By Matthew Markham, COO, aXpire LLC – March 30, 2020 – AlphaWeek: Full article here.

HFA members re-elected Camille Clemons, Jennifer Keeney and Emily Slocum, and elected Jill Calton, Lauri Goodwyn, James Koutoulas, Alexander Reyes and Joshua Stone. All HFA Directors are volunteers serving for up to 2 consecutive 3-year terms.  Full announcement posted here.

Absolute Return: As prime brokerage as a whole has become more commoditised and funds continue to seek ways to cut costs, smaller prime brokers, or so-called “mini-primes” have managed to gain market share. One such firm, Celadon Financial Group, had its best year in terms of revenues in 2018, according to CEO Daryl Hersch. Download PDF…

The Information: It turns out last week’s rally was short-lived, with bitcoin pulling back after reaching as high as $13,500. People in the industry I’ve spoken with are still mindful of last year’s plunge, and say they would rather see the market gain steam more gradually. “Once a new base is formed, prices are likely to move higher,” said Bill Herrmann, managing partner at the investment management firm Wilshire Phoenix. Read more…

Wilshire Phoenix, a leading provider of investment management services for traditional, alternative, and emerging asset classes, today announced that Dan Grill has joined the firm’s executive leadership team as a Partner. Read more…

The appointment of Mason Stark follows the recent high-profile additions of Cai, Chang and Furo, and further strengthens Wilshire Phoenix’s leadership team, all of whom join Herrmann with key executive roles as the firm continues its rapid growth.

During 2018 UMB Fund Services continued to see growth in liquid alternatives and was able to further solidify its position as a leading administrator for registered alternative products.

UMB Fund Services (UMBFS) announced it has hired three associates to join its business development team. Michelle Benner, Ana Burke and Jose Rincon join UMBFS as vice presidents, business development. They will focus on new business development for UMBFS’ array of services for the asset management industry which include fund accounting, administration, tax, investor services, transfer agency, custody* and distribution*.

UMB Fund Services (UMB) released its second annual comprehensive report on unlisted closed-end funds (CEFs), including interval and tender-offer funds today. The research was conducted by FUSE Research Network (FUSE).