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from Global Investing:

SocGen poll unearths more EM bulls in July

Jul 12, 2012 09:35 UTC

These are not the best of times for emerging markets but some investors don't seem too perturbed. According to Societe Generale, almost half the clients it surveys in its monthly snap poll of investors have turned bullish on emerging markets' near-term prospects. That is a big shift from June, when only 33 percent were optimistic on the sector. And less than a third of folk are bearish for the near-term outlook over the next couple of weeks, a drop of 20 percentage points over the past month.

These findings are perhaps not so surprising, given most risky assets have rallied off the lows of May. And a bailout of Spain's banks seems to have averted, at least temporarily, an immediate debt and banking crunch in the euro zone. What is more interesting is that despite a cloudy growth picture in the developing world, especially in the four big BRIC economies, almost two-thirds of the investors polled declared themselves bullish on emerging markets in the medium-term (the next 3 months) . That rose to almost 70 percent for real money investors. (the poll includes 46 real money accounts and 45 hedge funds from across the world).

See the graphics below (click to enlarge):

Signals are positive on positioning as well with 38.5 percent of investors reckoning they were under-invested in emerging markets, compared to a quarter who felt they were over-invested. Again, real-money investors appeared more keen on emerging markets, with over 40 percent seeing themselves as under-invested. SocGen analysts write:

This is positive as it points to potentially higher risk-taking...On this basis one could argue that there is potentially a positive driver for (global emerging markets) if indeed real money investors re-establish their risk positions in the period ahead.

A choice between risk and return?

Joel Dimmock

Aug 11, 2011 11:37 UTC

fees | fund | Funds | hedge funds | Lipper

By Dunny P. Moonesawmy. Head of Fund Research for Lipper in Western Europe/Middle East and Africa. The views expressed are his own.

Hedge funds have delivered decent risk-return results over the past ten years. And as transparency and liquidity increased post-credit crisis, they have regained their appeal as providers of absolute return opportunities for investors. In addition, an increasing lack of market visibility globally has played to hedge funds’ supposed strengths, with total industry assets under management now exceeding the $2 trillion, according to Hedge Fund Research.

Morning Line-Up: euro bets, launch, India

Laurence Fletcher

Jun 16, 2011 07:21 UTC

family offices | hedge funds | india

RTR1SGF8 News and views on the asset management industry from Reuters and elsewhere:

Hedge funds ramp up extreme bets against euro – WSJ

Family offices look to add more hedge funds – NYT Dealbook

Ex-DKR Fischer aims to raise up to $1 bln in hedge fund -Reuters

Chelsea highlights 26 bln stg of underperforming funds – FT Adviser

Funds struggle to deliver expected returns in India – WSJ

Hedge funds vs mutual funds

Joel Dimmock

May 18, 2011 10:40 UTC

By Dunny P. Moonesawmy, Head of Fund Research for Lipper in western Europe, Middle East and Africa. The views expressed are his own.

Hedge funds took some heat from the credit crisis as liquidity and transparency became critical factors in investment decision-making. It’s fair to say hedge funds continued to deliver decent returns to investors, but how do they compare to mutual funds if we focus on performance and risk alone?