Santander Private Banking has recruited four people, Bluerating reports. In Brescia, Ivan Rodari and Mauro Vai have joined the team, from Banca Aletti, while in Milan, Annamaria Zotti and Lorenzo Cappello join from Unipol Banca.

The shareholders’ meeting at which the new chairman of Assogestioni, the Italian assocation of asset management professionals, will be named, will be held on 26 March, Bluerating reports. He will succeed Domenico Siniscalco, who resigned in November. Since then, his functions have been temporarily reassigned to vice-president Giordano Lombardo, chairman of Pioneer Investment Management.

Amundi delivered a further improvement in results in 2013. Its full-year net income Group share was 444 million euros, an increase of 5.2% compared with 2012. Revenues increased by 3.0% over the year while operating expenses increased by 2.3%. The cost/income ratio therefore stood at «a continued highly competitive level» of 54.6% and 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Net income Group share was up 5.0% for the full year to 325 million euros. The asset management owned by French banks Crédit Agricole and Société Générale recorded net inflows in all customers segments, except for the French retail networks. Amundi attracted net inflows of 10.3 billion in 2013, including 12.7 billion euros from institutional investors and 4.8 billion euros from the international networks, driven by the Asian joint ventures. Lastly, third party distributors delivered net inflows of 2.8 billion euros, excluding money market funds. Net outflows across the French retail networks totalled 9.9 billion euros for the full year, lower than in 2012 with a sharp slowdown in the fourth quarter (-0.3 billion euros). Amundi’s share of this market increased by 0.3 percentage point over the year to 26.9%. Total assets under management amounted to 777.1 billion euros compared with 739.6 billion euros at 31 December 2012 (including the Asian joint ventures at 100%), an increase of 5.1%. This figure includes the consolidation of US company Smith Breeden, acquired in the third quarter of 2013 with its 4.7 billion euros of assets under management, and a positive market and currency effect of +22.4 billion euros. By asset class, inflows came mainly from long assets (+9.1 billion euros) while money market assets held up well and ended the year slightly positive, at +1.2 billion euros in a contracting market.

SPGP is stepping up the pace of its recruitments. On 18 February, the asset management firm announced the arrival of three “experienced” bankers as additions to its private management department. Pierre-Romain Gorot joins the asset management firm to become director of the private management department. After beginning his career in portfolio management at Oddo Pinatton in 1996, he was appointed as managing partner at IPEN Group, before joining Banque Neuflize in 2001, where he served as a private banker. Since 2005, he had served at Rothschild & Cie Gestion, where he was responsible for the development of the high-potential client segment. Meanwhile, Aymeric Diday joins SPGP as director of mandated management. After beginning his career at Neuflize before joining private management at Richelieu Finance in 2005, Diday, 36, spent seven years at Banque Pictet & Cie in Paris, where he developed the mandated management. Lastly, Bérengère Garand-Clavel is appointed as private manager. She had previously, since 2006, served as private banker at Rothschld & Cie Gestion to develop the segment dedicated to corporates. She began her career at Société Générale in New York at the alternative management fund Amber Fund, before in 2003 joining DNCA Finance in collective management.

Axa IM, which has placed its first CLO since mid-2006, is planning to repeat the experience this year, although it may have to wait for some regulatory questions to be resolved. “Our objective is to work on two new US transactions for about USD400m in 2014,” explains Jean-Philippe Levilain, head of the structured financing team at Axa IM in the United States.

Le spécialiste de l’investissement et du trading en ligne Saxo Banque a annoncé le 18 février la nomination de Christopher Dembik en qualité d’analyste financier.Diplômé de Sciences Po Paris et de l’Institut d’Economie de l’Académie des Sciences de Pologne, Christopher a été assistant à la Mission Economique de l’Ambassade de France en Israël avant de prendre, en 2008, la direction du site d’informations et d’analyse du marché des changes Forex.fr qu’il a développé pour devenir un acteur de premier plan du trading Forex en France.

