Investment fund assets worldwide increased by 2.7 percent during the second quarter to stand at EUR 21.42 trillion at end June 2012, according to the latest quarterly international statistical release published today by the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA). In U.S. dollar terms, worldwide investment fund assets decreased 3.2 percent during the quarter to USD 26.96 trillion. This difference reflects the appreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis the euro during the quarter. Total net inflows into investment funds during the quarter amounted to EUR 99 billion, down from EUR 193 billion in the previous quarter. This decrease can be attributed to a decline in net inflows to bond funds, which have fallen to EUR121bn, compared with EUR169bn in first quarter, and to balanced funds, which have posted subscriptions totalling only EUR2bn, compared with EUR44bn. Equity funds recorded the fourth consecutive quarter of net outflows registering net withdrawals of EUR 14 billion, up from EUR 6 billion of net outflows in the first quarter. Net inflows to long-term funds (all funds excluding money market funds) decreased during the quarter to EUR 141 billion, from EUR 248 billion in the first quarter. Money market funds experienced reduced net outflows during the second quarter of EUR 42 billion, compared to EUR 55 billion in the first quarter of 2012. The United States registered reduced net withdrawals of EUR 53 billion during the quarter, compared to EUR 83 billion in the first quarter. Europe registered net outflows of EUR 1 billion, compared to net inflows of EUR 22 billion in the previous quarter.

East Capital became a signatory of the United Nations-backed Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI). Louise Hedberg, who is head of corporate governance at East Capital, explains why signing PRI is an important step. “We believe that developing our investment process to consider relevant and material ESG factors will help us reach more well informed investment decisions, which hopefully will translate into even more attractive long term returns for our clients. East Capital already has certain exclusion criteria in place which means that we do not invest in any companies known to generate a significant part of their revenues from producing or selling weapons, tobacco or pornographic products. Rather than exclude companies that are lagging in ESG issues, East Capital prefers to initiate a dialogue to try to induce improvements and build readiness.”

Janus Capital International Limited, the international arm of Janus Capital Group Inc., has launched the Janus Global Flexible Income Fund. The Fund, which is co-managed by portfolio managers Gibson Smith, Darrell Watters and Chris Diaz, will utilise a fundamentally driven process focused on credit-oriented investments around the world, in both investment grade and high yield. The primary benchmark is Barclays Capital Global Aggregate Bond Index.

The 1004th ETF listed on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform from Deutsche Börse (this number had previously been reached on 22 August) is the SPDR S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF from State Street Global Advisors (SsgA). It is an equity fund, which tracks an index that replicates the evolution of 100 companies of the S&P 500 with the lowest volatility.CharacteristicsName: SPDR S&P 500 Low Volatility ETFISIN code: IE00B802KR88Benchmark: S&P 500 Low Volatility IndexTER: 0.35%

With the Hamburg-based family office Honestas Finanzmanagement, the Frankfurt-based asset management firm Universal-Investment has launched a mandate fund, FO Vermögensverwalterfonds, which offers retail clients a wrapper managed by the best independent financial managers, under financial conditions which had previously been reserved for institutional clients. The selection of managers is made by a systematic process developed by Honestas.The first two management firms in the portfolio are Aramea Asset Management for a bond mandate (corporates, high yield, subordinated or convertible bonds) and Flossbach von Storch (equities and precious metals).CharacteristicsName: FO VermögensverwalterfondsISIN code: DE000A1JZLG8 Front-end fee: Maximum 5%Management commission: currently 1.4%Performance commission: 10% of performance exceeding a hurdle rate of 4%, with high watermark

