Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management, has sold 148,456 ordinary shares (all the shares he received in 2008 through a long-term incentive plan), and 1,236,956 ordinary shares in the firm. The two transactions were completed on 6 December, at a price of 212 pence per share, which comes to a total of GBP2.93m. Following the transactions, Gilbert retains 0.62% of capital in the firm. Other Aberdeen executives have also sold shares, including Hugh Young.

According to statistics from BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research, in October hedge funds saw net redemptions of USD9bn, more than triple the USD2.59bn in outflows in September.Assets as of 31 October were down to USD1.66trn, from USD1.73trn as of 30 September.The largest losses in assets under management by percentage were from macro funds (-1.6%, or USD1.8bn), and long/short equity funds (-1.5%, or USD2.6bn). The only strategies in positive territory were equity long bias, with net inflows of USD600m, and merger arbitrage, with USD200m, 0.6% and 1% of assets, respectively.

According to his most recent report, the court-appointed trustee in charge of gaining compensation for victims of the fraudster Bernard Madoff, has collected USD8.69bn, half of the estimated direct losses to victims, not counting the billions of dollars in losses for financial institutions and feeder funds. But he has paid out only USD325m, to 1,232 investors who lost money. This is a drop of water in the ocean compared with the gigantic USD64.8bn Pinzo scheme exposed in December 2008, based on client accounts. Reimbursement is subject to a web of appeals, and to laborious clarification of the chain of responsibility.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), which brings together the shared interests of hundreds of securities firms, banks and asset managers, has released a white paper addressing high-frequency trading (HFT).The paper notes the lack of a clear definition for high-frequency trading, but seeks to address the concerns being raised by members of the public and other market participants regarding HFT. It discusses current regulatory efforts to strengthen market structure, areas where regulators should conduct further study and possibly address through regulatory action, and regulatory proposals that SIFMA believes should not be pursued. The professional association also says it opposes the introduction of new taxes on financial transactions, and is opposed to a wholesale ban on high-frequency trading or other forms of computer-based trading.The white paper can be found at the following link: http://www.sifma.org/issues/item.aspx?id=8589936694

The Luxembourg-registered, UCITS-compliant international equity fund AXA World Fund Framlington Natural Resources, from Axa Investment Managers, has received a sales license for Germany.The product, with 70-90 positions (see Newsmanagers of 7 December) is managed by Sébastien Lagarde, senior portfolio manager, and Olivier Eugène, portfolio manager, who are also responsible for the AWF Framlington Hybrid Resources and AWF Framlington Junior Energy funds.

Deka Immobilien has acquired an office property under construction for an undisclosed amount from HDH Büro GmbH & Co KG. The 24,000 square metre property located in the City-Süd district of Hamburg will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended retail fund WestInvest ImmoValue, a product reserved for institutional investors.

In order to buy more time to invest the amounts committed by investors in the real estate private equity fund MSREF VII, Morgan Stanley has agreed to lower both its fee on investments and its management commission. The firm has also agreed to reimburse about USD700m to subscribers, who include the sovereign funds GIC (Singapore) CIC (China, which had invested USD800m), and the Canada Pension Plan, the Wall Street Journal reports.The size of the fund has been reduced from USD4.7bn to USD4bn, of which only USD2.5bn are already invested. In exchange, a majority of more than two thirds of subscribers have agreed to a 12-month delay to the deadline from which Morgan Stanley would be required to reimburse all the money if assets are not wholly invested, to the end of June 2013. Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds is reported to have initially sought an 18-month extension.

The California pension fund CalPERS on 13 December announced that it has made gains of about USD695m on its investments in the GI Partners Fund I, a fund launched ten years ago, which has recently been closed. CalPERS had invested USD500m in the fund in 2001, in assets related to IT. The investment has generated annualised net returns of 31%, CalPERS says in a statement. CalPERS remains engaged with GI Partners, which invests primarily in North America and Western Europe. The Californian pension fund has invested USD500m in the GI Partners Fund II, and USD500m in the GI Partners Fund III. GI Partners manages over USD2bn in assets from the real estate portfolio of CalPERS CalEast.

The largest German energy supplier, EON, is in talks to sell its gas distribution network, the largest in Germany, to Allianz Capital Partners, an affiliate of the insurer Allianz, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung of 13 December. A secret plan drafted by the EON management would see a sale of the Ruhrgas gas network, which measures a total of 12,000 kilometres, and which carries half of all natural gas consumed in Germany, to the Allianz affiliate. Negotiations between the two parties are said to be at an advanced stage, according to the newspaper.

