P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Muzinich & Co has recruited Federico Marzi as its new head of development for sales and marketing in Italy, Bluerating reports. Marzi joins from Euromobiliare Asset Management, where he had been director of sales. “The decision to add to the sales teams reflects the opportunities we see today in the Italian market,” says Ersilia Molnar, head of institutional marketing at Muzinich & Co.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Eric Schneiderman, Attorney General of the state of New York, has opened an investigation to determine whether US stock ecxcanges and certain alternative platforms allow undue advantages to high-frequency traders, the news agency Bloomberg reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. Schneiderman’s services are investigating sales of products and services which allow more rapid access to data and information than is available to the rest of te public, Bloomberg states. There have been conversations with representatives of Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (IntercontinentalExchange Group), after which further information was requested, the news agency adds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) at the end of Novemebr announced at a presentation of its strategic plan that a legal committee will be created to create and defend a French vision of European regulations. Gérard Rameix on 18 March announced that the project was in progress. “We are currently working to create a market legal committee which will allow us to better technically supoprt our vision of regulation in the European bodies,” the AMF chariman said at the RCCI and RCSI day. This initiative “will soon take concrete form,” he added. Rameix also revealed that for asset management firms, the dynamism of equity markets has allowed asset managers positioned on this segment to improve their financial health by moving to higher0margin activities. This appreciation, however, is nuanced, “since low interest rates penalise money market funds and formula funds, which have seen a decline in their assets.” In this environment, the sector, which has more than 600 players, “appears to be entering a consolidation phase, or a concentration phase, after several difficult years.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The hedge fund firm Och-Ziff has issued a warning that its financial results may be affected by an investigation by the US Department of Justice into a corruption case in Libya before the fall of Gaddafi, the Financial Times reports. The firm on Tuesday revealed that the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission were examining relationships with the Libyan sovereign fund and its investments in businesses with activities in Libya.

