Following the retirement of Lee Kuan Yew from his position as chairman and director of the sovereign fund Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), Lee Hsein Long will take over as chairman and director from 1 June 2011. Lee Kuan Yew has been appointed as senior advisor to the fund.

Selon Asian Investor, Alan Landau, l’ancien président de Marco Polo Pure Asset Management, lance une nouvelle entreprise, Novel Asset Management, qui développera une expertise dans le négoce de diamants rares, en partenariat avec un spécialiste du diamant, Novel Collection, établie dans tous les grands centres diamantaires de la planète (New York, Anvers, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv).La nouvelle structure, Novel Asset Management, espère lever quelque 20 millions de dollars dans son premier fonds, Novel Diamond Fund, qui bénéficie d’ores et déjà d’engagements pour un montant de 10 millions de dollars. L’objectif est de lancer un fonds tous les six mois, soit trois à quatre fonds dans les deux ans. L’objectif de collecte est de 20 millions pour les deux premiers, et de 50 millions de dollars pour les deux suivants. Les nouveaux véhicules s’adressent en priorité aux family offices et aux investisseurs haut de gamme.

In Europe, assets under management totalled EUR13.8trn as of the end of 2010, compared with EUR12.4trn as of the end of 2009, and EUR10.9trn as of the end of 2008, the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA) states in its fourth annual report. This 13% increase over 2008 is related to economic recovery and positive market effects, as well as to increasing investor demand for long-term assets.The EFAMA report for the first time attempts to evaluate the weight of management firms as a part of short-term and long-term financing for governments, corporations, and banks. On the basis of statistics from the European Central Bank and estimates by EFAMA, European management firms hold 25% of total debt issued in the euro zone up to the end of 2009, and 52%, by value, df debt issued by euro zone businesses. These figures confirm “the essential contribution of European management firms to the overall development of the European economy,” says Peter De Proft, CEO of the professional association.The ratio of assets under management to GDP as of the end of 2010 stood at 103% for Europe, compared with 97% at the end of 2009, and 81% one year earlier. EFAMA points out that in France, the ratio stood at 148% as of the end of 2009, well above the European average, and one of the highest bounces since the financial crisis.The French market is the largest in Europe by the number of management firms, with a total of 600 firms as of the end of 2010. Six member companies of the French financial management association (AFG) have assets under management of over EUR100bn, while 277 firms have assets of under EUR1bn.As of the end of 2009, the United Kingdom, France and Germany represented 65% of total assets under management in Europe, equivalent to about EUR8.059trn. The United Kingdom is the leader in terms of discretionary mandates (EUR2.675trn as of the end of 2009), while France leads in terms of investment funds, with assets under management of EUR1.568trn as of the end of 2009.Institutional clients represent 68% of the European total, with a share of 77% in the United Kingdom, compared with 64% in France, 62% in Germany and 51% in Italy.The two major asset classes managed in Europe remain bonds and equities, with shares of 44% and 32% respectively as of the end of 2009.

The French national pension fund, the Fonds de réserve pour les retraites (FRR), on 30 May announced that returns on its performance assets, whose long-term objective is annualised performance of 6%, totalled 2.6% between 13 December 2010, when the new strategic allocation went into place, and 31 March 2011. On that date, annualised performance for the FRR’s portfolio after all fees totalled 3%.The new strategic allocation for the FRR is the result of legislative changes which now define the necessary passive liquidity level for the fund, following reforms to retirement laws, giving the FRR two precise objectives: secure payment of the FRR”s liabilities, on the one hand, and to seek added returns by 2024, on the other.With this in mind, the liability-driven investment allocation put into use involves a full coverage for liabilities by assets which are suited to this purpose (a coverage portfolio), and the dynamic management of a performance-oriented portfolio.As of 31 March 2011, the financing ratio, which measures the degree of safety of the fund’s liability payments (the proportion of the market value of net assets and the current value of liabilities) was 143%. The total net asset value stood at EUR37.4bn on that date, and the current value of liabilities was EUR26.1bn.As of 31 March 2011, the coverage allocation represented 59.1% of total assets, while the performance allocation accounted for 40.7%.

