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JTC acquires boutique asset manager based in Ireland

Hedgeweek Interviews - Tue, 09/21/2021 - 04:13
JTC acquires boutique asset manager based in Ireland Submitted 21/09/2021 - 10:13am

JTC has acquired Ballybunion Capital Limited (Ballybunion), a boutique asset manager based in Ireland. The initial consideration will be settled in cash and JTC equity. A further deferred consideration is available on the achievement of performance targets in the current year.

Founded in 2009, the Ballybunion provides management and regulatory oversight services to investment funds and offers ManCo services as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) as well as portfolio management and risk management solutions. 

Ballybunion has a strong reputation and its solutions based service offering has focused on the premium end of the market, covering both alternative and traditional asset classes, including private equity, loans, real estate, fixed income, ESG and life settlements. Ballybunion has been regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) since 2009 and received its AIFM ManCo authorisation in 2014.

Ballybunion is being acquired from its founder, Patrick O’Sullivan, who will remain with JTC in a leadership role focused on the development of its Irish funds business internationally, especially in North America. All Ballybunion’s management and other staff will join JTC, becoming part of the Institutional Client Services (ICS) Division, led by Jon Jennings. The transaction is subject to change of control and final regulatory approvals and is expected to complete by year end.

Ballybunion will substantially enhance JTC’s fund services presence in Ireland, providing ManCo and governance services for Irish domiciled funds, giving access to new clients and providing a platform from which to drive future growth in the strategically important Irish funds services market.

Earlier in 2021 JTC acquired INDOS Financial, a leading specialist provider of Depositary and other fund oversight services to the alternative funds industry. INDOS has a significant and complementary Irish presence

The funds market in Ireland has experienced strong growth over recent years with Irish domiciled funds amounting to c. USD3.3tn as of the end of 2020. The number of funds domiciled in Ireland is over double that of the UK and the gap is growing.

Continued growth in the Irish funds market is supported by a number of factors, including over 40 per cent of the world’s hedge funds being serviced from Ireland, the English speaking business environment, close cultural alignment with North America, robust legal, tax and regulatory frameworks and a thriving funds services community that includes legal, accounting and tax expertise. In addition, Brexit has made Ireland an increasingly attractive centre for fund domiciliation, as it benefits from access to an EU passport for investment funds, which facilitates the marketing of Irish funds throughout the 27 EU member states.

In the financial year ending 30 June 2020, Ballybunion delivered revenue of EUR1.8 million a 26 per cent increase from the previous year. The business will be accretive to earnings and achieves profits in line with JTC’s medium term guidance of 33 per cent to 38 per cent underlying EBITDA margin and benefits from an attractive cash generation profile. Growth in the business is expected to continue and will be supported by leveraging JTC’s scale, as well as combining Ballybunion’s suite of fund services with those of INDOS Financial. 

Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC, says: “Following our successful fund raise earlier this year, we are delighted to announce the acquisition of Ballybunion, which is a sophisticated and high quality ManCo in the strategically important Irish fund services market. The business has excellent alignment with our existing fund services business in Europe, as well as our expanding US practice. We welcome Patrick, his team and all Ballybunion clients and partners to the Group.”

Patrick O’Sullivan, founder and Managing Director of Ballybunion, says: “Having founded the business in 2009 and developed a successful solution driven AIFM business focused on long life cycle assets, now is the right time to find a partner with a global reach that will take us to the next level and ensure we continue to grow our Irish funds business and deliver a bespoke services in an ever more complex regulatory environment for investment funds. In JTC we have found a combination of strong cultural alignment and an incredibly well built global funds platform that will allow us to significantly accelerate our growth, as well as adding more value for our existing clients.”

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Turquoise Plato connects to OpenFin

Hedgeweek Interviews - Tue, 09/21/2021 - 03:19
Turquoise Plato connects to OpenFin Submitted 21/09/2021 - 9:19am

LSEG’s (London Stock Exchange Group) Turquoise Plato is connecting to OpenFin in response to the industry need for workflow efficiencies, application interoperability, and a more unified desktop experience for the buy-side and member firm users.

Turquoise has a proven track record in delivering innovation and liquidity opportunities to the market, with Turquoise Plato Block Discovery having seen record levels of block trading activity on Turquoise and Turquoise Europe in 2020. With this collaboration, Turquoise is continuing to deliver on its mission to identify efficient, collaborative operating models that reduce the implicit cost of trading, contribute to long-term investment returns and drive sustainable growth. 

Turquoise on OpenFin delivers an insightful data feed directly into trader workflows to support liquidity discovery and decision making processes leveraging OpenFin’s open architecture. The API passes FDC3 compliant Context objects, and makes use of OpenFin’s message bus to pass that data to OpenFin-enabled applications including visualisation tools, in-house and 3rd party applications.

Dr Robert Barnes, Group Head of Securities Trading & CEO of Turquoise Global Holdings, LSEG, says: “As a market operator, Turquoise is well positioned to bring the industry together around a common ambition: to collaborate, innovate and to improve efficiencies on traders’ desktops. This will not only support best execution efforts but also improve performance for end investors as it helps us reduce the slippage cost at the point of execution. We are delighted Turquoise® and Turquoise Europe™ are the first trading venues to connect to OpenFin and offer this new functionality to the buy-side.” 

Adam Toms, European CEO of OpenFin, says: “We are witnessing a continued shift towards more collaborative mindsets and platforms. With forward thinking firms such as Turquoise working with the industry to create solutions that make the financial desktop more intuitive, automated and powerful, firms can unlock the true potential of interoperability and contextual workflows on their financial desktop. Operational complexity and costs arising from bilateral integrations are fast becoming a thing of the past as users can now access the right tools and data sets, surfaced directly into their workflows, delivering powerful capabilities and tangible results.

