Alternative Fund Insight

On the agenda this episode: a review of October performance and flows trends, with Declan Quilligan, head of hedge funds at Citco, and an exploration of innovation in the middle office with his colleague US-based Ryan Fitzgerald, who heads up middle office services at the firm.AFI Hedge Fund Innovation Summit - view the gallery: https://alternativefundinsight.com/afi-innovation-summit-2025-gallery/View our 2026 events schedule: https://alternativefundinsight.com/events/Contact the team to get involved! commercial@alternativefundinsight.com2025 headline partnerThis podcast is brought to you in association with Citco, the leading asset servicer with over $2 trillion of assets under administration (AUA) and the top hedge fund administrator according to the AFI 500 research ranking. Citco acts as a true partner to its clients, dedicated to developing rich long-term relationships through gold standard services and industry leading technology. Head to Citco.com for more information.

Hedge funds posted a twelfth straight quarter of gains in Q3, putting the $5trn industry on course for its best calendar year of the decade. On this episode, Will dissects the latest trends in the hedge fund space with Declan Quilligan, head of hedge fund services at Citco, and explores North American trends and the firms focus on client shadow footprint reduction and workflow optimisation programs with regional head Peter Kane. Will also provides an update on the upcoming AFI Hedge Fund Innovation Summit: https://alternativefundinsight.com/afi-innovation-summit/AFI report on Citco research: https://alternativefundinsight.com/strong-q3-puts-hedge-funds-in-sight-of-best-returns-of-decade-citco/Citco research: https://www.citco.com/insights/citco-monthly-hedge-fund-update-september-20252:00 - Introduction to Declan Quilligan.2:38 - DQ round-up on key performance and flows trends in 2025.4:00 - Macro, multi-strategy, equity strategies lead in Q3 and YTD.6:34 - Multi-strategy dominate inflows data. Sector now at $5trn.7:37 - Introduction to Peter Kane, head of Citco Fund Services (North America). Overview of key trends in that market, focus areas for the firm.9:31 - Client shadow footprint reduction and workflow optimisation programs that go alongside.13:43 - Momentum of hedge fund space from his seat in NY, profile of firms they work with.2025 headline partnerThis podcast is brought to you in association with Citco, the leading asset servicer with over $2 trillion of assets under administration (AUA) and the top hedge fund administrator according to the AFI 500 research ranking. Citco acts as a true partner to its clients, dedicated to developing rich long-term relationships through gold standard services and industry leading technology. Head to Citco.com for more information.

A conversation with Simon Nixon, a senior financial journalist and leading macro thinker. Nixon, formerly the chief European commentator at the Wall Street Journal, was a keynote speaker at the AFI Acceleration Summit on 1 October and shares his thoughts in a separate conversation with Will Wainewright. Future of the West - Making sense of a new world order where power rules — and economic norms no longer apply. This briefing explores global trends in geopolitics and macroeconomics, including the impact of Trump’s trade policies, the enduring rise of China, the future of Europe and the UK in a thought-provoking fireside conversation.A link to Simon's newsletter: https://nixons.substack.com/Euractive article: Where is Europe's economic drone wall? https://www.euractiv.com/opinion/where-is-europes-economic-drone-wall/2025 headline partnerThis podcast is brought to you in association with Citco, the leading asset servicer with over $2 trillion of assets under administration (AUA) and the top hedge fund administrator according to the AFI 500 research ranking. Citco acts as a true partner to its clients, dedicated to developing rich long-term relationships through gold standard services and industry leading technology. Head to Citco.com for more information.

Polina Kurdyavko, head of emerging markets and senior PM at RBC BlueBay Asset Management, was the special guest, sharing insights on her investing approach, career background and the opportunity set in EM heading into 2026. (Recorded Tuesday 7 October).1:42 — Career background and evolution.2:26 — Started career in 1998, personal family motivation.3:40 — Kurdyavko’s big-picture view on EM and why it provides a fertile hunting ground in alts.6:35 — Moving from relative to directional opportunity.8:55 — Impact of this year’s volatility and turbulence on the opportunity set going forward.14:22 — Episode sponsor: Altaira Strategic Partners.15:05 — Follow-up on de-dollarization trend.21:28 — Thoughts on China — real estate, general outlook, significance.24:24 — Rising allocator interest in EM?26:50 — Looking ahead into 2026.China article - Polina’s Perspective: a pimple soup experience in ChinaRBC BlueBay coverage on AFIAFI membership | LinkedIn page | Free AFI bulletins | Weekly multi-strategy update.AFI Innovation Summit agenda and registration*Not investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns*2025 headline partnerThis podcast is brought to you in association with Citco, the leading asset servicer with over $2 trillion of assets under administration (AUA) and the top hedge fund administrator according to the AFI 500 research ranking. Citco acts as a true partner to its clients, dedicated to developing rich long-term relationships through gold standard services and industry leading technology. Head to Citco.com for more information.Episode 46 sponsorThis episode is brought to you in association with Altaira Strategic Partners, which partners with emerging and established asset managers to provide a state-of-the-art institutional operating environment. Their cutting edge approach helps managers to bring their products and ideas to the marketplace with speed, efficiency and the latest innovations. Its heritage goes back to TIG which has been providing institutional back and middle office services to fund managers since 1980. Meet the team in Mayfair at the AFI Innovation Summit on 13 November, and visit altairastrat.com for more information.

