Le prestataire de services d’information Markit a annoncé le 4 octobre le lancement d’une plate-forme de gestion des commissions, Markit Commission Manager, qui permettra aux institutions «buy-side» d’utiliser un ensemble d’outils standardisés pour gérer leurs crédits de commissions chez les «broker-dealers» et les utiliser pour le paiement de services de tierces parties.

Le nombre de fonds de pension soumettant leurs actifs à des tests de résistance a fortement augmenté depuis 2009, selon un sondage réalisé par MSCI auprès de 85 fonds de pension, fondations et fonds souverains dont les actifs sous gestion agrégés s'élèvent à quelque 5.500 milliards de dollars.Plus des deux tiers de l'échantillon ont mis des tests de résistance à leur programme, contre seulement 27% en 2009, selon le sondage qui souligne que les fonds de pension sont de plus préoccupés par le risque de marché, le risque de contrepartie et le risque de liquidité.Le sondage montre également que les participants ont tenté de comprendre leurs risques de liquidité et de contrepartie en mettant en place des bases de données propriétaires. Ils ont aussi restructuré leurs portefeuilles afin qu’ils ne comprennent que des montants limités d’actifs illiquides.Autre évolution significative, la couverture des risques extrêmes compte désormais parmi les priorités des fonds de pension, avec 41% d’entre eux assurant la couverture de ces risques contre seulement 10% en 2009.

State Street Corporation announced on October 4 that it has acquired Complementa Investment-Controlling AG, an investment performance measurement and analytics firm based in St. Gallen, Switzerland for institutional and large private investors. The firm provides services to asset managers, banks, pension funds, family offices, insurance companies, foundations and trustees based primarily in Switzerland and Germany. The acquisition also includes wholly-owned subsidiary Allocare AG, a leading Swiss asset management software provider. Complementa will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of State Street and will retain its name and identity. Benjamin Brandenberger, founder and Chairman of Complementa, and Michael Brandenberger, CEO and President of Complementa will serve as board members (Verwaltungsrat) and be actively involved in the business. Andreas Joost, already a member of the Complementa managing board, will take over the CEO position and manage Complementa’s business.

The Rothschild private bank in Switzerland is adding to its team of advisers for Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNW), with wealth of over CHF25m, with the arrival of Beat Näf, Agefi Switzerland reports. From 2003 to 2010, Näf was CEO of the Müller-Möhl group in Zurich. On 3 October, he began in his new position, at the same time as the new director of UHNW, Riccardo Petrachi, who joined from UBS.

The Geneva-based asset management firm Semper Gestion has announced the arrival of Tianning Ning Kernen, who will be in charge of asset management, and will analyse investment opportunities on the Chinese market, Agefi Switzerland reports. The Chinese Kernen studied in Switzerland and has worked as a fund manager at the Cantonal bank of Vaud. She has managed Chinese equity funds for 10 years, with assets of over USD200m. She will work in direct collaboration with Christine Ren, who is based at the Semper offices in Shanghai.

Jean-Luc Bianchi is joining Ecofi Investissements (Crédit Coopératif group) as director of institutional clients, the firm announced on 4 October.Before joining Ecofi Investissements, Bianchi was director of clients for French-speaking Europe at Olympia Capital Management.Bianchi’s “arrival will allow the firm to consolidate and develop a long-term partnership with institutional investors, who are at the core of our history and our expertise,” Ecofi says in a statement.

Parisian assets of the US management firm Muzinich now total over EUR1.1bn, of which more than EUR450m are in France, while the remainder comes from Geneva, Luxembourg and Belgium. At the beginning of this year, assets under management totalled about EUR650m. Since the beginning of this year, Muzinich-Paris, led by Eric Pictet, has posted net inflows of EUR520m, despite net outflows of EUR27m in July-September. In the first nine months of the year, gross inflows totalled EUR1.35bn, of which EUR500m were in third quarter.

