The GAIA SRI index, launched in October 2009 by IDMidCaps and EthiFinance, with the support of SFAF and MiddleNext, in its first 17 months in existence has shown outperformance of 5 points over the CAC Mid & Small CMS 190, and 18 points over the CAC 40, with gains of 26%.The index is composed of 70 shares which received top ratings for their ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance, selected from over 233 midcaps from the industrial, services and retail sectors, representing 75% of the shares of the CMS 190.The results of the 2010 edition showed that the extension of the ratings to social and environmental aspects allowed small and midcaps which are the most advanced in their corporate social responsibility policies to share the top end of the rankings with larger caps.

Claudio Brocado, a manager at Batterymarch, an affiliate of Legg Mason, estimates that now is the time for investors already exposed to emerging markets to increase their allocation and to take advantage of any downward fluctuations on the markets to increase their positions. At least 13-14% of a portfolio should be invested in emerging markets, but 15% to 20% would be even better, Cinco Días reports.Brocado is not the only one recommending increasing exposure to emerging markets: Simon Pickard, at Carmignac Gestion, thinks that recent decreases on the markets will not last more than three to six months more. The fact that stock markets in emerging countries saw net outflows of USD25bn in first quarter is a positive factor, because excessive inflows of capital were one of the factors creating inflationary pressure.

Raj Rajaratnam, co-founder of the hedge fund Galleon Group, has been found guilty of insider trading, the Financial Times reports. The jury found that he had made USD63m through the use of confidential information related to corporate results and acquisitions. Rajaratnam may receive up to 19 years in prison; he will be sentenced on 29 July. Meanwhile, Rajaratnam has been released from custody, with an electronic bracelet, on bail of USD100m. The Galleon founder’s lawyer says that the decision will be appealed.

The news of Raj Rajaratnam’s conviction came at a time when 1,700 professionals in the alternative management industry were meeting in Las Vegas for a conference known as SALT, the Wall Street Journal reports. “It’s bad for business,” admitted Donald Lucardi, a director in the Citigroup unit which sells hedge funds. Some think that the verdict will lead to stricter controls, particularly of long/short funds. Others see the verdict in a more positive light, noting that it could help clean up the industry.

On the basis of a TNS Infratest telephone survey of a representative sample of 1,000 people on behalf of Axa Investment Managers Deutschland, the typical subscriber to a German investment fund has been found to be a man, who lives in the western part of the country, uses the internet, and has an average income (EUR1,500 to EUR3,000 per month).The study has also found that 95% of shareholders in investment funds consider advising highly important. For this they turn to advisers at banks or insurance companies, or to financial advisers. Their choice of fund goes to a provider with a good reputation.

On 11 May, DWS Investments announced that at the end of April, it had over 1 million Riester state-subsidized retirement savings policies on its books. The Deutsche Bank affiliate is the German management firm which has seen the largest growth in the number of Riester contracts, particularly for the DWS RiesterRente Premium and DWS TopRente Dynamik and Balance products.However, Union Investment (co-operative banks) remains the clear leader for Riester unit-linked policies, with 1.85 million accounts as of the end of April, and an estimated market share of 65% as of the end of March.

After Andreas Winterberg, who is a member of the management team at the Cologne office, and Wolfgang Sawazki, head of the strategic clients portfolio management team, Michael von Brauchitsch has become the third former manager to return to the Sal. Oppenheim group in the space of a few months.The bank, which has now been taken over by Deutsche Bank, announced on 11 May that von Brauchitsch on 1 May become a member of the management at the asset management affiliate Oppenheim Kapitalanlagegessellschaft mbH (OKAG). He is second in command for institutional clients.After working for Sal. Oppenheim from 1994 to 2003, most recently as head of European equities management, von Brauchitsch joined the management team at HSBC Guyerzeller Bank AG in Zurich, and in May 2004 created the multi-family office von Brauchitsch GmbH in Bonn. In January 2009, von Brauchitsch also became a managing partner at the wealth management firm Salm-Salm & Partner GmbH, where he was in charge of institutional client relationship management.

