Jupiter is to launch an onshore Indian equity fund for recent recruit Avinash Vazirani. The group confirmed the launch is planned for the first quarter of 2008. It will be the third onshore India vehicle to come to the UK market following funds from First State and Neptune. Vazirani joined Jupiter in June from Peninsular Capital Partners along with three members of his team. He ran Pensinsular Alpha – a long/short hedge fund he continues to manage at Jupiter – and Peninisular South Asia Access. Jupiter has FSA approval for the fund and is awaiting the green light from Indian regulators before formally launching the vehicle. Meanwhile, the group has shelved its plans to launch an investment trust for income manager Antony Nutt.   more »

Ruia group's Dunlop India Ltd has raised $90 million (Rs 360 crore approx) from a clutch of offshore hedge funds to restructure loan and to meet other corporate needs in a structured deal which offers them an option to pick up to 15 per cent stake in the tyre maker's paid-up capital. "We have recently signed a deal with a clutch of offshore hedge funds headed by Spinnakar Capital Group to raise USD 90 million in loans. We have also raised Rs 121 crore in Rupee loan from Deutsche Bank," Dunlop Chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia said. The loan was raised by the Mauritius-based holding company of Dunlop and Falcon Tyres, Dil Rim and Wheel (DRW), which bought both the company from Chabbrias' at a total consideration of Rs 200 crore. To facilitate the loan, DRW has gone into some structural change with the assets of the company. Dunlop transferred its 'non-core' assets into two subsidiaries and shares of these two units were pledged to two other firms controlled by DRW, which in turn had been pledged to Spinnakar Capital.   more »

Where to find the next market meltdown? Perhaps half a world away. Some fund managers believe that emerging market stocks, which have provided great returns (39.5% annually since 2002), are perilously overvalued. No question, countries like China, India, Brazil and Russia are growing much faster than the developed world and are likely to do so for a while--with GDP growth rates of 5% to 11% a year, compared with 3% for the U.S. But there are worrisome signs that the run-up is fueled, in part, by just the sort of speculative money that typically presages a collapse. Foreign direct investment is still cascading into these countries: $213 billion this year, the Institute of International Finance estimates. Total assets under management for emerging markets hedge funds jumped eightfold in the four years through September to $269.5 billion, estimates Lipper Tass Asset Flows Report. Even that lowballs the true amount by $50 billion or so, reckons Lipper senior analyst Ferenc Sanderson, given that global and other hedge funds are also dumping money into these regions. Mutual fund firms, never ones to pass up an investing frenzy, have been diving in as well. Five years ago there was but one fund newly set up to target the sector; this year there are 16, says Morningstar. Individuals doubled their mutual fund bets in emerging markets last year to $11 billion, says AMG Data Services; as of Nov. 20 they totaled $14.2 billion for 2007.   more »

Asia is expected to remain a hot spot for hedge funds in the next few years despite concerns over managing growth and retaining talent, a study said on Wednesday. Singapore will likely keep on serving as a base for these funds that seek big returns for private investors through higher risk strategies, especially in South-East Asia and India, said the study by accounting and financial services giant Ernst & Young (E&Y). 'We're very positive about the environment in the Asia-Pacific,' The Straits Times quoted David Sung, E&Y's Far East area head, as saying. 'More of our clients from North America and Europe are setting up shop in Asia.' The global study involved managers representing 900 million US dollars in funds, nearly 55 per cent of the industry.   more »