All Alternatives articles – Page 121
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Features
Shallower returns
While the performance of funds of funds for August has been in keeping with the previous three months’ very positive and rising returns, the slope of the rise has taken a turn towards the shallow. The Eurekahedge Global Fund of Funds Index returned 0.8% in August (as compared with +1.6% ...
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Features
Italy's longer-term optimism
Italy does not have as consistent a private equity culture as other large European economies. Last year, private equity investment as a whole made up just 0.110% of its gross domestic product. This placed Italy twelfth in the European rankings, behind not only the traditional leaders in private equity in ...
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Features
Investing with the grain
Oil is today’s news. Gold is always news. But what about wheat? Wheat is one of the agricultural commodities, the Cinderella sector of commodities. While energy and metals have attracted the attention of investors, agriculture - a so-called ‘soft’ commodity - has often been overlooked. Yet agricultural commodities have their ...
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Features
Hedge funds under scrutiny
Until recently, hedge funds were considered as a ‘black box’ which aimed to deliver absolute returns and stipulated cash as a benchmark. Current research conducted at the London Business School’s hedge fund research centre focuses on two issues. The first pertains to the systematic risks of hedge fund strategies while ...
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Features
Showing the way in Europe
Compared with institutional investors in other countries, Dutch institutions are very receptive to investing in private equity and the largest pension funds in the Netherlands have been investing in private equity for some time, with ABP and PPGM investing in the asset class since 1996 and 1990 respectively. ABP has ...
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Features
Unleashing Dutch dynamism
Unlike the Dutch landscape, private equity activity in the Netherlands has been anything but flat. According to the European Venture Capital Association (EVCA), in 2004 the level of investment in Dutch private equity and venture capital rose significantly. This is confirmed by Tjarda Molenaar, director of the Netherlands National Association ...
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Features
Unicredito dips its toe
Unicredito Italiano Fondo Pensione Per Il Personale Delle Aziende Del Gruppo is the pension fund of the Unicredito international banking group. The company is the result of a merger between the Banco Unicredito, which is over a hundred years old, Credito Italiano, the German HIB bank and Bank Austria. The ...
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Features
Long/short strategies best
In September 2005, the major hedge fund strategies not only achieved positive returns but also significantly exceeded their long-term performance. Not surprisingly, the long/short equity strategy obtained the best performance in September in the midst of bullish stock markets (eg, +0.69% for the S&P 500), historically low levels of stock ...
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Features
Hedge funds - too late again?
Germany introduced an innovative hedge fund regulation on 1 January last year. But German investors, including institutions, have yet to invest significantly in hedge funds, while international institutional investors are increasing their exposure to hedge funds and are even being attracted by German-regulated hedge funds. Are Germans missing the boat ...
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News
London firms unready for MiFID says report
UK – More than two-thirds of London-based investment firms are not adequately prepared for the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) due to be implemented in November 2007, according to a research report released today.
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News
Danes launch €70m public-private SRI fund
DENMARK - Nine Danish pension funds are to invest some €63m in non-listed companies in less developed countries in a public-private initiative under which the Danish government will share many of the preparatory costs.
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News
Janus names new CEO amid inflows
GLOBAL - Janus Capital has named investment head Gary Black to take over from chief executive Steve Scheid amid a recovery in asset inflows.
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News
SAM appoints new global marketing head
SWITZERLAND – Swiss sustainable asset management company SAM has appointed Eric Gelfgren as global head of marketing and sales.
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News
GSAM consultant chief named as MD
EUROPE – Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s European consultant relations head Paul Richards has been promoted to managing director level at the firm.
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News
Dutch funds' AlpInvest in €550m spin-off
NETHERLANDS - AlpInvest, the private equity house owned by ABP and PGGM, is to spin off its buy-out team into a new company.
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News
Schering puts extra €450m into external fund
GERMANY – Pharmaceuticals company Schering has removed another €450m in pension liabilities from its balance sheet so that they can be financed by its contractural trust arrangement (CTA).
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News
French reserve fund confirms private equity plan
FRANCE - The €24.8bn Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites, the French Pensions Reserve Fund, has confirmed it will look for private equity asset managers for Europe and North America by the end of the year.
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News
PGGM’s equities director Sol replaced
NETHERLANDS – Dutch health care fund PGGM has replaced Marjolein Sol as director of equities with Leo Lueb as of November 1.
