Hedge Fund News, Hedge funds news, hedge funds, hedge fund.: August 2008

Friday, August 29, 2008

Hong Kong SFC takes new enforcement approach to....

Fund of Hedge Funds Europe: In its first financial quarter of 2008-09, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) adopted a new approach to enforcement, offeringintermediaries found in breach a chance to take up good compliance practices ahead of severe penalties, according to a SFC press release obtained by Opalesque.

The SFC's Quarterly Report for April to June 2008-09 explains the new approach as a means to foster compliance on top of penalizing violators for misconduct. In respective agreements reached with the SFC, two ICEA entities and three Core Pacific-Yamaichi entities were committed to strengthening their compliance practices and to accepting severe penalties, if found to have repeated offences of the same nature within the next three years. In ICEA's case, revocation of licences would be the penalty.

Meanwhile, the SFC continued to adapt its regulatory regime to changing market circumstances, devoting efforts in particular to raising market efficiency while increasing investor edu......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46640Hong_Kong_SFC_takes_new_enforcement_approach.html

Fund-Hedge Funds News:

Ceres Agriculture Fund up 3.81% in June...

From The Opalesque Team: Ceres Agriculture Fund Limited ("Ceres"), a new Guernsey domiciled, closed-ended investment company established to invest in an actively managed portfolio of exchange-traded agricultural commodity contracts and derivatives managed by FourWinds Capital Management today announced its results for the month of June 2008.

Ceres gained 3.81% during the month leading to a composite annualized return of 15.92%. This was primarily driven by strong performance in the grains and livestoc......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46621Ceres_Agriculture_Fund_up_in_June.html

Fund of Hedge Funds News:

Sword Fund launched in 2006....

From The Opalesque Team: The Sword Fund has cemented its position as the top-performing fund trading non-oil European energy commodities with a 10.3% gain in July. Since inception in March 2006, the Fund has traded continental European electricity futures, European CO2 emission allowances, and coal futures. Currently trading on the EEX, Nordpool, and ICE, the Sword Fund is extending its strategies geographically, and will increase its exposure to the European generation fuel.....................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46620Sword_Fund_launched_in_2006_opens.html

Fund of Hedge Funds News

The 'hurry up and wait' dynamic for 2008 financial regulation...

Fund of Hedge Funds New York: Regulatory agencies are concerned with hedge funds' ability to move markets, and the lack of transparency related to many funds' investments. This Fall's Global Alpha Forum will include a panel to look at hedge fund industry regulation. In advance of that, we wanted to take a look at what feels like the temporary change in the regulatory environment and what hedge funds are doing to prepare for 2009 and what could possibly be a year of regulatory change industry-wide. Opalesque also spoke with Andrew Shrimpton, of London based Kinetic Partners about the parallel holding pattern which hedge fund managers in the UK are also experiencing for industry regulation. Shrimpton will be one of the panelists discussing Global Hedge Fund Regulation at The Global Alpha Forum being held on September 16-18 in Greenwich Connecticut.

The regulatory holding pattern
As 2008 ramped up so, it seems did the credit crisis. But in the eye of the perfect storm of subprime, the rise in oil and commodity prices, and the fall of Bear Stearns there was a shift in the government's attention away from close inspection of the fundamentals of the economy and towards targeting the financial industry with further regulation. The clamoring for regulation took the form of plans to increase the US Federal Reserve's monitoring role, the CFTC launching a series of initiatives to review alleged commodity market manipulation, the SEC instating temporary limits to short selling, and The President's Working Group on Financial Markets forming to discuss hedge fund transparency. However, as the year and the credit crisis gained momentum so did the US political race and the focus on financial industry regulation seemed to fall into a holding pattern. Barring sudden further economic deterioration this holding pattern will likely last until the next administration enters office in January 2009.

As the US President's Working Group looked closely at hedge fund transparency, the UK Hedge Fund Working Group also reviewed hedge fund regulation. The result in the UK is the HFWG Standards, "originally created to head off the threat of further regulation," Shrimpton explains; a reaction to the German and French proposals for increased hedge fund regulation. UK hedge funds have until the end of 2008 to make the decision on whether or not to sign off on the Standards and commit to compliance. "The question now is whether or not people are going to sign up. Some are keen to do so, and others are quite hostile and don't see the need for it... managers will be making the decision over the next couple of months." Shrimpton believes that further regulation will be inevitable if the codes are not taken up across the board, but similar to the US - it seems as though......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46619The_up_and_dynamic_for.html

Fund-Hedge Funds News

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Halsey Roundtable Forum to close manager applications...

Hedge-Fund Europe: The Roundtable Forum, created by Jane Halsey, allows investors to meet carefully screened hedge fund managers face to face in an intimate and relaxed setting, that encourages direct and substantive discussion about investment strategies and trends. Attendance is complimentary and by invitation-only to a select group of qualified investors.

Unlike prime broker capital introduction, the Forum is open to all managers regardless of prime broker affiliation. An academic approach to manager selection is utilized, including an open application process and investor committee review.

This fall, the Roundtable Forum will take place October 15 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel du Rhone, Geneva and December 2nd at the St. Regis, New York.

Application is already August 31st; the notification of acceptance will be issued on or about September 29, 2008.

Industry veteran Jane Halsey created the Roundtable Forums as an informal way to connect hedge fund managers with prospective investors in May 1999. Until today, over 600 managers have participated in 35 Roundtable Forums in New York, London and Geneva. For additional information and registration...

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46613Events_Halsey_Roundtable_Forum_to_close.html

Hedge-Funds News

SEC charges SF investment adviser and author of `The Hedge Fund Edge` in real estate investment scam....

Hedge-Fund Legal: The SEC on Wednesday charged Mark Boucher, a Portola Valley investment adviser and newsletter publisher, with misleading clients into investing in two failed real estate development companies.

According to the Commission, Boucher helped raise around $20 million for the companies by falsely representing that the investments were secured by real estate, when in reality one of the companies owned no property, and the other owned a single property that was wholly underwater in debt.

