All articles by Dickon Reid – Page 20
-
News
Threadneedle relocates UK property fund to Jersey
JERSEY/UK- Threadneedle Investments has formed the Threadneedle Property Unit Trust by relocating the former Sackville Property Unit Trust from the UK to Jersey. Prior to the switch, the £110m fund was only open to UK pensions and charities. The move to Jersey will open it to a broader range of ...
-
News
Pimco to enter hedge fund market
US- Fixed income investment manager Pimco has announced as part of its expansion outside the US market that it is entering the hedge fund market with the launch of a fixed income fund for US and foreign investors.
-
News
BNP Paribas to launch UK custody and clearing
UK- BNP Paribas is to launch custody and clearing services in the UK later this year. The bank says preparation is well underway but that it is awaiting the relevant regulatory approval. A preliminary date is late summer, perhaps in August or September.
-
News
Northern Trust names new product development head
UK- Northern Trust Global Investment Europe has appointed Andrew Edgington as director of product management and development. In the new role he will work with chief operating officer Nick Ring and product manager Chris Turpin in developing new investment products as well as overseeing the existing product range.
-
News
ASB rounds on FRS17 critics
UK- The UK’s Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has rounded on critics of the new accounting standard FRS17 saying it is would be wrong to reassess the approach. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mary Keegan, chair of the ASB, stood by FRS17 saying: “it is a good standard and ...
-
News
Corus announces pension surplus of £865m
UK- Steelmaker Corus has bucked the trend of companies disclosing deficits on their pension funds by announcing an expected surplus of £865m on its £11.3bn (e18.4bn) scheme. The steelmaker says it has no plans to use the surplus, despite debts of £1.6bn. Instead, it will enable the company to ease ...
-
News
iBoxx launches sterling non-gilt bond indices
UK/GERMANY- iBoxx has launched a series of non-gilt bond indices for the Sterling market. The 644 indices cover sub-sovereigns, collateralised and corporate bonds and join the existing real-time Gilts indices.
-
News
Fidelity extends coverage of Select pooled fund
EUROPE- Fidelity Investments is extending the coverage of its Select Global Fund by registering it in France, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The Select fund, a sub fund of the international OEIC, was registered in the UK at the end of February as a pooled vehicle whereas previously it was ...
-
News
S&P to publish 2,200 funds' asset allocation data
GLOBAL- S&P Fund Services has announced it is to publish asset allocation data for more than 2,200 UK unit trusts, OEICs and offshore funds from the end of the month. The data, available on www.funds-sp.com, will show each fund’s top ten securities by name and percentage, portfolio allocations by industry, ...
-
News
Gissings loses investment consulting head to SBJ
UK- Steve Barker has left his job as head of investment consulting at Gissings after just a year to take up the same role at SBJ Consultants in London. Barker, who has a background in investment consulting and fixed income management, will report to the chairman Peter Gray.
-
News
VGZ picks GSAM for e1bn fiduciary role
NETHERLANDS- Zorgverzekeraar VGZ, one of the largest specialised health insurers in the Netherlands, has appointed Goldman Sachs Asset Management as fiduciary manager for its entire investment portfolio worth almost e1bn. VGZ remains responsible for dictating the strategic investment policy but as fiduciary manager, Goldman Sachs will look after asset ...
-
News
Dutch industry-wide funds meet Z-score targets
NETHERLANDS- Figures released today show the Netherlands’ 63 industry-wide pension funds have all passed their Z score performance target of –1.28 despite concerns last year that some were likely to fail. The news will come as a relief to many of the schemes as they faced the prospect of losing ...
-
News
WM figures show PGGM down 6% in 2001
NETHERLANDS- Official publication of WM Company’s performance figures for Dutch pension funds show an average return of –2.8% in 2001. Individually the funds reported yields ranging from –8.6% to 4.5% with many of the country’s larger schemes at the lower end of the spectrum.
-
News
Lombard Odier names new international equity CIO
LONDON- Lombard Odier is appointing Fabrizio Pierallini as chief investment officer for international equities. In his new role, Pierallini will head the international equity team and will be responsible for the link between London and the firm’s country and sector analysts and managers in Geneva, Zurich and Hong Kong.
-
News
Upper house passes Irish pension bill
IRELAND- The long-awaited Irish Pension Bill which will lead to the introduction of Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) has been passed by Ireland’s upper chamber, the Seanad. The legislation comprises two additional elements- amendments to occupational schemes and the introduction of a pensions ombudsman scheme. The Bill also introduces, as ...
-
News
Dutch pension funds lose 2.8% in 2001
NETHERLANDS- Dutch pension funds lost an average 2.8% in 2001 according to figures from the WM Company. Figures published in the Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad show equities as the worst performing asset class, down an average 15%.
-
Features
Overcoming EU roadblocks
The Financial Services Policy Group has met in Brussels to consider the political obstacles to the action plan, which includes the pensions directive and the Lamfalussy report. The group discussed political obstacles to, among other things, the proposed pension fund directive (IP/00/1141) with the aim of paving the way for ...
