The structured investment industry could improve its reputation by pre-empting regulatory guidance and dropping the term 'guaranteed' from marketing materials, according to financial services consultancy, The Investment Bridge.
The combined pension deficit of Britain’s FTSE 100 companies dropped by almost two thirds in 2010, from £51bn (€58.2bn) in 2009 to £19bn.
The majority of investment management leaders in Europe and the Middle East say the pace and extent of regulatory reform could do more harm than good to their industry and that smaller players could lose out to larger institutions which are better equipped to cope.
The funding deficit for final salary pension schemes at FTSE 350 companies swung from a low of £27bn (€31bn) to a high of £45bn during July, as volatility in the equity and bond markets caused assets to fluctuate in value.
Debt issues, particularly those in the US concerning the debt ceiling, dragged world stock markets down in the last week of July after a month of upward performance that had reversed June's losses. A global 1.29% gain turned into a 1.7% loss.
The use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria when stock picking can lead to outperformance, according to a white paper from global asset manager RCM.
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