For several weeks, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) appears to be in a frenzy of reforms in an effort to win over Chinese and foreign investors. In addition to a large extension to the QFII programme for qualified foreign institutional investors, which will now have a total size of as much as USD80bn, up from only USD30bn previously, the authorities have announced that they will be authorising the Guangdong province pension fund to invest in the local equity market, in limited proportions. There are now plans to extend this offer to foreign pension funds also, and the Chinese government is studying the possibility of also opening these markets to foreign hedge funds.

Plans to create a “European ratings agency” by the German consulting firm Roland Berger (see Newsmanagers of 30 April) have largely been favourably received by the German ratigns agency Feri, IPE reports – on the condition that the new firm does not compete with Feri.“In principle, more competition is welcome, and is a positive development, both for investors and for the ratings agencies which currently dominate the market,” says Tobias Schmidt, a board member at Feri EuroRatings Services.Markus Krall, the head-designate of the new ratings agency, tells IPE that talks are underway with several major investors, and that the legal structured (a foundation and a limited liability company) will be in place in the next few weeks.“With an initial investment of EUR300m, we hope to capture a market share of about 5% to 10% in the foreseeable future,” says Krall, who will be leaving Roland Berger to ensure the independence of the agency.The agency will have the same coverage perimeter as the other three major agencies, including countries, large businesses, banks and structured products. Feri is also planning to publish its first ratings of structured products this year.

Hedge fund and private equity funds have amassed nearly EUR60bn to acquire loans from European banks in the next few years, according to a PwC survey cited by the Financial Times. European banks have about USD2.5trn in non-core assets which they may sell off, PwC reports.

With a leaderless Greece seemingly circling the drain leading to exit from the Eurozone, investors spent the second week of May looking for asset classes and countries that offer some degree of protection if the currency union begins to unravel, according to EPFR. EPFR Global-tracked Japan Equity Funds and Germany Equity Funds both attracted over USD750 million during the week ending May 16, and US Bond Funds absorbed over $4 billion for the fifth week in a row. Financial Sector Funds also found themselves under fire as the risks of a disorderly Greek default mounted. Redemptions from this fund group hit levels last seen in early 4Q08.US Equity Funds unexpectedly saw fresh money from retail investors for the first time since early July 2011.Overall, EPFR Global-tracked Equity Funds posted outflows of USD5.12 billion while Bond Funds took in a net USD6.64 billion. Money Market Funds saw USD6.57 billion pulled out with European Money Market Funds seeing a five week inflow streak come to an end.

The XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform (Deutsche Börse) as of 18 May includes a total of 974 ETFs, with the addition of four new SPDR funds from State Street Global Advisors (SSgA). The four bond products replicate British indices from Barclays Capital, 3 of which are of gilts, and one of corporate bonds.CharacteristicsName: SPDR Barclays Capial 1-5 Year Gilt ETFBenchmark: The Barclays Capital Gilt 1-5 Year IndexISIN code: IE00B6YX5K17TER: 0.15%Name: SPDR Barclays Capital 15+ Year Gilt ETFBenchmark index: The Barclays Capital UK Gilt 15+ Year IndexISIN code: IE00B6YX5L24TER: 0.15%Name: SPDR Barclays Capital UK Gilt ETFBenchmark index: The Barclays Capital UK Gilt IndexISIN code: IE00B3W74078TER: 0.15%Name: SPDR Barclays Capital Sterling Corporate Bond ETFBenchmark index: The Barclays Capital Sterling Corporate Bond IndexISIN code: IE00B4694Z11TER: 0.15%

The independent financial adviser Abaco Capital Investments EAFI has been selected by UBS Gestión to advise its new flexible fund, Abaco Global, which has recently received a sales license from the CNMV for Spain, Funds People reports. Investment ideas will be generated by Abaco, but selection of holdings will be undertaken by UBS Gestión.The new product carries a management commission of 0.654%, and a performance commission of 5.9%. It may invest from 0% to 100% of its assets in equities, currencies and liquidity.

The asset management affiliate of the insurance group Generali is launching a bond fund dedicated to government and corporate bonds from the Asian region, Das Investment reports. The Generali Investments Sicav Asian Bond fund invests largely in bonds denominated in local currencies from South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, China and Hong Kong. The fund is managed by Hong Xie, head of the bond fund segment in Asia, who already has over 10 years of experience in fixed income products.

