SWFs go shopping for managers Cash-rich sovereign wealth funds are believed to be exploring the possibility of buying asset managers in a drive to lower fees and ramp up their investment expertise. MEPs seek disclosure of costs Fund managers across Europe could be required to provide investors with a single percentage figure to capture the total costs of investing in their funds if proposed amendments to European regulations are accepted by MEPs this autumn. Clouds gather over money market funds Europe's money market funds industry is wrestling with how to cope with the European Central Bank recent decision to slash the interest rate on its deposit facility to zero. The reduction in yields threaten to make funds lossmaking and could have far more damaging repercussions. Grumbles over Prips, despite thumbs up The European Commission's newly published proposals to tighten investor protection rules have been widely welcomed but there is already some grumbling about a lack of scope under the packaged retail investment products regulations (Prips). Books to enlighten bond buyers There is no shortage of opinion on the overpriced nature of government bonds. But there is also no shortage of buyers. Pauline Skypala asks if bond investors are acting rationally. It's easy to only just beat a poor index It turns out to be surprisingly easy to outperform conventional market capitalisation weighted indices which makes widespread underperformance by active fund managers truly galling. In fact, almost any strategy, stuck to rigidly, will outperform - including selection by the blindfolded monkey, says James Mackintosh. Bridgepoint case shines the spotlight on standards US education, from kindergartens to colleges, is going to be outsourced from local and state governments to private companies over the next few years. So the education establishment must find a way to make this process work for the students and society as a whole, not just shareholders, education workers or administrators, writes John Dizard. Passionate advocate of the post-crisis PE model Face to Face interview with Alan MacKay of Hermes GPE who started his private equity on the day of the Black Monday stock market crash in 1987. Mr MacKay says Hermes GPE is seeing a fantastic earnings improvement in the private equity pool across the world. Investors query effect of Libor manipulation Amid all the hullabaloo over Libor, investors are asking what it means to them. But the impact of any manipulation on pension funds is hard to pin down as it could have happened through a range of financial instruments. Pension fund trustees should ask their fund managers to tell them how their assets have been affected and consultants are also coming under more pressure from clients to explore how they could have been affected. Flexible accounting allows cuts to deficits UK companies are making use of flexibility in accounting regulations to reduce their pension scheme liabilities and deficits. This entry was posted by Emma Boyde on Sunday, July 15th, 2012 at 14:19 and is filed under Uncategorised.