CM-CIC Asset Management has posted growth in its assets of 1.6% on the French market in 2013, to EUR58.7bn. This growth is largely due to inflows fo EUR525m to low-risk assets. Meanwhile, the relative proportion of asets in equity mutual funds has increased from 8.9% to 10.4% of the total, the management firm has stated in its annual report. In terms of growth within the equity asset class, the full mid-cap range grew by 48% in 2013, to represent EUR153m. Two funds were resized and renamed: Union Entrepreneurs and Union Mid Cap. Two PEA SMB funds have also been released: Union PME ETI Actions and Union PME ETI diversified. Lastly, the Europe thematic range has gained one Union Europe Rendement fund, whose assets have increased by 65% (EUR191m). In fixed income, CM-CIC AM at the end of the year launched Union Obli High Yield 2018, which combines high yield securities and a “founding” maturity management. For their part, new formula funds have made it possible to register overall inflows of EUR363m.

Cheyne Capital Management, a London-based alternative asset mangement firm with USD6.5bn in assets under management, has launched a new fund dedicated to real estate debt. The vehicle, entitled Cheyne Real Estate Credit Holdings Fund III (CRECH III), is intended to “capitalise on the ongoing dislocation on European real estate debt markets and to meet growing demand for real estate financing,” the firm says in a statement. Like the first two funds of the same nature, CRECH III will invest in European “core” real estate markets, specifically the United Kingdom and Germany, via a wide range of instruments (CMBS, senior loans, mezzanine loans, equities and special situations). The team dedicated to real estate at Cheyne Capital Management currently manages over USD2bn in public and private funds.

A new study of the consequences of a prohibition on commissions and kickbacks received by financial advisers who sell investment products in the major international financial markets highlights the need for greater transparency for investors. The study, “Restricting Sales Inducements: Perspectives on the Availability and Quality of Financial Advice for Individual Investors,” covers efforts by international regulators and legislators to improve the quality of financial advising for investors. It also deals with the solutions proposed or implemented by regulators to palliate the problem of abusive sales and to explore future scenarios of business models for the industry. It finds that in the opinion of 70% of those surveyed, the poorly adapted character of distributor remuneration structures biased in favour of sales volumes or specific products, represent the main case of abusive sales. The three most popular solutions to combat abusive sales which do not involve a prohibition on commissions and kickbacks are the following: 1. Introduce precise standards for the presentation of fees to investors 2. Revise commission structures to remove those which are related to volume sales (progressive commissions) 3. Set uniform commission rates (a percentage of management fees) for all products in a single category

The Amundi group and the smart beta index provider ERI Scientific Beta on 18 February announced that they are signing a strategic partnership which will combine the expertise of ERI Scientific Beta in the development of smart beta indices and the expertise of Amundi in the replication of indices and ETF construction. The partnership will include the construction of smart beta passive investment solutions and their promotion to a wide range of institutional clients. The range has been developed on the basis of the «Smart Beta 2.0” approach, which allows for smart beta indices to be designed as risk control instruments within a multi-smart beta allocation.

The California-based asset management group Pimco (Allianz) would like to buy a portfolio of real estate loans totalling EUR4bn from the Northern Irish national asset management association, SWF Institute reports. Several institutional actors have expressed an interest in this portfolio, which has led NAMA to publish a statement indicating that investor enquiries in relation to the portfolio will be examined on a case-by-case basis. However, the Pimco initiative is not fortuitous. The asset management firm has recently added to its staff in the European bond sector, including the real estate loan sector.

The hedge fund sector index calculated by Credit Suisse is down 0.29% in January, after growth of 1.19% in December, according to estimates released on 18 February. Half of the strategies on the index finished the month of January in the red, including managed futures (-3.42%) and emerging markets (-2.27%). Convertible arbitrage shows gains of 2.09%, after 0.54% in December, while bond arbitrage is up 1%, after 0.18% in December. The underlying Multi-Strategy index has gained 0.81% in January, after performance of 1.63% in December.

ERI Scientific Beta (an emanation of the Edhic-Risk institute) on 18 February announced that it is signing a partnership with Morgan Stanley, to offer innovative Smart Beta strategies to its institutional clients. The partnership will allow Morgan Stanley to deeply analyse the performance and risks of all Scientific Beta indices, and also offers a way to develop indices using the full Scientific Beta range on the platform http://www.scientificbeta.com/. ERI Scientific beta hopes to position itself as the top provider of a smart beta platform to help investors to understand and invest in advanced smart beta equity strategies.

