P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock appears to be the asset mangement firm with the most to lose out of Swedish pension fund reforms, Financial Times fund management estimates. As of 31 December, the AP3 fund (USD40.2bn in assets) was using the US asset management firm for seven out of nine discretionary mandates, totalling USD6.1bn. AP4 (USD40.5bn) has invested USD856.1m in four funds from BlackRock in late 2012. The newspaper reviews mandates for other funds and notes that Tobam has USD233.5bn in assets under management for the AP1 fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After a trial of more than five months, five former employees of Bernard Madoff were yesterday found guilty by a federal jury of contributing to a vast system of fraud constructed by US fraudster Bernard Madoff, who is serving a 150-year prison sentence, Agefi reports. The individuals concerned are the former director of the back office, Daniel Bonventure, the portfolio managers Annette Bongiorno and Joann Crupi, and the IT developers Jerome O’Hara and George Perez.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } La Française AM is adding to its product range, with the creation of LFP France PME, which is eligible for the French PEA PME programme, and LFP PEA Flex, a flexible fund of funds, which is diversified and global under open architecture. The two new solutions come as additions to the existing PEA range, and extend the investment opportunities under an optimised tax regime. The launch of the LFP France PME fund of French equities comes as part of the global programme launched by the French government to support the development of French small businesses and start-ups. These businesses are the drivers of the economy as contributors to growth and creators of jobs. LFP France PME provides a way to invest in French SMBs with strong potential for growth over a recommended investment duration of over 8 years. The other strategy, LPF PEA Flex, is presented as an intermediate risk offering eligible for PEA. The fund of funds unites flexible allocation, multi-asset class diversification, global geographical coverage and selection in open architecture. LFP PEA Flex aims to optimise its performance after taxes over a recommended investment horizon of 3 years, while generating target ex-post volatility of 15% excluding exceptional market circumstances, and modulating exposure to equity markets between 0% and 100%.

Parvest, the Luxembourg-registered Sicav which aims to be the shop-window for BNP Paribas IP’s active management business, is getting an overhaul. Its range has been extended and now includes new “assistance” services dedicated to professionals who recommend it or invest in it.Parvest, whose assets now total EUR35bn, has 106 sub-funds, after registering or engulfing no less than 54 new funds between last year or this year. The reason for the additions is a “need to give Parvest a coherent and legible product range which provides access to the best of our management expertise,” Philippe Marchessaux, director and CEO of BNP Paribas IP, explains.Parvest now offers seven distinct asset classes: a sectoral equity range with eight sub-funds has been released, as well as a range of three funds which invest in listed real estate. The developed country equity range has been reinforced with as many as 16 funds investing in emerging markets, 10 of them in equities and six in bonds. With management centres in Russia, Brazil, and Indonesia, sub-funds investing in the countries or regions in question are managed “locally,” adding to the international aspect of the Sicav.In order to win over professionals active in the distribution and private banking sectors, BNP Paribas IP has developed 7 websites in 5 languages, which also provide access for mobile devices through an iPad app and other forms digital communication.The objective is as follows: available in 32 countries worldwide, in Europe, Asia and South America, Parvest, according to the BNP Paribas IP CEO, is expected to see a rapid rise in its assets. With its multi-share system, Parvest reaches a wide and varied range of investors. In figures, though no precise data has been disclosed, the goal of the asset management firm is to increase assets under management by at least EUR10bn by 2016.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock has recruited Man-Yeon Choi from Schroder Investment management as country head for South Korea, International Adviser reports. His appointment will take effect from 3 June 2014, and he will report directly to Andrew Reynolds, chief financial officer and head of corporate strategy for Asia-Pacific. Choi will be responsible for supervision and development of all activities at BlackRock in South Korea. He replaces Sung Nak Yang, who had been director of the Korean entity for the past six years. Choi had previously been head of sales in Korea for Schroder. He also worked at Korea Investment Trust for 15 years.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the new business model at the BNP Paribas group, unveiled on 24 March at an investor day, which will continue to be based on three pillars, the investment solutions unit, which includes asset management, private banking, securities services and insurance, is expected to generate about 1/6 of the group’s activities in 2016, compared with one third for finance and investment banking, and half for retail banking. Revenues for the investment solutions unit, which totalled EUR6.32bn in 2013, are expected to rise by 5% annually until 2016, while the cost/income ratio, which was 69.3% in 2013, may improve by 2 percentage points by 2016. BNP Paribas had last autumn already unveiled the new plans for its investment partners division, with inflows expected to relaunch by 2016 (+EUR40bn) in three areas: institutional clients, the Asia-Pacific region, and emerging markets, platforms, and distribution networks.