Opalesque was formed in 2001 to provide professional news services to participants in the alternative investment sector. Since inception, Opalesque has been providing premium online information services related to the hedge fund and investment industries. The Opalesque publication Alternative Market Briefing is the only daily hedge fund news service read by the elite hedge fund managers themselves (see our Testimonial page for more)

Opalesque is led by Matthias Knab, an internationally recognized expert on hedge funds and alternatives. Mr. Knab has frequently served as chairman of hedge fund conferences New York, Greenwich, Miami, London, Monaco, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bahamas, Stockholm and Dubai. In addition, he has spoken at or moderated panels at hedge fund events or Roundtables in Chicago, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Denver, Toronto, Geneva, Zurich, Frankfurt, Cannes, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Cape Town, Madrid, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Auckland, Abu Dhabi and Bombay, and lectured at numerous universities on the subjects of hedge funds and the state of the global alternative asset management industry.

After having been in the IT and consultancy business since 1988, in the year 2000 Matthias Knab started to publish a pioneering newsletter Industry Report which was focusing on the ascent of Electronic Trading within the online brokerage industry. It was at that time when he started to establish his first links into the hedge fund industry and became aware about the need of a daily, independent and encompassing news service on this thriving industry.

How Opalesque Changed the Hedge Fund Media Space

15th November

11 January

Opalesque Solutions Hedge Professionals Database Opalesque unveils the Opalesque Solutions Hedge Professionals Database (HFP). the largest database of professionals who work in, with, or invest in hedge funds and other alternative investments.

Online and realtime, this web-based database does not rely on Excel sheets or other outdated forms of delivery. A dedicated team updates and adds new profiles daily.

30 December

09 February

Opalesque Ltd. has created a Data Business Unit – Opalesque Solutions – which has launched its first database and index family. The new Opalesque Solutions A SQUARE (A 2 or Alternative Alternatives) fund database lists only non-traditional funds beyond the traditional hedge fund strategies, for example: Agriculture, Base & Precious Metals, Behavioural Finance, Collectibles, Commodity, Credit, Energy, Entertainment Investing, Environmental Investing, Equity Derivatives, Forex, Infrastructure, Innovation, Insurance, PIPEs, Real Estate, SRI, Structured Finance, Trade Finance, Transportation, Volatility Trading.

www.alternative-alternatives.info. fund managers can submit their details to db@opalesque.com. Access to the database is free for subscribers of Opalesque’s A SQUARE research.

The Opalesque A SQUARE indices cover the performance of niche alternative investment funds and are calculated based on the net performance of the funds currently listed in 22 categories in the Opalesque Solutions A SQUARE Fund Database.

With the exception of the financial crisis year 2008, the A SQUARE single manager funds have delivered steady returns from 2004 to 2012, ranging between 2.92% in 2012 and 15.78% in 2005, and outperforming the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index each year except 2009 and 2011. Although the A SQUARE funds were affected by the financial crisis too, the A SQUARE Index provided significant downside protection, ending the year 2008 down 6.04%, compared to a HFRI decline of 19.03%.

04 November

Opalesque broadens its multimedia presence with the addition of Opalesque Radio — audio alternative investment intelligence presented in a mobile (popdcast or MP3 download), ‘Customise the Conversation’ format. Opalesque Radio has been launched, managed and moderated by Sona Blessing. This bi-weekly research feature with academics, experts and industry insiders is designed to delve deep into:

• Risk identification, management and mitigation issues
• Portfolio allocation related issues (topical, tactical, strategic)

11th October

Opalesque launches weekly versions of its industry-leading daily publications.

Already 30,000 users from over 170 countries have subscribed to a selection of the following new, weekly Opalesque publications:

These industry-leading publications from Opalesque can now be received in either daily frequency or as weekly summary of the most important news and developments of the last seven days.

12th May

Opalesque launches the new Managed Futures Briefing which focuses on news and information for traders and investors in the global commodity and financial futures, options, stocks and forex markets.

Our experienced staff monitors the news and global markets carefully to present you an essential weekly update in the popular Opalesque “Briefing” format. The service can be subscribed as weekly email newsletter or by RSS feed.

