Bedlam Asset Management vient de fermer trois fonds pour se concentrer sur ses stratégies global equity qui représentent l’essentiel des mandats de ses clients, rapporte Fundweb.Les trois fonds concernés sont le Bedlam UK dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à 3,2 millions de livres, le Bedlam Europe (2,4 millions de livres) et le Bedlam Japan (2,1 millions de livres), au total 2% tout juste du total des actifs sous gestion de la société.

Le fournisseur d’ETP Source a annoncé que Faisal El-Hakim, Philippe Secnazi, Dennis Bergot et Gemma Steel ont intégré la société, apportant de nouvelles compétences aux équipes commerciales, marketing et juridiques. Faisal El-Hakim sera en charge des investisseurs institutionnels pour la zone Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord. Pour sa part, Philippe Secnazi sera responsable des investisseurs institutionnels en France, au Luxembourg, en Belgique et à Monaco. Dennis Bergot rejoint l'équipe marketing en tant qu’analyste, avec un focus particulier sur le contenu en langue allemande. Gemma Steel rejoint le département juridique et apportera son concours aux affaires touchant le lancement et le suivi des produits, ainsi que les questions générales de conformité. Ce renforcement des équipes de Source répond aux besoins liés à l’extension de notre base de clientèle. Avant de rejoindre Source, Faisal El-Hakim était directeur exécutif d’une société d’investissement spécialisée dans les investissements et les échanges commerciaux entre le Moyen-Orient et l’Extrême-Orient.Philippe Secnazi a eu précédemment en charge pendant plus de deux ans une clientèle institutionnelle, incluant des banques privées et des fonds de fonds, en France et à Monaco, pour le compte de Robeco à Paris.Avant de rejoindre Source, Dennis a travaillé comme «product manager» pour des produits d’investissement structurés cotés chez Westpac Banking Corporation à Sydney, où il a débuté sa carrière.Gemma Steel travaillait précédemment chez Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, où elle s’occupait des questions juridiques relatives à la gestion d’actifs, à la distribution, au développement et au lancement de produits, aux prêts et aux nouvelles réglementations.

BlackRock envisage de supprimer 250 fonds au sein de sa gamme afin de se concentrer sur les produits rerpésentant une part plus importante de ses revenus, rapporte FTfm.BlackRock, qui a déjà fermé un nombre équivalent de fonds l’an dernier, souligne le fait que les 50 fonds les plus importants de BlackRock représentent 99% des revenus desdits fonds.

La société de capital investissement Turenne Capital a annoncé, lundi 24 juin, l’arrivée de Laurent Dumonteil au poste de directeur du développement et membre du comité de direction.Turenne Capital compte développer des partenariats avec différents réseaux bancaires, des sociétés de gestion privée et des Conseillers en gestion de patrimoine (CGPI) et élargir l’offre en matière de produits d’investissement (FCPR, ...). L’intéressé se focalisera sur l’ensemble des levées de fonds institutionnelles et grand public de Turenne Capital et les relations avec les investisseurs, indique un communiqué.Il sera assisté d’Aude Ferrien, chargé d’affaires Marketing.Agé de 38 ans, le nouvel arrivant a débuté sa carrière à Société Générale Asset Management en tant que Commercial des Partenariats France et Responsable du Pôle CGPI puis comme Commercial des Partenariats France et Benelux pour les Grands Comptes chez Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management. Il a rejoint ensuite Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch Gestion comme responsable du développement de la Distribution Externe France & Luxembourg avant de devenir responsable du Développement des Partenariats chez Mandarine Gestion.

