Philippe Currat, who will reach the age of 65 in May 2013, has announced plans to leave the executive board at Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild S.A. at the beginning of 2013, from 9 January, the Geneva-based bank has announced in a statement released on 8 January, after the close of the trading day. Currat had been chairman of the executive board at the private bank for 25 years.

GLG, the discretionary investment manager of Man Group plc, has announced a number of senior hires to its macro and fixed income team. The appointments are part of a focus on expanding GLG’s strategy as it relates to absolute return macro and fixed income. Kumaran Damodaran joins Sudi from Pimco as a portfolio manager focusing on emerging markets within GLG’s fixed income platform. He has significant experience managing absolute return and outperformance portfolios and has worked closely with Sudi Mariappa in the past, who also joined GLG in October.Brian Pinto will join from the World Bank to take on the role of Senior Macro- Economist, specialising in emerging markets. With many publications to his credit, Brian has spent nearly thirty years at the World Bank, where he is currently Senior Adviser, focusing on sovereign debt, financial integration and growth in emerging markets. He will work closely with GLG strategist Driss Lamrani. Richard Bateson joins from Man AHL as a Senior Quantitative Analyst. He currently heads a strategy within AHL which trades trend, reversion and value strategies across over 150 markets. He is also an Associate of the OxfordMan Institute, Oxford University. The overall macro and fixed income platform will be co-headed by Jamil Baz and Sudi Mariappa.

The Swiss Siz & Co group has announced that it has registered four new sub-funds of its Luxembourg Oyster sicav in Switzerland. The registration of the new sub-funds is a sign of the group’s desire to meet the particular need of Swiss professional clients. Switzerland currently represents a major area of development for Oyster funds. With the Oyster range and the Oyster Multi-Manager sub-funds of the Sicav 3A Alternative Funds, 36 funds are offered to Swiss investors, a range which is constantly developing, and which ranges from highly conservative absolute return strategies to traditional strategies focused on various asset classes, and more innovative “newcits” approaches. OYSTER European SelectionOyster European Selection adopts the approach and philosophy of the Oyster European Opportunities fund. The strategy is appropriate for the requirements of institutional clients, and targets European equities with strong potential for growth in the next five years. With its longer investment horizon, the fund benefits from the expertise and strong convictions of its manager, Eric Bendhan, a specialist in European equities. OYSTER US SelectionOyster US Selection focuses on US equities, combining bottom-up analysis with a top-down complement which aims to anticipate changes in economic cycles. The fund, managed by Scout Investments, Inc., a US asset management firm, offers a strategy which is available in UCITS format exclusively via the Oyster Sicav. OYSTER Global High DividendOyster Global High Dividend invests in high-dividend equities worldwide. Managed by SYZ Asset Management SA and SYZ & Co Asset Management LLP with Roberto Magnatantini as lead manager, Oyster Global High Dividend combines quantitative and fundamental analysis with a particular emphasis on growth in dividends. OYSTER Global High YieldOyster Global High Yield invests in high yield bonds worldwide. The fund is managed by Seix Investment Advisors LLC, an asset management firm based in the United States.

Carmignac Gestion has announced the arrival of Anne Bellavoine as director of marketing. In an interview with Newsmanagers, Eric Helderlé, CEO, explains that with this recruitment, the asset management firm hopes to place marketing at the centre of the concerns of the company, in light of its growth. The head says this choice comes at a time when Carmignac Gestion is posting results above expectations in the UK, and eventually, the development of the asset management firm will also extend to Asia and South America. “We are in an environment in which we are taking important steps, and are attacking new markets which are very different from the ones of continental Europe,” the director says. “And,” he adds, “the regulatory environment is presenting significant complications to the product approach.” In this environment, the new head will aim to take the “glocal” approach which is so highly valued at Carmignac Gestion. “Glocal” is global for funds on sale internationally in the large sense, and local for the fact that it takes into account the very different demand characteristics of each ountry (more or less strongly for distribution shares, capitalisation shares, etc.). In practice, Bellavoine will lead and co-ordinate the marketing team composed of 20 people, and will report to Eric Le Coz, deputy CEO. This is not a new position. Laurence Bertrand held this position before leaving the firm at the end of May 2012. However, “we needed a more strategic vision,” says Helderlé, adding that the managerial abilities of the recruit and her “sense of the customer” justify her recruitment, as marketing is no one of the professional activities covered previously. The new head spent 17 years at Société Générale, where she served successively as global director of Equity Sales and as chairwoman of SG Securities, director of the Equity and Derivatives market desk, and lastly as a banker in charge of financial institutions. The senior profile of the new recruit will open the doors of the strategic development board, unlike the firm’s last director of marketing.

