HSBC will launch three low-cost funds of funds in the next four to six weeks, Money Marketing reports. The three funds will use selected passive funds from the house range, as well as third-party funds. The fees for the funds will be structured like those of the low-cost funds from Fidelity Worldwide Investment, with a management commission of 0.5% per year, but no specific limit on total expense ratio (TER).

The asset management boutique Lloyd George Management, an affiliate of BMO Asset Management, has announced plans to offer a UCITS IV-compliant version of its equities fund dedicated to frontier markets, launched in early September (see Newsmanagers of 27 September), Citywire reports. The Dublin-domiciled fund would be launched in the next few weeks. The British version of the fund will be managed by Thomas Vester Nielsen, who has recently been recruited by the firm.

Schroders has appointed Rob Hall as head of multi-manager, reporting to Johanna Kyrklund, head of multi-asset investments. He joined Schroders in March 2011 in the position of head of manager selection. In his new capacity as head of multi-manager, Rob Hall will continue to be head of manager selection while taking on additional responsibilities for portfolio management and client service. As a result, he will co-manage the three multi-manager funds: Schroders Cautious Managed, Schroders Strategic Balanced and Schroders High Alpha Funds, alongside fund manager, Jane Turner, who has been involved in managing the funds since 2005. The changes follow the restructuring of Schroders GBP35bn multi-asset team in March this year, which saw the multi-manager team combined with the multi-asset team under the direction of Johanna Kyrklund. The team now consists of 70 investment professionals globally.

F&C Investments has recruited Peter Svoboda as a product specialist in its emerging market debt team. He is set to join F&C in November and will report to Jonathan Mann, the new head of emerging market debt, following Helene Williamson’s departure.Peter Svoboda joins F&C from Vienna‐based Erste Group where he has worked since 2005. Recently he was promoted to head of sales and marketing for the group’s private banking channel.

According to estimates from VDOS reported in Cinco Días, total assets in Spanish funds fell by EUR2.4bn, or 1.75% between 1 and 23 September, to a total of slightly under EUR135.13bn. The decline is due to negative market effects of EUR1.65bn, and net redemptions of EUR750m.

An annual survey by Feri EuroRating Services has found that nearly 80% of 152 institutional investors surveyed consider bonds a preferred asset class. However, the structure of bond portfolios has been altered compared with previous years, due to low interest rates and the fact that government bonds from industrialised countries are no longer risk-free assets. Portfolios have recently taken on more corporate and emerging market bonds.Asset managers with the necessary resources in research, analysis and portfolio management in these segments are well-regarded by institutional investors, particularly if they also have local expertise on the markets. Feri finds that Swiss & Global Asset Management and HSBC Asset Management in particular have seen a considerable rise in their reputations.In terms of quality of service, managers who offer custom services have scored points, with the Swiss firm Sarasin in particularl scoring very high satisfaction marks from investors. Among the Master KAG vehicles to which institutionals outsource centralised administration of their externally-managed investments, BayernInvest, Helaba Invest and Universal Investment got the highest ratings.

The German private bank Delbrück Bethmann Maffei (ABN Amro group) will acquire a 100% stake in LGT Bank Deutschland for an undisclosed amount.Pending approval from the Cartels Office and BaFin, the deal should be closed by the end of this year.The two entities have also signed a cooperation agreement in the area of products, by which clients of Delbrück Bethmann Maffei will have access to the expertise and investment support of Liechtenstein’s LGT (CHF88.1bn in assets).

The AGM of the BVI association of German asset management firms on 29 September elected a new board for the next three years. The elected board then re-elected Thomas Neiße, who is also chairman of the executive board at Deka Investment, as its president.Four new members were elected to the board: Georg Allendorf (RREEF, Deutsche Bank group), Holger Nauman (DWS, Deutsche Bank group), Tobias C. Pross (Allianz Global Investors) and Axenander Schindler (Union Asset Management Holding). They replace Oliver Clasen (Allianz Global Investors), Klaus Kaldemorgen (DWS) and Götz Kirchhoff (Avana Invest).Four board members were re-elected. They are Dirk Klee (BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland), Barbara Knoflach (SEB Asset Management), Karl Stäcker (Frankfurt Trust, BHF Bank group) and Bernd Vorbeck (Union Investment Gesellschaft).

