P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock is cancelling plans to create its own platform to allow its clients to make trades directly on bond markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. Instead, BlackRock is planning to announce a partnership from Tuesday which will allow it to offer these services to 60 of its clients via MarketAxess Holdings, sources familiar with the matter say.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Citywire, Morgan Stanley is reported to have liquidated a Luxembourg-registered absolute return fund managed from New York by Sophia Drossos, which was launched in February 2007, and whose total assets had fallen to EUR3.1m as of the end of March, compared with EUR17.4m at the end of January.The fund is reported to have lost 13.69% in the three years to 31 March, compared with 0.95% for the Citywire hedge fund index.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } At least ten new hedge funds are expected to be launched this year in Switzerland, the news agency Reuters reports, at a time when no new players entered the industry the previous year.The source of this boom in the sector, which has a total volume of only USD24bn, is more rigorous legislation, which integrates European changes (the AIFM directive), and which some are concerned will incite alternative management professionals to leave the Swiss financial centre.According to estimates, assets in the new hedge funds may represent a cumulative total of USD8bn. Two hedge funds are expected to be released shortly, by Argentiere Capital, the firm from ex-JP Morgan trader Deepak Gulati, and B1 Capital, the firm by the former Man Group/GLG Partners manager James Berger.Pension fund managers estimate that tougher regulations are expected to incite trustees, who are generally sceptical of unregulated vehicles, to more easily approve investments in Swiss hedge funds.“The key is not that the marginal tax rate is 40% or 50%; the key is stability and visibility. That is a considerable advantage that Switzerland can offer,” says Markus Fuchs of the Swiss Funds Association.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) has appointed Christopher Schnabel as sales director in Germany. He reports to Jochen Meyers, managing director of sales & Relationship management for SGSS in Germany and Austria.Christopher Schnabel will be responsible for further developing SGSS’ presence and growth in Germany, focussing in particular on pension funds as well as church and non-profit organizations which require Master-KAG (Centralisation of all assets of an institutional investor into legal vehicles (Spezialfonds) administered by one German Investment Company (KAG) in order to centralise and streamline accounting, reporting and risk management) and trustee services for their investments.Christopher Schnabel began his career at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking in Frankfurt in 2008, where he was a member of the Financial Institution Group covering the German and Austrian markets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Investment Europe reports that Alex Merla, senior director at Société Générale in Milan, has been appointed as head of sales for Lyxor Asset Management funds in Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Latin America. He will report to Christophe Baurand, global head of sales & marketing, and will lead a team of five people. Vérionique Parizet will hold the same responsibilities for Central Europe.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Sun Life (Hong Kong) has recruited Stanley Ngan for the newly-creation position of head of asset management in its pension unit, Asian Investor reports.Ngan had previously been responsible for fund selection and analysis for the Asia-Pacific region at UBS Wealth Management. He will aim to develop the pension fund range from Sun Life, and has a mandate to recruited a professional in this area.Pension assets under management at Sun Life in the region currently total about USD2bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Netherlands-based affiliate of BinckBank, Alex Vermogensbeheer, has posted net subscriptions in first quarter of USD310m. Assets have increased in three months by 35%, to EUR1.363bn as of the end of March, Fondsnieuws reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Funds People reports that this week, two fund management firms closed down in Spain. They are Lazard Gestión, because the private bank to which it belongs has ceased activities in Spain, and Banca Civica Gestión de Activos, which was absorbed into InverCaixa.