P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 28 February, the Alternative Investment Solutions unit of State Street Corporation has announced that it has successfully finalised the integration of fund servicing activities at Morgan Stanley Real Estate, in a process which was initiated in February 2012, and which involved more than 150 people at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI) specialised in accounting for operations and technical (who have joined State Street), who continue to use the exclusive administration technologies of MSREI for real estate. State Street provides complete account and administration services to MSREI worldwide for investment vehicles representing total assets of USD36bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } CPR Asset Management last year posted net inflows of EUR2.3bn, the ECO of CPR AM, Jean-Eric Mercier, announced on 28 February, adding that all areas of expertise contributed to these good results. Inflows to money markets represented EUR1.1bn, and inflows to mid- to long-term totalled EUR1.2bn. The contribution of asset allocation totalled EUR700m, while fixed income and credit brought in about EUR400m, and equities, EUR100m. Assets under management rose 20% last year to EUR20.6bn, of which 51% are in dedicated funds. CPR AM won 9 mandates and dedicated funds in 2011 and 2012. CPR AM has also released a new study of the advantages of diversified management and the practices of French institutionals in this area.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The BlackRock Energy & Resources fund (USD773m) and the BlackRock All-Cap Energy & Resources (USD384m) are now managed by Robin Batchelor and Poppy Allonby, who replace Denis Walsh and Daniel Neumann, the firm has announced in an SEC notification relayed by Bloomberg. The managers of the BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity Portfolio (USD1.4bn), Andrew Thut and Andrew Leger, and Eilen Leary, who manages the BlackRock Mid-Cap Growth Equity Portfolio (USD286m), will be replaced. A spokesperson for BlackRock has confirmed that Walsh, Neumann, Thut, Leder and Leary will be leaving the firm. BlackRock is disappointed in underperformance or losses from funds managed by these five people.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French public pension fund Etablissement de retraite additionnelle de la fonction publique (ERAFP) has announced that it has awarded an active mandate and two stand-by SRI real estate asset management mandates in France. The mandate was awarded to AEW Europe SGP. Amundi Immobilier and La Française Real Estate Managers have been retained as supplementary managers. The sum invested in three years’ time is estimated to be about EUR310m. The duration of the tender is 10 years. Investments will primarily be made in office and commercial properties, as well as in residential and student dormitory properties. The fund may potentially invest in other categories of real estate assets, such as activity locations and warehouses, residential and service properties. ERAFP has nearly EUR14bn in active investments, all within an SRI investment programme.

