See GRAPEVINE on Back Page

Persistent Losses Prompt CTAs to Improvise

Afer years of disappointing performance, operators of managed-futures funds
are revising their trading models and taking other steps to retain disillusioned
investors.
Tree large London frms Aspect Capital, BlueCrest Capital and Cantab Capital
are rethinking their trend-following strategies in light of persistently low vola-
tility in the commodity-futures, currency and fxed-income markets. Cantab, for
example, has added a short-term trading algorithm to its tool box, while BlueCrest
is working on a program designed to get ahead of price trends. Still other manag-
ers are slashing fees as they seek to hold on to existing limited partners and attract
fresh capital.
Systematic-trading operations such as Aspect, BlueCrest and Cantab use com-
puter models to track trends in securities prices and get in before the trends play
out. But the strategy depends on market volatility, which has been conspicuously
See LOSSES on Page 6
Former Perot Trader Attracts Early Backers
An investment professional who most recently worked at Ross Perots family
ofce plans to start a hedge fund.
Cory Whitaker has opened Bowie Capital of Dallas with the aim of launching a
fund late in the third quarter. Teres talk that hes already lined up $75 million of
commitments.
Bowie will invest opportunistically in both equity and debt, with as much as 10%
of the capital reserved for private deals. At Perot Investments, Whitaker focused on
consumer, energy and specialty-pharmaceutical companies, while also working on
merger-and-acquisition plays and debt investments.
Hes a young, independent-thinking guy, which is a little bit out-of-the-box for
the Perot group, one source said of Whitaker.
Its unclear whether Bowie has the backing of Perot Investments, a multi-bil-
lion-dollar operation led by Perot, his son, Ross Perot Jr., and president Steve
See PEROT on Page 6
Managers Face Tough Choice Over IRS Edict
Tere are early indications that at least some fund operators plan to take advan-
tage of a recent IRS decree on deferred compensation, though its unclear to what
extent managers will embrace the opportunity.
In a June 10 revenue ruling, the IRS gave hedge fund executives the green light
to use stock options to structure their performance compensation, thereby enabling
them to defer their tax obligations until the options are exercised. Te expectation
is that pension operators and other long-term investors will favor such an approach
because it rewards fund managers for being proftable over the long run.
Tis is a great way for [hedge funds] to really show that you care about align-
ment of interests with investors, said Jonathan Koerner, a lawyer for the $25 billion
Utah Retirement pension system who specializes in innovative fund structures.
Optcapital, a Charlotte frm that helps companies administer stock-option plans,
See IRS on Page 7
2 Redemptions Put Balestra on Defense
2 Lonestar Alumnus Preps Offering
3 Novel Acquisition Yields Launch
3 Centurion Unaffected by CTA Woes
4 Fund Eyes Health, Environment Sectors
4 Tiger Cuts Exposure to Long Oar
4 Magnolia Road Woos Outside Investors
11 Lawyers Push Back on Canada Rule
11 Startup Eyes Third-Quarter Launch
6 HEDGE FUND PERFORMANCE
11 LATEST LAUNCHES
BlueCrest Capital of London has hired a
portfolio manager with a focus on Japan.
Te recruit, Jeremy Reifer, arrived in the
$32 billion-plus frms New York ofce
this month. Reifer most recently worked
at Moon Capital, a New York hedge fund
operation where he managed a market-
neutral portfolio of equity investments in
Japanese companies.
Separate-account operator HFR Asset
Management has lost its head of risk
management. Hiren Parikh resigned on
May 23, and apparently has another job
lined up. He had arrived in mid-2012
from Allstate Investments, where he was
a senior quantitative analyst and risk
manager. HFR was running $1.8 billion
as of yearend 2013, with a large portion
of that capital coming from afliated
fund-of-funds operator Riverside Portfolio
THE GRAPEVINE
JUNE 18, 2014
Redemptions Put Balestra on Defense
Embattled Balestra Capital is about to experience a big dip
in assets.
Following indications earlier this year that investors might
fee in the face of sudden losses, sources are saying the New
York global-macro shop has received enough redemption
requests to drop it to just $500 million under management at
the end of this month. At its peak in late 2012, the frm was
running $2.6 billion.
Given the decline, founder James Melcher is attempting
to ensure that his employees remain on board by guarantee-
ing that their 2014 compensation will at least match what they
earned in 2013 plus undisclosed bonuses if the frms assets
increase. Tat ofer apparently dates back to April, in the wake
of the announcement that partners Norman Cerk and Matthew
Luckett would resign efective June 30.
Cerk and Luckett manage Balestras fagship Balestra Capi-
tal Partners fund, but Melcher wrote in a letter to investors in
April that the frm would be better of with a single voice and
vision going forward. Cerk had arrived in 1997. Luckett joined
in 2004. Teir exits frst were reported by CNBC.
