Upcoming Events China Sell-Off a Mixed Blessing UBS
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August 2021 A Brodie Consulting publication in conjunction with RQC Group $1 trillion $135 billion Funds down in July No winning streak continues forever. After nine Size of China’s Man Group consecutive months of positive performance, the recent sell-off AUM as hedge fund sector closed down in July. For the after regulatory reported in H1 month, the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index crackdown results. was down 0.60%, but remains up 9.45% for the year. The HFRI Equity Hedge (Total) Index was down 0.76%, with positive performances from quant directional and equity market neutral outweighed China sell-off a mixed blessing by losses in energy and healthcare strategies, China’s recent market crash has largely unregulated private which were down 2.38% and 1.51% respectively. left multiple long-biased hedge education sector would be forced Equity indices continue to be the best performing funds nursing big losses but to turn non-profit and the result HFRI strategy, up 11.12% for the year. has proved a boon for those was even worse than anticipated. Event Driven was down 0.82% (HFRI Event Driven managers with short positions. China’s largest education (Total) Index) in July, largely due to a more difficult According to Bloomberg, the provider, New Oriental Education month in the Multi-Strategy sector, which was crash amounted to a $1 trillion & Technology Group, lost half its down 3.11%. sell-off as concerns about value in an hour. Macro was marginally down 0.10% (HFRI Macro regulatory pressures took hold. The sell-off dip has however (Total) Index), but was the best performing Between them Alibaba Group, been seen as a good entry strategy. The positive performances from Kuaishou Technology, Meituan point for investors, with data systematic (+0.59%) were however set against and Tencent Holdings all lost from research firm EPFR Global losses from discretionary (-0.96%) and currency around $350 billion of market cap showing China focused funds focused managers (-1.56%). in July according to Factset data. recorded net inflows of $3.6 Looking at the Regional Indices, there were a wide The rumours started in the billion in the week to 28 July. dispersion of performances. The most notable was internet chatrooms that China’s the HFRI Emerging Markets India Index, which was up 6.25%, while on the other end of the scale the Latin America Index declined 4.10%. UBS launches women led investment portfolio In a move to broaden and to make their investments. In Upcoming Events strengthen diversity, UBS has 2020, Aberdeen Standard 15 September 2021 launched the Carmen portfolio Investments launched a similar AIMA Australia Annual Forum 2021 to invest in hedge funds run by fund. 21 September women, reports the Financial The same article refers to Preqin MFA Digital Assets 2021 Times. The portfolio will be data that shows women still 21-22 September actively managed and employ only represent 10.9% of senior Global Distribution Conference ALFI quantitative analysis. employees in hedge funds, 22 September This move comes as large which is a small increase on the MFA Data & Technology 2021 (virtual) investors are increasingly previous year’s numbers. using ESG criteria and tools Click here to see further events in 2021 This newsletter is a selection of the previous month’s sector news, trends, regulatory developments and best practices. Any opinions expressed are those of the author only and the newsletter does not constitute personal advise or a personal recommendation. We always seek to maintain tight editorial standards. If you have any comments on this 1 content, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team. August 2021 News Man Group reports strong half year results In its half-year results released on net flows into AHL TargetRisk and the half in positive territory. 28 July, Man Group reported record Man Institutional Solutions, which According to Luke Ellis’ CEO Review, funds under management of $135 were offset by outflows from FRM “strong absolute performance from billion, with net inflows of $1.2 billion. Segregated and Alternative Risk [the] quant alternative strategies The Financial Times described the Premia. drove a significant increase in results as a ‘blowout [signalling] a Absolute performance across the performance fees.” change in fortune for [the] wider firm was up 8.6%, with alternatives sector.’ There were particularly strong up 5.8% and all AHL products closed Eisler Capital Coffey looks to raises $1bn long-only market Eisler Capital, set up by Edward Bloomberg reports on Greg Coffey’s where she was a member of the Eisler in 2015, has raised the Kirkoswald expanding beyond Global Fixed Income, Currency and second largest European fund hedge funds to include a long-only Commodities group, to run this unit. this year, reports Bloomberg. side, with a particular focus on This move comes shortly after The $1 billion multi-strategy emerging markets. the firm hired Joseph Mauro from fund, which started to trade The $3.5 billion business, which was Light Sky Macro to lead the firm’s on 1 July, is mandated to make launched in 2018, recently hired expansion plans and Neha Coulon, leveraged bets and seeking New York based Diana Amoa from again from JPMorgan, to lead the returns of 12-15%. JPMorgan Asset Management, firm’s ESG push. Einhorn focuses on Inflation In David Einhorn’s Q2 investor time when investors have been letter, published by ValueWalk, pouring money into technology he writes that inflation is here to companies. The result, he writes, stay. will be higher prices as the Einhorn makes the distinction traditional firms retool to increase between temporary inflationary production. In addition, the higher bottlenecks and more structural wages to ‘lure’ employees back to problems, associated with the office and Fed ‘tinkering’ with long-term under-investment expansionary policies, will also in traditional businesses, such lead to higher prices. as mills and miners, during a This newsletter is a selection of the previous month’s sector news, trends, regulatory developments and best practices. Any opinions expressed are those of the author only and the newsletter does not constitute personal advise or a personal recommendation. We always seek to maintain tight editorial standards. If you have any comments on this 2 content, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team. August 2021 News (cont.) Ackman changes tack Bill Ackman has Holdings (PSTH), would have used been forced to US regulators up the bulk of the ‘rejig’ his deal to buy raised concerns SPAC. Instead, 10% of Vivendi’s about the move, Ackman will make Universal Music which Ackman the investment Group. described on CNBC through his hedge Having initially as being a “deal fund, Pershing agreed to complete killer.” Investors Square Holdings, a the deal through also had concerns, move that Jefferies his SPAC, Pershing with PSTH share analysts said would Square Tontine price falling almost be a ‘big outlay’ for 20%. The deal the fund. GSK defies Elliott Taking little notice of Elliott Management’s recent ‘recommendations,’ GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has appointed Brian McNamara, an ‘insider,’ as head of its consumer healthcare division. Elliott had been calling for a six-month review of its consumer division, which GSK is planning to spin off and list, along with a process to “select the best executive leadership.” Elliott ups the ante at Duke Showing that there is no rest for In their usual letter to the target the activist, Elliott Management’s Board, which they released via ‘standoff’ with Duke Energy PR Newswire on 19 July, Elliott Corporation is ‘heating-up’, writes called for Duke to: 1) enhance the Barron’s. Board’s independence; 2) improve Having announced its stake in the operational performance in Florida; energy firm two months ago, the 3) increase focused and enhance manager has been engaging with value in Indiana; and 4) attain a Duke investors and received what it premium valuation. Duke response called ‘an outpouring of feedback’. is that the activist is “cherry picking.” This newsletter is a selection of the previous month’s sector news, trends, regulatory developments and best practices. Any opinions expressed are those of the author only and the newsletter does not constitute personal advise or a personal recommendation. We always seek to maintain tight editorial standards. If you have any comments on this 3 content, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team. August 2021 News (cont.) Archegos aftershocks Funds avoid Binance Credit Suisse’s 165-page report by law firm Hedge funds are increasingly giving Binance a wide Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison into berth, given the flood of negative headlines and its Archegos failings makes for tough reading, increased regulatory scrutiny. The Financial Times showing the ‘bank failed to properly monitor reports that several funds have curbed their trading, with tens of billions of dollars of exposure,’ reports crypto specialist Tyr Capital saying it had “significantly Bloomberg. decreased its exposure.” The damning report points to due diligence In response to the concerns, Binance is taking a series failings, but no criminality inside the bank. of what appear to be game-changing – or perhaps last The bank booked an additional loss from ditched – steps to allay concerns, including becoming a Archegos in its second quarter earnings of regulated financial institution, winding down its futures and $653 million. It has also announced a new Chief derivatives products business in Europe, appointing a new Risk Officer, with the appointment of David CEO and cutting the amount of risk that clients can take to Wildermuth, formerly at Goldman Sachs. 20 times leverage. Skybridge believes crypto has further to run Perhaps not surprisingly from a manager with digital asset offerings and looking to launch a US crypto ETF, Skybridge has said crypto has further to run.