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) est devenu membre associé de l’Association des Dépositaires centraux d’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient (AMEDA*).Créée en 2005, l’AMEDA est une organisation à but non-lucratif regroupant les dépositaires centraux (CSD) et les chambres de compensation situés en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient. Son principal objectif est de faciliter l’échange d’information entre membres et de promouvoir les meilleures pratiques dans le domaine des services de dépôts de titres, de compensation, de règlement et de gestion du risque, indique un communiqué. L’AMEDA a également pour mission de soutenir les marchés locaux dans leurs efforts pour adopter la réglementation des marchés de titres et de les aider à aligner leurs procédures et normes opérationnelles sur les réglementations et standards internationaux, tout en tenant compte de la spécificité de ces acteurs, et de servir de vecteur de communication auprès des autres organisations internationales. (*) Africa & Middle East Depositaries Association

Dans une interview à la Börsen-Zeitung, Jörg Knaf, directeur général pour l’Europe du Nord chez Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM), reconnaît que l’entrelacs de sociétés de gestion d’actifs dans le groupe peut être un peu difficile à comprendre non seulement pour les particuliers mais aussi pour les futurs partenaires de distribution.Chaque filiale met en œuvre sa propre stratégie d’investissement, largement indépendante de celle du groupe. NGAM remporte néanmoins des succès auprès des investisseurs institutionnels, notamment les caisses de retraite, avec des fonds Loomis Sayles d’actions et d’obligations de petites et moyennes entreprises ou avec les ETF d’Ossiam.Depuis son arrivée sur le marché allemand en 2008, NGAM a dépassé les 2 milliards d’euros d’encours, sans compter les actifs immobiliers.

Le Handelsblatt rapporte que la banque privée de Düsseldorf HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt (T+B) a décidé de fermer ses deux filiales luxembourgeoises, une banque privée et HSBC Trinkaus Investment Managers, laquelle gère des fonds institutionnels (Spezialfonds).Les dirigeants n’ont pas encore déterminé si ces filiales, qui génèrent environ 20 millions d’euros de bénéfice avant impôt (environ un dixième du bénéfice de T+B) vont être vendues ou liquidées.Cela affectera 200 collaborateurs, dont une partie pourrait être transférée en Allemagne et une autre mutée dans d’autres filiales de HSBC.

L’Union Mutualiste Retraite/ Corem a présenté lundi 24 juin ses résultats annuels 2012 faisant état d’une collecte de 207,5 millions d’euros de cotisations et 8 milliards d’euros d’actifs gérés. L’UMR représente toujours 11% de l'épargne retraite individuelle volontaire en France, indique un communiqué.Le rendement net comptable du régime Corem s’établit à 5,25% et le rendement moyen ressort à 4,90% sur les dix dernières années.

Tim Pynchon a quitté Pioneer Investment Management, où il travaillait depuis 2000, pour rejoindre Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc, filiale d’Oppenheimer Holdings comme managing director et gérant de portefeuille pour les fonds à haut rendement exonérés d’impôt. Il est basé à Boston.

Klaus Mühlbauer a quitté fin mai Fidelity Allemagne au bout de huit ans, rapporte Das Investment. L’intéressé était directeur de la distribution et la société lui cherche un successeur.

Le néerlandais Kempen Capital Management (KCM) a obtenu de la BaFin l’agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne pour sept compartiments de la sicav luxembourgeoise Kempen International.Il s’agit des fonds Kempen (Lux) European Small Cap Fund, Kempen (Lux) Euro Credit Fund, Kempen (Lux) Euro Non-Financial Credit Fund, Kempen (Lux) European High Dividend Fund, Kempen (Lux) Global High Dividend Fund, Kempen (Lux) Global Sovereign Fundamental Index Fund et Kempen (Lux) Global Property Fundamental Index Fund.Ces produits sont disponibles tant pour les investisseurs institutionnels (classes de parts I et D) que pour les particuliers (classes de parts A, B et AD).

