There could be a new record in annual inflows in the European ETF market based on flows in the first quarter. This is the view of Detlef Glow, head of Emea research at financial data provider LSEG Lipper. ETGF promoters in Europe benefitted from estimated net inflows of +€11 billion for March 2024. European ETFs hit record high assets under management in Q1 2024 Assets under management increased to €1.720 trillion while equity ETFs posted the highest estimated inflows at +€9.7 billion. According to Glow, the healthy inflows for March suggest “business as usual” for the European ETF industry ..read more

Nordic digital investment platform Nordnet has named Gabrielle Hagman as country manager for its Swedish operations. She succeeds Martin Ringberg who has left the company after holding the role since 2018. Hagman joined Nordnet in 2021 and currently holds the position of director of mutual funds. Payden & Rygel bolsters Benelux and Nordics teams ESG compulsory in Sweden’s fund search for public pension Prior to joining Nordnet, she worked for several financial institutions and fund managers including Danske Bank, BlackRock and Swedbank Robur. Nordnet has in recent years invested heavi ..read more

Nick White, a former partner at Swiss asset manager Carmignac, has launched Seafield Capital Partners, an investment sales and marketing consultancy. The new business is focused on fund distribution. According to a statement, Seafield is hoping to “revolutionise the conventional fund distribution and marketing model across the fund industry by offering an innovative alternative to large-scale in-house operations”. Octopus Investments hires head of UK institutional distribution Carmignac appoints sustainable investments lead The startup, which has offices in Dublin and London, has three asset ..read more

Hedge funds and other non-bank participants in the capital markets have been urged to hold more liquid assets by the Financial Stability Board (FSB). The call comes in light of recent episodes of market stress, including the pandemic-induced turmoil of March 2020, the collapse of Archegos in March 2021, the volatility in the commodities market in 2022 and liquidity issues suffered by liability-driven investment (LDI) funds in the same year. According to the FSB, these events uncovered a lack of preparedness for sudden price moves and the impact this would have on margin and collateral calls ..read more

The three regulators that supervise the EU’s financial services have launched a public consultation on the proposed regulatory technical standards (RTS) for the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). The act is set to take effect in January 2025 and will require financial institutions, including asset managers, to demonstrate more robust defences against possible cyberattacks and other operational risks. DORA also represents regulators’ efforts to make its operational resilience rules fit for purpose in a digital age. EU regulators to launch test in preparation for DORA AMF finds firms no ..read more

Luxembourg-based specialist fund administrator Alter Domus has gone live on the automated fund management platform provided by Temenos Multifonds. The implementation has been sparked by the arrival of the Eltif 2.0 regulations designed to make alternative investments more accessible to retail investors, which came into effect in January. According to Alter Domus, it was looking for a platform that could be implemented quickly and would enable it to handle a significant increase in transaction volume. Alter Domus sells majority stake to PE firm Sibos 2023 interview: Kalliopi Chioti, Temenos, o ..read more

London-based Allianz Global Investors has gained approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to operate as a wholly foreign-owned public fund management company in mainland China. The 533bn euro London-based firm has been given regulatory approval to establish a business in China with a registered capital of RMB300m ($41.2m). Tobias Pross, chief executive of Allianz Global Investors, said that building a business in China has been a long-term strategic priority for the firm. “Having obtained our licence we can now commence our public fund management business in this dynamic marke ..read more

Geneva-based Pictet Asset Management has launched a global equities fund that will use artificial intelligence for stock selection. The Luxembourg-domiciled Pictet-Quest AI Driven Global Equities “enhanced” index fund will target an annual return before fees of 1.5% above the MSCI World index, with a management fee of 20 basis points. David Wright, co-head of quantitative equity strategies, said: “The rapid expansion of machine learning and AI, combined with improved market data quality, now makes it possible to systematically add incremental outperformance that can have a profound effect in ..read more

Funds Europe has appointed Mark Latham, former editor of Private Equity News, as its deputy editor. Latham returns to Funds Europe after three years covering private markets at the Dow Jones title. A multi-award-winning financial and business journalist with over 20 years of experience, Latham has worked in Berlin, Brussels, Glasgow and London for a variety of newspapers, including The Sunday Times, the Herald and Politico Europe. John Greenwood, group editorial director at Funds Europe, said: “We’re delighted to welcome a journalist of Mark’s calibre to the team as we exp ..read more

Evenlode, the £5.5bn Oxfordshire-based investment manager, has appointed Rob Harris (pictured) as chief executive with effect from May 7. Co-founder and current Evenlode chief executive Hugh Yarrow will become executive chair while remaining lead manager of the Evenlode Income strategy. Liontrust to acquire Majedie Asset Management Harris has been an independent non-executive director at Evenlode since May 2023. His 30-year career includes 17 years managing institutional UK equity portfolios. He began his career at Merrill Lynch, leaving in 2002 to co-found Majedie Asset Management, where he ..read more