Balestra made a fortune betting against subprime-mortgage
products as the credit crisis took hold, with Balestra Capital
Partners gaining 198% in 2007 and 46% in 2008. From there,
Melcher took a more defensive orientation, betting on gold and
shorting the S&P 500 Stock Index.
Te result was a period of tepid performance that included a
4.2% gain in 2009, a 3.2% loss in 2010, a 1.7% rise in 2011 and a
6% dip in 2012. Te fund then bounced back with an 8% proft
in 2013 only to see those gains wiped out by losses of 2.9%
this January and 6.2% in February.
Indications are that the slide continued in the following
months, with many investors at last losing patience with the
vehicle.
Global-macro managers have struggled since the credit crisis,
as the actions of central banks around the world have displaced
macroeconomic factors in infuencing the values of fnancial
instruments. A lack of volatility in fxed-income and currency
markets has also hurt systematic traders whose computer pro-
grams identify and follow trends (see article on Page 1).
Melcher founded Balestra in 1979.
Lonestar Alumnus Preps Offering
Another San Francisco startup is taking shape under the
direction of a former Lonestar Capital executive.
Peter Levinson, a distressed-debt specialist, is opening a fund
shop called Waveny Capital. Hes already hired a chief operat-
ing ofcer, Zack Stout, who previously held the same title at
San Francisco-based Criterion Capital. Details about the funds
launch date and strategy were unavailable, though a source said
it will invest in a mix of public and private securities.
Levinson was a managing director at Lonestar, a $1 billion
fund operation led by Jerome Simon. He worked at the San
Francisco frm from 2009 until October 2013. In April, he was
named to the board of Gold Canyon Resources, a public com-
pany that invests in mineral and precious-metal mining proj-
ects.
Meanwhile, Lonestar executive Xavier Majic and alumnus
Lenn Kipp are on track to launch a hedge fund at the beginning
of next year from their Toronto-based Maple Rock Capital. Tey
expect to start out with as much as $400 million. Te strong
investor demand appears to be primarily due to the fact that
Lonestar has been largely closed to new investments for years.
June 18, 2014 2
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In Hedge Fund Alert
Novel Acquisition Yields Launch
Multi-manager shop Pulteney Street Capital is fnalizing
the details of its frst liquid-alternatives product a vehicle
born of the acquisition of an unorthodox mutual fund.
Te New York frm has set a July launch date for the entity,
which it would run through a unit called PSP Family of Funds
that it established in March to create and manage so-called 40
Act funds.
Rather than starting a new vehicle from scratch, however,
Pulteney Street plans to recast a mutual fund called Congres-
sional Efect Fund that it took over around the time of PSP
Family of Funds formation. Tat vehicle was the lone product
of a frm also bearing the Congressional Effect name, and had
just $2.9 million of invested assets at the time, down from $12
million at mid-2013.
Te re-launched version would come with a new name, PSP
Multi Manager Fund, and a diferent strategy: deploying capital
to hedge fund managers including EastBay Asset Management,
Ferro Investment, Riverpark Advisors, S.W. Mitchell Capital and
Tiburon Capital. Tats a marked diference from Congressional
Efects approach, in which it invested in S&P 500 stocks while
Congress was out of session and moved into cash at all other
times.
Marketing materials described the approach as designed to
capitalize on a phenomenon in which the S&P 500 Stock Index
posted annualized gains of 16.6% while Congress was out of
session from 1965-2012 but was up only 0.92% while Con-
gress was in session. Te Congressional Efect fund launched
in May 2008, and by yearend 2013 was showing a cumulative
return of just 1.5%.
Another change: Pulteney Street expects to increase the
funds management fee from 1% of assets to 2.25%.
Because it is registered with the SEC under the Investment
Company Act of 1940, the vehicle can accommodate an unlim-
ited number of investors, who can opt for IRS Form 1099 tax
documents rather than Schedule K-1 reports issued by hedge
funds. But the fund is subject to strict reporting requirements,
limits on leverage and restrictions on performance fees.
Its unclear why Pulteney Street went through the process of
buying and overhauling an existing fund. But it may have been
that the purchase price for the Congressional Efect vehicle
was lower than the legal costs associated with forming a new
mutual fund.
Pulteney Street also has a history of acting opportunisti-
cally to buy smaller fund shops in particular when multi-
manager operations have faced pressure to sell amid waning
investor interest. Indeed, the frms 2012 formation came when
brothers Dan and Sean McCooey acquired ownership of Prae-
sideo Management of Ogden, Utah, and recast it under the
Pulteney banner.
Pulteney Street runs three funds, according to Hedge Fund
Alerts Manager Database. Te largest is Pulteney Street Part-
ners, which has $30 million of gross assets.
