P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 1 January 2013, of the 8,339 investment funds from EU countries on sale in Germany, 67% were domiciled in Luxembourg, and 17% in Ireland, the German BVI association of asset management firms reports. The other main two countries of origin were Austria and France, with 5% each.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } From 16 April 2013, the Equity Greater China sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Amundi Funds is adopting the MSCI All Countries Golden Dragon index as its benchmark, instead of the Hang Seng. The new index will also be used as a basis to calculate performance commissions for IU, XU, MU, AU, AE, SU, RU, RHE and FU share classes.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Clive Snowdon has been appointed as group managing director at Moore Group, replacing Ian Moore, who becomes executive chairman. It is the first time a manager has been appointed since Moore Group was acquired by First Names Group.The new recruit had been head of hedge fund administration at Credit Suisse in Guernsey, and previous to that spent three years as COO of Gottex Fund Management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Paul Loss, head of investment operations at JPMorgan Asset Management, after serving as head of institutional client services, is joining Baring Asset Management in London with immediate effect as head of operations, and will report to John Burns, chief operating officer.Loss will be responsible for creating an “effective and efficient” platform for Barings, which must comply with the principles laid out by the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to estimates by Morningstar, US ETFs posted net inflows of USD16.9bn in March, bringing total net subscriptions for first quarter to USD53.1bn. Net inflows topped USD50bn for the fourth consecutive quarter.In March, the largest net subscriptions were to US ETFs, with USD11.2bn, which did not damage bond funds, which had inflows of USD4.8bn. Outflows were concentrated on commodity and international equity ETFs, with net redemptions of USD4.1bn for diversified ETFs specialised in emerging markets.The heaviest net sales in March were for Vanguard (USD3.837bn), iShares (USD2.835bn), PowerShares (USD2.216bn), and State Street Global Advisors (SSgA, USD2.014bn).In first quarter, Vanguard also takes first place, with net subscriptions of USD19.701bn, followed by iShares (USD17.592bn). However, SSgA shows net outflows of US6.425bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Ashmore Investment Management has registered two funds, one of Turkish debt, and the other of Brazilian equities, in the form of a Sicav, Fundweb reports. The two funds are part of the Ashmore range dedicated to emerging markets, and are available to investors as funds registered in Luxembourg in a UCITS IV-compliant format.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Handelsblatt reports that, according to Bloomberg Paulson & Co is inviting potential clients to a presentation on 24 April of its new premium fund, a risk arbitrage product for investors seeking to reduce their income tax expenses. The program includes a quarter of an hour out of the 75-minute presentation dedicated to investors which could be either entirely exempt from taxes, or for which the tax bill would be deferred to a later date.Brad Alford, CEO of Alpha Capital, a fund of hedge fund manager, says Paulson is apparently more interested in ways to avoid paying income taxes than in generating revenues for his investors.Paulson and his employees will also benefit from the new fund, since they will control 60% of its assets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mandarine Gestion is celebrating its fifth birthday. The French independent asset management firm, which now has EUR1.7bn in assets under management, is taking a new step in its development, integrating a new area of expertise to its range. After adding to its stock-picking management in December, with the arrial of Marie-Jeanne Missoffe and the launch of the Mandarine Europe Opportunités fund, Mandarine Gestion is now offering asset allocation management. As announced by Newsmanagers, Françoise Rochette, former head of the asset allocation unit at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EdRAM) has joined Mandarine Gestion. Her team had previously been contracted to manage the Mandarine Flex fund. She is joined by Ludovic Dufour, also formerly of the EdRAM asset allocation team. The new integrated range will allow Mandarine Gestion to attract different investors and meet the needs of those who would like risk control. Diversification of clients remains at the core of Mandarine Gestion’s development. The firm now has assets 50% from institutional and 50% from retail distribution, 20% of it via independent financial advisers. This diversification also applies geographically. “For two years, we have been accelerating our international development, especially in Germany, the United Kingdom and the peripheral French-speaking countries,” says Marc Renaud, chairman of Mandarine Gestion. The United Kingdom is now the largest foreign market for the boutique, largely thanks to major management mandates recently won from British institutions. 30% of assets are now managed for foreign clients. In Germany, inflow assets total over EUR100m in the past few weeks. The range from Mandarine Gestion currently includes 7 open-ended funds. In 2012, net inflows totalled EUR5m. The growth style has been particularly popular with investors, with net inflows of EUR85m, of which EUR34m were to Mandarine Opportunités. Since the beginning of this year net subscriptions have totalled EUR80m as of the end of March, with EUR120m for growth management, of which EUR29m were for Mandarine Opportunités.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Despite a reorganization of the group, which brought considerable turbulence with it, Aviva Investors France (AIF) “has been able to reorient itself without losing assets: 2012 was a good year, and the firm has redeployed in the direction of long-term assets,” Jean-François Boulier, chairman of the managing board, says, adding that assets as of the end of December totalled EUR90.6bn, compared with EUR79.7bn one year previously. And personnel have increased to 103 people from 101, with the recruitment of a specialist to develop investment in infrastructure.External assets are continuing to increase, to EUR4.71bn as of the end of 2012 (plus EUR291m in French assets in the Luxembourg Sicav), and EUR5.8bn as of February 2013, which represents an increase of 34% compared with December 2009, and 180% compared with December 2008, says Véronique Cherret, head of external development.Among the salient projects for AIF this year are developing infrastructure and real estate debt. The French management will also nurse a range of internal new funds which reflects its management opinions. The objective, says Boulier, is to stay a step ahead of customer demand and to build a track record.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Catherine Arnold, who has previously been head of research at Credit Suisse for the pharmaceuticals sector in the United States, has left the Swiss group, Finews reports, citing internal sources. She is reported to have joined the US asset management firm Wellington. Neither of the two firms had any comment on the reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Standard Life Investments has announced that it has registered three sub-funds of its Sicav in France, Belgium and Italy. They are the Global Absolute Returns Strategies Sicav (GARS), European Corporate Bond SICAV, and Global High Yield Bond SICAV. Other products will soon be available on the French market, the British asset management firm states. The registration brings the number of countries in which institutional and retail investors can access Standard Life Investments products to 14. The firm would like to place the emphasis on international development. “We registered funds in Switzerland last year, strengthened our German team, and now we have a dedicated real estate team in France,” says Jennifer Richards, co-head of European business.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A rise in the number of ETFs domciled in Hong Kong has driven Northern Trust to offer fund administration services for locally-distributed products, Asian Investor reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UBS and BlackRock have confirmed rumours in financial circles to the Börsen-Zeitung that Dirk Klee, the head of BlackRock for Germany, is moving to UBS.

