Corporates and funds
Japan’s GPIF divests $1.5bn in Russia-linked assets
Pension fund cut exposure to country by 95% in the 12 months to March
Berkshire Hathaway outruns index puts it sold pre-GFC
Options that netted Warren Buffett’s company hefty premiums would be worthless at end-2021 market levels
Norway oil fund’s derivatives book balloons 192% in H2 2021
Sovereign wealth fund GPFG piled up FX and IR contracts and tapped CDS for the first time
Sanctions threaten top pension funds’ Russia assets
Top global pension funds might dump Moscow-linked holdings in response to Ukraine invasion
GM Financial’s derivatives fall 72% in value in 2021
A steeper forward interest rate curve paired with an appreciating dollar erased most of the gains booked by the carmaker’s lending arm in 2020
Derivatives exposures up 26% at BP
Oil giant posts fourth consecutive yearly increase in 2021
Shell derivatives exposure rose by $15bn in 2021
Over 93% of the oil giant’s derivatives instruments were designated as current
BlackRock’s 65% of AUM accounts for 1% of global emissions
Asset manager’s absolute emissions linked to corporate securities and real estate stood at 330.7 million tons of CO2e in 2020
EU funds levered up over 2019
Gross hedge fund leverage came to 6,450% of NAV
Climate shocks could cut ‘polluting’ EU funds’ value by 20%
Esma researchers say carbon-intensive funds also pose more of a systemic risk
US MMFs invested more in riskier repo trades in December
Year-end surge also occurred in 2017 and 2019
Majority of EU funds’ CDSs are ‘naked’ exposures
Of more than 4,000 CDS positions assessed by Esma researchers, 71% were uncovered
MMFs lengthen portfolio maturity post-Covid – BIS
Average holdings had maturity of 41 days in November
EU funds lack liquidity management tools – Esma
Most Ucits can only rely on temporary borrowing or gating to weather crises
Eurozone funds favoured US equities in Q2
Investment funds also bought up eurozone bank stocks
Credit Suisse traded most with top Pimco funds in 2019
Bank’s US securities arm conducted trades worth $639 billion over 12 months to end-March 2020
Eurozone hedge funds put cash to work in Q2
Deposit and loan claims made up 20% of total assets in Q1
Eurozone funds charged into overseas debt in Q2
Net purchases almost reversed the first quarter’s fire sale
Berkshire Hathaway’s put option liabilities climb
Fair value liability climbed to $1.6 billion at end-June
Equity derivatives aided BlackRock funds in March
Flagship Strategic Income Opportunities fund posted $253 million in net derivatives gains at height of Covid crunch
BlackRock's muni funds slow to rebound from Covid crunch
Cumulative returns have barely edged up for these funds since end-March
Short funds’ moment in the sun is over
DSB funds are in the red year-to-date after a spectacular performance through March
At height of Covid crisis, eurozone MMFs scrambled for cash
MMFs hold the bulk of eurozone banks’ commercial paper
Margin calls on eurozone funds rose fivefold in March
ECB data shows some funds faced liquidity squeeze as VM calls flooded in