News
Each day, DailyAlts tracks major developments across the alternative investment world. Our content is procured from primary contacts in the industry and secondary sources across the web. Our goal is to give readers the most up-to-date news and engaging experience to open new doors and areas of knowledge. Our stories cover nine separate verticals of the alternative investment industry.
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Chipmaker AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) has unveiled a range of innovative AI solutions spanning from data centers to personal computers. The AMD Instinct MI300 Series features data center AI accelerators, while the ROCm 6 open software stack introduces new features supporting Large Language Models (LLMs). Additionally, the Ryzen 8040 Series processors come equipped with Ryzen AI capabilities.
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Digital Assets: First Digital Trust Flags Off Asia’s First Rapid Settlement and Clearing Network (RSCN)
Instant settlement 24/7. Irrevocable. No counterparty risk. No middlemen. That’s the promise from First Digital Trust’s Rapid Settlement and Clearing Network (RSCN) currently in testing but due to launch in Asia by May 2020.
Venture Capital: SambaNova Systems Raises $250M for Its AI Systems Platform
SambaNova Systems, whose founders are the crème-de-la-crème of Silicon Valley, raised $250 million in a Series C funding. The startup is at the cutting edge of AI and large-scale computing. It is dedicated to developing “the industry’s most advanced systems platform to run artificial intelligence (AI) and data-intensive applications.”
Venture Capital: Salesforce Snaps Up CRM Startup Vlocity For $1.33B
Salesforce snaps up CRM startup Vlocity for $1.33B. Vlocity builds CRM systems that are industry-specific, cloud and mobile-based. Vlocity’s industry solutions are communications, media and entertainment, insurance and financial services, health, energy and utilities, and government and nonprofits.
FinTech: Revolut’s Valuation Surges to $5.5B in Latest $500M ‘D’ Round
Mobile-based neobank and a digital provider of financial services, Revolut just raised $500 million in its ‘D’ round led by TCV. Though it is yet to report a profit, Revolut now ranks as one of the most highly valued startups worldwide.
The DailyAlts Playbook: The South Carolina Debate Clown Car, Coronavirus Fears, Trump’s Market Woes, and Mike Bloomberg’s Naked Cowboy
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.
Private Equity: PE Shops are Going on a Startup Spending Spree, Says Pitchbook
A new Pitchbook report shows that private equity shops are snapping up an interesting alternative investment. Flush with dry powder, PE shops have been snapping up VC-backed startups, according to a report from Pitchbook.
Activist Hedge Fund Looks to Shake Up Insurance Giant Prudential
Activist hedge fund Third Point has taken aim at the 172-year-old insurance giant Prudential (LON: PRU). According to a new filing, Dan Loeb’s shop wants to split the firm into two operations and shutter its British office. This would effectively end the country’s 18-decade presence in England.
Alternative Assets: Funds Surpass $10 Trillion In AUM in 2019
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.
FinTech: QCash Signs Up Tropical Financial Credit Union For Small Loans
QCash Financial, the US fintech and digital loan marketplace gained a major new client in Tropical Financial Credit Union (TFCU). TFCU has $700 million in assets and 65,000 members. QCash Financial specializes in helping credit unions provide affordable credit to members.
Alternative Investments: February 26 is the D-Day for the Wilshire Phoenix Bitcoin ETF
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.
Digital Assets: How CBDCs Could Use Maxonrow, the Blockchain KYC
Slowly, but surely, momentum is building up in central banks around the world to explore and test the concept of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Developments in the US, Europe and China testify to a growing interest in replacing physical currency and coinage with a digital version. But key mental blocks remain surrounding identity verification or KYC, money-laundering, terrorism financing and privacy considerations in a digital currency. Blockchain based identity solutions such as Maxonrow may be the happy middle path.
The DailyAlts Playbook: Buffett’s Crypto Snub, Why the Selling Stopped, Who’s Shorting Airlines, and the Odds of Another Rate Cut.
We start today in Asia, where the road to recovery from Monday’s massive selloff begins. Although the Nikkei lost 3.3% in overnight trading, Chinese markets were largely flat. The Dow is rebounding slightly this morning.
The 100-point gain in premarket hours comes a day after the Dow shed 1,000 points over growing coronavirus concerns. In recent days, we’ve seen a rising number of cases in Italy, Iran, and South Korea.