Boucher has agreed to be barred from serving as investment adviser for 5 years and to pay a $100.000 civil penalty, without admitting or denying the allegations.

The Commission also sued the owners of each company, John E. Brake and Gary P. Johnson (both of Southern California) for misappropriating millions of dollars of investor funds to finance everything from beachfront homes to undisclosed side businesses.

The Commission alleges that many investors became interested because Boucher, a well known hedge fund manager and author of the book "The Hedge Fund Edge" recommended the investments in a monthly newsletter he circulated to his advisory...

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46601Legal_SEC_charges_SF_investment_adviser.html

Hedge-Funds News:

India`s economy, Rupee seen weakening, fiscal deficit may rise to 4.5%.....

Hedge - Fund Europe: The Indian Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council in its August economic outlook report for 2008/09 said that:

1. The economy would slow down to 7.7% for the y/e March 2009, from earlier forecasts of 8 - 8.5%, due to an economic slowdown caused by higher oil, commodity and food items.

Deepak Lalwani from London based Astaire & Partners Ltd. (d.lalwani@astaire.co.uk) added in his latest India Report that his forecast of 7.7% made on 4 June 2008 remains unchanged currently.
2. Industry to expand by 7.5%, agriculture by 2% and services by 9.6%
3. Investment rate to remain at 37.5% but savings rate to decline to 34.5% of GDP due to worsening Government finances and lower corporate profits
4. Inflation can reduce to 8-9% by March 2009. A tight monetary policy to be maintained......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46593economy_Rupee_seen_weakening_fiscal_deficit.html

Hedge-Funds News

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wallberg African All Stars Fund managers to be in Germany and Austria for September...

The Wallberg African All-Stars Fund UCITS-compliant equity fund was launched on June 16th. The Fund invests in equities of locally listed businesses as well as of international companies whose business focuses on Africa. Opalesque has learned Wallberg Capital AG, along with distributor Fund Matrix AG and adviser Coronation Fund Managers will be in Salzburg (8/9), Frankfurt (15/9), Munich (17/9), Vienna (18/9), Hamburg (22/9) and Cologne (23/9) to meet with potential investors. Contact information: Charles Barnick / Chris Marquardt Tel: + 44 (0) 207 389 8840

Related articles: US committed to growth on the African continent
From TheTimes.co.za: The Times editorial "Will Obama listen to Africa's message?" (August 26) correctly emphasises that US relations with Africa should be based on "trade, not aid". - Sharon Hudson-Dean, Press Attaché, Amer......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46587Wallberg_African_All_Stars_Fund_managers.html

News in Hedge Fund:

German endowment plans putting 6% into single manager hedge funds...

According to published reports, German Hertie-Stiftung, a foundation sponsoring projects in the fields of neurosciences, European integration and learning democracy, with assets of approximately EUR900m has decided to strongly increase allocation to alternative investments.

"We have decided to invest about 6% of our assets in hedge funds. This process is under way", said Holger Benke, the foundation's director.

The foundation will use a structured product set-up for this for this. Asked for the reasons, Benke mentioned avoiding tax risk as well as the advantage of easy valuation.

Hertie-Stiftung will set up two portfolios, one investing in 12 - 14, the other investing in 20 single manager hedge funds.

Pension funds seek leveraged loan......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46582Institutions_German_endowment_plans_putting.html

News in Hedge Fund

Cogo Wolf Asset Management ....

Cogo Wolf Asset Management, an multi-asset hedge fund-of-funds firm announced that Alan J. Andreini, Jr. has joined the firm as an Analyst. In this position, Andreini will assist the firm in judiciously growing the firm's global client base and supporting the servicing of clients and consultants.

Andreini was most recently Vice President, Business Development for Money Management Group, LP, a manager of hedge fund products, where he helped grow assets from $50 million to $1 billion over the past five years and service those new clients. He was also responsible for managing the firm's CRM database, fulfilling client and consultant requests and producing client reports, along with helping close new business.

Cogo Wolf is a 13-year-old global strategy multi-asset hedge fund-of-funds firm. The Cogo Wolf Global Strategy Fund has been ranked in the top 1% amongst global FOFs. The 3-year CAR ranks the firm 8th out of 921 global FOFs and the 5-year CAR ranks Cogo Wolf 2nd out of 552 global FOFs (Bloomberg FOF database as of 1/1/08).

MFA appoints Roger Hollingsworth, former sr. policy advisor to Senator Dodd as EVP and MD of government relations to develop and coordinate legislative and regulatory priorities and initiatives
Managed Funds Association (MFA), the trade association of the hedge fund industry, announced that Roger Hollingsworth has been named executive vice president and managing director, government relations, effective September 8, 2008. He will be responsible for the implementation of the Association's political and government relations outreach before the Executive Branch, Congress and relevant regulatory agencies. Mr. Hollingsworth joins MFA from the United States Senate Banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, where he served as deputy staff director and senior policy advisor to Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT). Mr. Hollingsworth will work directly with Mr. Baker to develop and coordinate MFA's legislative and regulatory priorities and initiatives.....

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46574People_Cogo_Wolf_Asset_Management_adds.html

News - Hedge Funds:

Swiss firm creInvest believes best opportunities will remain in trading-related strategies...

From the Opalesque team: Hedge fund investment firm creInvest lost $11.9m in H1-2008, following profits of $18m a year earlier. The NAV was at $273.48 on 30th June, down 4.53% from end-2007 (Romandie.com).

In their semi annual report(Source), creInvest stated that for the period January 2008 to June 2008, the equity hedge section of creInvest's portfolio returned -6.69%, the trading section returned 10.73%, the arbitrage section portfolio returned -9.98%.

The report continues: "In such a challenging environment, many investors will be ......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46570Swiss_firm_creInvest_believes_best_opportunities_will.html

News - Hedge Fund:

Quant shop Amplitude Capital....