The world’s largest provider of ETF funds, BlackRock iShares, has rejected proposals to create a professional organisation to reppresent the ETF sector, the Financial Times reports. Lyxor and db x-trackers were pushing for the creation of such an association, in order to respond to concerns expressed recently by regulators. iShares has stated that it opposes such an initiative. Joe Linhares, head of iShares EMEA, says that the European financial management association, EFAMA, is best positioned to maintain dialogue with regulators. EFAMA already has a working group dedicated to ETFs, which is providing excellent recommendations, Linhares says.

On 24 May, the CNMV issued a license for the fund Mutuafondo Bonos Tier 1 Seguros, launched by Mutuactivos on 9 May. The bond product, denominated in euros, will invest at least 50% of its assets in subordinated debt (lower tier 2 and tier 1) from insurers. It may also invest up to 30% of its assets in the same type of securities, issued by banks and other financial institutions of OECD countries. The indicative recommended investment duration is 4 years, and the benchmark index selected is the Iboxx Euro Tier 1. Liquidity will be daily.CharacteristicsName: Mutuafondo Bonos Tier 1 SegurosISIN code: ES0165113004Minimal investment: EUR10Management commission: 0.6%Depository banking commission: 0.02% for Spanish assets0.04% for foreign assetsFront-end fee: 3% (from 18 June 2011 to 30 June 2015)Withdrawal penalty: 3% (from 18 June 2011 until 30 June 2015)

Muriel Blanchier, one of the three convertibles managers at Oddo Asset Management, says that the French management firm is planning to register the Oddo Commodities Convertibles fund for sale in Spain, as soon as the UCITS IV directive is transposed into Spanish law, which is expected to take place in July, Funds People reports.The product was launched in September 2008. Currently, allocation is neutral to precious metals (10% of assets), positive to energy (31%), particularly coal, and industrial metals (31%), particularly copper, zinc and steel.

On 30 May, David Benmussa, who until recently was director of distribution to third parties for France and Monaco at Schroders Paris (since 2002), has joined the Paris staff of BlackRock, as head of commercial relations in France for iShares. He will report to Eric Wohleber, CEO of BlackRock for France.Following the recruitments of Gad Amar in September and David Disneur in early January, the sales team at BlackRock/iShares gains the addition of an experienced professional. Another recruitment may reinforce the addition in second half.

DZ Bank is now including in its publications all of the sustainable development ratings issued by DZ Bank Research for all of the 334 shares of the Dax, Mdax, SDax and TecDax indices. The ratings are intended to facilitate the choice of investments for institutional investors, asset managers, and co-operative banks.DZ Bank Research adds an analysis of economic outlooks to the study of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, and businesses whose shares are considered investable on the basis of financial and extra-financial criteria are designated in all DZ Bank Research publications with an appropriate quality label, Stefan Bielmeier, director of DZ Bank Research, says.The data on about 150 extra-financial criteria in ESG areas are provided by Sustainalytics, and then reworked by DZ Bank Research, which provides presentation and weighting of the data, and brings them into line with economic data. Ultimately, companies are divided between “sustainable” and “non-sustainable” groups, depending on sectoral and/or multi-disciplinary sustainability and/or exclusionary criteria.DZ Bank states that the sustainability ratings will be updated on a daily basis, as will the data.

Wealth management activities at Deutsche Bank are expected to balance out in 2011 to contribute to a total pre-tax profit of EUR100m to EUR150m from 2014, Josef Ackermann announced last week at a general shareholders’ meeting of Deutsche Bank.Wealth management will benefit this year from the acquisition in 2010 of Sal Oppenheim, Ackermann says. In first quarter 2011, the PCAM (private clients and asset management) division earned pre-tax profits of EUR978m, compared with profits of EUR184m one year earlier.

The auto-maker BMW on 30 May announced that BlackRock on 20 May notified it that it has increased its stake to 3.05%, which corresponds to 18,382,836 shares. The US asset management firm is at present the only institutional investor with a stake of over 3% in the German firm.

