With Spain joining the ranks of European markets that have emerged from recession, investors committed record-setting amounts of new money to Europe and Spain equity Funds during the third week of October, EPFR Global reports. Investors also warmed to emerging markets equity funds as fears of ‘tapering’ by the US Federal Reserve faded deeper into 2014.Overall, equity funds took in a net USD21.4 billion during the week ending October 23, according to statistics from EPFR Global.Bond funds absorbed a modest USD527 million. Europe high yield funds and Europe bond funds, however, posted significant inflows. Commitments to Spain bond funds crossed the USD4 billion mark.Flows into money market funds were just shy of USD66 billion as the agreement on the US debt ceiling lifted the specter of default that drove the previous week’s massive outflows.

At a recent conference in London, Dominic Rossi, global CIO for equities, has explained that Fidelity Worldwide Investment takes extra-financial data into consideration in its management process, but that as it does not have all the necessary analysis capacities internally, the firm buys in information from an external provider, MSCI, for environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings.“However, we try to go beyond these figures,” says Rossi. “And, since we can’t specialise in all three components of ESG, Fidelity Worldwide Investment has chosen to focus on the ‘G.’ We employ a team of six people in Europe for engagement, and these specialists are responsible for focusing on appointments and remuneration in particular. On this latter point in particular we have held specific meetings with 150 companies in 2012.”

Helen Copinger-Symes, who for six years served as director of relationships with consultants at AllianceBernstein, and then became head of business development & client relationships for defined benefit activities, has been recruited by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) as managing director and head of consultant relations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

As of the end of September, assets under management by InverCaixa Gestión in funds were up 18.2% to EUR20.09bn of which EUR2.37bn were in net subscriptions in the first nine months of the year, Funds People reports.The asset management firm of La Caixa has nearly tripled its market share for funds in Spain, from 5.6% in 2007 to 14.2% as of 30 September.

Funds People reports that Natixis Global Asset Management has registered a selection of seven funds with the CNMV with a view to selling them on the Spanish market, from its SRI division, Mirova.They include five equity funds (Mirova Global Climate Change, Mirova Global Sustainable Equity, Mirova Europe Sustainable Equity, Mirova Euro Sustainable Equity and Mirova Europe Life Quality) and two bond funds (Mirova Euro Sustainable Corporate Bonds and Mirova Euro Sustainable Aggregate).

Under the headline “How to invest and make money with the March family, whether the Ibex is rising or falling,” the Spanish newspaper Cinco Días reports that the Sicav fund of the Madrid March family, Torrenova de Inversiones, has become the largest Sicav in Spain, with more than EUR600m in assets, in addition to which there is also Torrenova Lux, a sub-fund with EUR400m of the Luxembourg Sicav March International.The two products are managed by Juan Berberana, with the objective of beating euro zone inflation over the mid- and long term. The particuarity of Torrenova is to accept external subscribers, with a minimal investment of only EUR10. Since 2002, Torrenova has shown a loss (of 5.4%) only in 2008. Over 10 years, its average performance has been over 4%, with very low volatility.

“Due to the environment of low interest rates and to falling net asset values and the closure of redemptions from several real estate funds in the portfolio (Axa Immoselect, Axa Immosolutions, UBS 3 Sector Real Estate, DEGI German Business et DEGI Global Business),” the German private bank Berenberg “estimates that it is no longer very possible to meet the objectives of its real estate fund of funds Berenberg Select Income Universal (ISIN codes: DE0002016441 and DE000A0RB9L1).”The fund will be gradually liquidated by 30 September 2014, a statement says, adding that from 23 October, subscriptions and redemptions are suspended.Initially, Berenberg will sell 57% of assets in the funds (EUR151.67m as of 22 October) held in the form of fixed incme securities. The corresponding amount will be very rapidly disstibuted to shareholders.For the remaining 43%, redemptions will depend on those received by the fund from real estate funds in the liquidation process held in its portfolio, as these sell assets.

