P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Handelsblatt reports that the Düsseldorf-based private bank Trinkhaus & Burkhardt (T+B) has decided to close its two Luxembourg affiliates, one private bank and HSBC Trinkaus Investment Managers, which manages institutional funds (Spezialfonds).The managers have not yet determined whether the affiliates, which generate abut EUR20m in pre-tax profits (about one tenth of all profits at T+B) will be sold or liquidated.This will affect 200 employees, some of whom may be transferred within Germany or transferred to other HSBC affiliates.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Beyond governance in the strict sense, institutional investors are putting the priority on issues related to objectives and strategy at businesses when they have an engagement policy, according to the most recent report by the British Investment Management Association (IMA) on the application of the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) Stewardship Code by asset owners, asset managers and service providers.According to Liz Murrall, director of the IMA for reporting and corporate strategy, “institutional investors are engaged over a wide range of issues related to strategy and long-term objectives of businesses. Case studies concerning the acquisition planned by G45 and the Xstrata/Glencore merger are examples of the ways that investors have succeeded in engaging and contributing to the management of businesses to protect or create value for shareholders, the real end clients.”The report also notes that the number of signatories of the FRC governance code is growing, from 75 in 2010 to 241 in 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The ETP provider Source has announced that Faisal El-Hakim, Philippe Secnazi, Dennis Bergot and Gemma Steel are joining the firm, bringing new expertise to sales, marketing and legal teams.El-Hakim will be responsible for institutional investors in the Middle East and North African region. Secnazi will be in charge of institutional investors in France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Monaco. Bergot joins the marketing team as an analyst, with a particuar focus on content in the German language.Steel joins the legal department, and will assist in cases concerning the launch and oversight of products, as well as general and compliance questions. These additions to the teams at Source reflect needs related to an extension of their client base.Before joining Source, El-Hakim was executive director of an investment firm specialised in vestments and commercial relations between the Middle East and the Far East.Secnazi was previously for more than two years responsible for institutional clients, including private banks and funds of funds, in France and Monaco, for Robeco in Paris.Before joining Source, Bergot worked as a product manager for publicly-traded structured investment products at Westpac Banking Corporate in Sydney, where he began his career.Steel previously worked at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, where she was responsible for legal questions concerning asset management, distribution, the development and launch of products, lending, and new regulations.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } About 60% of advisers estimate that RDR regulations have resulted in an increase in outsourcing of management of their portfolios, according to a survey undertaken by FundsNetwork, the Fidelity investment services platform in the United Kingdom dedicated to advisers and their clients, FundWeb reports. The survey states that 51% of advisers are planning to increase their use of template portfolios, and 47% prefer managed funds. Custom portfolios are no longer popular, as more than one third of advisers say they use them less in the post-RDR environment.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 10 June, the Netherlands-registered Robeco as announced (see Newsmanagers of 7 March) completed the transfer to Luxembourg of its Rorento NV fund (ISIN code: ANN757371433), registered in Curaçao. Its ISIN code now becomes LU0934195610. Shares in Rorento DH Eur Shares are now again available on NYSE Euronext Paris. Assets in the bond fund (government and corporate bonds) total about EUR1.5bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } iShares on 24 June announced that it is adding to its product range on the European corporate bond segment with the launch of a new bond ETF dedicated to financial sector securities. The iShares Euro Corporate Bond Financials UCITS ETF (ISIN code: IE00B87RLX93) fund comes as an addition to the existing range of iShares European corporate bond Etfs, and allows investors to adopt a more targeted approach to their bond allocation.Financial sector securities represent the largest sector in the European investment grade universe, accounting for 47% of the Barclays Euro-Aggregate Corporates index as of the end of April 2013. The new fund offers targeted and diversified exposure in a single product to this European investment grade corporate bond segment, along with potential for higher returns than those on the European corporate bond market overall. The Barclays Euro-Aggregate Financial index offers returns of 2.06%, compared with 1.94% for the Barclays Euro-Aggregate Corporates.The iShares Euro Corporate Bond Financials UCITS ETF offers exposure to fixed interest rate investment grade bonds denominted in euros and issued by financial sector businesses. The fund replicates the Barclays Euro-Aggregate: Financial index, holding physical bonds. It is managed with a sampling technique, which allows investors efficient and liquid exposure to the performance of the underlying index. Total management fees for the fund are 0.20%. Barclays uses issuer and issue ratings from three agencies – Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group and Fitch Ratings – to determine whether the bond in question is investment grade, and can therefore be included in the index.Including the new fund with fees of 0.20%, iShares now offers 13 corporate bond ETFs, including the iShares Markit iBoxx Euro Corporate Bond, iShares Barclays Euro Corporate Bond ex-Financials et iShares Markit iBoxx Euro High Yield Bond.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Frankfurt-based investment boutique Veritas Investment GmbH, a pioneer of ETF funds in Germany, on 24 June announced that it will be reducing its product range from 14 to 10 funds on 18 September, and that it will be lowering its commissions from 1 October. Mergers will allow for less costly and more attractive management for institutional investors, says Kerstin Behnke, CEO responsible for distribution and customer relationship management. The A2A Wachstum and ETFDachsfonds Renten funds will be absorbed into the A2A Defensiv funds, which will become known as the Veri ETF-Allocation Defensive while the ETF Dachfonds Quant will be absorbed at the same time as the ETF-Dachfonds Emerging Markets Plus Money into the ETF-Dachfonds Aktien, which will become known as the Veri ETF-Allocation Emerging Markets.Veritas has announced the creation of institutional share classes available from EUR1m for which the management commission will be reduced by half. As of 1 October, the management commissions for various products of the range will vary from 1% to 1.5%. The front-end fee for the A2A Defensiv will be discontinued from 1 October, to that three Veritas funds will be available with no front-end fee.For wealth management funds, Veritas has already reduced the performance commission to 10% (the calculation does not only take into account the high watermark, imposed by new German legislation , but also a hurdle rate), and the manager plans to discontinue this charge for equity funds.A2A WACHSTUM (ISIN: DE0005561641) ETFDACHFONDS RENTEN (ISIN: DE 0005561690) A2A DEFENSIV (ISIN: DE0005561666) new name: Veri ETF-Allocation DefensiveETFDACHFONDS QUANT (ISIN: DE0005561625) ETFDACHFONDS EMERGING MARKETS PLUS MONEY (ISIN: DE0009763326)ETF-DACHFONDS AKTIEN (ISIN: DE0005561682) new name: Veri ETF-Allocation Emerging Markets

