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European law firm Fieldfisher launches merger arbitrage desk
With the recent arrival of experienced antitrust and M&A lawyer Miguel Vaz, European law firm Fieldfisher is now providing a "one-stop-shop" service to a number of top tier investors and hedge funds, focused on risk-adjusted merger arbitrage investment opportunities.
"Merger arbitrage investors need to understand the antitrust and other regulatory risks that may affect the outcome of M&A deals so they can make informed investment decisions," says Vaz. "In this type of market, success is determined by identifying and assessing regulatory issues and other risk factors quickly, precisely and with access to quality information."
Fieldfisher's Merger Arbitrage team covers the full spectrum of the arbitrage legal risk, from competition/antitrust approvals to national security and other sector specific regulatory clearances.
"The team is a one-stop-shop for investors wanting to understand regulatory risks associated with M&A deals and draws on the sector expertise of Fieldfisher's network of offices and competition lawyers across Europe - including in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain – the US and Asia," says Vaz.
"Whenever needed, Fieldfisher's merger arbitrage desk also relies on a network of national experts, who are able to provide first hand regulatory, economic and political insights into key regulated sectors of activity for example energy, life sciences, technology or finance, offering a deep understanding of the regulatory landscape of each."
Overbond launches AI-driven rich-cheap fixed income model
Overbond has added a rich-cheap model to its suite of AI fixed income analytics, allowing buy-side desks around the globe to generate systematic return with a real-time, fully back-tested methodology that is part of a scalable and interoperable trading system.
We’re in a long-running environment of low-rates, tight credit spreads and low secondary-market liquidity. In this new landscape, electronic trading and the use of AI for trade automation have become the new standard and investors are increasingly turning to quant trading and AI in fixed income to increase alpha.
This increased electronification of the markets has created a large amount of useable and accessible real-time and historic trade data that can be aggregated by clients to use for analysis by cutting-edge AI tools. This new generation of AI is being used to perform sophisticated relative value analysis, including enhanced rich-cheap analysis
“Overbond has harnessed AI and the wealth of new transaction information to bring quantitative trading to buy-side desks through an enhanced rich-cheap model. This new model provides insight well beyond the traditional rich-cheap analysis and is more powerful than what can be created through spreadsheet methods or factor analysis alone,” says Vuk Magdelinic, CEO of Overbond.
Combining both static and dynamic analysis of multiple factors with AI, Overbond’s rich-cheap model provides a quantitative method for screening for mispriced fixed income securities. It’s a mean-reversion valuation model designed to pre-identify bonds as rich ‘sell’ and cheap ‘purchase’ candidates based on proprietary Overbond valuation metrics and AI non-linear optimisation.
CloudMargin expands network to include nearly 60 custodians
CloudMargin, creator of a collateral and margin management solution native to the cloud, has made enhancements to facilitate clients’ preparedness for the Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR) for firms that have just fallen under the scope of Phase 5 or will fall under the scope of Phase 6 as of next September.
The firm is now connected to nearly 60 custodians globally for cash, securities and third-party SWIFT settlement, in addition to its long-established SWIFT connectivity to the four major triparty agents.
In January 2016, CloudMargin became the first collateral management technology provider to offer direct connectivity to SWIFT’s global network of financial institutions.
CloudMargin clients and their partners are able to leverage the network of custodians out-of-the-box. They can issue instructions automatically, with real-time settlement status consumed back into the platform, allowing firms to maintain tight control of their risk and liquidity as they meet their new margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives.
Simon Millington, CloudMargin Head of Business Development, says: “We successfully onboarded a whole host of clients that fell under the scope of Phase 5 onto UMR-ready features to ensure compliance in time for the 1 September deadline that just passed. A number of these clients wanted to connect to custodians, and we anticipate this will be a growing trend as we move into Phase 6 that impacts so many more firms. By continually adding custodians to our market-leading network, we’ll help our clients meet the challenges of connecting not only to their third-party custodian of choice but also to those of their counterparties for UMR. For banks, in particular, with a large number of in-scope counterparties, this capability can significantly reduce the connectivity burden. For the buy side there is also significant appeal; they can leverage our triparty connectivity for their bank counterparty relationships, and we likely are already connected to their custodians.”
Millington adds that UMR readiness can take time, and CloudMargin can help Phase 6 firms take steps immediately to ensure they have put all of the proper procedures in place for a smooth transition.
Hedge funds surge into double-digit territory after August rebound
Hedge funds’ narrow rise during August has driven their year-to-date returns back into double-digit territory, as equity long/short, event driven, macro and relative value managers all scored gains in the face of the Afghanistan crisis, ongoing monetary policy uncertainty, and Covid’s continued impact on markets.
Hedge Fund Research’s main Fund Weighted Composite Index – a broad-based index tracking the monthly returns of some 1400 single manager hedge funds across all strategy types – rose 0.80 per cent last month.
August’s positive performance reversed July’s narrow 0.60 per cent loss, which had been the benchmark’s first down month since September 2020.
The rise puts the industry up 10 per cent since the start of this year, and the index has also now registered positive returns in 10 of the last 11 months, rising 22 per cent over this period.
HFR president Kenneth Heinz says the gains came amidst an “evolving continuum of risk”, including geopolitical instability, monetary policy, immigration, and ongoing pandemic challenges and complexities.