Oliver Bilal, who joined Pioneer Investments Germany in March from Allianz Global Investors (see Newsmanagers of 11 March 2011), has been appointed to the executive board at the asset management firm. He had previously been central director. In his new role, Bilal will be in charge of marketing, in addition to his previously responsibilities for institutional and wholesale distribution for Pioneer Investments in Germany.

The FATCA law (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) appears to be attracting a lot of attention worldwide already, particularly in Europe. According to a survey by RBC Dexia Investor Services, only 26% of financial companies surveyed had little or no knowledge of the legislation, which was passed last year, but about which few details are known so far. The survey finds that European financial institutions appear to attach a particularly high importance to the FATCA law, with 86% of respondents familiar with it. Despite questions which remain about the legislation, institutions which know about the law are actively preparing for it. The cost of application for the law is estimated at about USD1m. At the annual conference of the Luxembourg Investment Fund Association (ALFI), held on 27 and 28 September in Luxembourg, the president of the American financial management association (ICI), Paul Scott Stevens, expressed some reservations about the potential impact of the law. “We understand the concerns of foreign actors on this subject. But I don’t think the law can be substantially amended,” Stevens says. “I therefore think that we need to set up a functional framework.” After all, he concludes, “tax evasion is a subject which is not limited to the US tax authorities. Tax evasion is a concern for many authorities worldwide.”

ETFs remain of central concern for the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA). “Activities such as securities lending, or specific forms of ETFs, such as synthetic ETFs, require more attention from the point of view of financial stability,” ESMA’s chairman, Steven Maijoor, said in a speech in Vienna on 29 September. Maijoor says that ESMA is planning to launch a consultation on proposals for legislation of ETFs and UCITS funds by the end of this year, with the primary objective of improving the transparency of these products. The ESMA chairman also stated that a permanent financial innovation committee (FISC) has been recently created, and will play a central preventative role in the area of financial products.

BlackRock has recruited Joel Kim for the newly-created position of head of fixed income for the Asia-Pacific region, Asian Investor reports. Kim previously worked at ING IM, and left that firm two weeks ago. He will begin in his new role in November or early December. He will be based in Singapore, the centre of fixed income expertise for Asia ex Japan. Kim will aim to improve coordination of bond specialists’ work in the region, which is spread out over seven countries, and had previously been overseen by different heads. He will also be in charge of development of the bond product range in the region.

The private equity firm BeCapital, specialised in investments in ecologically innovative companies, on 29 September announced that it has closed its first fund with EUR148.32m, well above its initial objective of EUR100m. BeCapital, created by BeCitizen, Cobepa and La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild, brings together a unique network of investors, composed primarily of European families with diverse industrial and geographical roots. BeCapital aims to adhere to the principles of Economie Positive (TM), a concept developed by BeCitizen, which holds that growth may only be sustainable if it conserves and restores the environment and natural resources. BeCapital has made four investments so far: Northern Power Systems (a company based in the United States which manufactures new generation wind turbines, whose website is at www.northernpower.com); Helveta (a British firm, which is a global leader in timber supply chain monitoring and tracking; www.helveta.com); Goëmar (a French business which develops products for agricultural use with high added value, from algae; www.goemar.com); and most recently, Pavatex (a provider of high quality wood fibre insulation systems, which is based in Switzerland, and which is a European leader in its market; www.pavatex.com).

BlackRock has appointed Martin Gut as Country Head for Switzerland, from 1 October 2011. He succeeds Heinz Rothacher, according to a statement published on 29 September. Gut is already in charge of the institutional activities of BlackRock in Switzerland. Gut previously worked at Credit Suisse, where he was in charge of the team for major institutional investors. In his new role, he will also be a member of the EMEA Leadership Committee (Europe, the Middle East and Africa).

The disastrous situation on the markets may lead sovereign funds to pull out of equities in favour of alternative investments, Reuters reports. More than half of all assets in sovereign funds are often invested in equities, 31% in bonds and cash, and the remainder in alternative strategies, hedge funds, commodities, real estate, and infrastructure. This distribution may yet change, due to the disappointing performance of equity markets in the past ten years. According to statistics from Thomson Reuters, the real estate sector represented more than 12% of total acquisitions by sovereign funds in the past twelve months, behind the financial, energy and industrial sectors.

