Investor confidence in global economic growth remains high even as expectations of higher short-term rates increase, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey taken between April 4 and April 10, 2014. The survey showed that the number of investors believing the global economy will grow over the next 12 months was steady at a bullish net 62 percent, unchanged from March and higher than the 56 percent in February. That view supports expectations for profits – a net 44 percent of investors believe profits will improve over the next 12 months, up from 40 percent in March and the same as in February.However, expectations of higher short-term rates are growing with a net 66 percent believing short rates will rise over the next 12 months, up from 55 percent in both March and February and the highest in three years. This expectation of normalizing monetary policies, though, hasn’t changed sentiment on long-term rates much – a net 72 percent believes they’ll be higher in 12 months, down slightly from 74 percent in March and 73 percent in February. Taken together, expectations for a steeper yield curve are falling away. A net 22 percent of investors are expecting a steepening compared with 39 percent in March and 42 percent in February.There was a big change in sentiment among investors when choosing between value and growth stocks. In April, a net 40 percent believed value stocks will outperform growth stocks over the next 12 months, more than triple the level in March and an all-time high. The preference for value might offer one clue to the recent sell-off in technology and biotech stocks. Regionally, a net 66 percent of global fund managers believe the U.S. is still the most over-valued equity market, little changed from March and February. That has many looking again at emerging markets – a net 55 percent think these are undervalued, up from 49 percent in March and the highest reading ever. In addition, only a net 2 percent would like to underweight emerging markets, down sharply from 21 percent in March.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Candriam, formerly Dexia Asset Management, has joined the Forum for Responsible Investment (FRI), and will be represented by Isabelle Cabie, its head of SRI. Candriam feels that “taking into account material ESG criteria makes it possible to identify factors other than financial ones that may influence the value and long-term competitiveness of a company, while participating in the sustainable development of economic activity,” a statement says.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Carlyle Group has closed its first private equity fund to target sub-Saharan Africa, with USD698m, 40% above its goal, the Financial Times reports. Marlon Chigwende, managing director and co-head of the sub-Saharan Africa consulting team, tells the newspaper that half of the financing came from investors who are turning to Africa for the first time, while 10% came from Africa.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Christopher Arbuthnot has joined the hedge fund firm Kennebec Global, based in Rhode Island, following his departure from Manulife Asset Management at the end of last year, Citywire reports. He is expected to work for a long/short hedge fund.