“With hedge fund industry capital as record levels, institutions continue to increase allocations to managers and strategies which have demonstrated not only performance generation but tactical flexibility to quickly identify and monetise opportunities, often acting as liquidity providers through periods of stress and uncertainty,” Heinz added.
Equities-focused hedge funds were up 1.18 per cent last month overall, according to newly-released HFR data, putting their year-to-date returns to 11.94 per cent.
Sector-specialist managers led the way, with healthcare hedge funds gaining 3.26 per cent for the month, and technology-focused strategies rising 3.02 per cent. Elsewhere, energy-based strategies rose 2.21 per cent – and are now up almost 21 per cent over the eight-month period – while quantitative directional strategies made a 1.45 per cent monthly return, and have gained 10.61 per cent YTD.
Equity market neutral, fundamental growth, and fundamental value were all up just over 1 per cent in August, though multi-strategy equity hedge funds registered the sole loss in the equity category, sliding 1.04 per cent.
Year-to-date, fundamental value managers are up 15.50 per cent, multi-strategy funds have advanced close to 12 per cent, and fundamental growth strategies have made 10.77 per cent.
Macro hedge funds – which trade broader macroeconomic and geopolitical trends using equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities, among other assets – edged into positive territory with a 0.23 per cent August rise. Year-to-date, they have now generated a 7.96 per cent return.
Gains were patchy in this sub-sector during August, with commodity-focused funds up 2.16 per cent in August, and 16.82 per cent YTD, as discretionary thematic macro hedge funds added 0.35 per cent to put them up 5.82 per cent. Multi-strategy managers have risen almost 8 per cent YTD, aided by August’s 0.83 per cent return, while currencies and systematic diversified strategies each lost almost 1 per cent in August.
Event driven strategies – which target stock mispricings and other valuation anomalies stemming from mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcies, takeovers and other corporate events – have now advanced 11.37 per cent over the past eight months, having generated a 0.96 per cent monthly return in August. All sub-strategies ended the month in positive territory – multi-strategy added 3.75 per cent, activist managers gained 1.48 per cent, and merger arbitrage rose 1.21 per cent.
Event driven hedge funds have seized on the ongoing corporate activity rebound this year, with activists up 14.57 per cent, distressed and restructuring-focused strategies rising 14.19 per cent, and multi-strategy and special situations managers both advancing more than 11 pe cent on a year-to-date basis.
Relative value hedge funds were up 0.48 per cent in August, and 6.81 per cent year-to-date, with asset-backed, convertible arbitrage, multi-strategy and volatility funds all rising just under 1 per cent for the month.
Emerging markets managers endured a more mixed set of returns in August. China-focused managers and Asia ex-Japan strategies ended August in the red to the tune of 0.60 per cent and 1.65 per cent, respectively. On the flipside, India-focused strategies rose 2.39 per cent, Middle East and North Africa funds added 1.45 per cent, and hedge funds trading Russia and Eastern European markets advanced almost 5 per cent. Overall, EM strategies were up 0.57 per cent in August, and year-to-date they have added 7.68 per cent.
Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Related Topics Results & performance Funds Surveys & researchAxyon AI partners with DMALINK to develop first machine learning-based predictive algorithms for forex trading
Axyon AI has partnered DMALINK to develop the use of deep learning artificial intelligence to dynamically manage liquidity, detect market and order anomalies, and create smart algorithms for trade execution in the fiat FX space.
Axyon AI will combine its technology with DMALINK’s ECN infrastructure to innovate FX trading. For the buy side, deep learning models considerably improve the quality of order fills. For the sell side, the application will ensure firms maintain a positive yield curve. The deep learning technology will also detect market anomalies in spot FX, giving DMALINK participants access to one of the most powerful risk management tools developed in the ECN space. Smart algorithms, dynamically created by AI will instantly adjust trade execution as a function of the market dynamics.
Daniele Grassi, Chief Executive Officer of Axyon AI, says: “We believe that the leap from humans telling computers how to act, to computers learning how to act, has momentous implications for financial markets trading. Our partnership with DMALINK will be a paradigm shift for the FX trading industry.”
Manu Choudhary, Chief Executive Officer of DMALINK, says: "In spite of the pace of innovation within the ECN space, liquidity management, anomaly detection and algos have been left behind by advances in deep learning AI technology. The ability for Axyon AI’s deep learning technology to leverage insights in a fraction of the time of a human-driven equivalent provides opportunities for the procurement and analysis of unique data to dynamically manage liquidity, risk and trade execution for the first time.”
Diligend launches free to use SEC Form ADV data module for institutional investors
Diligend, a fund due diligence and monitoring software provider, has launched a new and free to use Form ADV data module.
ADV data plays an instrumental role in helping investors make investment decisions during the selection of fund managers or when monitoring their existing portfolio. The data covers important information such as assets under management (AUM) breakdown, ownership, clients, employees, business practices, affiliations, and any disciplinary events of the adviser or its employees.
The Diligend Form ADV data module is a complimentary service enabling investors and consultants to review and monitor the Form ADV information and changes of any investment advisor registered with the SEC.
Key features of the module include:
• Access to a daily updated database of over 19,000 registered investment management firms with ADV reported data points.
• Follow managers and receive tailored automated notifications by email when there is a new or updated ADV filing, or whenever a material change occurs.