Hedge Fund Exclusive: Quant shop Amplitude Capital grows to $700m in 3 years and announces new high frequency, stat-arb, equity fund launch for October 1 By Kirsten Bischoff, Opalesque New York: Amplitude Capital, founded in 2005 with $5m has grown to $700m over the past three years and will launch a new high-frequency, stat-arb equity fund in October 2008. Opalesque recently had the opportunity to catch up with Amplitude CEO and founding partner Karsten Schroder and learned a bit more about the fall launch of Amplitude Select.

Amplitude Select - a new spin on an established program
Amplitude's flagship fund, The Amplitude Dynamic Trading Fund is a CTA which trades highly liquid exchange-traded futures across all asset classes. The new fund, Amplitude Select Fund will utilize many of the same program components of the flagship fund however Select will invest in single stocks. With a target launch of $50m, the fund's program will determine and trade a basket of the 300 most liquid US based stocks and Schroder expects to add a basket of European stocks and possibly another of Asian stocks at later dates. By using technical indicators such as price and volume, and trading at a very high frequency the Select strategy is completely disconnected from the fundamental world, and efficiently exploits the "herd mentality" rampant in the markets has shown pre-launch returns non-correlated to other US stock funds.

Amplitude's flagship - a double edged sword slicing through the credit crunch
The Amplitude Dynamic Trading Fund has found itself in the envious position of being both a quant fund and a CTA during a market environment whereby traditional quant funds have thrived due to the emotional trade reactions of a volatile market and CTAs have had the strongest performance across all asset classes (Barclay CTA Index is +7.56% YTD and the Barclay Alternative Edge Short-Term Traders Index is +9.84% YTD). Outspoken about the media's portrayal of quant funds during the credit crisis, Schroder points out the definition of a true quant fund is one which completely neglects fundamental market information and trades purely on technical information. These pure quant funds have been able to exploit the emotional and opinion based trend swings in the market and take advantage of the increased volatility during the year-long credit crisis. In fact, Schroder noted in a discussion about the credit crisis during the June Opalesque London Roundtable (download here), "assets actually started coming in with the start of the credit crisis....

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46569Fund_launches_Quant_shop_Amplitude_Capital.html

News - Hedge Funds:

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Recession in China is likely, strong domestic demand...

iles Chance sent his views on the current issues facing China and the 'the Olympic non-rally' to Hedge Funds. He is the portfolio manager of the APAC Greater China Fund (Hong Kong).

The current issues facing China's economy
In common with other major economies around the world, China's economy is facing a combination of slowing growth and rising prices - the ugly 'fourth quadrant' (in a two-factor chart of growth and inflation), which is associated with the last stage of a growth period, and is often a prelude to recession.

However, in China we do not see a recession as likely, even if the slowdown in the US and Europe is a prolonged one, because of the strong upward trend in Chinese domestic demand which is amply funded by domestic private and public savings. We do see a stubborn inflation problem and a fall in 2009 in the Chinese GDP growth rate to nearer 9% from the current 10% or so, led by weaker exports and reduced corporate profits as a result of rising costs. Against the US dollar, China's currency may not appreciate much, or may even fall through 2008, particularly if the US dollar continues to strengthen. The RMB may continue falling against the Euro, but at a slower rate as the Euro weakens. In these cases the RMB will become less attractive to hot money inflows, most of which we believe emanate from dollar-linked monetary systems. Combined with the new larger foreign currency holding limits for Chinese corporates and stricter policing of foreign currency trading, we may see some moderation in 'hot money' inflows into the Chinese monetary system.

Inflation - We have seen three months of a falling Consumer Price Index in China, with consumer prices rising in July at 6.3%, down from a 12-year high of +8.7% in February. But the most recent Producer Price Index report (for July) showed a year-on-year price gain of 10%, so the prices of goods leaving Chinese factories are still rising significantly...

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46545Recession_in_China_is_likely_strong_domestic.html

Today's Top Stories:

Delman`s unique 100/30 fund on track to return 8% pa as August hits 5% YTD return...

Hedge Funds New York: Opalesque has learned that Geneva-based manager Delman SA, which launched the DM Swiss Equity Asymmetric Fund on November 30, 2007 (see previous Opalesque coverage: here) into "some of the most challenging market conditions in many, many years", is on track to attain its 8% net target, reaching 5% net YTD as of August 22.

100/30 strategy
The Fund utilizes a unique 100/30 structured to invest in Swiss equities. It seeks to achieve a lower risk profile of the Swiss Equity Indices by investing up to 100% in 20-30 stocks designated to be market leaders the managers believe have sustainable top line growth and shorting up to 30% in companies with a capitalization of at least half a billion CHF and which the managers believe are overvalued. According to investor documents which Opalesque was able to obtain the managers' entered May and June with very low market performance expectations and accordingly increased the Fund's short holdings and reduced net exposure. Market corrections in the first half of July additionally allowed the team to enter positions as pre-determined price sets were reached. The fund increased its net exposure and was rewarded when the market rebounded in the second half of the month.

Delman utilizes a philosophy of 'delegated management' for the financial products it provides to private and institutional investment communities. Through delegated management the firm believes investors receive additional value as the firm can "leverage the expertise within the network of carefully selected partner organizations." A recent report by Celent (Trust Outsourcing: Assessing Profits and Opportunities in Investment Management and Operations Outsourcing) identified this manager-of-managers approach as a fast growing segment in asset management, allowing firms which util......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46548Performance_unique_10030_fund.html

Today's Top Stories:

A good season for stock picking in the UK - Legal & General`s one-year old small cap fund returns 14% so far...

Fund Hedge News London: Legal & General managers remain cautious on UK economy prospects and see opportunities for shorts in consumer-related stocks and longs in stock-picking.

Legal & General is a household name in England as the group has been providing financial services to the retail and corporate worlds for a long time - since 1836 in fact. And the group now runs a couple of hedge funds; the LGIM Japan Alpha Fund and the LGIM UK Smaller Companies Alpha Fund. The latter has consistently outperformed the FTSE Small Cap (ex IT) index since its July 2007 launch.

