Flow Traders 2015 Annual Report

Flow Traders recently released their 2015 annual report. They made a profit of €$97.3M off a revenue of €$304.7M. A net profit margin of 32%.

Flow Traders mainly engages in prop ETP trading globally. The company wide average compensation is €338K per employee. Some interesting snipplets below.

Flow Traders is founded in Netherlands, while the corporate HQ for Virtu is in US. Not surprisingly, both earn the most of their income from their home country/continent.

Updated Prop Trading

Added North Point Global, Solitaire Asset Management. Removed Aurelia Traders.

Singapore Raids Brokers; Exchange Reports Irregularities. Singapore Charges Ex-Banker Following 1MDB Probe.

Looks like the local authorities may be (?) finally getting serious going after the behind-the-scenes shenanigans. Many critics have long indicated that Singapore is a key center for money laundering and a tax haven. Signs are there for all to see, conscious decisions by the government to create the eco-structure to attract the money to the island republic. Cue the F1, casinos, private banks, lavish infrastructure projects such as the new stadium, Marina Barrage, Esplanade, Sentosa Cove, tons of new art museums, private hospitals all of which sprung up within a span of a few years. Along with it, sky high property prices

Virtu Financial 2015 Annual Report

The 10-K for Virtu Financial has been filed recently, offering us a glimpse into the professional market making and trading outfit.

The firm made a profit of US$197.5M for 2015 off a total revenue of $796.2M. A 24% net profit margin. The "Brokerage, Exchange and Clearance Fee" amounts to $232.5M. Some interesting details on their market making and trading activities are mentioned in the report.

Warren Buffett's Shareholder Letter, Annotated

The 2015 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder letter written by the venerable Warren Buffet is out. The link above is to the annotated version from Bloomberg.

As usual, it is chock-full of super-excellent information on everything related to Berkshire's amazing portfolio of businesses, commentary, analysis and views of industries and the economy.

The Highest-Earning Hedge Fund Managers & Traders

The Highest-Earning Hedge Fund Managers & Traders

Forbes annual list of top earning hedge fund managers & traders for 2015 is out. The top 10 are:

1) Ken Griffin / Citadel LLC : $1.7 Bil 2) James Simons / Renaissance Technology : $1.65 Bil 3) Steve Cohen / Point72 Asset Management : $1.55 Bil 4) David Tepper / Appaloosa Management : $1.2 Bil 5) David Shaw / D. E. Shaw & Co., LP : $700 Mil 6) John Overdeck / Two Sigma Investments : $600 Mil 7) David Siegel / Two Sigma Investments : $600 Mil 8) Israel Englander / Millennium Management, LLC : $550 Mil 9) Ray Dalio / Bridgewater Associates : $500 Mil 10) George Soros / Soros Fund Management LLC : $300 Mil

Modern day Stratton Oakmont ala Wolf of Wall Street at ANZ Banking Group

ANZ Banking Group is making a mark in finance and trading for Australia. Happening inside the trading room is the modern day equivalent of the fat bonuses, sex, drugs and partying culture similar to the infamous brokerage Stratton Oakmont portrayed in the movie 'The Wolf of Wall Street'.

Explosive details of the inner workings have come to light as two traders sued the bank on termination grounds for inappropriate behavior. The news and commentaries flowing out from this scandal is good enough to have a new movie titled "The Wolf of Wall Street - Alive and Down Under".

Snippets of the explosive reports below:
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"What a waste, it should have been sprinkled on a birthday cake," a senior ANZ markets trader said after a "white substance" was found in the male toilet of the bank's dealing room floor, according to court documents filed by Etienne Alexiou.
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The bank mentioned seven instances of lewd and sexually explicit comments about "gang bangs" and having girls eat sushi off him while naked made by Mr O'Connor via his Bloomberg chat terminal.
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Hedge Fund Manager Puts Profile on Social Media, Lures $20 Million

Hedge Fund Manager Puts Profile on Social Media, Lures $20 Million

Joshua Young started his hedge fund less than a year ago. Last month, he caught a break when a university endowment handed him $20 million, quintupling his assets under management.

How did an obscure Houston fund called Bison Interests land such a big fish?

Hedge Funds in Asia Had Nowhere to Hide in January ‘Bloodbath’

Hedge Funds in Asia Had Nowhere to Hide in January ‘Bloodbath’

Hedge funds in Asia, which navigated turbulent markets to post gains in 2015, had nowhere to hide in January.

As global stocks, currencies, commodities and risky bonds were roiled in a renewed frenzy of selling in January, hedge funds including those from Quam Asset Management Ltd. and Greenwoods Asset Management Ltd. fell more than 10 percent last month, while one from Springs Capital fell more than 20 percent. As a group, Asia-focused hedge funds declined 3.1 percent, their worst start to a year since 2008, according to Singapore-based Eurekahedge Pte. About 81 percent of hedge funds actively reporting to the Asia Long-Short Equities category had negative returns last month, the data show.

Hedge Fund Starts in Asia Drop to 14-Year Low in Turbulent Year

Hedge Fund Starts in Asia Drop to 14-Year Low in Turbulent Year

Hedge fund launches in Asia dropped to the lowest in 14 years last year as investors’ preference for big funds and rising regulatory costs converged with a turbulent market.

The number of hedge funds that opened in Asia dropped to 76 in 2015, according to Singapore-based data provider Eurekahedge Pte, down from 117 in the prior year and the fewest since 2001. The number was less than half of the peak in 2010, when 188 new hedge funds set up operations.