2010 In Review

A year of regulatory change and asset manager mergers

Originally published in the December 2010 issue

January 2010

– 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

 

April 2010

– 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

 

May 2010

– 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

 

June 2010

– 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

 

July 2010

– 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

 

August 2010

– 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

 

October 2010

– 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