Northern Trust Opens Beijing Branch | Chief Investment Officer

(August 31, 2010) — Northern Trust Corp. said today that it acquired a branch license in Beijing after receiving approval by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CORK).

The new branch reflects heightened interest in the Asia-Pacific region, where the firm’s assets under custody were $263.6 billion as of December 31, 2009, an increase of approximately 80% from the previous year, Northern Trust spokesperson John O’Connell told ai5000. The site will allow the firm, with $3.6 trillion in assets under custody, to directly provide client services from that office, instead of from its offices in Singapore and Hong Kong.

According to the bank and asset manager, whose staff has grown to more than 2,000 employees at offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Melbourne and Bangalore, the Beijing branch will provide global custody, accounting, performance measurement and investment mandate compliance monitoring services. “With its dynamic economy and emerging opportunities for overseas investment, China is a strategic focus for Northern Trust,” said the firm’s Chairman and CEO Frederick H. Waddell in a release. “

Other large funds have expanded their reach in the region – last month, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s second largest, reported plans to boost investments in Asia to take advantage of the region’s strong economic growth.

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“An office in Singapore will strengthen our operations in Asia,” commented Norges Bank Governor Svein Gjedrem in a statement. “Having a presence in a region with strong economic growth is important for achieving good management results.”

The fund followed the lead of other sovereign wealth investors including Temasek Holdings Pte and the Qatar Investment Authority that have also upped their investments in the area.

To contact the <em>aiCIO</em> editor of this story: Paula Vasan at <a href='mailto:pvasan@assetinternational.com'>pvasan@assetinternational.com</a>; 646-308-2742

Amid concern about slowing economic growth, a new survey shows more than a third of managers are increasingly bearish about the US stock market and upbeat on 10-year Treasuries.

(August 31, 2010) — A survey by TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge reveals that nearly half of hedge fund managers have become bearish about stocks.

“Bearish sentiment skipped sharply higher, and bullish sentiment plunged,” Sol Waksman, CEO of BarclayHedge, said in a release outlining the study, which consisted of research compiled from interviews with 104 hedge fund managers over the past week. “Meanwhile, short interest is heaviest in the most cyclical sectors, and from a seasonality standpoint September is far and away the worst month of the year for stocks. The developments hedge fund managers are telegraphing bode ill for equities.” Over the past two months, bullish sentiment has increased to 36% from 14%, as hedge fund managers continue to favor US Treasury bonds.

About 47% of the managers interviewed said they were not optimistic about returns of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, compared to 33.1% a month earlier. Meanwhile, the number of hedge fund portfolio managers who were bullish on the S&P 500 dropped in August to 17% from 34%.

Additionally, the study revealed hedge fund managers were increasingly optimistic about the strength of of the US dollar in August — 29% categorized themselves as bullish, compared with 22% in July.

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In regards to fiscal and monetary policy, almost 63% of managers surveyed this month said they want to see the Bush tax cuts extended in some form. According to TrimTabs and BarclayHedge, half of managers believe decreased deficit spending is justified, while 18% feel the government should spend more.

To contact the <em>aiCIO</em> editor of this story: Paula Vasan at <a href='mailto:pvasan@assetinternational.com'>pvasan@assetinternational.com</a>; 646-308-2742