Hermes Investment Management, the GBP30.6 billion manager, has hired Andrew Jackson as head of fixed income, reporting to Eoin Murray, head of investment.Andrew Jackson joins from Cairn Capital where he was chief investment officer, head of investment committee & senior member of the executive management committee.Based in London, Andrew Jackson will be responsible for leading the strategic development of the Credit and Direct Lending investment teams, and developing a multi-asset credit offering capable of accessing all areas of the global credit markets for pension funds and other long-term institutional investors. As a member of senior management, Andrew Jackson will also sit on the Hermes Strategy Group, contributing to the effective development of the business.

In March 2017, the volume of assets placed in the investment funds covered by the statistics compiled by Swiss Fund Data AG and Morningstar increased by CHF13.4 billion or 1.4% month - on- month to reach a further high of CHF 957.4 billion . This came above all on the back of the positive performance on the European markets. Net inflows in March 2017 totaled CHF3.9 billion. Net new money totaling CHF14.3 billion was thus invested in funds in Q1.

CheBanca! Is looking to increase its number of private bankers from 70 currently to 100 by the end of the year, Bluerating reports, citing Affari&Finanza. Additionally, the internet bank will increase its number of financial advisres from 70 to 350. the wealth management division of CheBanca! is aiming to reach 12,000 clients, up from 6,000 currently.

European mutual fund boards have significantly fewer independent directors than their US counterparts, according to Fitch Ratings’ analysis. Regulatory reforms mean boards are becoming increasingly involved in funds’ decision making, but a lack of independence may make European fund boards less likely to challenge management.Looking at a sample of 854 European fund directors from 145 sub-funds across all major asset classes, we found 33% were independent, meaning they had no direct, current link to the fund’s sponsor, custodian or administrator. Our analysis, which mainly focussed on Ireland- and Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS funds also found that almost a quarter of the funds had no independent directors at all.The rules for designating a director as independent vary between European countries. But overall the requirements are weaker than in the US, where a minimum of 40% of directors must be independent and in practice, around 75% actually are independent. The proportion of independent directors on European fund boards is also well below the 61% on FTSE 250 boards and the 84% on S&P500 boards.Fund boards are required to put the interests of investors above those of the asset manager. Their limited independence may therefore become more of a risk as the role of European fund boards grows. For example, under recently-agreed European money market fund reforms, boards will play a key role in determining whether liquidity fees or redemptions gates should be applied. Fund boards were also required to approve the decision by several UK commercial real estate funds to prevent or limit redemptions in the wake of the Brexit vote.Our research also shows that gender diversity on European fund boards is low, with women accounting for just 11% of board positions. Board diversity is broadly recognised as promoting robust decision-making and the representation of women on fund boards is lower than for the broader financial sector, and for members of the MSCI World Index.

The Netherlands-based asset management firm Kempen Capital Management (Kempen) on 24 April announced the launch of the Diversified Structured Credit Pool, a new structured credit fund of funds. The vehicle will primarily target long-only structured credit funds from three specialist companies: GoldenTree, LibreMax and One Williams Street, the asset management firm says in a statement. The Diversified Structured Credit Pool will invest in investment grade and sub-investment grade bonds, with an interest duration of 2 to 3 years. It will target residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), senior collateralized loan obligations (CLO) and consumer loans, or consumer ABS. From a geographical standpoint, it will invest 80% to 85% in the US market, and 15% to 20% in Europe. The objective is to earn total net returns of 4% to 6% per year. Kempen emphasizes that the structured credit market is one of the largest markets in the world, representing USD2.8trn. “This market is two times larger than the US high yield market, and six times larger than the European high yield market,” the firm notes in a statement.

Life insurance is breaking even. At the conclusion of March 2017, net inflows totalled zero, according to statistics released on 24 April by the French insurance federation (FFA). In the past month, contributions and benefits both totalled EUR12.2bn. The only positive point is that gross inflows to unit-linked policies totalled EUR3.3bn in March, an all-time high. In the first three months of the year, total contributions collected by insurance companies came to EUR34.7bn, compared with EUR37.3bn in the same period of 2016. Payments into unit-linked accounts alone represented EUR9.3bn, equivalent to 27% of total contributions. Meanwhile, in first quarter 2017, benefits paid out by insurance companies totalled EUR33.7bn, compared with EUR29.7bn in first quarter 2016. As a result, net inflows totalled only EUR1bn as of the end of first quarter 2017, compared with EUR7.7bn in first quarter 2016. As of the end of March 2017, life insurance policies totalled EUR1.646trn, up 3% year over year, the FFA notes.