Dan McCooey heads marketing at Pulteney Street. He has
a background in institutional sales, including positions at Citi-
group and Weeden & Co. In addition to his work at Pulteney,
Sean McCooey is a managing director at mini-prime broker
Concept Capital.
Centurion Unaffected by CTA Woes
Centurion Investment continues to buck two trends: Te
managed-futures trader is raising money, and making it too.
Te New York frms lone fund, Centurion Short Term Trad-
ing Fund, has enough investor commitments to double its
assets by yearend, to $300 million. And that fgure could grow
even faster now that two undisclosed banks are ofering the
vehicle through their fnancial advisors.
Tose agreements, struck in May, stand out as particular
accomplishments given a general hesitancy among advisors
to pitch managers like Centurion that employ hard-to-explain,
computer-driven investment strategies.
Meanwhile, an unleveraged version of Centurions fund is
posting a compounded annual return of 6.8% since its August
2012 inception, compared to a 0.6% gain for the S&P GSCI
Commodity Index. Te funds performance includes a 2.4%
rise for the frst fve months of this year, following profts of
5.3% in 2013 and 4.1% for the fnal fve months of 2012.
While those gains help explain Centurions recent capital-
raising results, the frm has displayed a knack for attract-
ing investors when many of its peers have struggled to do so.
Indeed, founders Stefan Behling and Umran Zia started the fund
with a mere $10 million at a particularly rough time from a
marketing perspective.
Te Barclay CTA Index hasnt posted a full-year gain since
2010, and was eking out a year-to-date return of just 0.08% as
of June 12. Te overall assets controlled by commodity-trading
advisors, meanwhile, have been falling throughout the Centu-
rion funds life from $337.1 billion during the third quarter
of 2012 to $325.3 billion as of March 31, 2014, according to
BarclayHedge.
Te search for investors willing to commit to a commodi-
ties vehicle began with sophisticated funds of funds and family
ofces. As I told [Behling], I think it would have been easier to
start a typewriter company, Zia said.
One of Centurions selling points is that it focuses on shorter-
term trades than most trend followers. Te frm, which invests
in 52 liquid fnancial and commodity markets worldwide,
holds its positions for an average of six hours. Within the port-
folio are more than 78 momentum-driven and mean-reversion
trading strategies that are weighted based on volatility, correla-
tion and performance.
Te fund has shown almost no correlation to the Barclay
CTA Index or the Chicago Board Options Exchange VIX index.
Before starting Centurion, Behling was head trader at
Crabel Capital. He lef the frm in 2009, afer 13 years on board.
Zia, who is in charge of operations, led the foreign-currency
area of Bank of Americas prime-brokerage unit from 2000 to
2010.
June 18, 2014 3
Hedge Fund
ALERT
Fund Eyes Health, Environment Sectors
A former Westeld Capital executive has formed his own
hedge fund operation.
Matthew Strobeck set up Birchview Capital, based in Burl-
ington, Vt., to invest in the stocks of undervalued but growing
healthcare and environment-focused companies.
Strobeck seeded Birchview Fund with a $20 million portfo-
lio of his own investments in late March. Te frm apparently
hasnt yet begun a formal marketing campaign.
Birchview typically will hold 14-20 positions at a time, with
no more than 25% of its capital invested in any one company.
In some cases, Strobeck and possibly other Birchview execu-
tives will work directly with portfolio companies to improve
their value, and may join their boards. Strobeck, a biologist,
currently serves as a board member for a number of compa-
nies, including pathogen-identifcation company Accelerate
Diagnostics, biodegradable-product manufacturer Metabolix
and medical-device maker Tepha.
Birchwood is ofering a series of share classes with man-
agement fees of 1.5% to 2%, performance fees of 10-20% and
capital lockups of 1-2 years. It imposes a 5% penalty for early
withdrawals.
In addition to the fund, which will invest in public compa-
nies, the shop may launch separate accounts that would also
invest in private businesses.
Birchwoods chief operating ofcer is Benjamin Small.
Strobeck signed up an interim chief fnancial ofcer, Richard
McCormick, in April.
Until late 2011, Strobeck was a partner and member of the
management committee of Boston-based Westfeld, a $17 bil-
lion manager of traditional separate accounts that spun of
from Boston Private Bank in 2009.
Tiger Cuts Exposure to Long Oar
Tiger Management has pulled a big chunk of its money from
James Davidsons Long Oar Capital, an equity manager that
Tiger seeded in 2009.
Te move apparently leaves Long Oar running something
over $100 million, a source said, down from about $180 million
at yearend 2013. A spokesman for the New York frm wouldnt
comment on Tigers withdrawal, but said Long Oar recently has
received redemption requests as well as new subscriptions.
Most importantly, Long Oar plans to remain in operation,
has no plans to close the frm, and is confdent in its long-term
strategy, he said.
