P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNP Paribas Securities Services has appointed Annalisa Winge Bicknell as regional head of sales and relationships with institutional investor clients, Hedgeweek reports. Bicknell had previously worked at SEB, where she had been head of customer services for the Scandinavian countries, Luxembourg and Germany.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Societe Generale Securities Services in Italy (SGSS S.p.A.) has been appointed by Rinascimento Sicav to act as its local transfer agent in Italy, providing it with paying agent and investor relations management services with reference to investors located in Italy. SGSS in Italy offers a complete range of securities services, including settlement, custody and trustee services, fund administration, liquidity management and transfer agent services. Rinascimento Sicav is a Luxembourg-registered open-ended collective investment fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Banca Generali has recruited Elisa Feliciani, former director of the branch of Banca Albertini Syz in Rome, Bluerating reports. Last year, the bank had recruited Ernestina Anceschi from Banca Albertini Syz.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to the third annual Global Fund Investor Experience report by Morningstar, foreign funds in sale in Spain are more costly than Spanish funds, except for money markets funds, Funds People reports. In other words, foreign funds drive up the average price of products sold in Spain.On average, the TER for diversified funds is 0.95% for funds domiciled in Spain, and 1.64% for all diversified funds, including foreign funds. For bond funds, the TER is 1.01% for Spanish funds and 1.31% for all products in the class. The difference is minimal, however, for equity funds, with 1.88% for Spanish funds and 1.90% for all funds overall.For money markets, the overall average is 0.40%, while the average TER for Spanish money market funds is 0.51%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Last week, the US authorities issued subpoenas to four top directors of the alternative asset management firm SAC Capital Advisors as part of an investigation into insider trading, the Wall Street Journal reports.The individuals belong to the inner circle of Steven A. Cohen, CEO and founder: they are the chairman of SAC, Thomas Conheeney, Steven Kessler, head of compliance, Solomon Kumin, COO, and Philipp Villhauer, head of trading.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } 11 out of 13 Edhec-Risk alternative strategies showed gains in the month of April. The best strategy in the month under review was CTA Global, which gained 2.08%. Strategies dedicated to equities posted gains compatible with their model, at +0.65% for long/short equity, 0.00% for equity market neutral, and 0.82% for event-driven.The short-selling strategy, however, showed losses, with negative performance of 2.90% for the month.The fund of fund index did well, with gains of 0.70%, continuing its positive orientation early in the year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } One day after launching on NYSE Euronext Paris, Lyxor Asset Management has listed the Lyxor ETF Unleeraged S&P 500 VIX Futures Enhanced Roll fund (ISIN code: FR0011376565), which replicates the S&P 500 VIX Futures Enhanced Roll Index combined with the federal funds effective rate, on the XTF segment of Xetra (Deutsche Börse). Depending on the volatility observed, the proportion of the VIX portfolio may vary between 50% and 100%. The fund charges fees of 0.40%.The XTF segment now lists 1,020 ETFs.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Quilvest & Partners, the private equity activity of the Quilvest group, on 23 May announced that it has closed fundraising for three funds: QS PEP 2012, QS REP II and QS Capital Strategies, with totals of USD150m, USD300m and USD230m, respectively. QS PEP 2012 and QS REP II have exceeded their fundraising objectives, while QS Capital Strategies has been oversubscribed and subjected to a hard cap. The USD80m committed by investors to QS Capital Strategies may be complemented by an additional USD150m, via Small Business Administration (SBA) debt financing in the United States. However, this supplementary financing is subject to the issuance of a license by the US authorities.Meanwhile, Quilvest & Partners has announced the launch of QS PEP Core, a four-year investment programme in private equity funds worldwide, which succeeds the annual Quilvest flagship programme, QS PEP. Quilvest aims to raise up to USD400m for the first generation of QS PEP Core. The fund will concentrate on the core strategy of Quilvest & Partners, which is to identify the best private equity funds from small and mid-sized LBO and capital development firms, with a selection process to select about 10 funds per year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With the Wellington Opportunistic Emerging Markets Debt II, Wellington Management is now offering an opportunistic strategy based on emerging market debt, in a Luxembourg-domiciled vehicle available to institutions which are subject to the German insurance surveillance law (VAG), including insurers and retirement institutions. The portfolio may be invested in government and corporate bonds, “hard” currencies and local currencies. “On average, the ratings of securities in the portfolio is at the crossover limit. Securities are hedged for currency risks, and reporting is adapted to the requirements of VAG regulations,” Absolut Report states. Characteristics Name: Wellington Opportunistic Emerging Markets Debt II ISIN code: LU0629164780 Management commission: 0.65% Total expense ratio: maximum 0.90%

