Le gestionnaire d’actifs britannique Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) vient de nommer Richard Lee en tant que directeur financier en remplacement de Siobhan Boylan, qui a annoncé en août son départ pour rejoindre Brewin Dolphin, rapporte le site InvestmentEurope. Richard Lee travaillera aux côtés de Siobhan Boylan au cours des prochains mois pour assurer la transition. Richard Lee sera rattaché à Mark Zinkula, directeur général de LGIM. Dernièrement, il occupait le poste de directeur de la performance pour le groupe Legal & General. Depuis qu’il a rejoint le groupe britannique en 1997, il avait occupé plusieurs postes dont celui de directeur financier et de responsable des risques chez L&G Retirement.

HANetf, la plateforme européenne de distribution d’ETF en marque blanche, a annoncé, ce 8 octobre, le lancement des fonds HAN-GINS Cloud Technology Ucits ETF (SKYY) et HAN-GINS Global Innovative Technology ETF (ITEK) à la Bourse de Londres à compter du 10 octobre 2018. Ces deux nouveaux véhicules sont le fruit d’un partenariat HANetf et GinsGlobal Index Funds, un gérant basé notamment en Afrique du Sud et sur l'île Maurice, et spécialisé sur les fonds indiciels (2 milliards de dollars d’encours).Ces deux nouveaux ETF doivent permettre aux investisseurs de s’exposer aux entreprises en pointe en matière de transformation technologique et d’innovation industrielle à l’échelle mondiale, assure un communiqué. Dans le détail, le fonds HAN-GINS Cloud Technology Ucits ETF suit l’indice Solactive Cloud Technology, qui comprend 50 entreprises actives dans les domaines des logiciels et des services basés sur le « cloud ». Le fonds utilise un processus basé sur l’intelligence artificielle pour identifier et capter les opportunités d’investissement. Le fonds affiche un TER de 75 points de base.Pour sa part, le fonds HAN-GINS Global Innovative Technology Ucits ETF suit l’indice Solactive Innovative Technologies, un indice mondial et diversifié composé de sociétés pionnières dans le domaine des révolutions industrielles. Le fonds cible en particulier des entreprises impliquées dans les secteurs de la robotique et l’automatisation, le « cloud » et le big data, la cyber-sécurité, les voitures du futur, les médias sociaux, la réalité virtuelle et augmentée et la blockchain. Le fonds affiche également un TER de 75 points de base.

The NovESS fund, dedicated to financing the social and solidaristic economy, has announced that over the summer it has acquired five stakes, totalling EUR4.5m, to assist in the development of projects. The investments are in UCPA Sport Loisirs, an association of the UCPA group, for a total of EUR2.5m in associative shares; Kelbongoo, a company specialised in the sale of farm products through co-operatives, for EUR500,000 in shares and convertible bonds; Illusion & Macadam, a collective interest cooperative company, via a stake of EUR300,000 in participative shares; and lastly, Learn Enjoy, a company specialised in the design and distribution of educational apps to help children with learning difficulties, in which NovESS has bought a stake of EUR250,000 in shares. NewsManagers has previously reported on this investment of 12 September. The NovESS fund is acting under a mandate from the Banque des Territoires (CDC group), BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas Cardif, CNP Assurances, Crédit Coopératif, Ircantec, Mutuelle Nationale Territoriale, Union Mutualiste Retraite and ERAFP, with management outsourced to Mandarine Gestion. p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; }

Atream, an asset management firm specialised in hotel real estate investment, yesterday announced the launch of SCPI Pierre Altitude, dedicated to mountain tourism real estate. The variable capital SCPI aims to constitute and manage rental real estate assets over the long term in the mountain tourism sector. Pierre Altitude will invest primarily in real estate properties to be used as hotels, tourist residences and managed hotel residences at popular cross-country skiing locations. Subscriptions to the SCPI will be open from 15 October 2018, and the recommended investment duration is set at 10 years. The subscription price is EUR250 for one share. The subscription commission and management commission are 10% before tax, or 12% with all taxes included. p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; }

Natixis Investment Managers yesterday announced the appointment of Suhail Albaz as executive managing director and regional head for the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. In his new role, Albaz will steer institutional, wholesale and family office activities in this large region. Albaz will be based in Dubai, and will report to Oliver Bilal, head of international sales and marketing. Albaz joins from Columbia Threadneedle, where he served for nine years, most recently as head of institutional and wholesale activities for the Middle East. He began his career as an analyst at Mashregbank, and then became head of products and commercial development at Sinogulf Real Estate Investments and Abu Dhabi Investment Company. p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; }

