Kieran Curtis joins Standard Life Investments as investment director for EMD having previously held the role of director, head of local currency emerging market bonds at Aviva Investors since 2005.He will report to Richard House, head of EMD at Standard Life Investments, and will be responsible for research and development into emerging market local currency debt. Kieran Curtis’ appointment will further bolster the existing 26 strong fixed income team, who currently manage in excess of GBP72bn as of September 30 2012. The EMD team has grown to four members.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bill O’Neill has left Merrill Lynch Global Wealth and Investment Management to join UBS, Investment Week reports. O’Neill, most recently chief investment officer for the EMEA region at Merrill Lynch, has joined UBS as managing director in charge of the chief investment office of wealth management research UK.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The private bank of the HSBC group in 2012 earned pre-tax profits of USD1.91bn, up 4.9% compared with the previous year, according to statistics released on 4 March. The group has also reported net profits down 17% to USD13.5bn, as pre-tax profits are down 6% to USD20.6bn. Results were affected largely by a loss of USD5.2bn for the bank on the value of its own debt. HSBC has also had to make provisions for abusive sales practices in the United Kingdom.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Sophie Dupré, head of investment risk framework for the past three years at Schroders, has been recruited by Baring Asset Management to the newly-created position of head of organisational risk in London. The appointment is effective immediately. Dupré will report to Chris Biggins, head of organisational risk & compliance. Before Schroders, her employers were Citigroup, BNP and Société Générale.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The amLeague rankings (see the top three in each category below) reveal that in February, Ossiam has posted the best returns of all asset management firms in the competition, with gain of 6.54% for the Global Equities mandate, followed by Delubac am, with 5.64% on the Europe Equities mandate. They take first place by large margins in the Euro Equities (Roche-Brune, 2.26%) and Multi Asset Class (CCR AM, 1.75%) categories.The rankings are virtually unchanged in the first two months of the year, as the front-runner remains Delubac AM with 9.10%, followed by Ossiam Global MinVar (7.92%), TOBAM (7.11%), Euro Equities, and Vivienne Investissement aux Multi Asset Class with 3.07%.Euro Equities MandateYTDTOBAM team 7,11 %Roche-Brune AM B. Fine, G. Laverne 6,28 %BNPP IP team Theam 4,55 %Average 3,15 %Eurostoxx Net Return 2,32 %February 2013Roche-Brune B. Fine, G. Laverne: 2,26 %BNPP IP team Theam 1,94 %Tobam team 1,93 % Average- 0,01 %Eurostoxx Net Return : - 0,80 %Europe Equities MandateYTDDelubac AM : G. Moulin, S. Alluin : 9,10 %Federal Finance team : 7 %Invesco AM M. Kolrep, M; von Ditfurth : 6,87%Average : 4,64 %Stoxx 600 Net Return : 3,99 %February 2013 Delubac AM G. Moulin, S. Alluin : 5,64 %Aberdeen AM J. Whitley+ team 3,85 %Invesco AM M. Kolrep, M. von Ditfurth : 3,66 %Average : 1,78 %Stoxx 600 Net Retun : 1,15 %Global Equities MandateYTDOssiam Global Minimum Variance team 7,92 %BNPP IP équipe Theam 7,44 %Swiss Life Asset Managers P. Guillemin, D. Corbet 6,91 %Average 6,48 %Stoxx 1800 Net Return : 6,14 %February 2013 Ossiam Global Minimum Variance team 6,54 %BNPP IP team Theam 6,52 %Swiss Life Asset Managers 5,21 % Average 4,48 %Stoxx 1800 Net Return: 4,02 %Multi Asset ClassYTDVivienne Investissement G. Perrin, L. Jaffrès 3,07 %CCR AM F. Foy, R. Lahoste 1,74 %Federal Finance équipe 1,50 %Average 1,14 %February 2013CCR AM Foy, R. Lahoste, 1,75 %Sycomore AM S. de Bailliencourt, E. de Sinety 1,63 %Vivienne Investissement G. Perrin, L. Jaffrès 1,30 %Average : 0,54 %

