Créée en 2006 comme filiale commune à 50/50 de la banque publique allemand WestLB (devenue Portigon AG) et de BNY Mellon, WestLB Mellon Asset Management est devenue récemment BNY Mellon Investment Management Holdings (Germany) Limited depuis que le groupe américain a acheté les 50 % détenus par Portigon. Début décembre, cette société de gestion, qui emploie environ 170 personnes et dont les encours se situent à 26 milliards d’euros, prend le nom de Meriten Investment Management GmbH.Werner Taiber, président de la direction générale de Meriten, a précisé que le nom de l’entreprise a été choisi à l’issue de travaux intensifs de recherche et d’analyse. En allemand, il signifie «mérites» et doit souligner que Meriten se focalise sur la création de valeur pour ses clients, remportant au passage de nombreuses distinctions pour la qualité de ses produits.

Le fonds immobilier allemand offert au public CS Euroreal, dont la liquidation d’ici au 30 avril 2017 a été décidée en mai par Credit Suisse Asset Management Immobilien KAG, distribuera le 11 décembre à ses porteurs 4,40 euros par part, soit environ 455 millions d’euros, a indiqué le gestionnaire. La distribution comporte le produit de la vente de deux actifs déjà conclue mais qui reste à finaliser d’ici au 31 décembre.En comptant le premier versement semestriel de juillet 2012, le fonds aura remboursé au total 900 millions d’euros aux investisseurs ainsi que 214 millions d’euros de crédits.Au 15 novembre, l’encours du CS Euroreal se situait encore à environ 5,3 milliards d’euros, avec 97 actifs sur 50 sites dans 11 pays. De nouvelles ventes pour alimenter la distribution programmée de la fin du premier semestre 2013 sont en cours de négociation.

Edward Bramson va quitter la gestion au jour le jour de F&C Asset Management, la société de gestion britannique dont il a pris le contrôle en 2011, alors qu’il se prépare à faire des acquisitions, rapporte Financial News. Il a pour cela levé plus de 200 millions de livres sur l’AIM de Londres via un nouveau véhicule et a obtenu le soutien de George Soros, Ruffer et Jupiter Asset Management.Une source proche de F&C a déclaré à Financial News qu’Edward Bramson va rester président non-exécutif de F&C et prendre un rôle de direction dans le nouveau véhicule. F&C a lancé une recherche pour un nouveau directeur général.

Les premiers fonds au format Ucits gérés par une société de gestion d’Arabie saoudite vont voir le jour à Dublin ce mois-ci, révèle le Financial Times Fund Management. NCB Capital va en effet lancer deux fonds actions investis en Arabie saoudite et dans la région du Conseil de coopération du Golfe, gérés selon les principes de la Charia.

L’américain Van Eck Global a annoncé avoir ajouté six ETF cotés sur NYSE-Arca à la liste de depository receipts sur des ETF de la gamme Market Vectors actuellement disponibles pour les investisseurs qualifiés au Mexique. Le teneur de marché sera Deutsche Securities Casa de Bolsa. Cela porte désormais à 30 le nombre des ETF Market Vectors disponibles pour les investisseurs qualifiés au Mexique.Les nouvelles références sont les suivantes :Market Vectors Intermediate Municipal Index ETF (acronyme: ITM) Encours : USD641,6 millions,Market Vectors High-Yield Municipal Index ETF (Ticker: HYD): USD924,4 millions,Market Vectors Long Municipal Index ETF (MLN): USD106,6 millions, Market Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat Research ETF (MOAT) USD63,4 millions,Market Vectors Mortgage REIT Income ETF (MORT) USD90,2 milllions et Market Vectors Short Municipal Index ETF (SMB) USD175,4 milllions

Une porte-parole de la Banque cantonale de Zurich (BCZ ou ZKB en allemand) a confirmé à finews la création au 1er janvier 2013 d’un département «key clients» pour sa clientèle de particuliers haut de gamme au sein de sa division banque privée.Ce nouveau service s’adressera aux personnes désireuses d’investir au moins 10 millions de francs suisses. Le département «key clients» sera dirigé par Bruno Ammann, qui est actuellement directeur régional de la banque privée pour la région des rives du lac de Zurich.