• Receive notifications when there are changes to key data points specified by each user.
• Easily spot data changes between filings.
• No restrictions as to the scope or volume of data presented or extracted.
• No restrictions as to the number of managers followed.
• Integrate SEC data with additional data collected through Diligend or third-party partners within unique fund profiles.
• Include SEC data within custom/proprietary due diligence reports.
Wissem Souissi, Diligend’s Chief Executive Officer, says: “For due diligence professionals, ADV data is a treasure trove. We understand the importance it plays, and we are happy to offer it for free to our clients. At Diligend, we also recognize that Form ADV is just one part of the whole due diligence process. Only with a holistic specialized solution can investors leverage Form ADV and all other facets of the due diligence process. Diligend enables clients to automate the entire due diligence and monitoring process for investors and financial consultants."
Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Related Topics Services ComplianceTORA expands UK presence with London office and new hires
TORA, provider of a cloud-based order and execution management system (OEMS) and portfolio management system (PMS), has expanded its UK presence with a new London office and new hires Peter Rank and Chris Hopton.
Rank has been brought on as Sales Manager, Europe, and Hopton as a Professional Services Manager.
Rank joins TORA from AxeTrading and Bloomberg AIM where he worked with clients across Europe. Peter will be reporting to David Tattan, the Head of Sales for Europe, and is responsible for driving new client acquisition for TORA’s software solutions.
Prior to joining TORA, Hopton was a Senior Account Manager at Trading Screen and SS&C where he was responsible for delivery of fund solutions to his clients. He will be joining the global team of professional service managers to help TORA to continue to provide software and workflow solutions, fast onboarding and leading service to global institutional investors.
Chris Jenkins, Managing Director at TORA, says: “We are excited to open the new London office, the company has seen substantial growth over the past 18 months with our expansion into new asset classes, an all-in-one front to back trading solution and new generation PMS.
“We are gaining solid momentum in Europe with our traditional equity as well as FX and Fixed Income markets. These hires are key to ensuring the company is positioned correctly with the right talent and jurisdictions, so that we can continue to deliver our clients the most innovative products and elite client service.”
TORA’s all-in-one OEMS & PMS offers a wealth of functionality covering execution, allocations, risk control, order management, real time general ledger, positions-keeping, P&L monitoring and SWAP finance modelling. The platform can also provide detailed reports, compliance management & advanced analytics with broker-neutral equity pairs algo suite. The system integrates with brokers, trading venues, custodians, prime brokerages and trade matching providers across the globe.
SimCorp partners with Qontigo for portfolio optimisation and risk management
SimCorp, an independent provider of SaaS investment management solutions, has partnered with Qontigo, a provider of analytics and indices, and part of the Deutsche Börse Group.
The partnership offers SimCorp clients a fully managed portfolio optimisation and risk management and modelling service, within SimCorp Dimension. It is one of several portfolio optimisation and risk analytics partnerships that SimCorp will grow, to complement and enhance its own front office suite, with a choice of market-leading tools for alpha generation and decision making. The partnership forms an integral part of SimCorp’s Open Platform, designed to democratise access to industry innovation and simplify vendor management.
Today, asset managers and asset owners license multiple portfolio optimisation tools in order to create competitive edge in an otherwise low-yield market. However, the sheer choice in the market, coupled with time-consuming and expensive maintenance of multiple system integrations, is draining resources and diverting attention away from the core business. SimCorp’s Open Platform addresses the market need for full-service innovation, by hand-picking compelling solutions from the best FinTech and industry providers in their field. To eliminate the operational minefield, these solutions are wrapped within an end-to-end managed integration and connectivity service, covering everything, from a single vendor contract to support.
Clients can now integrate Qontigo's best-in-class Axioma Equity Factor Risk Models, Axioma Portfolio Optimizer and Axioma Risk directly within SimCorp’s platform and through standardised APIs. Supporting a wide range of investment management strategies, Axioma Portfolio Optimizer offers clients a highly flexible and sophisticated approach to customising portfolio objectives and constraints. Its leading equity factor risk models cover a variety of fundamental and statistical variants with multiple horizons, enabling portfolio and risk managers with one transparent model for a fully aligned view.
And, through Qontigo’s cloud-native solution Axioma Risk, SimCorp Dimension users get access to a scalable, multi-asset portfolio risk management platform designed to support the unique requirements of each investment manager. Ultimately, the combination of these solutions with SimCorp Dimension will deliver clients seamless front office workflows, augmenting portfolio optimisation and enriching the investment decision making process.
Anders Kirkeby, Head of Open Innovation, SimCorp, says: “We’re very happy to have Qontigo join our Open Platform partnerships. Our ambition is to provide a strong selection of partners across the industry, giving clients easy access to innovative solutions, while maintaining secure and consistent data across the value chain. The approach we have taken is to offer optionality over championing one provider in a given space. We’ve done this, for the simple reason that it delivers the flexibility clients need to drive competitive edge and long-term sustainable growth, with SimCorp as the backbone. Effectively it cuts out arduous research, compliance and maintenance of multiple vendor contracts. We believe vendors who can take on such operational responsibility, and deliver one touch point for all client needs, will ultimately create the most success for their clients and deliver a strong ecosystem.”