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The private equity firm Turenne Capital on Monday, 24 June announced the arrival of Laurent Dumonteil as director of development and a member of the board of directors. Turenne Capital plans to develop partnerships with various banking networks, private asset management firms and independent financial advisers (IFAs) and to extend its range of investment products (FCPR, etc.). Dumonteil will focus on all institutional and retail fundraising at Turenne Capital and investor relationships, a statement says. He will be assisted by Aude Ferrien, Marketing account manager. Dumonteil, 38, began his career at Société Générale Asset Management as salesman for partnerships in France and head of the IFA unit, and then as France and Benelux partnerships salesperson for key clients at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management. He then joined Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch Gestion as head of development for external distribution for France & Luxembourg, and then head of development for partnerships at Mandarine Gestion.

AXA today announced the departure of Dominique Carrel-Billiard, Chief Executive Officer of AXA Investment Managers and a member of the AXA Group’s Executive Committee, who has decided to leave the Group. He will be replaced by Andrea Rossi, Chief Executive Officer of AXA Assicurazioni, who will also join AXA Group’s Executive Committee. Frédéric de Courtois, Chief Executive Officer of AXA MPS, will take the lead of AXA’s main insurance operations in Italy.These appointments will be effective July 22nd, 2013.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Tim Pynchon has left Pioneer Investment Management, where he had worked since 2000, to join Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc., an affiliate of Oppenheimer Holdings as managing director and portfolio manager for tax-exempt high yield funds. He is based in Boston.

