L’américain Pimco (groupe Allianz) a recruté trois spécialistes pour sa plate-forme d’investissement alternatif, rapporte Hedgeweek. Il s’agit de Neal Reiner, qui occupe la fonction d’executive vice president, product manager for credit alternative strategy. Il était précédemment chez Gottex Fund Management.Les deux autres embauches concernent Jennifer Strickland et Molly Hall, qui arrivent à Newport Beach comme executive vice presidents et senior alternative specialists. La première était chez BlueMointain Capital Management tandis que la second travaillait chez Canyon Capital Advisors.

Aberdeen Asset Management enrichit sa gamme de deux nouveaux fonds sur la thématique du Brésil. Il s’agit des fonds Aberdeen Global - Brazil Bond Fund et Aberdeen Global - Brazil Equity Fund, intégrés à l’offre d’Aberdeen via le transfert des parts des fonds Crédit Suisse Brazil Bond Fund et Crédit Suisse Brazil Equity Fund vers la sicav Aberdeen Global. La gestion des deux fonds est assurée par Aberdeen depuis le 2 avril 2012. La stratégie actions brésiliennes est gérée par l'équipe actions marchés émergents dirigée par Devan Kaloo, responsable Marchés Emergents d’Aberdeen. L'équipe de gestion dette émergente de Brett Diment pilote le fonds obligataire. Commercialisé depuis le 15 juin en France, les deux produits sont également proposés en Autriche, en République Tchèque, en Finlande, en Allemagne, à Gibraltar, en Hongrie, en Italie, au Liechtenstein, au Luxembourg, aux Pays-Bas, en Norvège, à Singapour, en Espagne , en Suède et en Suisse. CaractéristiquesCodes Isin : Aberdeen Global - Brazil Bond Fund LU0728927558 (part retail A1 Distribution), frais de gestion 1,50 % LU0728927632 (part retail A2 Capitalisation), frais de gestion 1,50 % LU0728927988 (part retail E1 Distribution), frais de gestion 1,50 % LU0728928283 (part institutionnelle I2 Capitalisation), frais de gestion 1,50 %Aberdeen Global - Brazil Equity Fund LU0728926402 (part retail A2 Capitalisation), frais de gestion 1,75 % LU0728926824 (part retail E2 Capitalisation), frais de gestion 1,75 %

Après avoir déjà acheté des mutual funds de Fifth Third Bancorp d’un encours de 5 milliards de dollars ainsi que le britannique Prime Rate Capital Management en avril, Federated Investors a annoncé avoir acquis auprès de Trustmark Investment Advisors et de Trustmark National Bank les huit mutual funds de Performance Funds Trust. La transaction porte sur quatre fonds d’actions, deux fonds obligataires et deux fonds monétaires, ces derniers pesant 571 millions de dollars. Ces fonds, qui représentent au total 903 millions de dollars, seront tous intégrés à des produits Federated existants.Les modalités financières de cette acquisition n’ont pas été divulguées. Christopher Donahue, president & CEO de Federated (363 milliards de dollars), a indiqué que son groupe est disposé à acheter d’autres mutual funds à des banques.

Sébastien Lemonnier qui était en charge de la gestion du fonds Tocqueville Value Europe avec Don Fitzgerald chez Tocqueville Finance a annoncé son départ de la société de gestion sur le réseau social professionnel Linked-in. «Une page s’est tournée il y a quelques jours, a t-il noté, ayant dû quitter Tocqueville Finance après neuf ans de bons et loyaux services». Le gérant précise également que durant cinq années successives, son fonds de 84 millions d’euros aujourd’hui a affiché une surperformance par rapport à sa référence, le MSCI Europe DNR.

Le trou résultant de la perte de négoce subie par JP Morgan sur des dérivés de crédits pourrait atteindre 9 milliards de dollars, selon le New York Times, rapporte Les Echos. C’est beaucoup plus que les 2 milliards de dollars évoqués au départ par Jamie Dimon, le PDG de JP Morgan, bien que celui-ci ait prévenu que la facture pourrait monter. Il est en effet impossible d’avoir une idée précise des pertes tant que la banque n’a pas fini de céder ce portefeuille. Cela pourrait se concrétiser vers la fin de l’année, selon le quotidien américain.

