p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Chinese management firm Da Cheng International is planning to launch two ETFs on the Hong Kong stick exchange by Christmas. They will be the Da Cheng CSI Hong Kong Private-owned Mainland Enterprises Tracker and Da Cheng CSI Hong Kong State-Owned Mainland Enterprises Tracker. Asian Investor reports that the funds may be launched on 20 December. They will offer investors extended exposure to firms listed in Hong Kong.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Schroders announced on Friday, 10 December that it has recruited Nicolaas Marais as Head of Multi-Asset Solutions from March 2011. He is currently Global Head of Active Portfolio Management at BlackROck in the Multi-asset client solutions group. He will become a member of the management committee group at Schroders, and will report to Michael Dobson, Chief Executive.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Due to prevailing uncertainty which makes overly set convictions impossible, Aberdeen Asset Management now has a positioning which is both voluntaristic and prudent. Such, at least, is the opinion of Michael C. Turner, head of global strategy and asset allocation, who spoke in Paris on 10 December.“We think 2011 will be dominated for us by two issues: the budgetary situation, both outside and inside the Euro zone, and potential tightening of monetary policies in Asia, which will be more of a risk for second half,” the specialist says.In this environment, Turner is preferring total return instruments, which combine revenue and capital appreciation while offering higher performance than cash and government bonds. For the first half, he favours high-quality credit and real estate markets. However, he has not ruled out the possibility that equities may see a slowdown in their growth (where there is growth), but he remains long on equities, as he has been since September of this year. Currently, multi-asset class portfolios are 65-70% oriented to equities and 15% to bonds. In these two asset classes, Aberdeen assigns an important allocation to emerging markets, which are the engine of global economic activity.The portfolio also includes 5-6% funds of hedge funds, with a particular interest in fixed income arbitrage, while infrastructure receives an allocation of 1-2%, a proportion which is “on the rise.” For commodities, exposure is about 2% to 3%, of which 1% is for gold, where the head of asset allocation has not ruled out the possibility of a price of USD2,000 per ounce, but predicts a consolidation phase in the meantime.Outside mandates, Aberdeen manages a UK-registered multi-asset class fund, the Aberdeen Multi-Asset Fund (GB0031682171), which had GBP609m as of the end of October, and the Aberdeen Global III Multi Asset Asia Pacific (LU0513837459), with USD205.4m. The Scottish management firm is planning to register a Luxembourg version of its OEIC fund.Aberdeen Asset Management will also soon announce the launch of an emerging markets corporate bond fund on 16 December in the UK, for which a sales license will later be sought in France.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In India, the wealth management sector is in a phase of rapid growth, according to a study published recently byt the research and advising agency Celent (“Key Trends in the Indian Wealth Management Market: Market Dynamics at Work.”) The study reveals that the organised wealth management sector has grown swiftly, as opposed to the informal sector, which now accounts for a market share of about 60%, compared with 40% in 2007. The informal sector may shrink to 20% by 2014, Celent estimates. The Indian wealth management market, which had USD780bn in 2010 in terms of assets under management, will top UDS1trn in 2012, and then expand to USD1.2trn by 2014. In terms of segmentation, the UHNW (ultra-high net worth) segment of clients with assets of over USD10m, will fall from 28% of total assets as of 2007 to 22% in 2014, while the HNW (high net worth) segment (USD1m-USD10m), will increase to 28% from 20% in 2007. While the mass market segment (USD5,000 to USD25,000) will reach 25% in 2014, up from 17% in 2007, the mass affluent segment (USD25,000 to USD1m) will fall to 25% from 35% seven years earlier. Family offices, including those dedicated to the UHNW segment, are undergoing unprecedented growth: there are now 450, up from about 300 in 2007.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After the appointment three months ago of Michael Schramm as a managing partner (see Newsmanagers of 17 September), the board of trustees at Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers KGaA (H&A) has appointed Jochen Lucht, COO since 1 February, to the position of managing partner, from 1 January 2011. He will also take over the position of CFO vacated by Wolfgang Weber, who will be leaving the bank on 31 December.Meanwhile, Volker van Rüth, the other managing partner “who is preferring to take on other professional challenges,” is also leaving H&A at the end of this year.The enlarged management committee will also include Hanns-Alexander Flemm, head of the investment bank, and Michael Bentlage, head of asset management, who also takes over as head of the IFA division.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Frankfurt-based SEB Investment GmbH’s (SEB AM) Asset Manager Rating at ‘M2', for its real estate investment operations."The rating affirmation reflects the company’s operational high quality and the depth of its disciplined due diligence and property management procedures», says the rating agency. However Fitch sees currently «an increased level of business risks resulting from the situation of SEB AM’s flagship investment vehicle, SEB ImmoInvest (largely retail-oriented; EUR6.3bn in net Assets Under Management (AUM), which had to suspend share redemptions for a second time in May 2010". The rating also factors in the continued uncertainty facing the entire open-ended real estate funds (OEREFs) industry in Germany. A new regulatory framework is currently proposed through the legislative process, to be enforced in early-2012, which could dampen investors’ interest for these investment vehicles - in effect increasing the risk on SEB AM’s business model and growth strategy, adds Fitch.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British M&G group on 13 December announced the launch of the M&G European Inflation-Linked Corporate Bond fund in France, which it describes as “the first European inflation-linked corporate bond fund available to retail and institutional investors.” Unlike the inflation-linked government bond market, the inflation-linked corporate bond market is quite small. Investors may buy bonds protected against inflation risks from companies such as Veolia, but the choice is very limited, says M&G, which predicts that eh market will grow, particularly if inflation rises again. The fund, launched in the UK on 16 September this year, offers access to a selection of bonds which are expected to perform well in times of high or rising inflation. It aims to protect the capital and income of investors against rising prices by generating performance exceeding inflation over the long term. Major characteristics Name: EUROPEAN INFL LKD CORP BD EUR A NET ACC ISIN code (A class shares): GB00B3VQKJ6 Minimal subscription: EUR1000 Front-end fee: 3.25% Annual management fee: 1%

