From 30 June, Wolfgang Mansfeld, who had served as president of the German BVI association of asset management firms, among other positions, will be retiring, and leaving his job as head of the real estate unit at Union Investment, the central asset management firm for the German co-operative banks. From 1 July, he will be replaced by Jens Wilhelm, who on 20 June was appointed as chairman of the supervisory board at Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE). The real estate operation of Union Investment has assets of EUR19bn, of which EUR16bn are for open-ended funds from UIRE, and EUR3bn at Union Investment Institutional Property.Jens Wilhelm, who joined from Dresdner Bank in 2002, was previously head of portfolio management for the Union Asset Management Holding group (EUR176bn), after serving as head of equity funds at Union Investment Privatfonds.

In an interview with the Börsen-Zeitung, Jacques d’Estais, head of the investment solutions division at BNP Paribas, says that the group is now planning to scale up its asset management operations in Germany, now that the Fortis integration has been a success. He sees room for growth in this market, and marketing activities will be intensified.

The German agency Kommalpha in May undertook a survey of 121 institutional investors, 33% of whom were banks, and 20% wealth managers, about their investments in infrastructure. The survey finds primarily that 87% of respondents consider outlooks for returns from this asset class “good” to “very good,” although 59% estimate that there is high risk. While 29% of respondents are already invested in infrastructure, 61% are planning to invest in the future. Among those who have already invested in infrastructure, half had already allocated up to 2.5% of their total portfolio, with the asset class primarily used for diversification, the reason cited by 74% of respondents. But institutionals also like the stability of cash flows (cited by 70%), and the transparency of cost structures (cited by 52%). Sectors preferred by specialists surveyed include energy (81%), transport logistics (65%), and communications (63%). The preferred geographical regions are western Europe (64%), Asia (48%), and eastern Europe (44%). The most attractive countries are India (78%), China (57%), Brazil (46%), and Turkey (43%).

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) on 27 June announced that it is now offering production of Key Investor Information Documents (KIID) in all European languages for management firms. SGSS thus extends its range of KIID services, launched in November 2010, which allow management firms to meet the requirements of the UCITS IV directive, which requires them to replace the simplified prospectus with the KIID by 1 July 2011. The modular range from SGSS is centred around the services described below, and allows asset management business clients to select from among the services on offer, from partial responsibility to complete outsourcing of production and distribution of KIID documents. The KIID range from SGSS, which has already been adopted by major asset management business clients, includes the following services: content creation, such as presentation of the investment policy in updated language, calculation of various indicators, such as the risk indicator, presentation of past performance, and calculation of current management fees. The offer also includes management, formatting and distribution of KIID documents in all European languages: these documents are produced by experienced teams such as asset servicing, legal, graphic design, translation, quality control and distribution, via a robust technical platform, which is designed to handle large volumes.

On Monday, the text of a modification to the 1/2009 circular from the Spanish securities commission (CNMV) concerning the various categories of funds was published in the Spanish official gazette, the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE), Expansión reports. The new fund typology will come into force in two months’ time, and will transpose the standards of the CESR, now ESMA, into Spanish law, in order to better protect investors by providing clearer information, particularly in the area of money market funds (short-term money market funds on the one hand, and simple money market funds, which operate in a less restricted environment, on the other), and introducing several technical improvements.

Eurizon Capital (EUR170bn in assets as of the end of first quarter) has opened 49% of its affiliate Epsilon to the investment bank Banca IMI, which like Eurizon is a directly-owned affiliate of the Intesa Sanpaolo group.The cooperation at the joint venture will result in the creation of a new range of Epsilon products, which adds to active initial quantitative asset management new forms of capital protected at maturity and volatility limitation. Nicola Doninelli, chairman at Epsilon, has hinted to the local press that the firm will restart the launch of ETF funds, a segment which Eurizon abandoned in 2009.

