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3 Nov 2009

Joel Klein To Receive The 100 Women in Hedge Funds' Effecting Change Award

100 Women in Hedge Funds’ Board of Directors today announced that Joel Klein, Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, will receive its 2009 Effecting Change Award at its New York Gala on November 18, 2009.

The 100 Women in Hedge Funds' Effecting Change Award is given to an individual who has made a difference in the area of the philanthropic theme for the year. This year 100 Women in Hedge Funds’ philanthropic theme is education.

Past recipients include Ken Langone, Julian Robertson, Carl Icahn, Gary Cohn, Ray Chambers, George Soros, and Hillary Clinton.

Announcing the decision, Lauren Malafronte, a Board member of 100 Women in Hedge Funds, and Director at Barclays Capital, said, "We are very pleased to honor Joel Klein with the Effecting Change Award. The impact that Joel has had in significantly enhancing the educational opportunities for children in New York is largely due to his consistent leadership and vision. His goals closely match those of 100 Women in Hedge Funds in a year when we also aim to truly make a difference in the field of education."

As Chancellor, Mr. Klein oversees the New York City Department of Education, the largest public school system in the United States, serving more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,600 schools with 1.1 million students, 36,000 employees, and a $21-billion operating budget. Before his appointment to Chancellor in 2002 by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Klein was chairman and chief executive officer of Bertelsmann, one of the world’s largest media companies. Prior to that, Mr. Klein served as United States Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

When Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appointed Mr. Klein, a graduate of New York City public schools, as the first Chancellor of the newly-reorganized Department of Education, he called the new Chancellor "a true leader who never shies away from the tough and sometimes controversial decisions that are necessary to implement change."

The 2009 Effecting Change Award will be presented to Mr. Klein at the 100 Women in Hedge Funds Gala in New York City on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. Net proceeds from the Gala will be presented to Computers for Youth (CFY), a national non-profit organization that helps low income children perform better in school. 100 Women in Hedge Funds' support will help CFY extend its reach to eventually serve 10,000 families per year. In addition, CFY will be able to build out its Affiliate Network, developed in response to requests for advice and assistance from organizations across the nation, and thereby broaden its reach to all 50 U.S. states.

AIMA Reiterates Support For Registration Of Hedge Fund Managers In The U.S.

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) – the global hedge fund industry association – has reiterated its support for the registration of hedge fund managers in the U.S. and for the reporting of systemically relevant information by larger managers to national authorities in the interests of financial stability.

The move comes as the bill (sponsored by Rep. Paul Kanjorski) that will require hedge fund managers operating in the U.S. to register with and be supervised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) won bi-partisan support from the House Financial Services Committee. The Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act 2009 will make the registration of hedge fund managers in the U.S. mandatory for the first time.

Todd Groome, AIMA Chairman, said: “We have supported the registration of managers in the U.S. and elsewhere as well as the reporting of systemically relevant information to national authorities in the interests of financial stability. Our industry recognizes the need to constructively support efforts to improve financial stability analysis and has worked with U.S. authorities voluntarily in this regard for many years.”

AIMA, which represents hedge fund managers and a wide variety of industry participants in the U.S. and globally, supports the registration and supervision of hedge fund managers by their domestic authorities. Until now, U.S. hedge fund managers who registered with the SEC have done so voluntarily.

The bill now faces a vote on the floor of the House - possibly in early December - before it is sent to the Senate. This process allows for further revisions to be made to the bill, and AIMA will continue to work with policymakers to address several areas where the bill may be improved before it is passed into law.

Todd Groome added, “Registration of hedge fund managers and the supervisory dialogue that this creates between managers and the authorities is valuable, but it is not a costless exercise. It is important that the reporting of market information in the interests of financial stability focuses on relevant information and is consistent with the supervisory capacity of national authorities; managers should not be burdened with expensive and unnecessary reporting requirements. If we ask even smaller managers to provide such information, we run the risk of overwhelming managers and supervisors. It is a question of striking the right balance.”

The bill also has implications for non-U.S. managers who could face ‘dual registration’. AIMA is seeking a full exemption from registration in the U.S. for non-U.S. fund managers who are already registered in a ‘relevant jurisdiction’, such as those based in an OECD country or others especially where the domestic regulator may cooperate and share information with the SEC.

