P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (Singapore GIC) obtained an additional Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) license from the Chinese authorities on 28 March, for a further USD500m, Asian Investor reports. GIC now has USD1.5bn in QFII quotas, making it now the fifth-largest asset management firm by this measure.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The sovereign fund Singapore GIC will be providing seed capital for the macro fund which the former chief investment officer (CIO) of GIC, Ng Kok Song, is planning to launch during the year, the SWF Institute reports. The sovereign fund has already assisted former heads to found their own alternative management firms several times. Song has left his position as CIO, but remains as an adviser to the sovereign fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Oddo Asset Management has received a final sentence which will require it to pay back all the money invested by a professional client in the fund Oddo Cash Arbitrage, for fraudulent presentation of the composition of the fund, and the transfer into the fund of assets invested in sub-prime, Agefi Actifs reports in its 31 March edition. The fund was liquidated in early July 2007, following the liquidity crisis on the financial markets. The fund was split into two distinct parts, one of which with immediate liquidity, and one with long liquidity, while invetors who did not specify a choice saw their assets immediately transferred to the immediate liquidity fund, which had a significant risk of loss. In this case, a professional client who never replied lost 53% of his investment. The appeals court noted that “information materials provided to shareholders in the Oddo Cash Arbitrages fund, whether or not they were institutional, included real distortions of information of a nature to erroneously induce risk errors in the investment made, and the firm Oddo & Compagnie, and consequently its affiliate Oddo Asset Management, knew already in early March 2007 of the increased securitisation risks presented by products related to the US real estate market, at the point of deciding between 5 March and 5 July 2007, to transfer them from its traditional money market fund (FCP Premium Oddo Cash) to its dynamic money market funds, including the FCP Oddo Cash Arbitrages, against the interests of shareholders in these funds.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The current head of treasury at Julius Baer, Jean-François Alarie, has decided to leave the firm, according to an internal memo which finews has obtained. This is an unexpected departure, which will take effect from July 2014. Alarie had served in the position since February 2011. His successor has not yet been appointed.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swedish asset management firm Odin has merged the Odin Europa SMB fund (SEK2.7bn) into the Odin Europa fund (SEK1.7bn), Fondbranschen reports. The two funds are managed by Alexandra Morris.

