The US life insurer MetLife on Tuesday launched an asset management activity, which will be focused on real estate and private investment in debt, Financial News reports. The group, which is one of the largest institutional investors in the world, already has about USD50bn in private investments, a portfolio of real estate loans of USD43bn, and investments in equity of real estate worth USD10bn. The new affiliate will be entitled MetLife Investment Management.

With the Russell Retirement Lifestyle Solution, Russell Investments has launched an investment and planning programme which aims to assist independent financial advisers to construct portfolios aimed specifically at preparation for retirement.The resource will be available exclusively via financial advisers. The underlying strategy is based on a adjustable investment system which aims to maintain the financing rate for the client at over 100% during retirement.The Retirement Lifestyle Solution aims to meet the three major concerns of clients: stability of income (reliability), concerns about losing money (sustainability) and concerns about retaining control over their assets (flexibility).Initially, the Retirement Lifestyle Solution will be available via some of the major clients of Russell among registered investment advisors (RIA) and two longstanding Russell partners, Cambridge Investment Research and Lincoln Investment Planning.

According to an SEC notification announcing that the PineBridge U.S. Micro Cap Growth Fund and PineBridge U.S. Small Cap Growth Fund will be integrated into the range of mutual funds from Jacob Asset Management, PineBridge Investments has announced plans to withdraw from the management of Us mutual funds, Mutual Fund Wire reports. On 30 June, PineBridge, a former AIG affiliate dedicated to mutual funds, announced assets of USD68.6bn.

With the recent recruitment of four managers by its affiliate FFTW (Boston) from Rexiter (see Newsmanagers of 1 October), the BNP Paribas Investment Partners group (BNPP IP) has completely modified its strategic approach to investment in emerging market debt, which accounts for about USD6bn in assets, largely in seven funds.John Morton, CIO, emerging market debt, told Newsmanagers during a visit to Paris that the major change compared with the previous management team is in the fact that the approach is more geographical now, with active exposure to countries, as the BNP Paribas group has specialists located virtually everywhere in the world. The process had previously separated local currency from interest rate aspects.The product range from BNPP IP in the area of emerging market debt is currently centered around three “global” funds (strong currencies, local currencies and corporate bonds), two multi-segment funds (investment grade and total return), and lastly, two regional products (emerging Europe and Asia ex Japan). According to John Morton, the possibility of adding a Latin America fund to the range has not been ruled out.

In September, assets under management by AllianceBernstein rose by USD8bn to a total of USD419bn at the end of the month, and three other major firms, Franklin Templeton, Legg Mason and Invesco, posted total increases of USD51.1bn last month.The strongest increases in assets, with USD18.9bn each, were for Franklin Templeton, with USD749.9bn as of 30 September, and Legg Mason, with USD650.7bn. Invesco, for its part, has posted an increase of USD13.3bn in its assets under management, to USD683bn.In the area of pure equity, Franklin Templeton stands out with an increase of USD9bn (to USD297.1bn), while Invesco has posted an increase of USD5.4bn, to USD300.6bn.

The pension fund CalPERS on 11 October announced that one of the members of its board of trustees, Priya Sara Mathur, will join the board of the association for the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), which oversees the application of the Principles. Assets under management at CalPERS total about USD241bn. The network of SRI signatories includes over 1,000 international investors, representing about USD30trn in assets.

On 11 October, Old Mutual Asset Management (OMAM) announced that it will be selling five of its US asset management affiliates, 2100 Xenon Group, 300 North Cpaital, Analytic Investors, Ashfield Capital Partners and Larch Lane Advisors, with total assets under management as of the end of June of UD11.7bn, to their managements, for an undisclosed amount.At the closing of the transactions expected by the end of this year, OMAM will have only nine asset management affiliates, with assets under management as of 30 June of USD196.9bn.Sales are expected to improve margins at OMAM in 2013 and to bring in USD100m for reinvestment.

Primonial Group has announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Roche-Brune Asset Management. The partnership, announced by Newsmanagers in its 10 October edition, makes Patrimonial Group a nearly 70% shareholder in the asset management firm led by Bruno Fine, which has more than EUR100m in assets under management, mostly in venture capital and European equity management. The agreement, which is subject to approval by the AMF, would help the asset management firm’s commercial development and to increase its visibility to institutionals, family offices and multi-managers. For Groupe Patrimonial, the new asset management unit is a part of its multi-boutique model. It will provide access to the expertise of Roche-Brune AM for its independent financial adviser and institutional clients.

