The asset management unit of the Swedish bank SEB has registered four sub-funds of its Luxembourg Sicav with the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) in France. The products have a more or less pronounced Scandinavian bias in common. The first fund is the most emblematic from the asset management firm. The SEB Nordic Focus is a best ideas fund of Nordic equities. The product is made of five portfolios of five holdings, entrusted to five managers, each of whom represents a different area: Swedish large caps, Swedish small and midcaps, Norwegian equities, Danish equities and Finnish equities. The fund is managed by Caroline Forsberg in Stockholm, who weighs the assets in the final portfolio depending on opportunities and risks. The fund was launched in 2007, and has assets of EUR60m. “This is a concentration of SEB’s asset management,” says Laurent Farcy-Briant, head of sales for France and French-speaking Switzerland at SEB Asset Management. Another highly Scandinavian fund which has been registered in France is the SEB Nordic Small Cap, a Nordic small caps product managed in Stockholm by Per Trygg. The fund, launched in 2009, has about EUR40m in assets under management. These two funds come as a complement to the SEB Nordic fund, which is already licensed for sale in France, and which is invested in Nordic equities whatever the size. The third fund released on the French market is the SEB Danish Mortgage Bond, a fund of Danish mortgage-backed securities. The EUR140m product is managed in Copenhagen by a team with EUR9bn in assets under management (and particularly Lars Juelskaer). “The Danish mortgage-backed securities market is the second-largest in Europe, with EUR326bn as of 31 May 2012, as virtually all real estate in Denmark is financed through the issuance of these securities,” Farcy-Briant explains. He adds that this is a niche area, but that it is currently highly attractive to investors seeking quality bonds. The last new release, the SEB Corporate Bond Fund EUR, is undoubtedly the most traditional: it is a fund of investment grade-rated corporate bonds denominated in euros. The EUR400m fund, managed in Stockholm by Thomas Kristiansson, is now 25% invested in Nordic bonds, compared with less than 7% for the benchmark index. But this overweight, which has historically worked well, will not be permanent, and may be discontinued when the time comes, says Farcy-Briant. With these four new funds, SEB now has a range of nine funds on sale on the French market, with a strong Nordic identity. But the firm is not planning to stop there, and will be launching one or two more by the end of the year, and others in 2013.

After five years at DB Advisors (Deutsche Bank), in the fiduciary management/pensions division, Christian Storck on 1 October joined Frankfurt Trust (an affiliate of BHF-Bank, Deutsche Bank group), as director of the corporations, public institutions and retirement solutions department in the institutional unit. The unit has posted net inflows of about EUR200m since the beginning of the year, and has about EUR8.5bn in assets under management.

The US hedge fund management firm Caxton Associates LP is planning to reduce the management commission for its USD7.5bn hedge fund from 3% to 2.6%, and to cut the performance fee to 2.75% from 3%, the Wall Street Journal reports.The move is a sign that even the oldest management firms are having to give in to pressure from investors in an environment of lackluster performance and low interest rates. Even after these cuts, Caxton will remain more expensive than other hedge funds which apply the 2%/20% formula.Since the beginning of this year, Caxton has lost 3%, while other macro hedge funds have gained an average of 0.6%.

The French asset management boutique Exane Asset Management has recruited Ingrid Allemand, an analyst specialised in the telecommunications sector, to strengthen its research capacities for its long/short equity fund, Exane 1-Archimedes Fund. The fund, with assets under management of about EUR820m, has an exposure of less than 5% to the telecommunications sector.

Lionel Paquin, head of the managed accounts platform at Lyxor Asset Management, is confident. “In first half, assets under management on our managed accounts platform rose 1%, to USD11.2bn, while the sector as a whole lost 1%,” Paquin says.This positive trend is continuing in second half. “The market is resilient and even growing in our perimeter,” Paquin says, adding that about 55% of clients are institutional investors, and 45% private banks, family offices and funds of funds, mostly in Europe, but also with growing interest on the part of Asian and North American investors.Lyxor esimates that it has reached critical mass, and has achieved a certain legitimacy. “Our unique characteristics are our strength. Our platform is probably one of the largest in terms of size, and is 14 years old. In other words, we have critical mass and we have the legitimacy which is granted to institutions which have survived several crises,” sas Paquin. Another strength is that “we are an asset management firm which resonates culturally with our institutional clients.”Last but not least, “we rely on open architecture with eleven prime brokers, 20 counterparties and three administrator. And in these relationships, size gives us considerable negotiating power,” Paquin adds.Access to a managed accounts platform has its cost, of course. “The cost structure for a managed accounts platform is similar to the structure for a corresponding hedge fund (for example, fees of 1.5%/20%), with an additional charge for our service. Like managers, we value the size and engagement of our investors for the long term. These fees are generally discounted on larger volumes, and are never over 70 basis points,” Paquin says.