Get 360-degree insights and agenda-setting research into hedge funds and multi-strategy with AFI membership. Email commercial@alternativefundinsight.com for corporate discounts.Follow the latest developments via our LinkedIn page. Sign up to free AFI bulletins. Get a free weekly multi-strategy update.Will interviews Declan Quilligan, head of hedge fund services at Citco, for a review of August hedge fund performance and flows trends. We also have a short preview of the AFI Acceleration Summit, coming to Mayfair on Weds 1 October. For more resources, check out:AFI:August gains boost hedge fund sector as summer inflows continue: CitcoCitco:August monthly research reportEvents:AFI Acceleration Summit agenda and registration*Not investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns*2025 headline partnerThis podcast is brought to you in association with Citco, the leading asset servicer with over $2 trillion of assets under administration (AUA) and the top hedge fund administrator according to the AFI 500 research ranking. Citco acts as a true partner to its clients, dedicated to developing rich long-term relationships through gold standard services and industry leading technology. Head to Citco.com for more information.

Get 360-degree insights and agenda-setting research into hedge funds and multi-strategy with AFI membership. Email commercial@alternativefundinsight.com for corporate discounts.Follow the latest developments via our LinkedIn page. Sign up to free AFI bulletins. Get a free weekly multi-strategy update.In this curated episode, Will interviews François Rivard, CEO at Montreal-based Innocap. Once a FoHF, Innocap is now the leading provider of dedicated managed accounts (DMAs) to the hedge fund industry with $85bn committed across 350 funds (as of start-'25). The pair discuss the drivers of growth in managed accounts and explore the future for the sector in this one-off episode. For more resources, check out:INTERVIEW: Innocap CEO François Rivard on managed account growth, DIY multi-strat and ADIA dealSPECIAL EDITION: Managed Account Intelligence, from AFIInnocap website1:35 — Introduction to Rivard and role at Innocap.3:05 — Explaining the difference between SMAs and DMAs (separately and dedicated managed accounts).6:20 — What has driven huge recent increase in DMA market?16:19 — Example of capital efficiency in practice.19:55 — Focus on giving allocators choice.20:52 — Different service providers now comfortable with the structures.22:14 — Discussion of emerging manager trends and outlook.25:25 — Emerging manager alpha.26:12 — Strong outlook for hedge fund market going forward.30:30 — Range of LPs driving this trend, no longer just the largest.32:51 — Is this a global trend?35:36 — How to use DMAs to drive portable alpha.38:15 — Innocap priorities going forward.*Not investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns*2025 headline partnerThis podcast is brought to you in association with Citco, the leading asset servicer with over $2 trillion of assets under administration (AUA) and the top hedge fund administrator according to the AFI 500 research ranking. Citco acts as a true partner to its clients, dedicated to developing rich long-term relationships through gold standard services and industry leading technology. Head to Citco.com for more information.

Get 360-degree insights and agenda-setting research into hedge funds and multi-strategy with AFI membership. Email commercial@alternativefundinsight.com for corporate discounts.Follow the latest developments via our LinkedIn page. Sign up to free AFI bulletins. Get a free weekly multi-strategy update.In this episode, Will interviews Declan Quilligan, head of hedge fund services at Citco, to review July performance and flows trends; and is joined by Peter Quinn, head of the firm's transformation office, to explore the benefits of efficient data transformation to GPs and their clients.2:00 — Discussion of strong event-driven performance with Declan Quilligan.5:00 — July hedge fund headlines across performance and flows.6:24 — What should we read into European data?7:50 — Introduction to Peter Quinn and the transformation office at Citco.8:25 — What are the benefits of efficient data transformation to GPs and their clients?9:42 — Regulatory and LP pressures at play.10:37 — Practical implications.12:00 — Importance of integration — and the technology development.14:20 — AI opportunities and challenges.15:30 — Continued growth going forward.*Not investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns*Headline partnerThis podcast is brought to you in association with Citco, the leading asset servicer with over $2 trillion of assets under administration (AUA) and the top hedge fund administrator according to the AFI 500 research ranking. Citco acts as a true partner to its clients, dedicated to developing rich long-term relationships through gold standard services and industry leading technology. Head to Citco.com for more information.

Get 360-degree insights and agenda-setting research into hedge funds and multi-strategy with AFI membership. Email commercial@alternativefundinsight.com for corporate discounts.Follow the latest developments via our LinkedIn page. Sign up to free AFI bulletins. Get a free weekly multi-strategy update.In this episode, Will interviews Man Group's Greg Bond in his first interview since promotion to CIO at the $193.3bn firm. Topics by timestamp:1:45 - Introduction to Greg, his career background and new role.2:33 - His take on volatility of the last few months and the role of alternatives in that environment.3:32 - Importance of Solutions offering, rise of multi-strategy in the sector.5:11 - Customisation trend continues apace.7:45 - How he sees multi-strategy concept, rise of new approaches.10:14 - Role of technology at Man Group, areas of innovation.12:53 - How can AI be used to unlock more opportunities.14:35 - Including on the operational side, now just in alpha generation.15:59 - Position of hedge funds, more in vogue now rates higher and liquidity key.17:55 - Other key edges for Man Group.19:34 - Sports and investments world crossover, data-driven decision-making, his “Moneyball” experience with Boston Red Sox.22:00 - What’s next for Man Group?*Not investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns*Headline partnerThis podcast is brought to you in association with Citco, the leading asset servicer with over $2 trillion of assets under administration (AUA) and the top hedge fund administrator according to the AFI 500 research ranking. Citco acts as a true partner to its clients, dedicated to developing rich long-term relationships through gold standard services and industry leading technology. Head to Citco.com for more information. Episode partnerThis podcast is brought to you in association with Altaira Strategic Partners, which partners with emerging and established asset managers to provide a state-of-the-art institutional operating environment. Their cutting edge approach helps managers to bring their products and ideas to the marketplace with speed, efficiency and the latest innovations. Its heritage goes back to TIG which has been providing institutional back and middle office services to fund managers since 1980. Meet the team in Mayfair at the AFI Acceleration Summit on 1 October and AFI Innovation Summit on 13 November, and visit altairastrat.com for more information.