Alternative Asset Management
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Analysis Finds AI Funds Get Better Returns at Lower Risk
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Preqin has some bad news for the humans who manage hedge funds: AI-managed funds earned a higher return at lower risk than the overall industry.
The algorithm managed funds earned a three year return of 26.98%. The Preqin All-Strategies Hedge Fund benchmark (all hedge funds) returned 23.87%. Besides the three percentage point difference, Preqin reported that the AI funds had lower volatility and a higher Sharpe ratio. (The ...
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Robo-Advisors Have Yet to Break Even
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Robo-advisors, one of fintech's flashier trends, have yet to pay their way. Even at the typical 0.25% fee, most have yet to attract enough invested dollars to break even, let alone turn a profit.
A detailed discussion on International Banker of the robo-advisor phenomenon leans on an HSBC report on the wealth management industry, which included an analysis of the emerging sector that concluded almost none of the online ...
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VC Funds Expected to Set Second Consecutive Record
Read the rest of this entry »Venture capital funds had a strong first half of the year with $66 billion invested in some 4,900 deals. At the current pace, 2019 may turn out to be the second consecutive year VC investment has topped $100 billion.
Meanwhile, exits are setting a record. Propelled by Uber's IPO, the Q2 exits total of $138.38 -- more than double Q1's $50.2 billion -- pushed the first six months exit ...
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Alternatives Future Is In Digitalization and New Jobs
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New research from Willis Towers Watson suggests it will be technology that differentiates alternative assets fund managers in the future.
To be sure, there are other ingredients to asset manager success. A strong culture, the ability and the willingness to accept and deal with change and well-positioned business models are among the six attributes that the report -- The asset manager of tomorrow -- says are "critical requirements to asset manager success ...
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Quants, Researchers Are the Most Satisfied
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Smile if you're a quant or a researcher. They're the two most rewarding jobs in finance.
That's the somewhat surprising result of a still ongoing survey by eFinancialCareers. Some other jobs in banking may pay better -- M&A and finance, for instance. But the intellectual stimulation of research more than makes up for any paycheck differences.
According to the survey, satisfaction by quants and researchers reached 6.5 and 6.6 ...
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Fund Managers Forsee Growth In EU Market
Read the rest of this entry »A survey of fund managers from around the world found nearly 7 in 10 expect a greater assignment of assets to AIFMD (Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive) in the next two years, despite concern over how the regulation is interpreted.
The AIFMD is a European Union (EU) regulation that applies to hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate and certain other funds. It governs their marketing, reporting and related activities ...
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Private Equity: The Only Place to Be In Alternatives?
Read the rest of this entry »Where is the economy headed and what is the outlook for investment funds? Every analyst and fund manager has an opinion, with, perhaps a majority taking a cautious position on the first, and a diversified view for the latter.
Andrew White, CFA, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Awaken Capital, tells EisnerAmper that the economy "will likely remain better than expected in the coming decade, with interim 'bumps.'"
As ...
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2018 Was a Record Year for VC Activity
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When talking about venture capitalists, California and its Silicon Valley may be the first place to come to mind. In 2018 the state accounted for well over half the $130.9 billion invested. Massachusetts and New York were second and third.
Last year was a record-breaker for VC investment. The Pitchbook declared, "2018 ended up being a banner year for the VC industry with $130.9 billion invested across 8 ...
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Alternative Assets Are Going Mainstream
Read the rest of this entry »Alternative investments are going mainstream, at least with institutional investors; 80% of them have allocated funds to at least one asset class that's historically been considered an alternative.
Discussing a report conducted by Preqin and SEI, ValueWalk says the interest by institutional investors is leading to “increasingly diverse and complicated portfolio holdings" for many of them. The growth of alternatives among these investors -- “a growing stream of capital," as ...
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Hedge Fund Outlook: The Challenges Are Many
Read the rest of this entry »Beaten by Index fund returns, outpaced by saavy online fintechs and rebuked for a 2 and 20 fee structure that lets them win even when investors lose, hedge funds have been forced to wonder what their future holds. As a sobering, yet ultimately encouraging new report from the Alternative Investment Management Association says, "The pace of technological change and the rise of artificial intelligence is leading some to question whether ...
