UBS Global Asset Management has launched three ETFs on the Milan Stock Exchange which allow for exposure to the equity markets of Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada, with hedging for currency risks, Bluerating repors. The products have been listed on the ETFPlus segment since 28 October. They are the UBS ETF - MSCI Japan 100% hedged to EUR UCITS ETF (annual TER of 0.45%), UBS ETF - MSCI United Kingdom 100% hedged to EUR UCITS ETF (annual TER of 0.30%) and UBS ETF - MSCI Canada 100% hedged to EUR UCITS ETF (annual TER of 0.43%).

Guggenheim Investments, which includes the management and advising activities of Guggenheim Partners, has recruited Joseph Burschinger as senior managing director, who will serve in the newly-created position of chief risk officer.Burschinger previously worked at TCW in Los Angeles, most recently as executive vice president and chief risk officer.In his new role, Burschinger will concentrate on the management of portfolio risks in order to better manage investment objectives. He will also work with portfolio managers to help them better identify, evaluate, monitor and manage all types of risk.

Virginie Maisonneuve, head of global & international equities at Schroder Investment Management, has been recruited as managing director, global head of equities & portfolio manager at Pimco, which she will officially join in January 2014. She will continue to be based in London, a statement from the US asset management firm owned by the Allianz group states.In her new role, she will be responsible for the active management of equity portfolios and will contribute to the design as well as the deployment of new equity and asset allocation strategies.Maisonneuve will take over the role of Marc Seidner , who has been appointed as interim head of global equities, following the resignation of Neel Kashkari (see Newsmanagers of 8 February).At Schroders, Maisonneuve will be replaced by her deputy, Simon Webber, who becomes lead portfolio manager for global and international equities. Peter Harrison, global head of equities, becomes director of the team.

In third quarter 2013, the asset management line at BNP Paribas (part of the Investment Solutions unit) has posted net redemptions of EUR5.6bn, the bank has announced as part of its financial results. These outflows, which affected bond funds in particular, remain lower than those posted in second quarter 2013 (-EUR15.4bn), and in third quarter 2012 (-EUR7.6bn).As at 30 September, assets under management in asset management totalled EUR368bn, down 1.4% compared with EUR408bn one year previously, but up 0.5% compared with their levels as of the end of June 2013.The BNP Paribas group also notes that “the adaptation of the business portfolio as part of the Asset Management business development plan had a negative impact to the tune of 3.7 billion euros.”Assets under management totalled 874 billion euros as at 30 September 2013, down by 1.4% compared to 30 September 2012 but stable compared to the level as at 30 June 2013, after outflows of EUR3.2bn. Investment Solutions’ revenues, which totalled 1,543 million euros, were up 5.0% compared to the third quarter 2012. In the first nine months of 2013, revenues from Investment Solutions are up 2.2% compared with the first nine months of 2012.

As of the end of September, assets under management by T. Rowe Price totalled USD647.2bn, compared with USD614bn three months earlier (see Newsmanagers of 26 July). The increase of USD33.2bn in one quarter is attributable to a positive market effect of USD40.6bn, minus net redemptions of USD7.4bn.Compared with the end of 2012, assets increased by USD70.4bn, with a positive market effect of USD82.5bn, and net outflows of USD12.1bn.Of the total as of 30 September, USD403.8bn correspond to mutual funds distributed in the United States, and USD243.4bn to other portfolios.Net profits at T. Rowe Price in third quarter were up to USD270.3m, from USD247.8m in second quarter and USD247.3m in July-September 2012. In the first nine months of this year, net profits totalled USD760m, compared with USD647.8m in the corresponding period of last year.

In July-September, Ameriprise Financial, the parent company among others of Columbia Management in the United States and Threadneedle in the United Kingdom, has announced record net profits of USD381m, compared with USD321m in second quarter, and USD335m in first quarter, which compares to USD174m in the corresponding period of 2012.Pre-tax profits in the asset management unit for third quarter are up year on year by 15%, to USD178m, on assets of USD479.32bn, up 4% comapred with the end of September 2012. Compared with the end of June, assets were up by USD19.96bn, or 4.34%.At Columbia, assets as of the end of September totalled USd345bn, compared with USD335.2bn three months earlier, and USD339.94bn one year previously, while at Threadneedle, it totalled USd137.38bn, compared with USD126.98bn as of 30 June, and USD123.7bn twelve months earlier.Ameriprise, Columbia and Threadneedle in July-September saw net outflows of USD4.33bn, USD4.23bn and USD83m, respectively. Since the beginning of the year, net redemptions have totalled USD12.18bn for the group, USD11.81bn for Columbia, and USD2.34bn for Threadneedle.

