Monday 3 July 2017

Barclays announces launch of new merger arbitrage US index family

Yippee! / Yes. My mate Andrea at Barclays has sent me this. So ... 'So what, boss?' So pay attention, you little idiot! She ain't doing this for her health.

New indices aim to provide systematic exposure to the returns of the well-known hedge fund strategy.

Cool! [Obviously, dear reader(s), you will have to use your own judgement. There's a disclaimer at the bottom of the email. I'm not going to copy and paste the thing, but it's the usual thing, you dig? Just use your common sense, for Christ's sake! You're supposed to be a finance professional. You're not a child.]

London, 29 June, 2017 - Barclays announces the launch of the Barclays Merger Arbitrage US Index Family, a new addition to the Barclays range of Quantitative Investment Strategies. Barclays launched its first Merger Arbitrage indices in 2010. The addition of the new index family will allow investors to access potential returns from the successful completion of announced merger deals in the US.

Nice one. 'It sounds great, boss.' Well, it probably is. / Anyway ...

The index aims to invest in a wide array of deals in the US and capture the deal spread between the price of the merger target shares and the terms of the deal. It takes a long position in the target company of the merger and a short position in the acquirer. The index is also available in a version where the index takes an additional short position in the US equity market to hedge out any residual market exposure of the portfolio of long target shares and short acquirer shares.

Great! / Right, we'll skip some and get to the statements. 'Statements?! What statements?' Jesus! Dhvani and Benedict want to say something. If we don't let them, they'll only get upset and start causing a scene. And I don't want that on a Monday morning. 'Oh, okay. Are they Barclays guys?' No, Voice. EFS Solutions. 'Eh? What's that?!' I haven't the slightest idea, man. Let's just do this, and then move on. I'm not in the mood.

"The Barclays Merger Arbitrage US Index Family aims to provide clients with a cost-efficient, liquid and transparent way of accessing a strategy more commonly deployed by Hedge Funds. The index follows a fully systematic, rules-based approach, and aims to provide a diversified exposure to merger arbitrage opportunities in the US market," said Dhvani Gupta, EFS Solutions.

Okay, okay. That's, uh ... Dhvani, that is. And this is Benedict!!!

"Barclays is delighted to expand our range of indices and increase the breadth of strategies available to investors via index format. We believe that this index should be compelling for a wide range of investors looking at source of returns other than traditional equity and fixed income beta, and again demonstrates the innovation in index-based investing," said Benedict Redmond, Director EFS Solutions.

You see, Voice? 'Yes. Well, I hope they're happy now.' I hope so, too. 'I mean, you put yourself out for these people.' I know I do. 'And what thanks do you get, boss?' Give it a rest, man.

...

Anything else? Music? I'm listening to what I reckon are Paul McCartney's three best songs -

Maybe I'm Amazed
Hey Jude
Let It Be

Not in any particular order though. Let me stress that: Not in any particular order. 'They understand, Mikey.' Good. / Of course, there's Yesterday, but it doesn't really fit in with those others.

Anyway. Laters, yeah?