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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Artificial Intelligence: Analysts Weigh In On US CTO Michael Kratsios’ Remarks on EU Regulation of AI
Analysts weigh in on Michael Kratsios’ remarks on EU regulation of AI. Kratsios said the EU had clumsily docketed AI technologies as “high-risk” or “not high-risk.” “I think this approach of bluntly bifurcating the entire AI ecosystem into two buckets is a little bit harsh,” Kratsios said.
Liquid Alternatives: CI First Asset Opens the TSX on February 20
To mark the occasion of the listing of three liquid alternative ETFs, Rohit Mehta, Executive Vice-President, CI Financial, and President, CI First Asset ETFs, and Graham Mackenzie, Head, ETFs, and Structured Products, Toronto Stock Exchange, opened the market on February 20.
FinTech: Ralph Hamers is ING’s Loss, UBS’ Gain
UBS, the world’s biggest wealth manager, has appointed Ralph Hamers to succeed Sergio Ermotti as its chief executive. Hamers is currently CEO of ING, having worked for 29 years at the Dutch bank. Hamers will depart ING as of June 30, join UBS on September 1, 2020, and be designated the Swiss bank’s Group CEO with effect from November 1, 2020.
DailyAlts Playbook: Zero Growth, The End of Discount Brokers, ESG Fever, and a Breakup at Senator – February 21, 2020
We start today with the coronavirus. U.S. markets followed Europe lower on news that China reported 800 new cases of the disease overnight. The new total brings us to more than 75,000 cases in China with 2,236 deaths, according to the country’s National Health Commission. The virus has increased its South Korea, where there are now 150 cases. This morning, several research outlets forecast zero percent growth for the global economy during the first quarter. Those same outlets – including BCA Research – expect that growth will bounce back during the second and third quarters. New cases of the virus are also emerging in Italy, and local officials are eyeing about 100 people who recently had dinner with a man who returned from mainland China in February.
Venture Capital: Hercules Capital Reports A Blowout Quarter
Hercules Capital reports a blowout quarter. The leading VC company beat estimates and posted new business records.
Coldwell Banker Names Boise, Charlotte, Colorado Springs, Cincinnati, and Fort Worth Top Real Estate Markets
Coldwell Bankers, part of Realogy Holdings Corp (NYSE: RLGY), has released its annual Global Luxury Real Estate report. Titled simply “The Report 2020,” it analyzes the latest trends and data provided by leading influencers from The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, WealthEngine, Unique Homes, and in-the-field real estate specialists.
Elliott Investment Management Takes Stake in NN Group
Elliott Investment Management has built a 3.04% stake in Dutch insurer NN Group (OTCMKTS: NNGRY), according to a filing with AFM this week. Paul Singer’s hedge fund said that the investment is a reflection that it believes “in the material and sustainable value-creation opportunity that exists at the company.” Under rules with the Dutch regulator, companies must file when they breach the 3% ownership level.
Real Estate: IQHG Locks Up 109 Brookline in Fenway Area of Boston
IQHQ has come off a recent successful $770-million capital raise and acquired 109 Brookline in the Fenway section of Boston for $270 million. The building was acquired form Commonwealth Equity Partners (NYSE: EQC). This REIT has been selling noncore properties for years now and accumulating cash to reinvest when the markets pull back.
PwC Report: Artificial Intelligence to Boost Global Economy By More Than $15.7 Trillion
A new PwC report notes that artificial intelligence will play a massive role in boosting the global economy. The report states that AI will bolster the world to the tune of $15.7 trillion. That figure represents greater economic output that the nations of China and India. This figure would also represent a roughly 15% increase over 15 years from the global GDP figure of $74 trillion in 2015. The greatest economic gains from AI will be in China (26% boost to GDP in 2030) and North America (14.5% boost), equivalent to a total of $10.7 trillion and accounting for almost 70% of the global economic impact.
Artificial Intelligence: Europe Envisages Strict Rules for High-Risk AI
In “A Europe Fit for the Digital Age,” the EU’s strategies for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data aim to encourage businesses to work with, and develop, these new technologies, while at the same time making sure that they earn citizens’ trust.