Without ending its co-operation with Deka, the central asset management firm for the German savings banks, the Sparkasse Bremen, the savings bank of Bremen, has announced the launch of eight German-registered funds, whose asset management firm is the Hamburg-based Hansainvest, and the depository bank is Donner & Reuschel, Fonds professionell reports.The funds in question are the following:BremenKapital Kompakt Ertrag (ISIN: DE000A1J67B6)BremenKapital Kompakt Ertrag Plus (ISIN: DE000A1J67G5)BremenKapital Kompakt Wachstum (ISIN: DE000A1J67J9)BremenKapital Kompakt Dynamik (ISIN: DE000A1J67F7)BremenKapital Aktien (ISIN: DE000A1J67E0)BremenKapital Renten Standard (ISIN: DE000A1J67C4)BremenKapital Renten Offensiv (ISIN: DE000A1J67H3)BremenKapital Zertifikate (ISIN: DE000A1J67K7)

Following very large inflows into the Alken Small Caps Europe recently, Alken has decided to hard close the strategy to new subscriptions as of 25 October 2013 at 16:00 CET. The reason behind this is to protect existing investors’ returns that could be jeopardised by these strong and sudden inflows into the strategy. The Board of the fund, together with Alken Asset Management will review this decision on an ongoing basis, according to a statement. Such measure does not affect whatsoever the existing shareholders’ right to exit the Sub-Fund at any time, stresses Alken.Alken has already soft closed a first fund at the beginning of the month - Alken Fund European Opportunities.

The Caisse d’Epargne announced before the weekend that it is instituting a new communications relations framework for its clients and prospective private management clients. The programme aims to make the brand more visible and reaffirm its expertise in the private management market serving a wide range of clients. In order to strengthen its positioning on this market, the Caisse d’Epargne has announced the ambitious objective of becoming “a bank of reference for the regions serving private management clients.” The new framework will help to make clients more loyal and strengthen their relationships, making the expertise of the Caisse d’Epargne more visible.

Douglas Beck, managing director and head of product development at DWS (Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management) since 2006, has been recruited as head of investment capability management at Fidelity, Mutual Fund Wire reports.

French advisers are particularly interested in finding out about a new approach to portfolio constuction, according to a survey by Natixis Global Asset Management in August and September, covering 300 financial advisers, 150 of them in France.Advisers are very open to the idea of using new methods to bring investors appropriate diversification of their portfolios. Nearly two thirds of French advisers (64.7%) admit that for most advisers, a traditional allocation of 60% to equities and 40% to bonsd is no longer appropriate to obtain returns and manage risk (49%) in other countries.Two thirds (67.4%) also admit that financial advisers need to replace the traditional portfolio diversification and construction techniques with new methods (compared with 58.5% in other countries). “That should absolutely involve training and assistance for financial advisers. With that in mind, we have set up our Durable Portfolio Construction approach ,in order to help them construct portfolios which are able to stand up and adapt to unpredictable changes in market conditions,” says Christophe Point, director of Natixis Global AM in France. “This policy has met with strong interest, particularly in France: four adviseres out of five (80%) think they need more assistance with the construction of portfolios for their clients.” Lastly, so-called “alternative” investments are still underused as new investment strategies.

