ATP, Royal Mail, PGGM, vie for aiCIO’s European Innovation Awards

(February 5, 2014) — Investors from the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland have been recognised by aiCIO readers as topping the bill when it comes to innovation.

From corporate pension funds running a couple of billion euros to national industry-wide schemes with multiples of that amount, the shortlist this year draws from a wide pool across the continent.

Over the last two months, industry participants have submitted nominations and these have been whittled down to leave four finalists in each category. The winners of these asset owner categories will be announced at a celebratory dinner on May 15 at London’s Savoy, when aiCIO will host some of Europe’s leading figures in institutional investment.

Institutional investors will be recognised for innovation excellence across a range of 15 categories, including asset allocation, portfolio construction, and risk management. A new award for 2013 will highlight the huge strides that are being made in improving governance structures to empower investments teams and reassure trustee boards the most effective decisions are being made.

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The aiCIO awards do not seek out the investors who have made the greatest one, three or even five-year returns; rather they acknowledge those who believe there may be a more efficient way of investing members’ assets and managing portfolio risk.

Some of last year’s winners—and runners up—have appeared again, but we also welcome newcomers.

For a rundown of last year’s winners, click here. For a photo gallery of the event, click here.

Nominees are as follows, but for a list including reasons for the nominations click here.

Asset Allocation

· BT Pension Scheme

· Friends Life

· IndustriensPension

· PensionDanmark

Portfolio Construction

· Chilterns LGPS (Berks, Bucks, Oxfordshire)

· Royal Mail Pension

· SPK

· Zurich

Risk Management

· HBOS Final Salary Pension Scheme

· PKA

· Pension Protection Fund

· Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL)

Governance

· AP4

· Danish pensions (ATP, Industriens Pension, PensionDanmark, PFA Pension, PKA, and Sampension)

· PGGM

· Tesco Pension

Corporate/Industry Pension Scheme Below €5 Billion

· ABF

· PP Pension

· Lombard Odier

· United Utilities

Corporate/Industry Pension Scheme Above €5 Billion

· Huisartsen Pensioenfunds

· Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company

· Philips Pensioenfonds

· Santander Pension Fund

Public Pension Scheme Below €15 Billion

· Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe (German medical workers’ pension)

· Lancashire County Council Pension Fund

· Merseyside Pension Fund

· West Yorkshire Pension Fund

Public Pension Scheme Above €15 Billion

· APG

· ATP

· Pension Protection Fund

· Universities Superannuation Scheme

Chief Investment Officer/Investment Head of the Year

· Paul Bishop, Head of Investment, Railpen

· Stefan Dunatov, CIO, Coal Pension

· Patrick Groenendijk, CIO, Pensioenfonds Vervoer

· Theodore Economou, CIO & CEO, CERN Pension

· Penny Green, CEO, SAUL

· Henrik Gade Jepsen, CIO, ATP

· Tom Joy, CIO, Church Commissioners Fund

(February 4, 2014) — New York-based hedge fund firm Exis Capital Management, founded by former SAC Capital trader and art collector Adam Sender, is closing after 16 years, according to the Wall Street Journal.

An Exis Capital representative promptly hung up the phone when asked to comment on the firm’s shut down.

The firm was reportedly suffering from poor performance in the last few years, with less than $75 million in assets under management and a loss of 5.1% last year. Its investors had yet to be notified of the closing as of Sunday.

Sender’s future plans are also unclear.

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He previously claimed that a 2006 lawsuit from Canadian insurer Fairfax Financial Holdings had led to the firm’s poor performance.

“Most of the assets in the fund are [from] friends and family and my own money,” Sender said. “We haven’t been able to raise any significant capital since Fairfax of Canada sued us in 2006.”

According to legal documents, Fairfax sued Exis Capital, among other firms and individuals, including SAC Capital Management, Steven Cohen, and Daniel Loeb over an alleged short-selling scheme, seeking up to $8 billion in damages.

Exis Capital was cleared of all charges by the New Jersey Superior Court in 2012.

“Our company plays by the rules and this lawsuit should never have been filed in the first place,” Sender said in a statement after the court’s decision. “Our plan is to move forward and work to re-establish Exis Capital as one of the leading hedge funds in the world.”

Sender was also involved in another high-profile scandal in 2008 when he testified against Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano. According to records, Sender had sued movie producer Aaron Russo, accusing him of pocketing $1.1 million of his investment in 1999. When Russo failed to cooperate, Sender paid Pellicano $500,000 to investigate Russo, at which point he began wiretapping Russo and offered to kill him for the hedge fund manager.

Exis Capital’s founder testified in Federal District Court that Pellicano, saying, “if I wanted to, I could basically authorize him” to have Russo “murdered on the way back from Las Vegas. He would have someone follow him back, drive him off the road and bury his body somewhere in the desert.” Sender said he had declined the offer.

Sender is also known in the industry as a prolific art collector, famous for flipping artworks for profit. Exis Capital’s Soho office in New York is said to be adorned with a Kara Walker mural, a John Currin painting, and a small portion of New York businessman John Loeb’s art collection.

Exis Capital is the third hedge fund of size to close so far in 2014. Scout Capital Management and Joho Capital announced their closings in letters to their investors last week and promised to return all outside money. They managed $6.7 billion and $5 billion respectively.