Encore une grosse pointure qui quitte le navire. Juan Landazabal quitte DWS, la filiale de gestion d’actifs de Deutsche Bank, après cinq années en qualité de responsable mondial du trading obligataire et devises, ont indiqué à Financial News des sources proches du mouvement. Il y a seulement quelques jours, Mike Bellaro, patron mondial du trading actions, avait également annoncé son départ pendant l'été après 30 ans au sein de la société de gestion. Les deux partants étaient rattachés à Vincenzo Vedda, responsable mondial du trading chez DWS.DWS s’est refusé à tout commentaire sur ces mouvements.

Christian Subbe va quitter Allianz Global Investors moins d’un an après avoir pris les fonctions de responsable de la division gestion d’actifs multi-asset, rapporte Citywire Allemagne. Il avait rejoint la société de gestion en 2009.

UniCredit envisage de fusionner avec Société Générale, rapporte le Financial Times. Jean-Pierre Mustier, le directeur général français de la banque italienne, a lancé l’idée il y a plusieurs mois, selon des sources proches du dossier. Elles indiquent qu’aucune approche formelle n’a été faite, mais les administrateurs de SocGen étudient aussi la possibilité d’une union. Des personnalités des deux banques ont souligné que les discussions étaient à une étape précoce et la situation politique volatile en Italie a reporté le calendrier d’une opération qui étaient à l’origine de 18 mois.

Matteo Colafrancesco quitte la présidence d’Assoreti, l’association italienne des réseaux de conseillers financiers, rapporte Bluerating. Il quitte son mandat deux ans avant la date prévue, compte tenu de sa nomination récente comme conseiller délégué de Banca Intermobiliare. Massimo Doris (Banca Mediolanum) et Alessandro Foti (FinecoBank) restent vice-présidents de l’association.

FinecoBank, la banque directe multicanal d’UniCredit, a annoncé vendredi que Fineco Asset Management, sa filiale de gestion d’actifs basée en Irlande, a obtenu les autorisations nécessaires de la part de la Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier pour se substituer à Amundi Luxembourg pour la gestion des fonds de la gamme « CoreSeries ». Cela représente 6,7 milliards d’euros au 31 mars 2018, selon des informations de FinecoBank.L’opération devrait être réalisée d’ici au 2 juillet 2018. Elle permettra à Fineco AM de reprendre la gestion des fonds « CoreSeries ». Les fonds étaient précédemment gérés par Pioneer, filiale de gestion d’UniCredit, depuis rachetée par Amundi. Le 17 mai, Fineco AM avait déjà obtenu l’autorisation de la Banque centrale d’Irlande pour procéder à ce transfert.Core Series est un fonds de fonds de droit luxembourgeois qui s’articule en différents fonds.

Les actions ne pèsent plus que 47% des portefeuilles contre 50% en mai, tandis que la part de cash remonte de 5% à 7%.

Le gérant américain Legg Mason a provisionné 67 millions de dollars en vue de la résolution prochaine d’un litige aux Etats-Unis lié à ses activités en Libye. Permal Group, son activité de hedge fund, avait réalisé des investissements pour l’ancien gouvernement de Mouammar Kadhafi entre 2005 et 2007, en violation de la réglementation anti-corruption. La provision comprend 31 millions de dollars de commissions encaissées par Permal.

La réforme répond aux critiques du Conseil constitutionnel sans bouleverser les pratiques du gendarme des marchés financiers.

CD Partenaires, plateforme de distribution de fonds, filiale de La Française, doit annoncer ce matin la nomination officielle de Christophe Descohand (photo) à la tête de la structure, quelques mois après le départ de Gilles Grenouilleau. Dans un secteur en pleine mutation, le nouveau dirigeant explique à Distrib Invest et NewsManagers quels sont désormais les axes de développement de CD Partenaires alors que La Française dit aujourd'hui clairement qu'elle souhaite accélérer sa croissance sur le segment retail et que "la plateforme CD Partenaires constitue l’un de ses axes de développement prioritaire".

La société de conseil en investissement Cedrus Partners a recruté, avec effet au 1er juin, Romain Ribello, ex-BNP Paribas, en qualité de responsable de son bureau de Madrid, en Espagne.

Le numéro un mondial de la gestion d'actifs BlackRock a annoncé le recrutement de Bettina Mazzocchi-Mallarmé (photo), ancienne responsable des activités France et Monaco de Pimco, en tant que directrice de la distribution pour la France, la Belgique, le Luxembourg et Monaco.

Twenty First Capital, société de gestion indépendante française vient d'annoncer le recrutement d’Alain Benso (photo), ex-Sycomore AM, en tant que directeur du développement. Il sera notamment en charge de la distribution externe.

Le gérant américain Legg Mason a provisionné 67 millions de dollars en vue de la résolution prochaine d’un litige aux Etats-Unis lié à ses activités en Libye. Permal Group, son activité de hedge fund, avait réalisé des investissements pour l’ancien gouvernement de Mouammar Kadhafi entre 2005 et 2007, en violation de la réglementation anti-corruption. La provision comprend 31 millions de dollars de commissions encaissées par Permal.

