The US manager Huntington Asset Advisors has announced the creation of a range of actively-managed ETFs entitled Huntingdon Strategy Shares.The first product in the line will be the EcoLogical Strategy ETF (acronym HECO on NYSE Arca), which will charge fees of 0.95% managed by Brian Salerno, Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager.The portfolio will invest at least 80% in shares in companies focused on the environment, and products positioned to profit from ongoing changes in legislation, behaviour of consumers, and corporate investments.The EcoLogical Strategies fund will be distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co.

In April 2012, the amount outstanding of shares/units issued by euro area investment funds other than money market funds was EUR10 billion lower than in March 2012, according to statistics released by the European central Bank. This decrease was due to a decline in share/unit prices.The amount outstanding of shares/units issued by euro area investment funds other than money market funds decreased to EUR6,056 billion in April 2012, from EUR6,066 billion in March 2012. Over the same period, the amount outstanding of shares/units issued by euro area money market fundsincreased to EUR967 billion, from EUR951 billion.Transactions1 in shares/units issued by euro area investment funds other than moneymarket funds amounted to EUR1 billion in April 2012, while transactions in shares/units issued by money market funds amounted to EUR10 billion.In terms of the breakdown by investment policy, the annual growth rate of shares/units issued by bond funds was 3.2% in April 2012. Transactions in shares/units issued by bond funds amounted to EUR11 billion in April 2012. The annual growth rate and transactions of equity funds were -2.4% and minus EUR13 billion respectively. For mixed funds, the corresponding figures were -0.2% and EUR3 billion.

Michel Barnier appears to have some scheduling problems. The European Commissioner in charge of the internal market and services on 19 June announced that the proposed PRIPS legislation (retail investment products) will finally be unveiled in early July. Since last autumn, the publication of the bill, which has been th subject of constant controversy, has already been delayed several times.In addition to the PRIPS bill, Barnier also announced two other initiatives at a conference of the European insurance intermediaries’ federation (Bipar), which will be unveiled in early July. On the one hand, Barnier proposes to revise the rules on the protection of retail investors under the revised MiFID directive, including stricter consequences for losses by financial instruments held at a depository bank.A revised IMD directive will also be presented, which will aim to better protect consumers of insurance products, in line with revisions to the MiFID directive in the area of sales practices, “in order to ensure that practices are consistent for all investment products, including unit-linked life insurance products.”

According to a survey of 722 of its members in the EU and Switzerland by the CFA Institute, investment professionals are concerned that imposing a tax on financial transactions, a tax on financial activities or a bank levy, all three solutions under consideration by the European Commission, will actually result in costs that end users of financial services will ultimately pay: 75% of the total in the case of a transaction withholding tax, 60% in the case of a financial activity tax, and 59% in the case of a bank levy. Meanwhile, specialists also estimate that if the financial transaction tax is not applied worldwide, it will lead to regulatory arbitrage, and will hurt the competitiveness of the European financial sector.

Exclusive talks with Guggenheim Partners over a potential sale of the US asset management firm RREEF (real estate and alternative investments) by Deutsche Bank have fallen through, and the two parties have agreed not to continue talk, Deutsche Bank announced on Wednesday evening. Since then, the German bank, which has not managed to sell any of the other parts of its asset management unit either (DWS in Germany, Europe and Asia), has announced that it will disclose its long-term strategy for ita Asset & Wealth Management division in September.

Only 52 companies, out of a universe of 4,001 worldwide in 2010, published a complete report on sustainable development, a study commissioned by Aviva Investors and undertaken by CK Capital has found («Trends in Sustainability Disclosure: Benchmarking the World’s Composite Stock Exchanges.») This figure is down compared with 2008, at a time when several European stock markets are requiring publicly-traded businesses to include detailed reporting on sustainable development in their financial reports. The figure, however, conceals a varied reality. Some countries stand out in comparison to others. The countries that are highest-ranked in terms of publicly-traded businesses releasing information on sustainable development are the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Spain, and South Africa. The Scandinavian countries place particularly well, with four of them in the top ten. Among emerging countries, two stand out particularly: South Africa (5th) and Brazil (9th). The rankings vary depending on the criteria analysed (energy, greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, waste management, lost time due to work accidents, salaries, and staff turnover), and sectors of activity. By sector, the companies that most closely guard their sustainable development information are financial sector businesses, which are ranked bottom on all seven indicators (energy, grenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, waste management and time lost due to workplace accidents). At the other extreme, utility companies dominate the rankings on most indicators, and take 1st place for release of information about greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, waste management, and staff turnover. Steve Waygood, director of management at Aviva Investors in London, says “we think that it would be highly opportune for public powers to intervene and define a universal palette of sustainable development indicators.”

