Feature
Morgan Stanley prepares for growth
Morgan Stanley will launch three more growth plans on Monday January 12, based on UK equity and Asia ex-Japan equity which promise returns if these markets rise by more than 10% over three years.
NDFA sports FTSE play
UK distributor NDFA has launched its Growth Kick Out Plan December 08, an autocallable product designed to provide exposure to the FTSE 100 index.
Indexed annuities face structured product style regulation in US
Indexed annuities, a form of insurance contract in the US, are to be placed on a regulatory level playing field with structured products following a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruling on December 17, 2008.
Barcap launches new structured deposits
Barclays Capital has launched two new structured deposit accounts for its offshore bond series: the three-year guaranteed digital and the five-year guaranteed FTSE 100 deposit accounts.
Quantum offers protected investments as savings rates plummet
Quantum Asset Management has launched two new protected structured products for UK investors, linked to the FTSE 100 index. One investment pays income, whereas the other autocallable product offers a potential 10% return on its first anniversary: both…
Japan presents tough environment for hedge funds seeking investment
Although Japanese investors appear keen to invest in hedge funds, the environment for selling products in the country is difficult and highly regulated. Hedge Funds Review explores the challenges facing funds seeking Japanese investors.
Standard bearer for the future
The prominence of the Hedge Funds Standards Board and its role in championing hedge funds has increased since the appointment of a permanent chairman in July 2008. Chairman Antonio Borges believes he and the board have a crucial role to play in helping…
Island prepared to fight
Rising out of the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man does not at first glance appear the ideal home for hedge funds. Over the last few years, it has aggressively courted the hedge fund world and believes it is now poised to become one of the major players
Industry tackles valuation anxieties
The methodologies and processes used to value illiquid securities in hedge fund portfolios have become a hot topic for managers and investors alike. Hedge Funds Review examines some of the challeges and issues facing managers and administrators
Funds face tough climate as investor confidence wanes
Will investors regain confidence in hedge funds and requests for redemptions reverse?
Relative value strategy fails to perform in 2008
Claimed to be designed to cope with market volatility, relative value strategies have produced disappointing performances throughout 2008. Hedge Funds Review discovers if the strategy has a future in 2009
Discretionary trading expects continued tough time in 2009
Discretionary trading had a rough time in 2008, suffering like many other strategies. Hedge Funds Review talks to fund managers using this strategy to find out where the strategy may be heading in 2009.
Trapped in a deleveraging spiral
One of the biggest seismic shifts in 2008 was away from leverage. Easy credit has gone for good. Hedge Funds Review examines what options hedge funds have now that the easy credit has dried up
IT spending set to fall below $1bn
As hedge fund managers square up to the most precipitous market challenges in their history, the industry is likely to have to contend with the prospect of less cash, fewer assets under management and slashed technology budgets.
Fair enough?
Fair-value accounting has been blamed for exacerbating the scale of the financial crisis, leading for calls from some politicians for it to be suspended. The accounting standards boards have rushed out clarifications on mark-to-market rules, but are they…
Is it too late to revive the securitisation market?
First we were told it was undergoing a temporary hiatus, then it was stalled, now they're saying it's broken altogether. William Rhode takes a look at the global securitisation market to see what, if anything, can be done to restore its fortunes
Joe Lovrics
Quite what kind of structured credit market will emerge from the ashes of the financial crisis is a matter for intense debate. The head of structured credit sales at BNP Paribas gives his views on the drivers for the market's future
Fool's gold - How securitisation promised much ... but delivered little
The notion that securitisation as a technique is able to increase liquidity in the financial system by making marketable securities out of hitherto illiquid debt has been exposed as flawed, argues Anastasia Nesvetailova. It's not that financial…
Market graphic - The 2008-2010 credit cycle
Default rates are on the way up, but by how much? Ulf Erlandsson and Graham Rennison, quantitative analysts at Barclays Capital, use data on credit conditions to predict default rates and economic growth rates over the next two years of the cycle
New year, new hope for euro corporate bonds
Now that issuers have woken up to the unpalatable truth that wide spreads are here to stay - for the short term at least - a mini-rally in European bond issuance has ensued. Laurence Neville looks at how the corporate bond market is adjusting to its new…
Counting on the counterparty
High-profile banking failures have led to uncertainty over the ability of credit derivatives counterparties to honour their side of the trade. Contingent credit default swaps, or CCDS, are designed to mitigate this risk. But will plans for a central…
Mastering the storm
The succession of credit events in September and October revealed that many investors did not know what to do in the event of a default of a counterparty. What recourse do parties have under the Isda master agreement? By Joshua Cohn and Jillian Ashley