Lombard Odier Investment Managers has appointed Jean-Louis Nakamura chief investment officer for the Asia Pacific region, according to International Adviser.Nakamura had been deputy global CIO for Lombard Odier IM, a role and title he retains and he has now relocated to Hong Kong.In his new role, Nakamura reports to Vincent Duhamel, head of Lombard Odier for Asia Pacific.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Managers competing in the amLeague mandates are not really starting out with a blank page. Not those, at any rate, who were recently invited by Newsmanagers TV (see attached video) to detail the characteristics of their management and their portfolio. Arnaud d’Aligny, a manager at Sycomore AM, says the amLeague portfolio is virtually a clone of the Sycomore Eurocap, one of the funds from the asset management firm’s product range. Laurent Inglebert, manager-analyst at Aberdeen AM, also present, distinguishes the euro portfolio of the mandate from the Europe portfolio, since the fund of the range from the asset management firm for the euro zone largely relies on off-benchmark shares, which is impossible in the championships, while the European portfolio is “in line.” The overlap is consequently 60% in the first case and 90% in the second. In terms of performance, the differences don’t stop there. In the space of six months, the performances of the euro zone and the Europe portfolios went from single to double. “But this is largely due to the behaviour of certain shares listed on the Swiss stock market, like Astra Zeneca,” Inglebert explains. Invited to speak about the rankings, and about the great controversy surrounding the top and bottom places in the rankings, the quant and fundamental management experts agreed on the point that the market is at its high point, but is hesitating to break. A decline in volatility is helping quantitative management, while for fundamental management, d’Aligny notes that there is a decorrelation between stocks, which is provising doffer for stock-pickers. In this environment, the management of the two managers is not really expected to shine in the next few months. But without contesting the momentary difficulties in their management, d’Aligny and Inglebert insist on their long-term visions, but emphasize the importance of sectoral, geographical and cap size selection in first quarter. “Although we know that we are afraid of moving from one side of the management cycle to the other, you need to hold steady to invest, to the predefined management typology,” they say. The next point is to determine the catalysts and other drivers of performance that the managers can benefit from. D’Aligny identifies three: a rebound in the European economy, initial public offerints, and mergers and acquisitions. In this connection the Sycomore AM manager notes growth of nearly 100% in Europe, on the condition of not forgetting the low level initially. “Compared with capitalisation, trading volumes are still less than half of what they have been for the past 30 yearsa worldwide,” the manager says. On other subjects, the performance of small and midcaps was welcome, and the birth of PEA PME was said to have rapidly driven up certain valuations, to the point of detecting sings of a bubble in some sectors. “There are still some good picks,” says d’Aligny, who confirms the presence of cap sizes of this type in the portfolio. This is not the case at Aberdeen, where the portfolio has a very strong large cap bias, and therefore did not benefit.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Cheyne Capital, one of the oldest hedge funds in London, is planning to raise up to GBP300m for a real estate fund, which will aim to invest in projects with a positive social impact, the Financial Times reports. The Cheyne Social Property Impact Fund, launched in third quarter, will be managed by Shamez Alibhai.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jupiter is adding to its product range. The British asset management firm will launch a US equity fund for small and midcaps, FT Adviser reports. The new vehicle will be managed by Robert Siddles, former small cap manager at F&C, who joined Jupiter in January 2014. The product, entitled Jupiter US Small and Mid Cap Companies Fund, will be officially launched on the market from 12 May, and will use the same strategy as the Jupiter US Smaller Companies Investment Trust, which was transferred from F&C to Jupiter with the arrival of Robert Siddles. The vehicle invests in companies whose size is between USD100m and USD5bn, and its benchmark is the Russell 2000 Index.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aviva Investors is adding to its teams. The asset management firm, an affiliate of the British insurer Aviva, has recruited Mark Versey, previously chief investment officer at Friends Life, to the position of director of client solutions, FundWeb reports. Versey will report to Euan Munro, CEO of Aviva Investors. Versey previously served in various roles at Axa UK and Morgan Stanley.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Neuberger Berman is extending its UCITS platform in Asia. Its regional affiliate Neuberger Berman Asia Limited, on 15 April, announced that it has received permission from the Hong Kong regulatory authority, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, to sell 11 of its UCITS funds to retail investors in the country. Meanwhile, its affiliate Neuberger Berman Singapore Pte Limited has also announced the registration of three UCITS funds for sale to retail investors in Singapore. The vehicles concerned are as follows: Neuberger Berman High Yield Bond Fund, Neuberger Berman US Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, and lastly, Neuberger Berman Short Duration High Yield Bond Fund. Neuberger Berman currently has over USD21bn in assets under management for institutional and retail investors, via its UCITS range based in Ireland, Neuberger Berman Investment Funds plc, with more than USD1.5bn raised in Taiwan.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Ken Nicholson, a small caps manager from Standard Life Investments, has left the firm where he spent 15 years, Investment Week repoorts. He had managed the SLI European Smaller Companies fund, which is part of the small caps range. But the acquisition of Ignis has raised questions about the future of several funds, as the group born of the merger will have numerous duplicates.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } France’s Etablissement de Retraite additionnelle de la Fonction publique (ERAFP) has announced the launch of an open request for proposals to award three SRI credit bond portfolios denominated in US dollars. The ERAFP says for indicative purposes that the sums invested within three years will be about EUR400m. The initial duration of the request for proposals is five years, with an opportunity for the ERAFP to renew the contract for three successive periods of one year each. The consultation documents are available from www.achatpublic.com.