In line with its niche strategy, Axiom Alternative Investments on 4 October unveiled its new investment vehicle, Axiom CEF UCITS, an absolute return fund which will be the fist arbitrage fund of closed-end funds (CEFs) to comply with UCITS IV regulations. The 100% market neutral fund aims to trade on undervaluations (or premiums) in the net asset value of closed-end funds, and offers weekly liquidity. The fund invests solely in liquid CEFs, and has a performance objective of 8% (after fees), with low volatility (5%). It has a track record of more than 13 years, including 12 years of gains. The fund earns its returns from volatility in undervaluations (or premiums), without respect to their absolute levels. Each position is systematically and individually hedged via futures, ETFs, equities, and forex. The fund will be managed by Sean Hurst and John McCulloch, who joined Axiom Alternative Investments in March 2012 to develop and manage the CEF volatility arbitrage activity, and who have more than 15 years of experience in this segment. The fund’s capacity is about EUR100m. Major characteristics of the fund ISIN code: FR0011220326 Currency: EUR Legal format: French-registered common investment fund (FCP) AMF classification: Diversified Date of creation: 1 August, 2012 Management fee: Maximum 2% including all taxes Outperformance fee: 20%, including all taxes, of performance exceeding a mutual performance of +3% Front-end fee: maximum 1% Early withdrawal penalty: none Valuation: Weekly Date of settlement: 3 days after

IndexIQ on 4 October launched a hedge fund ETF, the IQ Hedge Market Neutral Tracker ETF. The ETF will offer exposure to the performance of market neutral hedge funds.

Falcon Private Bank is developing its activities in London. The Zurich-based wealth management firm controlled by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has acquired the affiliate Clariden Leu (Europe), based in the British capital, from Credit Suisse. The sale price has not been disclosed. Formerly Clariden Leu Asset Management UK, the London-based firm as of the end of August had assets under management of CHF2bn. The bank, which is active in wealth management in the ultra-high net worth client category, has 37 employees, including 22 financial advisers and 10 investment professionals. The sale marks one of the final steps in the integration of the Zurich-based Clariden Leu establishment into Credit Suisse. As part of that process, which is expected to be completed this year, the second-largest Swiss bank has already sold the business unit of Clariden Ley dedicated to investment products associated with insurance policies, in March this year, to its rival, Liechtenstein-based LGT group. Clariden Leu is one of the largest private banks in Switzerland.. It was born of a merger in 2007 between five wealth management units of Credit Suisse: Clariden, the Lu bank, Bank Hofmann, Banca de Gestione Patrimoniale, and Credit Suisse Fides.

Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild SA announces today that its subsidiary in Lugano, Banca Privata Edmond de Rothschild Lugano SA, has submitted a binding offer to the shareholders of Sella Bank AG, Lugano, for the acquisition of its entire share capital. This offer has been accepted. Negotiations will begin within the next few days to enter into a sales agreement that will be submitted to the Swiss financial regulator for approval.

In June, Lloyds TSB Private Banking moved its back office (300 people) from Axacias to Eysins, also in Switzerland. “Switzerland remains very important for Lloyds,” says Russell Galley. “The investment we are making in Eysins is the proof of that.” For the bank, which particularly tragets British expatriates and anglophile clients, the country has the advantage of being close to London. In relation to the declared end of banking confidentiality, Galley feels that it makes the strengths of the Swiss market its history, expertise and knowledge, he explains, and not banking confidentiality. Although several branch offices have been closed in recent months, particularly in South America, and assets have decreased from GBP14.3bn to GBP12.1bn between June 2011 and June 2012, Galley promises that the bank “has no intention to sell its Swiss entity.”

Bury Street Capital, a London-based distributor, whose clients include pension funds and wealth managers throughout Europe, have signed a distribution agreement with the US firm Federated Investors (138 funds, USD355.9bn in assets) to sell existing or future UCITS-compliant products from Federated.In an initial phase, Bury Street Capital will promote and distribute three bond strategies (Federated Emerging Markets Global Debt Fund, Federated U.S. Total Return Bond Fund and Federated High Income Advantage Fund), with new share classes to be launched by the end of fourth quarter, pending a license from the Irish central bank. In addition, the British firm will sell the Federated Strategic Value Equity Fund.