Cordiant Capital, une société de gestion basée au Canada, a lancé lundi un fonds de dette émergente privée avec 250 millions de dollars, signe de l’intérêt croissant pour ce secteur, rapporte le Financial Times. Ce fonds, qui capitalise sur le vide laissé par le retrait des banques occidentales dans les marchés émergents, se focalisera sur l’octroi de prêts aux emprunteurs du secteur non coté. «Il s’agit de la prochaine étape des investissements dans les marchés émergents. D’abord c’étaient les actions, ensuite la dette et le private equity. Maintenant, c’est la dette privée», explique David Creighton, directeur général de Cordiant Capital.

Le fonds L Capital, géré par L Capital Management, filiale à 100 % de LVMH, a acquis 49,9 % du capital du fabricant de vêtements australien R.M. Williams, rapport l’Agefi Quotidien, édition de 14h. Le montant de la tranaction n’a pas été dévoilé.Entre 2001 et 2012, L Capital, fonds d’investissement créé en 2001 sous le parrainage de LVMH et Groupe Arnault,. a pris des participations auprès de 25 entreprises, dans les secteurs de la beauté et du bien-être, de l’équipement de la personne, de l’équipement de la maison et de la famille, et de la distribution spécialisée, avec un investissement compris entre 15 et 60 millions d’euros. Les sociétés ciblées réalisent des chiffres d’affaires annuels compris entre 30 et 400 millions d’euros.

Catherine Arnold, jusqu'à présent responsable pour la recherche au Credit Suisse sur le secteur de la pharmacie aux Etats-Unis, a quitté le groupe suisse, indique Finews, qui cite des sources internes. Elle aurait rejoint le gestionnaire américain Wellington. Aucune des deux sociétés n’a souhaité commenter ces informations.

