Cornel Bruhin has left the Swiss boutique Clariden Leu, Citywire Global reports. He had been principal manager of the Clariden Leu Emerging Markets Bond fund. He will be replaced by Thomas Rutz and Dorothea Fröhlich.

Markus Gerhardt, who has been head of high net worth clients at BHF-Bank, has joined the German affiliate of Schroders as institutional client executive, as of 1 October. Garhardt joins the institutional distribution team at Schroder Investment Management GmbH, led by Carlos Böhles, and will focus on business clients and pension funds. Schroders Germany, which has made several recruitsments in the past few months (see Newsmanagers of 5 and 8 July and 1 August), now has a sales team of 60 people in Germany, led by Achim Küssner.

Redemptions from the open-ended real estate fund Immoselect (DE0009846451) from Axa IM Deutschland, which have been frozen since 17 November 2009, will not be reopened. The asset management firm has decided to liquidate the product by 20 October 2014, and to sell the 66 properties remaining in the portfolio.The fund, with EUR2.48bn in assets, managed by AXA Real Estate Investment Managers (AXA Real Estate) has only EUR238.6m in liquidity, which is insufficient to meet up to redemption demands announced by investors and distributors. The fund would have needed a liquidity level of at least 30%, rather than its present level of under 10%.The proceeds from sales of the properties will be distributed to investors semiannually, probably beginning in April 2012.

The XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform (Deutsche Börse) now lists 878 ETF funds. The two newest additions are the equities funds ComStage ETF F.A.Z. Index (LU0650624025, which charges 0.15%), and ComStage ETF MSCI Emerging Markets TRN (LU0635178014, TER of 0.50%) from ComStage (Commerzbank).These products were preceded on 17 October by two high dividend equities ETFs from State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), SPDR S&P US Dividend Aristocrats ETF (IE0B6YX5D40, with fees of 0.35%) and SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (IE00B6YX5B26, with a TER of 0.65%). Deutsche Börse has also announced that 28 new long and short ETNs from Commerzbank (list here) have been added to trading on Xetra, bringing the number of ETN products available in Frankfurt to 218.

Greg Bennett has joined Argonaut Capital, Investmemt Week reports. He will work in the investment team that manages the Argonaut European Alpha, European Absolute Return, European Income and Enhanced Income funds, and joins the firm from Marlborough.

For third quarter, State Street Corporation has announced profits of USD1.10 per share, up from USD1.08 per share in third quarter 2010. Compared with the previous quarter, the increase in profits per share is 10%. Assets under management of USD1.877trn represent an 11.3% decline from asset levels as of the end of June (USD2.166trn). Year on year, the decline is 4.2%, when assets are compared with levels as of second quarter 2010.

BlackRock has reported a net profit for the third quarter of its fiscal eyar of USD595m, up 8% compared with third quarter 2010, but down 4% compared with second quarter 2011, according to a statement released on 19 October. Assets under management as of the end of the quarter totalled USD3.345trn, down 3% year on year, and 9% compared with the end of second quarter, largely due to a negative market effect of USD303.9bn for all products taken together. Assets under management in equities totalled USD1.441bn, down 18%, or USD307.7bn, largely due to negative market and currency effects of USD309.5bn. Net inflows contributed USD1.8bn, reflecting net subscriptions of USD9.8bn for index-based products, which were partially offset by net redemptions of USD8bn from active management. In bonds, assets under management totalled USD1.205trn, up 2%, or USD19.4bn, due to positive market and currency effects totalling a net USD33.3bn. Net outflows of USD14bn include a redemption of USD9.1bn to a single client under short-term constraints, BlackRock states. Assets under management in multi-asset class products totalled USD215.2bn, down 7%, ro USd16.1bn, as net inflows of USD2.9bn were wiped out by currency and market effects of USD19bn.

As of 30 September, assets under management at BNY Mellon Corp totalled USd1.198trn, compared with USD1.274trn as of 30 June, and USD1.141trn one year earlier.Assets under management and administration totalled USd25.9trn, 2% less than at the end of first half, and 6% more than on 30 September 2010.The firm says that long-term net inflows totalled USD4bn in second quarter.An increase in assets under management year on year is the result of net subscriptions. However, in third quarter, long-term inflows were more than offset by the negative effects of equity marktes and outflows from short-term products.Management and performance commission revenues totalled USD729m, 6% less than in second quarter, and 5% more than in the corresponding period of 2010.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a civil investigation to determine whether the hedge fund management firm SAC Capital Advisors LP (USD14bn in assets) made inappropriate use of information from an expert network to make a large-scale investment in shares in Cougar Biotechnology ahead of the announcement of the firm’s acquisition by Johnson & Johnson on 21 May.So far, the SEC has not accused SAC Capital of wrongdoing.The Wall Street Journal reports that since June, SAC Capital has been under investigation for similar moves ahead of the acquisition of MedImmune for USD15bn in 2007.

