NEWS
CASE STUDY WEBSITES
BY ANTHONY PAYNE, CEO AT PEREGRINE Q. How do I populate my website as a hedge fund manager? A: Whether a multi-billion-dollar firm or a start-up, a website is integral to building and maintaining a brand, while offering an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and distinctiveness to investors and helping attract talent. Post-financial crisis and the onslaught of regulation that accompanied it, managers are more restricted than ever in marketing, making a website even more crucial as an opportunity to showcase talent and edge. For smaller managers, in particular, the website is a great equaliser, creating a 24/7 cost-effective marketing tool. Before building a website, a manager should first consider how to showcase leadership and what edge it offers over other firms. Once that unique set of skills has been identified, it is important to include it in your thought leadership content, which can come in a variety of formats, including white papers published quarterly and/or accompanying events publicised on the site. Good examples include cantabcapital. com, wintoncapital.com, twosigma.com and pinerivercapital. com. Some hedge funds have also included an introductory video (see citadel.com) which helps capture the culture and feel of the organisation. As long as the site is communicating at the strategy (as opposed to the product) level and does not reveal fund performance (except behind an investor login) the site will give investors access to your thinking. It will also allow prospects to engage with your content and give the new business team potential leads. Some managers choose to add more brand-oriented content, demonstrating company culture to potential investors. We recommend including pictures of the office and team, where possible, which works toward establishing a sense of cohesion and stability at your company. Bridgewater (bwater. com) is a great example of this. The site has the added benefit of attracting the best and the brightest new talent by showcasing existing employees. It should include pictures and biographies of your best performers with the strongest pedigree. Of course, hedge fund managers will also want to consider disclaimers, depending what information is being dispensed on the website. Some firms opt for none and simply impart high-level thinking, information about the team and no direct data about funds while others create a simple marketing disclaimer with an agree/disagree button or only make content available through a log-in. However you structure your website, it is one of the greatest tools at your disposal to explain and publicise your strategy against the backdrop of a challenging capital-raising environment.
top 5% and at least one representative must rank within the top 10% of CPOs or CTAs by AuM allocated to futures and swaps on NFA Form PQR and NFA Form PR as of 30 June. Koutoulas criticised the increased representation for top 10% of CTAs or CPOs and said it was wrong for directors to run unopposed.
at all times. Miah did not. Miah agreed to settle at an early stage and qualified for a 30% discount on his fine. His penalty was also reduced due to early admission, expressions of remorse and co-operation with the investigation. The regulator says his ban could be revoked after five years.
ENFORCEMENT
SEC
FCA BANS AGENCY ASKS CHERRY-PICKING HFS TO REVIEW ANALYST CCO ROLES The FCA has banned and fined an Aviva Investors’ investment analyst who “cherrypicked” the best trades for hedge funds due to internal systems and controls failures. Mothahir Miah was fined £139,000 ($211,349) and banned from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity in the financial services industry for failing to act with honesty and integrity. In February, the FCA fined Aviva Investors £17.6m ($22.2m) for systems and controls failings that meant it couldn’t manage conflicts of interest fairly. These weaknesses led to compensation of £132m ($200.7m) paid to affected funds. Mark Steward, director of enforcement at the FCA, said: “Miah abused the trust given to him by his clients in a very clear and deliberate way. It is vital that Approved Persons operate with honesty and integrity
The SEC is calling on managers with outsourced CCOs to review their business practices after it found a series of “compliance weaknesses” in its exam programme. In its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) Risk Alert, published this week, the US regulator found a number of failings about how outsourced CCOs were operating at asset managers. It claimed outsourced CCOs rarely visited the offices of firms they are working with limited reviews of documents or training on compliance-related matters. The SEC found staff at managers were not following compliance procedures set out by outsourced CCOs. The SEC said CCOs must be empowered with the sufficient knowledge and authority to be effective at monitoring compliance risks.
PEOPLE MOVES
HFMCOMPLIANCE ROUNDS UP THE SECTOR’S LATEST LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE MOVES Ex-Goldbridge Capital Partners COO Lisa McAnany has joined Symmetry Investments as European counsel and CCO. McAnany was with Goldbridge between May 2012 and December 2014, shortly before the firm shut down due to losses in its fixed income hedge fund earlier this year.
London-based credit fund firm Alva Capital has appointed ex-Pamplona Capital Management operations director Steven Gladstone as COO. Gladstone was with Londonbased $11bn Pamplona for just under four years Comac Capital general
counsel James Stevens has left the hedge fund manager turned family office after five years to join London start-up Glen Point Capital. Comac returned money to external investors in January after heavy losses when the Swiss National Bank de-pegged its currency from the euro.
6 hedge-compliance.com JAN 2016
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