Hedge fund reinsurers ‘not a new business model’, says A.M. Best (Artemis)
The hedge fund backed reinsurance mode which seeks to leverage premium inflows as investment capital in hedge fund strategies in an attempt to outperform on the asset-side, is not treated as a new business model by rating agency A.M. Best. The hedge fund reinsurer, typically formed by or in cooperation with hedge fund type asset managers, often underwrites lower volatility or higher layer reinsurance business in order to treat the premium float as long-term capital to be invested in more active or aggressive investment strategies.
Indian hedge funds fare best globally thanks to PM Modi… Blackstone in talks to back distressed fund… (HedgeWeek)
The funds investing in the South Asian nation have returned 26 per cent this year through July, according to Eurekahedge Pte. That compares with an average 3.5 per cent gain for those investing in Asia, 1.9 per cent for Greater China, 1.2 per cent for Japan, 3.8 per cent for North America and 1.1 per cent for Europe, the Singapore-based data provider said. India-focused hedge funds, with a sixth of the USD16.5 billion in assets of those investing in Japan, are set for the strongest return in five years after Modi secured the nation’s largest election victory since 1984 in May. The prime minister has pledged to restore economic growth, rein in inflation and the budget deficit, as well as revive stalled projects to boost investor confidence.
Fuel conversion efforts get kudos (ClarionLedger)
Businessman and natural gas advocate T. Boone Pickens recently recognized Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)’s company-wide efforts to convert 10 percent of its fleet from diesel to clean burning compressed natural gas. Waste Management’s CNG conversion has grown from 400 trucks in 2007 to more than 3,200 today, which accounts for approximately 10 percent of its total fleet. The company plans to convert a minimum of 80 percent of its North American service fleet to alternative fuels by 2020.
Illinois Teachers maps out 2015 real estate, hedge fund deployments (PIOnline)
Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, Springfield, plans to deploy a total of at least $1 billion with real estate and hedge fund managers in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. Trustees of the $45.3 billion pension fund approved the 2015 tactical investment plans for the $5.6 billion real estate portfolio and the $2.6 billion hedge fund portfolio as presented by investment staff at a board meeting Tuesday. The real estate tactical plan calls for total new investment of $850 million in fiscal 2015 — $550 million will go to opportunistic strategies and $300 million to core/value-added approaches. Additional opportunistic real estate managers will be sought.
AllianceBernstein Continues Liquid Alts Push With New Fund (HedgeCo)
AllianceBernstein is no stranger to alternative investments – the firm overseas and manages $18 billion in alternative investment strategies, $4 billion of which is in liquid alternatives. In 2010, the firm purchased the alternative investment business of SunAmerica, which added a team of experienced hedge fund and private equity staff to the firm’s ranks, along with several billion dollars of new alternative assets to manage. One outgrowth of bringing on the new team, which is led by Marc Gamsin, is the development of new alternative mutual fund products for the firm.
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