The socially responsible investment team at Henderson will soon be leaving the British asset management firm, after their funds were handed to other teams, the British press reported on Tuesday. When contacted by Newsmanagers, Henderson confirmed that “members of the SRI team at Henderson have been provisionally identified as at risk of redundancy as Henderson has decided no longer to have a separate team to manage SRI funds” «The team is currently exploring a range of options and remains in conversation with Henderson in this regard. In the meantime, George Latham, head of SRI funds and Tim Dieppe, SRI fund manager will remain in place at Henderson until the end of the year», the asset management firm adds.The SRI team at Henderson includes 6 staff and manages GBP630m as of the end of September. The news comes soon after it was learned that Henderson was planning to reduce its staff (see Newsmanagers of 21 November 2011).

HSBC Private Bank has announced that it has promoted Bernard Rennell to the position of chief executive officer for North Asia. Rennell will be based in Hong Kong, and will be in charge of all private banking activities in the region, which includes Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines. He will report to the CEO of HSBC Private Bank, Krishna Patel.

La Tribune reports that family offices in 2010 contributed 9.4% of the funds raised by European private equity firms, according to the European private equity association (EVCA), compared with an average of only 0.4% in the years from 2003-2007. This percentage is now higher than that for banks (8.8%) and insurers (5.1%).

ML Capital has signed an agreement with the Swiss firm Acolin Fund Services to distribute UCITS-compliant funds on its MontLake platform. The managers on the Luxembourg-registered platform will have access to the German and Swiss markets. ML Capital is predicting that by mid-2012, its assets will exceed USD500m, Investment Europe reports.

The Financial Services Authority in the UK has fined Dr Sandradee Joseph GBP14,000 and banned her from performing any significant influence function in regulated financial services for breaching Principle 6 of the FSA’s Statements of Principle for Approved Persons.According to the regulator, she did not engage with her responsibilities as compliance officer. Joseph was Compliance Officer at Dynamic Decisions Capital Management (DDCM), a hedge fund management company based in London (and Milan). In the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the investment strategy adopted by DDCM for the fund it managed resulted in losses totalling approximately 85% of the fund’s total assets under management. To conceal the losses, in late 2008, a senior employee at DDCM entered into a number of contracts, on behalf of investment funds managed by DDCM, for the purchase and resale of a bond. Various investors raised concerns that the bond was of doubtful provenance and legitimacy, and DDCM’s prime broker resigned as a result of its concerns. Joseph failed to consider the reasons for the prime broker resigning and despite being aware of the investors´ concerns about the bond she failed to properly investigate those concerns or act upon the information. Joseph agreed to settle during the course of the FSA investigation. She therefore qualifies for a 30% reduction on her financial penalty. Were it not for this discount, the FSA would have imposed a financial penalty of GBP20,000 on Joseph.

Mutual Fund Wire reports that Guggenheim Partners has confirmed that it has placed its Canadian affiliate Claymore, dedicated to ETFs, up for sale. With CAD6.8bn in assets under management and a market share of 16%, Claymore is in second place in this market after iShares. The Canadian press points to Invesco PowerShares and Bank of Montreal as potential buyers.

Convictions AM has recruited Fabienne Segalen as head of compliance and internal audit (RCCI). The French asset management firm is bringing this role in-house with the move. Since 2004, Segalen had been at JB Drax Honoré, where she had been head of internal audit since 2008.

Nexar Capital Group, a specialist in alternative management, has recruited Antoine Prudent as global head of development. This is a newly-created position, which will allow Prudent to supervise the sales, product development, reporting and marketing teams at Nexar. He also becomes a member of the executive board and the investment committee at Nexar. Prudent, 36, worked at Unigestion for ten years, and had been head of hedge fund product development since 2006. He was previously in charge of Equity Derivatives structturing and sales at Natexis Banques Populaires, a statement says.