Markus Gerhardt, who has been head of high net worth clients at BHF-Bank, has joined the German affiliate of Schroders as institutional client executive, as of 1 October. Gerhardt joins the institutional distribution team at Schroder Investment Management GmbH, led by Carlos Böhles, and will focus on business clients and pension funds. Schroders Germany, which has made several recruitments in the past few months (see Newsmanagers of 5 and 8 July and 1 August), now has a sales team of 60 people in Germany, led by Achim Küssner.

BaFin, the German financial services watchdog, on 19 October issued a license for the launch and administration of real estate funds to Universal-Investment, which had applied for the license to create an operation in the institutional fund segment.Bernd Vorbeck, chairman of the executive board at Universal, says that the first mandates have already been received, and that talks are underway with several institutional investors and asset management firms. The new real estate platform represents a logical extension of the fund accounting and administration (Master-KAG) range aimed at institutionals; it also allows asset management firms to locate a neutral platform for real estate fund projects for their clients.At the same time as the license for real estate funds, Universal-Investment has also been granted permission to launch and manage hedge funds, infrastructure funds, employee savings funds, and funds with a European passport.

Ilona Wachter, who had been managing director and head of Germany at Muzinich and Aviva Investors, has joined max.xs as institutional sales director. She will report to Oliver Roll, managing director of the Frankfurt-based independent (B2B) distribution specialist max.xs, which has also announced that it is still seeking one recruitment for senior institutional sales.This year, max.xs has taken on three major clients: Kleinwort Bension Investors Dublin, Rothschild & Cie Gestion and Wölbern Invest.

Dow Jones has released a European version of the emblematic Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) for the United States. Since the beginning of the year, the index provider has offered six European indices dedicated to dividends, and two European real estate indices. Dow Jones has also releases an Asian version of the DJIA. The indices are each composed of 30 top shares from the region. The European index includes five French, five German, nine British, four Swiss, two Spanish and two Swedish companies. The French firms are BNP Paribas, Vivendi, Vinci, Schneider Electric and Total.

A group of 285 investors representing more than USD20trn in assets under managemetn has called for urgent action on climate change issues. In a joint statement, the large investors say there is a need for immediate action to stimulate private sector investment in solutions to combat climate change, which is essential to ensure “the long-term sustainability and stability of the global economic system.”

State Street Corporation has announced that it has been selected by the Netherlands pension fund Stichting Pensioenfonds SABIC Innovative Plastics to provide investment services on EUR700m in assets. State Street will offer securities custody, accounting, monthly performance measurement and overlay strategy services for currency risk hedging.

Hedge funds have seen net redemptions of USD20.98bn in September, according to the most recent statistics from Eurekahedge. Due to the fact that they have lost 2.89% in the month, hedge funds saw a USD37bn fall in their total assets, to USD1.76trn, their lowest level since March 2011.

The Italian asset management firm Azimut will launch a venture capital fund in partnership with the German specialist Earlybird Venture Capital. The product will invest in the Italian IT sector. Azimut will create a closed fund on its Luxembourg platform, which will be aimed at qualified investors. The product will be advised by a firm that will be 60% owned by the partners at Earlybird Italia, and 40% by Azimut Holding.

