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A new kind of crunch

Any time Norway’s Government Pension Fund makes a move in the markets it is big news. Rachel Wolcott speaks to Martin Skancke, head of asset management at the Norwegian finance ministry, about the fund’s plans to move into real estate investing.

GE Real Estate is at the forefront of a growing trend to acquire real estate loans at a discount. Players such as GE with the ability to put cash to work are able to take advantage of opportunities coming on the market from lenders unable to hold on to loans that have dropped in value or have breached loan-to-value covenants. While GE has completed three large deals in the past six months, others are attracted to the value these assets offer. "We’re seeing banks offloading loans from their balance sheets," says Ian Gleeson, international multi-manager at Morley Fund Management, during a session at GRI’s London event in May. "We are looking at buying private loans at a discount. There are some bargains out there."

US lawmakers are trying to ease the pain of homeowners caught up in the sub-prime debacle with tighter regulation and a push towards greater use of long-term fixed-rate mortgages over unpredictable adjustable-rate deals. Will a new era of thrift replace the sub-prime excesses? Perhaps not if the US feels the playing field is not level. Julian Marshall reports.

Japan’s real estate regulators have given local real estate investment trusts the green light to invest overseas. But are J-Reits prepared for the challenge? Elliot Wilson reports.

Earlier this year, the real estate investment company made its debut on the global stage with its acquisition of a trophy London property. According to Ghanim bin Saad al-Saad, chief executive, that is only the beginning of its ambitions. Rachel Wolcott reports.

A surge in sovereign wealth funds’ real estate activities could bring an estimated $100 billion in investments to the sector annually. However, although sovereign funds are cash rich, they won’t be throwing their money around but rather hunting for bargains. Rachel Wolcott reports.

Invesco PowerShares, an investment advisory firm providing exchange traded funds, premiered its PowerShares Global Wind Energy Portfolio ETF last Tuesday on the NASDAQ to offer diversified exposure to investors. “Investors get the instant asset allocation of the index which can now be bought with a single trade, which we believe may minimize the company-specific risks inherent with individual stock investments,” says Ed McRedmond, senior v.p. of portfolio strategy at Invesco in Wheaton, Ill. “Since the underlying index is from the NASDAQ OMX index group, NASDAQ was a logical choice for the listing.”

The prospect of a regulated credit rating agency sector in Europe will move one step closer tomorrow (July 8) when a proposal is due to be submitted by the Commission to Ecofin outlining plans for the agencies’ regulation and oversight.

Doug Engmann, head of equities at Newedge, has retired from the firm after his contract expired last week. He joined Fimat, which merged with Société Générale’s brokerage division, three years ago after his options and futures trading firm Preferred Trade was acquired. The firm has not yet replaced the derivatives industry veteran, who pioneered direct market access and smart order routing for options in the 1990s and has been a leader in the options industry for well over a decade.

Find out which institutions have excelled this year in providing high-quality products and services across all areas of commercial and investment banking.

Erwin De Groot, who formerly headed corporate sales for ABN Amro in North America, has joined BNP Paribas. He will be based in Amsterdam, as head of FX sales Netherlands, reporting to Ivo Mertens, the bank’s head of corporate FX & derivatives in the Benelux. The bank has also hired Spyros Ginosatis to cover Greek corporates. He will report to Stelios Papadopoulos, the bank’s head of fixed income in Athens. Ginosatis has previously worked at Marfin and Calyon.