ING’s offering of its Asian life insurance activities for sale under pressure from the European Commission represents a fine opportunity for many potential acquirers, Agefi reports. Several private equity funds are studying the case, including JC Flowers. In addition to life insurance, ING is also putting its asset management activities in Asia up for sale in a separate process, and last week received 10 offers for this, ranging from USD500m to USD600m, the newspaper reports.

The Hong Kong Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT) last month found that George Stairs, who in 2009 managed two funds for Fidelity, was guilty of misuse of insider information in a sale of shares in Chaoda Mordern Agriculture ahead of an announcement of a capital increase, which he had learned of from speaking with the management, the Financial Times reports. Stairs will find out this Monday if the MMT will bar him from equity trading in the future. Fidelity «respectfully» disagrees with the MMT’s conclusions.

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) is dropping its approach oriented to its product range in order to give top priority to an approach which puts the client at the centre of its strategy. With this in mind, the US group is creating a new global unit, the Investment Solutions Group (ISG), which will take over from the old division dedicated to multi-asset class strategies. The new unit, which has been in a gradual creation process since last autumn, currently has 58 members specialised in strategies based in wight major financial centres: Boston, Montreal, London, Dublin, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, and Hong Kong. In order to meet the local needs of clients, the unit can rely on over 400 investment, risk, regulation and deontology professionals. Under the leadership of Dan Farley, Chief Investment Officer, the Investment Solutions Group (ISG) unit is structured into three divisions: the first is dedicated to portfolio management, which includes multi-asset class solutions and strategic and tactical allocation, while the second is dedicated to strategy and research to help clients identify their investment problematics, and a third division specialised in fiduciary services. Portfolio management by the ISG team relies on the full expertise of SSgA in each asset class (equities, bonds, money markets, commodities, etc), and includes the full range of strategies in diversified management. It is managed throughout Europe by Frédéric Dodard, head of EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa). “We would also like to be able to respond in a more coordinated and much more global manner to the complex investment problems which may affect our clients, who are seeking to control their risks in a market environment which continues to be highly difficult, aiming for performance objectives which are necessarily more modest than in the past,” Farley recently explained on a visit to Paris. “We found that it was increasingly difficult to achieve objectives which an approach oriented to products, in light of our desire to put the client at the centre of our new framework. That change has allowed us to be closer to our clients, while providing a means to draw on all of our global expertise.” It is a possibility that the ISG unit will recruit by the end of 2012, particularly in Boston and London.

At Neuflize OBC, institutional investors represent about EUR8bn in assets, while private banking and wealth management weigh in at EUR21bn, of which EUR15bn are in asset management. “Our goal is now to increase our presence,” Philippe Vayssettes, chairman of the board, has confirmed to Newsmanagers. Vayssettes is planning to take advantag of the existing complementarity between the two categories of client, “both in terms of asset management volumetry, and in terms of engineering and image,” he says. With this in mind, the head has ambitious objectives: We would like to have at least EUR15bn to EUR16bn under management, which would beam doubling assets under management in the next two years.”In order to achieve that, the firm is planning to capitalise on the very good image of ABN Amro, its parent company, with institutional clients, and to participate in a larger number of requests for proposals. Vayssettes does not plan to seek to compete with the major players in that market, or to present the firm as a rival in the major categories such as European equity management. “We would like to go where we have a chance of winning,” the director says. “In other words, niches like commodities and clearing. We are also in a position to set up custom solutions via management mandates or advising mandates. And we can partipate in regulation where we have competence.” Neuflize OBC is also planning to position itself in increasingly numerous niches such as flexible equities, fixed income, convertible bonds, and absolute return. “Lastly, we are planning to recruit in the area of high yield bonds,” Vayssettes concludes.

Expansión observes that the heads of Spanish large caps have this year had more difficulty in getting re-elected as directors, and thus of maintaining their positions at the helm of their firms. The trend has been observable at Repsol, Iberdrola, Telefónica, Santander, BBVA, REE and Enagás, among others. This is largely due to the attitude of foreign investment funds and proxy agencies, which are seeking to apply governance criteria originating in the English-speaking world.Questions which are frequently asked of major Spanish group bear on the concentration of power in monolithic structures which become immovable, political interference in appointments, and the fact that a director is listed as independent after several years at the same company.

José Pons, head of wealth management at Citibank España, has announced that BBVA Asset Management will now be joining the ranks of the other 14 asset management firms whose products are distributed by the Citibank network in Spain, Funds People reports.The other partners of Citibank are: Legg Mason, Santander AM, Carmignac Gestion, Pioneer Investments, Goldman Sachs AM, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, Schroders, AllianceBernstein, MFS, J.P. Morgan AM, Invesco, Pictet and BlackRock.

