ROUND-UP
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April, 2020
Property funds shutter amid market turmoil
Seven asset managers have suspended trading in their property funds due to material uncertainty over the valuation of UK commercial property investments amid current economic turmoil. Investors in UK property funds run by Aviva Investors, Standard Life, Aberdeen, Columbia Threadneedle, Legal & General and BMO Global Asset Management have been prevented ...
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April, 2020
London CIV unveils sustainable equity fund
The London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) has launched its Sustainable Equity Exclusion Fund, seeded with £200 millon from the London Borough of Lambeth Pension Fund. The new fund sits alongside the existing LCIV Sustainable Equity Fund and offers pool members the opportunity to exclude investments in sectors such as fossil fuels, tobacco and ...
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April, 2020
Aon bids for rival Willis Towers Watson
Aon has agreed to buy peer Willis Towers Watson in an all-share tie-up valued at $30 billion, which combines the industry’s second and third largest insurance brokers. The announcement of the deal comes 12 months after Aon revealed it had dropped plans to pursue a bid for its nearest rival and follows Marsh & McLennan’s acquisition of Jardine Lloyd ...
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April, 2020
Mobius unveils asset balancing tool
UK life insurer Mobius Life has launched a Smart Rebalancing service aimed at ensuring defined benefit schemes’ portfolios remain in line with their chosen asset allocation. The Smart Rebalancing service automates the process of keeping assets in line with the schemes’ investment strategies and is designed to reduce risk and potential transaction costs ...
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April, 2020
Brunel and SAUL commit to green infrastructure
Brunel Pensions Partnership and the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL) have committed £277 million to Greencoat Capital’s new closed-end private markets fund. Greencoat Renewable Income is expected to focus on solar, wind and bioenergy, with selected other green infrastructure opportunities such as renewable heat, designed ...
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April, 2020
Franklin Templeton acquires Legg Mason
Franklin Templeton has announced plans to acquire rival Legg Mason, creating a global investment management group with more than $1.5 trillion in assets under management. The deal, valued at $6.5 billion including debt, will increase the group’s alternative and institutional asset base. Franklin Templeton president and chief executive, Jenny Johnson, ...
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February, 2020
London LGPS launch social housing investment strategy
London CIV (LCIV), Local Pensions Partnership and the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) have teamed up to launch a fund aimed at investing in developing housing and infrastructure in London. The fund will concentrate on portfolio investment in the City of London, the capital’s 32 boroughs and their immediate surrounds, in assets such as residential ...
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February, 2020
Lothian boosts investment management systems
Lothian Pension Fund has integrated a new software system to help strengthen its investment processes and provide capacity for expansion of its third-party services. The £8.5 billion Edinburgh-based-fund has adopted an investment management system from State Street-owned software provider Charles River, which has portfolio management as well as trade ...
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February, 2020
FCA approves IPSX Wholesale
IPSX UK Limited, the Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) operated by IPSX Group Limited which offers the world’s first regulated securities exchange dedicated to commercial real estate, has received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to launch its second market, IPSX Wholesale. A Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF), IPSX Wholesale is a ...
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February, 2020
Kent recoups much of investment as fund is wound up
Kent County Council Superannuation Fund has recovered £139 million from its investment in Neil Woodford’s flagship fund, but still has around £99 million left to recoup. The LF Equity Income Fund’s administrator Link Fund Solutions informed investors that they would be due to receive between 46.3p and 58.9p a share, depending on the share class ...
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