J.P. Morgan Asset Management (AM) a annoncé, le 24 février, la nomination de James Peagam au poste de responsable européen pour le pôle de solutions d’assurance mondiales (Global Insurance Solutions). Sa mission consistera à piloter cette activité, avec le soutien d’une équipe de 35 personnes, en construisant et en développant des stratégies d’investissement et des solutions pour les assureurs et les réassureurs européens. Basé à Londres, il rapportera directement à Matt Malloy, responsable du pôle Global Insurance Solutions.Avant de rejoindre J.P. Morgan AM, James Peagam officiait en tant que responsable de la stratégique commerciale pour les institutions financières de la région EMEA (Europe, Moyen-Orient, Afrique) chez BlackRock. Auparavant, il a occupé différents fonctions dédiées à l’assurance chez Royal Bank of Scotland / ABN Amro aux Etats-Unis et dans la zone EMEA.

ETF Securities et E Fund Management, basé à Hong Kong, préparent le lancement à Londres d’un ETF au format Ucits sur l’indice MSCI China A, rapporte ETF.com Editors. Source, en partenariat avec CSOP, et db X-trackers avec Harvest ont déjà proposé des ETF sur les actions chinoises de type A.Dans le sillage des autorisations réglementaires, les détails du nouveau produit devraient être communiqués vers la fin du premier trimestre.

Henderson Global Investors «revient de loin», selon Les Echos, après des «années éprouvantes» aux yeux de son directeur général, Andrew Formica, liées à l’intégration des acquisitions de New Star AM en 2009 et de Gartmore en 2011. Le dirigeant vise désormais une croissance «avant tout» organique au rythme de 5% à 10 % de croissance par an d’ici à cinq ans, susceptible de permettre au groupe, si l'évolution des marchés le permet, un doublement de la taille de ses encours (qui s’élèvent aujourd’hui à 70 milliards de livres) d’ici à 2018. Henderson GI n’exclut toutefois pas d’autres opérations de croissance. «Nous sommes toujours à l’affût d’opportunités d’acquisition», a reconnu Andrew Formica, soucieux aujourd’hui de renforcer ses expertises sur les actions américaines ou encore la gestion de taux dans les marchés émergents et asiatiques. Présente désormais dans une quinzaine de pays, la société de gestion ne prévoit pas de nouvelles ouvertures cette année.

La boutique londonienne Heptagon Capital a renforcé sa plate-forme Ucits irlandaise avec le lancement de deux fonds actions monde, est en mesure de dévoiler Citywire Global. Cela porte la gamme de la société à cinq fonds, avec des encours sous gestion de 2,8 milliards de dollars. Les deux nouvelles stratégies offertes aux investisseurs européens sont le Oppenheimer Global Focus Equity et le Kopernik Global All-Cap Equity, tous les deux délégués à des sociétés tierces.

Kames Capital enrichit sa gamme de produits multi classes d’actifs. La société de gestion britannique, basée à Londres et à Edimbourg et qui affiche 64 milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion, a en effet annoncé le lancement d’un nouveau fonds de revenu diversifié.Baptisé Kames Diversified Income Fund, ce véhicule sera officiellement disponible sur le marché à compter du 27 février et il investira dans des obligations investment grade et high yield, les actions internationales et britanniques orientées sur les revenus et les dividendes et, enfin, les classes d’actifs alternatives. Géré par Vincent McEntegart, membre de l’équipe multi classes d’actifs de Kames, ce fonds distribuera des revenus tous les mois, tout en ayant une cible de rendement de 5%. Lors de son lancement, ce véhicule aura l’allocation suivante: 21% du portefeuille sera investi en obligations high yield, 19 % en obligations investment grade, 23 % en actions internationales, 14% en actions britanniques, 22 % dans l’alternatif et 1% en cash.

