According to a study by Yale and Maastricht academics, US corporate pension funds and corporate and public pension funds in Canada and Europe, have been responding to a rise in the number of beneficiaries and falling interest rates in the past 20 years by reducing risk on their investments, but US public pension funds have reacted inversely, increasing their allocations to high-risk assets such as equities, private equity and alternative assets, despite an increase in the number of beneficiaries, the Financial Times reports.This attitude is due to the “perverse incentives” of US regulations that allow US public pension funds to calculate their liabilities on the basis of the expected returns on their investments, typically 7.5% to 8% per year.

The broker Newedge, which is jointly owned by the French banks Société Générale and Crédit Agricole, has announced to its clients that it is pulling out of the Greek stock market, according to an internal document cited by the Financial Times on 28 May. The firm explains that it is seeking to minimise potential exposure as a part of its usual risk management procedures. The business is one of the largest providers of hedge fund services in Europe. According to the British newspaper, Newedge will no longer finance margin calls for funds invested in Greek equities.

Since tension over Greece has picked up again, the Ro-Ro (risk-on, risk-off) risk indicator again shows disoriented and worried markets, Les Echos reports. The index, which measures the correlation between asset classes, has gone haywire in the face of risks of a Greek exit from teh euro. According to the Ro-Ro, all assets, or at any rate many of them, are in the same boat. What’s happening in Greece will have globla repercussions (growth, systemic risks, etc.) and impact on many markets, many of them far away, due to the danger of a domino effect. In the eyes of operators, few markets are protected from the danger of a global collapse.

The Basel-based Sarasin (Safra group) has announced that its emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2011 (4,000 tonnes) will be offset by investments in a wind power project located 90 km north of Shenyang in the Kangping district in the Liaoning province of north-east China.The Swiss group says that it has been “carbon neutral” since 2008, and that “CO2 emissions which are inevitable, or which cannot be reduced more via ecological measures are compensated for by the promotion of climate protection projects. These financial compensations are paid in the name of the Sarasin Group by Rabobank, which remains the majority shareholder in Banque Sarasin & Cie SA until the finalisation of the sale of Rabobank’s stake to Safra,” a statement says.

From 1 June, Michel Lusa, director and member of the executive board at Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild, will become interim director of the private banking unit. Sylvain Roditi, deputy CEO and vice-chairman of the executive board and head of the private bank, will be leaving his job on 30 September 2012. He will be founding his own wealth management firm.

Commodity trading, which carries limited risk but requires enormous liquidity, could soon become a new preferred class of investment for some investors, Agefi Switzerland reports. Pension funds, insurers and family offices which are currently using risk-off strategies may be drawn to this alternative type of investment, which involves very limited risks when done by leading traders. Trafigura, the world’s second-largest trader of minerals and the number 3 trader of energy, earlier this month announced the launch of an investment vehicle trading securitisations of its commercial loans, a first in this sector of trading. Its Commodity Trade Finance fund, Galena, already has assets under management of nearly USD2bn, and is aiming to double them by the end of 2013.

Rabobank has selected Barclays to advise it on a potential sale of its asset management activity, Robeco, the Financial Times reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. Among the suitors is the British firm Resolution. These reports appeared first in the Sunday Times, the FT reports.

Wilhelm von Finck Deutsche Family Office AG has launched a sustainable development institutional fund for German foundations (minimal subscription: EUR0.5m). The WvF Performance und Sicherheit fund includes “additional protection” of assets against sudden turbulence on the financial markets.This protection is generated through the use of risk management by the wealth management unit at Deutsche Bank. This results in an additional risk budget of 5% per year on a month-to-month rolling basis (which is not guaranteed). Allocation to bonds and money markets is expected to represent at least 70% of assets, while exposure to more volatile assets such as equities or themed funds will be more limited.Meanwhile, respect for environmental, social and ethical criteria is assured by the Munich-based firm oekom research.Investors seeking to subscribe to the fund in large volumes will have access to the investment committee and will pay a reduced front-end fee. Management commission is 0.65%.

