P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) licenses are growing fast. The Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has announced that it has awarded USD1.45bn in quotas to six foreign financial institutions in the month of March, Asia Asset Management reports. The European Reinsurance Company of Zurich (an affiliate of Swiss Re), the Monetary Authority of Macao and Hua Nan Investment Trust Corporation received respectively USD100m, USD500m and USD50m quotas. Some actors who already have QFII quotas have received additional quotas, such as the Singapore sovereign fund GIC (USD500m), Mega International Investment Trust (USD100m), and lastly, Macquarie Bank (USD200m). As of the end of March 2014, the Chinese’s SAFE awarded a total of USD53.58bn in QFII quotas to 241 financial institutions. Meanwhile, the Chinese authorities in March awarded CNY18.9bn (USD3.1bn) in renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) quotas to 17 financial institutions, bringing the total RQFII quotas issued to RMB200.5bn. Among the new firms receiving licenses are UBS Global Asset Management, Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong, and Fortune SG Asset Management (HK) which each received RMB1bn in quotas.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nordea Asset Management has announced that it has obtained a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) license, issued by the Chinese government. The license authorises Nordea Asset Management to trade shares directly on the Shanghai and Shanzhen stock markets, on the China A-share securities markets, a statement says. Nordea Asset Management has also signed a financial management partnership with Libra Capital Management, a consulting firm specialised in securities on the Chinsese A-share market, based in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Swiss federal financial market surveillance authority (FINMA) on Wednesday announced the opening of bankruptcy proceedings for the company Premier Investment SA. Entities of Premier Investment SA and Premier Investment Asset Management SA have been prohibited from performing any legal actions without the permission of the head of the investigation. One of the products offered by Premier Investment, Arka Trader, which had used an account in Great Britain and an internet platform in Costa Rica to offer spread betting on the direction and volatility of the markets, was subject to a number of doubts, according to the newspaper Le Temps. “It was a high-risk product and these risks were detailed and explained greatly and at length in the documentation which the client signs,” the asset management firm claims.

EFG Asset Management (EFGAM) has launched the New Capital Swiss Select Equity Fund, an open-ended equity fund that will invest in 35 to 45 Swiss stocks across all market capitalisations.The new fund will be managed by Urs Beck, a Zurich-based Swiss equity fund manager who recently joined EFGAM. Prior to joining EFGAM, Urs was head of Swiss equities at Zuercher Kantonalbank (ZKB), running both institutional and retail Swiss equities mandates for seven years.The New Capital Swiss Select Equity Fund is the eighth sub-fund in its New Capital mutual fund range – the New Capital UCITS Fund PLC – and joins the New Capital Dynamic European Equity Fund as part of the New Capital portfolio of European funds. The fund is currently open to institutional and qualified investors only but will be available to retail investors pending registration in Switzerland, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Sweden.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jose Costa Buck has left T. Rowe Price, where he had managed the EUR686m Latin American Equity fund, Citywire Global reports. He will be replaced by Varena Wachnitz, who has worked in the team for over 10 years.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Bartosz Pawlowski, who had previously been global head of emerging market startegy at BNP Paribas, will be joining the hedge fund Finisterre Capital. Pawlowski will serve as manager, from May, according to sources familiar with the matter. The London-based hedge fund, founded in 2002, has USD1.7bn in assets under management, Financial News reports. It is primarily invested in emerging markets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Spanish asset management sector has posted the best first quarter in its history. According to provisional data published by the professional association Inverco, net inflows totalled EUR9.7bn after the first three months of the 2014 fiscal year. This is a level of performance not seen since 1998. In the month of March alone, net subscriptions totalled EUR2.65bn. In such a context, assets totalled EUR165.08bn as of the end of March, up by 1.7%, or EUR2.69bn compared with February, the 15th consecutive month of growth. Better yet, “in 10 years we have not seen growth in assets on such a scale in a first quarter,”Inverco says. The professional association states that, since December 2012, assets under management in the sector were up by EUR43bn, for growth of 35%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } As part of a development of its Spanish office, Robeco has recruited Pilar Garicano, from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as head of the institutional segment, Funds People reports. Garicano will aim to provide promotion and development of investment capacities at Robeco for Spanish institutional investors, and in order to achieve this, it plans to rely on the management centres of the company based in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Boston in the USA, and Hong Kong in Asia.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aberdeen Asset Management yesterday laid out the terms of its acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) from Lloyds Banking Group. The operation was carried out on the basis of an exchange of 9.9% of capital in Abereen, and an additional payment of EUR47.7m (a total of about EUR666m). The merger also makes it possible to develop a strategic long-term relationship with Lloyds and its wealth management, insurance, commercial and retail banking activities, the asset management firm says. The addition of a further EUR167bn in assets under management at SWIP gives Aberdeen AM EUR393bn in assets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Inflows to ETPs worldwide in the month of March totalled USD12.9bn, largely due to equity funds, which attracted USD15.4bn, according to estimates by BlackRock. Emerging market equity ETPs finished the month of March with outflows of USD1.8bn, but the last six days of the month brought a rebound in subscriptions. However, Japanese and pan-European equity funds went slack after strong inflows throughout the year 2013. Japanese equity ETPs saw outflows of USD0.7bn, the first observed in two years. Pan-European ETPs ended two months of consistent inflows with redemptions totalling a net USD0.9bn. Bond ETPs finished the month under review with outflows of USD3.2bn, due to USD9.5bn in redemptions from ETPs dedicated to US Treasury bonds.