Après un léger recul en 2011, la fortune cumulée des 300 personnes les plus riches de Suisse est repartie à la hausse. Elle est estimée à 560 milliards de francs, soit 16 milliards de plus que l’année précédente, selon le dernier classement de «Bilan» La hausse de la fortune globale est due pour l’essentiel à 13 des 17 familles à la tête d’un patrimoine supérieur à 6 milliards de francs, explique «Bilan» dans son édition parue le 30 novembre. La grande majorité des plus riches ont vu leur fortune stagner en 2012.Les milliardaires s’en sortent une nouvelle fois le mieux (+44,4 milliards de francs). Le classement de «Bilan» en compte 137, un nombre plutôt stable depuis plusieurs années. Ils détiennent conjointement plus de 480 milliards.Ingvar Kamprad, 86 ans, reste de loin l’homme le plus riche vivant en Suisse. La fortune du Suédois, établi à Epalinges, sur les hauteurs de Lausanne, est estimée entre 38 et 39 milliards de francs, soit une hausse de 3 milliards par rapport à l’an passé.La deuxième place revient à Jorge Lemann avec une fortune de 17 à 18 milliards (+9 milliards). Ce fils d’un fromager de l’Emmental émigré au Brésil a vu croître ses avoirs grâce à la part de 15% qu’il détient dans le numéro un mondial de la bière Anheuser-Busch InBev. Selon «Bilan», il serait le Suisse le plus fortuné du monde. Cet homme d’affaires de 73 ans, qui vit une grande partie de l’année sur les rives du lac de Zurich, fait partie des plus grands acheteurs et revendeurs d’entreprises du monde.Les familles Hoffmann et Oeri, qui contrôlent le géant pharmaceutique bâlois Roche, arrivent en troisième position avec 16 à 17 milliards de francs (+2,8 milliards).A noter l’entrée de Claude Dauphin dans le club très fermé des milliardaires établis en Suisse. Le Français est le cofondateur de l’entreprise de négoce Trafigura, basée à Genève, et qui compte parmi les plus grandes sociétés de Suisse en termes de chiffres d’affaires. Sa fortune est estimée entre 1 et 1,5 milliard de francs. Cela dit, les Suisses dominent largement le classement avec 168 représentants, devant les Français (43) et les Allemands (37).

Peter Schwicht a récemment été promu CEO de JPMorgan Asset Management Europe/Moyen-Orient/Afrique, suite au départ de Jamie Broderick. Le nouveau patron fait le bilan pour Newsmanagers d'une année 2012 sur le point de s'achever, et revient sur les grands défis posés aux asset managers. Notamment réglementaires qui, bien que contraignants, ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives et replacent l'investisseur au cœur du métier.

The first UCITS-format funds managed by a Saudi asset management firm were created in Dublin this month, Financial Times Fund Management reveals. NCB Capital will launch two equity funds to invest in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Co-operation Council region, managed according to the principles of Sharia law.

Changes are happening now, but changes take time. This may be one of the conclusions of a European Solvency II survey by Ernst & Young on the state of progress at insurance companies in implementing the directive.The survey was undertaken in spring 2012 (in 19 European countries, covering 160 insurance companies, with Germany, France (18 companies) and Spain the best-represented), before the meeting of the European Parliament on 18 September this year, at which the European Council and the European Commission raised the possibility of a postponement in the implementation of Solvency II until 1 January 2015, or 2016.This postponement would be welcome insofar as insurance companies overall have made some progress, but are still far from completing the task. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom are the best-prepared, followed closely by Germany, Italy and France. The major players are the furthest along, including the process of validating the internal model, which most of them have already commenced.In terms of preparations for Pillar 1 (quantitative requirements), progress appears satisfactory, with French insurers within the European average, and progress on Pillars 2 (qualitative requirements and control requirements) and 3 (information for the supervisor and the public) lag behind.In terms of Pillar 2, the level of preparation of French insurers is “mitigated, slightly below the European average. French insurers in particular are less advanced then their European counterparts in the areas of risk strategy, remuneration, tolerance for Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA).Pillar 3 overall is less advanced throughout Europe overall, with French insurers this time slightly ahead of their European counterparts.More than one third of French companies surveyed are expecting to comply with the requirements of Solvency II within the year 2013, while the remainder expect to do so in 2014. Nearly 90% of European insurers are planning to be in compliance by 1 January 2015. “This vision appears to be a target rather than a realistic evaluation in light of the work remaining to be done,” Ernst & Young estimates.

