Die Welt relays reports in the New York Post that the court of New York will this week freeze the assets of Ruth Madoff, to prevent the wife of Bernard Madoff from fleeing the country or withdrawing any of the USD93m currently in her name. Prosecutors are also planning to press criminal charges against Mrs. Madoff.

Hedge Week reports that the British hedge fund TCI has sold Indian equities totalling INR115bn (USD2.2bn) since the beginning of the year, which corresponds to one third of the equities it bought in 2008, many of which were banking sector shares. The sales apparently represented a significant capital loss compared with the acquisition price of the shares.

Barclays confirmed on Monday that it is in discussions with certain financial sector actors who may be interested in acquiring its iShares business, lending confirmation to reports in the British press over the weekend. The British establishment says the discussions were ?part of a regular examination of the group’s portfolio of activities? and that ?no decisions have been taken about any affiliates.?iShares is the division of Barclays Global Investors dedicated to ETFs. As of the end of 2008, it managed USD324.84bn worldwide, with 361 funds, which amounts to a 45.7% market share, according to statistics from Barclays Global Investors. That makes it by far the largest actor in the ETF market, far ahead of State Street Global Advisors (20.5%), Vanguard (6.4%), and Lyxor (4.7%). Its market share is dominant both in the United States and in Europe.This position makes the business attractive to potential buyers, particularly at a time when ETFs are a rapidly-growing segment of the market. Some specialists in the sector suggest that iShares may be attractive in particular to banks which are seeking to enter the ETF market, particularly as ?the cost of access to the ETF market is high,? according to one professional. But, of course, any interested buyers will have to be solid enough to be able to pay the price.The British press is estimating the sale price of iShares at about GBP5bn. But according to some analysts, one may expect a price as low as GBP2bn, as the profession is currently under pressure.

Michel Dinet, who since October 2008 has been head of sales to private clients at HSBC Assurance, where he was involved in the creation of a business unit to serve IFAs working with the HSBC group, is now becoming head of partnerships for France at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM), where he replaces Bruno Zarraya. The partnerships team in France includes four other members, reporting to Philippe Cormon, director of distribution.

General Motors Asset Management (USD132bn in assets) has announced that it is adopting the name Promark Global Advisors, as part of an expansion of its activities beyond the GM group and to other countries beyond the United States.

Under the brand name ?Source,? Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch will release their first wave of ETFs on the Deutsche Börse at the beginning of next week, Handelsblatt reports. The funds will replicate the Dax and indices belonging largely to the MSCI and Stoxx universes.

Management firms in Germany are looking to innovative products as a potential way out of the crisis, as investors are putting an increased amphasis on security over tax or performance concerns.BlackRock, for example, has launched an absolute performance product, the BSF Absolute Return Strategies Fund, which invests in 50 to 100 European equities, but may increase these positions to 100% if necessary. Since mid-June, the strategy has generated performance of 12%, says Andrej Brodnik, CEO for Germany.Allianz Global Investors (AGI), for its part, is betting on horizon funds, and has recently launched the Allianz Pimco Unternehmensanleihen 2013, a corporate bond fund.Union Investment, meanwhile, has announced the launch of two guaranteed funds on Monday.DWS (Deutsche Bank) estimates that guarantees come at a high price, and has chosen instead to launch a bond horizon fund maturing in 2014, which will aim to generate performance higher than that of bunds.

Barclays shares rose 22.7% on Monday, after the bank confirmed that it is in negotiations to sell iShares, the Financial Times reports. The market is hoping that the firm will be able to avoid government intervention. Barclays may retain a stake in iShares, the FT reports.

The financial group Arcano has recruited Iñigo Susaeta, former CEO of Nmás1 Patrimonios, has head of the wealth management advising division at Arcano Investment Advisors, Expansión reports. Currently, Arcano Investment Advisors has 150 families as clients with average assets of EUR100m. The objective is to extend this base by 5 to 10 families per year, with each family having net worth of over EUR20m. According to an Arcano study, there are 400 such families in Spain.

