Dubai Investment Group ferme son bureau de New York et transfère le contrôle de son portefeuille immobilier de 1,1 milliard de dollars à une société de private equity dont Mark Walsh est le co-fondateur, rapporte The Wall Street Journal. Mark Walsh est l’ancien directeur général du pôle immobilier de Lehman Brothers.

En novembre, le taux de couverture des fonds de pension américains s’est légèrement amélioré, enregistrant un gain de 0,3 point de pourcentage à 75,1%, selon les statistiques communiquées par BNY Mellon Asset Management.Depuis le début de l’année, le taux de couverture accuse néanmoins un recul de dix points de pourcentage.

Jerry Szilagyi, président de Vice advisor USA Mutuals a confirmé à Mutal Fund Wire le lancement avant la fin décembre de deux nouvelles classes (A et C) de son Vice Fund, dédiées aux conseillers financiers. La société devrait également bientôt renforcer son équipe de distribution, afin de se développer auprès de cette clientèle, note l’article.

L'équipe multi-classes d’actifs Amérique du Nord de Barings, dirigée à Boston par Hayes Miller, a recruté Matthew Whitbread comme investment manager. Il quitte Fundquest Inc, filiale de BNP Paribas, où il était gérant de portefeuille avec une responsabilité dans le domaine de l’allocation d’actifs.L'équipe multiclasses d’actifs de Barings, qui a été constituée en 2002, comporte huit gérants de portefeuille et deux analystes ; elle gérait fin octobre 5,7 milliards de livres.

State Street Global Advisors prévoit de lancer un site éducatif sur les ETF, destiné aux investisseurs individuels, a annoncé Jim Ross, responsable mondial des ETF de la société. Il sera accessible à l’adresse www.SPDRETFFactorFiction.com. Le site a pour objectif de disperser un certain nombre de malentendus au sujet des ETF.

En l’espace de deux mois, la Bethmann Bank (groupe ABN Amro) est parvenue à obtenir les autorisations nécessaires de l’Office fédéral des cartels et de la BaFin, de sorte que l’acquisition de LGT Bank Deutschland a pu être finalisée.Le conseil de surveillance de la Bethmann Bank a nommé Roland Schubert membre du directoire avec effet au 8 décembre. L’intéressé était le directeur général des activités de banque privée de LGT pour l’Allemagne.Du fait de cette transaction, l’encours de la Bethmann Bank atteint 19 milliards d’euros. L’ex-filiale allemande de LGT disposait de sept succursales outre-Rhin et y gère environ 2 milliards d’euros d’actifs.

Le gestionnaire de fonds immobiliers RREEF (groupe Deutsche Bank) annonce avoir revendu pour 408 millions le centre commercial PEP de Munich-Neuperlach à l’américain TIAA-CREF, Il s’agit de la plus grosse et de l’une des plus rentables transactions de 2011 dans l’immobilier commercial en Allemagne.Cet actif avait été acheté pour environ 54 millions d’euros en juillet 1984. Entre-temps, RREEF a investi environ 170 millions d’euros en restructuration et en travaux.Le PEP figurait dans le portefeuille du fonds immobilier offert au public grundbesitz europa, dont le portefeuille est investi à 27 % sur le Royaume-Uni, 21 % sur la France, 16 % pour l’Allemagne, 13 % sur l’Espagne et 10 % sur les Pays-Bas. Ce fonds affichait fin novembre un encours de 3,2 milliards d’euros, avec 41 immeubles en portefeuille. De nouvelles cessions d’actifs sont prévues pour les prochains mois.

LGT Bank a finalisé la cession pour un montant non dévoilé de sa filiale allemande LGT Bank Deutschland, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. L’ex-unité de la banque détenue par la famille princière du Liechtenstein est désormais intégrée à Bethmann Bank, établissement contrôlé à 100% par le néerlandais ABN Amro. La finalisation de l’opération annoncée à la fin du mois de septembre fait suite au feu vert des autorités de la concurrence. L’ex-filiale allemande de l'établissement spécialisé dans la gestion de fortune dispose de sept succursales outre-Rhin et y gère environ 2 milliards d’euros d’actifs.

Hian-Boon Tay, qui faisait partie de l'équipe de gestion de portefeuille du fonds souverain singapourien GIC depuis 1993, a rejoint l'équipe marchés émergents de l’allemand DWS Investments qui compte 40 personnes, dont 25 à Francfort. Il renforce le dispositif actions (28 personnes). L’ensemble de la gestion marché émergents est placée sous la direction d’Andreas Römer, avec des actifs d’environ 15 milliards d’euros.Le nouvel arrivant avait chez GIC la responsabilité d’un fonds actions de performance absolue avec un encours de plusieurs milliards d’euros.