After two initial waves of mystery visits in 2010 and 2012, the AMF has continued the experiment in 2013, with identical scenarios (riskophilia and riskophobia), to which a new profile has been added (young active client seeking to invest directly in equities). The AMF is seeking to evaluation over the long term the quality of questioning of prospective clients and the pertinence of commercial offerings. By undertaking these mystery visits, the AMF is seeking to strengthen its preventive actions in the area of protecting savings through monitoring of the sales conditions on the market for retail financial products. The new mystery visits carried out in 2013 have repeated the same scenarios as in 2010 and 2012, with two types of clearly differentiated profiles: savings investors who are too averse to risk (riskophobic) and savings investors who are prepared to take a certain dose of risk (riskophilic). In 2013, it was observed that offerings were more differentiated from one scenario to the other, which has accentuated since 2010. Investment products of the OPCVM and PEA type were offered more to riskophilic prospects. A new profile was also tested in April 2013: a young, active homeowner expressing a desire to invest directly in equities. Many client advisers were hesitant to assist with this request. Surprisingly, the PEA was infrequently offered to this prospect. The major findings of visits carried out in 2013 are the following: sometimes insufficient getting to know the prospect, a spontaneous oral presentation of fees which could be perfected, a presentation of the benefits and drawbakcs of products offered hich remains unbalanced. Mystery visits also found some commercial offerings which were manifestly inappropriate even when the sales offers are sometimes more steered by sales policy for the brand than on really taking into account the requests expressed by the prospect.

In third quarter, the Government Pension Fund – Global (the former Norwegian oil fund) has posted returns of 5%, or NOK228bn. Investments in equities generated a gain of 7.6%, while investments in bonds brought in 0.3%, or 0.1 point more than the benchmark index, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), to which the Bank of Norway has outsourced the management of the fund, states. The performance of the real estate portfolio, for its part, totalled 4.1%.As the Norwegian Kroner has lost value comapred with several major currencies in the quarter under review, currency effects were positive to the tune of NOK31bn, while the Norwegian government contributed funds of NOK58bn.As of 30 September, assets in the fund totalled NOK4.714trn, of which 63.6% were invested in equities. 35.5% in bonds, and 0.9% in real estate (with the long-term objective of increasing the real estate allocation to 5%).

For its real estate fund Fidelity Eurozone Real Estate Fund, Fidelity Real Estate Investment Management, the real estate fund management affiliate of Fidelity Worldwide Investments, has acquired the “Le Verdi” office complex in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris. The property is the global headquarters of Nestlé Waters. The acquisition was financed partly by a guaranteed credit of EUR22m.

Fidelity has launched two new funds which come as additions to its “multi-asset income” range, Money Marketing reports. The two new funds, Fidelity Multi Asset Balanced and Fidelity Multi Asset & Growth, will be co-managed by Eugene Philalithis and Nick Peters. The two vehicles will aim for total returns of 4% to 6%, with the first aiming for total returns of 6.5%, and the second for 7%. With a bond allocation of 50%, the balanced fund will have a tactical allocation that may vary from 20% to 60% to equities and infrastructure, and expected volatility of 7.5%. With a bond allocation of 25%, the Growth & Income Fund will aim for a tactical allocation that may vary from 25% to 80% to equities and infrastructures, with an expected volatility of 11%.

The marketing department at OppenheimerFunds has been reinforced with the recruitment of Peter Mitzberg as senior vice president, strategy & market planning, after serving as head of marketing and head of Latin America & Iberia strategy at BlackRock.Stephen Tisdally becomes senior vice president, brand marketing. He joins from Ogilvy & Mather, where he had been managing director responsible for marketing services strategies.Rupa Athreya, who had been head of strategy at Chase Wealth Management, becomes head of product development at OppenheimerFunds.The New York-based asset management firm has also announced that it is adding to its multi-asset class unit with the creation of a global multi-asset group (GMAG), which includes nine portfolio managers and analysts, led by Mark Hamilton, CIO, market allocation, who joined the firm in April.From among the specialists at GMAG, Oppebheimer has transferred the manager of the Oppenheimer Currency Opportunities Funds, who becomes vice president, macro strategist.Two new recruitments come as additions to the team, as Dokyoung Lee becomes senior vice president, director of research, and joins from AllianceBernstein. Laura Lawson becomes vice president, senior client portfolio manager. She previously worked for Brandywine Global and will report to Kamal Bhatia, senior vice president and head of fixed income & alternative products.

