(The economic disruptions and lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have compelled the staffs of financial services firms, including hedge funds, to work remotely, mostly from home. In particular, this unique set of circumstances has created IT management challenges for hedge funds coping with the pandemic emergency. FTF News recently had the chance to discuss… Read More >>
Hedge Fund Settles Charges of Deficient Valuation Policies
Hedge fund Deer Park Road Management Company has paid a $5 million penalty to settle charges from an SEC investigation that alleges its policies and procedures governing the valuation of fund assets had “compliance deficiencies.” In addition, the firm’s chief investment officer Scott E. Burg has paid a $250,000 penalty as part of the settlement… Read More >>
Hedge Fund Outflows Hit a Record in December
Amid a growing stream of troubling economic news, hedge fund redemptions hit $42.3 billion in December 2018, which makes it the largest monthly outflow in “at least five years,” according to the Barclay Fund Flow Indicator, published recently by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions, maker of customer relationship management (CRM) software suites for financial… Read More >>
Northern Trust Merges Hedge Fund & Private Equity Services
Custodian bank Northern Trust has merged its private equity and hedge fund businesses and relaunched the combined groups as the North America Alternative Fund Services to reflect a convergence underway in the industry. The refocused group is in line with investment managers who are adjusting to new operational challenges “as they move across asset classes… Read More >>
Visium Pays $10M to Settle Insider Trading Charges
The SEC reports that Visium Asset Management LP, a now-shuttered hedge fund advisory firm, has agreed to be censured and to pay approximately $10 million to settle charges related to asset mismarking and insider trading. Separately, the SEC says that Steven Ku, age 48 and a resident of Princeton Junction, N.J., Visium’s former chief financial… Read More >>
Global Hedge Fund Industry AUM Hits $3.2 Trillion
Hedge funds saw total assets under management (AUM) jump 24 percent to $3.2 trillion between September 2014 and 2016, according to the fourth International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) hedge fund survey. The survey finds that the increase could reflect a combination of more widespread reporting across jurisdictions, market performance, and net fund subscriptions, but… Read More >>
Mirae Asset Securities Using FIS for Next Move
Mirae Asset Securities (USA), the wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Mirae Asset Financial Group, is entering the hedge fund investment allocation space and will be using the Securities360 solution from FIS as it attains self-clearing status. Previously, the firm introduced accounts through a correspondent clearing firm for about two decades and had no need for… Read More >>
Hedge Funds Cut Ops Costs to Keep Pace with Investors
Hedge fund managers report that they have achieved “significant operational cost reductions,” even though they are looking toward additional opportunities for efficiency, according to an EY survey of firms that also finds funds under pressure from investors armed with new demands. The EY report, “Will adapting to today’s evolving demands help you stand out tomorrow?”… Read More >>
Settlement Helps Steven A. Cohen Return in 2018
The ongoing saga of billionaire hedge fund manager, Steven A. Cohen, completed another episode with his settlement this week with the CFTC, which may help him create a path back to investing other peoples’ money by 2018 or beyond. The former hedge fund heavyweight Cohen settled with the SEC this past January after the regulator… Read More >>
Why Aren’t Hedge Funds Already at T+0 Reporting?
(Editor’s note: Scott Price, who has been head of business development and client management for North America for Maitland International Holdings since April, says that fund administrators could be doing more to help hedge funds achieve a shorter time frames for reporting. This includes even those hedge fund firms that lack an IT infrastructure. Price… Read More >>