Anthony Bolton at Fidelity, Bill Gross at Pimco, and John Paulson at the eponymous firm have all produced below-average performances this year, the Financial Times reports. The same goes for Bruce Berkowitz, whose Fairholme Fund has lost 32% since the beginning of the year, while the Tilson Focus fund by Whitney Tilson has lost 23%.This trend is due to the fact that with a trend for “risk on, risk off,” investors are tending to sell all securities in a given asset class indiscriminately. Janet Brown, president of DAL, says the art of stock-picking now counts less than investment fashion. And the performance of funds tends to raise the question of whether strategy is in step with the market, rather than the brilliant qualities of the manager.

Agefi relays reports by Reuters that the US bank JP Morgan is soon to announce an acquisition of a 4.7% stake in the London Metal Exchange (LME) which is currently held by the collapsed broker MF Global. The acquisition is said to be taking place at USD25m, valuing the London firm at about GBP530m.

The AIFM directive will lead to changes of domicile for alternative investment funds towards onshore locations in Europe, largely at the impetus of European asseet managers. Offshore centres in the Cayman Islands and the US state of Delaware will remain, however, the preferred domiciles for these types of funds, according to a research by Oliver Wyman, presented in Luxembourg on 22 November at the fourth annual alternative management conference organised by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (Alfi). The study also identifies several significant trends. Some alternative fund managers, who, without new regulations, would have opted for an offshore domicile will now choose an onshore domicile in order to respond to the new situation and client demand. In Europe, these funds will probably head to Ireland or Luxembourg. There may also be more co-domiciles and cloned structures between offshore and onshore jurisdictions. Offshore centres will probably emerge in Asia and the Middle East at the demand of investors and asset managers. A corollary of all these developments is that the battle for market share will lead to improvements in infrastructure and regulation of service activities, as well as more flexible bureaucratic procedures in all the major centres of domicile. But there are signs that the field will remain remarkably stable. “Many European observers are predicting that, following the MiFID directive and regulatory pressure on the part of G20 member countries, there will be a significant change of domicile movement towards centres within the European Union and a reduction in the number of offshore funds. The study finds, on the contrary, that the offshore terrain has held stable in the past two years,” says Marc Saluzzi, president of Alfi. Offshore centres in the Cayman Islands and Delaware will remain the preferred domiciled for alternative investment funds. In the hedge fund sector, the Cayman Islands represent 43% of the market, followed by Delaware (20%), the British Virgin islands, and Bermuda (10% each). Luxembourg accounts for 4% of the global hedge fund market, 9% of the private equity sector and more than 10% of the real estate fund market. Alfi finds that this situation represents a new challenge. “Europe has already established UCITS as a global fund brand, but we have a long way to go to do the same for the hedge fund industry,” says Saluzzi.

Axa IM announced the launch on 9 August of a fund which invests in short-term high yield corporate bonds denominated primarily in euros and pounds Sterling, entitled AXA IM FIIS Europe Short Duration High Yield Fund, which is managed by Andrew Wilmont, Expansión reports.The average duration for bonds in the portfolio will be less than two years, and the performance objective is 5-6%, after commissions. The fund complies with the UCITS directive, and is domiciled in Luxembourg. Minimal subscription is EUR5,000 for retail shares, and EUR1m for institutional shares.

Turgul Kolad and Pierre André Klein will be transferred from the Pioneer investment centre in Dublin to Pioneer Investments Deutschland (Munich). They will join the bond management team, serving institutional clients.Kolad, a specialist in quantitative strategies, becomes lead fund manager for German institutional clients, while the latter becomes co-manager and bond analyst for institutional mandates.

DWS will continue to be a part of the core retail offerings from Deutsche Bank in Germany, Europe and Asia. However, the German bank on 22 November announced that it has begun a “strategic review” of its global asset management division. Deutsche Bank states that, although it remains committed to asset management, the changes are a part of ongoing effort to preserve an optimal assortment of activities, and to remain a leader in each professional area.The strategic analysis of the asset management unit will focus particularly on the impact of recent changes in regulations, their cost, changes in the competitive environment for the operation, and growth prospects in the context of a banking platform. “All strategic options will be considered, and that concerns the entire world,” Deutsche Bank says. In concrete terms, Deutsche Bank is now considering the future of DB Advisors, which at the end of September had EUR164bn in institutional assets and EUR64bn in alternative products, in insurance (total assets of EUR143bn), DWS United States (particularly the former Scudder), and in RREEF real estate assets (EUR7.5bn)? However, the “strategic review” does not concern db x-trackers (ETF) and db ETC, which are located in the investment banking unit.

