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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Climate Change Protests in London: Activists Glue Themselves to BlackRock’s Doors
Climate change activists took on the world’s biggest financial institutions today, specifically BlackRock and the Bank of England, in London. They demanded the cessation of funding of a looming environmental crisis.
Libra Association Dealt A One-Two-Punch: Defections, And Now, The G7
Last week, eBay, Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe followed PayPal out of the Libra Association; now, the G7 warns against digital currencies.
Last week, fears of regulatory uncertainty (and repercussions) probably forced eBay, Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe to depart the Libra Association. They followed on the heels of PayPal, which walked out earlier.
Nubank, the Brazilian Fintech, Hits a Purple Patch
Brazilian fintech startup Nubank has added three million users since August this year.
Speaking at the Brazil Investment Forum in Sao Paulo, Nubank founder and CEO David Vélez said the fintech now had 15 million users.
Temasek Will Sit Out the Saudi Aramco IPO on Environmental Concerns
Singapore’s Temasek Holdings will not invest in Saudi Aramco’s mega-IPO, sources said, according to Bloomberg.
Temasek, which focuses on sustainability and environmental, social and governance principles, will, therefore, be unable to participate in the Saudi Aramco IPO. Moreover, it has a 2030 target to reduce the carbon footprint of its portfolio companies by 50%.
Finmason Clocks Analysis Of 10 Million Portfolios
U.S. based fintech FinMason is the world’s largest independent investment analytics engine for financial services platforms. FinMason announced this week that it had analyzed over 10 million portfolios for clients. The investment analytics provider launched its analytics API service in 2017. The firm directs its service towards WealthTech and FinTech firms. The FinMason API puts…
VALT, the ETF for Liquid Fixed Income Returns
The Ultra Short ETF has been launched by ETF Managers Group, along with SIT Fixed Income Advisors. It is listed on the NYSE Arca with ticker name VALT.
VALT is ideal for investors seeking the preservation of capital and fixed income returns.
Madison Dearborn Partners Eyes Eighth Fund, Sets $4.5 Billion Goal
Madison Dearborn Partners, a Chicago-based private equity giant, is launching its eighth fund. The company wants to raise $4.5 billion. The figure would top the $4.4 billion it raised for its a fund just three years ago.
Fidelity Investments Eliminates Commissions
Fidelity Investments announced Thursday that it is eliminating commissions for stock trading. The elimination of commissions will also include exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and options. The firm is the latest in a long line that has cut fees to zero as the discount broker wars continue.
AGF Leverages Its Quants Team to Offer Three Liquid Alternative Funds in Canada
Three new liquid alternative funds from AGF Investments Inc. provide better risk-adjusted returns. AGF has just launched three liquid alt funds in Canada. These are the (AGFiQ) US Market Neutral Anti-Beta CAD-Hedged ETF (QBTL), US Long/Short Dividend Income CAD-Hedged ETF (QUDV) and the US Long/Short Dividend Income CAD-Hedged Fund. “These offerings build on AGF’s long…
Ripple’s Blockchain to Support Finastra’s Cross-Border Payments
Enterprise blockchain provider and payment network Ripple has tied-up with giant fintech Finastra.
The latter’s users can utilize Ripple’s blockchain based network and its RippleNet partners for cross-border payments.
RippleNet, a global blockchain payments network, has over 200 financial institutions as its global partners. These entities will also have access to Finastra’s massive global network of banks.
Bitcoin Options to be Highly Popular with Asian Traders, Miners: CME Group
CME Group’s forthcoming launch of Bitcoin options will likely be lapped up by Asian crypto players.
Asian crypto traders and miners, along with European speculators and hedgers, already account for nearly half of the trading of CME’s bitcoin futures product. Bitcoin options, used along with futures, would allow these players to fine-tune the management of their exposure and risk to the cryptocurrency.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Will Testify Before House Financial Services Committee
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before Congress about his firm’s cryptocurrency project. Zuckerberg will speak before the House financial services committee on the launch of Libra.
Here’s What Negative Interest Rates Would Do to the Community Banking Industry
Negative interest rates have generated a lot of noise in Europe and Asia. What would happen if the Federal Reserve adopted negative interest rates? That was the subject of a report released this week by the Kroll Bond Rating Agency.
Blackstone Sells Last Building from Famous 2007 Real Estate Deal
The Wall Street Journal says that Blackstone has sold the last office building it purchased in 2007. The building was part of their $39 billion purchase of Equity Office Properties Trust. That purchase was the largest real estate deal in history.
CFTC Chairman: Ethereum is a Commodity
CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert has said that Ethereum is a commodity. During a talk at the Yahoo! Finance All Markets Summit, the CFTC chair said he doesn’t think ether is a security.
LGPS Launches Climate Change Strategy
LGPS Central has announced the launch of a multi-factor equity fund. The manager of pooled assets from nine British public sector pension funds say that climate change sits at the center of the investment strategy.
Bitwise Unfazed by SEC Rejection; Intends to re-file soonest
The SEC rejected the Bitcoin ETF proposed by Bitwise Asset Management and NYSE Arca. But Bitwise welcomed the detailed feedback and additional clarity.
Though the SEC rejected the Bitwise ETF, the negative thrust of its 112-page order centered around NYSE Arca’s proposed rule change to enable the listing of the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF.
Senators strong-arm Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe on Libra: “…expect a high level of scrutiny.”
Facebook’s Libra stablecoin project received another jolt when US Senators wrote an “or…else” letter to certain Libra Association members.
Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) wrote to the CEOs of Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe, urging them to be wary of their participation in Facebook’s Libra Association.
Refinitiv: Sovereign Wealth Funds Put $24.6 Billion into Q3 M&A Deals
Sovereign wealth funds injected $24.6 billion into deals during the third quarter, according to a report at Reuters. Citing data from Refinitiv, the author counted 49 deals. That figure is up from the 46 deals in the second quarter valued at $15.5 billion.
Pepsi Issues Its First ‘Green Bonds;’ These Align With UN Sustainable Development Goals
Pepsi issued $1 billion in senior notes due 2049, at a coupon of 2.875%, payable semiannually.
This new debt offering is the first of Pepsi’s green bonds. Pepsi will use the funds raised from the issue for purposes that align with U.N. Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs.
PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor: VC Investing Declined in Third Quarter
PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor released its examination of venture capital flows for the third quarter of 2019. The report says that American VC shops invested $28.2 billion in 2,265 transactions during the quarter. This figure suggested a continued decline in deal flow among venture capitalists.
SEC Rejects Bitcoin ETF Proposal from Bitwise
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected Bitwise Asset Management’s efforts to launch a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The agency said that Bitwise’s proposal failed to meet legal requirements tied to market manipulation and other concerns. However, the SEC blamed NYSE Arca instead of Bitwise for the rejection.
Stanford University Endowment Fund Reports 6.5% Gain
The fund outperformed the median results of peers The Stanford University Endowment Fund released its investment results last week. For the 12 months ending June 30, 2019, Stanford Management Company generated a 6.5% investment return, net of all internal and external costs and fees, but gross of the newly levied tax on certain endowments. Stanford…
Are Mutual Fund Managers Signaling A Selloff?
The Investment Company Institute released weekly data on mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) on Wednesday. The data suggest that fund managers are very concerned about the U.S. economy, the ongoing trade war, and other factors. Last week, mutual funds and ETFs dropped roughly $11.8 million in U.S. equities.