Funds People reports that Banque Degroof, which is already present on the Spanish market with the Privat Ahorro Corto Plazo, Privat Renta Fija y Privat Bolsa Española funds, has obtained registrations in Spain for three global mixed funds (Degroof Global Isis Low, Degroof Isis Medium Low and Degroof Global Isis Medium), two global bond funds (Degroof Global Isis High and Degroof Equities EMU High Dividend Yield) and two value equity funds (Degroof Equities EMU Behavioral Value and Degroof Equities Europe Behavioral Value).

Unigestion shows net inflows since the beginning of this year, Jean-François Hirschel, director of global marketing at the Swiss asset management firm, tells Newsmanagers. He did not, however, reveal the scale of the net subscriptions, preferring to wait for the end of the year. In 2012, the firm showed slight outflows, and as of 30 June, it had EUR10.2bn in assets under management. Unigestion has primarily been successful with equities and private equity. Concerning funds of hedge funds, its third unit, Hirschel sees a regain in interest on the part of clients. “In the first 8-9 months of 2013, we have registered twice as many requests for proposals as in all of 2012. They are coming primarily from England, Switzerland and Germany,” he says. Commercially, Unigestion has “recruited” five to 10 new clients, primarily institutional, which corresponds to its annual objective. The firm has signed up its first clients in Canada. This success is driving Unigestion to consider a local office there. The Swiss firm is also continuing to grow in Europe, its historic market. It has recently recruited the Finnish Jussi Louekoski as head of institutional clients for Northern Europe. It is continuing its efforts in Germany, France and England. However, Unigestion does not cover Southern Europe, and for the moment, has no intention to do so. In Asia, Unigestion is taking its first steps, and in Singapore recently obtained a license which allows it to sell some funds locally.

The Italian asset management firm Anima will launch its initial public offering on the stock market in spring, Bluerating reports. The global co-ordinators are Goldman Sachs, Banci Imi and Unicredit. The firm plans to enter the stock market with floating capital of 35-40% through a stock offer carried out by the firm which controls all capital, Asset Management Holding.

The US equity manager Robert Anstey is leaving Hermes Fund Managers, where he spent 12 years, Citywire reports. Mark Sherlock, who co-managed the US small and midcaps strategy by Anstey (Hermes US SMID fund) since 2009 has become the principal manager of the fund. He will be assisted by Alex Knox and Henry Biddle.

The pension fund for British universities (USS) has announced that it has invested GBP392m in Heathrow airport. USS has signed an agreement with Ferrovial to acquire an 8.65% stake in FGP Topco, the holding company that owns Heathrow Airport Holdings. The investment will be managed by USS Investment Management, an affiliate of USS which provides most advising and management to USS.

The wealth management boutique Berry Asset Management has appointed David Lee as development manager, Wealth Adviser reports. Lee previously worked at Fidelity International, where he was head of sales to independent financial advisers (IFA).

Pour le troisième trimestre, le Government Pension Fund -Global (l’ancien fonds pétrolier norvégien) a enregistré une performance de 5 %, soit 228 milliards de couronnes. Les placements en actions ont généré un gain de 7,6 % pendant que ceux en obligations rapportaient 0,3 %, soit 0,1 point de plus que l’indice de référence, précise Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) à laquelle la Banque de Norvège a délégué la gestion du fonds. La performance du portefeuille immobilier est ressortie pour sa part à 4,1 %.Par ailleurs, comme la couronne norvégienne s’est affaiblie contre plusieurs monnaies principales durant le trimestre sous revue, l’effet de change a été positif de 31 milliards de couronnes, tandis que le gouvernement norvégien dotait le fonds de 58 milliards de couronnes.Au 30 septembre, l’encours du fonds ressortait à 4.714 milliards de couronnes, dont 63,6 % investis en actions, 35,5 % en obligations et 0,9 % en immobilier (l’objectif de long terme est de monter la poche immobilier à 5 %).

