Global

GLOBAL - Institutional investors are shying away from emerging markets and buying into consumer staples and high yielding sectors, said a report released by State Street Global Markets.

GLOBAL - Lehman Brothers said they had launched two swap indices that would "have applications in the arena of liability driven investing for pension and insurance companies".

GLOBAL - Marsh & McLennan could sell its subsidiary Putnam Investments after the insurance broker announced it would conduct a market check "to determine the value others would put on Putnam".

GLOBAL - F&C Asset Management has disputed claims by think tank CREATE that managers had overestimated pension fund demand for products like liability driven investments (LDI) and hedge funds.

US - Crédit Agricole Structured Asset Management (CASAM) has aqcuired Ursa Capital - the holding company of two US-based investment advisers specialising in alternative managed accounts - in a deal worth US$57m.

GLOBAL - Crédit Agricole's Christian Dargnat has been appointed CIO at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

GLOBAL - Pension funds still need to do more to drive SRI as it would spur other industry areas forward, said Rory Sullivan, head of investor responsibility at Insight Investment.

GLOBAL - Many asset managers are failing to listen to what pension fund clients want in terms of investment products, according to global research carried out by London-based think tank CREATE.

GLOBAL - Fidelity International is to build a global multi-manager business which will initially target retail clients and subsequently include the creation of a bespoke solution for pension funds.

GLOBAL - Social security systems in large advanced economies need to be put on sounder footings in the face of ageing populations, said the International Monetary Fund.