Investing in frontier markets does not involve more risk than investing in most countries considered emerging markets, according to the most recent publication from the Research Foundation at the CFA Institute, on the subject of frontier markets (“Frontier Market Equity Investing: Finding the Winners of the Future”). The study encourages investors not to underestimate the potential of frontier markets. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the economies of many frontier markets have been totally restructured, and have become more emerging than stagnant, from an economic point of view. Frontier markets offer investors a way to identify high potential investments, which have previously been ignored by the traditional investment community. Frontier markets are not merely distant stock markets: they represent more than 1.2 billion people, a total market capitalisation of USD270bn, and daily liquidity of USD388m.

The Taiwan pension fund PSPF is launching a call for proposals from asset management firms for three global fixed income mandates, totalling USD450m. Previously, management of mandates of this type had been undertaken internally, Asian Investor reports. Applications must be submitted by 26 October.

Pacific Investment Management (Pimco, Allianz group) has appointed Jennifer Bridwell as head of development for alternative products, Bloomberg reports. Bridwell had previously been head of mortgage strategies. The appointment is a sign of Pimco’s desire to develop its activities in hedge funds and distressed debt in a new alternative management unit which will be led by Bridwell.

Following the departure of Haiyan Li-Labbé to Carmignac Gestion (see Newsmanagers of 28 September 2011), OFI Asset Management has appointed a new head for its Asian projects. According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, the new head of Xinghang Li, who previously worked with Li-Labbé at ADI Alternative Investments. Like Li-Labbé, Li will be responsible for investment and development projects of the OFI group in Asia, and will lead the management team specialised in Asian markets. He will also manage the Luxembourg-registered SIF fund from OFI AM specialised in China, which invests in local Chinese equities (A-class shares) and is aimed at institutional investors, in cooperation with manager-analysts at Great Wall Fund Management (see Newsmanagers of 7 January 2011).

The Financial Times reports that Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and BlackRock are interested in acquiring Axa Private Equity. They are two of several candidates who have been asked to submit an initial offer next week, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Lyxor Asset Management and Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK) are launching the first single hedge fund manager on the UCITS Lyxor Dimension Platform. The Lyxor/Old Mutual Global Statistical Arbitrage Strategy Index Fund offers exposure to a pure alpha strategy managed by Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK).Paul Simpson, head of systematic investments and senior portfolio manager at Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK) commented: “Our strategy is a quantitative equity market neutral model exploiting short term pricing opportunities and actively trading large capitalisation equities.” This investment process has been in place since 2007 at Old Mutual. “It is the first time we are implementing it in a UCITS vehicle,” adds Paul Simpson. Launched in 2009, Lyxor Dimension offers investors access to a variety of alternative strategies and themes in a UCITS format. It complements Lyxor’s established offshore managed account platform and consists of more than 10 multimanager funds and one absolute return program. Old Mutual will be the first single hedge fund manager on the platform and Lyxor plans to launch more UCITS hedge funds in the coming months.

GAM launches GAM Star Emerging Asia Equity, a fund which aims to access the potential of ASEAN markets. The fund, managed by Michael Lai, investment director with Camille Vergara, investment manager, invests in quoted securities in ASEAN markets, primarily Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, with opportunistic allocations to companies in other ASEAN markets, as well as other emerging Asian countries outside China. This results in a high conviction portfolio of 35-45 stocks focused on mid-cap, under researched, overlooked and mispriced companies. The fund seeks to outperform the MSCI AC South East Asia index over the long-term and is authorised for sale in Austria, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

