Man Group wins Hedge Fund Mandate for UK’s Cornwall Pension Fund (Reuters)
Hedge fund Man Group said on Thursday it had won the mandate to manage the hedge fund allocation for British local government region Cornwall’s pension fund. The allocation has a target size of 8 percent of the 1.5 billion pound ($2.28 billion) fund, according to a statement from Man Group, or 120 million pounds. The allocation will be managed by Man FRM, a wholly owned subsidiary of Man Group, the statement said.
Hedge Funds, Speculators Face Big Losses on Swiss Franc Rally (CNBC)
Currency speculators, particularly large global macro hedge funds with big short positions in the Swiss franc, are staring massive losses in the face after the Swiss National Bank shocked markets on Thursday by removing a three-year-old cap on the currency. The move sent the safe-haven franc soaring against the euro and the U.S. dollar at a time when more than $3.5 billion was positioned in favor of franc weakness, the largest such position in more than a year and a half.
Leonteq Sells Structured Products Linked to Pretend Portfolios (Bloomberg)
Leonteq AG is selling structured products for investors who want to bet on successful unknown fund managers of pretend portfolios. It began offering certificates in Switzerland last month that track a basket of “wikifolios” created on wikifolio.com. Users on the German-language website create phony funds that hold no assets and can be turned into investable securities through certificates that trade on the Stuttgart Stock Exchange. The amateur investment pickers are trying to make a dent in an actively managed fund industry that endured a tough year in 2014. Investors allocated almost five times as much money to passive funds as to active strategies last year, according to Morningstar Inc. In the first half, 461 hedge funds closed, which was on pace to be the highest in five years, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc.
Hedge Fund Managers Pick Top 2015 Ideas (CNBC)
The smartest hedge fund strategies are often hidden from public view, shared only at clubby “idea dinners” and other places where ordinary investors aren’t invited. Here’s a peek at the top unusual trades for 2015—judged by some of the best investors in the world. The results are in (full reports) for the FactSet Top Idea Tournament Special Situations contest, run by SumZero, a community for analysts at hedge funds, mutual funds and private equity funds. The contest, which was open to the 10,500 members of the SumZero community, accepted event-driven and catalyst-focused pitches on virtually any security with a market capitalization of $500 million or more. The contest is the third in a four-part series that includes $160,000 in cash prizes.
