Financial Blog

by nimboo

Hedge Fund Roundtable Organized by Opalesque

Detailed Description-

Tokyo June 2nd, 2008 — Opalesque, the world’s largest subscription-based publisher covering the alternative investment industry, has launched the fifth issue of its acclaimed regional Roundtable scripts, the “Opalesque Japan Roundtable”.

The Opalesque Japan Roundtable will be closing the 2008 coverage of the Asian hedge fund centers after having covered New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong (see here for Roundtable Archive:
http://www.opalesque.com/index.php?act=archiveRT

The Opalesque Japan Roundtable was sponsored by Nikko Citi Prime Finance and took place in their Tokyo office. Opalesque thanks Ed Rogers from Rogers Investment Advisors for helping to put the group together.

After a stellar performance in 2005, Japanese hedge funds were struggling in 2006 and 2007. Is 2008 the turn-around year? The good news is that endowments, sovereign wealth funds and large global hedge funds are coming back to Japan. What opportunities do they see? In this Roundtable script, you will learn:

* Background on Japan hedge fund performance and the state of the economy
* Will macro (economy) or micro (corporate governance on company level) catalysts drive the markets going forward?
* Why activist investors and activist hedge funds have been very
beneficial for Japan
* Will the Japanese version of the Basel II rules still prevent regional banks to rebuild their hedge fund allocations?
* How do Japanese pension funds and insurance companies view and use hedge funds?

The participants of the Opalesque Japan Roundtable are:

1. Angus McKinnon, Senior Partner, Tozai Investment Advisory
2. Nobuki Yasuda, Director of Alternative Investment, Pension Fund
Association
3. Goro Ohwada, CEO, Aino Investment Corporation
4. Kenichiro Nishi, CEO & CIO, Gaia Capital Management
5. Scott Callon, Partner/CEO, Ichigo Asset Management
6. Rory Kennedy, COO, United Managers Japan (UMJ)
7. Andrew Hill, Director, NikkoCiti
8. Koichi Shijima, Director, NikkoCiti
9. Atsko Nakajima, Director of Hedge Fund Investments, Ueda Yagi Securities Co.
10. Hideki Hashiguchi, Lead Representative, HSBC Global Fund Services
11. Toshihiko Nishida, Portfolio Manager, GCI
12. Isao Tomoyuki, Chief Investment Officer, Stats Investment Management
13. Rick Okuno, Rheos Capital Works

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The Opalesque Hong Kong Roundtable Script can be downloaded here:
http://www.opalesque.com/index.php?act=static∧=RoundtableJAPAN

All other previously published Opalesque Roundtable Scripts (New Zealand (March 17th), Australia (March 25th), Singapore Roundtable (April 24th), Hong Kong (May 1st)) can be downloaded

Matthias Knab, Director of Opalesque Ltd, moderates the Opalesque Roundtables. Matthias Knab is an internationally recognized expert on hedge funds and alternatives and has frequently served as chairman of hedge fund conferences in New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Miami, Bahamas, Stockholm, Dubai etc. In addition, he has presented or moderated
at hedge fund events in Sydney, Cape Town, Madrid, and Bombay, and lectured at numerous universities on the subjects of hedge funds and the state of the global alternative asset management industry.

About Opalesque:

Opalesque leads the finance media space for its in-depth and innovative products. Since February 2003, Opalesque is publishing Alternative Market Briefing, the premium news service on hedge funds and alternatives. The launch of these Briefings was a revolution in the hedge fund media space (“Opalesque changed the world by bringing transparency where there was
opacity and by delivering an accurate professional reporting service.” -
Nigel Blanchard, Culross) combining proprietary news with the “clipping service” approach of integrating third party news. Each week, Opalesque publications are read by more than 360,000 industry professionals in over 100 countries.