En raison d’un calendrier inadapté pour un certain nombre de ses clients, Carmignac a indiqué le 28 juin qu’il avait décidé de différer à une date ultérieure l’opération de division par 10 des Parts Carmignac Investissement A EUR acc (FR0010148981) et Carmignac Patrimoine A EUR acc (FR0010135103) prévue initialement le 2 juillet prochain. Carmignac communiquera prochainement la nouvelle date de l’opération.

Mike Gibb, qui a rejoint l’entreprise en 2005, va quitter le siège de Martin Currie à Edimbourg pour s’installer comme director, sales & client services pour l’Asie à Singapour, où le gestionnaire écossais a ouvert son bureau en 2009.L’intéressé travaillera en étroite collaboration avec Kimon Kouryalas, director, head of Pan-Asia sales & clients services.

The British firm Standard Life Investments (SLI) has reopened its British small caps fund UK Smaller Companies fund, which is now available on the SLI platform, Investment Week reports. The fund had been closed to new investors in August 2011 when its assets under management totalled GBP1.3bn. It has since lost more than GBP300m in assets, and now has a total of GBP988m. Hence the decision to undertake a limited reopening of a ‘house’ fund.

Platinum, Gold and Silver will be the classifications used by S&P Capital IQ in the future to rate passively-managed ETFs, while actively-managed ETFs will continue to be rated with the traditional methodology, Investment Week reports. The fund research team at S&P Capital IQ will base its ratings on a comparison of the track record of the fund and its passive management ETF fees, while considering the way in which issuers increase returns to compensate for costs and operational risks. The underlying indices will also be considered in terms of their liquidity and replicability.

The Asian asset management sector has cut Europe out as a potential investment destination, according to a survey by Asian Investor and Clifford Chance. Professionals based in Asia are showing limited interest in Europe as a destination for allocation of Asian assets, or as a domicile for new products. Only 9% of respondents chose continental Europe, compared with 20% in the last survey. However, 40% of respondents chose North America, putting it ahead of Asia ex Japan and China/Hong Kong.

According to statistics from Morningstar, European long-term funds in May underwent net capital outflows of EUR8.9bn, while money market and allocation funds posted net subscriptions of EUR15.35bn and EUR855m, respectively.In detail, equity funds have undergone the largest net outflows, totalling about EUR12.5bn, while hedge funds suffered net redemptions of EUR1.09bn. Commodities and convertibles have also posted net redemptions of EUR202m and EUR484m, respectively. However, bond funds have seen net subscriptions of EUR4.93bn in May.Morningstar states that in May, money market funds denominated in US dollars have posted inflows of EUR11bn, making it the most popular Morningstar short-term category, while money market funds denominated in euros attracted EUR7bn in assets, and funds in pounds sterling posted EUR4bn in redemptions.Since the beginning of the year, long-term funds have posted net subscriptions of EUR46.69bn, while net inflows to money market funds have totalled EUR37.89bn. Among long-term funds, net inflows went largely to allocation funds (EUR8.88bn) and particularly bond funds (EUR48.34bn), while equity funds have seen net outflows of EUR11.34bn.

Aberdeen Asset Management is adding two new funds ot its range on the theme of Brazil. They are the Aberdeen Global – Brazil Bond Fund and Aberdeen Global – Brazil Equity Fund, which will be added to Aberdeen’s product range via the transfer of fund shares from the Crédit Suisse Brazil Bond Fund and Crédit Suisse Brazil Equity Fund to the Aberdeen Global Siav. The management of the two funds has been provided by Aberdeen since 2 April 2012. The Brazilian equity strategy is managed by the emerging markets equity team, led by Devan Kaloo, head of Emerging Markets at Aberdeen. The emerging market debt team led by Brett Diment manages the bond fund. The two products, which have been available in France since 15 June, are also on sale in Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Characteristics ISIN codes: Aberdeen Global - Brazil Bond Fund LU0728927558 (retail A1 Distribution share class), management fees 1.50% LU0728927632 (retail A2 Capitalisation share class), management fees 1.50% LU0728927988 (retail E1 Distribution share class), management fees 1.50% LU0728928283 (institutional I2 Capitalisation share class), management fees 1.50%Aberdeen Global - Brazil Equity Fund LU0728926402 (retail A2 Capitalisation share class), management fees 1.75% LU0728926824 (retail E2 Capitalisation share class), management fees 1.75%