Les Echos reports that the US insurer AIG, which has so far received more than USD170bn in public assistance, paid out more than half of this to banks, much of it to French banks. Société Générale got USD11.9bn between 16 September and 31 December 2008, while BNP received USD4.9bn, and Crédit Agricole SA USD2.3bn, via its investment bank Calyon.

On Friday, 13 March, Allianz Global Investors France added a product to its SRI product range with the launch of the French-registered international equities FCP fund Allianz Citizen Care SRI, a thematic fund which aims to approach new challenges related to the protection of citizen consumers.The thematic fund, which was launched with EUR10m in seed capital, aims to participate in the expected increase in demand for new products and services related to consumer protection needs, while the SRI approach aims to protect the fund against emerging risks which may endanger the performance of businesses, such as rising legal accountability.

Union Investment (cooperative banks) will launch two funds on 6 May which wil be added to its range of 40 guaranteed products with a total of about EUR8.1bn in assets as of the end of February. The new funds will be available in Germany.The UniGarant: Best of Assets Konservativ (2015) will cover the equities and bond markets of the Euro zone and the Euro-denominated money markets, while the UniGarant: Europa (2016) will be focused solely on the European equities markets.Subscriptions are open from this Monday until 30 April. In both cases, front-end fee and management commission are set at 4% and 2%, respectively, with an exit fee of 2% for withdrawals before the maturity of the fund (27 March 2015 and 25 March 2016).Union emphasizes that for the Konservativ 2015 the basket of shares will be weighted at maturity, with 50% for the market that shows the best performance, 30% for the second-best, and 20% for the third-best.

Citywire reports that Graham Birch, the manager of the BlackRock World Gold fund, will be taking a leave of absence from early April until the end of the year. Evy Hambro, who co-manages the BGF World Gold Fund with Birch, will be responsible for this gold fund and the BlackRock Gold & General fund until Birch returns.

The independent manager American Century Investments (USD70bn in assets) has announced that it will soon be launching a range of UCITS III-compliant funds to distribute its growth strategies in Europe.Ben Williams, vice president, institutional business development, will move to the new American Century office in London. He will be joined there by Peter Bracket and Sigrid Johann as vice-presidents.Brackett spent three years as co-head of global consultant relations at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), while Johann was business development manager at Wellington Management International in London, serving pension funds, private banks, and family offices in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.The new team will focus on financial intermediaries and institutional investors in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, and the Middle East, and will report to Michael Green, senior vice president of international.

The Swiss bank Sarasin (Rabobank group) has announced that it has begun serving the institutional markets in the Scandinavian countries via its Frankfurt-based affiliate Bank Sarasin AG, which is the European hub for the group. Aris Prepoudis, managing director of institutional clients at Banque Sarasin in Switzerland, has been appointed to the board at Bank Sarasin AG.Prepoudis now counts the Swedish Eric Gelfgren as part of his team. Gelfgren joins Sarasin from Mercer, where he was European head of responsible investing. Sarasin has also recruited a Danish team member, Thomas Huuson, who was previously head of client relations at Nordea Invest.

The Swiss financial markets surveillance authority (Finma) has rejected an application from the Reichmuth private bank to create a side pocket for its ?Madoffed? fund of hedge funds, Matterhorn, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. The fund of funds has consequently been liquidated.

With strong net inflows of EUR500m in 2008, Lazard Frères Gestion has announced in a statement that it is planning to extend its business to independent financial advisors.To achieve this, the firm has built up a team of 6 people led by Jean-Jacques Gournay. Three people will be based in Paris, while one will be in Lyon, one in Bordeaux, and one will soon begin work in Nantes.?Funds from Lazard Frères Gestion are now listed on 15 banking and life insurance platforms,? a statement says.?Specialised training for IFAs in relevant subjects (financial analysis, economic cycles, and others) are now in the process of being accredited by professional associations.?

Goldman Sachs has asked investors in its USD15bn private equity fund for permission to place remaining capital not yet invested in debt issued by distressed businesses, the Financial Times reports. Other private equity firms are making similar moves.

The European administrators of Lehman Brothers are seeking to reach an agreement by the end of June to restore assets to creditors, the Financial Times reports. Lehman’s European activities were responsible for about USD29bn of clients’ assets at the time the bank went bankrupt. Administrators are now estimated to have taken control of USD22bn, the FT reports. About USD12bn have been refunded to clients.