Le britannique BlueBay Asset Management LLP a publié le 25 octobre un communiqué annonçant le lancement du BlueBay Total Return Credit Fund dont l’objectif de performance se situe entre 500 et 1.000 points de base «au-dessus du cycle de crédit» et qui investit dans l’univers «sub-investment grade». Il s’agit d’un fonds coordonné de droit luxembourgeois, dont l’allocation se répartit entre le haut rendement, les «loans», les marché émergents et les obligations convertibles. BlueBay,AM, filiale à 100% de Royal Bank of Canada, n’a initialement pas voulu communiquer aux journalistes le code Isin et le montant des commissions liées à ce fonds. A posteriori, toutefois, la société de communication de BlueBay a précisé que le code Isin du fonds est LU0969341816 pour la part I.

Lors d’un récent séminaire à Londres, Dominic Rossi, global CIO equities, a expliqué que Fidelity Worldwide Investment prend en considération dans son processus d’investissement des données extra-financières mais que, n’ayant pas en interne toutes les capacités d’analyse nécessaire, la maison achète en la matière les flux d’un fournisseur externe, MSCI, en particulier pour ce qui concerne les notations environnementales, sociales et de gouvernance (ESG)."Cependant, nous nous efforçons d’aller au-delà de ces chiffres», continue Dominic Rossi. «Et, comme nous ne pourrions pas nous spécialiser sur la totalité des trois composantes de l’ESG, Fidelity Worldwide Investments a choisi de se focaliser sur le «G». Nous employons une équipe de six personnes en Europe pour l’engagement et ces spécialistes ont la consigne de s’intéresser en particulier aux nominations et aux rémunérations. Sur ce dernier point, précisément, nous avons eu des réunions spécifiques avec 150 entreprises en 2012".De son côté, Charles Payne, executive director, global equities, et ancien director of research, a souligné que Fidelity Worldwide Investment, créée en 1969, se veut une société multigénérationelle, et qu’elle recrute donc en permanence. Le concept de durabilité se traduit en effet par le refus de laisser les commandes une fois pour toutes à une seule génération de gérants de talents.Les analystes nouvellement embauchés passent successivement par trois secteurs sur une durée de deux ans et demi chacun, voire plus longtemps pour les domaines qui réclament beaucoup d’historique. Au bout de sept ans, ceux qui ont fait leurs preuves peuvent ensuite rejoindre la Portfolio Manager Academy, qui doit leur permettre ensuite de devenir gérants.

Directrice pendant six ans des relations avec les consultants chez AllianceBernstein avant de devenir head of business development & client relations pour l’activité prestations définies, Helen Copinger-Symes a été recrutée par State Street Global Adivsors (SSgA) comme managing director et head of consultant relations pour l’Europe, le Proche-Orient et l’Afrique (EMOA ou EMEA en anglais).

Alken, la société de gestion de Nicolas Walewski, a annoncé vendredi la fermeture à toutes les souscriptions de son fonds de petites capitalisations européennes Alken Small Caps Europe, après de fortes rentrées dans le fonds. Au 30 septembre, le fonds affichait un encours de 90 millions d’euros. La décision prenait effet vendredi.La raison invoquée est la protection de la performance qui pourrait être remise en cause avec de fortes et soudaines souscriptions dans la stratégie.Alken précise que la fermeture n’empêche pas les investisseurs actuels de sortir du fonds s’ils le souhaitent.Début octobre, la société de gestion avait déjà fermé aux nouveaux investisseurs son fonds Alken Fund European Opportunities.

Le capital-investisseur britannique Permira a acheté pour 350 millions d’euros la marque de chaussures culte Doc Martens auprès de la société britannique R. Griggs, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

La boutique de gestion de fortune Berry Asset Management vient de nommer David Lee en qualité de development manager, rapporte Wealth Adviser.David Lee travaillait précédemment chez Fidelity International, où il était responsable des ventes auprès des conseillers indépendants (IFA).