Raffaele Costa, un ancien dirigeant de GLG Partners devenu vice-responsable des ventes et du marketing à l’échelle mondiale de Man Group, va quitter la société à la fin de l’année, selon les informations de Financial News. Il devrait rester conseiller senior.

Au bout de quatre ans, le régulateur chinois, la CSRC, a donné son agrément à une 68ème société de gestion de fonds dans le pays, Sinolink & General FMC.Le nouvel arrivant sur le marché est contrôlé à 49 % par Sinolink Securities, à 21 % par China General Technology Group et à 15 % chacun par China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park et Baoxin Energy, rapporte Z-Ben Advisors.

State Street Corporation annonce avoir été sélectionné par le fonds de pension néerlandais Stichting Pensioenfonds SABIC Innovative Plastics pour lui fournir des services d’investissement portant sur 700 millions d’euros d’actifs. State Street devra offrir des services de conservation de titres, de comptabilité, de mesures mensuelles de la performance et de services de stratégie « overlay » pour la couverture des risques de change.

Greg Bennett a rejoint Argonaut Capital, rapporte Investment Week. Il travaillera dans l’équipe d’investissement qui gère les fonds Argonaut European Alpha, European Absolute Return, European Income et Enhanced Income. Il vient de Marlborough.

State Street Corporation has appointed Asser Makarem as vice president and head of sales for its Global Services activity in the Middle East and North Africa. Makarem will be based in Doha, Qatar, and will report to Rod Ringrow, senior vice president in charge of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Before joining State Street, Makarem was head of sales at HSBC Bank Middle East, and worked to develop the bank’s client base by strengthening its relationships with institutional investors in the region.

On 15 November, Axxion SA will launch two Luxembourg-registered ETF funds, Ad-Vanemics ETF Dachfonds -V (LU0665449400) and Ad-Vanemics ETF Dachfonds-S (LU0665450838).The funds may invest in securities, money markets and equity, bond and diversified funds, and in certificates and options, but will invest primarily in ETFs.The Ad-Vanemics ETF Dachfonds-V will carry a front-end fee of 5% and a management commission of 0.50%, as well as a distribution commission of 0.4%. There will also be an advising commission of 0.50%.The S version of the fund will charge no front-end fee, and management and advising commissions will also be 0.50%. The distribution commission will be 0.60%.In both cases, Axxion will charge a 15% commission on performance exceeding the Euribor 3-month by more than 300 basis points.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a civil investigation to determine whether the hedge fund management firm SAC Capital Advisors LP (USD14bn in assets) made inappropriate use of information from an expert network to make a large-scale investment in shares in Cougar Biotechnology ahead of the announcement of the firm’s acquisition by Johnson & Johnson on 21 May.So far, the SEC has not accused SAC Capital of wrongdoing.The Wall Street Journal reports that since June, SAC Capital has been under investigation for similar moves ahead of the acquisition of MedImmune for USD15bn in 2007.

The board of directors at Dexia voted at a meeting on 20 October to begin the process of selling some operational entities of the group, including Dexia Asset Management and Dexia Investor Services.Dexia and the Belgian government finalised the sales agreement for Dexia Banque Belgique to the Belgian federal participation and investment company (SFPI), acting on behalf of the Belgian government, under the terms and conditions of the offer made to Dexia SA on 9 October.Dexia Banque Belgique’s 49% stake in Dexia Asset Management will be transferred to the Dexia group before the transaction is completed, pending the approval of the regulatory authorities. The sale thus includes all assets and liabilities, affiliates and participates of Dexia Banque Belgique as of the date of closing, except its participation in Dexia Asset Management.

Alain Zeitouni has joined Russell Investments in Paris in October as director of multi-strategy management, according to information obtained by Newsmanagers. He had previously been director of multi-management at Barclays Wealth Management in France, since June 2006.

Global wealth management earned pre-tax profits in third quarter of USD362m, compared with USD281m in second quarter 2010. The asset management unit, for its part, finished the quarter with pre-tax losses of USD117m, compared with profits of USD279m one year earlier. Total assets under management for clients in the Global Wealth Management unit as of the end of the quarter totalled USD1.6trn, of which USD465bn were in fee-based accounts, which posted net inflows of USD10.1bn. Assets under management or supervision in the Asset Management unit as of 30 September totalled USD268bn, up from USD266bn one year earlier. The quarter brought a net outflow of USD5.8bn, compared with a net inflow of USD2.9bn one year earlier.

AR reports that Direxion Funds (Rafferty Asset Management) is planning to launch at least three new strategies resembling hedge funds, but in a mutual fund format, in 2012. The new funds will invest in managed futures, real estate equities and long/short strategies.