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Chinese asset management association (AMAC) has awarded registration certificates to 50 alternative asset management firms located in China, as part of a new regulatory regime, which will allow them to operate similarly to their counterparts in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world, Hedge Fund Intelligence reports. Asset management firms approved by the professional association can now manage their own funds directly and sell them to qualified institutional investors and high net worth clients, rather than confiding them to trusts. The list approved by AMAC includes 33 managers of private funds, and 17 managers active in venture capital and private equity. Among the firms which have obtained this valuable status are Shanghai Chongyang Asset Management, Greenwoods Asset Management, PingAn Russell Investment Management, Pegasus Investment Management (Shanghai) and the private equity firms CDH Investment Management (Tianjin) and Sequoia Capital Equity Investment Management (Tianjin). AMAC, which is responsible for overseeing the alternative asset management sector in China, on 7 February opened an electronic trading platform which allows candidates to submit a registration application. More than 1,000 companies are reported to have applied since that date.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asset management firms which have set up good governance practices generally earn the best results for investors, according to a study released by Morningstar. Morningstar studied the practices of asset management firms on the basis of their success rate, which Morningstar defines as the percentage of funds from a firm which have survived and outperformed the median fund in a given category, taking into account total returns and risk-adjsuted returns. To measure governance, analysts studied the average seniority of managers, the retention rate of funds by managers, ownership of shares in the fund by managers and commission levels. In total, higher seniority and fund shareholding rates are associated with more modest commission levels, and also correspond to better improvements in governance and higher success rates. The study finds that companies that employ managers who have over 15 years of seniority have better success rates. Mnagers who invest in funds also have better success rates. And asset management firms where commission levels are lower have better success rates over periods of three, five and ten years.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After four years out in the cold, Greece and Portugal are returning to the foreground of the financial scene. Investors seeking returns are flooding to equities from the two countries, whose fundamentals are improving, the news agency Reuters reports. The Greek and Portuguese market indices, the ATG and Portugal PSI 220 indices, are up by about 14% since the beginning of the year, while the Stoxx Europe 600 is near its levels at the beginning of the year. According to figures from Thomson Reuters Lipper, funds investing in Portuguese equities posted net inflows of EUR30bn in January, nearly as much as in all of 2013, and after constant redemptions in the three previous years. Assets in these funds, however, total only EUR381bn, only one quarter of the levels achieved in 2007. Despite the rebound observed recently, Greek and Portuguese equities, on the basis of the value of their assets, were still trading at a marked discount compared with equities from other European markets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNY Mellon Asset Management is forging an association with Tobam, according to two investment bankers cited by Financial News, in an article about consolidation in the asset management industry. The British newspaper observes that several asset management firms, including Amundi, Robeco, La Française and Henderson, are seeking acquisitions. On the other side, an older generation of managers who created their companies in the 1980s and 1990s, are seeking to sell while the markets remain healthy. Bankers estimate that sale prices are about 13 to 14 times EBITDA, their highest level since 2007.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Spanish asset management sector is certainly hotly coveted. After Jupiter Fund Management (see Newsmanagers of 10 March 2014), three new foreign asset management firms decided to set out on the assault in Spain, and to register themselves with the local regulator, the CNMV, Funds People reveals. The most recent is Charlemagne Capital, an independent asset management firm specialised in investment in emerging markets, and especially equity markets (long-only and long/short), though it also have funds which invest in bonds and currencies. The asset mangement firm on 14 March registered its UCITS Magna Umbrella Funds Plc Sicav with the CNMV. Silk Invest, a British asset management firm specialised in emerging markets, and especially frontier markets, has also set up shop in Spain in the past few weeks, and has registered an African equity fund, the Silk Africa Lions Fund, and a bond fund, the Silk Africa Sovereign Bond Fund, with the regulator. Lastly, on 7 February this year, Kleinwort Benson registered its Kleinwort Benson Investors Institutional Fund Sicav with the CNMV.