Brian Rosenberg, Chief Revenue Officer at Qontigo, adds: “We are pleased to become part of SimCorp’s Open Platform community. This partnership is a natural fit for Qontigo, as we share a philosophy of open ecosystem innovation. Providing the end-client with flexibility and choice is critical to both entities. We have worked together to ensure that the functionality and competencies of SimCorp’s Asset Manager solution and our market-leading risk models, portfolio optimiser, and risk management solution, deliver clients a consistent and transparent view for enriched decision making. We look forward to working with SimCorp and to witnessing the growing industry network it is cultivating, to drive client success.”
FlexTrade becomes first EMS to Integrate with Appital’s bookbuilding platform
By working with firms like FlexTrade, Appital is aiming to drive the technological infrastructure development necessary to integrate its platform into existing market structures and bring innovation and automation to equity capital markets.
Appital’s platform will be fully integrated with FlexTrade’s FlexTRADER EMS, bringing a historically manual order flow process to an automated platform. Through FlexTrade’s integration with Appital, buy-side firms will have access to the liquidity and efficiency of executing on Turquoise, LSEG’s (London Stock Exchange Group) pan-European MTF with seamless straight-through-processing (STP) to over 20 settlement venues. Sparked by demand from some of the largest asset management firms globally, the integration will offer the buy-side community a more efficient and transparent way to execute large orders with minimal market impact or risk of price erosion.
Andy Mahoney, Managing Director EMEA FlexTrade Systems, says: “This integration with Appital brings transparency and automation to an area of the market traditionally plagued by opacity and outdated, phone based bookbuilding activity. We see significant demand for Appital’s offering from some of our largest asset management customers. As a result, we have been collaborating with Appital to develop standard integration procedures to ensure our clients have seamless access to Appital’s platform directly within the FlexTRADER EMS order blotter to actively participate in the liquidity discovery process in the market for size”.
The integration with FlexTrade has led to the establishment of a working group that includes some of the largest asset managers globally. The group helps mutual clients define how they want to interact with the hard-to-find liquidity in the market and proactively build books of demand, while ensuring that the integration to existing workflows remains seamless. Other EMS providers are now able to code to the established, FIX based protocols, to the benefit of the buy-side community overall.
Dr Robert Barnes, CEO, Turquoise Global Holdings & Group Head of Securities Trading at London Stock Exchange Group, says: “Turquoise is pleased to build on our innovation in partnership with Appital to unlock latent liquidity for the market. Through FlexTrade’s integration, buy-side participants can look forward to Appital’s novel bookbuilding and seamless execution to settlement of liquidity at the right price through Turquoise.”
Mark Badyra, CEO of Appital, says: “In our mission to put buy-side firms in control of their bookbuilding activity we are excited to work with innovative firms like FlexTrade to help us shape the technology infrastructure for EMS integrations. FlexTrade clients and the asset management community can now gain exposure to deal flow opportunities they have not been able to access before. This integration transforms a traditionally manual order flow process, that historically sits outside any EMS, into an automated, electronic platform.
“FlexTrade has been instrumental in developing the Appital workflow alongside ourselves and the team at Turquoise. This is a major step forward for not only our combined client base, but the market as a whole, and we look forward to scaling this integration market-wide in the coming months.”
Appital gives the buy-side community greater exposure to deal flow opportunities they have not been able to access before. Buy-side traders looking to execute large orders in excess of five days ADV, including in highly illiquid, small and mid-cap stocks, have access to real-time visibility, full transparency and maximum control over the bookbuilding and deal distribution process. They can proactively source liquidity and efficiently drive the bookbuilding process in real-time, on one automated platform, with the ability to make distribution adjustments throughout. What’s more, Appital users will be able to execute all deals through the Turquoise MTF, via a single point of access and with seamless straight-through-processing (STP) to over 20 settlement venues.
Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Related Topics Trading & ExecutionNasdaq launches Nasdaq Data Link to simplify data discovery and expand cloud delivery
Nasdaq has launched Nasdaq Data Link, a cloud-based technology platform that empowers all segments of the investing public with a comprehensive suite of core financial, fund and alternative data.
The platform connects the global financial community to the information needed to generate alpha, manage risk and gain transparency into public and private markets.
Nasdaq’s acquisition of Quandl in 2018 accelerated its vision to unify access to a broad portfolio of data and insights from across Nasdaq’s businesses and network of global partners, empowering users to efficiently discover and integrate market data and analytics for their investment strategies and financial applications. Quandl’s technology serves as the new platform’s underlying infrastructure, ensuring seamless user experience and continued delivery of high-performance APIs.
Nasdaq customers can now access an expanding library of datasets via cloud APIs to manage, discover, and integrate new information with ease. The delivery of this information includes streaming, restful APIs as well as other methods of receiving content. The platform will also provide secure, end-to-end data hosting through managed infrastructure and services that enable users to privately share proprietary data, manage data access, and monitor data quality over time within a single organisation.
“Nasdaq Data Link is a key step in delivering on our commitment to creating an innovative and transparent data marketplace, allowing more people to access information," says Lauren Dillard, Executive Vice President and Head of Investment Intelligence, Nasdaq. "The financial industry continues to experience rapid digitalisation coupled with an accelerated need for intelligent insights. With the new platform, Nasdaq is bringing our data and technology to bear, helping our clients drive better investment outcomes and build better solutions for the community they serve.”
