investors in the flagship, SAC Capital International, had a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Apollo Clients’ Long Wait
Apparently investors can get stuck in a fund for a significant time even when the assets are sellable. A fund managed by New York Stock Exchange-listed private equity group Apollo Global is an example...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lockups Enter Fee Concerns
Chidem Kurdas Many investors want to have reasonably expeditious access to their money. But high-return hedge fund strategies can require the passage of time. Such strategies are not successful if...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Distressed Debt Blurs Boundaries
Chidem Kurdas Large portfolios often contain one “bucket” for hedge funds – sometimes called liquid alternatives – and another for private equity. But increasingly the line between the two is hazy,...
View Article