The growth of European socially responsible investments has been stronger than the broader asset management market growth, according to a new study by Eurosif, the European Forum for Sustainable Investment. Among the seven SRI strategies identified by the European association, the one which has seen the strongest growth in assets under management is norm-based screening, which involves avoiding companies which have violated international rules, with an increase by 137% between 2009 and 2011, to EUR2.346trn in assets under management. Exclusions and best-in-class practices have seen increases in assets of 119% and 113%, respectively. The most popular strategies remain exclusions practices, which have EUR3.829trn in assets, and ESG integration, with EUR3.204trn. This is followed by based-norm screening, engagement/voting (EUR1.95trn), best-in-class (EUR283bn), and sustainability-themed investments (EUR48bn). The last strategy used is impact investing, for the first time, with estimated assets of EUR8.75bn. The market remains more than ever driven by institutional investors while legislative action is perceived as the second most important market driver for the coming years.According to the study, the main driver for SRI demand continues to be demand from institutional investors. Institutional assets represent 94% of the market today against 92% in 2009. Since the last study in 2009, legislative drivers have jumped from fifth to second rank in importance. Focus on the role and behavior of investors and financial markets by national and EU legislators is the likely reason of this as several regulators make moves to safeguard Europe from future financial turbulence caused by short-sighted behavior and restore a path to economic growth. In terms of asset allocation, SRI continues to be dominated by bonds (51%, compared with 53% in 2009), while the proportion of equities remains 33%. The proportion of hedge funds and private equity, for their part, have decreased, in favour of money market assets. Beyond the European averages, Eurosif notes that national markets are continuing to diverge considerably in terms of growth, practices, asset allocation and clients. “There is not a homogeneous SRI market in Europe,” the association points out.

Funds People reports that the Luxembourg Sicav of the US firm Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), including the sub-funds BBH Cores Select, BBH International Equity, BBH Broad Market and BBH Money Market, has been licensed for sale in Spain by the CNMV.

Henderson Global Investors has strengthened its retail real estate team in Germany, with the recruitment of Kathrin Andres as senior manager. She will be based in Frankfurt, and will be responsible for asset management for all German retail portfolios. She joins from Cushman & Wakefield.

The German asset management firm Pfeiffer-Vacuum Technology has announced in a market statement that on 25 September it received a notification that the US firm Ameriprise Financial (parent company of the asset management firms Threadneedle and Columbia) has passed the 3% voting right threshold, with 3.04%.

Peter Flöck, who has been director of portfolio management since 2007, has been promoted to become a member of the board of directors at the German asset management firm Universal-Investment. He will be responsible for the development of portfolio management, risk management, overlay management, and products which follow particular specifications.Portfolio management at Universal represents assets of about EUR11bn, or EUR2bn more than two years ago.

The Finnish asset management firm FIM has launched two funds: FIM Orient Alpha, which invests in Asia absolute return funds, and FIM Top Yield, which invests in bond markets worldwide. The two products were launched on 28 September 2012.

Les commandes à l’industrie américaine ont reculé de 5,2% en août, leur plus forte baisse depuis janvier 2009 lorsque l'économie était en récession, selon des chiffres publiés par le département du Commerce. Ce recul est cependant entièrement dû aux matériels de transports, comme le laissait présager la statistique des commandes de biens durables publiée le 27 septembre. Hors transports, les commandes à l’industrie ont progressé de 0,7% en août, comme en juillet.

La zone euro envisage de venir en aide à l’Espagne en mettant en place un système d’assurance pour les investisseurs qui achètent des obligations d’Etat, a rapporté Reuters de sources de l’Union européenne. Selon le schéma, dit d’assurance au premier risque, le MES garantirait 20 à 30% de chaque nouvelle obligation émise par l’Espagne. Cela coûterait au fonds européen environ 50 milliards d’euros sur un an.

D’après les données de la Banque de France, le flux des crédits nouveaux à l’habitat aux ménages a très légèrement augmenté en août (8,7 milliards d’euros après 8,4 milliards en données cvs). Celui des crédits de trésorerie aux ménages (y compris entrepreneurs individuels) a peu varié (4,5 milliards d’euros après 4,3 milliards). Par ailleurs, la production de crédits aux sociétés non financières a baissé, notamment celle des crédits de montants supérieurs à 1 million d’euros.

Les inscriptions au chômage ont augmenté aux Etats-Unis lors de la semaine au 29 septembre, à 367.000 contre 363.000 (révisé) la semaine précédente, a annoncé jeudi le département du Travail. C’est moins qu’attendu puisque les économistes anticipaient en moyenne 370.000 inscriptions au chômage. Les inscriptions de la semaine au 22 septembre ont été révisées en hausse par rapport à une estimation initiale de 359.000.

