Arthur G. Nadel, a fund manager who was missing, was arrested by FBI agents in Florida on Tuesday, the WSJ reports. He is facing criminal charges of securities fraud and misleading investors.

T. Rowe Price Global Investment Services Limited has opened its fifth European office since 2001, in Zurich. The office is a branch of the London affiliate, and will be directed by Josef Bossi, senior business development executive. Bossi left State Street Global Advisors in December 2008.

Fortis Investments on Monday 26 January launched a Euro zone investment grade bond fund that matures in 2013, which is limited to 20 institutional investors in France. The fund, which already has more than EUR20m under management, is invested in 60 positions, and excludes asset-backed securities (ABS), subordinated debt, and leverage, according to a statement.

In December, collective investment organisms and Luxembourg-based specialised investment funds once again posted losses, of EUR44.584bn, of which EUR34.347bn were due to declining financial markets, and EUR10.237bn due to redemptions, according to the most recent statistics from the Financial Sector Surveillance Commission (CSSF). At the end of the year, total assets in funds came out at EUR1.559653trn, compared with EUR1.604237trn as of 30 November 2008 (-2.78%).

CID Consulting has announced that its STAR© (System for Tracking of Analysis and Reporting) software package for ongoing control of operational and non-compliance risks at financial establishments is now in use at Tocqueville Finance, after six months of testing.CID Consulting is planning to extend the functionality of the software package in April, with the addition of a module that provides automatic control of regulatory and statutory ratios for mutual funds. The versions of STAR currently available are aimed at management firms and brokers. The brokerage firm is also planning to offer an adapted version to banks and custodians and account maintenance providers in the near future.

Nicholas Cosmo, head of the management firm Agape World, has turned himself in to authorities in New York, who say he is suspected of setting up a Ponzi pyramid scheme similar to the one created by Bernard Madoff, but worth only USD380m, Die Welt reports, citing United States media. Agape World, which promised investors returns of 14%. in two and a half months, was founded by Cosmo in 2000, shortly after his release from prison at the conclusion of a sentence for fraud.

The US authorities are finding a growing number of financial frauds which echo the Madoff scheme, the Wall Street Journal reports. At least six more cases worth several millions of dollars have emerged this month, most of which are Ponzi-type pyramid schemes.

Threadneedle announced on Tuesday that it has recruited Andrew Bristow (ex Goldman Sachs) as executive director in charge of investment in asset-backed securities (ABS) in the fixed income division in London. In addition, the British management firm has recruited a team of five people from Babcock and Brown in Australia, along with whom it will also take on the management of a portfolio worth AUD1.8bn under an advisory contract. The team, which includes professionals with an average of ten years of experience, will be jointly directed by Steven Fleming and Ashley Burtenshaw.

Wallberg Kapital has announced that its Luxembourg-registered fund Wallberg African All Stars, managed by Peter Leger at the South African management firm Coronation Fund Managers, has now been granted a sales license in Germany, after receiving licenses in Luxembourg and Austria. The product is distributed by Fundmatrix.

In a year which brought ?dislocation in nearly all asset classes? in 2008, La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rotschild Bank has suffered from negative market effects, which removed 21.5 basis points from its assets under management, which fell from a total of 23.5% to EUR22.6bn at the end of December. Net capital outflows represented only about EUR600m, due to the fact that private management, which has a ?very strong synergy with asset management,? according to Samuel Pinto, deputy CEO, posted net inflows of EUR800m, for a total of nearly EUR9bn at the end of the year. Equities and diversified management, for their part, declined to EUR7bn from EUR12bn at the end of 2007, with redemptions of only 5% of assets under management in equities funds. In multi-management, assets as of the end of the year totalled EUR2.74bn, compared with EUR4.01bn twelve months earlier, of which EUR2.09bn, compared with EUR2.73bn, were in alternative multi-management.Pinto also emphasises the stability of assets in structured management, which increased by EUR10m for the year, to EUR2.926bn. In this area, LCF Rothschild is highly active, with the production of 100 supports which use ?simple, liquid and transparent scenarios? based on ?a rigorous selection of third-party issuers.? In fixed income and credit management, assets declined to EUR4.5bn in one year, from EUR5.4bn at the end of 2007. In private equity, finally, the group managed nearly EUR1.5bn in LBO midcaps, venture capital, life sciences, eastern European real estate, and funds of funds at the end of the year.

