Nikko Asset Management has lost four Asian equity specialists in Singapore, including its chief investment officer and two portfolio managers, Asian Investor reports. But at the same time, Nikko AM has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire a boutique in Singapore specialised in Asian equities, which employs seven investment professionals. The transaction may be completed by the end of the month. The outgoing heads are chief investment offices Ng Soo-nam, who is expected to leave his position at the end of the month, two portfolio managers, Christine Seng and Ling Weixiong, and the analyst Low Wee Jia.

The change announced by the Fed to its monetary policy is weighing on the Pimco Total Return Fund, the largest bond fund in the world, managed by Bill Gross, Agefi reports. The fund posted USD7.7bn in net redemptions in August, according to Morningstar statistics. Assets have fallen to USD251bn, a decline of USD41bn since the end of April.

The Swiss Federal Council (government) on 4 September resolved to create a panel of experienced experts to analyse both the framework conditions and future prospects for the financial centre and to formulate recommendations on the subject. The group of experts will be led by Aymo Brunetti.The group of experts will be composed of representatives of the Confederation, the private sector, and scientific circles. Without giving in to prevailing pressure, on the basis of current policy on financial markets, the committee will examine both framework conditions and future prospects for the financial market, and then submit proposals. Its activity will continue until the end of 2014.The group of experts will not only consider the current challenges the financial market is facing nationally, but also the opportunities the country is facing internationally. To achieve that, it will take into account the interests of the entire economy. It will focus its work on the following points:-strengthening the Swiss financial market by improving national framework conditions. This reinforcement will allow for structural changes in the financial sector and the real economy to be better confronted;-maintenance or improvement of access to foreign markets, in order to preserve and promote, on the Swiss economic marketplace, the creation of value by international activities.

The Credit Suisse Liquid Alternative Beta (LAB) index has posted a decline of 1.01% in the month of August, according to the most recent available statistics. All strategies of the index finished the month with losses, including declines of 1.54% for the Event Driven strategy, and 1.05% for the Long/Short strategy.

BlackRock will close two top calibre European equity funds to new investors, managed by Alister Hibert and Vincent Devlin, Citywire reports. The closure is expected by 7 November, Citywire reports. In messages obtained by the specialist website, the group announces that BGF Continental Europe Flexible, whose assets under management total EUR1.93bn, will be closed to existing and new shareholders from 7 November. On the same date, the BSF European Absolute Return A2 EUR (EUR1.59bn) will also be closed to all new subscriptions. On that date, the BlackRock European Dynamic fund (GBP1.96bn), domiciled in the United Kingom and managed by Hibbert, will be soft closed.

Successeur en 2008 d’Anthony Bolton à la tête du fonds de Fidelity dédié aux situations spéciales, Sanjeev Shah devrait abandonner la gestion de cette stratégie à la fin de l’année.Il devrait passer la main à Axel Wright, qui gère actuellement le Fidelity UK Smaller Companies fund.En attendant, Sanjeev Shah reste à la tête du fonds avec une période transition qui semble bien organisée. Axel Wright, qui travaille chez Fidelity depuis une douzaine d’années, a collaboré en qualité d’analyste tant avec Anthony Bolton que Sanjeev Shah.

The Commission on September 4 adopted a communication on shadow banking and proposed new rules for money market funds (MMFs). The communication is a follow-up to last year’s Green Paper on Shadow Banking (IP/12/253). It summarises the work undertaken so far by the Commission and sets out possible further actions in this important area.The Communication sets out the issues at stake in relation to the shadow banking system and the measures already taken to deal with the risks related to shadow banking such as the rules governing hedge fund activity and outlines the priorities identified on which the Commission intends to take initiatives in areas such as the provision of a framework for money market funds. The new rules proposed today (MEMO/13/764) cover money market funds (MMFs) that are domiciled or sold in Europe and aim to improve their liquidity profile and stability:• Liquidity management: MMFs would be required to have at least 10% of their portfolio in assets that mature within a day and another 20% that mature within a week. This requirement is there to allow the MMFs to repay investors who want to withdraw funds at short notice. In order to avoid that a single issuer bears undue weight in the net asset value (NAV) of an MMF, exposure to a single issuer would be capped at 5% of the MMF’s portfolio (in value terms). For standard MMFs, a single issuer could account for 10% of the portfolio. • Stability: to take account of the constant NAV, MMF’s propensity to require sponsor support to stabilise redemptions at par, the new rules would require this type of MMF to establish a predefined capital buffer. This buffer will be activated to support stable redemptions in times of decreasing value of the MMFs investment assets.

