Regions

GLOBAL - Switzerland's Man Group, the world's largest listed hedge fund manager, posted a 33% rise in profits for the first half of the year due to soaring sales and robust investor appetite for uncorrelated strategies.

UK/EUROPE/US - US fund managers could face an asset exodus worth several billion dollars from pension funds across Europe as the impact of the US market timing scandal hits the European mutual fund industry, experts warn.

GLOBAL - Institutional electronic broker NeoNet has completed the acquisition of Lexit Financial Group for a combination of shares and US$1.3m cash.

EUROPE - MGS Investment Property (MIP) is banking on a "change in mindset" among UK pension funds in a bid to tempt them into direct global property investment through government schemes.

UK/MYANMAR - ISIS Asset Management, Europe's largest socially responsible investment specialist, has "welcomed" British American Tobacco's (BAT) decision to pull out its controversial asset operations from Myanmar (Burma).

GLOBAL - Fund groups have been warned to buck up transparency and equal rights for shareholders or face a damaging loss of investor confidence.

EUROPE - Private equity investment in the EU, including both venture capital and buy-out investments, increased slightly in 2002 compared to the previous year, but failed to reach the record highs of 2000.

GLOBAL - Fund managers worldwide wishing to tap the US market for clients could be forced to register with the US regulatory body, if recommendations made in the staff report to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) on hedge funds are enforced.

GLOBAL - Corporate pension funds can reap solace from the fact that bondholders have higher quality assets now than a year ago.

GLOBAL - Leading asset managers are opting for equities rather than bonds following signs of "accelerating" world stock market growth.