Investment | GlobalPost

IFIC reports higher net assets under management of $920.5 billion in May

The Canadian PressJune 18, 2013 12:32

TORONTO - Net assets under management by the Canadian mutual funds industry rose month over month to $920.5 billion in May, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada reported Tuesday. IFIC says net sales last month totalled $3.85 billion, a figure that included net sales of long-term funds of $4.06 billion and net redemptions of money market funds of $207.2 million.

Stock fund assets rise amid stagnant market

Yonhap News AgencyJune 19, 2013 22:31

SEOUL, June 20 (Yonhap) -- Stock fund assets under management by South Korea's brokerage houses and asset managers increased over the past weeks as investors sought after bargains amid the country's bearish stock market, data showed Thursday. The combined stock fund assets under management reached 67.2 trillion won (US$58.8 billion) Monday, compared to the 66.5 trillion won tallied on June 7, according to the data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association. The figure excludes exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Futures, options volume jumps on signs Fed will reduce stimulus

Thomson ReutersJune 19, 2013 20:34

By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. futures and options volume in May climbed 11.6 percent from a year earlier amid signs that Federal Reserve policymakers may pare back their massive monetary stimulus, according to analysts and newly released industry data. The Futures Industry Association said on Wednesday that U.S. volume last month jumped to 761 million contracts from 682 million contracts in May 2012. Overseas volume was not available.

Harvard hires Xia from Morgan Stanley as chief risk officer

Thomson ReutersJune 19, 2013 16:30

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard University said on Wednesday that it had hired Wall Street veteran Jake Xia as its chief risk officer to analyze and monitor investment exposure in its $30.7 billion endowment. Xia, a fixed income expert who worked at Morgan Stanley <MS.N> for 17 years and for a time oversaw all trading risks in debt products for the bank, is joining Harvard as the school works to polish its investment image after heavy losses during the financial crisis.

European hedge funds struggle to break into U.S. market

Thomson ReutersJune 19, 2013 16:02

By Laurence Fletcher MONTE CARLO, Monaco (Reuters) - European and Asian hedge fund firms are finding the potentially lucrative U.S. market impossible to ignore, but as tough as ever to negotiate. Delegates at the annual GAIM conference in Monaco this week talked about the difficulties, particularly for small funds, in attracting new money to an industry once at the top of investors' wish lists.

U.S. judge limits ex-Goldman Sachs executive's defense in fraud case

Thomson ReutersJune 19, 2013 14:01

By Bernard Vaughan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday limited the extent to which former Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N> vice president Fabrice Tourre can argue that he was acting on the advice of company lawyers in his defense against charges that he misled investors. The ruling could be another setback for Tourre ahead of his trial on July 15, after the judge earlier this month rejected his argument that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should narrow its case against him.

State Street says global equities chief to leave

Thomson ReutersJune 19, 2013 13:34

BOSTON (Reuters) - State Street Corp announced on Wednesday that global equities chief Alistair Lowe will leave the company by the end of the year as part of a shake-up in its asset management division. The move comes as State Street Global Advisors combines its cash and fixed income asset classes under Steve Meier. He will become chief investment officer of fixed income, currency and cash, Boston-based State Street said in a news release.

Finding value when the market misbehaves

Thomson ReutersJune 19, 2013 13:04

By John Wasik CHICAGO (Reuters) - Traders are nervous as Wall Street waits for the Federal Reserve to reveal its next quantitative easing move. Last week marked the third week out of the last four in which major indexes turned negative. What if you ignored the market's mood, though? Would it make a difference? If you can find managers focused on buying and holding the best stocks - no matter how the rest of the market is behaving - you might reap higher gains over time.

Local, global trends boost Gulf banks as foreign rivals retrench

Thomson ReutersJune 19, 2013 12:08

By Stanley Carvalho and Dinesh Nair ABU DHABI/DUBAI (Reuters) - When British banker Michael Tomalin took the top job at National Bank of Abu Dhabi in 1999, the lender had about $9 billion in assets - tiny by global standards - and its operations were largely confined to the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Wesley Clark and Lars Thunell join Fisterra's board; become advisers to Blackstone

The Canadian PressJune 19, 2013 12:01

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Blackstone Group LP said Wednesday that General Wesley Clark and Lars Thunell have joined the board of its newly formed power development company Fisterra Energy. Clark is former NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and Thunell is the former head of the International Finance Corp., which is the financing arm of the World Bank. Blackstone, a private equity firm, created Fisterra earlier this year to identify and develop independent power projects. It has a focus on projects in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.