The number of poorly-performing retail funds has fallen sharply in the most recent “Spot the Dog list” rankings by Bestinvest. The firm counted only 64 retail funds, with cumulative assets of GBP12.1bn, whereas last summer, it had counted 113 funds, with a total of GBP26.6bn. To compose the list, Bestinvest takes into account equity-based portfolios which had underperfomed by more than 10% in all of the past three years to the end of 2012. Scottish Widows retains the top spot in the rakings, with four funds, totalling GBP3.96bn in assets, followed by BlackRock (GBP1.27bn), Baillie Gifford (GBP1.08bn), and F&C Investments (GBP613m), Money Marketing states. Jupiter places on the list with two funds, Jupiter China and Jupiter Ecology, with assets of GBP501m. Jupiter’s inclusion is largely due to the Jupiter Ecology fund, which, like all green funds, had a difficult year compared with broader indices. JP Morgan Asset Management, M&G, Axa Investment Management and BNY Mellon/Newton had no funds on the Bestinvet black list, despite a very rich range of funds.

The ETP promoter Source has announced the promotion of five partners in the area of sales. Ludovic Djebali and Stefan Garcia become managing directors and co-heads of sales. Pierre Olivier Coher is promoted to executive director of sales for France, Belgium and Luxembourg, while Fabrizio Palmucci is promoted to director, fixed income specialist, and Jasmin Stoschek becomes associate, marketing.

Deutsche Börse on 28 January announced that State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) had listed an additional SPDR ETF for trading on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform. The SPDR MSCI EMU UCITS ETF, an equity product, becomes the 1,021st ETF to be listed in Frankfurt.The benchmark index, the MSCI EMU, currently includes 244 mid and large cap equities from EMU businesses, which represent about 85% of total capitalisation on euro zone markets.CharacteristicsName: SPDR MSCI EMU UCITS ETFISIN code: IE00B910VR50TER: 0.30%

The ETF specialist IndexUniverse and Structured Solutions on 29 January announced the launch of a series of currency indices. These are primarily a series of indices which measure the performance of the US dollar against various baskets of currencies. The flagship index, the IU – Solactive U.S. Dollar TW Index, includes a weighted index of 26 currencies, including the Chinese RMB, which represents 20.37% of the index. The US Dollar Index, which was created in 1973, includes only six currencies, including the euro, which represents 57.60%. All of the new indices are available on Bloomberg. -IndexUniverse–SolactiveDollar TW Index (Long USD) (IUSLATL.Index) -IndexUniverse−Solactive U.S. Dollar TW Index (Short USD) (IUSLATW Index) -IndexUniverse–Solactive Developed Markets Currencies TW Index (IUSLADTW Index) -IndexUniverse–Solactive Emerging Markets Currencies TW Index (IUSLAETW Index) -IndexUniverse–Solactive -Pacific Currencies TW Index (IUSLAATW Index)

Globally at least USD 13.6 trillion worth of professionally managed assets incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns into their investment selection and management, according to a report on the size and trends within the sustainable investment industry released yesterday by the newly created Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA).This represents 21.8 percent of the total assets managed professionally in the regions covered by the report - Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, Asia, Japan, and Africa.Europe is the largest region with about 65 percent of the known global sustainable investing assets under management. Europe, along with the United States and Canada, account for 96 percent of SRI assets.The most common strategy used globally is negative/exclusionary screening, with USD 8.3 trillion in assets. Norms-based screening is also significant at USD 3.0 trillion, but this approach is currently only found on a large scale in Europe.Positive/best-in-class screening stands at just over USD 1.0 trillion, with the US market contributing most of the global assets invested in positive screening.Assets utilizing ESG integration are at USD 6.2 trillion.Approaches to corporate engagement/shareholder action varies greatly across regions, but this is the third-most common strategy, at USD4.7.trillion.Impact investing and sustainability themed investments are comparatively small at USD 89 billion and USD 83 billion respectively. The release of this report also launches the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) and its website at www.gsi-alliance.org.The GSIA is a collaboration of the seven largest sustainable investment membership organizations in the world: Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA ), European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif), Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), Social Investment Organization (SIO) in Canada, UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, and Vereniging van Beleggers voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling (VBDO) in the Netherlands. The mission of GSIA is to deepen the impact and visibility of sustainable investment membership organizations at the global level.