PineBridge Investments, a global asset manager focused on active, high-conviction investing, has announced the opening of a Helsinki office to better serve clients and prospects in Finland and the Nordic region. The branch office will be led by Tomi Långström, head of Nordic business development, who joined the firm in 2014 and is based in Helsinki.“We have been active in the Nordic region for a long time and are very pleased to establish an office in Helsinki,” said Klaus Schuster, Head of Europe PineBridge. “Our business in the Nordics has grown significantly over the past few years and we are excited to have an on-the-ground presence to deepen coverage of our clients here. This further demonstrates the continued growth of our business across the European market as well as our focus on this important region.”“Establishing a foothold in Helsinki is an opportunity to further develop existing relationships and build new partnerships with the investment community. We look forward to bringing the full scope of PineBridge’s multi-asset, fixed income, equity and alternative investment capabilities to existing and new clients in Finland and the Nordics¸” added Tomi Långström.The Helsinki office is PineBridge’s first office in Finland. In the EMEA region PineBridge also has offices in London, Cape Town, Dubai, Dublin and Zurich.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } La Française has signed a partnership agreement with Unica Sim to sell several of its funds in Italy. Unica Sim, which is a financiaal intermediation company, will distribute products from La Française via Synapse, the fund distribution service launched in Italy by Société Générale Securities Services and Fundstore, a Banca Ifigest marketplace which offers online mutual funds in Italy.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } The asset management firm Candriam Investors Group (Candriam) on Wednesday, 30 May announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with the wealth management division of Deutsche Bank in Italy. Under the agreement, Italian clients of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management will benefit from investment strategies and active management expertise at Candriam, the asset management firm indicates in a statement.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } ecobee, a company which presents itself as the maker of the first Wi-Fi smart thermostat in the world, on 31 May announced that it has held a round of additional fundraising for CAD47m, led by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), AGL Energy and the Banque de développement du Canada, bringing capital invested to more than CAD127m at the conclusion of the round of series C financing. The fundraising will allow ecobee to continue to expand its range of technologies aimed at smart homes, and will continue to improve the way in which consumers interact with their homes. The firm is also recruiting several managers to accelerate its growth. “With this investment, the Caisse is investing in an innovative company which uses artificial intelligence for energy efficiency. With its smart thermostats, ecobee is playing a determining role in the reduction of energy spending, while optimising the comfort of inhabitants. With the growth in the connected homes sector, a very strongly growing market, the company is well-positioned to continue its international expansion,” says Thomas Birch, vice-chairman for funds and technologies at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } Martin Evers has left BlackRock. Evers, responsible for relationships with independent financial advisers (IFA) in Germany, wished to leave the company at his own initiative, a spokesperson for the US firm tells the specialist website Fondsprofessionell. Evers joined BlackRock in March 2015 from Meriten Investment Management. The responsibilities of Evers have been taken over by members of the team under head of retail Christian Machts, and Evers will not be replaced, the firm says. BlackRock will no longer have a specialist dedicated to the IFA distribution channel, and clients will be handled by regional customer representatives instead.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } The investment company XAnge yesterday announced that it has completed a second closing for the XAnge Digital 3 fund, which will bring it investment capacity of EUR90m to invest in digital. With this third generation fund, the firm has an investment capacity 30% higher than the previous fund, “with the objective of attaining EUR120m,” XAnge says in a statement. The new vehicle was able to rely on the support of historic investors at XAnge, La Poste, Bpifrance and CNP Assurances, and corporate investors, who represent one third of subscriptions to the fund. XAnge Digital 3 has also attracted new categories of investors, including family offices and individuals drawn from entrepreneurial circles. The XAnge Digital 3 fund targets startups in three fast-growing digital sectors: the digital consumer, enterprise data, and fintechs, mainly in France, Germany, and the rest of Europe.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } Quaero Capital is in the process of launching Minotaur, a European small caps fund which will be managed with an approach similar to the private equity fund. The asset management team, led by Philip Best, will acquire stakes in 10 to 12 small cap businesses (with floating capital of under EUR1bn). It may hold over 10% of companies, which it cannot do currently with its current range. This will allow it to get representatives elected to supervisory boards. The fund, which will be closed, will hold a first closing in June, with an asset objective of EUR150m. There will be a lock-up period of four years, for an investment horizon of eight years. The small cap team at Quaero, with three managers and three dedicated analysts, deploys proven management within its other four funds: Argonaut (which is closed), Smaller European Companies, Swiss Small & Mid Cap and New Europe. The investment philosophy of the small caps team at Quaero Capital is based on three criteria: investing in “real” small caps, which have less than EUR1bn in shared capital, and are much less well-covered by analysts; investing in the current value of companies (and not their potential future value) at the right entry point; and investing in a contrarian manner, with a long-term vision, seeking companies which are having short-term difficulties. To achieve this, the investment process is focused on fundamental research, with proprietary tools. “We think firmly that the best investment ideas are found by us, which often means directly contacting companies to meet them and visit their factories and production sites. Our process is ultimately similar to venture capital, with very frequent interactions with management,” explains Philip Best, head of the team.

