Institutional Asset Manager Newsletter

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NEWSLETTER | 12 Feb 2021

All eyes are on the US, as the impeachment trial in the Senate decides whether former President Donald Trump was responsible for inciting rioters to storm the Capitol in January. The verdict could bar Trump from running for President again.

Since his election, Democratic President Joe Biden has lost little time in reversing Trump policies such as the Muslim travel ban and re-joining the Paris Agreement on climate change – but his stance on relations with China has remained unclear.

A pre-Chinese New Year phone call between Presidents Xi Jinping and Biden this week reportedly saw Biden vent his “fundamental concerns about Beijing's coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan".

"I told him I will work with China when it benefits the American people," tweeted Biden after the call. Trade tensions between the two countries have played havoc with stock markets in the past, and with institutional investors gradually upping their allocations toward China, relations with the US are likely to influence investment in the region in 2021.

Another allocation is also on the rise among institutions: cryptocurrencies. News that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had placed a USD1.5 billion bet on bitcoin helped spur interest in digital assets this week. Demand for Ethereum’s ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has outstripped bitcoin, with digital asset manager Grayscale reporting inflows of more than USD150 million in the last week alone.

Grayscale explained the ongoing trend toward inflation-hedging and the developing world of decentralised finance in an interview with Institutional Asset Manager.

Nevertheless, Musk’s move into crypto has also attracted criticism from environmental activists, due to the huge amounts of electricity required to mine bitcoin, most of which is generated by fossil fuels.

A new survey from bfinance shows that most institutional investors say environmental, social and governance factors play a major role in selecting (and terminating) asset managers. Many asset owners now expect their managers to employ dedicated sustainable investing staff, promote workforce gender diversity, and be members of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.

maddy taylor signature.png

Madeleine Taylor
Editor, Institutional Asset Manager
maddy.taylor@globalfundmedia.com

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

As Chinese New Year celebrations draw near, investor expectations for China’s equity and debt markets are set high for the Year of the Ox.

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

Tikehau Capital has completed the first closing of its investment platform focused on impact lending, raising cEUR100 million from the European Investment Fund, backed by the Investment Plan for Europe, an anchor investor alongside other key institutional investors.

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

EFG Asset Management (EFGAM) has added to its UCITS range with the launch of the New Capital US Value Fund in partnership with the US value pioneer Schafer Cullen Capital Management.

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

By A Paris – The outlook for growth in the Amsterdam financial services industry is optimistic, driven by the Brexit fallout, an increased need for political stability and access to a diversified support eco-system which can help alternative asset managers thrive.

Sterling Trading Tech sees record growth in 2020

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

Sterling Trading Tech (STT), a specialist in technology solutions for equity, equity options, futures and digital asset trading, has reported record growth companywide in 2020.

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

Telos, the second most active blockchain platform in the world, with over 600,000 accounts, has created a new bridge to Ethereum in coordination with plans to list its new ERC-20 token on Uniswap in March.

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

Cobalt, a provider of risk and settlement infrastructure, has partnered with EPAM Systems, a global provider of digital platform engineering and development services, to create an institutional-grade FIX gateway for the digital asset markets – providing connectivity to over 50 digital asset exchanges and market makers.

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

Kempen Capital Management (Kempen) has completed the onboarding of a new fiduciary management mandate for the Graphic Packaging International UK Pension Scheme.

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

The London Metal Exchange (LME) has chosen Itiviti’s FIX Conductor and VeriFIX Enterprise solutions to automate the clinet onboarding process.

IQ-EQ appoints Chief Commercial Officer for Jersey

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

IQ-EQ, a global investor services group, has appointed Mirek Gruna as its new Chief Commercial Officer for Jersey.

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

River and Mercantile has made a series of further Infrastructure hires from Aviva to support the recent recruitment of Ian Berry, former Head of Infrastructure Equity at Aviva Investors.

Fri | 12 Feb 2021, 11:06

Regnan, the responsible investment management business affiliated with J O Hambro Capital Management (JOHCM), has appointed Bertrand Lecourt, Senior Fund Manager, and Saurabh Sharma, Fund Manager, ahead of the launch of a global equities sustainable water and waste investment strategy later this year.