Responding at a point of growing tension in Ukraine, global investors are moving toward a ”risk off” stance, taking on greater protection as the prospect of geopolitical instability grows, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey conducted from 7 March to 13 March 2014.Hedge fund managers provide an illustration of the risk-off mentality taking shape in this month’s survey, having reduced both leverage and exposure to equities. The weighted average ratio of gross assets to capital has fallen to 1.34 times from 1.49 times, the lowest in 20 months. Thirty-one percent of hedge funds have a leverage ratio of less than one time – compared with 19 percent in January.81 percent of investors said they see geopolitical risk posing a threat to financial markets stability – more than four times the reading one month ago. Twenty-seven percent of investors say that a geopolitical crisis is the biggest tail risk – up from 12 percent in February. At the same time, investors continue to express concern about the prospects for emerging markets – with sentiment towards China’s economy falling further. Investors have reacted by showing reduced optimism about the prospect for corporate profits globally and by reining in risk. They have increased cash allocations, reduced equity holdings and taken on greater protection.The proportion of investors taking lower than average risk in their portfolio has increased to a net 14 percent from a net 2 percent in February. A net 16 percent of global asset allocators say that they are overweight cash, up from a net 12 percent last month. The proportion of asset allocators overweight equities has dropped by nine percentage points month-on-month to a net 36 percent. Demand for protection against sharp falls in equity markets has increased to its highest level in 22 months. “With neither inflation nor recession posing a threat, we believe the equity bull market is far from over and investors should be putting excess cash into risk assets,” said Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The private equity speicalist and founder of Belter Capital, Jon Moulton, has acquired a stake in the capital of Seneca Investment Managers, the new asset management arm of Seneca Partners Group, the group has announced in a statement dated 18 March. The operation, which involves a “significant minority stake,” according to Seneca Partners, was carried out via Moulton’s family office, Perscitus Advisers. Neither the sale price nor the size of the stake have been revealed. The capital operation comes at a time when Seneca Investment Managers at the end of January announced that for GBP6.4m it has acquired Miton Capital Partners, an asset management firm based in Liverpool affiliated to the Miton group.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Muzinich & Co has recruited Federico Marzi as its new head of development for sales and marketing in Italy, Bluerating reports. Marzi joins from Euromobiliare Asset Management, where he had been director of sales. “The decision to add to the sales teams reflects the opportunities we see today in the Italian market,” says Ersilia Molnar, head of institutional marketing at Muzinich & Co.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Eric Schneiderman, Attorney General of the state of New York, has opened an investigation to determine whether US stock ecxcanges and certain alternative platforms allow undue advantages to high-frequency traders, the news agency Bloomberg reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. Schneiderman’s services are investigating sales of products and services which allow more rapid access to data and information than is available to the rest of te public, Bloomberg states. There have been conversations with representatives of Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (IntercontinentalExchange Group), after which further information was requested, the news agency adds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) at the end of Novemebr announced at a presentation of its strategic plan that a legal committee will be created to create and defend a French vision of European regulations. Gérard Rameix on 18 March announced that the project was in progress. “We are currently working to create a market legal committee which will allow us to better technically supoprt our vision of regulation in the European bodies,” the AMF chariman said at the RCCI and RCSI day. This initiative “will soon take concrete form,” he added. Rameix also revealed that for asset management firms, the dynamism of equity markets has allowed asset managers positioned on this segment to improve their financial health by moving to higher0margin activities. This appreciation, however, is nuanced, “since low interest rates penalise money market funds and formula funds, which have seen a decline in their assets.” In this environment, the sector, which has more than 600 players, “appears to be entering a consolidation phase, or a concentration phase, after several difficult years.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The hedge fund firm Och-Ziff has issued a warning that its financial results may be affected by an investigation by the US Department of Justice into a corruption case in Libya before the fall of Gaddafi, the Financial Times reports. The firm on Tuesday revealed that the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission were examining relationships with the Libyan sovereign fund and its investments in businesses with activities in Libya.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After 10 years in existence, the alternative asset management firm Phoenix Investment Adviser as of the end of February had assets under management of USD1.16bn, compared with USD987.4m as of the end of 2013, Hedge Fund Intelligencec reports. In this context, the firm is planning to recruit a senior adviser and a marketing and investor relationships professional in the next few months. The firm now has 20 people including nine investment professionals.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Morningstar has downgraded the “stewardship” rating of Pimco’s funds from B to C, and has lowered the “parent pillar score” for the firm, which studies factors such as turnover of directors, the investment culture and fee levels, from positive to neutral, the Financial Times reports. “There is a heightened level of uncertainty in the post El-Erian era surrounding the questions of whether Primco’s latest senior staffing transitions will prove beneficial to investors [and] whether recent and future senior-level departures indicate a persistent side effect of the firm’s pressure-cooker culture,” analyst Eric Jacobson writes. These ratings are closely watched by retail investors.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mirabaud has recruited Christophe Lapaque and Stéphane Oury, both from the Corporate Advisory team at UBS Wealth Management in Geneva for its private bank, to create a Corporate Advisory specialist team. The team, based in Geneva, works in close collaboration with the teams at Mirabaud Securities in London, responsible for equity, debt and alternative markets, as well as asset management and private management, across the complete network of the group. Oury for 12 years led the corporate advisory department at UBS in Geneva, and Lapaque for 7 years worked in the same department.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss firm UBS AG has created a new division dedicated to its equity hedge fund clients, according to an internal memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal. The new division, Capital and Consulting Services, unites the teams in the Capital Introduction and Business Consulting unit and the global head of prime brokerage, Reinhart Olsen. The new division will be led by Mike Sales, based in London, who had recently been global head of business consulting services and head of capital introduction for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Eight open-ended funds announced last week in Newsmanagers by Denis Panel, CEO of Theam, with various investment horizons ranging from 2018 to 2043, have appeared in the product range of the asset management firm. Each fund of he BNP Paribas Plan Easy Future range has an adaptive protection mechanism which varies according to the investment duration and the interest rates. Meanwhile, the potential for performance is realized via an exposure to diversified drivers of growth. The fund will have a minimal protected value at maturity, which can only be increased over the life of the sub-fund. This value which is formally protected at maturity by BNP Paribas may cover a sum lower than the initial subscription. The funds of the BNP Paribas Plan Easy Future fund are available in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } RBC Wealth Management has appointed Michael Yong Haron as managing director and head of activities for Northern Asia, International Adviser reports. Haron, who has 20 years of experience in the industry, has worked in Hong Kong as executive director of Credit Suisse, and also as a member of the CFA Institute. Haron will report directly to Barend Janssens, head of emerging markets at RBC.