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Xavier Linsenmaier, 42, is joining UBGI - Groupe Union Bancaire Privée, the Paris-based asset management firm for Union Bancaire Privée, specialised in the management of convertible bonds, as a portfolio manager specialised in this asset class, and particularly the Asian market. He comes as an addition to convertible teams following the launch of the UBAM Convertibles Global fund. Linsemmaier began his career at JP Morgan, and joined proprietary trading at Bred Banque Populaire in 1996. In 2000, he becamse Deputy CIO at CCR Gestion (UBS AM), and founded the first volatility arbitrage fund, before joining the convertibles arbitrage hedge fund at Equalt, formerly CPRA2M, in 2003. From 2005, he specialised in Asian markets, as head of the Asian convertibles desk at HSBC in Hong Kong. More recently, he was a partner at Acropole AM, where he managed Asian convertibles, and contributed to credit funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at La Française as of the end of March totalled EUR37.57bn, compared with EUR37.26bn as of the end of December 2012, the asset management firm has announced in a press conference. In first quarter 2013, international inflows totalled nearly EUR300m, compared with EUR92m in first quarter 2012, and EUR511m in 2012 overall. International assets totalled EUR2.1bn as of the end of March 2013, or nearly 6% of total assets at La Française. Inflows for 2012 overall totalled EUR1.64bn, with equivalent contributions from securities (EUR830m, compared with a negative contribution of EUR824m in 2011) and real estate (EUR811m, compared with EUR1.14bn in 2011). If all goes well, La Française is aiming for assets of EUR50bn by 2015, the CEO of La Française AM, Patrick Rivière, confirms.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of March, assets in the asset management unit at Ameriprise Financial, after adjustment, totalled USD466bn, compared with USD455bn three months previously, and USD463bn twelve months previously.Assets managed by the British firm Threadneedle totalled USD128bn, as at the end of December, compared with USD123bn as of 31 March 2012, while assets at Columbia totalled USD341bn, USD300bn three months earlier, and USD344bn as of 31 March 2012.Year on year, asstes at Ameriprise rose 1% to USD466bn, compared with USD463bn, while positive market effects were partially offset by net outflows and currency effects.For first quarter as a whole, asset management at Ameriprise underwent net outflows of USD5.7bn, due to net redemptions from institutional management, while retail flows were neutral overall. Strong net retail subscriptions at Threadneedle were offset by net redemptions from Columbia.Pre-tax operating profits for the asset management unit in January-March 2013 totalled USD144m, compared with USD141m in October-December, and USD131m in first quarter 2012.Net profits for continued operations at Ameriprise Financial for the first quarter totalled USD388m, compared with USD336m in October-December, and USD245m in the corresponding period of last year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Intech Investment Management, a subsidiary of Janus Capital, on 23 April announced launch of its suite of Emerging Markets (EM) strategies, which include Emerging Markets Managed Volatility, Emerging Markets Low Volatility and Emerging Markets Core, reflecting increased institutional investor demand for these types of products. These products are benchmarked to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The Managed Volatility strategy has an excess return target of 3% to 4% above the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, with a risk target of approximately 25% less than the benchmark, on average. The Low Volatility strategy seeks market-like returns with a risk target of approximately 35% less than the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, on average. Intech’s Emerging Markets Core strategy seeks an excess return of 3% to 4% above the benchmark, with 3% to 4% tracking error. Intech, founded in 1987, has approximately USD40bn in assets under management, and offers investors highly rigorous mathematical equity investment strategies, whose objective is to earn long-term returns higher than those of a target benchmark index, while reducing the risk of significant underperformance.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The La Française group is remaining faithful to its objective of becoming a European leader among multi-specialist asset management firms. «We are therefore going to continue to focus on core expertise, while developing partnerships to assist our development,” the chairman of the board at La Française, Xavier Lépine, said on 23 April at a press conference.With this in mind, the firm is in the process of setting up a planned merger between UFG Courtage and Colet Dupont Partenaires, which will become CD Partenaires, with an increase in the stake held by La Française AM to 75% of capital in the new platform.CD Partenaires will offer a global range dedicated to independent financial advisers through open architecture, “but not to everyone,” says Lépine. In other words, there will be a qualitative selection of manager partners, with a specific range of a few life insurance policies. With capitalisation of slightly over EUR2bn, CD Partnenaires, whose commercial resources are also expected to be enlarged, is already positioned as the second-largest platform on the French market.Another project planned for 2013 is a merger, recently reported by Newsanagers (16 April 2013) of New Alpha Am and NextAM, to create the European