L’assemblée générale d’Anima Holding a choisi Claudio Bombonato comme nouveau président, rapporte Bluerating. Il succède à Giuseppe Zadra, qui a décliné l’invitation à présider la société de gestion italienne trois ans supplémentaires. Ingénieur aéronautique, Claudio Bombonato a travaillé plusieurs années chez McKinsey.

La société de gestion italienne Anima SGR a remanié sa gamme de fonds, a-t-elle confirmé à Citywire Global. Parmi les changements principaux figure la fusion des fonds Euro Equity et European Equity au sein d’Anima SICAV - European Equities, géré par Lars Schickentanz.

Helen Zhu, qui vient de passer huit ans chez Goldman Sachs, va rejoindre BlackRock à compter du 7 avril au poste de managing director et responsable des actions pour la Chine, rapporte Asia Asset Management. Chez Goldman Sachs, elle était dernièrement stratégiste en chef sur les actions chinoises, après avoir travaillé dans la division de recherche en investissement de la banque américaine sur le marché asiatique, couvrant en particulier les secteurs des télécoms et d’internet. Au cours de sa carrière, Helen Zhu a également travaillé pendant cinq ans chez ABN Amro où elle couvrait aussi la recherche actions sur le secteur des télécoms.

La banque privée allemande Berenberg vient d’annoncer avoir remporté un mandat auprès du britannique Aerion Fund Management, l’un des plus grands gestionnaires de fonds de pension outre-Manche avec des actifs sous gestion de 15,2 milliards de livres à fin septembre 2013.Berenberg s’est vu attribuer la gestion du risque devises d’Aerion pour un montant de 3,5 milliards de livres. Les actifs sous gestion de Berenberg s'élèvent désormais à environ 34 milliards d’euros, dont une quinzaine de milliards pour le compte de clients institutionnels.

Un donneur d’alerte a informé les autorités américaines sur des pratiques douteuses du Credit Suisse, rapporte le Tages Anzeiger dans son édition du 7 mars. Cette personne serait Anthony DeChellis, directeur général Private Banking US de la grande banque de 2006 jusqu’au printemps 2013. Les déclarations d’Anthony DeChellis jettent des doutes sur une correction qui aboutit à la comptabilisation de plusieurs milliards comme de la collecte nette. Citant Bloomberg, le journal précise que la SEC a ouvert une procédure contre le Credit Suisse à ce sujet.L’affaire concerne les milliards de Hansjörg Wyss, le fondateur de Synthes, qui ont été affichés comme de la collecte nette en 2012 par le Credit Suisse, puis ont été transférés entre les Etats-Unis et la Suisse. Pour le Credit Suisse, une décollecte significative en Suisse s’est transformée en collecte nette, aux dépens des Etats-Unis. Ces informations auraient bien été fournies par Anthony DeChellis, souligne le journal.

Le fonds de pension coréen Public Officials Benefit Association (Poba), qui gère 5,5 milliards de dollars d’actifs, vient de lancer un appel d’offres auprès de sociétés internationales de fonds de hedge funds pour un mandat de 50 millions de dollars, qui pourrait être porté à 80 millions de dollars en fonction de la performance, révèle Asia Investor.Pour être éligibles, les gérants intéressés devront proposer des produits sur-mesure, avoir au moins 10 milliards de dollars d’actifs sous gestion, au moins dix ans d’expérience dans la gestion de fonds de hedge funds et, enfin, avoir une base d’actifs comprenant au moins 30 % d’investisseurs institutionnels.

L'arrivée de Denis Panel à la tête de Theam coïncide avec une nouvelle organisation que la société de gestion au sein de BNP Paribas IP a voulu plus simple, plus lisible et plus proche de ses clients. Moyennant quoi, l'activité de la maison ne repose plus que sur trois gestions, contre quatre précédemment. Le dirigeant revient pour Newsmanagers sur la nouvelle stratégie de Theam et sur le recentrage opéré qui se conjugue avec une nouvelle ambition : faire de Theam un acteur leader de la gestion protégée, la plus importante de ses activités...