Opalesque is the only daily hedge fund publisher which is actually read by the elite managers themselves
(http://www.opalesque.com/op_testimonials.html).
For more information,

About Opalesque publications:

Alternative Market Briefing:

A daily newsletter on the global hedge fund industry, highly praised for its completeness and timely delivery of the most important daily news for professionals dealing with hedge funds. Alternative Market Briefing offers both a quick overview and in-depth coverage. Subscribers can also access the industry’s largest news archive ( 26,000+ articles ) on hedge funds
and related topics.

A SQUARE:

Opalesque A SQUARE = Alternative Alternatives is the first web
publication, globally, that is dedicated exclusively to alternative
investments. A SQUARE’s weekly selection feature unique investment oportunities that bear virtually no correlation to the main stream hedgefund strategies and/or distinguish themselves by virtue of their ‘lternative” motive – social, behavioural, natural resources, sustainable/environment related investing.

With its “research that reveals” approach, fast facts and investment oriented analysis, A SQUARE offers diversification and complementary ideas for: private, high net-worth and institutional investors, pension funds and endowments, portfolio and hedge funds managers.

Technical Research Briefing:

Delivers three times a week a global perspective/overview on all major markets, including Equity Indices, Fixed

Search Terms Forex ePips:

• Joe Taussig
• theresa patti and tokyo

The Basics of Mutual Fund Classes

In order to get the most out of your returns, without paying a high fee, you need to be aware of the different classes of mutual fund stocks and their advantages and disadvantages. Mutual fund companies often charge a higher fee when you opt to invest in ‘high risk high return’ stocks. However, paying higher fees does not necessarily ensure high returns because stock prices fluctuate on a daily basis. This makes it difficult even for professional fund managers to predict the future course of a certain stock. Mutual fund classes show the type of stocks covered under each mutual fund and the fees charged. The most common mutual fund classes are A, B, and C.

Class ‘A’ Stocks

These types of stocks attract lower 12b-1 fees and are considered the best if you are planning to keep investment for two or more years. Investing in such stocks makes you eligible to receive discounts, every time your investment arrives at a certain amount. The amount is selected at the time of buying the mutual fund and is referred to as the ‘breakpoint’. Discounts are also offered when you express the intent of reaching the breakpoint within a specified period. However, in case you are unable to reach the breakpoint prior to the deadline, as mentioned in the ‘letter of intent’, you are required to pay the regular front-end fees.

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Class B Stocks

These types of stocks are characterized by their contingent deferred sales charge and are appropriate for investors who have limited resources and are looking for long term investment. Small investors prefer these types of stocks because they are not required to pay front-end fees and the deferred sales charge keeps reducing. The other benefit is that these stocks are automatically converted into Class ‘A’ stocks, which have a lower yearly management expense ratio or MER. The only problem with Class ‘B’ stocks is that you are required to pay the deferred sales fees in case you withdraw the funds before the specified period. Another disadvantage is that you do not avail of discounts, since there are no provisions for a breakpoint. This means that you are not able to reduce investment costs even if you increase your investment.

Class C Stocks

These types of stocks work best for those planning to redeem the stocks within a short span of time. They are beneficial because you are not required to pay the front-end fees. The back-end load is less too, one percent in most cases. Even this one percent back-end load is eliminated if you keep the investment for more than a year. Some of the drawbacks of Class ‘C’ stocks include compulsory back-end load, higher MER, zero discounts and lack of provision for automatic conversions.

In order to benefit from your investments, you need to consider a number of factors, such as the time for which you plan to invest, the frequency of your investments and whether you are liable to withdraw the funds in the near future. The analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of each class of stocks will help you to select the most appropriate investment option, based on your specific needs and preferences.

