PIMCO hires Ben Bernanke as advisor

Bernanke, who helped steer the US economy through the 2008 financial crisis, will guide PIMCO’s investment process and periodically meet with clients. “We look forward to benefitting from his extraordinary knowledge and expertise to help us add value for our clients,” Douglas Hodge, chief executive officer said. “His unrivalled experience in navigating the global economy […]

Hot China equities prompts sector caution

The loosening of regulations to allow local mutual funds to invest through the southbound train of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect led to a surge in Hong Kong share turnover in early April. “We would be selective and continuously flexible looking forward, in terms of sector picking and choosing between A-and H-share investment opportunities,” said […]

Is the Stock Connect fuelling a pan-Asian bull market?

Following the investor enthusiasm and record turnover sparked by the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect, other market linkages such as the upcoming Shenzhen and Hong Kong Connect, are in the works.  Singapore and Taiwan have plans to link their stock markets in July, regulators have said publicly.  The China Securities Regulatory Commission said it was studying […]

Asian managers tend to wait and watch

Nearly 65% of respondents believed it is more prudent to instead learn from the experiences of first movers as the risks are high due to the complexity of dealing with several regulatory authorities. A majority of respondents (83%) expect an increase in the regulatory agenda in Asia over the next five years.   “This poll suggests […]

Pioneer Investments, Santander AM to merge

The deal will create a holding company, named Pioneer Investments, with combined assets under management worth €400bn ($431.7bn). According to the deal, UniCredit and private equity firms (Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic) each will own a 50% stake in the holding company, which will in turn own 100% of Pioneer’s US business. For businesses outside […]

China’s fund industry faces talent shortage

China’s ecommerce firms are moving into financial services, putting competitive pressure on fund management companies (FMCs). The research firm cited as examples Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial’s reported plan to acquire a stake in Tebon Fund Management and Tencent establishing WeBank, China’s first online bank, last year. “The only viable online opportunity FMCs can access for […]

Rising appetite for income products: Legg Mason

Almost 92% of investors surveyed in Singapore and 91% in Hong Kong said income-generating investments are extremely important in 2015.    At Fund Selector Asia’s income forum in February, asset managers stressed income investing opportunities are available across a range of asset classes despite the low yield environment. The Legg Mason survey released today found Singapore investors […]

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