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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Bancorp South Bank Completes Deal for Texas First Bancshares
The deal creates a new firm with $21 billion in assets. Bancorp South Bank announced the completion of its acquisition of Texas First Bancshares, the parent company of Texas First State Bank. Following the deal, Bancorp South now has $21 billion in assets. It operates approximately 310 full-service branch locations as well as additional mortgage,…
Standard Chartered Appoints Rene W. Keller As CIO (And Other People on the Move)
Standard Chartered announced Rene W. Keller will become CIO, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking (CCIB). Based in Singapore, he will report to Dr. Michael Gorriz, Group CIO. Keller will be responsible for the business’ technology strategy, architecture and delivery value chain that will drive strategic business outcomes.
Real Estate: ALPS Advisors Launches REIT Dividend Dogs ETF
ALPS Advisors announced the investment strategy for the new Exchange Traded Fund called the ALPS REIT Dividend Dogs ETF (RDOG). The strategy applies the “Dogs of the Dow Theory” to its rules-based investment strategy. Instead of selecting the five Dow Jones components with the highest yield, this strategy owns an equally balanced portfolio of the highest yielding five Real Estate Investment Trusts across 9 REIT sectors.
Hedge Fund Horseman Global Fund Records 35% Loss in 2019
The Horseman Global Fund saw a 35% decline in 2019 as aggressive bets against the market failed to deliver. The fund hiked its net short position to a record 111% of gross assets in October. However, the S&P 500’s 31.5% surge in 2019 pummeled the fund’s positions.
Fintech: Deutsche Bank Teams Up in Spain to Launch “Motion Code” Card
The Motion Code Card has hit Spain. Deutsche Bank launched the innovative credit card this week in a partnership with industry leaders. The card contains an advanced CVC code that alters every four hours. The German Bank has teamed up with Idemia and Mastercard to launch the “Motion Code” card. It will operate under the brand name “Tarjeta Calma.”
Hedge Funds: Hedge Funds Rue 2019
The blistering run-up by the S&P500 left hedge funds in the dust.
Hedge funds really are in the dock. Can they really make money in all market conditions? Their stark underperformance compared to the S&P500 during 2019 is hard to live down.
Takeovers & Buyouts: Mega M&A Deals in 2019 Highest in Four Years
Key trends in global M&A during 2019 included a sharp rise in large M&A transactions accompanied by a slowdown in cross-border deals. Deal-makers were defensive given geopolitical tensions such as trade disputes. As a result, they focused more on deals in their home turf.
Aggregate transactions worldwide totaled $3.9 trillion in 2019, the fourth strongest year for M&A deal-making, according to data from Refinitiv as reported by Reuters. It was also the sixth year on the trot that transactions totaled more than $3 trillion.
Venture Capital: Singapore VC Fund Scoops Up $250 Million
Founded in March 2018, EV Growth is a joint venture between East Ventures, SMDV, and Yahoo Japan Capital. The fund announced Monday the raising of an additional US$ 50 million in its first fund.
The fresh raising brings the VC fund’s subscription to its hard cap size of US$ 250 million.
Alternative Investments: Stellar Returns from Healthcare and Biotech IPOs in 2019
Stellar Returns came from Healthcare and Biopharma IPOs in 2019. Hedge funds that invested in these companies made solid gains.
Takeovers & Buyouts: Tencent-led Consortium Buys 10% of Vivendi-owned Universal Music
Vivendi cashes in on recovery in the music industry with a stake sale.
Universal Music Group (UMG), the biggest music company in the world, has sold a 10% slice worth $ 3.3 billion to a consortium led by Chinese tech and entertainment behemoth Tencent. By January 2021, Tencent can buy 10% more. Tencent will also get to buy a minority stake in UMG China.
The DailyAlts Playbook – January 2, 2020
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Hedge Fund Greenlight Finishes 2019 Up 13.8%
Hedge fund Greenlight Capital finished 2019 up 13.8% after a small dip in December. The iconic value-oriented fund saw a 0.3% decline last month to finish off the year, according to Bloomberg. As we reported last month, the fund also saw a 1.8% decline in November.