Axa Investments Managers (Axa IM) a annoncé, lundi 24 juin au soir, le départ de Dominique Carrel-Billiard qui, selon un communiqué, «a décidé de quitter le groupe pour d’autres projets professionnels.» A compter du 22 juillet 2013, l’actuel directeur général de la société de gestion filiale d’Axa, sera remplacé par Andrea Rossi, aujourd’hui directeur général d’AXA Assicurazioni. Ce dernier rejoindra également le comité exécutif du Groupe AXA. Frédéric de Courtois, directeur général d’AXA MPS, lui succèdera à la tête des principales filiales d’assurance d’AXA en Italie. Dominique Carrel-Billard est resté sept ans à la tête d’Axa IM. Lors de la présentation des derniers résultats trimestriels, la société de gestion a fait état d’une collecte nette de 8,4 milliards d’euros répartie entre 6,5 milliards d’euros chez AXA IM et 1,9 milliard d’euros chez AllianceBernstein. Par ailleurs, ses actifs sous gestion étaient en hausse de 2% par rapport au 31 décembre 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 24 June, BNY Mellon Asset Servicing has announced that its BNY Mellon Beta & Transition Management unit has created a registered investment advisor to offer transition management services to key investors, such as insurers, who use external management services for all or part of their investment strategies.BNY Mellon has already been offering transition management services to pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, foundations and other institutional clients since 1983.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has elected Christian Dargnat as chairman of the professional association for a term of two years, according to a statement released on 24 June.Dargnat, CEO of BNP Paribas Asset Management and CIO of BNP Paribas Investment Partners, and vice chairman of EFAMA since June 2011, succeeds, Claude Kremer, chairman since 2011.The vice-chairmanship of the organisation goes to Alexander Schindler, a member of the executive board at Union Asset Management Holding AG.The mission of EFAMA in the next two years will be to support the confidence of investors and confidence in asset management, by promoting governance standards, integrity,professionalism and performance throughout the sector, the statement says.EFAMA will also work to improve the functioning of the single market in the asset management sector and to promote a harmonized framework for the distribution of savings and investment products, strengthen the competitiveness of the sector in terms of cost and quality, and to promote the sector and the UCITS brand throught Europe and the world.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Henderson Global Investors and TIAA-CREF, a provider of financial services, are joining forces in real estate investment. The two firms are merging their European and Asian real estate activities as a new asset management firm which will be known as TIAA Henderson Global Real Estate. The firm will include he European real estate activity of TIAA-CREF, the real estate activities of Henderson GI in Europe and Asia-Pacific, and a new global distribution and customer service organisation.TIAA Henderson Global Real Estate will launch a real estate investment platform which will also allow access to bond markets and “increase its capacity to develop and offer new products,” a statement says.TIAA-CREF will control 60% of the new firm, while Henderson GI will have 40%. The firm, with EUR63bn in assets under management, will officially be created in first quarter 2014, pending regulatory approval. Tom Garbutt, head of global real estate at TIAA-CREF, will become chairman of the board of directors at the new firm, while James Darkins, CEO for real estate at Henderson, will become chairman and CEO. The firm will be headquartered in London. In France, the firm will have total real estate AUM of about EUR1.7bn. “The strategy for France is to double assets under management by 2015, largely distributing investments between the office and retail sectors”, according to a press release. The French office will continue to be led by Peter Winstanley and Thibault Ancely. Alongside the merger of European and Asian activities of the two firms, TIAA-CREF is acquiring 100% of the real estate activities of Henderson in the United States.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bedlam Asset Management has closed three funds in order to concentrate on its global equity strategies, which represent most mandates from its clients, Fundweb reports. The three funds concerned are the Bedlam UK, whose assets under management total GBP3.2bn, Bedlam Europe (GBP2.4m), and Bedlam Japan (GBP2.1m), totalling just 2% of total assets under management at the firm.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As a complement to its OEIC emerging market debt fund, launched in October, Standard Life Investments (SLI) on 24 June announced the launch of the Emerging Market Local Currency Debt Fund USD, a Luxembourg-registered fund denominated in local currencies, managed by Kieran Curtis, whose benchmark index is the JPMorgan BGI EM Global Diversified. The currency of reference for the fund is the US dollar.Characteristics:Emerging Market Local Currency Debt Fund USD A AccEmerging Market Local Currency Debt Fund USD A IncISIN codes: LU0913259262 (A shares)LU0913259346 (Inc shares)Minimal subscription: GBP1,000Front-end fee: 5%Withdrawal penalty: 1%Management commission: 1.90%

