Funds on sale in Sweden ended the year 2011 with net inflows of SEK16bn, or EUR1.8bn, the Swedish investment fund association Fondbolagens förening reports. This comes despite SEK53bn in net outflows from equity funds (EUR6bn). The money market fund category has seen the largest net inflows, with SEK35.5bn (EUR4bn), putting them ahead of balanced funds, with SEK29.2bn (EUR3.3bn). Bond funds have posted net subscriptions of SEK4.3bn (EUR0.5bn), and hedge funds show SEK0.7bn (EUR0.08bn). In equities, the funds which have seen the heaviest redemptions are Swedish equity funds (-SEK22.512bn, or EUR2.5bn), eastern European equities (-EUR12.088bnbn, or EUR1.37bn), and Swedish and global equity funds (-EUR9.078bn, or EUR1.03bn). The only categories to show positive inflows are global equities (+SEK9.639bn, or EUR1.09bn), North American equities (+ESEK4.27bn or EUR0.5bn), and Japanese equities (+SEK1.247bn, or EUR0.141bn). Overall, in 2011, assets in Swedish funds were down by SEK145bn (or EUR16.4bn), to SEK1.819trn (EUR206bn), of which 52% are in equity funds.

Among 880 job cuts announced by SG CIB, Agefi has learned that the bank will be gradually cutting its sales and support functions. 189 jobs will be affected in market activities, of which 38 will be at Lyxor, which according to iShares had outflows of USD8.4bn in eleven months. In general, the newspaper reports, voluntary layoffs before 1 October will receive severance packages totalling at least EUR30,000 and 30 months of salary. In addition to that, there may be a bonus of EUR20,000 to EUR60,000 for departure in the first month, plus 20% (up to EUR40,000) if they go by 2 July.

Carlyle Group on Tuesday announced that it will be listed on the Nasdaq following its initial public offering, the Financial Times reports. The firm, which has USD148bn in assets under management, hopes to debut on the market this year.

Last year will go down in history at the French asset management firm Carmignac as the year when the market proved it right, although results were somewhat frustrating, Didier Saint-Georges, a member of the investment committee, tells Funds People. The manager says the most satisfying point is that all funds in the Patrimoine range achieved their objective to preserve capital: bonds behaved as expected, while some equities even performed better than at the competition. Currently, Funds People reports, assets total EUR45bn, 18% less than one year previously.

On 16 January, LBB Invest will launch the multi-asset class fund PMIM Multi-Asset-LBB-Invest, whose management will be outsourced to the Hamburg firm Pall Mall Investment Management (PMIM).With the product, LBB Invest is offering institutional and also retail investors a resolutely conservative strategy assisted by the IT system “Risk@Work,” developed by PMIM, which aims to control and limit portfolio risks.Capital at risk shall initially be limited to 7% of the volume of the portfolio, and the objective is to outperform the Eonia by 200 basis points every year.At the time of launch, the fund will be about 50% invested in German government bonds and Pfandbriefe. The composition of the portfolio will be regularly optimised.CharacteristicsName: PMIM-MultiAsset-LBB-InvestISIN code: DE000A1CXYQ0Management commission: currently 0.9%

As the Henderson German Retail Income Fund (HGRIF) has managed to raise another EUR90m, Henderson Global Investors has decided to hold a second closing. Supplementary subscriptions to the institutional fund, a German-registered real estate product specialised in warehouse facilities for retail commerce, will have added firepower of EUR180m (including leverage). The total volume of the fund is now EUR350m.The portfolio is managed on behalf of 12 investors, most of whom are German insurers and corporate pension funds. The return objectives are at least 6% per year, with a final portfolio to include 12 to 15 properties. Four properties were acquired since the first closing in summer 2011; they represent an investment of EUR60m.

The UCITS platform from Morgan Stanley has added an Irish-registered fund managed by Claritas Administração de Recursos Ltda, which practices a market neutral long/short equity strategy on a portfolio of 40-60 Brazilian equities. Net exposure to the market ranges from -20% to +20%.Minimal subscription is set at EUR1m.CharacteristicsName: MS Claritas Long Short Market Neutral UCITS FundISIN code: IE00B3MQJZ41Management commission: 1.50%Performance commission: 20%

