Derivs - Equity

Thomas Vergnaud, a portfolio manager in derivatives strategy at Citadel Investment Group in London, has left the firm less than a year after joining.

Qualified foreign institutional investors who are licensed to trade the new China Financial Futures Exchange CSI 300 index may only be able to do so for legitimate hedging purposes, according to new guidelines issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

With the U.S. Senate bill finalized, players throughout the industry say their final hopes for less draconian rules depend on the conference to merge the bill with the House version, and on federal regulators charged with implementation.

RBC Capital Markets is working to build out its equity derivatives business, particularly in the U.S. This week the firm announced a string of new hires and the appointment of Donald Dye, a fixed-income veteran, as U.S. head of retail and high-net-worth sales.

European hedge funds and asset managers want to use derivatives more this year to access liquidity, but they want to do it on exchange rather than over the counter, according to a recent study by the TABB Group.

End-users are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. Over the next week they will be pushing harder than ever for a stronger exemption from clearing and margin requirements, focusing their efforts on the clarification of vague definitions in the current Senate bill, slated for a vote next week.

Alexander Wohl, ceo of Woodlawn Advisors in Scarsdale, N.Y., says he is seeing investors take refuge from uncertainty in other markets by investing in commodity-oriented equity options.

The OTC Derivatives Regulators’ Forum is preparing to launch in the next month or two a Web site where it will describe in more depth what projects the group is working on and give information about its formation and membership.

The TMX Group, is looking into dark liquidity to boost its market share in the equities and is also considering using its clearing operation and potential regulatory reform to leverage a greater presence in the over-the-counter derivatives market.

A crop of hedge funds setting up shop in Hong Kong specifically to invest in Chinese stock through the use of over-the-counter derivatives are being squeezed by the quotas placed on foreign investors by the Chinese authorities.

JPMorgan is planning to list callable bull/bear contracts on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange next month.

David Ruder, former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman and a key panelist on the newly formed SEC/Commodity Futures Trading Commission committee on harmonizing emerging regulations, wants to see more transparency, but without forcing the derivatives business offshore.