Stichting Pensioenfonds Wolters Kluwer Nederland, the pension scheme of Wolters Kluwer, has decided to mandate the management of about 90% of its assets of EUR850m to BlackRock, FondsNieuws reports. The US-based asset management firm will provide strategic advising for the entire portfoloi, and will create an annual investment plan with its client. In addition, BlackRock will be responsible for day-to-day risk management. Wolters Kluwer has already been working with BlackRock since 1996, for index-based investments.

The Frankfurt-based Close Brothers Seydler Bank, an affiliate of the British firm Close Brothers, has announced that it is adding to its 17-member sales team, with the recruitment of Karl Heinz Filbert, who had previously been a member of the executive committee at Macquarie Group Deutschland as head of European production for continental clients, as director of distribution. He will report to René Parmantier, CEO of Close Brothers Seydler Bank AG.

The Swedish asset management firm Fonder FM has become the most recent firm to launch a frontier markets fund, FIM Frontier, Privata Affärer reports. The fund is invested in the Philippines, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

According to a study carried out by Diaman Scf for the Italian weekly newsmagazine Plus 24 of over 2,100 European bond funds in 2012, the top 50 funds in terms of assets, equivalent to 3% of products analysed, received EUR226m, or 80% of total net inflows. In addition, 35% went to only four funds. In 2012, funds which had the largest inflows also received the best returns. But in 2013, performance tended to deteriorate. The good reputation of large funds has helped to make them grow to excessive size, which makes the task harder for the manager, who needs to find new investments for incoming capital. In addition, decisions taken by a large fund have an impact on the market, which penalises them.

Peter Marber has been appointed as head of emerging markets investments at Loomis Sayles (US affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management), where he will be responsible both for investments in equities and in bonds, under the authority of Jae Park, CIO. Marber joins from HSBC Global Asset Management, where he served in several roles at the emerging markets group, such as chief business strategist, floval head of emerging markets debt and portfolio manager. He had been founding partner, senior portfolio manager and chief investment strategist at The Atlantic Advisors, a firm acquired by HSBC in 2005.The team led by Marber includes three portfolio managers (David Rolley, Eddy Sternberg and Peter Frick), as well as Elisabeth Colleran as emerging markets senior credit strategist. The team is supported by over 12 emerging market specialists. Recently, a staetment says, Loomis Sayles recruited four senior emerging market analysts: Bianca Taylor (EM senior sovereign analyste), Celeste Tay (Asia soverign analyst), Li Ping Yeo (Asia senior credit analyst) et Nada Oulidi (EM senior bank analyst).As of 30 June, emerging market assets at Loomis Sayles totalled over USD12bn.

Lyxor, a well-known specialist in managed accounts, is currently working on launching a new AIFM hedge fund platform which institutional investors will be eligible for. The first funds are expected to be available by the end of the year, probably in December, says Nathanaël Benzaken, deputy head of alternative management at Lyxor Asset Management. The initiative is a response to a desire on the part of Lyxor to offer a third option, between UCITS-compliant hedge funds and totally offshore vehicles, between highly regulated products on the one hand, and offshore hedge funds with very little oversight on the other. ‘This is a third option which will allow us to take advantage of the new AIFM directive. Institutional investors have previously not had any choice other than ot invest in offshore vehicles. The regulatory environment now offers them another solution. Alternative investment funds (FIA) from our point of view appear to be the solutoin which best meets the requirements both of regulators and of risk-takers. This is clearly a range aimed primarily at institutional clients. However, I am persuaded that the AIFM brand can and will become a standard label, possibly outside Europe, like the UCITS brand, since it now allows for invetsmnt in all alternative management strategies, including the least liquid strategies, without as restrictive an investment limit as the one imposed on UCITS funds, all in an onshore environment, under the supervision of regulators.” The initiative may also allow for the interest of institutional investors in alternative management to be rekindled, due to the more favourable environment, insofar as “we are returning to more fundamental markets,” Benzaken adds.

Two hedge fund managers have unveiled significant staes in the JC Penney group, after a sale by Pershing Square Capital Management, a fund by Bill Ackman, of all of its shares in the US retail chain, Reuters reports.Hayman Capital Management has reported a 5.2% stake in the capital of JC Penney, while Glenview Capital Management has increased its stake to 9.1% from less than 4% previously, according to documents submitted to the Securities & Exchange Comimssion.Ackman sold his stake to Citigroup, which then offered it to other investors.