“Currently, assets in our funds total EUR2.8bn. As of the end of 2009 they were EUR2bn. And the difference of EUR800m corresponds in reality to net subscriptions, as market effects were negligible,” Hervé Thiard, managing director of the Paris office of Pictet & Cie Europe, has announced.The situation for the Paris office of Pictet Funds is sufficiently positive for its director to have been authorised to recruit two more people, one sales person and one product support specialist, who will join the current six members of staff. Clients of Pictet Paris consist of 40% funds of funds, 20% private banks, and the remainder institutionals and professionals.“In 2011, Pictet is planning to pick up the pace of new product launches a bit, as the range has nealy matured. In the existing long-only products, we are now working to improve performance.” Some projects are also in the works. The new family of UCITS III-compliant hedge funds may additionally gain funds of funds, while single manager funds such as Corto and Mandarin may be complemented by, for example, an Asia ex Japan long/short product and a fixed income product.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The State of Illinois, whose unpaid bills run to USD4.5bn, is seeking the assistance of banks and asset management firms to pay off USD2.5bn directly to its creditors. The system generates about 12% returns for the lender, the Wall Street Journal reports.The local government has turned to Goldman Sachs, Fortress Investment Group, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and BlackRock, who had no comment on the reports. At least one other hedge fund management firm refused the job for reputational reasons. The merchant bank Trivergance says it was one of the first to participate in the program.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Egamo, the asset management firm from MGEN, which manages more than EUR2bn in assets, has won a discretionary management mandate from the Mutuelle Générale Environnement et Territoires (MGET). The amount of the contract has not been disclosed.“This is a result of two causes: that MGET has decided to outsource a part of the management of its assets, and the continued professionalisation of its financial assets and preparation for the introduction of the Solvency II legislation. In addition to this double need comes the choice of an operator who shares the mutualist values which MGET has defended for 64 years,” a press statement says.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 30 November, total global assets under management in ETFs according to BlackRock totalled USD1.231trn, USD8bn less than at the end of October. This remains 18.8% higher than their levels at the end of 2009 (USD1.0361trn).However, the number of ETFs increased by 13 over the month, to 2,422 funds, listed 5,413 times (compared with 5,335 as of the end of October), which corresponds to an increase of 24.7% since the beginning of the year, with 530 launches and 51 funds removed from trading (see Newsmanagers of 10 November). Since January, 28 new ETF providers have launched their first products, while three others withdrew from the sector, and 41 are planning their first ETF launches soon.There are currently plans to launch 1,046 ETF funds.BlackRock estimates that net subscriptions to ETFs and ETPs in the United States and Europe represented USD14bn in November, and USD145.5bn in the first eleven months of 2010.The top three asset management firms are iShares (BlackRock retains a comfortable lead with USD549.8bn in assets and 468 ETF funds, and a market share of 44.7% (compared with USD556.1bn and 44.9% as of the end of October). State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) remains in second place with USD17.1bn and 13.9% of the market (USD170.7bn and 13.8%), followed by Vanguard, with USD141.2bn and 11.5% of the market (USD135.2bn and 10.9%).

