Henderson Global Investors vient de renforcer son équipe sur l’immobilier retail en Allemagne avec le recrutement de Kathrin Andres en tant que gérante senior. Elle sera basée à Francfort et sera responsable de la gestion d’actifs sur tous les portefeuilles retail allemands. Elle vient de Cushman & Wakefield.

Directeur de la gestion de portefeuille depuis 2007, Peter Flöck vient d'être promu comme membre de lu comité de direction du gestionnaire allemande Universal-Investment. Il y serait chargé du développement de la gestion de portefeuille, du pilotage du risqué, de la gestion overlay et des produits suivant un cahier des charges particulier.La gestion de portefeuilles représente chez Universal un encours d’environ 11 milliards d’euros, soit 2 milliards d’euros de plus qu’il y a deux ans.

La société de gestion suédoise East Capital, spécialiste des marchés émergents, vient de signer les Principes pour l’investissement responsable des Nations Unies.Louise Hedberg, responsable de la gouvernance au sein de la société, explique que la prise en compte des critères ESG (environnementaux, sociaux et de gouvernance) va aider East Capital à prendre de meilleures décisions d’investissement, «ce qui nous l’espérons se traduira par des rendements à long termes plus attrayants pour les clients». Elle ajoute que East Capital pratique déjà l’exclusion, en n’investissant pas dans des entreprises générant une part important de leurs chiffres d’affaires avec la fabrication et la vente d’armes, de tabac ou de produits pornographiques. Concernant les critères ESG, plutôt que d’exclure les sociétés qui sont à la traîne, East Capital préfère entamer un dialogue afin de susciter des améliorations.

Sur un peu plus de 700 fonds présents sur le marché suédois, 89 gèrent moins de 100 millions de couronnes suédoises (soit 11,6 millions d’euros), selon le quotidien économique scandinave Dagens Industri. Or, pour qu’un fonds soit rentable, ses encours doivent être cinq fois plus élevés que cela, indique Jonas Lindmarker, de Morningstar.Dagens Industri publie la liste de ces 89 fonds qui représentent moins de 100 millions de couronnes d’encours et qui donc risqueraient d’être fermés, comme cela a été le cas récemment pour plusieurs produits.

Avec le iShares Global Government AAA-AA Capped Bond (acronyme SAAA), iShares vient de lancer le 3 octobre son douzième ETF en Europe. C’est un produit d’obligations gouvernementales des meilleures signatures qui a été admis à la cotation sur la Bourse de Londres (LSE) le 4 octobre et qui investit en obligations à taux fixe en monnaies locales émises par les Etats de pays développé du monde entier notes au moins AA3 par Fitch, Moody’s ou S&P. Il s’agit d’un produit de droit irlandais à replication physique et le portefeuille ne pourra être investi à plus de 20 % dans un seul pays. L’indice répliqué couvre 19 pays et 13 monnaies.CaractéristiquesDénomination : iShares Global Government AAA-AA Capped BondCode Isin : IE00B87G8S03TFE : 0,20 %

With the Hamburg-based family office Honestas Finanzmanagement, the Frankfurt-based asset management firm Universal-Investment has launched a mandate fund, FO Vermögensverwalterfonds, which offers retail clients a wrapper managed by the best independent financial managers, under financial conditions which had previously been reserved for institutional clients. The selection of managers is made by a systematic process developed by Honestas.The first two management firms in the portfolio are Aramea Asset Management for a bond mandate (corporates, high yield, subordinated or convertible bonds) and Flossbach von Storch (equities and precious metals).CharacteristicsName: FO VermögensverwalterfondsISIN code: DE000A1JZLG8 Front-end fee: Maximum 5%Management commission: currently 1.4%Performance commission: 10% of performance exceeding a hurdle rate of 4%, with high watermark