The Geneva-based Banque Reyl & Cie, whose assets have now exceeded CHF7bn, has announced the appointment of two new partners, Christian Fringhian as head of development, and Lorenzo di Torrepadula as deputy head wealth management Switzerland. The two bankers join the partners Dominique Reyl, chairman and founder, and François Reyl, CEO, at the helm of the company.Fringhian had most recently worked for Barclays Capital, where he led the Public Sector Solutions group, and developed and managed a range of risk management and financing strategy advisory services.Di Torrepadula joined Reyl et Cie in 2002, where he specialised in the area of private management. He previously worked for Credit Suisse First Boston in London, first in the mergers and acquisitions sector, and then in the LBO coverage group.

Swiss asset management firms have won only 19 major mandates in 2012, which represents a decline compared with 47 mandates in 2011 and 78 in 2010, Financial Times Fund Management reports, citing data from its sister firm MandateWire. UBS Global Asset Management won the largest number (10), compared with 15 in 2011 and 17 in 2010. FTfm attributes this setback to scandals in the Swiss financial sector in recent years.

On 28 January, J. Safra Sarasin Holding SA, Banque Sarasin & Cie SA and Banque J. Safra (Suisse) SA announced that their respective boards of directors had approved the merger of the two firms as Banque J. Safra Sarasin SA, whose primary headquarters will be in Basel.The CEO of Banque Sarasin, Joachim H. Straehle, becomes CEO of the merged bank. “Bauque J. Safra Sarasin will continue the strategy of Banque Sarasin, and will position itself as a sustainable international provider of financial services,” a statement says, adding that “Banque J. Safra Sarasin will rely on the strengths of both brands.”

The Frankfurt-based independent asset management firm Universal Investment has announced that assets in its institutional funds (Spezialfonds) had risen by EUR18bn in the first eleven months of 2012, to EUR116.3bn. They have risen by more than EUR50bn in the past five years.In the past twelve months, assets under management by Universal in open-ended funds incerased by EUR3.3bn, to a total of EUR17.4bn.

A study by the Berlin-based agency Scope Ratings has found that on average, euro zone bond funds gained 26.1% in the past five years, while euro zone equity funds have lost an average of 25.9%.In the past three years, bond funds have gained an average of 12.7%, while equity funds have made 2.3%.But, in the past twelve months, bond products gained only 8.4%, while equity funds gained 18.3%.This year, Scope concludes, the extremely low level of interest rates is expected to continue to favour equity investments.

The board of directors at DekaBank on 28 January approved a redistribution of responsibilities among its board, as well as the appointment of Martin K. Müller, a board member at Landesbank Berlin (LBB), with whom DekaBank is planning to pool its market trading and asset management activities, as a board member from 1 April 2013.Müller becomes CFO/COO. As CFO, he will assume responsibility for treasury and finances, which is currently held by Matthias Danne, in addition to his role as a board member responsible for asset management in the area of real estate and credit. As COO, he will become responsible for operations, which will allow Friedrich Oelrich to concentrate on his role as chief risk officer (CRO).The other members of the board will retain their responsibilities. Michael Rüdiger remains as chairman of the board, with Oliver Behrens as vice chairman, while Georg Stocker retains responsibility for marketing and distribution.

The Cologne-based wealth management firm Flossbach von Storch has confirmed to Das Investment that it now has over EUR10bn in assets, less than five years after its launch on the retail market. Of total assets under management, investment funds represent EUR5.2bn, of which EUR2.91bn are for the diversified fund FvS Multiple Opportunities.

The Azimut group has appointed four managing directors for its wealth management division: Luigi Ardissone, Enrico Canazza, Massimo Collina and Paolo Cosmelli, Bluerating reports, citing Il Mondo. They will aim to bring growth to the division, through the recruitment of high-level private bankers. The objective is to increase assets at Azimut Wealth Management beyond EUR5bn by 2015.