Christian Paris has been appointed as CEO of ING IM France, and began in his new role on 2 January 2012, the asset management firm has announced. Paris replaces Thierry Rigoulet, who left the firm on 10 October 2011. Matthias Schellenberg, CEO for Europe and Latin America, has been made responsible for recruitment, after being informed of the criteria of Paris and the group’s headquarters in the Hague, as was the case with Paris’ predecessor. The group assigns great importance to the French market. ING IM France presents itself as one of the five major centres for development as defined by the “Bigger in Big Markets” development strategy defined by the firm. The fact that the new CEO had served at HSBC Global Asset Management (France) has head of business development since early 2008 naturally played in his favour. Paris, 48, began his career in 1989 as a bond market specialist, where he developed French institutional clients, first at the CIC group. IN 1998, he then moved to the asset management industry at Sinopia Asset Management, where he became director of sales for France in late 2001, and then joined HSBC Global Asset Management (France) in 2005, to become director for the first time of sales teams in France and then internationally, a statement says.

BNY Mellon Investment Management has appointed Cynthia Steer as its head of Manager Research & Investment Solutions. She replaces Phil Maisano, who has recently retired, in this position. Steer had previously been managing director at Russell Investments, in charge of investment strategy and consultants.

Olivier Ramé et Jean-Philippe Collin, previously head of alternative management and a manager, respectively, at La Française des Placements, have founded their own firm, Swell asset Management, dedicated to tactical allocation. The two men have not completely severed their ties with their previous employer, as La Française AM has bought a 25% stake in the capital of the new boutique, with the remainder divided evenly between the two partners. The asset management company will also outsource a fund to them, LFP Allocations 3, which since its inception in 2005 has been managed by Collin, and will also provide a total of EUR30m in seed money. Half of the seed money, EUR15m, will go to LFP Allocations 3, whose assets currently total EUR60m, and which is a tactical asset allocation product investing in equity indices, interest rate curves, and currencies. The other half will be invested in the fund which the new boutique is planning to create. It will have the same process as the first fund, but with a higher volatility objective of about 7-8.The two managers will remain on the premises of La Française AM, even though they are moving to another floor, and will retain the same infrastructure they had used previously. For sales, the fund from La Française AM will be sold by both structures, while the second fund, although it will probably be a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav fund from the shareholding asset management firm, will be sold solely by Swell AM. Swell AM, which received its license without suspensive conditions on Thursday last week, will have a third member, Déborah Uzan, who also joins the firm from La Française AM. Uzan will probably soon also join the capital of the structure. Ramé explains to Newsmanagers that the experiment will allow him to undertake an entrepreneurial project, more than ten years after participating in the creation of Alteram. He also explains that the tactical management used at LFP Allocations 3 has had a hard time finding its place at La Française AM.

In May, American Funds (an affiliate of Capital Group) is planning to launch eight funds of funds, five more than it launched in the past decade. According to Mutual Fund Wire, the new products will invest in house funds, and will respond to demand on the part of independent financial advisers, who are seeking a way for their clients to invest in more funds by investing in a single product. In a notice to the SEC, American Funds states that it will aim to keep fees under control, and that the new funds of funds will have access to the institutional share classes of underlying funds. American Funds is still losing assets; it has seen net outflows of USD70bn in the first eleven months of 2011, and assets have fallen back to USD863bn.

According to reports published on Tuesday by Citywire, Marc Favard has quit his position as head of Meeschaert Asset Management, which he had chaired since 1990. The reason given by the website was “differences of opinion over investment strategy,” The asset management firm is expected to name Favard’s replacement in a few weeks, the website adds.

Quilvest Copagest Finance, Fi Select Multigestion and Quilvest Gestion S.A.S. are merging to become Quilvest Gestion SA. The agreements were signed on 15 December 2011, after the group acquired all capital in Quilvest Copagest Finance, in which Xavier Leroy and Dominique Boisseau, the founders of the firm, had retained a 15% stake. Leroy is appointed as chairman of the board at Quilvest Gestion SA, and will be assisted in his duties by Boisseau and Eric Libault, both of whom are CEOs at the new firm. Leroy had previously been chairman of the board at the two asset mamagement firms of the group, while Boisseau was CEO. Libault had been chairman of the board at Fi Select Multigestion. Assets under management at Quilvest Gestion SA total EUR2.7bn. The group also includes teams at the three firms, including more than 30 professionals in fixed income, equities, multi-management, and employee savings.

