Regions

MIDDLE EAST - Pension funds are increasingly demanding investment opportunities in the Gulf region, a survey by exchange traded funds provider Lyxor has shown.

GLOBAL - The financial community needs to agree a common set of terms for the burgeoning environmental and responsible investment (RI) sector if it is to achieve its full potential, AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has warned.

INCLUDING: NETHERLANDS - AEGON appointments; GLOBAL - Emerging markets under-represented; UK - Henderson wins £130m FI mandate

ASIA - Asian institutional investors do not have access to the same level of asset management service and investment expertise enjoyed by their counterparts in other regions, a study by Greenwich Associates has highlighted.

EUROPE - Credit quality continued to decline in Q2 as 41 debt issuers were downgraded, according to Moody's Investor Services.

US/CANADA - The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) has filed a lawsuit against American International Group (AIG) claiming it made false statements over the financial security of its credit default swaps (CDS).

EUROPE - European pension funds drastically accelerated the outflow from equities during the second quarter of 2008, a report by financial information company MandateWire has found.

GLOBAL - Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are expected to lead the move into new alternatives in the next decade, but are in no rush to do so say industry professionals.

INCLUDING - CalPERS reassures members over budget deadlock; NPRF reports terrible H1; Quebec bill 68 gets go ahead; PBGC injection to Norwegian-owned fund

GLOBAL - Institutional investors are not to blame for rising agricultural prices, the Managed Fund Association (MFA) in the US has concluded.