Investment

FRANCE - BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNP PAM) and Fauchier Partners have merged their joint venture - BNP Paribas Fauchier Partners (BNP FP)- with Fauchier Partners to create a major fund of hedge funds business.

GLOBAL - Turkish asset management firm Finans Portfoy and Dow Jones Indexes have launched Turkey's first exchange-traded fund.

UK - Multi-manager Investment Solutions Limited has been appointed investment manager for the Whitgift Foundation's £4m closed defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.

UK - Bus, train and ferry operator Stagecoach Group risks a backlash from investors over targets for executive share options, corporate governance experts claim.

UK - Multi-manager Investment Solutions' assets under management have topped £230m after winning mandates from three closed defined benefit schemes.

UK - Threadneedle Asset Management Limited and MM Asset Management are joining forces to launch a defined contribution pension product.

UK - Multi-manager Investment Solutions has been appointed by ribbon and narrow fabric manufacturer Selectus to manage the company's closed defined benefit pension scheme.

UK - HSBC is set to launch an Islamic pension fund aimed at Britain's two million Muslims, becoming the first UK bank to offer such a pension fund.

UK - Rail workers are set to strike unless Network Rail guarantees that the jobs, pay, and pension entitlements of 4000 workers will be protected.

UK - Global real estate posted returns of 6.2% in January 2004, as demonstrated by the European Public Real Estate Association/National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (EPRA/ NAREIT) Global Real Estate Index.