p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 9 December, ProShares announced the launch of what it says is the first long/short ETF fund based on the RAFI index (Research Associates, Fundamental Index), the ProShares RAFI long/short, or RALS, which was admitted to trading on the NYSE Arca platform. The ETF replicates the performance of the RAFI US Equity Long/Short index before fees and commissions. TER is set at 0.95%.For the launch of the product, ProShares has borught in a new marketing slogan: “ProShares, the Alternative ETF Company.” The firm explains that ProShares was the first provider of leveraged ETF funds (reverse or not), and is a global leader in this area. Last year, ProShares launched a 130/30 ETF with Credit Suisse.As of 9 December, assets at ProShares totalled USD25bn in 112 ETF funds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On Friday, Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Securities, filed a civil suit in the Manhattan bankruptcy court to recuperate USD19.6bn from Sonja Kohn, head of the Medici bank in Vienna, who was a central personality in the fraud, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to Picard, the complicity between Kohn and Madoff lasted 23 years, during which time the banker channeled more than USD9.1bn into the Ponzi scheme.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mark, one of the sons of Bernard Madoff, was found hanged in his apartment in Soho in New York on Saturday, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The lawyer for the deceased has confirmed that it was a suicide, on the second anniversary of the arrest of Bernard Madoff.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 30 November, total global assets under management in ETFs according to BlackRock totalled USD1.231trn, USD8bn less than at the end of October. This remains 18.8% higher than their levels at the end of 2009 (USD1.0361trn).However, the number of ETFs increased by 13 over the month, to 2,422 funds, listed 5,413 times (compared with 5,335 as of the end of October), which corresponds to an increase of 24.7% since the beginning of the year, with 530 launches and 51 funds removed from trading (see Newsmanagers of 10 November). Since January, 28 new ETF providers have launched their first products, while three others withdrew from the sector, and 41 are planning their first ETF launches soon.There are currently plans to launch 1,046 ETF funds.BlackRock estimates that net subscriptions to ETFs and ETPs in the United States and Europe represented USD14bn in November, and USD145.5bn in the first eleven months of 2010.The top three asset management firms are iShares (BlackRock retains a comfortable lead with USD549.8bn in assets and 468 ETF funds, and a market share of 44.7% (compared with USD556.1bn and 44.9% as of the end of October). State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) remains in second place with USD17.1bn and 13.9% of the market (USD170.7bn and 13.8%), followed by Vanguard, with USD141.2bn and 11.5% of the market (USD135.2bn and 10.9%).

