13/06/2011
By Matt Ritchie
Product launches and other news in brief from the last couple of months.
International asset manager Threadneedle announced that 26 of its SICAV funds have been registered in Sweden following approval by Finansinspektionen, the Swedish regulator, as at 20 April 2011. Funds registered in Sweden include: Threadneedle (Lux) Pan European Equities, an equity fund invested primarily in large companies domiciled in Continental Europe or the UK or with significant Continental or UK activities; Threadneedle (Lux) Enhanced Commodities – a UCITS III, long-only commodities fund; and Threadneedle (Lux) American Select Fund an equity fund invested in companies domiciled in North America or which have significant North American operations.
Debt capital is in high demand from European issuers, and investors face a number of challenges which may impact their willingness to provide funding according to Fitch Ratings. In a report, Fitch estimated Europe's three largest investor segments - insurance companies, pension funds and mutual funds - together held an estimated total €16trn of assets, equating to more than 1.15 times the region's GDP. At €7.6trn 48% of total investor assets are represented by debt.
AllianceBernstein announced the launch of the European Flexible Equity Portfolio; a UCITS III absolute return strategy which seeks to generate returns with a concentrated active equity portfolio. The portfolio dynamically adjusts equity market exposure, using derivatives, in order to seek to preserve capital in adverse market conditions. The portfolio will invest primarily in European equities but up to 20% will be opportunistically invested in other equity markets.
Legal & General Investment Management launched a euro-denominated liquidity fund, to be managed by Jennifer Gillespie, Head of Money Markets, LGIM. The fund invests in euro-denominated money markets assets. It follows the same cautious investment strategy as the £7.3bn LGIM Sterling Liquidity Fund, also run by Jennifer Gillespie. The fund does not invest in Asset Backed Securities, Asset Backed Commercial Paper or Structured Investment Vehicles.
The European Fund and Asset Management Association published, in cooperation with SWIFT, a new report on the evolution of automation and standardisation rates of fund orders received by transfer agents in the cross-border fund centres of Luxembourg and Ireland in 2010. The results of the ongoing research showed that the total automation rate of orders topped 75% in Q4 2010 – while the adoption rate for ISO messaging increased by a further three per cent compared to the same period in 2009.
State Street Corporation released the latest of its Vision Focus reports, The Changing Shape of European Investment Management, examining the wave of new regulation worldwide and its impact on business practices and operating models. The report finds regulatory efforts have shifted from enhancing market efficiency to matters of investor protection. The report, and the others in the series are available at www.statestreet.com/vision.
Natixis Alternative Investments France has launched the SIXTINA Harbert Event Opportunities Fund. The fund offers investors access to a risk-managed portfolio of merger and corporate event transactions and strives to achieve absolute returns uncorrelated to overall market direction.
Life and pensions administration software provider aquila launched ‘administrator 8’, the latest version of the company’s life and pensions administration solution. According to aquila, benefits of administrator 8 include streamlined straight-through processing for administration of staff both pre and post enrolment under the UK’s pension reforms, and extended enterprise web services and enhanced security for e-commerce integration.
Investment management firm PIMCO launched the GIS Euro Income Bond Fund. The fund aims to look beyond the traditional universe of income streams to achieve enhanced income growth in a low yielding environment while assuming minimal risk. The fund is managed by Luke Spajic, executive vice president and head of pan-European credit portfolio management.
Marshall Spectrum, the emerging markets equity manager specialising in Russia and CIS has changed its name to Spectrum Partners. Marshall Spectrum was founded in April 2009 through the joint venture of Spectrum Partners, the investment manager specialising in Russia and the CIS and Marshall Capital Partners, a private equity firm operating in Russia and the CIS. In a statement the company said the name change reflects Spectrum Partners' purchase of a controlling stake in the company.
Capita Fiduciary Group is set to expand its international offering for legal, accounting and banking clients, eyeing expansion to Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland. Citing demand for administration services arising from growth in wealth in emerging markets, Capita said it plans to establish further quality operations in “safe, stable and well regulated” jurisdictions, especially those relevant to the new emerging markets of China, India and Eastern Europe, as well as growing its existing capabilities in its current jurisdictions.
KAS BANK has developed an app for the iPad, enabling pension fund managers, trustees, sponsors and fund administrators to access up-to-date fund data 24/7 and from any location. The app links to KAS BANK’s pensions dashboard, which delivers performance metrics for schemes’ funding levels combined with compliance, performance and risk reports.
Other stories you may find of interest:
September appointments update
Northern Trust has appointed Annika Larsson and Erik Norland as senior relationship managers in its Stockholm office, in line with the company’s strategy of serving clients as close to their home market as possible.
March 2010 Products
A round-up by European Pensions
European News in Brief August 2009
Northern Trust has enhanced its transfer agency product, which supports asset managers in the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Channel Islands, to increase automation and provide increased straight-through processing (STP) for clients. This, Northern Trust said, would result in improved risk management. The fee rebate module provides an automated and scalable solution to support the calculation of management fees, agent trailer fees and register fee rebates. It has been designed specifically for offshore clients