Linda Thomsen, head of the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission, suggested at a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee that Federal prosecutors may bring charges against Bernard Madoff for lying to SEC repesentatives, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Selon Barclays Capital, les actifs sous gestion ont touché un record de 270 milliards de dollars en 2008 pour chuter à 154 milliards en fin d'année

Ils ont baissé de 18,2% en novembre en rythme annuel. Seule une réduction de l’offre pourrait mettre fin à ce mouvement

La deuxième année de décollecte en France masque des performances diverses selon les sociétés

Les titres adossés à des actifs émis à partir du 1er mars et destinés au repo devront être notés «AAA/Aaa» et ne pas avoir d'autres ABS en sous-jacent

La deuxième année de décollecte en France masque des performances diverses selon les sociétés

The fund of hedge fund management firm Tremont Capital Management has permanently suspended activities of its single-manager hedge fund affiliate Rye Investment Management, which had invested all of its USD3.1bn in assets in a feeder fund managed by Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, Pensions & Investments reports.

Paulson & Co, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, made gains of at least GBP270m on bets that the share price of the Royal Bank of Scotland would fall in the past four months, the Financial Times reports. The scale of the profits will be likely to relaunch debate over shorting of financials.

Even the Hollywood actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, 91, is among the victims of the Bernard Madoff fraud, Die Welt reports. Gabor had invested as much as USD10m in Madoff-related funds.

According to a recent study by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, the portfolio of foreign assets held by states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) depreciated by USD100bn in 2008, to USD1.2trn, the Wall Street Journal reports. This is leading many sovereign funds to be prudent in their investments. Sameer Al Ansari, CEO of Dubai International Capital, has stated that his fund lost USD3bn due to the financial crisis. The fund, which has invested in HSBC and Och-Ziff Capital Management, is now planning to focus on North America and Europe to protect its existing assets, rather than acquiring new assets.However, Talal Al Zain, CEO of Mumtakalat Holding CO, a USD10bn fund in Bahrain, claims that the global credit crisis and the slowing of the economic boom in the Gulf has not changed his investment priorities. He is still interested in the United States and Europe.

The activities of BHF-Bank (Sal. Oppenheim group) in the areas of depository banking, custody and financial services related to securities have been regrouped in an independent bank which will be known as BHF Asset Servicing, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. The move will allow BHF to better serve its institutional clients.

Carmignac Gestion, which is celebrating its 20th birthday, has announced net inflows of EUR3bn in 2008, its best inflows ever, despite the stock market and financial crises. ?We would have preferred to celebrate this birthday in a more promising context,? admits the founder of the independent management firm, Edourard Carmignac. The president of Carmignac Gestion says the firm’s success is due to its location in Europe first and foremost. Net flows of capital have been positive in all eight countries in which it sells products: France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain. Assets under management at the firm now total EUR12.6bn.Compared with 2007, assets have remained relatively stable overall, despite decreases in the valuation of funds due to the falling markets.

L’Agefi Suisse reports that a new private bank has been created. The newborn entity, called Von Roll Bank, was founded by the holding company that owns the Von Roll industrial group. It will not be confined to managing the fortune of the Von Finck family, says its CEO, Cyrill Escher. ?No house products, and no agreement with distributors: the spinoff of the Von Roll industrial group wants to distance itself from the products and practices which have discredited the world of finance,? the Swiss news source comments.

