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Family Office Workshops

Family Office Workshops

Video Invite to Our Upcoming Investor Workshops

I recorded a brief video in Berlin to invite members of the Hedge Fund Group to our upcoming family office workshops.  Family offices are a growing and hugely important hedge fund investor group and our workshops are a great opportunity to meet family offices, learn from top industry trainers and improve your fund's marketing efforts.  To reserve your seat for either the New York or Los Angeles workshops, simply visit this page.


Join us on May 10th in Los Angeles or June 7th, 2013 in New York for a full-day family office training workshop covering family office industry fundamentals, best practices, investment insights, and fund manager selection preferences.

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Link to This Resource: Family Office Workshops

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/03/family-office-workshops.html

Hedge Funds Cyprus Bonds Default

Hedge Funds Cyprus Bonds

Hedge Funds Betting Against Cyprus Default

Hedge funds are seen to be wagering against a Cyprus default and due to net large gains if the small island country manages to pay its creditors.  Cyprus has to raise an estimated EUR5.8bn in order to secure bailout funds but the chances of Cyprus passing some of that burden onto ordinary depositors (an extraordinary move that was met with intense protests) is looking uncertain.  According to Reuters, hedge funds own about half of the June 2013 bond and are betting that Cyprus and its partners is the Eurozone will ultimately prevent a default one way or another and that bondholders will be paid in full.
The market price of a Cypriot sovereign bond due to mature in just over two months suggests a gamble by hedge funds that the country will avoid a default will pay off. The EUR1.4bn 3.75% bond, due to be redeemed on June 3, is bid at 83% of its face value, signalling that the market expects creditors will be paid in full even though a EUR10bn bailout hangs in the balance.
The country's parliament on Tuesday voted unanimously against the controversial plan to make domestic depositors foot part of the bill for the island's debt woes, but market participants say an unprecedented levy on depositors to raise EUR5.8bn will be passed in one way or another.
Cyprus must raise that cash in order to secure the bailout money. 
According to market sources, around half of the June 2013 bond is owned by hedge funds, but while its price has fallen by around seven points this week, a restructuring of Cyprus' EUR4bn sovereign debt is not on the table. 
"There is a calculated gamble here that the contagion from deposit holders is less important than the contagion you would see if the Troika forced PSI in a second European country," said a portfolio manager at a large European fixed income fund.  Source

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Link to This Resource: Hedge Funds Cyprus Bonds Default

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/03/hedge-funds-cyprus-bonds-default.html

Investment Conference Networking Tips

Investment Conference Networking Tips

Ensuring that You Have a Great Experience at Your Next Event

In the last year, I attended almost a dozen events, workshops and networking dinners with my colleagues in the investment and family office community.  Based on that experience, I am sharing 5 tips on how to get the most out of networking opportunities at investment conferences and event.  If you'd like a chance to practice these tips while gaining insights on an important hedge fund investor group, you should consider attending our upcoming family office workshops.  
  1. Don’t Be Shy: it’s a good start to attend a investment conference but you do not gain anything if you do not talk to other attendees, speakers and sponsors. The event is only valuable if you make it valuable, so network and socialize with those around you.
  2. Don’t Scare People Off: Another mistake is to be too forward when approaching managers or service providers, especially those looking to land a job in the industry or pitch a product. Instead of sharing insights and thoughts on the industry, many professionals will focus entirely on their own needs (a job, a sale, advice, etc.). This is the wrong mentality. Assuming you have been following the hedge fund/wealth management industry and paid good attention to the speaker, you will have a good starting point for initiating a conversation. Ask questions when appropriate and listen when the other person is speaking.   Try to follow the general flow of your conversations, rather than trying to steer them all in the direction that gives you the most benefit--you'll often find that you will like the ultimate direction of the conversation and you won't have to be pushy.
  3. Get Your Name Out There: If you have an objective for the conference (meeting a potential client, making a valuable connection, etc.) don't worry if you don't meet that one person you were hoping to connect with, just get your name out there and leave a positive impression on everyone.  It may just be an inconvenient moment or the person you are talking with is not the right person at the firm; for example, if you are marketing your auditing service to a principle in charge of evaluating deals, he may not be interested. Give him your business card regardless, in a quarter the firm may be looking for a new auditor and still have your card. Even if you do not directly land a client through this method, it boosts your firm's and your own name's recognition. 
  4. Prepare an Elevator Pitch: It may not sound great, but you are a product that needs to be sold. Therefore you need to have a great elevator pitch that comes out effortlessly. Whether you are looking to network, marketing to investors or job seeking, a solid elevator pitch is necessary. Be concise and include only essential information. 
  5. Look and Act like a Professional: Even though you are not technically at work when you’re attending an event or conference, act like you are. You are meeting potential clients and partners, so you essentially are working. Wear a suit and if it’s hot, as many crowded events are, at least make the initial effort and take off your coat once you sit down. Your mother was right, first impressions are very important. So, look your best (haircut, shave and a suit) or no one will take you seriously. It’s better to be overdressed than under-dressed. Remember your manners, especially if it is catered event and use language that you would be comfortable using in the office.
I hope all of these tips help you to have a successful and rewarding experience at the next event you attend.  I also hope that you consider our upcoming family office workshops in New York and LA.  We have received a tremendous amount of positive feedback from hedge fund managers and investment professionals who attended our previous investment workshops.  You can find registration information here: http://familyoffices.com/events