A study for Allianz Global Investors (AGI) undertaken by the agency SD-M, which surveyed German complementary retirement schemes and pension funds has found that 60% of professional institutions serving public sector employees and employees at organisations affiliated with the churches integrate sustainable investment critieria into their investment policies. However, none of the pension funds for federal and Länder employees take these criteria into account, and there is nowhere near as much use of SRI as among French or Scandinavian employee retirement funds, AGI points out.The pension funds analysed overall have a rate of less than 10% in sustainable investment, concentrated in real estate, direct investments, and equity funds. However, their bond investments, which are mainstream for institutional investors, virtually do not integrate any of these sustainable development criteria.

Allied Irish Bank has signed an agreement with the financial services firm Prescient Holdings, to sell its asset management affiliate AIB Investment Managers, Fundweb reports. The sale is expected to be finalised in first quarter 2012. The sale price has not been disclosed.

Ulrich Lingner, who was both CEO and CIO of VersAM Versicherungs-Assetmanagement, will take up one of the four positions as managing director at Helaba Invest (EUR70bn in assets), the institutional asset management affiliate of the Landesbank of Hesse and Thuringia (Landesbank Hessen und Thüringen), on 1 January 2012. He will be responsible for all alternative asset classes, selection and control of external managers, and the advisory desk. Among his responsibilities, Ligner will be in charge of overseeing the conversion of Helaba Invest into a KAG providing all services. To achieve this, Helaba Invest will be extending its range of reporting, risk control and strategic advising services for all assets from major institutional investors.

The German firm Deka Immobilien has announced that it has acquired the London hotel Malmaison for an undisclosed sum for its institutional real estate fund WestInvest Target Select Hotel, from the Malmaison Hotel Group, which will continue to lease the property for its four-star operation there.

The Spanish group BBVA has decided to redeploy its activities in the area of ETF funds to concentrate its development on Mexico, where funds with a volume of EUR850m are already listed for the use of Latin American clients, Funds People reports, relaying a report in Expansión. In Mexico, BBVA has a 14.8% market share. Meanwhile, BBVA has also chosen to liquidate its least popular products on the Spanish sotck market, AFI Monetario Euro ETF, Acción Ibex Top Dividendo ETF and Acción FTSE Latibex Top ETF.

The US asset management firm Global X Funds has announced that it is modifying the underlying index, name, and acronym of its Global X China Technology ETF. The benchmark index will now be the Nasdaq OMX China Technology Index (QQQC), with 42 members, rather than the Solactive China Technology Index (CHIB) of 28 shares.

The French asset management firm Tikehau IM will on 7 December this year launch TK Rendement 2016, a corporate bond fund with a maturity date of 31 December 2016. The annual net performance objective for the mutual fund is set at 7%. The firm, specialised in bond management, is planning to take advantage of credit spreads that have doubled since summer. They are now at levels comparable to December 2008, with corporate bonds offering significant additional returns, a statement says. In addition, European businesses in the high yield sector have hit all-time low default rates in 2011. In practice, the portfolio is composed of corporate bonds, mostly high yield. It will be diversified and managed actively, “in order to readjust depending on market opportunities, and to reinvest its coupons, so as to offer investors a more dynamic return profile than passive buy-and-hold management, Tikehau IM states. Characteristics ISIN code: C shares: FR0011131812 / D shares: FR0011131820 Redemption commission, paid back into fund: 3%, until 31 December 2013 Management fee: 1.3% TTC Performance commission: 2% until 31 December 2014, 1% until 31 December 2015, and none thereafter Minimal subscription: EUR1,000 Investors targeted: all subscribers

One of the largest alternative management firms in the Middle East, Gulf Capital Equity Fund Associates, has awarded J.P. Morgan’s Worldwide Security Services (WSS) administration of the private equity fund GC Equity Partners Fund II, for which commitments of USD500m have been received. This is the first fund from Gulf Capital to have attracted the majority of its future assets from international markets in the United States, Europe and Asia, including sovereign funds, pension funds, charities, banks, and insurers.