“Collaboration and innovation are central to our mission to simplify app distribution, unify the digital workspace and enable seamless communication and workflows between applications. We are very excited to be working with Turquoise to bring new, visionary models of collaboration to life and to market.”

OpenFin provides a common web-based OS layer across the financial services industry to power next-generation applications and desktop experiences. OpenFin technology is deployed on 300,000 desktops across the industry, powering over 3,500 applications in more than 2,400 buy-side and sell-side firms in 60-plus countries.

FlexTrade Systems will be the first to deliver the Turquoise data feed into their flagship EMS via the OpenFin message bus. Traders can then act on that data, automate processes and take advantage of emerging liquidity opportunities. Built-in visualisation capabilities ensure the block trading activity from Turquoise Plato Order Books is easy to digest and subsequently interact with. 

Andy Mahoney, managing director EMEA at FlexTrade Systems, adds: “We are delighted to work with Turquoise and OpenFin to support liquidity discovery and execution opportunities, and bring tangible benefits to the buy-side trading desk. It helps our clients customise their execution workflows, perform optimally on every trade and achieve best execution without compromise.”

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OptionMetrics announces IvyDB Borrow Rate to assess short-selling opportunities and risks

Hedgeweek Interviews - Tue, 09/21/2021 - 03:16
OptionMetrics announces IvyDB Borrow Rate to assess short-selling opportunities and risks Submitted 21/09/2021 - 9:16am

OptionMetrics, an options database and analytics provider for institutional investors and academic researchers worldwide, has launched IvyDB Borrow Rate offering insights on the options-implied costs of short-selling individual securities computed intraday across maturities.

The new dataset gives institutional investors and academia valuable information to pinpoint short-selling pressure, analyse dynamic borrowing conditions, and improve research on short-selling positions.

Announcement of this new product comes as interest in short-selling (or borrowing shares of a stock to sell with hopes to buy it back cheaper) continues to grow, with GameStop and other meme stocks hitting trading highs earlier this year as just one example. Understanding dynamic borrowing costs is essential to analysing the risks involved with short-selling opportunities.

OptionMetrics’ new dataset includes borrow rates for every equity and ETF in the OPRA universe from January 2016 onward. Short rates are constructed for each maturity with arbitrage conditions across put-call pairs. Proprietary smoothing reduces noise from early exercise features and bid/ask spreads.

“At OptionMetrics, we have always been focused on giving institutional investors, traders, and academia the data they need to make the most informed decisions. With IvyDB Borrow Rate, we continue this tradition in providing the cleanest, most reliable data, which is straightforward and easy to interpret to assess risk,” says OptionMetrics CEO David Hait, PhD.

With over 20 years as the premier provider of historical options and implied volatility data, OptionMetrics also offers comprehensive options data for the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Canada, as well as settlement price data for the most liquid US futures.

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AlbaCore Capital Group makes three senior hires

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 09:20
AlbaCore Capital Group makes three senior hires Submitted 20/09/2021 - 3:20pm

European credit specialist AlbaCore Capital Group (AlbaCore) has made three senior hires to reinforce its Operations, Business Development and Investor Relations teams.

As part of the growth of the AlbaCore platform, investing across the European credit spectrum with USD8.5bn AUM, AlbaCore has bolstered its senior executive group. Jenny Fung is appointed as Managing Director of Investor Relations in New York to further expand global investor relationships and our commitment to the region. Tara Mulholland joins as Head of Business Transformation and Micaela Kelley as Deputy Chief Operating Officer to support Matthew Courey, Chief Operating Officer and Founding Partner.

Fung brings a wealth of financial services experience with 25 years in the industry. She joins from Taconic Capital, a global investment firm, where she was Director of Marketing and Investor Relations for 13 years, and prior to that at Bank of America, AIG and CSFB.

Mulholland will oversee an operational change programme across the firm, joining with 19 years’ experience from Cheyne Capital where she was a Partner and served as Head of Business Transformation, Chief Administrative Officer and Head of Operations.

Kelley joins with over 11 years of experience as a Chief Operating Officer with alternative funds. She joins from JNE Partners where she served as Partner and Chief Operating Officer following the spin-out from MSD Partners, and previously as Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Observatory Capital Management. Micaela has 17 years prior experience in prime brokerage and credit risk management at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Matthew Courey, Founding Partner and Chief Operating Officer at AlbaCore Capital Group, says: “We are excited to have Jenny, Tara and Micaela join the AlbaCore team. Their unique backgrounds and depth of experience will continue to drive our business and position our team optimally for the many opportunities ahead.”

David Allen, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at AlbaCore Capital Group, adds: “I am delighted that such high calibre executives have chosen to join the firm. We are proud of the talented team we have built at AlbaCore with 20 nationalities and a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences. Tara, Micaela and Jenny will further strengthen our ability to deliver for our investors across the credit spectrum”.

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Digital assets funds see inflows of USD42m

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 09:10
Digital assets funds see inflows of USD42m Submitted 20/09/2021 - 3:10pm

Digital asset investment products saw inflows totalling USD42 million last week, according to the latest Digital Asset Fund Flows weekly report from CoinShares.

Inflows were seen across all digital assets and signals what we believe to be continued improving sentiment amongst investors.

Bitcoin saw inflows of USD15 million, having suffered the most from negative investor sentiment recently with inflows in only three of the last 16 weeks. 