On 1 June, Pictet Asset Management will be launching an interactive service in Spain at the website http://www.pictetfunds.es/. The free product is a sales tool which includes a portion where independent financial advisers can find market research, documents related to investment strategy, information about products of the Pictet Asset Management range, and a way to sign up online for events held by the asset management firm in Spain. The website will be in Castilian Spanish.Retail clients will have access to public information as well as all the necessary data concerning funds from the firm which are licensed for sale in the country.Pictet is also planning to launch an added service in September, with added-value content, but to which access will require a password issued by the asset management firm. Those pages would be reserved for professionals licensed by the CNMV.

The UBS group has announced the appointment of Albert A. Momdijan as director of the Ultra High Net Worth Clients and Corporate Advisory business unit for the Middle East and Africa region. Momdijan, who will begin on 1 August 2011, will be based in Dubai. He previously worked for Crédit Agricole.

Asian Investor reports that Alan Landau, former president of Marco Polo Pure Asset Management, is launching a new business, Novel Asset Management, which will develop expertise in trading rare diamonds, in partnership with a diamond specialist, Novel Collection, which is present in all the major diamond centres in the world (New York, Anvers, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv). The new structure, Novel Asset Management, is hoping to raise about USD20m for its first fund, Novel Diamond Fund, which has already received commitments for USD10m. The objective is to launch a fund every six months, to have three to four funds in two years’ time. The objective for inflows is USD20m for the first two funds, and USD50m for the second two. The new vehicles will be aimed primarily at family offices and high net worth private clients.

On 1 July, the Frankfurt-based firm Veritas Investment Trust is planning to launch a new ETF fund, Emerging Markets plus Money, the CEO and CIO of the firm, Markus Kaiser, has announced. The product will involve active management of market risk, with allocation to emerging markets equities funds which may vary from 100% in rising periods, and 0% if the markets fall steeply. The firm has also announced three departures: Marc Sattler, junior fund manager, who is leaving the firm on 30 June, and the managers Thorsten Winkler and Klaudius Sobczyck on 31 December.

Aberdeen Immobilien KAG has announced that it has managed to resell the Alder Castle office property in Noble Street in London to an institutional investor. The office building, with 8,620 square metres of area, was purchased in November 2003 for the DEGI International fund, whose redemptions have been frozen since November 2010, and whose assets as of the end of April totalled EUR1.59bn.The sale was made at GBP60m, against market value at the latest valuation of GBP60.9m. The transaction increases liquidity in the fund by 200 basis points. Aberdeen is planning to reopen the fund to redemptions on 16 November 2011 (see Newsmanagers of 8 November 2010), and in order to do that, it will have to sell several more properties from those remaining in the portfolio.Aberdeen states that the occupancy rate for properties in the DEGI International portfolio now stands at 96.1%.

Until 6 June, Pioneer Investments Germany is offering the Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fonds 2016 (ISIN: LU0551346850), which matures on 30 December 2016, Das Investment reports.The UCITS-compliant fund, denominated in euros, will invest up to 75% of its assets in high yield corporate bonds from emerging markets, while the remaining 25% will be invested in investment-grade corporate bonds.Minimal subscription will be EUR1,000.

The real estate fund Columbus UK Real Estate Fund, advised by Columbus Capital Management, and Chester Properties have formed a joint venture to acquire a commercial park with 10 warehouse facilities and one restaurant, in Glasgow, Scotland. The sale price is GBP19.1m.

Lord Myners, the former Gartmore chairman who always pushed institutional investors to engage more with the boards of directors at companies, will be joining the largest activist fund in Europe, Cevian Capital, as UK chairman, the Financial Times reports. Lord Myners will help Cevian to identify investment targets, to work with the boards of directors at businesses, and to team up with other investors. Assets under management by the Swedish-based fund, which has been present in the UK since 2009, total about EUR3.5bn.

