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01/09/2010

Carmen Cires transferred from Madrid to Zurich by Vontobel AM

Carmen Cires, who for the past two and a half years has served as head of institutional clients for the Iberian peninsula at Vontobel Asset Management, has been appointed a product specialist and portfolio analyst for commodities products at the Swiss asset management firm, Funds People reports. Cires moves from Madrid to Zurich from 1 September.
01/09/2010

Bill Miller bets on US large caps

According to Bill Miller, chairman and chief investment officer at Legg Mason Capital Management, who is writing an article in the Financial Times, «US large capitalisation stocks represent a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to buy the best quality companies in the world at bargain prices». The last time they were this cheap relative to bonds was 1951, he recalls.
01/09/2010

CalPERS board member resigns

The California pension fund CalPERS on 31 August announced the resignation of a member of its board, Kurato Shimada, for personal reasons.
01/09/2010

J.P. Morgan to shut down all prop desks

The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to sources familiar with the matter, J.P. Morgan Chase has notified 20 traders at its commodities trading desk in London that they will be laid off. Following the passage of the Dodd-Frank law and the Volcker rule, which place limits on speculative proprietary trading by banks, J.P. Morgan has decided to discontinue all activities of this type.
01/09/2010

New director at Rothschild Patrimoine

Xavier de Laforcade has been appointed, from today, 1 September, as director and head of financial management at Rothschild Patrimoine, the private management arm of Rothschild Cie Gestion. De Laforcade, 36, had since 2005 been head of the “Major Client” mandated management unit and portfolio manager for “Major Clients Private Clientele” at Neuflize OBC Investment (ABN Amro).
01/09/2010

Oddo & Cie boosts assets to EUR21bn with acquisition

The acquisition announced on Tuesday of the Banque d’Orsay by Oddo & Cie will be completed by the end of the year. The operation, for an amount which will be slightly less than the total amount of owners’ equity at the WestLB affiliate – EUR112m – will initially result in a merger of the two banks, and then a merger of Oddo Asset Management and Orsay Asset Management. With EUR2.5bn in assets under management and 100 employees at the Banque d/Orsay, Oddo & Cie will now represent a group with EUR21bn in assets, and nearly 900 employees. Oddo says that it is planning to retain all employees at the acquisition target firm. In terms of product ranges, a working group will be created to consider future direction. Banque d’Orsay has 40 mutual funds, and Oddo has 120 investment vehicles. The acquisition will aim in particular to extend the group’s product offerings, an Oddo spokesman says. It gives the firm an opportunity to develop in alternative management. The operation will also bring Oddo above its objectives in terms of inflows. Last year, the group posted net subscriptions of EUR600m, and it was seeking to double that total this year. In first half, EUR800m had already flowed in, of which EUR200m were from international clients.
01/09/2010

VP Bank, losing momentum, restructures

VP Bank has announced group-wide profits for first half of CHF16.1m, down 40% from first half 2009. Profits to be paid out to shareholders are down to CHF14.5m, compared with CHF25m previously. The Liechtenstein business has reported net outflows in first half of CHF300m, compared with CHF1bn one year earlier, meaning that the negative trend observed last year has not quite reversed itself, even though in international wealth management activities, the bank posted net inflows of CHF100m. Assets under management totalled CHF28.4bn as of 30 June, compared with CHF29.5bn as of 31 December 2009. In this difficult context, the bank has already responded with a cost reduction program. But due to the “profound” reversals on the market, the bank has decided to take on a new, lighter structure. From 1 September 2010, Group Executive Management will include only three members, down from five previously: Roger Hartmann, CEO, as chairman; Fredy Vogt, CFO, as head of the Corporate Center, and Jürg Sturzenegger as head of service units in the new Wealth Management Solutions & Services unit. Ernst Näf and Gerhard Häring, who were members of the executive board, will be leaving the VP Bank group. The firm is also planning to launch growth initiatives throughout the group. The heads are planning to extend the client base in key markets (in addition to Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Germany), and in emerging markets. The teams of advisors in Singapore and Zurich will be added to as planned, and will focus largely on Asia and central and eastern Europe. Expertise in international tax law will also be developed.
01/09/2010

Peter Lindgren joins Amundi

Peter Lindgren joined Amundi as deputy general manager for the Nordic region in July, according to IPE.com. He is based in Helsinki. Most recently, he served as managing director of alternative sales at Credit Suisse Asset Management.
01/09/2010

Marlborough takes over British activities of SLFC

Investment Week reports that the British management firm Marlborough has added to its range of funds with the acquisition of the UK division of Sun Life Financial of Canada (SLFC). The acquisition of SLFC Investment Managers UK brings five new funds to Marlborough, giving it a range of 24 funds and total assets under management of over GBP1bn. The funds which will be taken over by Marlborough are the Marlborough Cash trust and the Income & Growth trust, managed internally, the Emerging Markets trust, managed by Ignis, the European trust, managed by Mirabaud, and the North American trust, managed by Emerson Capital Partners.
01/09/2010

