What’s news around the hedge fund industry for Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012:

Around the web

Japan’s Asuka launches $40 million catastrophe bond fund. (FINalternatives)

Where are the Portus diamonds? (Toronto Globe and Mail)

Anju Mathur’s Aquila Investment & Capital Management seeks Aquiline viewpoint. (FINalternatives)

LibreMax Capital, Visium Asset Management add to double-digit returns. (Bloomberg, via FINalternatives)

SEC must hedge bets on advertising. (InvestmentNews)

Noster Capital partner Christopher O’Neill engaged to Princess Madeleine of Sweden. (FINalternatives)

Currency traders hold back from election bets. (WSJ.com)

Wall Street leaders peer into economic gloom. (DealBook)

Orange County Employees Retirement System eyes four event-driven managers. (FINalternatives)

Sturgeon Capital launches central Asia UCITS fund. (FINalternatives)

BlueCrest’s Michael Platt: Draghi’s plan to buy bonds just buying time. (Benzinga)

Seizure of ship from Argentina forces shake-up. (NYTimes.com)

Hedge fund havens weigh taxes as Caribbean’s debt rivals Greece. (Bloomberg)

Two top donors from Renaissance Capital on opposite sides. (Washington Post)

CFTC draft seen keeping phone trading for swaps. (Dow Jones Newswires, via Nasdaq)

Macro funds seek succor in emerging markets. (Financial Times)

Michael Tennenbaum’s $10 million donation supports marine study. (Associated Press, via HedgeFund.net)

Duffy: CME’s volume ‘disaster’ due to macro woes. (Chicago Tribune)

People moves

EQI Asset Management adds ex-Deutsche Bank exec. Ben Sofoluwe for securities lending. (FINalternatives)

Sasco Energy Partners adds Barclays vet Michael Zenker to research team. (FINalternatives)

Cook County President’s chief of staff Kurt Summers to join Grosvenor Capital Management. (Chicago Tribune)

Here we take a look at September 2012 absolute performance for the top 5 fixed income arbitrage funds in two categories - all funds and U.S.-only funds - as tracked by Lipper’s hedge fund database. To see more analysis, including assets under management and domicile information for the top 10 funds in each category, click here for all funds and here for U.S.-only funds. To be truly connected to all the Lipper analytics available on HedgeWorld, become a HedgeWorld Premium Plus member. To find out more about how to do that, visit hedgeworld.com/membership/.

Under the Securities Act of 1933, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allows companies to offer securities for sale without having to register those securities or file periodic reports, provided the companies meet exemptions laid out in Regulation D. For hedge funds’ purposes, those securities are limited partnerships. When a hedge fund firm sells its first securities, it is required by Reg D to file a Form D, which includes names and addresses of the company’s executive officers and stock promoters and the date of the first sale in the offering. As such, Form D filings can be a useful tool to find new hedge fund launches.

Uruguay Agricultural Land Fund, LLC

UBS (Cay) A&Q SPC for the Account of EAP I Futures AIS Segregated Portfolio

Kortright Opportunity Offshore Fund, Ltd.

New River Investments Special Opportunities LP

Babson Capital Total Return Master Fund L.P.

SaLaurMor Capital LP

CSIP III, LP

BMV Investment Partners, LP

Babson Capital Core Fixed Income Master Fund L.P.

—Compiled by Angela Sormani

What’s news around the hedge fund industry for Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012:

Around the web

The rise and fall of Rajat Gupta. (WSJ.com)

Baupost Group co-portfolio manager Herb Wagner to start his own firm. (Bloomberg)

Hedge funds belt few home runs. (WSJ.com)

Cantor Fitzgerald to manage Coast Asset Management’s fund of hedge funds. (FINalternatives)

Newscape Capital Group launches second UCITS fund. (FINalternatives)

D.E. Shaw ‘looks set to have a good year’. (Dow Jones Newswires, via Barron’s Focus on Funds blog)

Hedge funds ‘dream’ of mini-Brookfield at Dundee. (Toronto Globe and Mail)

Popularity of currency bets on the rise. (WSJ.com)

Marathon Asset Management seeks probe of AMR debt deal. (WSJ.com)

Billionaires put big bucks in Louisiana school board races. (WaPo’s Answer Sheet blog)

Exchanges retreat on trading tools: Fund managers, regulators say certain orders are risky, aid high-speed firms. (WSJ.com)

Judge dismisses MF Global employee lawsuit. (Reuters)

Singapore’s LIBOR role in the spotlight. (Financial Times)

Diamondback’s Todd Newman loses bid to split insider trading trial. (Bloomberg)

Kweku Adoboli sent rogue trader warnings by UBS after Kerviel losses. (Bloomberg)

Greek regulator to extend short-selling ban. (Reuters)

People moves

Omni Partners hires ex-Barclays European equities head Howard Spooner. (Financial News, via FINalternatives)

SAC Re adds property catastrophe underwriter Tim Duffin. (Trading Risk, via FINalternatives)

Here we take a look at September 2012 absolute performance for the top 5 event-driven funds in two categories - all funds and U.S.-only funds - as tracked by Lipper’s hedge fund database. To see more analysis, including assets under management and domicile information for the top 10 funds in each category, click here for all funds and here for U.S.-only funds. To be truly connected to all the Lipper analytics available on HedgeWorld, become a HedgeWorld Premium Plus member. To find out more about how to do that, visit hedgeworld.com/membership/.