The Edmond de Rothschild group has appointed Christophe de Backer as chairman of the executive committee at the Edmond de Rothschild private bank in Geneva from February 2012. De Backer will begin in his new role following the general shareholders’ meeting to be held on 26 April 2012. He will also become a member of the supervisory board at La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild in Paris. In this position, de Backer will succeed Claude Messulam, who will be appointed as director of the Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild and of Edmond de Rothschild Holding, a statement says. Since January 2011, de Backer, 50, had served as group general manager and as a member of the board of directors at HSBC worldwide. From early 2010, he had been CEO of HSBC France, and from 2007, had served as deputy CEO, deputy to the CEO of HSBC France. Between 2005 and 2007, de Backer was chairman of the board at HSBC Private Bank France.

Nearly one year after opening its offices in Singapore, Bordier & Cie heas nearly CHF400m in assets under management in its Asian banking centre, Agefi Switzerland reports. The structure, led by Evrard Bordier, has 10 employees, staff which may double by the end of the year, depending on the evolution of the markets. The three-year objective is to reach CHF1bn in assets under management in Asia. Groupwide, staff increased slightly last year, from 195 to 205 employees. The same trend may be observed in assets under management, which currently total CHF9.8bn, compared with CHF9.5bn at the end of 2010. Net inflows have been positive for the past year, but will remain confidential.

Following the creation of a new department dedicated to Swiss clients last spring, led by Benoît Clivio, the Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild (BPER) has now recruited the former semi-institutional management team from Wegelin & Co, Le Temps reports. Alexandre Michellod, Mathias Maradan and Céline Kuhn, three experts in the area of risk budgeting, began in their new roles on 1 January 2012.

The US firm SunGuard has announced that it has acquired the Pilot software package from Tobam (over USD2bn in assets) for an undisclosed amount which “is not expected to have a noticeable impact” on its financial results. A statement says that “the Pilot solution, developed and used by Tobam, complements the Asset Arena range from SunGruad (launched on 21 November), which includes the major functions required by the asset management industry, including management of investments, monitoring of operations, and investor services.”

Credit Suisse (CS) has handed over data concerning US clients to Swiss authorities, and also information about clients who are not US citizens. The bank was responding to a demand from the US government for assistance, according to an article published in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). In addition to information concerning five US citizens, the major bank also handed over information concerning 125 other clients of various nationalities. The data is said by the newspaper also to have been disclosed to third parties. A law firm will now handle the case, and has filed a lawsuit against CS, the NZZ reports.

Credit Suisse (CS) has handed over data concerning US clients to Swiss authorities, and also information about clients who are not US citizens. The bank was responding to a demand from the US government for assistance, according to an article published in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). In addition to information concerning five US citizens, the major bank also handed over information concerning 125 other clients of various nationalities. The data is said by the newspaper also to have been disclosed to third parties. A law firm will now handle the case, and has filed a lawsuit against CS, the NZZ reports.

The financial stability board (FSB) on 10 January announced that it has updated its roadmap for 2012, at a plenary meeting held the same day in Basel. The FSB is planning to extend the concept of a systemic establishment to include a wider circle of banking, and now also insurance, actors. “The FSB has discussed the work to be done to develop the Sifi model further, including an extension to major domestic systemic banks, insurance companies of international systemic important, and to other types of financial institutions,” the board says in a statement. Currently, banks considered systemic are required to maintain an owners’ equity ratio of at least 9%, up from 7% for other banks. The board has already identified 29 such entities worldwide. The FSB will by the end of this year also state the criteria to be included in resolution regimes applicable to systemic establishments. The organisation is also planning to continue its work in shadow banking, OTC and bank pay scales. As to the departure of the vice-chairman of the financial stability board, Philipp Hildebrand, in the wake of his resignation as chairman of the BNS, the chairman of the FSB, Mark Carney, stated that there will be no immediate replacement and that the decision will be taken in consultation with the G20, who appointed Hildebrand in November 2011.

According to the major index providers, hedge funds saw losses in December and for 2011 as a whole. Losses last month totalled 0.18% according to HFR, 0.21% according to Eurekahedge, and 0.60% according to Hennessee.For 2011 as a whole, losses range from 4.16% according to Eurekahedge and 5.28% according to BarclayHedge, while the other index shows losses of 4.27%.The HSBC Hedge Fund Performance Report has published a list of 20 hedge funds which posted the worst returns in 2011. The list includes big names such as Odey European (-22.7%), RAB Global Mining & Resources Fund (-26.35%), Paulson Advantage Plus (-47.77% as of 30 November), Henderson European ABS Return (-42.80%), SenVest Partners (-36.98%), and a hedge fund from Philippe Jabre, the Jabcap Balanced Fund, with -26.88%.