leader in asset management incubation Alongside this new unit, La Française is planning to launch a holding company separate from Next AM, which would aim to assist independent players with distribution both in France and abroad. The aim is to construct a portfolio of 4 to 7 positions, with two projects under study, one in France, and the other elsewhere.Lastly, as announced slightly under one year ago (Newsmanagers of 14 June 2012), La Française is entering a new area of business, investment solutions, with the creation of La Française Global Investment Solutions (LFGIS). This third pillar of the group, which is now operational, comes as an addition to its securities and real estate activities at La Française AM, and its incubation activities at NexT AM.La Française GIS aims to offer investors a platform which incorporates absolute return, quantitative management and credit management type alternative management techniques, as well as a platform for custom investment solutions via mandates or dedicated funds, or index-linked issues to meet liability/asset balance issues related to contractual or legal obligations.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Since March, Markus Steiner, who had been CEO of UBS Fund Management (Switzerland) at UBS Global Asset Management, is managing director for Switzerland at State Street, according to reports from finews. He is expected to replace the country head of the US group, René Charrière.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In January-March 2013, Janus Capital Group has earned net profits of USD28m, compared with USD3.12m in October-December, and USD22.6m in the corresponding period of 2012. As of the end of March, assets totalled USD161.8bn, compared with USD155.6bn three months previously, and USD158.9bn one year previously. Assets under management totalled an average of USD161.8bn in first quarter this year, compared with USD155.6bn in fourth quarter 2012, and USD158.9bn in the first three months of 2012.In January-March, market appreciation contributed a net USD11bn, while long-term funds saw net outflows of USD3.9bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Le Temps reports that Russian has issued an arrest warrant for William Browder, the UK head of the financial firm Hermitage. He had employed Sergey Magnitsky, a lawyer who died under dubious circumstances in a Moscow prison in 2009.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The UK bank HSBC on 23 April announced that it is cutting a net total of 1,149 jobs in the United Kingdom, largely in its wealth management activities serving high net worth clients.A total of 3,166 employees will be affected by restructuring, but 2,017 positions will meanwhile be created, and most of these will be offered to those employees, the firm explains.The changes reflect the changing behaviour of clients and regulations, according to HSBC. From 1 June, wealth management advisers will no longer be distinguished from advisers in the retail bank.High net worth clients of the firm will have a single interlocutor for their current accounts and wealth management.HSBC had previously laid off 2,000 in the United Kingdom last year, as part of a vast social plan worldwide to cut costs.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The UK asset management firm Ashcourt Rowan on 23 April announced that it had sold its pension fund administration business at Ashcourt Rowan Pension Trustees Limited at Robinson Gear Management Services Limited, as well as a part of Ashcourt Rowan Administration Limited, to Mattioli Woods, for a total amount that may reach GBP1.3m, according to a statement from the group.The volume of assets sold totals slightly over GBP300m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The five-member team led by Kevin Loome, who was recruited in February from Delaware Investments, is expected to launch its first US high yield bond fund by the end of the month, Steven Thariyan, head of credit at Henderson Global Investors, has announced, Citywire reports. The team will continue to be based in Philadelphia, and will be joined by Tom Ross, who is currently based in London.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Standard Life Investments (SLI) has announced that it is adding to its multi-asset class potential with the recruitment of Jeremy Lawson for its global strategy team, as senior international economist. He had previously been director, senior US economist at BNP Paribas in New York (since 2011).Lawson will report to Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy, and will be responsible for economic forecasting and “generating ideas” for the multi-asset class unit. He will also provide detailed research to serve as a basis for the “House View” and will contribute to “Global Publications” from SLI.