Growing fears of a hard landing for China’s economy have further marginalized emerging market equities. But investors have sent a clear signal that sentiment toward developed world equities remains strong, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for February. An overall total of 222 panelists with US$591 billion of assets under management participated in the survey from 7 February to 13 February 2014. A growing proportion of investors – 46 percent in February – say that a China hard landing and commodity collapse represents the biggest tail risk to the global economy. That figure compares with 37 percent in January and 26 percent in December. Is there a causal link? At any rate, belief in global economic growth has moderated. A net 56 percent expects the global economy to strengthen in the coming 12 months, down 19 percentage points from a net 75 percent last month. Global equity allocations are down; a net 45 percent of asset allocators say they are overweight equities, down from a net 55 percent in January. Average cash balances have increased to their highest level since July 2012 of 4.8 percent of portfolios, up from 4.5 percent. But regional data shows that concerns are focused on Global Emerging Markets (GEM), while optimism towards Europe and the U.S. remains strong. Allocations to GEM have reached a record low with a net 29 percent of asset allocators underweight the region. At the same time, a record net 40 percent of the global investor panel says that the eurozone is the region they most would like to overweight in the coming 12 months. U.S. equities are becoming more popular – a net 11 percent of asset allocators are overweight the U.S., up from a net 5 percent a month ago. “Investors remain firmly bullish towards developed markets and Europe in particular. But we would caution that current valuations in Europe already fully price in the region’s growth outlook,” said John Bilton, European investment strategist.

The hedge fund industry is to reach a record USD3 trillion by 2014 year end, up from USD2.6tn as of 2013 year end, driven by significant inflows, most notably from institutional investors, predicts Deutsche Bank in its twelfth annual Alternative Investor Survey.This is based on investors’ predictions of USD171 billion net inflows, according to 400 investor entities which participated in the survey, representing over USD1.8 trillion in hedge fund assets.Commitment from institutional investors continues to strengthen - nearly half of institutional investors increased their hedge fund allocations in 2013, and 57% plan to grow their allocations in 2014. Institutional investors now account for two thirds of industry assets, compared to approximately one third pre-crisis, according to the research. Investors are happy with hedge fund performance - 80% of respondents state that hedge funds performed as expected or better in 2013, after their allocations returned a weighted average of 9.3% in 2013. 63% of respondents, and 79% of institutional investors, are targeting returns of less than 10% for their hedge fund portfolios in 2014. Equity long short and event driven are the most sought after strategies.

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) is adding to its range of SPDR ETFs. The US asset management firm has launched a new short maturity bond exchange-traded fund (ETF) entitled SPDR Barclays 0-5 Year Sterling Corporate Bond Ucits ETF. The vehicle, which is available for trading on the Xetra platform from Deutsche Börse, allows investors to participate in the performance of corporate bonds denominated in pounds sterling. The underling index of the ETF includes businesses which operate in the industrial, utility and financial sectors, with a maturity of up to 5 years. Only investment grade bonds are included, and the composition of the index is reviewed every month.

UBS is requiring independent asset managers to provide proof of taxation for their clients residing in Austria, Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom, countries of Eastern Europe, and Malta, Agefi Switzerland reports. The initiative, which exceeds (or precedes) the regulatory requirements in force, may become a new standard for all Swiss financial intermediaries, and put all actors on an even footing.

Marshall Wace has become one of the top five European hedge funds by the amount of money they have made since launch, a new study by LCH Investments cited by Financial News shows. The top of the rankings is Alan Howard, the founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management. Its flagship fund has made a net gain of USD17.5bn since its launch in 2003. The second is Lansdowne Partners, followed by Egerton Capital and TCI.

BNY Mellon has recruited Imad Abukhlal as its new head for the Middle East and Africa for its asset management unit, Cityire global reports. He joins from Western Asset Management. Abukhlal will be based in Dubai, and will report to PeterPaul Pardi, CEO for asset management in Europe and the Middle East and global head of distribution at BNY Mellon Investment Management.