The LGIM UK Smaller Companies Alpha Fund, run from Legal & General Investment Management Ltd's offices in the City, is a long-short equity fund focusing largely on UK listed companies with a market capitalisation of under $2 billion. The fund uses a bottom up approach where stocks are selected on the basis of fundamental analysis, both qualitative and valuation. It manages $46m, has returned +7.23% YTD (to June), +13.99% since inception and the portfolio manager is Rod Oscroft.

Great stock picking and sensible sector bias
The returns have come from great stock picking and sensible sector bias with a low net exposure which has remained close to zero, said L&G manager Steve Leach, in an e-mail communication to Opalesque. In particular, the managers have made money by being short real estate. On the long side, stock picking has been excellent with the fund benefiting from bids in Nord Anglia and Expro in particular. Returns have been slightly enhanced by being long oil and aerospace for the period as well.

"The relative performance of L&G's long-only funds reinforces how good stock picking has been," Mr. Leach said.

Cautious about the prospects for the UK economy
In terms of outlook, the managers are currently cautious about the prospects for the UK economy and UK small companies.

There ar......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46544UK_Special_A_good_season_for.html

Top Stories - Hedge Funds

http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46548Performance_unique_10030_fund.html

Monday, August 25, 2008

LatAm special sits fund up 0.02% in July (2.4% YTD) as decoupling story starts to fade...

LatAm special sits fund up 0.02% in July (2.4% YTD) as decoupling story starts to fade
From the Opalesque team: The Copernico Special Situations Fund was up 0.02% in July, bringing the YTD return to 2.40%. Total return since inception (August 06) is 22.02% or 10.46% on an annualized basis.

In the fund's monthly report sent to Opalesque, the fund manager comments: “… July was the month when the decoupling story started to fade. A developing recession in the developed world alleviates inflationary pressures through lower commodities prices and supports a soft landing scenario for EM, where healthy domestic finances and infrastructure spending offer several safety nets to a hard landing. The abatement of inflationary pressures could trigger though a correction on EM currencies that appreciated (BRL, MXN) strongly in anticipation of a hawkish reaction by local central banks.” infocopernico@copernico.com.uy.

Hedge Funds Exclusive: Copernico`s Argentina fund suffers from the country`s changes in tax legislation and economic deterioration

From the Opalesque team: The Fund lost 2.12% in July and is down 0.99% for the year. July’s return would have been closer to 1% if it weren’t for the negative impact of the latest changes in Argentina’s tax legislation. The fund has returned 134.57% since its February 2003 inception. The Merval Index and the EMBI+ Argentina are 11% and 16% down, resp......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46487LatAm_LatAm_special_sits_fund_up.html

Bank of Georgia`s `up-to-date and unbiased version of news` on South Ossetia

Bank of Georgia`s `up-to-date and unbiased version of news` on South Ossetia.
From the Opalesque team: Bank of Georgia (BGEO LI) and its subsidiary Galt & Taggart Securities provided their clients and investors with the most up-to-date and unbiased version of news available on the conflict in Southern Ossetia in an email yesterday.

Events of 18-21 August:

In a telephone conversation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian President Medvedev promised that all but a 500-men contingent of Russian peacekeepers would leave Georgian soil by Friday August 22.
Over the weekend Russian soldiers attacked the civilian port of Poti, sinking Coast Guard ships and taking 20 police man assigned to guard the port hostage. The civilian owners of the port have announced plans to sue the Russian government for the attack.
US lawmakers are scheduled to vote on a US$ 1bn (roughly 8% of Georgia’s GDP) infrastructure aid package for Georgia.
International aid organizations like Human Rights Watch and an official report by a Russian investigative committee in South Ossetia put the number of South Ossetians killed in the conflict at 133 people, undermining Moscow’s original claims of Georgian genocide in the first days of the conflict and countering South Ossetian rebel claims that over 2,000 civilians had been killed.
Human Rights Watch has also alleged that Russian used cluster bombs aimed at civilian areas in its attacks on the city of Ruisi and Gori.
The UN’s High Court is scheduled to hear a Georgian complaint against Russia for human rights violations on September 8-10.
The UN’s humanitarian mission is calling on the Russian forces to open humanitarian corridors into the territories they control as currently they are having trouble getting supplies the victims of the conflict.
The OSCE has announced that it will send in 100 unarmed observers to the borders of the Georgian conflict zone to ensure that the cease-fire is up kept.
G7 Finance Ministers pledged to be actively involved in supporting Georgia’s economy to help it recover from the Russian invasion.

Bank of Georgia:

The Bank saw withdrawals of GEL 165mn (roughly 10% of deposits), during the conflict, but since the end of hostilities the situation has stabilized.
Bank of Georgia is currently assessing the impact that this conflict has had on asset quality. The bank has no assets in South Ossetia and only about US$ 2mn of exposure in the town of Gori. However, impact of recent events on corporate clients is likely to be more significant. According to various estimates the damage to the country’s civilian infrastructure was about US$ 1bn, or 8% of Georgia’s projected 2008 GDP.
The Bank is working actively with international organizations like the IFC and EBRD to help rebuild infrastructure in Western Georgia and help the victims of the conflict.

BGEO LI trading in London:
As the situation has calmed and market participants are waiting for additional news and updates, volumes have been substantially lighter this week, trading just US$ 1mn in the first 3 sessions. This compares to nearly US$ 50mn in the same period last week. The price has stayed up at US$ 13 through Thursday morning.

Why you should buy BGEO LI now:
At US$ 13.0 the stock continues to represent an excellent risk/reward metric, because of the clear floor established in the 12s, a stock price of just over 5x earnings, and a P/B of 0.8. In the very near term we expect the price to rebound to at least book value. The hostilities did not have a major effect on BoG business.

Bank of Georgia Group Humanitarian Effort:
Galt & Taggart Securities announced that its parent company Bank of Georgia (BGEO LI) has established a fund to support the victims of the conflict in South Ossetia and has made an initial contribution of GEL 1 million. The use of funds will be supervised by a special monitoring group established by Bank of Georgia, which will work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia and Mayor's Office of Tbilisi which are coordinating the humanitarian assistance for the victims of South Ossetia conflict. All contributions to the Fund will be highly appreciated.