The private equity firm Ardian on Monday, 8 October announced that it has signed an agreement with Moonlake Capital for the sale of ADA Cosmetics Holding GmbH (ADA International), a European specialist in the manufacture of high-end cosmetic products aimed at the hotel industry. The financial details of the operation have not been disclosed. Ardian Expansion acquired the firm in 2014 via its Ardian Expansion Fund III. Since then, the firm has developed through a buy-and-build strategy, with the acquisitions of Scandinavian Amenities, Pacific Direct and RDI Malaysia. Earnings have nearly doubled, and now exceed EUR110m. Meanwhile, the client base has grown from 15,000 to more than 25,000, and the number of employees has more than doubled, to 700 people. ADA International was founded in 1979 in Kehl, Germany. The firm is a specialist in the production and sale of high-end products such as shampoo, shower gel, soap, body lotions and other accessories for the hotel industry. p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; }

Le multi-family office zurichois Belvoir Capital a investi dans la fintech allemande spécialiste de la gestion d’actifs en ligne WMD Capital, basée à Munich, sans préciser ni la part du capital acquise ni le montant de l’opération. Belvoir Capital a simplement indiqué être devenu un investisseur de référence de la fintech.A travers cette acquisition, la compagnie suisse entend poursuivre son développement sur la digitalisation de sa gestion d’actifs et ainsi de s’ouvrir à de nouveaux segments de clientèle.Steffen Bauke, fondateur et directeur général de Belvoir Capital, a déclaré qu’il voyait le portail en ligne de WMD Capital comme une opportunité d’atteindre beaucoup de nouveaux clients jusqu’alors délaissés, insuffisamment servis ou qui n’ont pas daigné encore approcher l’univers de la gestion d’actifs.WMD Capital a été lancée en 2016 par Andreas Hauenstein, Jürgen Gerleit et Norbert Schauermann.

Copenhagen-headquartered boutique C WorldWide Asset Management has hired Peter O’Reilly as global equities portfolio manager in October, NewsManagers can reveal.O’Reilly has ended an 18-year stint with Canadian mutual fund provider IG Wealth Management where he served as head of Global Equities and fund manager while based in Dublin. Prior to that, he managed global equities funds for Royal and Sun Alliance. Earlier this year, C Worldwide Asset Management had welcomed Abhinay Rathee as emerging equities portfolio manager.

Global equity portfolio manager Odon de Laporte has departed from Paris-based boutique Gestion Financière Privée (GEFIP) he joined at the start of 2018 as partner and fund manager, NewsManagers has learned.It is understood the move happened in September and that de Laporte has since then resurfaced within the Oddo BHF group.De Laporte had previously worked at Mainfirst where he focused on telecoms and prior that, he had been Kepler Cheuvreux’s head of Research for tech stocks in London.

Northern Trust Asset Management has appointed Wouter Sturkenboom as chief investment strategist for its Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions.In this newly created role, Sturkenboom will be responsible for designing, implementing and communicating global investment strategy to the firm’s investors.Based in the Netherlands, Sturkenboom reports to Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist, Northern Trust. In his role, he is responsible for helping develop tactical and strategic investment strategies and supporting Northern Trust Asset Management’s multi-asset class initiatives worldwide.This hire follows that of Marie Dzanis, who was named as head of Northern Trust Asset Management’s business for EMEA in July 2018.Sturkenboom most recently spent six years at Russell Investments as a senior investment strategist first based in London and then in New York. Prior to this he served in a similar role at Kempen Capital Management in Amsterdam during six years.Northern Trust AM had $954.4bn of assets under management as of end June 2018.

Allianz Global Investors’ chief investment officer credit Europe Vincent Marioni has given his outlook for the European credit market at the occasion of a press event in Paris on 8 October 2018.Says Marioni, the gradual correction observed on the European credit market has enabled it to retrieve fair valuations and beyond. He added that fundamentals in the asset class remain robust (issuers’ indebtedness levels are reasonable in Europe, default rates are low and companies are liquid enough) while risk is well rewarded.Marioni outlined the European central bank provides further visibility with the ceasing of its corporate sector purchase programme scheduled for next December. «Markets have priced in the ECB stopping the CSPP since March-April 2018. It is somewhat secondary for us. We are convinced spreads of eligible and non-eligible securities to the CSPP will converge,» he explained. However Allianz GI’s CIO Credit Europe highlighted several uncertainties linked to geopolitical risk, including Italy and Brexit for the European segment as well as a soaring risk in emerging countries such as South Africa, Turkey or Brazil. Additionally Marioni observed markets are less indulgent with corporate bond issuers now compared to the start of 2018 and last year.Questioned over the likelihood of a global recession, Marioni said he cannot picture such event occurring before 2020. «A crisis has not occurred in 2017, some see it happening in 2020. We cannot say what would be the catalyst but a recession could happen in 2020 as monetary policies tighten, financing cost rise and eventually recession could start in the United States. But it is a theme we are likely to consider at the end of 2019."As for 2019, the market environment makes it attractive for European credit. Recession survenes when we expect it the least. Nobody would have bet on such strong growth in the US. It is a very long cycle. Consequently, a market reversal is even more feared, especially in the US,» said Marioni.The state of Italian banks has also been highlighted by Simon Outin, portfolio manager and analyst focusing on European banks at Allianz GI. Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit are both plays of the Allianz Euro High Yield fund.Outin pointed out the Italian sovereign exposure of Italian financials was still strong. Moreover, even if they have reduced their exposure to non-performing loans, Italian banks do not benefit from it because of the risk that currently weighs on Italian sovereigns.

