Depuis le début de l’année, la société de gestion italienne indépendante Azimut a enregistré une collecte nette en gestion d’actifs de plus de 1,1 milliard d’euros.En septembre, elle a vu rentrer en net 51 millions d’euros, dont plus de 70 millions sur les compartiments des fonds luxembourgeois AZ Fund 1 et AZ Fund Multi Asset.En septembre toujours, Azimut a lancé six compartiments : Bond Target Dicembre 2016, Macro Volatility, Renminbi Opportunities Fixed Income, Global Growth Selector, Market Neutral e Global Macro. Ces deux derniers seront suivis par la nouvelle équipe dirigée par Gianluca Gabrielli qui sera basée à Lugano dans une nouvelle filiale d’Azimut.

Après Oddo AM et Alliance Bernstein, c’est au tour d’Aberdeen AM de lancer un fonds sur mesure pour Banca Generali, rapporte le site italien Bluerating. Appelé Emerging Markets Bond & Currency Opportunity, ce produit est investi sur les fonds dette émergente de la gamme Aberdeen, qu’ils soient en devises fortes, en devises locales ou investis sur les obligations d’entreprises. Il fera partie de la Sicav luxembourgeoise de Banca Generali, BG Selection.

Les fonds d’actions DWS Top Dividende et DWS Invest Top Dividend ont désormais franchi la barre des 10 milliards d’euros d’encours, ce qui représente environ un tiers des actifs gérés par les fonds «dividendes» en Europe, a annoncé la filiale de la Deutsche Bank, précisant que les deux produits maison ont drainé plus de 2 milliards d’euros depuis le début de l’année.Au total, l’encours de tous les fonds dividendes de DWS dépasse désormais les 12 milliards d’euros.

Les actifs sous gestion de la société de gestion cotée à l’AIM Polar Capital s’inscrivaient à fin septembre à 5,30 milliards de dollars, en progression de 4,3% par rapport à fin mars 2012 et de 34,5% sur un an, selon le dernier rapport trimestriel publié par Polar Capital.Au cours du premier semestre de son exercice 2012-2013 à fin mars, la collecte nette s’est élevée à 405 millions de dollars, dont 371 millions dans les fonds long only et 34 millions dans les hedge funds, en partie effacée par un effet de marché négatif de 186 millions de dollars.

Les actifs sous administration et sous gestion de Hargreaves Lansdown se sont accrus de 2,2 mililards de livres durant le trimestre au 30 septembre pour s'élever à 28,5 milliards de livres, a indiqué la société le 12 octobre.

Stephen Lee a été nommé sales director pour le Royaume-Uni au sein d’Investec, rapporte IPE.com. Il vient d’UBS Global Asset Management, où il était responsable du développement institutionnel britannique.

Henderson Global Investors va fermer le 12 novembre le fonds luxembourgeois Henderson Gartmore US Opportunities dans le cadre de la rationalisation de sa gamme, rapporte Fund Web. Le fonds, de 12,7 millions de dollars, faisait partie de la gamme de Gartmore. Il est géré par Brandon Geisler de Marsico Capital.

Old Mutual Wealth a annoncé 200 suppressions d’emplois, alors que la société est en train de fusionner ses activités avec Skandia, rapporte Investment Week. Dans ce cadre, Nick Dixon, directeur marketing, et Andy Davies, directeur des ventes de Skandia UK, quitteront la société avec effet immédiat. Michelle Andrews a été nommée nouvelle directrice marketing, sous la direction de Hylton Donnelly, directeur commercial de Old Mutual Wealth. Steve Powell reste directeur commercial, sous l’autorité de Peter Mann, managing director.

L’indice Credit Suisse des caisses de pension suisses a augmenté de 3,57 points, ou 2,77%, pour atteindre 132,29 points en date du 30 septembre 2012. Les mois de juillet (2,02%), d’août (0,09%) et de septembre (0,65%) ont contribué à ce résultat positif. Le rendement depuis le début de l’année s’est établi à 6,15%, indique Credit Suisse dans un communiqué publié le 12 octobre.

