La société de gestion alternative CQS, dirigée par Michael Hintze, a nommé Marc Hotimsky en qualité de chairman, une fonction nouvellement créée, selon un communiqué de la société. En tant que membre senior de l'équipe de management, Marc Hotimsky accompagnera le développement de l’activité de CQS dans la sphère institutionnelle.Marc Hotimsky a cotoyé Michael Hintze chez Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB, 1992-2000), où il travaillait dans le fixed income aux côtés de Michael Hintze. Il a par la suite piloté jusqu’en 2011 les activités de New Finance Capital, une société spécialisée dans les fonds hegde funds et rachetée par Schroders en 2006.Les actifs sous gestion de CQS, qui a lancé son premier hedge fund en 2000, s'élèvent à près de 12 milliards de dollars. L’offre de CQS comprend les produits multi-stratégies, des convertibles, des ABS, du crédit des prêts et des actions. Sur les dix premiers mois de l’année, le CQS Directional Opportunity Fund a gagné 29%, le CQS ABS Fund, 14%, et le CQS Diversified Fund, 9,1%.

Grant Peterkin, co-gérant du fonds Ignis Absolute Return Governement Bond d’Ignis Asset Management, a décidé de quitter la société pour saisir d’autres opportunités en dehors du secteur de la gestion d’actifs, selon des informations d’Investment Week.Le gérant devrait arrêter ses activités au sein d’Ignis avant la fin de l’année. Grant Peterkin avait rejoint Ignis l’an dernier et co-gérait le fonds de performance absolue lancé en mars 2011 et dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à 513,1 milliards de livres.Ignis a indiqué que le remplacement de Grant Peterkin n'était pas envisagé, l'équipe taux étant déjà bien pourvue avec un effectif de huit personnes.

Carlyle Real Estate vient de céder l’ancien immeuble des douanes du 23, rue de l’Université à Paris à un consortium constitué de la filiale d’assurance vie du Crédit Agricole, Predica, et de CNP Assurances, rapporte L’Agefi. Le montant de la transaction s'élèverait à 250 millions d’euros, ont indiqué plusieurs sources confirmant une information du Figaro.

Fidelity Worldwide Investment se propose de lancer un fonds asiatique qui viendra compléter la gamme de stratégies actives de Fidelity (FAST), rapporte Money Marketing.Le nouveau fonds devrait surperformer l’indice MSCI Asie-Pacifique et utiliser du levier et des ventes à découvert pour réduire la volatilité. La gamme FAST de Fidelity compte actuellement six stratégies, un fonds marchés émergents, un fonds Europe, un fonds European Opportunites, un fonds Japon, un fonds Optimised European market neutral et un fonds britannique.

Sergi Pallerola, directeur général de Trea, rejoint le groupe andorran Andbank comme chief global portfolio officer du groupe, rapporte Cotizalia. Il aura donc la responsabilité de l’ensemble de la gestion de portefeuilles avec une équipe de 25 personnes. Il fera également partie du comité de direction d’Andbank.

Wells Fargo Asset Management a augmenté le nombre de fonds qui seront accessibles aux investisseurs suisses, rapporte Investment Europe. Désormais, treize compartiments sont disponibles en Suisse.

Le 26 novembre, DWS Investment lance le fonds à échéance DWS Select Emerging Markets Corporate Bonds 2017, qui a déjà obtenu l’agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne de la part de la BaFin.Il s’agit d’un fonds qui investira principalement en obligations souveraines des pays émergents et en obligations de qualité investissement émises par des sociétés qui, au moment de l'émission, ont leur siège dans les pays émergents ou y réalisent l’essentiel de leur activité.Ce compartiment de la sicav luxembourgeoise DWS Select pourra aussi investir en instruments monétaires ou quasi monétaires.CaractéristiquesDénomination : DWS Select Emerging Markets Corporate Bonds 2017 LDCode Isin : LU0825503302Droit d’entrée : 3 %TFE : 0,90 %

Global Custodian rapporte que Deutsche Bank vient de renforcer ses activités de services dédiés aux fonds récemment créé en annonçant deux nominations. Deborah Thompson, qui a rejoint la banque en mars 2012, est promu global head of sales et rapportera à Olivier De Groot.Robert Coates, qui travaillait précédemment chez Man Investments, devient directeur de l'équipe de vente pour l’Europe, le Moyen-Orient et l’Afrique. Il rapportera pour sa part à Simon Behan, responsable des ventes pour la région.Le département de services dédiés aux fonds de la Deutsche Bank comprend des services administratifs, de conservation et bancaires pour des ETFs, des Ucits, des hedge funds, des fonds de fonds, des fonds de private equity ou investis dans des actifs immobilier et autres instruments d’investissement alternatifs.

