P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Das Investment, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EdRAM) may soft close its convertible fund EdR Europe Convertibles, due to very strong demand from investors. Asstes under management in the fund total over EUR1.3bn, and as assets have recently topped EUR1.45bn, the fund may on a temporary basis be closed. Since its launch in 1993, the fund has earned annual returns of 6.7%, which puts it in the top decile of its Morningstar category.

Robeco has been accepted as an independent participant by the United Nations Global Compact, after participating via Rabobank Group, its previous parent company, for more than ten years. Today, the asset manager is owned by Japan’s Orix. The UN Global Compact is a strategic initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their strategies and operations with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. It has over 12,000 corporate participants and other stakeholders from more than 145 countries.

First State Investments has announced appointments for its European institutional team.Chris Gower is granted additional responsibilities and is appointed to the position of head of EMEA consultant relationships. Gower joined the firm in 2013, in order to develop the First State franchise and to strengthen the co-ordination and structuring of First State’s activities with consultants in the region.In order to consolidate relationship management initiatives at First State, Jimmy Burna will join the firm in early May as main head of relationships. He will be based in Edinburgh. Burns previously worked in the Stewart Ivory team (First State Stewart) for 14 years, as director of European equities. He was more recently director of his own consulting firm in the United States.Alongside these appointments, Kanesh Lakhani, head of distribution for EMEA and global consultant relationships, has announced the creation of a speciaised development team which will aim to form institutional relationships for the company. As a part of that, Denise Saber is appointed to the new position of director of development for institutional business in Europe. She will be based in London, and will be responsible for creating and maintaining relationships with the primary owners of European assets. She will join First State on 15 April.Lastly, Frank Glennon joins First State in the new position of head of commercial development for Europe. He will be based in London, and will report to Saber. Glennon, who currently works at Falcon Money Management in London, will join First State on 5 May.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Swiss & Global is planning an ambitious marketing campaign for its ETFs, with the objective of attracting CHF2bn in assets in 1 to 3 years, Ignites Europe (Financial Times group) reports. After launching ETFs on the Zurich stock exchange last week, the Swiss asset management firm is hoping to do the same on the London Stock Exchange and to extend its product range, firstly with a US equity fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Chris Pugh, founder and COO of Cantab Capital Partners, is leaving the hedge fund firm at the end of March, Financial News reports. His responsibilities have been passed to Fraser McIntyre, who joined the firm in September.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Rubicon Fund Management has recruited the former Citigroup analyst Sean Wolpert, Financial News reports. Wolpert rejoins his former colleague Richard Cookson, who joined the macro hedge fund firm as head of research, after leaving the US bank about one year ago.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Guillaume Jalenques de Labeau, chairman of Mansartis calls the recent events at his asset management firm not a revolution, but a new ambition. For starters, it has a new name – Mansartis – which replaces the title PGC. Mansartis has also added to its OPCVM management team. Two senior managers have joined the team: Cécile Imbert, ex-Prigest, who arrived in late 2013, who managed the Prigest US fund, and Sébastien Lemonnier, formerly of Tocqueville Finance, who was co-manager of the Tocqueville Value Europe fund. The change of names will allow the asset management firm to gain visibility, but is also a sign of new ambitions at the group. It is true that in 2013, Mansartis posted slightly positive total inflows of “between EUR5m and EUR10m,” which, in combination with favourable market effects (+6%), took assets under management at the firm to “about EUR550m to EUR600m.” The 6 public funds alone represent half of these total assets. In 2014, Mansartis is betting on total inflows of EUR40m to EUR50m, of which, according to its chairman, one quarter has already been achieved. External development comes next. But here, no surprises are on the horizon: the growth model at Mansartis is based on a highly concentrated client base (under 400 clients) in 2 categories: individuals on the one hand, and foundations, charities and NGOs on the other. Overall, 90% of these clients are French.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Morgan Stanley Investment Management has performed a series of recruitments to add to its distribution team for North America, Financial News reports, citing an internal memo. To cover instituitonals, the firm has recruited Mike Chambers (formerly of Columbia Management), Christina Barren (Corbin Capital) and Greg Best (Kayne Anderson Rudnick). Kevin Breen, who had been at Santa Barbara AM, will also serve institutional and wealth management clients as executive director. Doug Johnsoton and Alex Marashlian also join MSIM.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } John Klein has left his position as chairman of the asset management firm Guggenheim Investmetns, a spokesperson for the firm has confirmed to Mutual Fund Wire.com. Klein joined Guggenheim Investments in 2012, after being a partner at Citigroup Private Equity since 2007. He was previously a partner at Jupiter Partners. The reasons for his departure have not been revealed. However, according to an article in Barron’s, Klein is said to have resigned amidst suspicions of sexual harassment, and is replaced by Scott Minerd, currently chief investment officer at Guggenheim Partners.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The hedge fund industry is returning to good health. According to statistics released by the agencies BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research, speculative funds pulled in USD24.3bn in February, the best monthly inflows in three years. In January, subscriptions totalled only USD4.4bn. “The hedge fund industry has amassed USD28.7bn in January and February, up 83% compared with USD15.7bn in inflows last year in the same period,” says Sol Waksman, chairman and founder of BarclayHedge. This inflow of new money puts assets in the industry at USD2.2trn in February, the highest level in five and a half years, according to estimates based on data from 3,374 funds. Assets rose 18% in the past 12 months, but they are still down 11% compared with a peak of USD2.4trn in June 2008.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Premier Asset Management has promoted Nick Kelsall to the position of investment manager on its multi-asset class team, Fundweb reports. Kelsall previously worked on the team responsible for portfolio management for private clients at Premier. He previously worked at the wealth management firm Rensburg Sheppard, which is now an affiliate of Investec Wealth.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Giovanni Carriere, one of the partners at Autonomous, a financial research company, will join JP Morgan Asset Management, Financial News reports. He will be a buy-side analyst responsible for financial sector shares in emerging market, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at BayernInvest (Bayerische Landesbank group) last year rose 13.4%, to a total of EUR48.8bn, according to a statement from the firm. This double-digit growth is related largely to strong activities for institutional funds and mandates, with growth of EUR5.7bn, or 16.1%. However, assets under management in open-ended funds have remained stable. Pre-tax profits were up 13.8%, to over EUR7bn. The cost/income ratio improved to 77.5%, from 78.8% the previous year. The firm this year hopes to top EUR50bn in assets under management, with an enrichment of its range of products and services. The client portfolio at BayernInvest includes 40% insurance companies, savings banks (20%), pension funds (19%) and corporates (about 11%).

