Hedge fund liquidations accelerate in third quarter
22/12/2008. A record number of hedge funds liquidated in the third quarter of 2008, according to Hedge Fund Research. During the quarter, 344 funds closed, far exceeding the previous quarterly record of 267, set in the fourth quarter of 2006.

KKR creates new asset management division, appoints William C Sonneborn as CEO
16/12/2008. KKR has created a new asset management division and appointed William C Sonneborn as CEO, effective immediately. KKR Fixed Income will become part of the new division, whilst Sonneborn replaces former CEO of KFI, KKR Financial Holdings and KKR Strategic Capital Management, Saturnino S Fanlo. David A Netjes has also resigned from his role as COO, being replaced by Michael McFerran on a temporary basis.

Hedge funds post modest losses in November
09/12/2008. The overall hedge fund industry is expected to post modest losses for November, and early estimates indicate that the Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index (Broad Index) will finish down approximately 0.71 per cent for November - based on 69 per cent of returns received.

DM Swiss Equity Asymmetric Fund completes first year
08/12/2008. The DM Swiss Equity Asymmetric Fund has successfully completed its first year of operation realising a net gain for its investors +2.67 per cent, according to a statement.

RWC to launch distressed convertibles fund
01/12/2008. Asset manager RWC Partners, which manages hedge funds Pilgrim, Samsara and Strategic Opportunities, is planning to launch a convertible bond fund to take advantage of pricing anomalies in the convertible bond asset class. The RWC Distressed Convertibles Fund is expected to launch in January 2009.

IAM says hedge funds will become more transparent in 2009
01/12/2008. European hedge fund portfolio manager International Asset Management has said in its 2008 review/2009 outlook that it expects hedge funds that are in it for the long term to become more transparent in 2009. The firm also believes that CTAs will be the most favourable strategy in 2009.

Alternative Investment Strategies hires new non-executive director
24/11/2008. London Stock Exchange-listed Alternative Investment Strategies has appointed Richard Hotchkis as a non-executive director. Hotchkis has worked in the investment management industry at the Co-operative Insurance Society for 30 years.

Fidelity next in line to cut jobs
20/11/2008. Fund manager Fidelity International will be making several hundred job cuts from its UK offices, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Nordic Capital Fund VII closes on €4.3bn
20/11/2008. Nordic Capital has closed its latest fund, Nordic Capital Fund VII, on €4.3bn. The fund was launched in November 2007 with a €3.7bn target.

Man Group opens Dutch office
20/11/2008. Man Group has expanded its office network to the Netherlands. The new Rotterdam office will be managed by Arthur Hopstaken and Willem Johannesma, whose independently created company has now moved under the Man umbrella.

Hedge fund losses persist in October as investors withdraw capital, report
20/11/2008. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index for October fell nearly six per cent, Hedge Fund Research said. The Composite has declined over 16 per cent year-to-date through October and has lost more than 12 per cent since 1 September.

Pharos launches DIFC office as DFSA grants licence
19/11/2008. Pharos Financial Advisors, part of the Moscow-based Pharos Financial Group of companies, a specialist emerging markets fund manager, has been granted a licence by the Dubai Financial Services Authority to operate as an authorised firm within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

UK hedge funds uncommitted to adopting industry best practice standards, survey
18/11/2008. Less than one in ten hedge funds plan to sign up to industry best practice standards overseen by the Hedge Fund Standards Board and no hedge fund has been asked by its investors to adopt the standards, according to a Kinetic Partners survey of over 100 UK-based hedge funds. However, most of the respondents support the industry's best practice standards.

SSgA's new Luxembourg-based investment company offers Premia strategy
14/11/2008. State Street Global Advisors, the investment management arm of State Street Corporation, has announced that its hedge fund beta replication strategy will now be offered via the firm's new investment company, State Street Global Advisors Luxembourg SICAV. Named Premia, it seeks to generate long-term capital appreciation while mitigating the manager-specific risk and high fees often associated with direct hedge fund investment, the firm said in a statement.

Hedge fund industry contracted in Q3, losses continued in October
14/11/2008. Total assets in single manager funds fell 16 per cent in Q3 2008 to $2.497tn, according to HedgeFund.net's hedge fund asset flow estimates and preliminary October hedge fund performance estimates. Performance losses during Q3 accounted for $347.5bn of the reduction and investor redemptions and liquidations accounted for an additional $128bn outflow. Investor redemptions alone accounted for an estimated $117.3bn outflow, the largest on record.

Institutions, advisors still keen on alternative investments, survey
12/11/2008. The use of alternative investments among institutions and advisors is widespread, according to a recent survey by Morningstar, Inc. and Barron's Magazine.