Lionel Aeschlimann, a partner at Mirabaud and head of the asset management operation, has told Funds People that the Swiss firm is continuing to add to its private banking team in Spain. The objective is to reach total assets in this area of EUR1bn to EUR1.5bn in three years. However, recruitments will not be made at the expense of profitability.

“Taking advantage of strong current demand for wholly-leased properties in London,” the German asset management firm Deka Immobilien has earned an undisclosed capital gain from a sale of the Lumina building on the corner of Oxford Street and Bond Street to Zara for EUR190m. The 7,000 square metre office and retail property had been a part of the open-ended real estate portfolio Deka-ImmobilienEuropa.

Baring Asset Management is going to launch the Baring emerging market corporate debt fund, which will be managed by Faisal Ali, who joined the asset management firm in August 2011, Money Marketing reports. The product will invest at least 70% of its assets in emerging market corporate bonds, issued by businesses based in various countries, rated investment grade or below.

JP Hambro Capital Management will be launching a Global Opportunities fund, while its UK Opportunities fund, managed by the same managers, will be soft closed to new subscriptions, Investment Week reports. The British portfolio currently has assets of GBP900m, and is fast approaching its GBP1bn limit. The two funds are managed by John Wood and Ben Leyland.

Invesco Real Estate has announced the arrival of Timothy Bellman as head of global research, at its Dallas offices. In the global research team, Bellman will focus on global asset allocation and co-ordinating research activities undertaken by regional heads of research in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Before joining Invesco Real Estate, Bellman, 50, spent seven years at ING Real Estate Management, where he was global head of research and strategy, after serving as head of research and strategy for the Asia-Pacific region.

Carmignac Gestion no longer holds any German government bonds (Bund), Les Echos reports. For the past 2 years, the firm, which manages about EUR48bn in assets, has not held any other euro zone government bonds except Bunds. Carmignac Gestion estimates that German government debt “essentially represents a risk management tool. The idea of a larger role for Germany in undertaking the financial risks of the euro zone has been getting bandied about. As a result, the use of Bunds as a refuge security against European risk will be likely to become less effective,” Didier Saint-George, a member of the investment board, explains to Les Echos. Saint-George does not rule out the possibility of “using this management tool again in the future, even if it is not quite as effective as a year ago, when rates had much further to fall than they do now.”

Tiffani Potesta, head of third-party insurance and DC I-0 divisions at DWS Investments, and previously a director at First Eagle Funds, is joining Schroders as head of advisory sales for the United States, Mutual Fund Wire reports. Potesta will report to Erin Brennan, head of intermediary key accounts.

Institutional investors are showing a growing interest in alternative management, which allows them to support their investment objectives, such as diversification and generating alpha, according to the most recent annual study by Russel Investments of alternative management (“2012 Global Survey on Alternative Investment.”)“In an environment characterised by low returns, a high level of economic uncertainty, and volatility on financial markets, alternative solutions represent an essential component of a multi-asset class diversified [approach]. With ongoing volatility and market shocks in mind, institutional investors are seeking to protect their portfolios by structuring them in such a way as to favour prudent risk management, while also seeking to earn returns in various market environments,” says Julia Cormier, director, head of alternative investments at Russell Investments.Institutional investors who participated in the Russell Investments study are highly exposed to alternative investment, with an average of 22%. Among the major reasons for this exposure, diversification is cited by 90% of investors. This is followed by volatility management and low correlation with traditional investments, cited by 64% of investors, and potential returns, cited by 45%.A large majority of respondents to the study say that they are planning to maintain or increase their allocations in the next three years to all alternative categories. 32% of participants are planning to increase their investments in hedge funds and private real estate, 28% for private infrastructure, 25% for private equity, 20% for commodities and 12% for infrastructure and public real estate.The study finds that 49% of investors in single hedge funds use the fund of fund vector, but a considerable proportion of them are planning to set aside this traditional model in favour of specific solutions.Private equity is dominant in North American portfolios, but Europe is not far behind. On both sides of the Atlantic, investors tend to prefer small or mid-sized buyout funds.Lastly, the study finds that investors overall are seeking further training in alternative management. Meanwhile, 91% of North American investors (compared with 68% worldwide) say that they undertake exhaustive due diligence before making new investments.