La société de gestion britannique Schroders, qui gère 202,8 milliards de livres d'encours, a enregistré un bon début d’année avec des souscriptions nettes de 5,3 milliards de livres sur les neuf premiers mois de 2012. Pour les 5 à 10 ans qui viennent, Massimo Tosato, vice-président exécutif, anticipe un ralentissement de la progression des revenus en Europe. Mais l’Amérique latine et l’Asie, où Schroders est déjà largement présente, et les Etats-Unis, où la société compte investir, devraient servir de relais de croissance.

Selon le dernier rapport de Lipper sur le marché allemand, les promoteurs allemands ont liquidé l’an dernier 112 fonds contre 59 % en 2008 tandis que le nombre de lancements ressortait à 45 contre 333, rapporte Das Investment.A la fin de 2011, Lipper dénombrait 44 % de fonds d’actions, 22 % de fonds diversifiés et 21 % de fonds obligataires sur un total de 8.729 produits bénéficiant d’un agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne. Les dix plus grandes maisons affichaient 2.359 fonds ou 27 % du total, sachant que les deux premiers acteurs étaient Deutsche Bank (316 fonds) et sa filiale DWS (312 fonds).

Avec effet au 2 octobre 2013, DWS Investment GmbH dénonce sa délégation de gestion pour le fonds de fonds immobiliers DWS ImmoFlex Vermögensmandat (Gemischtes Sondervermögen) qui sera liquidé en avril 2015. Il est prévu de redistribuer aux porteurs les liquidités résultant de la cession des actifs au maximum deux fois par an.Le gestionnaire explique que ce fonds (DE000DWS0N09) lancé le 10 août 2008 et affichant un encours de 96,45 millions d’euros (le 22 novembre) était investi dans neuf fonds immobiliers allemands offerts au public. Or tous ces fonds ont suspendu leurs remboursements et huit d’entre eux se trouvent même en liquidation.En outre, la lqiuidité du fonds au 31 octobre était de seulement 11,4 %, un quotient largement insuffisant pour permettre une réouverture du guichet des remboursements qui a été fermé en avril 2012.DWS précise qu'à compter du 1er décembre 2012, elle réduit le TFE de ce produit à 0,1 % contre 0,95 % actuellement.

Dans un entretien avec Funds People, Rafael Valera, directeur des opérations, indique que Banco Madrid, acheté en juillet 2011 par Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA), veut doubler ses actifs gérés en Espagne à 4 milliards d’euros en trois ans.Les recrutements de professionnels vont continuer (40 banquiers privés ont rejoint le groupe en 2012), et la croissance sera prioritairement organique, mais Rafael Valera n’exclut pas quelques nouvelles acquisitions.Les trois filiales de gestion espagnoles, Banco Madrid Gestión, BPA Global Funds et Nordkapp seront fusionnées dans le courant du premier trimestre 2013.

On 26 November, DWS Investment is launching the target date fund DWS Select Emerging Markets Corporate Bonds 2017, which has already received a sales license for Germany from BaFin.The fund will invest primarily in government bonds from emerging countries and investment grade bonds issued by businesses which, at the time of issue, have their headquarters in emerging markets or conduct most of their business there.The sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav DWS Select may also invest in money market or quasi-money market instruments.CharacteristicsName: DWS Select Emerging Markets Corporate Bonds 2017 LD ISIN code: LU0825503302 Front-end fee: 3% TER: 0.90%

