Syndicated loans market left reeling from liquidity shortage
Lending volumes are down as syndicated loans continue to suffer from the liquidity crisis with cash from institutional investors having dried up. But as Nat Mankelow reveals, new capital from uncorrelated sources could provide a solution.
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Prof David Blake, Cass Business School |
Schemes counter deficits fueled by longer lives
With longevity making up an increasing proportion of pension scheme risks, new and innovative capital market solutions are being developed to transfer these out, reports Martin Steward.
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Bernd Volk, Deutsche Bank |
Covered bonds club seeks stability
The UK’s new framework for covered bonds should provide a boost to the market in the long term, although the timing of the launch has been unfortunate, writes Christine Senior.
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Robert Howie, Mercer |
High-fee funds of funds called into question
The exorbitant fees charged by some funds of hedge funds are leading to calls for different fee structures and even direct investing. But the funds themselves argue that what they offer is even more important given the market volatility. Ceri Jones reports.
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Kerrin Rosenberg, Cardano UK |
Providing trustees with right tools for the job
A new toolkit from the NAPF – including a detailed annual survey of user satisfaction – is meant to bring the assessment of investment consultants out into the open. But are they the right tools? Martin Steward reports.
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Dr Schweickhardt, Hardt Group |
Hardt of the matter
Institutional investors have just started disaggregating alternatives into strategy-specific allocations and separating alpha and beta exposures. Hardt Group’s founders were talking up these trends two decades ago, and in 2004 they modelled their alternative investment platform to enable investors to build portfolios on these principles. Martin Steward reports.
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Rob Arnott, Rafi |
Benefits of the next generation
A second generation of ETFs claims to offer an advantage over traditional market-cap weighted equity indices. Ceri Jones reports.
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Richard Warne, Morley |
Big-name indexing players hindered by quant models
The second half of 2007 was poor for enhanced indexing funds. However, ‘truly scientific’ managers with new investment ideas could reverse this trend, while clients disappointed with paying active management fees may begin to switch. Ceri Jones reports.
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Jens Bisgaard-Frantzen, Private Advisors UK |
Private Advisors builds European profile
Virginia-based private equity and fund of hedge funds firm Private Advisors has established its first presence in Europe. Martin Steward speaks with CEO Jens Bisgaard-Frantzen about the strategies the firm brings to Europe and his plans to broaden the investment offering.
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Caroline Philips, Eurohypo |
Credit crunch stalls European CMBS market
The global credit crisis has seen issuance of commercial mortgage backed securities drop significantly. But investment banks tell Nat Mankelow that instruments are currently mis-priced, preventing investors from behaving rationally.
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Georg Feldscher, Raiffeisen International |
Austria at the centre of a new wave of ABS activity
Securitisation is showing signs of life in Central and Eastern Europe, with Austria as the hub. Nat Mankelow reports on the private deals being struck, but asks, when will the public market return?
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Hassan Houari, Barclays Capital |
Capital market trends join the mainstream
Bespoke products for investors and variance swaps are just two examples of the innovation seen in the equity derivatives market in recent years. Christine Senior reports.
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Brain-drain fuels growth in Chinese private funds
Attracted by less regulation and greater investment flexibility, Chinese firms are seeing a migration of key personnel from public to privately managed funds. Henry Smith investigates.
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Jesper Bang, Dresdner Kleinwort |
Hedge funds concern over utilisation of their assets
With investors worried by the events of the past year, hedge funds are seeking tighter regulations over prime brokers’ access to their assets. Elizabeth Cripps reports.
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Karina Litvack, F&C |
Institutional interest in SRI continues to grow
Climate change and social responsibility dominate the political agenda, but are the big institutional investors taking any notice? Elizabeth Cripps reports.
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Johanna Kyrklund, Schroders |
A range of uses in volatile times
Fund managers are using ETFs to access emerging markets and maintain exposure to broad markets. Ceri Jones reports.
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