The Swiss private bank EFG Bank has appointed BNP Paribas Securities as its local and international custodian in several markets, including Australia and New Zealand. EFG Bank becomes the third client of BNP Paribas SS on the Australian market, where the group has been offering custody services since May 2012. Assets in custody at EFG Bank total about USD3bn.

The Netherlands-based asset management firm Robeco will open an office in Miami in the United States to strengthen its presence in Latin America, Investment Europe reports. The campaign will be directed from the Madrid office, led by Javier García de Vinuesa, who already oversees clients and products in Latin America. The office will be opened after summer, with fewer than five staff in Miami.

In July, the daily volume of “on-book” trades of ETFs on the European bourses of NYSE Euronext came in at EUR239.7m, compared with EUR257.7m in June, and the total decline in volumes in July is 2.6% compared with the previous month, to EUR5.3bn. Compared with July 2011, average daily trading volumes have fallen 45.9%.However, block trades totalled EUR741.5m last month, up 1.1% ompared with EUR733.4m in June, which represents 14.1% of total trading volumes, compared with 13.5% the previous month.The median spread fell to 29.7 basis points, compared with 31.15 basis points in June.

The Raiffeisen group, which has recently acquired Notenstein Banque Privée, in second quarter posted growth of 4.3% in its profits, to CHF354m, compared with CHF340m in first quarter 2011, the group has announced in a statement released on 16 August.Assets under management have risen to CHF169.8bn as of the end of June, compared with CHF145.9bn as of the end of December 2011.The acquisition of Notenstein Banque Privée SA, which has nearly CHF21bn in assets under management, “undeniably strengthens the abilities of the Raiffeisen group in investment operations,” the group says in a statement. The acquisition by Notenstein Banque Privée SA by Raiffeisen Switzerland “proceeded as planned.” After limited redemptions by clients from funds, Notenstein has been posting net subscriptions and signing up new clients again since June.

Z-Ben Advisors reports that Fortune SG (a joint venture of the Société Générale and Bao Steel groups) is denying reports in the local media that the Chinese asset management firm is requiring all of its employees to join an automatic investment plan in which they subscribe to shares in the money market fund Fortune SG Cash Box Money Market Fund, in an effort to boost assets under management.According to Fortune SG, all investments made by personnel in the fund were made voluntarily. However, the Fortune SG product has seen massive subscriptions in the fourth quarter of the past five years running, and then significant redemptions in the following quarter. It is not unusual for Chinese fund management firms to seek to increase their assets in fourth quarter to improve their end-of-year rankings.

The German and Austrian regulatory authorities have granted sales licenses to the new Schroder ISF Global Multi-Asset Income fund, the fourth multi-asset class product in the series, Schroders announced on 15 August. With the Luxembourg-registered fund, launched on 18 April (see Newsmanagers of 19 April and 7 June), the British asset management firm is aiming for a “sustainable” distribution of 5% per year, which will be paid on a quarterly basis for shares in euros, and monthly for US dollar-denominated shares. The fund is managed by Aymeric Forest.The portfolio may contain 10% to 50% equities, and 25% to 90% bonds, but may also include derivatives, REITs or ETFs, and positions on currencies. The objective is to preserve stable returns with total volatility of 7% to 12%.CharacteristicsName: Schroder ISF Global Multi-Asset IncomeISIN codes: LU0757360960 (A, EUR hedged, distribution)LU0757360457 (A, EUR hedged, capitalisation)LU075735995 (A, USD, distribution)LU0757359368 (A, USD, capitalisation)Front-end fee: Maximum 4%Management commission: 1.25%