Agefi relays reports by Bloomberg that Clayton Dubilier & Rice, the private equity firm, is one of the candidates to acquire the mutual fund activities of the Hartford Financial Services Group. The identity of the winning bidder will not be known for several weeks for the deal, which is expected to total about USD1.5bn, the newspaper reports.

The hedge fund management firm First Trust Advisors, based in Wheaton, Illinois, has announced that on 6 July it will launch the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index Fund (acronym SKYY on NASDAQ), its 60th ETF, which received notification of its registration with the SEC on 20 April. The fund, which replicates the ISE Cloud Computing Index, is managed by a committee of six managers, led by Robert Casey, vice president & CEO. Management commission is set at 0.60%.

Skandia Investment Group (SIG) on 27 June announced that, having received permission from extraordinary shareholders’ meetings on 20 June, the Skandia Strategic Bond Fund (EUR140m) will on 30 June absorb two smaller funds, the Skandia Global Fixed Interest Blend Fund and the Skandia UK Fixed Interest Blend Fund. Shareholders in the latter two products will receive a reduced commission of 0.8%, instead of 1.25%, for the fund into which they are to be absorbed. The Skandia UK Equity Blend Fund will also be absorbed into the Skandia UK Best Ideas Fund. The objectives of the two funds are very similar, and the management commissions are the same (1.5%).

One of the richest families in China will acquire funds from the alternative management firm RAB Capital, which has been obliged to abandon listing of the funds on the British AIM market in order to meet redemption demands from investors. The Sunwah group, which is owned by the Hong Kong-based Choi family, will acquire the Energy and Octane funds from RAB Capital, the Financial Times reports. The Chinese group is planning to set up a London-based hedge fund activity, which may represent assets of over USD1.5bn by the end of the year. Funds from RAB Capital, totalling about USD300m, are already set to receive additional support of USD250m from a Singapore investors in the next few weeks.

Financial News reports that Knight Vinke, the activist investor based in Monaco, is planning to launch a hedge fund.

According to a report from Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), the percentage of capital in Spanish companies held by foreign investors as of the end of 2010 had fallen to 39.2%, compared with 40.1% one year earlier, Cinco Días reports. The decline is significant in the financial sector. The percentage of capital in Ibex companies held by banks had fallen to 4.6% as of the end of December, compared with 9.4% as of the end of 2007. The percentage of shares in Ibex businesses held by investment funds and Sicavs has fallen to 5.6%, compared with 7.2% as of the end of 2006.

More than EUR300m in investment commitments have already been received by Union Investment for its new institutional fund UII Shopping Nr. 1, a real estate product which will invest up to EUR750m, with 30% to 40% leverage, in shopping centres measuring over 25,000 square metres. Each investment will be for at least EUR90m. The new fund will mostly focus on core Euro zone markets: Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Austria. The manager will complement these with assets located in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Since 27 June, five ETFs from Ossiam Lux have been added to trading on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform from Deutsche Börse. The Natixis affiliate has listed two equities products replicating equally-weighted indices (see Newsmanagers of 27 June): Ossiam ETF STOXX® EUROPE 600 equal weight NR (LU0599613147, with fees of 0.35%) and Ossiam ETF EURO STOXX 50® equal weight NR (LU0599613063, 0.30%).The management firm has also launched the following minimum variance funds (see Newsmanagers of 28 April): Ossiam ETF EURope Minimum Variance NR (LU0599612842, 0.65%) and Ossiam ETF US Minimum Variance NR denominated in euros (LU0599612685, 0.65%) and in US dollars (LU0599612412, 0.65%).The products will soon also receive a sales license for France, where Ossiam is planning to launch exclusive products as well.With the addition of these funds, the XTF segment now lists 816 ETFs.