Tiger, which mostly operates as a family ofce for founder
Julian Robertson, withdrew a portion of Robertsons personal
investment with Long Oar. But Davidsons frm also manages
money for a Tiger vehicle called Accelerator Partners, which
invests on behalf of Robertson as well as outside backers. Tat
fund, which launched in mid-2011 with $450 million, hasnt
redeemed from Long Oar.
Of the six managers that received acceleration capital
from the Tiger vehicle, Long Oars returns have been the low-
est. At yearend 2013, Long Oar had produced a cumulative net
return of 4.9% since June 1, 2011, compared to anywhere from
16.9% to 66.9% for the other fve managers. Last year, Long Oar
posted a 13.9% proft, versus annual net returns that ranged
from 21.1% to 47% for the other managers.
Tiger Accelerator Partners is among a class of fund back-
ers that invest with small but established managers who need
to boost assets under management in order to have any hope
of raising capital from institutional investors. In exchange for
their investments, acceleration-capital vehicles usually claim a
share of the managers revenue stream, in addition to profting
from investment gains.
Before launching Long Oar, Davidson worked at hedge
fund operators Standard Pacic Capital and Pequot Capital. He
started out as an analyst at Morgan Stanley.
Magnolia Road Woos Outside Investors
Magnolia Road Capital, a fund manager backed by the invest-
ment frm started by former eBay president Jeffrey Skoll, has
begun seeking outside capital for its hedge fund.
Magnolia Road Global Credit Master Fund got of the ground
in May 2013 with $45 million, most of which came from Capri-
corn Investment, Skolls Palo Alto, Calif., frm. Te event-driven
fund, which invests in the debt of European companies, has
grown to $131 million. Some of the additional capital came
from a follow-up investment made by Capricorn.
Earlier this month, Magnolia Road began sending market-
ing material to prospective investors. We have more good
ideas than capital to put to work right now, said Suzanne Mur-
phy, head of strategic development for Magnolia Road.
New York-based Magnolia Road was formed last year by
Jame Donath, who previously ran a credit fund for Karsch Capi-
tal and before that managed Davidson Kempner Capitals Euro-
pean credit business.
Magnolia Road employs fve professionals, including chief
fnancial ofcer/chief compliance ofcer Ran Shaham, senior
analyst Ken Jin and trading chief Evert-Jan Wamsteker. Te
frm plans to hire an analyst by the end of summer.
Magnolia Road has raised capital for its fund by selling
Class-A shares with discounted fees and Class-B shares with
more standard fees. Holders of Class-B shares have earned a
net return of 7.7% since the funds inception. In the frst four
months of this year, the Class-B shares were up 0.5%.
Capricorn, which billionaire Skoll co-founded in 2001, pro-
vides investment services for foundations, endowments and
families of wealthy individuals, including former U.S. vice
president Al Gore.
June 18, 2014 4
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Losses ... From Page 1
low since 2011. Hence the Barclay CTA Index, a closely watched
gauge of managed-futures vehicles, fell 3.1% in 2011, 1.7% in
2012 and 1.4% last year. Its roughly fat so far this year.
While the declines in the index have been relatively modest,
some of the biggest and best-known commodity-trading advi-
sors have sufered outsized losses. Take the $4 billion Cantab,
which is led by former Goldman Sachs traders Ewan Kirk and
Erich Schlaikjer. Its Cantab Capital Partners Quantitative Fund
(Aristarchus) plummeted 27.7% last year and was down 4.6%
for the frst fve months of this year. Te last year Aristarchus
made money was 2012, when it gained 15.3%.
A source said Cantab is now working on a model that would
hold trades for days or just hours shorter periods than are
typical for most trend followers. Another source said the frm
continually adjusts and updates its trading models based on
market conditions.
BlueCrest, which manages more than $30 billion, is craf-
ing what one source described as a systematic global-macro
vehicle that will attempt to take a more sophisticated approach
than the frms fagship BlueTrend vehicle. Instead of capturing
purely price-based trends, as BlueTrend does, the new vehicle
would try to anticipate trends by looking at relationships across
multiple sectors.
BlueTrend, which is managed by BlueCrest executive Leda
Braga, lost 11.5% last year. It was losing money this year as
well until a 6.3% monthly gain in May boosted the year-to-
date return into positive territory. BlueCrest is led by founder
Michael Platt.
Aspect, a $5 billion frm run by Anthony Todd and Martin
Lueck, manages a vehicle called Aspect Diversifed Fund that
hasnt made money in more than two years. It was down 3.6%
at the end of May following losses of 4.4% last year and 10.7%
in 2012. A source said Aspect soon plans to roll out a low-cost
alternative to its main fund. Details are sketchy, but it appears the
new vehicle would charge only a management fee.
More and more CTAs are planning to reduce fees to give
investors an incentive to stay with them, said a fund-of-funds
manager.
