Reuters: Funds News

Polar Capital CEO resigns

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:21:15 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Hedge fund group Polar Capital said chief executive Mark Kary will leave at the end of the year, with co-founder Tim Woolley taking charge as the cash-rich firm seeks to expand after a recovery in asset levels.

Data discrepancies make Bank hard to predict

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:41:16 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - When Bank of England policymakers meet this week to discuss whether to pump more money into the economy they will have to piece together some contradictory data.

Buffett makes biggest ever acquisition

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:34:41 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has struck a deal to buy the rest of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp for $26 billion (16 billion pounds), Buffett's biggest acquisition ever.

Banks get 31 billion pounds more aid

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:42:04 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group are to get another 31 billion pounds from the government and have agreed to sell hundreds of branches and key businesses to appease EU competition concerns over state aid.

GLC says dollar to thrive in 2010

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:57:16 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar, U.S. equities and emerging market currencies like the Mexican peso should thrive in 2010 as the global economy recovers, but European equities will be pressured by a strong euro, hedge fund GLC said.

St James's Place CEO moots placing of Lloyds stake

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:23:19 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Wealth manager St James's Place favours a market placing of Lloyds Banking Group's majority stake to avoid a trade sale or private equity buyout, the company said on Tuesday.

Activist hedge fund TCI shuts shop in Asia

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:18:12 GMT

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Activist investor The Children's Investment fund (TCI), which famously launched an attack on ABN AMRO in 2007 that helped trigger the Dutch bank's sale, has closed down in Asia following the departure of its regional head earlier this year, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Nemesis hires former Lehman fund head

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:51:13 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Nemesis Asset Management, a fund firm backed by Lehman Brothers until the U.S. investment bank's collapse last year, has hired Lehman's former head of European asset management for its London-based business.

Buyout investors shun new funds for secondaries

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:49:10 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Private equity investors are buying fund positions in the secondary market as a cheap alternative to new investments, putting added pressure on an already tough fundraising climate for buyout firms.

Martin Currie expands global equity team

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:48:22 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Edinburgh-based fund group Martin Currie said on Tuesday it had hired two fund mangers for its global equities team as it seeks to tap into increased demand for diversification among its clients.

Moody's casts doubts on property market recovery

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:13:26 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Moody's Investor Service said on Monday it was "sceptical" property markets across Europe, Middle East and Africa were fully on the front-foot after a two-year slump, despite signs of rising prices in some in-demand regions.

Private banks eye gains from IFAs' reform woes

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:58:09 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Private banks are preparing for a surge in assets sparked by proposed new regulations which they expect will punish the country's independent financial adviser industry.

RBS faces forced sales as bank shake-up looms

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:54:59 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland Group said it will be forced to sell more assets than it had expected as another radical shake-up looms for banks.

FSA says creating narrow banks could raise risk

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:02:53 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Breaking up banks to legally separate retail from investment banking could increase risks in the system and higher capital is key, the Financial Services Authority said on Monday.

Korea's NPS makes first London office buys

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:28:51 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS) has spent 268 million pounds on a brace of London office deals, as part of a $3 billion (1.8 billion pound) overseas property investment plan, its advisor said on Monday.

HSBC Infrastructure plans share issue to fund deals

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:56:27 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC Infrastructure said on Monday it plans to raise new capital to pay down debt and help fund potential deals it is considering.

K1 auditor says would be "bold" to conclude fraud

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:06:49 GMT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - An auditor for German hedge fund K1 Global Ltd said that "liquidity of K1 is apparently scarce", temporarily preventing payouts to banks and clients, but it would be "bold" to conclude this stemmed from fraud.

Pension fund seeks environment oversight

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:05:38 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The East Sussex County Council's pension fund is seeking to hire a fund manager to engage with companies in its portfolios on climate change and other issues and vote shares worth about 1 billion pounds.

JP Morgan adds to emerging markets debt funds team

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:04:39 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has added three portfolio managers to its emerging markets debt team as it continues to build up its fixed-income capability under the leadership of Bob Michele.

Fidelity preserves income with deep cuts

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:02:38 GMT

BOSTON (Reuters) - Operating income at FMR LLC, parent of Fidelity Investments, fell just 7 percent to $1.4 billion (850 million pounds) in the first nine months of 2009, even as revenues plunged, according to a confidential prospectus obtained by Reuters for a debt offering by the privately held firm.

Galleon case portrays a world of corporate leaks

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:38:08 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Galleon insider trading case reveals a world where corporate secrets are thrown around with cavalier disregard for regulations on how public company information should be disclosed.

Rate risk fears lead to new corporate bond funds

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:19:58 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - In the midst of this year's once-in-a-lifetime rally in corporate bonds, some investors already sense the spectre of future interest rate rises destroying much of their gains.

Supreme Court gives SIV creditors equal rights

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:30:37 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The assets of Sigma Finance, a collapsed structured investment vehicle (SIV), are set to be shared equally amongst its creditors, after the Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling on Sigma's debt repayment.

F&C remains cautious despite asset rise

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:28:25 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - F&C Asset Management saw its assets under management rise in the third quarter, mainly due to improving markets and favourable currency movements, but said it remained cautious in its outlook given the speed and extent of the market recovery.

K1 hedge fund founder arrested in fraud probe

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:27:06 GMT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German authorities placed Helmut Kiener, founder of Germany's K1 hedge fund group, under arrest on Thursday in a multi-million-dollar corruption probe of a Caribbean-registered fund he ran.