The European Equity Focus sub-fund of the Schroder ISF Sicav, launched on 3 March, which has assets as of 27 June of EUR5.17m (see Newsmanagers of 7 March) has received a sales license for Germany. The equities fund has no benchmark, and invests in 30-35 positions, specialised in European shares, including those which benefit from emerging markets, with headquarters in core EU countries, France, Europe, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands. The fund is managed by Rory Bateman, CIO for European equities (the team has EUR9bn in assets in 9 funds), who contributes his “best ideas” to the fund.CharacteristicsName: Schroder ISF European Equity FocusISIN code: LU0591897516Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 1.50%Performance commission: 10%Minimal initial subscription: EUR1,000 or USD1,000

Concerns over Greek debt have led to a net outflow of USD3.5bn from high yield bond funds in the week to 22 June, according to estimates from EPFR Global. European bond funds have also seen net outflows, while of the nine categories of equities funds, only one (global emerging market equity funds) has posted net subscriptions in the week under review.Bond funds overall have posted a net outflows of USD583m, while equities funds have posted outflows of USD3.32bn, and money market funds USD7.3bn.Funds dedicated to US equities have seen “modest” redemptions in the week under review, but since the beginning of the year, these funds show net inflows of USD27.5bn.Inflation-linked bond funds have posted net inflows since the beginning of the year of over USD7bn.

The British HSBC group is planning to make additions to its ETF product range, with products covering Russia, India, emerging European markets (including an ETF which will cover Russia, Poland and Hungary), and countries of the CIVETS group (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey, and South Africa), Money Marketing reports.

RWC Partners has launched a convertible bond fund dedicated to the Asian region, Investment Week reports. The Asia Convertibles fund, launched on 8 June, will be closed with assets of about USD300m to USD350m. The fund is managed by Davide Basile, head of convertible bonds at the British group, who is manager of the Global Convertibles fund, a portfolio of USD1.2bn.

Pimco has announced the launch of the Pimco GIS Euro Income Bond Fund, a fund which aims to “generate regular revenue, dynamise growth in returns,a nd to minimise risk,” a statement says. In practice, the fund’s distribution objective is 5% per year, paid monthly, which is a risk-adjusted performance higher than that of other income investments, such as government bonds, certificates, money market funds, and equities. In order to achieve that, the portfolio, which privileges high quality instruments, has an average duration of 1 to 8 years, and will have some flexibility if interest rates rise. The Pimco GIS Euro Income Bond Fund is a part of the Global Investor Services (GIS) range from Pimco, which complies with UCITS III regulations. It is registered in Dublin, and managed by Luke Spajic, executive vice president and head of managemetn for pan-European credit portfolios. Money Marketing reports that Pimco has also announced that it has pulled out of a credit fund, the GIS Diversified Income duration hedged fund, which proposes to help investors to reduce interest rate risks. The fund, which is also domiciled in Dublin, invests in several sectors of fixed income, investment grade corporate bonds and high yield, emerging market debt, bank credit, convertible bonds, municipal bonds, and ABS.

Pimco has launched a credit fund, the GIS diversified Income duration hedged fund, which aims to held investors to reduce interest risks, Money Marketing reports. The fund, which is domiciled in Dublin, invests in multiple sectors of fixed income, investment grade and high yield corporate bonds, emerging market debt, bank credit, convertible bonds, municipal bonds, and ABS.

Old Mutual Asset Managers is planning to close its UK Dynamic Equity fund, launched two years ago, in order to protect the performance of the portfolio, Investment Week reports. The GBP186m fund, domiciled in Dublin, is managed by Luke Kerr and Ashton Bradbury, and last month had excess capacity of about GBP7m.

Fund Web reports that Alliance Trust is planning to launch an income fund dedicated to emerging markets equities. The fund will be the third in a trilogy of income funds, which also includes an international equities fund and a bond fund.

On 27 June, BNP Paribas Securities Services (BNPP SS) announced that its AlphaSuite range of services for asset managers is being enlarged with what it says is the first solution compliant with the UCITS IV directive on the market for master-feeder funds.The unique quality of the offering is that it includes fund administration and global custody, while depository banking and reporting functions are offered free of charge to feeder funds “in certain circumstances.”BNPP SS states that it is in a position to provide its services to nearly all European countries, regardless of the combination of master and feeder funds.According to a statement, the solution provided by BNPP SS offers asset managers a 360-degree view in the master, providing a consolidated image of each fund, while automated trading for funds reduces the number of manual interventions needed on the part of asset managers.