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Pimco has appointed Eve Tournier has lead manager of two bond strategy funds, replacing Luke Spajic, Citywire Global reports. They are the Pimco GIS Euro Credit, with EUR455m, and the Pimco GIS Euro Income Bond, with EUR138m. These bring the number of products she manages to four.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The alternative asset management arm of Citgroup, which has recently been renamed Napier Park Global Capital, has completed its spinoff from Citigroup, Hedgeweek reports. Assets under management at Napier total about USD6.8bn. The firm, formerly a part of Citi Capital Advisors, is now controlled by its employees, but Citi retains a minority stake in the capital of the new firm. The terms of the sale have not been disclosed.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The pan-European Next Estate Income Fund (NEIF) has made a second transaction in Germany, with the acqusition of an office building of over 14,000 square metres in Frankfurt, representing a total investment of about EUR65m. The property is located on Mainzer Landstrasse, one of the major thoroughfares in the central business district in Frankfurt. It has excellent technical and architectural characteristics, and is aiming for DGNB certification. The property under construction was purchased from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management LP, represented by its local German asset manager Acorn. Next Estate Income Fund, launched in late 2010 with the support of BNP Paribas Real Estate, is a Luxembourg-registered private real estate investment fund, whose portfolio is currently valued at over EUR200m. The portfolio will now swell to over EUR300m, and will in 2013 exceed the initial distribution objectives for the fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Deutsche Börse has announced that Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale group) has released two volatility ETFs to trading on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform. The Luxembourg-registered products, the Lyxor ETF Dynamic Long Vix Futures Index – EUR (ISIN code: LU0871960976) and Lyxor ETF Dynamic Short VIX Futures Index – EUR (LU0871961511) charge 0.75% and 0.40%, respectively. With the new funds, the listings on the XTF segment include 1,024 ETFs (compared with 1,025 as of 27 February).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } State Street Global Advisors is planning to launch a fourth ETF dedicated to dividends, this time with particular attention to global markets, in order to diversify exposure to securities that offer high dividends in a persistent context of very low bond yields, IndexUniverse reports. The SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF fund will choose stakes in a selection of companies from developed and emerging countries such as Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The fund, which is inspired by the S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index, joins the three available ETFs dedicated to dividends, the SPDR S&P Dividend (NYSEArca: SDY), the SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: EDIV) and the SPDR S&P International Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: DWX).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 1 March, Russell Investments launched a campaign to update its indices, which will conclude on 1 July, with a provisional list of the components of the Russell 3000, Russelll Microcap and Russell Global indices to be published on 14 June. The US group has already announced that it will reclassify Greece, which is moving from the developed to the emerging markets category. In the three-year observation period, Greece has not satisfied the macroeconomic and operational risk criteria which constitute developed market status, but it does satisfy the criteria in place for emerging markets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Baillie Gifford has decided to close its Diversified Growth fund to new investors, in order to preserve the performance of the fund, following a rise in inflows in the past twelve months, Investment Week reports. Assets in the fund, managed by Patrick Edwardson and Mike Brooks, are flirting with the GBP3bn barrier, while they had totalled less than GBP900m one year ago. The fund has earned returns of nearly 26% over a three-year period.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Swedish equity funds are the most popular equity funds with Swedish investors, even though Sweden represents only a small part of the global economy, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri reports on its website. About SEK327bn have been invested in Swedish equity funds, equivalent to 29% of total assets in equity funds. This is also the largest category of funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Funds People reports that Lausanne-based Diapason Commodities Management has launched a Luxembourg-registered SIF, the Diapason Relative Value Pertroleum Industry fund, a sub-fund of Diapason Funds, which deploys a relative value strategy via oil derivatives. The fund is managed by Sean Corrigan, aims for absolute returns (10-12%), with total ex ante volatility of 6% to 7%.In Spain, Diapason is represented by Atrium Portfolio Managers.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With the Global Unconstrained Bond fund, Schroders will be offering a new bond sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav Schroder International Selection Fund (Schroders ISF) from this April, which may invest unconstrained and globally, and whose outperformance objective is 4-5% above the benchmark per year, over a full interest rate cycle.The benchmark index will be the Barclays Capital Glboal Aggregate Bond USD Hedged Index over a sliding 3 to 5-year period. Management will be assumed by the global multi-sector team, which includes 100 investment professionals worldwide. The team is led by Bob Jolly, head of global macro, and Gareth Isaac, bond fund manager. They will use a top-down, diversified approach, and will work to generate stable returns by exploiting the potential offere dby a wade range of sources of outperformance.The new product, which is not yet licensed for sale in France, will be managed with the same approach as the existing Schroder ISF Global Bond, ISF Strategic Bond and Schroder GAIA Global Macro Bond portfolios.