Responding at a point of growing tension in Ukraine, global investors are moving toward a ”risk off” stance, taking on greater protection as the prospect of geopolitical instability grows, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey conducted from 7 March to 13 March 2014.Hedge fund managers provide an illustration of the risk-off mentality taking shape in this month’s survey, having reduced both leverage and exposure to equities. The weighted average ratio of gross assets to capital has fallen to 1.34 times from 1.49 times, the lowest in 20 months. Thirty-one percent of hedge funds have a leverage ratio of less than one time – compared with 19 percent in January.81 percent of investors said they see geopolitical risk posing a threat to financial markets stability – more than four times the reading one month ago. Twenty-seven percent of investors say that a geopolitical crisis is the biggest tail risk – up from 12 percent in February. At the same time, investors continue to express concern about the prospects for emerging markets – with sentiment towards China’s economy falling further. Investors have reacted by showing reduced optimism about the prospect for corporate profits globally and by reining in risk. They have increased cash allocations, reduced equity holdings and taken on greater protection.The proportion of investors taking lower than average risk in their portfolio has increased to a net 14 percent from a net 2 percent in February. A net 16 percent of global asset allocators say that they are overweight cash, up from a net 12 percent last month. The proportion of asset allocators overweight equities has dropped by nine percentage points month-on-month to a net 36 percent. Demand for protection against sharp falls in equity markets has increased to its highest level in 22 months. “With neither inflation nor recession posing a threat, we believe the equity bull market is far from over and investors should be putting excess cash into risk assets,” said Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The private equity speicalist and founder of Belter Capital, Jon Moulton, has acquired a stake in the capital of Seneca Investment Managers, the new asset management arm of Seneca Partners Group, the group has announced in a statement dated 18 March. The operation, which involves a “significant minority stake,” according to Seneca Partners, was carried out via Moulton’s family office, Perscitus Advisers. Neither the sale price nor the size of the stake have been revealed. The capital operation comes at a time when Seneca Investment Managers at the end of January announced that for GBP6.4m it has acquired Miton Capital Partners, an asset management firm based in Liverpool affiliated to the Miton group.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After 10 years in existence, the alternative asset management firm Phoenix Investment Adviser as of the end of February had assets under management of USD1.16bn, compared with USD987.4m as of the end of 2013, Hedge Fund Intelligencec reports. In this context, the firm is planning to recruit a senior adviser and a marketing and investor relationships professional in the next few months. The firm now has 20 people including nine investment professionals.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Morningstar has downgraded the “stewardship” rating of Pimco’s funds from B to C, and has lowered the “parent pillar score” for the firm, which studies factors such as turnover of directors, the investment culture and fee levels, from positive to neutral, the Financial Times reports. “There is a heightened level of uncertainty in the post El-Erian era surrounding the questions of whether Primco’s latest senior staffing transitions will prove beneficial to investors [and] whether recent and future senior-level departures indicate a persistent side effect of the firm’s pressure-cooker culture,” analyst Eric Jacobson writes. These ratings are closely watched by retail investors.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mirabaud has recruited Christophe Lapaque and Stéphane Oury, both from the Corporate Advisory team at UBS Wealth Management in Geneva for its private bank, to create a Corporate Advisory specialist team. The team, based in Geneva, works in close collaboration with the teams at Mirabaud Securities in London, responsible for equity, debt and alternative markets, as well as asset management and private management, across the complete network of the group. Oury for 12 years led the corporate advisory department at UBS in Geneva, and Lapaque for 7 years worked in the same department.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss firm UBS AG has created a new division dedicated to its equity hedge fund clients, according to an internal memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal. The new division, Capital and Consulting Services, unites the teams in the Capital Introduction and Business Consulting unit and the global head of prime brokerage, Reinhart Olsen. The new division will be led by Mike Sales, based in London, who had recently been global head of business consulting services and head of capital introduction for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Karlsruhe constitutional court on 18 March recognized the legality of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), confirming an initial verdict delivered in 2012, which allowed the permanent euro zone bailout mechanism to be created. The Karlsruhe court reiterated that the EUR700bn fund does not violate the Bundestag’s prerogatives in budgetary areas, so long as the lower house of Parliament retains a right to review its use. Germany is the largest contributor to the fund, and may engage up to EUR190bn of public money to the fund in the form of guarantees. The ESM may lend up to EUR500bn to troubled euro zone countries. It has already delivered assistance to Spain for its banks.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Generali Investments is continuing to add to its product range. After the launch earlier this year of an equity fund targeted to the countries of Southern Europe (see Newsmangers of 31 January 2014), it’s now Generali Fund Management, the Luxembourg-based fund group, that has now launched a new European equity vehicle which aims to target European small and midcaps, Citywire Global reports. The product, entitled BG Sicav Small and Mid Euro Equity Fund, managed by Marco D’Orazio, is a part of the Luxembourg strategy of the asset management affiliate of the Generali group. The objective of the new fund is to invest in various European countries, although it will have a very clear bias for Italian ,French and German markets. In addition to equities, the vehicle will also invest in convertible bonds, preference shares, and warrants. Its benchmark index is the MSCI EMU Small TR USD.

