Alternative investments

Hedge fund managers, market academics and risk experts are channeling their data-mining smarts to the world of clinical sciences.

With the industry facing ridicule for high fees and low returns, clients have pulled a net $33 billion from the industry in the first quarter, the most over a decade.

Asset managers are targeting massive amounts of capital to benefit from credit market stress as the coronavirus leaves many companies in need of support.

The poor showing may lead investors to question why they’re paying some of the highest fees in the money management industry.

Risk managers must be especially vigilant about the bets their traders are making to profit from current market dislocations brought on by the coronavirus.

Instead, the billionaire opted for a lucrative credit hedge that earned his firm about $2.6 billion in profits when the market plummeted.

Cash-hungry REITs are selling their portfolios at steep discounts as talks heat up over similar deals and even equity stakes in the companies themselves.

“We have to have a roadmap for how to deploy capital in this environment,” says the global head of alternatives for the firm’s asset management arm.

In need-for-speed markets lashed by the spreading coronavirus, this breed of rules-based trading is paying off.

The asset manager is targeting as much as $1.5 billion in volume annually, up from about $300 million per year about three years ago, the firm says.

Broad-basket commodity sector funds, as well as those long on oil, natural gas and precious metals, accounted for more than half of the laggards.

The investing strategy “is close to saturation,” and the cost of keeping up with the competition may be to blame, a new study suggests.

The rewards for the men — and they’re all men — are notable, especially given only a third of the top 15 managers on the list beat the S&P 500.

All artworks, racehorses, cars, and trading cards are not created equal, and not all “investment opportunities” are the best in their field.

Macro funds, which invest in broad global trends, had the biggest disparity.

Similar products are stockpiling unprecedented levels of new cash as investors look to alternative assets for growth and income.

About $2 billion of assets will be available to the company’s retail clients.

Managers of the funds became increasingly involved with private debt last year; boosting their median allocation to 2.9% from 2.1%, data show.

Investors are pulling money at an accelerated pace as high fees and mediocre returns send them searching for yield elsewhere.

Competition with an ever-rising stock market, the difficulty of raising assets and the steady march of time are just a few factors leading managers to the exit.