Credit Suisse Group made a strong performance in first quarter in Private Banking & Wealth Management with increased pre-tax income of CHF 1,012 million; lower expenses and substantial asset inflows with strategic net new assets of CHF 16 billion and total net new assets of CHF 13.7 billion.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss banking group SYZ & CO grew strongly in 2013, with assets under management totalling CHF28.7bn as of the end of December, for growth of 14.5% at the end of 2012, the group announced in a statement on 15 April. The observed increase of CHF3.7bn was 62% due to a net inflow of CHF2.3bn, and inflows of new money of CHF2.3bn, while the rest arises from the performance of management. Ordinary revenues increased by more than 20% to CHF220.1m, while costs increased 9%. As a result, net profits at the Group more than doubled, to a total of CHF26m (compared with CHF12.6m in 2012). The good performance management showed in 2013 and the gradual recovery of economic growth in most developed countries has made it possible to envision continued growth for the group in 2014, as the results in the first three months confirm, a statement says.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock is gaining ground on the Chinese market. BlackRock Asset Management North Asia, the Asian affiliate of the US asset management firm, has received its first RQFII (renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor) license from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, International Adviser reports. The precious license allows the firm to invest in domestic capital markets in China, including A-class shares and onshore bond markets. The license comes in addition to the first two qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) licenses previously obtained in China. The first QFII license was obtained in June 2012 wit an investment quota of USD100m, while BlackRock received a second license, for a further USD100m, in March 2013.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Ossiam has signed a cooperation agreement with the Shanghai-based Chinese index provider China Securities Index Company, Ltd. (CSI). The affiliate of Natixis Global Asset management will provide its exprtise in the construction of Minimum Variance indices to CSI, which is developing a minimum variance index based on its own benchmark index, the CSI 300. The index aims to reflect the performance of the largest caps on the Chinese market (A shares). The CSI 300 is an index used as a performance benchmark for A class equities, and as a support for tracker funds or derivative products. The first futures contract in continental China uses the CSI300 index as its underlying, Ossiam states.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the wealth management firm GAM as of the end of March totalled CHF5.3bn, compared with CHF114.4bn as of the end of 2013, according to figures released on 15 April by GAM Holding AG. In the Investment Management division, assets under management totalled CHF69.6bn, compared with CHF69.8bn as of the end of 2013. This highly limited decline is due to the positive evolution of the markets, which offset outflows and the negative effects of the strong Swiss franc compared with the US dollar and the euro. After redemptions in the first two months of the year, the month of March brought positive inflows, the Swiss group states. In Private Labelling activities, assets under management rose 2%, to CHF45.7bn, due to net inflows of CHF1.1bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } RenAsset Management has obtained a license from the Irish central bank to launch a fund investing in the Nigerian market on 24 April. The UCITS product, based in Dublin, will be managed by Sven Richter, head of frontier markets at the Russian company. Its capacity will be limited to USD50m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The independent asset management firm Unigestion, whose assets under management totalled EUR10.9bn as of the end of 2013, on 15 April announced the launch of a global SRI equity strategy, which has already been subject to interest from 25 charities and other nonprofit organisations. The strategy is managed with the Unigestion management approach to the Equity aset class, which is based on active risk management, adapting to market trends, and earning returns for investors while minimizing volatility. The strategy also relies on an SRI approach based on EIRIS ethical criteria. According to Tom Leavitt, Managing Director, Head of the Institutional Clients team at Unigestion, “We are delighted that so many charities have already been convinced by our SRI global equity strategy. Our investment approach, based on risk management, is particularly convincing to long-term investors seekign to invest in Equity markets while protecting their capital. Intitutionals are showing a growing interest in socially responsible investment, and this new fund perfectly reflects the ability of our approach centered on risk to meet this demand.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } ING Investment Management (IM) is adding to its range of high yield products. The Netherlands-based asset management firm registered an Asian high yield debt vehicle on the Spanish market, entitled ING (L) Renta Fund Asian High Yield, Funds People reports. The long-only fund concentrates on corproate bonds with a rating of less than or equal to BB+, denominated in local currency, without hedging. Its portfolio will be composed of 100 bonds from about 75 market issuers, selected according to a bottom-up approach combined with top-down selection to guarantee maximal diversification, with a balance between the assets selected, sectors of activity and countries. The benchmark index for the product is the BofA Merrill Lynch Asian Dollar High Yield Corporate Constrained Index (ACCY).