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UBS Global Asset Management (UBS GAM) is extending its product range for Spanish investors. The Swiss asset management firm has opened subscriptions to two new funds which will invest in high yield emerging market debt, Funds People reports. The two products concerned, which are set to mature in 2018, are the UBS Emerging Markets High Yield Bonds 2018 EUR and UBS Emerging Markets High Yield Bonds 2018 USD. Depending on the fund selected, the investor may decide to invest in US dollars or with this currency hedged in euros. The two funds will invest as a top priority in high yield bonds issued by emerging market governments or corporates. The estimated returns for the vehicle are 5.84% (without excluding commissions or potential defaults). The subscription period began on 24 March and will end on 4 April, from which date the funds will be closed to all new subscriptions.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Year after year, the hedge fund sector in the United Kingdom is becoming increasingly concentrated. According to a study published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the British regulator, the 20 largest companies now control 82% of assets under management, and 94% of gross exposure to market risk. “The study illustrates the extent to which this USD2.6trn industry is important in the United Kingdom,” says Clive Adamson, director of supervision at the FCA. “With nearly 20% in overall assets under management in the country, it is important for people to have confidence in the way we can regulate this market. The challenge for us is to ensure that this market operates at the highest standards of integrity in order for London to be able to maintain its position in this important global market.” Nearly USD470bn are managed by hedge funds in the United Kingdom, with 450 companies registered with the FCA. The study is based on data from September 2013 from 49 companies, with USD481bn in assets under management worldwide, including USD206bn in the United Kingdom, and 106 funds which have USD345bn in assets under management. In the United Kingdom, the industry has grown speedily in the past decade. Although they represented 10% of global assets under management in hedge funds at the beginning of the 2000s, funds managed in the United Kingdom by these hedge funds now represent 18% to 19% of global assets (USD2.63trn). Meanwhile, the study points out that since the financial crisis, institutional investments have become the main source of new money for hedge fund vehicles. They represent 42% of total investment, well ahead of funds of funds (21%) and family offies and high net worth clients (13%). Between September 2010 and September 2013, the proportion of funds of funds fell from 29% to 21%. The study finds that hedge funds have increased their leverage in order to increase their market share and profits. Collectively, British funds have raised a gross total which represents 64 times assets under management, compared with 54 times their assets in March 2013. According to the FCA, of this total leverage, 98% is made using derivatives to gain market exposure.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock has produced a detailed report on the impact for investors of potential Scottish independence, Financial Times fund management reports, having obtained a copy of the document. The US asset management firm, which employs 550 people in Edinburgh, predicts that Scottish independence would create “major uncertainty, costs, and risks” for companies and funds based in the region and the rest of the United Kingdom.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at Martin Currie last year rose 26% to a total of nearly USD10bn, according to Hedge Fund Intelligence. This development is largely due to an increase in assets under management in the alternative sector, to USD2.5bn as of the beginning of 2014. Of this total, hedge funds represent USD1bn, compared with barely USD250m one year previously.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at Miton have risen from GBP1.8bn as of the end of 2012 to GBP3.1bn as of the end of 2013, due to the acquisition of Psigma Asset Management, according to annual results released on 24 March. The acquisition of Psigma represented GBP749m in new assets, at a time when net inflows in the strict sense last year totalled GBP351m. Acquisition costs reduced pre-tax profits by 22%, or GBP700,000.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The wealth management firm Gottex Fund Management, a specialist in alternative management, has reduced its losses in 2013. Net profits after minority shareholders were negative to the tune of USD9.7m, after a loss of USD7.6m in 2012, according to a statement released on 24 March. Operating profits were also down sharply, with a loss of USD9.8n (-USD5.1bn in 2012), the firm, domiciled in Guernsey and listed on SIX, states. Shareholders are once again expected to forego dividends. Results for the last fiscal year, as in 2012, were heavily impacted by one-time costs related to acquisitions, a statement says. In 2014, they totalled USD6.1m. Before one-time costs, losses totalled USD2.3m. Assets under management (USD7.1bn) and advised as of the end of 2013 totalled USD8.08bn, up 16% compared with the end of 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at J. Safra Sarain totalled CHF131.4bn as of 31 December 2013, compared with CHF129.6bn as of the end of December 2012, the group says in its annual report released on 24 March. Consolidated net profits for the period were up to CHF180.5m, compared with CHF171m for 2012. Assets under management at the Safra roup, which includes J. Safra Sarasin Holding and its affiliates, Banco Safra and Safra National Bank of New York, as of the end of December 2013 totalled USD205bn.