Vincent Aguado and Pierre-Edouard Bonenfant joined Carmignac Gestion as traders bringing the Trading department headed by Nicolas Courbon, to 5 members.Before coming to Carmignac Gestion, Vincent Aguado, 35, was fixed income sales at JP Morgan. Prior to Carmignac Gestion, Pierre-Edouard Bonenfant was a derivatives structurer within the Systematic strategies team at THEAM (BNP Paribas IP&CIB).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The international law firm Malet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, whose Paris office advises clients of the firm in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, banking and finance, taxation, lawsuits and international trading, have recruited Jean-Claude Najar as International Counsel on its international arbitrage team. He will be based in Paris, and will be responsible for developing commercial arbitrage and compliance activities. Before joining Curtis, Najar was legal director for France & Senior Counsel Europe at General Electric Co (GE).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the cantonal bank of Basel (BKB) as of the end of 2012 totalled CHF29.1bn, compared with CHF30bn one year previously, according to a statement released on 28 February. Following a net outflow of CHF2.2bn in first quarter, second quarter brought net outflows of CHF1bn, the bank says. Net profits for the group rose by nearly 24% to CHF255.7m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Despite a “difficult and morose” environment, BNP Paribas Real Estate is continuing its development all over the globe. After recruiting 50 brokers in the UK in 2012, to strengthen its positions in transactions in London, the firm has launched two platforms in Asia, and is planning to launch a third in the Middle East, in Dubai, in second quarter, the chairman of the board, Philippe Zivkovic, has announced a presentation of the firm’s annual results. In both cases, the objective is to offer all of the expertise of BNP Paribas Real Estate to major investors, family office and sovereign fund clients, who are increasingly present in the three major European markets (France, Germany and the United Kingdom), and which in the current context are more likely to make bug purchases. The firm is also considering developing its asset management and property management activities in Germany.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } John Paulson, whose hedge fund is the largest shareholder in MetroPCS, has announced that he intends to vote against plans to merge the telecommunications operator with T-Mobile USA, controlled by Deutsche Telekom, the Financial Times reports. Paulson & Co, which controls a 9.9% stake in MetroPCS, is supporting Peter Schoenfeld, another hedge fund manager who has raised questions about the debt levels involved in the operation.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Tom Swaney, head of alternative credit at JP Morgan, has been recruited by Pioneer Investments, whose Boston offices he joined at the end of January Citywire reports. At his new employer, Swaney has taken the position of director of alternative fixed income.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the Raiffeisen group last year increased by CHF27.8bn, or 18.6% to CHF173.15bn, according to a statement released on 1 March. The development is largely due to the acquisition of Notenstein Banque Privée SA last year, into which non-US assets of the Wegelin private bank acquired by Raiffeisen have been transferred. Assets under management by Notenstein totalled CHF21bn in 2012. The group has also reported an increase of 6.6% in its profits to CHF634.8m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With the First Trust High Yield Long/Short ETF, First Trust is releasing a 130/30 type actively invested strategy investing in speculative grade US and non-US bonds, bank loans and convertible securities, while the short portion is composed primarily of US Treasury and investment and/or specualtive grade bonds, Invex Universe reports. The TER For the fund, whose acronym on Nasdaq is HYLS, is 1.19%. The objective is to outperform the Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Master II Constrained Index, with short positions focused on securities which First Trust expects to underperform the index. The average duration will be about 5 years.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The BATS platform on 28 February admitted to trading the ProShares Global Listed Private Equity ETF (acronym: PEX), which charges total fees of 2.54%, and which will invest in publicly-traded private equity firms, Index Universe reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The German financial service provider MLP on Thursday announced pre-tax profits and financial charges (EBIT) of EUR74.1m for 2012, compared with EUR17.3m the previous year. Excluding one-time charges in 2011, the increase is 46% on earnings up 3%, to EUR544.6m; total inflows increased by 4%, to EUR568m. Net profits for the fiscal eyar total EUR53.7m, compared with EUR11.5m the previous year. The improvement in profits is largely due to fourth quarter, when inflows to retirement planning increased 9%, while wealth management inflows increased 55%. Overall, about 64% of EBIT came between October and December.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A survey by TNS Infratest for Aquila Capital has shown that one fifth of 255 Geman, Swiss, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, British and Scandinavian institutional investors say they are planning to reduce their portfolios’ exposure to government bonds. Nearly 40% of those who are already invested in government bonds are planning to increase their exposure to corporate bonds, while 42% of those who are already invested in corporate bonds are planning to increase their allocation to securities of this type. The survey found significant disparities in terms of reduction of exposure to government bonds: while 4% of Spanish and British institutionals surveyed are planning to reduce their allocations to government bonds, 36% of Scandinavian and 48% of Swiss investors are planning to reduce their exposure to govies. Another finding is that institutional investors in southern European countries are much more confident in government bonds from their country than those of other countries. Currently, for example, 84% of respondents surveyed in Italy are inclined to buy bonds from their own country, and this percentage is 68% for their Spanish counterparts. Aquila Capital says that it is planning to launch a risk parity bond strategy in second quarter, covering government bonds, corproate bonds, emerging markets, and inflation-linked bonds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For 2012, Bankia has declared a loss of EUR19.19bn, but its chairman, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, on Thursday announced at a press conference to present reults that the bank, which has received government aid, no longer has liquidity problems as it did last year. Bankia will now adopt a new passive capture strategy, moving away from bank savings accounts in favour of investments in shares in investment funds, which will now be more profitable, Funds People reports. In 2012, assets in investment funds at Bankia fell 16.5% to EUR6.46bn, while pension funds fell 12% to EUR4.78bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Total capital allocated by US money market funds to euro zone banks have reached their highest levels in over a year, in a sign that foreign investors are in the process of modifying their point of view on the region, the Financial Times reports. As of the end of January, the exposure to euro zone banks of the largest US money market funds represented 14.5% of their assets under management, a level not seen since October 2011, and an increase of 90% in dollars since a low point in June 2012. For the seventh consecutive month, money market funds have increased their allocations to French banks.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British asset management firm Jupiter has reported an increase in its assets under management in 2012 of GBP3.5bn, to GBP26.3bn as of the end of December, compared with GBP22.8bn as of the end of 2011, according to a statement released on 28 February. Net profits in the fiscal year totalled GBP73.6m, compared with GBP71.3m in 2011.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2012, St. James’s Place has announced pre-tax IFRS profits up 23%, to GBP134.6m, and net profits of GBP91.7bn, which represents an increase of 37% over GBP67m in 2011. For the third consecutive year, the British asset management firm will increase its dividend by 33%, to 10.64 pence, from 8 pence, and CEO Davia Bellamy predicts a similar increase in 2013. Assets increased by 22% last year, to GBP34.8bn, and net subscriptions totalled GBP3.35bn, compared with GBP3.21bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For 2012, Man Group has announced a “statutory” pre-tax loss of USD745m, commpared with profits of USD193m the previous year. Goodwill at GLG totals USD746m, in addition to USD233m written down at the end of June (USD91m for GLG and USD142m for Man Multi-manager). However, adjusted pre-tax profits increased to USD278m, from USD262m, of which USD223m are related to net management commissions, and USD55m are from net performance commissions. As of 25 February 2013l assets totalled USD55bn, compared with USD57bn in December 2012, and USD58.4bn at the end of 2011. Oc this total, assets managed by AHL represented USD14.4bn at the end of December, compared with USD21bn one year previously. For GLG Alternatives, assets total USD15.2bn, fown from USD15.5bn, Long-only assets represented USD11.4bn, compared with USD10.7bn, and FRM (acquired on 17 July 2012) had USD16bn, compared with USD11.2bn. Man Group has posted net outflows for 2012 of USD7.3bn.

