Alternatives

1. Going local --- In a shaky art market, collectors stick close to home

   From Michigan to Italy, contemporary-art collectors are passing on works by international art stars and skipping far-flung art fairs and auctions. This year, they're buying local.

2. Swedes rewrite directive to remove hedge fund leverage cap

   The Swedish Government, holder of the European Union's six-month rotating presidency, has proposed removing a general limit on hedge funds' leverage, one of the three most contentious issues that are currently drafted in the EU's directive on alternative investment fund managers.

3. US hedge funds poised for bespoke account growth

   The increase in demands by European investors that hedge funds run their money in separate accounts is now being mirrored in the US, where the amount of money run in these structures is predicted to jump by 41% in the next two years.

4. GLG third-quarter loss narrows on fewer charges

   Hedge-fund manager GLG Partners' third-quarter loss narrowed on fewer charges as the company reported higher assets under management but lower revenue.

5. Institutions punish Man – although not as much as some expected

   Institutional investors have pulled nearly a third of their money from Man Group's funds this year, after the reputation of the listed hedge fund manager suffered from investing in two funds linked to Bernard Madoff.

6. Brevan Howard's investors voice concern over its size

   Europe's largest hedge fund manager has sought to address concerns among some investors that it is too large to continue making strong returns in markets that are shallower than they were before the financial crisis.

7. US and UK Government bonds are "a cocktail of risk"

   Banking analysts are becoming increasingly bearish on that once safe haven, government bonds.

8. Alternative investors lose locust image

   Hedge funds based in Germany look set to receive a much-needed shot in the arm. A business-friendly government under Angela Merkel has been elected, demand from investors for absolute return products is rising and European regulation, notably in the form of Ucits III, is opening the market.

9. Investors face tough decisions over instant access to assets

   Last year was almost certainly a watershed for the hedge fund industry. Its widely predicted demise has not happened, but the imposition of gates limiting withdrawals, lock-ups and penalties angered investors to the extent that they demanded a series of changes.

10. Balanced funds buoyed by best returns in 34 years

    Fund managers running balanced mandates – multi-asset funds that invest across equities and fixed income – posted their best returns since 1975 in the three months to September 30, with an 18.4% rise; this performance comes on the back of strong rallies in the equities and fixed income markets.