“Nasdaq Data Link is one of the world’s most diverse sources of market intelligence, as well as a powerful data infrastructure platform,” says Oliver Albers, Senior Vice President and Head of Data, Investment Intelligence, Nasdaq. “The industry is undergoing an evolution almost as drastic as the transition from brick and mortar retail to e-commerce. Consuming and managing datasets in the cloud is now the norm for our clients. Nasdaq Data Link continues to expand our cloud delivery optionality following the successful launch of Nasdaq Cloud Data Service last year. The launch of the platform signifies a milestone in Nasdaq’s cloud transformation and strengthens our commitment to being forward-thinking partners to the industry.”
Cheyne Strategic Value Credit completes EUR1bn fundraise
Cheyne Strategic Value Credit has successfully raised its second fund, Cheyne European Strategic Value Credit Fund II (SVC II) securing EUR 1 billion capacity less than six months after its first close, with strong support from existing investors and significant excess demand from new investors.
Cheyne Strategic Value Credit was established in 2017 as a new investment division within alternative asset manager Cheyne Capital and employs a value-oriented, opportunistic approach to investing in corporate credit, with a focus on special situations and debt restructurings. The group’s inaugural European Strategic Value Credit Fund (SVC I) was substantially oversubscribed and closed at its hard capacity limit of EUR1 billion in June 2019.
SVC II continues the same investment strategy as its predecessor fund, providing constructive capital solutions to mid-market corporates facing liquidity and other complex financial challenges, working on a consensual basis with management teams and shareholders to effect a positive turnaround. The new fund has already initiated seven investments, in five different European countries and across a range of industries including business process outsourcing, ground & cargo handling services, security solutions and food products.
As part of its aim to promote higher ESG standards within private credit, the team has adopted an enhanced ESG framework for new investments with an increased emphasis on positive engagement. The group is seeking to influence ESG strategy and outcomes more meaningfully at the corporate borrower level and is actively incorporating ESG-linked covenants in new facility agreements. This includes, for example, pricing incentives when pre-defined ESG targets have been met and adhered to.
Key sources of opportunity for the fund include the ongoing sell-down of underperforming and other non-core corporate loans by European banks, and the provision of rescue and liquidity bridge financings to stressed but fundamentally viable businesses. The fund has been deliberately capacity-constrained to maximise its participation in the broadest range of opportunities and capital structures, with a focus on smaller transaction sizes which fall below the minimum size requirements of the larger distressed debt and opportunistic credit funds.
Anthony Robertson, Managing Partner & CIO of Cheyne Strategic Value Credit, says: “We are honoured that so many of our existing investors have chosen to continue the journey with us, and we warmly welcome our new investors. There is a huge need for alternative sources of capital to support European mid-market businesses facing financial challenges, particularly those which have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Our team has a recognised track record in providing flexible capital solutions to facilitate a normalisation and recovery in operating performance.”
Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Author Profile Related Topics Funds Launches & FundraisingSBAI adds to board of trustees
The Standards Board for Alternative Investments (SBAI) has appointed Paula Volent, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of The Rockefeller University, to its Board of Trustees.
Mario Therrien, Chair of the SBAI, says: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Paula to our Board. She brings a keen understanding of the challenges and opportunities in our industry and a wealth of experience and knowledge from the endowment perspective.”
Volent says: “The SBAI has a strong history of innovation, problem-solving and improving practices in the alternative investment industry. I am thrilled to be joining the SBAI Board and look forward to being a part of this important endeavour.”
Luke Ellis, Deputy Chair of the SBAI, says: “Paula is a business leader of the highest calibre. Her extensive experience managing large endowments will be an asset to our Board and stakeholders. Having a board with a diversity of backgrounds and experiences makes the SBAI strong and more successful.”
Volent is responsible for the oversight and management of Rockefeller’s USD2.5 billion endowment. Prior to joining Rockefeller in August 2021, Volent was the Chief Investment Officer and Senior Vice President at Bowdoin College for over two decades. Prior to Bowdoin, she began her investment career as a Senior Associate at the Yale University endowment under the leadership of David Swensen. Volent has a BA from the University of New Hampshire; a master’s degree in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University; a Certificate in Conservation from the Conservation Center at NYU, with a specialisation in the conservation of works of art on paper; and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
The SBAI Board of Trustees which consists of 15 trustees, is responsible for leading the SBAI’s initiatives and furthering its to improve the alternative investment industry. Current initiatives that are shaping practices in the industry include working groups on responsible investment and a multitude of initiatives focusing on Culture & Diversity.
Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Related Topics Moves & AppointmentsProxy voting advisers increasingly lean with management in board fights
The two leading proxy advisers have become less likely to support dissident director candidates in US proxy fights over the past five years, according to data from Insightia.
So far this year (as of 15 August), Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis have sided with management in 73 per cent and 64 per cent of contests, respectively. In 2016, when activism was already a well-established feature of corporate life, ISS backed management only 50 per cent of the time and Glass Lewis 46 per cent of the time.
When these advisers do endorse dissidents, they are becoming less willing to support entire slates. ISS backed all dissident candidates in one-third of 2016 proxy contests, and Glass Lewis one-fifth. For both advisers, this number is down to 9 per cent in 2021.