The European Commission on April 9 adopted measures to improve the corporate governance of around 10 000 companies listed on Europe’s stock exchanges. This would contribute to the competitiveness and long-term sustainability of these companies. Other proposals would also provide cost-efficient company law solutions for SMEs which operate across borders. The package of measures implements key actions identified in the Communication on the long-term financing of the European economy of 27 March.The proposal to revise the existing Shareholder Rights Directive (Directive 2007/36/EC) would tackle corporate governance shortcomings relating to listed companies and their boards, shareholders (institutional investors and asset managers), intermediaries and proxy advisors (i.e. firms providing services to shareholders, notably voting advice). Too often, as the crisis showed, shareholders supported managers’ excessive short-term risk taking and did not monitor closely the companies they invested in.The proposals would both make it easier for shareholders to use their existing rights over companies and enhance those rights where necessary. This would help ensure shareholders were more engaged; better hold the management of the company to account and act in the long-term interests of the company. A longer term perspective creates better operating conditions for listed companies and improves their competitiveness. Key elements of the proposal include stronger transparency requirements for institutional investors and asset managers on their investment and engagement policies regarding the companies in which they invest as well as a framework to make it easier to identify shareholders so they can more easily exercise their rights (e.g. voting rights), in particular in cross-border situations (44% of shareholders are from another EU Member State or foreign). Proxy advisors would also have to become more transparent on the methodologies they use to prepare their voting recommendations and on how they manage conflicts of interests.For the first time, a European «say on pay» would be introduced. Today, there is an insufficient link between management pay and performance and this encourages harmful short-term tendencies. The proposals would oblige companies to disclose clear, comparable and comprehensive information on their remuneration policies and how they were put into practice. There would be no binding cap on remuneration at EU level but each company would have to put its remuneration policy to a binding shareholder vote.The policy would need to include a maximum level for executive pay. It would also need to explain how it contributes to the long-term interests and sustainability of the company. It would also need to explain how the pay and employment conditions of employees of the company were taken into account when setting the policy including explaining the ratio between average employees and executive pay.Eurosif (the European Sustainable and Responsible Investment Forum) has welcomed the European Commission’s proposal to amend the Shareholders’ Rights Directive. In the coming weeks, it will consult its members to analyse the details of the proposal and will publish a more comprehensive response in due course.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Prudential will launch a global emerging market fund of funds, which will give investors access to five emerging market funds, including some which are closed to new investors. The funds concerned are the First State Global Emerging Markets Leaders, Aberdeen Emerging Markets, M&G Global Emerging Markets, Fidelity Emerging Markets and JP Morgan Emerging Markets Income funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Temasek, the Singapore sovereign fund, on Wednesday announced the launch of a vehicle for institutional investors, and eventually retail investors, who would like to co-invest with it in the area of private equity, Pensions & Investment reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } JP Morgan Asset Management has chosen to slow inflows to its Luxembourg-registered fund US Small Cap Growth, which is approaching USD400m in assets, Citywire Global reports. The fund, launched in 2003, has been managed by Etyan Shapiro since its creation.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNP Paribas Investment Partners (IP) is planning to launch an asset management firm in Mexico in 2014, as part of its development policy in Latin America, Ligia Torres, head of Asia-Pacific and emerging markets, announced at a press conference held in Singapore, cited by Bloomberg. The asset management arm of BNP Paribas would also like to launch activities in Colombia and Peru.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Daily on-book trading volumes on the European markets of Euronext in March totalled EUR264.6m, up 5.8% compared with the end of February, and 6.7% compared with March 2013, according to monthly statistics by Euronext. Total on-book transactions in the month under review came to EUR5.6bn, up 11.1% compared with February, and 12.1% with March 2013. Bloc trades totalled EUR1.15bn in March, down 18.2% compared with February, and 1% compared with March 2013. The median spread last month totalled 25 basis points, up 1% compared with February, and 6% compared with March 2013.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Banco Madrid Gestión de Activos is adding to its product range. The asset management firm, an affiliate of the Spanish banking group, has launched a new passive, non-guaranteed target return fund, Funds People reports. The Premium Plan Rentabilidad VII fund will invest in European high yield bonds, including public or private debt with ratings of under BBB- issued by Spanish municipalities, Spain, Portugal, Italy and the United Kingdom. The new fund, whose performance objective is not guaranteed, aims to return the full initial investment in January 2020, plus an annual return of 3%.

