According to statistics from the VÖIG association of asset management firms, assets in Austrian funds as of the end of August were down to EUR138.1bn, compared with EUR142.6bn as of the end of July.This total is EUR6.9bn, or 4.76% lower than the total as of the end of December (EUR145bn), which in turn was higher than the EUR136.7bn total as of the end of 2009 and EUR126bn as of the end of 2008. As of the end of 2007, assets under management totalled EUR163.7bn.However, assets had increased to EUR145.1bn as of February 2011.

Under the title “Sombre month for hedge funds in August,” Edhic-Risk sums up the situation well, observing in its monthly newsletter that most strategies were negatively affected by the drop on the equities markets. Of the 13 categories of hedge funds regulatory monitored, only dedicated short bias, which made an average of 6.97%, and CTA Global, which gained 0.27%, had positive results.However, long/short equity and distressed securities made losses of 4.07% and 4.08%, respectively.Eight strategies out of 13 were in positive territory for the first eight months of the year, with dedicated short bias leading the pack at 5.2%, followed by fixed income arbitrage (+3.8%). Categories showing a loss for the year were led by emerging markets (-3.7%) and long/short equity (-3.2%).

The index provider Dow Jones Indexes on 20 September announced the launch of eight new indices, a sign of the firm’s interest in Europe. The products are focused on dividends and real estate, and come as additions to the new European indices launched by the firm on 13 September (Dow Jones Europe Volatility Risk Control Indexes and Dow Jones Eurozone Volatility Risk Control Indexes), and two large caps indices launched on 20 June (Dow Jones Europe Titans 80 Index and Dow Jones Eurozone Titans 80 Index).The new products are as follows:• Dow Jones Europe Select Dividend 30 Index,• Dow Jones Eurozone Select Dividend 30 Index,• Dow Jones Europe Select Dividend 30 Distributing Index,• Dow Jones Eurozone Select Dividend 30 Distributing Index,• Dow Jones France Select Dividend 20 Distributing Index,• Dow Jones Germany Select Dividend 20 Distributing Index• Dow Jones Europe Developed Markets Select Real Estate Securities Index and. Dow Jones Europe Developed Markets Select REIT Index.

Le Fonds de Pension de Ford Motor Company Belgique (85 millions d’euros) est actuellement en train de conduire une étude ALM pour revoir sa stratégie d’investissement. Le consultant en actuariat Conac assiste le Fonds de Pension dans cette démarche. Le Fonds a aussi décidé de réduire, à court terme, son exposition aux actions passant de 45/50% à un maximum de 30%. En début d’année, alors que le Fonds de Pension a perdu de son volume à cause de nombreux départs à la retraite de ses bénéficiaires, l’allocation d’actifs était composée de 80% en obligations et 20% en actions. L’actuelle composition de portefeuille est de 45% en actions, 55% en obligations et 5% en immobilier.

Lors de la conférence Aberdeen du 20 septembre, Michel Manteau, Responsable de la gestion Taux de la CARMF s’est déclaré peu inquiet concernant une résurgence de l’inflation à court terme, sauf manifestation d’un risque systémique. Sur le moyen terme, l’inflation ne se décrète pas, ni la productivité, a rappelé Michel Manteau, citant Alan Greenspan qui, à son époque, ne craignait pas la hausse des prix sachant qu’il avait confiance dans la capacité productive de l'économie américaine. La question à laquelle il faudra répondre, selon Michel Manteau, est plutôt de savoir que vaut la monnaie dans un contexte de risque systémique? La CARMF gère ses actifs sur le long terme puisque l’horizon d’investissement est de 30 ans. Sur la thématique de l’inflation, la CARMF avait fait le choix d’investir sur des gestions benchmarkées sur des indices larges. Dans un souci de diversification, la CARMF a désormais introduit des gestions actives sur l’obligataire en privilégiant les stratégies de portage du fait de la hausse des taux réels. Les actifs réels tels que les matières premières (or, agriculture) sont aussi des composantes de l’allocation de la CARMF visant à protéger de la hausse des prix. Michel Manteau définit l’objectif de performance du portefeuilles d’actifs de la CARMF en prenant pour référence l’inflation + 3%. Le portefeuille global de la CARMF s’est élevé à 5,1 milliards d’euros en valeur boursière fin 2010, se répartissant de la façon suivante : les obligations, la trésorerie dynamique, l’indexé sur l’inflation 19,96 %, les actions 50,72 %, les obligations convertibles 11,38 %, les Sicav monétaires 11,60 % et la gestion diversifiée 1,18 %. L’alternatif représente 5,16 % (dont 1,89 % de gestion alternative actions).