There has been another defection from VP Bank. According to Asian Investor, the CEO for Asia, Ian Pollock, has tendered his resignation. He joined VP Bank earlier this year to develop the group’s activities. Seven recently-recruited client service representatives have also resigned.VP Bank has also announced that Pollock will not be replaced, but denies that it is pulling out of the region, and has reaffirmed its desire to develop its wealth management activities in Asia.

Since the beginning of this year, the Italian independent asset management firm Azimut has posted net inflows for asset management of over EUR1.1bn. In September, the firm had inflows of EUR51m, including more than EUR70m for sub-funds of the Luxembourg-registered AZ Fund 1 and AZ Fund Multi Asset. Also in September, Azimut launched six sub-funds: Bond Target Dicembre 2016, Marco Volatility, Renminbi Opportunities Fixd Income, Global Growth Selector, Market Neutral and Global Macro. The last two funds will be overseen by the new team led by Gianluca Gabrielli, who will be based in Lugano at a new Azimut affiliate.

The funds from Vega AM will be taken over by Arca Sgr, Bluerating reports. The deal was completed in the past few days, following the announcement of an agreement on 26 April this year.

The asset management firm Banca Generali has opened an office in Northern Italy, in Bologna, Investment Europe reports. The new office will have 34 independent financial advisers, who will work for Banca Generali and Banca Generali Private Banking. Assets under management at Banca Generali total EUR24.6bn.

After Oddo AM and Alliance Bernstein, Aberdeen AM has become the next to launch a custom fund for Banca Generali, the Italian website Bluerating reports. The product, entitled Emerging Markets Bond & Currency Opportunity, invests in emerging market funds from the Aberdeen range, either in strong currencies, local currencies, or invested in corporate bonds. It will be a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav from Banca Generali, BG Selection.

Philippe Oddo, managing partner at the eponymous firm, discusses a variety of subjects with Newsmanagers which are directly related to his business today. In addition to its financial health, he talks about its partnership with La Banque Postale, which, despite its announced end, will, says Oddo, have been an occasion for the firm to do remarkable work. The head also takes the occasion to detail the firm's international strategy and to give a satisfactory report on the firm's asset management activities.

Stephen Lee has been appointed as sales director for the United Kingdom at Investec, IPE.com reports. He joins from UBS Global Asset Management, where he was head of British institutional development.

Assets under management at the AIM-listed asset management firm Polar Capital as of the end of September totalled USD5.30bn, up 4.3% compared with the end of March 2012, and 34.5% year on year, according to the most recent quarterly report from Polar Capital. In the first half of its 2012-2013 fiscal year to the end of March, net inflows totalled USD405m, of which USD371m were for long-only funds, and USD34m for hedge funds, partly offset by negative market effects of USD186m.

Old Mutual Wealth has announced 200 layoffs, at a time when the firm is in the process of merging its activities with Skandia, Investment Week reports. As a part of the move, Nick Dixon, director of marketing, and Andy Davies, director fo sales at Skandia UK, will be leaving the firm with immediate effect. Michelle Andrews has been appointed as the new director of marketing, and will report to Hylton Donelly, director of sales at Old Mutual Wealth. Steve Powell will remain as director for sales, and will report to Peter Mann, managing director.

Assets under administration and management at Hargreaes Lansdown rose by GBP2.2bn in the quarter to 30 September, to total GBP28.5bn, the firm announced on 12 October.

Former GLG shareholders Pierre Lagrange, Emmanuel Roman and Noam Gottesman, former shareholders in GLG Partners, have undergone a virtual loss of USD220m, two years after their firm was acquired by Man Group, the Financial Times reports. From Monday, the three men, who traded in their stakes in GLG for Man shares in October 2010, will be able to sell off one third of their shares if they so desire. Since the merger two years ago, Man shares have fallen from 264 pence per share to 90 pence on Friday. Lagrange and Roman are not planning to sell shares, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by the FT. Gottesman could not be reached for comment.