Janus Capital Management will be launching a new fund, which will be managed by its affiliate Intech, Mutual Fund Wire has announced. The Janus Aspen Intech U.S. Low Volatility Portfolio will invest exclusively in equities, with a low volatility strategy. The team led by Adrian Banner will be in charge of managing the new product.

The German asset management firm Deka Immobilian has acquired a, 11,400 square metre commercial property located in the Cœur de Bastide district of Bordeaux, on the right bank of the Garonne river, form a joint venture of Groupe Soline and Groupe Deret. The property, which has a High Environmental Quality (HQE) label, will be added to the portfolio of an institutional real estate fund.

Bernard Wenger, second in command in sales to Germany and Austria since May 2011 at the British firm ETF Securities, will become head of distribution for the two countries, following the departure of Nigel Longley, who has resigned, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. Isabell Mössler, head of distribution for Europe, has announced that ETF Securities is planning to recruit for its sales team for the German market «in the mid-term.”

The central asset management firm for the German savings banks, DekaBank, is entering the certificate niche, and will compete in this highly profitable segment with the Landesbanken, which up until last year controlled a 50% stake in its capital, Handelsblatt reports. The decision was adopted by the board of directors on Thursday, and the feasibility of the project will be examined at the next meeting, in September. The major rivals of DekaBank for certificates in the public banking sector will be LBBW and Helaba.

Carmignac Gestion on Wednesday, 27 June announced that it has publicly pledged to adopt and apply the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, instituted by the United Nations (UN-PRI).

Having already acquired mutual funds from Fifth Third Bancorp (with total assets of USD5bn) and the British firm Prime Rate Capital Management in April, Federated Investors has announced that it has acquired the eight mutual funds of the Performance Funds Trust from Trustmark Investment Advisors and Trustmark National Bank. The transaction includes four equity funds, two bond funds and two money market funds; the latter have assets of USd571m. The funds, which have a total of USD903m in assets, will all be merged into existing Federated products.The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Christopher Donahue, chairman and CEO of Federated (USD363bn), says that his group is inclined to buy more mutual funds from banks.

“In the space of four years to the end of March, Janus has quadrupled its bond assets to USD22.7bn, which includes both funds and mandates. Inflows and assets have continued to increase strongly since the beginning of second quarter. In January-March, net subscriptions totalled USD1.2bn; they have significantly increased further since the end of March,” Colleen Denzler, global head of fixed income strategy for the US firm Janus Capital Group, has told Newsmanagers at an official opening of the firm’s Paris offices.Currently, the Denver-based asset management firm is not planning to extend its product family: “we estimate that our product range is currently complete. But we have not ruled out making another foray into the area of bank loans.” Concerning UCITS products, the range includes five products (High Yield, Global High Yield, Global Investment Grade, US Short-Term Bond, Flexible Income). Non-US investors may access six strategies via mandates (Core Plus Bond, Short Duration Bond, High Yield Bond, Global Core Plus, Global Investment Grade Bond, and Global High Yield Bond). “Our non-US bond asses as of the end of March totalled USD3.7bn,” says Denzler.“Currently, investor demand is concentrated on short-term bonds, due to the ongoing uncertainty, ‘flexible income,’ which allows clients to outsource their liability-driven investment to us, and high yield,” explains Olivier Systchenko, head of institutional clients. In terms of the positioning of Janus portfolios, Denzler says that currently, “we have no European banking sector bonds in our portfolio at all, and overall we are highly underweight on Europe and Asia. However, we are currently overweight on the United States and Latin America, since that is where we see the best investment opportunities at the moment.”