Roland Schmidt, head of Germany - retail sales, has decided to leave M&G Investments. He joined M&G in April 2011 as a sales director and was promoted to head of Germany - retail sales in September 2012.Jonathan Willcocks, global head of retail sales and managing director of M&G Investments, replaces Roland Schmidt on an interim basis with immediate effect until a successor is found. Willcocks joined M&G in 2005 and has a wealth of experience of 28 years in the asset management industry.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) on 18 March announced an addition to its sales team in Germany, with two new appointments. Thomas Brand is appointed as head of sales, in charge of developing the activities of SGSS in Germany. He will be particularly focused on institutional investors, including insurers, all types of pension funds, and German businesses. Eva-Maria Jakob is appointed as head of sales and client relationships. Her mission will be to actively develop relationshiops with German and Austrian consultants, who play an important role in th local securities industry, and to work in close collaboration with end clients. Her priority will be to remain in close contact with administrative consultants speialised in the areas of strategy and retirement. Brand and Jakob will be based in Frankfurt and will report to Johan Meyers, director of sales and client relations for SGSS in Germany and Austria.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Eight open-ended funds announced last week in Newsmanagers by Denis Panel, CEO of Theam, with various investment horizons ranging from 2018 to 2043, have appeared in the product range of the asset management firm. Each fund of he BNP Paribas Plan Easy Future range has an adaptive protection mechanism which varies according to the investment duration and the interest rates. Meanwhile, the potential for performance is realized via an exposure to diversified drivers of growth. The fund will have a minimal protected value at maturity, which can only be increased over the life of the sub-fund. This value which is formally protected at maturity by BNP Paribas may cover a sum lower than the initial subscription. The funds of the BNP Paribas Plan Easy Future fund are available in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } RBC Wealth Management has appointed Michael Yong Haron as managing director and head of activities for Northern Asia, International Adviser reports. Haron, who has 20 years of experience in the industry, has worked in Hong Kong as executive director of Credit Suisse, and also as a member of the CFA Institute. Haron will report directly to Barend Janssens, head of emerging markets at RBC.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Sabadell Inversión is cleaning out its product range. The asset management affiliate of the Sabadell bank has informed the local regulator, CNMV, of its decision to partly spin off its real estate investment fund, Sabadell Inmobiliario, Funds People reports. According to the official documentation, this will be a partial segregation of the assets in the fund concerned, but without the vehicle being discontinued, and Sabadell bank will remain the sole participant. The asset management firm will transfer the assets which are being separated into another newly-created investment fund in a single transfer. The new vehicle will be entitled Sabadell Bonos Corto Plazo, a bond vehicle denominated in euros. Investors present in the Sabadell Inmobiliario product will be eligible to claim a redemption of the sums invested or to transfer at no cost between 19 March and 30 April. All participants who do not exercise this right will automatically be invested in the Sabadell Bonos Corto Plazo vehicle. According to data from Inverco, the Spanish professional asset management association, the Sabadell Inmobiliario fund had 458 participants and EUR930.8m in assets under management as of the end of February.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UBS Global Asset Management (UBS GAM) is adding to its range of bond products. The Swiss asset management firm has launched two new bond funds dedicated to emerging markets, with performance objectives, the UBS Emerging Markets Bonds 2018 EUR and UBS Emerging Markets Bonds 2018 USD, Funds People reports. The two vehicles, which will mature on 17 December 2018, offer returns after commissions of 4.67% from launch, using 14 March 2014 as a reference date. The portfolio for the two new funds is composed of about 80 government or corporate bonds denominated in US dollars, with an average rating of BBB-. In its euro version, the fund is hedged against the US dollar.

Generali Investments poursuit l’élargissement de sa gamme de produits. Après le lancement en début d’année d’un fonds actions ciblé sur les pays d’Europe du Sud (lire NewsManagers du 31 janvier 2014), c’est au tour de Generali Fund Management, son entité basée à Luxembourg de lancer un nouveau véhicule actions européen dont la vocation est de se concentrer sur les petites et moyennes capitalisations du Vieux Continent, rapporte Citywire Global.De fait, le groupe a dévoilé en janvier sans fanfare sa stratégie domiciliée au Luxembourg. Baptisé BG Sicav Small and Mid Euro Equity Fund, ce produit est géré par Marco D’Orazio, directeur des investissements de Generali Fund Management, la société basée à Luxembourg. L’objectif du nouveau fonds est d’investir dans les différents pays européens, même s’il aura un biais très marqué sur les marchés italien, français et allemand. Outre les actions, le véhicule investira également dans des obligations convertibles, des actions de préférence et des warrants. Son indice de référence est le MSCI EMU Small TR USD.

