By Andrei Skvarsky. Morgan Stanley has named Jonathan Pruzan, co-head of the bank’s global financial institutions group in investment banking, as chief financial officer to replace Ruth Porat, who has been hired as finance chief by Google, according to various media reports. Continue Reading
MNI: Business sentiment in Russia up in March but recession may be there already
By Andrei Skvarsky. Regular surveys by Deutsche Boerse-owned research company MNI Indicators suggest that business sentiment in Russia bounced back in March after a protracted decline but that overall the Russian economy remains on a downward course, with the firm’s chief economist arguing it “may already be in recession”. Continue Reading
Armajaro Commodities PM Tilney Stepping Down
Armajaro Asset Management’s John Tilney is stepping down from the lead manager role of the company’s flagship Armajaro Commodities Fund. Tilney will become an advisor to the fund, according to media reports. His role will be assumed by Armajaro partner and fund co-manager Oliver Denny. Armajaro’s Commodity Fund is down 5.49% year to date, according… Continue Reading
Assets Surge For Top Emerging Managers
Emerging managers have their work cut out for them when it comes to attracting assets, but recent data shows the majority of the top new funds grew AUM last year. 74% of hedge funds on Hedgetracker’s Top Emerging Hedge Fund Managers list saw equity assets increase during the fourth quarter of 2014, while the group… Continue Reading
Man Group Launches Two New Quant Equity UCITS
Man Group’s 2014 acquisition of Boston-based quant shop Numeric Holdings has resulted in two new quantitative UCITS being debuted to the European market. The Man Numeric Market Neutral Alternative fund and the Man Numeric Emerging Markets Equity fund are both domiciled in Dublin. The Man Numeric Market Neutral Alternative fund is a UCITS-compliant version of… Continue Reading
Rothschild Asset Management Names Michael Woods as CEO
Rothschild Asset Management, the US asset management business of the Rothschild Group, has appointed Michael Woods as its new CEO. Woods joins the firm frrom Deutsche Bank, where he was Head of the Americas, Global Client Group for Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management and CEO of DWS Investments. In these roles, he was responsible for… Continue Reading
Carlyle Raises $2.5 Billion for New International Energy Fund
Carlyle Group has closed on a new international energy fund with commitments of $2.5 billion from 160 investors, according to media reports. The new fund, which surpassed Carlyle’s initial $1.5 billion target, will invest exclusively in oil and gas projects located outside the U.S. Carlyle is in good company. Since the collapse in oil prices… Continue Reading
Brazil's Peninsula Forming New Distressed Asset Fund As Bankruptcies Surge
Brazilian asset management firm Peninsula Investimentos is launching a distressed-asset fund. Backed by Credit Suisse Group, the fund is expected to be around R$500 million, or approximately $155 million. The company has brought on five new staff members for the effort, according to media reports quoting CEO Antonio Quintella, and will begin raising the fund… Continue Reading
TPG Capital Names Zubin Irani as Managing Director
TPG Capital has appointed Zubin Irani to managing direct in its operations group in Asia-Pacific. He will relocate to the company’s Singapore office from New Delhi, India. In his new role, Irani will aim to build out the firm’s operations and boost talent management and performance across the firm’s various portfolios, the company said in… Continue Reading
Rokos Hires Goldman's Riley For New Hedge Fund
Former Goldman Sachs co-head of Asia Pacific macro trading, Stuart Riley, has joined Brevan Howard ex-trader Chris Rokos in his new venture, according to media reports. Rokos, who reportedly made $4 billion for Brevan Howard between 2004 and 2012, began setting up his own fund after a legal dispute with Brevan came to an end… Continue Reading
Survey: Hedge Fund Industry “Blind Spots” Persist
The hedge fund industry’s rapid growth and an increasingly complex regulatory environment have fueled differing views on transparency and independent controls among hedge fund managers and institutional investors, according to a new survey by Northern Trust. An overwhelming majority of managers (90%) said that all or nearly all of their investors are satisfied with the… Continue Reading
Emerging Capital Partners Appoints Seyi Owodunni to Managing Director
Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), a pan-African private equity firm with seven offices across Africa, appointed Seyi Owodunni as Managing Director of the firm’s Lagos, Nigeria office. According to reports, his new role will be to source and secure investment opportunities and help lead initiations to drive strategic and operational improvements. “As West Africa continues to… Continue Reading
Private Equity Deals in Africa Hit $8.1 Billion in 2014
The total value of private equity deals in Africa in 2014 hit $8.1 billion, the second-highest level on record. Fueled by population growth and increased political stabilization, global PE interest is rising on the continent. Last year’s total was just shy of the 2007 record of $8.3 billion, according to African Private Equity and Venture… Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital Unveils Iraq-Focused Hedge Fund
Asia Frontier Capital Limited is gearing up to launch an Iraq-focused hedge fund by the end of April. The AFC Iraq Fund is managed under the leadership team of Thomas Hugger, CEO, and Ahmed Tabaqchali, CIO, who between them have extensive experience covering the global, emerging, frontier, and MENA markets. The new fund aims to… Continue Reading
Runa Capital invests €3 million in Finnish open source database solution provider MariaDB Corp.