Oddo Asset Management has announced the launch of the Oddo Rendement 2017 fund, which has received a license from the AMF. Via a selection of convertible bonds and private bonds selected from a flexible universe (in the non-publicly traded invesment category), the fund will seek to profit from the high returns currently available in European bond markets. Oddo Am already has several active horizon bond funds, representing EUR462m of overall assets. The management team is composed of two senior managers, Xavier Hoche, head of convertibles management, and Muriel Blanchier, convertibles manager, and two dedicated credit analysts, Anne-Claire Saussun and Olivier Mulin. The objective for the new fund is to earn higher returns than the euro-denominated bonds issued by the French government by 2017, with an investment horizon of 6 years from the date of creation of the fund. The fund will mature on 31 December 2017. The initial portfolio includes 20% to 40% investment grade bonds, 20% to 40% high yield, and 20% to 50% non-publicly traded securities. 40% of convertible bonds are unrated, meaning high levels of opportunities in this segment. Primary characteristics of the fund Name: Oddo Rendement 2017 Legal format: French-registered FCP AMF classification: diversified OPCVM ISIN codes: A share class, FR0011113380 – B share class FR0011113398 Minimal investment duration: 6 years Benchmark: none Minimal initial subscription: A share class: EUR100; B share class: EUR1m Front-end fee: Maximum 4% TTC, assets not acquired by the OPCVM fund Redemption commission: none Management fees: A share class: maximum 1.4% TTC of net assets; B share class: 0.6% TTC of net assets Performance commission: 10% TTC of performance exceeding 6% annual returns

Marietta Cisari has joined State Street as head of client relationships for Italy and southern Europe in the Global Relationship Management Team. She will be based in Milan, and will report to Thomas Bergenroth, CEO and global head of the Global Relationship Management team at State Street. Before joining State Street, Cisari spent six years at BNY Mellon in London, where she was head of key accounts for the EMEA region, covering investment banks, insurers, fund managers, large corporations, and banks.

Swisscanto Asset Management International has formed a partnership with Allfunds Bank, by the terms of which the platform will distribute the 23 funds of the Swiss group registered for sale in Italy, Bluerating reports. The firm of the Swisscanto group, which has been present in Italy since September 2010, will also soon be converting its Italian representative office into a branch office, once it obtains permission from the Bank of Italy.

According to information obtained by Bluerating, the Italian regional bank Banca Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna has entered the capital of the small asset management firm specialised in socially responsible investment Etica Sgr. The bank is reported to have invested EUR500,000.

Le marché a pour objet la fourniture de services de gestion d’actifs financiers (actions et obligations) pour compte du Fonds de compensation commun au régime général de pension (ci-après le FDC) qui a créé à cet effet en 2007 une société d’investissement à capital variable - fonds d’investissement spécialisé (SICAV ???FIS) à compartiments multiples (suivant la loi du 13.2.2007 concernant les fonds d’investissement spécialisés (FIS)). Le marché est divisé en 3 lots. Le nombre de mandats à attribuer est de 7 dont 3 de réserve. Les montants des actifs des différents lots ne sont donnés qu'à titre indicatif et pourront varier en cours d’exécution du mandat, dont la durée est en principe de 3 ans, avec possibilité de reconduction d’année en année, sauf résiliation anticipée par le FDC ou par le prestataire moyennant un préavis de 3 mois (durée maximale du mandat:10 ans. Le lot nº 1 porte sur la gestion active d’un portefeuille obligataire zone monde et libellé en EUR. Indice de référence: Barclays Capital Global Aggregate excluding securitized assets Index Total Return, couvert (Hedged) en EUR. 2 mandats: 1 mandat portant sur un montant indicatif d’actifs d’EUR 375 000 000 et 1 mandat de réserve. Le lot nº 2 porte sur la gestion active d’un portefeuille actions zone marchés émergents libellé en EUR. Indice de référence: MSCI Emerging Markets, Total Return (net) exprimé en USD et qui devra être converti en EUR. 3 mandats: 2 mandats portant sur un montant indicatif d’actifs d’EUR 112 500 000 chacun et 1 mandat de réserve. Le lot nº 3 porte sur la gestion active d’un portefeuille d’actions zone monde libellé en EUR. Indice de référence: MSCI World Total Return (net) exprimé en USD et converti en EUR. 2 mandats: 1 mandat portant sur un montant indicatif d’actifs d’EUR 400 000 000 et 1 mandat de réserve. Pour lire l’avis complet: cliquez ici