18th November

Opalesque launches “Legends and Leaders” video interview series with Julian Robertson and Izzy Englander: The first of the “Legends and Leaders” interview zooms in on hedge fund titan Julian Robertson who shares his secrets about “How to identify hedge fund talent”. Robertson, now also recognized as the “world’s greatest seeder”, has a long history of supporting young talents and upcoming hedge fund managers. The video includes the list of all 38 “Tiger seeds” (confirmed by Tiger Management) – funds set up with the help and financial support of Julian Robertson.

Izzy (Israel) Englander. who – according to CNN – is “secretive, even by the standards of a hedge fund”, features in the second Opalesque FIVE Minutes interview series. With his Millennium hedge fund, Englander has a stunning 20 year track record, but few know that he has been in the business of trading and running money for almost 40 years now. In this Opalesque FIVE Minutes, Englander speaks about how he started his career, how to create longevity in a hedge fund business, about risk management and his approach to investing.

The legendary cocoa trader (“chocolate finger”) Anthony Ward from U.K. based asset manager Armajaro explains to Opalesque’s Matthias Knab the many opportunities in the soft commodities market, and how through massive investments into weather data Armajaro obtains a leading edge.

Elena Ambrosiadou. featured in a another Opalesque FIVE Minutes, is one of the world’s most successful hedge fund managers. She is the CEO of IKOS which commenced trading in London in 1993 as one of the first hedge funds in Europe.

Global Access on Opalesque.TV, Thomson Reuters and YouTube

The Opalesque FIVE Minutes – Legends & Leaders series is continually produced and updated by Opalesque founder Matthias Knab, who keeps on traveling the world to meet outstanding hedge fund managers and veterans of the industry.

Further interviews include FrontPoint Partner’s CIO and Co-CEO Mike Kelly, Francois Bonnin from systematic trader John Lock Investments, Hermitage Capital founder William Browder (to be published in February), and many more.

All Opalesque Videos can be accessed on www.Opalesque.TV. on the Thomson Reuters platform, and on the OpalesqueTV channel on YouTube.

23rd June

Opalesque has launched Opalesque Islamic Finance Intelligence. a free, quarterly publication designed with a practitioner approach focusing on precise and relevant content for investors, product manufacturers, and fund managers of this truly global community.

Opalesque Islamic Finance Intelligence has been jointly developed by Opalesque and Amsar Partners. an independent Islamic finance consultancy, which brings together a multi-disciplinary team that includes Bernardo Vizcaino, CAIA. Managing Director; Nikan Firoozye, Ph.D.. Director of Shariah Structuring; and Khalil Jarrar, J.D.. Director of Jurisprudence. They combine highly regarded financial, academic and research backgrounds with a global industry network.

Opalesque Islamic Finance Intelligence arrives at a time when Islamic finance is facing uncharted territory — several efforts are under way to jump-start convergence/unification of standards, crystallize demand for time/cost effectiveness, improve liquidity in its secondary markets, as well as the promulgation of industry best practices. In addition, the industry faces great debates a even more fronts – from market gaps, distribution networks, risk & compliance concerns, to structural question marks.

Market awareness on Islamic Finance has skyrocketed in recent years — experts once touted the existence of 60 Islamic equity funds whereas the industry now boasts a universe of well over 700 Shariah compliant investment products. Growth projections usually land between 15 to 20 percent per annum, yet some of the largest Muslim countries (i.e. Indonesia, Egypt and India) remain untapped. A comprehensive product range is unheard of (in stark contrast to the conventional world), yet this bestows the industry with endless prospects.

The Opalesque Islamic Finance Intelligence complements the free DAILY Islamic Finance Briefing which Opalesque launched in December 2008.

31st May

With the launch of the Technical Research Weekly Global Outlook . Opalesque expands the Technical Analysis coverage by adding eight more global markets. The Weekly Global Outlook complements the Technical Research Briefings . Both publications are produced by the famed chartist Greg Troccoli, Director of Technical Analysis at Opalesque.