Le hambourgeois Aquila Capital (4,2 milliards d’euros d’encours) a annoncé le 24 juin la commercialisation en Allemagne de son fonds obligataire à parité de risque ACQ – Risk Parity Bond Funds, qui est confié à la plate-forme luxembourgeoise Alceda Fund Management (lire Newsmanagers du 25 avril). Le fonds, qui vise une performance supérieure de 300 points de base au taux monétaire, avec une volatilité ex ante de 3 %.quel que soit l’environnement de marché, peut investir en obligations souveraines, en obligations d’entreprises, en obligations indexées sur l’inflation et en devises émergentes.Le gérant principal du fonds est DTorsten von Bartenwerffer, senior fund manager dans l'équipe «quant» d’Aquila Capital.CaractéristiquesDénomination : ACQ – Risk Parity Bond FundCodes Isin : Parts institutionnelles : EUR A (LU0891409947) / EUR C (LU0891410101)Parts «wholesale» : EUR B (LU0891410010) / EUR D (LU0891410283)Souscription minimimale :50.000 euros (parts institutionnelles)1.000 euros (parts wholesale)Frais courants : gestion 0,45 % + distribution 0,30 %

La boutique d’investissement francfortoise Veritas Investment GmbH, pionnière en Allemagne des fonds d’ETF, a annoncé le 24 juin qu’elle réduira sa gamme de 14 à 10 fonds le 18 septembre et qu’elle abaissera ses commissions à compter du 1er octobre. Les fusions doivent permettre une gestion moins onéreuse et plus attrayante pour les investisseurs institutionnels, a souligné Kerstin Behnke, directrice générale chargée de la distribution et du suivi de la clientèle.Dans le détail, les fonds A2A Wachstum et l’ETFDachfonds Renten seront absorbés par le A2A Defensiv, qui prendra le nom de Veri ETF-Allocation Defensive tandis que l’ETF Dachfonds Quant sera absorbé en même temps que le ETF-Dachfonds Emerging Markets Plus Money par le ETF-Dachfonds Aktien, lequel prendra le nom de Veri ETF-Allocation Emerging Markets*.Par ailleurs, Veritas annonce la création de parts institutionnelles accessibles à partir d’un million d’euros pour lesquelles la commission de gestion sera réduite de moitié. Au 1er octobre, les commissions de gestion des différents produits de la gamme s'échelonneront entre 1 % et 1,5 %. Le droit d’entrée du A2A Defensiv sera supprimé au 1er octobre, de sorte que trois fonds Veritas seront disponibles sans droit d’entrée.En ce qui concerne les fonds patrimoniaux, Veritas a déjà réduit la commission de performance à 10 % (le calcul ne prend pas seulement en compte le high watermark, imposé par la nouvelle législation allemande, mais tient compte également d’un taux butoir) et le gestionnaire prévoit de supprimer ce prélèvement sur les fonds d’actions. * A2A WACHSTUM (ISIN: DE0005561641) ETFDACHFONDS RENTEN (ISIN: DE 0005561690) A2A DEFENSIV (ISIN: DE0005561666) nouveau nom : Veri ETF-Allocation DefensiveETFDACHFONDS QUANT (ISIN: DE0005561625) ETFDACHFONDS EMERGING MARKETS PLUS MONEY (ISIN: DE0009763326)ETF-DACHFONDS AKTIEN (ISIN: DE0005561682) nouveau nom : Veri ETF-Allocation Emerging Markets

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on 24 June published its final report on principles for ETF regulations. The report lays out nine major principles to guide regulations of ETFs and to promote better practices in the use of these products.Assets managed in ETF structured totalled about USD1.9trn as of the end of January 2013, equivalent to roughly 7% of the global mutual fund market, IOSCO notes, adding that the growing importance of the market has drawn the attention of regulators and even raised large-scale debate in 2008-2009.IOSCO concentrated its recommendations primarily on ETFs which are structured as collective securities investment organisms. The document deals with classification of ETFs, in order to correctly evaluate similarities and differences with other products. It encourages the publication of information on fees and commissions, including the potential impact of securities lending as well as the potential use of complex strategies that may involve the use of leverage.The IOSCO document also deals with the structuring of ETFs, including potential management of conflicts of interest and counterparty risks related to the two major replication methods: physical and synthetic. IOSCO encourages regulators to impose requirements that ETFs handle risks related to exposure to counterparties and management of collateral appropriately.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Hamburg-based Aquila Capital on 24 June announced the release in Germany of its risk parity bond fund ACQ – Risk Parity Bond Funds, whch is managed by the Luxembourg platform Alceda Fund Management (see Newsmanagers of 25 April). The fund, which aims for performance more than 300 basis points higher than the money market rate, with ex ante volatility of 3% regardless of the market environment, may invest in government bonds, corporate bonds, inflation-linked bonds and emerging market currencies. The lead manager of the fund is Torsten von Bartenwerffer, senior portfolio manager in the Aquila Capital quant team.CharacteristicsName: ACQ – Risk Parity Bond FundISIN codes:Institutional share classes: EUR A (LU0891409947) / EUR C (LU0891410101)Wholesale share classes: EUR B (LU0891410010) / EUR D (LU0891410283)Minimal subscription:EUR50,000 (institutional share classes)EUR1,000 (wholesale share classes)Ongoing fees: management 0.45% + distribution 0.30%