Lyxor AM has laid out a quality charter for its ETF products. The charter includes guidelines concerning the quality of asset management, index tracking, transparency, counterparty risk, and trading rules for primary and secondary markets.The charter goes beyond some of the requirements of the European UCITS directive, Lyxor AM states. Firstly, as Alain Dubois, chairman of the asset management firm, recently explained to Newsmanagers (see Newsmaangers of 17 October 2011), in terms of transparency, Lyxor releases key information such as assets in the fund, counterparty risk levels and the characteristics of counterparties for derivative operations, on a daily basis.The firm has also set an objective of zero daily counterparty risk for all of its ETFs, which is well below the maximum of 10% allowed under the UCITS directive. Secondly, tracking error, with an objective of less than 100 basis points (1%) at all times, is published for each ETF. All of these financial securities are held in separate accounts for the funds concerned.

For third quarter, State Street Corporation has announced profits of USD1.10 per share, up from USD1.08 per share in third quarter 2010. Compared with the previous quarter, the increase in profits per share is 10%. Assets under management of USD1.877trn represent an 11.3% decline from asset levels as of the end of June (USD2.166trn). Year on year, the decline is 4.2%, when assets are compared with levels as of second quarter 2010.

BlackRock has reported a net profit for the third quarter of its fiscal eyar of USD595m, up 8% compared with third quarter 2010, but down 4% compared with second quarter 2011, according to a statement released on 19 October. Assets under management as of the end of the quarter totalled USD3.345trn, down 3% year on year, and 9% compared with the end of second quarter, largely due to a negative market effect of USD303.9bn for all products taken together. Assets under management in equities totalled USD1.441bn, down 18%, or USD307.7bn, largely due to negative market and currency effects of USD309.5bn. Net inflows contributed USD1.8bn, reflecting net subscriptions of USD9.8bn for index-based products, which were partially offset by net redemptions of USD8bn from active management. In bonds, assets under management totalled USD1.205trn, up 2%, or USD19.4bn, due to positive market and currency effects totalling a net USD33.3bn. Net outflows of USD14bn include a redemption of USD9.1bn to a single client under short-term constraints, BlackRock states. Assets under management in multi-asset class products totalled USD215.2bn, down 7%, ro USd16.1bn, as net inflows of USD2.9bn were wiped out by currency and market effects of USD19bn.

As of 30 September, assets under management at BNY Mellon Corp totalled USd1.198trn, compared with USD1.274trn as of 30 June, and USD1.141trn one year earlier.Assets under management and administration totalled USd25.9trn, 2% less than at the end of first half, and 6% more than on 30 September 2010.The firm says that long-term net inflows totalled USD4bn in second quarter.An increase in assets under management year on year is the result of net subscriptions. However, in third quarter, long-term inflows were more than offset by the negative effects of equity marktes and outflows from short-term products.Management and performance commission revenues totalled USD729m, 6% less than in second quarter, and 5% more than in the corresponding period of 2010.

Investors appear to have come to terms with the likelihood of a Greek default on its debt, according to the most recent monthly survey by BofA Merrill Lynch of 286 firms representing USD739bn in assets under management, conducted between 7 and 13 October.More than nine out of ten respondents in the survey (92%) are convinced that Greece will not be able to avoid a default. Seven out of ten see that default happening by April 2012. Despite this impressive consensus, investors appear less concerned thatn a month ago about covereign debt risks, and less pessimistiv about global growth outlooks.The European sovereign debt crisis remains the major extreme risk in the minds of investors, but it concerns them less than the previous month, with 61% saying they are worried about it in October, compared with 68% in September.There has also been a stabilisation in growth outlooks, with fears of a global recession taking the back seat. The percentage of respondents who predict a global recession in the next twelve months has fallen to 25%, from 40% in September.“The survey shows that the investor consensus has integrated or hopes for an orderly default by Greece. But investors appear to be waiting for a green light both from Europe and emerging markets to engage their cash,” says Gary Baker, head of European equities strategy at BofA Merrill Lynch Research.Europe, which was plague-stricken last month, may not be a safe destination yet, but the negative sentiment about the region is slightly less marked. Only 7% of investors say that the euro zone is the region which they are planning to underweight most in the next twelve months, compared with 40% in September. Only 29% of allocators are underweight on euro zone equities, compared with 38% in September.Within Europe, however, investors say they are more concerned by the macroeconomic outlooks, with 37% of respondents in the regional survey predicting a recession in the next few months, compared with only 11% in September.

Raffaele Costa, a former director of GLG Partners, who subsequently became vice head of global sales and marketing at Man Group, will be leaving the firm at the end of the year, according to reports in Financial News. He will remain a senior adviser to the firm.

The Italian asset management firm Azimut will launch a venture capital fund in partnership with the German specialist Earlybird Venture Capital. The product will invest in the Italian IT sector. Azimut will create a closed fund on its Luxembourg platform, which will be aimed at qualified investors. The product will be advised by a firm that will be 60% owned by the partners at Earlybird Italia, and 40% by Azimut Holding.