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Wall Street Journal reports that the hedge fund Aurelius from Mark Brodsky bought junior debt from the Anglo Irish Bank at Usd20 cents on the dollar, and refused to sell it to the Irish government at the same price. It is hoping to make much more, as it has often done in similar situations. But this time, it is up against a government, and Dublin is all the less inclined to give in due to the pressure it is under from European governments. In the first half of 2010, Aurelius saw its assets under management increase from USD750m to USD2.5bn. In January-October, its returns were 12%, following more than 30% in 2009, and losses of only 4% in 2008. Aurelius was not the only hedge fund to pursue opportunities abroad: Balestra Capital, Hayman Capital Partners, North Asset Management and Pivot Capital Management did likewise.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aviva has become a full-fledged member of the British professional association LLMA (“Life & Longevity Markets Association”).The association now has eleven members. Aside from Aviva, the others are Axa, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Legal & General, Morgan Stanley, Pension Corporation, Prudential, RBS, Swiss Re and UBS.The association, which includes insurers, reinsurers and banks, aims to foster the emergence of new financial products which aim to manage longevity risks. The nonprofit association works to elaborate standards for securitisation products, longevity indices, and a model of valuation for mortality, primarily for the British market, which is particularly concerned by this risk, but eventually for international use.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The monthly statistics from BlackRock confirm each month that iShares remains not only the largest provider of ETFs in Europe, with assets as of the end of November of USD94.2bn, compared with USD98.2bn as of the end of October, but also that it has the largest net subscriptions, with USD12bn in January-November, out of a total of USD41.2bn for all ETFs listed in Europe.db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank), for its part, continues to have larger inflows than Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale), with USD8.4bn compared with USD5bn, but remains in third place in terms of assets, with USD45.1bn, compared with USD47bn as of the end of October. As of the end of November, Lyxor had USD47.3bn in assets, compared with USD49.9bn one month earlier.In total, assets in European ETFs as of 30 November (1,052 products listed 3,577 times, compared with 1,048 funds listed 3,512 times) totalled USD261.8bn, compared with USD274.1bn one month earlier. Since the beginning of the year, assets under management have increased 15.4%, compared with 20.8% as of the end of October.BlackRock also states that since the beginning of 2010, six providers have launched their first ETFs, while one management withdrew from the sector, and four others are planning to launch their first products soon.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The German chancellor Angela Merkel and the French president Nicolas Sarkozy on 10 December in Fribourg, at a meeting of French and German ministers, rejected the idea of creating joint bonds for Euro zone countries, with the French president adding that it was not impossible to consider the possibility again in the future if European integration progresses. The idea of issuing European bonds is defended by the president for finance ministers in the Eurogroup, Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker, and supported by several Mediterranean countries. “On the question of Euro-bonds, I have said that the mutualisation of rates … would not help us much,” said Merkel. The coherence of economic policy has to be increased. “This does not mean mutualising risks,” she added. Sarkozy stated that “if this means creating debt for all of Europe, it would have the effect of making each government less responsible, when what we want is precisely the reverse.” “If one day there is more integration and a much more harmonised economic policy, could we talk about it again? Maybe. But in the current state of affairs, the position of France is precisely the same as the position of Germany,” he added.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to reports in the Börsen-Zeitung, European commissioner Michel Barnier will soon present the main lines of the future UCITS V directive, with the ambitious objective of passing it in the second half of 2011.The bill will stipulate that bonuses should be based on long-term performance, and not incentivate the generation of short-term results.In addition, management and custody of assets will in the future be strictly separated betweem the manager on one hand, and the depository bank on the other.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 9 December, ProShares announced the launch of what it says is the first long/short ETF fund based on the RAFI index (Research Associates, Fundamental Index), the ProShares RAFI long/short, or RALS, which was admitted to trading on the NYSE Arca platform. The ETF replicates the performance of the RAFI US Equity Long/Short index before fees and commissions. TER is set at 0.95%.For the launch of the product, ProShares has borught in a new marketing slogan: “ProShares, the Alternative ETF Company.” The firm explains that ProShares was the first provider of leveraged ETF funds (reverse or not), and is a global leader in this area. Last year, ProShares launched a 130/30 ETF with Credit Suisse.As of 9 December, assets at ProShares totalled USD25bn in 112 ETF funds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On Friday, Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Securities, filed a civil suit in the Manhattan bankruptcy court to recuperate USD19.6bn from Sonja Kohn, head of the Medici bank in Vienna, who was a central personality in the fraud, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to Picard, the complicity between Kohn and Madoff lasted 23 years, during which time the banker channeled more than USD9.1bn into the Ponzi scheme.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mark, one of the sons of Bernard Madoff, was found hanged in his apartment in Soho in New York on Saturday, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The lawyer for the deceased has confirmed that it was a suicide, on the second anniversary of the arrest of Bernard Madoff.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Credit Suisse Private Banking has announced the opening of its first family office in Singapore. The group says in a statement that it has appointed Bernard Fung as head of family office services in Singapore. Fung, who will begin in the position on 3 January, will be in charge of development of family office activities for ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients and their families. Before joining Credit Suisse, Fung was chief executive of Innotech Advisers, the investment firm and family office of Lord Sainsbury of Turville.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss group EFG International on 10 December announced two appointments to its management. Alain Diriberry becomes CEO of EFG Bank in Switzerland, effective from 1 January 2011. Lukas Ruflin has held this position since January 2010. After setting up an ambitious new organic growth strategy for the bank, he will concentrate wholly on his mission as deputy CEO of EFG International. Diriberry will dedicate his time and energy to the management and growth of EFG Bank. Since July 2008, Diriberry had been chief operating officer of EFG International, and will remain a member of its executive board. Mark Bagnall will on 1 January succeed Diriberry as chief operating officer of EFG International, and will take a place on the executive board of EFG International. Bagnall has since December 2008 been chief technology officer for EFG International worldwide. He was previously head of private client technologies and global wealth management at Merrill Lynch (London and Geneva).

