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Advisors in the UK may be facing a formidable competitor: their own government. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has launched a new website which promises to deliver impartial financial advice to users.

Perhaps slightly more disturbing than all the free financial advice, the website – moneymadeclear.co.uk — also provides instructions on what action to take if the user feels their human advisor has “mis-sold” a product to them.

“Moneymadeclear is free, impartial advice for all, whether you are unsure about the small print in a mortgage form; want advice opening a savings account for your children or grand-children or want some help dealing with repayments before they get out of hand,” Darling said at the official launch.

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Desjardins unveils changes to Alternative Investments Fund

The Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec has announced that investors have approved changes to the Desjardins Alternative Investments Fund, including a name change to Desjardins Completion Investments Fund.

The fund’s mandate has changed to exclude investment in income trusts, in advance of the January 2011 changes to federal tax treatment of trusts. The fund will now allocate a portion of its portfolio to global infrastructure securities and global high yield bonds. Exposure to global REITs will also be increased.

Desjardins Global Asset Management will continue to set weightings for each asset class, and SINOPIA Asset Management of Paris, France, will remain the sole subadvisor on inflation-linked bonds.

The fund may use derivatives for hedging and non-hedging purposes, but will not engage in short sale transactions.

The changes will be implemented today.

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Hedge funds largely positive in February

Hedge fund managers turned in positive returns in February, riding a wave of strength in commodities and lower volatility in the major stock markets, according to EDHEC-Risk Institute.

CTA Global (commodity trading advisors) strategies posted the best monthly returns, earning 0.96%, followed closely by long/short equity strategies, with returns of 0.94%.

With markets posting positive returns throughout the month, short-selling strategies were hardest hit, with the group posting an average loss of 2.66%.

Year to date, the best returns have been found by distressed equity strategy managers, earning 2.3%, while fixed income arbitrage funds have turned in 1.9%. The weakest strategies so far have been CTA global (-1.8%) and emerging markets (-1.1%),

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U.S. reform bill gets more support

The financial reform bill tabled in the U.S. Senate by senator Chris Dodd has received qualified support from the Social Investment Forum.

“We welcome the progress reflected in Senator Dodd’s bill on the major fronts of corporate governance reform and SEC self funding, but we have concerns about provisions in the bill that could compromise the functional independence of the proposed consumer protection entity,” SIF chief executive Lisa Woll said in a release.

The bill would create a new body, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but Woll says the independence of this organization would be constrained by the fact that it would be funded by a budget allocation from the Federal Reserve.

Also, the bureau could be overruled by another proposed body, the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

On the upside, SIF welcomes provisions in the bill which would give shareholders a “say on pay” for executive compensation, among other governance enhancements.

The Social Investment Forum urges members of the Senate to pass the strongest possible financial reform bill, making it clear to the American people that the harsh lessons of the financial crisis have been learned,” Woll concluded.

(03/18/10)