BarclayHedge reports on the basis of information about more than 1,000 funds that hedge funds in February suffered average losses of 1.30%, which brings the total to 1.42% for the first two months of the year. Credit Suisse/Tremont for its part shows a decline of its hedge fund index of 0.88% last month (rather than the 0.45% decline projected last week), after gains of 1.09% in January, while losses in January-February totalled 0.20%. Greenwich Alternative Investments (GAI) has announced that its global hedge fund index posted a loss in February of 0.8%, compared with 0.1% the previous month, bringing total losses to 0.9% in the first two months of the year. On one year, losses total 15.9%.

Philippe Citerne has elected to retire on 30 April 2009 and will no longer exercise his mandate as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Société Générale as from that time.As from 1 May 2009, Société Générale"s General Management will comprise Frédéric Oudea, Chief Executive Officer, and two Deputy Chief Executive Officers, Didier Alix and Séverin Cabannes, who will fulfill the functions previously under Philippe Citerne’s responsability.

Sir Allen Stanford on Monday lost his lawyer, Charles Meadows. Meadows told the Financial Times that he would no longer represent the Texan billionaire in the civil suit filed against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission. ?He does not have access to funds,? he said, but did not provide any further details.

Le Temps reports that net profits at HSBC Private Bank (Switzerland) increased 3% in 2008 to record levels of CHF685m, even as revenues eroded and costs increased. The cost/revenue ratio deteriorated to 53% from 46%, and returns on owners’ equity fell to 19.6% in 2008 from 20.8% in 2007. Assets under management fell 18%, from CHF186.4bn at the end of 2007 to CHF153.2bn as of 31 December last year, due to the crisis.

In fourth quarter, Fortress posted net losses of USD140m, up from USD29.3m one year earlier. At the end of 2008, Fortress managed USD29.5bn in private equity and hedge funds, compared with USD32.9bn one year earlier. For the year, the management firm shows losses by GAAP accounting standards of GBP322m.

Les Echos reports that the Luxembourg fund industry association (ALFI) is seeking to soothe investors’ concerns in the wake of the Madoff scandal. At a press conference on Monday, the association unveiled two documents: an interim report by its Madoff working group, and guidelines for funds of funds, to evaluate funds affected by Madoff. The newspaper reports that the direct impact of the Madoff affair on the Luxembourg industry has been estimated at EUR1.7bn.

La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (120,1 milliards de dollars canadiens d’encours au 31 décembre 2008) a annoncé la nomination par le conseil d’administration de Michael Sabia comme «président et chef de la direction», nomination qui a été validée par le gouvernement du Québec. L’intéressé entre en fonctions avec effet immédiat. Il a été PDG de Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) de 2002 à juillet 2008 et remplace Fernand Perreault qui a assuré l’intérim depuis la démission début janvier de Richard Guay.

