Hedge Fund Man

Hedge Fund Man - by Peter Ort He's a PM and a trader He's got a signal turning green He's a restless young risk taker Wants to run the big money He's got no problem with his high fees And his lockup is secure He's cleaning up his network To keep his sources pure Learning to lower the beta of the Old World Man Learning to make the alpha like a New World Man He's bought some concentrated stakes And learned when to sell and apply the brakes He's old enough to know what options to write But young enough to confuse it He's noble enough not to take in too much cash But weak enough not to refuse it He's a Hedge Fund Man... He’s got activism fever Spin off your factories and farms He's a fighter and no stranger To the sell side and their charms He's got market timing power With quant models on patrol He's got to watch the advance/decline line And keep his risk control Trying to double the pay of the Old World Man Buying a Swiss chalet like a New World Man He's forgotten the drawdown of yesterday He knows a high water mark is here today He's noble enough to see his risk is not right But weak enough not to defuse it He's wise enough to raise a yard But fool enough to lose it He's a Hedge Fund Man... Learning to lower the beta of the Old World Man Learning to make the alpha like a New World Man He's a Hedge Fund Man... He's a Hedge Fund Man...

New World Man – by RUSH He's a rebel and a runner He's a signal turning green He's a restless young romantic Wants to run the big machine He's got a problem with his poisons But you know he'll find a cure He's cleaning up his systems To keep his nature pure Learning to match the beat of the Old World Man Learning to catch the heat of the Third World Man He's got to make his own mistakes And learn to mend the mess he makes He's old enough to know what's right But young enough not to choose it He's noble enough to win the world But weak enough to lose it He's a New World Man... He's a radio receiver Tuned to factories and farms He's a writer and a ranger And a young boy bearing arms He's got a problem with his power With weapons on patrol He's got to walk a fine line And keep his self-control Trying to save the day for the Old World Man Trying to pave the way for the Third World Man He's not concerned with yesterday He knows constant change is here today He's noble enough to know what's right But weak enough not to choose it He's wise enough to win the world But fool enough to lose it He's a New World Man... Learning to match the beat of the Old World Man Learning to catch the heat of the Third World Man He's a New World Man... He's a New World Man...

CurAlea Clips - September 26, 2013

• 6% YTD outperformance of US small cap stocks (Russell 2000 +27.6%) vs large cap stocks (Russell 1000 +21.4%)
• 22% YTD outperformance of top performing S&P sector (Consumer Discretionary +28.5%) vs worst performing S&P sector (Telecom +6.4%)
• Contact CurAlea Associates for a Daily Market Review

 

August 2013 - Monthly Commentary

August 2013 Monthly Commentary - Please contact CurAlea Associates for a Daily Market Review.

August was a month of heightened risk aversion within the context of the relative calm that has pervaded most global asset markets in 2013.  The combination of geopolitical tensions in Egypt and Syria, ongoing concerns over the tapering of the Federal Reserve’s asset purchases, the continued rise in US treasury interest rates, and the looming dual deadlines of a September US government shutdown and October debt default impacted global asset markets. 

Almost all major developed market equity markets fell in August, led by a 3% fall in the S&P 500.  There was fairly large dispersion across US sectors, with the worst performing sectors down 5% (Financials and Utilities) and the best performing sector flat on the month (Materials).  The trend of large cap value outperforming growth since early 2012 reversed sharply in August.  While Emerging Market equities were roughly flat in local terms and down 1.7% in USD, there was very wide dispersion here as well with the biggest losses in Indonesia (-10%), Philippines (-9.4%), and Thailand (-8.7%) and the biggest gains in Argentina (+12.3%), Korea (+2.6%) and China (+2.4%).   

In currencies, the USD Index was up 0.8% in August, with gains against all major developed market currencies except the British Pound, which strengthened by 2% versus the USD.  The dollar was also stronger against most emerging market currencies with the exception of the Korean Won, Taiwan Dollar, and Chinese Yuan; the weakest emerging market currencies were the Indian Rupee (-9.1% and consistently hitting new record lows versus the USD during August), Indonesian Rupiah (-9%), Turkish Lira (-5.1%), and Mexican Peso (-4.9%).

US Treasuries moved lower again in August, with continued yield curve steepening.  10 year rates closed the month at 2.78%, up from 2.58% at July month end, but down from the 8/21 intra month high of 2.89%.  Investment grade and high yield US credit spreads widened in August, while European sovereign spreads were largely unchanged with the exception of Portugal, which widened.

In commodities, the GSCI index closed up 3.4% in August, led by strength in Precious Metals (+7.9%), Energy (+4%), Livestock (+2.2%), Industrial Metals (+1.8%), and Agriculture (+0.4%).  Within individual commodities, Silver led gains (+19.5%), followed by Soybeans (+12.5%), Platinum (+6.8%), Gold (+6.3%) and Brent Crude (+5.8%); Coffee was the weakest performer (-4%), followed by Sugar (-3.7%), Wheat (-3.5%), Cotton (-2%), and Corn (-1.2%).