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) a annoncé le lancement de SGSS Gallery, son portail internet rénové et dédié à la clientèle européenne. Le portail offre un accès unique et sécurisé à l’ensemble des clients de SGSS, allant des gestionnaires d’actifs, investisseurs institutionnels aux banques et courtiers. Les clients peuvent accéder à une gamme de services et recevoir leurs reportings à la fréquence de leur choix. Grâce à une nouvelle interface et un environnement personnalisé, les utilisateurs peuvent gérer leurs besoins de reporting sur les actifs en conservation locale ou globale, ainsi que pour l’administration de fonds. Pour le moment, le portail internet a été déployé auprès de plus de 4.000 clients à travers l’Europe et produira plus d’un million de rapports par an. Par la suite, il est prévu d’étendre également la plate-forme aux clients d’Europe Centrale, d’Europe de l’Est et d’Afrique.

Le gérant du hegde fund Greenlight, David Einhorn, vient d’attaquer en justice le site de conseil boursier Seeking Alpha, afin d’obtenir l’identité d’un blogueur qui a révélé sur ce site d’information qu’il était en train d’acheter des actions de Micron Technology, selon Les Echos. David Einhorn souhaite également découvrir le nom de l’informateur qui est derrière cette fuite, estimant que cette révélation a porté un préjudice financier à ses investisseurs. Le gérant-fondateur de Greenlight avait en effet commencé à acquérir des titres du groupe technologique en juillet, et dans la plus totale discrétion, pensait-il. Or, après que l’information est dévoilée sur Seeking Alpha, le titre, autour de 19 dollars, grimpe de près de 2%.

BNL (groupe BNP Paribas) a confirmé l’arrivée de Carmelo Salamone en tant que responsable commercial du réseau de conseillers financiers, rapporte Bluerating. Il sera placé sous la responsabilité de Ferdinando Rebecchi, responsable du développement et du conseil financier de BNL, et il s’occupera de gérer le réseau de conseillers financiers de la banque italienne.

HSBC Private Bank vient de nommer deux co-responsables mondiaux pour sa stratégie d’investissement, Olivier Pacton qui sera basé à Hong Kong, et Jean-Christophe Gerard, qui sera basé à Londres, rapporte Asian Investor. Ils remplacent Nigel Webber, qui a quitté ses fonctions de chief investment officer à la fin de l’année 2013. L’introduction d’un binôme tente de répondre à l'évolution de la banque privée dans le monde et devrait permettre une meilleure proximité avec le client.Olivier Pacton s’occupait jusqu’ici de la stratégie d’investissement pour la zone Asie-Pacifique, tandis que Jean-Philippe Gerard, qui était basé à Genève, avait en charge la stratégie d’investissement pour l’Europe. Ils sont désormais responsables de la sélection d’idées ainsi que des produits et services d’investissement qui seront exploités par HSBC Private Bank. Ils sont à la tête d’une équipe de 500 personnes dans le monde basées sur le continent américain, en Europe, au Moyen-Orient, en Afrique et en Asie.

La Hedge Fund Association (HFA), qui représente le secteur des hedge funds au niveau mondial, vient d'élire ses nouveaux membres pour la période 2014/2015. Le comité directeur se compose du président, Mitch Ackles, de Hedge Fund PR, qui a été reconduit, entouré d’un vice president, en la personne de Ron Geffner (Sadis & Goldberg), et d’un chairman, David Friedland (Magnus U.S. Investments).Les différents comités sont constitués comme suit: Représentant les investisseurs dans les hedge funds David Friedland, Magnum U.S. Investments Evan H. Katz, Crawford Ventures April Rudin, The Rudin Group Michael Scanlon, AiCE Group - Silver Leaf Partners Don Steinbrugge, Agecroft Partners Représentant les gestionnaires de hedge funds Tony Acquadro, BTS Asset Management Joseph DeMatteo Sr., JDM Capital Corp. Frederick Pye, Landry Investment Management George Schultze, Schultze Asset Management John Taylor, White Oak Global Advisors Représentant les fournisseurs de services aux hedge funds Mitch Ackles, Hedge Fund PR Joshua Blumenthal, Rothstein Kass Ron Geffner, Sadis & Goldberg Richard Heller, Thompson Hine Kislay Shah, McGladrey

