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All of Today's News Stories - Monday, September 11, 2006

See also: News Home Page.

Monday, September 11, 2006
- September 11 - BT backs new hedge fund
- September 11 - Citigroup Names Head of Hedge Fund Unit
- September 11 - Financial services: High pressure, performance
- September 11 - Fund of hedge fund assets rise $100 bln in H1
- September 11 - Hedge Fund Extends Bairnco Tender Offer
- September 11 - Henderson adds to growing hedge fund range
- September 11 - New Smith will take banking to New York
- September 11 - Stork under pressure as Schroder's poised to back hedge fund restructuring plan
Sunday, September 10, 2006
- September 10 - Ahold board split over business breakup-paper
- September 10 - Heard off the street: Investigative firms offer hedge against booming funds
- September 10 - Hedge funds carry huge risk
- September 10 - Man Group eyes US for brokerage arm listing
Saturday, September 9, 2006
- September 9 - ECOFIN Trade unions say hedge funds making companies reluctant to take risks
- September 9 - Hedge Funds Return +1.30% in August; Up +7.0% YTD
- September 9 - Italian Fund Flows Back in Positive Territory
- September 9 - M&A People Divided on Hedge Fund Role

Expanded Text:

BT backs new hedge fund

September 11, 2006

From FinancialStandard.com.au:
BT Financial Group has partnered with new hedge fund manager Voyager Funds Management in a distribution deal for the group’s flagship Voyager Pan Asia Fund.

The long-short equities fund, run by Voyager’s seven person investment team, is market neutral and invests in Pacific Rim countries, targeting returns of 15 per cent per annum with 10 per cent or less volatility.

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Citigroup Names Head of Hedge Fund Unit

September 11, 2006

From The New York Times:
Citigroup named Dean Barr as the head of its Tribeca Global Management unit, succeeding Tanya Styblo Beder, in an effort to jump-start the hedge fund unit’s sagging returns.

Ms. Beder, 50, joined Citigroup in May 2004 to help build Tribeca, which oversees $2.1 billion in assets. A Citigroup spokesman, Jon Diat, said that Ms. Beder would remain an adviser to the bank.

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Financial services: High pressure, performance

September 11, 2006

From ComputerWorld.com:
When it comes to sheer IT "bling," financial services is never outshone. High margins, deep pockets, and intense competition in investment, banking, and insurance have pushed these companies to the edge of just about any technology there is. Storage, grid technology, Web services, virtualization, VOIP -- you name it, financial services companies have bought it.

But firms in the financial services sector are driven by more than profit and time to market. Stringent regulations and governance requirements in the securities and banking sectors have raised compliance to the top of the stack.

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Fund of hedge fund assets rise $100 bln in H1

September 11, 2006

From Reuters:
Assets in funds of hedge funds, which let investors tap a suite of portfolios in one hit, climbed by more than $100 billion in the six months to end-June, a rise greater than in all of 2005, a survey by the publication InvestHedge said.

Fund of hedge fund assets rose 16 percent to $720 billion, accounting for more than 40 percent of all the assets held in the hedge fund universe, InvestHedge said on Monday.

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Hedge Fund Extends Bairnco Tender Offer

September 11, 2006

From Yahoo! Finance:
Hedge fund Steel Partners II L.P., which launched an unsolicited offer for Bairnco Corp., said Monday it has extended for the third time its tender offer for the saw blade maker until Sept. 28.

Steel Partners, which already owns a 15.2 percent stake of Bairnco, commenced a cash tender offer to purchase all of Bairnco's outstanding shares for $12 per share in June. The last tender offer was previously due to expire on Sept. 8.

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Henderson adds to growing hedge fund range

September 11, 2006

From Reuters Italia:
Henderson Global Investors said on Monday it has launched a new hedge fund designed to exploit price moves stemming from mergers or corporate restructurings, continuing a run of fund launches.

The company said it has rolled out the Henderson Special Situations hedge fund, managed by Adam Tyrell and Will Ballard. The fund is listed in Dublin and investors must commit a minimum of $100,000 (54,000 pounds) or equivalent amount in euros.

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New Smith will take banking to New York

September 11, 2006

From Times Online:
THREE British investment bankers who set up their own London boutique after quitting Merrill Lynch are making their first foray on to American soil.

In a reversal of the normal American invasion of British investment banking, New Smith Capital Partners will open an office in New York this week.

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Stork under pressure as Schroder's poised to back hedge fund restructuring plan

September 11, 2006

From Forbes:
Top ten investor in Stork NV, Schroder Investment Management, has lined up to support activist hedge funds Centaurus Capital Ltd and Paulson & Co in their call to split up the Dutch industrial services group.

At the core of their proposal, the hedge funds are proposing a listing for the group's successful aerospace division.