In line with its niche strategy, Axiom Alternative Investments on 4 October unveiled its new investment vehicle, Axiom CEF UCITS, an absolute return fund which will be the fist arbitrage fund of closed-end funds (CEFs) to comply with UCITS IV regulations. The 100% market neutral fund aims to trade on undervaluations (or premiums) in the net asset value of closed-end funds, and offers weekly liquidity. The fund invests solely in liquid CEFs, and has a performance objective of 8% (after fees), with low volatility (5%). It has a track record of more than 13 years, including 12 years of gains. The fund earns its returns from volatility in undervaluations (or premiums), without respect to their absolute levels. Each position is systematically and individually hedged via futures, ETFs, equities, and forex. The fund will be managed by Sean Hurst and John McCulloch, who joined Axiom Alternative Investments in March 2012 to develop and manage the CEF volatility arbitrage activity, and who have more than 15 years of experience in this segment. The fund’s capacity is about EUR100m. Major characteristics of the fund ISIN code: FR0011220326 Currency: EUR Legal format: French-registered common investment fund (FCP) AMF classification: Diversified Date of creation: 1 August, 2012 Management fee: Maximum 2% including all taxes Outperformance fee: 20%, including all taxes, of performance exceeding a mutual performance of +3% Front-end fee: maximum 1% Early withdrawal penalty: none Valuation: Weekly Date of settlement: 3 days after

IndexIQ on 4 October launched a hedge fund ETF, the IQ Hedge Market Neutral Tracker ETF. The ETF will offer exposure to the performance of market neutral hedge funds.

The 1004th ETF listed on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform from Deutsche Börse (this number had previously been reached on 22 August) is the SPDR S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF from State Street Global Advisors (SsgA). It is an equity fund, which tracks an index that replicates the evolution of 100 companies of the S&P 500 with the lowest volatility.CharacteristicsName: SPDR S&P 500 Low Volatility ETFISIN code: IE00B802KR88Benchmark: S&P 500 Low Volatility IndexTER: 0.35%

Muzinich & Co on 4 October announced the release in France of a long/short strategy high yield corporate bond fund, the LongShortCreditYield, launched on 19 June 2012, which has recently received a license from the French financial market authority, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). The LongShortCreditYield fund invests primarily in high yeld corporate bonds, and follows a long/short strategy. The sub-fund has a long bias. It is the 7th sub-fund of the UCITS IV-compliant unit trust Muzinich Funds, licensed in several countries, including France. The Long/Short High Yield Corporate Credit strategy, which has been applied for eight years as mandate managed by Muzinich & Co, has since its inception generated higher returns than the MuzinichAmericayield fund, which invests primarily in bond issues in US dollars with a BB/B rating. Like the mandate, the objective of the LongShortCreditYield fund is to maximise returns, regardless of market conditions, by combining in a single portfolio high yield bonds, short strtegies and arbitrage. The strategy is based on four key areas: long positions on high yield bonds with a neutral maturity of 3 to 4 years, bonds with short maturities, short positions, and arbitrage. The choice of allocation will be based on the conviction of the management team within a range preset in a rigorous control and risk management procedure. Gross exposure will vary between 100% and 200% of assets, depending on market conditions, with maximal leverage of 100%. The LongShortCreditYield fund is managed within the constraints applicable to UCITS products. For management it may use a total return swap (TRS) as well as credit default swaps (CDS), which are thus subject to counterparty risks. Assets in the LongShortCreditYield fund currently total USD50m. Major characteristics of the fund Legal format: Sub-fund of the UCITS-compliant Irish trust Muzinich Funds, licensed in France Benchmark currency: USD – capitalisation shares in euros and USD are available Hedge Euro Accumulation Units : Isin IE00B85Q587 Hedge USD Accumulation Units : Isin IE00B85QD60 Liquidity: Weekly, with 7 working day advance notice for redemptions Management fees 1% + 10% of outperformance, with high watermark

Janus Capital International Limited, the international arm of Janus Capital Group Inc., has launched the Janus Global Flexible Income Fund. The Fund, which is co-managed by portfolio managers Gibson Smith, Darrell Watters and Chris Diaz, will utilise a fundamentally driven process focused on credit-oriented investments around the world, in both investment grade and high yield. The primary benchmark is Barclays Capital Global Aggregate Bond Index.