At the end of 2012, assets under management in European ETPs totalled USD367bn, 22.7% more than the USD299bn recorded the previous year, as net subscriptions totalled USD32.7bn of the USD68bn in asset growth, according to statistics from the BlackRock Institute. In December, net subscriptions totalled USD5.7bn, the highest level in 17 months.The top firm by assets and net inflows remained iShares (BlackRock), with USD140bn and USD18.5bn, respectively. It is followed by db x-trackers/db ETC (Deutsche Bank) with USD50.2bn, but only USD1.3bn in net subscriptions, and Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) with USD42.3bn and USD0.5bn in net inflows.ETF Securities, in fourth place by assets with USD24.1bn, has USD2.6bn in net subscriptions, while Source, in seventh place with USD13.3bn, has posted net inflows of USD5.1bn.

The German open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienGlobal has announced that it has sold the office building at 5, Plaza de Cataluña in Barcelona, with 14,000 square metres, to an investor who wishes to remain anonymous. According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, the buyer would appear to be the billionaire Amancio Ortega, the largest shareholder in Inditex. Deka Immobilien states that the sale has allowed it to earn a capital gain. In addition, the sale comes as part of the strategy of Deka-ImmobilienGlobal, which is to focus its investments on major cities outside Europe, and on Germany and the United Kingdom.

Six years to the day after acquiring the portfolio, the German open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Global has resold its portfolio of five properties in Chile for EUR171m to Aurus Renta Inmobiliaria. The sale price is about EUR33m higher than the purchase price. The properties sold total 55,725 square metres of area in the Birmann 24, Torre Paris, Xerox, Bandera 76 and Teatinos 254-258 buildings in Santiago, Chile. After the sale, the UniImmo: Global fund retains six properties or stakes in properties in Latin America, totalling EUR230m.

The Swedish firm Stella Asset Management will liquidate its two hedge funds, Stella Nova and Stella Polaris, Privata Affärer reports. The funds had a difficult year in 2012. The Swedish website says this is only the beginning of a wave of hedge fund closures to come.

Sebastiano Ferrante at the beginning of 2013 became the new country head for Germany at Pramerica Real Estate International, succeeding Georg von Werz. As a member of the board of directors, he is also responsible for fund management. From 2007 to 2012, he was co-country head for Germany at Tishman Speyer Properties in Frankfurt, responsible for acquisitions and sales of properties in Germany, and of the operational platform of Tishman Speyer Properties. Pramerica Real Estate Investors (the European affiliate of Prudential Financial) has also announced that it has acquired the office building at 141 Bothwell Street (175,000 square feet) in Glasgow from the Strathclyde Pension Fund for GBP70m.

The management of currency risks for Fondoposte, the national complementary retirement fund for employees of the Poste Italiane and its affiliates, has been contracted to the Edmond de Rothschild group, Bluerating reports. It is the division specialised in currency overlay management at the asset management firm which will handle the contract.

At the end of November, assets in funds domiciled in the UK set a new all-time record of GBP652bn, which represents an increase of over 50% compared with August 2008, the record previous to the financial crisis, says Daniel Godfrey, CEO of the Investment Management Association (IMA). Compared with the end of November 2011 (GBP565bn), the increase is 15%. The IMA states that net subscriptions for retail products in November totalled GBP1.2bn, compared with GBP338m one year previously, while net subscriptions to ISAs totalled GBP44m, compared with net outflows of GBP61m. Equity funds attracted GBP720m, the highest level since April 2011 (GBP1.25bn), while bond funds saw inflows of only GBP43m, the lowest level since net outflows of GBP142m in October 2008.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) on January 8 announced the launch of the Morgan Stanley Investment Funds (MS INVF) Global Premier Credit Fund. The fund seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns by investing in “Premier Credit,” the corporate debt issued by businesses characterized by dominant franchises or leading industry positions, low capital intensity and strong balance sheets.To build the portfolio and identify Premier Credit, the portfolio managers leverage fundamental research from MSIM’s Global Fixed Income team. Additionally, the new fund employs proprietary quantitative tools to screen the credit universe and continually monitor high quality issuers, resulting in a strong platform from which to assess credit quality.Richard Ford, European head of credit for MSIM, said, “The Global Premier Credit Fund aims to be an effective strategy to help investors wanting to diversify from government debt, by seeking higher yields through capturing the credit premium of the highest quality credits withlimited volatility and default risk (...)».

Wesley Wang, a former analyst at the hedge fund trading firm SAC Capital, has named 20 people who traded on inside information, the Financial Times reports, citing the prosecution. Wang, who has confessed to dealing in insider information while working at SAC and Whitman Capital, faces a verdict on Wednesday.