Scipion contracts Centaur to manage its funds

Scipion Capital, a specialist in Africa, has selected Centaur Fund Services as administrator for its funds, replacing BISYS, ICFA magazine reports. Nicolas Clavel, CEO of Scipion, says that the strategy of Centaur (USD1bn in assets under administration) is better suited to Scipion.
01/09/2010

Hedge funds pessimistic about S&P 500

Only 17% of hedge fund managers say they are optimistic about the evolution of the S&P 500, according to Hedgeweek, based on the most recent Trim Tabs/BarclayHedge survey. About 47% of the 104 hedge fund managers surveyed last week said they were pessimistic about equities, compared with 33% in July.
01/09/2010

Clariden recruits in Singapore

The private bank Clariden Leu (Credit Suisse group) has made three recruitments in Singapore, Asian Investor reports. Vincent Wang, previously of Morgan Stanley, is joining the bank as head of treasury and executions for Asia, while Liew Chin Choy, formerly of Merrill Lynch, will be responsible for middle office, and Charles Yeoh, who joins from Deutsche Bank, has been appointed senior portfolio manager.
01/09/2010

Citigroup gets its fingers burnt in the Caribbean

After four years of construction delays and budget overruns, Citigroup is selling its mortgage on the Viceroy Anguilla hotel complex to the hedge fund management firm Starwood Capital Group at a heavy loss, the Wall Street Journal reports. The debt has a face value of about USD300m, but according to Hubert Hughes, chief minister of Anguilla, Starwood is paying only USD105m for it.
01/09/2010

Aberdeen AM continues to take matters at German affiliate into its own hands

Recently, Aberdeen Immobilien KAG announced that Roger Weltz, a member of the board of directors, was to depart on 31 August (see Newsmanagers of 30 August). Now, the German real estate fund management firm has announced that the position of global head of research for the Aberdeen group will be centralised in London, and given to Andrew Smith, who was appointed global head of property three months ago (see Newsmanagers of 26 May). He leads a team of about 600 real estate specialists, including 15 analysts in eight European countries (three in Frankfurt), and Singapore. This means, in concrete terms, that the position of head of research for the German affiliate has been eliminated. Thomas Bayerle, who previously held this position, first at DEGI, and then at Aberdeen Immobilien after the acquisition, will be leaving the firm on 31 December. In March, Aberdeen Immobilien also parted ways with Bärbel Schomberg (see Newsmanagers of 2 March), who had been chairman of the executive board, and who was replaced by Michael Determann. The new strong-man of the Aberdeen group for Germany is CEO Hartmut Leser, formerly of Feri Institutional Management. Leser is also a member of the board of directors at Aberdeen Immobilien. Total assets at the Aberdeen group are over EUR200bn, of which about EUR25bn are in real estate funds.
01/09/2010

DZ Privatbank opens first branches

The group of German co-operative banks on Tuesday opened the first German branches of DZ Privatbank in Hanover, Munich and Stuttgart on Tuesday. The institution will, as its name indicates, offer private banking services. It is an affiliate of DZ Bank, the central banking institution for about 1000 co-operative and savings banks (Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken). DZ Privatbank also has locations in Luxembourg, Zurich, and Singapore. The firm aims to eventually have about 200 client advisors in Germany.
01/09/2010

versiko to buy back shares controlled by BNP Paribas IP

The German “green” financial services company versiko on Tuesday announced profits of EUR1.5m in first half, compared with EUR0.46m in January-June 2009. It has also announced that its partnership with BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) will conclude on 31 December. versiko is planning to buy up, and subsequently cancel (at least partly) the ordinary and preferential shares controlled by BNPP IP (which had been acquired by Fortis Investments in 2005), representing 25.12% of its capital. The transaction will be proposed at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on 5 October 2010. The acquisition will be at a price not to exceed EUR3.03 per ordinary share and EUR3.23 per type B preferential share; capital will then be reduced. In Luxembourg, versiko controls the asset management firm Ökoworld Lux, which offers exclusively sustainable development investment products.
01/09/2010

Clashes in Hauck & Aufhäuser boardroom

Sources familiar with the matter say that Volker van Rüth, managing partner at the private bank Hauck & Aufhäuser (EUR20bn in assets) is about to resign, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. He is said to be considering the move due to disagreements with the other managing partner, Michael Schramm, who joined H&A from Berenberg in May 2006.
01/09/2010

BNY Mellon creates two positions for directors of broker-dealer activities

On Tuesday, BNY Mellon Broker-Dealer Services announced the appointment of John Vinci as head of global product management and strategy, and Andrew Demko as business manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Both are newly-created positions, and the new appointees will both report to James Malgieri, CEO of BNY Mellon Broker-Dealer Services. Vinci was previously head of relationship management group in New York, while Demko was head of global sales, a position which he will retain despite his transfer to London.
01/09/2010

Olympia CM takes over management of hedge funds from Sal. Oppenheim (France)

