Alternative Investment

GLOBAL - More new hedge funds launched in the first quarter of 2011 than any time since 2007, fuelled by a tailwind of industry assets breaching $2trn for the first time, research shows.

London hedge fund CQS is delaying planned soft closure for its flagship ABS portfolio to allow prospective pension scheme investors already conducting due diligence on the fund to complete their analysis.

UK - London hedge fund CQS is delaying planned soft closure for its flagship ABS portfolio to allow prospective pension scheme investors already conducting due diligence on the fund to complete their analysis.

As funds seek to steer their portfolios through the markets' bumpy recovery, Andrew Short looks at two important alternative classes - hedge funds and infrastructure

US - Institutional fund of hedge funds manager Permal has announced its second senior appointment in as many months, hiring Zhiwu Chen, professor of finance at Yale University, as a consulting chief adviser.

US - Institutional investors are increasingly turning to commodity trading advisers following a historical reluctance to do so, Agecroft Partners believes.

UK - Permal Investment Management has appointed Paul Jeffries to head up its UK institutional business.

EUROPE/US - Saguenay Capital and Strathmore Capital have merged to create Saguenay Strathmore Capital.

L&G misses forecast for annuity sales; Canadian group leads race for Green Park

GLOBAL - Increasingly cautious institutional investors have caused a significant decline in the number of hedge fund of funds with assets of between $2bn and $5bn, research suggests.