As of the end of 2013, there were 9,869 cross-border funds, on sale in at least 3 countries, in the world, compared with 9,436 at the end of 2012, according to PwC, which has recetly published the 2014 edition of “Global Fund Distribution.” This number has been constantly growing since 2001, when there were only 3,260 cross-border funds.Of this total, 6,000 funds are domiciled in Luxembourg, confirming the hegemony of the Grand Duchy in this area, and the dominance of Europe. Ireland is a distant second, with slightly under 2,000 funds.Among the markets that are most sought-after for cross-border funds are Germany, with 7,403 cross-border fund registrations, Switzerland (5,689), Austria (5,382) and France (5,261), out of a total of 76,500 fund registrations worldwide.Although Europe is the largest market for cross-border funds, US firms make the most use of them, with 19% of the companies offering the funds based in the United States. They are followed by British firms (10%) and Swiss firms (7%). French companies are in fourth place, with 4%.In the rankings of the 100 largest cross-border management firms worldwide, Franklin Templeton, which sells its funds in 50 countries, beats out HSBC (43), BlackRock (41), BNP Paribas (38) and Fidelity (37).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The US private equity firm KKR is seeking to raise USD2bn for its second fund dedicated to investment in infrastructure, Bloomberg reveals. The vehicle, entitled KKR Global Infrastructure Investors II LP, has brought in twice as much money as the previous fund, launched in 2012, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by the news agency. The fund will invest primarily in renewable energies, pipelines and assets related to the utility and transport sectors.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The UCITS hedge fund index calculated by Alix Capital is up 0.14% from the beginning of the year to 2 April. The best strategies in the period were long/short equity and equity market neutral, which have gained 2.41% and 2.30%, respectively. However, CTA, FX and Emerging Markets strategies are down by 4.13%, 2.41%, and 1.89%, respectively. The index gained 0.19% in the week to 2 April, with the best returns for CTA and Multi-Strategies, with gains of 1.22% and 0.77%, respectively.