Une modification éventuelle de la note assignée au Brésil par Moody’s sera discutée avant la fin de l’année, a déclaré le responsable crédit de l’agence pour l’Amérique latine, Mauro Leos. Le Brésil est actuellement noté «Baa2» par Moody’s, avec une perspective positive. Les motifs à l’appui de ce relèvement seraient la politique budgétaire responsable du gouvernement, la vigueur économique du pays et la politique monétaire accommodante de la banque centrale, a-t-il souligné.

Le gouverneur de la Banque d’Espagne a jugé «optimistes» les prévisions de croissance et de recettes fiscales retenues par le gouvernement dans son budget 2013, et estimé que les objectifs de réduction du déficit budgétaire pourraient ne pas être atteints. Luis Maria Linde a dit s’attendre à ce que l'économie ibérique se contracte d’environ 1,5% en 2013, une prévision conforme à celles des institutions internationales. Le gouvernement table de son côté sur une contraction de 0,5% du PIB.

Le président de la BCE estime que cette décision a contribué à apaiser les tensions

Sans surprise, la Banque Centrale Européenne maintient ses taux inchangés. De son côté, la Banque d’Angleterre n’a pas décidé jeudi de nouvelles mesures de soutien à l’activité et a maintenu son taux directeur à 0,5%, son niveau depuis mars 2009, l'économie britannique montrant des signes de reprise. La BoE a annoncé qu’elle maintenait le montant total de ses rachats d’actifs à 375 milliards de livres.

Madrid a placé du papier à deux, trois et cinq ans à hauteur de près de quatre milliards d’euros. Le rendement de l’obligation 2014 est tombé à 3,282% contre 5,204% le 19 juillet. Le rendement moyen du papier 2017 est ressorti à 4,766% contre 6,459% en juillet. En revanche, le rendement de l’obligation 2015 est monté à 3,956% contre 3,845% le 20 septembre. La France a pour sa part émis 7,971 milliards d’euros de dette à moyen et long terme. La nouvelle OAT à 10 ans, échéance octobre 2022, a été placée à un taux de rendement moyen pondéré de 2,28%. L’OAT à six ans, échéance octobre 2018, a été placée moyennant un rendement moyen pondéré en nette baisse à 1,29% contre 2,44% lors de l’adjudication du 2 février. L’OAT longue, échéance avril 2041, est partie à un taux moyen pondéré de 3,17%, lui aussi en retrait sur les 3,79% de l’adjudication du 5 avril. Cela égale le plus bas record enregistré à l’occasion de l’adjudication de septembre 2010.

L’institut national italien de la statistique, l’Istat, a revu en hausse le ratio d’endettement du pays pour 2011, à 120,7% du produit intérieur brut (PIB) contre 120,1 annoncé en mars. L’Istat, qui a revu l’ensemble des statistiques de la période 2009-2011, a également revu en légère hausse les chiffres de la dette publique pour 2009 et 2010. Il a en revanche légèrement réduit celui du déficit 2010, à 4,5% contre 4,6% auparavant.

Martha Oberndorfer, qui dirige l’agence de financement autrichienne, a déclaré au journal WirtschaftsBlatt que cette dernière serait autorisée à compter du 1er janvier à émettre des obligations à 70 ans. Les changements démographiques accroissent la demande pour ces maturités, précise Martha Oberndorfer.

Le gendarme américain des marchés a infligé une sanction de 800.000 dollars au dark-pool eBX pour ne pas avoir protégé les données de transactions confidentielles de certains clients. Il lui était également reproché de ne pas avoir indiqué que les données relatives aux ordres non-exécutés étaient utilisées par Lava Trading, une filiale de Citigroup.

Le titre de l’équipementier sportif australien chutait cette nuit de plus de 20% en séance à Sydney après que l’Australian Financial Review, sans identifier ses sources, a indiqué que son prétendant TPG songerait à abandonner son projet d’offre de rachat de 700 millions de dollars.