Le prestataire allemand de services financiers MLP a déclaré jeudi un bénéfice avant impôt et charges financières (EBIT) de 74,1 millions d’euros pour 2012 contre 17,3 millions l’année précédente. Hors charges exceptionnelles de 2011, la hausse se situe à 46 % sur un chiffre d’affaires en progression de 3 % à 544,6 millions d’euros; les recettes totales se sont accrues de 4 % à 568 millions d’euros. Le bénéfice net de l’exercice s’inscrit à 52,7 millions d’euros contre 11,5 millions l’année précédente.L’amélioration du résultat est attribuable pour une part importante au quatrième trimestre, où les recettes dans la prévoyance vieillesse ont augmenté de 9 % tandis que celles de la gestion de fortune opéraient un bond en avant de 55 %. Au total, 64 % environ de l’EBIT ont été obtenus entre octobre et décembre.Le bénéfice avant impôt de Feri (gestion de fortune) est ressorti à 8,33 millions d’euros contre une perte de 2,09 millions pour 2011.

Mirabaud Asset Management avait annoncé le 10 janvier le lancement d’une nouvelle stratégie multi-actifs d’allocation dynamique pour les produits d’allocations d’actifs et les mandats diversifiés. Dans le cadre de cette nouvelle stratégie, la société de gestion vient de lancer le fonds Mirabaud – Dynamic Allocation, qui propose une gestion flexible sur toutes les classes d’actifs traditionnelles. Le processus de gestion se base sur des indicateurs de tendances financières, macro-économiques et de prix. L’allocation d’actifs permet de diverger de l’indice de référence, offrant une corrélation modérée avec les indices financiers traditionnels. Mirabaud – Dynamic Allocation est investi exclusivement dans des instruments «offrant de très bonnes conditions de liquidité et de transparence», souligne un communiqué. La spécificité de cette approche repose selon Mirabaud sur «la collaboration très étroite entre les spécialistes macro et quantitatifs» au sein de l’équipe d’investissement. Caractéristiques Catégorie I Code Isin : LU0862032199 Frais de gestion : 0,6% TTC Devise : euro Investisseur concerné : investisseurs institutionnels Catégorie A Code Isin : LU0862031894 Frais de gestion : 1,2% TTC Devise : euro Investisseur concerné : tout investisseur

La plate-forme BATS a admis à la négociation le 28 février le ProShares Global Listed Private Equity ETF (acronyme : PEX), chargé à 2,54 % et qui investira dans les titres de sociétés de private equilty cotées, rapporte Index Universe.

Avec le First Trust High Yield Long/Short ETF, First Trust commercialise une stratégie de type 130/30 géré activement investissant en obligations catégorie spéculative américaines et non-américaines, en crédits bancaires et en valeurs convertibles, la partie courte étant constituée principalement de Treasurys américaines et d’obligations d’entreprises en catégorie investissement et/ou spéculative, rapporte Index Universe.Le TFE de ce fonds dont l’acronyme sur le Nasdaq est HYLS se situe à 1,19 %. L’objectif consiste à surperformer le Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Master II Constrained Index, les positions courtes se focalisant sur les valeurs dont First Trust s’attend qu’elles vont sous-performer cet indice. La duration moyenne devrait se situer aux alentours de 5 ans.