Solana, despite recovering from a network outage caused by a DDoS attack, saw inflows of USD4.8 million. This suggests investors were happy to shrug-off the attack, seeing it as teething problems rather than something more inherently problematic with the network.

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MATIC and ETH added to Umbria Network’s Narni cross-chain bridge

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 09:00
MATIC and ETH added to Umbria Network’s Narni cross-chain bridge Submitted 20/09/2021 - 3:00pm

Umbria’s ultra-low-cost liquidity bridge now supports ETH and MATIC in addition to USDT and UMBR. 

Using Narni, the native tokens for the Ethereum and Polygon networks can be transferred exceptionally quickly and cheaply cross-chain. ETH, which was launched first, can be bridged from the Ethereum to Polygon Network for as little as USD2.56 in gas, which is significantly less than other bridges. This has caused the Narni Bridge to be adopted rapidly by many DeFi participants and has especially caught the attention of the Zed Run community, who had previously been hampered by prohibitively expensive gas fees. 
 
Another considerable advantage of the Narni Bridge is the APY it pays liquidity providers. Its ‘Pool and Earn’ function enables users to lend their MATIC and ETH (and other assets) to the bridge and earn APY when other participants bridge that specific token between networks. Anyone currently providing ETH to the Polygon pool has received up to an astounding 70 per cent APY with no impermanent loss.
 
“We’re seeing great momentum now with the Narni bridge and a very pleasing increase in Total Value Locked (TVL). Lots of people are bridging, which in turn attracts more liquidity providers who are enticed by the interest they can earn on the asset they supply,” says Oscar Chambers, Co-lead developer of Umbria. “More chains and assets are coming online imminently; we’d love to hear from the DeFi community about what they’d like to see next on the Narni Bridge.”

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CME Group launches first-ever sustainable derivatives clearing service

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 08:58
CME Group launches first-ever sustainable derivatives clearing service Submitted 20/09/2021 - 2:58pm

CME Group has launched what it says is the derivatives industry’s first-ever Sustainable Clearing service to help market participants track and report on how their hedging activities are advancing their sustainability goals. 

The service will be available from 27 September, 2021.
 
Sustainable derivatives encompass both the trading of products such as carbon offsets, battery metals and bioenergy as well as interest rate and foreign exchange futures hedging activity that is carried out to support a sustainable business.
 
“Sustainability continues to be an increasing priority for our global clients as they significantly expand both the risk management that they provide to green businesses and environmental projects,” says Julie Winkler, Chief Commercial Officer, CME Group. “This new framework for clearing sustainable derivatives will make it easier for our clients to measure the impact of their support for sustainable activities and can be part of the solution to encourage further growth in this key sector as the economy transitions to net-zero emissions.”
 
“This innovative clearing offering makes it simple for firms to track their sustainable derivatives positions by seamlessly integrating reporting into their existing workflows,” says Sunil Cutinho, President, CME Clearing. “Our solution ensures that all sustainable trades continue to benefit from our established risk management approach, including full margin offsets where applicable, which creates efficiencies for clients and end users.”
 
“As the bank for a changing world, we consider it our duty to assist our clients in reaching their sustainable related goals through the Sustainable Clearing service,” says Raphael Masgnaux, Global Head of Prime Solutions and Financing and G10 Rates, BNP Paribas.
 
“As a firm believer in how finance can catalyse a positive impact on our environment, Standard Chartered is delighted to have contributed to CME’s Sustainable Clearing solution and support the sustainable agenda of market participants,” says Mick Hill, Global Product Owner, Exchange Traded Derivatives, Standard Chartered Bank.
 
All participating futures commission merchants will be provided with Sustainable Clearing eligibility criteria to identify and tag their sustainable trades. The eligibility criteria will be aligned to external standards, such as the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) Social & Green Bond Principles. CME Group will be ‘criteria neutral’ to ensure that only independent third-party standards are applied.
 
The criteria and governance of Sustainable Clearing will be administered by CME Benchmark Administration Limited, an independent legal entity within CME Group, that manages and operates the company’s benchmarks and indices. A robust governance framework and an inclusive criteria committee based on ICMA principles will ensure that Sustainable Clearing operates with integrity and transparency, staying close to relevant standards in the industry as they evolve and mature.

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Soaring natural gas prices boost trend-following hedge fund Drury Capital

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 08:06
Soaring natural gas prices boost trend-following hedge fund Drury Capital Submitted 20/09/2021 - 2:06pm

The recent surge in natural gas prices is helping to generate eye-catching returns for Drury Capital, the long-running US trend-following hedge fund firm led by former grain trader Bernard Drury.

The firm’s flagship strategy, the Diversified Trend-Following Program, has advanced 30 per cent in 2021, powered both by the recent rebound in commodity prices as well as rising interest rates earlier in the year.

The fund’s investment portfolio is split evenly between financials and commodities in a number of long and short duration instruments. The strategy has made gains in equities indices, as well as long bets in aluminium, natural gas, grains, copper, and selected fixed income trades.

Historic price moves in coffee amid production concerns in Vietnam, which has been hit by Covid-related labour shortages, have also added to performance.

At the same time, Drury’s Multi-Strategy Futures Program, which launched last year, is also up 15.5 per cent year-to-date.

By comparison, the Société Générale Trend-Following Index is up 9.23 per cent over the same period, while another key industry benchmark, the SocGen CTA Index has added 6.5 per cent.

Bernard Drury, founder and CEO of Drury Capital, said every sector traded has proved profitable for the firm this year.