The strategy is an initiative by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who had ordered her team to present a coordinated European approach to artificial intelligence and data strategy 100 days after she took office in December.
Alternative Investments: YieldStreet’s Prism Fund Has BlackRock as SubAdviser
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.
Venture Capital: Atomico’s Fifth Fund Eclipses $750M Target; Raises $820M
Atomico, the immensely successful venture capital firm founded by Skype’s Niklas Zennström, raised $820 million for its fifth fund. Atomico V will primarily invest these funds in startups raising money in round A, particularly early-stage European tech companies.
FinTech: Singapore’s Grab To Get $700M Investment From Mitsubishi UFG-Reports
Grab, one of the largest fintech apps used by millions of users to hail rides, order food and make payments, will receive a $700 million investment from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE: MUFG), Japan’s biggest bank.
DailyAlts PlayBook – Michael Bloomberg, Bernie Sanders, Virgin Galactic, and More – February 20, 2020
The DailyAlts Playbook talks about Bloomberg’s Debate, “Summer” as a Verb, Victoria’s Secret Sale, and Goldman’s Warning.
FinTech: The LendingClub-Radius Bank Deal Could be the Precursor to Many More
The tables have turned. There was a time when banks sought to acquire fintechs for their technology and customer reach. But the acquisition of Radius Bancorp by LendingClub (NYSE: LC) is the first case of a fintech, the largest of its kind in the country and listed, buying into a bank. And the acquisition makes eminent business sense. It could, therefore, set off a new trend in such deals.
Digital Assets: Perpetrator of $147M Gemcoin Fraud Faces 10 Years in Prison
Over 70,000 victims lost $147 million in Gemcoins – the cryptocurrency that never was. There may be hope yet that the victims of the elaborate fraud committed by Steve Chen and co-conspirators could get restitution. Chen, the 62-year old mastermind of the scam, has confessed to having fraudulently fleeced $147 million from victims of his Gemcoin cryptocurrency scheme.
Preqin: Private Debt Fundraising Lagged in 2019
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.
Liquid Alternatives: Franklin Templeton Buys Legg Mason in $6.5B Deal
Franklin Templeton will become a $1.5 trillion behemoth after its acquisition, announced Tuesday, of rival Legg Mason for $6.5 billion including debt. It will pay $50 per share of Legg Mason in cash – a premium of $10 over the latter’s Monday closing price. In addition, it will assume $2 billion of the latter’s debt.
Digital Assets: BitGo Goes The Whole Nine Yards; Buys Harbor, Subsidiaries and All
BitGo, the leader in crypto custody services, acquires Harbor, the top name in digital securities. It’s a diversification move aimed at a role in the entire transaction chain of digital assets. In the deal, BitGo gets Harbor’s digital securities platform, as well as its broker-dealer and transfer agent subsidiaries. Financial terms of the transaction are not known.
FinTech: LendingClub Is The First Fintech To Acquire a Bank
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.
The DailyAlts PlayBook: Bill Barr’s Big Plans, The “Democratic Bachelor”, Milken’s Pardon, and Parabolic Space Companies
We begin in Nevada, where a man who supported communism in his 30s has taken a double-digit lead over his Democratic rivals. A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) controls 27% of the Democratic primary vote. That figure has largely remained unchanged since the onset of the race.
Venture Capital: Polychain Capital to Raise $200M To Back Crypto Startups
Polychain Capital’s second venture fund, which targets a war chest of $200 million, opened at the beginning of 2020. The crypto venture fund is accepting minimum investments of $1 million for up to three years.
Artificial Intelligence: Margrethe Vestager to Announce the EU’s New Regulations For AI Today
The EU’s rules set to be announced today will thrust on enhancing the region’s competitiveness but will do so with an emphasis on transparency, oversight, and protection of privacy.
Liquid Alternatives: American Century May Unveil the Very First Non-Transparent ETFs
Two American Century funds may be the first to test waters as “actively managed” ETFs.
Having received the SEC’s approval for its final key filing, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. is close to launching its proposed actively managed ETFs, also known as “non-transparent” ETFs. The two ETFs, based on Precidian’s ActiveShares model, will disclose their holdings on a quarterly schedule, instead of on a daily basis as other ETFs.