Thursday, June 28, 2012

Smile, It’s Not All That Bad

It’s not the end of the world as we know it and we do feel fine. There has been a lot of interesting news this week about hedge funds and those who manage them and frankly a lot of it has not been positive.

Hoboken - July 4th Macy's Fireworks -
 (Photo: jvdalton)

But fear not, dear reader, our research shows that the industry is poised for great things in the second half of 2012 and beyond. Investors are looking to allocate to enhance beta, create alpha and most importantly protect their portfolios.

However, before they write the check or send the wire, they are spending a lot of time on due diligence. They are kicking tires, and looking under the hood to make sure the engines they fuel run properly. Our Investor Ops Series kicked off today, this is a first event of its kind allowing investors to get together and discuss: the who, what, where, why and how to complete operational due diligence on alternative investments.

The investor-only summit is a deep dive into the ops side of investing.  Our next program in the series will be later this fall so be on the look-out for because if you are an institutional investor you are not going to want to miss it. Click here to see a bit more about the program.

The InAlternatives blog will not publish next week. We are going to take an extra day off for July 4th. We will be back on the 11th.

Happy 4th!


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Investors: Guess What? The Sky Is Not Falling!

Contrary to a number of recent articles about negative investor sentiment and hedge fund manager comments about how bad the economy is going to become, we believe that the hedge fund industry is poised for growth in the second half of 2012 and beyond. The 2012 Citi Prime Finance survey  provides the foundation for this belief.

Sunrise on January 21, 2008. Facing east from ...
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The survey of asset managers, consultants and investors found that despite poor performance over the last year, assets allocated to hedge funds are expected to double over the next five years.  The reason is simple, investor need alpha generators and right or wrong, they believe that hedge funds can and will provide alpha. Structures may change, strategies may evolve but nonetheless, hedge fund managers will provide alpha. The study  provides solid insight into where the industry is headed. To learn more, click here to read the survey results.

Here on the front lines, we are hearing from institutional investors daily about their increased appetite for hedge funds. Next week in New York, we are running an investor-only program on Operational Due Diligence for Endowments and Foundations. The first in our Investor Ops Series offers investors a peer-to-peer learning environment to exchange ideas and gain insight on how to look at managers from the inside out. There are still a few spots left. To sign up for this program click here.


Thursday, June 14, 2012

It Is All about Managing Risk

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 03:   JPMorgan Chase & Co. ...
JPMorgan Chase & Co. chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

The hedge fund industry seems primed for the pump as we settle into the beginnings of what looks to be a great summer. It's clear that many folks both in and out of the industry are waiting with baited breath for the news out of the SEC on how funds can or cannot advertise in the wake of the passage of the JOBS act.

Our research shows that going forward investors, regardless of the amount of capital that they plan on putting to work, are focused now more than ever on dotting I’s and crossing T’s before they invest dollar one with a fund.

To this end, one topic on everyone’s mind continues to be risk management. It seems that this is the story that just will not go away. Yesterday, Jamie Dimon, the Chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan testified before the Senate Banking Committee. It was his first appearance on the Hill since the bank revealed massive trading losses in May. To read excerpts from his testimony, click here.

Later this month, the first Investor Ops program will take in New York City. During this investor only program, delegates will learn from and meet with peers to discuss the best practices in operational due diligence. Investor Ops is a new series we created to help investors learn the tools of the trade to make better decisions.

To learn more about this event, click here.



 
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