Between 16 July and 6 August, Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) has announced six different deals, two of them property sales, and four purchases.The German asset management firm, an affiliate of Union Investment (co-operative banks), has announced that its institutional fund DEFO-Immobilienfonds 1 has sold three office properties in Münster, Nuremberg and Berlin, for a total of EUR20.1m, at prices higher than their most recent expert valuations.UIRE has sold the office and commercial property Bell Trinity Square (86,616 square metres) in Toronto to Northern Realty Advisors for CAD368.5m. The transaction took place t a higher price than the most recent expert valuation, seven years ago. Bell Trinity Square had been owned by the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Global (65%), and the instutional fund UniInstitutional European Real Estate.Among its recent acquisitions, UIRE has acquired a logistical complex measuring 7,681 square metres in Hamburg from Schroder Property Investment Management GmbH. The property will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo-Deutschland, but the total sale price has not been disclosed.UIRE has also purchased two office properties under construction in Bois-Colombes, near Paris, from Sefri-Cime. The properties, with a total area of 38,000 square metres, are slated for completion in 2013, and are being constructed under a contract from Axa Real Estate.Finally, UIRE has announced that it has acquired the office property under construction Eventes Business Garden (14,133 square metres) in the western suburbs of Helsinki. The vendor of the property, slated for completion in mid-2014, which will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Deutschland, is the Finnish developer Peab Oy.

The wealth management firm GAM on 14 August announced a 4% increase in its assets under management in first half 2012, to CHF111.1bn, compared with CHF107.0bn as of the end of December 2011. “This growth primarily reflects a decline on the market of CHF2.9bn, positive currency effects (CHF0.3bn), and appreciation of currencies (US dollar, pound sterling) against the Swiss franc, which offset the falling euro,” GAM says in a statement. Meanwhile, net inflows totalled CHF0.9bn, compared with CHF0.6bn in first half 2011 and redemptions in second half 2011. Net operating profits totalled CHF70.2bn, compared with CHF100.4bn, while pre-tax profits totalled CHF87.1m (CHF124.7m), which corresponds to a decine of 30% in both cases.

Assets under management and administration at the Banque cantonale de Genève (BCGE) increased in first half by CHF0.4bn, to a total of CHF18.5bn, according to a statement released on 14 August. The BCGE says in a statement that its “commercial and financial solidity” allowed it to earn gross profits of CHF70.2m, up 26.3% compared with first half 2011, and a net profit, after a write-down of provisions for general banking risks, of CHF36.5m (+31.56%).

Since the dismissal of Franz Waas on 2 April, Oliver Behrens has been serving as interim chairman of the managing board at DekaBank. He now becomes vice-chairman of the board (a newly-created position), and will report to Michael Rüdiger, who has been appointed by the board of directors as chairman of the managing board.Rüdiger, who will be joining the firm “as soon as possible,” had previously been CEO for Central Europe at Credit Suisse, in charge of private banking, asset management and investment banking.The board at the central asset management firm for the German savings banks, which is now complete, includes, in addition to the chairman and vice-chairman, Friedrich Oelrich, Matthias Danne and Georg Stocker (who began in the position on 1 August). As of the end of June, Deka had EUR88.4bn in assets in open-ended securities funds, EUR21bn in open-ended real estate funds, EUR50bn in institutional securities funds, EUR1.73bn in institutional real estate funds, and EUR10.74bn in securities mandates.

The financial ratings agency Fitch Ratings on 14 August announced that it is updating its criteria for ratings of bond funds. The analysis framework remains unchanged, and Fitch estimates that the process of updating the previous table, released on 16 August 2011, will not result in modifications to the ratings of the various types of bond funds concerned.

