Regions

EUROPE - T. Rowe Price Global Investment Services has moved to further its presence in Finland, the Baltic States and Iceland with the appointment of Vuk Srdanovic as business development executive for the regions.

GLOBAL - Dale Gifford, chief executive officer of Hewitt Associates since 1992, will retire as chairman and CEO at the end of December.

GLOBAL - Canadian pension fund giants OMERS and CPP are helping to raise the stakes in the takeover battle waged between rival consortiums for Associated British Ports Holdings, with latest bids valuing the group at almost £2.58bn.

GLOBAL - The number of investment research providers capable of fully integrating extra-financial issues within investment analysis is growing with nine companies rated the best at providing this service.

GLOBAL - BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) is pursuing an agreement to acquire full ownership of Fisher Francis Tree and Watts (FFTW), a US based global fixed income asset manager.

SOUTH AFRICA - Sanlam today announced plans to establish a new institutional business committee as part of a major corporate governance review.

GLOBAL - Goldman Sachs Asset Management increased its assets under management by 4% to US$593bn during the second quarter of 2006.

GLOBAL - The massive size of some occupational funds will play an increasing role in future merger & acquisition deals, according to Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP) M&A head David Lane.

GLOBAL - A Goldman Sachs-led consortium including Borealis, the OMERS-owned Canadian infrastructure investment vehicle, has agreed to buy Associated British Ports (ABP) for £2.5bn, it emerged today.

EUROPE - Liability driven investment can bring significant benefits to pension funds looking to better manage their risks, but trustees should be realistic about the impact it can have, warned Lane Clark and Peacock partner Phil Boyle.