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian financial market authority, Consob, has levelled pecuniary administrative sanctions against seven representatives of BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management Italy Sgr, and the firm itself, totalling EUR148,000, Bluerating reports. The Italian regulator accuses the individuals of “late and inadequate” planning for management of funds aimed at retail investors, and poor management of conflicts of interest.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UK-based F&C has announced the recruitment of Nick Woodwart, who will become a structurer in the liability-driven investment (LDI) team, and Kristy Barr as director, sales & client relationships. The two will be added to the institutional team.Woodwart had been head of modelling and head of LDI in the investment advisory team at KPMG, while the second had been founding partner and head of marketing & investor relations at Callanish Capital Partners.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For the fiscal year ending on 31 March, Investec has reported net inflows of GBP4.9bn, of which GBP4.1bn are for the asset management unit, and GBP0.8bn for the Wealth & Investment unit (to which Williams de Broë was transferred in August).Assets increased to GBP69.8bn, compared with GBP61.6bn for asset management, and GBP40.4bn compared with GBP34.8bn for Wealth & Investment. Overall, assets under management for third parties increased by 14.4% to GBP110.7bn as of the end of March, compared with GBP96.8bn twelve months previously.Operating profits increased 4.8% to GBP140.2m for asset management, and 30.9% to GBP50.7m for the Wealth & Investment unit.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Dan Vaughan, the head of British small caps at Threadneedle Investments, has left the firm for an “extended sabbatical leave,” Citywire reports. His return date is not known.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British bank Lloyds Banking Group, which was bailed out by the British government during the 2008 financial crisis, has sold part of its stake in the wealth management firm St James’s Place for about GBP450m (EUR526m), according to a statement released on 23 May. The website Fundweb had previously reported an amount of GBP500m (Newsmanagers of 23 May). Lloyds Bnaking Group has announced that it has sold 77 million shares at a price of GBP.580 per share, as part of a placement to investors. The gross proceeds of the placement are about GBP450m, the group has said in a statement, adding that its net capital gains will be about GBP40m. The operation will allow the bank to increase its tier 1 common equity ratio by about GBP500m, or 16 basis points. After the sale, the bank will still control 21% of capital in the firm.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Austrian-German asset management firm C-Quadrat Investment has reported net profits for first quarter 2013 of EUR1.93m, compared with EUR0.68m for the corresponding period of last year, which partly reflects the first consolidation of the asset management firms BCM (London/Geneva) and APM (Vienna).The acquisition of 50.01% of Kepler-Chevreux by QC Partners (EUR160m, an affiliate of C-Quadrat), in partnership with Q-Advisers and the management of the firm, was completed at the end of April.Over twelve months, the increase in assets at C-Quadrat totalled 47%, to EUR4.47bn as of the end of March.Revenues from management commissions totalled EUR11.68m, compared with EUR10.38m for first quarter 2012, while performance commissions totalled EUR2.28m, compared with EUR0.2m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Korea Teachers Pension Fund (KTPF) has appointed Park Min as chief investment officer, Asian Investor reports. The Asian website reveals that this is the first time that the pension fund has filled the position through an internal promotion. Assets under management by the pension fund totalled slightly over USD11bn as of the end of December 2011, according to available statistics.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Financial advisers in Italy are increasing in age, Plus, the supplement of Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. In the past 10 years, the percentage of advisers aged under 30 registered with the Order of financial advisers has fallen from 14% to 2%, while advisers aged over 50 now represent 41%, up from 21% previously. As of the end of 2012, there were over 52,000 financial advisers in Itlay. Plus also notes a boom in registrations in 2013.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Zug-based wealth management firm Partners Group on 22 May announced that it has issued mezzanine financing for a real estate construction project in the United Kingdom. The loan will be used for renovation and development of the residential and commercial site Heyford Park in Oxfordshire. The site, on which 800 people reside and which has 1000 employees, includes 1.4 million square metres of commercial space and 312 housing units, a statement says. Dorchester Group acquired the site in 2009 and will continue to administer it. The objective is to renovate the existing homes and to create 750 new homes, as well as to lease out commercial space.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } US-based asset management firm Harbor Funds (USD74bn as of 31 March) has announced that it has selected the US affiliate of the Scottish firm Baillie Gifford (USD142bn) to take over management of the Harbor International Growth Fund (ticker: HAIGX), whose assets total about USD220m, as sub-advisor. Since 1 March 2004, the sub-advisor for the fund had been Marsico Capital Management.The sole manager of the fund at Marsico had been a former Goldman Sachs manager, James Gendelman. He will be replaced by a team of four portfolio managers at Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited, composed of Gerard Callahan, Iain Campbell, Joe Faraday and Paul Faulkner. Callahan is chair of the international focus portfolio construction group and head of UK equities at Baillie Gifford.

