La société de gestion suédoise Norron a recruté Peter Werleus en tant que responsable de la gestion de Norron Premium, un fonds investi dans des obligations d’entreprises nordiques. Il vient de Carnegie où il gérait le Carnegie Corporate Bond.Norron gère un total de 1,6 milliard de couronnes suédoises.

Leonhard Fischer, le directeur général du capital-investisseur RHJ International (groupe Kleinwort Benson), indique dans une interview avec le Handelsblatt qu’il souhaite sans ambiguïté conserver l’équipe de direction actuelle de la BHF-Bank qui vient d’être rachetée à la Deutsche Bank. Il se refuse aussi à envisager un démantèlement de la banque.Selon le manager, la BHF-Bank n’aura aucune difficulté à se conformer aux ratios prudentiels de Bâle III. Et Leonhard Fischer se félicite du soutien apporté à RHJ dans cette acquisition par Stefan Quandt, BlackRock et Fosun.

Le 21 septembre, HSBC Global Asset Management (Deutschland) a annoncé que le compartiment China Consumer Opportunities (ISIN: LU0708054993) de sa sicav luxembourgeoise HSBC GIF a obtenu l’agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne.Selon Ann Hall, la gérante, le portefeuille de ce produit actions (lire Newsmanagers du 7 septembre 2011) est composé de 40 à 60 lignes, entre autres des titres de marques de luxe occidentales comme de firmes chinoises.Au 30 juin, HSBC GAM gérait environ 134 milliards de dollars en titres émergents, sur un encours total de 409 milliards.

Ce 24 septembre 2012, Swisscanto lance dans le fonds Swisscanto (LU) Bond Invest Global High Yield deux nouvelles catégories de parts à distribution en euros, retail et institutionnelles, avec couverture du risque de change*. Jusqu’à présent il n’existait que six classes de parts de capitalisation en euros, francs suisses et dollars.*Swisscanto (LU) Bond Invest Global High Yield H EUR A ; code Isin : LU0830970272 Swisscanto (LU) Bond Invest Global High Yield H EUR I; code Isin : LU0830970603

Face à une augmentation de la demande sur les marchés suisse et allemand, MFS Investment Management (293,4 milliards de dollars) a recruté Heiko Dahse et Karin Moritz.Heiko Dahse quitte Hermes Fund Managers pour devenir managing director et responsable, à Londres, des ventes institutionnelles en Suisse. Il sera subordonné à David Mace, senior managing directoir, EMEA institutional business, rapporte Investment Europe.Karin Moritz, qui sera basée à Francfort, vient de chez Vontobel et sera subordonnée à Lars Detlefs, managing director, Germany institutional sales. Elle sera responsable à la fois des ventes et du suivi de la clientèle.

Edward C. Bernard, vice chairman de T. Rowe Price Group, a annoncé que le départ à la retraite au 31 décembre de Cynthia Egan, head of retirement plan services (RPS), sera l’occasion de réorganiser la distribution du gestionnaire d’actifs (541,7 milliards de dollars à fin juin).Concrètement, T. Rowe Price constitue une nouvelle division, US Investment Services, qui sera dirigée par Scott David et qui regroupera à la fois le pôle RPS, la distribution tierce aux Etats-Unis et les ventes directs aux clients retail. Il sera subordonné à Edward Bernard.En sa qualité de responsable en chef du pôle RPS, Scott David «coiffera» Kevin Collins et Aimee DeCamillo, qui deviennent co-lead officer du pôle RPS. Le premier sera notamment chargé des ventes et du service à la clientèle tandis que la second est chargé des produits et du marketing.

La plate-forme d'épargne salariale et de retraite Debory Eres lance un nouveau contrat exclusif d’assurance retraite collective à cotisations définies de type Article 83: ERES Retraite 83. Ce nouveau contrat permet de bénéficier d’une solution de retraite d’entreprise «combinant les dernières innovations techniques, un très large choix de supports financiers parmi les meilleurs du marché et de l’accompagnement pédagogique et du suivi personnalisé Debory», selon un communiqué. ERES Retraite 83 est assuré par Swiss Life, compagnie historiquement référente sur le marché de la retraite.