AXA Real Estate Investment Managers on March 24 announced that the Tokyo Office Property Fund (TOP) has completed the acquisition of Kojimachi, a high quality 2,565 sqm office building situated in central Tokyo’s Chiyoda district, and Harajuku, a prime 3,486 sqm office building located in the Shibuya district of central Tokyo for a total consideration of EUR36 million (¥5.1 billion).These acquisitions are co-investments between TOP and Tokyo Office Real Estate Investment Fund (TOREIF), a fund managed by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Real Estate Investment Management Co. Ltd. Both funds were launched in August 2012. On completion of these transactions, the TOP is now 80% invested and its total assets under management has increased to over EUR106 million (¥15 billion).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Merrill Lynch and the French business school Edhec have decided to team up to develop research into allocation risk and investment objectives in wealth management, the two partners announced on 20 March. The objective is to continue fundamental research into allocation risk as part of a collaboration between Merrill Lynch asset management and the Edhec-Risk institute. The goal of the research project is to provide a rigorous mathematical approach to investments with the objectives of conservation of capital, generation of income for retirement, maintenance of a level of assets to confront liquidity risks, says professor Lionel Martellini scientific director of the Edhec-Risk institute, who will direct its participation in the partnership. On the Merrill Lynch side, the head of the project is Anil Suri, head of portfolio construction and investment analysis for the Investment Management and Guidance division.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Investments by Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) into infrastructure now exceed EUR2bn, according to a statement released on 24 March. The most recent investment is in the A11 motorway extension project in Belgium, for a total of EUR433m. This is the eighth transaction by AllianzGI in one year. AllianzGi constructed a team dedicated to infrastructure in autumn 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management by the German financial services group DVAG last year rose 11% to a total of EUR17.7bn, according to a statement released on 21 March. Net inflows were up 3.2% to EUR1.93bn.

Le groupe financier australien Macquarie serait en passe de vendre sa filiale Macquarie Investment Management Private Markets à son management, rapporte Les Echos. Au terme de l’opération, cette activité de fonds de fonds, qui gère 5 milliards de dollars à travers toute la zone Asie-Pacifique, serait rebaptisée « ROCEquity Partners ». Le recentrage auquel procède Macquarie s’inscrit dans la même mouvance stratégique que les cessions récentes menées par Credit Suisse et Citi pour se conformer à la «Volcker Rule».

Les fonds de pension néerlandais pourraient être contraints de faire appel à des administrateurs étrangers dans les toutes prochaines années, selon des spécialistes du secteur.A l’occasion d’un séminaire sur la gouvernance organisé par F&C, Maas Simon, associé de la société de conseil Xudoo, a évalué à 500 ou 600 le nombre de postes vacants dans les conseils d’administration des fonds de pension au cours des deux ou trois prochaines années en raison du vieillissement des administrateurs mais également des exigences réglementaires de plus en plus importantes, rapporte IPE.