Peter Schwicht has recently been promoted to CEO at JPMorgan Asset Management Europe/Middle East/Africa, following the departure of Jamie Broderick. The new head sums up the year 2012 as it nears its end for Newsmanagers, and discusses the major challenges asset managers are facing. Regulatory issue may be restrictive, but they open new prospects and put the investor back at the heart of the profession.

Irving Picard, who this year returned USD2.4bn to investors fleeced by Bernad Madoff, is asking a bankruptcy court to award a payment of USD61.7m to his firm Baker & Hostetler and to himself, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bill is supposedly to pay for 197,055 hours of labour between 1 February and 20 June 2012. Picard is also seeking USD1m in reimbursement for expenses.

Edward Bramson will be ceasing day-to-day management at F&C Asset Management, the British asset management firm of which it took control in 2011, at a time when it is preparing to make acquisitions, Financial News reports. For that, it has raised more than GBP200m on the AIM In London via a new vehicle, and has obtained the support of George Soros, Ruffer and Jupiter Asset Management. A source close to F&C has told Financial News that Bramson will remain as non-executive chairman of F&C, and will take a management role in the new vehicle. F&C has initiated a search for a new CEO.

The Italian asset management firm Arca is launching a target-date bond fund, Arca Cedola Bomd 2017 Alto Potenziale VI, Blurating reports. It invests in bonds issued by euro zone countries and supra-national issuers, in corporate bonds and well-rated ABS, and in bonds from emerging sovereign issuers who may have a ratings lower than investment grade. The fund will be distributed by FinecoBank, Banca Mps, Banca Ipibi, Bper, Veneto Banca, Banca Popolare di Sondrio and Banca Popolare di Vicenza.

Invesco PowerShares Capital Management on 28 November announced that from 21 November it has cut the total expense ratio (TER) for six of its ETFs, four of which use fundamental weighting to replicate FTSE RAFI Indices, and two strategy products using S&P indices.They are the following funds:FTSE RAFI Developed Markets ex-U.S. Portfolio (acronym PXF) Former TER: 0.75%, now 0.45% FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets Portfolio (PXH) Former TER: 0.85%, now 0.49%FTSE RAFI Asia Pacific ex-Japan Portfolio (PÄF) Former TER: 0.80%, now 0.49%FTSE RAFI Developed Markets ex-U.S. Small-Mid Portfolio (PDN) Former TER: 0.75%, now 0.49%S&P International Developed High Quality Portfolio (IDHQ) Former TER: 0.75%, now 0.45%S&P 500 High Quality Portfolio (SPHQ) Former TER: 0.50%, now 0.29%.

A burst of optimism about the likelihood of US lawmakers cobbling together some kind of budget deal before a raft of spending cuts and tax increases kick in, saw investor attention shift to the biggest economy. During the fourth week of November EPFR Global-tracked US equity funds attracted over USD10 billion in net inflows, their best showing in more than a year. Overall, EPFR Global-tracked equity funds recorded inflows of USD14.86 billion during the week ending Nov. 28 -- their second highest total year-to-date -- while bond funds took in a net USD5.17 billion and money market funds USD5.87 billion.

Hedge fund capital invested in emerging markets globally expanded to USD127.8 billion, an increase of +8.5 percent YTD 2012, according to the latest HFR Emerging Markets Industry Report. Meanwhile, the number of hedge funds investing in emerging markets increased to 1,085, an increase of +4.8 percent YTD through 3Q12 to a record high. The HFRX Emerging Markets Composite Index has gained +5.3 percent YTD through October, with positive contributions from all constituent regions. The volatile HFRX India Index gained over +12.0 percent in 3Q and over 20 percent YTD, topping the gain of the Sensex 30.