Bernhard Capital Partners to Invest in Ascension Wastewater Treatment
Bernhard Capital Partners will invest in Ascension Wastewater Treatment, the largest private sewer utility operator in Louisiana. The private equity firm specializes in services and infrastructure.
Alternative Investments: Breaking Down the BlackRock 2020 Forecast
Alternative investment manager Blackrock (BLK) has issued the Blackrock 2020 forecast. The firm believes that growth will pick up next year with little risk of inflation. They also warn that the years of friendly central bank policies could be behind us and that inflation risks are underpriced.
Hedge Funds: Korea’s Lime Asset Management in Fresh Trouble With Regulators
Korea’s largest hedge fund is under probe for involvement in an alleged US Ponzi scheme Lime Asset Management, the large Korean hedge fund, is accused of continuing to market a trade finance fund when it knew the investments could land in trouble. Lime had raised client funds amounting to 243.6 billion won and a loan…
FinTech: Grab and Singtel in 60:40 JV to Launch a Digital Bank in Singapore
A ride-hailing service and leading telecom group will team up to launch a digital bank.
Grab and Singtel have jointly bid for a digital full bank license to be issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The consortium (Grab 60%, Singtel 40%) will bring banking services to Singapore communities that are under- or unbanked. The proposed bank will be able to serve retail customers, lend money, and take deposits, along with other online banking functions.
FinTech: TransferWise Now Transfers $5.25 Billion Per Month
TransferWise Now Transfers $5.25 Billion Per Month. The upstart fintech claims it does so saving people and businesses $4.5 million per day.
What’s more, the TransferWise customer community is now 6 million strong. The fund transfer specialist aims to facilitate money transfers to foreign destinations at rates cheaper than banks.
The next agenda for TransferWise is to effect remittances instantly.
Digital Assets: Gear Up for New Threats From “Financially Motivated” Bad Actors, Says Kaspersky
According to leading cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, hackers and cybersecurity criminals will up their game in 2020. Drawing on their experience through 2019, Kaspersky researchers have identified the key areas that these cyber attackers will target in 2020 and beyond. As 2020 looms, prepare to face cybersecurity threat actors with dollar signs in their eyes.
Alternative Investments: Hindsight in 2020 – Killer Trades That Might Have Been
The trades we would have taken in the decade gone by – if only we’d known
Secure in our present-day knowledge and risk-free comfort, let’s indulge in some armchair trading through the 2010s.
Private Equity, Venture Capital Investor Alan Patricof Bundles for Joe Biden
Alan Patricof, the founder of Apax Partners, sits among a very powerful list of bundlers for potential Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Over the weekend, Biden released the list of bundlers, who will raise at least $25,000 on his campaign. Patricof is also the founder and managing director of Greycroft, which has $1 billion under management.
Alternative Investments: IRS Releases Regulations for Opportunity Zones
IRS Releases Regulations for Opportunity Zones. The U.S. Department of Treasury released the final Opportunity Zone Treasury Regulations last week. According to Russell J. Stein at Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP, the much-anticipated regulations are extensive and provide clarity into the working of the Opportunity Zone tax rules.
Digital Assets: Millennials Trust Bitcoin Over Berkshire Hathaway
Millennial investors trust Bitcoin more than Berkshire Hathaway, according to a new report from Charles Schwab. The investment bank examined self-directed portfolios of millennial investors. It found that the majority of younger investors had more exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency than it did to Warren Buffett’s conglomerate.
Former Hedge Fund Manager, Coal Investor Seeks Democratic Nomination
Tom Steyer used to run a hedge fund. Now, he wants to be the President of the United States. His campaign strategy, however, is quite unprecedented. Both Steyer and Michael Bloomberg are buying up television advertising space at a breakneck pace.
EY: Private Equity Firms Really Loved Germany in 2019
Private equity investment in Germany topped out at about 32 billion euros, according to EY. That figure represents a year-over-year increase of about 80%, the firm said this week. Private equity investment in Europe’s largest economy hit 17.9 billion euros in 2018.