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A large portion of alternative investment firms may be hindering their capital raising efforts by not providing investors with access to online reporting systems, according to a survey by Netage Solutions.
The survey also revealed that limited partners and their advisers overwhelmingly agree that such systems increase transparency.
The survey of 31 institutional investors, family offices and advisers conducted in the fourth quarter of 2009 found that nearly 87 per cent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “online reporting systems provide much needed transparency in the alternative assets industry”.
Further underscoring the importance of investor portals
Azad Zangana, European Economist at Schroders, cautions against expectations of a swift UK recovery.
Preliminary estimates of GDP growth for between October and December 2009 showed the UK economy grew by 0.1%, ending the longest and deepest recession since the Second World War.
The 0.1% rise in GDP growth in Q4 was far lower than city consensus of 0.4%, though preliminary estimates only have about 40% of the final information required to produce a final estimate, and are subject to revisions.
The latest estimate provides end-of-year annual growth. The worst performing sectors of 2009 was the manufacturing sector,
Investor confidence rose fractionally by 0.2 points to 104.5 in January from a revised December level of 104.3, according to the State Street Investor Confidence Index.
The mood was upbeat in North America, where confidence showed an increase of 4.4 points over December’s reading of 103.5 to settle at 107.9.
In Europe, by contrast, institutional investors were more wary, and their confidence fell 5.6 points to 98.9 from the December level of 104.5.
Amongst Asian institutional investors, confidence rose slightly to 98.1 from a level of 97.5 in December.
Developed through State Street Global Markets’ research partnership, State Street Associates,
Unigestion, a privately owned asset manager, has completed the first closing of Unigestion Secondary Opportunity II.
To date, commitments to the fund total EUR135m. Unigestion expects to reach the target size of EUR150m shortly. The hard cap is set at EUR200m.
The fund will purchase secondary stakes in funds through small to mid-sized transactions (typically EUR5m to EUR15m) benefiting from the discounts currently available in the secondary market.
Unigestion expects to complete 20 to 25 transactions over the next 24 to 36 months.
Hanspeter Bader (pictured), managing director of Unigestion’s private equity activities, says: “We are delighted to complete the
Special situation private equity fund Versa Capital Management has opened offices in Chicago and Los Angeles with the addition of Suzanne Yoon and David McReynolds.
Yoon joins Versa as director – Midwest US, based in Chicago.
Prior to joining Versa, Yoon was a senior vice president of CIT’s national restructuring group.
Previously, she co-founded LaSalle Business Credit/ABN Amro’s corporate restructuring group.
Yoon was formerly the co-chair of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s finance committee, and is an active member of the Turnaround Management Association and International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation.
McReynolds joins Versa as director – Western US, based in
Asset Management Finance, an investment firm focused on the global asset and wealth management sectors, completed four new investments in December totalling approximately USD200m in invested capital.
These transactions bring AMF’s total capital invested to more than USD500m.
“We concluded 2009 with a flurry of exciting investments continuing our momentum at Asset Management Finance,” says Brian D. Finn, chief executive officer. “In a single month, we completed our first pure equity investment, our first investment in a private equity firm, our first European investment, and our first investment in a credit hedge fund manager. These new investments have not only
Venture capital firm Albion Ventures has consolidated its pub portfolio to be managed by Bravewood Pub Management.
The 34 pub estate will be managed by a single management team jointly led by Ken Buckley who will oversee the pubs in the north of England, known as Bravo Inns, and Daryl Cockerill who is responsible for the balance of the pubs in the portfolio, known as The Charnwood Pub Company.
Shane Holland will act as finance director for the entire portfolio.
The Bravewood management team will focus exclusively on the Albion Ventures pub portfolio.
John Connell, Bravewood Pub Management,
Private equity firm Riverside completed 15 acquisitions in 2009, in addition to closing on its largest fund ever, increasing the value of its portfolio and exiting four platforms.
The 15 acquisitions were made up of six platforms and nine add-ons and put USD200m to work.
The six new platforms are: Sencore, a South Dakota-based designer and manufacturer of a variety of products serving the global video, audio and data transmission industries; Kaul, a German firm that makes anti-sticking and polishing agents used by the confectionary, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries; Crioestaminal, a Portuguese provider of umbilical cord blood preservation services;
Hugh Young, managing director of Aberdeen Asset Management Asia believes that Asia will lead global growth in 2010, pulling other emerging markets along with it.
Whilst developed countries increasingly suffer the effects of fiscal indebtedness, Asia will continue to decouple as domestic demand grows and reliance on exports is reduced.
That is not to say that if the West experiences a relapse, Asia will not be affected. Regional economies still depend to a degree on demand from the West for their manufactured exports, as well as for inward fixed and portfolio investment. That dependence is best reflected in the
CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, is committing USD10m to ShoreCap Management’s microfinance fund ShoreCap II.
ShoreCap seeks to raise USD100m for the fund to invest in small business banks and microfinance institutions, which in turn provide financial services and capital to entrepreneurs and small businesses in low-income countries in Africa and Asia.
The investments the fund makes in banks and financial institutions are expected to be between USD2m and USD10m, with a preference for those with strong local roots in Africa and Asia.
The commitment of USD10m by CDC is one of the largest made to the fund
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