NEW YORK - The flow of money invested in hedge funds slowed in the first quarter, according to Tremont Advisers' TASS Research. Only $5.6 billion in new money was invested in hedge funds in the first quarter, down from $8.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2001. A record $31 billion in new assets poured into hedge funds last year.
Event-driven strategies netted nearly $2 billion in new assets, followed by convertible arbitrage at $1.7 billion. Meanwhile, investors reallocated from long-short equity funds, which lost a net $407 million in assets in the fourth quarter vs. a gain of $1.9 billion in the last quarter of 2001.
"The declining interest rate environment of 2001 boosted returns for such strategies as convertible arbitrage and fixed-income arbitrage," Ed Hannon, research specialist at Tremont, said in a news release.
Arapahoe County to pick hedge fund manager from shortlist
LITTLETON, Colo. - Arapahoe County will conduct an invitation-only search at the end of August for a hedge fund manager to run up to $6 million, said Adrian B. Ciazza, chairman and treasurer of the $143 million pension plan.
Funding likely will come from reducing the fund's large-cap equity allocation, he said. Mr. Ciazza does not expect any manager terminations.
Watershed Investment Consultants is advising.
CalPERS OKs $500 million for opportunistic real estate
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The CalPERS investment committee allocated $500 million to opportunistic real estate investments within the United States and internationally. The expected minimum return must be above 13%, unleveraged, after fees.
The committee at the $151 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System also voted to restore the Philippines to its list of eligible emerging markets countries. Staff made the change after finding that the Philippines' trade settlement standard is T+3, the same as the United States.
It also banned investments in American depository receipts and global depository receipts issued by companies based in countries excluded from CalPERS' eligible emerging markets list.
Oklahoma Law looks to book venture capital manager
OKLAHOMA CITY - The $530 million Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System is conducting an invitation-only search for at least one venture capital fund-of-funds manager to run a total of $17 million, said Lawrence F. McCullock, executive director. Officials for the pension plan want to diversify, and funding will come from rebalancing portfolios, he said.
The current allocation is 35% large-cap equity, 30% fixed income, 15% small-cap equity, 10% international equity, 5% real estate and 5% private equity. Asset Consulting Group is advising.
California Teachers puts shopping center up for sale
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - CalSTRS, along with real estate partner TrizecHahn, put Oaks Shopping Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif., up for sale, said Sherry Reser, spokeswoman at the $95.5 billion California State Teachers Retirement System, Sacramento.
Cushman & Wakefield was hired to find bidders for the 1.1 million-square-foot super-regional mall, which industry experts estimate will fetch $150 million to $175 million.
Ms. Reser said the asking price was not available.
Analysis: More transparency for real estate opportunity funds
PHILADELPHIA - Real estate opportunity funds need more transparency and more consistent standards among the funds and the managers sponsoring them, according to an analysis jointly released by the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate and the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
The study recommended guidelines for improved reporting, including quarterly and annual summary of cash inflows and outflows; detailed and updated information on all activity related to debt or leverage in the investments; and calculations done on both an individual asset basis and on a fully rolled up, consolidated basis.
Hedge fund assets to grow 26% in 2002, according to survey
NEW YORK - Hedge fund assets are expected to grow 26% this year, to $760 billion worldwide, according to a new survey of hedge fund investors by Goldman Sachs' prime brokerage unit.
Hedge funds of funds should add the most to that increase, growing 41%, according to the survey. Pension funds accounted for about 10% of total hedge fund assets in 2001, and should end 2002 with the same share, according to the survey.
The most popular hedge fund strategy is long-short equity, with about 40% of assets. Multistrategy arbitrage and convertible bond arbitrage tie for second, with about 10% of assets each.
New PGS hedge fund open to institutional investors
NEW YORK - Parker Global Strategies started the PGS Gamma Edge Trust, a new hedge fund of funds aimed at U.S. institutional and non-U.S. individual investors, according to a news release from Parker.
The fund invests in 10 to 15 managers, selected by Parker, which use directional and relative value strategies, including U.S. and global long-short equity, event-driven and fixed-income arbitrage. The minimum investment is $1 million.
