L’ancien chancelier de l’Echiquier conservateur, Lord (Norman) Lamont, est entré pour une activité à temps partiel dans le comité des investissements de Stanhope Capital (5 milliards de livres), rapporte Financial Times Fund Management. Il remplace Davis Laws, devenu ministre de l’Education (schools minister) en 2012.Par ailleurs, Stanhope Capital, dont les clients sont des familles aisées et des organismes caritatifs, a nommé deux associés supplémentaires. Il s’agit de Jamie Korner, l’ancien charities director de Newton Investment Management, et de Simon Paul, directeur chez le gestionnaire de fortune Sand Aire, qui rejoindra d’ici à la fin de l’année.
Le gestionnaire alternatif américain Monarch Capital, spécialiste de la dette «distressed» ouvre un bureau à Londres, environ 20 % de ses encours de 5,5 milliards de dollars d’encours étant investis en Europe, rapporte Financial Times Fund Management.Le bureau sera dirigé par Josiah Rotenberg, managing principal, qui pilotait les investissements en Europe à partir d’Israël et qui va s’établir à Londres, où il sera secondé par un autre principal, Matthew Glowasky, actuellement basé à New York. Ils dirigeront une petite équipe sur place.
Ian Kelson ayant décidé de prendre un peu de recul, il sera remplacé comme head of international fixed income chez T. Rowe Price à Londres par Arif Husain, qui vient de quitter AllianceBernstein, rapporte Citywire.Gérant-vedette, l’intéressé était head of European and UK fixed income et gérait les fonds AllianceBernstein European Income, GI Plus Fixed Income et Global Bond Portfolio.
Le britannique Ashcourt Rowan Asset Management a annoncé qu’il va externaliser les services de portefeuille, de règlement et de conservation de ses fonds à TD Wealth Institutional. Cette migration est déjà effective pour les nouveaux clients tandis que les anciens seront basculés d’ici à la fin du mois.
Le Français Antony Vallée et son équipe vont gérer le nouveau JPMorgan Global Convertibles Income Fund, un produit domicilié à Guernesey, rapporte Funds Europe.Ce fonds sera investi en obligations convertibles dans une vaste gamme de secteurs. Durant la première année, les dividendes seront versés semestriellement, mais JPMorgan Asset Management prévoit de passer ensuite à des versements trimestriels.La souscription est ouverte jusqu’au 5 juin et la négociation commencera le 11 juin.
La banque privée Notenstein renforce son équipe dédiée à la clientèle institutionnelle. Elle a débauché deux banquiers chez Sarasin. Aris Prepoudis rejoindra la banque en décembre au poste de directeur pour cette clientèle. Andreas Knörzer deviendra directeur pour l’asset management.
Selon Finews citant des informations d’efinancialnews, Credit Suisse veut vendre une nouvelle filiale de private equity. Après la cession de Strategic Partners à Blackstone le mois dernier, c’est au tour de DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. Selon des sources proches du dossier, plusieurs acheteurs potentiels se seraient manifestés. L’un d’entre eux serait la société de private equity britannique Pantheon.
Au 30 avril, l’encours des fonds suisses est ressorti à 752,92 milliards de francs suisses contre 754,62 milliards un mois plus tôt, ce qui représente une diminution de 0,2 % ou de 1,7 milliard de francs, malgré des souscriptions nettes de 785 millions contre 1,6 milliard en mars. L’encours institutionnel à fin avril représentait 289,9 milliards de francs contre 289,8 milliards un mois auparavant, selon les statistiques de Swiss Fund Data et de Lipper.Les fonds d’actions, les monétaires et les fonds de matières premières ont subi des sorties nettes respectives de 316,8 millions, 595,8 millions et 982,7 millions de francs, pendant que les fonds obligataires collectaient en net 1.953,1 millions et que les”fonds stratégiques de placement” drainaient 549,6 millions.Le classement par les encours demeure inchangé. UBS se maintient au premier rang, avec 170.054 millions de francs fin avril contre 170.087 millions au 31 mars, suivi de Credit Suisse, avec 117.845 millions contre 117.870 millions. Le troisième est Pictet, avec 50.598 millions contre 50.565 millions.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Çetin Ali Dönmez, executive vice president of Borsa Istanbul, has announced that a planned BIST Sustainability sustainable development index created by the Istanbul stock exchange in cooperation with the Turkish Business Council for Sustainable Development (TCBSD) has been awaiting approval from the Capital Market Board (CMB) since February 2012. It would cover 30 equities in companies based in Turkey which meet high criteria in environmental, social and governance (ESG) areas. The index is expected to be launched by the end of the year.Meanwhile, Borsa Istanbul is entering a new phase in its life. Its demutualisation took place in April 2013, and its initial public offering is slated for 2015. Meanwhile, the stock market business is consolidating its positions, and is expected to officially take over the Izmir-based TurkDex derivative market on 5 August, after absorbing the Istanbul gold market earlier this year.Since demutualisation, 10% of capital has been distributed, and the Turkish state now controls a take of slightly under 49%, and 41.5% of capital is owned by the firm itself, as Bolsa Istanbul is reserving these shares for a strategic partner. The Turkish stock market operator is in talks with several major European and Asian operators on the subject. Locally, financial circles feel that after adopting European practices and regulations, the stock market may prefer an Asian actor as a major stakeholder.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lorenzo Giorgianni, deputy director of the strategy, policy and review department of the IMF, will in October join the US wealth management firm Tudor Investment Corp (USD3bn), according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Financial Times Fund Management. He will take over the position of chief economist for emerging markets.