Greg Bennett has joined Argonaut Capital, Investmemt Week reports. He will work in the investment team that manages the Argonaut European Alpha, European Absolute Return, European Income and Enhanced Income funds, and joins the firm from Marlborough.

State Street Corporation has announced that it has been selected by the Netherlands pension fund Stichting Pensioenfonds SABIC Innovative Plastics to provide investment services on EUR700m in assets. State Street will offer securities custody, accounting, monthly performance measurement and overlay strategy services for currency risk hedging.

After four years, the Chinese regulator, the CSRC, has issued a license to the 68th fund of fund management firm in the country, Sinolink & General FMC. The new entrant to the market is 49% owned by Sinolink Securities, 21% by China General Technology Group, and 15% each by China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Part and Baoxin Energy, Z-Ben Advisors reports.

Cornel Bruhin has left the Swiss boutique Clariden Leu, Citywire Global reports. He had been principal manager of the Clariden Leu Emerging Markets Bond fund. He will be replaced by Thomas Rutz and Dorothea Fröhlich.

European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani has appointed International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the European Federation of Financial Analyst Societies (EFFAS) to lead a new programme to build the capacity of investors to integrate social, environmental and governance (ESG) information in their investment decisions.Over a period of 18 months it will result in a comprehensive professional development programme as well as guidance on best practice in the integration of ESG information into investment decisions. The European Union will finance 50% of the total cost of programme, which is estimated at approximately €450.000. The other 50% will be financed by the main project partners. The EU funding is part of a broader programme to support the uptake of corporate social responsibility (CSR), financed under the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme.

Hedge funds have seen net redemptions of USD20.98bn in September, according to the most recent statistics from Eurekahedge. Due to the fact that they have lost 2.89% in the month, hedge funds saw a USD37bn fall in their total assets, to USD1.76trn, their lowest level since March 2011.

Redemptions from the open-ended real estate fund Immoselect (DE0009846451) from Axa IM Deutschland, which have been frozen since 17 November 2009, will not be reopened. The asset management firm has decided to liquidate the product by 20 October 2014, and to sell the 66 properties remaining in the portfolio.The fund, with EUR2.48bn in assets, managed by AXA Real Estate Investment Managers (AXA Real Estate) has only EUR238.6m in liquidity, which is insufficient to meet up to redemption demands announced by investors and distributors. The fund would have needed a liquidity level of at least 30%, rather than its present level of under 10%.The proceeds from sales of the properties will be distributed to investors semiannually, probably beginning in April 2012.

The XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform (Deutsche Börse) now lists 878 ETF funds. The two newest additions are the equities funds ComStage ETF F.A.Z. Index (LU0650624025, which charges 0.15%), and ComStage ETF MSCI Emerging Markets TRN (LU0635178014, TER of 0.50%) from ComStage (Commerzbank).These products were preceded on 17 October by two high dividend equities ETFs from State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), SPDR S&P US Dividend Aristocrats ETF (IE0B6YX5D40, with fees of 0.35%) and SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (IE00B6YX5B26, with a TER of 0.65%). Deutsche Börse has also announced that 28 new long and short ETNs from Commerzbank (list here) have been added to trading on Xetra, bringing the number of ETN products available in Frankfurt to 218.

Markus Gerhardt, who has been head of high net worth clients at BHF-Bank, has joined the German affiliate of Schroders as institutional client executive, as of 1 October. Garhardt joins the institutional distribution team at Schroder Investment Management GmbH, led by Carlos Böhles, and will focus on business clients and pension funds. Schroders Germany, which has made several recruitsments in the past few months (see Newsmanagers of 5 and 8 July and 1 August), now has a sales team of 60 people in Germany, led by Achim Küssner.

Dow Jones has released a European version of the emblematic Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) for the United States. Since the beginning of the year, the index provider has offered six European indices dedicated to dividends, and two European real estate indices. Dow Jones has also releases an Asian version of the DJIA. The indices are each composed of 30 top shares from the region. The European index includes five French, five German, nine British, four Swiss, two Spanish and two Swedish companies. The French firms are BNP Paribas, Vivendi, Vinci, Schneider Electric and Total.

A group of 285 investors representing more than USD20trn in assets under managemetn has called for urgent action on climate change issues. In a joint statement, the large investors say there is a need for immediate action to stimulate private sector investment in solutions to combat climate change, which is essential to ensure “the long-term sustainability and stability of the global economic system.”

Markus Gerhardt, who has been head of high net worth clients at BHF-Bank, has joined the German affiliate of Schroders as institutional client executive, as of 1 October. Gerhardt joins the institutional distribution team at Schroder Investment Management GmbH, led by Carlos Böhles, and will focus on business clients and pension funds. Schroders Germany, which has made several recruitments in the past few months (see Newsmanagers of 5 and 8 July and 1 August), now has a sales team of 60 people in Germany, led by Achim Küssner.