Pimco a approché le fournisseur de données Lipper afin que ses chiffres de collecte soient publiés séparément de ceux de sa société sœur Allianz Global Investors, et a obtenu gain de cause, révèle un article d’Ignites repris par le Financial Times. Ensemble, les deux maisons étaient classées au septième rang dans la liste des sociétés de gestion ayant vendu le plus de fonds en Europe en 2011. Or, si Pimco avait été traité séparément, il aurait été quatrième. Ensemble, Pimco/AGI affichent des souscriptions nettes de 3,5 milliards d’euros en 2011. Mais cela masque une réalité contrastée : 9,8 milliards de souscriptions nettes pour Pimco et rachats nets de 6 milliards d’euros pour AGI…

De nouveaux documents français obtenus par l’agence de presse suédoise Tidningarnas Telegrambyra semblent confirmer les liens entre Gulnara Karimova, la fille du président de l’Ouzbékistan, et un homme d’affaires emprisonné en Suisse, soupçonné d’être impliqué dans une vaste affaire de blanchiment, rapporte Le Temps. Ces documents font écho aux liens supposés entre le pouvoir à Tachkent et les quatre ressortissants ouzbeks visés depuis cet été par une enquête pénale du Ministère public de la Confédération. «Cette procédure recouvre une affaire de blanchiment portant sur plus de 600 millions de francs. Elle a été déclenchée à la suite du gel de comptes bancaires détenus chez Lombard Odier par l’ex-responsable en Ouzbékistan du groupe de téléphonie mobile russe MTS», précise le Temps.

Michael Clark, gérant du FF European Dividend, du Fidelity MoneyBuilder Dividend fund et du Fidelity Enhanced Income fund, fait actuellement tourner la version pilote du futur fonds de dividendes européens «enhanced», rapporte Fundweb. Ce sera une version qui reprendra les idées de placement du FF European Dividend en utilisant des options d’achat couvertes (covered calls writing).

Les anciens actionnaires de GLG Partners Pierre Lagrange, Emmanuel Roman et Noam Gottesman, anciens actionnaires de GLG Partners, accusent une perte virtuelle de 220 millions de dollars deux ans après l’acquisition de leur société par Man Group, rapporte le Financial Times. A partir de lundi, les trois individus, qui ont échangé leurs participations dans GLG pour des actions Man en octobre 2010, pourront se défaire d’un tiers de leurs actions s’ils le souhaitent. Depuis la fusion il y a deux ans, l’action Man a chuté de 264 pence à 90 pence vendredi. Pierre Lagrange et Emmanuel Roman n’auraient pas l’intention de vendre leurs titres, selon des sources proches du dossier citées par le FT. Noam Gottesman n’a pu être contacté.

The Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica, which is pursuing a debt-reduction strategy, on 12 October announced the sale of its after-sales service activity Atento to the US fund Bain Capital for EUR1.039bn.Telefonica has “signed a final agreement with businesses controlled by Bain Capital to sell its customer relations operation Atento,” the Spanish market authority CNMV announced in a statement.Atento has 152,000 employees in over 15 countries, and earned EUR1.8bn in 2011, with a net debt of EUR175m as of the end of June 2012.

As of the end of September, assets in Spanish funds totalled EUR127.981bn, according to VDOS. These assets have thus fallen by more than EUR5bn since the end of 2011, as positive market effects of EUR3.519bn since the beginning of the year were more than offset by net redemptions of EUR8.468bn, Funds People reports.The rankings for the top asset management firms remain unchanged, with a market share of 17.25% for Santander, 15.09% for BBVA, and 13.29% for La Caixa.

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund association, has announced the launch of a Middle East initiative. AIMA is seeking to create a network for managers and service providers in the Middle East that can give the local industry a voice in terms of engaging with investors and its relations with policymakers and regulators. The initiative will be spearheaded by former AIMA Chairman and current AIMA EMEA Regional Advisory Council member Sohail Jaffer of FWU Group, who is based in Dubai. The focus of AIMA’s Middle East initiative will be investor engagement given the increasing interest in hedge funds from the region’s investors, including sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private clients. A series of educational and networking events are planned in the region, with the first one likely to take place next month. An initial AIMA Middle East group meeting has been held in Dubai. “The Middle East is a strategically significant region for the global hedge fund industry,” said Andrew Baker, AIMA’s CEO.

Pimco has approached the data provider Lipper to request that its inflow figures be published separately from those of its sister company Allianz Global Investors, and the request has been accepted, an article from Ignites republished in the Financial Times reports. The two firms together were ranked seventh in the list of asset management firms with the highest sales in Europe in 2011. Pimco, treated separately, would have been fourth. Together, Pimco/AGI show net subscriptions of EUR3.5bn in 2011. But that conceals a contrasted reality: EUR9.8bn in net inflows for Pimco, and net outflows of EUR6bn for AGI.

The equity funds DWS Top Dividende and DWS Invest Top Dividend have now topped EUR10bn in assets, which represents about one third of assets under management in “dividend” funds in Europe, the affiliate of Deutsche Bank has announced, adding that the two products have attracted over EUR2bn since the beginning of the year.Overall, assets in all DWS dividend funds are now over EUR12bn.