The European platforms of NYSE Euronext in April registered 19 cross-listings of Lyxor ETFs in Brussels, and 8 introductions of new ETFs, including 2 from RBS Market Aaccess, one from EasyETF, and 4 from ThinkCapital on Euronext Amsterdam, and one Lyxor product on Euronext Paris.At the end of April, the European stock markets of NYSE Euronext thus listed 546 ETFs from 17 issuers 642 times. Since the beginning of the year, 101 new listings were registered, of which 75 were primary and 26 were cross-listings.NYSE Euronext also states that the number of trrades and average daily trading volume had fallen, respectively, to 7,937 trades from 11,224 in March, and to EUR348.7m, from EUR509.9m (see Newsmanagers of 18 April). Year on year, April was down 12.8% in terms of the number of transactions, and 16% in volume.The average spread stood at 26.5 basis points, compared with 28.97 basis points in March. It was 28.15 at the end of February, and 28.5 in January.Total assets in all ETFs listed on the European markets of NYSE Euronext as of the end of April totalled EUR142.3bn, which represents an 18.6% increase over their level twelve months earlier.

As of the end of April, BlackRock reports, assets in 1,128 ETFs domiciled in Europe (and listed 2,952 times on 23 stock markets) totalled USD328.2bn, compared with USD307.5bn as of the end of March, and USD284bn as of the end of December 2010. One year previously, these levels stood at USD234.3bn. In other words, assets under management have risen in the space of twelve months by USD93.9bn, or 40%. Since the beginning of the year, assets have increased 15.5% (also see Newsmanagers of 18 April).In the first four months of 2011, net subscriptions have totalled USD12.9bn, of which USD4bn have gone to iShares, and USD3.1bn to UBS Global Asset Management. The heaviest net outflows were from Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale), at USD1.7bn.The BlackRock survey finds that the number of ETF funds increased in January-April by 5.2%, with 82 launches of funds, 7 discontinuations, and 19 fund mergers. The number of products increased 12.4%, or 103, in the corresponding period of 2010.iShares (BlackRock) remains the largest ETF provider in Europe, with 167 products and assets of Usd115.3bn, for a market share of 35.1%; the number of funds has not changed, but assets increased over the USD109.6bn recorded at the end of March, when market share was 35.7%. The number two fund management firm remains Lyxor AM, with 157 products, USD56.5bn in assets, and a 17.2% market share (156 funds, USD53.7bn, and 17.5% of the market as of the end of March), followed by db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank), with 158 funds, USD53.5bn, and a market share of 16.3% (156 ETFs, USD50.6bn, and 16.4%).

In April and in the first four months of the year, ETFs worldwide have posted record net inflows, totalling USD25.3bn last month, and USD67.2bn (of which Usd44.2bn were in Europe) in January-April, according to statistics published on Wednesday by BlackRock. The monthly increase in assets under management totaled USD70.4bn, a 5% increase.As of the end of April, total assets in the 2,670 ETF funds listed 6,021 times on 48 stock markets, from 140 providers, totalled USD1.4698trn, compared with USD1.3994trn the previous month (see Newsmanagers of 18 April), and USD1.1131trn as of the end of April 2010. Assets finished last year at USD1.3113trn.The top three providers remain unchanged: iShares (BlackRock) has 467 ETFs and Usd636.9bn in assets, for a market share of 43.3%. State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has 123 ETFs, with assets of USD210.2bn, and a market share of 14.3%. Vanguard, with 66 ETFs, has assets of USD173.1bn, and a market share of 11.8%.Currently, BlackRock states, there are plans to launch 1,055 new ETFs.

Deutsche Börse has announced that it has admitted four new German-registered ETFs from the British provider ETF Securities to trading on the XTF segment of its Xetra electronic platform. Three of these funds are based on equities indices. They are the TFX Dow Jones Brookfield Global Infrastructure (DE000A1H8092), with fees of 0.60%, the ETFX Dow Jones Brookfield Emerging Markets Infrastructure (DE000A1H8084), with a management commission of 0.65%, and the ETFX Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Fund (DE000A1H81A3), for which the fees are 0.50%. The fourth product is the first ETF on the German stock market to allow investment in the volatility of European large caps of the Euro Stoxx 50 index. The fund is the ETFX-BofAML IVSTOXX ETF (DE000A1H81B1), with fees of 0.80%.