Dans un entretien avec la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Fredrik Boheman, directeur général du groupe bancaire suédois SEB pour l’Allemagne, indique que le bénéfice d’exploitation au premier trimestre a plus que doublé à surface comparable, pour ressortir à 33 millions d’euros. La contribution de la gestion de fonds de valeurs mobilières et de fonds immobiliers a représenté un cinquième de ce résultat.L’activité de banque du particulier (174 agences) a été vendue pour 555 millions d’euros à l’espagnol Santander, de sorte que SEB se concentre désormais en Allemagne sur la clientèle d’entreprises et la gestion d’actifs.

Aberdeen Immobilien KAG a annoncé être parvenue à revendre à un investisseur institutionnel l’immeuble de bureaux Alder Castle dans Noble Street à Londres. Il s’agit d’un immeuble de bureaux (8.620 mètres carrés) acheté en novembre 2003 pour le fonds DEGI International, dont les remboursements sont gelés depuis novembre 2010 et dont l’encours se situait fin avril à 1,59 milliard d’euros.La cession s’est effectuée à 60 millions de livres, pour une valeur vénale en dernier lieu de 60,9 millions. Cette transaction permet d’augmenter les liquidités du fonds de 200 points de base. Aberdeen a l’intention de rouvrir le fonds aux remboursements le 16 novembre 2011 (lire notre article du 8 novembre 2010) et, pour cela de vendre quelques autres actifs sur les 37 immeubles restant dans son portefeuille.Aberdeen précise enfin que le taux de remplissage des actifs du DEGI International se situe actuellement à 96,1 %.

Jusqu’au 6 juin, Pioneer Investments Allemagne commercialise le Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fonds 2016 (ISIN: LU0551346850), dont l'échéance est fixée au 30 décembre 2016, rapporte Das Investment.Ce fonds coordonné libellé en euros investira jusqu'à 75 % en obligations à haut rendement d’entreprise des pays émergents, les 25 % restants étant placés en obligations d’entreprise catégorie investissement.La souscription minimale sera de 1.000 euros.

Le constructeur automobile BMW a annoncé le 30 mai que BlackRock l’a avisé avoir augmenté au 20 mai sa participation à 3,05 %, ce qui correspond à 18.382.836 actions. Le gestionnaire américain est pour l’instant le seul investisseur institutionnel à avoir franchi le seuil des 3 % du capital de la société allemande.

Le 1er juillet, le francfortois Veritas Investment Trust compte lancer un nouveau fonds d’ETF, Emerging Markets plus Money, a annoncé le directeur général et CIO Markus Kaiser.Ce produit se caractérisera par un pilotage actif du risque de marché, avec une allocation aux fonds d’actions émergentes qui pourra varier entre 100 % en période de hausse et 0 % en cas de forte chute des marchés.La société annonce aussi trois départs : celui de Marc Sattler, gérant de fonds junior, au 30 juin, et ceux des gérants Thorsten Winkler et Klaudius Sobczyck au 31 décembre.

A la suite du retrait de Lee Kuan Yew du poste de chairman et directeur du fonds souverain Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), Lee Hsien Loong, va en prendre la présidence à compter du 1er juin 2011. De son côté, Lee Kuan Yew a été nommé conseil senior auprès du fonds.

Clariden Leu a annoncé le 30 mai une simplification de son organisation qui passe par des regroupements d’activités afin de répondre à l'évolution des défis réglementaires et politiques dans le domaine du private banking. La nouvelle structure organisationnelle a également pour objectif d’augmenter l’efficacité opérationnelle et d’améliorer la qualité, indique dans un communiqué la banque privée.Dans le détail, les domaines Suisse et Europe continentale ainsi que les affaires avec les gérants de fortune externes (EAM) sont regroupés, sous la direction d’Urs Emmenegger, dans la division «Switzerland & Europe». Urs Emmenegger, actuellement chez Lloyds TSB à Genève, rejoindra Clariden Leu le 1er août. La nouvelle division «International Markets» est placée sous la direction d’Erich Pfister et concentre en un seul point les marchés d’Amérique latine, d’Asie, du Moyen-Orient, d’Europe de l’Est ainsi que tous les sites internationaux.Les Senior Private Bankers sont regroupés sous une même direction, qui reste encore à déterminer.La division «Investment Products», qui est chargée du lancement et du négoce de produits d’investissement innovants, est placée sous la responsabilité du CFO Roman Kurmann jusqu'à la nomination d’un nouveau responsable de division.La nouvelle division «Market & Wealth Management» forme l’interface et le point de coordination entre les marchés et les produits d’investissement. Elle est le partenaire de la stratégie marketing pour le développement des marchés et propose des initiatives visant à augmenter les performances de vente. «Market & Wealth Management» est placée sous la direction de Daniela Lohner, première femme à siéger au directoire de Clariden Leu. Daniela Lohner occupe depuis vingt ans diverses fonctions dirigeantes au sein du Credit Suisse.Les divisions Legal & Compliance, Finance, Risk Management et Operations sont regroupées avec Human Resources dans un «corporate center» dont la direction est confiée au COO Roland Herrmann.Clariden Leu annonce également, toujours dans le cadre de cette réorganisation, les départs d’Adrian Leuenberger, Adrian Nösberger et Stephan Peterhans.