The number of asset management firms created in France fell by more than one quarter in 2011 compared with the previous year. In its report on asset management for third parties in 2011, recently published by the French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) on its website, the regulator states that 39 licenses were issued to portfolio management firms, of which nine were to end suspensions. The AMF also withdrew no less than 30 licenses in 2011, as in 2010, which is a high number. 28 were cancelled at the request of asset management firms, of which 15 were due to reorganisations by the parent group, while in six more cases, the closure was due to limited or no management activities. Seven cancellations have been announced without an effective date so far, until documents are supplied for the cases, the AMF states. Lastly two cancellations were announced at the initiative of the regulator, including the closure of the asset management firm Fival S A, on 1 December 2011. In terms of trends, 79% of newly-licensed firms are entrepreneurial structures, a level comparable to previous years (75% in 2009 and 79% in 2010). The AMF also notes a decrease in private equity activities. The firms in question accounted for only 13% in 2011, compared with 36% in 2010. This development is partly due to the Basel III and Solvency II directive, which have reduced the permitted exposure to risk by banks, and a reduction in tax breaks for some products (FCPI, FIP). However, the AMF notes, 15% of firms licensed last year are specialised in real estate management, up 20% year on year. Overall, the market regulatory authority counts 599 existing firms as of December 2011, but a part of the study covered 566 firms, “due to 13 firms in the process of closure and/or liquidation, 6 firms closing before 30 June 2011 for the 2011 fiscal year, and 14 firms which have recently received licenses, whose first day of trading was completed only in 2012.”

Lawrence Kemp, who was head of US large-cap growth at UBS, will join BlackRock on December 10, 2012 to head the firm’s fundamental large cap growth team. He is expected to assume leadership of the BlackRock Capital Appreciation, BlackRock Focus Growth and related Fundamental Large Cap Growth portfolios on January 1, 2013. Jeff Lindsey, current head of the team and portfolio manager for the funds will work with Lawrence Kemp on transitioning the portfolios. Jeff Lindsey announced his decision to leave BlackRock, which will be effective on February 28, 2013.

Effective from 2 October 2013, DWS Investment GmbH is discontinuing its management retainer for the real estate fund of funds DWS ImmoFlex Vermögensmandat (Gemischtes Sondervermögen), which will be liquidated in April 2015. Shareholders will receive liquidity arising from the sale of properties up to two times per year.The management firm explains that the fund (DE000DWS0N09), launched on 10 August 2008, with assets of EUR96.45m (as of 22 November), was invested in nine German open-ended real estate funds. All of these funds have suspended their redemptions, and eight of them are now in liquidation.Liquidity in the fund as of 31 October was only 11.4%, well below what is needed to reopen a redemption window which has been closed since April 2012.DWS states that from 1 December 2012, it is reducing the TER for the product to 0.1%, from 0.95% currently.

Sergi Pallerola, CEO of Trea, is joining the Andorran group Andbank as chief global portfolio officer for the group, Cotizalia reports. He will be responsible for all portfolio management, with a team of 25 people. He will also be part of the board of directors at Andbank.

Wells Fargo Asset Management has increased the number of funds which will be available to Swiss investors, Investment Europe reports. 13 sub-funds are now available in Switzerland.

At a time when the US authorities have postponed Basel III standards, without providing a new time frame, European banks are worried. Their representative federation in Europe, the FBE, on 21 November sent a letter to the European Commission, requesting a one-year delay until 2014 in the introduction of the regulation, which is considered stricter in terms of owners’ equity, the news agency Reuters reports. In the letter, which has been obtained by Reuters, and which was sent to the commissioner of the internal market, Michel Barnier, the FBE claims that European banking establishments would be at a competitive disadvantage if they were required to obey the new owners’ equity requirements before US banks.

Driven by ECB policy actions, long-term UCITS-compliant funds in third quarter posted net inflows of EUR51bn, compared with EUR8bn in second quarter, according to statistics from the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA). Bond funds finished the quarter with net inflows of EUR50bn, compared with EUR42bn in second quarter. Diversifeid funds, which posted outflows in second quarter, posted subscriptions totalling a net EUR10bn. Equity funds saw further outflows, but totalling only EUR9bn, compared with EUR28bn in second quarter. Money market funds finished third quarter with outflows of EUR31bn, while second quarter brought outflows of only EUR1bn. Overall, UCITS funds posted a net inflows of EUR20bn, compared with EUR7bn in second quarter. Assets in UCITS funds increased by 3.7% in third quarter, to total EUR6.174trn as of the end of September. Bond and equity funds gained 5.6% each in the quarter under review. Diversified funds gained 4.5%, while money market funds contracted by 2.5%. Non-UCITS-compliant assets, for their part, gained 3.3% in third quarter, to a total of EUR2.567trn. Inflows to dedicated funds increased further, by EUR16bn, compared with EUR21bn in second quarter, putting assets in these funds up 4.5%.

Fidelity Worldwide Investment is planning to launch an Asia fund, which will come as an addition to the range of Fidelity active strategies (FAST), Money Marketing reports. The new fund is expected to outperform the MSCI Asia-Pacific fund, and use short-selling and leverage to reduce volatility. The FAST range from Fidelity currently includes six strategies, one emerging market fund, one Europe fund, one European Opportunities fund, one Japan fund, one Optimised European market neutral fund and one UK fund.