T. Rowe Price prépare activement son retour en Amérique latine. Le gestionnaire d’actifs américain envisagerait en effet de s’implanter au Brésil après avoir quitté l’Argentine en 2013 suite à la décision du gouvernement local de renforcer ses contrôles et ses exigences en capital, rapporte Financial News.En choisissant le Brésil, T. Rowe Price, qui gère environ 692,4 milliards de dollars d’actifs, rejoint ainsi une longue liste de groupes qui ont installé des bureaux dans le pays ces dernières années, à l’instar de Pimco, Brevan Howard ou Aberdeen Asset Management, énumère le site d’information britannique. «Nous avons conduit une étude approfondie sur l’Amérique latine et le Brésil est le candidat le plus probable, a reconnu Christopher Alderson, responsable des actions internationales chez T. Rowe Price, dans un entretien à Financial News. Dans une perspective de qualité de vie, nous préférons Rio à Sao Paulo.» Le dirigeant a également indiqué que la compagnie regarde aussi l’Uruguay et le Chili comme bases possibles pour ses activités en Amérique latine. Auparavant, les activités de T. Rowe Price en Amérique latine ont été basées en Argentine pendant 16 ans.

Julius Baer a annoncé ce mardi la prise d’une participation majoritaire dans le capital de la société de gestion de fortune brésilienne GPS Investimentos Financeiros e Participações SA («GPS») en augmentant sa présence au capital de 50 points de pourcentage. Julius Baer Group Ltd détient désormais 80 %.« Cette augmentation fait suite à une coopération très réussie à ce jour et souligne l’objectif stratégique de Julius Baer de construire une entreprise leader de la gestion de fortune au Brésil, l’un des marchés les plus attractifs nationaux de gestion de fortune à travers le monde et le plus grand marché de la gestion de patrimoine en Amérique latine», indique un communiqué.GPS, qui comprend les sociétés GPS Planejamento Financeiro Ltda. et CFO Administração de Recursos Ltda., est le plus grand gestionnaire de fortune indépendant au Brésil. Il dispose d’environ 6 milliards de francs suisses d’actifs sous gestion, un encours qui a presque doublé au cours des trois dernières années.

Les actifs sous gestion de J. Safra Sarasin s'élevaient à 131,4 milliards de francs suisses au 31 décembre 2013, contre 129,6 milliards de francs à fin décembre 2012, indique le groupe dans son rapport annuel publié le 24 mars. Le bénéfice net consolidé de l’exercice a progressé à 180,5 millions de francs suisses, contre 171 millions de francs au titre de 2012.Les actifs sous gestion du groupe Safra, qui englobe J. Safra Sarasin Holding et ses filiales, Banco Safra et Safra National Bank of New York, s'élevaient à fin décembre 2013 à 205 milliards de dollars.

BlackRock semble être la société de gestion ayant le plus à perdre d’une réforme du secteur suédois des fonds de pension, estime le Financial Times fund management. Au 31 décembre, le fonds AP3 (40,2 milliards de dollars d’encours) utilise la société de gestion américaine pour sept de ses neuf mandats externes discrétionnaires pour un montant de 6,1 milliards de dollars. AP4 (40,5 milliards de dollars) a investi 856,1 millions de dollars dans quatre fonds de BlackRock fin 2012. Le journal passe en revue les mandats des autres fonds et note que Tobam gère 233,5 millions de dollars pour le fonds AP1.

Les gestionnaires d’actifs qui ont mis en place de bonnes pratiques de gouvernance obtiennent généralement de meilleurs résultats pour le compte des investisseurs, selon une étude publiée par Morningstar. Une appréciation intuitive que l'étude a permis de confirmer.Morningstar s’est penché sur les pratiques des gestionnaires sur la base de son taux de réussite, que Morningstar définit comme le pourcentage des fonds d’une société qui ont survécu et surperformé le fonds médian dans une catégorie donnée, en prenant en considération le «total return» et le rendement ajusté du risque. Pour mesurer la gouvernance, les analystes ont étudié l’ancienneté moyenne des gérants, le taux de conservation des fonds par les gérants, la détention par les gérants de parts de fonds ou encore le niveau des commissions.Au total, des anciennetés et des taux de conservation des fonds plus élevés, des pourcentages de détention de fonds plus importants associés à des niveaux de commissions plus modestes correspondent généralement à de meilleures appréciations sur la gouvernance et à des taux de réussite supérieurs.L'étude montre notamment que les sociétés qui emploient des gestionnaires qui ont plus de quinze ans d’ancienneté affichent de meilleurs taux de réussite. Les gestionnaires qui investissement dans les fonds enregistrent également les meilleurs taux de réussite. Et les sociétés de gestion dont les niveaux de commissions sont moins élevés enregistrent de meilleurs taux de réussite sur des périodes de trois, cinq et dix ans.