Les cotisations versées au titre des contrats d’assurance retraite souscrits par les entreprises auprès des sociétés d’assurances s’élèvent à 4,8 milliards d’euros en 2011, soit une baisse de 13% par rapport à 2010, selon des statistiques communiquées le 21 septembre par la FFSA. Dans le même temps, le montant des prestations enregistre une baisse de 3 %, pour s’établir à 5,1 milliards d’euros.La baisse des cotisations en 2011 résulte d’une nouvelle forte contraction des contrats à prestations définies (article 39 du code général des impôts) (- 26 %, soit un montant de cotisations de 1,5 milliard d’euros en 2011) et dans une moindre mesure (- 10 %) de celle des contrats à cotisations définies (article 83 du Code Général des Impôts).A l’inverse, les cotisations des contrats d’indemnité de fin de carrière (1,1 milliard d’euros) sont en hausse de 5 %, ainsi que celles de plans d’épargne retraite entreprise créés par la loi Fillon. (+3 %, soit 64 millions d’euros).En 2011, les contrats à prestations définies (article 39 du code général des impôts) représentent 32% de l’ensemble des cotisations de contrats de retraite d’entreprises de l’année. Les contrats à cotisations définies (article 83 du code général des impôts) s’établissent à 41 %. Enfin, les contrats d’indemnités de fin de carrière représentent 23 % des cotisations de l’année.En 2011, les prestations versées sur les contrats à cotisations définies (article 83) ont augmenté de 10 %. A l’inverse, celles pour les contrats à prestations définies (article 39) baissent de 8 %. Enfin, les prestations des contrats d’indemnités de fin de carrière diminuent de 9%. Au 31 décembre 2011, le montant des engagements des sociétés d’assurances au titre des contrats retraite d’entreprises s’élève à 88,4 milliards d’euros, en progression de 1 % sur un an. Les supports en unité de compte représentent 21 % de l’ensemble des provisions, soit 18,4 milliards d’euros, en baisse de 5 % sur un an. Au total, les provisions mathématiques représentent, à la fin de l’année 2011, près de 7 % de l’ensemble des provisions mathématiques de l’assurance vie. Les contrats à cotisations définies (article 83) représentent 46 % de ces provisions mathématiques, devant les contrats à prestations définies (article 39 du code général des impôts), situé à 35 %, et les contrats d’indemnités de fin de carrière (14 %).

Présente en France depuis le début des années 2000, la société de gestion Henderson Global Investors a récemment franchi une nouvelle étape de son développement en France avec l'acquisition du spécialiste de l'immobilier d'entreprise Horizon Investment Management France SAS. Patricia Kaveh explique pour Newsmanagers la stratégie de la société en France ainsi que ses perspectives de développement dans un environnement où l'offre produits est amenée à évoluer...

The Micado France 2018 fund of midcap bonds, unveiled in February, is now operational. It has raised EUR62m from 10 institutional investors, including l’Auxiliaire, UMR, BNP, CCR, and CGPA. These assets will be invested in 15 mid-sized businesses, which will issue bonds with a 6-year maturity in the next few days. These businesses include Lafuma, Affine, Aurea and others. The contractual fund, which will mature in late 2018, will remain open until the end of the year. The asset management firm hopes to ultimately bring in EUR100m. The returns are expected to be 5.36%. Micado France 2018, which is promoted by Accola, Investeam and MiddleNext, and managed by Portzamparc Gestion, has been designed to allow 20 publicly-traded French mid-sized businesses to issue bonds which will be bought by the FCP fund, foe which shares will be subscribed to by professional investors. The two investment businesses CM-CIC Securities and Portzamparc société de Bourse approached the issuing businesses, and with the legal counsel of CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre and Vidal, have laid out a joint methodology for the bond issue with a 6-year set maturity and set rate, simultaneously by several mid-sized publicly-traded businesses, which will for the first time allow them access to bond markets. The bonds will be issued by firms whose market capitalisation totals EUR30m to EUR1bn, and whose earnings do not exceed EUR2bn.

In a SEC filing dated 20 September, Schwab Strategic Trust (Charles Schwab group) has announced that it is lowering its management commissions for seven US equity ETFs. This is clearly the latest blow in a price war kicked off by Vanguard.Name/Former rate/New rate:Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF 0.06 % 0.04 %Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF 0.08 % 0.04 %Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF 0.13 % 0.07 %Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF 0.13 % 0.07 %Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF 0.13 % 0.07 %Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF 0.13 % 0.10 %Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 0.17 % 0.07 %

With the creation of the Luxembourg-registered Dexia Bonds Global Sovereign Quality fund, managed by Nicolas Forest, on 3 September, Dexia Asset Management (Dexia AM, EUR78.7bn in assets as of the end of June) is “perfecting its approach to the management of government bonds,” offering invetors a solution which is intended to avoid distortion of the risk exposure generated by traditional benchmark indices.The new model at Dexia AM, which is also used for the Dexia Bonds Global Sovereign Quality fund (which complies with UCITS IV), uses financial analysis and detailed SRI analysis of the capacity and will of a country to repay its debts, as well as its vulnerability to shocks.Unlike the limited perimeter of traditional indices, Dexia AM is starting with a large universe of 216 countries (based on figures from the World Bank), and applies three filters: a credit quality filter, an interest rate filter, and a currency filter, to construct an optimal portfolio of high quality government bonds.“Our approach has created a much more diversified portfolio, less focused on Europe, including countries which had been virtually ignored by traditional benchmark indices, such as South Korea, Chile, Singapore, Norway and Luxembourg,” the management firm says.CharacteristicsName: Dexia Bonds Global Sovereign QualityShare class/ISIN code/management fee:C Cap: LU0514558518 0.60%C Dis : LU0514558609 0.60%C – EUR – Hedged Cap : LU0809464497 0.60% C – EUR – Hedged Dis : LU0809465031 0.60%I Cap : LU0514558864 0.30%I – EUR – Hedged : LU0809465460 0.30%V Cap : LU0514558948 0.15%N Cap : LU0514558781 1%