Thomas de Saint-Seine, le responsable actions, CEO et associé fondateur de Reyl Asset Management, prévoit de lancer fin juin un deuxième fonds marchés émergents, révèle Citywire Global. Le fonds aura une capacité supérieure au fonds existant Reyl Emerging Markets Equities fund, qui devrait être fermé autour de 2,5-3 milliards de dollars. Il sera par ailleurs investi dans des capitalisations plus grandes que celles du premier et la stratégie sera légèrement différente.

La division Property Business d’Henderson Global Investors (HGI), dont l’encours se situe à environ 12,7 milliards de livres, a recruté Tony He comme director of proprerty, China consultancy. L’intéressé était directeur financier chez Tesco Property China.Le nouvel arrivant sera principalement basé au bureau de HGI à Pékin et travaillera en étroite coopération avec l'équipe immobilière du gestionnaire britannique pour la région Asie-Pacifique.

La banque suisse Neue Helvetische Bank, créée il y a deux ans par Thomas Matter et Daniel Hefti, deux anciens banquiers de Swissfirst, a enregistré au titre de l’année 2012 une perte de 695.000 francs suisses. D’ici à mars 2014, les dirigeants de l'établissement prévoient de publier des comptes à l'équilibre. C’est l’activité Corporate Finance qui contribue principalement au chiffre d’affaires, alors que les activités gestion de fortune et conseil en gestion de patrimoine sont moins satisfaisantes que prévu, indique Finews. Pour redynamiser ces deux activités, NHB devrait bientôt lancer de nouvelles offres à destination de sa clientèle. La banque gère à fin 2012 642 millions de francs suisses. Actuellement, le quotidien estime que les encours devraient atteindre les 800 millions. NHB espère dépasser le milliard au cours de l’année.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Rasini Fariway Capital has become the most recent asset management firm to move the domicile of its fund, Stafford SICAV Global Equity Fund, to a UCITS-compliant Luxembourg format, Investment Europe reports. For this, the Zurich and London-based firm is using the Alceda UCITS platform. The Sicav had previously been domiciled in the British Virgin Islands.

Rasini Fairway Capital est la dernière société de gestion en date à avoir re-domicilié son fonds, Stafford SICAV Global Equity Fund, au Luxembourg dans un cadre Ucits, rapporte Investment Europe. Pour cela, la société basée à Zurich et Londres a utilisé la plate-forme Alceda Ucits. Précédemment, la Sicav était domiciliée dans les Iles Vierges britanniques.

KBL European Private Bankers (KBL epb) a annoncé le 23 mai la nomination officielle de trois nouveaux membres au Comité de Direction de la société : Frédéric Genet, CEO Professional Services, dont l’arrivée a été signalée par Newsmanagers le 28 février dernier ; Marc Lauwers, Chief Operating Officer et Yves Stein, CEO, Private Banking.Chacun de ces professionnels expérimentés de l’industrie financière, basé à Luxembourg, assume une responsabilité au niveau du Groupe, en renforçant ainsi la présence de la KBL epb dans neuf pays en Europe. En qualité de CEO, Professional Services, Frédéric Genet mettra l’accent sur le renforcement des services offerts par les departments Global Investor Services, Global Financial Markets, Assets & Liabilities Management et Credit du Groupe. Il a précédemment occupé le poste de CEO à la Société Générale Bank & Trust, deuxième plus grande banque au Luxembourg. Marc Lauwers, qui a travaillé récemment en qualité de Directeur de la division Banque de détail et commerciale de Belfius Bank en Belgique, a trois mandats principaux chez KBL epb : Operations, IT et Facilities & Logistics. Auparavant, il a occupé le poste de Chief Operating Officer de la Dexia Bank Belgique après avoir été CEO de Dexia Banka Slovensko, en Slovaquie. Dans son rôle stratégique de CEO, Private Banking, Monsieur Stein contribuera à la croissance du métier de base du Groupe, le Private Banking, en Europe et à l’international. Il a occupé auparavant le poste de CEO chez Union Bancaire Privée (Europe) à Luxembourg et précédemment, de Directeur Général, Private Banking, chez BNP Paribas (Suisse). Messieurs Genet, Lauwers et Stein rejoignent, au sein du Comité de Direction, Jacques Peters, Group CEO ; Olivier de Jamblinne de Meux, CEO, Luxembourg et Yves Pitsaer, Chief Finance and Risk Officer.