It was the worst single-day drop for the Dow in two years.
Reality appears to be sinking in. The spread is going to have a significant impact on global GDP. Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) warned that they’ll both take a hit as a result of the spread. Also, we’ve seen cuts in global growth forecasts at banks like Goldman and watchdogs like the IMF. Finally, Oxford Economics projected that coronavirus could hit global GDP by $1 trillion.
Venture Capital: M33 Raises $260M to Fund “Scrappy, Bootstrapping” Founders
M33 raises $260m to fund scrappy, bootstrapping founders. In its second fund, M33 will continue to back hi-tech startups who grew their way to profitability without institutional support.
Real Estate: Arbor Realty Trust Discusses State of Single Family Rentals
Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE: ABR) has released a report that examines the state of the single-family rental (SFR) industry.
Arbor believes that 2019 will be looked back on as the year that the SFR business transitioned from a niche, alternative asset class to a mainstream property type. Millennials are still struggling with crushing levels of student debt and large down payment requirements are increasingly making the decision to rent a single-family home rather than buy one. That generation is catching up on household formation and as they starting new families many are deciding that the suburbs are preferable to downtown when raising a child.
Santander Asset Management Launches New Hedge Fund: Santander Patrimonio Diversificado.
Santander Asset Management announced it has launched a new hedge fund called Santander Patrimonio Diversificado.
Its portfolio will invest in fixed income, equities, and absolute return funds. It will also dabble in venture capital, private debt funds, and real estate
According to a press release, the fund will focus on the U.S., Europe, Japan, and emerging markets. It has also set a weight limit for diversification at 5%. The fund will also have a sustainable bias and will focus on aligning with the firm’s broader ESG goals.
FinTech: JPMorgan Plans Foray Into UK Digital Banking
JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), the largest bank in the US and the sixth-largest bank in the world by total assets, is planning to throw its hat in the ring of the highly competitive UK digital banking market. The US banking giant will offer Chase-branded savings and loan products in the UK during this year.
Digital Assets: Easy Come, Easy Go; Drug Dealer Loses Keys to $56M Crypto Fortune
Clifton Collins, a former security guard, and beekeeper in Ireland struck the mother lode when he stumbled upon cannabis as a lucrative, though illegal trade. For almost 12 years Collins secretly grew cannabis at three rented locations and sold the harvests to drug dealers in Dublin. He invested the proceeds in bitcoin, a smart move that helped him stash the fortune anonymously as well as gain from its huge appreciation.
DailyAlts Playbook – Why You Shouldn’t Hide Important Financial Documents in Your Fishing Gear.
Today, the DailyAlts Playbook talks Commodity Swings, Public V. Private Gains, Cannabis Expectations, and Why You Shouldn’t Hide Important Financial Documents in Your Fishing Gear.
Community Banking: Gulf Capital Bank Announces Formation of De Novo Bank
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.
Fintech: Intuit Looks to Buy Credit Karma for About $7 Billion, Says WSJ
Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) – the firm behind Turbo Tax and QuickBooks – is buying tech portal Credit Karma. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the two companies could announce a roughly $7 billion deal today.
DailyAlts Weekend Reading List – February 21, 2020
The DailyAlts weekend reading list features the best news and commentary from around the web.
Real Estate: National Association of Realtors Issues Report on Cannabis
The National Association of Realtors recently released a report outlining the impact of cannabis on commercial and residential real estate.
As legalization spreads across the United States, the industry is booming. Rising cannabis production had created an uptick in demand for industrial and office space. The Association States – where medical and recreational marijuana has been legal for more than three years – have seen more increases in demand for commercial properties. There has been a 42% in demand for warehouses, a 27% increase for storefronts, and a 21% increase for land.
Pierre Andurand and His Hedge Fund Struggle in January
Pierre Andurand and his hedge fund had a tough start to the year. Andurand Capital Management shed 8% last month due to the slump in oil-and-gas commodities, according to a report from the Financial Times. Last month, crude oil temporarily rallied after the U.S. and Iran appeared on a path toward war. However, once tensions died and concerns about coronavirus and global growth emerged, crude prices went in reverse.
Digital Assets: Singapore-based Digital Exchange BiKi.com Launches Its First IEO in 2020
Singapore-based digital exchange BiKi.com launches its first IEO in 2020. The Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) will launch the token XB of the XueBi trading platform.