Aletti Gestielle Sgr et Unicasim ont lancé en Italie le fonds Crescita Impresa Italia, qui sera investi dans des obligations d’entreprises italiennes affichant un chiffre d’affaires compris entre 10 millions et 250 millions d’euros, rapporte Funds People Italia. Cela représente un univers de 20.000 sociétés, si l’on prend celles ayant une notation égale ou supérieure à l’investment grade. La durée du fonds est de sept ans et la période de souscription est de 12 mois, avec un objectif d’encours de 100 millions d’euros. Le fonds - fermé - est réservé aux investisseurs institutionnels.

Onze fonds de pension islandais se sont associés pour créer un fonds de capital investissement ciblé sur des placements locaux, augmentant les craintes d’une bulle sur le prix des actifs dans le pays, rapporte le Financial Times fund management. Le fonds a levé l’équivalent de 38 millions de livres. Il s’agit du deuxième produit lancé par le secteur des fonds de pension depuis la crise.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has merged eight departments and four have been created in order to keep up with rapid developments in capital markets and the asset management sector, Asian Investor reports. The new departments are: bond investment, innovative activities, private investment funds and combating market abuses. Meanwhile, the two departments dedicated to supervising publicly-traded companies have been merged, as well as the two departments dedicated to overseeing futures markets. Also merged are the two divisions dedicated to supervising funds and intermediaries, and the two divisions overseeing initial public offerings and growth businesses. The regulator has not provided a specific timetable for the effective implementation of the restructuring, simply stating that it will try to release details about the responsibilities of each new department “as soon as possible.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } HSBC Private Bank has appointed two global co-heads for its investment strategy. Olivier Pacton will be based in Hong Kong and Jean-Christophe Gerard will be based in London, Asian Investor reports. They replace Nigel Webber, who left his role as chief investment officer at the end of 2013. The introduction of the dual positions seeks to respond to the evolution of private banking worldwide and is expected to allow for better proximity to the client. Pacton was previously responsible for investment strategy for the Asia-Pacific region, while Gerard, who had been based in Geneva, was responsible for investment strategy for Europe. They are now responsible for selection of ideas as well as investment products and services which will be operated by HSBC Private Bank. They are at the head of a team of 500 people worldwide, based in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The Hedge Fund Association (HFA) announced on Monday the results of the 2014/2015 board of director’s election. HFA members in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin America and the Cayman Islands elected 15 leaders to work on behalf of the global hedge fund industry, including over 10,000 hedge funds in the U.S. and abroad which collectively manage in excess of USD2.8 trillion in assets, institutional and high-net worth investors, and industry service providers.The 2014/2015 HFA Board of Directors are:President: Mitch Ackles, Hedge Fund PR Vice President: Ron Geffner, Sadis & Goldberg Chairman: David Friedland, Magnum U.S. Investments Representing Hedge Fund Allocators:David Friedland, Magnum U.S. Investments Evan H. Katz, Crawford Ventures April Rudin, The Rudin Group Michael Scanlon, AiCE Group - Silver Leaf Partners Don Steinbrugge, Agecroft Partners Representing Hedge Fund Managers:Tony Acquadro, BTS Asset Management Joseph DeMatteo Sr., JDM Capital Corp. Frederick Pye, Landry Investment Management George Schultze, Schultze Asset Management John Taylor, White Oak Global Advisors Representing Hedge Fund Service Providers:Mitch Ackles, Hedge Fund PR Joshua Blumenthal, Rothstein Kass Ron Geffner, Sadis & Goldberg Richard Heller, Thompson Hine Kislay Shah, McGladrey

