This week…
| Blackrock |
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The firm reported that it had $80bn of net inflows globally during the first quarter this year, positive across product type, client type and region. $55.8bn of those inflows came from clients in Americas, $18.1bn in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and $6.4bn in Asia-Pacific… |
| ETFs |
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Since their listing on Hong Kong’s exchange on March 14, leveraged and inverse products received warm market response in the past month, according to a statement from CSOP Asset Management. The aggregate market size of L&I products were $557m as of end of last week, while the aggregate average daily turnover of all products were HK$563m in the past month… |
| Hedge funds |
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March inflows into hedge funds globally were the industry’s largest positive numbers in 20 months and total industry AUM now stands at $3.11trn, only 2% from an all-time high, according to a report by Evestment. Investors allocated a net $15.7bn into hedge funds in March and $21.9bn in the first quarter this year… Nearly 77% of institutional investors in Europe report to plan to increase their allocation to alternative risk premia hedge fund strategies over the next 12 to 24 months, according to a survey by Cerulli Associates. Globally the systemic hedge fund industry has around $295bn of assets under management, with €112bn ($119.98bn) of that managed by Europe-based players… |
| Market views and asset allocation |
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Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust, said in a video commentary that developed market growth is set to increase from around 1.5% last year to 2% this year, while emerging market growth should increase from 4% to 4.5%… Last month, allocation to US equities by global fund managers plunged to 20% net underweight from net 1% overweight in the previous month, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s monthly global fund manager survey. In contrast, allocation to Eurozone equities rises to 15-month highs to 48% net overweight from 27%… |
| Regulation |
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Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission banned Daniel Chen, a bank manager at a branch of Bank of China Hong Kong, from entering the industry for life for stealing HK$40,000 ($5,144.26) from a teller box assigned to him, on several occasions in September last year… |