Source on March 31 announced the launch of the Source Russell Europe SMID 300 UCITS ETF. The fund provides exposure to the Russell Europe SMID 300 Net TR index («SMID»), which is designed to offer liquid exposure to Europe’s small- and mid-cap equity markets. The ETF offers access to a segment of the market which is gaining increasing investor interest; there are currently EUR 9 billion assets in the ETF small and mid-cap space in Europe, up from EUR 1.8 billion in 2012.The index contains 300 highly liquid constituents. Constituents are selected from the Russell Global Index comprised of approximately 10 000 stocks. This is reduced to European small and mid-cap stocks, defined as those companies falling between the 75th and 95th percentile by market capitalisation of the Russell Global Index. Stocks with an average daily trading volume lower than EUR 2million are then excluded. The remaining eligible stocks are ranked by ‘speed to trade’ defined as those with the lowest free float market capitalisation relative to their average daily trading volume. The 300 highest-ranked stocks are selected and then weighted by free float-adjusted market capitalisation. The index is reviewed and rebalanced annually.This approach allows for both higher investment capacity and the inclusion of stocks from across the capitalisation range, without compromising liquidity. Russell Europe SMID 300 Net TR index comprises stocks like Baratt Developments Plc, easyJet Plc and Hargreaves Lansdown Plc.In 2013, small and midcap out performed large cap across developed markets. In Europe, the Russell Europe SMID 300 Net TR index outperformed the Euro Stoxx 50 TR index by 7.50%and in the US, the Russell 2000 index, outperformed the S&P 500 TR index by 6.70% over the year.According to the Morningstar fund database, when SMID is compared to other active and index fund peers, SMID performed strongly over a 5 year period vs. both small and mid-cap funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Old Mutual Global Innvestors (Old Mutual GI) has recruited Michael Sullivan from Investec Asset Management as fixed income specialist, Fundweb reports. Sullivan will be responsible for product promotion and investment views for fixed income at the asset management firm. The team, led by Steward Cowley and Christine Johnson, manages about GBP2bn in assets. Before joining Old Mutual GI, Sullivan worked for 20 years as a fixed income product specialist and portfolio manager.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Hervé Hanoune, head of global aggregate management since July 2008 at Amundi in London, left his position on Friday, 28 March, a spokesperson from the asset management firm has told Newsmanagers, confirming reports in Citywire. Hanoune, who joined Crédit Agricole Asset Management, which later became Amundi, in 1999, and spent most of his career at the French group. Laurent Crosnier, currently chief investment officer at Amundi London, will take over the role previously occupied by Hanoune.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Carlo Roncalli has left Janus Capital International, where he had been director of sales in the Italian sales team since April 2012, Bluerating has learned. The former employee of JPMorgan Asset Management has decided to take a sabbatical leave.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Dai-ichi Life is opening new horizons. The Japanese insurer has obtained permission from the local regulator to open an asset management division in Vietnam, entitled Dai-ichi Life Vietnam Fund Management, Asia Asset Management reports. The new structure will aim to provide asset management to the local insurer of the Japanese group, Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Company of Vietnam. The newly-founded asset management firm has USD1.6m in seed capital (JPY120m), and a team of 10 people placed under the responsibility of Takashi Fiju, chairman of Dai-Ichi Life Insurance of Vietnam, who oversees the new entity.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stéphane Vidal has been promoted to CEO of the Primonial group from 31 March 2014, it was reported the same day. Since 2012, Vidal had served as deputy CEO of the French asset management firm, in charge of development. Before joining the group, Vidal took over as CEO of Iselection, an affiliate of the Nexity group, in 2008.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Brazilian asset management firm Victoire Brasil Investimentos has received approval from the regulator to launch an asset management activity in Hong Kong, Asian Investor reports. The new entity, Victoire Asia Investments, is directed by Aquico Wen. Wen has recruited two people to provide development at the affiliate. Young Chow has been appointed as a senior analyst, while Josephine Lam takes over as head of operations. Both previously worked with Wen at Legg Mason. Another investment specialist is expected to join the firm soon, but Victoire Asia Investments refused to disclose its identity, the Asian website adds. Victoire Asia Investments is 50% controlled by the team members based in Hong Kong and 50% by Victoire Brasil Investimentos. Victoire Asia Investments targets professional investors with a strategy that aims to invest in undervalued small and mid-sized businesses (SMB) with an exposure to growth in South-East Asia. Unsurprisingly, Victoire Asia Investments will target fast-growing economies in the region, such as China, India, the Asean region and “frontier” markets. So far, the firm invests primarily in China, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Banco Caminos is continuing its shopping spree. One week afer acquiring Bancofar (see Newsmanagers of 26 March), the Spanish bank has signed an agreement to acquire 75.53% of capital in the asset management firm Arcogest, which has EUR40m in assets under management or advised, Funds People reports. As a result of the operation, Banco Caminos gives a new dimension to his asset management and capital markets business, which now has USD800m in assets advised or managed.