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Link to This Resource: Investment Conference Networking Tips

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/03/investment-conference-networking-tips.html

Family Offices Group Workshops

Why You Should Attend Our Upcoming Workshops

The Family Offices Group is excited to host two workshops this year that will be a great opportunity for hedge fund professionals, family office investors and wealth managers to meet and share insights.  Registration is now open for both the Los Angeles workshop on May 10th and the New York City workshop on June 7th.  
At the Hedge Fund Group and Family Offices Group, we have hosted a number of successful events, drawing high pedigree investment professionals from all over the world to our intimate workshops.  This year we are especially excited by the great group of family office executives delivering presentations on investing, fund manager selection and other aspects that will be of interest to hedge fund professionals looking to attract family office capital.  In addition to our family office speakers, we already have a number of registrations from family offices and high-net-worth investors so it is shaping up to be a truly stellar group of attendees.  You can quickly reserve your seat at one of the workshops here.
There are a number of benefits to attending our family office workshops; here are just a few:
  • Unlock Insights into a Powerful Investor Group: Family offices are growing in terms of total assets under management and sophistication.  Whereas an ultra-wealthy family might have been content investing purely in real estate or traditional investment in decades prior, they are increasingly searching for alternative wealth management solutions that will generate alpha and, ever importantly, preserve capital for generations to come.  By attending our workshops, you will hear first-hand from single and multi-family office executives and experts on how they manage a portfolio, select alternative fund managers and invest their clients' capital.  
  • Network with Colleagues and Make New Connections: Of course, one of the best parts of attending workshops and industry conferences is the chance to reconnect with business partners, colleagues and potential clients.  Our family office events attract a range of attendees from ultra-wealthy individual investors to top wealth management professionals.  Conversations are always interesting and often lead to successful business partnerships, introductions and new clients.  Don't miss this opportunity to join the Family Offices Group community.
  • Come away with the top 20 fund management selection criteria that most family offices apply to their fund manager research process. Plus, listen to a presentation on quick character analysis tools you can use to evaluate potential business partners, investors, or fund manager executives.
If you'd like to reserve your seat or learn more about the family office workshop, please complete the registration here, send us an e-mail at Team@FamilyOfficesGroup.com or give us a call to (212) 729-5067.  

I look forward to seeing you at one of the workshops,

Richard Wilson


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Link to This Resource: Family Offices Group Workshops

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/03/family-offices-group-workshops.html

Family Office Workshop

Join us on May 10th in Los Angeles or June 7th, 2013 in New York for a full day family office training workshop covering family office industry fundamentals, best practices, investment insights, and fund manager selection preferences.  Family offices have emerged in recent years as one of the most important investor group for private equity funds as more ultra high net worth families look to add private equity investments to their portfolio.  This event will be a great opportunity for private equity professionals to get an inside look at the family office industry from experts and family office executives.  So reserve your spot today to guarantee your inside access to the family office industry.
  Workshop Trainers Include: 

  • John Jonson, Capricorn Investment Group, LLC ($5B Multi-Family Office) [LA Workshop] 
  • Paul Tramontano, Constelaltion Wealth Advisors (Top 30 Multi-Family Office) [NYC Workshop]
  • Jonathan Bergman, TAG Associates, LLC (Top 30 Multi-Family Office) [NYC Workshop]
  • Richard C. Wilson, Family Offices Group (#1 Family Office Association) [LA & NYC Workshops]
  • Michael Connor, Consolidated Investment Group ($1B+ Single Family Office) [NYC Workshop]
  • John Bishop, Bishop Office, LLC (Single Family Office) [LA & NYC Workshops]
  • Lee Hauser, PhD., First Foundation (Multi-Family Office) [LA Workshop] 

  Download the Workshop Brochure PDFs for May 10th in Los Angeles (Gateway Sheraton LAX Hotel) or  June 7th in New York (Harvard Club of NYC)

Benefits of Attending One or Both of These Family Office Training Workshops:
1) Get trained directly from $1B+ single family offices and top 50 multi-family office executives on how family offices invest and work with investment funds.  Learn about and take advantage of the rapidly growing family office industry and how your hedge fund can partner with family offices.
 2) Connect face-to-face with peers, ultra-wealthy families, and family offices that you can share insights and form business relationships. (From our last family office workshop, negotiations are under way for three joint venture deals worth 7 and 8 figure potential.)
3) Come away with the top 20 fund management selection criteria that most family offices apply to their fund manager research process.  Plus, listen to a presentation on quick character analysis tools you can use to evaluate potential business partners, investors, or fund manager executives.