“The early year profits came from trades in rising interest rates, such as bonds and FX, and upward moves in the copper, aluminium and grain markets that were largely pandemic-recovery trades,” he observed, noting the recent “noteworthy” moves in natural gas have helped sustain performance in recent weeks.

“We aim to identify directional opportunities while being disciplined about preserving capital. As well, at times we may provide exposures that investors might otherwise not have.”

Since launching in May 1997, Drury Capital’s Diversified Trend Following Program has generated an annualised rate of return of 9.79 per cent.

“The biggest advantage is the flexibility built into our strategy,” said Bill Miller, Drury’s global head of sales and marketing. “The diversification and detailed analysis by the programme has delivered a strong investment strategy for our investors. The CTA space is now one of the strongest and most compelling narratives available to investors.”

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Dallas-based investment advisor sees increasing HNW interest in credit strategies

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 06:12
Dallas-based investment advisor sees increasing HNW interest in credit strategies Submitted 20/09/2021 - 12:12pm

High-net-worth clients from in and around the Southern United States are continuing to favour allocations to an array of niche credit strategies, according to a Dallas-based investment advisor.

Ken Shoji, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at View Capital Advisors, told Hedgeweek: “In credit, we allocate across the board.” Adding: “We’ve been very selective in looking at niche credit strategies, areas like US non-agency mortgages, US bank trust preferred, high-yield bonds, bank loans, emerging market debt, structured credit – niche parts of the US credit markets.”

View Capital advises on USD1.4 billion for a small group of multi-generational families who are mainly based in Texas and the surrounding Southern United States, such as Louisiana. An estimated quarter of the firm’s clients are based internationally, predominantly in Mexico, and their average client’s portfolio is USD10 million. 

Shoji explained that despite the uptick of interest in credit, View Capital takes a cautious approach in reviewing new funds in the space, owing to expenses and elevated valuations, but also describes these strategies as often “less trafficked and less vulnerable to institutional capital coming in to compress returns.”

Elsewhere in the hedge fund space, View Capital has also recently started to consider recommending long-short equity strategies, after a period of skepticism due to the difficulty of finding successful managers.

Shoji stated that current hedge fund allocations are mainly invested in multi-strategy and multi-manager companies, such as Millennium Management, Point72 Asset Management, Balyasny International Asset Management and Elliott Management Corporation, which generate consistent returns with very little outright market risk. 

Shoji explained that View Capital creates unique opportunities for its clients through a specialised research team which investigates less obvious areas of investment which have better return risk profiles. 

In the past, the firm has recommended investments in operating assets including: aircraft leasing, rail cars, shipping, cell towers, industrial cold storage, as well as litigation finance, music royalties, film finance, life settlements and catastrophe reinsurance. 

The firm’s wealthiest clients use the endowment model and focus on private investments or alternatives. Shoji commented: “It could be as much as 40 or 50 per cent allocated to alternatives, including hedge funds, private equity, private real estate, and private credit.” 

Shoji stated that his clients’ current main concerns are skewed valuations and overpaying for assets. He remembered how, during the Covid-19 pandemic, View Capital “held their clients’ hands” throughout this stressful financial period, and took advantage of opportunities which came up, while simultaneously protecting its clients’ capital. 

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Syz Capital white labelling partnership reaches new milestone

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 04:15
Syz Capital white labelling partnership reaches new milestone Submitted 20/09/2021 - 10:15am

Launched in October 2019, the tailored product managed by alternatives provider SYZ Capital, in partnership with Banca March has reached the symbolic milestone of EUR200 million of assets under management – effectively doubling in a year. 

The fund has also made, since its October 2019 inception, an annualised return of 5.4 per cent while enjoying an exceptional 1.3 Sharpe ratio, leading its peer group.

Managed by a team led by veteran fund manager Cédric Vuignier, head of liquid alternative managed funds, OYSTER BM Alternativos invests in select equity hedge, event driven, macro and relative value strategies with the aim of providing resilience to market sell-offs. 

“We’ve been particularly strong on a risk-adjusted basis thanks to our actively managed approach. The liquidity terms of the alternative UCITS vehicles have allowed us to be dynamic in difficult environments,” explains Vuignier.

Such rapid growth is the result of an excellent work dynamic between the partner institutions, clear client communication by the front office, as well as the privileged access Syz Capital has historically enjoyed with some of the best fund managers in this space.

Juan Antonio Roche González, member of the Banca March executive, says: “Alternative investments are the quintessence of the active management in which Banca March deeply believes. This vision came together in 2019 when we agreed to launch a formula with Banque Syz to create a key offering for client portfolios – one that bonds are no longer able to satisfy. This natural partnership, between two family-owned specialists, had the best possible test navigating through the Covid months, when transparency and market insight were essential. The outcome could not be better: bold performance and outstanding AuM. We look forward to the opportunities to come.”

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Apex Group launches Carbon Footprint Assessment & Reporting service

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 03:51
Apex Group launches Carbon Footprint Assessment & Reporting service Submitted 20/09/2021 - 9:51am

Apex Group Ltd (Apex), a global financial services provider, has launched a Carbon Footprint Assessment & Reporting service to meet growing market demand. 

The new offering helps funds and companies to measure the sources of emissions, implement plans to reduce their carbon footprint and provide a mechanism to offset any residual emissions.
 
The launch coincides with new global research by Apex which found that 91 per cent of private equity leaders believe that Climate Change is an urgent issue, and 81 per cent agree that they and their portfolio companies should take greater responsibility for their carbon footprint.
 
Despite that, the survey revealed that at present just half of Private Equity firms measure the carbon footprint of their investments or offset their carbon emissions.
 