«Les diverses mesures non-conventionnelles qui ont été introduites par la BCE afin d’améliorer la transmission de sa politique monétaire sur certains segments du marché resteront en place aussi longtemps que nécessaire, et il y a d’autres mesures, conventionnelles ou non-conventionnelles, qui peuvent être déployées en cas de besoin», a déclaré mardi Benoît Coeuré, membre de la Banque centrale européenne, lors d’un discours préparé en vue de la conférence Euromoney à Londres. «En conséquence, dans la conjoncture actuelle, il ne devrait pas y avoir de doutes sur le fait que notre ‘sortie’ est lointaine et que notre politique monétaire est et restera accommodante», a-t-il ajouté. Après les vives tensions des derniers jours, les taux longs se détendaient légèrement vers 13 heures en zone euro, à l’exception du Portugal, tout en restant volatils. Les déclarations de membres de la Fed lundi soir ont aussi visé à tempérer la réaction brutale des marchés devant l’hypothèse d’un retrait progressif du programme d’assouplissement quantitatif de la Réserve fédérale dès cette année.

L’Organisation internationale des superviseurs de marché (Iosco) a présenté de nouvelles dispositions visant à mieux réguler le marché des fonds indiciels cotés (ETF) qui pèse 1.900 milliards de dollars. L’organisation souhaite que les régulateurs nationaux interviennent afin d’aider les investisseurs à s’y retrouver dans une gamme croissante de produits. Elle recommande notamment d’imposer aux gérants d’ETF une plus grande transparence sur les risques de contrepartie soulevés par leurs activités de prêt de titres. Beaucoup de fonds prêtent en effet des actions qu’ils détiennent à des vendeurs à découvert, tels que les fonds alternatifs, en échange de collatéral et d’une commission. L’Iosco plaide par ailleurs pour une amélioration de l’information autour des frais et des dépenses nécessaires à l’investissement dans des ETF. L’organisation appelle à une communication standardisée sur la manière dont le fonds réplique un indice.

Selon Private Equity International, Apax Partners a mis un terme à la levée de son huitième fonds de fonds private equity. Avec 7,5 milliards de dollars récoltés, le montant final ressort nettement en dessous de l’objectif initial (11,9 milliards).

Afin de permettre à la chaîne de fleuristes de faire face à ses échéances financières à court terme et de se recapitaliser, Perceva va apporter son soutien en injectant 6,3 millions d’euros en numéraire via une augmentation de capital réservée. La société d’investissement lance une OPA sur les actions et obligations convertibles en actions émises par Monceau Fleurs, avec respectivement une prime de 23,5% sur le cours de clôture du 27 mai et une décote de 75% sur le nominal.

Une cour d’appel de Manhattan a confirmé la condamnation pour délit d’initié infligée à l’encontre du cofondateur du fonds alternatif Galleon Group, Raj Rajaratnam.Ce dernier purge actuellement une peine de prison de onze ans. L’ex-financier contestait l’usage par le gouvernement américain d’enregistrements téléphoniques secrets.