Senrigan Capital, a hedge fund specialised in Asia supported by the Blackstone group, has decided to withdraw five investments from its portfolio to place them in a dedicated vehicle (a “special purpose vehicle,” or SPV) – professionals refer to these as “side pockets” – after heavy losses since the beginning of the year, the news agency Reuters reports.Assets at Senrigan, which totalled about USD1bn last year, have been halved, while performance since the beginning of the year has been some of the worst in its regional hedge fund category. The fund has lost about 15% in the first nine months of the year, which has driven investors to withdraw from the fund.Senrigan, launched in 2009 with initial capital of USD150m from Blackstone, was one of the few hedge funds specialised in Asia whose assets were over USD1bn. The event-driven hedge fund had already lost 8.6% in 2011, which completely wiped out its gains in 2010 (5.85%).

Philippe Oddo, managing partner at the eponymous firm, discusses a variety of subjects with Newsmanagers which are directly related to his business today. In addition to its financial health, he talks about its partnership with La Banque Postale, which, despite its announced end, will, says Oddo, have been an occasion for the firm to do remarkable work. The head also takes the occasion to detail the firm's international strategy and to give a satisfactory report on the firm's asset management activities.

The asset management unit at the JP Morgan group in third quarter earned net profits of USD443m, up 13% compared with the previous quarter, and 15% compared with third quarter 2011, according to figures released by the group on 12 October. Net banking proceeds totalled USD2.5bn, up 6% year on year, including USD1.4bn for private banking (+5%), USD563m for institutional management (+18%), and USD531m for retail (-2%). Assets under management as of the end of September totalled USD1.4trn, up by USD127bn or 10% compared with the previous year, due to market effects and inflows to long-term products. Net inflows for the quarter totalled USD4bn, while long-term subscriptions (USD21bn) offset redemptions from short-term vehicles (USD17bn). Over twelve months, total net inflows totalled USD43bn. The group has reported record profits for the quarter of USD5.7bn, up 34% year on year.

The Banque de Gestion Privée Indosuez (BGPI), an affiliate of Crédit Agricole, is changing its name to CA Indosuez Private Banking, and hopes to become “the leader in wealth management in France,” according to a statement released on 12 October. The new name is now being used for the bank’s development service for high net worth individuals in France. The choice of the new name represents the membership of CA Indosuez Private Banking in an international network of private banks. The identity also expresses the new vitality which the bank is hoping to introduce to its development, the statement says. With over EUR22bn in assets under management as of 31 December 2011, CA Indosuez Private Banknig is one of the largest French private banks dedicated exclusively to wealth management for multiple clients (entrepreneurs, senior management, large families, charities and foundations). An advertising campaign dedicated to the launch of the brand kicked off on 12 October. The website of the bank is now available at the address http://www.ca-indosuez.fr/.

As of 30 September, Tikehau Investment Management, an asset management firm specialised in debt markets, has posted assets of EUR1.2bn, up 65% since the beginning of the year. This increase benefited from market effects and net subscriptions of EUR450m in the period under review, which primarily benefited the Tikehau Credit Plus and TK Rendement 2016 funds. Institutional clients represented 50% of inflows, as the asset management firm has won a number of private debt management mandates for French institutionals.Due to the success of these target-date funds, Tikehau IM is now considering creating more horizon funds, on the same model as TK Rendement 2016, the asset management firm tells Newsmanagers.

In third quarter, profits for the Wealth, Brokerage & Retirement division of Wells Fargo have posted net profits of USD338m, compared with USD343m in April-June, and USD290m in the corresponding period of last year.Assets for wealth management clients as of the end of the period totalled USD199bn, which represents an increase year on year of 4%. Total net profits for Wells Fargo totalled USD4.98bn in July-September, compared with USD4.6bn in the previous quarter, and USD4.1bn in July-September 2011. In the first nine months of the year, net profits for the group totalled USD13.8bn, compared with USD11.8bn for January-September last year.

