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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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
Alternative Investments: SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 Loses Investors
SoftBank investors are refusing to take part in the Vision Fund 2 unless the Japanese conglomerate turns performance around. The first $100 billion fund has struggled with performance due to investments in WeWork, Uber (NYSE: UBER), and a number of other struggling firms. The first Vision Fund saw a $2.5 billion loss during the December-ending quarter.
Real Estate: Ellington Residential Mortgage Reports Quarterly Earnings
Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT (NYSE: EARN) reported financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2019. Ellington had an impressive quarter. Net income registered at $9.7 million, or $0.78 per share and Core Earnings hit $2.8 million, or $0.23 per share. Ellington had previously announced a dividend payment last month of $0.28. The current annualized dividend yield for Ellington Residential is 10.2% at current prices. Book value grew by 5% year over year.
Alternative Investments: Brookfield Asset Management Closes $20 Billion Global Infrastructure Fund
Brookfield Asset Management announced the closing of its fourth flagship infrastructure fund. The Brookfield Infrastructure Fund IV has total commitments of $20 billion. That figure surpassed its target goal of $17 billion in funds.
Private Equity: Carlyle Group Reports Fourth Quarter Earnings
Carlyle Group (NYSE: CG) is the last of the “Big Money” private equity and asset managers to report fourth-quarter earnings. It was a solid quarter for the Washington DC-based alternative investment manager, although it fell shy of last year’s results. The 2018 quarter had the extra benefit of $32 million of $32 million of net insurance recoveries, high transaction fees, and catch-up management fees that were not duplicated in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Alternative Investments: Steve Cohen’s Mets Bid Might Come to an End
Steven Cohen and his pursuit of the New York Mets might be coming to a close. According to MarketWatch, the hedge fund manager is walking away from the Wilpons. Cohen reportedly sought an 80% stake in the National League franchise. However, the Wilpons reportedly changed terms of the deal, a factor that fueled Cohen’s departure from negotiations.
Private Equity: Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Announces $1.4 Billion Final Close of Phoenix Tower International Project
Blackstone Tactical Opportunities funds completed the recapitalization of Phoenix Tower International. The deal will allow the wireless communications infrastructure provider to execute on its global infrastructure business plan.. Tac Opps has now raised $1.4 billion of dedicated capital for PTI.
Alternative Investments: Pacific Premier Bancorp Buys Opus Bank
Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ: PPBI), the holding company of Pacific Premier Bank, announced plans to purchase and Opus Bank (NASDAQ: OPB). Terms of the deal set the value at about $1.0 billion, or $26.82 per share. Pacific Premier expects the transaction to be 14% accretive to EPS in 2021 with a 1.8-year earn back period to tangible book value per share based. Opus is headquartered in Irvine, California with $8.0 billion in total assets, $5.9 billion in gross loans and $6.5 billion in total deposits as of December 31, 2019.
The DailyAlts Playbook” The Return of Coronavirus, New Ponzi Schemes, and the State of Tesla Shorts.
The U.S. markets are deep in the red Thursday as markets address the ongoing coronavirus crisis in China. The Dow shed 222 points on news that the death toll in China increased to 170. The number of confirmed cases of the virus has topped 7,700. It was just two days ago that the markets shrugged off warnings and bounced back from its Monday downturn. But now economic woes are kicking in. The Shanghai index was off 2.7%, Hong Kong stocks slumped 2.6%, and the Nikkei shed 1.7%. Oil also continues to fall as analysts slash economic growth outlooks across the globe.
The DailyAlts Playbook: Fed Futures, Woodford Haircuts, a Terrible HBO Spinoff Idea, Joe Biden’s Awful Voter Pitch, and the Best Acquisition Case for Apple.
Today, the DailyAlts Playbook talks Fed Futures, Woodford Haircuts, a Terrible HBO Spinoff Idea, Joe Biden’s Awful Voter Pitch, and the Best Acquisition Case for Apple.
Artificial Intelligence: Coronavirus! This AI Startup Warned of the Outbreak on December 31
Toronto-based BlueDot, which uses big data and AI, red-flagged the coronavirus outbreak in December. BlueDot’s AI-driven health monitoring platform analyzes billions of data points. Its process works something like this: It pores over global news reports, airline data, and animal disease outbreaks using natural language processing and machine learning techniques. The outputs from the platform are scanned by epidemiologists who sound the alert if they spot an outbreak.
Bank Technology: The Driver of M&A Over the Next 10 Years?
Will 2020 be the year that we see the tipping point in bank technology? Attendees at the Bank Director Magazine Conference in Phoenix think so. The sentiment is that banks in 2030 will look a lot different than they do today. Bankers who fail to embrace new technology will be left behind in the modern world of banking. Technology has changed almost every industry, but for some reason, there are still some bank executives and Boardmembers who think their industry will be different. They will not be.