Selon L’Agefi suisse, certains estiment que 100 milliards de francs suisses sous gestion ne suffisent plus pour se faire une place à l’international, notamment pour une banque comme Sarasin, qui affiche un ratio coûts/revenus au-dessus de 70%. Une manière de nourrir l'éventualité d’une reprise par Julius Baer Group, aux structures somme toute semblables. Une telle opération donnerait naissance à une banque gérant plus de 270 milliards de francs suisses. Les obstacles sont cependant de taille : la rivalité entre les cultures zurichoise et bâloise et l’attribution des positions de direction de ce nouveau groupe.L’indépendance pour Sarasin passe plutôt par la voie d’une reprise par le management avec le concours d’investisseurs extérieurs. Rabobank, qui détient 68,6% des droits de vote et 46,1% du capital de Sarasin, a toutefois indiqué qu’un tel désinvestissement ne figurait pas à son calendrier. Même si la gestion privée ne fait pas partie de son coeur de métier.

Le groupe UBS a annoncé la nomination d’Albert A. Momdjian au poste de directeur des unités d’affaires Clientèle Ultra High Net Worth et Corporate Advisory pour la région Proche-Orient/Afrique. Albert Momdjian, qui prendra ses fonctions au 1er août 2011, sera basé à Dubaï. Il travaillait précédemment au Crédit Agricole.

Le 24 mai, la CNMV a enregistré le fonds Mutuafondo Bonos Tier 1 Seguros lancé le 9 mai par Mutuactivos. Ce produit obligataire libellé en euros investira au minimum 50 % de ses encours dans de la dette subordonnée (lower tier 2 et tier 1) émise par des compagnies d’assurances. Il pourra aussi affecter jusqu'à 30 % de ses actifs à ce même type de titres mais émis par des banques et autres établissements financiers de la zone OCDE. La durée de détention indicative conseillée est de 4 ans et l’indice de référence choisi est l’Iboxx Euro Tier 1. La liquidité sera journalière.CaractéristiquesDénomination : Mutuafondo Bonos Tier 1 SegurosCode Isin : ES0165113004Souscription minimale : 10 eurosCommission de gestion : 0,6 %Commission de banque dépositaire :0,02 % pour les actifs espagnols0,04 % pour les actifs étrangersDroit d’entrée : 3 % (du 18 juin 2011 au 30 juin 2015)Pénalité de sortie : 3 % (du 18 juin 2011 au 30 juin 2015)

Muriel Blanchier, l’un des trois gérants convertibles d’Oddo Asset Management, a indiqué que le gestionnaire français a l’intention de faire enregistrer pour la vente en Espagne le fonds Oddo Commodities Convertibles dès que la directive OPCVM IV aura été transposée en Espagne, donc normalement à partir de juillet, rapporte Funds People.Ce produit a été lancé en septembre 2008. Actuellement, l’allocation est neutre sur les métaux précieux (10 % de l’encours), positive sur l'énergie (31 %), surtout pour le charbon, et les métaux industriels (31 %), notamment le cuivre, le zinc et l’acier.