Temasek, le fonds souverain de Singapour, a annoncé mercredi le lancement d’un véhicule pour les investisseurs institutionnels et à terme les investisseurs particuliers qui souhaiteraient co-investir avec lui dans le domaine du capital investissement, rapporte Pensions & Investment.

Banco Madrid Gestión de Activos étoffe sa gamme de produits. La société de gestion, filiale du groupe bancaire espagnol, a lancé un fonds passif à objectif de performance non-garanti, rapporte Funds People. Baptisé Premium Plan Rentabilidad VII, ce véhicule investira dans des obligations européennes high yield, à savoir des dettes publiques ou privées en euros de notation inférieure à BBB- émises par les communautés autonomes espagnoles, l’Espagne, le Portugal, l’Italie et le Royaume-Uni. Ce nouveau fonds, dont l’objectif de rendement n’est pas garanti, a pour objectif de restituer la totalité de l’investissement initial à horizon janvier 2020, plus un taux de rendement annuel de 3%.

La banque Banque Martin Maurel dont le bénéfice net hors éléments exceptionnels a progressé de 13% en 2013 poursuit sa croissance en développant notamment son activité de gestion auprès des clients institutionnels (caisses de retraites, mutuelles santé, fondations, etc.), indique L’Agefi. L’encours de la banque sur ce segment de clientèle est passé de 150 millions d’euros il y a trois ans à un milliard d’euros fin 2013 ce qui représente aujourd’hui 15% de son encours total. En 2014, l'établissement entend faire progresser encore davantage la part de sa clientèle institutionnelle. «Nos quelques clients institutionnels historiques souhaitaient nous confier davantage d’actifs; en outre, il est apparu qu’avoir une clientèle privée est un gros atout auprès des institutionnels de taille intermédiaire», explique Patrice Henri président du directoire de la banque.