Parvest, la sicav de droit luxembourgeois qui se veut la vitrine de BNP Paribas Investment Partners en matière de gestion active fait peau neuve. Considérée comme le navire amiral de la société de gestion, elle vient de voir son offre passablement étoffée et bénéficier de nouveaux services «d’accompagnement» dédiés aux professionnels qui la préconisent ou y investissent. Parvest dont les encours gérés sont actuellement de 35 milliards d’euros, présente désormais 106 compartiments après avoir enregistré ou regroupé pas moins de 54 nouveaux fonds entre l’année dernière et cette année. A l’origine de cet enrichissement, «la nécessité de doter Parvest d’une gamme cohérente, lisible et donnant accès au meilleur de nos expertises de gestion ", a expliqué à Newsmanagers Philippe Marchessaux, l’administrateur directeur général de BNP Paribas IP. Et de rappeler que la société de gestion dispose de quoi séduire après l’intégration des gammes de Fortis IM, d’ABN AMRO, ou encore de l’existence dans son orbite de sociétés de gestion comme Fischer Francis Trees & Watts (FFTW) ou autres filiales de gestion spécialisées d’ores et déjà représentées dans Parvest. Moyennant quoi, entre rationalisation et développement, Parvest propose désormais pas moins de sept classes d’actifs distinctes. Une gamme actions sectorielles de huit compartiments a fait son apparition, ainsi qu’une gamme de trois fonds investis dans de l’immobilier coté. La gamme actions pays développés a été renforcée et, surtout, pas moins de seize fonds investis sur les marchés émergents dont dix en actions et six en obligations ont été ajoutés. Qui plus est, avec des centres de gestion en Russie, au Brésil, en Indonésie, les compartiments investis dans les pays ou les zones en question sont pilotés «sur place», renforçant ainsi l’aspect international de la sicav. Par ailleurs, pour séduire les professionnels évoluant dans le secteur de la distribution comme de la banque privée, BNP Paribas IP a développé 7 sites internet dans 5 langues qui leur sont dédiés, et auquel ils pourront ou encore l’accès via des mobiles à une application iPad et autres moyens de communication digitaux. «L’objectif ici consiste à les accompagner, les conseiller dans leurs stratégies d’investissement et leur permettre également de réaliser des simulations», ajoute Philippe Marchessaux. Dans un premier temps, ces services d’accompagnement concerneront uniquement les détenteurs de parts C - réservés à la distribution et aux banques privées. Cela étant, une nouvelle version doit très prochainement voir le jour, permettant aux institutionnels – essentiellement la banque privée - d’en bénéficier également. Reste à savoir pour quel objectif. Distribuée dans 32 pays dans le monde, en Europe mais également en Asie ou en Amérique du sud, Parvest doit, selon le directeur général de BNP Paribas IP, voir son encours progresser rapidement. Avec son système multiparts, Parvest, il est vrai, ratisse large et touche des clientèles variées. En chiffres, bien qu’aucune donnée précise ne soit communiquée, l’ambition de la maison est d’augmenter les actifs sous gestion d’au moins 10 milliards d’euros à horizon 2016...Dans l’immédiat, la sicav fait de BNP Paribas IP le premier gérant européen et le troisième mondial, par l'étendue de la gamme proposée dans Parvest et le nombre de pays dans lesquels elle est agréée à la distribution aux particuliers.