Investor sentiment has risen sharply from the lows of July and fund managers have increased allocations to equities, real estate and commodities, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for August (an overall total of 232 panelists with USD640 billion of assets under management participated in the survey from 3 August to 9 August). A net 15 percent of the 173 panelists participating in the global survey believe that world economy will get stronger in the coming 12 months. This represents a monthly swing of 28 percentage points, the largest leap in confidence since April to May 2009. In July, a net 13 percent said the economy would weaken. A corrolary of this development is that fears about the outlook for corporate profits have reduced since July. A net 21 percent of the panel expects profits to deteriorate in the coming year, down from a net 38 percent a month ago. The fresh optimism comes amid growing expectations of intervention by the European Central Bank (ECB). The proportion of the panel ruling out more quantitative easing by the ECB has halved to 9 percent, while 38 percent expect the ECB to act during the third quarter (up from 29 percent in July). BofA Merrill Lynch reports that this surge in confidence seems to be more a triumph of policy projection and potential than positive economic data. In other words, the risk is now that inaction by policy makers would lead to a negative reaction in global markets. Investors’ positions remain highly prudent: bond allocations remain high and investors are shunning the most cyclical equity sectorsHaving turned their backs on Europe, especially the eurozone, for much of 2012 investors are becoming far less bearish on the region. A net 5 percent of investors want to underweight eurozone equities – down from a net 18 percent in July. A net 9 percent wants to underweight the U.S., compared with a net 6 percent looking to overweight U.S. equities in July.

Francisco Gómez-Trenor y García del Moral has joined Mirabaud Finanzas as CEO of wealth and asset management for Spain, Funds People reports. He had previously been director of Bankia Banca Privada.

The Spanish BBVA group has recently announced the creation of a new division, Banca Retail, which includes retail banking activities worldwide and South American affiliates. The new structure will be led by Ignacio Deschamps, who had previously been CEO of the Mexican affiliate BBVA Bancomer. Deschamps will be replaed in this position by Vincente Rodero, who had previously been director of the South American operations of the BBVA group.Banca Retail will include the areas of insurance, means of payment, private banking, consumer credit and asset management.

In first half, Santander Asset Management has generated a net profit of approximately EUR32m, or 28.6% less than in the corresponding period of 2011, and assets fell 1% compared with the end of December, to EUR137.5bn, of which EUR107bn were for investment and pension funds, EUR7bn for dedicated portfolios and institutional mandates, and EUR23bn in management mandates for other entities of the Santander group.The quarterly report states that traditional management as of the end of June represented about EUR134bn, 85% of it in four countries (Brazil, the United Kingdom, Spain and Mexico), while in “non-traditional” management (real estate funds, hedge funds and private equity), the volume remained stable at EUR3.5bn.Funds People, for its part, on 8 August announced that Santander am is planning to create a branch office in Frankfurt to manage portfolios and provide investment advising.

Robeco, the asset management unit of Rabobank, recorded net cash inflows of EUR17bn in the first half year, against EUR7.6bn for the entire year 2011.“Net cash inflow from institutional clients was strong, deriving particularly from the Netherlands and increasing the proportion of institutional assets to Robeco’s total assets under management to 51% from 46% in the first half of 2011,” according to a press release.Assets under management increased to EUR 179bn at 30 June 2012, vs EUR 150bn at the end of 2011.But net profit decreased to EUR 97m, against EUR 105m one year earlier.Commenting on the half year results, Roderick Munsters, CEO of Robeco Group said: “The 19% growth in assets under management in the first half of 2012 is supported by a combination of significant net cash inflows and strong investment performance, giving us confidence in this period in which Robeco is working closely with Rabobank on the strategic review of the business”.

The exposure of Paulson & Co (USD21bn in assets) to GLD, a gold-backed ETF, increased 26% in second quarter, to 21.8 million shares, or USD3.4bn, the Financial Times reports. In early 2011, the asset management firm held 31.5 million shares in GLD. Over the same period, sales of equities not related to mining have had the consequence that 44% of Paulson’s US equities portfolio are related to gold.

The consulting firm Mercer has announced plans to include environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings in its reports distributed to clients. The decision reflects the growing importance of ESG criteria for long-term investors, and increasingly pronounced interest in all of these issues on the part of clients. Mercer points out, however, that this increasing interest of institutionals in ESG criteria is not shared by managers, a relatiely small number of whom integrate these factors into their management processes. The list of signatories to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) are continuing to increase, but only 9% of more than 5,000 investment strategies rated by Mercer receive top ratings for integration of ESG criteria.