Worldwide long-term funds registered net inflows of EUR 888 billion in 2013, thanks to large net inflows across all categories of funds, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA).The United States recorded net inflows into long-term funds of EUR 355 billion, with Europe registering net inflows of EUR 313 billion. Overall in 2013 worldwide investment funds attracted net sales of EUR 839 billion, up from EUR 828 billion in 2012. Investment fund assets worldwide stood at a new all-time high of EUR 23.79 trillion at end 2013, reflecting growth of 1.8 percent during the fourth quarter and 7.3 percent since end 2012. In U.S. dollar terms, worldwide investment fund assets totaled US$ 32.81 trillion at end 2013. Worldwide net cash inflows increased in the fourth quarter to EUR 229 billion, up from EUR 182 billion in the third quarter. This increase is attributable to strong net inflows into long-term funds (all funds excluding money market funds) : they recorded net inflows of EUR 193 billion during the fourth quarter, up from EUR 100 billion in the previous quarter. Long-term funds registered increased net inflows on both sides of the Atlantic as Europe attracted EUR 72 billion in net inflows and the United States attracted EUR 87 billion.Equity funds attracted a strong increase in net inflows to EUR 107 billion, up from EUR 61 billion in the third quarter, whereas bond funds experienced a second quarter of net outflows totaling EUR 11 billion, albeit lower than the net outflows of EUR 37 billion in the previous quarter. Balanced funds registered a rise in net inflows to EUR 52 billion, up from EUR 47 billion in the third quarter. Money market funds registered net inflows of EUR 36 billion during the fourth quarter, compared to EUR 81 billion in the third quarter of 2013. This result is largely attributable to positive net sales recorded in the United States of EUR 28 billion, whereas Europe registered net outflows during the quarter of EUR 21 billion. At the end of 2013, assets of equity funds represented 40 percent (compared to 37 percent at end 2012) and bond funds represented 22 percent (compared to 24 percent at end 2012) of all investment fund assets worldwide.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Assets under management at the Centrum Bank group, composed of Centrum Bank in Vaduz, Centrum Bank Switzerland and Belvédère Asset Management in Zurich, fell by 12.2% in 2013, to a total of CHF7.8bn as of the end of 2013, according to a statement released on 2 April. This development is largely due to a net outflow of CHF868m, though the previous fiscal year ended with a net inflow of CHF268m. Centrum states, however, that the situation has improved in first quarter, with “significant” net inflows in the period, the group says in its statement. Net profits at the group are down 62.6% to CHF1.7m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to the AMF asset management firm database, 45 AIFMD licenses had been issued to asset management firms as of 31 March 2014.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Allianz Global Investors has recruited Thomas Hammer as head of regional account management in Frankfurt, Investment Week reports. Hammer joins from Carmignac Gestion, where he had been sales manager. Before that, he worked at Pioneer Investments and Robeco AM. Allianz GI will be responsible for distribution of funds to regional partners such as banks, German savings banks, asset management firms, and independent consultants. He will report to Mathias Müller, head of retail distribution in Germany.

Un projet européen sur des informations clés que les petits investisseurs devraient recevoir avant de signer un contrat a été conclu le 2 avril entre les négociateurs du Parlement et les représentants du Conseil. Des informations claires, comparables et exhaustives sur tout produit d’investissement devront être fournies dans un document d’informations clés obligatoire, de trois pages en format A4. Le Parlement se prononcera sur ces dispositions lors de la session plénière d’avril à Strasbourg. L’association allemande des gestionnaires d’actifs (BVI) a salué cet accord qui va rendre possible la comparaison entre de très nombreux produits financiers, préalable indispensable à une décision d’investissement.Avant de signer un contrat, tous les petits investisseurs (non professionnels) devraient recevoir un document standard d’informations clés (Key Information Document - KID) de trois pages A4. Ce document les aidera à comprendre et à comparer les produits d’investissement de détail ainsi que les produits d’investissement basés sur les assurances, et à estimer les coûts totaux de leur investissement tout en connaissant leur profil de risque et de rémunération. Ces documents devraient être distincts des produits publicitaires, compatibles avec tout document contractuel contraignant et conçus par une entité clairement identifiable. Les négociateurs du Parlement ont veillé à ce que les investisseurs soient également informés si leurs investissements contribuent à un quelconque projet environnemental ou social. Lorsque cela s’avère nécessaire, les documents d’informations devraient inclure une «mise en garde générale» mentionnant l’avertissement suivant: «vous vous apprêtez à acheter un produit complexe qui pourrait être difficile à comprendre».Les nouvelles dispositions s’appliqueraient à tous les produits d’investissement destinés aux petits investisseurs. Cependant, les nouvelles règles ne s’appliqueraient pas aux cas suivants: les produits d’assurance non-vie; les contrats d’assurance vie lorsque les prestations prévues par le contrat sont payables uniquement en cas de décès ou d’incapacité due à un accident, à une maladie ou à une infirmité; ou encore les dépôts autres que les dépôts structurés et les titres.Les régimes de retraite officiellement reconnus, les produits de retraite reconnus par le droit national comme ayant pour objectif premier de fournir à l’investisseur un revenu pendant la retraite, et les produits de retraite individuels pour lesquels une contribution financière de l’employeur est requise seraient également exclus du champ d’application de la législation.Les documents d’informations clés ne doivent pas induire les investisseurs en erreur. Si un investisseur a pu démontrer que des pertes ont été causées par une information identifiée dans le document, ou si l’information était inexacte ou incohérente par rapport à un document contractuel contraignant, alors le concepteur du produit d’investissement pourrait être tenu responsable en vertu du droit national.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } GIC is setting out to conquer South American investors. The Singapore sovereign fund on 1 April officially opened a new office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, its 10th office worldwide, which will aim to seize investment opportunities in Latin America. “Our presence in Brazil represents a new step in our startegy to be present in the key financial capitals of the world,” says Lim Song Guan, chairman of GIC. The new structure is led by Dr. Wolfgang Schwerdtle, who has been working at GIC for 5 years. His main mission will be to “construct a solid network of business relationships in the region, and to actively seek out investment opportunities,” the sovereign fund says.