The French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), on 23 November issued a warning over the activities of the Capital Alliance Ltd company, whose website is the following: www.capitalalliancesltd.com The Capital Alliances Ltd company, which claims to have headquarters at 46 Great Marlborough Street, W1 F7JW, London, United Kingdom, offers French savings investors securities listed on the Frankfurt market and financial investment avising services, largely by telephone. The AMF says that the Capital Alliances Lts company is not licensed to provide investment services or financial investment advising in France. The firm is also not licensed to provide banking or financial transactions, or to receive funds in France. Capital Alliances Ltd is also unrelated to the firm CAPITAL ALLIANCE PARTNER Limited, which is licensed by the FSA.

The ratings agency Standard and Poor’s on 23 November confirmed its rating of AA+ for France, and a negative outlook for the French economy, four days after Moody’s downgraded France.“After a stagnant year in 2012, we predict growth of 0.4% for the French economy in real terms in 2013,” the S&P agency adds. The agency welcomes the determination of the French government to undertake significant budgetary and structural reforms.The socialist government of president François Hollande currently predicts growth of 0.8% in 2013, to reduce the deficit to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP).S&P estimates that the deficit will total 3.5% of GDP in 2013: the difference is due to the fact that the GDP growth outlooks from S&P are lower than the public ones.

Greek bonds have reached peaks (+150% since May), and the Athens stock market is outperforming the Dax (+24% since the beginning of the year. And the incontestable beneficiaries are hedge funds which have been counting on fat profits ever since the European financial stability facility (EFSF) is supposed to buy up Greek bonds, Die Welt reports. The funds have been massively buying up Greek bonds and equities at clearance prices.Among the asset management firms concerned are Greylock Capital, Third Point, Fir Tree Partners and Appaloosa Management.

Global Custodian reports that Deutsche Bank is planning to recruit for its departments dedicated to recently-created funds, and has announced two appointments: Deborah Thompson, who joined the bank in March 2012, is promoted to global head of sales, and will report to Olivier De Groot.Robert Coates, who had previously worked at Man Investments, becomes head of the sales team for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He will report to Simon Behan, head of sales for the region.The department for services dedicated to funds at Deutsche Bank includes administrative services, custody and banking services for ETFs, UCITS, hedge funds, funds of funds, private equity funds, or funds investing in real estate properties or other alternative investment instruments.

The German professional software publisher SAP is planning an initial public offering in China in order to be able to take advantage of the financial resources of one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. SAP is already listed in Germany and New York. “We are considering the possibility of a third listing,” a spokesperson fro the group has said, cited by the news agency Reuters. To do that, SAP would need to wait for China to finalise a planned international segment of the Shanghai stock exchange. The group, which would like to invet USD2bn in China by 2015, has set a goal of earnings in the mid-term of USD1bn in China, where software sales have increased 40% in third quarter, making it the group’s sixth-largest market.

Generali has started up a sale process for its wealth management affiliate BSI, the news agency Bloomberg reports. The Italian insurance group has retained JP Morgan Chase and Mediobanca for the process. Among the potential candidates are the private equity investor Apax Partners and the Canadian bank Royal Bank of Canada. The book value of BSI is repoted to be about EUR2.3bn. Assets under management at BSI totalled CHF81.5bn as of the end of June, up more than 5% compared with the end of 2011.

The Italian asset management firm Beni Stabili Sgr and the German group IVG have created a joint venture in Italy, Bluerating reports. The target is to raise EUR100m by next summer for a pan-European real estate fund aimed at Italian institutional investors. As a part of the agreement, Beni Stabili has acquired 5% of capital in IVG Sgr, which will eventually increase to 49%.

Credit Suisse, which is anticipating sharp growth in ETF trading in Asia, has set up a new market-making system to be made available to the retail online listing segment, to initiate small transactions, Asian Investor reports.

Fidelity is reorganising its activities in Asia. The decision came on Monday, 26 October, with the departure of Arne Lindman, who had served as chairman and CEO for Asia-Pacific. Asian Investor reports that the recent appointment of Mark Talbot as managing director for Asia ex Japan raised questions about potential redundancies. Ultimately the position of CEO for Asia-Pacific has been discontinued by Fidelity, which is seeking to “simplify its structure in the region,” a spokesperson has told Asian Investor.