– Hedge funds finished 2009 with best gains since 1999
– 55% of funds recovered from 2008 losses by end 2009
– AIFM Directive handed over to the Spanish from the Swedish Presidency
– President Obama proposes to end hedge fund investing activities of banks
– Global hedge fund assets reach $1.6 trillion at end of 2009 – nearly $260 billion higher than at beginning of 2009
February 2010
– SEC approves short selling restrictions
– FSA gives hedge fund clean bill of health – hedge funds did not pose a potentially destabilising credit counterparty risk across surveyed banks
– Emerging markets hedge funds reverse sharp losses with strong gains
– Spain publishes three drafts of the AIFM Directive
– Bank of England says AIFMD would trigger “systemic failure and widespread market disruption”
– BlueBay manager fined by FSA for deceiving investors by mis-marking funds
– BarclayHedge/TrimTabs report February inflows of $16.6 billion
March 2010
– Hennessee Group says hedge fund assets have returned to pre-crisis levels
– Spain publishes 4th draft of AIFM Directive titled the “Spanish Compromise”
– JP Morgan Asset Management tops The Hedge Fund Journal’s US50 Ranking
– Hedge fund liquidations fall to pre-crisis levels
– UCITS funds gaining momentum – launches exceed 200
– Introduction of FAIFs (Funds of Alternative Investment Funds)
– Hedge funds break even for 2010 (January losses & February gains)
– EU hedge funds Directive vote gets delayed
– Germany call son UK to drop objections to AIFMD
– AIFMD / ECOFIN deadlock
– FSA raid – firsts arrests on suspicion of being involved in insider dealing ring
– Guillaume Rambourg suspended from Gartmore
– Guillaume Rambourg returns to Gartmore
– BlueCrest leaves London for Geneva
– UK tax hike on high earners
– Frence & German Finance Ministers make statements on AIFMD – “believe in open financial markets” and “qualified investors should be free to invest in funds from all around the globe…”
– G20 Finance Ministers call for a “consistent and coordinated approach to the oversight of hedge funds”
– Fund of hedge funds see renewed inflows
– HFR: Capital flows to Asian hedge funds stall
– Man Group acquires GLG Partners
– EU Finance Ministers back hedge fund regulation
– Hennessee Group: Hedge funds decline -2.99%
– Hedgebay says pension fund use of secondary market means its now mainstream
– Hedge funds begin to rebound after big May losses
– US legislators agree on Dodd-Frank Bill
– Alan Howard relocates to Geneva
– Hennessee Group: Hedge funds decline -1.35%
– Hedge funds advance +.20% in first half 2010
– Guillaume Rambourg quits Gartmore
– US Congresss passes Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010
– President Obama signs into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
– FSA remuneration net spreads to hedge fund employees
– Hedge funds return to positive territory
– Man Group: hedge funds rollercoaster ride continues – flat performance for the industry
– HFR: hedge fund liquidations & launches on the decline
September 2010
– EU delays vote on AIFM Directive
– FSA publishes consultation paper: “Revising the Remuneration Code”
– European Commission publishes proposals on short selling and OTC derivatives
– FSA avoids rigid hedge fund pay code
– UCITS launches stretch regulators capacity
– UCITS funds attract €25 billion in net new inflows
– France ends opposition to fund passports
– Man Group completes acquisition of GLG Partners
– ECOFIN adopts AIFM Directive
– HFR: Hedge fund assets up $120 billion
– SEC targets use of side pockets by hedge funds
– BlueCrest shuts its Bluetrend UCITS fund
– Hedge funds post second consecutive month of gains
– Eurekahedge: Hedge fund assets cross $1.6 trillion
November 2010
– Roger Guy announces retirement and Gartmore appoint Goldman Sachs to advise on strategic options
– The Hedge Fund Association opposes self-regulatory plan in Dodd-Frank
– EU Parliament adopts AIFM Directive
– Hennessee and HFR data show hedge funds making marginal gains as euro crisis intensifies
December 2010
– GLG closes GLG Alpha Select Fund after hitting $550 million
– EU Report shows CDS trades benign on sovereign bond yields
– Hedge funds outperform since 2007 peak
– AIMA: Global hedge fund industry employs 300,000
Commentary
Issue 63
2010 In Review
A year of regulatory change and asset manager mergers
Originally published in the December 2010 issue