European Products
March 2009
Kotak Mahindra Ltd has launched a Fixed Maturity Plan to help foreign investors to access the Indian Corporate Debt market. The wholly owned subsidiary of India’s Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd follows Kotak’s success in a bidding process in which the company secured $730mn in corporate debt. The fund will be open to institutional investors, private banks and family offices in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Far East.
Bespoke pension provider Dentons Pensions Management Ltd is to launch two new SIPP products as part of its strategy to expand business through organic growth and acquisition. The Flexible SIPP permits the use of Scheme Pension, a method of easing the tax burden which is applicable on the death of the Member past age 75. The second offering is a simplified SIPP for investors who want to use a single discretionary portfolio manager within their SIPP, and for whom a lower charging structure can apply.
Schroders has launched the Schroder Synthetic Credit Fund, an investment option which offers extra returns from investment grade credit. Schroders says this asset class historically offers very high spreads in the current market environment, and the fund will form part of Schroders’ Liability Driven Investment fund range, led by Andy Connell, head of LDI. The fund offers passive exposure to credit markets using a synthetic credit overlay.
Deutsche Bank has launched the world’s first exchange traded fund (ETF) which is based on actual hedge funds, and provides liquid exchange-tradable access to this asset class. The hedge fund ETF, a UCITS III compliant, is linked to the db Hedge Fund Index, a risk controlled platform representing a broad spectrum of hedge fund strategies.
FXall has launched a new trading solution specifically designed for active traders. The electronic foreign exchange platform has launched the new trading solution to provide access to liquidity in full amounts. Clients can take advantage of FXall’s award-winning integrated workflow, STP, control and compliance capabilities.
The Sterling Government Liquidity Fund has been launched by Aviva Investors in response to institutional client demand. The fund is designed for investors seeing exposure to low-risk government debt, offering the flexibility of same-day liquidity. The aim is to produce a return that tracks short-term interest rates and invests in a diversified range of sterling-denominated instruments, such as treasury bills, UK Government debt securities and European Investment Bank debt securities.
Standard Life Investments has announced the launch of its UK Equity Recovery OEIC Fund, managed by head of UK Equities, David Cumming. This is the first opportunity for retail investors to access Standard Life’s expertise, and is positioned to capitalise on a potential recovery in market sentiment.
iShares has unveiled four new fixed income
exchange traded funds (ETF) on the London Stock Exchange. The company,
an affiliate of Barclays, has launched the funds in response to investor
demand for a greater range of exposure to bond markets. The new products
include the iShares Barclays Euro Aggregate Bond, the iShares Barclays
Euro Corporate Bond, the iShares Barclays Euro Treasury Bond 0-1, and
the iShares Citigroup Global Government Bond.
Crédit Agricole Structured Asset Management
(CASAM) has launched an additional 11 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on
the NYSE Euronext, increasing the total number to 35. The new launches
offer access to different styles of index, such as growth, value and high
dividend, and include the first short ETF in the range, allowing investors
to take short positions on the CAC 40 index. This launch completes the
European sector offering from CASAM, and broadens their geographical coverage
to emerging regions.
Invesco Perpetual has
launched its Global Equity Income Fund, a diversified global equities
fund that seeks to achieve a total return of income and capital growth
by investing in investment ideas from regional equity specialists based
in Henley.
Prudential is to launch a new income choice annuity,
providing customers with the flexibility to choose the level of
income they wish to receive, have it reviewed annually, and potentially
change it every two years. The annuity will be available from 9 March
2009, and provides a guaranteed minimum secure level of income.