Senrigan Capital, a hedge fund specialised in Asia supported by the Blackstone group, has decided to withdraw five investments from its portfolio to place them in a dedicated vehicle (a “special purpose vehicle,” or SPV) – professionals refer to these as “side pockets” – after heavy losses since the beginning of the year, the news agency Reuters reports.Assets at Senrigan, which totalled about USD1bn last year, have been halved, while performance since the beginning of the year has been some of the worst in its regional hedge fund category. The fund has lost about 15% in the first nine months of the year, which has driven investors to withdraw from the fund.Senrigan, launched in 2009 with initial capital of USD150m from Blackstone, was one of the few hedge funds specialised in Asia whose assets were over USD1bn. The event-driven hedge fund had already lost 8.6% in 2011, which completely wiped out its gains in 2010 (5.85%).

Pimco has approached the data provider Lipper to request that its inflow figures be published separately from those of its sister company Allianz Global Investors, and the request has been accepted, an article from Ignites republished in the Financial Times reports. The two firms together were ranked seventh in the list of asset management firms with the highest sales in Europe in 2011. Pimco, treated separately, would have been fourth. Together, Pimco/AGI show net subscriptions of EUR3.5bn in 2011. But that conceals a contrasted reality: EUR9.8bn in net inflows for Pimco, and net outflows of EUR6bn for AGI.

The equity funds DWS Top Dividende and DWS Invest Top Dividend have now topped EUR10bn in assets, which represents about one third of assets under management in “dividend” funds in Europe, the affiliate of Deutsche Bank has announced, adding that the two products have attracted over EUR2bn since the beginning of the year.Overall, assets in all DWS dividend funds are now over EUR12bn.

The Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica, which is pursuing a debt-reduction strategy, on 12 October announced the sale of its after-sales service activity Atento to the US fund Bain Capital for EUR1.039bn.Telefonica has “signed a final agreement with businesses controlled by Bain Capital to sell its customer relations operation Atento,” the Spanish market authority CNMV announced in a statement.Atento has 152,000 employees in over 15 countries, and earned EUR1.8bn in 2011, with a net debt of EUR175m as of the end of June 2012.

Michael Clark, manager of the FF European Dividend fund, the Fidelity MoneyBuilder Dividend fund and the Fidelity Enhanced Income fund, is currently working on the pilot of a future “enhanced” dividend fund, Fundweb reports. It will be a version which will include the investment ideas of the FF European Dividend fund, and will use covered call writing.

Henderson Global Investors will be closing the Luxembourg-registered fund Henderson Gartmore US Opportunities fund as part of an overhaul of its fund range, Fund Web reports. The fund, with USD12.7m in assets, is part of the Gartmore range. It is managed by Brandon Geisler at Marsico Capital.

On the basis of figures released by 2,999 hedge funds, total assets in the sector as of the end of August came to USD1.7trn, a level 28.7% lower than their peak of USD2.4trn in June 2008. They have also fallen compared with USD1.87trn as of the end of July, BarclayHedge and TrimTabs report.However, in August, funds have posted net subscriptions of USD5.1bn, compared with net outflows of USD9.2bn in July, putting net redemptions in the first eight months of the year at USD13.2bn, or 2% of assets.In addition, BarclayHedge reports, average performance was limited to 4.8% in January-August, while the S&P 500 index showed gains of 10.1%.

The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has issued a warning in relation to the activities of BP Holdings, a firm which claims to offer investment services. “BP Holdings only has a license as an investment business in Belgium. It is thus not authorised to provide investment services in Belgium or from Belgian territory,” the FSMA states.The FSMA recommends against responding to any offers of financial services from BP Holdings, or making any payments to any bank accounts identified by this firm.BP Holdings claims to be based in Spain, at 28042 Madrid, BP Business Center, Calle de Jerez de los Caballeros, and in Hong Kong, at 16/F Miramar Tower, 132 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha, Tsui, Kowloon.The authority states that the warning does not relate to BP plc.

The board of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has elected Andrew Bell to be the new Chairman succeeding Sarah Bates. He will take up his new role as Chairman of the AIC from 24 January following the completion of Sarah Bates’ two years in office.Andrew Bell has been a director of the AIC since 2006, and a deputy chairman since 2011. He has been the chief executive of Witan Investment Trust plc since early 2010, and is a non-executive director of Henderson High Income Trust plc. The Association of Investment Companies was founded in 1932 to represent the interests of the investment trust industry – the oldest form of collective investment. Today, the AIC represents a broad range of closed ended investment companies, incorporating investment trusts and other closed ended investment companies and VCTs.