Insightia’s analysis was based on 98 US proxy contests out of 145 recorded since 2016, limited to meetings where data for both advisers was available. An analysis of 120 Glass Lewis recommendations over the same period confirms the trend. The figures for ISS are based on Insightia’s proprietary “synthetic” model, which uses investor voting to accurately derive ISS recommendations. Glass Lewis recommendations were provided by the adviser directly.
The change is thought to be the result not of advisers changing their approach, but perhaps to the smaller number of proxy fights going to a vote, proactive board refreshment by targeted companies, and larger activists increasingly settling early in a fight.
Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Related Topics Surveys & researchDigital asset hedge fund manager Nickel Digital highlights strong potential US growth
London-based digital assets hedge fund manager Nickel Digital Asset Management (Nickel) is planning to make the US one of its top priority markets, as new research reveals the potential for strong growth in the country.
Nickel’s clients include institutional investors, global wealth managers and ultra-high net worth individuals from around the world.
Nickel Digital recently commissioned a survey with 40 institutional investors and wealth managers in the US who collectively oversee USD112 billion in assets and who currently have some exposure to digital assets. The survey revealed that 24 of those interviewed expect to dramatically increase their exposure to cryptoassets between now and 2023, and another 10 who said they will also add to their exposure.
The three main reasons given for greater allocation to digital assets is the structural long-term capital appreciation prospects of cryptoassets – the view cited by 24 of the 40 US-based professional investors. This is followed by 17 who said having some exposure to cryptoassets, they have become more comfortable and confident in how the asset class works and the infrastructure around it, and 15 who said it was because of the improving regulatory environment.
However, the survey has also identified several hurdles to investing into cryptoassets. Some 34 of the 40 US based professional investors cited concerns over the quality of custodial services as a hurdle. This was followed by 33 who highlighted concerns about the relative size of the cryptoasset market and its liquidity and 32 who cited the lack of reputable fund managers offering investments in this area.
Nickel Digital’s funds have delivered strong performance despite recent crypto market corrections with its flagship Digital Asset Arbitrage Fund posting record returns in April and May, the months of intense selloff in the Bitcoin market. The fund was up +4.1 per cent in April and +2.6 per cent in May, in the face of Bitcoin dropping more than 40 per cent from April’s highs, taking H1 2021 performance to +12.6 per cent with a Sharpe of over 4, comfortably outperforming gains of 2.5 per cent for an average hedge fund in a closely watched HFRX Equity Market Neural Index its closest market-neutral benchmark.
Anatoly Crachilov, CEO and Founding Partner of Nickel Digital, says:“Despite the recent correction in the crypto market, our survey confirms there is an ever-increasing appetite for this asset class among professional investors, willing to take constructive longer-term view on this asset class.
“We are glad to see increasing adoption of digital assets by many professional investors in the US. We would be honoured to help forward-looking investors understand and navigate this nascent market by sharing our multiyear financial experience, originated in major Wall Street banks and now successfully applied to crypto ecosystem over the last few years.”
Fiona King, Nickel’s Head of Institutional Sales, says: “We are looking to address many of the concerns investors might have, not least the high volatility of crypto market. To that end, the recent performance of our market-neutral arbitrage fund demonstrated its ability to protect capital, as well as to deliver consistent and repeatable returns during turbulent times, such as April and May 2021.”
Henry Howell, Nickel’s Head of Business Development, adds: “Security of clients' assets is paramount at Nickel. We deploy independent institutional-grade custody models in partnership with US-based Fidelity and UK-based Copper. using a range of sophisticated cryptographic solutions, including distributed private keys and MPC (multi-party computation) vaults. The approach is based on air-gapped, multi-signature, cross-organisation setup, thus mitigating a “single point of failure”, typically associated with self-custody of crypto assets. In our setup, the join control over fund assets is retained by independent fund administrator and fund custodian at all times.”
Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Related Topics Digital AssetsSir Christopher Hohn’s activist hedge fund TCI calls for special shareholder meeting in bid to overhaul Canadian National
TCI Fund Management, Sir Christopher Hohn’s high-profile activist hedge fund firm, is calling on Canadian National Railway to end its “reckless, irresponsible, and value destructive pursuit” of Kansas City Southern, and wants to requisition a special meeting of CN shareholders aimed at overhauling the board and replacing its CEO.
TCI, which has been a shareholder in CN since 2018, last week increased its holdings to more than 5 per cent of the shares outstanding, valued at USD4 billion.
TCI said on Tuesday it has retained shareholder advisory firm Kingsdale Advisors to offer strategic advice, assist in engaging with shareholders, and, “if CN continues to act in a manner that ignores the interest of shareholders and a proxy fight is required, Kingsdale Advisors will lead TCI’s campaign for positive change.”
Montreal-based Canadian National Railway has made a USD30 billion swoop for Kansas City Southern, the US, Mexico, and Panama-focused railroad operator.
Sir Christopher Hohn’s London-based activist hedge fund giant, which takes a value-oriented, fundamental, private equity-style approach to investing, wants CN to halt its pursuit of KCS and change direction.
TCI founder and portfolio manager Hohn said he believes most CN shareholders share TCI’s vision, will support its proposed actions and leadership changes, and called on CN to “listen to its shareholders and engage with TCI constructively.”