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Kames Capital is adding to its range of multi-asset class products. The British asset management firm, based in Lnodon and Edinburgh, with EUR64bn in assets under management, has announced the launch of a new diversified fund. The vehicle, entitled Kames Diversified Income Fund, will officially be on the market from 27 February, and will invest in investment grade and high yield bonds, international and British equities oriented to income and dividends, and lastly, alternative asset classes. The fund will be managed by Vincent McEntegart, a member of the multi-asset class board at Kames. The fund will distribute revenues every month, with a return objective of 5%. At its launch, the fund will have the following allocation: 21% of the portfolio will invest in high yield bonds, 19% in investment grade bonds, 23% in international equities, 14% in British equities, 22% in alternative assets, and 1% in cash.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The London-based boutique Heptagon Capital has added to its Irish platform with the launch of two global equity funds, Citywire Global reveals. These bring the product range from the firm to five funds, with assets under management of USD2.8bn. The two new strategies offered to European investors are the Oppenheimer Global Focus Equity and the Kopernik Global All-Cap Equity, both of which are outsourced to third-party firms.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } ETF Securities and E Fund Management, based in Hong Kong, are preparing to launch a UCITS ETF on the MSCI China A index, ETF.com Editors reports. Source, in partnership with CSOP, and db X-trackers with Harvest already offer ETFs of Chinese A-class equities. Following regulatory clearance, the details of the new product will be released later in first quarter.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to a study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) cited by Reuters, private equity firms active on the European market are confident in the evolution of the sector in 2014. The study of 232 private equity firms finds that 60% of them are betting on rising markets, and that 70% expect investment to rise. But although financing conditions have improved, respondents are not hoping to reach pre-crisis levels this year, says Steve Roberts, director of privte equity at PwC Germany.

The US firm First Trust Advisors, which last year launched its commercial offensive in Europe with its London-based entity First trust Global Portfolios, would like to accelerate its growth on the continent. The three UCITS format products launched in early April 2013, three ETFs dedicated to US large caps, emerging markets and British equities, respectively, posted inflows of about USD150m in less than one year. Assets under management in Europe currently total USD250m.“The marked interest of investors in our ETF products is related to the simplicity of our approach. We bet on fundamentals,” Martin Molère, head of sales at First Trust for continental Europe, said earlier this week during a visit to Paris.Smart ETFs from First Trust, including the AlphaDEX ETF family, use a proprietary methodology which analyses growth factors (price appreciation over three, six and twelve months; growth of sales and share price/sales ratio) and value factors (accounting price/value ratio, share price/cash flow ratio and returns on owners’ equity) in stock-picking. “For the most part, we select the least expensive shares and those which have the most momentum,” says Martin Molère. He adds that all ETFs on offer from First Trust are physical ETFs which do not engage in securities lending.The performance of ETFs on offer since Spring 2013 is flattering. From its launch on 9 April 2013 until 21 February 2014, the First Trust US Large Cap Core AlphaDEX Ucitsd ETF has posted outperformance of 3.5 percentage points compared with its benchmark index. The First Trust EM AlphaDEX Ucits ETF lags 80 basis points behind its benchmark, but the First Trust UK AlphaDEX Ucits ETF has earned outperformance of 13 percentage points over its benchmark.Assets under management at the First Trust group have risen from about USd70bn as of the end of 2012 to USD90bn currently, but a considerable part of that growth is due to ETFs, which now account for USD22bn, compared with USD11bn as of the end of 2012.International assets now represent only USD500m. Molère plans to increase the European presence of First Trust. The ETFs already launched by First Trust are now available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, the largest continental European market for First Trust. But there is now serious talk of launching an offensive on the Swiss and Benelux markets. At least two new ETFs are coming, one based on the euro zone, and one on US small and midcaps; the euro zone strategy may be launched by summer. Personnel at the London offices have increased in a short period of time from 10 to 20, three quarters of whom are specialised in distribution.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Strong turbulence on emerging markets has claimed a new victim. Avantium Investment Management (IM), a hedge fund specialised in emerging markets and launched for former Deutsche Bank employees, has closed its doors after only two and a half years of activity, eFinancial News reports. The firm has had to close its doors after posting large redemptions to investors who lost appetite in emerging markets, although no sums have been disclosed. At its launch in October 2011, Avantium had about USD200m in assets. These assets rose to USD800m at their highest in May 2013. Since then, the firm has been hit hard by decisions by investors to withdraw their money even though the current size of the fund is difficult to evaluate.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNL (BNP Paribas group) has confirmed the arrival of Carmelo Salamone as head of sales for the financial adviser network, Bluerating reports. He will report to Ferdinando Rebecchi, head of development and financial advising at BNL, and will manage the network of financial advisers at the Italian bank.