The board of trustees at the California pension fund CalPERS on 15 August approved its new five-year strategic plan, CalPERS has announced in a statement. The new plan aims for more balance between risks assumed and returns achieved, and for increased attention to all governance issues.

Disclosures to the SEC for second quarter reveal that several eminent hedge fund managers have reduced their exposure to the financial sector, the Wall Street Journal reports. Soros has liquidated his positions on JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, whlie Paulson no longer has holdings in Metlife or Sun Trust.Berkshire Hathaway has considerably reduced its exposure to Kraft and Procter & Gamble (P&G), while Pershing Square Capital Management is reportedly liquidating its position on Kraft but increasing its position on P&G. Trian Fund Management has also reduced its investments in Kraft and Domino’s Pizza.

Nicolas Picard has left CPR Asset Management, where he had been a manager of European and emerging market equities, after 15 years at the firm, to join Amundi, the parent company of the asset management firm, according to reports in Citywire. He is reported to have joined the employee savings team.

Standard Chartered has agreed to pay USD340m to retain its banking license in New York and avoid legal action by the New York state regulator, Les Echos reports. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) had accused Standard Chartered of undertaking USD250bn in illicit trades with Iran over the past decade. The firm is also subject to another investigation by the US Treasury, the Department of Justice and the Federal Reserve. Peter Sands, head of the firm, is seeking a global settlement with US authorities.

The US millionaire Carl Icahn has given USD3bn to two managers, including his son Brett Icahn and David Schechter, the news agency Bloomberg reports. Icahn junior and Schechter will invest the capital in stocks with market capitalisations of USD750m to USD10bn. The two managers have already managed about USD300m for Icahn Enterprises, whose assets under management total about USD24bn. Icahn junior joined his father’s business 10 years ago as an analyst. Schechter has been working for Icahn senior since 2004, following a period at Citigroup.

The ratings agency Moody’s on 15 August announced that it is lowering the long-term rating of Julius Baer to A1, from A3 previously. It has also reduced the financial solidity rating for the firm to C+ from B-. Moody’s explains in a statement that the decision comes due to an announcement by the Swiss bank that it has acquired the wealth management activities of Merrill Lynch outside the United States, and to increasing pressure on traditional private banking activities in Switzerland, which will require firms in the sector to revise their model based on offshore centres.

Since early July, the Chinese regulator (CSRC) has issued four new Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) licenses, to BOC Group Life Assurance, Nan Shan Life Insurance, Hall Capital Partners and the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System. The new licenses bring the total number of QFII license holders to 176 as of 14 August, Z-Ben Advisors reports.

After joining Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) in April 2011 from BlackRock, William Low has been director of the global equities team at the Scottish asset management firm. He has now been promoted to director of equities, replacing Andrew November, who has held the position since August 2010, Fudweb reports. November has been appointed to the newly-created position of investment propositions director, and will be in charge of developing SWIP’s product range aimed at clients of the Lloyds Banking group.

Les banques espagnoles ont emprunté un montant record de 402 milliards d’euros auprès de la BCE au mois de juillet, soit 10% de plus qu’en juin

La collecte a été soutenue par les investisseurs institutionnels néerlandais. La couverture sur les changes pèse sur le résultat

La poursuite du mouvement de reflux de l’inflation suédoise à 0,7% au mois de juillet relance les anticipations d’une baisse des taux de la Riksbank dès le mois de septembre. A défaut, elle pourrait également durcir son discours concernant le niveau élevé de la couronne suédoise, qui s’est appréciée de près de 10% contre euro depuis mi-mai.

La poursuite du reflux de l'inflation à 0,7% en juillet augmente les marges de manœuvre de la banque centrale suédoise pour baisser ses taux