In the quarter to the end of September, Legg Mason has declared a net pofit of USD86.3m, compared with USD47.8m in April-June, and USD80.8m in the corresponding period of last year, meaning that profits in the six months to the end of September have risen to USD134.1m, compared with USD71.3m in April-September 2012.As of 30 September, assets totalled USD656bn, which represents an increase of 2% compared with USD644.5bn as of 30 June, and a 1% lead on the levels reached twelve months earlier (USD650.7bn).The firm states that an increase in assets of USD11.5bn in reality was due to USD14.2bn in positive market and currency effects, while flows have resulted in net outflows of USD1.4bn, in addition to which are dispositions of USD1.3bn.

The hedge funds company D.E. Shaw, some of whose products are reported to have recently closed their doors to new clients (see Newsmanagers of 8 October 2013), is planning to launch two new funds, Institutional Investor Alpha reports, on the basis of license applications. The two new products are entitled D.E. Shaw Alkali Fund II and D.E. Shaw Alkali International Fund II. The minimal investment is USD1m. The hedge fund did not wish to comment on the reports in Institutional Investor.

Exane Asset Management in May discreetly launched a long/short global equity fund, Exane Funds 1 – Exane Overdrive, Citywire Global reveals. A spokesperson explains that the launch was not subject to any announcements, in order to allow assets to be raised in peace and to establish a track record. The strategy, based in Luxembourg, will be co-managed by Eric Lauri and Muriel D’Ambrosio.

Assets under management at the bank Vontobel totalled CHF160.4bn as of the end of September 2013, virtually unchanged compared with the end of June (CHF160.2bn), according to figures released on 30 October by the private bank.The Asset Management segment has posted a “constant” gross margin of 52 basis points, as well as “potential for gain which remains solid.” Net inflows have fallen, in line with the predictions of the bank, which did not provide figures.Measures engaged to increase the profitability of Private Banking are bearing fruit, both in terms of cost and returns, the bank also states. The bank now plans to concentrate on clearly-defined client segments. The growth of profits in this segment observed in first half has continued. Vontobel has continued to develop its activities with US private clients. Vontobel Swiss Wealth Advisors (VSWA), the entity founded in 2010, has in the past few weeks opened offices in Dallas and Geneva.A reshuffle of cross-border activities has led to costs of about CHF8bn, related largely to the abandonment of Private Banking activities in Austria, Italy and Dubai in second half. The renorganization of Private Banking sites is now complete, Vontobel states.

Credit Suisse on 30 October announced the introduction of its real estate fund Real Estate Fund Green Property (REF Green Property) on the SIX Swiss Exchange from 31 October. The financial market surveillance authority (Finma) has granted approval for the operation, announced on 28 May this year.The listing opens the open-ended real estate fund, and also makes it available to non-qualified investors, the bank says in a statement.

Funds People reports that the independent boutique EDM Gestión (EUR1.55bn) has recruited Teresa Watkins as manager-analyst. She had worked at Comgest since 2003.

As the largest holder of bonds from the Brazilian oil firm OGX, which spiralled towards bankruptcy filing, Pimco is facing big problems in Brazil, the Financial Times reports. The asset management firm has amassed more than 17% of the USD3.6bn of bonds issued , owned by Eika Batista, since 2011.

Investec Asset Management has recruited Beonca Yip to the newly-created position of head of advisor distribution for the Asia ex Japan region. Yip previously worked at Eastspring Investment. Investec AM is planning to scale up its resources in distribution, and in 2014 is planning to open a distribution activity in Singapore aimed at independent financial advisers. Yip will also be responsible for the Taiwan office, which has 20 people on its team.

Since 21 October, Gwee Siew Ping, who had been regional head of compliance and risk, Asia Pacific, at Schroder Investment Management, has become chief risk officer at Eastspring Investments, the asset management affiliate of Prudential Corporation Asia. Gwee will be based in Singapore and will report directly to Guy Strapp, the CEO, and replaces Lakshman Kumar, who will be retiring this year from the position of head of risk, compliance & governance, a position he has held since 2001.In her new role, Gwee will be responsible for all compliance, risk and governance issues for all activities of Eastspring Investments.

Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), on Wednesday called for greater transparency to boost the reputation of the asset management sector and a frank and open discussion on how and where dealing commission is spent.The FCA will be consulting with asset managers to see what changes need to be made to the existing regulation, which have been in place since 2006. A specific concern is that some asset managers are pushing the definition of ‘research’ by using client commissions to cover non eligible costs and services. Some asset managers class as research commissions, which are charged to the client, their subscriptions to Bloomberg or Reuters, or the sums paid to brokers to obtain privileged access to corporate directors. These “corporate access” commissions themselves added up to GBP500m in 2012. As of the end of 2012, the British asset management sector represented GBP5.4trn, an increase of 6.5% compared with the previous year.

Assets under management at the British firm Standard Life Investments as of 30 September totalled GBP179.6bn, compared with GBP167.7bn as of the end of December 2012, according to figures released on 30 October. Only external assets under management increased by 13%, or GBP11.2bn, to GBP94.7bn.This development is related both to inflows and to market effects. Inflows over nine months totalled GBP8.3bn, compared with GBP3.2n in the first nine months of the previous year.In third quarter alone, net inflows totalled GBP1.2bn, of which GBP1bn were to multi-asset class solutions (including the GARS range).It should also be noted that assets under administration at the Standard Life group have increased 9% to GBP237.6bn.

The independent asset management firm Alken, based in London, has decided to strengthen its position on the French market. Alken has recruited Marie Fournier to the position of head of press communications in France, and to monitor clients outside Paris. Before joining Alken on 15 October, Fournier worked in particular at BNP Paribas Investment Parters, Oddo Banque Privée and as head of distribution at at third-party marketer (TPM).Isabel Ortega, head of the distribution team, will continue to oversee French-speaking clients based in Paris, Geneva, Luxembourg, Belgium and Spain.

Psigma Investment Management has completed its acquisition of the private clients of AXA Framlington housed at AXA Framlington Portfolio Management. The assets under management of Psigma, an affiliate of Punter Southall Group, now total over GBP2bn. The operation was announecd in July this year (Newsmanagers of 15 July 2013).The entire team at AXA Framlington Portfolio Management (3 portfolio managers and 5 assistants for support functions) are joining Psigma.The sale is related to a strategic reorganization decided last year by AXA Framlington, which would like to grow in the retail and institutional client segments.

BlackRock has let the deadline which had been set for it by BaFin pass without responding to indicate the financial resources it would be prepared to make available if BHF-Bank were faced with a crisis. As a result, the US asset management firm is pulling out of the consortium led by Kleinwort Benson Group Ltd (KBG), an affiliate of RHJ International (RHJI), to acquire the German private bank from Deutsche Bank for EUR354m, of which EUR322m would be in cash and 9% in shares in RHJ International, KBG says in a statement released on 30 October. BlackRock was supposed to contribute to the deal for a total of EUR50m.As a result, the terms of the KBG capital increase have been modified, and RHJI will retain a 65% stake instead of 60%, while the remaining 35% will be distributed between the three remaining partners, Fosun Group, AQTON SE (a portfolio firm belonging to Stefan Quandt) and various companies of Timothy C. Collins.Deutsche Bank has been seeking to sell BHF-Bank, which had been part of the Sal. Oppenheim group, for three years. Initially, Deutsche Bank had been expecting to make about EUR500m on it.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index released by State Street Global Exchange fell to 95.7 in October, down 5.6 points from September’s revised reading of 101.3.The decline was driven by sentiment in North America, which fell substantially by 17.8 points, pushing the North American ICI well into pessimistic territory at 86.5.By contrast, confidence improved substantially among European institutional investors, reflected in a 10.2 point increase in the European ICI to 111.9. Asian investors stayed their course, and as a result the Asian ICI saw only a modest change, rising 0.9 points to finish at 96.2.“The fiscal showdown in the US clearly took the wind from the sails of institutional investors, pushing the Global ICI into negative territory for the first time since May of this year,” commented Paul O’Connell, who contributed to the development of the index. “Notwithstanding the 11th hour resolution of the immediate crisis, investors are aware that the long-term fiscal policy of the US remains to be negotiated, and that the impact of such negotiations on growth and confidence is yet to be seen.”“The fact that the North American ICI posted a record fall in the same month that the European ICI posted its largest gain in almost three years tells you all you need to know about how policy perceptions are changing between the two areas,” added Michael Metcalfe, head of cross strategy research at State Street Global Markets. “With European confidence at its highest level since July 2007, investors hope that the worst of the Eurozone crisis is past. The US crisis of confidence, in contrast, may just be the beginning, unless policy uncertainty is reduced.”

