Aspex Management, the Hong Kong-based hedge fund firm founded by Hermes Li, notched up a return of over 11% in the first three month so the year in its $Asia-focused fund – one of the region’s largest at $7bn – according to a report by Bloomberg. The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as confirming that unlike some of its rivals who generated returns from AI-related trades, Aspex made money from bets across a range of countries and industries, including some short wagers. According to data from Eurekahedge, the fund’s Q1 gain was almost four times the average 3% return of it ..read more

EEX Group has reported strong financial results for 2023 with a 19% overall growth in total revenues, reaching €575.6m (2022: €482.4m), on the back of continued trading volume growth across all asset classes and geographies. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased to €306.4m (+28%). The strongest drivers included power and natural gas trading, as well as the Group’s North American commodity markets. In particular, the rising number of trading participants active on the EEX Group markets contributed to the positive development, with over 80 trading participants joining the EEX marke ..read more

PARTNER CONTENT By AlternativeSoft     Introduction 2023 was a remarkable year for financial assets. USA inflation rates started to decrease from 6.45% in 2022 to 3.5% in 2023 [1]. Both the equity and fixed-income markets saw a strong rebound after the significantly bearish conditions of 2022. The 30-year average fixed mortgage rates in the United States hit 7.79% in October 2023, the highest since the US housing market crash of 2008 [2]. At the beginning of the year, investors anticipated a drop in corporate profits due to the possibility of the US economy slipping in ..read more

International energy services company Petrofac was the most shorted UK listed company as of 22 April, according to news analysis by GraniteShares, a global issuer of exchange traded products (ETPs) with more than $3.5bn under management. Petrofac had 10.33% of its stocks held short by six investment firms, with Helikon Investments holding the largest position at 2.55% of the company’s equity. The second most shorted company was international home improvement retailer Kingfisher, which saw 6.48% of its stocks held short by six fund managers. This was followed by Ocado Group and abrdn with 6.29 ..read more

COMPLY, a provider of compliance software, consulting and education resources for the financial services sector including hedge funds and private equity firms, has appointed Michael J Stanton as its Chief Executive Officer. Stanton succeeds Amy Kadomatsu, who is now transitioning to the role of Board Advisor. Stanton joins COMPLY from FTV Capital, where he served as an operating advisor working with fintech and B2B SaaS businesses. Prior to FTV Capital, Stanton was CFO at Diligent Corporation, a governance, risk and compliance SaaS provider, where he oversaw revenue growth from $90m to $600m ..read more

A series of failed credit bets at Arini, the London-based hedge fund firm founded by former Credit Suisse trader Hamza Lemssouguer, has left its flagship Arini Credit Master Fund nursing a 6.6% loss in March, its second biggest monthly loss, according to a report by Bloomberg. The report cites an investor letter seen by Bloomberg as confirming that the loss has wiped almost all of the gains made by the fund so far this year, with the $2.6bn strategy up just 0.5% for Q1 2024. The letter said: “The performance was primarily driven by significant moves in three very large capital structures (-30 ..read more

Institutional digital asset prime broker FalconX has launched Prime Connect, an exchange settlement solution which enables institutional investors to trade on exchanges while their funds remain in bankruptcy-remote, regulated custody. The broker’s new offering is aimed at clients seeking a secure exchange trading environment along with access to FalconX’s services including post-trade settlement, institutional-grade credit and portfolio margining, according to a press release. In a press statement, Vivek Chauhan, Principal Product Manager at FalconX, said: “FalconX’s Prime Connect caters to th ..read more

Jain Global, the hedge fund founded by former Millennium Co–Chief Investment officer Bobby Jain, has expanded its teams in Singapore, London and New York, ahead of its planned July launch, according to a report by eFinancial Careers. Benedict Stoddart, who spent the past decade as a rates trader at Morgan Stanley in London before moving to Frankfurt, is returning to the UK for his new role in Jain’s London office. Also in London, Richard Martin, who was once Head of Quantitative Strategies at Man Group but has spent the past five years as an independent consultant focused on systematic trading ..read more

Taula Capital Management, the new hedge fund founded by former Millennium Management Portfolio Manager Diego Megia, which is set to begin trading later this quarter, is setting up an office in Milan, according to a report by Bloomberg. The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as confirming that Taula Capital’s new trading outpost will complement the firm’s existing presence in London, New York, Dubai and Jersey. Taula is the latest in a number of hedge funds to establish a presence in Milan, with Point72 Asset Management and Capstone Investment Advisors also among those settin ..read more

US hedge fund Elliott Investment Management believes market participants are too pessimistic about the size of Thames water’s debt pile and has built a position in the troubled utility company’s bonds, according to a report by the Financial Times. The report cites people familiar with the matter as revealing that in recent weeks, Elliott, one of the world’s largest activist investors with about $65bn in assets, has been buying Thames Water’s bonds at a discount to face value. When Thames Water — which supplies 16m people in London and the surrounding area, about a quarter of the population of ..read more