Les fonds de pension individuels espagnols affichent une petite forme. Selon des données préliminaires publiées par le cabinet Vdos Stochastics au 21 février, leurs encours ont très modestement progressé de 0,78 %, soit 451 millions d’euros, pour atteindre 58,15 milliards d’euros. Cette faible croissance s’explique uniquement par la revalorisation des sous-jacents des portefeuilles pour un montant de 474 millions d’euros. En revanche, les fonds de pensions espagnols ont subi une décollecte de 23 millions d’euros sur le mois de février.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Legal & General is in the process of closing the Global Macro Themes fund, which has GBP222m in assets, as its current manager, Ben Gill, is leaving the firm, Investment Week reports. The absolute return fund will be closed on 25 April this year, as investors have selected either to be reimbursed or to transfer their assets to another Legal & General vehicle. The fund, most of whose GBP222m in assets come from internal sources, according to the website, reached GBP590m in assets at its peak.

The arrival of Denis Panel at Theam coincides with a new organisation which the asset management firm of the BNP Paribas IP group wanted to be more simple, legible and closer to its clients. This means that the firm's activities are now based only on three pillars, down from four previously. The director discusses the new strategy at Theam with Newsmanagers.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian asset management firm Anima SGR has reshuffled its fund product range, it has confirmed to Citywire Global. Among the major changes are the merger of the Euro Equity and European Equity funds into the Anima SICAV – European Equities fund, managed by Lars Schickentanz.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jasper Bugter on 3 March joined State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) in Amsterdam to serve as senior manager of relationships with clients, IPE.com reports. Bugter will report directly to Robert Rijlaarsdam, head of the Benelux team at the US asset management firm. Before joining SSgA, Bugter worked at Generali Investments Europe in Amsterdam, and previously at Robeco.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Spanish asset management market has gained a new actors. The British firm Jupiter Fund Management has registered its Luxembourg Sicav Jupiter Global Fund with the Spanish regulator, the CNMV, Funds People reports. Jupiter plans to use the vehicle to sell its fund range, which includes 15 products, in Spain, though its does not state which ones will be made available to Spanish investors. Allfunds Bank has been retained to carry out sales, the Spanish website adds. “We think there are important opportunities to develop our relationships in Spain,” says Kevin Scott, head of clients for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Following ABN Amro, Rabobank has decided to withdraw investment funds from Franklin Templeton from its offerings, Fondsnieuws reports. The reason for the decision is the fact that Rabobank no longer wishes to include companies in its portfolio which manufacture controversial weapons such as cluster bombs.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Schroders has set aside GBP15m to fund potential financial penalties that it may be asked to pay at the outcome of investigations in the United States into companies which are thought to have helped US citizens to evade taxes, Financial Times fund management reports. The asset management firm says that fines would be for its Swiss private bank. Schroders is voluntarily participating the US department of justice programme to encourage financial institutions to identify client accounts which may not comply with tax law.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Helen Zhu, who has spent eight years at Goldman Sachs, will join BlackRock from 7 April as managing director and head of equities for China, Asia Asset Management reports. At Goldman Sachs, she had most recently been managing director and chief China equity strategist, after working in the global investment research division of the US bank for the Asian market, covering the telecom and internet sectors in particular. Over her career, Zhu also worked for five years at ABN Amro, where she covered equity research for the telecom sector.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A general shareholders’ meeting at Anima Holding has selected Claudio Bombonato as its new chairman, Bluerating reports. He succeeds Giuseppe Zadra, who declined the invitation to chair the Italian firm for a further three years. Bombonato, an aeronautical engineer, worked at McKinsey for several years.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Allianz Global Investors has modified most of the sectoral bets of its BRIC Stars fund, following the departure of manager Michael Konstantinov, Citywire reports. The fund was taken over by the San Diego team, led by Kunal Ghosh, in October 2013. The fund, whose assets under mangement total about USD480m, has reduced its exposure to basic consumer products and financials, in preference to discretionary consumer products and IT.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Residential real estate prices in Germany are highly varied, as prices observed in the most sought-after west German cities are 60% higher than in cities in the east of the country, according to a study by the real estate research agency at the university of Ratisbonne (IREBS), in partnership with Deutsche Bank. According to the study, cities in west Germany fall into four categories. Firstly seven cities are in a top tier, with prices rising faster than average int eh apst few years. These include Munich, which is uncontestably the most expensive city in Germany. The second group is university cities, where a growing number of students are also driving prices up, such as Freiburg im Breisgau. These are followed by cities which have recently seen sharp price rises, such as Bremerhaven and Schweifurt. Lasty, the study identifies structurally weak cities, which are mostly located in the Ruhr and the north of Germany (Gelsenkirchen, Lübeck).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Haitong International Securities Group on 7 March listed its first ETF compatible with renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) rules on the Hong Kong stock market, entitled Haitong CSI300 Index ETF, Asia Asset Management reports. Haitong becomes the first financial firm based in Hong Kong to issue an RQFII ETF. The product will be overseen by Hai Tong Asset Management, an affiliate of Haitong International Securities Group, and will invest directly in shares of the CSI300, with a similar weighting to their respective weights in the index. As of the end of February, Haitong International Securities group had a total of CNY6.7bn (USD1.06bn) in RQFII quotas via its parent company, Haitong International Holdings.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Seth Klarman, one of the most respected investors in the world, is warning against a bubble in the price of assets and a sudden correction on financial markets, the Financial Times reports. The head of the hedge fund firm Baupost Group (USD27bn) claims that investors are underestimating the risks and are not ready for the end of accommodating monetary policities.

