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Asset managers set to consolidate and increase scale, says State Street
September 23, 2010--Fewer and bigger players applying capabilities across a broad range of asset classes and strategies to deliver solutions rather than products – is the future of Europe's asset management industry as it goes through "unprecedented" change, according to State Street's latest VisionFocus.
Consolidation has already been driven by banks selling their asset management divisions, as regulators, boards and shareholders pressure them to return to their core businesses, and they take the opportunity to monetise the spread in earnings multiples between themselves and other public-listed asset managers.
FTSE Announces 2010 Country Classification
Czech Republic, Malaysia and Turkey promoted to
Advanced Emerging markets
September 23, 2010--FTSE Group
(“FTSE”), the award winning global index provider, today announces the results of its 2010 Country Classification Annual Review.
The FTSE Country Classification Annual Review, carried out every September, is the process by which global equity markets are classified as Developed, Advanced Emerging, Secondary Emerging or Frontier within the FTSE Global Equity Index Series.
Working with independent practitioner committees, made up of senior industry
experts and index users, FTSE has designed a sophisticated approach for
determining the investability status of global markets. Using this approach, global markets which meet the economic conditions of a developed or emerging economy are measured against the ‘Quality of Markets Assessment’ criteria developed in
consultation with the investment community (Details of the criteria are available at www.ftse.com/country).
This is further supported by an in-depth engagement programme with the markets being assessed within the Global Equity Index Series. As a result, the FTSE Country Classification methodology provides a transparent and consistent assessment of the markets of over 70 countries with respect to the quality of their investment infrastructure for international investors.
As a result of the 2010 annual review, the FTSE Policy Group has approved the following changes:
Czech Republic – Promoted from Secondary Emerging to Advanced Emerging;
· Malaysia – Promoted from Secondary Emerging to Advanced Emerging; and
· Turkey – Promoted from Secondary Emerging to Advanced Emerging
Policymakers turning blind eye to problem of deflation, says ING
September 22, 2010--Policymakers for the world's larger economies have turned a blind eye to the very real risk of deflation, according to ING Investment Management.
Valentijn van Nieuwenhuijzen, head of fixed income and economics at ING IM, said the chance of deflation occurring – triggered by a double-dip recession in the US, an oil-price spike or a similar "negative shock" – was uncomfortably large.
"What policymakers should do – and what I fear they are not doing aggressively enough – is eliminate the risk that deflation will materialise on a two to three-year horizon," he said.
UN body calls on all institutional investors to disclose RI stance
UNCTAD examines RI practices at world’s largest pension funds
September 22, 2010--The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has called on all institutional investors to formally articulate their stance on responsible investment.
UNCTAD noted how there are now two “different and distinct” groups of pension funds worldwide – the half that report no RI activity and the half that reports at least some activity.
The comments follow its analysis of how responsible investment is implemented at the world’s 100 largest pension funds, with combined assets under management of $8.6trn (€6.5trn).
UNCTAD found almost half the world’s largest funds disclose at least one or more indicators based on the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. But no evidence could be found of RI practices at 51 of the top 100 funds, representing $3.4trn assets (or 39%) of the 100 funds’ total AUM.
view the Investment and Enterprise Responsibility
Review
Basel III is priming big banks to work the system
September 21, 2010--The slow implementation period for the new Basel III capital regime, which will not be fully phased in until 2019, means that the world cannot afford to have another large-scale banking crisis for nine years. Can we rely on the bankers to do the decent thing and refrain from jumping the gun?
Merely to formulate the question invites a cynical response, in the light of recent history. Yet a longer historical perspective provides modest reassurance, in that the gap between big banking crises since the 1970s has usually been quite long.
Industry Review: September 2010-The Eurekahedge Monthly
September 21, 2010--Highlights from this month’s report are as follows:
Hedge funds are ahead of global markets by 9.2% August YTD.
Strong launch activity pushed the number of Asian hedge funds to a new record historical high of 1,278.
Global distressed debt hedge funds are up 8.40% August YTD.
Assets in UCITS III hedge funds crossed US$130 billion.
North American hedge funds grew by US$12.8 billion in August (1.21%) and witnessed the seventh consecutive month of net positive asset flows.