With the assistance of Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS), the independent asset management firm Financière Arbevel (EUR2bn) has converted eight of its common investment funds (FCP) into a French-registered SICAV fund, SGSS announced yesterday. Financière Arbevel is applying one of the legal principles of the French Routes and Opportunities Garden (“FROG”), for French legal structures. Under the AMF and the AFG, this working group has been constructed to increase the visibility and the transformation of French investment funds internationally.The new SICAV from Financière Arbevel will include a good governance charter. It is assured by the presence of an independent administrator on its board of directors. “This transformation has no impact on the one hand on the past financial performance of funds, which remains based on the date of creation of the FCPs, nor on the other hand on ISIN codes, which remain unchanged,” SGSS says in a statement.The change was assisted as part of a mandate recently won by the bank from Financière Arbevel for a range of post-market services. SGSS is providing the asset management firm in France with depository banking, account administration and valuation, market making, administrative assistance, monitoring of statutory ratios, key investor information document (KIID), PRIIPS, AIFM and Solvency II reporting, and securities lending, exchange and clearance services for products affected by EMIR regulations.

Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) is taking on new dimensions in Luxembourg. The Swiss private bank and Carnegie Investment Bank AB on 31 May announced that they have signed an agreement by which Union Bancaire Privée (Europe) S.A. will acquire Banque Carnegie Luxembourg S.A. The transaction, subject to the approval of the regulatory authorities, needs to be finalized in fourth quarter 2018. The financial terms of the operation have not been disclosed.Banque Carnegie Luxembourg, established in Luxembourg since 1976, is a specialist in international private banking services serving Scandinavian clients. UBP, for its part, has been present in Luxembourg since 2002, and operates via its affiliates, Union Bancaire Privée (Europe), dedicated to wealth management, and UBP Asset Management (Europe). With this acquisition, UBP will be able to “significantly extend its footprint in Luxembourg,” according to a statement. Assets under management will now total nearly CHF24bn in Luxembourg for all private banking and asset management activities. According to Guy de Picciotto, CEO of UBP, in a statement, the operation “reflects our desire to strengthen our presence in Luxembourg, and to make this market the European hub for UBP.”

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } Intesa Sanpaolo is studying the acquisition of Fincentrum, a small Czech firm which owns a network of financial advisers, largely active in wealth management, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. Swiss Life and others are also reportedly interested.

Scotiabank and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) announced that Scotiabank will acquire MD Financial Management (MD), Canada’s leading provider of financial services to physicians and their families, with more than $49 billion in assets under management and administration. The purchase price of $2.585 billion is payable in cash at the closing of the Acquisition. A public offering of 19.7 million common shares at $76.15 per share on a bought deal basis for gross proceeds of $1.50 billion (the «Offering») will fund a portion of the purchase price for the Acquisition.At the closing of the Acquisition, Scotiabank and CMA will enter into a 10-year collaboration pursuant to which CMA will exclusively promote Scotiabank as the preferred provider of financial products and services to physicians and their families in Canada and, as part of the arrangement, both parties will jointly support philanthropic initiatives and other programs for physicians and the communities they serve. «MD has served the distinct financial needs of Canada’s physician community for decades and has delivered strong results,» said Brian Porter, President and CEO at Scotiabank. «Through this transaction, MD clients will benefit from a greatly expanded range of financial solutions, including access to expertise across our wealth and asset management businesses. We look forward to providing customized banking services to a wider segment of the physician community in support of their unique needs.""In tandem with this Acquisition, we are also pleased to enter into an affinity agreement with the CMA,» added James O’Sullivan, Group Head, Canadian Banking. «Under the terms of this agreement, Scotiabank will invest $115 million over the next ten years to support the advancement of the medical profession and health care in Canada. Scotiabank has a strong tradition of supporting the medical community and is proud to substantially enhance that commitment to help underscore CMA’s strategic vision of a vibrant profession and a healthy population.»

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } Julius Baer has ambitions in Asia. In a sign of its desire to expand in the region, the Swiss asset management firm has decided to move in Singapore, to offices only a few steps from its current location (Asia Square Tower 1), but in a larger space, in the new Marina One office complex, the specialist website finews reports. By the end of June, Julius Baer will transer about 800 employees to the 28th floor of Marina, a complex with two office towers. For many Asian clients, finews reports, the number 28 is a lucky number. In Asia, Julius Baer operates in Singapore, where it has 400 employees in another location (Mapletree), Hong Kong, and India. The asset management firm is concentrating its efforts in the region on five key markets: continental China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and India. As of the end of April 2018, assets under management at the group totalled CHF401bn, up by CHF13bn, or 3%, since the start of the year, driven largely by Asian activities.