Daily News; White Plains

Goldman Clones Hfs for the Masses

NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the asset management arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., last week announced the launch of a mutual fund that will offer individual U.S. investors direct access to long/short strategies. The new mutual fund is based on a hedge fund replication index, and as such, is passively managed. Called Goldman Sachs Absolute Return Tracker Fund, the mutual fund, sold under the ticker symbol GARTX, is designed to give retail investors access to a b...

Investors Wary of Goldman Hedge Funds

NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - Amid Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s relatively strong second quarter financial results in a challenging environment, hedge fund investments stood out as a sore spot. Alternative assets under management, including hedge funds, stood at $146 billion as of the end of May, down 3% from $151 billion a year earlier and down 1% from this February. While this has to be seen in the context of a mass movement by investors into less risky assets, in particular money market funds,...

Citi Cuts Forecast On Bluebay Warning

LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - Investment bank Citigroup Inc. has slashed earnings estimates and its target price for BlueBay Asset Management plc after Europe's biggest credit funds operator warned that profits this year would be little changed from the previous year. The move followed BlueBay saying it would miss forecasts as the performance of many of its funds stalled with a knock-on effect on incentive fees. That expected shortfall saw Citi reduce its earnings- per-share estimate by an averag...

Korean Broker Woori to Open Singapore Hedge Fund

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - South Korean broker Woori Investment & Securities said on Tuesday [June 17] it will start a $100 million Asia-focused hedge fund in Singapore as part of plans to expand its business in Southeast Asia. Woori plans to boost revenue contribution from its overseas business to 20% in three years from 5% now, Joonho Hwang, chief financial officer of the Korean brokerage firm, told a news conference here.

Loan Funds Have Their Pick of Borrowers

NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - Continuing tight credit and difficulties at banks have created better terms and conditions for hedge funds set up to make money by giving loans to businesses. Such managers have more bargaining power than before. "We can move to better deals," said Brook Taube, chief investment officer of Medley Capital, speaking at a conference organized by Weston Capital Asset Management LLC, a fund of funds that has an investment vehicle specializing in asset-based lending funds.

Hedge Fund Bosses Tip Global Macro, Market Neutral

MONACO (Reuters) - Global macro and market neutral strategies look set to be top performers over the next 12 to 18 months, but it is still too early for a pick-up in distressed debt investing, top hedge fund executives said at the Global Alternative Investment Management meeting in Monaco. Speakers said current volatile market conditions and the prospect of the credit crisis continuing or getting worse made market neutral funds, which aim to make money in both rising and falling markets, and ...

Cqs Hires Barclays Exec to Head Hk Trading

HONG KONG (Reuters) - CQS has hired former Barclays Capital managing director David Kilgore as its head of trading in Hong Kong, part of a broader push by the $9.6 billion U.K. hedge fund manager to expand its presence in high-growth Asia. CQS, a specialist in convertible bond arbitrage, is looking at further expanding its 20-person Hong Kong office and the launch of additional Asia-focused hedge funds is possible, CQS director Brian Pohli said.