Mandarine Gestion fête ses cinq ans d’existence. La société de gestion indépendante française, qui gère aujourd’hui 1,7 milliard d’euros, aborde cette nouvelle étape de son développement en intégrant une nouvelle expertise à son offre. Après avoir renforcé en décembre sa gestion stock-picking, avec l’arrivée de Marie- Jeanne Missoffe et le lancement du fonds Mandarine Europe Opportunités, Mandarine Gestion propose dorénavant une gestion en allocation d’actifs. Comme annoncé par Newsmanagers, Françoise Rochette, ancienne responsable du pôle allocation d’actifs d’Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EdRAM) a récemment intégré l’effectif de Mandarine Gestion. Chez EdRAM, elle gérait déjà, en délégation, le fonds Mandarine Reflex. Ludovic Dufour, un ancien de son équipe allocation d’actifs d’EdRAM l’a rejointe. «Françoise Rochette et Ludovic Dufour auront dans un premier temps pour mission de gérer la partie couverture et allocation d’actifs de Mandarine Reflex, pour lequel nous visons un doublement des encours dans les mois à venir», a précisé Rémi Leservoisier, directeur général de Mandarine Gestion. En outre, l’offre de gestion sera désormais construite autour de deux pôles de gestion indépendants que sont le stock-picking et l’allocation d’actifs. Cette nouvelle offre intégrée permettra à Mandarine Gestion d’attirer des investisseurs différents et de répondre aux demandes de ceux qui souhaitent une maîtrise du risque. La diversification de la clientèle demeure au cœur du développement de Mandarine Gestion. Aujourd’hui, la société dispose d’encours en provenance à 50 % d’institutionnels et à 50 % de la distribution retail, dont 20 % en provenance des conseillers en gestion de patrimoine. Cette diversification se veut également géographique. «Depuis deux ans nous avons accéléré notre développement à l’international notamment en Allemagne, au Royaume-Uni et dans les pays francophones limitrophes», souligne Marc Renaud, président de Mandarine Gestion. Le Royaume-Uni est aujourd’hui le plus gros marché étranger de la boutique, grâce notamment à trois importants mandats de gestion obtenus récemment auprès d’institutions britanniques. 30% des encours sont aujourd’hui gérés pour le compte d’investisseurs étrangers. En Allemagne, les encours collectés s'élèvent à plus de 100 millions d’euros au cours des dernières semaines, ce qui laisse espérer cette année de bons résultats sur ce marché où il est «difficile de percer», insiste Marc Renaud. Autre relais de croissance à l'étranger, la Scandinavie, où la commercialisation des produits Mandarine Gestion, en partenariat avec La Française AM, vient de démarrer.La gamme de Mandarine Gestion compte actuellement 7 fonds ouverts. En 2012, la collecte nette s’est élevée à 5 millions d’euros. Le style croissance a particulièrement bénéficié de l’intérêt des investisseurs avec une collecte de 85 millions d’euros, dont 34 pour Mandarine Opportunités. Depuis le début de l’année, les souscriptions nettes atteignent 80 millions d’euros à fin mars, avec 120 millions pour la gestion croissance, dont 29 millions d’euros pour Mandarine Opportunités.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Following a change in pricing models by intermediaries after the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review, Artemis Investment Management has decided to scrap the front-end fees on its entire range of funds ; the initial charges previously were between 5% and 5.25%, Investment Week reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For several years, the German direct bank DAB Bank (UniCredit group) has been offering 50% discounts on front-end fees paid by clients to investment funds. It has now decided to increase that discount for investors placing large amounts.For a subscription of at least EUR10,000, the discount is now increased to 60%; from EUR25,000, it is 70%. For sums higher than EUR50,000, the front-end fee is reduced by 80%, and for those over EUR100,000, the discount is 90%.The new price grid applies only to investments of a single amount. It extends to very nearly all of the 9,000 funds in the catalogue, excepting those from DWS Investment GmbH and DWS Investment SA, and those from JPMorgan Asset Management, on which the discount of 50% continues to apply.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Edmond de Rothschild group has announced the arrival of Konstantin Mettenheimer, who joins the firm as director of all of the group’s activities in Germany. These activities include asset management, private banking and consulting activities. Mettenheimer will be based in Frankfurt. After the deployment of its asset management activities in Germany in 2010, the group is now seeking to extend its presence on the German market, by developing its two strategic professions of asset management and private banking there, a statement says. Mettenheimer, 37, was senior partner at the consulting firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer from 2004 to 2010. As a partner at Freshfields, he advised family business and family offices in fiscal and wealth planning. Robert Hengster, who has assisted with Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management’s debut in Germany since 2010, will be leaving the group, a statement says.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jerry Golden, who had been associate vice president for government relations at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, has been recruited by Vanguard, where by the end of the month, he will be installed as director of the government relations office in Washington. He will report to Ann L. Combs, head of government relations.In his new role, Golden will be responsible for representing the asset management firm (USD2.150trn in assets in US mutual funds) on a vast range of reglatory and legal questions, including taxation, retirement and matters affecting financial services.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the first two months of the year, German open-ended funds attracted EUR10.9669bn (including EUR4.571bn in February), compared with EUR2.7972bn in the corresponding period of last year, of which EUR1.0428bn were in February 2012, according to statistics from the German BVI association of asset management firms. Institutional funds (Spezialfonds), for their part, posted inflows of EUR14.5113bn in January-February, compared with EUR10.2942bn last year, while mandates outside funds posted net inflows of EUR3.0434bn, compared with EUR2.6804bn.In the first two months of the year, only guaranteed funds and money market funds, among open-ended products, show net outflows, of EUR740.7m and EUR758.3m, respectively. The heaviest inflows were from diversified funds (EUR5.5677bn compared with EUR1.1586bn), followed by bond funds (EUR2.7218bn compared with EUR1.7918bn). Allianz Global Investors (AGI) remains a leader for net subscriptions in January-February 2013, with EUR1.4063bn, followed by Union Investment (co-operative banks) with EUR1.1506bn, and the Deutsche Bank group (including DWS and db x-trackers) with EUR962m. Among the major firms, only Deka shows losses, with net redemptions of EUR296.9m. Franklin Templeton stands out with net inflows of EUR513.6m.In ETFs, db x-trackers attracted EUR482.6m, and BlackRock (iShares) EUR406.7m, while ComStage (Commerzbank) took only EUR6.8m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The German firm DWS Investment (Deutsche Bank group) has announced that on 8 April it received a sales license from BaFin for the DWS Select Bonds Plus 2018 (LU0827855239), DWS Convertibles (DE000DWS1U74) and DWS Invest Euro High Yield Corporates (LU0813334322) funds in Germany.The second and third funds have also been approved for sale in Austria, Switzerland, France and Spain.In addition, the DWS Convertibles fund has also been registered in Singapore.