Te word is that an undisclosed managed-futures shop is
dropping the standard 2-and-20 fee structure in favor of a 1%
management fee and 10% performance fee. Another plans to
cut its performance fee in half to 10%.
A veteran commodity-trading advisor in the U.S. acknowl-
edged that market conditions have been less than favorable, but
plans to stick with the trend-following models he knows best.
Te markets are quiet and trendless, but the only way I know
to make performance worse would be to trade shorter-term,
he said. Te long-term trend-following systems did the best of
all trend-following styles last year and are doing okay this year.
He also questioned the wisdom of reducing fees. About a
year ago, his frm cut its fees in half to 1% of assets and 10%
of gains with little efect. We havent gotten any new clients
since we lowered our fees, he said.
Perot ... From Page 1
Blasnik. Te elder Perot, an independent candidate for presi-
dent in the 1992 and 1996 elections, made his fortune by
founding Electronic Data Systems, which he sold to General
Motors, and Perot Systems, which he sold to Dell.
Bowie will charge investors a 1.5% management fee and
15% performance fee. Whitaker plans to hire a chief operating
ofcer ahead of the launch.
June 18, 2014 6
Hedge Fund
ALERT
Hedge Fund Performance
May YTD
Return Return
(%) (%)
BENCHMARK INDICES
S&P 500 2.35 4.97
Russell 2000 0.68 -2.50
MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australia, Far East: net) 1.62 3.78
Barclays Aggregate Bond 1.14 3.87
Barclay/Global HedgeSource 1.12 2.30
2,000+ funds (unweighted)
CogentHedge 1.48 1.39
3,100+ funds (unweighted)
Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index 1.13 1.86
5,000+ funds (weighted)
Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index 1.04 1.79
2,500+ funds (unweighted)
Greenwich Global Hedge Fund Index 1.03 1.86
2,000+ funds (unweighted)
HedgeFund Intelligence 0.97 3.25
7,000+ funds (unweighted)
Commodities -0.19 2.92
Convertible and equity arbitrage 0.55 3.26
Credit 0.70 4.47
Distressed 1.00 5.66
Event driven 1.83 5.15
Fixed income 1.11 3.69
Global equity 1.22 3.55
Latin American debt 1.40 3.45
Latin American equity 1.48 -0.06
Macro 0.38 -0.57
Managed futures 1.43 -0.71
Mixed arbitrage 0.58 2.74
Mortgage-backed securities 0.25 4.31
Multi-strategy 0.97 3.44
Technology 1.78 0.23
U.S. equity 0.82 2.24
HFN Hedge Fund Aggregate Average 1.01 2.18
4,900+ funds (unweighted)
HFRI Fund Weighted Composite 1.18 2.01
2,000+ funds (weighted)
Preqin Hedge Fund Analyst 1.25 2.50
4,500+ funds (unweighted)
IRS ... From Page 1
already has received inquiries from a number of fund opera-
tors including one top-tier frm with some $30 billion
of assets. When it comes to raising capital from institutional
investors, managers that adopt options-based compensation
plans will have a huge competitive advantage to say that we
are producing this alignment of alpha, said Optcapital presi-
dent Rick Ehrhart.
Te frm led the way in pressing the IRS to issue last weeks
ruling, which clarifed tax provisions in the Emergency Eco-
nomic Stabilization Act of 2008. One section of that law banned
a long-standing practice among hedge fund managers of defer-
ring taxes on performance bonuses by keeping the money
invested in their ofshore vehicles. Lef unclear were the tax
obligations of managers who receive compensation in the form
of options to purchase shares in their funds.
Te IRS said fund managers have no obligation to pay taxes
on unexercised options. A stock option might not be the best
compensation arrangement in every situation, but in many
cases [it] may provide a tax-efcient mechanism to compen-
sate managers for their services in a manner that is designed to
better align the compensation realized with the time horizon of
those services, law frm K&L Gates wrote in client note about
the ruling.
Te question is whether managers will want to give up col-
lecting performance-fee revenue annually for the potential tax
benefts of stock options. Take a hypothetical scenario in which
a hedge fund with $100 million of investor capital generates
a one-year gain of 40%, then loses 30% the following year.
Under a traditional performance-fee arrangement, the man-
ager would earn $8 million over two years that is, 20% of the
$40 million proft the frst year and nothing the second year.
Meanwhile, investors would have realized a loss over two years.
But if the managers incentive compensation were struc-
tured as a stock option, with a strike price equal to the net asset
value of the fund shares at the beginning of the frst year, then
the option would be worthless at the end of the second year.
One hedge fund marketer expressed doubt that managers
would be willing to accept options in lieu of annual perfor-
mance fees. Te managers dont want it they want the cash,
she said. I sort of feel this discussion will go on for 2-3 years
and then maybe someone fnally moves. But it wont be when
the equity markets are ripping and producing big profts.