We encourage everyone who is interested to take part. We thank you in advance for your support. For more details please contact: Macca Ekizashvili, Head of Investor Relations, Bank of Georgia, +995 32 444 256, ir@bog.ge.

Galt & Taggart Securities’ corporate website: Source

George Friedman: Russians proved they can execute competent military operation and that the U.S. cannot intervene
From strat......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46472Russia_Georgia_Special_Bank_of.html

SkyBridge`s newest seeder fund...

SkyBridge Capital, recently launched its newest fund SkyBridge Capital II, LLC, and announced the Fund’s first seed investment into the discretionary global macro fund being launched by Outpost Investment Group in October 2008.

Considering the tough summer that global macro as a strategy has had, Opalesque spoke briefly with SkyBridge’s Victor Oviedo about the approach the investment firm takes researching and allocating to funds. SkyBridge which was launched in 2005, currently has strategic investments in eight funds. For seed allocations the firm takes a long term approach to evaluating strategies against the markets. The focus is not on how a strategy (ie, global macro) is performing in the short term, but more important to the selection process is the performance record and business experience of the management team. Investing strategically with seed funding SkyBridge is focused on businesses that are both scalable and sustainable in the long term and which can perform across various business cycles.

Outpost Investment Group was founded in March 2008 by Peter Forlenza, and Goldman Sachs alums Jason Bajaj, and Allen Arakal. The Outpost Fund strategy will target 16% annual returns by focusing primarily on G10 fixed income, currency, equity, and commodity investments using top down macro research and bottom up micro-catalysts. In addition to the founders, the team includes Martin Walker and Robert S. Morris.

The Outpost pedig......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46471Seeders_newest_seeder_fund_announces.html

Top Stories:

SkyRank hedge fund rating system launches investment product...

Hedge Fund News New York: In December 2000, years before any of the hedge fund database services decided to dip their toes into the arena of ranking systems, Joseph Omansky saw the opportunity to take informational hedge fund database listings to the next step. Thus was born the SkyRank system which provides a quantitative evaluation service to the growing number of hedge fund investors. Recent news has shown the cottage industry of hedge fund databases scrambling to catch up and as Opalesque learned that the SkyRank system's pending patent is slated for approval we reached out to Omansky to learn about his hedge fund analysis, the changes he has seen in industry information sharing over the past eight years and a new investment product SkyRank is seeking to launch. He is evaluating platforms and in discussions with seeders. The product is to be an overlay on top of a managed account platform. Backtesting has demonstrated the product to yield approximately 15% annualized returns at volatility levels around 5%.

SkyRank's evaluation systems
Omansky's immersion into the world of hedge funds began when as an equity options market maker for Lakota Trading he was approached by hedge fund firm Tradelink LLC to run a strategy based on an equity options volatility model he developed.

While managing this strategy Omansky saw opportunity in the very private industry as limited amounts of information were available even to those investors who qualified to place their assets in them. "The people that were investing in hedge funds had common themes which they looked to quantify before investing. These included low correlation to public markets, track records, and breadth of investors. I saw a value in creating a quantitative methodology to encompass all of these inputs, and the additional information which would become available as the industry grew," said Omansky. In the time since he first launched this vision SkyRank has worked through numerous years of research and development and today rates over 8000 hedge funds, fund of funds and CTAs using the patent pending system that went live in 2004.

The launch of SkyRank required a certain amount of foresight to the possible growth of the industry. At the time of the service launch, many people felt there was no opportunity and little need to rank hedge funds. The larger databases stayed away from the concept for fear that managers only beginning to share their performance information would not divulge returns that would open their performance to ranking. Additionally, the service was deemed unnecessary because funds of funds and institutional investors and the large family offices investing in hedge funds followed their own proprietary systems of fund evaluation. However, in an industry which has leapt to approximately 8,000 funds and $3 tln in assets, initial filters have become a necessity for these investors. In fact, a recent Opalesque series on seed funding found those fund of funds managers interviewed looked to such services as one of the first points of evaluation filtering before taking funds through their own proprietary reporting.

The database information
Taking the concept of a hedge fund database inclusive of contact information and basic administration information such as strategy descriptions, contact infor......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46501SkyRank_hedge_fund_rating_system_launches.html

Today's Top Stories:

Greater China Fund recovers in July after difficult first half year

In July, the APAC Greater China Fund gained 0.1% net of fees. The fund's equity universe recovered somewhat from its big losses in June, with the H share index gaining 5% and the Hang Seng Index 2.8% for the month, respectively. The Cayman-domiciled fund returned -15.8% YTD and +424.7% since its September 2004 inception. APAC Capital Advisors Ltd's offices are based in Hong-Kong.

The strategy presently is focused on capital preservation, while taking opportunities, as they appear, to participate in rallies and enhance returns. This means the Fund has moved its exposure very actively between defensive and aggressive positions. As perceptions in the markets have been greatly affected by developments in the US, often the managers' trades and positions have been triggered by news from New York as much as from China.

The long-term fund strategy is to invest in fast-growing Chinese companies, and 40-50% of the fund is focused on core holdings of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong and NASDAQ. The rest of the portfolio (50-60%) trades long and short around themes. Some of these themes are near-term, like anticipating Chinese energy price normalization, weaker oil prices or the end of the recent rally in global financials. Some are longer-term, like fast growth in Chinese discretionary spending. The fund expresses these ideas by investing both long and short. Contact: giles@apac-capital.com. (see tomorrow's 'Other Voices' in which the manager expresses his view on Greater China).

Tudor`s Tensor fund posts gains of 18.9% YTD
From NYPost.com: Tudor's Tensor fund, run by Steve Evans, boasts an 18.9 percent gain year-to-date, according to sources familiar with the performance and confirmed by the company.

The fund, which invests in global equities and has nearly $1 billion in assets, like all quant funds, uses complicated computer-programmed strategies that directs all trades. It is so confusing that most market traders just refer to it as black box magic...

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46498Performance_Greater_China_Fund_recovers_in.html

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Review of hedge fund launches, closures.....