Todd Groome concluded: “It is important to ensure that any new regulatory framework does not create unintended consequences, such as duplicative requirements or unnecessary additional costs on hedge fund managers. We look forward to continuing our dialogue with policymakers on possible revisions and further enhancements to the bill. ”

Edinburgh Hedge Fund Company Expands Equities Team

Christine Montgomery and Neil Robson are to join Martin Currie’s global equities team by the end of the year. The highly experienced team, led by CIO and head of global equities James Fairweather, currently has combined investment experience of 75 years and manages $4.6 billion.

"As we have discussed with our clients, we have been searching to expand the team, and I am delighted we have been able to attract such talented individuals." James Fairweather, CIO with overall responsibility for global equity portfolios at Martin Currie, said, "Their skills strengthen and complement the existing team. I look forward to working with them both."

Christine Montgomery has 20 years’ experience of global equity markets. She joins Martin Currie from Edinburgh Partners, where she was an investment partner, responsible for managing segregated institutional accounts totalling $742 million.

Neil Robson has 23 years of experience in global equity markets and joins Martin Currie from Pioneer Investments where he was head of global equities. At Pioneer, he was responsible for the four equity teams run from the Dublin office with $17.7 billion assets under management.

Martin Currie is a specialist investment management business. From its headquarters in Edinburgh, it manages £12.0 billion ($19.1 billion) in active equity portfolios for a global client base of financial institutions, charities, foundations, endowments, pension funds, family offices, government agencies and investment funds. Its pooled funds include an Oeic, Sicav, offshore mutual funds, investment trusts and a range of absolute return funds.

Historical Performance of Hedge Funds in Down Markets

Addressing the rising concern among investors that the financial markets are due for a near term correction, Charles Gradante, Co-Founder of the Hennessee Group, said, “With the equity markets up over +50% since the lows reached in early March, and ongoing uncertainty regarding the true health of the global economy, we are fielding more and more questions regarding the sustainability of the current market rally and what are our expectations are for hedge funds in a market correction.”

Hedge fund adviser, Hennessee Group, conducted a brief study comparing the performance of the Hennessee Hedge Fund Index relative to the performance of the S&P 500 Index dating back to 1993.

The Hennessee Group isolated the analysis to the fifteen largest monthly drawdowns in the S&P 500 Index and measured the downside protection provided by hedge funds using the Hennessee Hedge Fund Index as a proxy. Hedge funds managed to outperform the S&P 500 Index all fifteen months and generated over +100% in outperformance during these periods of panic.

Gradante stated, “Hedge funds participated in only about one third of the market downturn which is due, in large part, to their ability to hedge their portfolios and maintain reduced market exposures. In addition, hedge funds generated a -2.67% average monthly loss over these 15 months while the S&P 500 generated an average monthly loss of -9.38%.” Gradante added, “We would expect to see similar results going forward, particularly given the cautious stance of most hedge funds today as uncertainty and nervousness continues to overhang the financial markets and economy.”

CONCLUSION

Hedge funds are on track for one of their best years since the Hennessee Group started monitoring performance since 1987. The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index is up +20.9% through September relative to the +17.0% gain for the S&P 500 Index. Consistent with longer term results, hedge funds managed to protect capital during the market sell-off in early 2009 and have participated in a good portion of the market rally since March.

In addition to strong performance, the Hennessee Group is encouraged by the slowdown in redemptions which is restoring stability to hedge fund organizations and allowing them to once again focus on alpha generation for investors. As investors take note of these positive developments we expect to see renewed interest and growth for the hedge fund industry in the coming years.

New Position At BNY Mellon Highlights Growth Of Their Hedge Fund Administration Business

Brian Ruane has been appointed to the new position of Chief Executive Officer of Alternative Investment Services (AIS) at $200 billion hedge fund administrator, BNY Mellon Alternative Investment Services.

"Brian's experience and leadership will help us continue to grow, build on our strengths, and set new standards for serving clients during this transformational time in the industry," Art Certosimo, senior executive vice president and head of Broker-Dealer/Alternative Investment Services. "BNY Mellon's AIS business has achieved impressive revenue and market share gains the past few years, where others have struggled. We're confident in Brian's ability to develop the strategies and forge the relationships we'll need to take our global growth forward."

Ruane, who joined BNY Mellon in 1993, was most recently executive vice president and head of global client management North America. For the five years prior, he was head of financial institutions, overseeing the firm's relationships with banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds. In his new role he will focus on expanding AIS' global client relationships and leveraging the array of fund administration products and services the group provides to hedge fund, fund of hedge fund, private equity and real estate clients worldwide.

BNY Mellon Alternative Investment Services has an extensive global presence, including locations in Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Singapore and the United Kingdom, as well as US offices in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.