Global

GLOBAL - Low liquidity levels in the fixed income markets have led investment grade and high yield exchange traded funds to rack up higher-than-expected tracking errors and lower performance, asset manager Robeco said.

UK - Balanced pooled funds ended their run of positive quarters with a negative return of -8.9% for Q2 of this year, statistics revealed.

GLOBAL - Corporate pension funds are continuing to move towards liability driven investment strategies, the Investment Management Association said.

GLOBAL - Regulators should promote countercyclical funding policies, like providing better tax ceilings for over-funded schemes, in order to support the continuation of defined benefit plans, the OECD said.

GLOBAL - BlackRock has reported a US$213.3bn loss in assets under management in Q2, blaming sharp falls in equity markets and costs related to its acquisition of BGI.

GLOBAL - Infrastructure managers raised US$6.7bn from global investors in the first quarter, the highest level of fundraising since 2008, but overall deal flow is still at its lowest level since 2006, new research by Preqin showed.

GLOBAL - BlackRock has restructured its management team creating a new head of portfolio management role, three new regional organisations and an alternatives investment group.

GLOBAL - More than a third of fund of hedge fund investors now prefer to allocate funds directly into the asset class, research by Preqin has found.

GLOBAL - State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has discontinued its securities lending programme across a range of funds "in the best interests" of its shareholders.

GLOBAL - J.P.Morgan Asset Management has launched an alternatives portfolio in a bid to help small to medium sized schemes access asset classes including hedge funds, infrastructure and private equity.