Regulators May Examine Private Equity Valuation

Chidem Kurdas

The Dodd-Frank Act mandates the registration of hedge fund and private equity advisers with assets over $150 million. Venture capital managers and family offices are exempt from the registration requirement, but not private equity.

Once private equity managers become registered investment advisers, like all RIAs they will be subject to examinations by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC looks at valuation polices and practices, among other issues. Private equity valuation will be scrutinized and has to be documented and supported, says Sal Shah, a partner at accounting firm McGladrey.

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Brevan Howard in EM

Emerging markets are widely seen as offering better investment opportunities than developed economies, but opinions vary as which emerging markets are more promising. There’s the “Next 11” identified by Goldman Sachs (Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam). Then there are those putting their money on Latin America.

Global macro manager Brevan Howard is opening an office in Brazil, according to the Financial Times. Brevan Howard is not new to emerging markets but its way of investing in the region may be changing. About a year ago

No-Double-Dip Conventional Wisdom

Chidem Kurdas

In the past week I’ve encountered a number of forecasts – some from hedge funds and one from the research team at Barclays Capital – of higher-than expected economic growth in the next two quarters. Modest but sustained growth is the most likely immediate scenario, is what you hear all around. But unforeseen events are always, well, unforeseen. They are what the accepted wisdom of the day misses.

Hedge funds’ gold purchases in the past year are evidence of

Harbinger Builds Gold Position

Paulson & Co is not the only famous hedge fund that favors gold.  We hear that Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners quietly added to its SPDR Gold Trust holding in the summer.

Paulson Stays with Gold

That is, NovaGold, the Canadian gold mining company that Paulson & Co. bought into early this year while launching a gold fund. Despite widespread talk of an expanding gold bubble, Paulson & Co. continues to own between 9% to 10% of NovaGold.

New Fund Despite Tough Conditions

Chidem Kurdas

A very difficult environment for raising money, in particular for fund of funds, has not stopped the launch of investment vehicles. But the new products tend to come from firms with established distribution networks, which gives them a better chance of finding clients. They also tend to have a broader investment agenda than hedge funds-only vehicles.

Facing Unhappy Investors, Managers Compromise

Tight capital conditions where even well-known names have trouble raising money are pushing fund managers to give concessions to clients. New agreements with investors have become common, but they vary, reflecting different demands from customers and varying responses from managers.