L’association luxembourgeoise LuxFLAG, spécialisée dans la labellisation de véhicules de microfinance et de fonds investissant dans l’environnement, vient d’attribuer le label environnement à Parvest Green Tigers. Le label certifie qu’au moins 75 % de la valeur de portefeuille sont investis dans des sociétés liées aux questions environnementales.LuxFLAG compte désormais dix fonds labellisés pour leur engagement en faveur de l’environnement représentant des actifs sous gestion agrégés d’environ 713 millions de dollars.LuxFLAG a par ailleurs labellisé deux véhicules de microfinance, European Microfinance Platform Fund et Symbiotics (SICAV) SEB Microfinance Fund. L’objectif du label est de favoriser la collecte des capitaux en assurant aux investisseurs que le véhicule d’investissement en microfinance (VIM) visé investit, directement ou indirectement, en microfinance, contribuant ainsi au financement responsable. Le nombre de véhicules ayant obtenu le label microfinance s'élève désormais à 27 représentant un encours sous gestion d’un peu plus de 4 milliards de dollars.Les sociétés ayant obtenu le label environnement sont les suivantes (avril 2014) : 1. BNP Paribas Aqua 2. BNPP L1 Equity Word Aqua 3. Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund - GEEREF 4. Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe SA 5. Lux-Equity Eco Global 6. One Sustainable Fund – Global Environment 7. Parvest Environmental Opportunities 8. Parvest Global Environment 9. Parvest Green Tigers 10. Triodos Sustainable Europe Fund Les véhicules labellisés en microfinance sont les suivants (avril 204) : 1. Access Africa Fund 2. Advans SA 3. Azure Global Microfinance Fund 4. Capital Gestion Microfinance Fund 5. Dexia Micro-Credit Fund- Blue Orchard Debt sub-fund 6. Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance 7. Dual Return Fund - Vision Microfinance Local Currency 8. Etimos Fund – Global Microfinance Debt 9. European Microfinance Platform Fund 10. Finethic Microfinance SCA11. Fonds Européen de Financement Solidaire (FEFISOL), S.A. 12. KCD Mikrofinanzfonds I 13. KCD Mikrofinanzfonds II 14. Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund 15. Microfinance Enhancement Facility SA 16. Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa SA 17. responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund 18. responsAbility Financial Inclusion Fund 19. responsAbility – Mikrofinanz-Fonds 20. responsAbility – Microfinance Leaders 21. Rural Impulse Fund SA 22. Rural Impulse Fund II SA 23. Symbiotics (SICAV) SEB Microfinance Fund (new label) 24. The European Fund for Southeast Europe SA 25. Triodos Microfinance Fund 26. Wallberg Global Microfinance Fund 27. WWB ISIS Fund

La société de gestion allemande Union Investment a annoncé la nomination d’Andreas Zubrod en qualité de membre de son conseil d’administration à compter de juin 2014, révèle Investment Europe. L’intéressé sera en charge des affaires juridiques, de la comptabilité, des finances et des taxes ainsi que de l’analyse des investissements et des infrastructures.Andreas Zubrod, présent chez Union Investment depuis 2002, devient le quatrième membre du conseil d’administration, à côté du président Hans Joachim Reinke, Alexander Schindler et Jens Wilhelm.