For legal reasons, the Frankfurt-based Credit Suisse Asset Management Immobilien KAG has been required to extend the redemption freeze which was put in place on 19 May 2010 for one year, until 19 May 2012. Karl-Heinz Heuß, CEO of the fund management firm, on 11 May declared that he was convinced that it will be possible to reopen redemptions by the end of this year.He has stated that the CS Euroreal fund was in a position to sell off five properties between December and the end of April, for a value of over EUR500m, all of them at a price over the market value declared for them at the end of September 2010. As a result, gross liquidity in the fund as of 30 April stood at EUR1.2bn, while net liquidity represented about EUR1bn, 16.8% of assets. Since the beginning of the redemption freeze, net liquidity has increased by EUR740m, or 12 percentage points.Currently, the asset management firm is in negotiations to sell other properties for about EUR800m. That would make it possible to bring available liquidity for redemptions up to 25%-30% of assets.

In June Aberdeen is to launch a UK-listed emerging markets smaller companies investment trust – to be known as the Aberdeen Emerging Markets Smaller Companies Trust PLC. The trust will be managed by Aberdeen’s 35-strong emerging markets equity team including Devan Kaloo and Mark Gordon-James.

BNY Mellon has appointed Arthur Certosimo as CEO of its Global Markets division. He is currently Chief Executive Officer for alternative investment services (AIS) at BNY Mellon Alternative Investment Services. In his new position, he will replace Richard Mahoney, who is retiring. Brian Ruane will direct AIS, following the promotion of Certosimo.

As of 30 April, assets under management by Legg Mason and its affiliates represented USD672bn, compared with USD677.6bn one month earlier. The decline is due exclusively to money market funds, which fell to USD115.8bn from USD131.4bn. However, assets in equities and bond funds rose, to USD191.3bn and USD364.9bn, respectively, from USD189.6bn and USD356.6bn previously.At Invesco, total assets increased to USD668.5bn, from USD641.9bn, of which USD97.2bn, compared with USD91.7bn, were for ETF funds, unit investment trusts and passive products.Franklin Templeton Investments, meanwhile, has announced total assets under management of USD733.1bn as of the end of April, compared with USD703.5bn one month previously. Equities funds accounted for USD321.3bn, compared with USD308.9bn, while bond products accounted for USD288.5bn, compared with USD275.2bn, and hybrid funds stood at USD116.7bn, compared with USD113.4bn.

The French hedge fund manager Jean-Philippe Blochet has announced that he will be leaving his employer, the fund Moore Capital, to dedicate himself entirely to the charity “Enfin,” which works to educate young African women, Les Echos reports. The 47-year-old Frenchman was one of the co-founders of the hedge fund Brevan Howard in 2002. In 2010, he left the firm to join Moore Capital.

In first quarter 2011, the savings unit at Natixis, which includes asset management, insurance, private banking and private equity, showed good returns in all sectors, particularly asset management, the group announced on 12 May in a statement. Earnings for the savings unit totalled EUR472m, up 11% over first quarter 2010. In asset management, the increase in earnings was 13%, to EUR365m. Assets in the asset management division totalled EUR530bn as of 31 March 2011, up 1% at constant currency rates, compared with 31 December 2010. Net inflows were slightly positive (EUR100m). Excluding money market products, they total EUR3.1bn, spread over the most lucrative asset classes: equities, absolute returns and alternative management. In Europe, assets totalled EUR315bn, down 1.2% for the quarter. Net outflows (-EUR3.5bn) were concentrated on money markets. Excluding money markets, net inflows were positive by EUR0.9bn, with an excellent start for H2O Asset Management, where net inflows totalled EUR0.7bn. In the United States, assets totalled USD304bn, the highest level ever recorded, up 4.3% compared with 31 December 2010. Quarterly net inflows totalled USD5.1bn.

Janus Capital Group has announced the appointment of Christopher H. Diaz as global head of rates, and John Kerschner as head of securitized products, two newly-created positions. Diaz had previously served as director of the global rates group at ING Investment Management, while Kerschner had been a mortgage analyst at Janus since December 2010.

In a filing to the SEC dated 9 May, to supplement the prospectuses of all BlackRock funds (but not iShares funds), as well as the Franklin Templeton Total Return, Marsico Growth, MFS Research International and Van Kampen Value funds from the FDC range, BlackRock has announced that due to the high cost of administering small accounts, it has introduced a fund minimum, a kind of floor balance, of USD00.The management firm has also announced that it will charge USD20 per year to accounts which fall below that limit. If the account falls below USD250 for any reason (even if it is due to market fluctuations), and no subscriptions correct the situation for a 90 day period, despite warnings, BlackRock will proceed with an “involuntary redemption.”This forced redemption will be subject to only a few exceptions, particularly for some retirement savings plans.

