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Alternative Investments

The global alternative investment space now sits at more than $9 trillion in global assets, and we’re just getting started. Roughly 40% of RIAs are using alternative investments. With the RIA space expanding and alternative investment demand rising among investors – a surge in data, news, and opinion will continue. This channel cuts through the noise to give you the most important actionable insight.

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Alternative Investments/ESG: SP Funds Unveils Shariah-Compliant Global Tech ETF

December 5, 2023

SP Funds has expanded its suite of Sharia-compliant funds with the launch of The SP Funds S&P Global Technology ETF (SPTE) on the New York Stock Exchange. As North America’s largest family of Shariah-compliant exchange-traded funds (ETFs), SP Funds aims to provide investors access to cutting-edge technological advancements through SPTE.

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More Stories on Alternative Investments

Venture Capital: PE and VC Firms Turn to Asia for Deals

March 27, 2020

Carlyle Group (NYSE: CG) announced this week that they had raised 2.3 billion for its fourth Japanese buyout fund, Carlyle Japan Partners IV. The fund will invest in upper mid-market investment opportunities in Japan across Consumer, Retail, and Healthcare, General Industries and Technology, Media, and Telecom. They will also look to make equity investments in larger companies on an opportunistic basis, according to the Carlyle press release announcing the deal.

Sovereign Wealth: Norway Taps New Manager After $124 Billion Loss

March 26, 2020

The Norway sovereign wealth fund has tapped a new manager at the height of the coronavirus panic. The world’s fifth-largest sovereign fund has hired Norwegian-born Nicolai Tange to take control of the fund. The news comes after the fund lost a staggering $124 billion during the ongoing coronavirus breakdown in the markets. 

Alternative Investments: Ares Capital Pens Shareholder Letter on Coronavirus

March 24, 2020

Specialty finance lender Ares Capital (NYSE: ARCC) sent a letter to its shareholders. The letter aims to calm fears about the impact of the coronavirus.

The Business Development Company’s (BDC) stock is down 57% over the last month as investors have fled the high-risk private lending firms.

Ares Capital Managemen said its portfolio centers on senior secured loans and is highly diversified across 354 different portfolio companies. The firm has concentrated in defensive industries such as healthcare services, software and services, and commercial and professional services, and management feels that gives the loan portfolio an additional margin of safety.

Fintech: iCapital Network Announces $146 Million Funding Round

March 23, 2020

Financial technology platform company iCapital Network announced today that they had closed a $146 million financing round.

The iCapital platform helps advisors that need easy to use technology-enabled investment processes that help to incorporate alternative assets into their portfolios.

The platform also helps alternative asset managers with tie fundraising efforts and helps infostructure providers such as administrators, custodians and transfer agents.

The DailyAlts Playbook: Corona Cases Surge, Warnings from 2012, Universa’s Massive Win, and Party Bros

March 19, 2020

Today, the DailyAlts Playbook talks the Surge in Corona Cases, Warnings from 2012, Universa’s Massive Win, and Party Bros.

FinTech: iwoca’s New OpenLending Platform To Support SMEs During Coronavirus

March 19, 2020

These are trying times for small and medium businesses with entire countries under lockdown from the coronavirus threat. iwoca, the SME-focused online lender, launched its new platform, OpenLending. This platform will act as a channel for SME loans originating from banks and fintechs for disbursement to more than two million SMEs using Iwoca.

Alternative Investments: STOR Capital Letter to Shareholders on Coronavirus

March 18, 2020

STOR Capital CEO Christopher H. Volk sent a letter to shareholders this week to address concerns over the potential impact of the coronavirus on the REITs’ property portfolio.

STOR has investments in more than 2,500 property locations and 478 tenants. As investors bailed on REITs the persistent selling pressure forced some second wave selling from REIT exchange-traded funds, STOR has seen its share price decline by more than 50% in the past month.

Hedge Funds: Ricky Sandler is Buying Stocks Despite Coronavirus

March 18, 2020

Hedge fund manager Ricky Sandler said Monday that he is buying stocks while markets continue their historic selloff.

In an interview with CNBC, the head of Eminence Capital said that he believes that the market reaction has been too extreme.

Alternative Investments: Elliott Supports SoftBank’s Buyback Plan

March 13, 2020

SoftBank has announced a $4.8 billion buyback plan, news that brings joy to Elliott Management. 

According to a report, SoftBank can purchase additional shares at the completion of the merger between T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS) and Sprint Corporation (NYSE: S). The total buyback represents about 7% of SoftBank’s outstanding stock. The buyback program will operate from March 16 through March 15, 2021. Shares were off despite the news as part of a broader market decline. 

Alternative Investments: CoronaVirus Roundup for Thursday, March 12, 2020

March 12, 2020

Coronavirus has paralyzed the global markets, with Europe experiencing its worst one-day downturn in history. The FTSE shed 10.8%, the DAX was off 12.2%, and the CAC shed 12.5%. Here in the United States, the New York Fed loaded more than $1 trillion and fired it into the Repo markets. If you remember that scene in Independence Day where the world fires a nuclear bomb at the alien space ship, only to see it bounce off with no impact… it was a lot like that.

Alternative Investments: Activists Pressure GameStop for Board Seat

March 12, 2020

Hestia Capital Partners is part of a group of investors pushing for a board seat at embattled gaming retailer GameStop (NYSE: GME). 

A report indicates that Hestia joins Permit Capital Enterprise Fund and its affiliates in the pursuit of a board seat. They raised concerns in a letter that no current director has a sizeable stake in the company. The group owns about 7.5% of the company stock. 

