A.E. Feldman Blog

Sovereign wealth funds, investment vehicles funded by a country’s foreign reserves, have made a record $33.3 billion in acquisitions this year, according to Dow Jones Financial News.  The government-led funds are accelerating their purchases of stakes in western companies amid the credit crunch.  In fact, this week the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority purchased a $7.5 [...]

The role of the Chief Information Officer is evolving.  New research shows that CIOs are gaining influence as technology is increasingly being viewed as vital to corporate strategy.  CIOs are being called to develop market knowledge while simultaneously aligning IT and business strategies to drive growth.  And the CIO role is only going to get [...]

Private equity professionals are eyeing opportunity in a new arena: infrastructure.  Most recently, The Carlyle Group announced that it has completed raising its first infrastructure fund, Carlyle Infrastructure Partners (CIP), with equity commitments totaling $1.15 billion.  That’s just one example.  Private investment has become vital to the improvement of public infrastructure, and competition for capital [...]

Venture capital investment in China jumped 87% to $677 million in the third quarter, according to new research.  The Chinese government has been encouraging this investment as a way to improve technological innovation and financing for small firms with less access to credit.  Venture capital firms are increasingly targeting companies involved in service areas as [...]

Wall Street banks are tapping into the vast resources of the Middle East.  They are expanding overseas in search of high-growth markets with the potential to boost revenue and subsequently offset volatility at home.  Soaring oil prices have made the Gulf not only one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, but also a pool [...]

Investment banks looking to capitalize on the trillion-dollar hedge fund industry are plowing more resources into helping hedge fund managers raise money, according to new research.  The move is an attempt to secure potentially lucrative start-up funds as clients.  Executive search firm, A.E. Feldman, reports that prime brokers are strengthening their capital introduction teams.  Professionals [...]

Compensation for accounting professionals is on the rise, according to new research. The increase is due, in part, to surging demand. The need for experienced accountants has skyrocketed thanks to an increase in corporate governance regulations. In the current environment of increased scrutiny and risk, companies must be prepared to support tax [...]

After several years of outperforming developed markets, emerging markets still offer investors some compelling reasons to invest. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose nearly 50% in the first 10 months of 2007. Meanwhile, the IMF has forecasted economic growth rates of 8% or higher, versus 2%-3% for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) [...]

Hedge Funds had the best returns in nearly two years in October. In fact, hedge funds this year could meet or beat 2003 when the Greenwich Global Index reported the asset class was up more than 18%, according to Ben Rossman, senior vice president of Greenwich Alternative Investments. This could be one reason why top [...]

The SEC has eliminated a requirement that foreign companies with U.S. stock market listings to reconcile their financial results with U.S. GAAP. The unanimous vote immediately affects roughly 1,100 companies with U.S. listings, along with any companies planning U.S. IPOs. The move appears to be a step towards convergence of global accounting standards. Hence, the [...]