D’après le Figaro Economie, la business school lance une fondation alimentée par des anciens élèves pour accélérer son développement. Thierry Fritsch, patron de Chaumet (groupe LVMH), Pierre Nanterme, CEO d’Accenture, Pierre-André de Chalendar, PDG de Saint-Gobain ou encore Denis Payre, fondateur de Business Object... Ces anciens de l’Essec font partie des premiers donateurs à la fondation que l'école vient de lancer. Celle-ci, créée sous l'égide de la fondation de France, a pour objectif de mobiliser la «communauté des diplômés et amis de l’Essec» pour soutenir le déploiement de l'école. Dès 2003, l’Essec a lancé sa première campagne de levée de fonds auprès des anciens. Elle lui a permis de récolter 26 millions d’euros en cinq ans. «Aujourd’hui, une nouvelle étape est franchie avec la mise en place de la fondation, une structure plus transparente, plus officielle et plus pérenne», explique Gilles Pélisson, Essec 1979, ancien patron d’Accor, et président de la dite fondation. «Elle va permettre aux anciens de soutenir le développement et le rayonnement de l'école dans le monde». Objectif fixé : 30 millions d’euros d’ici 2015, 150 millions d’euros au total, si l’on ajoute les fonds publics (41 millions) et la contribution des entreprises (79 millions) Ces dons, qui donnent droit à des déductions fiscales, les anciens pourront choisir de les investir où ils le souhaitent : les bourses sociales et d’excellence (700 bénéficiaires actuellement), le déploiement international (notamment en Asie, où la construction du campus de Singapour devrait s’achever en 2014), l’amélioration des conditions d’accueil des professeurs et des chercheurs, en proposant des salaires plus attractifs pour attirer les meilleurs, ou encore les infrastructures. Avec cette fondation, Pierre Tapie, le directeur général de l’Essec, espère bien pouvoir marcher sur les traces des grandes business schools américaines. Dans ces institutions, le fait de solliciter les «alumni» («anciens élèves») est une démarche des plus classiques. «Elles pratiquent cela depuis plus de 300 ans», rappelle Pierre Tapie. Et affichent des budgets en conséquence : 4000 millions de dollars pour Harvard, 1000 pour Princeton, contre moins de 100 pour l’Essec. Diplômé de l’Essec, mais aussi de la Harvard Business School, Gilles Pélisson confirme avoir été très souvent sollicité par la prestigieuse institution américaine, bien plus que par l'école de Cergy... Le groupe Essec (4 400 étudiants, 2000 diplômés par an) compte dans le monde 40 000 anciens. Parmi eux, 5 % font déjà des dons (en moyenne de 300 euros). «L’objectif est de doubler cette proportion», affirme Pierre Tapie.

Le Fonds de pension de Total en Belgique (400 millions d’euros) a augmenté son exposition à l’immobilier et réduit son allocation en actions. Ces décisions ont été prises suite à une étude ALM menée par le Fonds. Cette augmentation de l’exposition en immobilier a été faite avec son gérant en immobilier existant, Petercam. Le Fonds n’inclue plus l’immobilier dans sa poche actions mais le compte désormais séparément. La nouvelle allocation d’actifs est la suivante : 57% en fixed income, 33% en actions et 10% en immobilier. Total Belgique a retenu BNP Paribas IP sur les actions et les taux, Aberdeen AM uniquement sur les taux, PIMCO sur les obligations d’entreprises, Dexia AM sur les actions et Blackfriars AM sur les actions émergentes, en particulier sur l’Asie.

Pour la première fois depuis juillet, une banque européenne, Deutsche Bank, a réussi à émettre une dette senior non sécurisée de 1,5 milliard d’euros. De là à anticiper une vrai réouverture du compartiment, il convient de rester prudent, selon des professionnels. D’abord parce que Deutsche Bank est une signature de qualité et aime jouer les pionniers: la banque allemande avait déjà été la première à revenir sur les marchés de dette senior non sécurisée après la faillite de Lehman. Ensuite, le groupe s’est contenté d’une échéance courte, 2 ans, et d’une dette à taux variable. Il a dû payer 98 pb au-dessus de l’Euribor 3 mois, contre 40 pb en février sur une opération similaire. De sources de marché, d’autres belles signatures du cœur de la zone euro réfléchiraient à des transactions identiques – du 2 ans à taux variable. Mais il faudrait davantage de visibilité sur la crise des dettes souveraines en zone euro pour que l’hirondelle Deutsche Bank fasse le printemps.