Depuis lundi, le RBS Market Access CTA* Index ETF – EUR Hedged a été admis à la négociation sur le segment XTF de la plate-forme électronique Xetra. C’est ainsi le 899ème ETF coté à Francfort.Ce fonds luxembourgeois réplique l’indice RBS CTA qui est composite. Il couvre pour 50 % chacun les sous-indices RBS Systematic CTA Index et RBS Discretionary CTA Index, Le gérant de ces fonds peut utiliser des futures ou des options sur actions, obligations, devises et/ou matières premières pour mettre en œuvre ses stratégies.Le nouveau fonds (LU0712092450) est chargé à 0,75 %. * CTA signifie Commodity Trading Advisor.

La société de gestion alternative hambourgeoise Aquila Capital vient de recruter Oldrik Verloop au poste de directeur du développement. L’objectif est de se développer au Benelux et en Scandinavie. L’intéressé était auparavant l’un des responsables du développement de la banque suisse Wegelin & Co, où il avait mis en place une stratégie d’entrée sur le marché institutionnel du Benelux et de Scandinavie.

Selon la Börsen-Zeitung, la souscription pour la Bilfinger Berger Global Infrastructure Sicav SA luxembourgeoise sera close finalement le 13 décembre et la première cotation aura lieu sur le London Stock Exchange le 21 décembre (lire newsmanagers du 20 septembre). Initialement, le placement avait été prévu pour le premier trimestre 2012.Le montant placé doit être de 250 millions d’euros, l’allemand Bilfinger Berger conservant une participation de 19,9 % dans ce portefeuille qui comprend 19 projets allant d'écoles au Royaume-Uni à une prison de haute sécurité en Allemagne en passant par des routes au Canada.Cependant, par rapport au projet initial, le rendement a été ramené à 5,5 % contre 6 %.

CEO d’Helvetica Wealth Management Partners (une filiale de Credit suisse et de l'émirat du Qatar) ces trois dernières année, Ben Weston, qui a aussi été entre 2005 et 2008 CEO de Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments (26 milliards de dollars d’encours) a rejoint le fonds souverain Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) en tant que global head of alternative investments. Il sera subordonné à Khalifa Almheiri executive director deu département des investissements alternatifs.

Le luxembourgeois Aberdeen Global Services a annoncé aux souscripteurs des compartiments Balanced global, constellation Global, Equity Europe et Moderation du Aberdeen MultiFund (Lux) que ces fonds seront abandonnés le 16 décembre moyennant le transfert des actifs et responsabilités de ces derniers dans le compartiment Multi-Manager World Equity Fund d’Aberdeen Global. En fait, le conseil d’administration d’Aberdeen Global Services a estimé que les fonds abandonnés avaient trop peu d’encours et que la fusion va servir l’intérêt de leurs porteurs de parts en leur offrant l’accès à un produit dont l’univers est plus large.Alors que les transferts d’actifs devraient se traduire par une augmentation du taux de frais sur encours (TFE) si l’on se base sur les chiffres actuellement plafonnés pour les investisseurs dans les compartiments Aberdeen MultiFund (Lux) - Moderation et Aberdeen MultiFund (Lux) - Balanced Global, les investisseurs dans les compartiments Aberdeen MultiFund (Lux) - Constellation Global et Aberdeen MultiFund (Lux) - Equity Europe devraient bénéficier d’un TER réduit dans le Fonds maintenu.Toutefois, précise le gestionnaire, «il est à noter que parallèlement aux transferts d’actifs, le plafond actuel du TFE s’appliquant aux fonds abandonnés, et appliqué à l’origine au fonds à titre de mesure transitoire pour couvrir le transfert des fonds abandonnés de Credit Suisse vers Aberdeen Asset Management, sera relevé. En conséquence, les TFE relatifs au fonds maintenu seront inférieurs à ceux qui auraient été appliqués à chacun des fonds abandonnés après suppression du plafond».

2011 will have been the second-worst year for hedge funds since 1990, while the worst remains 2008. Statistics from Hedge Fund Research (HFR) show that on average, these funds have lost 4.37% since the beginning of the year, which is not terribly severe, but must come as a shock for managers who are accustomed to earning absolute returns, the Financial Times notes.Nonetheless, Brevan Howard, the largest global macro fund manager, has stepped clear of outsized bets on the euro zone, and its USD24bn flagship fund has earned returns of 13% since the beginning of the year, largely due to big gains on US Treasuries in August. Meanwhile, the flagship fund from Bridgewater, managed by Ray Dalio, has made returns of 26%.