Ten years after its launch, the French asset management firm Sycomore Asset Management, a specialist in euro zone equities, is seeking to diversify its client base, with independent financial advisers and foreign markets.Currently, 90% of the firm’s assets of nearly EUR2bn are managed for institutional investors, mostly French, which also include funds of funds, private banks, and family offices. Pure institutionals, such as pension funds, represent 70% of assets. A 5-member sales team is dedicated to this market.In order to develop IFA clients, the firm launched a flexible fund slightly over a year ago, the Sycomore Allocation Patrimoine fund, managed by Stanislas de Bailliencourt and Emmanual de Sinety, with EUR24m in assets. In addition, the firm has a sales team of 4 people, recruited in 2007-2008, for this segment. The aim is to bring the proportion of assets managed for IFAs up from 10% currently to 50%, says Laurent Deltour, chairman of Sycomore AM.For its international expansion, the management boutique is beginning distribution of its funds in Germany and Switzerland. In order to offer its products in Germany, it is working with Kerstin Fischer, managing director of Fischer Financial, an independent firm. In Switzerland, a partnership with an independent salesperson has also been established. The firm also has some clients in Spain and Italy, where it has a more opportunistic approach.When asked about these developments at a press conference, Deltour declined to offer asset volume objectives, on the grounds that these are too dependent on the markets, which as everyone knows are sometimes capricious. Between January and June, Sycomore AM posted net subscriptions of EUR130m. But since then, nothing. “Investors are paralysed,” Deltour says.The firm’s specialisation in equities and the euro zone are not necessarily easy in the current environment. Emeric Préaubert, a partner at the firm, calls them a “double burden.” But Sycomore AM does not necessarily want to diversify into other asset clases, except in an opportunistic manner, if it has the opportunity to acquire another asset management firm.At any rate, ten years after its foundation, the partners at Sycomore AM say they are satisfied at the point they have reached. They may also congratulate themselves on having remained independent. The structure is 83% owned by its four founding partners, and 6.5% by employees, while the remainder is in the hands of Bernard Arnault and Malakoff Médéric.

BNP Paribas Securities Services on 20 September announced that it has extended its range of collateral management services, to include over-the-counter (OTC) products traded via clearing-houses, as required by new regulations, with the objective of reducing costs and the level of complexity associated with these investments for institutional investors. Institutional investors have always been accustomed to undertaking “normal” over-the-counter operations without the use of a central clearing-house. However, BNP Paribas SS states, the introduction of the Dodd-Frank Act in the United States and the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) in Europe will require the transfer of a large number of OTC operations ot electronic platforms, and the settlement of these transactions through centralised clearing-houses. By allowing real-time visualisation of centrally or bilaterally settled operations, the service from BNP Paribas Securities Services allows institutional investors to manage collateral and risk measurements associated with various counterparties, such as traders, compensators, and central counterparties, and to adapt to changes in the eligibility conditions for securities. According to Hélène Virello, head of collateral management at BNP Paribas Securities Services, “the new regulatory environment, while salutory for clients and for the viability of financial markets, is still a subject of some concern in the sector.” The new regulations will pose problems for market actors who do not have the necessary resources to adapt to some developments. This is where BNP Paribas can help its clients to get a leg up on the competition. “Centralised clearing of OTC derivatives is an activity that may prove difficult. Institutional investors – despite their expertise in OTC products – have never had to clear them centrally,” says Virello, who is also head of independent valuation services for OTC products at the bank.

The French asset management firm Amplégest in early September hired Christine Bourcier as a partner and head of development, a newly-created position. She previously worked in the Key Client Entrepreneur team at UBS, where she had been since 2008. Before that, she had been head of development at CCR Chevrillon Phillippe. At Amplégest, Bourcier will aim to develop the private client base. Amplégest has also recruited Augustin Bloch-Lainé and Saad Benlamine as additions to its collective management unit, headed by Fabrice Revol, manager of the Amplégest Multicaps and Amplégest Enjeux d’avenir funds. Bloch-Lainé joins from Allianz Global Investors, where he had worked in the buy-side analysis team and small and midcaps since 2010. Since 2008, Benlamine had been at Natixis Asset Management, where he was successively an equities analyst (European large caps) and a credit analyst for the banking sector.

Lion Global Investors (LGI) is seeking to dymamise its cross-border fund distribution activities in Asia and other regions, in order to increase economies of scale and enlarge its asset management activities. The Singapore-based asset management firm has selected BNP Paribas Securities Services for the launch of new UCITS-compliant funds. BNP Paribas Securities Services will provide global custody, fund accounting, depository banking and transfer agency services via its single global platform, and customer service based in the region.