By Benedicte Gravrand, Hedge Fund News London: A roundup of last week's hedge fund launches, closures, trends, and regulatory and legal events pertaining the alternative investments world.

We heard of new launches from Trump Organization USA, Dalton, Integral, Quilvest, Penso, Nau Capital, Macquarie, Advent, DragonBack and Millennium Group. And of new seeding from Accelerator Capital (in Epic Capital and Burlington Capital) and from SkyBridge Capital (Outpost Investment).

There were almost as many closures. Aperta Asset Management closed down its long/short Japanese equity fund due to redemptions; hedge fund SageCrest Finance filed for bankruptcy, battered by losses in the debt markets and lawsuits; Andor Capital shut down as co-founder Daniel Benton left to retire; Sumitomo announced the liquidation of its FoHFs advisory platform Sumisho Capital, to streamline operations; Fortis shut its convertible arbitrage fund due to ongoing market dislocation; and Sage A.M. closed 2 of its 3 hedge funds due to negative performance.

Credit Suisse/Tremont, Canadian Hedge Watch, EDHEC, HFRI, Scotia Capital, Nordic HedgeIndex posted negative index results for July.

As many more funds have been actively looking to raise new cash lately, HFN reported that total hedge fund assets were up 4.41% in Q2-2008, to $2.973 trillion. And data from Morningstar showed that individual hedge funds had net inflows of $10.7 billion in June, while FoHFs suffered $9.2 billion in net outflows.

Total assets handled by fund managers in Singapore grew 32% to $1.17 trillion last year, bolstered by a doubling in assets held by hedge funds. HFR also reported that emerging market hedge funds saw inflows approaching $1 billion in Q2.

Trends - there were still debates on energy and financial trading (should one go long / short or short / long?). It was noted that private equity was beating shy hedgies to distressed assets and that investment outsourcing for the hedge fund world would continue to grow. Funds of hedge fund portfolios were building up on cash or beta-neutral products. UK retail demand for hedge funds was outstripping supply.

Political risk in EM investing was put back on the table as a record number of investors pulled their money out of Russia after the Georgia conflict. State Street remarked on the noticeable deterioration in appetite for equities among institutional investors over past two months, especially in Japan.

Various analysts, economists, kings and gurus rallied in prophecies of more bank failures and recession ahead. But the Hennessee Group reported that stagflation was coming to an end and that headline inflation had peaked.

The auction-rate securities (ARS) battle was still on as crusader Cuomo threatened to sue Merrill Lynch for not reaching a satisfactory agreement. But, Raymond James Financial, Stifel Nicolaus, Oppenheimer and Fidelity defended their positions, claiming they should not have to buy back the billions' ......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46496Review_of_hedge_fund_launches_closures_trends.html

Today's Top Stories:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46498Performance_Greater_China_Fund_recovers_in.html
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46501SkyRank_hedge_fund_rating_system_launches.html

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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Advent launches Global Opportunity Strategy...

Advent Capital Management, LLC, the $4.2bln New York and London based investment manager, launched the Global Opportunity Strategy earlier this month. The multi-strategy product will leverage Advent's existing platform and pragmatic process to capture the firm’s best investment ideas.

The allocation process will be agnostic to asset class and will utilize the firm’s deep fundamental credit expertise to exploit opportunities across the entire capital structure.

The trading strategies include arbitrage, long/short credit, special situations equities and volatility, added Laurent Leclercq, director at Advent, in an email communication to Opalesque. “Our approach identifies critical drivers at different points in the cycle, that is: (1) Long term drivers: fundamental analysis and ideas generation from our team of ten global capital structure analysts, and (2) Short term drivers: market liquidity, spreads, supply/demand of securities.”

The strategy will be co-managed by Odell Lambroza and Daniel Frommer. Mr. Lambroza has been at Advent since 2001 and also serves as a portfolio manager on the Advent Convertible Arbitrage Strategy. Mr. Frommer joined Advent in June from Bear Stearns where h......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46423Advent_launches_Global_Opportunity_Strategy_to_take.html

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Quilvest to launch a non-equity FoHFs...

Zurich-based shop Quilvest has decided to leave something out in order to get something back in: the managers are launching a fund of hedge funds that will exclude equity-related strategies.

“The QSAM Diversified Non Equity fund concentrates on HF managers that operate outside the equity markets,” confirmed manager Florian Agarwalla in an e-mail communication to Opalesque. “The managers included in the portfolio either trade no equities at all or have no bias to equities (fundamental / long or short). The fund concept is not new, but differs strongly to a typical diversified FoHFs portfolio. Currently we are positioning the portfolio within ABL, CTA/Macro and relative value strategies.”

“The risks in the portfolio therefore should be very different to a typical FoHFs portfolio and benefit strongly when equity markets experience large monthly losses and in times of economic uncertainty such as high periods of high volatility.”

The fund is to be launched on 1st October. The target return is Libor +5%-7% with a volatility of <4% href="http://www.quilvest.com/accueil/index.php" target="_blank">Source

Penso Capital Markets to launch alpha risk overlay strategy this month
From Totalalternatives.com: Hedge fund firm Penso Capital Markets will launch an alpha risk overlay strategy at the end of the month to provide a hedge against systematic risk in portfolios and to extract greater returns from low-volatility portfol......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46422Fund_Launches_Quilvest_to_launch_a.html

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Alternative Investment | News |

As Congress investigates further regulatory oversight of SWF investing

One of the panelists for “The Rise of Sovereign Wealth Funds” discussion at the September 2008 Global Alpha Forum (Source) will be Michael Maduell, President and Founder of The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (www.swfinstitute.org). According to The Sovereign Wealth Institute there are currently more than 50 SWFs in the world, controlling in excess of $3.8tln in assets. And although SWFs have been in existence as far back as the 1950’s, the quantum leaps in assets over the past few years (driven largely by the $2.31tln in SWF assets which originate in gas and oil) have brought these funds to the attention of a wider audience.