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, one of the largest pension funds in the world, with CAD160bn, will increase its allocation to real estate from CAD30bn to CAD40bn in the next 18 months, the Financial Times reports. It becomes one of the most recent examples of an institutional investor moving away from bonds, which offer very low returns, towards real estate.

Nelson Peltz, the activist investor from Trian Fund Management, has sold a part of his stake in State Street Corp, which he revealed in October 2011, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. He is said to have made a gain on the sale, but less than he had hoped for if State Street had followed his action plan. He had sought a spinoff of the asset management sector in particular.

The Californian pension fund CalPERS on 28 January announced the launch of a research programme, the Sustainable Investment Research Initiative (SIRI), which aims to measure the impact of sustainability factors on financial performance. In partnership with the US Davis Graduate School of Management, CalPERS has also issued a request for proposals for a series of studies by academics and investment specialists on the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria on the creation of long-term value and the stability of financial markets. The first articles on these issues may be presented on 7 June this year, at the inaugural Sustainability & Finance Symposium.

Cogefi Gestion on 28 January announced the arrival of Anne d’Anselme at the firm. She takes responsibility for Long/Short equity management, and is particularly responsible for the Sarbacane fund, with the support of Maxime Chemouny. D’Anselme, who holds a DESS in Finance from the university of Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), and is a member of the French society of financial analysts (SFAF), has 15 yeas of experience on equity markets. She was a financial analyst for 8 years for the oil and oil services sectors at Natexis Capital and then at Crédit Lyonnais Securities, and subsequently advised institutional investor and long/short manager clients as a ventor of European equities at CM-CIC Securities / ESN. D’Anselme also contribute to the management of outsourced long/short portfolios from 2007 to 2012.

US prime money market fund (MMF) exposure to eurozone banks decreased slightly during December 2012, with the notable exception of French banks, according to a new Fitch Ratings report. Allocations to French banks continued to increase and as of end-December 2012 represent approximately 6.5% of assets under management. This is the first time since end-August 2011 that France represents the largest single country exposure within Europe. Japan remains the largest single-country exposure globally at 13.2% of MMF assets, a 6% increase since end-Nov. 2012. Overall, MMF allocations to Eurozone banks have increased by more than 70% since falling to a historical low in end-June 2012 and now represent 12.9% of MMF assets. However, Fitch notes that MMF allocations to Eurozone banks remain more than 60% below end-May 2011.

In a summary document which concludes three years of research with the support of Caceis into improved awareness of non-financial risks in the collective management industry in Europe, the Edhec-Risk Institute has laid out a series of recommendations to limit these risks, whose emergence in 2007-2008 marred the quality reputation of the UCITS label.According to the Edhec-Risk Institute, the sophistication of UCITS funds is one of the main causes of the increase in non-financial risks. These risks do not derive directly from positions on financial markets, but are the result of the functioning of a value chain in the collective management industry.In this environment, the Edhec-Risk Institute proposes that regulations and improved practices be put in place for financial risks, based on three major themes. The first is reinforcement of information on non-financial risks, including a requirement to describe the risks and their controls in the KIID, and to include a synthetic indicator of net risks for funds. Similarly, advising requirements under MiFID should be strengthened in the area of non-financial risks.The second area is to increase accountability for all actors in the fund management industry. The new accountability regime would lead parties to improve their management of non-financial risks, by tying the level of regulatory capital requirements to the level of residual non-financial risks taken by the principal actors in the value chain.Last but not least, the document recommends that in counterbalance to the high level of sophistication of UCITS funds permitted by evolving regulations, and exploited to the hilt by NewCITS, a “Restricted UCITS” label should be created, for a category of UCITS products whose fields of investment would be limited to what may genuinely be conserved, and that the depository in this role should have a complete guarantee for non-financial risks. The “Restricted UCITS” label would make it possible to sell these products not only to European retail investors, but also worldwide, as UCITS funds worthy of the name in terms of safety.

The Chinese authorities have authorised a first group of five qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) to trade on futures indices, Asian Investor reports. This would theoretically allow investors to more easily provide absolute returns in falling markets. The identities of the members of this first group have not been disclosed.