Reginald Browne, who is known as the “godfather of ETFs,” is leaving KCG, the firm created when Knight Capital was acquired by Getco, the Financial Times reports. His colleagues, Eric Lichtenstein and Darren Taube, are also leaving. A dispute concerning a contract is reported to be the reason for the departures.Browne is known for helping to create some of the most original ETFs, including the PowerShares Senior Loan ETF.

Frank Frecentese, recruited slightly over three months ago as deputy head of hedge fund research at the New York office of Lyxor Asset Management (see Newsmanagers of 27 May), has been promoted to the position of global head of hedge fund research. He succeeds Dennis Heskel, who will be retiring next month.Frecentese will report directly to Lionel Erdely and Nicolas Gaussel, who are CIOs at Lyxor.

The asset management firm H2O AM is preparing an initial balance sheet for its activities, after three years in existence. According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, assets are nearing EUR3bn, largely due to inflows, three quarters of which are reportedly from Asian and Australian investors. If this is the case, it would be a considerable increase. By comparison, H2O AM had EUR1.9bn in assets under management as of 31 March 2012, with inflows from Australia representing one third of the total. This Asian emphasis is due to the greater maturity of Asian investors (pension funds, SWFs), which are more inclined to understand the risk/return relationship and the principle of long-term performance which the firm holds dear.Newsmanagers has learned that Bruno Crastes, co-founder and director of the firm, is preparing to rename one of his H2O Patrimoine funds, not due to the performance of the fund, but because the “Patrimoine,” or wealth concept is outdated as it is related to a falling interest rate phase. The fund is now expected to be renamed as H2O Multistratégies.

As part of a sale & lease-back operation for an amount “in the low hundreds of millions,” Hermes Real Estate Investment Limited (HREIML) has acquired a 75% stake in a portfolio of 43 Metro Cash & Carry France shops.The transaction, announced on 4 September, aims to diversify the international portfolio of HREIML.The 43 locations represent about half of the Metro network in France.

Neuflize OBC Investissements will merge its fixed income and convertibles teams into a single department, according to information confirmed to Citywire by the French asset management firm. Xavier Chapon, head of fixed income at the firm, will lead the new 10-member team with EUR11bn in assets under management.

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) has recruited Matt Montana as managing director, in a newly-created position as head of equity trading for the Americas region. Montana will be based in New York, and will report directly to Joshua Friedberg, head of trading, Americas. He will be responsible for all equity trading in the Americas. He previously worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he spent 25 years.

L’Espagne a émis jeudi pour 4 milliards d’euros d’obligations à cinq et dix ans, le montant maximal prévu, à des rendements au plus bas depuis 3 ans. Le Trésor, qui visait entre 3,0 et 4,0 milliards, a placé pour 1,6 milliard d’euros de titres 2018 à un rendement moyen de 3,477%, contre 3,561% lors d’une opération similaire le 1er août. Il a également adjugé pour 2,4 milliards d’obligations 2023 au rendement moyen de 4,503%, contre 4,723% en juillet.

La roupie a repris jusqu'à 2,3% à 65,53 pour un dollar, alors qu’elle avait atteint un plus bas de 68,85 à la fin de la semaine dernière. Raghuram Rajan, devenu ce jeudi gouverneur de la Reserve Bank of India, a dévoilé hier de façon inattendue une longue série de propositions pour soutenir la roupie. Ces mesures comprennent notamment une plus grande flexibilité accordée aux exportateurs et aux importateurs dans les opérations de couverture de leurs contrats à terme sur les devises.

La France paie la remontée des taux longs. L’Agence France Trésor à émis 8,385 milliards d’euros de dette à long terme, soit un montant proche du maximum annoncé, mais aux taux les plus élevés de l’année. L’AFT a adjugé 4,24 milliards d’obligations assimilables du Trésor 1,75% mai 2023 au taux moyen pondéré de 2,57%, soit le même que sur le marché secondaire juste avant l’opération, contre 2,32% en juillet. Elle a également émis 2,435 milliards d’euros d’OAT 3,25% octobre 2021 au taux moyen de 2,17% (contre 1,42% en mai) et 1,66 milliard d’euros d’OAT 3,25% mai 2045. La remontée des taux longs affecte également l’Allemagne. Sur le marché secondaire, les rendements à 10 ans allemands ont atteint ce matin 1,997% (+5,8 points de base), leur plus haut niveau depuis un an et demi.