BNY Mellon Asset Management has announced the recruitment of Rumi Masih as senior investment strategist in its Investment Strategy & Solutions Group division. Masih, who had previously been global head of the Strategic Investment Advisory Group at JP Morgan Asset Management, will be based in New York.

Financial News reports that RAB Capital, a hedge fund firm based in London, which had once been highly successful, is considering delisting from the Alternative Investment Market. The firm has undergone redemptions, and in addition, it will be losing one of its managers, Gavin Wilson, the newspaper explains.

In first quarter, the British management firm Rathbones has seen an increase of 2.6% to its assets, from GBP15.63bn to GBP16.04bn. This represents a 14.1% increase year on year. The firm earned operating profits of GBP33.9m, which represents a 12.3% improvement over first quarter 2010.

Jonathan Armitage, head of US large cap equities, is leaving Schroders after 19 years. He is returning to Australia for family reasons, according to a press release.Schroders has announced that Joanna Shatney, portfolio manager US large cap equities, will become head of US large cap equities with immediate effect. The team-based investment approach of the global and international equities team will remain unchanged. Virginie Maisonneuve, head of global and international equities, will continue to be the final decision maker on investment decisions for all global and international mandates.

Inflation has a “good chance” of reaching 5% in the UK in 2011, the Bank of England says. Le Temps reports that this level has been called “uncomfortably high” by the governor of the bank, Mervyn King. In its quarterly report, published on Wednesday, the central bank predicts that inflation will reach its 2% target only in 2013.

Under an agreement reached on 11 May between the Chinese and US financial supervisory authorities as part of the Beijing Strategic and Economic Dialogue, foreign banks will be permitted to sell shares in Chinese investment funds in China. They will also be authorised to become custodians, Z-Ben Advisors reports. The measures should be put into regulatory texts by the end of the year, and will be applicable to all foreign firms, regardless of their country of origin, so long as they meet the stipulated conditions.So far, this is a general announcement without more precision as to the varieties of funds which will be allowed for sale, the public to which they will be destined, and the date on which the change will come into force. It is, however, apparent that the funds which will be authorised for sale will be products denominated in Chinese yuan, and registered for sale in China, from Chinese or joint venture asset management firms. However, branches of foreign banks will probably not be permitted to sell shares in funds “manufactured” abroad, even if they are denominated in yuan.

As of the end of April, assets under management at Julius Baer have increased 2% compared with the end of December 2010, at CHF173bn, the group has announced in a statement published on 12 May. Growth in net inflows was within the mid-term objective of 4% to 6% set by the group, with very good results in Germany. The operating ratio has improved slightly, compared with its level in the second half of 2010 (67.6%). The group says in a statement that a share buyback programme for up to CHF500m will be launched on 23 May.

Changement de cap pour le Crédit Agricole Centre Loire. Alina Ochinciuc, responsable de la gestion financière de la caisse s’explique: «Nous avons révisé en février, la politique d’investissement validée en décembre 2010, en décidant de dédier les excédents à la consolidation des réserves pour Bâle III plutôt qu'à l’achat d’OPCVM divers et variés comme nous l’avions décidé en faisant par exemple, des achats/vendus de trackers». La caisse s’est ainsi réorientée vers les OAT et les émissions de covered bonds pour poursuivre la consolidation de son portefeuille d’investissement avec la remontée des taux. «Ce type d’investissement est plus contraint que voulu car s’il n’y avait pas eu Bâle III, on n’aurait pas acheté d’OAT», poursuit Alina Ochinciuc. Pourtant, la caisse ne compte pas arbitrer tous ses OPCVM d’un coup mais a calculé le montant minimum de réserve dont la banque aura besoin en 2015 afin de monter en puissance. Elle attend ainsi, un rendement autour de 3% sur le portefeuille de placements qui contient beaucoup de monétaire et un rendement de 4,5% sur le portefeuille d’investissement. Enfin, la caisse qui vient de clore un de ses mandats avec une société partenaire externe au groupe, réfléchit à la poursuite des mandats ou à leur arrêt. Alina Ochinciuc observe: «Ce qui revient à reprendre 120 millions en gestion directe car ce ne sont pas des mandats très importants mais ça nous permettait de nous comparer, d’avoir un benchmark et un bout de pouvoir diversifiant».