Optcapital acknowledged that options-based compensation
plans only make sense for managers with tax-exempt clients.
Tats because taxable investors would be liable for paying
taxes on any gains in fund shares that managers have options
to purchase. Another potential obstacle: Managers that agree to
options-based compensation would likely demand longer-term
lockups, which might be resisted by investors.
A manager would have a strong incentive to adopt this
stock-option compensation if it enabled a manager to get man-
dates that they wouldnt otherwise get, said K&L Gates attor-
ney Nicholas Hodge.
Utah Retirement, which has some $4.6 billion invested with
31 hedge fund operators, has asked 15 managers since 2009 to
structure their performance compensation in the form of stock
options. But prior to last weeks IRS ruling, only one manager
consented. Te $1 billion-plus frm agreed to accept options
that wouldnt vest for three years, while Utah Retirement agreed
to a three-year lockup on its capital. In fact, the lockup recently
expired, at which point the pension withdrew its money due to
disappointing returns.
Utah Retirement is recognized as an innovator when it comes
to structuring hedge fund investments. In a number of cases,
it has negotiated terms under which managers have agreed to
leave portions of their performance-fee revenue in their funds
for 3-4 years. In those instances, the managers are permitted to
withdraw at least enough to meet their tax liabilities.
Other than Utah Retirement, it appears few if any investors
have convinced managers to adopt options-based compensa-
tion structures. Tats partly because until last week, most
hedge fund law frms took the position that stock options didnt
absolve managers of their tax obligations. One exception was
K&L Gates, which said the IRS ruling is consistent with the
position our frm has taken since 2009.
Optcapital, with help from K&L Gates and lobbying frm
Capitol Tax Partners, spent three years lobbying the IRS to issue
the ruling. As part of that efort, they organized a 2012 con-
ference call between IRS ofcials and institutional investors
including APG Asset Management, North Carolina Retirement
and Utah Retirement.
June 18, 2014 7
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CALENDAR

Main Events
Dates Event Location Sponsor Information
June 23-26 Fund Forum International 2014 Monaco ICBI www.fundforuminternational.com
July 16 Delivering Alpha New York Institutional Investor www.deliveringalpha.com
Sept. 21-23 Alpha Hedge West Conference San Francisco IMN www.imn.org
Sept. 29-Oct. 1 Context Summit West 2014 Dana Point, Calif. Context Summits www.contextsummits.com
Oct. 16 Outlook 2014 New York MFA www.managedfunds.org
Oct. 28-30 Alternative Asset Summit 2014 Las Vegas AAIM www.alternativeassetsummit.com
Jan. 28-30, 2015 Context Summits Miami 2015 Miami Context Summits www.contextsummits.com

Events in US
Dates Event Location Sponsor Information
June 23 Catalyst Cap Intro: Emerging Markets Alternative Inv. New York Catalyst Financial catalystforum.com
June 25 40 Act Case Studies New York Infovest 21 www.infovest21.com
June 25 Financial Crimes & AML Seminar New York FTF News www.ftfnews.com
June 25 Latin American Capital Markets Conference New York NYSSA www.nyssa.org
June 25-27 ETF Managed Portfolio Summit Chicago IIR www.iirusa.com
July 9 Alternative Investment Consultants Summit Greenwich, Conn. IMI www.thehfa.com
July 15 FX Week USA New York Incisive Media www.fxweekusa.com
July 15-16 Risk Management for Non-Quants Chicago FMW www.fmwonline.com
July 21-23 Family Office & Private Wealth Management Forum Newport, R.I. Opal Financial www.opalgroup.net
July 21-23 Public Funds Summit East Newport, R.I. Opal Financial www.opalgroup.net
July 24-25 Winning & Retaining Institutional Mandates New York FRA www.frallc.com
July 28-29 Private Inv. Fund Acctg., Operations & Compliance Forum New York FRA www.frac.com
July 31-Aug. 1 Alternative Investment Strategies Denver Financial Advisor www.fa-mag.com
Aug. 5-6 Financial Regulation & Derivatives Market New York FMW www.fmwonline.com
Sept. 8 Russian and Central & Eastern European Capital Markets New York NYSSA www.nyssa.org
Sept. 8-9 North American Investors Summit Atlanta Marcus Evans www.marcusevans-summits.com
Sept. 8-10 Investment Trends Summit Santa Barbara, Calif. Opal Financial www.opalgroup.net
Sept. 8-10 Global Investment Conference New York Rodman & Renshaw www.rodmanandrenshaw.com
Sept. 15-16 Select Hedge Funds: Boston 2014 Boston BHA www.brightonhouseassociates.com
Sept. 15-16 Research & Due Diligence for Wealth Mgmt. Platforms New York FRA www.frall.com
Sept. 17 East Coast Family Office & Wealth Management Conf. New York DC Finance www.nyc-wealth.com
Sept. 17-18 Establishing a 40 Act Alternate Fund New York FRA www.frallc.com
Sept. 22 Introduction to Hedge Funds New York FMW www.fmwonline.com