The British HSBC group is planning to make additions to its ETF product range, with products covering Russia, India, emerging European markets (including an ETF which will cover Russia, Poland and Hungary), and countries of the CIVETS group (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey, and South Africa), Money Marketing reports. All of the vehicles will be launched by the end of the year.

EFG International on 27 June announced the appointment of John Williamson, 49, previously CEO of its affilaite EFG Private Bank in the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands, as its CEO. He succeeds Lonnie Howell, co-founder of the firm, who is retiring after 16 years in the position, who will be a candidate for a seat on the board of directors.EFG International explains in a statement that in the past few months it has been reviewing its strategic options, in the light of arduous market conditions and ongoing appreciation of the Swiss franc. With this in mind, it has decided to more effectively balance its desire to continue growth by adopting a more irgorous approach to profitability, and to undertake parallel changes which it estimates are “opportune” in terms of management responsibilities.Howell was co-founder of EFG International in 1995 with Jean-Pierre Cuoni. He played an essential role in the development of the business, which has gone from a start-up to an international private banking player with assets under management of CHF85bn as of the end of 2010.Williamson joined EFG Private Bank in 2002 as CEO. Lukas Ruflin will remain as deputy CEO of EFG International. Anthony Cooke-Yarborough, previously director general of EFG Private Bank in the UK, will replace Williamson as CEO this summer. All other members of the management team will retain their current positions.Williamson is planning to completely review the activities of EFG International with a view to preserving its many strong points, and to draw strength from the best of them, while addressing questions related to the rapid growth of the organisation and changes in market conditions.On the basis of performance since the beginning of the year, EFG International is planning to earn net profits this year of CHF140m to CHF160m, compared with an objective of CHF200m defined before the recent steep rise in the value of the Swiss currency.

Mark Röder, who had previously been head of product & sales managemenet at Vontobel Asset Management, has been promoted to global head of product sales. He will report directly to Axel Schwarzer, CEO of asset management at Vontobel. In his new role, Röder will be in charge of all client relationship management, with expertise in the area of investment, and competence in products and investor services activities within a multi-boutique environment. Meanwhile, Vontobel has also announced that Hansjörg Herzog, who had been head of relationship management EMEA, “has decided to pursue other professional challenges outside” the Swiss group.

Funds People reports that Hannah Strasser, Anne Yobage and Thomas Kelleher, who in 2010 joined Axa Investment Managers to manage US credit funds, have decided to leave the firm.

Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM) on 27 June announced that it has appointed Irshaad Ahmad to the position of head of distribution at AXA IM for the UK and Scandinavian markets, from 28 June, Ahmad will be based in London, and will join the executive board at AXA IM. Before joining AXA IM, Ahmad had been at Russell Investments, from 2004. He then successively served as head of sales to distributors, institutionals and consultants in Canada (2004-2010), and then in the United Kingdom (2010), where he was also head of client services and marketing.

Financial News reports that Guillaume Rambourg, the former star manager from Gartmore, who was suspended last year due to suspected irregularities, and who was then cleared, has founded a charity to which he has transferred all of his 3.9% stake in Henderson, the firm which acquired Gartmore. The stake is valued at GBP13.8m.

From early July, the high yield management team (EUR3.7bn) at Threadneedle, led by Barrie Whitman, will include seven people, three of whom will be portfolio managers (Whitman, Michael Poole and David Backhouse) and four analysts, with the arrival of Gareth Simmons (ex Morgan Stanley) and Jenny Wong (ex Putnam Investments) as analysts. “Now the high yield team is complete,” says Jim Cielinski, head of fixed income.