Eurex Welcomes Five New Members out of Taiwan
September 21, 2010-- The international derivatives exchange Eurex announced today that it has admitted the first five exchange members based in Taiwan to its international distribution network. Concord Futures Corp., KGI Futures Co., Polaris MF Global Futures Co., SinoPac Futures Corp., and Ta Chong Futures Co. were connected this month. The admission of the new, additional members from Taiwan increases the number of Eurex’s Asian member firms to 19 across five countries. Trading volume originated by Eurex’s Asia-based members has doubled in the first half of 2010 year-on-year.
"We are very pleased to welcome the first local brokers from Taiwan at Eurex, and we look forward to providing them with new trading opportunities enabling them to diversify their trading strategies. The recently signed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China should further support the Taiwanese economy and its capital market”, said Michael Peters, member of the Eurex executive board. “Through the connection to our global distribution network, our new customers now have direct and reliable access to our well-diversified product suite and our international trading network.” With the new admitted members, Eurex now serves around 420 members in 27 countries.
In July 2010, Eurex introduced a “Trader Training Program” for professional traders in Taiwan, as part of its “Training & Education Initiative Asia”. The program is the first of its kind in Taiwan and is targeted towards new professional traders. Significant parts of the trainings have been the setup and functioning of the European financial markets and the efficient use of exchange-traded derivatives.
Recession caused global decrease in economic freedom but Hong Kong remains number one overall in economic freedom rankings
September 20, 2010--In the wake of the global recession, the average level of economic freedom around the world dropped for the first time in decades, according to a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy
think-tank.
This year’s report shows that economic freedom experienced its first global
downturn in a quarter century, with the average score falling to 6.67 in 2008 (the most recent year for which data is available) from 6.74 in 2007. Of the 123 countries with economic freedom rankings dating back to 1980, 88 (71.5 per cent) saw their
rankings decrease while only 35 (28.5 per cent) recorded increases.
P>“In response to the economic decline of 2008, many countries opted for perverse credit expansion and regulatory policies, damaging economic freedom and hindering
future growth,” said Fred McMahon, Fraser Institute vice-president of international policy research.
“Even in the wake of recession, the quality of life in nations with free and open markets is vastly superior to that of countries with government
view Economic Freedom of the World: 2010 Annual Report
FSA and FINRA Sign Cooperation Agreement
September 20, 2010-- The Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support more robust cooperation between the two regulators.
The MOU establishes a strong framework for enhancing the ability of the FSA and FINRA to oversee the world's largest securities firms and markets. The agreement will facilitate the exchange of information on firms and individuals under common supervision, support collaboration on investigations and enforcement matters, and allow further sharing of regulatory techniques, including approaches to risk-based supervision of firms.
The agreement was signed by Jon Pain, FSA's Managing Director of Supervision and FINRA's Chairman and CEO Richard Ketchum.
"Given the linkages between our markets, it is vital that both regulators cooperate closely with each other," Jon Pain said. "This MOU will enhance the supervision of firms and financial markets in both the UK and the U.S."
Mr. Ketchum added, "To ensure consumer protection and market integrity in today's global market, regulators must work together with key regulatory partners. Under this agreement, the FSA and FINRA will be able to share information more freely and expeditiously in support of the oversight of common firms and investigations into wrongdoing."
view the Memorandum of Understanding
Climate change climbs boardroom agenda among leading global firms
Carbon management initiatives and ‘green’ investments embedded into company-wide business strategy
Top five global leaders for carbon disclosure and performance revealed: Siemens, Deutsche Post, BASF, Bayer and Samsung Electronics
September 20, 2010--Carbon management is becoming a strategic business priority and competitive driver for the largest global companies, despite the lack of global agreement on climate change. These are among the findings of the 2010 Global 500* report and leadership index released today by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), produced by PwC and sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Carbon performance leaders are forging ahead of competitors – 85% of these leading global companies surveyed reported having board or senior executive level responsibility for climate change and nearly half (48%) are now embedding climate change initiatives into the overall business strategy and across the organization.
Amidst global regulatory uncertainty, nine out of ten companies surveyed identified significant commercial opportunity arising from climate change, separating the companies driven by risk-factors, from those companies identifying and seizing competitive advantages and cost-benefits.
The top five Global 500 leaders for 2010 announced today included: Siemens, Deutsche Post, BASF, Bayer and Samsung Electronics. These companies are in the new Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CPLI) and scored highest (95 or above out of 100) in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).