The Opalesque Technical Research Weekly Global Outlook is published each weekend and has a concentration toward Asian and European markets. Currently, the following markets are covered:

• HANG SENG INDEX
• JGB- TOKYO TEN YEAR
• DJ EURO STOXX 50
• EURO BUND 10- Year
• CAC 40
• FTSE 250
• CME NIKKEI – (Cash)
• LONG GILT

With the Briefings and the Weekly Outlook, Opalesque subscribers have access to four Technical Research publications per week, covering what are for many finance professionals the sixteen most important global markets.

10th February

Opalesque publishes the first issue of Opalesque Futures Intelligence. edited by Chidem Kurdas, Ph.D. This new bi-weekly publication has been developed to meet the needs of the managed futures industry and investors.

The idea for the publication came from members of this growing community, which includes commodity trading advisers, fund managers and investors. Despite the financial and economic turmoil, managed futures did exceptionally well in 2008 and will likely continue to be an attractive investment. Yet people often have misconceptions about this strategy.

Opalesque Futures offers sophisticated analysis and commentary to illuminate various aspects of managed futures and help people understand it better. Published every two weeks, the newsletter includes insights from industry pioneers and original research by experienced practitioners. Among the regular features are comparisons of CTA indexes and summaries of recent regulatory developments and futures-related news. A special section mines different databases for the top managers, and the Founding Fathers’ Q&A offers unique insights from the pioneers of managed futures and CTAs.

The editor, Chidem Kurdas, has been writing about hedge funds since 2000. She has held positions as research analyst at Thomson Reuters, New York bureau chief at HedgeWorld and news editor at Infovest21. Earlier in her career she taught economics at Pennsylvania State University and published a book about technology investing.

15th December

Opalesque has added 100 new seats to the realtime Active Trader Chat, the longest running trading community of market professionals, traders and hedge funds focusing on the U.S. markets.

The Opalesque Active Trader forum offers a real time venue for active portfolio managers, professional traders and others to join in a community of their peers. This community discusses all aspects of the daily turn of events, including news alerts, technical levels, trade ideas, research and expertise collaboration etc.

The forum currently has over 150 active participants and is perhaps the longest running active forum in the business, having been active since 2001. It is unique as it has been built upon a “referral only” strategy, thus allowing it to grow over 7 years in a stable and organic environment. Interestingly, in what can be a very fickle marketplace, more than 50% of the members have been in the forum for over 5 years.

Opalesque makes 100 new seats available for this exclusive online community. Once the 100 seats have been taken, the forum will close again. The moderator of the Opalesque Active Trader Forum is a 15 year trading veteran, and has been instrumental in creating a flourishing community of professional traders who work together daily to beat the markets. The Forum also includes members who are regular contributors on Fox TV, CNBC and many other financial websites. The traders and portfolio managers in the forum run the gamut from independent traders to multibillion dollar funds.

2nd December

Launch of the Opalesque Islamic Finance Briefing as our eighth publication. Earlier in 2008, Matthias Knab chaired a three-day conference in Dubai which was attended by bank CEOs, CIOs, treasurers, institutional investors and Arab billionaires. Over 50% of the delegates said they were looking for Islam-compliant investments.

Opalesque has therefore decided to service this emerging industry with a new daily briefing, and help everyone who wants to follow and take advantage of the many opportunities.

These daily Briefings offer news about Islamic.

• Accounting and Audit
• Banking
• Bonds
• Capital Market
• Compliance
• Financial Instruments
• Hedge Funds
• Law
• Markets
• Projects
• and Research

20th October

Opalesque launches a daily Sovereign Wealth Funds Briefing in the popular Opalesque “Briefing” format, offering a quick and complete overview on the actions and issues relating to Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs). SWFs rank now amongst the most important and most observed participants in the international capital markets.