Carbon neutrality is seen as an achievable goal by those that took part, with 55 per cent saying that they have plans underway, with a further 45 percent holding aspirations to achieve carbon neutrality but don’t yet have plans underway.
 
Nearly three quarters agree or strongly agree (74 per cent) that a carbon reduction plan would advantage their key stakeholders, such as employees, institutional investors and clients.
 
In response to this clear market need, Apex has launched a Carbon Footprint Assessment and Reporting service. This unique offering quantifies and reports on a company’s Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by collecting all relevant data on a secure ESG online software platform to simplify the reporting requirements and seamlessly calculate a carbon footprint. Reports can be used to identify and manage major sources of emissions, whilst aligning with the reporting requirements of key standards and regulations.
 
The platform uses over 1 million individual emission factors from the latest data sources and follows industry best practice reporting standards and regulations, such as the TCFD, CDP, GHG Protocol, SFDR, DEFRA, EPA and more, to understand and quantify a company’s carbon footprint and potential commercial risks.
 
This proprietary platform is also supported by a team of analysts to offer advice, guidance and support throughout the process. A key component of this is the recommendation of verified carbon offsetting project and schemes, so that businesses can offset any residual and unavoidable emissions to achieve carbon neutrality.
 
Andy Pitts-Tucker, Managing Director, Apex ESG Ratings & Advisory, comments: “Beyond the moral and fiducial argument for reducing carbon emissions, there are now increasing commercial and regulatory pressures creating new risks to the bottom line. All companies must quantify and understand their carbon footprint in order to create and articulate an action plan to reduce their carbon emissions – and this new tool provides our clients with an efficient, accurate and accessible way to achieve this.”
 
Peter Hughes, CEO and Founder of Apex Group adds: “I feel strongly that climate change is not an issue to be solved by politicians alone, we as private companies and individuals all have a responsibility to take immediate action to understand and reduce our impact on the environment. The pressure on businesses and investors is gathering momentum and will be accelerated by all world leaders meeting at the UN COP26 this November. The time to drive positive and measurable change is now.”

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Kneip appoints Chief Operating Officer

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 03:25
Kneip appoints Chief Operating Officer Submitted 20/09/2021 - 9:25am

Kneip, a specialist in fund data management, has appointed Cyril Molitor as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). 

Molitor brings 20 years’ industry experience, having occupied several senior positions at leading financial services institutions, including HSBC, Credit Suisse and AXA. He was most recently the CEO of Woven, a leading outsourcing provider, where he drove technological innovation and delivered service excellence to its clients. Prior to this, he was the Chief Transformation Officer and Director at Innovation Group Business Services, a leading InsureTech company which he set up in South Africa. Molitor is an experienced and accomplished leader with an impressive background in driving innovation and running operations in financial services and private equity backed businesses. He graduated from Reims Management School with an MSc in Management. 

Based in Kneip’s Luxembourg office, Molitor will be responsible for Operations and Technology. In his capacity he will be driving the company’s operational strategy. He joins Kneip as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, reporting to the CEO, Enrique Sacau.

Molitor, Chief Operating Officer of Kneip, says: “This is a truly exciting time for me to be joining Kneip. Over nearly three decades, Kneip has built a world class reputation for delivering innovative products and solutions for some of the biggest names in the fund industry. I am thrilled to be joining an ambitious executive team, and I look forward to delivering outstanding client experience and building the structures that will support the next stage of Kneip’s expansion.”

Kneip’s CEO, Enrique Sacau says: “Cyril’s appointment reflects our commitment to innovate and deliver exceptional service for our clients. We are thrilled that he is joining our team at an important time in our company’s development as we embark on the next stage of Kneip’s growth. His impressive track record in operations and technology gives Cyril the perfect experience to drive innovation and deliver high value to our business and to our clients.”

With Molitor’s arrival, Kneip’s current COO, Mario Mantrisi, who had stepped in the role a year ago, becomes responsible for market development with an emphasis to grow Kneip in new markets. As the newly appointed Strategy Director, Mantrisi retains his role as a member of Kneip’s Executive Leadership Team.

Kneip’s CEO, Enrique Sacau, says: “Mario took over Client Services last year and leaves Cyril a transformed operation. Thanks to his exceptional knowledge of our product, our clients, and our regulatory environment he will now have the opportunity again to grow Kneip.”

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Montréal Exchange extends trading hours to Asia Pacific time zones

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 03:24
Montréal Exchange extends trading hours to Asia Pacific time zones Submitted 20/09/2021 - 9:24am

Montréal Exchange (MX), Canada’s derivatives exchange, has launched the next phase of its extended trading hours initiative, offering investors in the Asia Pacific region the opportunity to manage their exposure to Canadian markets and execute cross-market strategies in their local time, almost 24 hours a day.

"We are extremely excited to launch this new phase of MX's globalisation strategy, as we continue to push the evolution of our markets and address the increasing global demand for Canadian derivatives," says Luc Fortin, President and Chief Executive Officer of MX and Global Head of Trading, TMX Group. “In keeping with the trend of global capital flows, pension funds in Asia have significantly increased their international exposure and we are encouraged by the strong engagement we have seen from investors and participants in the region to date. Canada offers a compelling value proposition for investors and around the world: access to highly-liquid, world-class markets and a leading global economy. As we move forward, extended trading hours better aligns MX with our global peers, increases international visibility and connects us to more clients.”