After five years of financial crisis, most investors in the United States and more generally worldwide are hesitating to take risks, and are maintaining significant allocations to investments with low returns, according to the first global BlackRock study of investor sentiment (“Global Investor Pulse Survey”).Despite the gains which have propelled some stock markets to all-time highs, most investors are not prepared to take risks to improve the performance of their portfolios, a survey of 17,567 investors, including 4,000 US investors, in all categories, finds, including the most high net worth investors, who are in no hurry to reduce their cash allocations either.In the United States, investors in all categories are holding 48% of their investable assets in cash, with 18% in equities and 7% in bonds. The highest allocations to equities are in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

As of 30 September 2013, the global net assets in collective investment organisms and specialised investment funds totalled EUR2.539200trn, compared with EUR2.498839trjn as of 31 August 2013, an increase of 1.62% month on month. Considered over the past 12 months, the volume of net assets is up by 9.71%, according to statistics released by the financial sector surveillance commission (CSSF). Compared with the end of December, assets are up by EUR115.01bn, or 4.8%.The Luxembourg OPC industry in the month of September has posted a positive variation totalling EUR40.36bn. This increase represents the balance of positive net issues, totalling EUR7.53bn (+0.30%), and the favourable evolution of the financial markets, totalling EUR32.83bn (+1.32%).

Les actifs sous gestion de la banque Vontobel s'élevaient à 160,4 milliards de francs suisses à fin septembre 2013, pratiquement inchangés par rapport à leur niveau de fin juin (160,2 milliards de francs suisses), selon les chiffres publiés le 30 octobre par la banque privée. Le segment Gestion d’actifs (Asset management) affiche une marge brute «constante» de 52 points de base, ainsi qu’un «potentiel de gain qui demeure solide». La collecte nette a diminué, conformément aux attentes de la banque qui n’a pas fourni de chiffres.Les mesures engagées pour accroître la rentabilité du Private Banking portent leurs fruits tant au niveau des coûts que des rendements, souligne par ailleurs la banque. Celle-ci compte désormais se concentrer sur des segments de clientèle clairement définis. La croissance de la rentabilité dans ce segment observée au premier semestre s’est poursuivie. Vontobel a poursuivi le développement de ses activités avec la clientèle privée américaine. D’ailleurs, Vontobel Swiss Wealth Advisors (VSWA), l’entité créée en 2010, a ouvert ces dernières semaines des bureaux à Dallas et à Genève.La réorganisation des activités transfrontalières a engendré des coûts d’environ 8 millions de francs suisses, liés notamment à l’abandon des activités de Private Banking en Autriche, en Italie et à Dubaï au second semestre. La réorganisation des sites du Private Banking est désormais terminée, précise Vontobel.

La banque privée Notenstein a annoncé le 30 octobre la suppression de 20 postes. L'établissement précise que la mesure s’inscrit dans le cadre d’un plus vaste programme destiné à abaisser sa base de coûts de 5% et à maintenir son ratio d’exploitation ratio coûts-bénéfices à moins de 90%. Notenstein compte actuellement 580 employés sur une base plein temps.

Credit Suisse a annoncé le 30 octobre l’introduction sur SIX Swiss Exchange de son fonds immobilier Real Estate Fund Green Property (REF Green Property) à compter du 31 octobre. L’autorité de surveillance des marchés financiers (Finma) a donné son feu vert à l’opération annoncée le 28 mai dernier.La cotation ouvre le fonds immobilier au public, le rendant ainsi également accessible aux investisseurs non qualifiés, indique la banque dans un communiqué.