F&C Investments a dévoilé un projet de refonte de son équipe de distribution retail au Royaume-Uni, rapporte Fund Web. A compter du 1er avril, l’équipe, dirigée par le responsable « consumer » Rob Thorpe, sera divisée en deux. L’une se focalisera sur les réseaux, les compagnies d’assurances et les plates-formes à l’échelle nationale, tandis que l’autre aura une approche plus régionale. Mark Parry dirigera la première équipe, tandis que Stephen McCall chapeautera la seconde. Trois directeurs régionaux seront aussi nommés : Frank O’Donnell pour le Nord, Jason Anderson pour le Sud et Paul Moulton pour les Midlands.

F&C Asset Management paie un lourd tribut à son divorce avec Friends Life. Le gestionnaire d’actifs britannique va en effet perdre avant la fin de l’année un mandat de 14,5 milliards de livres jusque-là géré pour le compte de son ancien actionnaire majoritaire Friends Life, rapporte Citywire. Cela concerne pour 12,2 milliards de livres des mandats actions et multi-classes d’actifs et un mandat dédié au fixed income en sterling de 2,3 milliards de livres. Friends Life a décidé de confier le premier mandat à Schroders, avec qui la compagnie d’assurance a noué un nouvel accord de partenariat stratégique, tandis qu’elle assurera en interne la gestion du second mandat.Pour mémoire, Friends Life détenait précédemment 52 % de F&C mais les deux sociétés ont récemment décidé de dénoué leurs liens capitalistiques dans le cadre du projet de rachat, annoncé fin janvier, de F&C par la canadienne Bank of Montréal pour un montant de 708 millions de livres.

Le spécialiste du capital risque et fondateur de Better Capital, Jon Moulton, vient d’acquérir une participation au capital de Seneca Investment Managers, la nouvelle branche de gestion d’actifs de Seneca Partners Group, a annoncé ce dernier dans un communiqué en date du 18 mars. L’opération, qui porte sur «une participation minoritaire significative», selon Seneca Partners, a été réalisée via le family office de Jon Moulton, Perscitus Advisers. Ni le montant de l’opération ni le niveau de cette participation n’ont été dévoilés.Cette opération capitalistique intervient alors que Seneca Investment Managers a annoncé, fin janvier, l’acquisition pour 6,4 million de livres de Miton Capital Partners, une société de gestion basée à Liverpool filiale du groupe Miton.

Bonne pioche pour Natixis UK. La branche britannique de la banque française vient de recruter Michel Canoy, un ancien gérant de Legal & General (L&G), au poste de responsable mondial du trading sur le crédit afin de renforcer son activité de banque d’investissement au Royaume-Uni, rapporte Citywire. Précédemment, Michel Canoy, qui a quitté L&G en janvier, gérait 2 milliards de livres d’actifs pour le compte de L&G en qualité, notamment, de gérant principal du Fixed Interest Trust (1,3 milliard de livres d’encours). L’intéressé travaillait chez L&G depuis 2009. Auparavant, il avait officié à Londres chez JP Morgan, après un passage en tant que jeune gérant chez CDC Ixis à Paris.

Les actifs sous gestion du groupe bancaire du Lichtenstein VP Bank ont progressé l’an dernier de 7,4% pour s'établir fin 2013 à 30,6 milliards de francs suisses, selon un communiqué publié le 18 mars. Cette évolution est le fruit d’un effet marché positif de 1,1 milliard de francs et d’une collecte nette de 965 millions de francs.VP Bank rappelle que l’acquisition de HSBC Trinkaus Burkhardt (International) SA au Luxembourg a représenté un encours supplémentaire de 2 milliards de francs. Un encours soumis toutefois à une forte érosion que VP Bank suggère avoir réussi en partie à colmater. Le bénéfice net de VP Bank s’est inscrit en repli de 18% à 38,7 millions de francs suisses. Le coefficient d’exploitation s’est détérioré à 70,2% contre 62,8% précédemment.