A New York court on 28 January authorised the US tax authorities to demand data on all US clients of UBS who are reported to have transferred their assets to the Wegelin private bank. It has filed a John Doe Summons to obtain the data.Wegelin at the beginning of this month pleaded guilty to assisting US citizens to evade the tax authorities in their country. As the private bank had no affiliate in the United States, it is reported to have made the transactions via a “correspondence account” with UBS.According to the lawsuit filed on Monday, two other banks which are not named are accused of using this correspondence account to secretly launder the money of US taxpayers.

AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) on Monday 28 announced the launch of the AXA WF Framlington Global Small Cap which will invest in equities and equity-related securities issued by small and medium sized companies worldwide.The fund is managed by Isabelle de Gavoty, head of the European small and mid caps investment team at AXA Framlington. AXA Framlington currently manages EUR1.8 billion in dedicated regional small and mid cap strategies.The fund will target companies that benefit from structural global growth themes, such as cloud computing and mobile payments, in addition to pure domestic opportunities, such as emerging market consumers. Stock selection is expected to be the primary source of added value.The AXA WF Framlington Global Small Cap which launched on 7th January 2013 is UCITS IV compliant and domiciled in Luxembourg. The fund has both retail and institutional share classes with no minimum investment into the retail share class and EUR5 million minimum investment into the institutional share class. The fund is currently registered for sale in Luxembourg and AXA IM is considering registration across a number of other European countries.

Le groupe Azimut vient de nommer quatre managing directors pour sa division gestion de fortune : Luigi Ardissone, Enrico Canazza, Massimo Collina et Paolo Cosmelli, rapporte Bluerating citant Il Mondo. Ils auront pour mission de faire croître la division en recrutant des banquiers privés de haut niveau. L’objectif est de porter les encours d’Azimut Wealth Management au-delà des 5 milliards d’euros d’ici à 2015.

Axa Investment Managers vient de lancer le Axa WF Framlington Global Small Cap, un fonds de petites capitalisations mondiales. Il sera géré par Isabelle de Gavoty, responsable de l’équipe d’investissement petites et moyennes capitalisations européenne d’Axa Framlington.Ce fonds sera investi dans des entreprises bénéficiant de thèmes de croissance structurelle à l’échelle mondiale, comme le cloud computing et les paiements mobiles, mais aussi dans des entreprises profitant de tendances locales comme la consommation des pays émergents. La sélection de valeurs devrait être la première source de valeur ajoutée.Le AXA WF Framlington Global Small Cap a été lance le 7 janvier au format Ucits IV. Il est enregistré uniquement à la vente au Luxembourg, où il est aussi domicilié. Mais Axa IM envisage de le commercialiser dans d’autres pays d’Europe. Axa Framlington gère actuellement des stratégies de petites et moyennes valeurs pour 1,8 milliard d’euros.

Le nombre de stratégies disponibles dans l’univers des Ucits alternatifs a dépassé la barre des 300 à la suite du lancement de plusieurs nouveaux fonds au quatrième trimestre.Entre octobre et décembre dernier, 13 nouveaux fonds ont vu le jour alors qu’on observe parallèlement la fermeture de 5 fonds, selon des statistiques compilées par la société basée au Luxembourg Alceda Asset Management.On dénombre désormais 307 fonds contre 299 au terme du troisième trimestre 2012. Des stratégies long/short equity ont surtout été proposées au quatrième trimestre. Elles ont constitué cinq des 13 nouveaux fonds lancés durant le trimestre.Alceda relève par ailleurs que les fonds global macro représentent 17% du nombre de fonds disponibles, avec 54 fonds qui représentent 40% de l’ensemble des actifs sous gestion du secteur, soit 34,7 milliards d’euros sur un total de 86 milliards d’euros.

La société de gestion britannique Veritas Asset Management arrive en tête du dernier classement mensuel des gestionnaires d’actifs européens établi par AMCR (Asset Management Competition Reports), rapporte le site spécialisé e-fundresearch.Le passage en tête de Veritas AM est dû pour l’essentiel à la surperformance à long terme du fonds d’actions Veritas Global Equity Income Fonds. Dans le classement à fin décembre, Veritas AM précède Carmignac Gestion SA, avec son fonds phare Carmignac Patrimoine, First State Investments (UK) Limited, First State Investments (Hong Kong) Ltd et JO Hambro Capital Management Ltd.