The Research Department of the International Organization of Securities Commissions on April 15 published a Staff Working Paper entitled Corporate Bond Markets: A Global Perspective.The report presents findings from an in-depth study on the development and functioning of corporate bond markets globally, and focuses on both emerging and developed markets. Its findings underscore the importance of corporate bond markets to economic growth, financial stability and economic recovery. Corporate bond markets have almost tripled in size since 2000. While financial firms in developed markets are deleveraging, non-financial firms are tapping the corporate bond markets in growing numbers. Bank lending to non-financials is weak in the US and Europe, suggesting a move away from bank lending towards corporate bond financing in some developed markets.The volume of corporate bond issuances has increased steadily, reaching almost USD3.2 trillion in 2013, compared to USD0.9 trillion in 2000. In the last 13 years, 27 new economies have recorded corporate bond issuances, most of these emerging markets. In fact emerging markets accounted for 30% of recorded issuance volume in 2013 vs just 5% in 2000.Interestingly, a growing number of emerging market issuances are ‘puttable’ (the bondholder can ask to reclaim their principal before the maturity date). In 2013, issuances of bonds with a put option in emerging markets reached $47 billion, compared to issuance of $1 billion in developed markets. If this upward trend continues, it could signal increasing volatility in financing of emerging market firms.Long-term infrastructure projects and real estate property developers are also are raising financing on corporate bond markets. For example, between 2000 and 2013, $171 billion worth of infrastructure bonds were issued, the majority issued post-2007.Meanwhile, a search for yield is driving investment in high yielding corporate bond markets: High yield issuances have increased from $72 billion in 2000 to $550 billion in 2013. Finally, the report examines illiquidity in the secondary markets in the context of a changing regulatory environment. The report notes that before the crisis, corporate bond markets were awash with ‘phantom liquidity’ that has since decreased, creating higher liquidity risk for investors.This ‘phantom liquidity’ refers to liquidity provided to the market on the back of potentially systemically risky practices. For example, before the crisis dealers could bundle illiquid bonds into structured debt products such as Collateral Debt Obligations, a move that helped amplify the financial crisis. In other words, phantom liquidity was offered to the secondary market, but at the expense of financial stability.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jupiter, an asset management firm based in the United Kingdom, is renaming its Jupiter China Sustainable Growth fund, which now becomes Jupiter China Select. The fund, launched in December 2009, will continue to be managed by Philip Ehrmann, whose mandate will remain unchanged in terms of investment style and strategy, a statement released by Jupiter says. The objective of the Jupiter China Select fund, according to the asset management firm, is “to achieve long-term capital growth by investing in companies which are well-positioned to profit from secular trends associated with sustainable development in China.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Old Mutual Global Investors, on 1st April, recruited Iris Tsui as senior sales manager, as an addition to its Asian distribution team based in Hong Kong, International Adviser reports. Tsui had previously served at China’s E Fund Mnagement , where she was head of development for the activity serving intermediaries and institutional clients. Before that, Tsui worked at HSBC and Citibank as an investment consultant for over five years. She reports directly to Kylie Chan, and aims to develop various distribution channels for the asset management firm in Asia.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Spanish asset management firms have had a particularly strong year in 2013. Last year, cumulative net profits for asset management firms at collective investment institutions (SGIIC) increased by 58.4% to a total of EUR453m, according to data released in the quarterly bulletin of the local regulator, the CNMV. This performance was possible due largely to the strong growth in assets recorded in the past year. In 2013, assets under management at SGIIC rose 22.5%, to a total of over EUR187bn (EUR187.34bn, more precisely). “This is the first increase in assets for these entities since the 2007 crisis,” the CNMV notes. The local regulator also observes that revenues driven by management commissions increased 12.5% to a total of EUR1.6bn.