The independent alternative management firm Olympia Capital Management announced on 31 August that it is taking over management of hedge funds from Sal. Oppenheim (France), including the Altipro range of French-registered FCP funds. The operation was approved by the AMF on 23 August 2010. The chairman of the Olympia group, Laurent Dupeyron, says “this operation contributes to the development strategy of the group, and will enrich our alternative management range. We are glad to be able to integrate these four French-registered funds, among other assets, into our range at a time when our clients are demanding more transparency and regulation. We are also proud to have been chosen as the best candidate to manage these funds in the best interest of clients. We will continue to explore consolidation opportunities of this type when they appear.” As of 30 June this year, assets under management at Olympia Capital Management totalled USD2.2bn.
01/09/2010

Carmignac to enter UK market

Carmignac Gestion is planning to enter the UK market next year, writes Financial News. The French asset manager will target the retail market via financial advisers.
01/09/2010

Gartmore nomme l'ex-CEO d’Axa Framlington

Le conseil d’administration de la société de gestion britannique Gartmore vient de nommer Robert Kyprianou en tant qu’administrateur indépendant non exécutif, avec effet le 1er septembre. L’intéressé était précédemment CEO d’Axa Framlington jusqu’à son départ à la retraite en septembre 2009. Il avait aussi occupé des postes importants chez Axa Investment Managers et ABN Amro.
01/09/2010

Gartmore appoints former Axa Framlington CEO

The Board of Gartmore Group Limited has announced the appointment of Robert Kyprianou as an independent non-executive director with effect from 1st September 2010. Robert Kyprianou was formerly the CEO of AXA Framlington until his retirement in September 2009. Previous appointments include global head of fixed income, and later deputy CEO and global head of securities at AXA Investment Managers; business head and global head of fixed income at ABN AMRO Asset Management between 1995 and 1999; and director and head of portfolio management at Salomon Brothers Asset Management Ltd between 1990 and 1994.
01/09/2010

Schroders recruits a head from BlackRock

After 11 years at Barclays Global Investors (BGI), and then at BlackRock as managing director for scientific active equities, Mark Brandreth in early August joined Schroders as co-head of research in the global equities team in the quantitative equity products (QEP) division, which his new employer considers a key growth area, with over GBP10bn in assets under management. Brandreth will be based in London, and will work closely with David Philpotts, co-head of research, based in Sydney, and will report to Justin Abercrombie, head of quantitative equity products.
01/09/2010

Fidelity launches a UK equities fund

Investment Week reports that Fidelity International will launch a UK equities fund, which will aim to never fall below 80% of its highest reevaluated net asset value level. The Fidelity Equity Growth Defender Fund, which will be unveiled on 13 September, uses a combination of equities and cash to actively protect capital and provide consistent returns throughout the cycle. The equities in the portfolio will be selected by James Griffin, manager of the Fidelity MoneyBuilder Growth and Fidelity Growth & Income funds. Asset allocation will be undertaken by Stephen Fulford.
01/09/2010

SIG selects Henderson for UK Strategic Best Ideas fund

Skandia Investment Group (SIG) has selected Henderson Global Investors to manage a mandate within its UK Strategic Best Ideas Fund, a long / short equity multi-manager fund. The long / short UK equity mandate will be managed by Paul Casson replacing Neil Pegrum who managed the mandate before his departure from Cazenove.
01/09/2010

Neptune launches an Africa fund

Neptune Investment Management on Tuesday launched an Africa fund, which will be managed by Shelley Kuhn in South Africa. Kuhn was previously manager of the India and Asia Pacific Opportunities funds, before taking a seven-month sabbatical to visit Africa, Investment Week reports. The new equities fund will have a portfolio of 30 to 50 positions, and will invest in South African shares in a proportion which may vary from 50% to 100%, due to liquidity considerations. At launch, the fund will also invest in Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya, Fund Strategy reports.
01/09/2010

Légère progression de la collecte nette pour le suisse Valartis

Le groupe suisse Valartis (banque privée, asset management et banque d’investissement) a annoncé le 31 août un bénéfice net de 7 millions de francs suisses au titre du premier semestre contre 45,5 millions de francs au premier semestre 2009.Les actifs sous gestion s’inscrivaient à 6,46 milliards de francs suisses au 30 juin contre 6,37 milliards à fin décembre 2009. La collecte nette du semestre s’est élevée à 202 millions de francs suisses. Valartis prévoit des afflux de fonds supplémentaires dans les prochains mois en raison du recrutement de nouveaux chargés de clientèle en Autriche, au Liechstenstein et en Suisse.
01/09/2010

Vontobel: CEO Herbert Scheidt to become chairman

The board of directors at Vontobel will propose to its general shareholders’ meeting on 3 May 2011 to elect CEO Herbert J. Scheidt, 58, as successor to Urs Widmer as chairman of the board of directors of Bank Vontobel AG. Widmer will be completing his term, and will be above the age limit defined by internal company regulations. The new CEO will be named by the board of directors in spring next year. Shares with voting privileges in Vontobel Holding are listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SIX); the Vontobel family and the Vontobel foundation control the majority of shares and voting rights. As of the end of June 2010, assets at Vontobel totalled about CHF116bn.

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