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Netherlands-based Kempen Capital Management (KCM) has obtained a sales license for Germany for seven sub-funds of its Luxembourg Sicav Kempen International.They are the Kempen (Lux) European Small Cap Fund, Kempen (Lux) Euro Credit Fund, Kempen (Lux) Euro Non-Financial Credit Fund, Kempen (Lux) European High Dividend Fund, Kempen (Lux) Global High Dividend Fund, Kempen (Lux) Global Sovereign Fundamental Index Fund and Kempen (Lux) Global Property Fundamental Index Fund.These products are available both to institutional investors (I and D share classes) and for retail investors (A, B and AD share classes).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Wall Street Journal reports that the hedge fund manager Bridgewater Associates, which built up an empire of USD150bn in assets with its hedge funds, has been hit by recent market reversals.The All Weather Fund (USD70bn) has lost 6% since the beginning of the month, and 8.5% since the beginning of the year, according to sources familiar with the matter. The group’s flagship product, the Pure Alpha Fund (a risk parity product with about USD80bn), has lost money in June and remains flat since 1 January, while the S&P 500 has gained 10.3%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bedlam Asset Management has closed three funds in order to concentrate on its global equity strategies, which represent most mandates from its clients, Fundweb reports. The three funds concerned are the Bedlam UK, whose assets under management total GBP3.2bn, Bedlam Europe (GBP2.4m), and Bedlam Japan (GBP2.1m), totalling just 2% of total assets under management at the firm.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As a complement to its OEIC emerging market debt fund, launched in October, Standard Life Investments (SLI) on 24 June announced the launch of the Emerging Market Local Currency Debt Fund USD, a Luxembourg-registered fund denominated in local currencies, managed by Kieran Curtis, whose benchmark index is the JPMorgan BGI EM Global Diversified. The currency of reference for the fund is the US dollar.Characteristics:Emerging Market Local Currency Debt Fund USD A AccEmerging Market Local Currency Debt Fund USD A IncISIN codes: LU0913259262 (A shares)LU0913259346 (Inc shares)Minimal subscription: GBP1,000Front-end fee: 5%Withdrawal penalty: 1%Management commission: 1.90%

