Islamic hedge funds: patience may be rewarded with lucrative niche

After three years in development, the first Sharia compliant hedge fund has received approval for launch in the Middle East. The effort expended in reaching this stage highlights both the difficulty in servicing an embryonic market, and the potential rewards those managing the fund are expecting from this largely untapped financial services area.

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Kredietbank Luxembourg: bolstering its Belgian boutiques

Kredietbank Luxembourg (KBL), a subsidiary of the KBC Group, has agreed to buy HSBC Dewaay, a private bank owned by HSBC and operating in Belgium and Luxembourg. This looks like a sensible move, as adding Dewaay to its Puilaetco Private Bankers division should boost KBL's presence in Belgian private banking, as well as underscoring the potential of the 'boutique' banking model.

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Luxembourg remains the largest offshore center in the world

Since 2008, a number of initiatives launched by many Western economies at a global level have been aimed at traditional offshore centers in order to stop them being used as tax havens by the rich. Luxembourg, however, has maintained its position as the largest offshore center in the world, thanks to its dominance in the European funds market, especially among offshore clients.

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Managed funds: shutting the door on new money may be necessary to conserve performance

John Paulson, the hedge fund manager that made billions of dollars from betting against the US mortgage market, has recently shut his two flagship funds to new cash. He is not alone in closing the door to new capital. A growing number of fund managers are now considering closing their funds to new money inflows as the recovery drives up assets under management.

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Mirabaud: going for Monaco's grand prix

Mirabaud has received approval to launch a wealth and asset management business for private clients in Monaco. The new company represents a promising venture and, in following the management philosophy of its parent, should be able to cash in on three decades of valuable experience catering for the high net worth segment.

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Money market funds: back in fashion

In the wake of large-scale outflows from money market funds late last year, Datamonitor argued that investors' fears around this fund class were unjustified, and predicted significant movements of cash back into the category. The latest data shows that we were right: money market funds are back in fashion, although they will have to fight for investors' attention during 2009.

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Offshore fund management: retail investors account for just over half of assets

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Pictet receives banking license in Hong Kong

Pictet & Cie (Europe), the banking subsidiary of Pictet & Cie, has received a banking license from the HKMA. Pictet is not the first Swiss bank to receive a license from the HKMA, however, and it will face strong competition for Hong Kong, Mainland China, and international clients.

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Prudential: pleased with-profits

Prudential [PRU.L] has announced strong growth in its with-profits fund as the company benefits from the recovering equity markets. The strong performance of the fund will come as a massive boost to the company, and the decision to increase or maintain total bonus rates will go some way to restoring the confidence of its 5.5 million policyholders.

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Retail mutual funds are gaining rapid popularity in the emerging markets of Brazil, China, and India

Globally, mutual fund assets more than doubled between 2002-07, while the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, China, and India) saw tenfold growth. Following the global financial crisis in 2008-11 mutual fund assets reduced by 12% worldwide, while the BRICs saw an 18% increase. Brazil, China, and India are also set for spectacular future growth in retail mutual funds.

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