Bolstered by yet another quarter of healthy equity returns, Canadian pension funds maintained their positive momentum during the first quarter, according to a report by RBC Dexia Investor Services.
Global custodian bank State Street has published a report on the hedge fund industry offering an overview of the impact of rising institutional allocations to alternative investment vehicles and the implications of this trend for institutions and the hedge fund industry.
Goldman Sachs's leading hedge fund Global Alpha made a 5.7 per cent loss in February.
The loss came as reports in March showed that Goldman had dropped a place to become the second largest hedge fund manager in the US with $32.5 billion of assets under management.
Hedge fund advisors Hennessee Group say that the Hennessee Hedge Fund Index advanced +1.01% in March (+3.34% YTD), while the S&P 500 rose +1.00% (+0.19% YTD), the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased +0.70% (-0.88% YTD), and the NASDAQ Composite Index advanced +0.23% (+0.26% YTD). Bonds lagged in March, as the Lehman Intermediate Government Corporate Bond Index advanced +0.17% (+1.59% YTD).
Hedge fund returns were up for the ninth month in a row, gaining 0.88% in March, according to flash estimates from the Barclay Hedge Fund Index.
Equity prices in most developed countries fared well in March, as national indices rose in all major markets except Japan and Ireland, says Sol Waksman, founder and president of The Barclay Group.
SDS Financial Technologies, a provider of trading and electronic marketplace solutions for institutions, exchanges and hedge funds, yesterday announced that Man Financial, a broker, has licensed the SDS Alternative Trading System (ATS) from SDS Financial Technologies to launch the Man E-Finance Fixed-Income Marketplace to its clients in the United States.
According to a study by State Street Corporation, a provider of financial services to institutional investors, more than half of respondents indicated that their governing bodies are more comfortable investing in hedge funds today than they were 12 months ago. Reinforcing this interest, more than half of boards also spend 15 percent or more of their time on the subject.
A new web-based investment research exchange launches this week in London with the aim of facilitating improved research procurement between brokers and fund management groups. It may also increase liquidity among small-cap. stocks listed on the LSE’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
Nearly 20% of users of online brokerages are considering changing brokers in the next six months, according to a study by research and advisory firm Aite Group. The group conducted a study of US retail consumers who possess investing accounts with access to online trading.
Hedge funds in Barclay's Bank's Hedge Fund Index continued their strong performance in 2007, gaining 0.84% in February according to flash estimates of the index. The Index is up 1.97% for the year.