Pension funds in the UK are overlooking opportunities to add extra return through tactical asset allocation (TAA) as they move towards specialist management.

Despite earning higher investment returns last year, US corporate and public pension funds will have to find more and better sources of alpha if they are to plug their funding gaps and meet future pension obligations.

Regulatory and accounting changes in the US are likely to result in an increased focus on liability management from institutional investors, following the steps of their European counterparts.

Nasdaq has stolen a march on its arch-rival, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) by swooping to take a 14.99 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Axa Investment Managers hopes that Framlington’s strong performance can boost institutional business. Henry Smith speaks to UK CEO Paul Griffiths about shake-ups, reviews and plans to ‘revitalise’ a modest hedge fund business.

Will the French government help the country’s Pensions Reserve Fund reach its lofty target of €150bn by 2020? Executive director Antoine de Salins believes the figure to be outdated and is focusing on the fund’s much-anticipated asset allocation review which is on the cusp of being unveiled. Henry Smith reports.

Criticism of the Dutch FTK framework is unjust and there are several ways for pension funds to implement an alternative investment policy, write Frits Bosch and Bart-Jan Wittenberg.

The expected merger of Ixis and Natexis represents a new era in French funds and could allow multi-managers to play on a much bigger stage.

After a turbulent few years, all signs point to supporting a bullish viewpoint for the euro-zone in 2006, writes Neil Mellor.

It is nearly a year and a half ago when the world watched as thousands of Ukrainians descended upon the capital’s Independence Square dressed in orange. Outraged by the rigging of the presidential elections, the citizens rallied against the government to overturn the results.

The US market has enjoyed its strongest first quarter returns since 1998. Can we expect this trend to continue? Over the past two years global equity markets have enjoyed bumper returns while the US has played Cinderella, largely missing out on the equity party.

High commodity prices and the rapid integration of Brazil in the global economy continue to be a powerful combination for the Brazilian equity market.

After a strong rally in January, Chinese stocks remained firm in February. The MSCI China Free is up 19.44 per cent year-to-date. Investors have become more comfortable with the macro and micro picture of the Chinese economy, as well as the government’s policy stance.

Europe is catching up with the US in the collaterised debt obligation market due to innovation in synthetic products, but the UK and the Netherlands lag behind. Christine Senior reports.

Jamie Grant, of Axa Investment Managers, looks at the changing role of credit derivatives and collaterised debt obligations and how they have evolved into a multi-trillion dollar asset class.

The lofty heights of a few years ago may be over for enhanced indexation, but it offers managers an option on the way to pure passive investment. Gerry O’Kane charts its evolution.

The good performance of real estate, combined with the development of tax efficient structures like Reits, has lead to a surge of interest in the asset class. Paula Garrido reports.

Over the last two years, both the private and public real estate markets have experienced very significant growth as investors move into the asset class attracted by its performance and portfolio diversification qualities. According to a recent report by UBS Global Asset Management, real estate has become more widely accepted by investors who are putting more and more money into both the public and private property sectors.

Village of boutiques, multi-expert, alpha shops: whatever you want to call them, one thing seems certain about investment models – keep them specialised. Paula Garrido reports.

In the first in a series of five special reports, Gerry O’Kane looks at how and why investment banks are encroaching into the world of asset management. Are they a competitive threat or do they offer a complementary service?

The importance of consultants is highlighted in FTMandate’s research into property mandates, which are fast-becoming a popular part of institution’s portfolios. Paula Garrido reports.

Many investors are seizing on the opportunity to get into China early, as the country is set to offer one of the broadest ranges of private equity deals in the next few years. Henry Smith reports.

China’s dramatic economic growth has been a hot topic for investment professionals around the world. China’s average growth rate in the past 20 years is around 9 per cent.

Is a lack of liquidity and its similarity to commodities a stumbling block for carbon emissions to develop as an asset class? Political pressure may prevail in the long-term, writes Paula Garrido.

With the European high yield market benefiting from new opportunities, the BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund has soared. Paula Garrido quizzes the fund’s portfolio manager on its secrets to success.

Many managers are disappointed with the post-sale service of IT vendors, which is often lacking in responsiveness and can be over-priced. Could it be more efficient to build their own systems? Roger Aitken weighs up the options.

Many firms are recognising the importance of electronic trading in foreign exchange and are acquiring the specialists to give them a strategic edge, writes Giulio Pignatti-Morano.

The biggest impediment to embracing straight-through processing (STP) is a natural tendency to resist change, according to Lee Cutrone of Omgeo, a provider of post-trade, pre-settlement software.

Competition for business between asset managers is intensifying all the time. The emergence of open architecture models is broadening the range of third-party funds available to investors and fund houses are under greater pressure to provide better returns, together with more transparency, stricter controls and an adequate level of risk monitoring.

Up until this point, most of prime broker Fimat’s growth has been organic, but its acquisition of Cube International signals a shift in size for the French firm. Roger Aitken speaks to CEO Patrice Blanc on tactics going forward.

Borsa Italiana president Massimo Capuano is keen to show external investors just how appealing the Italian stock exchange is. He talks to Roger Aitken about their new initiatives.

Having exported a successful model to the UK, BNY is now looking to penetrate continental Europe with services spanning custody, fund accounting and transfer agency. Roger Aitken reports.