Schroders is expanding its fixed income team by appointing four senior professionals to develop its capabilities in the emerging market debt (EMD) relative return sector. James Barrineau has joined the New York office this week as head of Latin American fixed income and co-head of EMD relative (with Rajeev de Mello, head of Asian fixed income), Fernando Grisales as a senior portfolio manager and Alec Moseley as a senior portfolio manager and sovereign research analyst. James Barrineau will report to Karl Dasher, global head of fixed income and Fernando Grisales and Alec Moseley will report to James. These new appointments join from Ice Canyon, a California-based global investment management firm specialising in emerging markets and global credit investment strategies. Previously, they worked together at Alliance Bernstein where they shared responsibility for managing more than USD15 Billion in EMD relative return strategies. In addition, Chris Tackney will join next month as senior portfolio manager, emerging market corporate bond, reporting to Wes Sparks, head of US fixed income. Prior to joining Schroders he was an Asia credit trader at Credit Suisse, portfolio manager in the emerging market credit fund at Black River Asset Management and emerging markets portfolio manager at BlackRock Advisors.

According to the financial TV network CNBC, due to a cautious attitude on the part of investors ahead of an IPO for the private equity firm Carlyle on the Nasdaq stock exchange, the firm is preparing to set a price range for its IPO of USD22 to USD23 per share, down from an initially planned price range of USD23 to UDS25, Les Echos reports. The operation values the firm at USD6.7bn to USD7.5bn, down from an initial objective of USD8bn. The caution of directors is largely due to the poor outcome for its California-based rival Oaktree Capital, which held its IPO in early April and was not able to sell all the shares on offer.

As of the end of March, total assets in the Franklin Resources group (Franklin Templeton Investments) totalled USd725.7bn, compared with USD670.3bn as of the end of 2011, and USD703.5bn one year previously. In the first three months of this year, assets under management increased 8%, or USD55.4bn, of which USD5.6bn was due to net subscriptions, following USD15.6bn of net outflows in October-December and USD8.4bn in net inflows in January-March 2011.As of 31 March, assets were distributed with USD299.9bn in equity products, USD103.5bn in hybrid products, USD316.6bn in bond products and USD5.7bn in money market products.In January-March 2012, Franklin Templeton earned net profits of USD503.2m, compared with USD480.8m in October-December and USD503.1m in the corresponding period of last year, putting net profits for the first six months of the fiscal year ending on 30 September at USD981.5m, compared with USD985.68m.

In first quarter 2012, T. Rowe Price has announced net profits of USD197.5m, compared with USD191.6m in October-December, and USD194.6m in the corresponding period of last year.Assets as of 31 March set an all-time record at USD554.8bn, USD65.3bn more than the USD489.5bn recorded at the end of December. USD12.4bn of this increase is due to net subscriptions, of which USD4.2bn are for target-date funds, and USd52.9bn are due to positive market effects.As of the end of March, assets under management included USD325.4bn for mutual funds on sale in the United States, and USD229.4bn for “other managed investment portfolios.” Target-date funds had assets of USD78.8bn.

In the half ending on 31 March, Raymond James Financial has posted net profits of USD136.2m, down 16% compared with USD162.6m in October 2010-March 2011.Net profits in the asset management unit have nonetheless increased to USD32.4m, compared with USD30.8m (+5%).

State Street Corporation has created a protocol to standardise collection and transfer of risk information concerning hedge funds, entitled Open Protocol Enabling Risk Aggregation (OPERA). In combination with the TruView risk management platform, OPERA allows institutional investors to analyse their risks more exhaustively and to have a stable reporting framework for each of their hedge fund investments.The new protocol was developed in cooperation with a working group in which major hedge fund managers and institutional investors were represented.State Street states that as of 31 March, it had about USD895bn in alternative assets under administration.

Assets under management at AllianceBernstein (Axa group) as of 31 March 2012 totalled USD419bn, up 3.2% compared with 31 December 2012, the firm announced in a statement on 2 May. Compared with 31 March 2011, assets under management were down 12.2%, or USd58.2bn. In first quarter 2012, the sale of Canadian and Australian activities at Axa resulted in outflows of USD5.8bn, following outflows of USD3.7bn in fourth quarter 2011. Total outflows in the quarter totalled USD12.1bn. However, positive market effects more than offset this development. The institutional unit (USD222.43bn in assets) finished the quarter with net outflows of USD12.9bn, but the retail unit (USD124.2bn in assets under management) posted net inflows of USD2.3bn.