In 2012, investment fund assets in Europe increased by 12.4 percent to EUR 8,944 billion, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association’s latest quarterly statistical release. Overall, net assets of UCITS increased by 11.7 percent to EUR 6,295 billion. Net assets of non-UCITS increased by 14.1 percent to EUR 2,649 billion.Net Sales of UCITS reached EUR 201 billion: net sales of UCITS returned to positive territory in 2012 after recording net outflows of EUR 97 billion in 2011. Long-term UCITS recorded net inflows of EUR 239 billion in 2012, after registering net outflows of EUR 64 billion in 2011. Bond funds made up the lion’s share of net inflows (EUR 203 billion), eclipsing the net inflows into equity funds (EUR 2 billion) and suggesting investors remained risk-averse and cautious about the economic outlook almost until the end of 2012. Money market funds continued to suffer from a low interest rate environment: they recorded net outflows of EUR 39 billion, up from EUR 33 billion in 2011. Net sales of non-UCITS increased in 2012, up from EUR 99 billion in 2011. Special funds (funds reserved to institutional investors) attracted EUR 112 billion in net new money, compared to EUR 94 billion in 2011.Buoyant cross-border fund business dominated by two countries, according to the EFAMA. The market share of Luxembourg and Ireland in the UCITS assets increased to 47.2 percent at end 2012, compared to 45.8 percent a year earlier. Total net sales of UCITS in these countries reached EUR 187 billion or 93 percent of total UCITS net sales in 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Following Spanish royal decree 4/2013 of 22 February, which modifies the pension fund law, Funds People reports, Spanish pension funds are now authorised to invest in securities listed on the Mercado Alternativo Bursátil (MAB), in Sicav funds, private equity firms, Socimi (real estate investment companies), and in securities which will be listed on the future Mercado Alternativo de Renta Fija (MARF) which the Spanish government is preparing.Pension funds have assets of EUR86.5bn.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions published on March 4 the final report on Principles of Liquidity Risk Management for Collective Investment Schemes, which contains a set of principles against which both the industry and regulators can assess the quality of regulation and industry practices concerning liquidity risk management for collective investment schemes (CIS).Since the outbreak of the global financial crisis, the issue of liquidity has been a major concern for regulators. However, the discussions on regulatory reform have tended to focus more on the importance of liquidity in the banking sector than in other sectors. These principles have been designed to address the specificities of liquidity risk management in the context of the operation of a CIS.To deal with the exceptional circumstances where a liquidity problem may lead a CIS to temporarily suspend all investor redemptions, IOSCO has published, in January 2012, a report on Principles on Suspensions of Redemptions in Collective Investment Schemes.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The average daily trading volume for on-book ETP transactions on the European markets of NYSE Euronext increased in February by EUR252m, which represents a 14.9% increase over the EUR228m announced for January, while the total volume has fallen 3.6% compared with January, to EUR5.05bn.The volume of block trades in February increased by one third compared with January, to EUR1.12bn.The median trade spread has fallen to 24.4 basis points, compared with 25.1 in January.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Oliver Clasen, CEO of Allianz Global Investors KAG from 2007 to 2011, and then an independent consultant for real estate, venture capital and questions related to capital markets, Oliver Clasen is joining Long-Term Investing Research AG, based in Karlsruhe, as a managing board member.Clasen was also a board member at the German BVI association of asset management firms, where he represented AGI KAG.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the Swiss firm GAM as of the end of 2012 totalled CHF116.2bn, compared with CHF107bn at the end of 2011, according to a statement released on 5 March. Net inflows last year totalled CHF2.4bn, after outflows of CHF3.8bn in 2011. The wealth management firm last year earned operating profits of CHF161m groupwide, down 2% year on year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } It appears that Morgan Stanley is planning to sell its wealth management activities in Europe (excluding Switzerland), which are experiencing a sensitive period, and finews reports that, according to financial news, Credit Suisse is interested in the acquisition and has already begun studying the case.Wealth management at Morgan Stanley in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has assets of USD18bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to the Investment Management Association (IMA), net sales of shares in retail funds domiciled in the United Kingdom in January fell to GBP567m, compared with USD1.2bn in December, which is the worst result since August 2012.However, Daniel Godfrey, CEO of the IMA, says that these fugres represent a continuation of the decline in net subscriptions to bond funds observed since summer (they have undergone their first net outflows since October 2008), while net sales of shares in equity funds have increased for the fifth consecutive month.Institutional funds have seen net outflows of GBP79m, while funds domiciled abroad posted net inflows of GBP191m, their strongest since September 2012.Assets in retail funds as of 31 January set a new record at GBP688bn, comapred with GBP659bn one month earlier. Compared with the end of January 2012, the increase totals 16%.