Bank Director Magazine Conference: Fintech, Cybersecurity and Other Worries for 2020
Tim Melvin is attending the conference in Phoenix this week. At the top of the list is competition form fintech firms and big tech companies. Millennials are more focused on technology than one-on-one discussions in a branch. They have emerged as the target market for fintech companies and big tech companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL). It is a top concern that fintech will disrupt commercial banking in the same way it did to consumer banking in recent years.
Alternative Investments: Pensions Could be Holding $61 Trillion of Assets Globally By 2025
Pensions Could be Holding $61 Trillion of Assets Globally By 2025. A report from the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry said that pension funds are “facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions” due to rising life expectancies in many countries. As a result, pension funds have been forced to diversify across geographies and different asset classes in a bid to push up returns.
Melvin: Observations From the Bank Director Magazine Acquire or Be Acquired Conference
Tim Melvin is attending the Bank Director Magazine Acquire or Be Acquired Conference in Phoenix, AZ this week. Over 1,000 bankers have gathered to talk about M&A and growth strategies in the current low growth economy.
Venture Capital: SoftBank Leads a $125 Million Series in Mexican Fintech AlphaCredit
SoftBank Leads a $125 Million Series in Mexican Fintech AlphaCredit. The fintech provides loans and financial solutions to individuals and SMEs in Mexico and Colombia.
Unfazed by problems in the US and India, Softbank is not afraid to plow in big money into Latin American markets such as Mexico and Colombia, as evidenced by its investment in AlphaCredit.
The fundraising included investments from unspecified but leading international venture capital funds and existing investors.
Hedge Funds: After a Banner Year, ValueAct Rejigs For the Next Twenty
After a Banner Year, ValueAct Rejigs For the Next Twenty. Founder Jeff Ubben steps down as CEO; will remain as chairman. His position as CEO will now be filled by ValueAct’s president, Mason Morfit.
ESG: Citigroup Social Impact Fund Hits $150 Million
The details around the Citigroup social impact fund emerged this week. The bank announced it funded a $150 million social impact fund. The fund will invest in private companies that make a positive impact on society. Internally funded, the new fund will invest in companies looking to develop innovative solutions for four significant challenges the world faces today.
Artificial Intelligence: Ex-Goldman CIO Makes Leap to Healthcare
Marty Chavez walked away from Goldman Sachs in late 2019. Now, he’s sitting on the board of artificial intelligence startup Paige. The New York-based firm uses AI to detect, diagnose, and improve the treatment of cancer.
Hedge Funds: Alleged Theft of Citadel’s $100 Million Trading Strategy
Citadel Securities sues GSA for allegedly acquiring the highly confidential strategy from its employee through improper means.
Citadel’s ABC strategy, which it uses to generate “many millions of dollars each year” trading US and European stocks, is at heart of a lawsuit. The hedge fund, owned by billionaire Ken Griffin, has gone to court against London-based GSA Capital Partners and five of its senior executives.
Alternative Investments: This ETF Copycats Top Hedge Funds and Undercuts Their Fees
Launched in December, the iM DBi Hedge Strategy ETF (DBEH) is an actively-managed ETF. Its objective: to match or outperform the largest Global Equity Long/Short hedge funds from the HFR (Hedge Fund Research, Inc.) database.
Alternative Investments: A Bidding War For Voya Financial May Happen This Year
Voya Financial may become a possible takeover target in the coming months, according to the Financial Times. The report indicates that the former ING Group insurance unit and retirement plan provider has explored a possible sale. Voya reportedly spoke with AIG, Principal Financial Group, and Prudential Financial in 2019 about a deal.
Alternative Investments: Lazard Asset Management Launches High-Conviction Strategy Fund
Lazard Asset Management has made yet another splash in thematic investing. The firm has launched a new fund employing a high-conviction global equity strategy. The company announced the strategy behind the new Lazard Global Thematic Focus fund. The strategy will invest in at least 35 to 50 companies around the globe.
Hedge Fund Westbeck Capital Management: Time to Bet on Canadian Energy
Westbeck Capital Management is turning its attention to beaten-down Canadian energy companies. The energy hedge fund believes that these firms will have stronger cash flows in the year ahead compared to their U.S. shale competition. The fund also says that U.S. producers are facing stronger production drops than the Canadian firms.
Hedge Funds: Bain to Raise Up To $7 Billion For New Long-Only, Public Equities Fund
Bain to Raise Up To $7 Billion For New Long-Only, Public Equities Fund. Alternatives investments specialist Bain Capital will be less ‘alternative’ soon after its proposed fundraise. The new fund will be overseen by Josh Ross, who has been running the firm’s public equities group since 2017.