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 10 June, the Netherlands-registered Robeco as announced (see Newsmanagers of 7 March) completed the transfer to Luxembourg of its Rorento NV fund (ISIN code: ANN757371433), registered in Curaçao. Its ISIN code now becomes LU0934195610. Shares in Rorento DH Eur Shares are now again available on NYSE Euronext Paris. Assets in the bond fund (government and corporate bonds) total about EUR1.5bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } iShares on 24 June announced that it is adding to its product range on the European corporate bond segment with the launch of a new bond ETF dedicated to financial sector securities. The iShares Euro Corporate Bond Financials UCITS ETF (ISIN code: IE00B87RLX93) fund comes as an addition to the existing range of iShares European corporate bond Etfs, and allows investors to adopt a more targeted approach to their bond allocation.Financial sector securities represent the largest sector in the European investment grade universe, accounting for 47% of the Barclays Euro-Aggregate Corporates index as of the end of April 2013. The new fund offers targeted and diversified exposure in a single product to this European investment grade corporate bond segment, along with potential for higher returns than those on the European corporate bond market overall. The Barclays Euro-Aggregate Financial index offers returns of 2.06%, compared with 1.94% for the Barclays Euro-Aggregate Corporates.The iShares Euro Corporate Bond Financials UCITS ETF offers exposure to fixed interest rate investment grade bonds denominted in euros and issued by financial sector businesses. The fund replicates the Barclays Euro-Aggregate: Financial index, holding physical bonds. It is managed with a sampling technique, which allows investors efficient and liquid exposure to the performance of the underlying index. Total management fees for the fund are 0.20%. Barclays uses issuer and issue ratings from three agencies – Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group and Fitch Ratings – to determine whether the bond in question is investment grade, and can therefore be included in the index.Including the new fund with fees of 0.20%, iShares now offers 13 corporate bond ETFs, including the iShares Markit iBoxx Euro Corporate Bond, iShares Barclays Euro Corporate Bond ex-Financials et iShares Markit iBoxx Euro High Yield Bond.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As announced last week (see Newsmanagers of 18 June), S&P Capital IQ on 24 June officially unveiled its portfolio risk management system, a developed risk management resource which allows traders, portfolio managers and risk managers to take strategic decisions in real time with respect to the evaluation and management of multi-asset class portfolio risks.The resource is available on the platform and allows risk management in an integrated matter from R2 Financial Technologies, acquired in 2012, and fundamental data from S&P Capital IQ. It includes a stress testing functionality.The resource also offers users a way to view their portfolios with interactive control panels, which can group data and provide detailed financial analysis, in order to better apprehend the impacts of potential variation in the performance of portfolios.The new service covers a wide range of asset classes, from cash to bonds, including equities and exotic derivative products.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The MRI market regime indicator published on 24 June by State Street Global Advisors indicates a high aversion to risk as of the end of May 2013. In the beginning of second quarter 2013, the global appetite for risk was still solid. The only exception appeared to be the currency markets, despite efforts on the part of actors to try to control the impact of recent political initiatives in Japan. The MRI had in fact been indicating problems on the currency markets for several weeks. Over the month of May, this trend extended to equity markets, where investors became increasingly skittish. Japan was once again in the firing line when the growth strategy of its prime minister, Shinzō Abe, faced a detailed review. At the end of May, the MRI indicated high aversion to risk, and SSgA is positioning its client portfolios accordingly.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The consultant Mercer on 24 June announced that Andrew Kirton, global CIO since 2010, has been appointed as head of investments business for Europe, replacing Tom Geraghty, who becomes market leader and CEO for Ireland.Jeff Shutes, global leader of manager research and head of investment business, Latin America at Mercer, has been promoted to the newly-created position of head of investments business in the growth markets (Asia, Middle East, turkey, Africa and Latin America).Lastly, the newly-created position of head of retirement business, growth markets has been given to Akhil Sethi, who had been global COO, retirement business. Mercer states that, despite the euro crisis, its investment business in Europe has continued to grow and now exceeds its global investment activity in 2006 in size.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Brazilian asset manager Bradesco Asset Management (BRAM, USD140bn) has obtained a sales license for Spain from the CNMV for sub-funds of its Luxembourg Sicav, three equity funds and three bond products. They are all UCITS-compliant funds with daily liquidity, Funds People reports.BRAM has already registered its funds in Portugal, and has applied for a license from the Italian regulator.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Frankfurt-based investment boutique Veritas Investment GmbH, a pioneer of ETF funds in Germany, on 24 June announced that it will be reducing its product range from 14 to 10 funds on 18 September, and that it will be lowering its commissions from 1 October. Mergers will allow for less costly and more attractive management for institutional investors, says Kerstin Behnke, CEO responsible for distribution and customer relationship management. The A2A Wachstum and ETFDachsfonds Renten funds will be absorbed into the A2A Defensiv funds, which will become known as the Veri ETF-Allocation Defensive while the ETF Dachfonds Quant will be absorbed at the same time as the ETF-Dachfonds Emerging Markets Plus Money into the ETF-Dachfonds Aktien, which will become known as the Veri ETF-Allocation Emerging Markets.Veritas has announced the creation of institutional share classes available from EUR1m for which the management commission will be reduced by half. As of 1 October, the management commissions for various products of the range will vary from 1% to 1.5%. The front-end fee for the A2A Defensiv will be discontinued from 1 October, to that three Veritas funds will be available with no front-end fee.For wealth management funds, Veritas has already reduced the performance commission to 10% (the calculation does not only take into account the high watermark, imposed by new German legislation , but also a hurdle rate), and the manager plans to discontinue this charge for equity funds.A2A WACHSTUM (ISIN: DE0005561641) ETFDACHFONDS RENTEN (ISIN: DE 0005561690) A2A DEFENSIV (ISIN: DE0005561666) new name: Veri ETF-Allocation DefensiveETFDACHFONDS QUANT (ISIN: DE0005561625) ETFDACHFONDS EMERGING MARKETS PLUS MONEY (ISIN: DE0009763326)ETF-DACHFONDS AKTIEN (ISIN: DE0005561682) new name: Veri ETF-Allocation Emerging Markets