Skandia Investment Group has closed its Paris office, according to information received by Newsmanagers. The British asset management firm has also dismissed Bogdan Popescu, who had been head of the office since its opening in May 2008. Popescu has not been a member of staff at Skandia for a month, and the communications firm which had worked with the firm in France has also not been working with the firm for a month. The closure may be related to a reorganization at Skandia Investment Group, as France no longer represents a core target market, although inflows in 2011 were good. French clients are reportedly now being redirected to Spain. The move comes at a time when the Skandia group has announced a merger betweem Skandia Investment Group and Old Mutual Asset Managers UK. Skandia Investment Group (which was then known as Skandia Global Funds) opened an office in Paris, France in 2008, with the intention of releasing its Best Ideas fund to institutional investors. The fund invests in the best investment ideas of several managers, and funds whose management had been outsourced to other asset management firms.

Fédéris Gestion d’Actifs, an asset management firm of the Malakoff Médéric Group, has appointed Philppe Aurain as CEO and head of management. Aurain had previously been CFO of the French national pension fund, the Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR), after serving as chief investment officer, assistant head of delegated management and assistant CFO. Fédéris Gestion d’Actifs has assets under management of EUR25.2bn. Its securities management activities are undertaken as part of general mutual fund management mandates, and employee savings funds, a statement says.

Since 2 May, Sean Chang has become head of Asian debt at Baring Asset Management in Hong Kong. He reports to Alain Wilde, head of fixed income and currency, and Wilfred Sit, CIO for Asia. Pending permission from the regulator, Chang will become manager of the Baring Asian Debt fund, and several Asian debt portfolios.Since 2007, Chang had been investment director at HSBC Global Asset Management, where he was responsible for Asian debt portfolios for retail and institutional investor clients. In his 16-year career in the area of fixed income in Asia, he has also worked at Mirae Global Investment Management, Hang Seng Investment Management and Invesco Asia.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced on Wednesday the appointment of Charles McKenzie to the position of head of client portfolio management EMEA, in the global fixed income team, leading a team of 15.Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Asset Management, he was head of fixed income EMEA at Aberdeen Asset Management.In this role Charles McKenzie will report to Bob Michele, chief investment officer, global fixed income, currency and commodities and will be responsible for client management, product design and new business development in the region.

Malcolm Naish, director of real estate at SWIP, will be retiring in June, a statement from the asset management firm announces. He had served in this role since October 2007. The firm has not yet announced the name of the person who will replace Naish.

Henderson has seen net outflows in first quarter 2012 of GBP857m. Due to positive market and foreign exchange effects, assets nonetheless incresed by GBP2.4bn, to GBP66.7bn as of the end of March. Henderson has seen outflows from all asset classes except real estate (+GBP22m) and all types of clients.

The financial ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has raised its rating of Greece to CCC, following a debt exchange operation which allowed the country to cancel about EUR105bn in debt, according to a statement released on 2 May. The firm had already issued a rating of CCC for new bonds issued by Greece, following the debt exchange, which was finalised on 25 April. The rating has a stable outlook. The ratings agency estimates that it an economic recovery in Greece is possible, if planned reforms are fully enacted, if a contraction in revenues turns around, and if investor appetite for the country gradually recovers. However, despite the raised rating, S&P estimates that Greek debt levels “remain high” and that the structural reform programme involves risks as to its enactment, “particularly” following legislative elections on 6 May. The agency estimates that there is a 30% to 50% probability of bonds issued by Greece being paid back, which was already the case before the country’s rating was raised.

In London, Pictet Asset Management has announced the creation of shares denominated in US dollars and euros, available to external investors, in its long/short equity fund Agora (USD100m), based in the Cayman islands, and managed by Elif Aktug and Benoît Capiod. The product was launched in April 2011, and relies on 20 to 25 strategies.

State Street Corporation has created a protocol to standardise collection and transfer of risk information concerning hedge funds, entitled Open Protocol Enabling Risk Aggregation (OPERA). In combinatino with the TruView risk management platform, OPERA allows institutional investors to analyse their risks more exhaustively and to have a stable reporting framework for each of their hedge fund investments. The new protocol was developed in concert with a working group in which major hedge fund managers and institutional investors were represented. State Street states that as of 31 March, it had about USD895bn in alternative assets under management.

According to Le Temps, the Swiss affiliate of Barclays has announced that it is planning to open a wealth management office in Zurich. The emphasis will be placed on high net worth private clients from Russia and former CIS countries, and other international markets, as well as Switzerland. Barclays Bank (Switzerland) is planning to recruit 20 to 30 people in the next 12 months.

The Swiss investment firm Partners Group on 2 May announced the acquisition of the Asian firm Trimco International Holdings, specialised in labels for clothing. The Trimco company, based in Hong Kong, has activities in China, India, Thailand and Singapore. Just before completing the acquisition, Trimco completed the acqusition of a provider of labels in the United Kingdom.