Following the successful launch of MX’s extended hours initiative in 2018 with trading on London time, international investors now have increased access to Canada’s markets. The availability of MX’s products during Asia's business hours will enable investors and risk managers to trade Canada’s benchmark products on a relative value basis against additional markets, including Australia and Japan. The extended trading hours initiative is also intended to accelerate MX’s global expansion plans, by diversifying its client base and developing new centres of liquidity.

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C8 Technologies launches China gateway vehicle for institutional investors

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 03:23
C8 Technologies launches China gateway vehicle for institutional investors Submitted 20/09/2021 - 9:23am

C8, a fintech platform that offers investors the ability to use direct indexing across all liquid asset classes and investment styles, has launched a China Futures Access vehicle for offshore investors. 

The strategy, used by C8’s Chinese onshore clients since 2018, provides institutional investors access to some of the world’s fastest developing futures markets via up to 50 commodity contracts.
 
The pace of innovation in China’s futures markets is accelerating, particularly in the commodity complex. Recent developments include the launch of the Guangzhou Futures Exchange in April 2021, China’s fifth futures exchange, focused on environmental products including carbon futures which are seen as a critical component of meeting net zero commitments.
 
Similarly, China is committed to further opening its capital markets to overseas investors. The extension of the QFII programme to allow the inclusion of futures is a good illustration, as is the introduction of the country’s first Futures Law which provides a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework governing the operation of the futures markets in mainland China.
 
C8 is committed to being at the forefront of these many developments, offering institutional investors early access to the opportunities they present. The China Futures Access programme is diversified by market, investment style, risk profile and trade frequency. It is designed to remove uncertainty from the portfolio of forecasts by cross-fertilising ideas from disparate fields, such as:
 
Statistical signal processing
Machine learning, pattern recognition and data mining
Exploratory data analysis
Robust optimisation
Macro- and micro-economics
Technology and software engineering
The programme is directional with positions are dimensioned in proportion to the expected return in any given asset
Positions are dimensioned inversely to prevailing levels of volatility 
 
Mattias Eriksson, Co-founder and CEO of C8 Technologies, says: “The recent Draft Futures Law, which sets out trading and settlement principles that are consistent with international markets, is a vital step in the development and growth of these markets which are evolving quickly. As the world’s largest consumer of many major commodities, China is incentivised to improve its attraction and influence as a key trading centre.
 
“Professional investors have long faced barriers to entry but, as the many signals of market development indicate, this is changing. That is why we are committed to offering our clients innovative products that allow them to gain early exposure to this opportunity set. Our China Futures Access index acts as a gateway through which investors access this exciting market in a risk-adjusted manner.”

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Alderwood Capital appoints new Partner

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 03:16
Alderwood Capital appoints new Partner Submitted 20/09/2021 - 9:16am

Alderwood Capital (Alderwood), a London-based fund manager, has appointed Cathy Jones as a Partner and a member of its Investment Committee.

A senior human capital executive, Jones focuses on all aspects of high value performance management in the asset management sector, with a particular emphasis on succession planning, understanding how investment teams interact and make successful decisions, and sustaining thriving cultures. Alderwood’s investment process places a heavy reliance on understanding the leadership and investment ‘DNA’ of its target businesses and Jones will lead this effort.  
 
Jones was previously a Partner at Northill Capital where she worked alongside existing Alderwood Partners Jon Little, Rick Potter, Jeremy Bassil and Ryan Sinnott as they built the business from start up to over USD91 billion of assets under management. Prior to this, she was at BNY Mellon for almost a decade where she served as Human Resources Director for the Asset Servicing division in EMEA, managing a 60-strong team looking after over 5,000 employees. Cathy has also held a number of non-executive board roles in recent years, including at Securis Investments Partners, Vantage Infrastructure Holdings and Strategic Investment Management.

Jon Little, Managing Partner of Alderwood Capital, says: “Cathy has a unique understanding of the boutique asset management sector and what makes the people within it ‘tick’. Her knowledge and experience is a key ingredient of our intensive investment process and we’re all delighted to be working with her again. Cathy’s skills and deep experience will be invaluable to the business as we continue to grow and build out our investment portfolio of focused, active managers.”

Jones' appointment is the latest senior hire to join the experienced team at the rapidly expanding Alderwood Capital, which seeks to provide patient capital to specialist boutique active managers through investment in GP (General Partner) stakes. The senior team boasts a 20 year track record of investing across almost every major asset class in the asset management industry in 14 countries around the globe.
 
The appointment is effective 6 September and Cathy will be based in Alderwood’s London office in Covent Garden.

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Bitfinex Derivatives to launch algorand, ripple, bitcoin perpetual swaps

Hedgeweek Interviews - Mon, 09/20/2021 - 03:14
Bitfinex Derivatives to launch algorand, ripple, bitcoin perpetual swaps Submitted 20/09/2021 - 9:14am

Bitfinex Derivatives, a derivatives platform accessible through the Bitfinex digital token trading platform, has launched perpetual contracts for algorand, and ripple bitcoin.

Algorand (ALGOF0:USTF0) and ripple, bitcoin (XRPF0:BTCF0) offer users up to 100x leverage and will be settled in tether tokens (USDt) and bitcoin (BTC), respectively.

“We’re delighted to announce the addition of algorand and ripple, bitcoin to the growing portfolio of perpetual swaps available to trade on the exchange,” says Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex Derivatives. “We anticipate great interest in these products, particularly among funds and professional investors for hedging purposes and to manage risk.”

Bitfinex Derivatives platform and products are only available in eligible jurisdictions, and are exclusive to verified users.