The wealth management firm VSP of Wiesbaden on 24 May announced that on 16 April it launched an asset allocation fund, the VSP Sachwertfonds, a Luxembourg-registered product which complies with the UCITS directive and which follows an absolute return strategy. The portfolio may be invested in equities, convertible bonds, commodities, real estate and/or precious metals.Initially, the management team will make a functional allocation on the basis of the macroeconomic scenario, with investments partly to protect against inflation and crises, and to hedge portfolio risks. Then, after quantitative filtering, VSP will set the allocation of the fund to each asset class, totally excluding government bonds, but investing in future volatility via ETFs.The final decision on the composition of the portfolio will be made by the investment committee. VSP states that with a minimal investment of EUR1,000, retail investors will have access to institutional-type management.CharacteristicsName: VSP SachwertfondsISIN code: LU074881707 (R share class)Front-end fee: maximum 5%Management commission: 0.90%

Investors withdrew nearly USD900m in one day alone form the largest gold ETF in the world, the SPDR Gold Trust ETF, Investment Week reports. Redemptions of this scale have not been seen since August 2011. Following a sharp decline in the value of the metal, the SPDR Gold Trust ETF on 22 May saw redemptions totalling a net USD897m. This could be a sign of a change in investors’ approach to long-term outlooks for gold, some claim. As of 24 May, gold was down 12% compared with its peak in February (USd1.785), after peaking at over USD1,900 last year.

“We don’t currently like govies: government bonds are either too expensive, or too risky,” says Andreas Höfert, economist in chief and global head of wealth management research at UBS, at a presenation in Paris. The major Swiss firm is now seeking to be “agressive for the corporate and high yield bond markets, and defensive on equities, preferring the United States, the United Kingdom, health, basic consumer goods and sustainably high dividends.” However, Höfert is “less fond” of cyclicals and the financial sector.In general, UBS recommends a neutral position on emerging markets, and expects the euro to fall against the US dollar and other currencies, due to the flaw of construction in the currency area, which results in “a risk of default in addition to a risk of inflation.” Höfert prefers Scandinavian currencies, the Polish zloty, the Czech crown and the Canadian dollar, as well as the Singapore dollar and the Korean won.

Since August 2011, the French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has negotiated eight financial transactions, Les Echos reports. Under the special rules, finance professionals who are in default of their professional obligations can avoid a hearing before the sanctions commission. The AMF will be required to disclose the names and nature of the agreements reached with professionals, and what they were for, in early June.

The French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), which had already taken on board nearly all of the guidelines issued by the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) on the subject, has now issued AMF instruction 2011-15, putting it in full compliance. The AMF comes into compliance with European guidelines relative to evaluation of risk and calculation of overall risks for some types of structured mutual funds. The guidelines, which are a part of extended work by IOSCO published in July 2010 (CESR/10-788) and the ESMA Final Report (ESMA/2011/112), come as addition to requirements in relation to the calculation of overall risk for derivative products. The AMF had already transposed virtually all guidelines in relation to surveillance practices in articles 411-80 and 411-81 of its general rules, and in article 11 of AMF instruction number 2011-152. This latter article has been amended by terms related to information to be included in the prosepctus. This addition finalises the integration of ESMA guidelines.

Swiss publicly-traded companies last year stagnated in terms of their corporate governance, according to a study by zCapital published on 25 May. The fund management firm reviewed 130 small and midcaps from the extended SPI index, as well as the 20 businesses of the main SMI index on the basis of 59 criteria. On average, the businesses reviewed earned 67 points out of a maximum of 100, compared with 68 last year. Among the SPI businesses, Geberit won the highest score, with 86 points. The sanitation technology specialist placed ahead of the Valora group and the chemistry firm Lonza. For the SMI, the Zurich-based technology group ABB tops the rankings with 83 points, followed by the cement maker Holcim and the agricultural chemical group Syngenta. Richemont and Swatch Group round out the market with 52 and 51 points, respectively. In addition to their information policies, zCapital analysed firms’ shareholder structure, and the composition and remuneration of the board and the council of directors. Nearly one third of small and midcaps restrict the rights of their shareholders with shares that include voting rights or limitations to voting rights, or via a shareholders’ register. A revision of the shareholding law pays little attention to the principle of “one share, one vote,” zCapital regrets. The study, however, finds that there has been some progress, as Clariant, APG, SGA and MondoBiotech. Another improvement is that consulting votes on pay scale reports at SPI businesses increased to 31% from 23% one year previously. Information available to shareholders has become more detailed. Businesses have admitted that shareholders are more vigilant and more engaged, zCapital finds. Attendance at general shareholders’ meetings has also increased slightly. It now totals 58% for businesses of the SPI, compared with 56% previously. For the SMI, participation is 57% (52%).

