Regulators Homing In On Hedge Funds

Posted on by Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds

A new approach focusing on how hedge fund managers treat their investors is being trialled by regulators in the US.

Overseeing and policing the hedge fund industry, which is worth a staggering $3 trillion, has never been easy and this new approach follows a series of investigations into how hedge funds respond to investors. Focusing specifically on the manner in which these funds value their holdings and what happens when an investor happens to ask for their money to be returned, the new approach has been receiving lots of attention.

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VC, private equity investment in Canada hits record in Q1

Posted on by Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds
Private companies in Canada attracted a record $881 million in 103 funding rounds from venture capital and private equity investors during the first quarter. “You have all the VCs on Sand Hill fighting for the next big American startup,” said Mike Woollatt, chief executive of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. “But while I was in the Valley this week talking to folks, suddenly now everyone’s interested in Canada, saying, ‘What’s going on up there? You have all this stuff happening.”

Corporate investments in startups becoming mainstream

Posted on by Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds
Big-name companies increasingly are investing in startups as they look to enhance digital offerings. During the first quarter, corporate venture capital investors put more than $2.5 billion into startups in 228 deals, NVCA and PricewaterhouseCoopers found.

Institutions step up farmland investment

Posted on by Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds

Annual returns on farmland have averaged 11.5% over the past 25 years, according to the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries’ Farmland Index, nearly 4 percentage points better than the Standard & Poor’s 500. Institutions such as REITs are increasing their investment in this sector as its value becomes more apparent.

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Bull market prompts outflow from actively managed funds

Posted on by Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds
A decade of net outflow from actively managed mutual funds is linked to the bull market, managers say. “The only market in which passive outperforms active is the market we’re in right now, with increasing asset prices and increasing [price-earnings] multiples, and the reason that’s been the case is because of the extraordinary policies of the Federal Reserve,” said Bob Rice, chief investment strategist at Tangent Capital.

Skyscrapers Are Warning of Economic Chaos

Posted on by Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds

Skyscrapers Are Warning of Economic Chaos

The construction of record-setting skyscrapers has often coincided with bubbles. I connected this dynamic to the building frenzy in the Middle East, and suggest that the building boom may be pointing towards an economic bust.  Read my article here.

Responsible Investments and Hedge Funds – UNPRI

Posted on by Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds

Hedge funds are in the spotlight. Their supporters argue that they offer long term outperformance and strong
diversification. Since the financial crisis their detractors have called this into question, and some policymakers have
suggested that particular hedge fund instruments and strategies contributed to the general market turmoil.

Read the full discussion paper

 

KPMG Foresight – A global infrastructure perspective

Posted on by Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds

IPFA Special edition — January 2016

10 emerging trends in 2016 – Trends that will change the world of infrastructure over the next 5 years

Barring a global economic meltdown or apocalyptic event, 2016 is already shaping up to be a year of growing momentum for the infrastructure sector. The signs of this momentum are everywhere: in new sources of capital and new funding approaches that promise to unlock trillions of dollars in new equity and debt investment; in growing asset management capabilities, cyber security and public procurement, which are ushering in a real step-change in the way operators and owners manage assets; in the growing boldness of governments seeking to catalyze economic and social benefits; and in the growing alignment between the ‘macro’ needs of governments and the ‘micro’ decisions of consumers.

Read the full report

A New Era For Hedge Funds?

Posted on by Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds

Since the financial crisis, excluding the Euro crisis period, hedge funds have lagged traditional assets until last year. This stands in contrast with the outstanding hedge funds’ track record delivered over recent decades. Criticism against the lack of hedge funds outperformance since the financial crisis climaxed in 2014.

The ability of hedge funds to generate sufficient alpha, while adequately capturing the market beta was then put to question.

 Download full report