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Conservative former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Norman Lamont, has joined the investment committee of Stanhope Capital (GBP5bn) part-time, Financial Times Fund Management reports. He replaces Davis Laws, who became schools minister in 2012. Stanhope Capital, whose clients are wealthy families and charities, has appointed two additional partners. They are Jamie Korner, former charities director at Newton Capital Managment, and Simon Paul, director of the wealth management firm Sand Aire, who will join the firm by the end of the year.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US wealth management firm Monarch Capital, a specialist in distressed debt, is opening an office in London, as about 20% of its USD5.5bn in assets are invested in Europe, Financial Times Fund Management reports. The office will be led by Joisah Rotenberg, managing principal, who had directed investments in Europe from Israel and who will move to London, where he will be assisted by another principal, Matthew Glowasky, currently based in New York. They will direct a small local team.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mike Buhl-Nielsen is the new manager of the Jupiter Europa sub-fund. Buhl-Neilsen had been deputy manager of the fund since October 2011. He now replaces Stephen Pearson, who will continue to be involved in management as deputy manager. The appointment will allow Pearson to dedicate more of his time to his new responsibilities as deputy chief investment officer. The Jupiter Europa fund is the result of the merger in October 2011 of the Jupiter Europa Hedge Fund and the Jupiter European Absolute Return fund.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As Ian Kelson has decided to take some time off, he will be replaced as head of international fixed income at T. Rowe Price in London by Arif Husain, who has left AllianceBernstein, Citywire reports. The star manager had been head of European and UK fixed income, and managed the AllianceBernstein European Income, GI Plus Fixed Income and Global Bond Portfolio funds.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } London & Capital is opening a private management unit dedicated to high net worth clients. It will be led by Iain Tait and will offer wealth management and advising services. The unit was created out of the merger of “specialist investment” and “ultra high net worth” teams, Funds Europe reports.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Ashcourt Rowan Asset Management has announced that it will be outsourcing portfolio, settlement and custody services for its funds to TD Wealth Institutional. The migration has already been completed for new clients, while existing clients will be moved by the end of the month.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US firm Vanguard has announced the launch of the Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund, its first fund of foreign bonds available on the US market. The initial subscription period will remain open until 30 May. Vanguard will invest in money market instruments, while building a representative and diversified portfolio. ETF shares in the fund (ticker: WWOB) are expected to be available for trading from early June.The fund will replicate the Barclays USD Emerging Markets Government RIC Capped Index of government bonds issued by emerging countries and denominated exclusively in US dollars. The index will include about 560 issues by governments, government agencies and local govenrments.The total expense ratio for the ETF, Investor, Admiral and institutional share classes vary from 0.30% to 0.50%. They will be 0.35% for the ETF and Admiral share classes, 0.50% for investor shares, and 0.30% for institutional shares.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The annual European Asset Allocation Survey by the consulting firm Mercer has found that the percentage of 1,200 pension funds surveyed (with a total of EUR750bn in assets) which allocate a part of their investments in the form of liability-driven investment (LDI) mandates has risen from 15% in 2012 to 26% this year, as the approach has become more widespread particularly in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.Nearly half of all heads surveyed say that they now have an exposure to alternative investments, while the percentage is as high as 75% in the United Kingdom. About one quarter of heads surveyed are planning to increase their allocation to alternative investments, while only 7% are planning to reduce it. However, allocation to equities has fallen to an average of 39%, from 43% last year (and 68% in 2003). British funds, which are traditionally the most exposed to equities, have now been overtaken by Irish, Belgian and Swedish funds. In addition to this, 30% of directors surveyed are planning to reduce the allocation to domestic equities, and 25% are planning to reduce their exposure to foreign equities.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 31 May, Rajat Sufi will become country head for the United States at the Scottish firm Martin Currie. He will be based in New York, and will have the title of senior vice-president, sales and client services. He had previously been managing director at Tradewinds Global Investors, an affiliate of Nuveen Investments, after serving as head, global sales team, at Nicholas Applegate Capital Management for nine years.Martin Currie has meanwhile recruited Mel Bucher as senior vice-president, US sales & client service. He had previously been head of institutional clients at SVM, a boutique in Edinburgh.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Currently, the Wall Street Journal reports, Starwood Capital Group is in talks to acquire seven shopping malls in the United States from Westfiwld Group, in a transaction which would be worth over USD1bn.The deal would be the latest in a series of major acquisitions in the area of commercial real estate, just after the sale of a stake in Shoppers World held by Blackstone to DDR for USD1.46bn.At the same time, Blackstone is preparing to launch Brixmor Property Group, an owner of strip malls, on the stock market.