WestLB Mellon Asset Management, founded in 2006 as a 50/50 joint venture of the German public sector bank WestLB (which has become Portigon AG) and BNY Mellon, has recently become BNY Mellon Investment Management Holdings (Germany) Limited, since the US group acquired the 50% controlled by Portigon. At the beginning of December, the asset management firm, which employs about 170 people and whose assets total EUR26bn, has adopted the name Meriten Investment Management GmbH.Werner Taiber, chairman of the board at Meriten, states that the name of the business was selected following intensive research and analysis work. In German, it means “merits,” and is intended to mean that Meriten focuses on the creation of value for clients, bringing in many prizes for the quality of its products.

Andreas Schmid, director of wholesale for Germany at Fidelity Investments, has joined Pimco as vice president in charge of clients in the global wealth management Germany and Austria team, led by Marco Grzesik.Erik Crawford, for his part, is leaving his position as head of multi-asset management at HQ Trust to become vice president in charge of clients in the institutional account management team at Pimco, also for Germany and Austria.

Daniel Phillipson, senior vice president, product management, est venu récemment à Paris pour promouvoir l’Unconstrained Bond Fund, un produit de droit irlandais lancé par Pimco en décembre 2008 et qui affichait fin octobre un encours de 8,3 milliards de dollars, dont 2 milliards de souscriptions nettes depuis le début de cette année.Si le gestionnaire constate une «demande croissante» pour ce produit, «adopté déjà par des investisseurs institutionnels et des distributeurs», la France n’est manifestement pas encore le marché où ce fonds obligataire coordonné a connu le plus de succès alors qu’il affiche une performance de 7 % depuis le début de l’année, pour la part en euros couverte du risque de change (8 % pour celle en dollars). Le spécialiste produit a expliqué à Newsmanagers que la gestion très active du fonds (avec plusieurs centaines de lignes), dirigée par Chris Dialynas «se focalise sur le risque et sur résultat plutôt que sur un indice». Le fonds peut investir dans le monde entier sur toutes les classes obligataires et les devises. Le portefeuille peut être au maximum long de 8 ans et court de trois en duration et, historiquement, la volatilité du produit a été inférieure à 3 %. Comme argument supplémentaire, Daniel Phillipson souligne que ce portefeuille affiche une corrélation basse avec le haut rendement et négative avec les actions.

BlackRock has appointed Bart Geer as principal manager of its UCITS-compliant US large cap fund BGF US Basic Value, Citywire reports. Bart Geer, who joined BlackRock in summer, in this role replaces Kevin Rendino, who is retiring. The BGF US Basic Value fund, whose assets under management total USD1.1bn, in the past three years has earned returns of 44.34%, compared with 65.21% in the same period for the S&P 500 TR.

The US firm Van Eck Global has announced that it has added six ETFs listed on NYSE-Arca to the list of depository receipts for ETFs of the Market Vectors range now available to qualified investors in Mexico. The market maker will be Deutsche Securities Casa de Bolsa. This brings the number of Market Vectors ETFs available to qualified investors in Mexico to 30.The new listings are the following:Market Vectors Intermediate Municipal Index ETF (acronym: ITM) Assets: USD641.6mMarket Vectors High-Yield Municipal Index ETF (Ticker: HYD): USD924.4mMarket Vectors Long Municipal Index ETF (MLN): USD106.6mMarket Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat Research ETF (MOAT) USD63.4mMarket Vectors Mortgage REIT Income ETF (MORT) USD90.2m, andMarket Vectors Short Municipal Index ETF (SMB) USD175.4m

La Suisse refuse toute nouvelle concession sur l’accord fiscal avec l’Allemagne, a prévenu la présidente de la Confédération Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, dans un entretien paru le 2 décembre dans l’hebdomadaire allemand «Der Spiegel». Le texte a été rejeté il y a huit jours par la chambre haute du Parlement allemand. «De nouvelles concessions ne sont pas envisageables», a-t-elle dit au journal. «L’Allemagne et la Suisse ont négocié un contrat équitable et juste, avantageux pour les deux parties et pour lequel des concessions ont dû être faites de part et d’autre. Ce sera cet accord et pas un autre», a mis en garde Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

The Swiss UBS group is reportedly very close to reaching an agreement with the US and British authorities int eh Libor manipulation scandal. UBS may pay a fine of over USD450m to settle the case, according to the New York Times, citing sources familiar with the matter.A spokesperson for the major Swiss bank declined to comment on the news, but confirmed that UBS is well on the way to completing talks with US and British authorities.