EdRAM a recruté Géraldine Biava qui rejoint l’équipe Relation Partenariats France d’Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management. Elle sera en charge des relations conseillers en gestion de patrimoine indépendants, notamment dans le Nord et l’Est de la France. L’équipe Distribution regroupe aujourd’hui 7 collaborateurs et couvre à la fois les banques, les sociétés de gestion, les multi-gérants et les conseillers en gestion de patrimoine indépendants. L’équipe Relations Partenariats France est dirigée par Michel Dinet et rattachée à Philippe Cormon, directeur distribution.Agée de 28 ans, elle travaillait auparavant chez Boussard & Gavaudan Gestion qu’elle avait rejoint en septembre 2009, en tant que responsable commerciale distribution.

The cantonal bank of Basel has appointed Dominik Galliker as its director for private clients and private banking from the beginning of October, Agefi Switzerland reports. The single director for private banking will allow the bank to improve its wealth and investment management processes, the firm says. Galliker succeeds Reto Erdin, and will also join the board at the group.

The Geneva-based asset management firm Semper Gestion now has a representative office in Shanghai, Agefi Switzerland reports. The structure, opened in Spring, is led by Christine Ren, who is of Chinese descent, and who has 20 years of experience in the banking sector, at firms including ING and Deutsche Bank. Semper Gestion, led by Eric Freymond and Grégoire Vaucher, has been investing for over four years in Chinese businesses active in textiles, heavy machinery, new technologies, education, and sustainable development.

Matrix Asset Management has appointed Rebecca Ledlie as head of products and marketing, with the objective of deploying the firm’s growth strategy, HedgeWeek reports. Ledlie, who previously worked at Gartmore as head of products, has a profound knowledge of the hedge fund universe, which she acquired largely at her former employer. Matrix has also announced that the Candela Fund, which was previously managed by Olympus Capital LLP, has been taken back in-house at Matric, and has been renamed as the Matrix Pan-European Equity Fund, in “further evidence of the firm’s desire to develop a range of first-class hedge funds,” according to Angus Wollhose, CEO of Matrix AM.

Fidelity Investments on 19 September announced the launch of five low-cost tracker funds as additions to its Spartan range of index-based funds. The new products are the Spartan Emerging Markets Index Fund, Spartan Global ex U.S. Index Fund, Spartan Mid Cap Index Fund, Spartan Real Estate Index Fund and Spartan Small Cap Index Fund. With these new products, Fidelity is now offering investors 13 equity and bond tracker funds in all the major investment categories, with total assets under management of over USD80bn. Fidelity also announced that it has added low-cost institutional shares for three of its Spartan tracker funds which are currently available, the Spartan Total Market Index Fund, Spartan Extended Market Index Fund and Spartan International Index Fund.

Amundi Immobilier (EUR4.8bn in assets as of 30 June) has launched Opcimmo, a French-registered SPPICAV vehicle (variable capital investment firm investing preponderantly in real estate), which will be made available via the group’s various networks, with different ISIN codes for the PREM Opcimmo (regional banks of Crédit Agricole) and LCL Opcimmo.Amundi says the product is the first third-generation fund to be offered on the French market. The concept of the OPCImmo fund is to provide a product which is diversified, flexible (widely distributed), with low volatility, high liquidity, safe, and accessible (see Characteristics below). The fund is aimed at less high-end clients than existing products.The potential market for products of this type is estimated by Amundi AM at EUR2bn, and the group’s ambition, with the various share classes, is to conquer 25% of this niche per year.The OPCI fund may invest 70% to 90% of its portfolio in real estate assets, of which 51% to 60% are to be physical properties, and the remainder shares in publicly-traded realty firms (up to 14.7%) and underlying real estate bonds (up to 30%). A cash allocation, representing 10% to 30% of assets, makes up the remainder of the product.The fund, which was started up with seed capital of EUR30m, has already acquired a first 4,000 square metre office property in Paris, with initial returns of over 6%.CharacteristicsName(s) : Opcimmo/PREM Opcimmo/LCL OpcimmoISIN codes: FR0011066802 / FR0011063353 / FR0011066794 Maximal subscription commission:Securities accounts: max.2.85% for the OPCIMaximal management commission: 2.1% of net assetsCost of operating real estate properties to be sustained by the OPCI: 2.2% of net real estate assetsValue of one share: EUR100Liquidity: bi-monthly, with an advance notice for withdrawal of 8 days to 2 months

The French management firm DNCA Finance has opened an Italian branch office in Milan, on Via Broletto. The new office, opened on 19 September, is part of the French asset management firm’s straegy to develop on the Italian market, where since 2008 it has offered sub-funds of its Sicav DNCA Invest, via distribution agreements with IFA and private banking networks, a statement released in Italy says. DNCA Finance already had a sales team in Italy, which was located at the offices of its former majority shareholder, the Italian business bank Banca Leonardo. With the sale of nearly all of the latter’s stake to TA Associates, the opening of a branch office became necessary. The Italian team at DNCA is composed of two people who report to Enrico Trassinelli, who previously worked at Mellon Global Investments and ING.