E. de Rothschild Banque Italia has signed an agreement to offer funds from Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers and Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, via FinecoBank, the UniCredit online bank, Bluerating reports. A, C, D and E shares will be available.

Le fonds annoncé au printemps pour financer les PME et ETI cotées devrait bientôt voir le jour, rapporte L’Agefi. La Caisse des dépôts (CDC) abondera à hauteur de 40 millions d’euros ce fonds, dont le montant total attendu initialement s'élevait à 200 millions. Mais faute d’investisseurs, ce véhicule devrait se limiter à 160 millions d’euros. L’appel d’offres vient d'être lancé auprès des sociétés de gestion. Le ou les élus devront justifier d’une gestion actuelle d’au-moins 10 à 20 millions d’euros sur Alternext, et de plusieurs dizaines de millions sur les compartiments B et C.

Le Fonds de Compensation (FDC) étudie actuellement le niveau technique des candidatures reçues au titre de la première phase de l’appel d’offres gestions actives sur les actions et les obligations. Au terme de cette étude, un questionnaire sera transmis aux sociétés de gestion pré-sélectionnées, d’ici la fin de l’année civile. Il s’agira de présenter l’offre de gestion financière. Le FDC prévoit d’attribuer définitivement les lots aux lauréats, au plus tard en mars 2012. Pour rappel, le marché est divisé en 3 lots. Le nombre de mandats à attribuer est de 7 dont 3 de réserve. Les montants des actifs des différents lots ne sont donnés qu'à titre indicatif et pourront varier en cours d’exécution du mandat, dont la durée est en principe de 3 ans, avec possibilité de reconduction d’année en année, sauf résiliation anticipée par le FDC ou par le prestataire moyennant un préavis de 3 mois (durée maximale du mandat: 10 ans. Le lot nº 1 porte sur la gestion active d’un portefeuille obligataire zone monde et libellé en EUR. Indice de référence: Barclays Capital Global Aggregate excluding securitized assets Index Total Return, couvert (Hedged) en EUR. 2 mandats: 1 mandat portant sur un montant indicatif d’actifs d’EUR 375 000 000 et 1 mandat de réserve. Le lot nº 2 porte sur la gestion active d’un portefeuille actions zone marchés émergents libellé en EUR. Indice de référence: MSCI Emerging Markets, Total Return (net) exprimé en USD et qui devra être converti en EUR. 3 mandats: 2 mandats portant sur un montant indicatif d’actifs d’EUR 112 500 000 chacun et 1 mandat de réserve. Le lot nº 3 porte sur la gestion active d’un portefeuille d’actions zone monde libellé en EUR. Indice de référence: MSCI World Total Return (net) exprimé en USD et converti en EUR. 2 mandats: 1 mandat portant sur un montant indicatif d’actifs d’EUR 400 000 000 et 1 mandat de réserve.

Groupama vient de vendre, sur le marché, et dans la discrétion, un bloc important de dettes souveraines, comprenant des obligations étrangères mais aussi françaises, affirme Le Monde daté de mercredi. Cette cession vise à rassurer au plus vite l’Autorité de contrôle prudentielle (ACP) et les agences de notation, très attentives au sujet, alors que Groupama est particulièrement exposé aux obligations d’Etats du sud de l’Europe, précise le journal du soir, qui ajoute qu'à fin juin, Groupama détenait pour 2,9 milliards d’euros en obligations des Etats grec, italien, espagnol, irlandais et portugais. Selon Le Monde, le nouveau directeur général de l’assureur Thierry Martel prépare un plan de redressement drastique qui pourrait être prêt d’ici trois semaines et devrait notamment comporter des cessions d’actifs et de filiales non stratégiques. Les syndicats ont exprimant leurs craintes, la CFE-CGC sollicitant un entretien au plus vite avec le ministre de l’Economie François Baroin. La Fédération de l’assurance CFE-CGC a interpellé le gouvernement sur la situation périlleuse dans laquelle se trouve le groupe Groupama, dont la solvabilité semble s'être dégradée subitement, à la veille d’un comité de groupe qui doit se tenir mercredi.

