Hedge Hub | Funds Hub

Socially useful?

Oct 7, 2010 09:23 UTC

Andrew Baker, boss of hedge fund industry lobbyists AIMA, has taken umbrage at the “unsavoury terms” used to refer to his members.

He doesn’t like the biblical monikers of locusts or parasites and gets very prickly indeed at accusations the Mayfair money men might be socially useless.

Not fair, says Baker, and if you want to argue, he’ll set his big, new, socially-useful, mates on you.

He says the hedge fund industry these days is as much about sensibly managing money for the giant pension funds (oh.. and let’s not forget charities and universities) as it is about speculating with the spare cash of the ultra-wealthy.

Morning line-up: Paulson, KKR and Horlick

Cecilia Valente

Oct 6, 2010 08:35 UTC

News and views on the fund industry from Reuters and elsewhere:

RTR1SGF8 KKR buys Avantha stake ahead of IPO – Economic Times Paulson’s flagship fund wipes off year’s losses in September – Reuters Nicola Horlick launches film script company – Independent NAPF urges UK companies to ‘mention the pension’ – Reuters

Morning line-up: KPMG, AIA’s IPO, bonuses

Cecilia Valente

Oct 5, 2010 07:27 UTC

AIA | asia | bonus | FT | IPO | KPMG | Pru | recruiting | reuters | tax

RTR1SGF8 News and views on the fund industry from Reuters and elsewhere:

KPMG in hiring spree – FT

AIA flags up risks as it prepares for IPO – Reuters

City bonuses fall after crisis and new tax – Reuters

Morning line-up: AIG’s Asian unit IPO, City seeks to calm Europe, further bank bailout

Cecilia Valente

Oct 4, 2010 07:30 UTC

RTR1SGF8 News and views on the fund industry and elsewhere:

AIG lowers valuation for Asian unit’s IPO - FT

UK launches 1st property derivatives fund - FT

City’s bankers tour Europe to reassure investors over future - Daily Telegraph

UK banks may need further state bailout - Reuters

Passive, aggressive

Claire Milhench

Oct 1, 2010 11:21 UTC

active | fundamental index | index trackers | minimum volatility | smart beta

The days when active managers could ride a market rally and charge high fees for doing so could be drawing to a close. Passive managers are hoping to paint their active rivals into a corner by delivering better than market returns at a lower cost. The development of so-called “smart beta” products based on non-traditional benchmarks is expected to force active managers to sharpen up or get out of the game.

Fundamental indices, which use a variety of criteria to weight stocks, and minimum volatility indices, are beginning to gain traction with institutional investors. The latter, developed by MSCI for fund firms running managed volatility strategies, aim to deliver close to market returns but with about a third less risk, giving a better return per unit of risk, thereby improving the overall efficiency of an institutional investor’s portfolio.

Smith attacks hedge funds’ 2 and 20

Laurence Fletcher

Sep 30, 2010 14:12 UTC

berkshire hathaway | fees | performance | terry smith

Here’s the link to Terry Smith’s blog attacking the “unsupportable” practice of hedge funds charging their clients fees of 2 and 20 (2 percent annual and 20 percent performance).

Smith compares the maths that show a $1,000 investment in Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 (when Buffett began) would last year be worth $4.3 million, with a hedge fund charging 2 and 20.