The technical committee of the international organisation of securities commissions (IOSCO) on 25 May published a consultation document on ratings agencies, Credit Rating Agencies: Internal Controls Designed to Ensure the Integrity of the Credit Rating Process and Procedures to Manage Conflicts of Interest. The document treats internal controls and procedures which agencies use to promote the integrity of the ratings process and avoid conflicts of interest. The consultation will be open until 9 July.

According to the EFAMA association of European asset management firms, European UCITS-compliant funds in first quarter 2012 saw net subscriptions of EUR91bn, compared with net redemptions in October-December, which reflects increasing investor confidence after long-term liquidity was released by the European Central Bank.Net inflows to UCITS-compliant funds totalled EUR70bn (of which EUR49bn went to fixed income funds, and EUR9bn to equity funds), compared with net redemptions of EUR61bn in the previous quarter. Money market funds attracted a net total of EUR22bn, compared with EUR11bn in October-December.As of the end of March, assets in UCITS-compliant funds represented EUR5.961trn, an increase of 5.8% compared with the end of December. All European funds (UCITS compliant and non-UCITS compliant) increased in the quarter by 5.3%, to EUR8.362trn as of the end of March.

The British firm Barclays has launched a transaction valuation and execution platform for structured products, Comet, aimed at British wealth managers, Money Marketing reports. Lisa Chaudhuri, a member of the UK investor solutions unit, says structured product represent a market segment with high potential for development.

Paul Manduca, qui a occupé plusieurs positions importantes dans la gestion d’actifs, a été nommé président (chairman) de Prudential. Il prendra ses fonctions le 2 juillet. L’intéressé a notamment fondé Threadneedle Asset Management en 1994, puis été directeur général de Rotschild Asset Management et de Deutsche Asset Management. Depuis octobre 2010, il était administrateur indépendant non exécutif de Prudential et depuis janvier 2011 administrateur indépendant senior.

Stephen Packter, co-head of multi-management distribution at SWIP, will be leaving the firm on 8 June, following a discontinuation of his position, which will be absorbed into that of the head for strategic alliances and multi-management, Bernard Henshall, Money Marketing reports.

A growing number of British pension funds are diversifying their assets to protect themselves against market volatility, according to a survey by Baring Asset Management. The survey was undertaken between mid-April and mid-May, and covered a sample of 99 fund managers or public or private British pension programmes. Nearly 64% of respondents said they were interested in asset diversification strategies to combat volatility, compared with only 47.6% six months earlier.They survey also finds that 51.1% of respondents revise their portfolios more regularly, compared with 42.9% at the last half-yearly survey.34% of respondents also rely on multi-asset class products, compared with 26.2% previously. But the most significant change, at four fifths of respondents, has been an increase in exposure to alternative management, including real estate. One investor in three, however, has reduced exposure to equities.

Clifford Lau (ex Pramerica Fixed Income) and Zara Kazaryan (ex G2 Capital Partners) have been recruited by Threadneedle, one for the newly-created position of head of Asia Pacific fixed income in Singapore, the other as manager of an emerging market debt fund in London, Fundweb reports. [According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, Lau will join the firm on 18 June, and Kazaryan on 2 July.]

Prudential Plc (The Pru) on 28 Mauy announced that Paul Manduca, founder of Threadneedle (Ameriprise group) in 1994, has been appointed chairman of the insurance and asset management group, effective from 2 July 2012, after serving as non-executive independent director since October 2010, and senior independent director since January 2011. He succeeds Harvey McGrath (see Newsmanagers of 22 May). His appointment has been approved by the FSA.The CEO of the firm remains Tidjane Thiam.Manduca, who in the past has served as CEO of Rothschild Asset Management and Deutsche Asset Management, will have to resign from his position as chairman of Aon UK Ltd as soon as possible.

The Swiss firm UBS Wealth Management has increased its presence in Russia with the recruitment of Marco Pavoncelli as senior client adviser, Wealthbriefing reports. He will be based in Moscow, and will dedicate most of his energy to the monitoring and development of activities serving ultra-high net worth clients in the region. Pavoncello previously worked at Credit Suisse, also in Moscow, where he was in charge of relationships with major clients.