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Japan-focused activist Nippon Active Value forces Sakai Ovex into management buyout

Hedgeweek Interviews - Fri, 09/17/2021 - 08:33
Japan-focused activist Nippon Active Value forces Sakai Ovex into management buyout Submitted 17/09/2021 - 2:33pm

Nippon Active Value, a Japan-focused activist fund strategy, has pushed through a management buyout of Sakai Ovex, a Fukui-based dye and textiles company, following an almost year-long engagement campaign, generating a 102.5 per cent return on the position.

Nippon Active Value, which is advised by Rising Sun Management, realised more than double its original investment in Sakai Ovex as a result of the buyout, which is the first and only example this year of a public company in Japan engaged by activists being taken private.

“The untapped value of the business was something we identified immediately and the valuation of the MBO justifies our approach to engaging Sakai Ovex’s management and proposing a restructuring,” said Paul ffolkes Davis, chairman of investment adviser Rising Sun Management.

The activist strategy aims to capitalise on Japanese corporate governance reforms and the forthcoming Tokyo Stock Exchange reorganisation in April next year, along with low valuations, in order to generate outsized, uncorrelated equity returns.

Specifically, it targets small-cap, under-researched, publicly-quoted Japanese stocks which show rising balance sheet cash reserves using a range of corporate reorganisation strategies that can improve shareholder value, boost share prices and generate investor returns.

The Nippon Active Value Fund built a stake of more than 6 per cent in Sakai Ovex by early 2021 before launching a campaign to encourage the company’s management to conduct an MBO, arguing that the firm was significantly undervalued by the market.

In June, NAVF proposed an MBO at JPY2350 (USD21.35) per share, which in turn led to the company’s own tender offer at JPY3810 (USD34.61), crystallising a 102.5 per cent gain on the position for the fund.

“The Japanese market offers ample investment opportunities for NAVF and we will look to build more momentum following this successful exit,” ffolkes Davis added. “This is just the beginning of our activity in the country.”

Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Author Profile Hugh Leask Employee title Editor, Hedgeweek Twitter Linkedin Related Topics Funds

New white paper outlines best practices in private credit responsible investment strategies

Hedgeweek Interviews - Fri, 09/17/2021 - 03:45
New white paper outlines best practices in private credit responsible investment strategies Submitted 17/09/2021 - 9:45am

Benefit Street Partners (BSP), a credit-focused alternative asset management firm and a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, and Malk Partners (Malk), an adviser to private markets on ESG and impact investing, have published a co-authored white paper detailing environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) integration and considerations in the private credit investment process.

The white paper, “ESG Integration in Private Credit,” provides a practitioner’s guide to imbuing ESG into a manager’s initial underwriting diligence and demonstrating why applying an ESG approach alongside other operational, legal, and commercial diligence may lead to better risk-adjusted investments. The paper includes supporting case studies and outlines ESG criteria for companies to consider.
 
BSP’s Managing Director, Allison Davi, says: “Private credit managers have faced challenges integrating ESG considerations into the investment process in a meaningful way given the limited ESG data available, as well as not having the same influence or access to information as controlling equity owners. We believe that the best way to integrate ESG into our investment process is by partnering with an independent ESG specialist who can diligence opportunities alongside our investment team and present findings without bias. Utilising this additional information, we can work to develop better ESG data which will drive constructive dialogue and better investment decisions.”
 
“It’s a really exciting time to be working at the intersection of Private Credit and ESG,” says Chase Jordan, Vice President at Malk. “I think ESG is a management system revolution. It has evolved from being a fringe set of considerations to the mainstream way of mitigating operational risk and capturing additional value. The old paradigm of ‘ESG is just an equity owner’s concern’ has successfully been challenged. Creditors are stepping up alongside PE sponsors and management teams to advance these best practices. Malk thoroughly reviews risk factors and conducts asset-level analyses to give credit managers a more comprehensive view into a company’s risk profile, which then results in a more confident investment.”
 
BSP partners with Malk in order to establish consistent and rigorous underwriting practices, enhance existing monitoring efforts, and position its commitment to ESG integration as a competitive advantage. Some of the topics examined in the white paper are:
 
• Why management of ESG risks from an asset-level evaluation is often preferable to an industry-level analysis;

• How company-specific analysis with ESG criteria gives credit managers an expanded perspective on investment risk;

• A view on the future state of ESG in private credit, and the challenges the industry faces.

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How EJF Capital is positioning for inflation as central bank moves recalibrate market dynamic

Hedgeweek Interviews - Fri, 09/17/2021 - 03:31
How EJF Capital is positioning for inflation as central bank moves recalibrate market dynamic Submitted 17/09/2021 - 9:31am

EJF Capital, which invests long-only and long/short in both equities and credit across the financial services spectrum, believes it is well-placed to navigate the evolving investment landscape, as inflation looms large over markets and the European Central Bank begins winding down its emergency bond-buying pandemic support programme.

Peter Stage (pictured), EJF Capital’s co-senior managing director in Europe, said inflation continues to be a “topic du jour” across markets, with much of the investment landscape for the remainder of 2021 set to be dominated by central bank policy decisions.

But he added that the USD9.5 billion financials-focused alternative asset manager – which invests in both credit and equities across a broad spectrum of financial services spanning banks, insurance and specialty finance firms – can capitalise on the shifting market dynamic.

“As a portfolio manager, what we are trying to grapple with is how we position ourselves to seize opportunities and mitigate any risks we see down the line,” Stage told Hedgeweek.

“The policy overlay is going to be very important. When will they start to taper? How aggressively? There’s still a debate around when the US might move. So the question over whether inflation will be transitory or permanent and the implication for rates will continue to be a live debate, and people will position either for or against.”