Allianz Global Investors a recruté Thomas Hammer en tant que responsable de la gestion des comptes régionaux à Francfort, rapporte InvestmentEurope. L’intéressé vient de Carmignac Gestion où il était sales manager. Avant, il a travaillé chez Pioneer Investments et Robeco AM.Thomas Hammer sera en charge de la distribution des fonds auprès des partenaires régionaux comme les banques, les caisses d’épargne allemandes, les sociétés de gestion et les consultants indépendants. Il est rattaché à Mathias Müller, responsable de la distribution retail en Allemagne.

Axa a annoncé, le 2 avril, avoir finalisé l’acquisition de 51 % des activités d’assurance de Grupo Mercantil Colpatria en Colombie pour un montant de 248 millions d’euros. Cette co-entreprise est désormais intégrée à la région Méditerranée et Amérique Latine de l’assureur français.

Aberdeen Asset Management a détaillé hier les caractéristiques de l’acquisition de Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) auprès de Lloyds Banking Group. L’opération s’est faite sur la base d’un échange de 9,9 % du capital d’Aberdeen et d’un paiement supplémentaire de 47,7 millions d’euros (soit environ 666 millions au total). Ce rapprochement permet également de développer une relation stratégique de long terme avec Lloyds et ses activités de gestion de patrimoine, d’assurance, de banque commerciale et de détail, indique la société de gestion.L’apport d’environ 167 milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion par SWIP permet à Aberdeen AM de disposer de 393 milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion.

Icade renforce son état-major. La société immobilière d’investissement cotée, filiale de Caisse des Dépôts, a annoncé l’arrivée de Jean Bensaïd à compter du mois de mai 2014 en qualité de membre du comité exécutif en charge de l’asset management mais également du Grand Paris et des Services. Ancien élève de l’Ecole normale supérieure de Cachan et de l’ENSAE, Jean Bensaïd a débuté sa carrière en 1989 comme économiste à la division des modèles et projections de croissance de l’INSEE. Adjoint puis chef du bureau de la politique fiscale de la direction de la prévision du ministère de l’Economie et des Finances de 1991 à 1994, il devient ensuite attaché financier auprès de l’Ambassade de France à Washington de 1994 à 1997. De 1997 à 2002, il officie comme conseiller technique puis conseiller pour la macro-économie et la fiscalité au cabinet du Premier ministre, avant de devenir, 2002 et 2004, le sous-directeur des politiques sociales et de l’emploi à la direction générale du Trésor. Entré à la Caisse des Dépôts en 2004 en tant que directeur adjoint de la direction Finances et stratégie, il est promu directeur général de CDC Infrastructure en 2008 et fait son entrée au comité de direction du groupe Caisse des Dépôts en 2012.

Jose Costa Buck a quitté T. Rowe Price, où il gérait le fonds Latin American Equity de 686 millions d’euros, rapporte Citywire Global. Il sera remplacé par Varena Wachnitz, qui travaille dans l’équipe depuis plus de 10 ans.

La société de gestion spécialisée dans l’immobilier Viveris REIM a annoncé avoir reçu l’agrément AIFM le 1er avril 2014. La réglementation en vigueur accorde un délai pour les sociétés de gestion allant jusqu’au 22 juillet 2014 pour se conformer à la directive européenne sur les gestionnaires de Fonds d’Investissement Alternatifs (FIA).

Les actifs sous gestion du groupe autrichien C-Quadrat ont progressé de 14,5% l’an dernier pour s'établir fin décembre à 4,9 milliards d’euros.Cette augmentation des actifs sous gestion ainsi que les bonnes performances des fonds ont contribué à une hausse de 50% du bénéfice de C-Quadrat à 69 millions d’euros.

Ardian vient de boucler un nouveau fonds de 500 millions d’euros à destination des entreprises européennes de taille moyenne, Expansion III, révèle Les Echos. En l’espace de six mois, les équipes de l’ex-Axa Private Equity sont parvenus à lever plus de 3,3 milliards d’euros, en prenant en compte le fonds LBO d’octobre de 2,8 milliards d’euros à destination des plus grandes entreprises. D’après le quotidien économique, les gérants d’Ardian intervenant sur le marché secondaire cherchent à lever quelque 7,5 milliards de dollars auprès des investisseurs.

Selon la base geco de l’AMF, 45 agréments AIFMD ont été accordés à des sociétés de gestion au 31 mars 2014.