Sept. 22 Catalyst Cap Intro: L/S Equity-Event Driven Investing New York Catalyst Fincl. Ptnrs. www.catalystforum.com

Events Outside US
Dates Event Location Sponsor Information
June 25 Asia Pacific Trading Architecture Summit 2014 Singapore Waters Technology www.waterstechnology.com
June 26 Buy-Side Technology Asian Summit 2014 Singapore Waters Technology www.waterstechnology.com
June 26-27 Fundamentals of Fund Administration London IFF www.iff-training.com
July 1 Pension Fund Inv: Inv. Objectives, Risks & Opportunities Rome PrevInvest www.previnvest.com
July 2-3 AIFMD & UCITS Risk Management London Infoline www.infoline.org
July 2-3 Derivative Valuation London Infoline www.infoline.org
July 2-4 Fundamentals of Fund Management London IFF www.iff-training.com
July 8-9 Valuation & Pricing for Buy-Side Firms London Infoline www.infoline.org
July 10 Independent Investment Risk Oversight London Infoline www.infoline.org
July 14-15 AIFM Directive Implementation London Infoline www.infoline.org
To view the complete conference calendar, visit The Marketplace section of HFAlert.com
June 18, 2014 9
Hedge Fund
ALERT
CALENDAR
June 18, 2014 10
Hedge Fund
ALERT
For the latest programme or to register
please visit www.riskmindsregulation.com
Call +44 (0) 20 7017 7200 Email [email protected]
2nd Annual Forum
Pre-conference Workshops: 22 September 2014
Main Conference: 23-25 September 2014
Crowne Plaza Barcelona Fira Center, Barcelona, Spain
Connected Thinking In Financial
Risk & Regulation
For The Banking, Insurance &
Asset Management Industries
10% Discount - vip code FKN2423HFAA
PREVINVEST
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
CONFERENCE SERIES 2014
1 JULY, 2014
PENSION FUND INVESTING: INVESTMENT
OBJECTIVES, RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
HASSLER ROMA - Piazza Trinit dei Monti, 6
To register please visit:
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Media partners Platinum Sponsors
Pubblicit b-n 3,5x4,5 inch 2014 imp._Layout 1 06/06/14 14.44 Pagina 1
Lawyers Push Back on Canada Rule
Te deadline for comments on a proposal that investors in
Canadian hedge funds formally acknowledge the risks associ-
ated with those vehicles brought a furry of protests against the
measure.
At issue is a rule suggested on Feb. 27 by the Canada Securi-
ties Administration under which hedge fund managers in the
country would have to get their limited partners to sign risk
acknowledgement forms. Marketers also would have to fll out
the paperwork.
As the public-comment period closed on May 28, industry
attorneys expressed their opposition. Toronto law frm Stike-
man Elliott, for example, submitted a letter on the deadline day
arguing that the proposal poses an administrative burden to
investors and managers particularly because it appears to
require that the form be presented to limited partners physi-
cally, as opposed to electronically like most other documents.
Lawyers also pointed out that the proposal would require
that managers retain the forms for eight years, far exceeding
most other record-keeping windows. Whats more, they noted
that the paperwork would duplicate parts of prospectuses and
other marketing documents that spell out risks for investors.
Tere is some concern that the additional administrative
work would create a disincentive to invest in Canada-based
hedge funds.
In addition to acknowledging a funds risks, the proposed
rule would require investors to certify that they are accredited
and to confrm the types and values of the vehicles they are
entrusting with their money. Its unclear what the next step will
be for the Canadian Securities Administration afer it reviews
the comments.
Startup Eyes Third-Quarter Launch
Details of a plan by Elmrox Investment to accept outside
capital are taking shape.
Te New York equity shop, which invests worldwide, is aim-
ing for the third quarter of this year to start taking investor
contributions. Tat money would fow into a so-called found-
ers share class with a 15% performance charge and a 1.5%
management fee that would drop to zero once the operation
amasses $500 million.
Te founders class will lock up investor capital for a year.
Elmrox appears to have been founded last year by Daniel Law-
rence. But the frm is circulating a track record that dates back
to mid-2010, seemingly to refect investments Lawrence made
on the side with his own capital while working at Talara Capital.
Te performance fgures are impressive, including gains of
42.7% in the second half of 2010, 4.3% in 2011, 19.2% in 2012
and 72.6% in 2013. Tat makes for an average annual return
of 37.7% over three-and-a-half years, although its unclear how
much the results have been aided by the use of leverage.
Lawrence co-founded Talara in 2009 afer leaving his job as
a senior analyst at Citadel, and remained on board until 2013.