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Wall Street Journal reports that the hedge fund Aurelius from Mark Brodsky bought junior debt from the Anglo Irish Bank at Usd20 cents on the dollar, and refused to sell it to the Irish government at the same price. It is hoping to make much more, as it has often done in similar situations. But this time, it is up against a government, and Dublin is all the less inclined to give in due to the pressure it is under from European governments. In the first half of 2010, Aurelius saw its assets under management increase from USD750m to USD2.5bn. In January-October, its returns were 12%, following more than 30% in 2009, and losses of only 4% in 2008. Aurelius was not the only hedge fund to pursue opportunities abroad: Balestra Capital, Hayman Capital Partners, North Asset Management and Pivot Capital Management did likewise.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aviva has become a full-fledged member of the British professional association LLMA (“Life & Longevity Markets Association”).The association now has eleven members. Aside from Aviva, the others are Axa, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Legal & General, Morgan Stanley, Pension Corporation, Prudential, RBS, Swiss Re and UBS.The association, which includes insurers, reinsurers and banks, aims to foster the emergence of new financial products which aim to manage longevity risks. The nonprofit association works to elaborate standards for securitisation products, longevity indices, and a model of valuation for mortality, primarily for the British market, which is particularly concerned by this risk, but eventually for international use.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Schroders announced on Friday, 10 December that it has recruited Nicolaas Marais as Head of Multi-Asset Solutions from March 2011. He is currently Global Head of Active Portfolio Management at BlackROck in the Multi-asset client solutions group. He will become a member of the management committee group at Schroders, and will report to Michael Dobson, Chief Executive.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Due to prevailing uncertainty which makes overly set convictions impossible, Aberdeen Asset Management now has a positioning which is both voluntaristic and prudent. Such, at least, is the opinion of Michael C. Turner, head of global strategy and asset allocation, who spoke in Paris on 10 December.“We think 2011 will be dominated for us by two issues: the budgetary situation, both outside and inside the Euro zone, and potential tightening of monetary policies in Asia, which will be more of a risk for second half,” the specialist says.In this environment, Turner is preferring total return instruments, which combine revenue and capital appreciation while offering higher performance than cash and government bonds. For the first half, he favours high-quality credit and real estate markets. However, he has not ruled out the possibility that equities may see a slowdown in their growth (where there is growth), but he remains long on equities, as he has been since September of this year. Currently, multi-asset class portfolios are 65-70% oriented to equities and 15% to bonds. In these two asset classes, Aberdeen assigns an important allocation to emerging markets, which are the engine of global economic activity.The portfolio also includes 5-6% funds of hedge funds, with a particular interest in fixed income arbitrage, while infrastructure receives an allocation of 1-2%, a proportion which is “on the rise.” For commodities, exposure is about 2% to 3%, of which 1% is for gold, where the head of asset allocation has not ruled out the possibility of a price of USD2,000 per ounce, but predicts a consolidation phase in the meantime.Outside mandates, Aberdeen manages a UK-registered multi-asset class fund, the Aberdeen Multi-Asset Fund (GB0031682171), which had GBP609m as of the end of October, and the Aberdeen Global III Multi Asset Asia Pacific (LU0513837459), with USD205.4m. The Scottish management firm is planning to register a Luxembourg version of its OEIC fund.Aberdeen Asset Management will also soon announce the launch of an emerging markets corporate bond fund on 16 December in the UK, for which a sales license will later be sought in France.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In India, the wealth management sector is in a phase of rapid growth, according to a study published recently byt the research and advising agency Celent (“Key Trends in the Indian Wealth Management Market: Market Dynamics at Work.”) The study reveals that the organised wealth management sector has grown swiftly, as opposed to the informal sector, which now accounts for a market share of about 60%, compared with 40% in 2007. The informal sector may shrink to 20% by 2014, Celent estimates. The Indian wealth management market, which had USD780bn in 2010 in terms of assets under management, will top UDS1trn in 2012, and then expand to USD1.2trn by 2014. In terms of segmentation, the UHNW (ultra-high net worth) segment of clients with assets of over USD10m, will fall from 28% of total assets as of 2007 to 22% in 2014, while the HNW (high net worth) segment (USD1m-USD10m), will increase to 28% from 20% in 2007. While the mass market segment (USD5,000 to USD25,000) will reach 25% in 2014, up from 17% in 2007, the mass affluent segment (USD25,000 to USD1m) will fall to 25% from 35% seven years earlier. Family offices, including those dedicated to the UHNW segment, are undergoing unprecedented growth: there are now 450, up from about 300 in 2007.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Chinese management firm Da Cheng International is planning to launch two ETFs on the Hong Kong stick exchange by Christmas. They will be the Da Cheng CSI Hong Kong Private-owned Mainland Enterprises Tracker and Da Cheng CSI Hong Kong State-Owned Mainland Enterprises Tracker. Asian Investor reports that the funds may be launched on 20 December. They will offer investors extended exposure to firms listed in Hong Kong.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In November, money market funds on sale in Sweden saw net outflows of SEK2.6bn, according to statistics from the Swedish investment fund association Fondbolagens Förening. The outflows were just barely offset by net subscriptions of SEK1.6bn to diversified funds, SEK485m for equities funds, SEK151m for bond funds, and SEK232m for hedge funds. For equities funds, investor interest was largely concentrated on North America and Asia. As of the end of November, the Swedish fund sector represented SEK1.869trn, of which SEK1.103trn were in equities funds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Financial News reports that Jeremy Lang and Bill Pattison, UK equities managers at Liontrust until January of this year, will launch three Irish UCITS-compliant funds in first quarter 2011. The products, including a global long/short equities product, will be created through their new firm Ardevora.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 10 December, HSBC launched the HSBC MSCI World ETF on the London Stock Exchange. It is an Irish-registered product which uses optimised replication, investing in some of the approximately 1,600 underlying securities. Characteristics Name: HSBC MSCI World ETF ISIN code: IE00B4X9L533 Total TER: 0.35%