Michael Grüner, who for four years was head of distribution for open-ended funds at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) for Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, based in Frankfurt, will join iShares on 1 January as director of distribution for Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe (see Newsmanagers of 26 September and 17 October this year).Grüner will report to David Gardner, head of distribution for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); he will work in close collaboration with Dirk Klee, country head at BlackRock for Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe.

The British firm First State Investments has recruited two managers as additions to the team dedicated to international equities, Fundweb reports. Julie Thomas will concentrate on financial sector shares, while Ben Yeoh will specialise in the health sector. Thomas had previously worked at Oriel Securities, Threadneedle AM, ADIA and Morley AM. Yeoh had previously worked at Atlantic Securities.

The pension fund for That public employees, with assets under management of about USD13bn, is planning to increase its exposure to international markets to 35%, up from 19% currently, Asian Investor reports. With this in mind, the fund will ask the government to increase the 25% allowed limit, which it expects to reach in the next 24 months. Further allocations to international assets are expected to be invested in alternative, real estate and infrastructure strategies, among others.

The Pimco star manager Bill Gross has recently cut back his exposure to emerging market debt, in order to strengthen his presence in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and US Treasury bonds, Citywire reports. According to statistics as of the end of November for the Pimco Total Return Bond fund, whose assets under management total USD242bn, Gross has increased his exposure to MBS to 43%, from 38% in September and October. Exposure to Treasuries now totals 23%, compared with 19% in October. Meanwhile, exposure to emerging market debt has fallen to 10%, compared with 15% in October.

L’institut de recherche Edhec-Risk Institute a présenté le 13 décembre seize benchmarks «Solvabilité 2» destinés à favoriser une allocation aux actions optimale dans le cadre de la directive éponyme. Ces travaux sont issus de la chaire de recherche «Solvency 2 benchmarks», soutenue par Russell Investments. Dans la perspective d’une meilleure gestion des risques, qui constitue un «ingrédient de la performance» mais qui ne dépend pas seulement de la diversification, «on peut prendre en compte l’horizon de long terme de l’investisseur et limiter la consommation de fonds propres», a lancé le professeur Lionel Martellini.Les indicateurs présentés constituent autant de références externes, croisant des horizons de temps ( 3, 5, 10 et 15 ans) et des charges en capital (5, 10,15,20%), qui devraient permettre aux assureurs de mieux calibrer leurs modèles internes. Si les investisseurs estiment que la palette proposée hier est insuffisante, elle pourra être complétée, a souligné Lionel Martellini. «Nous présenterons une nouvelle version en mars prochain qui tiendra compte de tous les inputs», a-t-il précisé.

In total, assets at Franklin Resources, AllianceBernstein, Invesco and Legg Mason fell by USD53.4bn in November 2011.Franklin was the hardest-hit in volume, with a contraction of USD18.3bn, putting it at USd675.8bn as of 30 November. Invesco saw a decline in its assets under management of USD13.3bn in one month, to USD622.4bn, while AllianceBernstein’s AUM decreased by USD13bn, to USD411bn. Legg Mason’s assets under management have fallen by USD8.8bn to USD620.6bn.

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has announced the recruitment of Michael Ho as chief investment officer for the Active Emerging Markets Equities and Global Macro divisions. Ho will be based in Boston, and joins SSgA from Mellon Capital Management, where as chief investment officer he had been responsible for about USD220bn in assets under management, a statement says.

Dexia Asset Management has appointed Cécile de Lasteyrie as head of SRI development, from December 2011. She will now serve as the ambassador for all socially responsible investment (SRI) expertise at Dexia AM, and will contribute to SRI strategy for the firm, in close collaboration with Isabelle Cabie, Global Head of SRI, and her team of SRI analysts, a statement dated 13 December announces. De Lasteyrie joined Dexia AM in 2005 as head of the consultant relations and request for proposals unit, and then became director of marketing and communication. In 2008, she was appointed director of sales for France. For the past two years, she has been head of the Client Development department. Since her arrival at Dexia AM, de Lasteyrie has worked on several SRI contracts for institutional clients in the various roles she has occupied. As director of marketing and communication, she also worked to position Dexia AM as a pioneer in sustainable and responsible investments.