Investment fund assets worldwide increased by 2.7 percent during the second quarter to stand at EUR 21.42 trillion at end June 2012, according to the latest quarterly international statistical release published today by the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA). In U.S. dollar terms, worldwide investment fund assets decreased 3.2 percent during the quarter to USD 26.96 trillion. This difference reflects the appreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis the euro during the quarter. Total net inflows into investment funds during the quarter amounted to EUR 99 billion, down from EUR 193 billion in the previous quarter. This decrease can be attributed to a decline in net inflows to bond funds, which have fallen to EUR121bn, compared with EUR169bn in first quarter, and to balanced funds, which have posted subscriptions totalling only EUR2bn, compared with EUR44bn. Equity funds recorded the fourth consecutive quarter of net outflows registering net withdrawals of EUR 14 billion, up from EUR 6 billion of net outflows in the first quarter. Net inflows to long-term funds (all funds excluding money market funds) decreased during the quarter to EUR 141 billion, from EUR 248 billion in the first quarter. Money market funds experienced reduced net outflows during the second quarter of EUR 42 billion, compared to EUR 55 billion in the first quarter of 2012. The United States registered reduced net withdrawals of EUR 53 billion during the quarter, compared to EUR 83 billion in the first quarter. Europe registered net outflows of EUR 1 billion, compared to net inflows of EUR 22 billion in the previous quarter.

Funds People reports that the Luxembourg Sicav of the US firm Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), including the sub-funds BBH Cores Select, BBH International Equity, BBH Broad Market and BBH Money Market, has been licensed for sale in Spain by the CNMV.

Peter Flöck, who has been director of portfolio management since 2007, has been promoted to become a member of the board of directors at the German asset management firm Universal-Investment. He will be responsible for the development of portfolio management, risk management, overlay management, and products which follow particular specifications.Portfolio management at Universal represents assets of about EUR11bn, or EUR2bn more than two years ago.

Henderson Global Investors has strengthened its retail real estate team in Germany, with the recruitment of Kathrin Andres as senior manager. She will be based in Frankfurt, and will be responsible for asset management for all German retail portfolios. She joins from Cushman & Wakefield.

The German asset management firm Pfeiffer-Vacuum Technology has announced in a market statement that on 25 September it received a notification that the US firm Ameriprise Financial (parent company of the asset management firms Threadneedle and Columbia) has passed the 3% voting right threshold, with 3.04%.

Bury Street Capital, a London-based distributor, whose clients include pension funds and wealth managers throughout Europe, have signed a distribution agreement with the US firm Federated Investors (138 funds, USD355.9bn in assets) to sell existing or future UCITS-compliant products from Federated.In an initial phase, Bury Street Capital will promote and distribute three bond strategies (Federated Emerging Markets Global Debt Fund, Federated U.S. Total Return Bond Fund and Federated High Income Advantage Fund), with new share classes to be launched by the end of fourth quarter, pending a license from the Irish central bank. In addition, the British firm will sell the Federated Strategic Value Equity Fund.