Harvard ClubWhere: The Los Angeles workshop is being held at the Gateway Sheraton LAX, just a shuttle ride away from the LAX International Airport at 6101 Century Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045 (310) 642-1111.
  The New York workshop is being held in The Harvard Club of New York, right in midtown at 35 West 44th Street New York, NY 10036 Phone: 212.840.6600

When: 9AM to 5PM on Friday May 10th, 2013 in Los Angeles (Sheraton) or Friday June 7th in New York (Harvard Club) Includes: Fully Catered Breakfast, Lunch, and Networking Session

Training Agenda: To review the training agenda for each of these two family office workshops please see page 2 of our brochures for Los Angeles and New York.

Exclusive Resources FREE With Admission:
30 Hours of Audio Interviews With Family Office Executives: Each participant is given free, lifetime access to the Qualified Family Office Professional (QFOP) training platform, which includes more than 300 video modules and over 30 hours of audio interviews with top family office executives from around the world. (Alone, this resource is worth $995.)
       Free Family Office Book: Each participant will be given a free copy of “The Family Office Book: Investing Capital for the Ultra-Affluent” to reference during the event and take home at the end of the day.  This book includes over 30 free video modules on the family office industry for you to watch at your own pace over the internet.
  Participants Include:
1) Single and multi-family office professionals, wealth management/RIA executives, and ultra-wealthy families and HNW individuals who are considering setting up their own family office, virtual family office, or possibly hiring a multi-family office
2) Fund managers, institutional investment consultants, and fund of funds who want to better understand how to more effectively work with family offices
3) CPAs, attorneys, consultants, and placement agents who are looking to better understand the family office landscape

Sponsors:
   


“Attending the Richard Wilson family office seminar was an extremely valuable experience that took the informational content of his book (“The Family Office Book: Investing Capital for the Ultra-Affluent”) to an entirely new level.  Richard’s vast experience and exposure to family offices worldwide can best be appreciated in the personal interaction of a seminar.  Information is exchanged in a manner that protects the confidentiality and privacy of all family offices involved”.
- Karen Owensby, President, Wealth Management Associates, Inc.

Capital Raising Workshop Risk Free Offer: If you attend this conference and find that you don’t get at least $3,000 of value, the Family Offices Group will give you 100% of your money back on admissions paid. You will also be allowed to keep the copy of the family office book and handouts for your trouble. The Family Offices Group is the only conference and training company that makes this offer because we have worked hard to provide you value during the workshop.  We also have included over 75 hours of complimentary audio and video training resources for your benefit to use after the workshop is complete. I look forward to meeting and networking with you at this live workshop, thank you for your time.
Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson (212) 729-5067
CEO & Founder Family Offices Group


Workshop Participants: Our last family office training workshop at the Harvard club in November of 2012 sold out in just 30 days. We had more than 90 professionals from various backgrounds, including: ultra-wealth families; more than two dozen multi-family offices, RIAs, and wealth management firms; a dozen single family offices; and many attorneys, consultants, and institutional fund managers.
  What Are Others Saying About Our Training Workshops?  The following are quotes written by some of the 300+ past full day workshop attendees:  
"Richard’s workshop was educational, current, and inspiring. We benefited from Richard’s breadth of knowledge as his presentation delved into the granular level, while only providing valuable, relevant information. His stories and anecdotes were woven seamlessly into the presentation." - Justin Browe | Partner, Sage Lane Capital
  “The workshop content was relevant and educational, after the workshop my mind was racing with new ideas and ways to improve all aspects of my strategy and implementation of my strategy. Like any great coach or motivator I left the workshop more inspired and with a deeper desire to succeed.” - Jay Robbins, GBS Life Plans
  “From a marketing and networking perspective, my time spent today and the cost of the seminar was the best use of my time and money in a very long time.” - Mike Roberts, AJG

Link to This Resource: Family Office Workshop

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/02/family-office-workshop.html

Hedge Funds World Middle East

Hedge Funds World Middle East

Hedge Funds World: Mar. 4-5 Jumeirah Beach Hotel Dubai, UAE


I wanted to let readers know about an exciting hedge fund event coming up in a few weeks: Hedge Funds World Middle East Conference.  This is going to be a great opportunity to network and hear from some of the largest leading LPs in the Middle East region and to gain insights from such renowned speakers as economist Dr. Nouriel Roubini.  

