Alternative investments

The leadership team for Citi Capital Advisors (CCA) disclosed in a memo yesterday that the global alternative asset management platform for institutional and ultra high net worth investors will soon be under employee ownership separate from its parent company.

Hedge fund manager and long-time gold bull John Paulson cut his gold ETF bullion holdings by about $600 million in the fourth quarter, a second straight reduction that was likely driven by client redemption needs as he remained upbeat on the metal.

Citi has entered into an agreement with Credit Suisse’s Asset management division to provide a comprehensive suite of milled office, custody and hedge fund administration services to support part of its U.S.-based alternative investments business.

Alternative investment manager Direxion has launched a “buy and hold” fund designed to replicate the Auspice Managed Futures ER Index.

More than six in 10 advisors predicted market gains greater than 5%, a sentiment that has increased from just three weeks ago.

Three new exchange-traded funds aim to use wild stock market swings, like those of the last few years, to automatically cut losses and improve investor returns.

ProShares Trust has expanded Citigroup’s regulatory administration services contract to include the alternative investment manager’s exchange traded funds.

Less than half of Generation X and Y investors plan to contribute to their Individual Retirement Account (IRA) funds for the 2011 tax year, according to new survey results published by T. Rowe Price.

Credit Suisse said its Wealth Management clients contributed net new assets of $4.4 billion in the fourth quarter, even as its investment banking business took a steep plunge that led to a loss for the company as a whole.

These products set a new global monthly record of $9.1 billion of inflows in January 2012, soundly besting the previous record of $6.7 billion of inflows set in January 2009, according to BlackRock.

Fidelity Investments has warned regulators that more than half of its money-fund clients would move some or all of their assets out of the investments if the net asset value of the funds were allowed to fluctuate.

Alternative assets. Alternative styles. Absolute return.Those are the three bases of John Hancock Mutual Funds newly launched effort to set itself apart as, in itself, an alternative to larger mutual fund creators, marketers and managers.

Hatteras Funds CEO Brian Jacobs predicts there will be an increasing convergence between the mutual fund and hedge fund worlds as more companies seek to offer hedge fund strategies to mass-market investors.

BATS Global Markets said the Securities and Exchange Commission approved its Competitive Liquidity Provider program, proposed last year.

FINRA arbitration panel has ordered Merrill Lynch to pay an investor $1.4 million in a case that called into question the value of the collateralized loan obligation investments the firm sold.

Investment bank Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group has launched DirectMarkets, a first-of-its-kind platform that directly links stock issuers with investors, in primary offerings of securities.

Bullion is big. ETFs are convenient. Since its inception in November 2004, the average annual return of State Street Gold Shares has been 18.72%. By comparison, the S&P 500 has returned half of 1% a year in that time.

As voters in Florida head to the polls Tuesday to decide who will take on President Obama in November, you can bet many will be have another kind of change in mind. On average, the S&P 500 has improved 14% in the fourth year of a Democratic administration. But this year could be much different, based on statistics so far for the Obama term.

Direxion Funds said it is is making modifications to its line of “buy and hold” alternative strategies, effective February 1, 2012.

$10 billion of equities change hands each day in the United States. $4 trillion of currency changes hands each day, globally. Which asset do you want to trade in?