Alternative investment fund managers must have thought the battle was won. Recent submissions from various established authorities were on record dismissing much of the draft “Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive” that was going to decimate the industry. Unsurprisingly, the view was that it is very poorly structured and needs a complete redraft. The recent Swedish [...]
Power to the People
If you are old enough to remember the BBC’s long running revolutionary sitcom, ‘Citizen Smith’ you would have been tempted to clench your fist in a Wolfie-like salute and nostalgically cry, “Power to the people”, when hearing the news last week. Citizen journalism’s power could increase further following Google’s announcement that it has evolved the [...]
Fin Tech: Moving on from the financial crisis?
Has the party season in the financial services and financial technology sector started, or are we just dusting off the cobwebs? As we enter into the fourth quarter, it seems that the industry is finally dusting off the cobwebs and openly discussing some of our collective challenges in a more social environment again. Is this [...]
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Welcome to Broadgate Mainland
So welcome to the brave new world of Broadgate Mainland. The former Mainland team are now installed at their new desks, logging onto the new integrated system and finding the kettle in the kitchen. Our main objective is to make sure that client servicing remains unchanged. The message here is that the teams remain the [...]
Money and Perks – is it sinful in the City?
A recent inter-office discussion threw up some interesting ideas about what makes a good place to work; what motivates people to do well at work. Is it just money? Is it all about the ‘package’? Are bonuses important? Pensions? What transpired, at Broadgate Mainland at least, was that it is a combination of the above, [...]
Carry on communicating
As the global financial markets continue to suffer from economic turmoil, various members of the media have gone into print to remind companies, particularly the financial community, that those who show a willingness to communicate through the bad times will benefit when the business climate improves. Of course PR companies have a vested interest in [...]
Surviving large scale investor redemptions
As the Credit Crunch and the great leverage unwind continues some hedge funds are seeing double digit losses, large scale "sell" requests and the enforced blocking and postponement of those requests – known as the gating of redemptions. The last can be a major issue, often rousing the ire of investors to fever pitch. Gating [...]
Broadgate Mainland – a new chapter
The communications industry has certainly changed since Neil Mainland and I first started working in PR over 20 years ago. The industry has grown up; it commands a seat at the top table and is recognised for shaping and building a company’s reputation – a major driver of profitability. The challenges facing PR companies today [...]
End of the Tunnel (Vision)?
Broadgate Mainland runs a regular survey taking the pulse of the hedge fund industry. The latest one makes interesting read as it shows an industry gaining in confidence. Expectations on investment returns are significantly higher than a few months ago, with nearly 50% expecting returns over 10% for the sector in 2009 – a vintage [...]
The Automation Debate
The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced a clamp down on the practice of ‘flash trades’. This rapid reaction trading technique is automated through any one of the widely used electronic trading, algorithmic trading or Complex Event Processing (CEP) engines that provides a split-second market advantage. The question has come within a wider review [...]
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