Stolen banking information from the bank HSBC were handled by the French police before being returned to Switzerland. Modifications were introduced when the files were obtained by France, and subsequently returned to the Swiss authorities, the Nouvel Observateur reports. “An analysis of the files by the Swiss federal judiciary police found that the data had been modified, as there were differences between the contents of various files transmitted by the French authorities, though they were similar in all respects,” the Swiss Confederation public minister (MPC) states, confirming the reports in the Nouvel Observateur. The MPC had demanded a complete “forensic” copy of the information seized in France. Contrary to standard practice in IT, the authorities received a simple copy of the hard disks seized, without a serial number which would attest to the integrity of the data, an MPC spokesperson states. The list was leaked in 2007 by Hervé Falciani, who was then employed in IT at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva. He submitted the files to the French tax authorities, and to the public prosecutor in Nice, Eric de Montgolfier. The French courts seized the data in January 2009, but the scandal did not break until December 2009, when it provoked a crisis in relations between Switzerland and France. The French government ultimately agreed to return the documents.

China Investment Corporation (CIC), the federal participation and investment firm (SFPI/FPIM) and A CAPITAL, the largest fund manager for investments between China and Europe, on 2 May announced the creation of a fund which will invest in European groups which are leaders in their markets, with a view to accelerating growth in China. A CAPITAL is based in China and Euorpe, and is the General Partner of the A CAPITAL China Outbound Fund. CIC and SFPI will be the Limited Partners of the Fund, via a dedicated structure entitled China Belgium Mirror Fund. Koen Van Loo, CEO of SFPI, says: “We are very happt to participate in the creation of the Fund, and are convinced by its highly distinctive investment strategy. With the help pf CIC and A CAPITAL, we will allow Belgian and European firms to accelerate their growth in China. The creation of this fund confirms the close ties between Belgium and China, our ability to attract Chinese investors to the heart of Europe, and market a very important step for our economy.” A CAPITAL invests in European companies whose earnings are over EUR100m, which are leaders in their markets, and which have strong potential for growth in China. The preferred sectors are companies with highly technological activities, brands, distribution networks, and the environment. The particularity of A CAPITAL is that it co-invests with Chinese public or private investors in order to jointly ensure and accelerate potential growth. The objective is to create genuine strategic partnerships, to contribute to the solidity and the performance of European companies invested in, and to create value for all parties.

Créé début 2012 avec le soutien de sept grands investisseurs institutionnels et géré par NewAlpha Asset Management, le compartiment Performance Absolue de la SICAV Emergence annonce la signature de son premier partenariat d’incubation avec la société Eiffel Investment Group. A l’issue d’un processus rigoureux de sélection associant étroitement les investisseurs, Emergence investira 30 millions d’euros dans le fonds d’Eiffel Investment Group spécialisé sur le crédit européen, portant ses actifs à près de 70 millions d’euros, et lui permettant d’atteindre plus rapidement la taille critique pour se développer en France et à l’international. Lancé fin 2011, ce fonds investit dans les instruments de dette d’entreprises et d'établissements financiers européens et vise à dégager une performance absolue, peu corrélée à l'évolution des marchés financiers. La stratégie mise en oeuvre par ce fonds s’inscrit pleinement dans un contexte de désintermédiation du marché du crédit, de bouleversement de la hiérarchie habituelle des emprunteurs et d'évolutions réglementaires affectant les prêteurs traditionnels. Le renforcement des règles prudentielles applicables aux banques, principales sources de financement des entreprises, crée notamment un besoin urgent d’autres formes de financement des entreprises. En mobilisant davantage l'épargne privée et institutionnelle, le secteur de la gestion d’actifs assure ainsi un lien prépondérant entre les entreprises et les investisseurs. L'équipe de gestion du fonds est dirigée par Emmanuel Weyd, en charge des stratégies de crédit chez Eiffel Investment Group depuis 2009. Emmanuel Weyd a 20 ans d’expérience sur les marchés de crédit européens, notamment acquis chez J.P. Morgan en tant que co-responsable de la recherche crédit pour l’Europe, puis responsable des marchés de dette pour la France, le Benelux et la Suisse et enfin en tant que managing director dans l'équipe d’investissement sur fonds propres. Auparavant, il avait passé 4 ans chez Standard & Poor’s en analyse crédit. Agréée par l’AMF en 2010 et basée à Paris, Eiffel Investment Group est une société de gestion et d’investissement issue d’un spin-off du Groupe Louis Dreyfus. Détenue majoritairement par Jacques Veyrat, l’ancien Président Directeur Général du Groupe Louis Dreyfus, elle est dirigée par Fabrice Dumonteil, qui était auparavant directeur financier de Neuf Cegetel. Eiffel Investment Group a l’ambition de devenir un acteur important de la gestion à performance absolue en France et en Europe. Les actionnaires initiaux du fonds de place Emergence comptent parmi les principaux investisseurs institutionnels français et totalisent plus de 1.200 milliards d’euros de réserves financières En lançant Emergence début 2012, l’industrie de la gestion française, leader en Europe par le montant des capitaux gérés (2.700 milliards d’euros fin 2011), et reconnue pour son expertise, sa capacité d’innovation, et son dynamisme entrepreneurial, s’est dotée d’un fonds, destiné à faciliter la création et le développement en France des meilleurs talents de la gestion d’actifs. Le projet Emergence s’inscrit dans un contexte d’accélération de la compétition européenne et mondiale où l’incubation des gérants les plus talentueux devient un enjeu capital pour les investisseurs institutionnels en quête de performance et de transparence. Emergence contribue aussi à renforcer le métier de la gestion d’actifs en France (plus de 80 000 emplois aujourd’hui) dans une optique de long terme. Le fonds Emergence Performance Absolue est géré par NewAlpha Asset Management, un des leaders européens de l’incubation, récompensé à plusieurs reprises pour sa capacité à détecter et accompagner les gérants les plus talentueux au niveau international.