Amundi announced on March 31 the acquisition of the fixed income business of KAF Fund Management through Amundi Malaysia, its wholly owned subsidiary in Kuala Lumpur. The Kuala Lumpur based-KAF Fund Management, a subsidiary of the KAF Group, with more than USD1.2 billion in assets under management is an institutional fixed income specialist as well as a retail fund manager. «The purchase of the expertise and investment capabilities in fixed income will significantly strengthen Amundi’s range of product offerings and its positioning as a leading foreign asset manager in Malaysia,» according to a press release. Following the acquisition, Amundi Malaysia will be managing more than USD4.3 billion of assets and become the top foreign asset management firm in the country. “The acquisition of KAF Fund Management’s fixed income business is further evidence of Amundi’s commitment to Malaysia and Southeast Asia. It will enhance the range and the quality of our fixed income offerings to our clients globally,” said Pascal Blanqué, deputy chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Amundi.Following the acquisition, Roslina Abdul Rahman, managing director of Amundi Malaysia, will take on the role of managing director of the enlarged company. Roslina Abdul Rahman reports to Jenny Sofian, chief executive officer of Amundi in Southeast Asia and Australia. Thariq Ahmad, former chief executive officer of KAF Fund Management, will become senior advisor and head of fixed income strategies of Amundi Malaysia.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock, Henderson Global Investors, Aberdeen Asset Management and Axa Wealth have teamed up with an investment consulting firm, Redington, to help to provide financial education to students at British schools, Financial Times fund management reports. In the United Kingdom, financial education will be introduced as part of the national programme from September, for children from 11 years of age and up. Paul Cribb, director of BlackRock, explains that as part of the agreement, the asset management firm provides offices, food and arranges for employees to be available to help teach subjects such as savings, borrowing, retirement, debt, and the functioning of stocks and bonds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British financial solutions firm River & Mercantile at the end of March announced the appointment of Paul Bradshaw as chairman. From his 40-year career, Bradshaw is largely known as the founder, managing director and chairman of Skandia Life. During his professional career, he has also served as CEO of Abbey Insurance (now Santander) and non-executive director for Sanlam in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The appointment comes at a time when the merger between River & Mercantile and P-Solve had recently been finalised.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } HSBC Global Asset Management has recruited five people for its equity product team, Fund Web reports. Nacho Font joins from DIAM International to represent the smart beta range from the asset management firm to internal and external clients. Stephen Tong will be made responsible for global equities. He joins from Vontobel AM. Lastly, Emmanuelle Harboun and Yasmina Slimani have joined the British equity team, and Apiramy Jeyarajah has occupied the newly-created position of senior head of product development to develop the passive product range.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Hargreaves Lansdown has decided to set up an equity research team, according to Investment Week. The new team may offer clients of Hargreaves analyst ratings for equities, as well as the perspective of the firm. For the first time in its history, Hargreaves will publish buy/sell recommendations for British equities. The new team, which will be based in Bristol, will be managed by a new head of equity research, who is in the process of being recruited. The new unit comes as an addition to the “execution-only” brokerage activity at Hargreaves, which has progressed strongly in the past few months, due to a growing number of clients and IPOs for top firms such as Royal Mail and Direct Line. Assets under management or administration at Hargreaves Lansdown totalled GBP43.4bn as of the end of 2013, including GBP40.9bn for the Vintage platform.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } At the end of June, Schroders will be soft-closing its US equity long/short fund, after a strong acceleration in inflows, Citywire Global reports. The Schroder GAIA Sirios US Equity fund is managed by John Brennan, from the Boston-based boutique Sirios.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Alquity is entering the British retail market. The asset management firm, specialised in ethical investment, has launched three new funds in the United Kingdom via different platforms, FTAdviser reports. For three years, the firm has managed a fund dedicated to African equities, largely supported by Asian and South American investors. Alquity will now invest in the United Kingdom with these new products, launched on 2 April and manage by Mike Sell, formerly of F&C Investments, and Roberto Lampl, former head of emerging market equities at Barings. Sell will be responsible for the Indian Subcontinent and Alquity Asia funds, while Lampl will manage the Alquity Latin America fund. The three funds are products which comply with UCITS regulations and are domiciled in Luxembourg, the British website days. They will be available on several distribution platforms, including Skandia, Cofunds, Transact and Axa Elevate.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom is planning to examine pay scales and bonus clawbacks for all regulated companies, including the 2,100 fund management firms supervised by the authority, Financial Times fund management reports. As a result, employees of asset management firms who have behaved reprehensibly are at risk of having to pay back their bonuses years after they earned them. Speialists in the sector think that asset management firms will be subject to the same rules as banks, for which the Bank of England has proposed restitution of bonuses up to six years later in cases of misconduct, shortfalls in risk management or heavy financial losses.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British asset management industry is continuing to advance. As of the end of February 2014, the sector has a total of GBP783bn in assets under management, up 10.3% compared with the end of February 2013, according to figures released on 31 March by the professional association, the Investment Management Association (IMA). This growth has been driven by net inflows totalling nearly GBP2.7bn. This performance is due to the retail credit market, which for the eleventh consecutive month, has posted net subscriptions of over GBP1bn, with GBP1.8bn in February 2014, compared with GBP1.4bn in February 2013. Net inflows to institutionals also stay into positive territory, though down year on year, to GBP921m in February 2014, compared with GBP1.7bn in February 2013. However, the institutional segment did far better than in January, in which month the outflows totalled GBP911m. In terms of asset classes, equity funds are continuing to find favour with retail investors, with a net inflow of GBP681m in February. This puts them ahead of multi-asset classes, with GBP330m in net inflows, and property, with GBP298m in net subscriptions. Lastly, fixed income has posted net inflows of GBP179m (after outflows of GBP229m in January), the best net sales since May 2013.