The Swiss Federal financial market surveillance authority (Finma) at the beginning of last week published a statement on the consequences of a verdict by e Federal court in late October in the commission case. The five-page document leaves no doubt: commissions are subject to a requirement that they be repaid to the client. “Agent’s commissions retained by banks in their role as wealth managers belong to the client,” Finma writes, summarizing the verdict of the Federal court.The Federal court has found in favour of a claim from a UBS client, and has cited a 2006 precedent in the area of commissions. Banks will not be allowed to retain commissions except when they have a declaration from the client allowing it. As a result, Finma is now requiring banks concerned to take four actions: first, they must immediately adjust their current activities to reflect the decision of the Federal court. Secondly, banks must contact all potential clients who may have been affected, to make them aware of the verdict of the court.Thirdly, banks must inform clients of their service at the bank who may need to provide them with further clarifications on these repayment obligations. Lastly, clients are entitled to be informed on request about the amounts of commissions which they may be repaid.

Following the resignation of Jennifer Young, who will remain as a consultant during the transition, Intech Investment Management has promoted CIO Adrian Banner to CEO. Young had herself been promoted to chairman and CEO in January 2012. Intech, an affiliate of Janus Capital managed independently, has assets of USD41.9bn.

U.S. prime money market funds (MMFs) increased their exposure to Eurozone banks, although the fund holdings still remain well below mid-2011 levels, according to Fitch Ratings. As of end-October, MMF holdings of Eurozone banks were 13%, a 24% increase on a dollar basis since end-September 2012. French bank exposure also rose and represents 5% of MMF assets, the highest level since end-October 2011. Fitch notes that MMF Eurozone bank exposure remains approximately 63% below end-May 2011 allocations, with French bank exposures more than 70% below past levels. Fitch believes several factors are likely to inhibit a full return to past allocations, including European banks’ diminished desire for this form of short-term, potentially volatile wholesale funding. Furthermore, new Basel III liquidity rules will constrain banks’ use of short-term funding. The 15 largest exposures to individual banks collectively represent 43% of total MMF assets, with only two Eurozone institutions on the list, including Societe Generale, which enters the top 15 for the first time since end-July 2011. Australian, Canadian and Japanese banks continue to represent the majority of names within the top 15.

The pension fund for California teachers, CalSTRS, on 29 November announced the launch of a joint venture with the Sarofim Realty Advisors company, which will be dedicated to urban real estate. Engagements to the joint venture may total as much as USD250m. The website IP Real Estate reports that CalSTRS in third quarter realised USD400m in investments in real estate strategies and student residences. CalSTRS has invested USD100m in the Invesco Core Real estate USA fund, an open-ended fund with USD3.8bn in assets, managed by Invesco Real Estate. Assets under management at CalSTRS as of the end of October totalled USD154.8bn.

Virtu Financial has submitted a bid for the ETF market maker Knight Capital Group, which rivals the one launched by Getco. Virtu is offering an entirely cash transaction which values Knight at USD3 per share, while Getco is offering USD3.50 in case for about half of the shares in Knight, plus shares in the new entity emerging from the merger, according to Indexuniverse, citing the Wall Street Journal.

Bond issues denominated in Chinese yuan on the Hong Kong market, or “dim sum bonds,” currently appear to be becoming popular with investors again, Les Echos reports. In November, these bonds hit a four-month high. International groups in particular appear to be won over by the bonds once again, as they have raised CNY5.4bn for this class in November, compared with CHF1.2bn in October. This rebound in interest owes much to conjuncture, as China publishes statistics nearly every week which point to a stabilisation, or a real rebound in its economy this autumn.