Alternative Investments: U.S. Prosecutors Oppose Release of Bernie Madoff

March 10, 2020

U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday that they oppose the release of Bernie Madoff from prison even if he is dealing with kidney disease. In a statement, prosecutors said that Madoff has failed to show remorse or accept responsibility for his massive Ponzi Scheme. They also said that denying Madoff’s request to return home would uphold victims’ rights and boost confidence in the U.S. justice system. 

Alternative Investments: S&P Global Market Intelligence Survey Sees Less Deal Making in 2020

March 4, 2020

S&P Global Market Intelligence surveyed private equity dealmakers from around the world. The study found that less than half of them thought 2020 would see as much deal activity as 2019. Pessimism picked up form last year as 20% of all respondents anticipate a decline in deal-making over the next 12 months, up from 14% who felt the same last year. Latin America was the most optimistic as 67% of the managers surveyed expect activity to improve this year compares to last.

Alternative Investments: Essentia Analytics Adds New Board Member (and Other People on the Move This Week)

March 4, 2020

Essentia Analytics has added Martin Fincham to its Board of Directors. The company is a provider of behavioral data analytics and consulting for professional investors. Fincham comes to the firm with three decades of experience in the technology industry as an entrepreneur, CEO, and advisor to tech companies. He is currently on the boards of multiple B2B SaaS companies, including SHE Software, EyeQuant, Veeqo, Wazoku, and BlackCurve.

Alternative Assets: Elizabeth Warren Has “A Plan” for Larry Fink on ESG

February 26, 2020

The Democratic candidate is pushing for the BlackRock chief to do more in his firm’s pledge to address climate change. In a letter released today, Warren asked Fink to support her latest climate plan – the Climate Risk Disclosure Act. This bill would require all companies to reveal their business risks tied to climate change. Warren argues that government metrics provide one of the clearest ways to track sustainability pledges by companies. 

Alternative Investments: Bernie’s FTT – A Gut Punch to Americans’ Retirement Savings

February 26, 2020

More than half of Americans are invested in the stock market, either directly or through a retirement fund such as a 401k or IRA. Over 40% of Americans are invested in college education savings plans such as 529 plans. Assuming a 10-basis point FTT (0.1%), the Vanguard Group estimates that an average investor would need to work for nearly 2.5 years longer to achieve the same retirement corpus.

The DailyAlts Playbook: The South Carolina Debate Clown Car, Coronavirus Fears, Trump’s Market Woes, and Mike Bloomberg’s Naked Cowboy

February 26, 2020

We start on Wall Street, where the stock futures aren’t pointing toward any significant recovery. We just experienced the worst two-day performance in four years as investors sound the alarm over coronavirus. This morning, Greece confirmed its first case, while France reported its second death. Royal Carribean (NYSE: RCL) has canceled 30 cruises in Southeast Asia. And a top U.S. health official has suggested that a global pandemic is likely. This isn’t slowing down. Despite a 1,800-point slide in two days, there’s little reason to expect a massive bounceback.

New Preqin Report

Alternative Assets: Funds Surpass $10 Trillion In AUM in 2019

February 25, 2020

A new Preqin report shows that the alternative assets industry has reached “14 figures.” Total AUM surpassed $10 trillion for the first time in 2019. The industry added at least $700 billion to that figure during the first six months of the year. The combination of long-term performance at funds, increasing asset prices, and expected returns helped bolster private asset management. 

Alternative Investments: February 26 is the D-Day for the Wilshire Phoenix Bitcoin ETF

February 25, 2020

Will the SEC greenlight the Wilshire Phoenix Bitcoin ETF?
Crypto market participants seem to be unanimous in their opinion that the SEC will reject the Wilshire Phoenix bitcoin ETF. The SEC is due to deliver its decision on Wednesday, February 26.

Community Banking: Gulf Capital Bank Announces Formation of De Novo Bank

February 24, 2020

Gulf Capital Bank just announced the formation of the first de novo bank in Houston, Texas in more than a decade. The formation of Gulf capital is also the largest de novo raise in Texas state history. Gulf Capital has said they intend the personal relationship touches of a traditional community bank combined with the ease of state-of-the-art banking technology and global connections provided by a group of Houston’s business and civic leaders. The bank is located on the first floor at One Riverway, at the corner of Woodway and South Post Oak Lane.

Alternative Investments: YieldStreet’s Prism Fund Has BlackRock as SubAdviser

February 20, 2020

Digital fintech platform YieldStreet is offering a closed-ended, income-yielding fund that will be co-managed by BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), the world’s largest asset manager. The YieldStreet Prism Fund will be available to wealthy investors who can invest a minimum of $20,000. Besides, they should have earned at least $200,000 over each of the past two years.

Preqin: Private Debt Fundraising Lagged in 2019

February 19, 2020

A new report from Preqin shows that private debt activity slowed down over 2019. Dealmaking also lagged from 2018.

The report shows that more than 200 private debt funds closed every year from 2015 t0 2018.

Last year, however, just 152 funds reached their final close and raised $107 billion. That latter figure represented an 11% decline from 2018. Dry powder slipped from $292 billion to $261 billion over the course of a year.  

FinTech: LendingClub Is The First Fintech To Acquire a Bank

February 19, 2020

Personal lending platform LendingClub has agreed to acquire FDIC-regulated, Boston-based online bank Radius Bancorp in a cash (75%)-cum-stock (25%) deal worth $185 million. This is the first time that a US fintech has bought up a bank.

Hedge Funds: Kerrisdale Capital Takes Aim at Match.com

February 14, 2020

Activist hedge fund Kerrisdale Capital has taken a short stake in Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH). The online dating operator owns Tinder and Match.com. The activist fund expects that shares will fall due to increasing threats around government regulation and intervention.