Find More Breakpoint Sale Articles

Mutual Funds articles

by Acumen Fund

Fund Managers Need to be Accesible and Personally Invested

By: Dominic Mazzone, Managing Partner, Regent Global Funds

We hear it all the time. “Put your money where your mouth is,” “Skin in the game,” and, “Eat your own dog food.” All phrases that talk about the one thing in the investing world that many fund managers try to avoid. Accountability. When you hear the word accountability these days it usually refers to CEO’s that are on their way to jail, or Club Fed as the locals like to call it. Accountability is, however, now starting to creep into the vernacular of investors who wonder whether or not the person that is supposed to be managing their investment believes in it enough to put his own money into it. A recent Morningstar study of approximately 6,000 fund issues showed that 46% of the stock funds reviewed were managed by fund managers with none of their personal money invested in their own funds. Think about that in realistic terms. You have about a 50/50 shot that the person you are trusting to protect and grow your investment doesn’t trust himself to protect and grow his own investment. That is not only a serious problem of accountability, but what about performance? During my formidable years at USC, I took a Business Development class that was being taught by a former Controller of General Motors (I don’t remember his name and it was during the cheap gas good times at GM). He devoted an entire semester to what he felt was the one thing that made people perform at their best. Motivation. Motivation derived from doing well in the eyes of others is a pretty good source, but it’s nothing compared to the personal motivation derived from something like the well being of your own investment account. Some of the arguments we may hear from fund managers are that the types of investments that they manage don’t fit well in their portfolio because of variables like age, risk tolerance, etc. This argument could be made for fund managers in their 30′s and 40′s that don’t invest 30% of their portfolio into the super conservative fixed income fund they are managing like a bond fund, but there is really no excuse for investing zero.

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I have seen a few articles on this subject lately and I thought investors would like to hear about this from a fund manager’s perspective. Being a fund manager myself I can tell you that it is personally stressful for me every time we make a decision that will affect the fund and the investor money we are using. I think any fund manager that doesn’t feel this way is either too detached or on prescription medication. Besides the stress of investing someone else’s money, the thought that also goes through my mind like a hammer is how much money I will lose personally if the investment goes bad. This thought is present for the simple reason that I am heavily invested in our fund and any bad decision will affect me personally. I don’t have the option of having a deal go bad, and say “Well Mr. Investor, we’ll try harder for you next time and I am sure glad it wasn’t my own money that was lost.” I think this kind of accountability is the last and most important check in a system of checks and balances that lead a fund manager to a prudent decision.

The other large problem associated with fund managers and their investors is the lack of accessibility to the fund manager. Now I can totally understand how fund managers of large multi-billion dollar funds can’t speak to the multitude of people investing in them. However, I think the comfort level associated with being able to pick up the phone and speak with your fund manager is absolutely irreplaceable. I say this not only so you can ask questions about your investment or get their perspective on the market, but more importantly to get an overall feel of the type of person that is investing your money. So I think we can all agree about the benefits of speaking with your fund manager, but with accessibility there is a flip-side check in the check and balance system. If the fund manager knows you, there is a feeling of personal responsibility that is created, and that responsibility helps create some caution when he is investing your money.

I realize that we live in a virtual world, but some of the age old principles in life need to still apply. Being personally tied to a result creates the motivation for good performance, so make sure your fund manager is personally invested. Lastly, there is still an awful lot you can learn about someone in a five minute conversation. If you have the option, call your fund manager, or prospective fund manager, and talk to him about his investment philosophy and just try to get an overall sense of him/her as a person. The same five minutes wasted while waiting for your computer to boot up, could be five minutes with your fund manager that, in the end, can make or save you an awful lot of money. So stop reading and start calling and find out who is managing your money.

Find More Fund Manager Articles

Mutual Funds articles

by infomatique

Investing in funds using a fund supermarket could save you time and money

In financial services it can often save money to leave the middle man in. And when it comes to investing in funds it can be beneficial to let someone, in this case a website, do the hard work for you.

Funds enable investors to pool their money with other investors to get access to more stocks or bonds than most people can buy or manage themselves. Funds can usually offer greater diversification, professional management and more convenience than investing in individual stocks or bonds and are looked after by a fund manager, who researches the market to try and provide a good return.