The UK asset management firm Liontrust Asset Management reached total assets of GBP2.1bn on 18 June 2012, the firm announced in its annual report. On 31 March, assets totalled GBP1.5bn, up since the beginning of April 2011, when they totalled GBP1.343bn. The increase is the result of net subscriptions totalling GBP152m, the acquisition of Occam and positive market effects. Liontrust has reported losses of GBP200,000, compared with losses of GBP4.6m in 2011. Adjusted pre-tax profits came to GBP1m, compared with losses of GBP1.7m in 2011.

Dexia Asset Management has recruited Patrick Kern in Switzerland, for the position of Senior Relationship Manager Institutional Clients for th German-speaking part of the market, finews.ch reports. He had previously been head of new client acquisition for German-speaking Switzerland at Reyl Asset Management.

The Swiss Partners Group has closed its global real estate programme, Partners Group Global Real Estate 2011, with USD800m in assets. Pamela Alsterlind, co-director of the Private Real Estate division, says that 2,200 projects have been analysed, and 43 executed under the programme. Others will be finalised soon.

The Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo is seeking external growth opportunities in the Swiss market, finews.ch reports. It would like to acquire a wealth management firm, with total assets under management of CHF5bn to CHF10bn.

Dexia Asset Management poursuit l’extension de ses activités en Suisse, avec la nomination de Patrick Kern en tant que senior relationship manager, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. Il sera en particulier chargé de la clientèle institutionnelle en Suisse alémanique. Patrick Kern était dernièrement en charge de la succursale zurichoise de Reyl Asset Management, où il était responsable de l’acquisition de clients en Suisse alémanique, Allemagne, Autriche et au Liechtenstein.

BNP Paribas a annoncé le 20 juin le lancement de nouvelles solutions d'épargne sécurisées avec notamment deux nouveaux fonds communs de placement éligibles à l’assurance vie et au compte-titres, BNP Paribas Gestion Active Octobre 2018 et Ceylan. Dans le cadre d’investissements en PEA, BNP Paribas propose également 3 DYN’Europe.BNP Paribas Gestion Active Octobre 2018 est un FCP à capital garanti à l’échéance, le 8 octobre 2018, permettant de profiter partiellement de la performance de différents marchés financiers, tout en bénéficiant, à l’échéance de 6 ans, d’une garantie du capital dont le niveau pourra être rehaussé par un mécanisme de cliquet quotidien, en fonction de l’évolution de la valeur liquidative du fonds.Ceylan est un FCP à capital garanti à l’échéance, le 18 octobre 2018, permettant de viser, sous condition, à horizon 2 ans, une dissolution anticipée du fonds accompagnée d’un gain fixe de 9% (soit un taux de rendement actuariel de 4,31%), ou de bénéficier, à horizon 6 ans, de 75% de la performance moyenne de l’Euro Stoxx 50.3 DYN’Europe est un FCP à capital protégé à 90% à l’échéance, le 18 octobre 2018, permettant de viser, sous condition, à horizon 3 ans, un gain de 20% (soit un rendement actuariel de 6,18%) en cas d’échéance anticipée, ou de bénéficier, à horizon 6 ans, d’une performance liée à la moyenne des performances annuelles d’un panier équipondéré de 3 indices sectoriels européens regroupant les sociétés leaders sur leurs secteurs d’activité respectifs.Caractéristiques : BNP Paribas Gestion Active Octobre 2018 (code ISIN : FR0011249390)Ceylan (code ISIN : FR0011244748) 3 DYN’Europe (code ISIN : FR0011238898)

Tiffani Potesta, responsable des divisions third-party insurance et DC I-0 chez DWS Investments après avoir été director chez First Eagle Funds, rejoint Schroders comme head of advisory sales pour les Etats-Unis, rapporte Mutual Fund Wire. L’intéressée sera subordonnée à Erin Brennan, head of intermediary key accounts.

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) a annoncé le 19 juin l’admission à la négociation sur la plate-forme NYSE Arca de deux nouveaux ETF de la marque SPDR, le SPDR BofA Merrill Lynch Crossover Corporate Bond ETF (acronyme: XOVR) et le SPDR BofA Merrill Lynch Emerging Markets Corporate Bond ETF (EMCD).Le premier, chargé à 0,30 %, réplique un indice BofA Merrill Lynch d’obligations d’entreprises notées BBB et BB libellées en dollars et émises sur le marché américain.Le second, chargé à 0,50 %, suit le BofA Merrill Lynch Emerging Markets Large Cap Senior Corporate Index qui reflète la performance d’obligations senior et sécurisées en dollars émises par des sociétés des pays émergents sur les marchés américain ou européen.

