To rationalise its product range and eliminate erdundancies, Kleinwort Benson has decided to absorb 21 of the 22 funds of the Global Funds range into the corresponding funds of its Elite range, which have a lower TER, Fundweb reports.

Taiwan is in talks with the Chinese central bank, for Taiwan financial establishments to obtain quotas denominated in RMB as qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII), and to develop ETF product ranges, Asian Investor reports.

The CNMV on 2 November issued a sales license for the Banif Revalorización Europea Euro II fund, created on 23 October by Santander Asset Management.This is the second edition of a bond fund launched in May (see Newsmanagers of 15 May), which at maturity (on 2 November 2016) guarantees the subscriber 95% of initial capital, plus, if applicable, 85% of gains for the EuroStoxx 50 index between 17 December 2012 and 24 October 2016. In other words, the maximal risk of loss is 1.31% per year, while the returns with a 30% gain for the index would be 4.92% per year (compared with 5.20% for the first edition of the product).CharacteristicsName: Banif Revalorización Europea Euro IIISIN code: ES0113487005Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 0.3% up to 17 December 2012 inclusive, and 1.6% thereafterWithdrawal penalty: 5%

In its quarterly report, Old Mutual has announced that its plans to make Old Mutual Wealth a top-calibre wealth management firm “are progressing well,” although it is taking further measures to reduce costs, IFA Online reports, relayed by Investment Week.Assets at Old Mutual Wealth, which includes assets at Old Mutual Global Investors, among others, increased in July-September by GBP1.8bn, to a total of GBP67.8bn as of the end of third quarter, bringing the increase since the beginning of the year to GBP8.7bn, of which GBP4.1bn are due to the takeover of Old Mutual Asset Management (UK) in early April. Old Mutual Global Investors has seen an increase in its assets under management of 6%, to GBP13.2bn, due to net subscriptions of GBP0.1bn, and a positive market effect of GBP0.6bn.The Skandia UK platform has posted net inflows of GBP0.4bn, which contributed to an increase in assets to GBP21.7bn.At Skandia International, assets fell to GBP13.7bn as of 30 September, compared with GBP14.6bn at the end of June, solely due to the sale of Skandia’s Finland operation.

UK pension funds have more bonds than equities in their portfolios for the first time since the concept of the cult of equities first appeared in the 1950s, the Financial Times reports. The Pensions Regulator, which compiled data on 6,316 defined-benefit retirement plans, reports that British funds are 43.2% invested in bonds, compared with 38.5% in equities.

Investment Week reports that Marlborough Fund Managers and BNP Paribas have declined to comment on rumours that the British asset management firm is about to acquire the Investment Fund Services Limited (IFSL) platform founded in 2007 by the French group as an hosting umbrella for funds and to allow advisers, wealth managers and asset managers to launch funds domiciled in the United Kingdom or distributor-influenced funds (DIFs).Assets at IFSL are reported to total GBP700m, which would more than double the GBP600m in assets managed in the authorised corporate director (ACD) operation by Marlborough, whose assets total GBP1.6bn.

The wealth management firm Rathbone Brothers (Rathbones) has acquired the private wealth management activities of Taylor Young Investment Management. The sale price is expecetd to total GBP10m to GBP15m, depending on the total amount of assets to be transferred in the next 18 moths. The management team at Taylor Young has joined Rathbones as a part of the transaction, which will increase assets under management at Rathbones by about 2%, to GBP17.6bn.

Andrew Lake, head of high yield portfolio management at Aviva Investors in London, will on 3 January 2013 join Mirabaud Asset Management in London, as part of the Geneva-based asset management firm’s fund range development strategy, which has already also brought the recruitment of Daniel Tubbs and his team of emerging market analysts (see Newsmanagers of 18 Jjune and 14 July). The new recruit will report to Lionel Aeschlimann, a partner responsible for asset management at Mirabaud. He is responsible for the management of global high yield solutions for Mirabaud clients. Before joining Aviva Investors, Lake spent four years at F&C Asset Management, after starting his career in high yield at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) in 1998.