But because investing in funds can be complicated there are so many to choose from, many investors research and manage their funds using a fund supermarket.

Discounts and offers

These online platforms provide a facility for buying and selling a wide range of investment funds from different fund management companies. But generally one of the attractions of a fund supermarket is the discounts and offers available to customers.

Usually the initial charge, which you pay every time you invest in a fund, is as high as 5.50 per cent but via a fund supermarket you can reduce the upfront fee by as much as 100 per cent and some even offer cashback when you invest your money or transfer certain amounts from other investments.

Manage your money in one place

As well as big discounts fund supermarkets can make buying funds and managing your investments straightforward by bringing them all under one roof. So if you have existing investments with separate fund managers a fund supermarket can help you consolidate all of your investments and bring them together in one place.

Fund supermarkets also give you access to a large range of funds, Fair Investment Company allows you to choose from up to 1,300 funds from more than 90 fund managers, including Invesco and Jupiter. once you are registered you can easily switch between funds in the future, and the minimum investment is often as little as £500 or £50 a month.

Research

Fund supermarkets allow you to make an informed decision about how and where to invest your money. They will often enable you to see tables, charts and company information so you can compare and contrast the different deals at your computer screen.

You can also compare funds from different sectors against each other to see which one best suits your investment needs.

ISA investments

You can also use funds to take advantage of your annual ISA allowance by investing within your individual ISA wrapper.  You can either choose to invest the whole annual ISA allowance as stocks and shares within a fund, which is up to £10,200, or up to £5,100 can be invested, with the other £5,100 reserved solely for cash savings.

Using a fund supermarket to do this bypasses hefty charges, some of which can be up to 5.50 per cent of the initial investment. This allows you to make the most of your tax free allowance in one go. Existing ISAs can also be brought together into one place using a fund supermarket.

For more information about Fair Investment’s funds service visit rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/2205998']);” href=”</em><em><a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/2205998']);” href=”http://www.fairinvestment.co.uk/”>http://www.fairinvestment.co.uk”>Fair Investment Company

Mutual Funds articles

by US Army Africa

The Most Reliable No Load Mutual Fund is Still the Index Mutual Funds

There are many different mutual funds that people can invest with. These different funds will for the most part have certain loads that will be given. These loads will also include no load mutual funds. The interesting aspect of a no load mutual fund is the lack of large fees that you as the investor needs to pay to the company. There are lots of examples of no load mutual funds today but the most reliable one is still the Index Mutual Funds.

This is the first mutual funds group which utilized the no load mutual funds tag for the benefit of their customers. Where the other mutual funds have various charges that you will have to pay as a result of the load, the no load mutual funds in stark contrast are lacking in these customer fees. Besides these differences the load funds do not work as well as the no load mutual funds in the long run.

The no load mutual funds are distributed directly to the customers by the investment company. As there is no middle group to work the mutual funds you as the investor will have no need to worry about sales commissions. The premise behind a no load mutual fund is that all of the money that you invest in the fund will work entirely for you.

This is contrary to that of the other loads. In these loads only part of your money is invested into the mutual funds. The remainder of the money will be used as the sales commission of the mutual funds investment group. As an example of the difference between these two funds is illustrated below.

In a load mutual fund you could invest for instance ,000. The mutual funds company that you are using will however invest only ,500. The remaining 0 is used as a 5% sales commission charge. At the end period of your investing if a 10% funds return was made the load fund would only have produced ,450 for you. Now the no load mutual fund works differently.

In the no load mutual funds you invest about the same amount. That is you invest ,000. The investment company will invest the entire ,000 into the mutual fund that you have chosen. At the end investment period the no load mutual funds which could have a 10% funds return will yield to you about ,000. As you see the no load mutual funds is more beneficial to the customer as there is no secondary party to take part of your money away.

Related Load Fund Articles

Mutual Funds articles