De nouveaux documents français obtenus par l’agence de presse suédoise Tidningarnas Telegrambyra semblent confirmer les liens entre Gulnara Karimova, la fille du président de l’Ouzbékistan, et un homme d’affaires emprisonné en Suisse, soupçonné d’être impliqué dans une vaste affaire de blanchiment, rapporte Le Temps. Ces documents font écho aux liens supposés entre le pouvoir à Tachkent et les quatre ressortissants ouzbeks visés depuis cet été par une enquête pénale du Ministère public de la Confédération. «Cette procédure recouvre une affaire de blanchiment portant sur plus de 600 millions de francs. Elle a été déclenchée à la suite du gel de comptes bancaires détenus chez Lombard Odier par l’ex-responsable en Ouzbékistan du groupe de téléphonie mobile russe MTS», précise le Temps.

Michael Clark, gérant du FF European Dividend, du Fidelity MoneyBuilder Dividend fund et du Fidelity Enhanced Income fund, fait actuellement tourner la version pilote du futur fonds de dividendes européens «enhanced», rapporte Fundweb. Ce sera une version qui reprendra les idées de placement du FF European Dividend en utilisant des options d’achat couvertes (covered calls writing).

Les anciens actionnaires de GLG Partners Pierre Lagrange, Emmanuel Roman et Noam Gottesman, anciens actionnaires de GLG Partners, accusent une perte virtuelle de 220 millions de dollars deux ans après l’acquisition de leur société par Man Group, rapporte le Financial Times. A partir de lundi, les trois individus, qui ont échangé leurs participations dans GLG pour des actions Man en octobre 2010, pourront se défaire d’un tiers de leurs actions s’ils le souhaitent. Depuis la fusion il y a deux ans, l’action Man a chuté de 264 pence à 90 pence vendredi. Pierre Lagrange et Emmanuel Roman n’auraient pas l’intention de vendre leurs titres, selon des sources proches du dossier citées par le FT. Noam Gottesman n’a pu être contacté.

Pimco a approché le fournisseur de données Lipper afin que ses chiffres de collecte soient publiés séparément de ceux de sa société sœur Allianz Global Investors, et a obtenu gain de cause, révèle un article d’Ignites repris par le Financial Times. Ensemble, les deux maisons étaient classées au septième rang dans la liste des sociétés de gestion ayant vendu le plus de fonds en Europe en 2011. Or, si Pimco avait été traité séparément, il aurait été quatrième. Ensemble, Pimco/AGI affichent des souscriptions nettes de 3,5 milliards d’euros en 2011. Mais cela masque une réalité contrastée : 9,8 milliards de souscriptions nettes pour Pimco et rachats nets de 6 milliards d’euros pour AGI…

Le pôle gestion d’actifs du groupe JP Morgan a dégagé au troisième trimestre un résultat net de 443 millions de dollars, en progression de 13% par rapport au trimestre précédent et de 15% par rapport au troisième trimestre 2011, selon les chiffres communiqués par le groupe le 12 octobre.Les produits nets ont totalisé 2,5 milliards de dollars, en progression de 6% d’une année sur l’autre, dont 1,4 milliard de dollars pour la banque privée (+5%), 563 millions de dollars pour la gestion institutionnelle (+18%) et 531 millions pour le retail (-2%).Les actifs sous gestion s’inscrivaient fin septembre à 1.400 milliards de dollars, en hausse de 127 milliards ou 10% par rapport à l’année précédente, en raison de l’effet marché et de la collecte sur les produits longs. La collecte nette du trimestre s’est élevée à 4 milliards de dollars, les souscriptions des fonds de long terme (21 milliards de dollars) ayant permis de compenser les rachats subis par les véhicules de court terme (17 milliards de dollars). Sur douze mois, la collecte nette totalise 43 milliards de dollars.Le groupe a fait état pour le trimestre d’un bénéfice record de 5,7 milliards de dollars, en hausse de 34% sur un an. La banque a aussi signalé que le portefeuille de dérivés de crédits risqués, qui lui avait déjà coûté 6 milliards de dollars, a encore essuyé des pertes d’environ 449 millions de dollars durant le trimestre sous revue. La division d’investissement en compte propre, à l’origine de ces paris, a fini de déboucler les positions qui lui restaient sur ces contrats dont le solde est dorénavant aux mains de la division de banque d’investissement, qui a subi une perte modeste sur ce portefeuille au cours du trimestre.