Benjamin Melman, director of the absolute return unit at Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers (Edrim), who is in charge of the management of the Quadrim 4 and Quadrim 8 funds, has announced that assets in the funds have fallen by about EUR100m since the beginning of the year, due to losses of 0.5% for the former and 2.86% for the latter fund, which are honourable results in light of the highly adverse evolution of the markets, and the skittish mood of some segments of clients.The only current directional bet is a 6% allocation to emerging markets, which the manager admits was made a bit early, although positions have been reduced since. However, “the discount of emerging markets, following a major correction, has returned to its levels at the beginning of the last decade, and emerging markets equities are really inexpensive.” In general, Melman says that he has adopted an «ultra-prudent» management policy: he is not limiting himself to macro strategies, but is also using quantitative IT tools such as trend monitoring and currency volatility. He adds that “the only real way to diversify is not over asset classes but over styles;” and Edrim constantly deploys ten strategies.

The number of pension funds undergoing stress tests has increased sharply since 2009, according to a survey by MSCI of 85 pension funds, charities and sovereign funds with total assets under management of roughly USD5.5trn. More than two thirds of the entities surveyed have made stress testing a part of their programme, compared with only 27% in 2009, according to the survey, which also finds that pension funds are most concerned about market risks, counterparty risks and liquidity risks. The survey also finds that participants have sought to understand their liquidity and counteryparty risks by setting up proprietary databases. They have also restructured their portfolios in order to ensure that they include only limited amounts of illiquid assets. Another significant development is that coverage of extreme risks is now a top priority for pension funds, with 41% ensuring coverage for these risks, compared with only 10% in 2009.

Horst Schmidt, chairman of the managing board at the private bank Delbrück Bethman Maffei, has announced that form 4 October, this affiliate of the ABN Amro group will be changing its name to Bethmann Bank, with the aim of simplification.The Delbrück & Co private bank was acquired by the Netherlands-based group in 2002, and was then merged with BethmannMaffei in February 2004.The new Bethmann Bank in first half 2011 posted net inflows of about EUR1bn, after inflows doubled to EUR1.3bn in 2010. Currently, assets under management total about EUR17bn.Delbrück Bethman Maffei has recently announced the acquisition of LGT Bank Deutschland (see Newsmanagers of 30 September).

Deutsche Bank on 4 October announced in a statement that the Private Clients and Asset Management and Global Transaction Banking units will post record results for third quarter.The bank says, however, that results for the Corporate Banking & securities and Corporate & Investment Banking units will not measure up to expectations.. In investment banking, staff may be reduced by 500 in fourth quarter 2011 and first quarter 2012.Results for the group in third quarter, however, are expected to be satisfactory, as will results for the year as a whole. The objective of a pre-tax profit of EUR10bn for the bank’s key activities, however, is no longer a possibility due to ongoing adjustments and market turbulence, the bank says.Full results for third quarter will be released on 25 October.

The German firm Bank Sarasin AG, an affiliate of the Swiss firm Banque Sarasin & Cie (Rabobank group), on 4 October announced two recruitments for advisory activities in Germany. Dagmar Bottenbruch (former head of Germany at Rabobank) and Ulrich Hähner (former head of private banking activities at Delbrück Bethmann Maffei in Düsseldorf) will report to Frank Niehage, chairman of the board at Bank Sarasin AG. The two positions are newly created. Bottenbruch becomes director of corporate advisory, including questions of inheritance, alternative financing and enterprise networks. Hähner will take charge of advising family offices and charities. He becomes director of special solutions/foundations” and will operate throughout Germany from a base in Cologne.

The Department of Justice and the Attorney General of the state of New York on Tuesday filed separate civil suits against BNY Mellon Corp, accusing the firm of having defrauded or misled state and public pension funds, private companies, universities and banks in a decade-long scheme of overcharging for foreign exchange, the Wall Street Journal reports. Eric Schneiderman, attorney general of New York, is seeking USD2bn from the bank.