Only a few days after announcing the recruitment of Mark Harris (ex-Henderson, see Newsmangers of 12 September 2011), Eden Financial on 20 September announced that it has hired another team member, this time a woman. Ky Van Tang joins as a fixed interest/credit analyst after serving in the same role at Aberdeen Asset Management.In early July, Eden Financial had recruited Dan Robers and Leigh Himsworth (ex-Gartmore).The asset management unit at Eden Financial has been led by Ed Rosengarten (ex-M&G) since February.

ING Investment Management has launched an opportunistic fund dedicated to emerging markets debt, which will be co-managed by Rom Drijkoningen and the quantitative strategist Vera Kartseva, Citywire reports. The Emerging Market Debt Opportunities fund offers investors exposure to all instruments and asset subclasses of emerging market debt. According to Drijkoningen, investors in emerging market debt are generally limited to exposure to hard currencies, which is more easily accessible, though the emerging market debt universe represents as much as USD10trn, of which 85% is denominated in local currencies. According to available statistics, investments in emerging markets debt total about USD450bn, of which three quarters are in hard currencies. In other words, 73% of this allocation captures only 6% of the market as a whole.

Unigest on 16 September registered the Unifonds 2014-II, a three-year guaranteed fund, with the CNMV.Until 19 December 2011, the product will be invested in cash, Spanish public debt repos, government bonds, and investment-grade corporate bonds (excluding securitisations) from OECD countries, mortgage securitisations and bonds guaranteed by the Spanish government. Maturity and average duration are not to exceed 3 months, and securities with a mediocre rating may not exceed 25% of assets.The guarantee covers 106.49% of net asset value as f 19 December 2011, which represents a return rate of 3%.CharacteristicsName: Unifond 2014-II FIISIN code: ES0181396005Maturity: 3 February 2014Front-end fee: 5% from 20 December 2011 to 3 February 2014Management commission: 0.95% until 19 December 2011; 1.15% after thatWithdrawal penalty: 1% between 20 December 2011 and 2 February 2014Minimal subscription: EUR300

Brevan Howard, the second-largest hedge fund firm in Europe by assets under management, with USD32bn in assets, will pay back USD2bn to its clients, in order to keep the size of the fund below USD25bn, the Financial Times reports. The firm had always promised investors that it would limit the size of the fund.

The head of European equities at F&C, Paras Anand, will be leaving the firm in the next six months to join Fidelity as head for pan-European equities, Investment Week reports. He will continue to manage F&C’s European Assets fund for the interim.Fidelity has also recruited Richard Lewis, former co-head of New Star Institutional Managers. Lewis will begin in his new position in November, and will lead the international equities and international emerging markets equities management teams.

The flagship fund from GAM, the GAM Star China Equity Fund, with total assets under management of about GBP1.5bn, is now once again available to interested investors, Investment Week reports. The fund, launched in July 2007 and domiciled in Dublin, was closed to new investors in November last year, after assets rose to USD1.4bn, or nearly GBP900m. The fund is one of the best in its sector (China/Greater China), with outperformance over three years of 67% compared with other funds in its class.

L’Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et l’Autorité des marchés financiers ont mis à jour leur liste de sites proposant d’investir sur le Forex sans autorisation. Les deux instances tiennent à rappeler les risques spécifiques aux produits offerts au grand public sur le forex. Cette liste de neuf noms est consultable depuis le site de l’AMF.

La société private equity dédiée à l’investissement dans des sociétés mid-market européennes du secteur de la santé a clôturé son premier fonds G Square Capital I à 209 millions d’euros. Ce fonds investit dans des entreprises de tout segment du secteur de la santé au travers d’opérations de buy-out ou de capital développement. G Square Capital I a réalisé à ce jour trois investissements, en Espagne, en Suisse et en Allemagne.

Opcimmo, c’est la dénomination du premier OPCI grand public que lance à compter de ce mois Amundi Immobilier. Commercialisé dans les réseaux du Crédit Agricole et de LCL, il est éligible au comptes-titres et à l’assurance-vie. Selon Business Immo, Amundi Immobilier vise une collecte à terme de 500 millions d’euros.

Santander a émis des RMBS britanniques. Volkswagen devrait suivre avec le placement des titres adossés à des cartes de crédit

A peine évoquée l’hypothèse d’une stabilisation des prix, la question de l’opportunité d’une politique de relance commence à se poser

Alors qu'aucun accord entre la Grèce et la troïka n'a été trouvé hier, les pays émergents semblent prêts à soutenir les maillons faibles de l'euro

Le Fonds estime que la croissance mondiale va tomber à un rythme d'environ 4% jusqu'à la fin de 2012, contre plus de 5% en 2010

La société de gestion lance deux nouveaux fonds, l'un dédié aux matières premières rares, l'autre aux opérations financières