Sabadell Inversión réaménage sa gamme de produits. La filiale de gestion de la banque Sabadell a en effet informé le régulateur local, la CNMV, de sa décision de scinder partiellement son fonds de placement immobilier, Sabadell Inmobiliario, révèle Funds People. Selon la documentation officielle, il s’agira d’une ségrégation partielle des encours du fonds concerné mais sans extinction du véhicule, la banque Sabadell restant le participant unique. La société de gestion va transférer en bloc l’encours ainsi scindé vers un autre fonds de placement, nouvellement créé, à savoir Sabadell Bonos Corto Plazo, un véhicule obligataire libellé en euro. Dans le détail, les investisseurs présents dans ce véhicule Sabadell Inmobiliario auront le droit de réclamer le remboursement des sommes investies ou de les transférer sans aucun frais entre le 19 mars et le 30 avril. Tout participant qui n’exercera pas ce droit deviendra automatiquement participant du véhicule Sabadell Bonos Corto Plazo.D’après les données d’Inverco, l’association professionnelle espagnole de la gestion d’actifs , le fonds Sabadell Inmobiliario comptait 458 participants et affichait 930,8 millions d’euros d’actifs sous gestion à fin février.

RBC Wealth Management vient de nommer à Hong Kong Michael Yong Haron au poste de managing director et responsable de l’activité pour l’Asie du nord, rapporte International Adviser. L’intéressé, fort de 20 ans d’expérience dans l’industrie, a précédemment travaillé à Hong Kong en tant que directeur exécutif de Credit Suise et a également été membre du CFA Institute. Michael Yong Haron rapportera directement à Barend Janssens, responsable des marchés émergents chez RBC.

UBS Global Asset Management (UBS GAM) étoffe sa gamme de produits obligataires. Le gestionnaire d’actifs suisse vient en effet de lancer deux fonds obligataires dédiés aux marchés émergents avec objectif de rendement, à savoir UBS Emerging Markets Bonds 2018 EUR et UBS Emerging Markets Bonds 2018 USD, rapporte Funds People.Ces deux véhicules, dont l’échéance est fixée au 17 décembre 2018, offrent à compter de leur lancement un rendement brut de commissions de 4,67 %, prenant comme date de référence le 14 mars 2014. Le portefeuille de ces deux nouveaux fonds est composé d’environ 80 obligations souveraines ou d’entreprises libellées en dollars et dont la notation moyenne est BBB-. Dans sa version en euros, le fonds dispose d’une couverture contre le dollar.

Orion Capital Managers et AEW Europe, le gestionnaire d’actifs immobiliers de Natixis AM, auraient été sélectionnés dans le sprint final pour le contrôle de la deuxième foncière cotée espagnole, rapporte L’Agefi qui cite une information de Bloomberg. Bankia et le groupe de construction FCC ont mis en vente leurs participations respectives de 25 et 36,9%. Realia vaut 332 millions d’euros en Bourse et affiche une dette nette de 2,1 milliards pour un patrimoine de 3,38 milliards à fin 2013.

Les hedge funds ont terminé le mois de février sur une performance positive de 1,72 %, selon l’indice de référence de Preqin, le Hedge Fund Analyst. Depuis le début de l’année, la performance se chiffre à 1,42 %. Les meilleurs résultats ont été enregistrés par les stratégies event driven (+2,67%), qui a enregistré son huitième mois de suite de gains. Les fonds relative value ont enregistré une performance de 0,83 %.

Eurazeo a annoncé le 18 mars avoir conclu un partenariat avec Desigual pour accompagner la croissance de la marque. Eurazeo souscrira une augmentation de capital de 285 millions d’euros et obtiendra 10 % des parts du groupe détenu par son fondateur Thomas Meyer. Cet accord inclut des droits de gouvernance et de protection de l’investissement au bénéfice d’Eurazeo, reflétant ainsi un véritable partenariat entre les parties. Créé en Espagne en 1984, Desigual conçoit et distribue des vêtements et accessoires pour femmes, hommes et enfants. Sa stratégie de vente multi-canal a permis à la marque de se développer rapidement au cours des dix dernières années.