A week dominated by the political crisis in the Ukraine saw Russia and Switzerland Equity funds post their biggest inflows since late 4Q13 and early 2Q08 respectively.Another USD9.6 billion flow into US equity funds, while emerging markets equity funds suffered net redemptions for the 19th straight week and flows into Europe equity funds fell to a 16 week low, according to estimates by EPFR Global. The first week of March was also a tough one for fund groups tied to Asia and its markets. Redemptions from Asia ex-Japan equity funds hit their highest level in over two years, Japan equity funds posted outflows for the first time year-to-date.Overall, flows into equity funds during the week ending March 5 totaled USD7.47 billion, with institutional investors accounting for over 90% of the commitments to developed markets equity funds and two-thirds of the redemptions from emerging markets equity funds.A net USD1.8 billion flowed out of bond funds and USD15.9 billion out of money market funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The hedge fund index calculated by Lyxor in February gained 1.9%, driving up gains in the first months of the year to 1.45%. Eleven of the 12 Lyxor strategy indices has finished the month under review in positive territory, including the Lyxor special situations index (3.48%), the Lyxor CTA Long Term (3.4%) and the Lyxor L/S Equity Long Bias (2.7%).

En ce début d’année, le contraste est frappant. Le monde développé affiche un optimisme de plus en plus évident alors que les pays émergents marquent le pas. L’optimisme des entreprises se retrouve même à son plus haut niveau depuis deux ans, selon le dernier Markit Global Business Outlook Survey, une enquête réalisée en février auprès d’un panel de 11.000 entreprises.Cet optimisme croissant, qui se traduit par des projets d’investissement et des intentions de recrutement tranchent avec les perspectives beaucoup plus sombres dans les pays émergents. Par rapport à l’an dernier, les perspectives de croissance de l’activité ont fortement augmenté aux Etats-Unis, dans la zone euro et au Royaume-Uni. Dans le monde développé, le Royaume-Uni se distingue avec un optimisme qui se retrouve à son plus haut nivea u d’après-crise et qui dépasse celui de toutes les grandes économies développées et émergentes à l’exception notable du Brésil, où la perspective d’une coupe de monde de football et des Jeux Olympiques ont redonné du tonus aux entreprises.Malgré quelques statistiques décevantes ces derniers temps, l’enquête montre que les entreprises américaines n’ont jamais été aussi optimistes depuis le début de 2013, avec des intentions de recrutement à leur plus haut niveau depuis un an, et des dépenses d’investissement qui devraient enregistrer leur plus forte progression depuis la fin 2009 (début de la collecte des données).Dans la zone euro, l’optimisme est à son plus haut niveau depuis trois ans, le rebond de la croissance s’accompagnant d’une hausse de l’investissement et du recrutement. Le niveau d’optimisme dans la zone est toutefois en retrait par rapport au Royaume-Uni et aux Etats-Unis. Mais l’optimisme est à son plus haut niveau en Espagne et en Allemagne alors que, selon les entreprises françaises, les perspectives n’ont jamais été aussi favorables depuis la mi-2011. Du côté des pays émergents, la Russie et l’Inde se retrouvent à des niveaux de pessimisme jamais vus. Au Brésil, l’optimisme se maintient à un niveau élevé malgré une moindre confiance alors qu’en Chine, l’optimisme semble en train de reprendre le dessus.