Rocket Software, a global technology provider, announced the signing of a definitive agreement for Bain Capital Private Equity to acquire a majority stake in the company. The enterprise value of the transaction is approximately $2 billion. Rocket Software will continue to operate under its current management team, led by President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Youniss.“This new relationship will allow us to devote significant resources to our new global R&D organization, while developing and delivering even more solutions that help our customers both optimize and modernize their applications, data, and security infrastructure on IBM Z, IBM i, and MultiValue application platforms.”, said Youniss.Bain Capital Private Equity has made investments in a wide range of software companies including Applied Systems, BMC Software, CentralSquare Technologies, MYOB, Skillsoft, SunGard Data Systems, Symantec, Viewpoint Construction Software, Vertafore, and Waystar.The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including requisite regulatory approvals, and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2018. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Credit Suisse served as financial advisors and Dechert LLP served as legal advisor to Rocket Software. Kirkland & Ellis is serving as legal counsel, and PwC is acting as accounting advisor to Bain Capital Private Equity.

Amundi announced yesterday the launch of its 2021 Action Plan, with the aim of strengthening its engagement in responsible investment. It will be based on 4 main line of actions. The firts is to have 100% ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) issuer rating, investment management and voting policy at general meetings. Extra-financial analysis based on ESG criteria will be extended to all the investment strategies, both active and passive, wherever technically feasible,ESG performance will systematically be taken into account by Amundi in its shareholder dialogue with issuers and in its voting decisions at general meetings, which are already based on a stand-alone analysis,The second is strengthening of advisory activities for institutional clients to support them in their ESG strategies and in implementing innovative initiatives,The group has also the ambition to double the amounts invested in initiatives related to the environment and with a high social impact, by increasing the volume of thematic funds to €20bn,Amundi wants as well a stronger commitment to social businesses, by increasing the amounts invested in the social and solidarity economy from €200m to €500m."Right from its inception, Amundi considered responsible investment as one of its four founding pillars. This choice was based on two convictions: the necessary responsibility of companies and investors towards society, and the fact that building responsible investment into investment policies is also a guarantee of financial performance when taking a long-term view. With its three-year plan, Amundi is strengthening its engagement and meeting the expectations of its retail and institutional clients.», comments Amundi CEO Yves Perrier. Well aware since its creation of its responsibility towards society, Amundi already boasts €280bn in responsible investment assets under management. 19% of the Group’s total assets already take ESG criteria into account, in addition to traditional financial analysis criteria.

Degroof Petercam Asset Management (DPAM) is continuing to add to its convertible bond expert unit in Paris, at Degroof Petercam Partners (DPG), its management centre in the French capital. Following the arrival of Laurent Le Grin from Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management as head of the convertible bond team (see NewsManagers of 4 October 2018), Boris Rochereuil now becomes the next to join Degroof Petercam Gestion, “to manage and develop convertible bond expertise out of Paris,” a statement says. Rochereuil will serve as convertible bond manager. “DPAM is taking an important new step in its development,” say Peter De Coensel, a member of the board at DPAM and DPG, and Laurent Gaetani, head of DPG, in a statement. “Le Grin will direct our efforts to construct an expertise in convertible bonds at Degroof Petercam Gestion in Paris.” Rochereuil holds a Master’s degree in finance from Neoma Business School, and a Master’s from the Université Paris Dauphine, and joins from Mirabaud & Cie, which firm he joined in 2013 as head of fundamental analysis. Before that, he had served from 2011 at Amundi as a specialist in common investment funds (FCP). p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; }