A fin avril, les actifs sous gestion de Julius Baer affichaient une croissance de 2% par rapport à fin décembre 2010 pour atteindre 173 milliards de francs suisses, a annoncé le groupe dans un communiqué publié le 12 mai. La croissance de la collecte nette s’est située dans l’objectif de moyen terme de 4% à 6% fixé par le groupe, avec notamment de très bons résultats en Allemagne. Le ratio d’exploitation s’est légèrement amélioré par rapport à son niveau du second semestre 2010 (67,6%). Le groupe précise dans son communiqué que son programme de rachats de titres jusqu’à concurrence de 500 millions de francs suisses sera lancé le 23 mai prochain.

«La totalité de l’alpha avec moins de beta» : tel est le slogan choisi par AllianceBernstein pour le compartiment AllianceBernstein European Flexible Equity Portfolio de sa sicav luxembourgeoise lancé le 31 janvier.L'équipe dirigée par Michele Petri cherche à générer une performance du type actions en utilisant un portefeuille actif et concentré de 40-60 émetteurs en ajustant de manière dynamique l’exposition du portefeuille au marché des actions. Son allocation nette longue aura tendance à augmenter lorsque la recherche d’AllianceBernstein suggère que les perspectives de rendement augmentent et que le risque diminue. A l’inverse, le gérant adoptera une attitude plus défensive lorsque les perspectives de rendement sont faibles et que les risques augmentent.L’environnement de marché détermine le degré d’exposition du portefeuille, pilote l’allocation sectorielle et vient compléter la recherche qui nourrit la sélection de valeurs au sein de trois secteurs larges, les cycliques, les financières et les défensives.Le portefeuille de ce fonds de performance absolue affichera toujours une exposition nette positive au marché des actions, l’ajustement dynamique étant réalisé au moyen de dérivés. Les encours seront principalement placés en actions européennes, mais le gérant est autorisé à investir jusqu'à 20 % du portefeuille de manière opportuniste dans d’autres marchés d’actions.CaractéristiquesDénomination : AB European Flexible Equity PortfolioCode Isin : LU0590155247 (part A en euros)Commission de gestion : 1,5 %Commission de performance : 10 %, avec high watermark

Au premier trimestre 2011, le pôle Epargne de Natixis qui regroupe la gestion d’actifs, l’assurance, la banque privée et le capital investissement, a enregistré de bonnes performances dans tous ses métiers, notamment dans la gestion d’actifs, a annoncé le groupe le 12 mai dans un communiqué. Les revenus du pôle Epargne se sont établis à 472 millions d’euros, en hausse de 11% par rapport au premier trimestre 2010. En gestion d’actifs, la progression des revenus atteint 13% à 365 millions d’euros. Les encours de la gestion d’actifs s’élèvent à 530 milliards d’euros au 31 mars 2011, en progression de 1% à change constant par rapport au 31 décembre 2010. La collecte nette est légèrement positive (100 millions d’euros). Hors produits monétaires, elle ressort à 3,1 milliards d’euros, répartie sur les classes d’actifs les plus rentables : actions, performance absolue et gestion alternative.En Europe, les encours atteignent 315 milliards d’euros, en recul de 1,2% sur le trimestre. La décollecte nette (-3,5 milliards d’euros) est concentrée sur les supports monétaires. Hors fonds monétaires, la collecte nette est positive à 0,9 milliard d’euros. La société de gestion H2O Asset Management a connu un excellent démarrage avec une collecte nette de 0,7 milliard d’euros.Aux Etats-Unis, les encours s’établissent à 304 milliards de dollars, soit le niveau le plus élevé jamais atteint, en hausse de 4,3% par rapport au 31 décembre 2010. La collecte trimestrielle nette ressort à 5,1 milliards de dollars.Dans la banque privée, la collecte nette de la plate-forme de distribution Sélection 1818, dédiée aux CGPI et née récemment du rapprochement de Sélection R et de 1818 Partenaires, s’est élevée à 200 millions d’euros au premier trimestre. Les encours sous gestion augmentent de 29% par rapport au 31 mars 2010, à 19,4 milliards d’euros, du fait principalement du changement de périmètre (intégration de Sélection R).