The Cayman Islands and Netherlands Antilles Sign Tax Information Exchange Agreement

George Town, Grand Cayman – The Cayman Islands signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the Netherlands Antilles on 29 October 2009 whilst attending the CFATF Plenary, held in Curacao.

The agreement, which is Cayman’s fourteenth, was signed on behalf of the Cayman Islands by Attorney General, the Honourable Samuel Bulgin, who was Cabinet’s authorised signatory.

Mr Bulgin said: “This signing represents the Cayman Islands continued commitment to OECD standards for transparency and exchange of information on tax matters. It will commemorate the beginning of what I am sure will be a mutually-rewarding relationship between the Cayman Islands and the Netherlands Antilles.”

Negotiations have also been completed with a number of other countries including Aruba, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy and Mexico and it is anticipated that agreements will be signed before the end of 2009. Negotiations are also currently ongoing with a further 10 jurisdictions which comprise Argentina, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, India, Japan, Korea, Portugal, Spain and South Africa..

Commenting on the signing, Premier/Leader of Government Business, Minister for Financial Services, the Honourable McKeeva Bush said “The Cayman Islands are committed to effective implementation of these agreements and as such, we have in place all the necessary internal processes required for the legal implementation of all signed agreements.”

Ticonderoga Securities Expands With Launch of Equity Derivatives Group Led By Hedge fund Veteran

New York (Press Release) - Ticonderoga Securities, an institutional broker dealer, today announced the launch of its Equity Derivatives Group, which will be led by Vuk Bulajic, an industry veteran with a dynamic track record of launching and building equity derivatives businesses.

With the addition of the Equity Derivatives Group, Ticonderoga continues to position itself as a leading broker dealer, concentrating on domestic and international equities with a focus on high-quality order execution alongside its differentiated research. The new group will further diversify Ticonderoga’s product offerings, which was recently expanded to include institutional equity research. As head of the Equity Derivatives Group, Bulajic will focus on building out the platform to deliver unique and valuable offerings.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to launch our Equity Derivatives Group with such an experienced and knowledgeable leader as Vuk,” Shawn McLoughlin, CEO and Co-Founder of Ticonderoga Securities, said. “His success in building teams from the ground up will be valuable as we continue to build out our Equity Derivatives team over the coming months to deliver services in several sectors important to our clients.”

Bulajic has built equity derivatives businesses for several large banks and Wall Street institutions, and brings 25 years of experience to Ticonderoga. Prior to joining the firm, Bulajic served as head of U.S. equity derivatives at the French bank Natixis for eight years, and in the same position at BNP Paribas from 1997-2002. He was also global head of equity derivative trading at Lehman Brothers, and helped launch the Equity Derivatives Group for the Americas at Nat West Capital Markets in the early 1990s. Earlier in his career, Bulajic worked as a trader for Morgan Stanley and Stern Brothers. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University.

“As Wall Street begins to reinvent itself, nimble firms like Ticonderoga have a great opportunity to innovate in the equity derivatives space,” Bulajic said. “I look forward to growing the group here at Ticonderoga.”

In May 2009, Ticonderoga Securities LLC acquired Reynders, Gray & Co. Inc. a respected firm with more than 30-years experience and an enviable track record. Ticonderoga Securities operates a dual capability with a New York Stock Exchange floor based team providing direct access as well as the desk based models. The firm concentrates on domestic and international equities and focuses on high quality, conflict free order execution, as well as a differentiated research offering to support its first class execution capabilities.

Northern Trust Named Best Overall Hedge Fund Administrator

HedgeCo News Archives - Northern Trust has been named the Best Overall Hedge Fund Administrator by HFMWeek in the magazine's inaugural U.S. Service Provider Awards. The awards recognize companies that have outperformed their peers during 2008-2009 and demonstrated financial progress, growth and genuine innovation.

"Northern Trust was recognized for the strength of its service offering and for demonstrating business momentum and product innovation during a challenging period for the hedge fund industry," said Lucy Guest, senior publishing executive for HFMWeek.

Northern Trust has a growing hedge fund servicing business, with assets under administration of $75.5 billion as of June 30, 2009, an increase of 54 percent over the prior year. Northern Trust services nearly 300 hedge funds worldwide as of June 2009, and in the previous 12 months had provided global operations services to more than 120 new fund launches and transitions.