It is the end of an era: after 32 years at Janus Henderson Investors, Tim Stevenson, director of pan-European equities, has decided to retire at the end of first quarter 2019, the asset management firm has announced. Stevenson will remain as part of the team to ensure a smooth transition. Stevenson is a veteran at Henderson, which he joined in 1986. As a result of his decision, Janus Henderson Investors has appointed James Ross as the sole manager of the Janus Henderson Horizon Pan European Equity fund. Ross had previously been co-manager, and has been working closely with Stevenson to manage pan-European equity portfolios since August 2016. Ross has been a member of the European equity team for several years, after serving as a British equity fund manager. He has 11 years of experience in the asset management sector. p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; }

The Swiss asset management firm Unigestion on 8 October announced the appointment of Didier Anthamatten as senior investment manager, and the promotion of Nicolas Poignant as assistant investment manager on the equity derivatives team. Both will concentrate on the management of volatility strategies, the asset management firm says in a statement. Anthamatten, who has over a decade of experience in managing strategies specialising in derivatives, joined Unigestion during 2018. He had previously been head of equity derivative trading at Pictet & Cie, a firm he joined in 2011 as a proprietary trader on equities derivatives. Before joining Pictet, he was an equity derivatives trader at Deutsche Bank from December 2007, after beginning his career a few months earlier at Goldman Sachs in the equity derivatives sales department. Poignant joined Unigestion in February 2015 as a quantitative analyst specialised in risk modelling and optimisation. He had previously done an internship as part of the quantitative team at RMA Asset Management in 2014. Unigestion currently has over USD3bn in liquid alternative assets distributed over all asset classes, with a significant proportion of strategies related to volatility, the asset management firm says. p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; }

Reyl Overseas, an affiliate of Swiss wealth management group Reyl that provide investment advisory services to US clients, has named René Marty as its new chief executive officer. The entity is registered with the SEC - the US financial markets authority - as an investment advisor. Before joining Reyl Overseas, Marty worked as managing director and CEO of UBS’s SEC-licensedsubsidiary, Swiss Financial Advisers, from 2009 to 2017. Reyl Overseas was launched in 2011.

Zurich-based multi-family office Belvoir Capital hasrecently purchased a stake as an anchor investor in the German fintech WMD Capital that specialises in the selection of asset managers. Through the transaction, whose financial details were not disclosed, Belvoir Capital aims at pursuing the path of shaping digitalisation in the asset management industry and opening up new client segments that attach particular importance to modern and efficient asset management. Steffen Bauke, founding partner and CEO at Belvoir Capital, said : « The financial world is undergoing breathtaking changes as well. We see this transformation as an opportunity to develop new solutions for our clients. Our aim is to be abreast of the times and to continuously work on an optimal and needs-based offer for our clients. « With our investment in WMD Capital GmbH, we aim to be on the forefront of this step into the digital world. We see the portal as a tremendous opportunity to reach many new clients who have hitherto been poorly and insufficiently serviced or who have not yet dared to approach the subject of asset management. » WMD Capital was founded in 2016 by Andreas Hauenstein, Jürgen Gerleit and Norbert Schauermann.

Angela Müller-Valkyser, coresponsable de la gestion de fortune en Allemagne chez Berenberg, quitte la société au bout de seulement neuf mois «pour raisons personnelles», rapporte le site spécialisé Private Banking Magazin. En conséquence, Dirk Wehmhöner, qui copilotait la gestion de fortune avec Angela Müller-Valkyser, va assumer seul la direction de la gestion de fortune sur le marché allemand.Avant de rejoindre Berenberg, Angela Müller-Valkyser a travaillé pendant de nombreuses années chez Deutsche Bank dans la gestion de fortune ainsi que dans la banque d’investissement.

Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (Edram) a annoncé ce matin la nomination de Kris Deblander au poste de directeur des gestions actions et dettes d’entreprises. Agé de 45 ans, il était déjà directeur adjoint de ce département et reporte désormais à Philippe Uzan. Intégré à l’équipe de gestion d’Edmond de Rothschild Fund Income Europe depuis l’an dernier, il devient également gérant principal de ce fonds.

La production industrielle a baissé contre toute attente de 0,3% en août, dans le sillage du secteur du bâtiment, a annoncé ce matin le ministère de l’Economie. Ce dernier observe que, globalement, le secteur industriel a connu un mauvais été. Les économistes interrogés par Reuters prévoyaient en moyenne une hausse de 0,4% en août. Pour le mois de juillet, le recul de la production industrielle est révisé à 1,3%, contre un repli de 1,1% auparavant indiqué.

Le gérant d’actifs ambitionne de généraliser d’ici 2021 son processus de notation ESG propriétaire à l’ensemble de ses véhicules d’investissement.