Roland Schmidt, head of Germany - retail sales, has decided to leave M&G Investments. He joined M&G in April 2011 as a sales director and was promoted to head of Germany - retail sales in September 2012.Jonathan Willcocks, global head of retail sales and managing director of M&G Investments, replaces Roland Schmidt on an interim basis with immediate effect until a successor is found. Willcocks joined M&G in 2005 and has a wealth of experience of 28 years in the asset management industry.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) on 18 March announced an addition to its sales team in Germany, with two new appointments. Thomas Brand is appointed as head of sales, in charge of developing the activities of SGSS in Germany. He will be particularly focused on institutional investors, including insurers, all types of pension funds, and German businesses. Eva-Maria Jakob is appointed as head of sales and client relationships. Her mission will be to actively develop relationshiops with German and Austrian consultants, who play an important role in th local securities industry, and to work in close collaboration with end clients. Her priority will be to remain in close contact with administrative consultants speialised in the areas of strategy and retirement. Brand and Jakob will be based in Frankfurt and will report to Johan Meyers, director of sales and client relations for SGSS in Germany and Austria.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Generali Investments is continuing to add to its product range. After the launch earlier this year of an equity fund targeted to the countries of Southern Europe (see Newsmangers of 31 January 2014), it’s now Generali Fund Management, the Luxembourg-based fund group, that has now launched a new European equity vehicle which aims to target European small and midcaps, Citywire Global reports. The product, entitled BG Sicav Small and Mid Euro Equity Fund, managed by Marco D’Orazio, is a part of the Luxembourg strategy of the asset management affiliate of the Generali group. The objective of the new fund is to invest in various European countries, although it will have a very clear bias for Italian ,French and German markets. In addition to equities, the vehicle will also invest in convertible bonds, preference shares, and warrants. Its benchmark index is the MSCI EMU Small TR USD.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Karlsruhe constitutional court on 18 March recognized the legality of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), confirming an initial verdict delivered in 2012, which allowed the permanent euro zone bailout mechanism to be created. The Karlsruhe court reiterated that the EUR700bn fund does not violate the Bundestag’s prerogatives in budgetary areas, so long as the lower house of Parliament retains a right to review its use. Germany is the largest contributor to the fund, and may engage up to EUR190bn of public money to the fund in the form of guarantees. The ESM may lend up to EUR500bn to troubled euro zone countries. It has already delivered assistance to Spain for its banks.