Euronext today announced the launch of Euronext Fund Service in Paris, an " innovative and complementary solution» for investing in open-end funds (UCITS1 and AIF2) registered or passported in France. It offers institutional and retail investors a " simplified, automated cost-efficient subscription/redemption service to invest in funds through their brokers». Euronext Fund Service will be launched on 15 May 2017, starting with Axa IM, Ecofi Investissements, Natixis AM and OFI AM funds. Other asset managers including Commerzbank La Française Investment Solutions will join Euronext Fund Services in the weeks following its launch.Euronext Fund Service is designed to meet industry professionals’ needs for an easier and straight through processing access to funds. For asset managers, it will boost their funds’ visibility and facilitate their access to both domestic and international investors. Clients will be able to place orders for a range of international open-end funds through their broker, as they already do for other exchange tradable products.Euronext Fund Service builds on new technologies developed by fintech companies, in particular robo-advisors seeking automated infrastructure solutions. Among other advantages, these new services are in line with the needs of new-generation investors, the “Millennials”, drawn by digital technologies.Funds admitted to trading on Euronext Fund Service will benefit from enhanced visibility through data flows generated by Euronext. A partnership with Morningstar will also allow free access to a rich repository of fund data for selection and comparison on the Euronext website.Orders placed through Euronext Fund Service will be at Net Asset Value in euros, transferred to the Fund Agent under the Euronext model. Fund Agents registered with Euronext are BNP Paribas Securities Services, Caceis, CM-CIC Market Solutions and Société Générale Securities Services.Stéphane Boujnah, Chairman and CEO of the Managing Board of Euronext NV, said: “We are delighted to launch this new service, which illustrates our flexibility and ability to meet a range of different demands, and we look forward to welcoming asset managers of all sizes from the very start. Designed in partnership with the financial community, Euronext Fund Service is an innovative offering that addresses asset managers’ needs for more digitalised and automated solutions. It will also help enrich the Euronext community as a whole.”

Omnes Capital has announced that it has made its first investment in a Portuguese startup, 360imprimir, alongside the Portuguese asset management firm Pathena. The round of fundraising, for a total of EUR4m, aims to finance the international development of the startup and to enrich its product range. 360Imprimir offers a range of marketing products and services to businesses (leaflets, cards, large format, etc.). According to a statement, less than two years after its launch, with only EUR250,000 in funds raised from Shilling Capital, 360imprimmir made EUR6m in 2016, for growth of nearly 300% compared with 2015. It now has over 120 employees, and in the space of three years, has built up over 200,000 clients in four different markets. Omnes Capital has EUR3.4bn in assets under management.

Asset management firms are increasingly participating in general shareholders’ meetings with a high level of engagement, according to the findings of the 15th edition of an annual survey published by the French financial management association (AFG) of the exercise of shareholder voting rights at general shareholders’ meetings held in 2016. The rising trend in the number of participations at general shareholders’ meetings was confirmed in 2016, with 8% growth worldwide, including 13% for general shareholders’ meetings held outside Europe. In line with the diversification of portfolios, foreign issuers represent 2/3 of the equities managed by portfolio management firms, and more than 4/5 of the general shareholders’ meetings in which they participate, the annual survey finds. Another notable fact is that asset management firms have significantly increased the level of engagement and expectation. They appoved only about 20% of all resolutions proposed. They expressed at least one “nay” vote at 81% of French general shareholders’ meetings, and at over 60% of foreign meetings, where the field of resolutions is narrower, AFG says. Resolutions related to remuneration (free shares, options, say on pay, etc.) catalyzed opposing votes by managers. Worldwide, more than 40% of resolutions were contested, nearly 50% of these at general shareholders’ meetings for French issuers. “These votes are frequently the result of a lack of transparency with respect to the information/benchmarks used to set remuneration, particularly when detailing the criteria for the award of stock options and free shares,” the AFG notes in its survey. Meanwhile, financial operations and anti-takeover clauses were at the center of opposition votes by managers, with these resolutions representing 29% and 22%, respectively. The AFG survey also highlights the fact that dialogue has strengthened with issuers, leading to progress in governance. With respect to French issuers, managers see improvement both in the quality of dialogue (60% of asset management firms, compared with 46% in 2015), and also the quality of governance (76% of asset management firms). In addition to the exercise of their voting rights, dialogue has also evolved with foreign issuers and is even more appreciated, particuarly for issuers outside Europe (29% of companies in 2016, compared with 14% in 2015). However, “managers remain critical as to the composition of boards of directors (percentage of directors who are independent/free of vested interests, complementarity of profiles) which do not fully satisfy the “recommendations for corporate governance” from the AFG, the professional association notes.