Assets under management at the Banque Centrale Vaudoise group (BCV) rise 6%, or CHF5bn in the first nine months of the year, to a total of CHF82.1bn, according to a statement released on 8 November. Net inflows totalled CHF718m. Pre-tax profits rose slightly, to CHF364m.

The Credit Suisse group on 8 November announced the launch of single-family office services in India. The new initiative will allow the group to build up its product range in the fast-growing ultra-high net worth (UNHW) and high net worth individual (HNWI) client segments, the bank says in a statement. The index currently incoudes about 158,000 US dollar millionaires, and this number may rise by 17% to 242,000 by 2017, according to the Global Wealth Report from Credit Suisse.

The two rival groups Citi and UBS have decided to join forces to create a joint venture specialised in post-market middle and back office services for broker-dealers in the Asia-Pacific region. Under the terms of the agreement, UBS will provide middle office services, including settlement, allocation and pre-matching, while Citi will provide clearance and custody services. The range of services appears to be particularly suited to the Asia-Pacific region, which continues to appear as a mosaic of highly fragmented markets.

The former Standard Chartered banker Sameer Sopori has been appointed as head of high yield capital markets for the Asian region at BNP Paribas, Finance Asia reports. He will be based in Singapore, and will report to Frank Kwong, head of syndicate Asia, and Chanant Charnchainarong, head of fixed income for South-East Asia.

Matthias Schellenberg, who since the end of October 2008 had been head of business development Europe & Latin America at ING Investment Management, will at the beginning of January begin as head of Germany, Austria & Eastern Europe at UBS Global Asset Management. He will succeed Andreas Varnavides, whose term will end at the end of December.Pending approval by BaFin, Schellenberg will also join the managing board at UBS Deutschland AG. Until then, the chairman of th managinge board of UBS Deutschland, Axel Hörger, will serve as interim head of UBS Global AM on the board.

Rainer Fritzsche, who for eight years has been director of distribution and communications at the British alternative investment firm Man Investments for Germany and Austria, will be leaving his job at the end of February 2013, Das Investment reports. According to the website, Fritzsche has been the victim of the cost reduction programme at his employer, which has seen net outflows of USD4.6bn in the first nine months of the year, and which has announced USD100m in cost reductions over the next 18 months.

European high net worth individuals have increased their exposure to sustainable and responsible investments by 58% in the past two years, to EUR1.15trn, the third Eurosif study on the subject, undertaken in partnership with Banque Sarasin shows. This compares to an 18% increase in overall European HNWI wealth over the same period. The growth mainly derives from inflow of new money from new clients (44%) and from existing clients deepening their commitment (37%). The report shows that the number of HNWIs with more than half of their assets attributed to sustainable investments has doubled over the last two years to reach 25% of respondents. Positive screening strategies (such as best-in-class) and sustainability-themed investments are still the most used. The most popular sustainability themes are clean energy, water and green technology. The study also covers impact investing for the first time. The survey shows that impact investing is common among HNWIs, with 1 out of 2 respondents allocating assets to this type of investment. The study also shows that the typical profile of a sustainable high net worth investor is a comparatively young woman, entrepreneur, with highly considerable financial resources. Looking to the future, 87% respondents continue to predict a steady or even sharp increase in sustainable investments by HNWIs, especially as more and more view sustainable investment as a financial discipline to be integrated across all assets.

RWC on 7 November announced the launch of an activist fund, which will be managed by the European focus team that has recently left Hermes to join RWC. The team led by Maarten Wildshut and Petteri Soininen is currently responsible for slightly over USD300m in assets invested in a pan-European activist fund. The new fund, which will take the form of a master-feeder vehicle registered in the Cayman Islands, will in the long term invest in a concentrated portfolio of 10 to 20 companies which combine value, private equity and event-driven elements.