The Luxembourg firm Palaedino Fund has selected five asset management firms to deploy a passive investment strategy based on five indices designed by Palaedino Asset Management. The firms are Duet Group, Morgan Stanley, Olympia Capital, RBS and Unigestion. Each one will manage a sub-fund based on an index, and will aim to outperform the index by overweighting and underweighting components. The indices are the following: Palaedino Structural Leaders Index, Palaedino Hard Currency Index, Palaedino Diversified Commodity Index, Palaedino Global Fixed Income Index and Palaedino Euro Fixed Income Index.

Trusteam Finance (société de gestion de portefeuille et d’ingénierie patrimoniale agréée par l’AMF) et Monte Paschi Banque ont signé un partenariat privilégié dans le domaine de la gestion d’actifs à effet du 2 Janvier 2013.L ’activité de gestion des OPCVM assurée par Monte Paschi Invest jusqu’au 31 décembre 2012 a été transférée chez Trusteam Finance dès le 2 janvier 2013. Trusteam Finance, créée en 2000, gère aujourd’hui 500 millions d’euros.

La société autoroutière italienne est actuellement en discussions pour acquérir Gemina, qui contrôle la société Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) gérant les aéroports de Rome, ont déclaré à Reuters des sources proches du dossier. Le rapprochement des deux entreprises, chacune contrôlée par Sintonia, société elle-même contrôlée par la holding de la famille Benetton permettrait à ADR de déployer un projet de 2,5 milliards d’euros d’investissements pour relancer l’aéroport de Fiumicino.

Le directeur général du groupe pharmaceutique estime qu’il «vaut la peine» de songer au rachat de la société de produits ophtalmologiques mise en vente par Warburg Pincus. Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott et Sanofi seraient sur les rangs. En marge d’une conférence hier, le directeur général de Bausch & Lomb, Brent Saunders, a fait part de son souhait de revenir en Bourse, une solution alternative envisagée par Warburg Pincus de sources concordantes.

L’assureur britannique a cédé sa participation de 19,4% au capital du groupe néerlandais pour 430 millions d’euros (34 millions de titres au prix unitaire de 12,65 euros). Morgan Stanley a coordonné la constitution accélérée du livre d’ordres en lien avec Goldman Sachs et Barclays. L’offre, «plusieurs fois sursouscrite» selon Aviva, a été placée auprès de « diversinvestisseurs institutionnels».

Le Shanghai Stock Exchange contraint les sociétés cotées à distribuer au moins 30% de leurs résultats nets sous forme de dividendes en numéraire

Les encours des produits indiciels sont repartis à la hausse en Europe. La collecte mondiale a atteint un niveau record

Madrid doit lever 121 milliards d'euros à moyen et long terme en 2013. Un programme semé d'embûches

Madrid doit lever 121 milliards d'euros à moyen et long terme en 2013. Un programme semé d'embûches

En réponse aux appels des investisseurs pour davantage de transparence, la banque américaine s’apprête selon le quotidien qui cite des sources proches du projet à mettre en œuvre une valorisation quotidienne et non plus seulement mensuelle de ses fonds monétaires ouverts. Certaines valorisations quotidiennes pourraient être publiées dès aujourd’hui.

La Réserve fédérale américaine pourrait permettre aux grandes banques étrangères d’échapper à des durcissements de règles coûteux issus de la loi Dodd-Frank, selon le journal qui cite des sources proches du dossier. L’exemption concernerait l’«amendement Lincoln» qui interdit aux banques ayant accès aux assurances de dépôts octroyés par le gouvernement américain ou aux facilités de crédit de la Fed, d’opérer sur le marché de dérivés. La Fed traiterait ainsi les filiales de banques étrangères aux Etats-Unis comme des entités à part. La Société Générale, Deutsche Bank et Barclays auraient fait pression sur la Fed pour obtenir cette exception.

Le promoteur immobilier chinois prévoit de transférer ses actions de classe B à Hong Kong, alors que Sinopec a soumis une demande d'IPO de sa filiale

Anticipant une forte hausse des prêts non performants en Chine, Fortress Investment Group serait en passe de racheter Fan Ya Tai, une société chinoise d’aide aux créanciers dans la gestion de créances douteuses, selon le journal qui cite des personnes proches des négociations. Les clients de la cible comprennent des prêteurs chinois mais aussi étrangers, tels que Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Dublin qui comptait émettre 2 milliards d'euros a finalement levé 2,5 milliards d'obligations avant un retour complet sur les marchés

Rabobank a quitté le panel de l'indice de référence début janvier. La banque néerlandaise, qui peut craindre le coût de litiges potentiels, n'est pas la seule

Rabobank a décidé de ne plus contribuer à la fixation du taux de référence. Il n’est pas le seul établissement dans ce cas alors que les enquêtes sur les manipulations de taux et la refonte de ces derniers par les régulateurs peuvent créer un risque juridique pour les contributeurs.

L'Union mutualiste retraite devient le premier client de la société de gestion de la MGEN, et peut-être bientôt son actionnaire