Earlier this month, the ECB announced it will start reducing its emergency bond purchases from the fourth quarter onwards, signalling the start of a winding down of its EUR1.85 trillion (USD2.18 trillion) Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) scheduled to run until March next year.

The move to unwind the stimulus – which has bolstered the bloc’s economy over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic – comes as inflation rises and markets continue to rebound.

“I think they’ve done the right thing,” says Stage, who is responsible for identifying and managing investment opportunities across European fixed income, equity and private markets at EJF with a focus on banking and specialty finance.

“I think they should taper the pandemic response element, because they need to signal that we are through the worst of the pandemic.

“Broadly, we clearly see far less inflationary impulse in Europe than we do in the US or the UK. So, I would not be surprised to see some form of replacement, called something else, when the PEPP actually rolls off, because the big question over inflation right now is whether it’s transitory or persistent – and that’s a very difficult question to answer and the ECB clearly thinks we need to generate more inflationary impulse in Europe.

“However, it doesn’t take much of a change in perception for rate markets to move dramatically. At such low levels, even a modest change is a large percentage change, so we are very conscious of that.”

In Europe, the London-based manager has a particular focus on unique, smaller, less well-known issuers where the firm looks to generate high-yields in assets which can make mark-to-market gains.

“We have a nuanced approach to credit investing in the financials space. That gives us a lower correlation to the market in general, which is part of what we’re seeking,” he added.

While credit assets may be expected to be impacted more by higher inflation than equities owing to their fixed coupon, Stage believes the higher returns offered by EJF provide a greater buffer against mark-to-market moves and any inflation risk if it materialises.

“Our assets are returning higher so on a relative basis we think they are better protected. That doesn’t mean we are complacent, but we believe they are better protected than many generic credit assets,” he added.

“The market is still very open, despite the fact there may be some inflationary discussion, and it’s very much a sellers’ market for large benchmark issuers. For our bonds, which are more off-the-run, smaller, more nuanced and more niche, the relative value that they display is even more attractive and gives them more defensibility and upside.”

Expanding on this point, Stage said: “Our approach is to forge links with small banks, insurance companies and specialty finance players and create assets that otherwise might not ordinarily exist, but which makes sense for them – whether it’s achieving their regulatory requirements, or help them achieve good funding, which means they're not forced to raise equity.

“This gives us a good returning asset that has the chance to reprice through time as the catalyst plays out.”

This, he observed, offers lower correlations to broader market assets because the returns do not simply hinge on beta. “Rather, it’s dependent on whether you’ve created an asset with catalysts that can be realised.”

In equities, meanwhile, Stage said a degree of inflation is a “positive”, but stressed the ECB’s decision will likely stave off a rise in the near-term, adding that the firm’s positioning in equities is informed more by idiosyncratic catalysts at individual companies.

“Inflation should lead to higher rates, and higher rates are generally good for banks, insurance companies and also specialty finance in many instances,” he said.

“However, we’re not relying on that in Europe – because that will need time to come through, and the ECB is really signalling ‘lower for longer’. Instead, when we buy bank equities in Europe we’re looking for catalysts other than rates.”

These include capital return, in the form of dividend payouts and buy-backs, he added.

“If you look at our portfolio, and what we’re doing, it does display an element of lower correlation to the broader market, and that is definitely attractive to allocators,” he explains.
 

Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Author Profile Hugh Leask Employee title Editor, Hedgeweek Twitter Linkedin Related Topics Investments

New DiligenceVault white paper explores 'How RFPs and DDQs Get Done'

Hedgeweek Interviews - Fri, 09/17/2021 - 03:14
New DiligenceVault white paper explores 'How RFPs and DDQs Get Done' Submitted 17/09/2021 - 9:14am

DiligenceVault, a digital diligence platform that delivers data collection and information exchange solutions for asset owners, allocators and fund managers, has released its latest white paper entitled "2021 Manager Survey: How RFPs and DDQs Get Done." 

The paper presents the results of its recent survey of over 170 private equity, hedge and long-only managers fund managers exploring how marketing, investor relations and compliance professionals are optimising their staffing, processes and technologies to meet the due diligence needs of the allocator community.

The primary areas of focus for the survey are centred around Investor Requests and Team Sizes, Consultant vs Third-Party Database Engagement, Industry Standard and Custom Questionnaires and dedicated RFP/DDQ Technology.  Points of interest from the survey include:

• On average, 32 per cent of allocators will accept a pre-filled, industry standard DDQ

• Nearly 60 per cent of allocators send a custom DDQ to managers for them to fill out

• 12 per cent of managers with AUM between USD1 billion to USD10 billion receive between 100-500 RFPs/DDQs requests a year. That number jumps significantly, though, to 40 per cent for managers in the USD10 billion to USD50 billion AUM range. 

• 40 per cent of managers with AUM between USD10 billion-USD50 billion use a dedicated RFP/DDQ technology to respond to investor requests. 64 per cent of managers with AUM between USD50 billion-USD100 billion and 71 per cent with AUM over USD100 billion do the same.

Monel Amin, Founder and CEO of DiligenceVault, says: "As both allocators and fund managers continue to look for efficiencies across their organisations, the manager research and due diligence process is also benefiting from advancements in technology. With the increasing deluge of information requests from the investor community, fund managers have begun to recognise that better tools are needed to optimise their communication with investors to win new business. DiligenceVault has developed an industry-leading set of solutions for fund managers to help them better organise their content, track information requests, collaborate across the organisation, and respond to investors quicker and easier."

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