The legislative attention
In both Europe and the United States, the opaque nature of these funds has brought an increase in legislative attention to regulations on SWF investments. The arguments for further oversight range from the political (the Congressional debate over the 2006 Dubai Ports World raising national security fears) to the economic (France, Germany and the UK all have SWF legislation which allows each country to block SWF investments if the stakes are too large).

According to research published in February 2008 by The Sovereign Wealth Institute, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) at approximately $875bln is the largest SWF, but maintains low transparency making it very difficult to gauge the impact of its current investments on any specific region. An estimation of the investments ADIA has made in the United States comes close to 20%. Therefore, if ADIA and/or other large sovereign wealth funds were to suddenly shift their investment strategies outside of North America, the United States could experience economic destabilization. (Source)

Tim Kennedy, founder of The Strategic Policy Group reported in The National, that members of the bipartisan task force appointed by Congress in February 2008 to investigate the need to regulate SWFs struggled with a dilemma, “how does the US sustain a “free and open international investment regime” while also ensuring that foreign investments are not used to disrupt America’s economy or reshape its foreign policy?.....

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46421As_Congress_investigates_further_regulatory_oversight_of.html

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Art Investing....

The Art Photography Fund, an open investment fund which notes in its portfolio works by Man Ray, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ansel Adams in addition to emerging artists was launched in Mid-March of 2008 and uses the Comparative Auction Index (an art photography index) as its nearest benchmark. The Comparative Auction Index, which has returned 14% annualized since 1976 is a clear indicator of the potential for the ART Fund to achieve its targeted annual returns of 10-15%.

The Art Fund is overseen by three directors: Johannes Faber who in addition to establishing a gallery which specializes in classic modern photography is an appraiser and curator; Alexander Spuller, a Junio Director at the Gallery Johannes Fabe; and Friedrich Kiradi a Managing Partner at the Merit Group, which is the investment manager, fund administrator for the ART Fund.

The fund portfolio is invested 75% in classic modern photography, and 25% for investing in modern art, or other investment vehicles. Additionally, investors have the ability to borrow works from the fund’s stock to display in their offices. “This unique feature has attracted quite some interest, since clients can also enjoy an emotional yield by surrounding themselves with world-class pieces of a......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46415Art_Investing_ART_Photography_Fund.html

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Investing in A Shares...

Reviewing the “Olympic effect” on economies over the past twenty years (from the US in 1984 through Greece in 2004), host countries’ stock markets increased on average by 46% in the 18 months before the games, and increased on average by 44% in the 18 months after the Olympics. To learn more about the expected Olympic effect on the Chinese economy Opalesque recently spoke with Alan Landau, President of Marco Polo Pure Asset Management. To read Part One – see coverage: here.

China: The Olympic effect
In the years leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games the Chinese government invested $40bln into preparation to host the Games. However, as the end of the first week of competition came to a close the Shanghai A Share Index fell 6.46% (from August 11th-15th) and the return on this investment in form of an “Olympic effect” boost to the nation’s stock markets was yet unseen. “It was always our view that at best the Olympics might have a psychological impact on investor sentiment, which could drive the market higher. We never thought that the money spent by the government would have any meaningful impact on the economy.” says Laundau. He points out that the $40bln spent by the Chinese on these Olympic Games is only 1% of the GDP whereas the $10bln spent by Greece represented approximately 4% of that nation’s GDP at the time they hosted the Games.

In this respect The Marco Polo team feels the Chinese markets have reacted consistently to the fundamentals, and the Olympic Effect, if any, has been minimal. Landau points out the 2006 and 2007 bull markets were driven by growth in corporate earnings and the current bear markets driven by fears of slowing growth. However, one way the Marco Polo Team has observed the Olympics affecting the current market dynamics is in the form of investors leaving the markets over the past six months on the belief that the Olympic Games would be a watershed event and for fear of how China would perform after. “This has created a lot of sidelined capital in China that we believe after the Olympics is over may see the waters as safe once again to return to the market.” says Laundau....

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46399Investing_in_A_Shares_Marco_Polo.html

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ART Photography Fund

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Investing in A Shares...

With the second week of the Olympics underway, several things are apparent – Michael Phelps is a genetic anomaly, the Chinese have taken the concept of “opening ceremonies” to a whole new level, and it seems that for at least short periods of time weather systems can be tamed. What remains to be seen though, is to what extent the Olympics will affect the Chinese economy in the 18 months post-games.

Founded in 2004 by Aaron Boesky, Marco Polo Pure Asset Management currently has a team of 15 mainland Chinese born research analysts and approximately $145m in assets under management. The Marco Polo Pure China Fund is a long-biased, value oriented strategy focused on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets. The Fund was named the 2007 “Best China Fund” by Asian Investor Magazine and is overseen by Chief Investment Officer Wing Miu Chris Tang, recognized in 2008 as one of the 20 Rising Stars of Hedge Funds by Institutional Investor News...

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46374Investing_in_A_Shares_Marco_Polo.html

Today's Top Stories:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46373Greenwich_Global_Alpha_Forum_to_unite.html
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46377Performance_Forum_Global_Opportunity_Fund_posts.html

Singapore MAS issues report on thematic inspections of hedge fund managers...

MAS carried out a written survey on the business activities of hedge fund managers in March 2007. The survey was to help provide MAS with a better understanding of the hedge fund industry in Singapore. MAS also conducted a thematic inspection of hedge fund managers in the second half of 2007. The survey was to help provide MAS with a better understanding of the hedge fund industry in Singapore. MAS also conducted a thematic inspection of hedge fund managers in the second half of 2007.

The insights gained from the survey complement MAS’ observations from the inspection of the controls and business practices of hedge fund managers. Although the......................

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46391Asia_Singapore_MAS_issues_report_on.html

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Forum Global Opportunity Fund posts gain of 25.26% YTD

Harvey N. Black III, Managing Director at Forum Asset Management, LLC, sent the following communication to Opalesque: Forum Asset Management’s global emerging market equity long/short fund the Forum Global Opportunities Fund finished what was a difficult July for most of the hedge fund industry with a return of +4.00%. This brings year to date performance to +25.26%. Implementing an analysis regime based heavily on macro-economic fundamentals helped the fund to post a +79.81% return in 2007 and an annualized return of 34.24% since inception in 2005.