Under the Securities Act of 1933, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allows companies to offer securities for sale without having to register those securities or file periodic reports, provided the companies meet exemptions laid out in Regulation D. For hedge funds’ purposes, those securities are limited partnerships. When a hedge fund firm sells its first securities, it is required by Reg D to file a Form D, which includes names and addresses of the company’s executive officers and stock promoters and the date of the first sale in the offering. As such, Form D filings can be a useful tool to find new hedge fund launches.

CC Global Investments US, LP

AQR MRP Offshore Fund, L.P.

G3 Energy Trading, LLC

—Compiled by Angela Sormani

What’s news around the hedge fund industry for Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012:

Around the web

LightSquared executives get $6 million in bonuses approved by judge. (Deal Journal)

How the Fed began rigging the stock market. (New York Post)

Was there a bankruptcy alternative for the automakers? (DealBook)

Ex-Citadel portfolio manager Kevin Scherer to start Continuum Investment Management. (Bloomberg)

UBS special situations head Cesar Gueikian said to quit to start own fund. (Bloomberg)

Prosecutors want tapes out of Chiasson trial. (FINalternatives)

Double Haven Capital Management acquires DragonBack Capital. (FINalternatives)

Long/short equity funds perform best in September. (Hedge Fund Monitor, via FINalternatives)

People moves

Michael Byl joins Avalon Lake Partners. (FINalternatives)

BNY Mellon taps Marina Lewin to head asset servicing sales. (FINalternatives)

Here we take a look at September 2012 absolute performance for the top 5 equity market neutral funds in two categories - all funds and U.S.-only funds - as tracked by Lipper’s hedge fund database. To see more analysis, including assets under management and domicile information for the top 10 funds in each category, click here for all funds and here for U.S.-only funds. To be truly connected to all the Lipper analytics available on HedgeWorld, become a HedgeWorld Premium Plus member. To find out more about how to do that, visit hedgeworld.com/membership/.

Under the Securities Act of 1933, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allows companies to offer securities for sale without having to register those securities or file periodic reports, provided the companies meet exemptions laid out in Regulation D. For hedge funds’ purposes, those securities are limited partnerships. When a hedge fund firm sells its first securities, it is required by Reg D to file a Form D, which includes names and addresses of the company’s executive officers and stock promoters and the date of the first sale in the offering. As such, Form D filings can be a useful tool to find new hedge fund launches.

Copperwood Energy Fund LP

Copperwood Energy Offshore LP

Tiger Ratan Capital Fund (Cayman), Ltd.

Cloud Gate Capital Fund LLC

SENVEST ISRAEL PARTNERS, LTD.

Flexible Futures, LP

Talkot Institutional Fund, L.P.

—Compiled by Angela Sormani

Our weekly newsletter is out, and now that it’s been a year after MF Global declared bankruptcy and left the futures industry in a state of disarray, where are we? Do we really understand what transpired? Have we made the reforms necessary to prevent it from happening again? Here, we take a look at how the story played out, the reforms we’ve instituted to date, and the steps we need to take moving forward, both as an industry and as individual investors, to avoid a campy sequel.

This time of year, our homes and streets are swathed with cotton cobwebs, goblins and ghouls as we indulge in the chills and thrills of the latest horror movies and ghost stories of the year. The monsters beneath our bed come to life in polyester costumes and garish face paint, and macabre goes mainstream. It’s a time where, instead of running from our fears, we embrace them – if only momentarily – for a rush of adrenaline and a few good laughs.

Except, last Halloween, the worst fears of the futures industry played out in agonizing slow motion without the superficial sheen of the holiday season. Amidst the candy corn and taffy apples came a sharp blow to investor confidence. The demon plaguing our central cast of characters did not don a cape nor boast a set of horns; he wore a suit and scraggly beard. Victims did not lose their lives, but some lost their livelihoods.

It has been a year since MF Global began a maddening descent into bankruptcy and scandal, but for many of us, it feels as though it was just yesterday. The story has, by and large, faded from the headlines, but the lessons of the past remain poignant today, and there is still much work to be done. We take a moment here to look back over the past year at what happened, how things have changed since, and what challenges await us on the horizon.

- - - - - -

To read more Managed Futures research pieces, visit Attain’s Managed Futures Newsletter archive and our Managed Futures Blog.

DISCLAIMER

Forex trading, commodity trading, managed futures, and other alternative investments are complex and carry a risk of substantial losses. As such, they are not suitable for all investors.

The entries on this blog are intended to further subscribers understanding, education, and – at times- enjoyment of the world of alternative investments through managed futures, trading systems, and managed forex. Unless distinctly noted otherwise, the data and graphs included herein are intended to be mere examples and exhibits of the topic discussed, are for educational and illustrative purposes only, and do not represent trading in actual accounts.

The mention of asset class performance is based on the noted source index (i.e. Newedge CTA Index, S&P 500 Index, etc.) , and investors should take care to understand that any index performance is for the constituents of that index only, and does not represent the entire universe of possible investments within that asset class. And further, that there can be limitations and biases to indices: such as survivorship and self reporting biases, and instant history.

Managed Futures Disclaimer:

Past Performance is Not Necessarily Indicative of Future Results. The regulations of the CFTC require that prospective clients of a managed futures program (CTA) receive a disclosure document when they are solicited to enter into an agreement whereby the CTA will direct or guide the client’s commodity interest trading and that certain risk factors be highlighted. The disclosure document contains a complete description of the principal risk factors and each fee to be charged to your account by the CTA.

Copyright © 2011 Attain Capital Management, licensed Managed Futures, Trading System & Commodity Brokers. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.