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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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.
Hedge Funds: Coffey’s Kirkoswald Asset Management To Stop Accepting New Cash
Effective end-March, global macro hedge fund manager Greg Coffey will not accept new money into his two-year-old portfolio.
Greg Coffey’s Kirkoswald Asset Management, which last year earned 28%, and trades in global equities, bonds, and currencies, will stop accepting new investments in a bid to protect returns.
Digital Assets: Tether Gold is a New Gold-backed Crypto-Asset
Tether announced the launch of the Tether Gold (XAU₮), a digital token that is backed by collateral of physical gold (XAU). These tokens can be held in a Tether wallet and reside as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and as a TRC20 token on the TRON blockchain, according to a Tether announcement.
One token represents ownership of one troy fine ounce of physical gold, currently worth approximately $1,581.
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.
The DailyAlts Playbook – January 27, 2020
Today, the DailyAlts Playbook talks Kobe Bryant’s legacy, the Monday meltdown, insider trading, and impeachment.
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.
Digital Assets: Ray Dalio – Cash is trash; BTC is Untouchable; Libra Maybe; Stocks are Good; Gold is Best
Ray Dalio, a long time bitcoin sceptic, again panned the cryptocurrency at Davos. Cash is trash; BTC is Untouchable; Libra Maybe; Stocks are good; Gold is Best, he said.
American Banking Association: M&A Expectations for 2020
The American Banking Association has released its outlook for merger and acquisition activity in the banking sector in 2020.
The ABA finds that the forces contributing to the consolidation of the industry show little to no sign of dissipating. Larger banks have an advantage as they can spread the costs of things like cybersecurity and regulatory compliance over a more extensive asset base. That gives them a significant advantage over smaller banks. The numbers bear out that theory as larger banks, in aggregate, have higher returns on assets and equity than smaller institutions.
Private Equity: BGH Capital Makes Better Offer For Village Roadshow
Private equity firm BGH Capital has thrown its hat into the ring to acquire Village Roadshow.
On Friday, BGH made an unsolicited counter-offer of $4 per share for Village. A month ago, Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) had offered to take over Village Roadshow, a cinema owner and Gold Coast theme parks operator, for $3.90 a share.
Digital Assets: Square Granted US Patent For New Currency Exchange Network Including Cryptos
Payments processor Square won the US patent number 10,540,639 titled “cryptocurrency payment network” for a new network that could seamlessly process crypto-to-fiat transactions and the reverse. The transactions would occur automatically, in real-time, and instantly.
Hedge Funds: With a 120% Gain, Bill Miller’s Value Partners 1 Fund Absolutely Crushed It in 2019
With a 120% Gain, Bill Miller’s Value Partners 1 Fund Absolutely Crushed It in 2019. Best of all, legendary investor Bill Miller scored that humongous return doing absolutely nothing in the last quarter.
That’s right, Miller neither sold or bought anything in the dying months of 2019. That takes some doing for an actively managed fund, but Miller kept his hands off a portfolio that held names such as Amazon (+23% in 2019), and small-cap biopharma Flexion Therapeutics (+83% in 2019).
The DailyAlts Playbook – Davos Virtues, Goldman’s IPO policies, and John Stumpf’s Limitations.
This morning, the Dow Jones was pushing higher despite ongoing concerns about China’s coronavirus outbreak. Today is also the conclusion of the World Economic Forum, an event swarming with anti-capitalist capitalism. The New York Times talks of a Phillip Morris rep saying the tobacco firm is “dedicated to a smoke-free future.” What?
FinTech ETF Hits 52-Week High
The Global X FinTech Thematic ETF (FINX) has rallied more than 32% over the last 12 months. Shares have climbed from a 52-week low of $24.49 per share to $32.40 this week. The fund aims to replicate the performance of the Indxx Global FinTech Thematic Index.
Hedge Fund: Elliott Management Ditches Stake in Hyundai Motors
Hyundai Motor Group has shaken off activist hedge fund Elliott Management. According to South Korean media, Elliott Management ditched its stake in the auto giant at the end of 2019. The activist fund had previously attempted to secure board seats and pushed for large dividend payments.
Private Equity: CITIC Capital Targets Huge Stake in McDonald’s Business in China
CITIC Capital, the Chinese private equity firm, is bidding for a 22% stake in the Chinese and Hong Kong businesses of McDonald’s Corp. The firm is looking to put some of the $2.8 billion that it raised for its fourth Chinese buyout fund in August 2019.
Venture Capital: Three VC Exits To Look Out For In 2020
Will 2020 shake off the IPO blues induced by 2019’s triumvirate of Uber-Lyft-WeWork? Despite the occasional snafu, the IPO market is doing quite well, judging from the Renaissance IPO ETF, currently perched at an all-time high. “The strong 2020 performance of recent IPOs bodes well for the 2020 crop,” said Kathleen Smith of Renaissance Capital.
We, therefore, look forward to 2020’s crop of promising VC exits via IPOs (or sales).
Here are three.
ESG: MSCI Chief Fernandez Warns ESG is a “Permanent Change in the Way Capitalism Works”
“We’re sounding the alarm bells, “ said MSCI chairman and CEO Henry Fernandez on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street. If you are an investment institution and you’re not embracing this and taking it into account, it’s going to be at your own peril,” said Fernandez. He warned ESG is a “Permanent Change in the Way Capitalism Works.”
Private Equity: Chicago-based Private Equity Fund Wynnchurh Closes Fifth Tranche at $2.3 Billion
Chicago-based Private Equity Fund Wynnchurh Closes Fifth Tranche at $2.3 Billion. The fund was launched in September with a target of $1.6 billion, and received a solid oversubscription. It specializes in investing in middle-market companies.
The DailyAlts Playbook – The coronavirus outbreak, big losses for Tesla shorts, and why Bernie Sanders’ wealth tax will miss its target.
This morning, the Dow Jones is in reverse as President Donald Trump returns from Davos, Switzerland to Washington D.C. Once he arrives home, he will face the ongoing media circus around the Senate Impeachment trial. Before he took off from Switzerland, he had breakfast with U.S. CEOs, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff.
Venture Capital: Fintech Accelerator Catalyst Fund Receives $15 Million From JPMorgan and UK Aid
Catalyst’s main agenda is to drive financial inclusion in emerging markets.
Boston-based fintech accelerator, Catalyst Fund, which specializes in emerging and frontier markets, is now armed with an additional $15 million, according to TechCrunch.
Artificial Intelligence: Google CEO Sundar Pichai Calls for “Sensible Regulation”
Google CEO calls for regulation of artificial intelligence
FinTech: Fintechs That Could be in Play After the Visa-Plaid Deal
There are too many fintechs out there, but many can’t survive on their own.
A Barron’s analysis of likely deal-making in the fintech sector after the landmark Visa-Plaid deal shows a mixed picture.