UK pension funds increase private equity, hedge fund investment over two years
11/11/2008. UK pension funds have increased their investment in private equity over the past two years, according to the 34th Annual Survey of UK Pension Funds by the National Association of Pension Funds. Private equity investments, including venture capital, are up to 2.5 per cent of total assets in 2008 from 1.7 per cent in 2007 and 2006 - still well below what US pension funds put into the asset class.

Hedge funds slightly decline compared to global equity returns in October
11/11/2008. Hedge funds as measured by both the Greenwich Global Hedge Fund Index and the Greenwich Composite Investable Index, declined marginally when compared to global equity returns during the month of October 2008.

SilverStreet seeks to acquire funds of hedge funds
06/11/2008. London-based hedge fund management group SilverStreet Capital plans to acquire fund of hedge funds businesses as it expects a consolidation phase in the hedge fund industry.

BlackRock completes closed-end fund reorganisations
04/11/2008. Publicly traded investment management firm BlackRock has completed the reorganisations of BlackRock Enhanced Equity Yield Fund, Inc. (EEF) and BlackRock Enhanced Equity Yield & Premium Fund, Inc. (ECV) into BlackRock Enhanced Capital and Income Fund, Inc. (CII).

Hermes funds of hedge funds chief executive joins Jupiter Investment Management Holdings
31/10/2008. Matteo Dante Perruccio has joined Jupiter Investment Management Holdings as non-executive director. Perruccio was recently appointed as chief executive of Hermes Funds of Hedge Funds, the fund of hedge funds boutique within Hermes.

van Biema Value Partners launches new Asia fund
29/10/2008. van Biema Value Partners has launched van Biema Asia Value Fund, domiciled in the Cayman Islands.

FRM Capital Advisors seeds its first European manager, Beechbrook Capital
21/10/2008. FRM Capital Advisors, the hedge fund seeding business of Financial Risk Management, and London-based Beechbrook Capital, have established a strategic partnership to launch Beechbrook's inaugural mezzanine fund.

US alternative asset manager Valens Capital opens Tokyo office
15/10/2008. New York-based alternative asset manager Valens Capital Management has opened a new office in Tokyo to better serve its Japanese investor base.

SteelTeam launches steel hedge fund
13/10/2008. Finnish steel trading and processing company SteelTeam is launching a steel-focused hedge fund, SteelTeam Steel Hedge Fund SFS1.

Hedge Fund Standards Board signs up ten new signatories
08/10/2008. The Hedge Fund Standards Board has signed up ten new hedge fund managers to its standards of best practice: Arrowgrass Capital Partners, Blackrock Investment Management UK, Concordia Advisors (Bermuda), GLC, Montrica Investment Management, New Star Asset Management, Otus Capital Management, Proxima Alfa Investments SGIIC, Ruby Capital Partners and Sabre Fund Management.

BDO Stoy Hayward Investment Management strengthens alternatives fund of funds team
06/10/2008. Wealth manager BDO Stoy Hayward Investment Management has added three senior professionals to its alternatives fund of funds team. John Smutniak joins the team from Lyonross Capital Management, Dev Jadeja from Old Mutual Asset Manager and Rahul Saito from RMF.

International Asset Management opens Sweden office, hires Henric Malmqvist
02/10/2008. Fund of hedge funds manager International Asset Management has opened an office in Stockholm. Henric Malmqvist has been appointed director for the new location to increase IAM's reach and audience.

AXA IM expands fund of hedge funds practice
01/10/2008. AXA Investment Managers, the asset management company within AXA Group, has strengthened its fund of hedge funds team with the appointment of Roman Berri as portfolio manager and David Canty as senior operational due diligence analyst. Aninda Nath has also joined as senior strategy analyst and Wesley Thornburgh has been appointed as strategy analyst.

Hermes establishes fund of hedge fund practice, hires Matteo Dante Perruccio as CEO
30/09/2008. Pension fund investment manager Hermes has appointed Matteo Dante Perruccio as CEO of Hermes’ newly established fund of hedge funds operations.

Over 180 hedge fund liquidations in second quarter
18/09/2008. Volatile financial markets continued to impact the hedge fund industry in the second quarter of 2008, contributing to over 180 hedge fund liquidations during the quarter, according to Hedge Fund Research.

Dexion hires Rebecca Donaldson as marketing, communications head
15/09/2008. Dexion Capital has appointed Rebecca Donaldson as head of marketing and communications. Donaldson will be assisted by Allison Tater, who has been transferred internally to the role of marketing associate.

Stanley Fink joins International Standard Asset Management as CEO
15/09/2008. International Standard Asset Management, an absolute return investment company incorporating the International Standard Gold Fund and the International Standard Macro Fund, has hired former Man Group CEO Stanley Fink as its new CEO. Fink will work closely with Lord Levy who has joined ISAM as chairman.