Malgré un environnement «difficile et morose», BNP Paribas Real Estate poursuit son développement un peu partout sur la planète. Après avoir recruté outre-Manche une cinquantaine de brokers en 2012 pour renforcer ses positions notamment en transaction à Londres, la société vient de lancer deux plateformes en Asie et envisage d’en lancer une troisième au Moyen-Orient, à Dubai, dans le courant du deuxième trimestre, a indiqué le président du directoire, Philippe Zivkovic, à l’occasion de la présentation de ses résultats annuels. Il s’agit dans les deux cas de proposer toute l’expertise de BNP Paribas Real Estate à une clientèle de grands investisseurs, family offices et fonds souverains notamment, qui sont de plus en plus présents sur les trois principaux marchés européens (France, Allemagne et Royaume-Uni) et qui offrent l’avantage, dans le contexte actuel, de signer de gros tickets. La société réfléchit également au développement de ses activités de gestion d’actifs et de property management en Allemagne. Il pourrait être question d’une structure dédiée, avec constitution d’une équipe sur place, mais BNP Paribas Real Estate n’a pas souhaité dans l’immédiat en dire plus. L’an dernier, le chiffre d’affaires de la ligne de métier Investment Management au sein de BNP Paribas Real Estate a progressé de 9% par rapport à 2011 à 61 millions d’euros. La collecte nette s’est élevée l’an dernier à 900 millions d’euros contre 700 millions l’année précédente et les actifs sous gestion sont passés de 12,7 milliards d’euros fin décembre 2011 à 13,1 milliards d’euros à l’a fin de l’année 2012, dont 6 milliards en France et 1,9 milliard en Belgique et au Luxembourg. Au niveau de BNP Paribas Real Estate dans son ensemble, le résultat opérationnel est demeuré stable à 156 millions d’euros pour un chiffre d’affaires en très légère hausse à 662 millions d’euros contre 658 millions d’euros..

Les fonds BlackRock Energy & Resources (773 millions de dollars) et le Balckrock All-Cap Energy & Resources (384 millions) seront désormais gérés par Robin Batchelor et Poppy Allonby en remplacement de Denis Walsh et de Daniel Neumann, indique la société dans une notification à la SEC relayée par Bloomberg. De même les gérants du BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity Portfolio (1,4 milliard de dollars), Andrew Thut et Andrew Leger, et Eilen Leary, qui gère le BlackRock Mid-Cap Growth Equity Portfolio (286 millions), vont être remplacés.Une porte-parole de BlackRock a confirmé que Denis Walsh, Daniel Neumann, Andrew Thut, Andrew Leger et Eileen leary vont quitter la société.BlackRock est déçu par la sous-performance ou les pertes des fonds gérés par ces cinq personnes.

Carmignac Gestion a annoncé jeudi 28 février, l’arrivée de Vincent Aguado et Pierre-Edouard Bonenfant en tant que traders. Ils rejoignent le département Trading dirigé par Nicolas Courbon, qui porte de fait son effectif à cinq membres.Avant de rejoindre Carmignac Gestion, Vincent Aguado travaillait chez JP Morgan au sein de la force de vente «fixed income», où il occupait le poste de vice-président. Pour sa part, Pierre-Edouard Bonenfant, exerçait auparavant la fonction de derivatives structurer chez Theam.

Le cabinet d’avocats international Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP dont le bureau de Paris conseille les clients du cabinet en matière de fusions et acquisitions, capital investissement, banque et finance, fiscalité, contentieux et arbitrage international vient de recruter Jean-Claude Najar en tant qu’International Counsel au sein de son équipe d’arbitrage international. Basé à Paris, il sera plus particulièrement en charge du développement de l’activité arbitrage commercial et de la compliance.Avant de rejoindre Curtis, Jean-Claude Najar directeur juridique France & Senior Counsel Europe chez General Electric Co (GE).

L’Etablissement de retraite additionnelle de la fonction publique (ERAFP) annonce l’attribution d’un mandat actif et deux mandats stand-by de gestion d’actifs immobiliers ISR en France. Le mandat a été confié à AEW Europe SGP. Amundi Immobilier et La Française Real Estate Managers sont retenus comme gérants suppléants. Le montant investi estimé à un horizon de trois ans est de l’ordre de 310 millions d’euros. La durée du marché est de 10 ans. Les investissements seront réalisés principalement dans les bureaux et commerces, mais aussi habitations et résidences étudiantes. Le fonds pourra éventuellement investir dans d’autres catégories d’actifs immobiliers telles que les locaux d’activités et entrepôts, les résidences de services. L’ERAFP investit près de 14 milliards d’euros d’actifs, placés dans leur intégralité suivant une démarche ISR.

L’Agence France Trésor annonce l’adjudication le lundi 4 mars de bons du Trésor (BTF). Cette opération portera sur des montants compris entre 3,6 et 4 milliards d’euros de bons à 13 semaines qui arriveront à échéance le 6 juin entre 1,4 milliard et 1,7 milliard d’euros de bons à 22 semaines à échéance du 8 août et entre 1,4 et 1,7 milliard d’euros de bons à 48 semaines à échéance du 6 février 2014. L’AFT annonce aussi l’adjudication, le jeudi 7 mars, d’un montant compris entre 6,5 et 7,5 milliards d’euros d’obligations assimilables du Trésor (OAT) qui portera sur les lignes 4,25% octobre 2018, 2,25% octobre 2022 et 2,75% octobre 2027.