ING Investment Management (IM) complète sa gamme de produits high yield. La société de gestion néerlandaise a enregistré sur le marché espagnol un véhicule de dette asiatique high yield, baptisé ING (L) Renta Fund Asian High Yield, rapporte Funds People. Dans le détail, il s’agit d’un fonds «long only» qui se concentre sur des obligations d’entreprises ayant une notation inférieure ou égale à BB+ libellées en devise locale, sans couverture. Son portefeuille sera composé de 100 obligations d’environ 75 émetteurs de marché sélectionnés selon une approche «bottom-up» combinée avec des choix «top-down» afin de garantir une diversification maximale avec un équilibre entre les actifs retenus, les secteurs d’actifs et les pays. L’indice de référence de ce produit est le BofA Merrill Lynch Asian Dollar High Yield Corporate Constrained Index (ACCY).

Old Mutual Global Investors a recruté le 1er avril dernier Iris Tsui au poste de directrice commercial senior afin de renforcer son équipe de distribution asiatique basée à Hong Kong, rapporte International Adviser. L’intéressée officiait précédemment chez E Fund Management où elle était responsable du développement de l’activité auprès des intermédiaires et des clients institutionnels. Avant cela, Iris Tsui a travaillé chez HSBC et Citibank en tant que consultant en investissement pendant plus de cinq ans. Elle reporte en direct à Kylie Chan et elle a pour mission de développer les différents canaux de distribution de la société de gestion en Asie.

Carlyle Group a bouclé son premier fonds de capital investissement ciblant l’Afrique sub-saharienne à 698 millions de dollars, soit 40 % au dessus de son objectif, rapporte le Financial Times. Marlon Chigwende, managing director et co-responsable de l’équipe de conseil d’Afrique sub-saharienne, a indiqué au journal que la moitié du financement est venu d’investisseurs se tournant pour la première fois vers l’Afrique, dont 10 % venant d’Afrique.

Le colloque sur le rôle de l’assurance dans le financement des PME a été l’occasion pour la Fédération française des sociétés d’assurances (FFSA) de réclamer par l’intermédiaire de son président, Bernard Spitz, l’aménagement des règles régissant le nouveau contrat vie-génération, créé pour orienter l'épargne vers les entreprises, le logement social et l'économie sociale et solidaire, rapporte L’Agefi. Le responsable souhaite notamment l’assouplissement de la fréquence de valorisation de ce contrat en unités de compte, afin de mieux coller aux contraintes des assureurs, et que les fonds de prêts montés entre certaines banques et certains assureurs puissent être inclus dans les contrats vie-génération. Bernard Spitz a également annoncé la création d’un groupe de travail avec l’Association française des investisseurs pour la croissance (Afic) pour adapter les fonds d’investissement dans le non-coté aux contraintes et aux demandes des assureurs - par exemple en terme de liquidité ou de rémunération des équipes de gestion.

L’Établissement de Retraite additionnelle de la Fonction publique (ERAFP) annonce le lancement d’un appel d’offres ouvert afin d’attribuer trois mandats de gestion de portefeuille d’obligations crédit ISR libellées en dollar. L’ERAFP précise à titre indicatif que les montants investis à un horizon de trois ans seront de l’ordre de 400 millions d’euros. La durée initiale du marché est de cinq ans avec la possibilité pour l’ERAFP de reconduire le marché pour trois périodes successives d’un an chacune. Le dossier de consultation est disponible sur www.achatpublic.com.

RenAsset Management a obtenu l’agrément de la Banque centrale d’Irlande pour lancer le 24 avril son fonds investi dans des actions du marché nigérian. Basé à Dublin, le produit Ucits sera géré par Sven Richter, responsable des marchés frontières au sein de la société russe. Sa capacité sera limitée à 50 millions de dollars.