The European fund and asset management association (EFAMA) published on October 4 a report undertaken by Strategic Insight, which aims to give investors greater transparency and understanding of cost breakdown within the total expense ratio (TER) of European mutual funds. As a part of its campaign to promote investor education and information, the professional association says that greater transparency is needed to reveal the breakdown of fees within the TER of funds so investors understand what they are paying. In Europe, investors in retail equity funds pay an average of about 175 basis points in commissions (TER), while for subscribers in bond funds, the average fee level stands at about 117 basis points. On average, UCITS fund managers retain around 42% of the TER. Distributors claim about 41% of the TER in retrocessions, with the remaining 17% is allocated to other operating services such as custody and fund administration. In insurance and banking distribution chains, equity and bond managers apply 47% and 45%, respectively, of annual charges in management fees. 53% and 55% of fees, respectively, go to distributors in retrocessions. After commissions are paid out to distributors, management fees for European FCP funds total an average of 74 basis points for actively-managed equity funds, and 49% for bond funds. The study funds that when three major US fund management firms are not taken into account (American Funds, Fidelity and Vanguard), whose assets under management may be as high as USD1trn each, average management commissions in the United States are only 3 basis points greater than in Europe. Taking these three US heavyweights into account, management fees in the US are 11 points lower than those charged in Europe. However, the US market still largely depends on independent financial advisers. More than 50% of sales of US funds are made via IFAs, who make their money through commissions on the basis of assets at a level of 1% to 1.5%, in addition to the TER for the funds. The report says in its conclusions that the development and maturing of the asset management sector in Europe will come with operational improvements which may also have an impact on costs. The UCITS IV directive will favour economies of scale, with cross-border mergers and master-feeder structures. Regulatory changes in the United Kingdom, with the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), and other regulatory evolutions worldwide (Australia, United States, and India) will also have an influence on European initiatives in the future.

The FPPM group has raised EUR2.1m in its third round of fundraising in 18 months. This time, the Alto Invest funds, which are new entrants in the capital of the group, invested a total of EUR1.6m in equities and bonds, alongside CDC Entreprises, which has increased its position by EUR1.5m in bonds. The FPPM group, founded in 1989 by René Camart and based in Paris (75), is originally a leader in advising on the use of natural resources. It now has two affiliates, Européenne de marbre (EDM Projets) et la Pierre de France (deposits and careers unit). Camart comments that “this third round of fundraising is essential to ensure the development of our group, both for its activities via EDM, and our deposits unit, for the consolidation of that profession, so as to allow it a wider internatinoal audience.” FPPM is projecting earnings in 2011 of about EUR75m, compared with EUR52m last year, of which 30% were from exports.

The US firm Morgan Stanley on 3 October announced the launch of FX Gateway, a multi-manager platform which aims to provide institutional investors with access to a selection of currency managers, and to provide managers with a more diversified client base. As a part of this process, Morgan Stanley is acting as FX prime broker and distributor for the platform.

The Julius Baer private banking group, which is seeking to make Asia its second-largest market after Switzerland, has recruited for its team in the Greater China region. Victor Chao Tzu-Ping has joined the group effective immediately, Agefi Switzerland reports. In addition, Catherine Tseng will direct a new strategic initiative in the region which will aim to develop the Key Client segment. Tzu-Ping has over 25 years of experience in private banking, and was most recently head of the Private Wealth Management China division at Deutsche Bank.

With a restructured team in the Asia-Pacific region, Morgan Stanley Investment Management (Morgan Stanley IM) is planning to increase its assets under management to at least USD100bn in the next three to five years, from USD34bn at the end of 2010, Asian Investor reports. A tripling of assets under management will be made easier by an enriched product range, including long-only and private equity funds.

East Capital Explorer announced on Tuesday, 4 October that it has recruited Mia Jurke as CEO. Jurke will join the firm on 15 October, after serving as CEO of East Capital Asset Management. Jurke replaces Tiivas Gert, who will join the private equity investment activities of East Capital for the Baltic countries, once the new CEO has begun in her new role. East Capital Explorer was created to allow shareholders to benefit from the expertise of East Capital as an investor in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and turkey, by investing in high-performance businesses in the region which are not publicly traded.

A team of traders from the US hedge fund Moore Capital is preparing to launch a new hedge fund firm in the UK, Stone Milliner Asset Management, the Financial Times reports. Among the founders are Jens-Peter Stein and Kornelius Klobucar, two senior managers from Moore. They will start up with USD1bn in assets, with Moore Capital providing significant seed capital to the firm.