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The CNMV has issued the new firm Andbank Wealth Management SGIIC with a collective investment management license, Funds People reports. The chief investment officer of the Andorran Andbank in Spain, Carlos Pérez Parada, will be chairman and CEO of the new firm, which currently has five employees and plans to specialise in Sicav and portfolio management. The objective is to manage 14 to 16 Sicavs by the end of the year.Controlling will be undertaken by Andbank, while administration and accounting will be outsourced to Deloitte.Currently, Andbank has EUR800m in assets under management for Spanish clients.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With the Metzler Fonds-Vermögensverwaltung service, Frankfurt-based private bank Metzler is now offering access to wealth management based on investment funds from only EUR10,000. It is available in the form of profiled portfolios which are 30%, 50% or 70% exposed to the Metzler Global Selection fund, whose allocation to equities is managed flexibly. The remainder is placed in government or corporate bonds, ETFs, emerging market bonds, covered bonds, high-yield bonds, shares in commodity companies, or money market instruments.The product is managed by the tactical asset allocation team at Metzler Asset Management, led by Günther Gerstenberger.The management commission varies according to the formula selected, from 1.25% to 1.6%, in addition to which trading costs of 0.18% per transaction are charged on the volume of the trade.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Notenstein private bank has added to its team dedicated to institutional clients. It has recruited two bankers from Sarasin. Aris Prepoudis will join he bank in December as director for these clients. Andreas Knörzer will become director of asset management.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 30 April, assets in Swiss funds totalled CHF752.92bn, compared with CHF754.62bn one month previously, which represents a decline of 0.2%, or CHF1.7bn, despite net subscriptions of CHF785m, compared with CHF1.6bn in March. Institutional assets as of the end of April totalled CHF289.9bn, compared with CHF289.8bn one month previously, according to statistics from Swiss Fund Data and Lipper.Equity, money market and commodity funds have seen respective net outflows of CHF316.8m, CHF595.8m, and CHF982.7m, while bond funds had net inflows of CHF1.9531bn, and strategic investment funds attracted CHF549.6m.The rankings by assets remain unchanged, with UBS in first place, with CHF170.054bn as of the end of April, compared with CHF170.087bn as of 31 March, followed by Credit Suisse, with CHF117.845bn, compared with CHF117.870bn. Third place goes to Pictet, with CHF50.98bn, compared with CHF50.565bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stephen Rudman, head of inernal sales at Pimco, as joined Rafferty Asset Management, which advises Direxion Funds and Direxion Shares, as managing director and head of sales. He will be responsible for heading sales at Direxion in the area of ETFs as well as alternative mutual funds.Rudman will report to Eric Falkeis, chairman and COO of Rafferty, who was himself recruited two months ago from US Bancorp Fund Services, where he had been CFO (see Newsmanagers of 18 March).
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As about 35 institutional investors have oversubscribed to the fund for the intended volume, Neuberger Berman Group and Athyrium Capital Management have announced that they will be closing the Athyrium Opportunities Fund with USD507m in subscription commitments.The fund, which has already made five investments totalling about 20% of these commitments, will allocate USD25m to USD75m to finance small and mid-sized enterprises in the healthcare sector in the United States, Europe and Asia. It will engage in partnerships with the managements of companies in the pharmaceuticals, medical and diagnostic equipment sectors, which already have products and services in the commercial stage, and which are looking for long-term capital to drive growth.The fund is managed by a team that includes Jeffrey Ferrell, founder and managing partner at Athyrium, and Samuel Porat, managing director at Neuberger Berman Alternatives, as co-heads, as well as Laurent Hermouet and Richard Pines, partners at Athyrium.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UK-based Henderson Global Investors (HGI) is launching an institutional fund focused on student residences in the United States. It will focus on existing properties associated with universities with at least 15,000 students, with an emphasis on those which hold a place in the first division in US college football or basketball.The objective for HGI is to invest with a partner, Pierce Education Properties, or to acquire entire properties and outsource their management to an external company, Greystar, which will be responsible for their day-to-day management.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Index Universe, Deutsche Bank will outpace WisdowmTree, with the launch of an ETF on 31 May based on German equities hedged for euro-dollar currency risks, the db x-trackers MSCI Germany Hedged Equity Fund (acronym on NYSE Arca: DBGR).
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Frenchman Anthony Vallée and his team will manage the new JPMorgan Global Convertibles Income Fund, a product domiciled in Guernsey, Funds Europe reports.The fund will invest in convertible bonds in a vast range of sectors.In the first year, dividends will be paid every half year, but JPMorgan Asset Management is planning to then move to quarterly payments.Subscriptions are open until 5 June, and trading will begin on 11 June.