News Parkiet

Alternative investments

New funds seek SEC clearance

Several new funds offering sophisticated investment products based on hedging strategies and securitization have asked for SEC clearance to start selling their products to the public. The list includes TFI Opera, a mutual fund started by private investors, as well alternative investment fund set up by Advanced Financial Services, another local firm. Meanwhile, debt collection agency Intrum Justitia says it plans to start securitization investment fund that would buy commercial and private debt. Warszawska Grupa Inwestycyjna, a Warsaw-based currency trading firm, said it will launch its own investment fund company. Another firm, Hexus Capital Management Polska, a local unit of Swiss asset management firm, has already asked for SEC approval to open its own brokerage house in Poland.

Equity market

Blue-chips under pressure

WIG20 blue-chip index fell more than 12 percent from its five year high of 2118.5 points in late February, a warning sign that the two-year rally may soon come to an end. A quick look at the charts shows that a major correction now under way could turn into a bear market if the main index falls below 1750 points. Slowing economy, lower corporate earnings and renewed IPO activity, including the upcoming one-billion zloty offering of Grupa Lotos refinery, that is likely to draw away money from the secondary market indicate that the turning point could be just around the corner

Power industry

PEP funds won't sell stock when trading starts

Existing shareholders of Polish Energy Partners, an industrial energy outsourcing group that has just completed its IPO say they have instituted an informal lock-up period and promise they won't sell additional shares when trading starts a few days from now. PEP shareholders, including Enterprise Investors and Polenergy Investments private equity funds have sold less than half of the 10.65 million shares offered despite last-minute decision to price the IPO at just 7.8 zloty, the low end of PEP's initial pricing range. At that price, the company has a trailing price-earnings ratio of around 7.5, although that is likely to come down a bit when PEP starts trading as retail investors sell part of their stock. Their part of the offering was oversubscribed by 40 percent, but institutional investors largely ignored the stock, signing up for just 2.46 of the 8.5 million shares offered.