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The hedge fund Azentus Capital Management, led by a former proprietary trading specialist from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Sze, has earned 8% since the beginning of the year as of 22 April, the news agency Bloomberg reports. Assets under management at Azentus total about USD1.6bn. Azentus, which is based in Hong Kong, manages a hedge fund which offers a global multi-strategy approach focused on Asia. The benchmark index, the Eurekahedge Multistrategy Hedge Fund Inde, has earned 2.3% in the first three months of the year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A former executive from UBS, the credit specialist Yassir Benjellounn Touimi, will soon be launching a hedge fund with USD150m in assets, the news agency Reuters reports.The hedge fund, entitled Arcade Capital Partners, is expected to concentrate on the most liquid parts of the market, and may be launched in early July.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Index Universe, Van Eck has submitted a license application to the SEC to replace the benchmark indices of the Market Vectors Africa ETF (NYSE Arca ticker: AFK) and the Market Vectors Gulf States ETF (MES).The asset mangement firm would like to replace the Dow Jones Africa Titans 50 Index with the Market Vectors GDP Africa Index and the Dow Jones GCC Titans 40 Index with the Market Vectors GDP GCC Index.The new in-house indices include 106 positions, in the case of AFK, and 55 for MES, compared with 52 and 42 positions for the Dow Jones indices, respectively.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Pimco (Allianz group), seeking to replicate the success of the Total Return ETF (ticker: BOND), which replicates the Total Return Fund from Bill Gross in the form of a tracker fund, Pimco (Allianz group) has announced that it has been issued a license by the regulator to release the Pimco Diversified Income ETF (with fees of 0.85%), Pimco Real Return ETF (0.55%), and Pimco Low Duration ETF (0.55%), Index Universe reports.As of the end of March, BOND had assets of nearly EUR4.6bn, although it was launched only on 29 February, 2012.The new funds replicate, in ETF form, the mutual funds Pimco Diversified Income Fund (ticker: PDVAX), whose assets total USD7.32bn, the Pimco Real Return Fund (PRTNX, USD24.88bn) and the Pimco Low-Duration Fund (PTLAX, USD23.70bn), respectively.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With the UniEuroRenta Corporates Deutschland 2019, Union Investment (co-operative banks) on 23 April announced the launch of a Luxembourg-registered fund of primarily German corporate bonds, with a maturity date fo 15 May, 2019. The portfolio for the fund, created on 28 March, may include corporate bonds from the entire world denominated in euros or hedged “almost” totally for currency risks, as well as guaranteed bonds issued by governments for up to a maximum of 10% of the portfolio. All securities selected have a maturity shorter than that of the fund.The product is available in two share classes: A and -net- A .CharacteristicsName: UniEuroRenta Corporates Deutschland 2019 (Class A)ISIN code: LU0880274856Front-end fee: 2% (maximum 3%)Management commission: 0.9% (maximum 1.5%)Early withdrawal penalty: 1% (maximum 1.5%)Name: UniEuroRenta Corporates Deutschland 2019 (Class -net- A)ISIN code: LU0880275150Front-end fee: 0%Management commission: 1.2% (maximum 1.5%)Early withdrawal penalty: 1% (maximum 1.5%)

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The BBVA has announced the sale to Integra and Profuturo of its Peruvian pension fund management firm Horizonte for USD544m, generating capital gains of USD272m.The Spanish bank had announced on 22 April that it four days previously, it had completed the sale of Horizonte Colombia to Aval Acciones y Valores, and its affiliates Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente and Porvenir, for USD541.4m, for a capital gain of USD263m.The two sales conclude a process to sell BBVA pension fund management firms in Latin America. Overall, Funds People reports, they will have generated capital gains of USD1.765bn, on a total of USD4bn.

Les sénateurs démocrate Sherrod Brown et républicain David Vitter doivent présenter aujourd’hui une proposition de loi qui forcerait les établissements avec plus de 500 milliards de dollars d’actifs à respecter des standards plus stricts en matière de fonds propres. Au moins six banques répondent à ce critère de taille: JPMorgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America et Wells Fargo.

Le fonds monté par les assureurs français et la CDC d’environ 1 milliard d’euros destiné aux ETI et PME avec des emprunts moyens de 30 millions, débute la phase de mise en concurrence des sociétés de gestion. Résultat des courses fin mai.

Les autorités de régulation chinoises ont donné hier leur feu vert au rachat de Gavilon par le groupe japonais Marubeni pour un montant de 5 milliards de dollars. Elles ont en revanche mis comme condition à leur approbation que les deux sociétés continuent à vendre du soja en Chine en tant qu’entités séparées.

La Commission européenne a classé sans suite une enquête auprès de Veolia et de Suez Environnement relative à des soupçons de cartel dans la distribution d’eau en France. Un dossier avait été ouvert début 2012 à la suite d’inspections surprises menées en 2010 sur une possible entente entre les deux sociétés.