The CEO for Asia Pacific at ING Investment Management, Grant Bailey, will be leaving the firm, Asian Investor reports. The departure comes at a time when negotiations between Ameriprise Financial, its affiliate Threadneedle Asset Management and ING over the sale of the Asian activities of the latter have broken down. Bailey will be replaced by Satish Bapat, currently chief financial officer.

Credit Suisse AM is scaling up its product range on the Italian market with five equity products and six bond products, Bluerating reports. The funds are: Credit Suisse Sicav (Lux) Equity Russia, Credit Suisse Sicav (Lux) Asian Equity Dividend Plus, Credit Suisse Sicav (Lux) Equity Asia Consumer, Credit Suisse Sicav (Lux) Equity Biotechnology and Credit Suisse Sicav (Lux) Equity Luxury Goods. Credit Suisse AM has also announced the arrival of four senior managers in the equity team led by Filippo Rima, and four experts in the fixed income management team led by Maurizio Pedrini and Michel Degen.

Bloomberg reports that Pimco is opening an office in Rio de Janeiro, with 15 members, including some transferred from New York, and local recruitments. Alec Kersman, head of Latin America & Carribean Operations, says that Rio has ambitions to become the centre of gravity for the activities of Pimco in Latin America.

EDHEC-Risk Institute has released a comprehensive new study in response to the European Commission White Paper entitled “An Agenda for Adequate, Safe and Sustainable Pensions,” published on February 16th, 2012, which proposed a series of measures related to information and monitoring, European harmonisation and portability, and pension design.In a letter addressed to Mr László Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, on October 4, 2012, EDHEC-Risk Institute considers that the European Commission White Paper constitutes a first step but that the Commission should go further in terms of harmonisation and better take into account the specifics of the financial management of pension funds. As such, EDHEC-Risk has highlighted three key messages from its study:1. The current pension debate should be used by the Commission to foster increased coordination in pensions reform. When discussing the sustainability of public finance, one medium-term objective could be to recognise unfunded implicit pension commitments. 2. The prudential framework for pensions is bound to have far-reaching consequences, and it needs to respect the particularities of pension providers, which are not those of insurers. 3. New regulation should encourage the generalisation of asset-liability management practices, both for pension funds and individual retirement products, using the best available knowledge and techniques and evaluating micro as well as macroeconomic impacts. A move towards hybrid pensions could, with this objective in mind, provide a more adequate conceptual framework for European countries to converge towards.

According to Fundweb, Legal and General Investments, Ignis Asset Management, Fidelity Worldwide Investments, Threadneedle Investments, Henderson Global Investors, Kames Capital, Investec Asset Management, Jupiter and Standard Life all announced on Thursday that they do not intend to follow the example of Witan Investment Services, which will be discontinuing trail commissions before the date that the Retail Distribution Review comes into effect on 31 December.

The wealth manager IIG Financial Services has retained RBC Investor Services to provide it with currency and custody services, according to a statement released by RBC. The Gibraltar-based business has awarded a mandate to RBC Investor Services as part of an international development strategy.

Newedge has launched an improved currency prime brokerage platform which offers institutional investors access to the international currency markets. Trading infrastructure has been updated and connections to electronic forex market platforms have been scaled up.

The financial ratings agency Fitch Ratings has completed its examination of a group of major global banks, and their outlooks are stable, except for Société Générale, the agency has announced in a statement. The group of 13 institutions was established one year ago by Fitch as part of a vast evaluation of the major global financial groups. Fitch has confirmed its existing rating for 12 banks – Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and Société Générale – the firm explains in a statement, adding that the 13th bank, HSBC, will be studied again in six months’ time. The two Swiss banking institutions, UBS and Credit Suisse, retain their A ratings, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale also retain their A+. Fitch is more prudent in the case of Société Générale, which gets a negative outlooks for its long-term debt, reflecting the rating for France. The lowering of the outlook implies a potential change to the rating in the mid-term, and reflects the engagement of the French state in the banking institution. More generally, for the sector, the outlooks are stable, according to Fitch, based on improved liquidity, financing, and capitalisation. Despite everything, banks continue to bear up to crosswinds, as the macro-economic environment continues to represent a challenge, as do market conditions that remain volatile, particularly in Europe.

Andreas Schmid, who had been director of distribution for private banks and wealth managers at Fidelity Investment Services Germany, is joining Pimco as vice president global wealth management for Germany and Austria, Das Investment reports.