 International funds will head to Dubai during the first week of March, to attend the 13th annual Hedge Funds World Middle East conference.

For 2 days, the conference plays host to more than $3 trillion worth of investors, including the region’s biggest family offices, SWFs and private investors.

Dr Nouriel Roubini kicks things off on March 4th, sharing his forecasts with local investors seeking expert views on new opportunities and trends.  Speakers providing a more local perspective include billionaire family business man, Mishal Kanoo, and Chairman of the Social Security Investment Fund of Jordan, Henry Azzam. 

With a 1:1 fund to end-investor ratio and facilitated investor introductions and meetings, Hedge Funds World is an opportunity for international funds to meet face-to-face with local investors and raise capital in the Middle East.  

“The who’s who of Middle East investing, with a good sprinkling of global experts thrown in”
Indranil Ghosh ǀ Head of Strategy and Macroeconomics ǀ Mubadala

Download brochure for more details
Conference at a glance:
    When: 4-5 March 2013
    Where: Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, UAE
    How to Register: Visit the conference website, www.terrapinn.com/hfwme/hfb   

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Link to This Resource: Hedge Funds World Middle East

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/02/hedge-funds-world-middle-east.html

George Soros Hedge Fund Industry

George Soros Hedge Fund Industry

George Soros Criticizes Hedge Fund Industry at Davos


George Soros is one of the most recognized face in the hedge fund industry, even though he has largely removed himself from active investing after returning money to outside investors and focusing on managing his own fortune.  Still, Mr. Soros holds enormous sway with investors given his contributions to the industry and his enduring legacy as one of the most respected traders ever.  So many were interested to hear what Mr. Soros would say in Davos regarding the current state of the hedge fund industry.  

 He was largely critical of the current model, saying that the hedge fund industry is too crowded and fees are too high, telling Bloomberg: "Since hedge funds are now a dominant force in the market, they can’t, as a group, outperform the market."  
“Since hedge funds are now a dominant force in the market, they can’t, as a group, outperform the market,” Soros said today in a Bloomberg Television interview with Erik Schatzkerfrom the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The funds’ fees, typically 2 percent of assets and 20 percent of returns, eat into profits, Soros said. 
Soros’s hedge fund operated until 2011, when he turned New York-based Soros Fund Management LLC into a family office that now oversees $24 billion. He averaged returns of about 20 percent a year since 1969 at the firm and its predecessor. 
Hedge-fund performance will also be impeded because managers and investors are reluctant to take risks, Soros said. 
“Outperforming the market with low volatility on a consistent basis is an impossibility,” said Soros, 82. “I outperformed the market for 30-odd years, but not with low volatility.”

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Link to This Resource: George Soros Hedge Fund Industry

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/01/george-soros-hedge-fund-industry.html

Hedge Funds Manhattan

Hedge Funds Manhattan

In Pursuit of Clients, Hedge Funds Take Manhattan

It might not seem too far to travel from New York City to Greenwich for a meeting, especially when you are considering investing upwards of $1 million in a Connecticut hedge fund.  Yet, hedge funds are increasingly finding that short train ride or hour-long drive to be too far for prospective clients.  The solution for many hedge funds, especially emerging managers trying to eliminate any obstacles to growing assets under management, is to move to where the clients are, and for the most part, they are in New York.

It's not to say that there isn't still a very strong contingent of hedge funds in Connecticut and cities outside of Manhattan, but in such a tough fundraising environment some hedge funds are looking for any edge they can get and recognizing that shortening the trip for a potential investor can really make the difference.  New York has always been seen as the ultimate hedge fund hub, but more and more managers are setting up offices in the city to be close to institutional investors and LPs visiting from out of state or out of country that probably wouldn't make it to Connecticut or other less traveled states.
Hedge-fund managers have long viewed New York as a prime location for business because of its appeal to employees and its status as one of the world's financial centers. It doesn't hurt that many managers call the island home. 
But in a difficult fundraising environment that favors funds that already oversee billions of dollars, startup managers have had to work harder to get noticed. More are betting they can catch the eye of potential investors by helping them avoid the journey up the New England Thruway. 
"Being in New York—it just makes a lot of sense to make life easier for your customers," says Steven Bloom, co-founder of North Creek Butler, a hedge-fund "accelerator" that raises money for early-stage and small hedge funds. 
Of the new firms starting out in Manhattan, Greenwich or Stamford, about 86% picked the Big Apple, on average, from 2003 to 2008, according to eVestment, which tracks data on about 70% of U.S. hedge-fund firms. In 2009 and 2010, Manhattan was home to an average of 92% of the fund launches. Data for 2011 suggest the trend has continued. 
"There are blips in the data, but it's clear launches shifted toward New York after the crisis," says Peter Laurelli, eVestment's head of research.  Source