Henderson Global Investors will on Monday launch its first asset management business in Australia, the Financial Times reports. The British group has appointed Rob Adams, former CEO of the Australian asset management firm Challenger Funds Management, to head its new activities in Sydney. Adams is planning to target institutional investors and to create several absolute return funds in equities and bonds.

EFG Asset Management has recruited China equity fund manager Mansfield Mok. As part of EFGAM’s expansion of Asian-orientated strategies, he will be responsible for equity investing in China, based in Hong Kong. Prior to his move to EFGAM, Mansfield Mok was a senior fund manager at GAM, co- managing the USD1.5 billion GAM Star China Equity Fund. His appointment follows on from the hiring of Tony Jordan who manages EFGAM’s New Capital Asia Pacific Equity Income Fund.

The Swiss bank Sarasin is continuing to recruit from the former Clariden Leu, which has recently been merged into the Credit Suisse group, to add to and strengthen its teams in Asia, finews reports. David Louie, who had previously been head of the asset management unit (50 employees) at Clariden Leu in Hong Kong, will join the Hong Kong office as managing director and vice chairman. Sarasin, which was recently acquired by the Brazilian financial group Safra, has recruited no less than seven former employees from the former Clariden Leu. It is also true that Sarasin has had to compensate for the recent loss of a team of eight client relationship managers who joined Julius Baer.

The US firm Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney and Strauss (BHMS, USD66bn in assets), a specialist in value style management, has been selected by the British firm F&C Investments to manage the new F&C Barrow Hanley US Trust, a closed-end fund investing in US large caps. The portfolio of the trust, which will be launched in late June on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) will incude 40 to 50 holdings. The objective is to deliver a dividend higher than the returns on the S&P 500 index.F&C is planning to raise about GBP100m for the new product, which will charge fees of 0.75%. Initial net asset value per share will be 98 pence on an issue price of 100 pence.

Habib Bank Zurich (HBZ) has been fined GBP525,000 by the British Financial Services Authority (FSA), which accuses the bank of failing to fulfil its surveillance obligations to combat money-laundering. Habib Bank Zurich was exposed to “unacceptable money-laundering risks.” These shortfalls lasted for over three years, from December 2007 to November 2010, the FSA writes. About 45% of the bank’s 15,500 clients are based outside the UK, and about half of their deposits come from countries perceived as presenting an elevated risk of corruption on British territory, the FSA states, citing countries such as Pakistan, whence 20% of assets at HBZ come. It is also particularly important that the institution should have effective systems to combat money-laundering, as it serves as a port of entry to the British financial system, the FSA says.

The British firm Hearthstone Investments is planning to launch its first regulated residential real estate fund in the United Kingdom, after receiving clearance from the British Financial Services Authority (FSA), FundWeb reports. The TM Hearthstone UK Residential Proeprty fund may be made available by September 2012. It will be managed by David Gibbins and Lucy Hawkins. According to Christopher Down, founder and chief executive of Hearthstone Investments, residential real estate accounts for over GBP4trn and represents the largest asset class in the United Kingdom, larger than equities and commercial real estate combined. But there had previously been no licensed fund in this sector.

Former heads from the asset management firm Close Asset Management have founded the asset management firm TIME Investments, specialised in real estate, Money Marketing reports. The managing director of TIME investments will be Nigel Ashfield, former managing director of the real estate division at Close Brothers. He will be assisted by two former managers from Close Brothers, Stenven Oliver as deputy managing director, and Anthony Buckley, chief operating officer. TIME Investments will offer two products: Freehold Income Trust and Capital Trading Companies. It is planning to add to its product range in the next few months.

The financial ratings agency Standard & Poor’s on 18 May announced that it has confirmed its long-term and short-term ratings of BBB and A-2 for the Brtish Man group, but has modified its outlook from stable to negative. Standard & Poor’s explains that the decision is a result of mediocre performance for the flagship funds from the group, and continuing outflows. According to the agency, there are also potential reputation risks due to the pressure being put on the firm by shareholders, which may have a negative influence on inflows.

Standard Chartered has appointed Mark Hirst as regional head of private banking activities in Switzerland. He will be based in Geneva and will report to Jeremy Parish, CEO of Standard Chartered for Switzerland. In his new role, Hirst will be in charge of ultra-high net worth individuals (UNHWI) in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Hirst had previously worked at Credit Suisse, where he was head of British and international UNHWI clients.