A statement to the market released on 11 October has announced that the two heads of the German financial service provider Aragon Financial Services AG, Sebastian Grabmaier and Ralph Konrad, have taken control of the business via their holding company. Aragon Holding has acquired a 40.7% stake in capital from Angermayer, Brumm und Lange Unternehmensgruppe GmbH (ABL Group). The other shareholders are Axa (27%), Citigroup Financial Products (10%) and Credit Suisse (8%).The transaction, whose amount was not disclosed, is justified by the fact that it is impossible to realise significant synergies between the financial product distribution activities of Aragon and the capital market operation of ABL Group.The deal, which will be completed by the end of the year, will result in a change in directors. The chairman of the supervisory board will be Herbert Walter (former chairman of the managing board at Dresdner Bank), while the co-chairman will be the lawyer Christian Waigel. Walter had previously been director. He replaces Harald Petersen as chairman of the supervisory board.

The Allianz group already manages assets of EUR1.3bn in shares in companies of the renewable energy sector and EUR1bn for other infrastructure (gas distribution, parking). It has now announced the establishment of a team at Allianz Global Investors (AGI) dedicated to private equity investment in the area of renewable energies and infrastructure, which complement the recently-created infrastructure debt team led by Deborah Zurkow (see Newsmanagers of 6 July).The first investment products are already in the process of development, and the team is planning to launch a diversified portfolio of investments in renewable energies aimed at institutional investors in the near future.Armin Sandhoevel, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Climate Solutions (ACS) for more than five years, will be director of the new team as director of private equity investment in Renewable Energies / Infrastructures. He will be assisted by five team members from the ACS investment team, including the portfolio managers Roderick MacDonald and Martin Ewald.The infrastructure debt team has been scaled up since July, with the arrival of four former members of Trifinium Advisors, an affiliate of monoliner MBIA, who followed their CEO, Deborah Zurkow, and who are specialists in long-term investment in infrastructure debt, with faultless track records in terms of defaults. The idea is to help to pick up the slack from governments, which no longer have the financial resources, due to their debt levels, and from banks caught up in the maelstrom of Basel III, on more rewarding projects, with a liquidity premium compared with classic corporate bonds, lower default rates, and recovery rates of about 80%.With Zurkow’s team, Allianz Global Investors is creating a platform for third-party institutional investors interested in liability-driven investment (LDI), for deals totalling between EUR10m and EUR200m, either in the form of funds or mandates.

The former head of the British equities unit at Alliance Trust, Neil Tong, has joined Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) as senior credit analyst in the fixed income team, Investment Week reports. Tong, who spent 16 years at Alliance Trust, until the British equity desk was closed in August, will report to Laurent Frings, head of credit research.

Ignis Asset Management will sell its 50% stake in the capital of Cartesian Capital Partners, as the two asset management firms have decided to end their joint venture, founded in 2005.Cartesian, a boutique specialised in UK equity management, was the last joint venture of Ignis AM, which has gradually pulled out of the other asset management companies in which it had bought stakes: Hexam and Argonaut. The Scottish firm in 2010 decided to end development of its network of partner boutiques in order to promote internal financial management.Cartesian Capital Partners will lose its independence. The boutique will reappropriate distribution of its funds and operational support, which had previously been provided by Ignis AM. The transition will take 9 to 12 months.

Annabel Gillard, who had been head of UK institutional business development at Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), in September joined M&G Investments as UK sales director in the bond distribution team. As a first priority, she will be responsible for assisting UK-based consultants and institutional investors.Gillard will report to Bernard Abrahamsen, head of institutional sales & distribution.

The Spanish official gazette (BOE) has published announcements of four fines levelled by the CNMV against Ahorro Corporación for a total of EUR475,000, Funds People reports. The penalties are for failure to respect standards for valuation of assets in the portfolios of funds, in the period following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.Ahorro Corporación stresses that no shareholder suffered damages due to these methodological differences.

The Swiss asset management firm Swiss & Global Asset Management has become the eighth promoter to be licensed to sell its ETFs in Spain, Funds People reports. The first seven promoters are: Lyxor AM, iShares, Credit Suisse, db x-trackers, HSBC, Amundi and ETF Securities. Swiss & Global AM arrives on the market with four actively-managed products of the Julius Baer Smart Equity line, which have already been listed in Frankfurt since June: JP Smart Equity ETF World, JB Smart Equity ETF Emerging Markets, JB Smart Equity ETF Europe, and JP Smart Equity ETF Asia.