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Link to This Resource: Hedge Funds Manhattan

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/01/hedge-funds-manhattan.html

Hedge Funds Leverage

Hedge Funds Leverage

Hedge Funds Increase Leverage to Highest Level Since '04

Hedge funds continue to boost leverage, showing renewed confidence in the markets with hedge fund borrowing rising to the highest level since 2004.  Market observors view this data as a suggestion of greater risk tolerance and confidence in the economy and financial markets, a welcome sign after months of unrest and volatility in the markets.

The rising use of borrowed money shows that everyone from the biggest firms to individuals is willing to take more risks after missing the rewards of the bull market that began in 2009. While leverage means bigger losses should stocks decline, investors are betting that record earnings and valuations 9.8 percent below the six-decade average will help push the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index toward the record it set in October 2007. 
“The first step of increasing risk is just going long, the second part of that is levering up in order to go longer,” James Dunigan, who helps oversee $112 billion as chief investment officer in Philadelphia for PNC Wealth Management, said in a Jan. 8 telephone interview. “Leverage increasing in the hedge-fund area suggests they’re now getting on board.” 
The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to 1,472.05 last week on better-than-projected reports from Alcoa Inc. to Mosaic Co. (MOS) The index is about 6 percent away from the all-time high reached in October 2007 and has already gained 3.2 percent in 2013, led by Celgene (CELG) Corp. It fell less than 0.1 percent to 1,471.55 at 9:37 a.m. New York time today.
Gross leverage, a measure of hedge fund borrowing that shows how much their holdings exceed the cash invested by clients, was 153 percent in the week ended Jan. 4, up from an average of 152 percent in 2012 and 143 percent a year ago, according to data from New York-based Morgan Stanley. The level has averaged 143 percent since 2005, the data show.  Source

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Link to This Resource: Hedge Funds Leverage

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/01/hedge-funds-leverage.html

Women Hedge Fund Managers

Women Hedge Fund Managers

Women-Led Hedge Fund Returns Beat Industry

Good news for Dan Abrams, the author of the provocatively titled book, Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else: A new report backs up at least one of those assertions.  According to a report by Rothstein Kass, hedge funds managed by women returned an average 8.95% through the third quarter of 2012, compared to 2.69% returns from the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index.
An index from the professional services firm Rothstein Kass showed that female hedge fund managers produced a return of 8.95 percent through the third quarter of 2012. By contrast, the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, released by Hedge Fund Research, logged a 2.69 percent net return through September. 
Rothstein Kass’s latest annual survey of women in alternative investments, to be released on Thursday, found that female managers had a strong track record of returns. The report, reflecting the responses of 366 senior women in the alternative investment industry, illustrates a persistent gender disparity on Wall Street while highlighting the achievements of successful women. 
Female financiers can have particular advantages over their male counterparts, including being more risk-averse and better able to avoid volatility, the report says. The Rothstein Kass hedge fund index, based on 67 hedge funds with female owners or managers, may be a case in point.
“Investing in these types of funds is a smart business decision, rather than one that just feels good,” Meredith Jones, a director at Rothstein Kass and the author of the report, said in a statement. Source

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Link to This Resource: Women Hedge Fund Managers

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/01/women-hedge-fund-managers.html

Hedge Fund Investor Expectations

Hedge Fund Investor Expectations

Hedge Fund Investors Sticking with Industry in 2013

When hedge funds lagged behind the soaring S&P this year, many analysts and industry watchers predicted that investors would leave hedge funds in droves for better-performing investment options with lower fees.  Yet, institutional investors continued to keep their money invested in hedge funds and expect to do so again in 2013, according to a survey at a recent hedge fund conference.  Investors have lowered their expectations to single digit returns but they remain dedicated to hedge funds despite laggard performance on average.
When big institutional investors were recently polled at a recent Goldman Sachs hedge fund conference about their return outlook for hedge funds, the overwhelming majority of them said they expected single digit returns in 2013. 
It’s those low expectations, more than perhaps anything else, that explains why big investors appear to be sticking with hedge funds in 2013 despite coming off another disappointing year.
For the most part, hedge funds got trounced by the market last year. The average hedge fund gained 5.5% in 2012, according to HFR, which meant investors of hedge funds were paying rich fees while low-fee S&P 500 index funds returned 16% in 2012. 
Nevertheless, several people in the hedge fund business say there is no huge redemption wave hitting the industry and, by and large, big institutional investors have elected to remain heavily invested in hedge funds for 2013. New data released yesterday by TrimTabs and BarclayHedge showed hedge funds actually experienced $4.7 billion of inflows in November, reversing $10.3 billion of outflows in October. Industry outflows totaled a mere $8.2 billion from January to November.  Source