Le fournisseur d’ETF Source a annoncé le 31 mars le lancement de l’ETF Source Russell Europe SMID 300 UCITS. Ce fonds permet de s’exposer à l’indice Russell Europe SMID 300 Net TR («SMID»), qui vise à offrir une exposition liquide au marché européen des actions de petites et moyennes capitalisations. L’ETF permet ainsi d’accéder à un segment du marché qui retient de plus en plus l’intérêt des investisseurs, les ETF européens investis en petites et moyennes valeurs représentant 9 milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion à fin février 2014, contre seulement 1,8 milliard d’euros fin 2012. L’indice de référence contient 300 actions très liquides. Les actions sont sélectionnées au sein de l’indice Russell Global Index, qui comprend environ 10 000 titres. Ensuite, les petites et moyennes valeurs européennes sont elles mêmes sélectionnées, correspondant aux entreprises classées entre le 75e et 95e centile en termes de capitalisation boursière dans l’indice Russell Global Index. Les actions avec un volume d’échange moyen quotidien inférieur à 2 millions d’euros sont ensuite exclues. Les titres restants sont finalement triés par «rapidité d’échange» afin de sélectionner les titres ayant la capitalisation boursière ajustée du flottant la plus faible comparé au volume d’échange quotidien moyen. Enfin, les 300 titres les mieux classés sont pondérés par la capitalisation boursière. L’indice est revu et rebalancé tous les ans. Cette approche permet à la fois de maximiser la capacité d’investissement et d’inclure des actions couvrant l’ensemble de l’univers en matière de capitalisations, sans compromettre la liquidité. L’indice Russell Europe SMID 300 Net TR comprend des sociétés telles que Ingenico, Arkema ou Bourbon. En 2013, les petites et moyennes valeurs européennes ont mieux performé que les grandes capitalisations des pays développés. En Europe, l’indice Russell Europe SMID 300 Net TR a surperformé l’indice Euro Stoxx 50 TR de 7,50% et aux Etats-Unis, l’indice Russell 2000 a surperformé l’indice S&P 500 TR de 6,70% sur l’année 2013. Selon la base de données Morningstar, comparé aux fonds actifs et fonds indiciels concurrents, l’indice SMID a largement surperformé les fonds small et mid-caps sur une période de 5 ans. Principales caractéristiques Nom du produit : Source Russell Europe SMID 300 UCITS ETF Code ISIN : IE00BJVD4K83 Devise de référence/cotation : euro/euro Code Bloomberg : SMLM GR Code Reuters SMLM.DE Frais de gestion : 0,35% Place de cotation : Xetra Domiciliation : Irlande

Mutuactivos, la société de gestion de l’assureur espagnol Mutua Madrileña, a enregistré une croissance de 27,8 % de ses actifs sous gestion en 2013 pour atteindre 3,41 milliard d’euros, rapporte Cotizalia. Les encours gérés pour compte de tiers ressortent à 1,958 milliard d’euros fin 2013, soit une progression de 18 % sur un an.

Le gestionnaire brésilien Victoire Brasil Investimentos vient de recevoir le feu vert du régulateur de Hong Kong pour y lancer son activité de gestion d’actifs, rapporte Asian Investor. Baptisée Victoire Asia Investments, la nouvelle entité est dirigée par Aquico Wen. Ce dernier a recruté deux personnes pour assurer le développement de cette filiale. Ainsi, Young Chow a été nommé au poste d’analyste senior tandis que Josephine Lam prend le rôle de responsable des opérations. Tous les deux travaillaient précédemment avec Aquico Wen chez Legg Mason. Un autre spécialiste des investissements doit prochainement rejoindre la société mais Victoire Asia Investments a refusé de divulguer son identité, indique le site d’information asiatique. Victoire Asia Investments est détenue à 50 % par les membres de l’équipe basée à Hong Kong et à 50 % par Victoire Brasil Investimentos.Victoire Asia Investments cible les investisseurs professionnels avec une stratégie visant à investir dans des petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) sous-évaluées et ayant une exposition à la croissance en Asie du Sud-Est. Le gestionnaire d’actifs se concentre en particulier sur 10 à 20 entreprises asiatiques dont la capitalisation boursière est comprise entre 500.000 dollars et 3 milliards de dollars. Sans surprise, Victoire Asia Investments va cibler les économies à forte croissance de la région, à savoir la Chine, l’Inde, la zone Asean et les marchés dits «frontières». A ce jour, la société investit principalement en Chine, Inde, Indonésie, Philippines et Thaïlande.

