DBS eliminates a dozen jobs at brokerage as trading slumps

DBS Group Holdings Ltd cut at least 12 roles across Asia at its brokerage unit, the latest bank to shrink its trading desk as volumes slump.

DBS Vickers Securities is rationalising its institutional business unit as it seeks to be "more competitive and responsive to market changes," the brokerage arm of South-east Asia's largest lender said in an e-mailed response to questions.

Alphadyne said to spin off S$2.85b Singapore hedge fund unit

Alphadyne Asset Management LLC, a New York-based hedge-fund manager overseeing US$4.8 billion in assets, will separate its Asia team into a new firm, said a person with knowledge of the matter.

Bart Broadman, a co-founder of Alphadyne and chief investment officer of its Asia strategy, will be CIO of the new Singapore-based firm, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the information hasn't been publicly disclosed.

Updated Prop Trading and Screeners

Added AlphaGrep and a new section for Hong Kong prop firms. Updated Screeners to add Eqsift.

Couple charged in Singapore exchange ‘penny stock crash’ case

Some new developments on on the penny stock crash that wiped out S$8b in value in 2012/2013. Extracts from Financial Times:

"A Malaysian businessman and his partner have been charged with orchestrating the single biggest fraud in the history of Singapore’s stock exchange, which wiped out S$8bn in value and triggered a lasting loss of investor confidence.

Soh Chee Wen, also known as John Soh, faced charges in a Singapore court on Friday in relation to an alleged fraud in which three publicly listed stocks soared in valuation by up to 800 per cent over nine months before plunging in value in two days of frenzied trading in October 2013."

Hong Kong-Shenzhen Stock-Trading Link to Start on December 5

China will start its second stock-trading link with Hong Kong on Dec. 5, another step in the country’s efforts to open up the mainland market.

The Shenzhen-Hong Kong connect will give investors in the city access to stocks on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, where many Chinese technology companies are listed. The program has been awaited for more than two years following the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong connect in November 2014

Inside a Moneymaking Machine Like No Other

Sixty miles east of Wall Street, a spit of land shaped like a whale’s tail separates Long Island Sound and Conscience Bay. The mansions here, with their long, gated driveways and million-dollar views, are part of a hamlet called Old Field. Locals have another name for these moneyed lanes: the Renaissance Riviera.

That’s because the area’s wealthiest residents, scientists all, work for the quantitative hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, based in nearby East Setauket. They are the creators and overseers of the Medallion Fund—perhaps the world’s greatest moneymaking machine. Medallion is open only to Renaissance’s roughly 300 employees, about 90 of whom are Ph.D.s, as well as a select few individuals with deep-rooted connections to the firm.

The fabled fund, known for its intense secrecy, has produced about $55 billion in profit over the last 28 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, making it about $10 billion more profitable than funds run by billionaires Ray Dalio and George Soros. What’s more, it did so in a shorter time and with fewer assets under management. The fund almost never loses money. Its biggest drawdown in one five-year period was half a percent.

All of the World’s Stock Exchanges by Size

There are 60 major stock exchanges throughout the world, and their range of sizes is quite surprising.

At the high end of the spectrum is the mighty NYSE, representing $18.5 trillion in market capitalization, or about 27% of the total market for global equities.

US Federal Court orders Sarao to pay over USD38m for price manipulation and spoofing

UK resident Navinder Singh Sarao has been ordered to pay a USD25,743,174.52 civil monetary penalty and USD12,871,587.26 in disgorgement for his role in ‘flash crash’ day.

The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ order also permanently prohibits Sarao from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC Regulations, as charged, and imposes permanent trading and registration bans on him.

Point72 Eyes Further Singapore Hires After 9 Recruits in 2016

Steven A. Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management plans further hires in Singapore after recruiting nine people in the city-state this year, as it expands in a region where rivals have pulled back.