Eaton Vance Management on Monday, 3 October announced the launch of the Eaton Vance Bernstein All Asset Strategy Fund. The product, managed by Richard Bernstein with a macroeconomic approach, invests worldwide in a variety of asset classeds (equities, bonds, commodities, currencies, and others).

BNY Mellon Asset Management is launching BNY Mellon Liquidity Funds, a range of short-term money market funds managed by BNY Mellon Cash Investment Strategies, the division of BNY Mellon Asset Management dedicated to money market and short-term bond management, with USD536bn in assets under management. The range is composed of four funds: BNY Mellon Euro Liquidity Fund, BNY Mellon Sterling Liquidity Fund, BNY Mellon US Dollar Liquidity Fund, and BNY Mellon US Treasury Fund. The strategy of the fund, which is rated AAA by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, is based on a conservative money market management approach relying on high quality investments and daily liquidity.

Guillaume Rambourg, a former star manager from Gartmore, is preparing to launch his own hedge fund firm in Paris, according to reports in the Financial Times. The structure, to be entitled Verazzano Capital, will aim to raise USD1bn. Rambourg will be assisted by four partners: the head of the Delta One division of Goldman Sachs, Karim Moussalem; the founder of Lyxor Asset Management, Murielle Maman; a director from the hedge fund division at UBS, Tim Williams, and a former Gartmore senior manager, Tomás Pintó.

State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) has registered six fixed income ETFs on Nyse Euronext in Paris, Agefi reports. The SPDR-branded funds, which have been licensed for sale in France for a few months, and are already listed in London and/or Berlin, invest in public or corporate debt from the euro zone or the United States, and in corporate bonds from emerging markets in local currencies.In order to boost sales, two ETF sales specialists will also join the asset management firm at the end of October, the firm has announced, adding that it is also hiring for two more general positions by the end of this year.

Candidates to acquire the private equity firm Axa PE, which Axa is studying the possibility of selling, have until Tuesday to submit preliminary bids. The US funds TPG and KKR have come forward as candidates, as has the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by La Tribune.

Due to “structural problems” at the French-Belgian firm Dexia, selloffs and alliances are on the menu, the website of Le Point magazine reports. As a part of the plans, asset management and private management, which generated EUR1bn last year, are reported already to have found buyers, the magazine reports.

According to José María Marcos, director general for businesses at the CNMV, only EUR850m of the EUR5.995bn in assets in six Spanish real estate funds as of the end of August, or 14.18% of the total, are still in the portfolios of retail investors. The remainder has been taken on by the asset management firms which launched the products, Funds People reports. They now control nearly 86% of total assets.The largest fund, Santander Banif Inmobiliario, which has been wholly taken over by Santander, along accounts for EUR2.475bn in assets under management, and had lost 4.2% of its value year on year as of the end of August. The BBVA Propriedad fund, which has been transformed into a real estate investment firm, as of the end of August still had EUR1.346bn in assets and had lost 3.8% year on year. The only real estate fund to have gained assets (0.1% of assets since the beginning of the year) is Sabadell BS Inmobiliario, which has EUR1.023bn in assets; it has earned 1.1% in the twelve months to the end of August.

BNY Mellon has renewed its partnership with Eureko B.V., and will thus continue to provide custody services for all assets of the Netherlands-based financial group, which has over EUR38bn in total assets.

Threadneedle Investments has added to its team in Italy with the recruitment of Paolo Tommasino as senior sales manager. He will be in charge of developing activities serving retail clients, family offices and private banks. Before joining Threadneedle, Tommasino worked at Franklin Templaton as senior manager for retail distribution. “The arrival of Paolo Tomasino as a part of our team represents a further step in our development on the Italian market,” Alessandro Aspesi, country head of Italy at Threadneedle, explains. The UK asset management firm arrived in Italy in 2008.

As Gian Luca Giuliani, head of the Iberian market, is building a structure to better serve Spanish clients, Pimco has recruited Victoria Caro, who had worked in the private banking division of Goldman Sachs serving Spain and Portugal, for its London office, Funds People reports. Following the recent enactment of a decision to combine the management activities of Pimco and Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) under the single name of Allianz Asset Management, José María Concejo will now concentrate on sales of Allianz Global Investors products in Spain.