SIX Swiss Exchange launches a segment for Sponsored Funds. The first sponsor and market maker for over 250 products is Bank Julius Baer., according to a press release published on March 4.With this new segment, investors in traditional mutual funds can trade funds like shares. Thanks to the continuous pricing and instant order execution, investment decisions in fund trading can now be implemented immediately and at known prices. The segment for Sponsored Funds is another service that SIX Swiss Exchange is launching as part of its «Over the Exchange» initiative.

Le groupe de gestion OFI a pris, à travers sa holding historique Ofivalmo Partenaires, une participation minoritaire de 10 % dans la société de gestion suisse BlueOrchard Finance afin de renforcer son expertise dans les investissements socialement responsables (ISR). Suite à l’acquisition de cette part minoritaire dans BlueOrchard Finance, Ofivalmo Partenaires sera représenté au conseil d’administration de la société genevoise, dont les encours s'élèvent à 620 millions de dollars (476 millions d’euros).

«Nous devons être intelligents et trouver un équilibre entre consolidation budgétaire et croissance. La France peut ramener son déficit budgétaire en deçà de 3% en 2014», a déclaré le ministre de l’Economie et des Finances Pierre Moscovici, à l’issue de la réunion de l’Eurogroupe. La Commission européenne prévoit que le déficit budgétaire de la France représentera 3,7% du PIB cette année.

Le groupe de private equity a fait l’acquisition d’ADB, le leader mondial du balisage aéroportuaire, auprès de Montagu Private Equity. Les termes de la transaction n’ont pas été révélés. Racheté en 2009 par Montagu à Siemens, ADB réalise un chiffre d’affaires annuel de 160 millions d’euros, dont 45% dans les pays émergents.

La Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) a infligé une amende civile de 750.000 dollars à deux filiales d’Ameriprise Financial pour ne pas avoir mis en place de systèmes adéquats pour superviser des transferts de fonds. L’affaire est liée au détournement par un courtier de fonds appartenant à la clientèle.

KKR s’apprête selon Reuters à racheter le constructeur de machines industrielles. Un accord pourrait être dévoilé au cours des prochains jours. KKR a proposé de verser 75 dollars par action, soit un total de 3,6 milliards, le titre clôturant hier à 73,62 dollars. Gardner Denver s’est mis en vente fin 2012 sous la pression de son actionnaire à hauteur de 5% ValueAct Capital.

Les assureurs français ont enregistré en janvier un net rebond de la collecte en assurance-vie après une année 2012 marquée par des flux négatifs. D’après les estimations de la FFSA et du Gema, la collecte nette de l’assurance-vie ressort à 3,8 milliards d’euros au mois de janvier contre une décollecte de 1,1 milliard d’euros un an plus tôt.