This year’s additions helped boost Point72’s Singapore employees to 27, from 14 in March 2015, Chris Coward, chief of the office and head of risk for the firm’s international business, said on Monday. The Stamford, Connecticut-based family office, which oversees $11 billion, employs fund managers, analysts, quantitative developers and risk researchers in Singapore, he added on the sidelines of a ceremony to mark the relocation to a new office that can house 60 employees, double the previous capacity.

Malaysian KFC operator said to choose banks for US$500m IPO

Comments: A familiar name for fast food lovers.

QSR Brands (M) Holdings Sdn, which operates KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Southeast Asia, picked banks to arrange a Malaysian initial public offering next year that could raise about US$500 million, people with knowledge of the matter said.

QSR Brands chose Citigroup Inc, Credit Suisse Group AG and Malayan Banking Bhd to lead the offering, according to the people. The company, which is backed by CVC Capital Partners and Malaysia's largest pension fund, also selected CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. and RHB Bank Bhd. to work on the share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.

Traders Plan Supercharged Chicago-to-Tokyo Network

Some of the world’s top trading firms have agreed to build a faster data transmission network between Chicago and Tokyo, according to a person familiar with the matter, a move that would accelerate trading between two of the major centers of finance.

The roster of firms in the joint venture -- dubbed Go West -- includes IMC, Jump Trading, KCG Holdings, Optiver, Tower Research, DRW’s Vigilant division, Virtu Financial and XR Trading, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the agreement is private. A representative for the group declined to comment.

Updated Software. Added Screeners.

Updated Software to include FlexTrade. Added a new section Screeners.

Quant Hedge Funds Boom in Asia

Comments: Personally, I feel quant funds and algos are over-hyped currently.

More Asian hedge funds are starting computer-driven strategies, as investors disappointed by the poor performance of some traditional funds search for better returns.

In Singapore, $2 billion multi-family office Thirdrock Group has launched a quant fund, and Lucerne Investment Partners is considering starting one next year. Charles Wang, a former portfolio manager at Bosera Asset Management, is about to launch a vehicle on OP Investment Management’s platform in Hong Kong, where Hantak Investment Advisors plans to next year open a version of the quantitative fund it runs out of Beijing.

Updated IPOs / Financial News

Added a new section on information of upcoming IPOs and performance of recent IPOs.

10 Most Successful Investors in the World

Comments: There are many styles of trading and investing to achieve success in trading. Old school value, speculation, quant, etc.

These 10 most successful investors in the world don’t have much in common aside from their obscene net worths. They come from different backgrounds, went to different schools, and use different strategies in their approach to beating the market. Most of them have used hedge funds as their path to financial success, managing other peoples’ money successfully, which lead to giant paydays for themselves. Others have also invested their own money via various holding companies.

Updated Prop Trading

Added Boomer Capital, Integer Alpha.

Updated Brokers & Services

E*Trade Singapore office have shut down effective 02 Sep 16. Despite several attempts to develop a business here in Singapore, they are unable to find a profitable model. The costs of doing business in Singapore is a big challenge currently, not only in finance, but in various industries.

Goldman Sachs trader made $130m on junk bonds

A junk bond trader at Goldman Sachs Group earned more than $US100 million ($130m) in trading profits for the firm earlier this year, an unusual gain at a time when new regulations have pushed Wall Street to take fewer risks.

The gains were the work of Tom Malafronte, a managing director on the bank’s high-yield bond desk in New York. The 34-year-old trader bought billions of dollars in junk corporate debt on the cheap starting in January, then locked in profits as prices recovered.

Updated Prop Trading

Hyundai Able Investments website is gone. It appears that their trading was not doing well and Hyundai Securities was bought over by KB Financial Group.

Tiny Bank-Beating Trading Firm Doesn’t Use Any Human Traders

One of the world’s fastest-growing trading shops doesn’t have any traders.

XTX Markets Ltd. has emerged as a foreign-exchange powerhouse, relying on programmers and mathematicians to fuel its rise into the global top five earlier this year. Now, after becoming a formidable player in currencies, XTX has its sights set on growing in stocks, commodities and bond markets.