The Hamburg-based alternative management firm Aquila Capital has recruited Oldrik Verloop as director of development. The objective is to develop the firm’s presence in Benelux and Scandinavia. Verloop had previously been one of the directors of development at the Swiss bank Wegelin & Co, where he set up a strategy to enter the institutional markets in Benelux and Scandinavia.

Ben Weston, who for the past three years has been CEO of Helvetica Wealth Management Partners (a joint venture of Credit Suisse and the Emirate of Qatar), and who has also been CEO of Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments (USD26bn in assets, 2005-2008), has joined the sovereign fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) as global head of alternative investments. He will report to Khalifa Almheiri, executive director of the alternative investment department.

According to the Börsen-Zeitung, subscriptions to the Luxembourg-registered Bilfinger Berger Global Infrastructure Sicav SA will be permanently closed on 13 December, and an initial listing of the fund on the London Stock Exchange will take place on 21 December (see Newsmanagers of 20 September). Initially, the investment had been planned for first quarter 2012.The amount invested in the fund is expected to total EUR250m. The German firm Bilfinger Berger will retain a 19.9% stake in the portfolio, which includes 19 construction projects ranging from schools in the United Kingdom, a high security prison in Germany, and highways in Canada. Compared with the initial plans for the fund, the performance objective has been lowered from 6% to 5.5%.

Hian-Boon Tay, who had been a member of the portfolio management team at the Singapore sovereign fund GIC since 1993, has joined the emerging markets team at the German asset management firm DWS Investments, with a staff of 40, 25 of whom are in Frankfurt. He will join the equity team (28 members). All emerging markets management is directed by Andreas Römer, with assets of about EUR15bn. The new recruit had been in charge of an absolute return equity fund with assets of several billion euros at GIC.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has sentenced Integrated Financial Arrangements plc GBP3.5m for failure to meet its obligations to protect the assets of clients. The firm owns the world’s largest custom product package platform, Transact. It is accused of failing to undertake all necessary verifications to ensure that client assets were kept separate from the assets of the business between 1 December 2001 and 30 June 2010.

The Luxembourg-based Aberdeen Global Services has announced to subscribers to the Balanced Global, Constellation Global, Equity Europe and Moderation funds from Aberdeen MultiFund (Lux) that the funds will be abandoned on 16 December, and assets and responsibility for the assets will be transferred to the Multi-Manager World Equity Fund sub-fund from Aberdeen Global.The board of directors at Aberdeen Global Services estimates that assets in the abandoned funds were too slight, and that the merger would serve the interests of shareholders by provideing them with access to a product with a larger universe.Though the asset transfers will result in an increase in the total expense ratio (TER) compared with the current limits for investors in the Aberdeen MultiFund (Lux) – Moderation and Aberdeen MultiFund (Lux) – Balanced Global, investors in the Aberdeen MutiFund (Lux) – Constellation Global and Aberdeen MultiFund (Lux) – Equity Europe sub-funds will receive a lower TER rate in the new fund.However, the asset management firm states, “in parallel with the transfer of assets, the current TER limit applicable to the abandoned funds, and originally applicable to the temporary fund used for the transfer of abandoned Credit Suisse funds to Aberdeen Asset Management, will be removed. As a result, the relative TER of the fund maintained will be lower than those which would have been applied to each of the abandoned funds once that limit is removed.”

Jim Ross, global head of ETFs at State Street Glboal Advisors, has told Mutual Fund Wire that the firm is planning to launch its first actively-managed ETF products in 2012. The first round of launches may include 5 or 6 new products, which will be launched on the market in the first few months of the year. SSgA is the second-largest ETF provider, after iShares (BlackRock).

State Street Global Advisors is planning to create an educational website about ETFs, aimed at retail investors, Jim Ross, global head of ETFs at the firm, has announced. The website will be available at www.SPDRETFFactorFiction.com, and will aim to dispel a number of misconceptions about ETF funds.

Jerry Szilagyi, president of Vice Advisor USA Mutuals, has confirmed to Mutual Fund Wire that before the end of December, it will be creating two new share classes (A and C) in its Vice Fund, aimed at financial advisers. The firm will also soon recruit for its sales team, in order to increase its client base in this segment, the article adds.