Le vendredi 13 mars, Allianz Global Investors France a complété sa gamme de fonds ISR avec le lancement du FCP de droit français actions internationales Allianz Citizen Care SRI, un fonds thématique visant à couvrir les nouveaux enjeux liés à la protection du citoyen consommateur.L’option thématique du fonds, qui a été amorcé avec 10 millions d’euros, vise à tirer parti de l’accroissement escompté de la demande de nouveaux produits et services liée aux besoins de protection du consommateur, tandis que l’approche ISR vise la protection contre les nouveaux risques qui pèsent sur l’entreprise du fait de la mise en cause croissante de sa responsabilité. Actuellement, parmi les valeurs en portefeuille figurent des valeurs comme Biomérieux, Bureau Veritas, Novartis, Philips, Tomra, Danone, Rockwool et Suez Environnement. Le portefeuille se composera au total de 30-40 valeurs de toutes capitalisations et devrait afficher un taux de rotation faible, de l’ordre de 20 %, comme celui d’AGF Valeurs Durables (plus de 900 millions d’euros d’encours et 100 millions de collecte nette en 2008) qui est d’ailleurs géré par la même personne, en l’occurrence Christine Clet. La durée de placement recommandée est de cinq ans et le fonds limite son horizon à 60 % des secteurs d’activité couverts par l’indice MSCI EMU. En ce qui concerne la part «retail», la commission de gestion est fixée à 1,794 % maximum et le droit d’entrée à 3 %. Un pôle d’excellence Géraud Brac de La Perrière, PDG d’Allianz Global Investors France, a souligné que l’ISR est un mode de gestion bien implanté dans le groupe Allianz Global Investors, avec RCM et AGI France, cette dernière couvrant toutes les grandes classes d’actifs dans la zone euro élargie et toutes les dimensions de la thématique. Les encours ISR d’AGI France ont connu une forte croissance, puisqu’ils dépassaient à peine 1,5 milliard fin 2006 et qu’ils atteignent à présent 3,2 milliards d’euros pour le compte de clients externes, dont plus de 800 millions dans le cadre de mandats institutionnels. La gamme comprend notamment le fonds monétaire Allianz Securicash SRI (environ 2 milliards d’euros actuellement) et le AGF Valeurs Durables, mais aussi un fonds obligataire (AGF Euro Credit ISR, quelque 25 millions d’euros) et l’AGF Euréco, dédié au thème de l’environnement (environ 25 millions également). L'équipe ISR comprend deux co-responsables du développement, Pierre Dinon (spécialiste du gouvernement d’entreprise) et David Diamond, recruté en octobre 2008. La gestion taux ISR occupe quatre personnes tout comme la gestion actions ISR. Parmi les éléments caractéristiques, il faut mentionner qu’AGI France est signataire des Principes de l’investissement responsable et qu’elle est l’une des deux seules sociétés de gestion, avec Standard Life Investments (SLI), à figurer au board de l’Initiative pour la transparence dans les industries extractives (EITI en anglais), indique David Diamond. De plus, AGI France a décidé de ne pas transiger : le critère extra-financier du respect des droits de l’homme est, en cas de résultat insatisfaisant un facteur d’exclusion. Pour les autres critères (ESG, comportement de marché), la société de gestion adopte en revanche une approche «best-in-class».

Selon BarclayHedge, qui suit un peu plus de 1000 fonds, les hedge funds ont accusé en février une perte moyenne de 1,30 %, ce qui porte la baisse totale à 1,42 % pour les deux premiers mois de l’année. Credit Suisse/Tremont indique pour sa part que son indice des hedge funds a baissé de 0,88 % le mois dernier (au lieu du tassement de 0,45 % prévu la semaine dernière) après un gain de 1,09 % en janvier, de sorte que la perte sur janvier-février se situe à 0,20 %. Enfin, Greenwich Alternative Investments (GAI) a annoncé que son global hedge fund index affiche pour février une baisse de 0,8 % contre 0,1 % le mois précédent, portant la perte totale à 0,9 % pour le premier bimestre. Sur un an, elle atteint 15,9 %.

Philippe Citerne fera valoir ses droits à la retraite à compter du 30 avril 2009 et quittera, en conséquence, son poste de directeur général délégué de la Société Générale à la même date, annonce la banque dans un communiqué.A compter du 1e mai 2009, la direction générale du groupe sera composée de Frédéric Oudea, directeur général, et de deux directeurs généraux délégués, Didier Alix, et Séverin Cabannes, ce dernier reprenant à sa charge les responsabilités de Philippe Citerne.

Sycomore Asset Management (1,8 milliard d"euros d"encours sous gestion) annonce l"arrivée d"Edouard Petitdidier et de Ouissem Lahouar en tant que gérants/analystes au sein de son équipe Absolute Alpha.Ils seront en charge de la gestion d"un nouveau fonds appelé Sycomore Neutral Quantessence. Ce produit quantitatif long/short market neutral sera prochainement présenté aux investisseurs institutionnels. Edouard Petitdidier est l"ancien responsable de la gestion quantitative de Systeia et l"ancien co-responsable de la gestion systématique de Barep. Quant à Ouissem Lahouar, il était consultant en systèmes d"informations, spécialisé en asset management. Il a notamment effectué des missions chez Systeia, Axa IM, CPR AM et Groupama AM dans le développement d"outils de gestion quantitatifs.