KBL Swiss Private Banking has appointed Daniel Boos to the executive committee of KBL (Switzerland) Ltd. As head of international private banking, his role will be to develop KBL spb’s international private banking activities in strategic markets, notably in the Middle East.Daniel Boos is a Swiss national with two decades of experience in the financial services sector in Switzerland and abroad. He was formerly based in the United Arab Emirates, where he ran the representative offices of Credit Suisse and Clariden Leu.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the Bellevue group, including those at Bank am Bellevue and those at Bellevue Asset Management, have increase 20% in the year 2013, to a total of CHF4.33bn. Assets under management alone at Bellevue Asset Management totalled CHF2.6bn, up 33% due largely to the good performance of the markets. Inflows have totalled CHF102m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Spanish asset management firm A&G has launched a UCITS hedge fund, domiciled in Luxembourg, which is able to invest via various asset classes and investment funds, Citywire Global reports. The new vehicle, entitled A&G Global Sicav – Killorglin Fund, was launched in mid-February, and is managed by Sergio Navarro Fernandez. It may invest directly or indirectly in investment funds, funds of funds, equities, bonds, and structured products. A&G, founded in 1987, manages over EUR4bn in assets under management for families and institutional investors. The Spanish firm, based in Madrid, is 72% owned by EFG International.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The UK government will require asset management firms to supply details of all costs related to defined contribution pensions, Fund Web reports. The measure was confirmed in a written declaration from pensions minister Steve Webb.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British asset management firm Ingenious Asset Management (AM) which has GBP1.4bn in assets, has appointed Andrew Waldren to the newly-created position of chief operating officer, Fundweb reports. Waldren had previously served at J. Stern & Co, after serving in a variety of roles at Taylor Young Investment Management and BNP Paribas.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Henderson Global Investors “imaking up for a handicap” according to Les Echos, after “trying years” in the eyes of its CEO, Andrew Formica, related to the integration of acquisitions of New Star Am in 2009 and Gartmore in 2011. The director is now aiming for organic growth “above all” at a pace of 5% to 10% growth per year for five years, which may allow the group, if the evolution of the markets allows it, to double the size of its assets (which now total GBP70bn) by 2018. Henderson GI has not ruled out other growth operations. “We are still seeking acquisition opportunities,” Formica admits, though he is now interested in strengthening expertise in US equities or emerging market and Asian fixed income. The asset management firm, now present in 15 countries, is not planning any new openings this year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Fidelity Worldwide Investment on 24 February announced the appointment of Ferdinand Alexander Leisten as head of asset management activities for the US group in Germany. In his new role, Leisten will report to Jon Skillman, head for continental Europe at Fidelity, and he joins the steering committee for continental Europe. Leisten has over 20 years of experience in the financial industry, and previously (until October 2013) served as head of institutional management at Sal. Oppenheim. “For Fidelity, Germany is the most important market in continental Europe and plays a central role in our international strategy,” says Skillman in a statement. “We would like to exploit the enormous potential of the German market and to increase our market share. That applies both to open-ended funds and institutional funds on the FFB fund platform,” Skillman says.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The research provider Morningstar has announced the appointment of Heather Brilliant, currently director for corporate and equity research, and Mark Roomans, currently chief operating officer at Morningstar Europe, have been appointed as co-CEOs of Morningstar Australasia in Sydney from 1 April. Anthony Serhan, currently CEO of Morningstar Australasia, has been appointed as managing director for Asia-Pacific research strategy in the global research group at Morningstar. Mark Roomans will continue to serve as COO for Europe.