The pace of the economic recovery in the UK has taken economists by surprise in the last year, prompting a number of upwards revisions for GDP growth.

Leon Howard-Spink is to hand over his £1bn European Alpha Plus fund next month to focus on running pan-European portfolios, Investment Week can reveal.

Newton Investment Management's veteran fund manager Iain Stewart said the past year has been the most difficult period he has experienced in almost three decades in the industry.

Ignis Asset Management has converted its £1.2bn UK Property fund into a Property Authorised Investment Fund (PAIF) in a bid to offer investors a tax-efficient way to access the vehicle.

Phoenix Group Holdings is awaiting a boost from the Ignis deal, set to complete in Q2, as it sees a drop in cash generation in Q1 compared to last year.

The US economy has posted disappointing growth figures in the first quarter of the year, slowing sharply to just 0.1% after adverse weather conditions impacted the world's largest economy.

BlackRock is to launch an Asia Special Situations fund for Andrew Swan and Emily Dong, after bringing its first Asian equities fund to the UK market last summer.

Barclays is to announce the creation of a 'bad bank' next week with the aim to transforming its struggling investment banking arm, according to reports.

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Although water shortages are most prominent in emerging markets, the manager of the Pictet Water fund has identified abundant investment opportunities in developed countries due to limited infrastructure.