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Tags: Hedge Fund Investor Expectations, hedge fund expectation, hedge fund investors, hedge fund limited partners, hedge fund LPs, hedge fund GPs, hedge fund investing, hedge funds

Link to This Resource: Hedge Fund Investor Expectations

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2013/01/hedge-fund-investor-expectations.html

Hedge Funds 2012 Inflows Total

Hedge Funds 2012 Inflows Total

Hedge Funds Look to Beat 2011 Net Inflows

Hedge funds have maintained and even tightened their grip on investors' wallets in 2012, after last year's impressive inflows.  Hedge funds are on pace for inflows to outstrip 2011 by almost $10 billion, at $33 billion for the year.  This is an encouraging sign for the industry as it suggests a strong vote of confidence from many limited partners going forward.
According to Atlanta-based data provider eVestment, investors added an estimated net $6.6bn to hedge funds in November, reversing the previous month’s net outflows and bringing net investor inflows to $33.4bn for 2012, almost $10bn ahead of the 2011 full-year net inflow. 
Industry assets are now at $2.589 trillion, still 13% below the record high set in the second quarter of 2008, according to eVestment. 

But hedge funds are set to underperform equity markets for the fourth consecutive year, albeit with much less volatility, according to Hedge Fund Research – the average hedge fund gained 4.89% for the year to November 30.  

The S&P 500 was up 14.94% over the same period, while the MSCI World is up 13% for the year-to-date.
Equity hedge and event-driven strategies have outperformed the average, while global macro and managed futures strategies have largely underperformed, according to HFR. A bright spot has been credit: the average relative-value fund is up 9.54% in the first 11 months of this year, while asset-backed funds are up 15.93%. Emerging markets hedge funds are up 6.31% this year, according to HFR. 
eVestment’s report said that allocation trends in November were similar to what the industry has experienced for much of the year: “Credit funds accounted for the lion’s share of inflows, while equity, emerging markets and managed futures flows were negative. Macro strategies continued to receive net inflows despite mediocre aggregate returns.”  Source

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Link to This Resource: Hedge Funds 2012 Inflows Total

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2012/12/hedge-funds-2012-inflows-total.html

Hedge Funds End of Year

Hedge Funds End of Year

HFR: Hedge Funds Picking up Steam in December

Hedge funds are picking up steam heading into the new year, according to data from Hedge Fund Research. In the first half of December, the average hedge fund added 0.75% and, despite today's setback on the fiscal cliff negotiations, signs of a potential deal to avoid the fiscal cliff have helped rally the markets and hedge funds.  A cautionary note from the good people at FinAlternatives: "Of course, if the U.S. does careen off the fiscal cliff, all bets are off for month-end numbers."

The year 2012 has been something of a dud for the hedge fund industry, but there's hope on the precipice of the fiscal cliff (or on the precipice of a deal to avert it). 
Hedge funds are rallying modestly this month, according to figures from Hedge Fund Research. The average fund added 0.75% in the first half of December, meaning that the first two weeks of the month contributed a substantial portion of the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index's 3.35% return for the year. 
With just one exception, all strategies and substrategies tracked by HFRX are up this month. Relative value funds are up 0.92% (3.25% YTD), emerging markets funds 0.9% (7.71% YTD), macro funds and commodity trading advisers 0.76% (down 0.89% YTD), event-driven funds 0.71% (5.35% YTD) and equity hedge funds 0.63% (5.01% YTD). 
Among substrategies, systematic diversified CTAs are tops, up 1.35% (down 6.94% YTD, the worst of any strategy or substrategy), followed by fundamental growth funds (1.31% in December, 5.99% YTD), merger arbitrage funds (1.1%, 0.91% YTD) and multi-regional funds (1.09%, 4.8% YTD).  Sources

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New York Pension Funds and Hedge Funds

NY Pension Funds and Hedge Funds

NY Pensions Look to Allocate Again to Hedge Funds

Three New York pension funds, representing city employees, firefighters and police officers--are looking to allocate to hedge funds.  Specifically, these investors are inquiring about event driven hedge fund managers in light of all the recent volatility.  The funds have previously invested in a number of hedge funds and still have an estimated $1.8 billion to invest in the asset class.
Three New York City pension funds are looking to event-driven hedge funds to help them reduce volatility in their portfolios. 
The three pensions, which invest on behalf of the city's employees, police officers and firefighters, could invest in as many as 15 hedge funds, primarily event-driven strategies. Seema Hingorani, the head of public equities and hedge funds for New York City, said the three pensions have most of their hedge fund assets in global macro funds and commodity trading advisers, and it will consider some similar funds for the new allocations. 
Long/short equity hedge funds will not be favored. 
The three funds have about $70 billion between them. They have about $1.8 billion of their $3.5 billion hedge fund target left to spend, after investing in Permal Asset Management, BlueCrest Capital Management, Brevan Howard Asset Management, Brigade Capital Management, Caspian Capital Advisors and D.E. Shaw & Co. last year and early this year.  Source