The alternative management and investment company Tikehau Capital on 24 April announced the appointment of Peter Cirenza with immediate effect to the position of director of its London office. In this new role, which aims to strengthen the global executive team at the group, Cirenza will be responsible for contributing to the development of private investment strategies, including private debt, real estate and private equity. He will direct operations from the London office alongside the chairman, Lord Peter Levene. Cirenza has been a member of the advisory board at Tikehau Capital since 2005. In this role, he assisted the board at the firm “contributing his expertise as an external consultant for tier one investment, structured finance and mergers and acquisitions,” Tikehau Capital says in a statement. With over 30 years of experience in the financial sector, Cirenza worked at Goldman Sachs in New York, London and Tokyo for 20 years, in the positions of executive director and then partner, from 2000. His responsibilities focused on the development and co-direction of tier one financing and investment activities for special situations in North America. Since 2009, he had been a lecturer at the London School of Economics.

3i Group has announced the first close of the 3i European Operational Projects Fund, with EUR155 million raised from a number of European investors, including a commitment of EUR40m from 3i. The fund will invest in operational PPP projects across Europe, with a focus on France, the Benelux, Germany, Italy and Iberia and sub-sectors such as social infrastructure and transportation. The Fund will acquire a seed portfolio of 11 operational projects. The Fund is managed by 3i’s infrastructure team. In total, 3i now manages or advises c£3.5bn of infrastructure assets across six investment vehicles.

The German investment company MainFirst on 24 April announced that the Swiss group Haron Holding has become its new majority shareholder, with 79.9% of capital. Existing shareholders at MainFirst have sold their 24.5% stake in Haron Holding. Meanwhile, Haron Holding has acquired an additional 4.5% of shares. At the conclusion of these operations, completed on 21 April, the stake for Haron Holding comes to 73.9%, up from 44.9% previously. Haron Holding has been a shareholder in MainFirst since 2014, and has actively supported and assisted the growth strategy at the German company over the past few years, MainFirst says in a statement.

Le gérant britannique St James’s Place a annoncé aujourd’hui des actifs sous gestion de 79,84 milliards de livres (93,99 milliards d’euros) au 31 mars 2017, en hausse de 29% par rapport à l’année précédente. Les encours ont été soutenus par des retours sur investissement positifs et une forte collecte nette, dopée par la demande de produits de retraite et d’épargne, a précisé St James’s Place. Sur les trois premiers mois de l’année, la collecte nette a ainsi représenté 1,99 milliard de livres, en hausse de 46% par rapport à la même période en 2016. Le taux de rétention des fonds des clients s’est établi à 95%.

Euronext a annoncé ce matin le lancement à Paris d’Euronext Fund Service, «un service de souscription-rachat simplifié, automatisé et à moindre coût» dédié aux fonds ouverts internationaux de type organismes de placement collectif (OPC) et fonds d’investissement alternatifs (FIA). La plate-forme ouvrira le 15 mai et commercialisera, à son démarrage, des fonds d’Axa IM, Ecofi Investissements, Natixis AM et Ofi AM. «D’autres sociétés de gestion dont Commerzbank et La Française Investment Solutions rejoindront Euronext Fund Services dans les semaines qui suivront», précise le communiqué de l’opérateur boursier.

Spin-off de la société de conseil en investissement fondée par Frank Noël-Vandenberghe, l’entité dédiée au private equity vise 2 milliard d’actifs sous gestion en 2020.

