La boutique de gestion allemande vient de lancer son premier fonds, le Peacock European Alpha Builder fund, rapporte Citywire Global.Ce fonds domicilié au Luxembourg est un fonds de performance absolue qui va s’intéresser en priorité aux petites et moyennes capitalisations et qui mettra en œuvre une stratégie market neutral.Il sera cogéré par René Assion et Mark Siebel, un investisseur value actions qui a créé la société en 2012. La stratégie a été lancée le 26 février en partenariat avec Universal Investment.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Sycomore Asset Management is launching the Sycomore Sélection PME, fund, which is eligible for the PEA PME tax incentive in France. The new product is managed by Cyril Charlot, and will invest in equities (60%-100%) and bonds (0%-40%). It may thus “seize opportunities offered by the European small and midcaps segment,” a statement says. Sycomore AM already manages European small and midcaps in two funds, Sycomore Francecap and Synergy Smaller Cies, launched in 2001 and 2003, respectively.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Rothschild HDF Investment Solutions is adding to its alternative management range. The asset management firm, an affiliate of Rothschild & Cie Gestion, on 11 March announced the creation of an Irish Sicav, InRIS UCITS Plc, which will offer access to “strong conviction strategies” on single-manager funds in UCITS format. The Sicav will be managed by Innocap Investment Management. As part of the move, the firm is launching an initial sub-fund, R Parus, whose financial management has been outsourced to the Parus Finance SA company. The first vehicle implements the historic long/short equity strategy from the British alternative asset management firm Parus, Rothschild HDF Investment Solutions says in a statement. The strategy has a global investment universe, but also a growth bias and a strong exposure to US markets. Several dozens of European clients, institutional investors and private banks, wished to be a part of the launch and have already subscribed for a total of over EUR200m, the asset management firm says. With this new range, the objective is also to offer investors “the same guarantees in terms of risk control,” Rothschild HDF Investment Solutions states. As a part of that, the asset management firm has formed a partnership with the managed accounts platform Innocap, which will house each of the sub-funds of the Sicav InRIS UCITS Plc.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } A great majority of positions of responsibility in private equity are still occupied by men. According to a recent study by Preqin, women represent an average of 9% of senior positions at businesses worldwide in 2014, a slight increase over 2013 (8.7%). In Asia, women are comparatively the most represented in management roles, with an average of 11.8% in the region. This is down, however, compared with a level of 12.8% one year ago. In the United States, the percentage of women in senior positions is 11%, compared with 10.3% in 2013. In Europe, the average is 9.7% of positions, down by 2 percentage points year on year. In sectoral terms, private equity firms specialised in real estate have the most woman directors (12.8%), followed by firms active in infrastructure investment (11.7%) and venture capital (11.2%), Preqin states.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } George Dallas, who had been co-head of corporate governance at F&C Investments, has left the asset management firm to “pursue other opportunities,” Financial News reports, citing a spokesperson for the firm. According to his LinkedIn profile, he is now working as an independent adviser. His role will be taken over by Eugenia Jackston, the other co-head of governance, while the team will be strengthened.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } It has been a strong start to the year for Close Brothers Asset Management. At the end of its first half, which ended on 31 January 2014, the asset management branch of Close Brothers has almost tripled its profits, to GBP3.2m, compared with GBP1.1m in first half 2013. In the same period, its earnings have increased 9% to a total of GBP40.5m, compared with GBP37.2m in first half 2013. Over the first six months of its fiscal year overall, Close Brothers AM has posted a 2% increase in its assets under management and advised to a total of nearly GBP9.3bn as of 31 January 2014. This development is largely driven by net inflows, which totalled GBP190m in first half, while market effects played in modestly for GBP25m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Ted Scott of F&C is retiring after a 30-year career at the firm, Investment Week reports. He had been director of global strategy.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Alberto Micalizzi, the Italian university professor who founded a USD550m hedge fund which suffered “catastrophic losses” in the financial crisis, has said that he cannot afford a GBP3m fine levelled against him by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, the Financial Times reports. The regulator claims that Micalizzi sought to mislead investors and lenders to the fund by investing in illiquid and private bonds issued by an oil company based in Nevada in 2008 without the permission of investors.

