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On Oct. 30, a Sunday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission received a draft report from MF Global that for the first time showed a shortfall in the segregated funds, a deficit of $900 million. At this time, both MF Global and the CFTC were referring to this in anodyne terms as an “accounting error.”
The Commodity Customer Coalition has now issued a white paper presenting its own view of the “background, impacts, and solutions to MF Global’s Demise.”
In spite of sketchy performance from some top managers, institutional investors remain committed to hedge funds and a large number are shopping for new relationships in 2012.
There is an old story often attributed to economist Burton Malkiel. A professor of finance and an undergraduate are walking together. They see what looks like a $100 bill lying on the sidewalk. The naïve student bends down to pick it up, but the professor says, “Don’t bother. If it were a real bill, it [...]
Commodities have been the big story of the past decade – almost a repeat of the inflation-burdened 1970s. If hems reflect stock market sentiment, we should be seeing an outbreak of bell-bottom trousers and platform shoes. Certainly, a new cohort of investors, institutional and retail alike, see price rises in the elements core inflation strips out – namely food and energy – as a secular shift. Still, appearances can be deceiving. A recent study argues a long-only bet on commodities is likely to result in a return that is statistically 0: not the 1970s at all.
Jeremy King of Knight Pacific discusses his contrarian views on investing in Asia.
Chris Brodie has been trading commodities for over 20 years, and set up Krom River in 2006. Scotsman Brodie relocated to Zug in Switzerland several years ago and has no regrets about the move. The fund’s best year so far was 2008 when it rose by 37% while the GSCI fell by two thirds, and it was also up in August of this year. Krom River are running both discretionary and systematic funds, and also have a dedicated agricultural vehicle. We touched on a range of topics that CAIA candidates and charterholders will be familiar with. Krom River is a signatory of the Hedge Fund Standards Board that has been discussed on AAA.