Threadneedle Investments has announced the appointment of Iain Richards as head of governance and responsible investment. He will lead a team of three and will be responsible for the environmental, social and governance (ESG) research, policy and engagement on behalf of the firm’s investment team. He will join the asset management firm officially on 20 February 2012 and report to Leigh Harrison, head of equities. Richards had previously been regional head of corporate governance at Aviva Investors.

In fourth quarter 2011, profits at British asset management firms fell for the first time since second quarter 2009, according to a quarterly survey by the British association for the industry and PwC. The cause of the development is a decline in activities, for the first time since March 2009, which resulted in a reduction in revenues (commissions, trading). The situation is not expected to improve particularly in first quarter 2012, which will most likely bring a further decline in profits. Jobs, which stabilised at the end of last year, are expected to begin increasing again in the next three months. Asset management firms are also planning to invest more in IT and marketing systems.

Greg Cooper is joining Kames Capital (formerly Aegon AM) has chief administrative officer (CAO), Fundweb reports. Cooper, who will report to Andrew Fleming, CEO, will be responsible for operations, information, performance measurement and portfolio reporting. Cooper replaces Philip Smith, chief financial officer (CFO), who had served in the position of CAO in the interim since the death of Christophe Ferrard in July.

Une caractéristique des mutuelles par rapport aux autres acteurs du monde de l’assurance : la gouvernance de leur gestion d’actifs. « Grâce à la nouvelle réglementation, nous avons vu la naissance de comités financiers, de comités de placements avec une vraie réflexion des administrateurs sur l’allocation d’actifs, ce qui était moins marqué il y a quelques années », remarque Nicolas Demont, directeur général d’Egamo, société de gestion d’actifs qui gère une dizaine de mandats du monde de l'économie sociale. La MGEN a par exemple créé un Comité des placements, présidé par l'économiste Philippe Waechter. Nous avons tenu à cet ??il expert, explique Fabrice Henry, Trésorier général de la MGEN. Le comité est composé de techniciens, mais aussi de certains membres du conseil d’administration. Il semble logique que les responsables mutualistes soient très attentifs à ces aspects, qu’ils suivent les évolutions économiques et financières. Cela fait partie de notre volonté de transparence au niveau des élus, et de notre volonté d’acculturation aux problèmes économiques.

Le Fonds de pension de Bank of New York en Belgique est confronté à une diminution de sa base de cotisants en Belgique. Pour cette raison, le Fonds a décidé de mener une étude stratégique sur son allocation stratégique d’actifs avec l’aide de son consultant. L’allocation actuelle est la suivante: 62.5% d’obligations, 35% d’actions et 2.5% d’immobilier. Le Fonds a choisi la Banque Degroof comme unique gérant externe. Il n’est pas prévu d’en changer, ni de remettre en cause l’approche prudente du Fonds.

Selon des sources citées par Bloomberg, la société de private equity a mandaté six banques - Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley et UBS - pour monter un financement LBO nécessaire au rachat pour 1,6 milliard d’euros de la filiale suisse de téléphonie mobile d’Orange.

Tokyo a demandé à l’Arabie Saoudite et aux Emirats arabes unis (EAU) de lui fournir davantage de pétrole en cas de pénurie provoquée par de nouvelles sanctions occidentales contre l’Iran, a déclaré hier le ministre japonais des affaires étrangères. «Les EAU ont réagi de manière positive à la requête japonaise. Le Japon sera prioritaire en cas d’augmentation de la production des EAU», a ajouté Koichiro Gemba.

La société de private equity a annoncé l’acquisition (en association avec le fonds dédié à l’immobilier DDR à hauteur de 5%) d’un portefeuille de 46 centres commerciaux répartis dans 20 Etats américains pour 1,43 milliard de dollars, y compris 640 millions de dette. Une transaction réalisée par le biais du fonds Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII auprès d’EPN, filiale de la holding israélienne Elbit Imaging.

Selon les analystes de Thomson Reuters Point Carbon, le marché mondial des permis d'émission de dioxyde de carbone s’est élevé à 96 milliards d’euros l’an dernier, en hausse de 4% par rapport à 2010. Dans l’Union européenne, premier marché pour les émissions de carbone, la valeur du Système communautaire d'échanges de quotas (SCEQE ou ETS en anglais), a crû de 6% pour atteindre 76 milliards d’euros.