An American Hedge Fund Review

Well, I just received the final copy today, I actually read this book a couple of months ago when Timothy Sykes sent me an advance copy, my then review making it into the book under "What the people say-Financial Journalists"!

I like the way the book was self published under the "Bull Ship Press" name, I guess Sykes has always been a bit of a madcap entrepreneur. There is a lot of insight and honesty in "An American Hedge Fund", and Sykes has an exciting way of explaining his strategy.

This bit is pretty relevant, "Opportunities come and go. The key is to remain nimble enough to be able to take advantage of situations when they arise."

Besides being the book's official release date, Sykes also announced the closing of the Cilantro fund on October 1st, a day he said, "Will free him from the shackles of SEC regulations he will be able to detail Cilantro's complete trading history- winners and losers."

Rubinstein & Rubinstein Launch Alternative Offshore Fund

Rubinstein & Rubinstein, LLP has launched an offshore alternative investment fund practice which has seen a great deal activity in the past few months.

Taking advantage of a tax treaty between the United States and a foreign government, Rubinstein & Rubinstein established the fund in an offshore jurisdiction, reducing taxation to 1 to 2%. In addition, private placement and foreign registration allowed the fund exemption from S.E.C. and blue sky registration.

One of the fund's highlights being that Asher Rubinstein represented a principal in establishing an international co-investment fund based in New York, London and Dubai. The fund will make investments in private equity buyouts, real estate, aerospace and other sectors. It has also been capitalized by various onshore and offshore investment sources, including "sovereign wealth," i.e., investment by a foreign government.

In addition, Kenneth Rubinstein and Asher Rubinstein represented United States-based principals and foreign- based managers of an investment fund dedicated to investments in the insurance settlement industry.

Kenneth Rubinstein has also developed a proprietary tax strategy to allow tax-free access to offshore deferred compensation assets by hedge fund and private equity fund managers.

The strategy is particularly timely, given the recent calls by members of the United States Congress to increase taxes on the "carried interest" portion of fund managers' compensation. Rubinstein & Rubinstein's tax patent application for this strategy is currently pending before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Hedge Fund BlackRock Aquisitions Quellos Fund of Funds

Hedge fund investor BlackRock, Inc. today announced that it has completed its acquisition of the fund of funds business of Quellos Group, LLC. BlackRock is calling the combined fund of funds platform BlackRock Alternative Advisors.

Laurence D. Fink, BlackRock’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, “Extreme market volatility over the past couple of months accelerated the opportunity for strategic interactions between our respective investment and risk management professionals and reinforced the value of operating on a unified, global platform."

"In addition, the market environment bolstered our belief that demand for top quality funds of funds and innovative investment solutions will continue to increase. We are excited to welcome our new colleagues and look forward to delivering the tremendous capabilities of BlackRock Alternative Advisors to our clients." Fink said.

BlackRock is one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. As of June 30, 2007, assets under management were $1.230 trillion. Headquartered in New York City, the firm has approximately 5,000 employees in 18 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.