On 24 September 2012, Swisscanto is launching two new categories of shares in the Swisscanto (LU) Bond Invest Global High Yield fund, with retail and institutional distribution shares in euros, with hedging for currency risks. These are the Swisscanto (LU) Bond Invest Global High Yield H EUR A, ISIN code: LU0830970272, and the Swisscanto (LU) Bond Invest Global High Yield H EUR I; ISIN code: LU0830970603. There had previously been only six capitalisation share classes in euros, Swiss francs and US dollars.

On 21 September, HSBC Global Asset Management (Deutschland) announced that the China Consumer Opportunities fund (ISIN: LU0708054993), a sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav HSBC GIF has been granted a sales license for Germany.Ann Hall, the manager of the fund, says that the portfolio of the equity product (see Newsmanagers of 7 September 2011) is composed of 40 to 60 holdings, including shares in the makers of Western and Chinese luxury brands.As of 30 June, HSBC GAM had about USD134bn in assets under management in emerging market equities, out of total assets of USD409bn.

Henderson Global Investors, which has had a presence in France since the early years of the 21st century, has recently taken a further step in its development in France, with the acquisition of the office real estate specialist Horizon Investment Management France SAS. Patricia Kaveh explains the firm's strategy in France to Newsmanagers, and its development prospects in an environment in which product offerings will be likely to develop.

Groupama Asset Management this morning announced that its Sigma asset management unit (which develops an absolute return, Total Return and flexible management product range) is joining the Investment Solutions division at the firm. Henri Chabadel is taking over as head of the new unit, which includes 40 specialists, while Claire Bourgeois becomes deputy director, while retaining her position as head of management for ALM Taux et Actions. In addition to the Sigma management teams, the Investment Solutions division includes the active/liability management (ALM) management team, dynamic allocation, financial engineering, and responsibility for Corporate Group & Savings Solutions. The new organisation will allow the firm to benefit from synergies between the various management units of the business, a statement says. Before joining the teams at Groupama AM in February 2008 as head of Directional Multi-management and Allocation, and in 2001 becoming head of the Sigma management unit, Henri Chabadel had been head of the risk control and quantitative analysts unit at the Banque du Louvre, and the multi-management manager at Louvre Gestion. Claire Bourgeois becomes deputy director of the Investment Solutions division, while retaining her position as head of management for ALM Taux et Actions. Before joining Groupama AM in 2007 to become head of the ALM and Credit unit and fixed income, she worked at BNP Paribas AM from 2005 to 2007 as a bond manager specialised in credit. At the end of August, Groupama Asset Management had EUR88.8bn in assets under management.

0.14% of total AUM. That is the amount of assets affected by exposure of funds at OFI AM to Madoff funds between 2006 and 2008, which led a representative of the AMF College on Thursday last week to recommend a fine to the sanctions committee of EUR500,000, and a reprimand against OFI AM, and a fine of EUR60,000 and a warning for its two directors. OFI AM has told Newsmanagers that, expressed as a concrete sum, the case refers to EUR25m, out of assets under management at the time of EUR17bn. OFI also notes that no client complaints were registered during this period due to these losses.In detail, the case involves four funds at the firm’s multi-management activities, where the AMF found four infractions: inadequate due diligence for the funds concerned, failure to respect certain regulatory liquidity requirements, failure to take into account conflicts of interest when OFI funds were invested in other OFI funds, and lastly, the presence of the name of a fund in an informational letter to clients which had no regulatory permission.OFI AM is awaiting a verdict from the AMF in the coming weeks.

Edward C. Bernard, vice chairman of T. Rowe Price group, has announced that Cynthia Egan, head of retirement plan services (RPS), is retiring on 31 December. This will be an occasion to reorganise distribution at the asset management firm (USD541.7bn in assets as of the end of June).T. Rowe Price will be creating a new division, US Investment Services, which will be led by Scott David, and which will include the RPS unit, third-party distribution in the United Sttaes, and direct sales to retail clients. David will report to Edward Bernard.In his role as director of the RPS Unit, David will be responsible for Kevin Collins and Aimee DeCamillo, who become co-lead officers of the RPS Unit. Collins will be in charge of sales and client services, while DeCamillo will be in charge of products and marketing.

