Alternative Investment

A group of investors has raised concerns that Solvency II could see pension funds and insurers move away from alternative assets.

Institutional investor concern over hedge fund transparency is driving up risk management standards, leading the industry to become more "institutionalised", an SEI report finds.

Hedge funds overall lost 2.3% in August - a poor month by their own standards - but this average figure for the $2trn industry masks eye-watering numbers some individual managers are now posting to data providers.

The Universities Superannuation Scheme has doubled its Private Markets investment team with four hires to help boost its direct infrastructure investment capabilities.

EUROPE - Hedge funds had much of their gains this year wiped out on Friday as half the alternative strategies reporting daily data to Hedge Fund Research's investable indices lost over 1% of their value in just 24 hours.

GLOBAL - Almost a third of institutional investors plan to increase their allocation to hedge funds over the next 12 months, with more than half of them doing so directly, research by Preqin reveals.

Pensions diversify but dubious about fees; Pensions select firms for direct investment; Steady yields tempt investors back; UK companies overpay £100bn in DB schemes; Accounting change to show extra public debt; Poor health means a better annuity - and...

JAPAN - UK hedge fund manager Quality Capital Management (QCM) has opened an office in Tokyo as part of plans to grow its Asia Pacific business.

EUROPE - More than 80% of investors expect discounts on Listed Private Equity (LPE) to narrow in the future, with 42% of investors plan to increase their investment in LPE in the coming year, research show.

GLOBAL - Institutional investor interest in private equity secondaries market has reached "unprecedented" levels", research by Coller Capital, conducted in conjunction with IE Consulting, shows.