The growth of European socially responsible investments has been stronger than the broader asset management market growth, according to a new study by Eurosif, the European Forum for Sustainable Investment. Among the seven SRI strategies identified by the European association, the one which has seen the strongest growth in assets under management is norm-based screening, which involves avoiding companies which have violated international rules, with an increase by 137% between 2009 and 2011, to EUR2.346trn in assets under management. Exclusions and best-in-class practices have seen increases in assets of 119% and 113%, respectively. The most popular strategies remain exclusions practices, which have EUR3.829trn in assets, and ESG integration, with EUR3.204trn. This is followed by based-norm screening, engagement/voting (EUR1.95trn), best-in-class (EUR283bn), and sustainability-themed investments (EUR48bn). The last strategy used is impact investing, for the first time, with estimated assets of EUR8.75bn. The market remains more than ever driven by institutional investors while legislative action is perceived as the second most important market driver for the coming years.According to the study, the main driver for SRI demand continues to be demand from institutional investors. Institutional assets represent 94% of the market today against 92% in 2009. Since the last study in 2009, legislative drivers have jumped from fifth to second rank in importance. Focus on the role and behavior of investors and financial markets by national and EU legislators is the likely reason of this as several regulators make moves to safeguard Europe from future financial turbulence caused by short-sighted behavior and restore a path to economic growth. In terms of asset allocation, SRI continues to be dominated by bonds (51%, compared with 53% in 2009), while the proportion of equities remains 33%. The proportion of hedge funds and private equity, for their part, have decreased, in favour of money market assets. Beyond the European averages, Eurosif notes that national markets are continuing to diverge considerably in terms of growth, practices, asset allocation and clients. “There is not a homogeneous SRI market in Europe,” the association points out.

East Capital became a signatory of the United Nations-backed Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI). Louise Hedberg, who is head of corporate governance at East Capital, explains why signing PRI is an important step. “We believe that developing our investment process to consider relevant and material ESG factors will help us reach more well informed investment decisions, which hopefully will translate into even more attractive long term returns for our clients. East Capital already has certain exclusion criteria in place which means that we do not invest in any companies known to generate a significant part of their revenues from producing or selling weapons, tobacco or pornographic products. Rather than exclude companies that are lagging in ESG issues, East Capital prefers to initiate a dialogue to try to induce improvements and build readiness.”

Of slightly over 700 funds which are sold on the Swedish market, 89 have less than SEK100m (or EUR11.6m) in assets, according to the Scandinavian economic newspaper Dagens Industri. For a fund to be profitable, its assets much be five times higher than that, says Jonas Lindmarker of Morningstar. Dagens Industri publishes a list of 89 funds which have less than SEK100m in assets, and which therefore are at risk of being closed, as several products recently were.

Falcon Private Bank is developing its activities in London. The Zurich-based wealth management firm controlled by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has acquired the affiliate Clariden Leu (Europe), based in the British capital, from Credit Suisse. The sale price has not been disclosed. Formerly Clariden Leu Asset Management UK, the London-based firm as of the end of August had assets under management of CHF2bn. The bank, which is active in wealth management in the ultra-high net worth client category, has 37 employees, including 22 financial advisers and 10 investment professionals. The sale marks one of the final steps in the integration of the Zurich-based Clariden Leu establishment into Credit Suisse. As part of that process, which is expected to be completed this year, the second-largest Swiss bank has already sold the business unit of Clariden Ley dedicated to investment products associated with insurance policies, in March this year, to its rival, Liechtenstein-based LGT group. Clariden Leu is one of the largest private banks in Switzerland.. It was born of a merger in 2007 between five wealth management units of Credit Suisse: Clariden, the Lu bank, Bank Hofmann, Banca de Gestione Patrimoniale, and Credit Suisse Fides.

Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild SA announces today that its subsidiary in Lugano, Banca Privata Edmond de Rothschild Lugano SA, has submitted a binding offer to the shareholders of Sella Bank AG, Lugano, for the acquisition of its entire share capital. This offer has been accepted. Negotiations will begin within the next few days to enter into a sales agreement that will be submitted to the Swiss financial regulator for approval.

In June, Lloyds TSB Private Banking moved its back office (300 people) from Axacias to Eysins, also in Switzerland. “Switzerland remains very important for Lloyds,” says Russell Galley. “The investment we are making in Eysins is the proof of that.” For the bank, which particularly tragets British expatriates and anglophile clients, the country has the advantage of being close to London. In relation to the declared end of banking confidentiality, Galley feels that it makes the strengths of the Swiss market its history, expertise and knowledge, he explains, and not banking confidentiality. Although several branch offices have been closed in recent months, particularly in South America, and assets have decreased from GBP14.3bn to GBP12.1bn between June 2011 and June 2012, Galley promises that the bank “has no intention to sell its Swiss entity.”

