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UCITS Embraced as New, International Trading Tool

May 24, 2010 - BOSTON -- The staggering growth of UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America has led to a proliferation of new investment products and trading opportunities, but restrictive investment mandates and tax requirements in the U.S. are causing some U.S. investors to feel left out of the game. "The folks in Washington don't seem to realize there is business outside our borders," said Alan Reid, CEO of Forward Funds, speaking at the 21st Annual Conference on the Globalisation of Investment Funds, held this year at the Boston Harbor Hotel. "We are seeing growing demand from offshore companies, and the demand for UCITS is staggering."

Global Balance Key to Regulatory Restructuring

May 3, 2010 - NEW YORK -- In the aftermath of the global recession, regulators from developed nations are working with financial industry leaders to build a new foundation for a more balanced global economy less susceptible to worldwide crises. To help achieve this balance, individual countries must first adopt international reporting standards, control their own debt-to-gross domestic product ratios, and work together to identify and address imbalances as they crop up.

Hedge Fund Investors Look to Liquidity, Flexibility of Emerging Markets

May 3, 2010 - Predicting a positive but shaky year ahead, alternative investors are looking abroad to reap the benefits of the global recovery. Nearly half of the 1,300 alternative investors surveyed by Brighton House Associates in the fourth quarter said they were interested in hedge funds following global macro trends because of the strategy's broad economic approach and highly liquid structure. Interest in emerging markets by U.S. investors has burgeoned over the past two years, as economies in these markets fared far better than the badly damaged American economy. As American credit froze to a near halt, banks in China, India and Brazil, for instance, continued to lend freely, with some of these countries even posting double-digit GDP growth as the U.S. contracted for four consecutive quarters.

2010 Outlook Looks Hopeful, Barring Any Surprises

January 11, 2010 - NEW YORK - U.S. and international regulators are widely credited with having saved the global economy from plummeting into a second Great Depression, and the fragile, recovering economy can expect to see continued support for much of 2010, experts say. This support could help stocks rebound anywhere from 2% to 12% this year, depending upon whom you ask, but markets can always defy expectations.

IFRS Puts Focus On Fair Value

January 4, 2010 - As regulators work to converge U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), several key differences remain, most notably the different measurement attributes of financial liabilities, the timing and approaches to projects and the difference between fair value and amortized costs. Under GAAP, investment companies like mutual funds, private equity holders and venture capital organizations are exempted from certain consolidation requirements and are allowed to account for separate fund holdings at fair value. No such exemptions currently exist under IFRS, though fair value concerns are being featured prominently in convergence discussions, and the U.S. has been adapting its rules on fair value to increase its international appeal.

American Century Looks Abroad

December 14, 2009 - American Century Investments is a brand-new player in the international wealth management business-and that novelty could be an ace up its sleeve, according to the company's top executive. "That's because the Kansas City, Mo.-based mutual fund firm is a fresh alternative for institutional investors who are "disenchanted with their current providers," said Jonathan Thomas, American Century's president and chief executive officer. "For the most part, we're nobody's current provider."

Fund Managers Bullish on Emerging Markets in 2010

December 14, 2009 - Fund managers are betting that emerging markets will be the best place for growth in 2010, due to their lack of correlation to the rest of the world and its sluggish, forecasted recovery, but lower correlation does not mean greater safety. Energy, technology and health-care sectors will lead domestically, but unemployment will likely remain around 10% for at least another six months, forcing the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low for as long as possible, experts say.

Private Funds Face Regulatory Face-Lift

December 7, 2009 - While it may be too late for the Securities and Exchange Commission to pass any new regulations before the end of the year, financial experts anticipate major financial legislation and regulation to occur sometime in early 2010. The main issues facing money managers are Congressional proposals to require private funds to register with the SEC, a Supreme Court ruling on fund fees, a proposal to regulate money market funds and regulatory proposals or guidance on valuation.

Commodity ETFs Surge in Popularity

November 30, 2009 - NEW YORK - Investors and money managers looking to diversify their portfolios by getting into commodities and commodity exchange-traded funds should keep in mind the volatile nature of these products, as well as the wide range of possible risks, experts say. "The only way to make money on commodities is to buy and sell them," said Victor Sperandeo, president and CEO of Alpha Financial Technologies, at the Inside Commodities Conference held earlier this month at the New York Stock Exchange, hosted by IndexUniverse.

Experts Predict Market Growth in Near Future

November 23, 2009 - The U.S. economy is well on its way to recovery, according to most mutual fund CIOs, and just about all the economic charts show key growth criteria improving, barring an unexpected jolt. Most experts seem to agree that unemployment has nearly peaked, inflation fears are far-off, and U.S. large-cap stocks still provide some of the best bargains around.

IFRS Consolidation Rules Could Slam Mutual Funds

November 9, 2009 - NEW YORK - A little-known provision in international financial reporting standards (IFRS) could require mutual funds to consolidate and report the financials of the companies they invest in, if they own a controlling interest across all of their individual funds. Under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), investment companies like mutual funds, private equity holders and venture capital organizations, are exempted from consolidation requirements and allowed to account for their holdings separately in each fund at fair value.

Fidelity Enables Investors To Trade International Stocks, Currencies via Web

October 26, 2009 - Fidelity Investments has augmented its international trading platform, enabling retail investors, advisers and brokers to trade foreign stocks and currencies in real time. The platform gives retail investors access to 12 foreign markets and eight currencies, along with third-party research, news, real-time market data and quotes, and telephone access to international trading specialists 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Broker/dealers and financial advisers have access to trading equities in 25 markets and 16 currencies. The platform can convert dollars into foreign currencies instantly, in current market exchange rates.

Companies Wait for Clearer Guidance Before Adopting IFRS

October 26, 2009 - Noting the urgency and immensity of their task, global financial leaders are frantically making small and large changes to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and international financial accounting standards (IFRS) to make them more similar, and the Securities and Exchange Commission has recently made a single set of standards a high priority. With more than 100 countries already using the principles-based IFRS, the world is anxiously waiting to get the U.S. on board, but merging the two standards to eliminate their differences has been and will continue to be a monumental task.

World Awaits U.S. Action on Accounting Standards

September 28, 2009 - When the Roman Empire was first expanding, regulators noticed an annoying problem: Due to increasing traffic, chariots were leaving grooves in the stone roads, but the gauge - the distance between the wheels - varied according to region. Different sized chariots didn't fit in the grooves. Julius Caesar had a solution: international standardization. Regulators around the world are again trying to establish a new international standard, this time for financial accounting rules.

Funds Must Reassess Back-Office Controls

June 8, 2009 - Thanks to shady money managers like Bernie Madoff who ruined it for everyone, the lucrative and surreptitious heydays of hedge funds may be gone for good. Tenacious regulators and spurned investors alike are demanding more transparency of their investment holdings, and hedge fund and mutual fund companies alike will need to beef up their back offices to meet this new demand.