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Ahorro Corporación Financiera (ACF), a financial group consisting of 42 small and mid-sized savings banks, will lay off about 200 people out of total staff of 752, equivalent to 26.5% of its personnel, Cotizalia reports. The operation will take place through a general services outsourcing plan, according to sources familiar with the matter. It will not result in cold layoffs, as the staff concerned will be transferred to the outsourcing companies. In reality, total staff is already lower than the 752 recorded at the beginning of 2010, as there have been assisted departures, but no definite figure is available at present. ACF currently manages EUR6.4bn, 50% less than at the end of 2007.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The European specialist in socially responsibility performance measurement Vigeo on 10 December announced that its Aspi committee had made no changes to the composition of the Aspi Eurozone index at its most recent quarterly revision. The Aspi Eurozone index includes the 120 publicly-traded companies with the best Vigeo ratings.Changes affecting the weight of the shares in the index will take effect on Monday, 20 December, at the beginning of the trading day.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } La Tribune reports that Source, the ETF distribution platform, and Pimco have signed an agreement to launch and distribute bond ETFs on the European market.From January 2011, the two firms will distribute the Pimco Source Fixed Income ETFs; the range will include short-term treasury ETFs and long-term products with various underlyings.

Samuel Bouchet et Marina Cohen, gérants high yield chez Amundi

Alors que le marché des options se normalise, certains fonds de pension n'hésitent plus à jouer sur le terrain des hedge funds

Elisabeth Cassagnes, responsable taux directionnel courbe chez UFG-LFP

Nicolas Forest, responsable de la stratégie taux de Dexia AM

Olivier Lazar, président du directoire d’Olympia Capital Gestion

Maryannick Plomion, gérante diversifiée chez AllianzGI Investments Europe