Dans le cadre d’une campagne de deux ans, BNY Mellon Wealth Management a l’intention d’accroître de 50 % l’effectif de sa force de vente tout en recrutant par ailleurs des banquiers privés, des spécialistes de l’hypothécaire, des gérants de portefeuille et des stratégistes ainsi que du personnel de «support» pour les ventes, a annoncé le groupe. Cela pourrait se traduire au total par une centaine de créations de postes.Comme partenaire dans cette offensive d’embauches qui concerne les Etats-Unis et le reste du monde, BNY Mellon a retenu Futurestep, une filiale de Korn/Ferry International Company.A fin mars, le pôle gestion de fortune de BNY Mellon affichait un encours de 188 milliards de dollars pour le compte de particuliers.

Désormais, Russell Investments commercialise en France le nouveau compartiment Russell Absolute Return Bond Fund (acronyme : RARBF) de sa sicav irlandaise. Selon le communiqué, le gestionnaire américain s’efforce avec ce produit de «capter une palette d’opportunités plus large que les fonds obligataires traditionnels» en utilisant des stratégies complémentaires pour dégager une performance absolue en générant un rendement «solide» ajusté du risque.L'équipe de gestion met en œuvre une gamme de stratégies actives sur les marchés de taux (pays développés et émergents), des devises et du crédit, combinées avec des stratégies long/short. «Contrairement à un fonds obligataire traditionnel qui serait long duration, et par conséquent exposé au risque d’une remonté des taux, le RARBF est construit pour prendre des positions vendeuses afin de maximiser les gains des investisseurs», précise Russell.Les principales caractéristiques du fonds sont disponibles en pièce jointe.

Jusqu’au 6 juillet dans le cadre de l’assurance vie et le 11 juillet dans le cadre d’un compte-titres ou d’un PEA, Federal Finance commercialise Autofocus 6, un fonds à formule à capital non garanti. En termes de performances, le gain peut être en cas de rappel anticipé, de 15 % sur 2 ans ou 30 % sur 4 ans. A l'échéance des 6 ans, la performance est de 45 %, si l’indice est en hausse ou stable par rapport à sa valeur de référence au 11 juillet 2013.Dans le détail, les deux cas de remboursement anticipé interviennent si, par rapport à sa valeur liquidative de référence, l’évolution de la valeur de l’indice Euro Stoxx 50 est positive ou nulle. De fait, au 3 septembre 2015, l’investisseur perçoit 100 % de la valeur liquidative de référence hors droits de souscription, auxquels s’ajoute un gain de 15 %, soit un taux de rendement annuel de 6,72 %. Au 07 septembre 2017, l’investisseur perçoit 100 % de de la valeur liquidative de référence hors droits de souscription, auxquels s’ajoute un gain de 30 %, soit un taux de rendement annuel de 6,51 %.Dans les cas où les conditions de remboursement anticipé ne seraient pas remplies à l’issue de la deuxième ou quatrième année, à échéance du 5 septembre 2019, trois cas se présentent :- si l’indice Euro Stoxx 50® a baissé de plus de 40 % par rapport à la valeur de référence, le capital est diminué de l’intégralité de la baisse de l’indice, soit une perte en capital de 40 % minimum.- si l’indice Euro Stoxx 50® affiche une performance négative, comprise entre 0 et - 40 % par rapport à sa valeur de référence, l’investisseur est assuré de récupérer 100 % de son capital initial net souscrit.- si l’indice Euro Stoxx 50® présente une performance positive ou nulle par rapport à sa valeur de référence, l’investisseur est remboursé de son capital net souscrit et bénéficie d’un gain de 45 %, soit un TRA de 6,22 %.Caractéristiques :Code ISIN : FR0011439876Valeur liquidative de départ : 100 eurosSeuil d’accès : 1 000 euros

BNP Paribas Securities Services vient de nommer Annalisa Winge Bicknell au poste de responsable régionale des ventes et des relations clients avec les investisseurs institutionnels, rapporte Hedgeweek.Annalisa Winge Bicknell travaillait précédemment chez SEB où elle était responsable des services à la clientèle pour les pays scandinaves, le Luxembourg et l’Allemagne.

L’américain Morgan Creek Capital Management va racheter l’activité de fonds de fonds de la société de gestion alternative Signet Capital Management, rapporte le New York Times. Les actifs sous gestion de cette activité s'élèvent à environ 700 millions de dollars. Les équipes de gestion senior de Signet, ainsi que le fondateur de la société, Robert Marquardt, son directeur général et co-responsable de la gestion, Serge Umansky, vont rejoindre Morgan Creek. La transaction devrait être bouclée dans le courant du deuxième trimestre.