In January-October, the 2091 European ETPs saw net inflows of USD24.2bn, of which USD2.4bn were in October, bringing assets up by USD51.4bn to USD349.9bn, according to estimates by the BlackRock Investment Institute in addition to those published yesterday.Of the USD24.2bn which these products attracted in the first ten months of the year, USD13.2bn went to iShares (BlackRock group), USD4bn to Source, and USD2.6bn to ETF Securities. Assets under management by these three providers have increased by USD23.9bn, USD4.7bn, and USD4.2bn, respectively. For their part, db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) and Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) attracted USD0.7bn and USD0.1bn in net subscriptions in January-October, respectively, and their assets under management increased by USD5.1bn and USD2.5bn.As of 31 October, iShares had a market share of 37.1%, with USD129.8bn, 1.6 percentage points higher than at the end of December, while the market share for db x-trackers and Lyxor had fallen by 0.7% (to 13.8%) and 1.2% (to 11.6%), with assets under management of USD245bn and USD230bn, respectively.Three European ETPs have posted net subscriptions of over USD1.2bn in January-October: the Physical Gold Source P-ETC (USD1.284bn), GBS Bullion Securities (USD1.232bn), and iShares Barclays Capital Euro Corporate Bond ex-Financials (USd1.203bn). Six of the ten best-sellers are iShares products.However, only the iShares eb.rexx Government Germany 1.5-2.5 (DE) has seen outflows of over USD1bn (USD1.018bn).

Credit Suisse has appointed Paolo Mancini as head of ultra high net worth individuals in Italy, and managing director of the private banking division, Bluerating reports, citing the newspaper Milano Finanza. He replaces Francesco Lombardo di San Chirico, who has joined Citibank. Mancini had previously been managing director in the investment banking division at Credit Suisse, in charge of corporate clients in Southern Europe.

The German asset management firm Bantleon has registered two funds in Italy: the Bantleon Opportunities Fund S and L, Bluerating reports. The funds will be sold to retail clients. Bantleon is an independent asset management firm specialised in fixed income management.

Threadneedle has signed an agreement with Banca MPS Promozione Finanziaria in Italy for the distribution of 27 sub-funds of the Threadneedle (Lux) Sicav, Bluerating reports. Financial advisers at the MPS bank may now sell funds from the Sicav.

TCW recorded a EUR +2.1 billion inflow in Q3, announced Societe Generale in its quarterly financial information document published this morning. The US asset manager’s disposal to Carlyle Group and TCW’s management was announced in August 2012. At EUR 104.7 billion, TCW’s assets under management increased by EUR +13.7 billion since the beginning of the year. This included an inflow of EUR +4.0 billion, a “market” effect of EUR +7.9 billion, a “currency” impact of EUR +0.3 billion and a “structure” effect of EUR +1.4 billion. At EUR 91 million, the asset management business line’s revenues rose +11.0% vs. Q3 11, benefiting from the good level of performance commissions at TCW. Gross operating income came to EUR +22 million in Q3 12 vs. EUR -5 million in Q3 11. The business line’s contribution to Group net income was EUR +39 million in Q3 (vs. EUR +16 million in Q3 11), including a EUR +26 million contribution from Amundi. The business line’s contribution to Group net income came to EUR -92 million for the first nine months of the year. If goodwill write-down is stripped out, the business line’s contribution amounted to EUR 108 million in 9M 12. Private Banking, Global Investment Management and Services at Societe Generale posted increased earnings for Q3 2012 vs. Q3 11, in an unfavourable market environment. This was mainly due to its efforts to control costs. At EUR 521 million in Q3, the division’s revenues were down -6.5% vs. Q3 11, while operating expenses fell -7.4% over the same period. Gross operating income amounted to EUR 58 million, up +1.8% vs. Q3 11. The division’s Q3 contribution to Group net income came to EUR 63 million, vs. EUR 60 million in Q3 11. Net banking income totalled EUR 1,607 million for the first nine months of the year, down -6.3% vs. the previous year. Operating expenses were -6.1% lower. The contribution to Group net income came to EUR 15 million. When restated for the goodwill write-down in respect of TCW recorded in Q2 12, the division’s contribution to Group net income was EUR 215 million in 9M 12, in line with the figure for 9M 11.

