Hedge funds are faring well after years of lackluster results, but the returns have not been uniformly strong. A closer look at the returns shows a range of results within strategies and even substrategies. For example, data from Hedge Fund Research’s subindices show that returns for the equity hedge ... READ MORE >
Financial services
CHART OF THE DAY: Plunging private equity deal flow in Canada
The economic distress from the coronavirus pandemic is hitting the Canadian private equity market hard. The number of deals reached in Canada this year through Oct. 6 fell to 194, which at that pace would represent a 60% decline from 2019, according to PitchBook. The value of the deals plunged as well, ... READ MORE >
SBA announces simplified PPP loan forgiveness
Some businesses that accepted financing under the Paycheck Protection Program now have a streamlined path to receiving the promised forgiveness of those loans, under new guidelines released late Thursday. The Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Treasury Department, announced ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Business development companies show continued risk
Business development companies are still lagging the market in a sign of persisting concern over the performance of loans to small and midsize businesses. Although default rates and losses in BDC loan portfolios have not been as dire as initially expected during the depth of the market panic in March, ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: A record year for SPACs
Special purpose acquisition companies are continuing their blockbuster year, with dollars raised in 2020 already beating the total from the previous 10 years combined, according to data from Bloomberg. And with more than two months remaining in the year, the number of transactions has doubled the record ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: What story is the high-yield bond market telling us?
Changes in stock and high-yield bond valuation levels have diverged since the start of September, a shift after largely tracking each other since the beginning of 2020. Stocks reached a peak in early September and have since returned four straight weeks of decline through the end of last week. Although ... READ MORE >
SEC adopts amendments bringing clarity to accredited investors and family offices
(This post has been updated from its original version on Feb. 4, 2020, to reflect the SEC's adoption of amendments to the "accredited investor" definition.) Every four years, the Securities and Exchange Commission is required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law to modify the rules protecting investors. The ... READ MORE >
Hedge funds will be tested as U.S. fundamentals remain frail
Middle market hedge fund managers are coping with a contradiction—as the world unravels due to Covid-19, the S&P 500 is nearing an all-time high. While the markets respond favorably to progress on a vaccine, money managers are looking to a future with a high degree of uncertainty around a possible ... READ MORE >
Fintechs helped with the Paycheck Protection Program. Why not the Main Street Lending Program?
What makes a great partnership? There are a number of examples of great partnerships that have worked toward a common goal. In the sports world, think of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen or Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. In business, there is the recent success between Apple and Goldman Sachs in ... READ MORE >
COVID-19 stifles middle market private equity dealmaking
U.S. middle market private equity deal and fundraising activity slowed through the second quarter as the global health pandemic continues to ravage American business. According to PitchBook, the number of closed middle market funds – defined as individual funds with assets under management of $1 ... READ MORE >