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Hedge Funds White House Meeting

Hedge Funds White House Meeting

Hedge Fund Execs Meeting with White House on Fiscal Cliff

Today White House is welcoming a group that it has held a chilly relationship with for the last four years: hedge fund managers.  There has to be some level of awkwardness and certainly tension given the recent history between this administration and hedge funds; hedge funds were among some of the biggest contributors to the President's 2008 campaign and they largely reversed in the 2012 race, favoring Republicans.  Some of this shift stems from comments by the President that were critical of the financial industry (think: "fat cat" bankers) and his Administration's increased regulation and push to raise taxes on the wealthy and potentially carried interest.

Now, as the President and his staff are negotiating with Republicans on the fiscal cliff, representatives from the hedge fund industry, such as Daniel Och of Och-Ziff Capital Management, are meeting with Valerie Jarrett, the President's senior advisor, as part of the President's ongoing efforts to reach out the financial and business community.  We'll have to wait and see whether this is a step toward repairing this tense relationship.
The Obama administration is continuing its outreach to Wall Street executives in pressing for a resolution of the U.S. budget dispute, with a meeting planned today between Valerie Jarrett and hedge fund managers, according to an administration official. 
Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, will meet with financial services executives, including Daniel Och, chief executive of Och-Ziff Capital Management, according to the official, who requested anonymity when discussing private meetings.  
Others scheduled to attend, the official said, include Stefan M. Selig, executive vice chairman of global corporate and investment banking at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch; Jonathan D. Gray, global head of real estate at Blackstone Group Management LLC; and Jes Staley, chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s corporate and investment bank.
Today’s Wall Street session with Jarrett, reported earlier by the New York Times, follows her meeting on Dec. 3 with Marc Lasry, managing partner and founder of Avenue Capital Group LLC, and Gary D. Cohn, president of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Two days later, Obama also addressed the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers, and repeated his argument that more tax revenue needs to come from the top 2 percent of earners while rates for middle-income Americans stay the same.  Source

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Family Offices Fundraising

I recently did an interview on how professionals can build relationships and connect with family offices.  Family offices are, of course, notoriously private and they strictly guard their time so it is important to have a well-conceived idea of how you are going to approach family offices and be sure you are adding value.  Click here to read the interview I did with Axial Market.  Here is just a short summary of some of the ideas I shared:
Outreach: One of my strategies that I explained is just to put yourself out there through a proactive and diversified outreach to family offices.

Start Locally:  I am always pleasantly surprised at the number of family offices that operate locally in the Pacific Northwest.  I think that is a great place to start and people often assume that family offices only exist in major cities like New York or Los Angeles but there are often successful entrepreneurs who have a single family office or a branch of a major multi-family office in cities like Dallas, Denver or Phoenix.  So my advice is to start locally and work your way out from there.

Add Value: No one wants their time wasted so if you request a meeting with a family office and do not bring something of value to that meeting then you will have an unproductive meeting and likely will not get another one with that family office.  I have spent years working with family offices to ensure that I always bring something of value to them whether it is a compensation survey, my recent book on family office investing or sharing strategies for attracting high net worth individuals.  My goal is always to leave the other person in the meeting feeling like it was a good use of their time and that they got something of real value from our meeting.

To read all of the tips and strategies that I shared, you can read the article here.

tags: family office networking, family office firms, family office contacts, contacting family offices, working with family offices, how to network with family offices, networking with family offices, family office strategy

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Nobel Foundation Hedge Fund

Nobel Foundation Hedge Fund

Nobel Foundation Turns to Hedge Funds to Boost Prize Money

When the Nobel Foundation was forced to trim its annual prize money, it turned to hedge funds to boost its return in hopes of bringing its prize money back to its former size.  It is telling that the foundation, when faced with the decision of how to invest its money in hopes of achieving significant gains on its investment, has settled on hedge funds.   Here is a brief interview with Executive Director Lars Heikensten (click here to watch via RSS or e-mail):