Luxembourg-based Nestor Investment Management has announced that Anna Ho of OP Calypso Capital Ltd will manage the new equities fund Nestor China, launched on 1 August, which focuses on Chinese small and midcaps. The product has been licensed for sale in Austria and Germany since 11 November.Ho, who for several years has been also manager of the Nestor Fernost fund, will select growth shares on the basis of predetermined themes, including long-term trends such as increase in consumer spending, demand for education, increases in health spending due to an ageing population, and the increasing reach of environmental protection directives by the Beijing government.The portfolio will include 30 to 40 positions. For small caps, the manager has defined criteria which aim to guarantee the liquidity of the overfall portfolio at all times.CharacteristicsName: Nestor China FondsISIN code: LU0656651824Front-end fee: maximum 3%Administrative commission: 1.40%Manager’s commission: 0.45%Depository banking commission: 0.10%

The PTR total return range from Pictet (Corto, Mandarin, Kosmos) has now gained a new product (Sicav part I), entitled Banyan (after the tree of wisdom under which Buddha awakened), focused on Asia ex Japan. The long/short product is managed in London by Nidhi Mahurkar, with the assistance of Anthony Cheung, a specialist in Greater China who has recently joined Gartmore, and Olivier Doleires for the risk management portion.The new UCITS-compliant fund with weekly liquidity was launched on 2 November, and began with assets of USD180m, because it was born out of the transformation of a Luxembourg specialised investment fund (SIF) which was created for a Middle Eastern sovereign fund and which will now be made available to institutional and retail investors (there is not yet a sales license for France).The original FIS fund generated annual returns of 16.8% from its launch un July 2002, compared with 12.8% for the MSCI Emerging Asia. The portfolio may include 50 to 90 positions; it currently includes 60 positions, of which 35 are long and 25 are short, and gross exposure totals 130% to 135%, and a net 40% to 90%. A very strict liquidity overlay allows for 95% of the portfolio to be liquidated in less than one day. On average, turnover comes out to 350%, while the short book’s turnover is larger than the long one’s.Mahurkar says that it is a bottom-up, stock-picking approach focused on large and midcaps, and that managers are careful to avoid leverage, illiquidity and concentration. It looks for good cash flows, high profits, and solid balance sheets.CharacteristicsName: Pictet Total Return-BanyanISIN codes:LU0637929265 (I share class, EUR1m and up)LU0637929778 (P share class)Management commission1.10% (I shares)1.60% (P shares)Administrative and custody fees: 0.40%Performance commission: 20% with high watermarkHurdle rate: Libor USD 3 monthWithdrawal notice: 5 days before publication of net asset value (Friday 5 PM in Luxembourg)Shares hedged for currency risks are available in euros, pounds Sterling and Swiss francs

Via sa division européenne, le leader mondial des dérivés prévoit de lancer d’ici la fin de l’année un service de compensation de contrats dérivés OTC sur l’or, à l’image de ce qu’il propose déjà aux Etats-Unis. Le groupe ajoute qu’il compte également augmenter le volume de contrats compensés aux Etats-Unis et en Europe.

108 millions d’euros d’impôts impayés, c’est que réclame le fisc français à l’héritière de L’Oréal après la découverte de comptes occultes à l'étranger et d’une île des Seychelles achetée clandestinement. Le montant de ce redressement a été cité par une source proche du gouvernement interrogée par Reuters.