La banque privée suisse Lombard Odier et le groupe chinois Industrial Bank vont travailler ensemble à la conquête du marché de la banque privée en Chine, rapporte Finews. Un accord de coopération entre les deux groupes aurait été signé, selon les information du portail d’information menafn.com, qui cite des sources locales proches du dossier. l’accord permettrai aux clients d’Industrial Bank de profiter des services de Lombard Odier tandis que les clients de la banque privée genevoise pourraient avoir accès aux investissements locaux. En Asie, Lombard Odier gère 8 milliards de dollars à Hong Kong, Singapour et au Japon. Industrial Bank est active sur l’ensemble du territoire chinois et compte 15.000 clients en banque privée, représentant 200 milliards de yuan, soit 32,5 milliards de dollars, précise Finews.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } The Swiss private bank Lombard Odier and the Chinese group Industrial Bank will work together to conquer the private banking market in China, Finews reports. A cooperation agreement between the two groups is reported to have been signed, according to reports on the news website menafn.com, which cites local sources familiar with the matter. The agreement would allow clients of Industrial Bank to make use of the services of Lombard Odier, while clients of the Geneva-based private bank would be able to access local investments. In Asia, Lombard Odier has USd8bn in assets in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. Industrial Bank is active throughout China, and has 15,000 private banking clients, representing CNY200bn, or USD32.5bn, Finews states.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } The German index provider Solactive has launched two new indices, the Solactive Guru International Index and the Solactive Guru Small Cap Index, which are to be used as the underlying indices for two ETFs listed today by Global X Funds on the New York Stock Exchange. These Indices are part of the same family as the Solactive Guru Index, which was launched in June 2012 and is tracked by the Global X Guru Index ETF (GURU). It has over USD500 million in assets. The Solactive Guru International Index tracks the price movements of the top U.S. listed international equity holdings of a select group of Hedge Funds and Institutional Investors based on quarterly regulatory filings from the SEC (13F Filings). This Index will be used as an underlying for the Global X Guru International Index ETF (GURI). The Solactive Guru Small Cap Index tracks the price movements of the top U.S. listed small cap equity holdings of a select group of Hedge Funds and Institutional Investors based on quarterly regulatory filings from the SEC. To be included in the Index, companies must have a market capitalization between USD 100 million and USD 3 billion. This index will be used as an underlying for the Global X Guru Small Cap Index ETF (GURX).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } The asset management firm Algebris has listed two UCITS funds on the Italian platform Online Sim, Bluerating reports. They are the Algebris Financial Credit Fund and Algebris Financial Income funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } The British asset management firm Ignis Asset Management on 11 March revealed that it is launching its fund, Ignis Absolute Return Debt Fund, on the French market, with an initial investment of EUR74.2m. The vehicle, managed by Dan Beharall, head of the Emerging Markets Fixed Income department, aims to earn positive total returns higher than the reference money market rate over a rolling 12-month period, independently of conditions on the bond market, taking net long or short positions on fixed-rate bonds on emerging markets, currency rates and derivative financial instruments. The new product offers several share classes: A class (retail), C (clean), I (institutional), SI (super institutional). Its management fees vary depending on the share classes. They are set at 1.25% for the A share class, 0.90% for the C class, 0.65% for the I class, and lastly, 0.55% for the SI class. Its valuation frequency is daily.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } UniCredit has confirmed leaks to the press that the financial adviser network of the group, FinecoBank, will be launched on the Milan stock exchange in 2014, Bluerating reports. As of the end of December, the firm had total financial assets of EUR44bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Funds and management at Banca Mediolanum has posted net inflows of EUR240m as of the end of February, bringing the total since the beginning of the year to EUR413m, Funds People Italia reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } The Italian private bank Banca Esperia finished the year 2013 with assets under management of EUR15.3bn, an increase of 15% compared with 2012, Funds People Italia reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Bill Gross, the head of Pimco, has promised to give his managers more freedom to express differences of opinion, as he has been facing growing criticism from investors, analysts and even a member of his board of trustees, the Financial Times reports. Morningstar, whose recommendatins are closely watched by retail investors, has expressed concerns concerning problems at the firm. Institutional clients and consultants have added Pimco to their “watchlists.”