Like with all other Opalesque Briefings, large online news archives are available. The Sovereign Wealth Funds Briefing articles are grouped and can also be accessed through the following categories:

• Alternative Investments
• Asset Allocation
• Compliance/Regulation/Legal
• Ethical/Green Investments
• Fund Management/Administration
• Fund Profile/New Launches
• Investment
• Market
• Performance
• Reserve Currencies

5th September

Opalesque launched two new global publications: The Opalesque Commodities Briefing and the Opalesque Real Estate Briefing

The new Opalesque Commodities Briefing focuses on this increasingly important sector and offers free daily updates covering:

• Agriculture, Bullion/Gold, Energy, Metals and Minerals, Oil
• Price Watch, Market Moves and Trends
• Fund Profiles, ETFs / ETCs, Indices
• Currencies, Commodities Exchanges, Trading Platforms
• People, Regulatory
• Research Updates

The Opalesque Real Estate Briefings offer news, background and analysis on:

• Commercial and Residential Property Watch
• Diverse and in-depth regional focus on: Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa
• Construction, Green Construction, Developers
• Emerging Trends, Market Moves
• Fund Profiles, REITs, ETFs, IPOs/Stock Market, Private Equity, Performance
• Mortgage
• Legal, Regulatory, M&A
• People
• Research Updates

17th March

The Opalesque Roundtable Series was initiated on March 17th 2008 as an unparalleled collection of intelligence on the most important global hedge fund jurisdictions and players. In an Opalesque Roundtable, Opalesque unites some of the leading hedge fund managers (single and multi strategy managers) as well as representatives of the local investor base (institutions, fund of funds, advisers) to gain unique insights into the specific idiosyncrasies and developments, the issues and advantages of the highlighted hedge fund centers.

No matter if you are a hedge fund investor looking for new talent, a hedge fund interested in diversifying your investor base or a service provider looking for new clients, you will get to know some of the leading heads of each hedge fund center and find invaluable information and intelligence right on your desk, without any travel involved.

The Roundtable Series is continually updated, covered hedge fund centers include: USA (New York), UK (London), Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia (Sydney), New Zealand.  The Opalesque Hong Kong Roundtable was also published in Chinese (Mandarin) and is available (as any other Roundtable Script) in the Roundtable Archive. This Opalesque Roundtable script is the first in-depth report on hedge funds (26 pages) which is available in Chinese (Mandarin).

27th December

17th April

On April 17th 2006, Opalesque began to publish its Technical Research Briefing . a weekly newsletter that offers technical chart analysis with a global perspective on all major markets, including Equity Indices, Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities.

Opalesque noted very early that the correlation of the typical hedge fund strategies amongst themselves and with other markets and asset classes is increasing. Therefore Opalesque developed the Technical Research Briefings as a service to help investors, managers and other professionals to “look ahead” and achieve a better understanding of the markets.

The Technical Research Briefings currently cover the following markets:

• S&P 500 INDEX
• CRUDE OIL
• GOLD
• U.S. Ten Year Note
• AUSSIE $ vs. U.S. Dollar
• CBT– SOYBEANS
• NIKKEI – (Cash)
• CME- EURO vs. U.S. DOLLAR (CASH)

The Technical Research publications are produced and edited by Greg Troccoli, who for many years held the position as First Vice-President — Chief Technical Analyst at Prudential Securities. During his tenure at Prudential, Greg was solely responsible for publishing in-dept analysis of all global markets (in excess of 60). Greg enjoys an extensive media presence on CNBC (Fast Money, Halftime Report), Bloomberg and more.

16th February

On February 16th 2003, Opalesque published its first Alternative Market Briefing newsletter, which reaches now over 46,000 readers each day. The launch of these Briefings was considered to be nothing less than a revolution in the hedge fund media space:

“Opalesque changed the world by bringing transparency where there was opacity and by delivering an accurate professional reporting service.” – Nigel Blanchard, Culross

Alternative Market Briefing is a daily newsletter focused on hedge funds and alternatives. This hybrid financial news service, which combines proprietary industry news stories and filtered third party reports has been credited by many industry insiders with delivering precise, accurate, and vital information to a notoriously guarded audience.

Opalesque subscribers can also access the Alternative Market Briefing archive with currently over 61231 articles. the largest online news database on hedge funds. The archive, a resource used by thousands each day, is fully searchable.