La société de gestion A Plus Finance vient de lancer A Plus Transmission 2014, un fonds d’investissement de proximité (FIP) dédié au financement des opérations de transmission d’entreprise. Le fonds A Plus Transmission 2014, qui ouvre droit à une réduction d’ISF, a pour vocation d’accompagner les entreprises françaises pour lesquelles les dirigeants actuels envisagent une cession tout en voulant pérenniser et développer l’activité. Le fonds est investi jusqu’à 60% en obligations. La composante obligataire du financement proposé permet au fonds de percevoir les intérêts versés dès la première année d’investissement du fonds, pour une valorisation plus régulière. Caractéristiques : Durée de vie : 6 ans prorogeable deux fois 1 an

Le fonds Mirova Sustainable Euro Sovereign 1-3 sera rebaptisé Natixis Sustainable Euro Sovereign 1-3 à compter du 16 avril prochain. Code isin : FR0007477625

La société d’investissement indépendante Ardian a annoncé la nomination de Tobias Gewolker au poste de directeur au sein de l'équipe Infrastructure à Paris.Dirigée par Mathias Burghardt, l'équipe Infrastructure d’Ardian gère et conseille plus de 4 milliards de dollars d’actifs. En 2013, l’entreprise a annoncé le succès de la levée de sa troisième génération de fonds pour 1,75 milliard d’euros, son plus grand fonds Infrastructure, indique un communiqué.Né en Allemagne, le nouveau responsable compte plus de 13 années d’expérience dans la banque d’investissement à Londres et plus particulièrement dans les secteurs de l’énergie et des infrastructures. Avant de rejoindre Ardian, Tobias Gewolker a travaillé chez DC Advisory après 4 ans passés chez Barclays Capital. Il a notamment conseillé iCON Infrastructure Partners dans le cadre de l’acquisition de Firmus Energy et également Allianz et Borealis lors de l’acquisition de Net4Gas à RWE à 1,6 milliard d’euros.

Le plan de restructuration de Natixis, présenté à l’automne dernier en comité d’entreprise, entre dans sa deuxième phase et va se traduire par la suppression de 136 nouveaux postes selon la note d’information remise aux syndicats et dévoilée par les Echos. Dans ce cadre, Natixis va fermer d’ici à mars 2015 son Agence Central Particuliers, une petite activité de banque de détail qui rassemble quelque 16.000 clients, 6 agences à Paris et 68 collaborateurs, dont certains pourraient bénéficier d’une mobilité au sein des réseaux du groupe BPCE en Ile-de-France. Selon le document, cette activité «structurellement déficitaire» ne disposait pas de «la taille critique inhérente au métier». Par ailleurs, Natixis va mettre fin à sa « bad bank » (la GAPC) à la mi-2014, ce qui se traduira par la suppression de 14 postes.Enfin, Natixis va réduire les équipes de traitement et de contrôle des opérations de la banque de grande clientèle (back et middle-office), ce qui entraînera la suppression de 49 postes, selon le quotidien économique.

La société de capital investissement CVC Capital Partners a annoncé le recrutement de John D. Clark en tant que managing partner. Basé à New York, il se concentrera sur les investissements dans le domaine du middle-market , la technologie, les logiciels et les services informatiques aux entreprises.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management a procédé à une série de recrutements pour renforcer son équipe de distribution pour l’Amérique du Nord, rapporte Financial News, qui cite une note interne. Pour couvrir les institutionnels, la société a embauché Mike Chambers (ancien de Columbia Management), Christina Barren (Corbin Capital) et Greg Best (Kayne Anderson Rudnick). Kevin Breen, qui était chez Santa Barbara AM, travaillera aussi sur la clientèle institutionnelle et gestion de fortune comme directeur exécutif. Doug Johnston et Alex Marashlian rejoignent aussi la MSIM.

Rubicon Fund Management a recruté l’ancien analyste de Citigroup Sean Wolpert, rapporte Financial News. Ce dernier retrouve ainsi son ancien collègue Richard Cookson, qui a rejoint la société de hedge funds macro en tant que responsable de la recherche après avoir quitté la banque américaine il y a environ un an.