De passage à Paris à l’occasion de la Ryder Cup, Martin Gilbert, co-CEO d’Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), revient sur la fusion avec Standard Life dans un entretien accordé à NewsManagers et l’Agefi Hebdo.

BNP Paribas Asset Management is set to drop its Parvest Equity Australia fund by merging it with the Parvest Equity Best Selection World, NewsManagers has found out.Both funds will be gathered on 8 December 2018. BNP PAM Asia had been handed the management of the Australian equity strategy last August following the closure of Sydney-based boutique Arnhem Investment Management, to which BNP PAM had delegated the management of the fund intially. Moreover, BNP PAM held a 40% stake in the Australian manager. In a shareholder notice seen by NewsManagers, BNP PAM argues assets under management of the Parvest Equity Australia fund have plummeted since 2010 to reach AUD46m (€28.2m) in June 2018 from AUD259m (€159m). AUM of the fund have lingered under the AUD50m threshold (€30.7m) since the end of 2017, Additionally, BNP PAM points out investors show less interest for Australia and that distributors seek to focus on more diversified markets. A last reason raised by the manager dwells in the lack of diversity in the Australian equity market whose commodities exposure is too large according to BNP PAM.

State Street a annoncé avoir bouclé le rachat du spécialiste des données Charles River Systems, Inc. (Charles River Development). Cette opération de 2,6 milliards de dollars avait été dévoilée en juillet dernier. Avec les solutions de front office de Charles River Developement, State Street va désormais disposer d’une plateforme complète et globale reliant le front, le middle et le back office. Les 700 collaborateurs de Charles River Development ont rejoint State Street et John Plansky, responsable de l’activité Global Exchange au cours des dix-huit derniers mois, a été nommé directeur général de Charles River Development. En outre, State Street annonce la mise en place d’un comité consultatif qui devrait alimenter les réflexions pour la développement de la plateforme, échanger avec la concurrence et proposer de nouveaux produits et solutions répondant aux tendances du marché.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs américain TCW a annoncé la nomination avec effet immédiat de Penelope Foley au sein de son conseil d’administration. Elle est la seule femme au sein du conseil d’administration de la société. L’intéressée remplace Jess Ravich, qui a démissionné du conseil d’administration. Ce dernier a démissionné à la suite d’une enquête révélant des « communications non professionnelles » entre lui et Sara Tirschwell, qui poursuit le gestionnaire de fonds pour harcèlement sexuel présumé, rapporte la presse américaine. Jess Ravich conserve toutefois son poste de responsable des actifs alternatifs.Penelope Foley est actuellement gérante de portefeuille et co-responsable de la division en charge des marchés émergents et des actions internationales. Avant de rejoindre TCW en 1990, elle a été « senior vice president » chez Drexel Burnham Lambert. Avant cela, elle a été « vice president » de la banque d’investissement de Citicorp et responsable de Eurosecurities, un projet de financement et de placements privés pour l’Amérique latine et le Canada. Au cours de sa carrière, elle a également été « associate » dans le département « corporate finance » de Lehman Brothers.

Fidelity Investments a annoncé que son responsable de la gestion d’actifs, Charles Morrison, partira en décembre après 32 ans passés au sein de la société, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. L’intéressé, un ancien gérant obligataire, dirigeait le département depuis cinq ans. Son successeur sera nommé « à court terme », a indiqué un porte-parole. Charles Morrison a piloté l’activité pendant une période difficile pour le secteur, où des montants records se sont dirigés vers des fonds indiciels et autres gestions passives. Dans ce contexte, il a élargi la gamme d’ETF et d’investissements à faibles coûts. Les encours sous gestion de Fidelity ont augmenté de 37 % sur ces cinq ans à 2.600 milliards de dollars.

Manon Savelkouls a rejoint l'équipe de conseillers clientèle de T. Rowe Price au bureau d’Amsterdam, rapporte le site spécialisé Fondsnieuws. Elle travaillait dernièrement chez BlackRock où elle était depuis dix ans responsable des ventes et des relations avec la clientèle. Rattachée à Jan Eggertsen, directeur pour l’Europe centrale et nordique, elle travaillera aux côtés de Wim de Ruijter, Auko Koopal et Michel van Mazijk.

Le fonds de pension néerlandais PGGM a annoncé la nomination de Gerko Baarslag au poste nouvellement créé de chief information officer (CIO) à compter du 1er novembre 2018. Dans ses nouvelles fonctions, il sera responsable de l’architecture informatique de la société et de son développement. Avant de rejoindre PGGM, Gerko Baarslag a travaillé chez le spécialiste néerlandais de l’exploration pétrolière Fugro en qualité de CIO, responsable de l’informatique et de l’innovation numérique au niveau mondial.