The asset management unit of the Swedish bank SEB has registered four sub-funds of its Luxembourg Sicav with the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) in France. The products have a more or less pronounced Scandinavian bias in common. The first fund is the most emblematic from the asset management firm. The SEB Nordic Focus is a best ideas fund of Nordic equities. The product is made of five portfolios of five holdings, entrusted to five managers, each of whom represents a different area: Swedish large caps, Swedish small and midcaps, Norwegian equities, Danish equities and Finnish equities. The fund is managed by Caroline Forsberg in Stockholm, who weighs the assets in the final portfolio depending on opportunities and risks. The fund was launched in 2007, and has assets of EUR60m. “This is a concentration of SEB’s asset management,” says Laurent Farcy-Briant, head of sales for France and French-speaking Switzerland at SEB Asset Management. Another highly Scandinavian fund which has been registered in France is the SEB Nordic Small Cap, a Nordic small caps product managed in Stockholm by Per Trygg. The fund, launched in 2009, has about EUR40m in assets under management. These two funds come as a complement to the SEB Nordic fund, which is already licensed for sale in France, and which is invested in Nordic equities whatever the size. The third fund released on the French market is the SEB Danish Mortgage Bond, a fund of Danish mortgage-backed securities. The EUR140m product is managed in Copenhagen by a team with EUR9bn in assets under management (and particularly Lars Juelskaer). “The Danish mortgage-backed securities market is the second-largest in Europe, with EUR326bn as of 31 May 2012, as virtually all real estate in Denmark is financed through the issuance of these securities,” Farcy-Briant explains. He adds that this is a niche area, but that it is currently highly attractive to investors seeking quality bonds. The last new release, the SEB Corporate Bond Fund EUR, is undoubtedly the most traditional: it is a fund of investment grade-rated corporate bonds denominated in euros. The EUR400m fund, managed in Stockholm by Thomas Kristiansson, is now 25% invested in Nordic bonds, compared with less than 7% for the benchmark index. But this overweight, which has historically worked well, will not be permanent, and may be discontinued when the time comes, says Farcy-Briant. With these four new funds, SEB now has a range of nine funds on sale on the French market, with a strong Nordic identity. But the firm is not planning to stop there, and will be launching one or two more by the end of the year, and others in 2013.

After five years at DB Advisors (Deutsche Bank), in the fiduciary management/pensions division, Christian Storck on 1 October joined Frankfurt Trust (an affiliate of BHF-Bank, Deutsche Bank group), as director of the corporations, public institutions and retirement solutions department in the institutional unit. The unit has posted net inflows of about EUR200m since the beginning of the year, and has about EUR8.5bn in assets under management.

The US hedge fund management firm Caxton Associates LP is planning to reduce the management commission for its USD7.5bn hedge fund from 3% to 2.6%, and to cut the performance fee to 2.75% from 3%, the Wall Street Journal reports.The move is a sign that even the oldest management firms are having to give in to pressure from investors in an environment of lackluster performance and low interest rates. Even after these cuts, Caxton will remain more expensive than other hedge funds which apply the 2%/20% formula.Since the beginning of this year, Caxton has lost 3%, while other macro hedge funds have gained an average of 0.6%.

The French asset management boutique Exane Asset Management has recruited Ingrid Allemand, an analyst specialised in the telecommunications sector, to strengthen its research capacities for its long/short equity fund, Exane 1-Archimedes Fund. The fund, with assets under management of about EUR820m, has an exposure of less than 5% to the telecommunications sector.

Lionel Paquin, head of the managed accounts platform at Lyxor Asset Management, is confident. “In first half, assets under management on our managed accounts platform rose 1%, to USD11.2bn, while the sector as a whole lost 1%,” Paquin says.This positive trend is continuing in second half. “The market is resilient and even growing in our perimeter,” Paquin says, adding that about 55% of clients are institutional investors, and 45% private banks, family offices and funds of funds, mostly in Europe, but also with growing interest on the part of Asian and North American investors.Lyxor esimates that it has reached critical mass, and has achieved a certain legitimacy. “Our unique characteristics are our strength. Our platform is probably one of the largest in terms of size, and is 14 years old. In other words, we have critical mass and we have the legitimacy which is granted to institutions which have survived several crises,” sas Paquin. Another strength is that “we are an asset management firm which resonates culturally with our institutional clients.”Last but not least, “we rely on open architecture with eleven prime brokers, 20 counterparties and three administrator. And in these relationships, size gives us considerable negotiating power,” Paquin adds.Access to a managed accounts platform has its cost, of course. “The cost structure for a managed accounts platform is similar to the structure for a corresponding hedge fund (for example, fees of 1.5%/20%), with an additional charge for our service. Like managers, we value the size and engagement of our investors for the long term. These fees are generally discounted on larger volumes, and are never over 70 basis points,” Paquin says.

There has been another defection from VP Bank. According to Asian Investor, the CEO for Asia, Ian Pollock, has tendered his resignation. He joined VP Bank earlier this year to develop the group’s activities. Seven recently-recruited client service representatives have also resigned.VP Bank has also announced that Pollock will not be replaced, but denies that it is pulling out of the region, and has reaffirmed its desire to develop its wealth management activities in Asia.