Net sales of UCITS recorded net inflows of EUR 24 billion in August, up from EUR 6 billion in July, according to statistics from the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA).This increase in net sales came on the back of a turnaround in net sales of money market funds, which ended the month with net inflows of EUR11bn, against net outflows of EUR18bn in July.Long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) registered net inflows of EUR 13 billion in August, down from EUR 25 billion in July. Bond funds continued to record strong net inflows (EUR 18 billion), albeit down from EUR 24 billion in July. Equity funds recorded their fifth consecutive month of net outflows in August (EUR 10 billion, compared to EUR 3 billion in July). Balanced funds registered increased net sales in July (EUR 6 billion, compared to EUR 3 billion in July.Total net sales of non-UCITS reduced in August to EUR 5 billion, down from EUR 11 billion in July. Net inflows into special funds (funds reserved to institutional investors) registered EUR 4 billion in August, down from EUR 9 billion in the previous month.Total net assets of UCITS increased by 0.3% in August to EUR 6,200 billion, whilst non-UCITS net assets increased 0.5% in the month to stand at EUR 2,458 billion.

Safra Group on 11 October confirmed the provisional results of its takeover bid (OPA) for Sarasin, announced on Monday. At the expiration of their extended bid, on 5 October 2012, Safra controlled 98.73% of A and B classes of shares in Sarassin, representing 99.26% of voting rights.

Edith Jousseaume, directrice des investissements de l’Ircantec à la direction des retraites et de la solidarité dans un article publié dans l’Agefi Hebdo : Après avoir fait évoluer l’allocation du c??ur du portefeuille ces dernières années, l’IRCANTEC va se pencher sur la mise en place de poches de diversification sur de nouveaux pays, produits ou styles de gestion, et ce toujours avec une préoccupation ISR. Nous allons mener ces travaux en 2013. Déjà quelques pistes sont sur la table comme les obligations convertibles, les obligations des collectivités locales, le financement des PME et plus tard le private equity. Cette diversification pourrait se faire au travers de fonds ouverts.

Stéphane Cros de la direction financière de Groupama Loire-Bretagne à la rédaction d’Instit Invest : En ce qui concerne les actions, nous sommes passés de 25% à 18%, nous avons profité depuis le début de l’année de la remontée des marchés financiers pour réduire notre poche, en cédant notamment les OPCVM actions détenus. Nous sommes dans une politique de désinvestissement de façon intelligente. Notre stratégie consiste à vendre des titres en plus et moins values tout en conservant les valeurs qui ont encore un potentiel de hausse. A ce titre, notre mandat de gestion nous permet d'échanger avec le gérant sur les différentes valeurs à désinvestir. En conséquence, nous disposons d’une poche de cash, qui oscille entre 10 et 12%. La baisse des taux de rendements monétaire ne nous inquiète pas tant que nous conservons notre capital. Nous sommes toujours dans une optique de renforcement de l’obligataire, à la recherche de rendement, nous nous sommes positionnés sur de la dette émergente ainsi que sur du high yield. Néanmoins, nous ne pouvons pas bâtir notre portefeuille sur ces produits, qui restent donc à la marge. Groupama Loire Bretagne a décidé d’investir dans les convertibles gérés par Groupama Asset Management. L’année 2013 nous semble loin, nous sommes en pleine incertitude actuellement, nous ne nous posons même pas la question de recommencer à investir.

Les inscriptions hebdomadaires au chômage ont, contre toute attente, très nettement reculé aux Etats-Unis lors de la semaine au 6 octobre, à 339.000, soit un plus bas depuis plus de quatre ans et demi, contre 369.000 (révisé) la semaine précédente, a annoncé le département du Travail. Les économistes attendaient en moyenne 370.000 inscriptions au chômage. La moyenne mobile sur quatre semaines s'établit à 364.000 contre 375.500 (révisé) la semaine précédente.

Sous le coup d’un cinquième mois consécutif de baisse des exportations, le déficit commercial des Etats-Unis est ressorti à 44,2 milliards de dollars en août selon les données publiées par le département du Commerce, contre 42,5 milliards en juillet (révisé de 42 milliards). Les exportations américaines dans leur ensemble ont affiché un repli de 1%, les difficultés européennes pesant sur la croissance mondiale, mais elles ont tout de même atteint 181,28 milliards de dollars.