“We believe CN’s best days are ahead of it, provided the company immediately withdraws from its reckless, irresponsible, and value destructive pursuit of KCS,” Hohn said in Tuesday’s announcement.
TCI criticised CN’s ‘copy-cat’ bid for KCS, saying it reflected a “defensive motivation and lack of strategic thinking”.
It said CN has misjudged the view of the railroad industry regulator the Surface Transportation Board, which earlier this month rejected CN’s proposed deal structure.
TCI said persisting in the face of opposition from the STB and other government agencies would be “negligent, hugely damaging to the reputation of CN”, and “potentially financially disastrous because it would expose the company to the risk of forced divestment and damaging remedies.”
Combined with CN’s continued operational underperformance, TCI said the saga makes the case for change at the “compelling and clear.”
“It is shocking to us that there is currently no-one on the Board who has had any meaningful outside involvement, background or training in the railroad industry. The bid for KCS exposed a basic misunderstanding of the industry and the regulatory environment,” Hohn said.
“The CN Board must therefore take full responsibility for its egregious failure of oversight in sanctioning the bid.”
Kingsdale Advisors has previous experience in the railroad industry, having earlier represented high-profile hedge fund veteran Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, in his campaign to change the board at Canadian Pacific Railway.
Hohn now wants to “urgently” requisition a meeting of CN shareholders to nominate “at least five new directors with a with a mandate to lead the Board in the process of selecting a new world class CEO with extensive experience of railroad operations to turn CN around.”
TCI wants to remove CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest and has identified Jim Vena, who has previously worked at CN and Union Pacific, as his replacement.
Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Related Topics Deals & TransactionsDTCC's FICC launches new sponsored general collateral service
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), a post-trade market infrastructure provider for the global financial services industry, has launched its Sponsored General Collateral (GC) Service, a new offering from its Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) subsidiary, where the first trades have been executed by BNY Mellon, Federated Hermes and JP Morgan Securities LLC.
The new Sponsored GC Service allows Sponsoring Members and their Sponsored Member Clients to submit triparty repo transactions executed on a general collateral basis across US Treasury securities, agency debentures and agency mortgage-backed securities collateral to central clearing. Users benefit from a reduction in operational and counterparty risk, potential balance sheet and capital relief, and access to greater market liquidity. The new service has been launched in collaboration with BNY Mellon and with the support of Broadridge.
“We are pleased to work with BNY Mellon, Federated Hermes and JP Morgan Securities in making this new service a reality,” states Murray Pozmanter, Head of Clearing Agency Services at DTCC. “FICC’s Sponsored Service has become an integral part of the US repo market, and the new Sponsored GC Service will enable us to further enhance risk management through broader access to central clearing. We look forward to welcoming clients to the service while also continuing our work with Broadridge.”
As part of this offering, cleared repo transactions will settle on the triparty platform of BNY Mellon, similar to how triparty repo transactions are handled outside of central clearing today. By enabling access to FICC via BNY Mellon’s triparty repo platform, users benefit from an operationally efficient way to clear their repo transactions – including overnight and term repo transactions. BNY Mellon will also act as a Sponsoring Member for Sponsored Member Clients seeking to participate in cleared repo via the new Sponsored GC Service.
“Triparty sits at the heart of BNY Mellon’s collateral management offering, providing operational efficiencies and promoting collateral optimisation and mobilisation for more than USD3.6 trillion in balances on our platform,” adds Andrea Pfenning, President & COO of BNY Mellon Government Securities Services Corp. “In addition to our existing settlement role for FICC’s Sponsored Service where trades settle bilaterally, BNY Mellon will now provide settlement for FICC Sponsored GC Service transactions via triparty. We are pleased to be playing an integral role supporting this product for FICC and the broader market.”
To make this trade a reality, DTCC worked closely with Broadridge to support the connectivity of JP Morgan Securities and other Sponsoring Members into central clearing, enabling these Members to submit and process their Sponsored activity at FICC.
“We’ve worked very closely with DTCC and BNY Mellon over the past few years to bring DTCC’s recent enhancements to the Sponsored Service to life by helping to connect Broadridge users with FICC,” says John Garahan, Head of North American Fixed Income at Broadridge. “Broadridge is excited to roll out this latest offering under FICC’s Sponsored Service umbrella to enable clients to take full advantage of these programmes.”
Broadridge adds fintech fixed income veterans to LTX team
Broadridge Financial Solutions has added Ted Bragg and Jim Kwiatkowski to the team at LTX, a Broadridge company offering a new AI-driven digital trading platform for corporate bonds.
Bragg and Kwiatkowski join the LTX leadership team, working closely with LTX CEO Jim Toffey to accelerate the digitisation of corporate bond trading.
"As we leverage next-gen technologies to take the bond market to the next level, Ted and Jim are welcomed additions who are recognised leaders with decades of experience driving transformation in the capital markets industry," says Toffey. "These latest hires reinforce Broadridge's commitment and investment in LTX and we look forward to further strengthening our liquidity network, enabling more dealers and investors to trade smarter."