"Investment managers are facing increased pressure to effectively manage costs while providing greater returns for investors," said Peter Cherecwich, Chief Operating Officer for Corporate and Institutional Services at Northern Trust. "Northern Trust is delivering the scale and infrastructure required to support higher volumes and expanded trading strategies, including experienced staff with specialized expertise in alternative asset classes."

Northern Trust implemented its Hedge Fund Monitor solution in 2008, a major step forward in managing information for fund of hedge funds and other institutional investors with exposure to hedge funds. The solution, expanded to institutional investors in 2009, provides managers with a broad range of vital fund data to increase the efficiency of trading, valuation and operational processes.

"We're delighted to be recognized as best overall administrator as it validates our approach of blending innovative technology, strong process and automation with the exceptional service standards that set Northern Trust apart from our competitors," said Matt Ward, Head of Fund Administration-North America for Northern Trust. "Ultimately this is a service business and our experienced and attentive people are the real strength of our offering."

People Moves: Knight Libertas Expands Global Emerging Markets Team

HedgeCo Blogs Archives - Knight Capital Group, Inc. today announced that Knight Libertas has established a Global Emerging Markets Sales team based in Greenwich, Conn., Hong Kong and London.

Effective immediately, the following have joined the institutional fixed income broker-dealer: Augusto Castilho, Eamon Tubridy, Alfredo Viegas and Elena Antonova in the U.S.; Alesandro Gherzi, Alisa Mujagic, Nipun Ramaiya, Darren Reiss, Richard Segal and Will Trossell in the U.K.; and Jay Lee and Felix Sun in Asia.

"Knight is pleased to announce these hires as part of the build-out of our Global Emerging Markets business, which will focus on names across Latin America, Eastern Europe/Russia, Africa and Asia," said Dan Mullineaux, managing director, global head of emerging markets fixed income. "We will continue to add top-tier talent in all three major time zones as we develop a full-service emerging markets platform encompassing sales, trading, strategy, research and capital markets capabilities."

Knight Libertas is an institutional fixed income broker-dealer providing trade execution, fundamental investment research and capital markets services across a broad range of fixed income securities, including Emerging Market Credit and Sovereigns. Knight Libertas also provides secondary market liquidity and credit-based analysis for Investment Grade and High Yield bonds, Bank Loans and ABS/MBS, among other securities.

Man Investments and Credit Suisse Launch Joint Offering

HedgeCo News Archives - Man Investments and Credit Suisse are launching a managed accounts initiative in response to investors’ increased demands for transparency, liquidity and control.

The new initiative brings together Man’s extensive managed accounts platform and portfolio management expertise with access to Credit Suisse’s structured fund linked products capability, to offer institutional investors flexible and secure investment across a broad selection of the best managers globally.

Under the initiative, Man Investments is responsible for the sourcing, due-diligence and ongoing quality monitoring of managers. For more than ten years Man has built a significant managed accounts platform as an investor, in contrast to the flow driven business model of other providers. This means that in addition to the security, transparency and liquidity that managed accounts provide, Man is also able to offer ongoing portfolio monitoring and risk management oversight, bespoke and transparent investor reporting, as well as portfolio investment advice. Man will continue to offer its managed accounts platform directly to Man investors.

Credit Suisse is responsible for providing risk transfer and delivery expertise in combination with its strong balance sheet to provide a choice of principal protection, dynamic leverage, pass-through exposure and enhanced liquidity. Delivery vehicles include solutions such as notes, certificates, swaps, unit trust and UCITS III funds.

A key differentiator of the joint offering is its independence; it has been designed to mitigate potential conflicts between investors and the structured products provider by offering the same liquidity terms across all investors. Independence also means that managers are offered a choice of prime brokers, enabling them to spread counterparty risk and achieve better execution.

Christoph Moeller, Global Head of Distribution at Man, said: “Man has always approached managed accounts from an investment perspective and we view them as a powerful tool in portfolio construction, rather than just a standalone solution. For this reason, managed accounts have always been deeply rooted in our investment process. We are delighted to have teamed up with Credit Suisse, a leader in fund linked products, to help broaden our global investor reach through customised solutions on the platform.”

Walter Rotondo, Global Head of Fund Linked Products at Credit Suisse, said: "Man has accumulated a wealth of experience over the years in running managed accounts, supported by highly impressive portfolio management, research, infrastructure and risk management teams. Credit Suisse is delighted to commit its specialised resources, capital and balance sheet to the programme and provide investors with highly attractive investment solutions.”