La Banque du Japon n’interviendra pas pour régler des turbulences de marché temporaires et elle se focalisera sur les anticipations de prix à long terme pour déterminer s’il y a lieu d’aller plus loin dans l’assouplissement monétaire, a déclaré lundi Kikuo Iwata, gouverneur adjoint de la banque centrale. «Ce qui est important, ce sont les fondamentaux ; les mouvements des marchés n’ont pas affecté les fondamentaux économiques du Japon, qui vont bien et s’améliorent encore», estime-t-il.

Actuellement contrôlée par l’Etat turc, la Bourse d’Istanbul choisira d’ici la fin du troisième trimestre un partenaire en vue d’une privatisation partielle et d’une cotation d’ici début 2016. L’Etat turc compte à terme conserver une part de 49% dans Bourse Istanbul, née de la fusion entre trois opérateurs boursiers. Son partenaire devrait en contrôler 41%. Les 10% restants sont détenus par d’autres investisseurs.

Une vaste escroquerie à la Madoff dans une dizaine de pays européens a été mise au jour. Dans l’Hexagone, quelque 400 victimes ont été identifiées pour un montant d’au moins 20 millions d’euros. Sur le modèle mis en place par l’escroc américain, les fonds des nouveaux arrivants servaient à verser les intérêts des précédents. Sept personnes ont été mises en examen en France.

Le nombre de sociétés chinoises ayant souscrit un crédit au cours du deuxième trimestre de l’année a chuté de 13 points pour tomber à seulement 38%, selon China Beige Book International. Parallèlement, la proportion de banques rapportant une hausse des prêts a progressé de 10 points à 45%, indiquant que «le crédit semble être concentré entre les mains d’un petit nombre d’emprunteurs», selon la société new-yokaise.

Les patrons des Bourses du Chili, de Colombie et du Pérou, ont vanté à New York auprès d’investisseurs les mérites de Mila, le marché intégré entre ces trois pays latino-américains. L’investissement a été facilité depuis le lancement de ce marché il y a deux ans, mais des obstacles demeurent, comme les divergences d’imposition.

Reuters rapporte qu’un portefeuille de 70 milliards de dollars géré par le gestionnaire alternatif Bridgewater Associates et dans lequel ont investi de nombreux fonds de pension est l’un des plus importants perdants de la baisse marquée des marchés mondiaux ces dernières semaines. Le Bridgewater All Weather Fund accuse un repli d’environ 6% depuis le début du mois et de 8% depuis le 1er janvier. Le fonds investit massivement dans les bons du Trésor indexés sur l’inflation (TIPS), un compartiment du marché qui a perdu 4,5% depuis le début du mois.

L’agence de notation a annoncé le lancement d’un service d'évaluation réservé aux entreprises de taille intermédiaire en Europe afin de leur faciliter l’accès à d’autres sources de financement face à un crédit bancaire qui se raréfie. Ce nouveau service, baptisé «Mid-Market Evaluation», concerne des entreprises non financières dont le chiffre d’affaires ne dépasse pas 1,5 milliard d’euros et dont la dette est inférieure à 500 millions d’euros, a précisé Alexandra Dimitrijevic pour Standard & Poor’s. «Elles représentent un tiers du PIB et de l’emploi en Europe», a-t-elle indiqué, ajoutant que la zone géographique considérée couvre la zone euro et le Royaume-Uni. Selon les estimations de S&P, sur la période 2013-2018, les besoins des entreprises concernées s'élèvent à 3.500 milliards d’euros, dont 2.700 milliards de remboursements de dette et 800 milliards de financements nouveaux. Le service de l’agence assure une évaluation sur une échelle spécifique allant de «MM1» à «MM8».

Le gestionnaire d’actifs britannique cède 60% de son pôle immobilier européen et asiatique et 100% de son pendant américain au fonds de pension TIAA-CREF. Ce dernier apportera les fonds d’amorçage nécessaires pour relancer l’activité, qui gère 1,7 milliard d’actifs en France.

Le gestionnaire britannique ouvre le marché immobilier européen et asiatique au fonds de pension américain, prêt à investir en compte propre