Bragg brings more than 30 years of executive leadership in the global markets and will be responsible for further enhancing LTX's trading capabilities. Most recently, Bragg served as Vice President and Head of Fixed Income at Nasdaq where his responsibilities included running the Execution Access broker-dealer team and the registered ATS, NFI, for US Treasuries. Previously, Bragg was SVP for TP-ICAP Securities USA, where he was responsible for expanding fixed income initiatives to create liquidity sources for fixed income and credit markets. Prior to ICAP, Bragg held a variety of leadership roles for BNY Mellon, including Managing Director in the Markets Group, as Head of E-Commerce strategy.
Kwiatkowski also joins LTX with more than 30 years of industry experience. Most recently, he served as Managing Director and Global Head of Transaction Sales at the London Stock Exchange where he was responsible for leading sales of the foremost electronic trading platform for foreign exchange. Prior, he served as Global Head of Transaction Sales at Refinitiv, encompassing both client relationship management and new business teams for the buy-side and sell-side client segments. Prior to Refinitiv, Kwiatkowski was Global Head of Transaction Sales at Thomson Reuters, which he joined as part of the acquisition of FXall, where he was also Global Head of Sales, through its successful IPO.
Centaur expands in London
Centaur Fund Services, a specialist in fund administration and fiduciary services, has moved to new offices in the heart of the West End of London. This new location marks the continuation of Centaur’s European expansion.
After more than a decade of building client relationships and providing extensive services to hedge fund and private equity clients, Centaur is cementing its position as an asset servicing partner across Europe with an increased footprint and presence in the UK capital.
Gavan McGuire, Head of Business Development Europe, says: “This move marks a significant milestone for Centaur’s UK and European presence. We have a significant client base which has been built over the past decade and the new location, along with the expansion of the London based team will enable us to continue to support our partners with the excellent service that Centaur is renowned for.”
Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter Author Profile Related Topics Moves & AppointmentsAlphaTrAI appoints Chief Investment Officer
AlphaTrAI, a technology-driven asset management firm that delivers results through transformative artificial intelligence, has appointed Max Gokhman as Chief Investment Officer (CIO).
In this role, he will oversee the firm’s quantitative, multi-asset, AI-enabled platform.
The firm also announced the expansion of its advisory council with Amy Wierenga, John Culbertson, Andrew Malloy, and Jose Pierre.
“Max shares our firm’s commitment to modernising asset management by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence,” says Andreas Roell, CEO, AlphaTrAI. “He has the right combination of investment discipline and passion for innovation to deliver long-term value to our clients. His addition is powerful proof of how we are seeking to blend technical innovation with experienced financial discipline.”
Gokhman was most recently Head of Asset Allocation for Pacific Life’s multi-asset investment division, Pacific Life Fund Advisors (PLFA), with over USD33 billion under management. Before joining Pacific Life, he was a global macro portfolio manager at Mellon Capital which acquired Coefficient Global, a quantitative hedge fund where he was a founding member. That fund achieved strong positive performance through both the crash of 2008 and the rebound of 2009.
Gokhman received a BA in Economics and Psychology from Claremont McKenna College in 2006. He is a member of the Milken Institute Young Leaders Circle, the Global Capital Markets Advisory Council, and is a CFA charterholder. Outside of work, Gokhman is an amateur racing driver competing at tracks across the West Coast.
“Artificial intelligence is the future of finance, so I am thrilled to join the brilliant team of AlphaTrAI that is quickly establishing itself as the vanguard of AI-powered investing,” adds Gokhman.
Coinciding with Gokhman’s hire, AlphaTrAI also added four additional members to its advisory council.
“We are excited to expand our advisory council with leading experts in their fields to help us build a firm that can stay ahead of cutting-edge technology and investment innovations in order to best serve our clients,” says Roell.
Amy Wierenga is Chief Risk Officer at GCM Grosvenor, a global alternative asset management firm, and is a member of the Absolute Return Strategies Investment Committee and the Private Equity, Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Committee. She also serves on the Global Investment Council and the ESG Committee. With more than 20 years of industry experience at firms including Merrill Lynch and BlueMountain Capital Management, she was recognized by the Hedge Fund Journal as one of the 50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds in 2018.
John Culbertson is a strategic advisor and board member for Context Capital Partners and a member of the Management Board of Context Business Lending, a subsidiary of Context Capital Partners. He has more than 28 years of experience in quantitative trading, asset allocation, and alternative asset management. He is also a member of the Board of Directors at Wincoram Asset Management and member of the Board of Managers at Verger Capital Management.
Andrew Malloy is Founder of ATMalloy & Partners LLC Family Office Consultants and is an experienced family office executive, consultant, and alternative asset investor. Andrew is also the co-CIO of his multi-generational family's New York City-based single-family office.
Jose Pierre is Founder and CEO of Marketware International Inc, which provides technology platforms globally for secure, cost effective, high volume online trading and portfolio management. Jose has also served as Senior Strategic Advisor for RBC Wealth Management, PWC Canada, EPAM, Desjardins, National Bank Financial, and others.
Digital asset investment products see third week of positive flows
Digital asset investment products saw inflows totalling USD98 million last week, the third consecutive week of positive flows, according to the latest Digital Asset Fund Flows weekly report from CoinShares.
Bitcoin saw inflows totalling USD59m, marking a potential turnaround in sentiment amongst investors, while Solana remains the favourite with weekly inflows totalling USD13.2 million, doubling its total inflows year-to-date.
Ether also saw a third week of inflows totalling USD14.4 market, while ether market share is now at a record 28 per cent.
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