Thanks to the upcoming presidential election, we have been flooded with campaign ads and promises from each candidate. So, I started to think about how the upcoming election will affect the financial services industry. With so much new regulation and legislation being put into place, can we even predict what will happen after November’s election?
Guest Blog
The Operational Due Diligence Opportunity for Hedge Funds
Guest Contributor: Jason Scharfman,, Esq., CFE, CRISC, Managing Partner, Corgentum Consulting In the past, many hedge fund managers may have cringed at the mere thought of an investor inquiring about conducting a distinct operational due diligence review. Such reticence represents a missed opportunity. Hedge funds often work hard over many years to develop strong operations and
Back-Office
Cloud IT Services: Changing the Game for Hedge Funds
Guest Contributor: Jason Elmer, Director of Business Development, Abacus Group The cost of owning and operating on-site IT resources has led hedge funds to adopt cloud-based IT solutions at an increasing rate. This momentum has been helped by a greater understanding of the compelling advantages in Scalability, Cost Predictability and Business Continuity associated with cloud-based
Guest Blog
Hedge Fund Trends in 2012
Guest Contributor: Chris Grandi, Founding Principal, Abacus Group We are two months into 2012, and already our expectations, based on what we experienced in the prior calendar year, are being exceeded. Although this may have been a low bar to overcome, as returns were in large negative across the alternative asset class in 2011, the
Guest Blog
Understanding Investor Due Diligence
Guest Contributor: Patrick J. McCurdy, partner and head of capital development at Merlin Securities The investor due diligence process has evolved with the institutionalization of the hedge fund industry. Investment allocations used to be made primarily on the basis of basic performance numbers and the qualitative aspects of a fund: people, process and philosophy. It
Cloud
How to Launch a Hedge Fund … Did You Miss Out?
I am pleased to report that we received a ton of great feedback from our most recent How to Launch a Hedge Fund seminar in New York last week! Subjects discussed ranged from the up-front decisions and vendors needed to start a fund to the major legal issues a start-up would face. Sessions also got
Hedge Funds
Following Tweets Could Make You Rich
OK. It’s no secret how I feel about Tweeting (see my earlier, and maybe a little too honest, post about being a Twit); it’s a lot of work but it does serve a purpose and I am not the only one that feels this way. Last month, Derwent Capital Markets, a London-based investment firm, launched
Conference and Event Planning
Top Theme – Registering with the SEC – A Wrap-Up from the 4th Annual Hedge Fund Ops and Tech Conference
Much was discussed at this year’s 4th Annual Hedge Fund Ops & Tech conference in NYC! Our chairperson for the day, Dan Strachman, Author & Strategist from HedgeAnswers, got the morning started off with his thoughts on the current state of the industry. From there many conversations quickly turned to SEC registration requirements. One of
Dodd-Frank
Dodd-Frank Deadliness Likely to Extend
Given the tight one-year deadline, it comes as no surprise that the SEC, the CFTC and various industry trade associations are already talking about extensions to the fast approaching July 21st deadline to implement Dodd-Frank. On April 8th, the SEC released a statement saying that they are likely to extend the deadline for mid-sized investment
Financial Technology
Good News for Hedge Fund Technology Providers
Have you seen the new report from Celent about Hedge Funds and how they are upping their IT dollars in 2011? The report, titled Hedge Funds 2011: Navigating Tumultuous Waters, came out last week and presents some positive feedback on where the industry is headed in the next few years. Which is a good thing