Le communiqué final du G20 qui s’est ouvert aujourd’hui à Saint-Petersbourg s’en tiendra aux termes convenus entre les ministres des Finances au mois de juillet sur les changes, a annoncé à Reuters le vice-ministre des Finances de la Russie, Sergueï Storchak. A l’issue de leur réunion de juillet à Moscou, les ministres des Finances et les banquiers centraux avaient déclaré qu’ils resteraient «vigilants face aux risques et aux effets collatéraux négatifs des périodes prolongées d’assouplissement quantitatif» et que les changements de politique monétaire seraient «calibrés avec soin et communiqués avec clarté».

Les commandes à l’industrie ont diminué nettement plus que prévu, de 2,7%, au mois de juillet, selon les statistiques publiées par le ministère de l’Economie. Le consensus Reuters attendait un repli de 1%. Les commandes en provenance de la zone euro ont chuté de 7,5%. Le ministère a en revanche révisé en nette hausse le chiffre de juin, à +5% au lieu de +3,8% initialement annoncé.

Dans le cadre de son activité d’incubation et au travers du fonds Next Invest soutenu par ses partenaires investisseurs, Next AM acquiert 10% du capital de la société de gestion Prim’ Finance. Fondée en 2002, celle-ci propose des OPCVM d’exposition active aux indices actions et aux indices de matières premières.

Le Conseil des gouverneurs de la Banque centrale européenne n’a pas modifié le taux d’intérêt des opérations principales de refinancement (refi) à 0,5%. Ceux de la facilité de prêt marginal et de la facilité de dépôt ont également été maintenus à respectivement 1,00% et 0,00%. Après cette décision attendue, le marché écoutera attentivement les déclarations du président de la BCE, Mario Draghi, lors de sa conférence cet après-midi pour se faire une idée plus précise sur le calendrier d’une éventuelle modification des taux.

Pierre Michel, directeur général adjoint chargé des finances de la Caisse Centrale de Réassurance (CCR) à la rédaction de www.institinvest.com : Nous envisageons de profiter de notre budget d’actifs non liquides pour renforcer nos investissements en private equity, en fonds de prêts, etc. En 2012, nous avons également engagé des investissements en obligations de PME et ETI. C’est dans ce cadre que nos financements directs à l'économie réelle trouvent naturellement leur place, dans le contexte actuel de réduction par les banques de leur effet de levier. Je voudrais toutefois insister sur une chose : notre raison d'être, en tant que réassureur, n’est pas d’abord de financer l'économie, mais bien d’honorer nos engagements à l'égard des assureurs, dans le cadre notamment des missions qui nous sont confiées par l’Etat français.

41.4% des flux obligataires de l’année 2012 se sont portés sur des titres souverains, majoritairement sur des titres d'état français et assimilés, ainsi que sur des agences. Dans un contexte de crise sur les emprunts des états européens périphériques, Suravenir a réduit son allocation globale aux dettes souveraines des pays dits PIIGS à 4.8%. 41.6% des flux ont été investis sur des émetteurs financiers, dont les niveaux de spread se sont fortement resserrés au cours du second semestre 2012. 17% résiduels ont été dirigés vers des émetteurs Corporate offrant une bonne visibilité à moyen terme. 70% des flux obligataires ont été investis en obligations taux fixes, 19% en obligations taux variables, 6% en obligations indexées inflation et 5% en monétaire. Ceci traduit la volonté de Suravenir de préserver le pouvoir d’achat de ses assurés, même dans un contexte de hausse des taux. Au sein de la poche Taux Fixes, Suravenir a continué en 2012 le développement d’une allocation High Yield en investissant 76 millions d’euros net. Suravenir a fait le choix en 2012 de réduire son exposition aux marchés des actions au profit de titres de produits structurés action à capital non garanti. A travers une transaction de 170M€ sur le domaine viticole du Château Calon-Ségur, Suravenir a souhaité diversifier ses actifs en procédant à un investissement à long terme ayant une forte logique économique, mais aussi territoriale. Ces décisions ne modifient pas profondément la part de l’allocation diversification qui augmente très légèrement entre 2011 et 2012. Des choix prudents ont été opérés en 2012 : La hausse de la provision pour participation aux bénéfices à 191 millions d’euros, Un portefeuille à plus de 85% composé d’obligations, La vente de l’exposition à la dette grecque et portugaise des actifs de Suravenir au 31 décembre 2012.

Un juge américain a suspendu jusqu’au 6 janvier prochain les poursuites au civil engagées à l’encontre du fonds d’arbitrage SAC Capital Advisors, tandis que la procédure au pénal suit son cours. Selon Bloomberg, le hedge fund devrait pour sa part augmenter les bonus de 3,5% au titre de 2014 afin de conserver ses collaborateurs. La société garantirait notamment une rémunération minimum de 300.000 dollars pour ses analystes actions.