The Danish fund manager Jyske Invest has announced that asstes in its Jyske Invest Swedish Equities and Jyske Invest Global Real Estate Equities funds have fallen to a level at which the products will be liquidated on 23 August 2012, pending agreement from an extranordinary shareholders’ meeting on 14 May.Meanwhile, if an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting on 14 May approves the move, the Jyske Invest Eastern European Equities fund will be converted into the Jyske Invest Russian Equities fund on 10 June 2012. The change will not alter the investment strategy too much, insofar as two thirds of the fund are already invested in Russian equities.

Last week, the Belgian financial markets and services authority (FSMA) issued a public warning over the activities of Micron Associates, a firm which claims to offer investment services. “Micron Associates has no license in Belgium as an investment firm. It is therefore not authorised to furnish investment services in Belgium or from Belgian territory,” the regulator states. The authority advises against giving any money to the firm. Micron Associates claims to be based in Spain, at Moll de Barcelona s/n, edificio Este 8 planta, World Trade Center Barcelona.

Le régulateur américain des marchés à terme s’est dit déterminé à faire appliquer les règles garantissant la transparence des prix sur le marché des dérivés, estimé à 700.000 milliards de dollars. Son président Gary Gensler estime que cette transparence est un élément clé pour réduire les risques que fait courir ce marché à l’ensemble de l’économie.

L’agence a relevé à CCC de la note de la dette souveraine grecque, qui n’est plus ainsi en situation de défaut, le pays ayant réduit son passif d’un tiers environ au terme d’une restructuration de dette complexe et sans précédent. S&P, qui a assorti la note d’une perspective stable, prévoit que la dette restera élevée au cours des trois prochaines années, autour de 160 à 170% du PIB.

La société d’investissement indépendante vient de lancer la souscription de son fonds III, avec une taille cible de 180 millions d’euros. Près de 50% de cet objectif a d’ores et déjà été confirmé par des investisseurs existants. Montefiore Investment indique également compter désormais parmi ses investisseurs l’une des premières banques européennes ainsi qu’un fonds de fonds américain.

Le secteur privé a créé 119.000 emplois en avril aux Etats-Unis, alors que le marché attendait 177.000 postes supplémentaires, une donnée qui accroît le pessimisme des investisseurs avant la publication vendredi de la statistique américaine de l’emploi pour le mois écoulé.

L'économie belge a renoué avec la croissance au premier trimestre et n'était pas en récession au second semestre 2011 contrairement à ce qui avait été initialement annoncé, selon les données publiées mercredi. Le PIB a progressé de 0,3% sur les trois premiers mois de l’année par rapport au trimestre précédent. En rythme annuel, la progression est de 0,5%.

Le Département du Trésor américain a surpris les investisseurs hier en décalant à l’année prochaine au mieux l’émission d’obligations d’Etat à taux variables destinées à diversifier son portefeuille et à profiter de la politique durablement accommodante de la Fed en termes de taux courts. Il prévoit d’émettre 72 milliards d’obligations à 3,10 et 30 ans la semaine prochaine.

Le secrétaire au Trésor américain a réédité aujourd’hui son appel à la Chine pour poursuivre le processus de réévaluation du yuan face au dollar. «Un renmibi plus fort, (au cours) plus déterminé par le marché contribuera à consolider l’objectif de la Chine de s’orienter vers une production à plus forte valeur ajoutée, de réformer son système financier et d’encourager la demande intérieure».