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Ahold board split over business breakup-paper

September 10, 2006

From Reuters:
The board of Dutch retailer Ahold (AHLN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) (AHO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is divided over whether the group should spin off key parts of its operation, the Business reported on Sunday.

The British paper reported, quoting a source close to the firm, that Ahold was undergoing a strategy review, with the result expected with third-quarter earnings in December, as it came under pressure from hedge funds to sell its U.S. activities.

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Heard off the street: Investigative firms offer hedge against booming funds

September 10, 2006

From Post-Gazette.com:
The explosive growth of hedge funds -- not to mention a few exploding hedge funds that burned big-name investors -- has spawned a new growth industry: firms that check up on hedge funds.

"The market runs on fear and greed and we're kind of operating on the fear side. We're trying to alleviate fear for our clients," says Guy Simonian, founder of Cotal Systems.

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Hedge funds carry huge risk

September 10, 2006

From The Toronto Star:
This week we open up the old mailbox for a glance at the latest reader concerns and questions.

Q I am a conservative, retired investor. Should a hedge fund be included in my diversified portfolio? Would it be better included in an RRSP or held outside an RRSP? J.A.

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Man Group eyes US for brokerage arm listing

September 10, 2006

From Guardian Unlimited:
Man Group, the hedge fund manager, is likely to choose New York for a listing of its brokerage arm if it goes ahead with the much-rumoured demerger of the business.

Last week's announcement that Stanley Fink, its chief executive and one of the key cheerleaders of the hedge fund industry, is to become non-executive deputy chairman from next April prompted speculation that a demerger of its Man Financial brokerage business is imminent. The favourite theory was that Fink would become chairman of the independent hedge fund business, while Harvey McGrath, currently group chairman, would take the same role at the brokerage side.

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ECOFIN Trade unions say hedge funds making companies reluctant to take risks

September 9, 2006

From Forbes:
Pressure from hedge funds is making companies reluctant to take risks and invest in new activities, European Trade Union Confederation secretary general John Monks told EU finance ministers.

'They are making directors risk averse, cautious and safe players,' he said.

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Hedge Funds Return +1.30% in August; Up +7.0% YTD

September 9, 2006

From BusinessWire:
The Greenwich-Van Global Hedge Fund Index returned +1.30% in August according to a preliminary report released today by Greenwich-Van Advisors, LLC, a leading hedge fund index provider. In comparison, the S&P 500, NASDAQ, Nikkei 225 and the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index returned +2.38%, +4.41%, +4.42% and +1.53%, respectively.

"Hedge fund returns bounced back in August after increased market volatility over the summer spooked many hedge fund managers which created selling pressure," notes Wade McKnight, Vice President of Greenwich-Van. "Better than expected earnings growth and a pause in interest rate tightening created an attractive trading environment for most equity and fixed income strategies. Emerging market managers, followed by equity-based strategies delivered the strongest results in August, while, not surprisingly, short sellers delivered the weakest result. Many weak performing strategies early in the summer proved to be the strongest contributors to August index results."

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Italian Fund Flows Back in Positive Territory

September 9, 2006

From Black Enterprise:
After four consecutive months of net outflows, the Italian fund management industry returned to positive territory recording net inflows of 482 million euro for the month, according to Assogestioni, the Italian fund managers' association, which has released fund flow figures for August 2006. The Italian fund management industry now has assets under management totaling just less than 604 billion euro.

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M&A People Divided on Hedge Fund Role

September 9, 2006

From Black Enterprise:
Merger and acquisition specialists, including corporate executives, bankers, lawyers and advisers, differ sharply in their attitudes toward hedge fund involvement in deals, according to a new survey by IntraLinks, a business information technology provider.

Some 427 M&A professionals participated in the study, which focused on Europe. While over two-thirds of the British respondents said hedge funds have a positive impact in boosting deal flow, some of the participants in other countries see adverse effects.

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HEDGE FUND RISK AND OTHER DISCLOSURES

Hedge funds, including fund of funds (“Hedge Funds”), are unregistered private investment partnerships, funds or pools that may invest and trade in many different markets, strategies and instruments (including securities, non-securities and derivatives) and are NOT subject to the same regulatory requirements as mutual funds, including mutual fund requirements to provide certain periodic and standardized pricing and valuation information to investors. There are substantial risks in investing in Hedge Funds. Persons interested in investing in Hedge Funds should carefully note the following:

Hedge Funds represent speculative investments and involve a high degree of risk. An investor could lose all or a substantial portion of his/her investment. Investors must have the financial ability, sophistication/experience and willingness to bear the risks of an investment in a Hedge Fund.
An investment in a Hedge Fund should be discretionary capital set aside strictly for speculative purposes.
An investment in a Hedge Fund is not suitable or desirable for all investors. Only qualified eligible investors may invest in Hedge Funds.
Hedge Fund offering documents are not reviewed or approved by federal or state regulators
Hedge Funds may be leveraged (including highly leveraged) and a Hedge Fund’s performance may be volatile
An investment in a Hedge Fund may be illiquid and there may be significant restrictions on transferring interests in a Hedge Fund. There is no secondary market for an investor’s investment in a Hedge Fund and none is expected to develop.
A Hedge Fund may have little or no operating history or performance and may use hypothetical or pro forma performance which may not reflect actual trading done by the manager or advisor and should be reviewed carefully. Investors should not place undue reliance on hypothetical or pro forma performance.
A Hedge Fund’s manager or advisor has total trading authority over the Hedge Fund.
A Hedge Fund may use a single advisor or employ a single strategy, which could mean a lack of diversification and higher risk.
A Hedge Fund (for example, a fund of funds) and its managers or advisors may rely on the trading expertise and experience of third-party managers or advisors, the identity of which may not be disclosed to investors
A Hedge Fund may involve a complex tax structure, which should be reviewed carefully.
A Hedge Fund may involve structures or strategies that may cause delays in important tax information being sent to investors.
A Hedge Fund may provide no transparency regarding its underlying investments (including sub-funds in a fund of funds structure) to investors. If this is the case, there will be no way for an investor to monitor the specific investments made by the Hedge Fund or, in a fund of funds structure, to know whether the sub-fund investments are consistent with the Hedge Fund’s investment strategy or risk levels.
A Hedge Fund may execute a substantial portion of trades on foreign exchanges or over-the-counter markets, which could mean higher risk.
A Hedge Fund’s fees and expenses-which may be substantial regardless of any positive return- will offset the Hedge Fund’s trading profits. In a fund of funds or similar structure, fees are generally charged at the fund as well as the sub-fund levels; therefore fees charged investors will be higher that those charged if the investor invested directly in the sub-fund(s).
Hedge Funds are not required to provide periodic pricing or valuation information to investors.
Hedge Funds and their managers/advisors may be subject to various conflicts of interest.

The above general summary is not a complete list of the risks and other important disclosures involved in investing in Hedge Funds and, with respect to any particular Hedge Fund, is subject to the more complete and specific disclosures contained in such Hedge Fund’s respective offering documents. Before making any investment, an investor should thoroughly review a Hedge Fund’s offering documents with the investor’s financial, legal and tax advisor to determine whether an investment in the Hedge Fund is suitable for the investor in light of the investor’s investment objectives, financial circumstances and tax situation.

All performance information is believed to be net of applicable fees unless otherwise specifically noted. No representation is made that any fund will or is likely to achieve its objectives or that any investor will or is likely to achieve results comparable to those shown or will make any profit at all or will be able to avoid incurring substantial losses. Past performance is not necessarily indicative, and is no guarantee, of future results.

The information on the Site is intended for informational, educational and research purposes only. Nothing on this Site is intended to be, nor should it be construed or used as, financial, legal, tax or investment advice, be an opinion of the appropriateness or suitability of an investment, or intended to be an offer, or the solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any security or an endorsement or inducement to invest with any fund or fund manager. No such offer or solicitation may be made prior to the delivery of appropriate offering documents to qualified investors. Before making any investment, you should thoroughly review the particular fund’s confidential offering documents with your financial, legal and tax advisor and conduct such due diligence as you (and they) deem appropriate. We do not provide investment advice and no information or material on the Site is to be relied upon for the purpose of making investment or other decisions. Accordingly, we assume no responsibility or liability for a ny investment decisions or advice, treatment, or services rendered by any investor or any person or entity mentioned, featured on or linked to the Site.

The information on this Site is as of the date(s) indicated, is not a complete description of any fund, and is subject to the more complete disclosures and terms and conditions contained in a particular fund's offering documents, which may be obtained directly from the fund. Certain of the information, including investment returns, valuations, fund targets and strategies, has been supplied by the funds or their agents, and other third parties, and although believed to be reliable, has not been independently verified and its completeness and accuracy cannot be guaranteed. No warranty, express or implied, representation or guarantee is made as to the accuracy, validity, timeliness, completeness or suitability of this information.

Any indices and other financial benchmarks shown are provided for illustrative purposes only, are unmanaged, reflect reinvestment of income and dividends and do not reflect the impact of advisory fees. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. Comparisons to indexes have limitations because indexes have volatility and other material characteristics that may differ from a particular hedge fund. For example, a hedge fund may typically hold substantially fewer securities than are contained in an index. Indices also may contain securities or types of securities that are not comparable to those traded by a hedge fund. Therefore, a hedge fund’s performance may differ substantially from the performance of an index. Because of these differences, indexes should not be relied upon as an accurate measure of comparison.