Regions

GLOBAL - The number of institutional investors using exchange traded funds increased 12% in 2008 with nearly 3,000 investors worldwide holding ETFs, a new report from Barclays Global Investors (BGI) showed.

GLOBAL - Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP) has partnered with Spanish consultant Novaster, in a bid to expand its reach in Spain and Latin America.

EUROPE - Schemes still favour equities despite market volatility, a J.P. Morgan Asset Management survey revealed.

US - The American International Group (AIG) has renamed its asset management and investment advisory group, which is currently being spun off, PineBridge Investments.

GLOBAL - More than half of pension funds in Europe and the Americas have implemented some sort of liability driven investment (LDI) strategy in their portfolios, a poll by fiduciary manager SEI found.

EUROPE - The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has launched a new programme to help pension funds understand water-related investment risks.

EUROPE - European fund managers broke with global trends and switched into defensive stocks in recent weeks, according to Bank of America's (BofA) latest fund manager survey.

US - Institutional investors in the US could move some US$300bn to $500bn from US large-cap strategies in the next three to five years, a survey by Bank of America Merrill Lynch showed.

GLOBAL - An industry working party will be created, to assess the feasibility of extending the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) to include transitions, according to Paradigm Investment founder Colin Morrison.

EUROPE - Pension deficits in UK banks and Europe's largest listed companies have been underestimated by €300bn (US$449.1bn) in their last full year reports, AlphaValue research revealed.