The US firm Pimco (Allianz group) has hired three specialists for its alternative investment platform, Hedgeweek reports. They are Neal Reiner, who is joining the firm as executive vice president, product manager for credit alternative energy, had previously been at Gottex Fund Management.The other two recruitments are Jennifer Strickland and Molly Hall, who will be arriving in Newport beach as executive vice presidents and senior alternative specialists. Strickland had been at BlueMountain Capital Management, while Hall had been at Canyon Capital Advisors.

Sébastien Lemonnier, who had been in charge of management of the Tocqueville Value Europe fund with Don Fitzgerald at Tocqueville Finance, has announced his departure from the asset management firm on the professional social networking site LinkedIn. “The page turned in a few days,” he notes, and he “had to leave Tocqueville Finance after nine good and loyal years.” The manager adds that in the past five years consecutively, his fund has outperformed its benchmark, the MSCI Europe DNR.

With the creation of the Global Collateral Services unit, which will be led by Kurt Woetzel, senior executive vice president and head of Global Operations and Technology, BNY Mellon can now offer broker-dealers and institutional investors facing increased needs in terms of collateral management due to new regulatory requirements, a service which brings together its global resources in the areas of segregation, allocation, financing, and transformation of collateral. BNY claims a place as the largest global custodian and one of the largest actors in securities lending, with USD3trn in lendable assets.

Pioneer Investments has announced a series of new recruitments for its sales teams in the United States. 15 new sales personnel will focus on wealth management and financial planners in various regions of the United States, bringing the team to 81 members. The appointments are a combination of internal promotions and external recruitments, a statement says.

The average coverage rate for Netherlands pension funds has fallen 5 percentage points in June, according to the specialist website IPE. The coverage rate for the pension fund ABP, for teachers and public employees, with assets of about EUR260bn, is expected to fall to about 87% as of the end of June, compared with 92% one month earlier. As a result, the pension fund will have difficulty keeping on track with its recovery plan, and may have to lower its benefits.

The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) on 28 June published a consultation document about pay scales for managers of hedge funds, as part of its application of the MiFID directive. The consultation will remain open until the end of September, while the publication of a final report is slated for the end of 2012.

Regulators must be attentive to the cost/benefit ratio for each measure they introduce, Claude Kremer, president of EFAMA, declared on Thursday, summarizing a closed meeting of asset management sector CEOs and representatives of regulatory authorities, held in the city.“Investor protection is essential, but if regulation makes products too costly and unattractive, that will slow investment over the long term” says Kremer. Directors in the asset management sector are also concerned about obstacles which regulation may pose to innovation.Kremer has stated that debates focused on four areas: efficiency, distribution, innovation and long-term savings.

According to estimates from VDOS, funds from Spanish asset management firms have seen as of June 22nd a decline of EUR995m or 0.77% of their assets, compared with the end of May, Funds People reports. That is due to the fact that gains of EUR812m were more than offset by net redemptions of EUR1.807bn.Counting the decline in the first 22 days of June, assets under management totalled EUR127.638bn.

Mike Gibb, who joined the firm in 2005, will be leaving the headquarters of Martin Currie in Edinburgh to move to Singapore, where he will be director, sales & services for Asia. The Scottish asset management firm opened its Singapore office in 2009. Gibb will work in close collaboration with Kimon Kouryalas, director, head of Pan-Asia sales & client services.

Mary Shapiro, chairman of the SEC, on Thursday announced that the market watchdog would leave money market fund managers a choice of either increasing their regulatory capital, or being more transparent with investors about the value of their portfolios, the Wall Street Journal reports. Either asset management firms should maintain a thin cushion of capital along with restrictions imposed on investors seeking to exit the fund, or they should abandon the sacrosanct principle of constant USD1 NAV.

Germany’s SEB Asset Management on 28 June announced that as part of the liquidation of its open-ended real estate fund SEB ImmoInvest, it will pay out EUR10.25 per share to shareholders on 29 June, which represents a total of EUR1.2bn, or 20% of total assets. The net asset value of the fund will be reduced correspondingly.The next payment will come in December, and will be lower, as the asset management firm will be required to pay off loans contracted by the fund first.