Jim Chanos: Hedge fund psychology of short selling; China makes Europe, U.S. debt look like child’s play

EFG Asset Management and Ascalon Asia make key appointments

(HedgeWeek) EFG Asset Management, the asset management arm of EFG International announced this week the appointment of two Hong Kong-based executives to strengthen its senior management team in the region. Nigel Sze has been appointed Head of Asia and moves from EFG Bank Asia where he was deputy CEO and Head of Private Banking in Hong Kong. Prior to this Sze was Asia Head for HNW clients at Citi Global Wealth Management.

Harmen Overdijk has been promoted to the role of Head of Investments. The appointments underline EFGAM’s intentions of consolidating their position strategically in the region, having also recently appointed top China equity fund manager Mansfield Mok. EFGAM’s CEO, Jim Lee, said that the growing interest in Asia reflects its growing importance to the global economy. “The changes we are making reflect our commitment to the region and our desire to extend our local investment capabilities. They (Sze and Overdijk) will also enable us to better serve our clients – encompassing private banking clients of EFG Bank, as well as specialist segments served by EFGAM directly,” said Lee.  Read More at HedgeWeek.

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Stay Hedged: More Volatility On The Way, Says MKM Partners

(Barron’s) MKM Partners is sticking to last week’s recommendation: Derivatives strategist Jim Strugger recommends in a note this morning to stay hedged for “imminent” market volatility.

Last week, the firm advised buying a call spread on the Barclays iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX), a non-leveraged way to access CBOE volatility futures, via July-expiry 25 and 35 call options. The VXX, up about 5% since last Wednesday, backed off Monday after three straight gains.