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Inflows to ETF/ETPs as of the end of February totalled USD29bn, which, combined with a positive market effect, have contributed to an increase in assets under management to a record USD1.44trn, according to estimates from ETFGI. Bond ETF/ETPs attracted USD16.8bn, compared with USD10.2bn for equity funds and USD870m for commodity funds. The competition remains lively in the sector, with the top 100 ETF/ETPs, less than 2% of the 5,183 funds on record, totalling more than half of assets (57%). Only 7% of ETF/ETPs have assets of over USD1bn, while 69% have total assets of under USD100m, and 59% have assets of under USD50m. One third of all products have less than USD10m in assets. In the first two months of the year, Vanguard tops inflows with a total of USD9.4bn, followed by iShares (USD7.1bn), Nomura AM (USD4.2bn), First Trust (USD2.5bn), and Guggenheim (USD2bn).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } AEW Europe on 7 March appointed Rob Wilkinson as its CEO, replacing Christian Delaire. Wilkinson joined the firm in 2009 as managing director, head of European fund management and separate accounts, and was then appointed as chief investment officer in 2011. Before joining AEW Europe, Wilkinson served in a variety of roles at Goodman Group, UBS Investment Banking and Eurohypo. Jean Laveille has also been appointed as deputy CEO at AE Europe SA until 31 January 2015, when he will become Senior Advisor. AEW Europe is a European leader in real estate investment advising for third parties. The European platform has over EUR18bn in assets under management in 16 countries, and has over 280 employees in 9 European countries.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlueMountain Capital, one of the New York asset management firms best known for its credit management, has set up shop in Tokyo in order to develop in Asia, Hedge Fund Intellidence reports. The office, which has 3 members, is led by Charles Kobayashi, partner and CLO portfolio manager. The flagship fund from the firm, BlueMountain Credit Alternatives, which invests primarily in North American and European credit, may extend its exposure to the Asian region. Assets under management at BlueMountain Capital total over USD18bn, invested in absolute return strategies and a CLO portfolio.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bill Gross, co-founder and co-chief investment officer at Pimco, has accused his former CEO, Mohamed El-Erian, of seeking to undermine him. He has told Reuters that he has “evidence” that his former right-hand man “wrote” an article published in the Wall Street Journal on 24 february, which describes the deterioration of the relationship between the two men, as performance fell. When Reuters asked if it was possible to access this “evidence,” Gross replied “You are on his side (...).” He added that he was monitoring El-Erian’s telephone conversations.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The UCITS Alternative index from the Swiss frim Alix Capital gained 1.06% in February, after a decline of 0.38% in January. Only 2 strategies out of eleven finsihed the month with losses: currencies (-0.278%), and volatility (-0.08%). The UCITS hedge fund index gained 0.94% in February, after a decline of 0.07% in January.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nomura Asset Management is overhauling its management. Kunio Watanabe has been appointed as CEO of the Japanese asset management firm, effective from 1 April, replacing Toshihiro Iwasaki. The appointment comes as part of a more profound overhaul of the teams at the Nomura group. Watanabe is currently head of international clients, since April 2013. He will be replaced by Fumiki Kondo, currently CEO of Instinet, an affiliate of Nomura responsible for equity execution services, who from 1 April, will become head of international clients. As a result of this move, Nomura has appointed Jonathan Kellner, currently head of US activities at Instinet, at CEO of Instinet, replacing Kondo.