La société de gestion Crediges, filiale du groupe Laboral Kutxa, a informé le régulateur espagnol, la CNMV, qu’elle allait procéder à la liquidation d’un des cinq fonds dont elle assure toujours la gestion, à savoir le fonds IK Premium Gestión Activa, rapporte Funds People. Ce véhicule affiche très modestement 100.000 euros d’encours, selon les données à fin février de l’association espagnole de la gestion, Inverco. Les quatre autres fonds gérés par Crediges totalisent, quant à eux, un peu plus de 36 millions d’euros d’actifs sous gestion.

Banco Caminos poursuit ses emplettes. Une semaine après le rachat de Bancofar (lire NewsManagers du 26 mars), la banque espagnole a conclu un accord portant sur l’acquisition de 75,53 % du capital de la société de gestion Arcogest qui affiche 40 millions d’euros d’actifs gérés ou conseillés, rapporte Funds People.Grâce à cette opération, Banco Caminos donne une nouvelle envergure à son activité de gestion et de marchés des capitaux qui, désormais, atteint 800 millions d’euros d’actifs conseillés ou gérés.

Groupama Asset Management enrichit son offre sur le marché espagnol. La société de gestion française a en effet décidé de mettre à disposition des investisseurs espagnols son fonds actions européen, G-Fund Total Return All Cap Europe, qui a été enregistré en tant que compartiment de sa sicav luxembourgeoise G Fund, révèle Funds People.

Rothschild HDF Investment Solutions a récemment remporté un mandat dédié en multigestion alternative auprès d’un institutionnel français soumis aux contraintes de Solvabilité II. «De l’ordre de 20 millions d’euros», a indiqué Marc Romano, le directeur général de la société, lundi 31 mars. Par ailleurs, plus de 300 millions de dollars ont été souscrits par des investisseurs, institutionnels et banques privées, français et étrangers, sur le premier compartiment, R Parus, de la sicav de droit irlandais, InRIS UCITS PLC, de Rothschild HDF IS lancée à la mi-mars. Cette dernière est gérée par Innocap Investment Management Inc, dont la vocation est d’abriter des fonds UCITS mono-gérants, sur des stratégies jusqu’à maintenant inaccessibles sous ce format. Enfin, Marc Romano a annoncé actuellement recruter afin de renforcer son dispositif à l’international, en particulier à Londres, aux Etats-Unis et en Asie.

Amundi renforce son expertise et sa présence en Asie du Sud-Est. La société de gestion française a en effet annoncé, le 31 mars, l’acquisition en Malaisie de l’activité de «fixed income» de KAF Fund Management via sa filiale locale Amundi Malaysia. KAF Fund Management, filiale du groupe bancaire KAF, gère plus de 1,2 milliard de dollars d’actifs en tant que spécialiste du «fixed income» pour les investisseurs institutionnels et gérant de fonds pour les particuliers. Le montant de l’opération n’a pas été dévoilé. En mettant ainsi la main sur l’expertise et les capacités d’investissement de KAF Fund Management dans le «fixed income», Amundi Malaysia va «renforcer significativement son offre produits et son positionnement en tant que gestionnaire d’actifs étranger leader en Malaisie», estime le groupe français dans un communiqué. L’opération permet en effet à Amundi Malaysia de porter ses actifs sous gestion à plus de 4,3 milliards de dollars, devenant ainsi la plus grande société de gestion étrangère en Malaisie. Pour Pascal Blanqué, directeur général délégué et directeur des investissements d’Amundi, cité dans un communiqué, «cette acquisition démontre l’engagement d’Amundi en Malaisie et dans l’Asie du Sud-Est», tout en lui permettant «d’améliorer la gamme et la qualité de nos produits fixed income pour l’ensemble de nos clients dans le monde». Dans le cadre de cette transaction, Roslina Abdul Rahman, actuel managing director d’Amundi Malaysia, est promu patron de la nouvelle entité ainsi constituée. Roslina Abdul Rahman est rattaché à Jenny Sofian, directeur général d’Amundi pour l’Asie du Sud-Est et l’Australie. En parallèle, Thariq Ahmad, ancien directeur général de KAF Fund Management, deviendra senior advisor et responsable des stratégies fixed income d’Amundi Malaysia.