International funds

The Asian Development Bank has launched a new environmentally based mutual fund.The Future Carbon Fund is tied to environmental initiatives from the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire at the end of 2012.

Earlier this week, John Templeton sadly passed away at the age of 95. Templeton created the Templeton Growth Fund back in 1954, but many articles about his passing avoided this subject when they summarized his life.

A source for the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) recently stated that the CSRC only suggested that senior mutual fund officials remain in China until the Olympics in early August to keep a stable market, they are in no which way barring them from leaving the country.

Sir John Templeton, founder of the Templeton Funds and who first came to Wall Street in 1937, passed away yesterday at the age of 95 from pneumonia in Nassau, Bahamas.

The Alternative Investment Management Association of the U.K. is about to launch a third set of codes for hedge funds-of-funds, on the heels of two other sets of best practices issued in the last 18 months.

Chrisopher Hohn, who runs the $15billion hedge fund The Children’s Investment Fund Management in the U.K.—and who is practically revered for the average annual returns of 42% he has delivered since the fund’s inception in 2004—has reached an impasse, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Back in 2005, the chances that Amvescap, now Invesco, would make a 360-degree turnaround seemed virtually impossible, but with a little bit of time and the addition of Martin Flanagan as chief executive officer, the unlikely actually occurred.

This week, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission decided that effective Aug. 1, mutual fund advertisements will no longer need to be pre-approved.

Back in 2005, the chances that Amvescap, now Invesco, would make a 360-degree turnaround seemed virtually impossible, but with a little bit of time and the addition of Martin Flanagan as chief executive officer, the unlikely actually occurred, Institutional Investor reports.

"I cheated my investors because I was afraid to admit my failure. I did not want the world to think I was not good enough and I did not want my family to see me as a failure."

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Gavin charged UBS AG's UBS Securities, LLC and UBS Financial Services with fraud and dishonest conduct regarding the firms’ retail sales of auction-rate securities.

Leading mutual fund and exchange-traded fund provider Vanguard has launched the Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund. This fund is set to track the performance of the FTSE All-World Index, which is a market-capitalized-weighted index serving as a benchmark of about 2,900 stocks throughout 47 countries.

Barclays Bank PLC has introduced its iPath Global Carbon Exchange Traded Note on the NYSE Arca stock exchange.

Plans are currently underway to create a new commodities exchange in Hong Kong, potentially giving China a larger role in setting the world’s petroleum prices and adding to the reputation it craves as a global, economic powerhouse.

Recent hikes in oil prices and far-too-turbulent markets may have caused unwanted stress for investors, but Steven Lehman thinks he might be able to provide a glimpse of hope to pessimists by ditching the traditional pattern of investing domestically, according to The Wall Street Journal.

For the next few days, 1,500 fund managers from across the nation will gather in Chicago for the 2008 Morningstar Investment Conference, with the hopes of hearing new ideas and investment strategies that can help them reengage their clients in investments.

Security Global Investors (SGI) has announced it is intensifying its efforts to raise capital for global equity expansion.Out of the $9 billion in assets that SGI currently manages, $1 billion is in global equity investment strategies.The current global equity team within SGI manages two programs, the Global Long Only and the Global Long/Short Long Biased, and is planning on launching the Global Market Neutral strategy later this year.The success of the long/short program has drawn the attention of hedge fund investors throughout the industry. John Boich leads the GLS with 17 years of successful global equity portfolio management experience.In addition to the promotion of new global programs, SGI hired Sanjay Yodh, an industry veteran who previously worked at JPMorgan and Deutsche Asset Management, to focus on the global equity investment expansion of SGI.

Financial service group PPM America recently announced its promotion of Jim Young to chief investment officer.As CIO, Young will oversee all portfolio management, all public and fixed income functions, and will head the credit research group and structured finance teams. In addition, Young will continue to carry out his existing responsibilities as chairman of the firm’s credit approval committee.“The company’s management team relies on constant collaboration and an open exchange of ideas in order to achieve our mission, which is to be indispensable to our clients," said PPMA’s President and CEO Leandra Kres. "Jim has been an integral member of the team for 11 years, and I am confident that his expanded responsibilities will allow him to have an even greater impact on the success of the organization going forward.”Kres previously held the CIO position in addition to her executive responsibilities.PPMA manages approximately $78 billion in assets of mutual funds, unit trusts, and insurance companies. It is a subsidiary of Prudential plc, a company integrated in the United Kingdom.

Backed by the Omidyar Network's recent $10 million contribution, Latin America's first social venture capital fund, IGNIA Fund I has now raised $20.6 million in capital commitments. This first close is only the beginning for the Monterrey, Mexico-based fund, which hopes to raise $50 to $75 million in total."This is a unique group of investors because of their commitment to pioneer solutions to poverty through high growth, profitable and scalable businesses that simultaneously generate wealth for the poor and provide attractive returns to its investors," said lvaro Rodrguez Arregui, IGNIA co-founder and managing partner.Specifically, IGNIA attempts to locate and then aid various Latin American entrepreneurial businesses that seek to positively impact low-income families and or individuals suffering from the effects of poverty. Industries of particular interest for the socially aware fund are health care, housing, and education."The IGNIA Fund hits an Omidyar Network sweet spot: creating economic opportunity by leveraging the energy and creativity of entrepreneurial ventures," said Jim Bunch, director of investments at Omidyar Network. "We expect IGNIA to provide a compelling demonstration effect of the power of entrepreneurship, and we are pleased to join the fund at the start of what we expect to be an exciting and productive journey."

Morgan Stanley, releasing its 2nd quarter earnings Wednesday, reported a 60% drop in profit from $2.57 billon, or $2.45 a share, in the second quarter of 2007, to $1.01 billion, or 95 cents a share. Net revenue also fell a substantial 38% from $10.52 billion to $6.51 billion.