Avec le lancement quatre ETF obligataires à duration courte et ultra-courte, de droit irlandais et à réplication physique optimisée, iShares a répondu le 30 octobre à la demande des investisseurs européens désireux de réduire le risque de remontée des taux d’intérêt sur les marchés développés tout en faisant «travailler» leurs liquidités.Cela vaut notamment pour les fonds iShares Euro Ultrashort Bond UCITS et iShares $ Ultrashort Bond UCITS qui sont les premiers ETF passifs de ce type en Europe et répliqueront les indices Markit iBoxx Liquid Ultrashort, lancés récemment. Ces fonds investissent essentiellement dans des obligations d’entreprise de catégorie investissement à taux fixe ou variable, libellées respectivement en euros et en dollars, l'échéance des obligations à taux fixe étant comprise entre zéro et un an et celle des obligations à taux variable, entre zéro et trois ans.Pour leur part, les ETF iShares $ Short Duration Corporate Bond UCITS et iShares $ Short Duration High Yield Corporate Bond UCITS investissent respectivement dans des obligations d’entreprises libellées en dollars de catégorie investissement et dans des obligations ayant une notation spéculative. Pour être éligibles aux fonds, les obligations doivent avoir une échéance inférieure ou égale à cinq ans, la duration moyenne des fonds étant comprise entre deux et trois ans.CaractéristiquesDénomination : iShares $ Short Duration Corporate Bond UCITS ETFCode mnémonique : SDIGCode Isin : IE00BCRY5Y77Duration de l’indice : 2,49 ansRendement de l’indice : 1,76 %Taux de frais sur encours : 0,20 %Dénomination : iShares $ Short Duration High Yield Corporate Bond UCITS ETFCode mnémonique : SDHYCode Isin : IE00BCRY6003Duration de l’indice : 2,07 ansRendement de l’indice : 5,01 %Taux de frais sur encours : 0,45 %Dénomination : iShares Euro Ultrashort Bond UCITS ETF Code mnémonique : ERNECode Isin : IE00BCRY6557Duration de l’indice : 0,30 anRendement de l’indice : 0,69 %Taux de frais sur encours : 0,20 %Dénomination : iShares $ Ultrashort Bond UCITS ETFCode mnémonique : ERNDCode Isin : IE00BCRY6227Duration de l’indice : 0,33 anRendement de l’indice : 0,72 %Taux de frais sur encours : 0,20 %

Les fonds domiciliés en Europe du Nord (Suède, Norvège, Danemark et Finlande) affichent des frais (« ongoing charge ») de 0,98 % en moyenne, contre 1,09 % pour l’Europe hors pays nordiques et 1,08 % pour l’Europe dans son ensemble, selon une étude de Morningstar sur les frais des fonds nordiques.Les fonds les moins chers sont ceux basés en Norvège (0,72 %), devant les fonds de Suède (1,03 %), les fonds du Danemark (1,07 %) et les fonds de Finlande (1,07 %).En matière de fonds d’actions, la palme revient aux fonds suédois, avec 1,09 %, devant les norvégiens (1,11 %), les danois (1,45 %) et les finlandais (1,60 %).

Les actifs sous gestion du britannique Standard Life Investments s’inscrivaient au 30 septembre à 179,6 milliards de livres, contre 167,7 milliards de livres à fin décembre 2012, selon les chiffres communiqués le 30 octobre. Les seuls actifs sous gestion externes ont augmenté de 13% ou 11,2 milliards de livres à 94,2 milliards de livres.Cette évolution est liée tant à la collecte qu'à l’effet marché. La collecte sur neuf mois s’est élevée à 8,3 milliards de livres, contre 3,2 milliards de livres sur les neuf mois de l’année précédente.Au cours du seul troisième trimestre, la collecte nette a atteint 1,2 milliard de livres, dont 1 milliard de livres dans les solutions multi-classes d’actifs (dont l’offre GARS).A noter par ailleurs que les actifs sous administration du groupe Standard Life ont enregistré une hausse de 9% à 237,6 milliards de livres.

Psigma Investment Management vient de boucler l’acquisition de la clientèle privée d’Axa Framlington logée dans AXA Framlington Portfolio Management. Filiale de Punter Southall Group, les actifs sous gestion de Psigma s'élèvent désormais à plus de 2 milliards de livres. L’opération avait été annoncée en juillet dernier (Newsmanagers du 15 juillet 2013).Toute l'équipe d’Axa Framlington Portfolio Management (3 gérants de portefeuille et 5 assistants pour les fonctions support) a rejoint Psigma.Cette cession est liée à une réorganisation stratégique décidée l’an dernier par Axa Framlington qui souhaite progresser sur les clientèles retail et institutionnelles.