U.K. Wealth Fund to Target Private Equity, Infrastructure Investment

London Mayor Boris Johnson’s fledgling British sovereign-wealth fund plans to combine local public pension funds and invest billions of pounds in private equity and infrastructure projects.

Chinese investors despair as gains wiped out in tumbling stock market

“Ah, of course I have lost money,” exclaims Cindy Wang, putting her hand to her face. She has lost around half her investments.

Rising interest rates pose new risk for banks: BIS

LONDON (Reuters) - Rising interest rates after years of loose monetary policy will pose a fresh risk to banks' ability to absorb losses using capital buffers, the Bank for International Settlements said in its annual report on Sunday.

Kravis Says Private Equity Does Poor Job of Discussing Its Benefits

BERLIN – Henry Kravis, the co-founder of the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and other industry leaders think the private equity sector has a bit of an image problem.

Deutsche Bank cuts Europe ETF prices to win institutional business

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (GER:DBK) will cut commissions on four of its biggest European exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, in a move to take market share from rivals such as Vanguard and BlackRock (BLK.N) and win over big institutional investors.

A Ray of Hope for Emerging Markets?

A new indicator of cross-border capital flows unveiled Thursday may give emerging markets a ray of hope in what has been a pretty dark week.

Pension funds hive off record amount of long-life risk

LONDON (Reuters) - The market that final salary pension funds are banking on to insure against the cost of longer lifespans has chalked up a record 8.9 billion pounds ($14.7 billion) in deals in 2013.

Investors join gold rush for European infrastructure

LONDON (Reuters) - Power distribution systems may not sound like trophy assets, but for investors seeking higher returns in a low interest rate world, such European infrastructure is gold dust.

From FDI to AIA: Africans investing in Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Investors from Europe, Asia and the United States are not the only ones chasing growth opportunities in Africa these days - Africans themselves are waking up to the potential across borders in their own backyard.

Buyout firms face squeeze as investors go direct for deals

LONDON (Reuters) - Tired of the hefty fees charged by private equity firms and wanting more say over what they buy, big investors like pension funds and insurers are taking matters into their own hands.

Is now a good time to invest in Europe? Some investors seem to think so

LONDON —About 60 billion euros ($76.5 billion) has been raised to buy so-called noncore loan assets currently held by European banks, according to the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Pension and SWFs offer hope for private equity fundraisings

Growing demand for private equity exposure from pension funds and sovereign wealth funds is expected to go some way to plug the gap left by a drop-off in allocations from insurance and financial institutions, according to research from Morgan Stanley.

Emerging markets may lure more pension funds: IMF

(Reuters) - Deep-pocketed pension and insurance funds may increase their investments in equities and other riskier assets in emerging and developing countries as they struggle with historically low interest rates in industrialized markets, the IMF said on Tuesday.

Pension plans of Canada, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Britain and the United States, which typically rely on traditionally safe investments such as bonds, are in danger of being unable to cover what they owe beneficiaries, in part because of low interest rates, the IMF said in its Global Financial Stability Report.

Pension funds in new crisis as deficit hole grows

Pension funds in developed economies are facing a new crisis as falling equities and tumbling bond yields widen their deficits, threatening the incomes and retirement dates of future retirees.

At the heart of their problems is a steady move by pension plans in the United States, euro zone, Japan and the UK to cut exposure to risk after the financial crisis.