For his baptism of fire before the press, Andrea Rossi, CEO of Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM) since July 2013, did not seek to stand out from his predecessor, Dominique Carrel-Billiard. Like him, the new head of Axa IM put the international development of the firm at the top of the list of strategic objectives. “We have increased our market share in many regions in 2013. But we need to accelerate the internationalisation of the firm,” Rossi said at a presentation of results for 2013 at Axa IM. “Our ambition is to become a real global leader in asset management,” he says.To achieve that, the asset management firm has formed an action plan according to the type of market. In mature markets where market share is strong, such as France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Italy, “we now need to target more profitable segments, especially retail clients, and strengthen our targeting of institutional investors,” says Rossi. In mature markets where the firm’s presence is weaker, “we need to target large institutionals and consultant markets as a priority,” says the CEO, citing the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia. Lastly, in emerging markets, the time is now “to strengthen our teams,” says Rossi.Axa IM is also planning to give some impetus to its ambition. “We are going to recruit 25 people in Asia and the United States in 2014,” says Rossi, without revealing the scale of investment dedicated to this development. “That will make 50 more people in the next three years. We are also going to invest more in marketing.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } SAC Capital Advisor is changing names to becomme Point72 Asset Management, a nod at the headquarters of the firm at 72 Cummings Point Road in Stamford, Connecticut, the Wall Street Journal reports. With the change, the founder of the firm, Steven A. Cohen, is seeking to distance himself from the insider trading investigation which is affecting SAC. Meanwhile, SAC is being converted into a family office to manage mostly the personal wealth of Cohen (USD8bn).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Neuflize OBC, an affliate of the ABN Amro group, earned a net profit of EUR48.2m in 2013, up 7.6% year on year, due to the vitality of its asset management activity, Les Echos reports. In the area of asset management, the private bank has seen its assets under management increase to EUR46.4bn, up by EUR8.6bn year on year, of which EUR5.025bn were net inflows. In 2013, Neuflize OBC earned net banking proceeds up 4% to EUR320.5m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } GAM will close the GAM Star China Equity fund by Michael Lai to new investors, once its assets top USD2.6bn, Citywire reports. Currently, the fund has USD2.42bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Syz & Co bank has launched a double leveraged version of its Oyster Market Neutral fund, a long/short beta neutral version of its European equity fund, as the firm announced in January last year (Newsmanagers of 17 January 2014), Citywire reports. The fund aims for returns of Libor + 10%. The exposure of the portfolio may vary from 100% to 400%, while the volatility will be 12% Banque Syz & Co is planning to register the fund in France and Switzerland soon.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } The Swedish asset management firm IKC Fonder, which opened an office in Manilla last year, is launching a fund which will invest in the Philippines, the first of its type in Sweden. The fund, IKC Filippinerna Flexibel, will be managed by Inge Knutsson, head of management and founder of IKC, also head of the Manilla office, and Rosel Ponce. “The Philippines are a country which many Swedes overlook,” says Hans Andersoon, CEO of IKC Fonder. “But in reality, it is one of the most interesting countries in Asia, and it received ‘investment grade’ rating last year from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch,” he says. IKC Fonder already invests in the Philippines via other funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } The German asset management boutique has launched its first fund, the Peacock European Alpha Builder fund, Citywire Global reports. The fund based in Luxembourg is an absolute return fund which will be aimed primarily at small and midcaps which will use a market neutral strategy. It will be co-managed by René Assion and Mark Siebel, an equity value manager who founded the firm in 2012. The firm on 26 February launched a partnership with Universal Investment.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset management professionals, has decided to create a working group for Emir an MiFid 2. The association notes that the two new regulations will have an impact on asset management firms. The group is entitled Gruppo di Lavoro Mercati.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } The Norwegian sovereign fund regrets having invested in Formula 1, now that the sport is facing allegatios of corruption, Yngve Slyngstad, its director, has told the Norwegian business newspaper Dagena Naeringsliv. With BlackRock and Waddel & Reed Financial, the Norwegian public fund spent USD1.6bn in May 2012 to buy 21.3% of Formula One Group. The firm, responsible for the promotion and operation of commercial rights for F1, is led by the British billionaire Bernie Ecclestone, who, at 83, is facing corruption charges in Munich on 24 April. Ecclestone is accused to paying EUR35m in bribes to a German banker in 2006 and 2007 when his rights in F1 were sold to the investment fund CVC Partners, the largest shareholder in Delta Topco, a holding company based in Jersey which controls Formula One Group. A part of the Norwegian political class was astonished when an article appeared describing the fund’s investment. Due to its zero tolerance for corruption, the sovereign fund will sell its stake in Formula One.