Solactive AG has launched the Solactive European Buyback Index (BUYEU Index), which will be used as underlying for index-linked products by Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB), including swaps, options, warrants and certificates. According to Steffen Scheuble, CEO of Solactive, it will fill a gap in the market.The index universe is composed of all stocks which announced a stock buyback in the last two months, in 16 Western European countries. To be eligible in the universe, stocks must have a minimum market capitalization of 500m EUR and an average trading value of 2m EUR over the last three months. The index had an annual return of 23.17% and a volatility of 17.98% between 28th November 2008 and 17th March 2014.Buyback is well-known as an alternative way for companies to ‘return’ cash to their shareholders by increasing earnings per share, used first in the US and more and more in Europe as well. According to Stéphane Mattatia, head of global equity flow engineering in Paris, SG CIB: “A number of academic studies show high return generated by the stocks of companies which buy back their own shares. This appears as a transparent and regular source of performance, exactly the kind of investment our clients are looking for.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } An important page in the history of Resolution is turning. Clove Cowdery and John Tiner are leaving the board of Resolution Limited, an insurance consolidator which they founded in 2008 after the sale of Resolution Plc, Citywire reports. The two men, who had been non-executive directors of the company, have announced plans not to stand as candidated for re-election to the board of directors, planned for the general shoareholders’ meeting on 8 May 2014. They say that the group has now finalised its restructuring, and that it is now time to leave the board. In a statement, the group says that it “has no immediate plans to appoint other directors to replace” Cowdery and Tiner. The announcement comes at a time when the Resolution group on 18 March published its 2013 results, which were marked by 59% growth in pre-tax operating profits to GBP489m from GBP274m in 2012. IFRS pre-tax profits were GBP235m at the end of 2013, after a loss of GBP41m in 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The private equity speicalist and founder of Better Capital, Jon Moulton, has acquired a stake in the capital of Seneca Investment Managers, the new asset management arm of Seneca Partners Group, the group has announced in a statement dated 18 March. The operation, which involves a “significant minority stake,” according to Seneca Partners, was carried out via Moulton’s family office, Perscitus Advisers. Neither the sale price nor the size of the stake have been revealed. The capital operation comes at a time when Seneca Investment Managers at the end of January announced that for GBP6.4m it has acquired Miton Capital Partners, an asset management firm based in Liverpool affiliated to the Miton group.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } F&C Investments has unveiled plans to overhaul its retail distribution team in the United Kingdom, Fund Web reports. From 1 April, the team, led by head of consumer Rob Thorpe, will be split in two. One half will focus on networks, insurers and platforms nationwide, while the other will have a more regional approach. Mark Parry will lead the first team, while Stephen McCall will lead the second. Three regional directors will also be appointed: Frank O’Donnell for the North, Jason Anderson for the South, and Paul Moulton for the Midlands.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } F&C Asset Management is paying a high price for its divorce from Friends Life. The British asset management firm will lost a GBP14.5bn mandate which had previously been managed for its former majority shareholder Friends Life, Citywire reports. The insurance activity will need to redeem GBP12.5bn in equity and multi-asset class mandates, and an additional mandate dedicated to sterling fixed income for GBP2.3bn by the end of the year. Friends Life has decided to award these mandares to Schroders, with whom the insurer has signed a new strategic partnership agreement. Friends Life had previously controlled 52% of F&C, but the two firms have recently decided to break off their capital ties as part of an acquisition of F&C by the Canadian Bank of Montreal, announced in February, for GBP708m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Natixis UK has poached a catch. The British arm of the French firm has recruited Michel Canoy, a former manager from Legal & General (L&G), as its global head of credit trading, to reinforce its investment banking activity in the United Kingdom, Citywire reports. Canoy, who left L&G in January, had previously managed GBP2bn in assets for L&G, partly as principal manager of the Fixed Interest Trust (GBP1.3bn in assets). Canoy had worked at L&G since 2009. He had previously served in London after a period as a young manager at CDC Ixis in Paris.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the Liechtenstein banking group VP Bank last year rose 7.4% to CHF30.6bn as of the end of 2013, according to a statement released on 18 March. The development is the fruit of a positive market efect of CHF1.1bn, and a net inflow of CHF985m. VP Bank points out that the acquisition of HSBC Trnkaus Burkhardt (International) SA in Luxembourg represented additional assets of CHF2bn. These assets are, however, subject to considerable erosion, which VP Bank suggests that it has partly managed to offset. Net profits at VP Bank were down 18% to CHF38.7m. The cost/income ratio deterioarated to 70.2% from 62.8% previously.