The British hedge fund sector employs about 40,000 people, according to the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA). This is the first time that the professional association has provided such an estimate.In detail, AIMA estimates the number of people directly employed by hedge funds and funds of hedge funds at about 10,000. In addition to this, there are at least 30,00 indirect employees, such as advisors and providers of financial services (prime brokers, lawyers and accountants) who depend on the sector.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency (FINRA) has asked several brokerage firms to give information about the number of clients they took on in 2006-2008 for investment vehicles managed by Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. The regulator tries also to find out if managers of funds or other who referred clients to Madoff earned additional commissions.

In the wake of the controversy about the responsibilities of depositories which has arisen due to the Madoff affair, as French Minister of Finance, Christine Lagarde on 12 January sent a letter to the European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services which drew attention to the divergent approaches adopted by various member states to the question of the role and responsibilities of OPCVM fund depositories. Brussels says it is ready to dot its ?i?s and take the necessary measures to remedy any possible inadequacies. ?The Commission considers that the directive clearly establishes, for the depository, a fundamental responsibility,? says a statement, which claims that the directive ?clearly gives the depository responsibility for oversight of assets and makes them responsible if there is a fault or negligence in the exercise of these functions. The determination of the responsibilities and their extent must be done in a way that complies with the applicable national law.?Although the principle of the responsibility of the depository is clear, its application in national law seems much less assured. The Commission considers that it would be premature to conclude that within the national frameworks, investors in the mutual funds concerned will definitely be reimbursed for their losses. With that said, in light of the central role played by the depository in the regulatory system for mutual funds, ?the Commission is determined to ensure that the applicable national laws and national practices transpose the principle of the responsibility of the depository as set forth in the directive, without diluting it.?From this point of view, the Commission will determine, in collaboration with the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR or CERVM), a set of guidelines ?relative to the enactment of the dispositions relevant to the directive, and will evaluate the way in which the responsbility of depositories in national civil laws is defined,? with a triple objective: to eradicate any proactices or laws which dilute the fundamental responsibilities set out in the directive; to clarify the responsibilities of mutual fund depositories in terms of the oversight of assets; and to clarify the means by which these responsibilities may be exercised, including, says the statement, the possibility of outsourcing depository functions.If this examination results in the identification of practices or findings which are incompatible with the guiding principles of the directive, ?the necessary measures will be taken to remedy the shortfalls.? All options are left open, which will, the statement says, extend to ?legally binding clarification as to the responsibility undertaken by the guardian of assets? and ?a more thorough legal harmonisation.?

Selon La Tribune, «certains spécialistes n’hésitent pas à comparer 2009 à 2003, la deuxième meilleure année pour le marché primaire des obligations convertibles» . Pour un retour en grâce, en dépit d’un rendement attrayant (de l’ordre de 8 % selon Acropole AM), «plusieurs conditions doivent être réunies pour permettre un redémarrage des émissions», estime le quotidien, qui cite Emmanuel Martin, responsable des gestions chez Acropole AM, pour qui «il faut déjà que le calme revienne sur le crédit et sur les actions».

Selon La Tribune, suite à la clôture de l"enquête, Jérôme Kerviel, l"ancien trader de la Société générale, devrait être jugé en 2010 en correctionnelle pour la perte de 4,9 milliards d"euros.

Avec la baisse des marchés, une décollecte marquée et la baisse des commissions de gestion, l"industrie de la gestion est condamnée à se restructurer si elle veut survivre à la crise. Selon les estimations de Jean-François Bay (Multiratings), #une société sur deux en France devrait être concernée par le mouvement de restructuration#. Ce mouvement pourrait être renforcé par la directive OPCVM approuvée par les députés européens le 13 janvier dernier. Ce texte devrait en effet exacerber la concurrence entre sociétés de gestion puisqu"elle vise à réduire la fragmentation des fonds d"investissement de l"Union.

ING a dévoilé lundi de nouvelles pertes au titre du quatrième trimestre sur son portefeuille de crédits structurés (2 milliards d"euros), ce qui l"a poussé à demander la garantie de l"Etat, remplacer son directeur général, et supprimer 7.000 emplois, rapporte le Financial Times.