Après les fonds Schroder GAIA CQS Credit, Schroder GAIA Egerton Equity, Schroder GAIA QEP Global Absolute et Schroder GAIA Global Macro Bond), Schroders va lancer en février un cinquième fonds (le troisième externe) sur sa plate-forme GAIA (Global Alternative Investor Access), le Schroder GAIA Sirios US Equity, géré par Sirios Capital Parners II, L.P..Il s’agira d’un fonds qui dispose déjà d’un premier agrément de la CSSF luxembourgeoise, mais qui n’est pas encore disponible à la commercialisation en France. Ce fonds long/short equity fondamental investira principalement en moyennes et grandes capitalisations américaines avec une exposition potentielle à l’Asie et à l’Europe, reproduisant dans un cadre coordonné la stratégie du hedge funds Sirios long:short equity. Le produit sera investi dans des actions de sociétés de croissance à la valaroisation attrayante et il vendra à découvert celles d’entreprises dont les fondamentaux se dégradent et dont les bilans sont faibles.La gestion est confiée à une équipe de dix professionnels de l’investissement dirigée par John Brennan, co-fondateur de Sirios et managing director.Au 30 septembre, l’encours des fonds de la plate-forme GAIA représentaient 1,53 milliard de dollars.

La Française, en collaboration avec ACMN Vie, lance Euro Pierre Plus, un fonds euros dit à coussin doté d’une base immobilière. Le nouveau produit est investi à 75 % sur le fonds en euros Europierre, qui mise sur l’immobilier d’entreprise non côté, et à 25 % dans le fonds diversifié LFP Coussin Opportunités, qui «apportera la diversification vers des actifs plus risqués en fonction des opportunités de marché», précise un communiqué. La Française souligne qu’Euro Pierre Plus «offre les mêmes garanties qu’un fonds en euros traditionnel, notamment une garantie permanente du capital et des intérêts déjà acquis (effet-cliquet)». La rémunération sur la part investie en fonds en euros constitue le « coussin », qui permettra d’absorber une baisse éventuelle sur la partie investie en actifs risqués. En cas d’évolution défavorable des marchés, la part investie en actifs risqués sera désensibilisée au fur et à mesure de la baisse pour être investie en actifs sans risque. Le rendement global pourra alors être faible voire nul, la rémunération sur la partie investie en fonds en euros ayant servi de coussin.En cas d’évolution favorable des marchés : la valorisation sur la part en actifs risqués viendra s’ajouter à la rémunération de la part investie en euros.

Cogefi Gestion a annoncé le 28 janvier l’arrivée au sein de la société d’Anne d’Anselme qui a pris en charge la gestion Long/Short equity et gère plus particulièrement le fonds Sarbacane, avec l’appui de Maxime Chemouny.Analyste financier pendant 8 ans sur les secteurs pétrole et services pétroliers chez Natexis Capital puis au Crédit Lyonnais Securities, Anne d’Anselme a ensuite conseillé une clientèle d’investisseurs institutionnels et de gérants Long/Short en tant que vendeur actions européennes chez CM-CIC Securities / ESN. Elle a aussi contribué de 2007 à 2012 à la gestion de portefeuilles Long/Short externalisés.

Géré par l’équipe de Diamant Bleu Gestion depuis le 29 octobre 2010, le fonds Diamant Bleu LFP Rotation Sectorielle a changé de nom et de stratégie pour devenir Diamant Bleu LFP Actions Rendement. Géré par Hugues Le Maire et Daniel Larrouturou, fondateur historique d’Orchidée Finance récemment racheté par Diamant Bleu Gestion, le fonds sera investi dans des titres à hauts dividendes européens, alors qu’il se concentrait auparavant sur la rotation sectorielle, comme son nom l’indiquait. L’encours du produit se situe aujourd’hui à environ 20 millions d’euros. Il a triplé depuis le mois d’octobre, précise un communiqué.