L’assureur britannique Friends Life a annoncé qu’il ne renouvellera pas le mandat de gestion de 14,5 milliards de livres confié à F&C Asset Management. Sur ce total, 2,3 milliards seront internalisés et 12,2 milliards (actions et multi-classes d’actifs) seront confiés à Schroders à la fin de l’année. Pour F&C, coté en Bourse et qui fait l’objet d’une offre de rachat de la part de BMO Financial Group, le contrat Friends Life représentait 17% de ses actifs à fin 2013.

Eric Schneiderman souhaite que les Bourses américaines et les plates-formes alternatives limitent les avantages qu’elles confèrent au trading à haute fréquence. A ses yeux, «au lieu d’endiguer les pires menaces posées par les traders haute fréquence, nos marchés, tels qu’ils sont structurés aujourd’hui, cherchent de manière croissante à les attirer». Le procureur vise notamment la «co-location», qui permet aux traders de loger leurs serveurs dans les centres de données des Bourses pour diminuer le temps de passage des ordres.

Le lancement de nouveaux fonds d’arbitrage s’est encore ralenti en 2013 pour atteindre son plus faible niveau depuis 3 ans, à 1.060 selon HFR, bien que les encours gérés par l’industrie aient atteint un record à 2.620 milliards de dollars en fin d’année. Les lancements ont concerné en priorité les fonds actions (428) suivis des fonds macro (256). Dans le même temps, les liquidations de fonds alternatifs ont connu leur plus haut niveau depuis 2009, avec 904 fonds fermés durant l’année, contre 873 en 2012.

Orion Capital Managers et AEW Europe, le gestionnaire d’actifs immobiliers de Natixis AM, auraient été sélectionnés dans le sprint final pour le contrôle de la deuxième foncière cotée espagnole, selon Bloomberg. Bankia et le groupe de construction FCC ont mis en vente leurs participations respectives de 25 et 36,9%. Realia vaut 332 millions d’euros en Bourse et affiche une dette nette de 2,1 milliards pour un patrimoine de 3,38 milliards à fin 2013. Goldman Sachs mène le processus de vente.

Le Comité de Bâle a indiqué que les titres du Mécanisme européen de stabilité (MES) et de la Facilité européenne de stabilité financière (FESF) pourront être pondérés à 0% par les superviseurs bancaires dans le calcul des risques des banques. Ils seront également comptabilisés dans le coussin dit Level 1 High Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA) qui reprend les actifs les plus liquides que les banques doivent détenir pour le calcul de leur ratio de liquidité.

Les opérations du marché des changes pourraient en principe être visées par la taxe sur les transactions financières, selon un avis de juristes européens consulté par Reuters. Si le document exclut que le forex soit visé par le projet de taxe tel qu’il existe actuellement, cet avis ouvre la voie à une intégration dans le futur.

Le taux de défaut des prêts sous-jacents aux titrisations a atteint près de 30% au mois de janvier selon l'agence de notation S&P