Tis year, he brought in Tim Schenk as a partner and senior
analyst at Elmrox. Schenk formerly was a senior analyst at
Newbrook Capital, and spent time as an analyst at White Elm
Capital and Blue Ridge Capital. Another unidentifed senior
professional also is on board.
In September, Lawrence won the annual Value Investing
Congress competition in New York by arguing for a long posi-
tion in chemical company Ashland. Since he frst submitted the
idea on July 16, 2013, Ashlands shares have risen more than
25%, from $84.96 to $106.32 as of June 17.
June 18, 2014 11
Hedge Fund
ALERT
LATEST LAUNCHES
LATEST LAUNCHES

Fund
Portfolio managers,
Management company Strategy Service providers Launch
Equity at
Launch
(Mil.)
Vaison Capital
Domicile: U.S.
Arthur Simondet
Vaison Partners,
Houston
866-8821666
Global macro Prime broker: Interactive Brokers
Auditor: Patke & Associates
Administrator: HC Global Fund
Services
May Under $1
(Undisclosed)
See Page 11
Daniel Lawrence
Elmrox Investment,
New York
347-886-6120
Equity: Long/short
(Opening to outside
investors in 3Q-14)

To view all past Latest Launches entries, visit The Subscribers section of HFAlert.com
TO SUBSCRIBE HEDGE FUND ALERT www.HFAlert.com
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Telephone: 201-659-1700 Fax: 201-659-4141 E-mail: [email protected]
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Andrew Albert Publisher 201-234-3960 [email protected]
Daniel Cowles General Manager 201-234-3963 [email protected]
Thomas J. Ferris Editor 201-234-3972 [email protected]
T.J. Foderaro Deputy Editor 201-234-3979 [email protected]
Ben Lebowitz Deputy Editor 201-234-3961 [email protected]
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Michelle Lebowitz Operations Director 201-234-3977 [email protected]
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June 18, 2014 12
Hedge Fund
ALERT
Management. Both HFR and Riverside
are units of Hedge Fund Research, a
Chicago frm led by Joseph Nicholas.
EBF & Associates has added a managing
director to its staf. David Duback, previ-
ously a senior analyst on the investment
team at Waterstone Capital, started
at the Minneapolis frm this month.
Duback also has worked as an analyst
at Stark Investments and as an associate
at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
EBF, which invests across a range of
markets while combining aspects of
hedge funds and private equity funds,
formed in 1988 as a Cargill spinof. It
was running $2.2 billion as of year-
end 2013, including $680 million of
undrawn commitments.
New York equity shop Hoplite Capital
has hired Andrew Polland to serve as its
general counsel and chief compliance
ofcer. Polland, who started in mid-May,
previously held the same positions at
Michael Dells MSDC Management. He
also has worked as deputy chief compli-
ance ofcer and head of litigation at
Fortress Investment. Hoplite, led by John
Lykouretzo, runs about $3.5 billion.
Marketing specialist Chris Gorgone has
joined Man Groups New York ofce, with
a coverage area encompassing institu-
tional investors in the U.S. Gorgone most
recently worked at Trian Partners, the
activist shop led by Nelson Petz. As an
employee of the New York frm, Gor-
gones marketing role took him around
the world. London-based Man has $54.1
billion under management through a
multitude of investment products. Te
frm said on June 9 that it has agreed to
buy Summit, N.J., fund-of-funds opera-
tor Pine Grove Asset Management.
IMC Asset Management has hired a chief
operating ofcer for its New York ofce.
Alex Tsirkin started at the Amsterdam
frm this month, following a three-year
stint as a vice president at Lyxor Asset
Management. He also has worked as
an associate focusing on operational
due-diligence reviews at Lyster Watson
& Co. and Sterling Stamos, and spent
some time at Citigroup. IMC started
this year with $422 million in its hedge
funds, which employ global-macro and
structured-credit-product strategies.
Taconic Capital added three stafers to
its marketing team in May. Te $8.1
million multi-strategy shop appointed
Marianna Bracco to the post of direc-
tor. She most recently was a partner
at MatlinPatterson. Also on board as a
director is Marne Gorman, who pre-
viously spent almost fve years as a
managing director covering hedge fund
research at consulting frm Cliffwater.
Meanwhile, Christine Dorost signed
on as an associate from Marc Lasrys
Avenue Capital. Each of the recruits is
stationed in New York.
Researcher Douglas Wooden has lef Bos-
ton hedge fund manager DDJ Capital to
join Fort Warren Capital, a startup credit-
product shop also in Boston. Wooden
started his new job as an analyst last
month. He logged almost two years at
DDJ, and before that spent three years as
an associate at Putnam Investments. Fort
Warren was founded last year by former
Regiment Capital executives Eugene Lee
and Jaspaul Singh.