Investors appear to have come to terms with the likelihood of a Greek default on its debt, according to the most recent monthly survey by BofA Merrill Lynch of 286 firms representing USD739bn in assets under management, conducted between 7 and 13 October.More than nine out of ten respondents in the survey (92%) are convinced that Greece will not be able to avoid a default. Seven out of ten see that default happening by April 2012. Despite this impressive consensus, investors appear less concerned thatn a month ago about covereign debt risks, and less pessimistiv about global growth outlooks.The European sovereign debt crisis remains the major extreme risk in the minds of investors, but it concerns them less than the previous month, with 61% saying they are worried about it in October, compared with 68% in September.There has also been a stabilisation in growth outlooks, with fears of a global recession taking the back seat. The percentage of respondents who predict a global recession in the next twelve months has fallen to 25%, from 40% in September.“The survey shows that the investor consensus has integrated or hopes for an orderly default by Greece. But investors appear to be waiting for a green light both from Europe and emerging markets to engage their cash,” says Gary Baker, head of European equities strategy at BofA Merrill Lynch Research.Europe, which was plague-stricken last month, may not be a safe destination yet, but the negative sentiment about the region is slightly less marked. Only 7% of investors say that the euro zone is the region which they are planning to underweight most in the next twelve months, compared with 40% in September. Only 29% of allocators are underweight on euro zone equities, compared with 38% in September.Within Europe, however, investors say they are more concerned by the macroeconomic outlooks, with 37% of respondents in the regional survey predicting a recession in the next few months, compared with only 11% in September.

Raffaele Costa, a former director of GLG Partners, who subsequently became vice head of global sales and marketing at Man Group, will be leaving the firm at the end of the year, according to reports in Financial News. He will remain a senior adviser to the firm.

Assets under management in investment funds in Switzerland totalled about CHF615bn in September 2011, about CHF4bn more than the previous month, according to statistics from Swiss Fund Data SA and Lipper, published on 19 October. Capital outflows totalled barely CHF5bn, reflecting investors’ current disorientation. As of the end of September 2011, the total volume of funds totalled CHF614.7bn, of which about CHF221.2bn were for Swiss funds aimed at institutional investors. These funds have gained some ground recently, and represent more than one third of the market as a whole. Of this total, CHF163bn were for Swiss funds aimed at qualified investors, and barely CHF55bn for institutional asset classes of foreign investment funds licensed for sale in Switzerland. Compared with the previous month, redemptions continued in September, fed by concerns of a downturn in global conjuncture and an aggravation of the euro crisis. Monthly outflows were at their highest since October 2008, at CHF4.7bn. Despite that fact, assets under management valued in Swiss francs increased by about CHF3.6bn. The intervention of the Swiss national bank to tie the Swiss franc to the euro led to a revaluation of all funds denominated in foreign currencies, particularly on the money and bond markets. Of the total volume on the Swiss fund market. Only 48% of funds keep their books in Swiss francs, while the remaining 52% of funds do so in foreign currencies, with 26% keeping their books in euros, and 22% in US dollars.

On 15 November, Axxion SA will launch two Luxembourg-registered ETF funds, Ad-Vanemics ETF Dachfonds -V (LU0665449400) and Ad-Vanemics ETF Dachfonds-S (LU0665450838).The funds may invest in securities, money markets and equity, bond and diversified funds, and in certificates and options, but will invest primarily in ETFs.The Ad-Vanemics ETF Dachfonds-V will carry a front-end fee of 5% and a management commission of 0.50%, as well as a distribution commission of 0.4%. There will also be an advising commission of 0.50%.The S version of the fund will charge no front-end fee, and management and advising commissions will also be 0.50%. The distribution commission will be 0.60%.In both cases, Axxion will charge a 15% commission on performance exceeding the Euribor 3-month by more than 300 basis points.

State Street Corporation has appointed Asser Makarem as vice president and head of sales for its Global Services activity in the Middle East and North Africa. Makarem will be based in Doha, Qatar, and will report to Rod Ringrow, senior vice president in charge of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Before joining State Street, Makarem was head of sales at HSBC Bank Middle East, and worked to develop the bank’s client base by strengthening its relationships with institutional investors in the region.

La dénonciation d'une banque serait à l'origine de l'enquête. Les professionnels restent sceptiques

2011 n’est pas 2008. Comparée aux autres classes d’actifs, la volatilité de l'Euro Stoxx 50 est assez chère

La CFTC a approuvé mardi les nouvelles règles. Mais le recueil des informations nécessaires prendra au moins plusieurs mois

L'enlisement de la crise de la zone euro a motivé la reprise des achats d'actifs. Le programme pourrait être revu à la hausse début 2012

Le projet de réforme de la directive, présenté aujourd'hui, est censé limiter les exemptions aux règles de transparence

Les activités de Saggel Property Management et Keops, ainsi que de Colliers UFG PM vont être réunies dans une holding détenue à 75 % par Nexity

L’idée de permettre au FESF d’accorder des « garanties sur les premières pertes » en cas de défaut semblait cette nuit la plus avancée

La SEC a annoncé l'ouverture d'une vaste enquête sur le sujet lors d'une audition devant une sous-commission du Sénat