As 2012 enters its final quarter, portfolio managers who captured the market rally this year are sitting on double-digit gains, the Wall Street Journal reports. But in the face of what may be a turbulent end to the year on the markets, some are planning to steer clear of equities.

French alternative management has in the past few months undergone considerable consolidation, particularly in the fund of hedge fund segment, Les Echos reports. The Madoff scandal, the financial crisis and sometimes disappointing performance have left their mark on the industry. In France, the hedge fund sector totals EUR15bn in assets, in about 220 funds. This is a drop in the ocean compared to more than USD2trn in hedge funds worldwide. Although Paris attracts managers such as HRS and Fauchier Partners, institutional investments are still lacking.

Due to increasing demand on the Swiss and German markets, MFS Investment Management (USD293.4bn) has recruited Heiko Dahse and Karin Moritz.Dahse is leaving Hermes Fund Managers to become managing director and head of institutional sales in Switzerland, based in London. He will report to David Mace, senior managing director, EMEA institutional business, Investment Europe reports.Karin Moritz, who will be based in Frankfurt, joins from Vontobel, and will report to Lars Detlefs, managing director, Germany institutional sales. She will be responsible both for sales and customer relationships.

As Julio Seguro is retiring, the Spanish Cabinet on Friday appointed Elvira Rodriguer Herrer, of the Partido Popular (PP) party, to replace him. She is an MP representative for the district of Jaén and as chair of the economy and competitiveness committee of Congress.The Cabinet has also approved the appointment of Lourdes Ceteno Huerta as vice-president of the CNMV. Since January 2012, she had been technical secretary general of the Ministry of the economy and competitiveness.

Franck McGarry, who had been head of sales at L&G Investments, will soon be leaving the firm, Investment Week reports.

Stuart Podmore, head of UK Academy Sales, and previously head of marketing services/Europe, has been promoted to head of strategic alliances at J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM), where he started in July 2006. He will report to Mike Parsons, head of fund sales.

The British firm F&C Investments has reduced its annual management fees from 0.6% to 0.5% for the range of Lifestyle funds, in order to comply with RDR regulations, Investment Week reports. The reduction applies to all funds of the range, including the F&C Lifestyle Balanced fund, with assets under management of GBP106m, F&C Lifestyle Cautious (GBP126m), F&C Lifestyle Defensive (GBP107m) and F&C Lifestyle Growth (GBP46m).

The Swedish asset management firm Norron has recruited Peter Werleus as head of investments for Norron Premium, a fund investing in Scandinavian corporate bonds. He joins from Carnegie, where he had been manager of the Carnegie Corporate Bond fund. Norron has a total of SEK1.6bn in assets under management.

The Credit Suisse group is reviewing a number of strategic options, including integration of the asset management unit into the Private Baking division, according to the most recent issue of Bilanz magazine. In this environment, the head of Private Banking, Hans-Ulrich Meister, would find himself at the helm of a super-division, which could eventually require him to give up control of the Swiss market.

The private bank Julius Baer may lay off 660 to 880 people, following the acquisition of some activities of Merrill Lynch from Bank of America, according to reports in the Sunday newspaper Der Sonntag. The CEO of the firm, Boris Collardi, had sought to take out 30% to 40% of Merrill Lynch employees, he recently stated in a meeting with investors, the newspaper reports. That would mean that 660 to 880 of the jobs, out of 2,200 at the US bank, could disappear. These staff reductions are necessary to prevent redundancies in the new structure, and to bring the cost/income ratio, which is currently over 100%, to about 70%.

Following the departure of Mirko Santucci, who had been serving in the role since January 2009, Jérôme Denathan has been appointed as head of credit at Swisscanto, and will temporarily take over management of the Swisscanto (LU) Bond Invest Global Corporate fund, until the arrival of Christian Hantel, currently manager of the BNY Mellon Euro Corporate Bond fund, on 1 October, Citywire reports.Swisscanto has also recruited Daniel Björk as manager of the Swisscanto (LU) Bond Invest COCO fund, which had been mnaged by Santucci, and which until 1 October will be managed by Blaise Roduit.

The German firm MainFirst Bank, which already has a license for brokerage and the provision of financial services to Swiss clients, has received an extension to its license from the Swiss federal financial market supervision authority (Finma), to include asset management, Fondsprofessionell reports.The firm has been present in Zurich since 2007, and its team, which will be further enlarged, already includes 30 people.Meanwhile, MainFirst has confirmed that Florian Esterer, manager of the MainFirst North America fund, among others, will be based in Zurich, along with the corporate bond management team recruited from Clariden Leu, which includes Thomas Rutz, Cornel Bruhin and Dorothea Fröhlich.