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has elected Christian Dargnat as chairman of the professional association for a term of two years, according to a statement released on 24 June.Dargnat, CEO of BNP Paribas Asset Management and CIO of BNP Paribas Investment Partners, and vice chairman of EFAMA since June 2011, succeeds, Claude Kremer, chairman since 2011.The vice-chairmanship of the organisation goes to Alexander Schindler, a member of the executive board at Union Asset Management Holding AG.The mission of EFAMA in the next two years will be to support the confidence of investors and confidence in asset management, by promoting governance standards, integrity,professionalism and performance throughout the sector, the statement says.EFAMA will also work to improve the functioning of the single market in the asset management sector and to promote a harmonized framework for the distribution of savings and investment products, strengthen the competitiveness of the sector in terms of cost and quality, and to promote the sector and the UCITS brand throught Europe and the world.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Henderson Global Investors and TIAA-CREF, a provider of financial services, are joining forces in real estate investment. The two firms are merging their European and Asian real estate activities as a new asset management firm which will be known as TIAA Henderson Global Real Estate. The firm will include he European real estate activity of TIAA-CREF, the real estate activities of Henderson GI in Europe and Asia-Pacific, and a new global distribution and customer service organisation.TIAA Henderson Global Real Estate will launch a real estate investment platform which will also allow access to bond markets and “increase its capacity to develop and offer new products,” a statement says.TIAA-CREF will control 60% of the new firm, while Henderson GI will have 40%. The firm, with EUR63bn in assets under management, will officially be created in first quarter 2014, pending regulatory approval. Tom Garbutt, head of global real estate at TIAA-CREF, will become chairman of the board of directors at the new firm, while James Darkins, CEO for real estate at Henderson, will become chairman and CEO. The firm will be headquartered in London. In France, the firm will have total real estate AUM of about EUR1.7bn. “The strategy for France is to double assets under management by 2015, largely distributing investments between the office and retail sectors”, according to a press release. The French office will continue to be led by Peter Winstanley and Thibault Ancely. Alongside the merger of European and Asian activities of the two firms, TIAA-CREF is acquiring 100% of the real estate activities of Henderson in the United States.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US-based asset management firm Horizons ETFs Management has announced that NYSE Arca has admitted the Horizons S&P 500(R) Covered Call ETF to trading with the ticker HSPX. The fund, which charges fees of 0.65%, will offer monthly liquidity. It will employ a physical replication strategy and while selling call options on the same eligible securities, a technique known as “covered call writing.”Horizons USA, which is an affiliate of the South Korean Mirae, has also announced that Adam Felesky has been promoted to head of the Americas for the group’s ETF business in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. He had previously been CEO of Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock is planning to shorten its product range by 250 funds in order to concentrate on products which represent a larger percentage of revenues, FTfm reports. BlackRock points out that the 50 largest funds at BlackRock account for 99% of revenues from funds.