Woody E. Bradford will become CEO of Italy-based Generali Investments Holding, effective June 1, said an April 18 news release. Current CEO Carlo Trabattoni will “assume new responsibilities within the asset management area, the news release said. Bradford will also maintain his current role as CEO and chairman of the board of Conning Holdings, a Hartford, Conn.-based asset manager. On April 3, Conning was acquired by Generali Investments. As of Dec. 31, Generali Investments had €516 billion ($569.5 billion) in assets under management, according to the firm’s website ..read more

Index providers and asset managers facilitated investment of more than $6.5 billion to 63 blacklisted Chinese companies in 2023, according to a bipartisan report from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Those companies are ones the U.S. government has red-flagged or blacklisted for advancing People's Republic of China military capabilities or supporting its human rights abuses, the report issued April 18 said. Digging deeper, the report focused on the actions of MSCI and BlackRock. It found that in 2023, MSCI indexes channeled $3.7 billion to the blacklisted Chinese comp ..read more

Of the 10 U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs that began trading in January, hedge fund manager Hunting Hill Global Capital has “traded nearly all of them at this point,” the firm’s founder and chief investment officer said.  While the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of a spot bitcoin ETF “has been momentous for the industry,” it has also “brought a lot of opportunity” to Hunting Hill, which has traded bitcoin and other digital assets since 2016, said CIO Adam Guren, who founded Hunting Hill in 2010. “There’s a few advantages (to) using the ETF relative to … spot bitcoin, one of t ..read more

Juan Bernal has been named group chief investment officer of MAPFRE, a Spanish insurance and money management firm, effective May 1. Bernal succeeds Jose Luis Jimenez, who was appointed as MAPFRE's deputy chief financial officer as of Jan. 1, a spokesperson said. Bernal most recently served as chief executive officer at CaixaBank Asset Management, a Spanish asset manager, said an April 19 news release. CaixaBank Asset Management named Ana Martin de Santa Olalla to succeed Bernal, according to a news release from CaixaBank on April 19. Based in Madrid, MAPFRE has more than €50 billion ($53.2 bi ..read more

Mary Torgerson, a former executive with 401(k) provider Ubiquity Retirement + Savings, will join Ascensus as head of small-business retirement, Ascensus announced in a news release April 18. The position, which is new, opened up as a result of a reorganization of Ascensus’ retirement business in February. Torgerson will start April 29 and will report to Ascensus President Nick Good. She will oversee the small-business retirement unit, which serves businesses with small employee populations and supports Ascensus’ existing CoPilot business and individual 401(k), multi-SEP, SIMPLE IRA and similar ..read more

Silver, not gold, was what glittered for investors last month, a BlackRock report on March global exchange-traded product flows revealed. Net inflows into silver ETPs totaled $1 billion in March, the biggest inflow month for ETPs related to that commodity since January 2021, the report said. In January 2021, silver ETPs netted $1.9 billion, according to BlackRock data. “These (March) silver inflows went entirely into EMEA-listed ETPs, with EMEA investors simultaneously continuing to sell gold,” the report said. EMEA is short for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We’ve seen client interest p ..read more

Over the years, an increasing portion of retirement savers have their entire balance in target-date products, based on data collected by T. Rowe Price from its 401(k) and 457 plan record-keeping clients. In 2023, 65% had all their retirement assets in target-date strategies vs. 48% in 2014. The percentage of assets in target-date strategies decreases with age. Those younger than 20 years old had 84% of their assets in target-date products last year. That figure dropped to 30% for those at least 70 years old ..read more

South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission, Columbia, committed $275 million to two alternatives funds for the $42.5 billion South Carolina Retirement Systems' investment portfolio, according to board documents. The commission disclosed the commitments, which were made in March and April, at its April 18 meeting. The commission committed $200 million to Bayview MSR Opportunity Domestic Fund, a hedge fund managed by Bayview Asset Management. It also committed $75 million to venture capital fund of funds Industry Ventures Partnership Holdings VII. As of Dec. 31, the commission's actu ..read more

Kate Burke, president of Allspring Global Investments, thinks deep client relationships and customized approaches are critical for asset management — something that artificial intelligence may not pick up on.   “It is a relationship business. And knowing your client and having those in-person discussions that pull apart the needs of you as an individual or you as a pension ... I don’t know that AI will ever fully pick that up,” she said in an interview with Pensions & Investments.   Burke joined Allspring seven months ago after spending 18 years at AllianceBernstein, where she wa ..read more

French buyout firm Ardian is close to a deal to acquire more than $1 billion of private equity fund stakes from British Columbia Investment Management, according to people familiar with the matter. The transaction may close in the next few months, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a confidential matter. The British Columbia fund, which manages the retirement savings of government workers in the Canadian province, was considering the sale of about $2 billion worth of Europe-focused investments and reducing its U.S. positions to rebalance its portfolio and free up ca ..read more