Regions

ASIA/PACIFIC - Only one of the Asia-Pacific universes made it into the black in September with the Bank of Bermuda AsiaHedge long/short Japan Index scraping into positive territory by the skin of its teeth, up 0.02%.

SOUTH AFRICA - The announcement that Aka Capital is acquiring a controlling stake in BOE Asset Management has accelerated the nascent trend towards empowerment in the South African asset management industry.

GLOBAL - F&C Management is urging investors to keep a close eye on credit markets as a key driver of market activity in 2003.

GLOBAL - Currency overlay manager FX Concepts has expanded and deepened its commitment to Australia and New Zealand by setting up ties with Australia's Sovereign Investment Research headquartered in Melbourne.

GLOBAL - Zurich Financial Services has restructured its subsidiary Zurich Capital Markets, concentrating on its core strengths of asset management, customised structured products and client servicing to meet the needs of its clients invested in alternative...

ASIA-PACIFIC/SWEDEN - AP4 has hired three managers to handle its first foray into Asia Pacific and Japan, totalling around US$554m.

UK/ASIA - Henderson Global Investors is set to shed 100 jobs as part of a cost-cutting programme by its parent AMP.

EUROPE - "Internecine strife" between asset managers and insurers is threatening the passage of the European pensions directive through the European Parliament, according to Alan Pickering, chairman of the European Federation for Retirement Provision...

UK/EUROPE - Mellon Financial Corporation has launched a UK operation for its global custody clients.

GLOBAL - The telecommunications sector will offer strong investment returns following a period of consolidation and restructuring, predict fund managers.