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Basel Committee on 10 December published a guide dedicated to backtesting internal valuations of exposure to counterparty risks, entitled “ Sound Practices for backtesting counterparty credit risk models.” The document reviews regulatory requirements and lays out recommendations to strengthen validation of internal models for counterparty risk evaluation. This will eventually make it possible to improve the financial solidity of banking establishments and the financial system as a whole.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) on 10 December announced the recruitment of four new specialists for its private banking activities in Luxembourg. Stephane Haessaert, 47, joins UBP as Head of Business Development Private Banking. He was previously Head of Business Development for Family Offices and UNHWI at BNP Paribas Wealth International for Europe, Brazil and the Gulf states. Georges Liberman, 43, has joined UPB as head of Wealth Engineering. Liberman was until recently head of Wealth Planning at HSBC Luxembourg. Charles A. Lamoulen, 37, joins UBP as Senior Portfolio Manager. With more than 13 years of experience in portfolio management and investment advisory at Société Générale and UBS, Lamoulen is in charge of the commercial product range for UBP in Luxembourg. Joel Murcia, 45, joins UBP as market head for France. He began his career in 1992 at Ernst & Young, with the Compagnie Générale de Banque Gonet and the Banque de Luxembourg. From 1999 to 2005, Murcia directed a family office.

Alors que le marché des options se normalise, certains fonds de pension n'hésitent plus à jouer sur le terrain des hedge funds

Elisabeth Cassagnes, responsable taux directionnel courbe chez UFG-LFP

Nicolas Forest, responsable de la stratégie taux de Dexia AM

Olivier Lazar, président du directoire d’Olympia Capital Gestion

Maryannick Plomion, gérante diversifiée chez AllianzGI Investments Europe

Avec une nouvelle équipe de direction ETF, la société entend combler son retard en Allemagne et dans les pays scandinaves

L’encours des fonds de fonds alternatifs a chuté de 60 % depuis l’arrestation de l’escroc américain il y a deux ans

Suite à l'émergence des systèmes multibanques et propriétaires, plus de 50 % du trading, selon la BRI, est désormais exécuté électroniquement

Les engagements des banques étrangères ont baissé de 27 milliards de dollars en Grèce d’après la Banque des règlements internationaux

L’AMF et la CRE ont signé un accord leur permettant de partager leur expertise pour mieux identifier les facteurs de risque sur ces échanges

La hausse des prix à la consommation a atteint 5,1% en novembre. La Banque centrale a relevé de 50 points de base le taux des réserves obligatoires

Samuel Bouchet et Marina Cohen, gérants high yield chez Amundi

L’opérateur boursier allemand anticipe une hausse du chiffre d’affaires et du bénéfice pour toutes ses divisions en 2011, a déclaré le directeur financier de l’opérateur boursier allemand, cité par le Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

Après avoir commencé par investir dans un fonds actions zone euro (en octobre 2010), Le Conservateur vient à nouveau de sélectionner un nouveau gérant minimum variance au travers d’un fonds exposé aux marchés émergents. Au total, la gestion minimum variance concerne un actif de 25 millions d’euros logé dans le portefeuille de l’assurance-vie dont la poche action représente environ 10 % des encours. « La gestion minimum-variance apporte de la diversification dans notre allocation actions à un moment où se profile l’application des contraintes de Solvabilité II. L’introduction d’une gestion plus quantitative que celle déployée dans le cadre des investissements en direct, combinée à une plus grande diversification géographique, permet de réduire le risque global de notre portefeuille et donc la consommation de fonds propres», précise Thibaut Cossenet à Bfinance.

L’Irlande commencera à puiser au début de l’année prochaine dans les 85 milliards d’euros mis à disposition par l’UE et le FMI, a annoncé le ministre des Finances Brian Lenihan. Les premiers fonds seront affectés à une partie des besoins d’emprunt du pays.