On 28 May, Standard Life Investments (SLI) announced the launch of an OEIC fund specialised in emerging markets equities, the Global Emerging Markets Equity Fund, whose manager is Alistair Way, and whose portfolio will include 60 to 100 holdings, with limits per share, per sector, per country and per tracking error.The fund will invest in shares in companies domiciled in emerging markets worldwide, or which earn a significant part of their revenues and profits in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa or Latin America.

Fundweb reports that Novitas Loans has launched a fund which aims to become a source of replacement financing for retail investors who need help to bear the financial burden of a divorce.The Novitas Divorce Litigation Fund, managed by Jason Reeve, will lend up to GBP250,000 to clients of approved solicitor firms, with repayment to come after the conclusion of legal proceedings, from matrimonial assets.Minimal subscription is set at GBP20,000, and the annual coupon will be 8%.

Investment Europe reports that State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has added four SPDR-branded funds to trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) based on British indices, which were launched in Frankfurt the previous week (see Newsmanagers of 21 May). The products include the following funds: SPDR Barclays Capital Sterling Corporate Bond ETF, SPDR Barclays Capital UK Gilt ETF, SPDR Barclays Capital 1-5 Year Gilt ETF and SPDR Barclays Capital 15+ Year Gilt ETF.

Fitch Ratings confirme à M2- la note de la société Sciens Fund of Funds Management Holdings pour son activité de gestion de fonds de fonds. Cette confirmation reflète la résistance de Sciens dans un secteur de la multigestion alternative qui reste sous pression. Elle reconnaît aussi les progrès accomplis dans le développement stratégique de la plate-forme de managed accounts, détaille Fitch Ratings.A fin mars 2012, Sciens gérait et conseillait des encours pour 5,2 milliards de dollars et les comptes gérés représentaient 3,5 milliards.

Le fonds d’investissement américain Vector Capital est désormais concurrent de JPMorgan dans la bataille pour la prise de contrôle de Technicolor, rapporte L’Agefi. Le fonds a demandé l’inscription à la prochaine assemblée générale des actionnaires de Technicolor, prévue le 20 juin, de six résolutions non sollicitées. A l’image du projet de JPMorgan (via son véhicule ad hoc Jesper monté avec One Equity Partners), Vector prévoit une augmentation de capital en deux temps. Alors que la proposition de JPMorgan prévoit pour Jesper une participation comprise entre 25% et 29,96% du capital permettant la levée de 158 millions d’euros environ, le plan de Vector permettrait à Technicolor de faire rentrer près de 30 millions d’euros supplémentaires dans ses caisses, précise le quotidien.

Comme chaque année et conformément aux statuts, le conseil d’administration de l’Association Française des Professionnels des Titres (AFTI) a procédé au renouvellement de son bureau et à la nomination de son président. La nouvelle composition du bureau de l’AFTI a été entérinée lors de la réunion du 25 mai du conseil de l’association.Marcel Roncin a été reconduit dans ses fonctions de président de l’AFTI. Eric de Gay de Nexon, directeur des relations de Place du métier Titres à la Société Générale succède à Bruno Prigent en tant que vice-président. Alain Pochet, Head of Clearing, Custody and Corporate Trust Services chez BNP Paribas Securities Services fait son entrée au bureau de l’AFTI en tant que Vice-Président Eric Dérobert, Head of Public affairs de Caceis est reconduit dans ses fonctions de vice-président. Pierre-Olivier Cousseran, directeur des opérations de Post-marché à la Banque de France succède à Alexandre Gautier en tant que trésorier de l’AFTI. Jean-Philippe Grima, responsable des Relations de Place au Crédit Mutuel CIC GIE (CM-CIC-Titres), a été reconduit dans ses fonctions de trésorier-adjoint. Karima Lachgar, délégué général de l’association est également membre du bureau.

Vanguard annonce la fermeture provisoire de son fonds High-Yield Corporate aux nouvelles souscriptions. Ceci pour limiter une hausse trop forte des encours. Au cours des six derniers mois, le fonds a attiré 2 milliards de dollars et pèse aujourd’hui 16,9 milliards de dollars.