Last week Runa Capital, a venture firm operating globally from its offices in Moscow and San Francisco, announced a €3 million investment in MariaDB Corporation, a global software vendor specializing in high availability, high performance and highly scalable open source database solutions. Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, MariaDB (also known as SkySQL) aims to become “the… Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital Newsletter – Country Snapshot: Mongolia
Although it is the least densely populated country in the world, with less than 3 million people living in a land area of 1.5 million km2, Mongolia has the potential to see the greatest growth of any country within the AFC Asia Frontier Universe. Mongolia’s economy is traditionally based on herding and agriculture, but is… Continue Reading
Bain Raising $3bn for New Asia Private Equity Fund
Famed private equity company Bain Capital plans to begin raising funds for a third Asian fund as deals in the region surge. Co-founded by former U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Bain is reportedly targeting $2.5 billion to $3 billion for the size of the new fund, according to media reports. Further details were not available.… Continue Reading
Hermitage CEO Browder Ordered to Comply With NY Subpoena in Russian Money-Laundering Case
A federal judge in Manhattan has ruled that William Browder, co-founder of U.K.-based hedge fund Hermitage Capital Management, will have to comply with a subpoena related to information he provided to federal prosecutors in a money laundering case. U.S. District Court judge Thomas Griesa said Browder will have to travel to New York to sit… Continue Reading
The Greatest Career Mistake
Whether you are seeking a new job, trying to get a startup off the ground, or attempting to scale the corporate ladder, the greatest mistake you are making is very simple, and very avoidable: Doing it by yourself. Some of the greatest minds, leaders, and entrepreneurs have all called upon the help of a Mentor… Continue Reading
HFR: Hedge Funds Sour On Emerging Markets
Hedge fund capital invested in emerging markets declined to conclude 2014, falling from the record level established in 3Q14 on a combination of performance losses and investor outflows concentrated in funds with exposure to Russia. The HFRI EM: Russia/Eastern Europe Index declined 18.6% in 4Q14, bringing the 2014 full year loss to 26.5%, making 2014… Continue Reading
Omni Macro Fund Bullish On India, Watching China
Omni Macro Fund was formed in 2007 by Stephen Rosen, previously a prop trader at JP Morgan. The $600 million strategy was up 5.7% in 2014 and is over three percent ahead so far in 2015. Rosen is supported by Head of Strategy Chris Morrison, also a former prop trader at JP Morgan. In addition… Continue Reading
Lombard Odier: Greek crisis no obstacle to euro zone recovery
By Andrei Skvarsky. Swiss bank Lombard Odier argues that the Greek crisis is not systemic to the euro zone and does not jeopardise its recovery, not at this point at least. Continue Reading
Deutsche Boerse’s MNI Indicators: Russian companies face credit crunch
By Andrei Skvarsky. According to Deutsche Boerse-owned intelligence firm MNI Indicators, Russia’s economic downturn and foreign policy problems are pushing Russian companies closer and closer to a credit crunch. Continue Reading
EBRD and KICB finance improvements for Ak Bermet resort on Lake Issyk-Kul
Lake Issyk-Kul is one of the most famous sights in the Kyrgyz Republic and Central Asia. With appropriate investment, the area has the potential for further promotion as an attractive holiday resort. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and KICB, its local partner bank, are supporting further development of this tourist attraction by… Continue Reading
Cordiant hits $350 million at final close of latest emerging markes loan fund
Cordiant, a leading emerging market private debt fund manager, has raised US $350 million at the final close of its latest debt fund, the Cordiant Emerging Loan Fund IV (CELF IV). The fund’s primary focus will be on senior, secured loans issued to emerging market private sector borrowers, with an emphasis on diversification across countries… Continue Reading
Uniform rules on syndicated lending drafted in Russia
By Andrei Skvarsky. A large group of banks and companies including Sberbank, Deutsche Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Baker & McKenzie have drafted uniform rules on syndicated lending based on Russian law in a bid to do away with legal discrepancies in the current Russian syndicated lending practice. Continue Reading
International private equity firms Siguler Guff and CapMan invest in Russian educational test preparation company
Siguler Guff and CapMan, two international private equity firms, announced last week an investment in Maximum Education, a major Russian provider of educational test preparation services, in exchange for “a significant minority stake.” Siguler Guff declined to disclose any further details of the transaction, but Maximum Education CEO Michael Magkov told East-West Digital News it… Continue Reading
Russian venture fund Life.Sreda seeks to sell assets amid first signs of severe industry contraction
Russian fintech fund Life.Sreda is seeking buyers for the greater part of its portfolio companies, both Russian and foreign, Russian business daily Vedomosti has learned from unnamed industry insiders. The fund intends to concentrate on the development of its most promising project, mobile acquiring startup LifePay. In an exchange with the newspaper, Life.Sreda representative Anna… Continue Reading
Sanctioned Sberbank reports booming trade finance, documentary business for 2014
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has reported trade finance and documentary business transactions for last year by its parent Moscow-headquartered company. Continue Reading