April will see another big-name hedge fund manager list a closed-ended vehicle on the London Stock Exchange. However, Fortune Asset Management’s flagship Market Wizards Fund will be the first such vehicle investing exclusively via managed accounts, and according to chief executive officer Simon Hopkins, this addresses many of the concerns institutional investors have about the sector.

The wall of institutional capital coming into hedge funds will lead to more index and replication products, forcing fund of funds managers to come up with a compelling alternative, according to Stephen Smith, head of funds and alternative solutions with Credit Suisse.

Bonds continue to be the asset class of choice for European institutional investors, although the proportion of schemes investing in non-traditional assets such as private equity and hedge funds is rising, a survey has found.

China’s growing fund management industry is generating a need for wholesale brokerage which in turn is fuelling opportunities for financial software firms to service a potentially lucrative new market.

It’s time for funds of funds to be upfront about their performance, believes Omam’s chief investment officer Eoin Murray, who also claims that the thing that distinguishes his firm from others is consistency. Henry Smith reports.

As increasing institutional investment in funds of hedge funds exerts downward pressure on performance, it is encumbent on the managers of these popular vehicles to manage the return expectations of their subscribers, according to Eoin Murray, chief investment officer at Old Mutual Asset Managers (Omam) UK.

Following in the footsteps of its US counterpart, the UK pension scheme for packaging group Rexam is aiming to eleminate the risk from its portfolio by ditching equities in favour of a fixed income majority. But there may still be room for alternatives. Nat Mankelow reports.

Look around and you might think that inflation in the euro-zone is about to rear its head. The economy grew at a stellar 3.6 per cent annualised real rate in the fourth quarter of last year and some of Germany’s trade unions are indeed demanding hefty wage increases after years of restraint.

Over the past several months, the US economy has flip-flopped between fears of increased inflation on one hand and signs of economic slowdown on the other.

Latin America remains a continent with some compelling reasons to invest. Economic growth rates, which are often a stimulus for higher investment returns, are well above OECD averages.

The Asian bulls will argue that the multitude of factors that is leading to the re-rating of Asian equities remain firmly on course. As a result, the 8 per cent discount of Asian equities relative to global equities ought to reduce.

The recent strength of the Aussie dollar has bolstered confidence, but the 80 cent barrier may scare off investors, writes Neil Mellor.

The desire of institutions to invest in alternatives has resulted in a greater demand for consultants’ external expertise, but the bar is being raised, writes Paula Garrido.

Pension funds’ obsession with going short to haul themselves out of a deficit is harming the long-term prospects and blinding them to solutions in the long-term. Nat Mankelow reports.

Property derivatives offer investment in real estate without all the usual hassles, add diversification, cut costs and are very flexible. However, education is key, writes Elizabeth Cripps.

Older hedge funds may provide capital preservation, but the start-ups – featuring experienced managers and a solid infrastructure – are posting good returns. Martin Steward reports.

Private equity standard fees once seemed set in stone, but now as the size of transactions increases, there may be some movement over the amount charged. Martin Steward reports.

Foreign and local joint ventures in China often go awry due to a mis-match in ambitions. However, many players are confident of growth going forward. Henry Smith reports.

There will be a cautious atmosphere in the securities business in China this year, as the industry waits with bated breath on the outcome of a Communist Party congress, writes Henry Smith.

Companies have begun tackling lowering their carbon emissions, but responsibility for their ‘footprint’ is now passing to the investment managers who own the firms. Paul Garrido reports.

A stellar year for ETFs has seen a rush from institutions to seize a piece of the pie, and more sophisticated products on the horizon could provide further success, writes Gerry O’Kane.

A trend for asset managers to become more active and a blurring of the differences between them and hedge funds has seen a convergence toward equity derivatives. Gerry O’Kane reports.

Interest from institutions in credit default swaps has seen a knock on effect from brokers and providers, and the industry is seeing massive growth. Nat Mankelow reports.

T. Rowe Price’s Global Emerging Markets Equity fund relies on teamwork and a locally-based approach to get the most out of ‘frontier’ investments. Paula Garrido reports.

Stock exchanges may be on their last legs as technology provides a means for other plaforms to grab liquidity, but can the market support them all? Roger Aitken reports.

With a newly built matching engine and limit book with ‘micro-second’ performance which claims to be 10 times faster than the competition, Chi-X is getting noticed. Roger Aitken reports.

Without a doubt DMA and algorithmic trading will increase, but there are other options and the impact of the human trader should not be under-estimated, according to Paul Squires at Axa Investment Managers. He talks to Roger Aitken.

Algorithmic trading is on the up, but perhaps one of the things that is holding back its implementation is a lack of education. Industry experts discuss this, other issues facing the market and likely future developments in FT Mandate’s latest roundtable discussion.

Henry Smith: Do you think MiFID will increase the usage of algorithmic trading and DMA?

Marcus Hooper: It’s possible, and only insofar as MiFID is quite formulaic in terms of what it’s asking people to do. Something that’s formulaic, like an algorithm, certainly fits the pattern if you like. Certainly in the context of retail execution.

The liquidity of the foreign exchange market has made it an attractive target for algorithmic trading, but will this open a whole new can of worms for the banks? Kieran Fitzpatrick reports.

Financial centres must demonstrate that they are responding to the needs of the investment community by offering attractive vehicles in order to gain new business and maintain growth rates.

Bank of New York’s decision to not take-over the remaining stake in RBSI may well prove to be BNP Paribas’ gain as the industry cries out for greater service, writes Roger Aitken.