Patrick Merville succeeds Antoine Massad as CEO of Man Investments Middle East
15/09/2008. Patrick Merville has been chosen to succeed Antoine Massad as CEO of Man Investments Middle East. Massad will retire.

Mark Barker, Greg Knott leave PAI's fund of hedge funds division
12/09/2008. Pioneer Alternative Investments has confirmed that there have been a number of resignations from the funds of hedge funds division in the London and New York City offices. The group made up of nine people includes two senior members of the investment team, Mark Barker and Greg Knott.

Asset manager Fairfield Greenwich, Swiss bank Banque Bénédict Hentsch to merge
10/09/2008. Alternative asset management specialist Fairfield Greenwich and Geneva-based Swiss bank Banque Bénédict Hentsch have merged. BBH will change its name to Banque Bénédict Hentsch Fairfield Partners.

Blackstone hires Olivier Meyo to head London office
10/09/2008. Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, the fund of hedge funds division of The Blackstone Group, has hired Olivier Meyo as a managing director to head its London office and lead its business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Punter Southall Group forms new fund of hedge funds company
09/09/2008. Punter Southall Group has established a new $400m fund of hedge funds company through a joint venture with Swiss-based specialist alternative fund of hedge funds investment manager Octane Holding. The new business is to be called Grenfell PAI Guernsey as a first step to scale up its alternative investment operations, the firm said.

Alternative asset manager GLG expands London office with two new portfolio managers
08/09/2008. Alternative asset manager GLG Partners has appointed Andrew Knott and Anthony Burton to its London office as portfolio managers. Knott will be responsible for establishing a new global energy product and managing the firm's global energy investments. Burton will co-manage GLG's global technology investments alongside Philip Pearson, focusing also on broadening the scope of these investments to include the global media and telecom sectors.

Swiss alternative investment firm Peak Partners launches fund of hedge funds
03/09/2008. Geneva-based fund manager Peak Partners has launched a new fund of hedge funds focusing on asymmetric return strategies, Mont Blanc Summit. For its first three months of operation, the fund returned 1.95 per cent in USD net of fees, according to the firm.

New macro long/short Vallea Fund launches
01/09/2008. New management company Vallea Capital has launched its long/short Vallea Fund.

GAM hires Mark Hawtin as investment director
01/09/2008. London-based investment management firm GAM has appointed Mark Hawtin as investment director. In his new role, he will manage a global long/short equity mandate which will invest in a range of themes with an emphasis on innovation and change, the firm said.

Kuwaiti investment bank Global Investment House launches India hedge fund
28/08/2008. Kuwaiti investment bank Global Investment House has launched The Mayur Hedge Fund, the firm's first direct India-focused product, a long/short absolute return growth-oriented fund with a net long bias.

Clean Resources Asia launches long-only water fund
26/08/2008. CLSA Capital Partners' CRA Management has launched a third fund, Clean Water Asia Long Only Fund, a long-only, principally listed equity focused fund. CRA principal and CIO Andrew Pidden explained that this third fund was part of Capital Partners' strategy to roll out the clean investment platform into a full service group, from unlisted through long-only to hedge funds.

Auda hires Kite managers, integrates Kite products into Auda hedge
13/08/2008. Auda International has appointed George Chacko as CIO of Auda Hedge. Chacko joins Auda from Kite Partners, a hedge fund and fund of funds investment manager, where he served as managing partner and CIO. Karl Neumar, who worked with Chacko at Kite, is also joining Auda Hedge, as a vice president. The products of Kite will be integrated into Auda Hedge and continue to be managed by Chacko.

Sorin hires Matt Chasin as COO and partner
13/08/2008. US-based alternative investment firm Sorin Capital Management has appointed Matt Chasin as COO, partner and member of the investment committee. Chasin will be responsible for all non-investment activities, focusing on the operational and financial aspects of Sorin. He will also be responsible for managing all borrowing relationships and activities for the Sorin funds.

Investment management firm Duff Capital Advisors expands team
11/08/2008. Institutional investment management firm Duff Capital Advisors has added two investment teams, focusing on the utilities and merchant power sectors, led by Vedula Murti, and financial services, led by Morid Kamshad.

FCA to invest in VPC
07/08/2008. FRM Capital Advisors, a division of Financial Risk Management and Chicago-based Victory Park Capital have established a strategic relationship to accelerate VPC's growth through an FCA investment.

Fund of hedge funds manager Tremont appoints Scott Metchick as CIO
07/08/2008. Fund of hedge funds manager Tremont Capital Management has appointed Scott R Metchick as CIO. The former EIM CIO will replace Cynthia Nicoll, who left the firm for personal reasons.