Avec le compartiment Emerging Markets Corporates, DWS commercialise désormais en France également un compartiment supplémentaire de sa sicav luxembourgeoise DWS Invest. Ce produit focalisé sur les obligations d’entreprises émergentes affiche un encours de l’ordre de 155 millions d’euros. Il est géré par Maruf Siddiquee.Le gestionnaire allemand affiche plus de 5,1 milliards d’euros d’obligations émergentesCaractéristiquesDénomination : DWS Invest Emerging Markets CorporatesCode Isin : LU0436052673Droit d’entrée : 3,00% Commission de gestion : 1,10%

Invesco Real Estate vient d’annoncer l’arrivée de Timothy Bellman au poste de directeur de la recherche mondiale, à son bureau de Dallas. Au sein de l’équipe de recherche mondiale, il va se concentrer sur l’allocation d’actifs mondiale et coordonner les activités de recherche menées par les trois directeurs de la recherche régionale en Amérique du Nord, Europe et Asie-Pacifique.Avant de rejoindre Invesco Real Estate, Timothy Bellman (50 ans) a travaillé ces sept dernières années chez ING Real Estate Management où il était directeur mondial de la recherche et de la stratégie, après avoir été directeur de la recherche et de la stratégie pour la région Asie-Pacifique.

Le gestionnaire américain Huntington Asset Advisors, filiale de la banque régionale Huntington Bancshares Inc, a annoncé la création de la gamme d’ETF à gestion active Huntington Strategy Shares.Le premier produit de cette série sera le EcoLogical Strategy ETF (acronyme HECO sur NYSE Arca), chargé à 0,95 % et géré Brian Salerno, Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager.Le portefeuille sera investi au minimum à 80 % en actions de sociétés focalisées sur l'écologie et des produits positionnés pour profiter des évolutions continuelles de la législation, du comportement des consommateurs et des investissements des entreprises.L’EcoLogical Strategies sera distribué par SEI Investments Distribution Co.

Dexia Asset Management vient de recruter en Suisse Patrick Kern au poste de Senior Relationship Manager Institutional Clients pour la partie germanophone du marché, indique finews.ch. Il était auparavant responsable de l’acquisition clients pour la Suisse alémanique de Reyl Asset Management.

Le groupe suisse Partners Group vient de clôturer son programme immobilier mondial, Partners Group Global Real Estate 2011, à 800 millions de dollars. Pamela Alsterlind, codirectrice de la division Private Real Estate précise que 2.200 projets ont été analysés et 43 exécutés pour ce programme. D’autres doivent encore être finalisés.

La banque italienne Intesa Sanpaolo cherche des opportunités de croissance externe sur le marché suisse, révèle finews.ch. Elle souhaiterait racheter une structure de gestion de fortune, avec des encours sous gestion entre 5 et 10 milliards de francs suisses.

Le new yorkais Market Vectors ETF (25,1 milliards de dollars d’encours) a annoncé que son conseiller en investissements Van Eck Associates Corporation a conclu un accord avec Australian Index Investment (Aii) pour créer la coentreprise Market Vectors Australia Pty Ltd (30 millions de dollars australiens) dans laquelle le partenaire américain aura la majorité.Les équipes d’Aii seront transférées à la nouvelle entité, qui sera dirigée par Annmaree Varelas, CEO d’Aii.Market Vectors Australia commercialisera et distribuera des ETF, y compris les six fonds sectoriels de ce type existant dans la gamme Aii S&P (financials, financials x A-Reit, resources, industrials, energy et metals & mining). Tous ces produits Aii répliquent des sous-indices du ASX 200, sauf le dernier, qui suit un compartiment de l’ASX 300.Le marché australien des ETF n’est pas encore très développé, avec seulement 70 fonds et un encours total de 5 milliards de dollars alors que les actifs gérés par l’ensemble des fonds représentent 1.800 milliards de dollars australiens.

Le Fonds européen de stabilité financière a décidé de renforcer son obligation à 7 ans, lancée le 24 avril dernier, à hauteur d’un milliard d’euros. Le spread d’émission ressort à 75 points de base au dessus du taux mid swap, ce qui implique pour les investisseurs un rendement de 2,409%. Barclays, Deutsche Bank et SG CIB ont pris en charge l’opération.