Portfolio manager Ray Bakhramov stated that “Focusing on global themes has enabled the fund to take advantage of, rather than be hurt by, the effects of financial de-leveraging, commodity price volatility, and the impact on emerging market economies of slower growth in the industrialized world.” “A true long/short emerging market equity strategy is a great vehicle for expressing global macro-economic views at this point in the market cycle” added Mr. Bakhramov. Forum’s other emerging market focused funds the Forum Absolute Fund, Forum Hard Assets Fund, and Forum Asset Based Investments Fund have returned YTD, +9.58%, +8.00%, and +7.36% respectively…Corporate website: Source

Jupiter`s profit rise in tough year for fund firms, hedge funds profits provided additional boost
From Reuters.com: Britain's Jupiter Investment Management Group, one of the most popular fund firms among retail investors, saw profits rise in 2007 as assets under management grew, despite the onset of the credit crisis. The firm, which is headed by high-profile industry figure Edward Bonham Carter and employs top fund managers Philip Gibbs and Tony Nutt, made a pretax profit of 82.9 million pounds ($154.8 million) in 2007 from its mutual fund unit Jupiter Unit Trust Managers.

Source:
http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46377Performance_Forum_Global_Opportunity_Fund_posts.html

Hedge Fund | Alternative Investment News |

2008 Global Alpha Forum Will Bring Together Institutional Investors from Around the Globe with Connecticut’s Alternative Investment Elite

Greenwich, Connecticut, August 18, 2008--The Greenwich Hyatt will be the scene of the 2008 Global Alpha Forum--arguably the most important hedge fund event of 2008 for both fund managers operating in Connecticut and investors wishing to get to know those managers while also gaining insights as to economic and geopolitical developments likely to most impact alternative investors in the coming year.

The Forum will be held on September 16 and 17, 2008, and will be followed on September 18 by the Green Hedge Trail, a unique opportunity for institutional investors to visit the offices of some of the truly world-class funds operating in the Greenwich area, to both meet the funds’ managers and to have some of their questions answered concerning strategies of the various funds included in the Trail.

The Forum is jointly sponsored by the Connecticut Hedge Fund Association, the association of hedge fund professionals representing over 150 member firms based in the “hedge fund capital of the world” of Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Opalesque, the world’s largest subscription-based publisher covering the alternative investment industry.

Program Overview:

Rudolph W. Giuliani, Partner, Bracewell & Giuliani, will kick off the Forum at 9 am on Tuesday, September 16^th. His address will be followed by panels discussing first Green Trading and Carbon Finance and then the 10 Days that Changed Capitalism.

Lawrence H. Summers, Managing Director, D.E. Shaw and former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, will be interviewed as part of the luncheon on Day One. After lunch, a panel discussion will explore the Rise of the Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Once the main agenda is concluded, a Hedge Fund Manager Workshop is available that will present the secrets to Creating Reinsurance Firms and Banks: New Permanent Capital Vehicles for Hedge Funds and Funds of Funds. Following the first day’s sessions will be a Networking Event that begins at 5:30pm designed to allow plenty of time for attendees to become acquainted with one another or strengthen existing relationships.

Day Two sessions again begin at 9 am and will include panels on Hedge Fund Regulation, Institutional Investing and the Economic Outlook, all from a global perspective. The luncheon keynote on this day will be Eugene Ludwig, Chairman and CEO, Promontory Interfinancial Network and Former U.S. Controller of the Currency.

Another Hedge Fund Manager Workshop will be offered after the close of the main conference sessions. This workshop will address Islamic Finance: Tapping Middle Eastern Wealth through Islam-Compliant Vehicles.

The complete schedule for the 2008 Global Alpha Forum, along with Registration Information, is available at www.GlobalAlphaForum.com.

About the Global Alpha Forum:

The GAF was inaugurated in 2007 and that event attracted several hundred delegates and live coverage by both CNBC and Bloomberg Television. Along with the notables highlighted above, numerous financial media personalities will participate as panel moderators and interviewers and panelists consist of world-renowned experts in their subject areas. The GAF is poised to become “Davos on the Sound”—the center of thought leadership for issues impacting the alternative investment industry.

Confirmed 2008 panel participants include:

- Daniel C. Esty, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale University

- R. Glenn Hubbard, Dean Columbia University School of Business and former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers

- Kevin Lynch, Head of Hedge Fund Research Group, Managing Director, CRA RogersCasey

- David Marchick, Managing Director and Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, The Carlyle Group

- David Wiederecht, Vice President, Alternative Investments, GE Asset Management

- Martin Whittaker, Director of Environmental Finance Strategy, Mission Point Capital

- Paul Ezekiel, Global Head of Carbon Trading, Credit Suisse

- John A. Brunjes, Partner, Private Investment Funds, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

- Martin Leibowitz, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Equity Research Global Strategy

- Stephen Preston, Partner, Wilmer Hale; Former Acting General Counsel of the Department of Defense and Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General with the U.S. Department of Justice

- Mark Yusko, Founder Morgan Creek Capital Management and Former CIO, University of North Carolina

- Andrew Baker, Deputy CEO, Alternative Investment Management Association

- Todd Groome, Head of Financial Markets, Stability Division, International Monetary Fund

- Laurence B. Siegel, Director of Research, Investment Division, The Ford Foundation

- Michael Maduell, President, Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute

- Andrew Shrimpton, Member, Regulatory Compliance, Kinetic Partners, Former Head of Alternative Investments, Financial Services Authority

- Peter C. Fusaro, Chairman and Founder, Global Change Associates

- Sona Blessing, Director of Research, Editor A SQUARE, Opalesque

- Matthias Knab, Director and Managing Editor, Opalesque - http://www.opalesque.com

The complete schedule for the 2008 Global Alpha Forum, along with Registration Information, is available at www.globalalphaforum.com