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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The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Pulls the Plug on U.S. Prison Firms
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is selling stakes in two American prison companies. ESG expectations and concerns about reputational risk fueled the divestitures.
Review of The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman.
Renaissance Technologies and its founders have received a worthy biography. The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution is the latest book by Gregory Zuckerman.
Schwarzman Adds To Skepticism Around The Walgreens Boots LBO
Stephen Schwarzman, who runs Blackstone Group, thinks the Walgreens Boots privatization might be just too big.
“It’s a huge stretch doing things over $50 billion,” Schwarzman remarked at a New York event.
The size of the Walgreens Boots LBO can be estimated from the company’s market cap of $53 billion and a debt of $16.8 billion.
Alaska Permanent Fund Beats Benchmark Yet Again
The Alaska Permanent Fund filed its report for the first fiscal quarter of 2020.
The largest U.S. state sovereign wealth fund reported earning returns of 1.24%. That exceeded its benchmark (60% Stocks|30% Bonds|10% RE & TIPS) return for the quarter.
Blackstone Group is Getting into the Dating Game
MagicLab, a developer of dating and social networking apps, has a new beau. Private equity giant Blackstone Group is buying a $3 billion stake in the company. MagicLab’s properties include Bumble and Badoo.
What’s Inside The California State Teachers’ Retirement System Portfolio?
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) announced its latest asset allocation shifts this week. The $242 billion dollar scheme is shifting assets away from traditional equities.
Elliott Management Supports Split of Nielsen Holdings
Nielsen Holdings has announced plans to split itself into two separate public companies. The plan – backed by Elliott Management – will unlock shareholder value.
OpenGate Capital’s Second Institutional Fund Closes With a Flourish
Private equity firm OpenGate Capital’s Second Institutional Fund raised $585 million versus a target of $450 million.
The enthusiastic support for OpenGate’s second institutional fund came from 23 investors located across seven countries. These included pensions, wealth managers, insurance companies, and asset managers. The fund’s oversubscription of 30% shows the global eagerness to place capital with reputed and focused private equity firms. The second fund is designated “OpenGate Capital Partners II & II-A, LP.”
Default Contagion Out of Emerging Markets Could Take Down This ETF
The iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB) has had a dream run so far, but it may be time to cash in.
An article by Harrison Schwartz in Seeking Alpha makes a case for divesting holdings in the EMB ETF or even going short on it. The main risk: A default contagion emanating from emerging markets on unsustainable dollar-denominated debt.
BofAML: Assets at European ESG Equity Funds Could Rise by €1 Trillion
Regulatory compulsions and structural trends will boost assets under management at ESG equity funds in Europe, say BofAML analysts.
In their study titled “ESG Matters – Europe: Great for the world, good for returns,” the analysts foresee a surge of €1 trillion in assets at these funds by 2030.
Further, one in three European equity funds could be ESG-focused by then.
Another Day, Another Massive Private Equity Buyout Fund
A KKR Asian Buyout Fund is now the talk of the alternative investment markets. KKR wants to raise a $15 billion buyout fund with a focus on Asian companies. The global private equity giant will start raising money in 2020, according to Reuters.
Praesidium Investment Management Pushes for Sale of Instructure
Praesidium Investment Management is the latest firm to push for a sale of education software firm Instructure. The activist hedge fund has reportedly found “dozens” of private equity or other strategic buyers.
This is How Much China’s Mutual Fund Industry Could Grow
The Chinese mutual fund market could jump 10-fold over the next decade. This prediction comes from Hua An Fund Management portfolio manager David Hu. The manager said that index-tracking mutual funds could reach 6 trillion Yuan in 10 years (or $857.29 billion.)
U.S. Private Equity Fundraising Hits New Record
A new report shows that 2019 broke the record for private equity fundraising A new Pitchbook report says that private equity firms have raised record capital for a year. By November 6, PE funds topped $246 billion in 2019, according to the report. There are still eight weeks left in the year. The record comes…
Greystar Real Estate Partners Raises $2 Billion for GEP X
Greystar Real Estate Partners raised $2 billion for a new U.S. multifamily fund. Further, the new fund will target multifamily investments in the U.S. markets.
Banking Giant Banco Santander Snaps Up Control of Fintech Ebury To Focus on the Small Guys
Traditional bank Santander paid £350 million for 50.1% of payments fintech Ebury.
Banco Santander’s focus on small businesses as new clientele led it to buy a controlling interest in Ebury. The bank is planning to build a new trade platform for businesses. London-based Ebury is a startup fintech that provides a gamut of corporate services to small-to-medium sized international companies. These services include cash management, foreign exchange, and trade finance.
Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman Expects Trade Resolution
Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman believes that the U.S. and China will reach an agreement on trade. The private equity chief said he expects “good faith” at the start of negotiations during an interview at a Reuters event in Manhattan.
Artificial Intelligence Bias: On Trust, Complexity, and Diversity
Just as in computers “Garbage In = Garbage Out,” so also in Machine Learning: “Bias In = Bias Out.”
The Microsoft Twitter chatbot Tay had to be hastily withdrawn after it reacted to trolls with racist and misogynist tweets. Presumably, the bot developed this artificial intelligence bias from its machine learning basics.
Melvin: Breaking Down Jones Lang LaSalle’s Outlook
Jones Lang LaSalle released its third-quarter U.S. Office outlook recently. The global commercial real estate firm found that conditions are generally good.
The McGillivray Group Ties Up With Canadian REIT District Property Trust
Real Estate Expert Scott McGillivray & the McGillivray Group will provide expertise on acquisitions and growth to District Property Trust.
Scott McGillivray is an expert real estate investor who owns hundreds of properties across North America. He is CEO of McGillivray Group, a real estate developer. He is also the host and executive producer of HGTV’s award-winning series Income Property.
District Property Trust is a private real estate investment trust (District REIT) with an acquisition focus on growing communities in Ontario, Canada. It is closely affiliated with the Valour Group, which owns and/or manages $350 million of real estate assets.
Emerson Electric Concedes to Activist Fund, Appoints Mark Blinn to Board
Emerson Electric, a U.S. factory automation company, has appointed Mark Blinn to its board of directors.
eToro Bulks Up on Crypto Services; Acquires Delta’s Portfolio Tracker
eToro, the multi-asset social and copy trading brokerage, acquired Delta for a reported $5 million. The portfolio tracker gives a bird’s eye view of the crypto market across 6,000 assets at more than 180 exchanges.
Brookfield Asset Management Launches Its Fifth PE Fund
The new Brookfield Capital Partners V reached total equity commitments of $9 billion, according to Brookfield Asset Management. The company released a statement this week outlining the goals of the private equity fund and its type of investors.
Sen. Ron Wyden Demands Study on Opportunity Zone Management
Opportunity Zones have become topics of interest among institutional investors. The passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act pushed through opportunity zones as potential long-term investments.