EFG Asset Management vient de recruter Mansfield Mok en tant que responsable de l’investissement actions en Chine, basé à Hong Kong.Ce spécialiste des actions chinoises était précédemment gérant de fonds senior chez GAM, où il co-gérait le fonds GAM Star China Equity Fund de 1,5 milliard de dollars.Cette arrivée fait suite au recrutement de Tony Jorda, qui gère le New Capital Asia Pacific Equity Income Fund d’EFG AM. Elle s’inscrit dans le cadre de la volonté de la société de gestion du groupe suisse de développer son offre asiatique.

La filiale de gestion d’actifs du groupe d’assurances Generali lance un fonds obligataire dédié aux obligations souveraines et corporate de la zone asiatique, rapporte Das Investment.Le Generali Investments Sicav Asian Bond (LU0577419962) investit notamment dans les obligations en monnaie locale de la Corée du Sud, de Singapour, de l’Indonésie, de la Malaisie, des Philippines, de la Thaïlande , de la Chine et de Hong Kong.Le fonds est géré par Hong Xie, responsable du segment des fonds obligataires en Asie et qui a déjà une expérience de plus de dix ans dans les produits de fixed income.

La banque suisse Sarasin continue de recruter chez l’ex-Clariden Leu, récemment intégrée dans le groupe Credit Suisse, pour compléter et renforcer ses équipes en Asie, rapporte finews.David Louie, qui dirigeait précédemment l'équipe de gestion d’actifs (une cinquantaine de personnes) de Clariden Leu à Hong Kong, va ainsi renforcer le bureau de Hong Kong en qualité de managing director et vice chariman.Sarasin, qui a été récemment racheté par le groupe financier brésilien Safra, a ainsi recruté pas moins de sept anciens collaborateurs issus de l’ex-Clariden Leu. Il est vrai aussi que Sarasin a dû compenser la perte récente d’une équipe de huit chargés de clientèle qui ont rejoint Julius Baer.

Sous la pression de la Commission européenne, la mise en vente de l’activité d’assurance vie en Asie d’ING constitue une belle opportunité pour beaucoup, rappelle L’Agefi. A ce titre, une poignée de fonds de private equity étudieraient le dossier, dont JC Flowers. Outre l’assurance vie, ING met également en vente en Asie dans une procédure distincte sa gestion d’actifs, pour laquelle elle a reçu la semaine passée une dizaine de propositions allant de 500 à 600 millions de dollars, précise le quotidien.

Selon Globalcustody.net, BNP Paribas Securities Services a annoncé avoir été sélectionné par Clearstram en Turquie pour assurer l’activité de sous-conservateur auprès de TEB Securities Services (TEB). La société française interviendra dans le cadre des règlements locaux et l’activité de compensation en livre turque. En Turquie, Clearstream se concentre principalement sur ce type d’activité à destination des investisseurs institutionnels.

Henderson Global Investors va lancer lundi sa première société de gestion d’actifs en Australie, selon le Financial Times. Le groupe britannique a nommé Rob Adams, l’ancien directeur général du gestionnaire australien Challenger Funds Management, pour diriger ses nouvelles activités à Sydney. L’intéressé prévoit de cibler les investisseurs institutionnels et de créer un certain nombre de fonds à rendement absolu, investis en actions et obligations.

L’agence d'évaluation financière Standard & Poor’s a annoncé le 18 mai qu’elle avait confirmé les notes long terme et court terme «BBB/A-2» du britannique Man Group mais modifié la perspective de «stable» à négative».Standard & Poor’s justifie cette décision par les performances médiocres de fonds phares du groupe et la persistance d’une décollecte. Selon l’agence, il existe aussi un risque de réputation potentiel compte tenu des pressions exercées par les actionnaires, ce qui pourrait avoir une influence négative sur la collecte.

L'étau se resserre autour de Jamie Dimon, tout-puissant PDG de JPMorgan, rapporte L’Agefi. Tandis que le titre a plongé d’environ 18% depuis la révélation du scandale le 10 mai, le Wall Street Journal de vendredi cité par le quotidien écrivait que les positions prises sur le marché des dérivés de crédit par le trader Bruno Iksil pourraient faire perdre jusqu'à 5 milliards à la banque. De quoi renforcer les soupçons sur la nature de l’activité du CIO, qui ne devait en principe servir qu'à couvrir les positions des clients. La perte de trading pose d’autres questions. Notamment l’absence d’alerte, notamment de la part des registres de données, lesquels jouent un rôle déterminant dans le marché des dérivés de gré à gré, rappelle L’Agefi.