The Cairo-based asset mangement firm EFG Hermes is in the process of creating a joint venture with the Qatar-based firm Qinvest, which would increase its asset management activities by about 50%. The joint venture, which would be operational by the end of this month, aims to increase assets under management from USD3.4bn currently to about USD5bn within the next few years, the managing director in charge of the asset management unit at EFG Hermes, Kashif Siddiqui, has told Reuters. Siddiqui says the joint venture, which would be 60% owned by Qinvest, would allow EFG Hermes to penetrate new markets, due to Qinvest’s access to major sovereign funds in the region and to Islamic finance.

Following the departure of Patrik Janovjak at the end of October, the management of the Sarasin Sustainable Bond EUR (LU0158938935) and Sarasin-Fairinvest-Bond-Universal-Fonds (DE0006623077 for the institutional share class, and DE000A1C2XF8 for the retail share class) SRI funds have been taken over by Oscar Alberte at the Luxembourg-based asset management firm Sarasin Fund Management S.A. The successor to the departing manager since 31 October has been Johannes Weisser, who on 1 September took over as director of the fixed income & absolute return team. Weisser began in portfolio management at the Basel-based Banque Sarasin more than eight years ago; he was most recently head of fixed income mandates.

Le nouveau programme d’achat d’obligations de la BCE lui permet des interventions illimitées sur les marchés de la dette souveraine et devrait apaiser des marchés qui craignent un éclatement de la zone euro, a déclaré le président de la BCE, Mario Draghi, lors d’une conférence bancaire. Mario Draghi a également observé que les investisseurs tendaient à nouveau à placer leur argent dans la zone euro.

Sanofi a annoncé avoir placé une émission obligataire de 750 millions d’euros à échéance 2017 à un taux intérêt annuel très bas 1%. BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, HSBC, et Mitsubishi Securities ont agi en qualité de co-chefs de file de l’opération. «Cela faisait 3 ans que Sanofi n’était pas venu sur le marché des émissions en euro. Il y a eu un gros appétit de la part des investisseurs qui ont salué la qualité de crédit de Sanofi noté A2 par Moody’s», explique Jean-Philippe Brioudes, directeur des marchés de dettes et de capitaux chez HSBC France.

L’initiative Europe 2020 pour des emprunts obligataires consacrés à la réalisation de projets, qui vise à améliorer le financement d’infrastructures par les marchés de capitaux, a franchi la dernière étape de sa procédure d’adoption. Un accord de coopération ayant été signé entre la Commission européenne et la BEI pour clarifier le partage des risques, la phase pilote de ce projet va être lancée.

La commission des Affaires sociales du Sénat a rétabli le principe, supprimé par l’Assemblée nationale, d’une contribution sociale sur les revenus tirés de la gestion des fonds de placement à risque («carried interests»), estimant qu’ils ne devaient pas échapper au financement de la protection sociale. La commission a adopté au total 54 amendements dans le cadre du PLFSS 2013.

Rallonger les échéances des prêts internationaux à la Grèce et réduire les intérêts perçus sur ces derniers sont des moyens de réduire l'énorme dette publique de ce pays, sans passer par le biais d’une décote qui n’est ni à l’ordre du jour ni nécessaire, a déclaré le commissaire européen Olli Rehn. Les parlementaires grecs doivent se prononcer ce soir sur le paquet de réformes structurelles.

La chancelière allemande Angela Merkel a appelé mercredi les dirigeants européens à s’entendre lors du sommet de décembre sur des mesures concrètes et ambitieuses pour une plus forte intégration budgétaire et économique de la zone euro. S’exprimant devant le Parlement européen à Bruxelles, Angela Merkel a précisé que cette feuille de route devrait être mise en œuvre dans les deux ou trois prochaines années. «Je ferai en sorte que nous nous mettions d’accord sur une feuille de route ambitieuse en décembre, afin de renouveler notre union économique et monétaire», a déclaré la chancelière.

Un juge fédéral de Los Angeles a émis hier un jugement provisoire bloquant la cession de TCW par la Société Générale à Carlyle, suite à une plainte déposée par le fonds EIG Global Energy Partners. Ce dernier s’estime lésé dans le cadre d’un fonds commun avec TCW entrant en concurrence avec l’offre de Carlyle. Les avocats de TCW ont fait valoir qu’une annulation de la transaction constituerait un signal négatif à destination de marchés.