The UK-based asset management firm Somerset Capital Management has launched an equity fund aimed at institutional investors, which will invest in companies active in emerging and frontier markets, with a total market capitalisation of USD1bn to USD7.5bn, Investment Europe reports. The US-domiciled fund, Somerset Emerging Markets Small Mid CapEM All Country Fund, has initial seed capital of USD30m. The ten largest positions in the portfolio may offer exposure to Taiwan, South fAfrica, Chile, the Philippines, Thailand, Korea, India and China. The fund will be managed by Edward Robertson, one of the co-founders of Somerset, and Timothy Hay, Somerset’s Latin America specialist. The minimal initial investment for European institutionals has been set at USD50,000.

Old Mutual Asset Management has appointed Simon Wilson as head of global marketing. Wilson had previously been sales and marketing director at Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK), the London-based affiliate of OMAM. Wilson’s promotion follows the appointment of Julian Ide in October as head of global distribution at OMAM (see Newsmanagers of 6 October 2011). The firm is currently seeking a head of distribution for outsite the United States (Europe, Asia and the Middle East), a statement says.

Global investors are looking to U.S. equities as they prepare themselves for a year of low growth and low inflation in 2012, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for December, undertaken from 2 to 8 December, and dovering a total of 255 panelists representing with USD762bn of assets under management. Almost two thirds of the panel, up from 52% in November, predict 2012 will be a year of below-trend growth and below-trend inflation. Investors are responding to the weak outlook with a preference for U.S. and Emerging Market equities while the negative stance towards the eurozone hardens. A record number, a net 72 percent, name the eurozone as having the least favorable outlook for corporate profits. However, one allocator in two (up from a net 47% in November) thinks that the outlook for corporate profits is the most favorable in the U.S. A net 8 percent of asset allocators are overweight equities this month, compared with a net 5 percent underweight in November. But the panel only increased equity positions in one region – the U.S. Global investors are split over the future of the euro and the question about whether the eurozone can remain intact. Nearly half of the panel (48 percent) believes that no member state will exit the euro in 2012 or the foreseeable future. Nearly a quarter of the panel of 190 institutional investors (24 percent), expect one of the 17 member states to leave the euro in the first half of 2012. In total, 45 percent expect a member to depart in the foreseeable future, with 7 percent undecided. Liquidity and inflation indicators are near their 2009 levels. Investors say that liquidity conditions have deteriorated significantly in the past month to reach their worst level since April 2009. Meanwhile, concerns about inflation have eased to levels not seen since 2009. The proportion of the panel predicting a fall in inflation fell to a net 34 percent in December, down 2 percentage points since November and the lowest reading since March 2009. For the first time since March 2009, a majority (a net 6 percent) believes that global monetary policy should be more stimulative. At the depth of the crisis more than a net 60 percent called for monetary stimulus.

Elles pourront apporter à la BCE des titrisations de prêts hypothécaires et de prêts aux PME moins bien notées, sous certaines conditions

La demande pour le financement à 7 jours a grimpé hier à 291,6 milliards d'euros, les banques se préparant à emprunter à trois ans le 21 décembre

Un projet de loi sera présenté en France début 2012 pour prendre en compte l'avancement du MES

Un projet de loi sera présenté en France début 2012 pour prendre en compte l'avancement du MES

Sans surprise ni saveur, le communiqué du dernier FOMC de la Fed reporte à 2012 un éventuel changement de cap. Pour l’heure, la banque centrale souligne que «l'économie a progressé à un rythme modéré, en dépit d’un certain ralentissement apparent de la croissance mondiale».

La Bourse transatlantique pourrait complètement sortir de ses activités de dérivés actions. L'accès à Eurex Clearing serait encore facilité

En réponse à l'appel d'un conseiller de la Banque centrale à assouplir l'étau sur l'immobilier, Pékin réaffirme le maintien «inébranlable» des mesures

Le rythme de décollecte a diminué en novembre sur toutes les classes d'actifs, les fonds monétaires enregistrant même un afflux d'argent

En novembre, les produits indexés sur les obligations d'Etat ont subi d'importantes sorties, à l'inverse de ceux sur les métaux précieux

Les analystes financiers tablent sur une hausse de 9 % des bénéfices pour 2012, irréaliste compte tenu de la très probable récession à venir en Europe