All fund categories registered net inflows in February, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)’s latest Investment Fund Industry Fact Sheet. UCITS continued to attract strong net inflows in February of EUR 44 billion, marking a slight reduction from the EUR 49 billion recorded in January. Long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) registered large net inflows amounting to EUR 41 billion, a modest decrease from January’s record net inflows of EUR 53 billion. Net sales of equity funds registered EUR 14 billion, compared to EUR 21 billion in January. Bond funds also recorded reduced net sales of EUR 13 billion, down from EUR 20 billion in January. Balanced fund net sales remained flat in February at EUR 11 billion. Money market funds experienced a turnaround in net sales in February to register net inflows of EUR 4 billion, compared to net outflows of EUR 5 billion recorded in January. Total non-UCITS recorded net sales of EUR 12 billion, down from EUR 17 billion in January. Special funds (funds reserved to institutional investors) recorded reduced net inflows amounting to EUR 9 billion, compared to EUR 15 billion in the previous month. Total assets of UCITS stood at EUR 6,547 billion at end February 2013, representing a 2.4 percent increase since end January 2013. Total assets of non-UCITS enjoyed an increase of 1.5 percent in January to stand at EUR 2,595 billion at month end. Overall, total net assets of the European investment fund industry stood at EUR 9,142 billion at end February 2013.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a peer review report examining whether EU securities supervisors correctly apply ESMA’s guidelines on money market funds (MMFs).The report found that more than two thirds of the 20 jurisdictions reviewed have implemented the ESMA guidelines on MMFs nationally as mandatory provisions, while a minority have used measures which do not have the force of law. However, the general supervisory and enforcement approaches relating to MMFs vary across Member States to a significant extent. The report covers the situation up to 30 June 2012, since that date a number of jurisdictions have taken steps to ensure that they are in compliance with the guidelines.According to the report, for 2012: 1,256 MMFs were located in the EEA, with 641 in France, 203 in Luxembourg, 102 in Ireland, 71 in Spain and 57 in Hungary.