Mutual Fund Wire reports that it has received a filing from Dai-Ichi Life Insurance to the SEC that the Japanese insurer acquired a further 1.5 million shares in the US asset management firm Janus on Monday, 1 October, or USD14.5m, which increases the stake of Dai-ichi by one percentage point. In a separate notification, Dai-Ichi has confirmed that it holds 28 million Janus shares, equivalent to 14% of ordinary capital.Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company announced its intention to acquire 15% to 20% of the US asset management firm Janus Capital Group as part of a strategic alliance signed on 10 August (see Newsmanagers of 13 August).

Six months after starting up, the asset management firm Russell Investments France has EUR300m in assets, while assets under management in France by the group, which has been present in the country since 1994, total EUR3bn.The French-registered asset management firm (11 professionals) has three French-registered dedicated multi-asset FCP products and a multi-asset class FCPE. Since its inception, Russell Investments France has already won mandates to manage two international strategies from a wealth manager, for a total of EUR60m, a statement says.

The reality of climate change has become a profound conviction for the majority of the population, which also estimates that the insurance sector has a role to play in fighting this development. According to a study undertaken by the AXA group with Ipsos in 13 countries worldwide, 61% of respondents estimate that insurers are responsible for limiting climate change risks. This figure is as high as 78% in Hong Kong, 69% in Turkey, and 65% in Italy. The study finds that 57% of respondents also feel that insurance companies can help people to adapt to the consequences of climate change. This opinion is most widespread in countries which are most concerned: 75% of Turkish respondents hold this opinion, as do 71% of Mexicans and 67% of Indonesians. For respondents, this responsibility is related to several actions tied to the core profession of insurers: offering new insurance products, inciting behaviour which is more respectful of the environment, and to initiate partnerships in collaboration with local and national authorities. AXA Has also published a report on climate change risks, which lays out knowledge of these risks and their probable evolution. It also presents tools available to insurers to evaluate these risks and the role that the insurance sector can play in bringing about responses to these challenges. This is the fourth report from AXA, following reports on Longevity, Retirement and Dependency. The documents are part of an initiative by the group to share its expertise on major developments in our society.

Touchstone Investments has awarded a mandate for accounting, administration, transfer agency and blue sky services for four more mutual funds to BNY Mellon. This brings the number of mutual funds entrusted to BNY Mellon by Touchstone to 58. Their assets represent USD13.7bn, for 250,000 client accounts.Currently, BNY Mellon provides accounting and administration services for 107 ranges of funds, including 1,700 products whose assets total USD1.37trn.

With the iShares Global Government AAA-AA Capped Bond fund (acronym SAAA), iShares on 3 October launched its twelfth ETF in Europe. It is a fund of government bonds with top ratings, which was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on 4 October, and which invests in fixed-rate bonds in local currencies issued by governments of developed countries worldwide rated at least AA3 by Fitch, Moody’s or S&P. It is an Irish-registered physical replication product, and the portfolio may not invest more than 20% in any single country. The index replicated includes 19 countries and 14 currencies.CharateristicsName: iShares Global Government AAA-AA Capped BondISIN code: IE00B87G8S03TER: 0.20%

The Finnish asset management firm FIM has launched two funds: FIM Orient Alpha, which invests in Asia absolute return funds, and FIM Top Yield, which invests in bond markets worldwide. The two products were launched on 28 September 2012.

Selon nos informations, April a retenu un nouveau sous jacent, en l’occurence un fonds long short actions dans le cadre d’un OPCVM dédié sur les actions dont la gestion est assurée par la BFT, et conseillé par Morningstar. BDL Capital Management sera le gérant du fonds long short equity au format UCITS, géré de manière discrétionnaire.