Regions

GLOBAL - Barry McInerney (pictured), head of Mercer Investment Consulting's US business, is to assume US leadership of Mercer Global Investments. MGI is the firm's new multi-manager business that is to be rolled out internationally, as reported exclusively...

EUROPE - The e4.5bn London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA), one of the largest government pension schemes in England, is the latest of a number of European pension funds who have chosen to join the enhanced analytics initiative (EAI), the consortium founded...

GLOBAL - Pension liabilities account for more than 30% of the market capitalisation of a typical Germany company and about 20% for typical UK and Japanese companies, according to new research by Watson Wyatt.

EUROPE - Fund of hedge fund reporting is not sufficiently apprising investors of measures of extreme risk, instead relying on statistics more relevant to mutual funds, according to the Edhec Risk and Asset Management Research Centre.

GLOBAL - Pension liabilities account for more than 30% of the market capitalisation of a typical Germany company and about 20% for typical UK and Japanese companies, according to new research by Watson Wyatt.

GLOBAL - Liability-led solutions appear to be gathering a strong following with Merrill Lynch Investment Manager (MLIM) reporting a strong increase in demand for liability based mandates in 2004.

EUROPE - Good performance, improving transparency and more liquidity boosted European direct real estate investment to e95.6bn in 2004, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

EUROPE - European regulators should recognise standard registrars or assurance quality evaluators who provide ISO certificates of compliance as an alternative to credit rating agencies to assess risk, according to a fiduciary rating agency.

EUROPE - Aberdeen Property Investors has carried out a e161.5m first closing on Aberdeen Indirect Property Partners - Europe's first pooled pan European property fund of funds.

GLOBAL - Barclays Global Investors (BGI) posted record gains in 2004 with profit before tax up 82% to £374m, despite adverse currency movements.