Oddo AM on 8 December unveiled an equity fund with a rather contrarian approach: it invests in a range of European banking sector equities. The fund will aim to outperform the Stoxx Europe 600 Banks Net Return index, with a minimal investment horizon of 5 years. The fund will invest exclusively in European financial sector shares (banks and insurers, though insurance sector shares are limited to no more than 15% of assets). The fund will be managed by Alain Dupuis, who has covered the banking sector as a financial analyst for over 15 years, including 11 years at Oddo Securities, and in the thematic equity management team at Oddo Asset Mangaement, led by Emmanuel Chapuis. The launch of the fund comes in an environment in which many consider the banking sector to be trapped in a vicoius circle: sovereign crisis, refinancing crisis, fast-paced regulatory changes, and a virtual recession in Europe. These are all interconnected problems which feed one another. However, following a 45% fall in the banking sector since the beginning of the year, and valuation levels which have already integrated projections of major stress, the banking sector offers opportunities for entry with a long-term horizon, so long as shares are acquired highly selectively. According to Dupuis, “the current valuation of banks has integrated heavy losses on sovereign debt, but also a scenario of a deeper than expected recession, and massive recapitalisation. Even a partial improvement in the economic or political situation would have a positive effect on the valuation of the entire sector, which is now trading at all-time low ratios.” Characteristics of the fund ISIN code: A shares: FR0010493957/ B shares: FR0011156215 Legal format: French-registered FCP AMF classification: International equities Benchmark: Stoxx Europe 600 Banks Net Return Subscription commission: Maximum 4%, including all taxes, of net assets, not paid back to fund Management fees: A class shares: maximum 2% of net assets, including all taxes; B shares: 1% of net assets, including all taxes Performance commission: 20% of outperformance exceeding the benchmark, if the performance of the fund is positive, including all taxes Minimum initial subscription: A shares: 1 thousandth of one share; B shares: EUR1m

Schelcher Prince Gestion is converting the horizon fund Schelcher Prince Horizon 2012, which invests in government and corporate bonds, into the Schelcher Prince Horizon 2016, adding four years to its lifespan. The fund was launched in 2009 to take advantage of “an exceptional situation in terms of spreads,” with an objective of 20% over three years. This goal was met, with over 22% returns, says Bruno Promonet, deputy CEO of Schelcher Prince Gestion. This time the performance objective is 30% over five years. The management constraints for the Horizon 2016 fund remain the same as for the Horizon 2012 fund. The portfolio will be at least 80% investted in bonds rated investment grade or better by one of the major ratings agencies (Standard & Poor’s and others). It may invest up to 20% of its assets in bonds with no ratings or rated below investment grade, with a limit of BB-. Bonds in the fund will mature on or before 31 December 2016. The fund, which now has assets of about EUR60m, is open to current investors and to new subscribers. Exit fees have been set at 1% (paid into the fund), up to the end of December 2015. After that, there will be no withdrawal penalty.

In November, the coverage rate for US pension funds improved slightly, with an increase of 0.3 percentage points to 75.1%, according to statistics from BNY Mellon Asset Management. Since the beginning of this year, the coverage rate has now fallen by ten percentage points.

The real estate fund management firm RREEF (Deutsche Bank group) has announced that it has resold the PEP shopping centre in Munich-Neuperlach to the US firm TIAA-CREF for EUR408m. It is the largest and one of the most profitable transactions in 2011 in the German commercial real estate market. The property was acquired for about EUR54m in July 1984. Since then, RREEF has invested about EUR170m in renovations and works. PEP had been in the porfolio of the open-ended real estate fund grundbesitz europa, whose portfolio is 27% invested in the United Kingdom, 21% in France, 16% in Germany, 13% in Spain, and 10% in the Netherlands. As of the end of November, the fund had assets of EUR3.2bn, with 41 properties in the porfolio. Additional sales of assets are planned in the next few months.

As Jeremy Podger, head of global equities, has left the business in order to manage a special situations fund at Fidelity, under his erstwhile boss Dominic Rossi (global CIO for equities), Threadneedle (EUR71.9bn in assets as of the end of September) has now appointed William Davies to replace him. Since 1999, Davies had been director of the European equity management team. He will now be in charge of developing global equity management, particularly on international markets. Davies, who joined Threadneedle at its inception in 1994, will report directly to Leigh Harrison, head of equities.

The US firm Prudential Retirement, an affiliate of Prudential Financial, is becoming one of the life expectancy risk insurers for Deutsche Bank and its client, the Rolls Royce pension fund. The coverage will extend to pension benefit liabilities totalling about GBP500m.