A compter du 16 avril 2013, le compartiment Equity Greater China de la sicav luxembourgeoise Amundi Funds adopte comme indice de référence le MSCI All Countries Golden Dragon à la place du Hang Seng. Le nouvel indice sert également de base au calcul des commissions de performance pour les classes de parts IU, XU, MU, AU, AE, SU, RU, RHE et FU.

Toutes les catégories de fonds commercialisés en Europe ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes en février, selon les dernières statistiques de l’Efama, l’association européenne des fonds et sociétés de gestion, publiées lundi.Les fonds coordonnés (format Ucits) ont affiché une collecte nette de 44 milliards d’euros, en légère baisse par rapport aux 49 milliards d’euros de janvier. Hors fonds monétaires, ils ont engrangé 41 milliards d’euros, après 53 milliards d’euros en janvier.Les fonds actions ont affiché dans le détail des entrées nettes de 14 milliards d’euros, contre 21 milliards en janvier. Les fonds obligataires ont attiré 13 milliards d’euros, également en repli par rapport aux 20 milliards du mois précédent. Les fonds diversifiés ont enfin attiré 11 milliards d’euros, soit un niveau stable sur un mois.Les fonds monétaires ont affiché une collecte nette de 4 milliards d’euros, alors qu’ils avaient vu sortir 5 milliards d’euros en janvier. Les fonds non coordonnés ont quant à eux enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 12 milliards d’euros, contre 17 milliards en janvier. Les fonds réservés aux investisseurs institutionnels ont vu entrer 9 milliards d’euros, contre 15 milliards en janvier. Au total, les encours des fonds au format Ucits sont ressortis à 6.547 milliards d’euros fin février 2013, soit une hausse de 2,4 % par rapport à fin janvier 2013. Les encours totaux des fonds non-Ucits sont quant à eux en progression de 1,5 % en janvier à 2.595 milliards. Ainsi, les encours totaux du secteur européen des fonds se montent à 9.142 milliards d’euros.

Depuis quelques années, la banque directe allemande DAB Bank (groupe UniCredit) propose déjà des ristournes de 50 % sur le droit d’entrée payés par ses clients sur les fonds d’investissement. Elle a décidé à présent de bonifier davantage ce genre de transaction pour les investisseurs apportant des montants élevés.Pour une souscription d’au moins 10.000 euros, la ristourne passe désormais à 60 % ; à partir de 25.000 euros, elle atteint 70 %. Pour les montants supérieurs à 50.000 euros, le droit d’entrée est réduit de 80 % et pour ceux de plus de 100.000 euros, la ristourne atteint 90 %.Cette nouvelle grille ne s’applique qu’aux versements en un seul montant. Elle concerne la très grande majorité des 9.000 fonds au catalogue, sauf ceux de DWS Investment GmbH et de DWS Investment SA ainsi que ceux de JPMorgan Asset Management, pour lesquels la ristourne de 50 % continue de s’appliquer.

Andreas Schmitz, président du directoire de HSBC Trinkaus und Burkhardt, a cédé le 15 avril la présidence de la Fédération des banques allemandes (BVB, banques du secteur privé) qu’il exerçait depuis 2009 à Jürgen Fitschen, co-président du directoire et du group executive committee de la Deutsche Bank.Le mandat est normalement de trois ans, mais celui d’Andreas Schmitz a été prolongé pour lui permettre d’accompagner la réorientation de la fédération durant la crise de la dette souveraine.

L’allemand DWS Investment (groupe Deutsche Bank) indique avoir obtenu le 8 avril de la BaFin des agréments de commercialisation en Allemagne pour les fonds DWS Select Bonds Plus 2018 (LU0827855239), DWS Convertibles (DE000DWS1U74) et DWS Invest Euro High Yield Corporates (LU0813334322).Le deuxième et le troisième ont également obtenu le feu vert pour la commercialisdation en Autriche, en Suisse en France et en Espagne.De plus, le DWS Convertibles a été enregistré à Singapour.