“When we look at the analysis we see that we can get more return with less risks by doing that,” Executive Director Lars Heikensten said in an interview at the Nobel Foundation’s Stockholm headquarters yesterday. “If we can choose hedge funds that we trust, then we can get better returns for given risks.” The fund “probably shouldn’t” be fully invested in debt securities, he said. 
The Nobel foundation, created in 1900 at the request of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel to award prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine, peace and literature, this year cut the cash amount of its prize for the first time since 1949. The move followed a decade of poor returns, exacerbated by the onset of the global financial crisis. 
The foundation had 2.97 billion kronor ($448 million) in investments at the end of 2011, corresponding to an 18 percent slump from its 2007 level, according to its website. The decline prompted a cut in this year’s prize amount to 8 million kronor, from 10 million kronor to safeguard Nobel’s capital.  Source

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Hedge Funds Greek Debt Trade

Hedge Funds Greek Debt Trade

Hedge Funds Profit as European Policy Makers Flinch

As I discussed last week here, hedge funds are making profits from bets on Greek debt, benefiting from the rise in value assigned to the struggling country's bonds.  Hedge funds wagered that European policy makers would back off their initial vow to only pay a little more than a quarter of face value to retire Greek bonds, and the fund managers were right.
Hedge funds drove up prices for Greek sovereign debt last week after determining that European finance ministers would back off a pledge to pay no more than about 28 percent of face value to retire the nation’s bonds. Money managers correctly wagered that not enough bondholders would participate at that level to get the deal done. That would put at risk bailout funds that Greece needs to stave off economic collapse.
Transactions involving Greek bonds “increased by the day” after it became clear that the buyback was going to happen, with hedge funds accounting for most of the purchases, said Zoeb Sachee, the London-based head of European government bond trading at Citigroup Inc. 
“If all goes according to plan, everybody wins,” Sachee said. “Hedge funds must have bought lower than here. If it isn’t successful, Greece risks default and everybody loses.” 
Euro-area finance ministers meeting last night in Brussels expressed confidence that Greece will pull off the transaction. The country said yesterday it would put 10 billion euros ($13.1 billion) toward repurchasing outstanding bonds with a face value of 62 billion euros. The country and its European backers agreed to pay prices ranging from an average minimum of 32.1 percent of face value to an average maximum of 34.1 percent in an auction that will run until Dec. 7, based on information in a statement from Greece’s debt agency.  Source

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Hedge Funds Greek Debt Trade

Hedge Funds Greek Debt Trade

Greek Debt Turning into Trade of the Year for Some Hedge Funds

It seems an unlikely way to produce huge profits these days: greek debt.  But hedge funds that scooped up dirt-cheap Greek bonds are some of the biggest winners after betting that the debt would rise in value as the prospects of a Greek exit from the Euro diminished.
News that Athens - backed by euro zone ministers and the International Monetary Fund - will buy back some its own debt from private investors sets a floor under the price of its bonds, handing many who picked them up at rock-bottom levels big gains. 
The funds - which include Daniel Loeb's Third Point - have spent months building up positions in the debt-beleaguered country's bonds, rightly betting that their price would rise as the risk of a Greek exit from the euro zone receded. 
Some have already banked profits from that bet, but indications Athens will target a cost of around 35 cents on the euro in its buyback plan, if successful, is a boon for those still holding the bonds. 
"This is very positive and a huge step forward," Achilles Risvas, chief executive officer of hedge fund Dromeus Capital said. "The probability of a Grexit has decreased significantly."
Risvas owns Greek bonds currently trading at 28.5 cents on the euro, bonds he bought at 18 and 19 cents.  Source





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Hedge Funds Secondary Market

Hedge Funds Secondary Market

Broker Working to Set Up Secondary Hedge Fund Market

Hedge funds are more and more looking for ways to keep current investors happy and to draw in new investors to their funds.  But one reason that investors are sometimes hesitant to commit capital is the illiquidity of these investments.

An obvious solution is a secondary market where investors can buy and sell their interest in a hedge fund, but establishing an efficient and effective marketplace has been difficult especially during the financial crisis when some managers used a side pocket provision to lock up capital, further reducing the liquidity of the investment.  Wake2o, a Geneva-based broker, is working to correct this issue by setting up a secondary market and has already signed up over 60 fund managers and has plans to add more.
Wake2o, a Geneva-based broker, has signed up 60 hedge fund managers to a platform launched in September that allows investors to buy and sell stakes in their funds. It is in talks with another 50 managers about joining the platform. 
“Traditionally hedge fund managers have restricted access to a privileged set of investors but post-2008 managers are much more humble,” said Derek Watson, the founder of Wake2o. 
“They are trying to grow their businesses, and [the ability to sell investments] could mean investors who need access to liquidity are more willing to invest in hedge funds,” he added.
Tullett Prebon plans to offer “contracts for difference”, which allow investors to trade the returns of a particular fund. Investors could use CFDs to end their exposure to a fund’s performance, without having to formally exit the fund.   Source

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