KBL European Private Bankers (KBL epb) announced on March 11 the appointment of Carlo Friob – a financial services professional with over two decades of experience in increasingly senior roles – as CEO, Private Banking, based in Luxembourg. He will also join the executive committee of the group.Friob will commence his new role at KBL epb in May 2014, subject to the approval of the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). Stepping into the role earlier held by Yves Stein, who was recently promoted to Group CEO, Friob will lead the ongoing growth of KBL epb’s private banking operations in Europe, further strengthening the group’s nine-country network. He earlier served at BGL BNP Paribas as director of products & services, wealth management Luxembourg, and global head of discretionary portfolio management, BNP Wealth Management. Previously, he served as general manager, private banking, at the Luxembourg-based bank.

A quoi sert amLeague pour les multigérants et autres sélectionneurs de fonds ? Sur le grill dans le studio de Newsmanagers TV (voir la vidéo), Cédric Fouché, responsable de la sélection d’OPCVM chez Agicam – groupe AG2R-La Mondiale, a indiqué, en présence d’Antoine Briant, CEO de la plateforme, que cette dernière lui permettait de disposer d’un outil complémentaire à ses bases de données et ses études quantitatives et qualitatives. Et, de fait, d’observer précisément 25 gérants présents dont 23 sur l’Europe et une vingtaine sur la zone euro...De là à en profiter pour faire tourner rapidement sa sélection de pilotes, il y a un pas à ne pas franchir, y compris dans ces périodes tourmentées en Europe de l’Est où certains professionnels peuvent être encore assez nettement investis. «En étant allocataire d’actifs», indique Cédric Fouché, «nous regardons les gérants sur le court, le moyen et le long terme pour juger de la nécessité d’en changer». Cela étant, ajoute-t-il, «nous pouvons procéder à des ajustements, mais nous attendons surtout que ce soit les gérants eux-mêmes qui procèdent à ces modifications compte tenu de leur zone d’investissement.» Pour le reste, actuellement, l’effet d’aubaine joue à plein et, tout en ayant recours à des couvertures, la gestion d’Agicam a plutôt augmenté son exposition aux actions. Plus en détail, le multigérant accorde également de l’importance aux données mises à sa disposition sur le site d’amLeague qui concernent la gestion des différents portefeuilles. «Ces ratios et autres informations nous permettent d’effectuer des contrôles de cohérence dans le cadre de notre analyse de risques», explique le gérant, sachant que dans son approche cœur/satellite, la gestion active représente 40 % à 50 % - sous forme de fonds. Quoi qu’il en soit, selon le responsable, gestion indicielle et gestion active n’ont pas fini de s’affronter pour juger de la sur ou sous performance des uns ou des autres. A ce titre, remarquant le très bon résultat de la gestion indicielle sur une année, Antoine Briant a insisté sur le trompe l'œil d’un tel résultat. «Tout d’abord, sur trois ou cinq ans, la gestion active retrouve la première place,» explique-t-il. Par ailleurs, quand on mesure la moyenne des performances des portefeuilles pour les consolider en un seul portefeuille, il ressort que même sur un an, ce dernier bat l’indice de référence de près de deux points de pourcentage.» Impossible cependant de dire si ce bon résultat est dû aux meilleurs qui tirent l’ensemble ou si l’ensemble s’est montré vraiment performant…

Le produit intérieur brut portugais (PIB) a augmenté de 0,6% lors des trois derniers mois de 2013 après une hausse de 0,3% au trimestre précédent, montrent les statistiques officielles publiées hier, qui témoignent d’un sursaut de la consommation et d’une amélioration des exportations. En glissement annuel, la croissance économique s’est élevée à 1,7% au quatrième trimestre. Sur l’ensemble de l’année, le PIB portugais s’est cependant contracté de 1,4%.

Le Parlement européen vient de voter à une écrasante majorité (643 pour, 30 contre) en faveur de la mise en place de registres publics des bénéficiaires effectifs des trusts et sociétés, dans le cadre de la révision de la Directive européenne anti-blanchiment. Ces registres rendraient plus difficile la création de sociétés écrans opaques qui peuvent aujourd’hui servir au blanchiment d’argent et à la dissimulation de fonds liés à la corruption.