Les établissements européens ont le mieux réussi cette année dans la gestion d’actifs chinoise. Mais pas les français.

L'AFG vient de publier l'édition 2017 - la quinzième - de l'enquête annuelle de son service Economie-Recherche sur l'exercice des votes, lors des assemblées tenues en 2016, par les sociétés de gestion de portefeuille.

Euronext annonce le lancement d’Euronext Fund Service à Paris, une solution innovante et complémentaire aux solutions existantes pour l’investissement dans les fonds ouverts internationaux (OPC1 et FIA2) enregistrés ou passeportés en France.

Family Patrimoine s’appuie sur ses partenariats avec Harvest et Quantalys pour l’établissement des bilans patrimoniaux, la sélection et le suivi des fonds. Le cabinet indépendant de conseil en gestion patrimoniale isérois, qui a fortement investi dans ces nouveaux outils digitaux concentre aujourd’hui son développement sur sa croissance organique. Côté investissement, comme l’explique Andy Bussaglia, associé-gérant du cabinet, les équipes ont récemment désensibilisé leurs portefeuilles aux marchés actions en favorisant les stratégies alternatives.

Originaire de Metz, où il a passé toute son enfance, Andy Bussaglia, associé-gérant de Family Patrimoine, est un jeune CGP passionné par l’aspect technique et humain de son métier. Curieux par nature, il cultive son goût pour la découverte dans ses activités professionnelles comme personnelles. Blogueur depuis quelques mois et grand sportif, il profite de sa vie à Grenoble pour passer ses week-ends dans les Alpes.

Le groupe UBS a nommé Matthias Musch au poste de responsable des activités de gestion de fortune pour la région CAS, à savoir l’Amérique centrale, les Etats andins et l’Amérique du Sud mais sans le Brésil, rapporte le site spécialisé finews. Matthias Musch devrait prendre ses fonctions dans le courant du mois de juin. Il rejoint l'équipe dirigée depuis mars dernier par Alejandro Velez, responsable de la gestion de fortune pour l’ensemble de la région Amérique latine. Matthias Musch travaillait précédemment à la Deutsche Bank où il avait la responsabilité des centres de réservation pour les clients latino-américains en Allemagne et en Suisse.

La Financière de L’Echiquier se laisse environ neuf à dix mois pour inaugurer un nouveau bureau à Zurich, sur les bords de la Limmat, rapporte L’Agefi Suisse. « Une ouverture d’ici la fin du premier trimestre 2018 constituerait un bon objectif », a ainsi indiqué à AWP Benjamin Canlorbe, responsable du marché suisse. La société de gestion française développe ses activités sur le marché helvétique depuis près de dix ans, rapporte le quotidien économique. Elle s’est installée en Suisse, à Genève, en janvier 2016. L’extension à Zurich était prévue initialement dans un horizon de deux ans.

L’affaire des bonus de Credit Suisse prend de l’ampleur. Johann Schneider-Ammann, le ministre de l’économie suisse, met en effet en garde la direction de Credit Suisse, qui réclame de gros bonus en dépit de milliards de francs de pertes, rapporte L’Agefi Suisse. Le versement de bonus élevés traduit un manque d’égards, qui tôt ou tard va engendrer des affrontements entre partenaires sociaux, estime ainsi le conseiller fédéral dans un entretien accordé au journal Zentralschweiz am Sonntag. Lorsqu’il était entrepreneur et président de Swissmem, Johann Schneider-Ammann a essayé de sensibiliser ses collègues sur le fait que «les rémunérations excessives sont une bêtise et n’ont rien à voir avec les conditions du marché au niveau mondial». Après les vives critiques émises par des associations de conseil aux actionnaires, qui proposaient de rejeter le rapport de rémunération de la grande banque, Credit Suisse a annoncé une réduction de 40% des bonus prévus.

JPMorgan est la société de gestion la plus performante en Chine, selon un classement de 100 acteurs réalisé par Z-Ben Advisors et cité dans le Financial Times fund management. Le groupe américain domine le classement pour la deuxième année consécutive. Il est suivi par UBS, HSBC, Invesco et Schroders. Plusieurs sociétés, dont les françaises BNP Paribas et Société Générale, ont en revanche quitté le top 10. Le classement prend en compte plusieurs critères, dont le niveau d’encours, l’ampleur de l’investissement dans les joint-ventures locales et la solidité des relations de distribution avec les banques chinoises.

Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM) a annoncé ce 21 avril le lancement du fonds Axa World Funds (WF) Multi-Premia avec un milliard de dollars d’actifs sous gestion. Le fonds sera géré par la nouvelle équipe d’investissement d’Axa IM basée à Hong Kong depuis 2016, AXA IM Chorus. Le fonds s’appuie sur une approche quantitative pour s’exposer à différentes stratégies Premia, qui constituent autant de facteurs systématiques de performance. Par la sélection de ces Premia, leur combinaison et une recherche continue, le fonds déploie une stratégie liquide et diversifiée pour offrir aux investisseurs un couple rendement-risque d’investissement attractif, affichant une faible corrélation aux classes d’actifs traditionnelles. Le fonds est investi globalement en instruments liquides : actions, produits de taux, devises et crédit. « Nous avons construit une équipe solide au cours des 12 derniers mois. Elle rassemble un savant mélange des meilleurs talents de l’industrie. D’un groupe initial de 8 fondateurs, l’équipe n’a cessé de croître jusqu’à atteindre aujourd’hui 22 professionnels de l’investissement. Notre objectif est de délivrer à nos clients un profil rendement-risque attractif, issu d’une stratégie liquide et transparente », commente Pierre-Emmanuel Juillard, Managing Director d’Axa IM Chorus. Le fonds est géré par Hector Chan et Jérôme Brochard, la gestion s’appuyant sur le laboratoire de recherche d’Axa IM Chorus dirigé par Augustin Landier, et sur l’ingénierie logicielle de l’équipe Technology d’Axa IM Chorus dirigée par Philippe Muller.

Kees Stoute va retourner chez EFG en tant que responsable de l’Asie du Nord dans les semaines à venir, selon Asian Investor, qui cite Hubbis. L’intéressé avait travaillé au sein de la banque privée suisse entre 2007 et 2012, dernièrement en tant que CEO pour Singapour. Jusqu’à récemment, il travaillait chez Hubbis, une société d’informations et de recherche dans la gestion de fortune.

Citi Private Bank a promu Roger Bacon en tant que responsable des investissements pour l’Asie Pacifique, alors que jusqu’ici il était responsable des investissements gérés («managed investments») et du conseil pour la région, rapporte Asian Investor. Il succède à Sohn So-Yon, qui va prendre de nouvelles fonctions. Adam Proctor, quant à lui, va remplacer Roger Bacon. Avant de rejoindre Citi, Roger Bacon était responsable de l’activité fonds de hedge funds d’Union Bancaire Privée à Londres.

AcomeA lance son premier fonds éligible au PIR, le plan d’épargne individuel italien, Acome A Patrimonio Esente, rapporte Funds People Italia. Le fonds ouvert de droit italien peut investir jusqu’à 40 % de son portefeuille dans des actions, tandis que le reste sera en obligations et en monétaire. Le fonds sera coté sur le segment ETF Plus de Borsa Italiana.

Depuis le 20 avril, deux nouveaux ETC sur le pétrole brut de BNP Paribas Arbitrage Issuance B.V. sont disponibles à la Bourse de Francfort sur la plateforme Xetra, a indiqué l’opérateur boursier allemand. Les deux nouveaux véhicules sont le Brent Crude Oil ETC qui permet de participer au développement des ICED Brent Crude Futures Contrats, et le RICI Enhanced Brent Crude Oil TR Index USD ETC, qui réplique l’indice RICI Enhanced Brent Crude Oil Total Return. Le premier est chargé à 0,9%, le second à 0,99%.

Le gestionnaire de fortune allemand Flossbach von Storch, basé à Cologne, vient de recruter Alexander Barion en qualité de responsable marketing. Alexander Barion, qui a pris ses fonctions en avril, travaillait précédemment chez BlackRock, où il était responsable du marketing pour la région EMEA ainsi que l’Europe centrale et de l’Est.Flossbach von Storch est connu des investisseurs pour son fonds diversifié FvS Multiple Opportunities dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à environ 12 milliards d’euros.