The Chinese sovereign fund China Investment Corp. is selling its stakes in energy and commodities, in an effort to profit from the rising US and European economies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Last year, the USD600bn fund sold shares in energy companies totalling over USD1.5bn. In addition, it is planning to sell its directly-held stakes in some properties such as oil sand projects. At the same time, the fund is planning to transfer its North American base to New York (it is currently in Toronto) and to extend its presence to Europe. It is also taking positions on US and European businesses.

The Californian pension fund CalPERs on 18 February announced that it has adopted new demographic assumptions designed to ensure greater sustainability and soundness of the pension fund in the decades to come. The board of administration also adopted an asset allocation mix that lowers the CalPERS investment risk but largely keeps its investment strategy unchanged, holding the fund’s long-term assumed rate of return at 7.5 percent. Specifically, CalPERS Board approved new demographic assumptions that take into account public employees living longer based on a recent study of CalPERS membership. Findings show men are expected to live two more years and women a year and a half longer. These new assumptions will raise employer pension costs in the future. The State of California is expected to pay $1.2 billion more at the end of the three year period. CalPERS investment portfolio will have a target allocation of 47% to equities, 19% to fixed income, 6% to the inflation-sensitive securities, 12% to private equity, 11% to real estate, 3% to infrastructure and forestland and 2% to liquidity.

Pioneer Investments is launching two non-directional funds with daily liquidity. They are the Pioneer Funds – Long / Short Global Bond, which invests in all bond markets, and the Pioneer Funds – Long/Short Opportunistic Credit, which invests in the credit markets. The two Luxembourg-registered funds are managed by Thomas Swaney, head of non-directional bonds in the United States, and Benjamin Gord, portfolio manager in the same team. The products come as additions to existing Absolute Return Bond products, co-managed by Tanguy Le Saout and Cosimo Marascioulo. The “Absolute Return Bond” strategy, which has been available since 2010 internationally, is now available in the United States.

A la suite des violences en Ukraine qui ont fait au moins 25 morts dans la nuit dernière, le rendement des obligations d’Etat qui arrivent à maturité en juin 2014 s’est envolé de 181 points de base (pb) pour atteindre un niveau record de 24,73%. Dans le même temps, la hryvnia chutait ce matin de 1,8% contre le dollar et l’indice du marché actions du pays de 3,6%.

La capitale espagnole prévoit d’augmenter la taille de ses émissions obligataires pour bénéficier de la baisse des rendements consentis par l’Etat. «Le prix et le volume des opérations récentes suggèrent que les marchés sont confiants sur la ville de Madrid ainsi que sur les autres régions solvables», a ainsi indiqué Enrique Ossorio Crespo, le directeur financier de la ville à Bloomberg. Le rendement des obligations à 10 ans émises par Madrid a chuté à 4,02%, contre 3,54% pour le taux à 10 ans du pays.

La Banque Populaire de Chine a indiqué dans un communiqué publié aujourd’hui qu’elle prévoit d’élargir la bande de fluctuation autorisée du yuan dès cette année d’une manière «ordonnée» dans le cadre de sa volonté de s’orienter à moyen terme vers une plus grande flexibilité de la devise. Le taux de change peut actuellement évoluer dans un couloir de plus ou moins 1% autour du cours fixé quotidiennement par la PBOC.

Les responsables de la politique monétaire britannique n’ont manifesté aucune division concernant la révision majeure de la communication avancée («forward guidance») de la banque centrale dans les minutes, publiées mercredi, de leur réunion des 5 et 6 février. La semaine dernière, la Banque d’Angleterre a revu sa communication avancée à la suite d’une forte baisse du taux de chômage au niveau de 7% qui avait été fixé en août comme seuil de déclenchement de nouvelles hausses des taux. Le taux de chômage en Grande-Bretagne est légèrement remonté à 7,2% sur les trois mois à décembre, contre 7,1% entre septembre et novembre. Les économistes s’attendaient en moyenne à une stabilité à 7,1%.

L’activité manufacturière a fortement ralenti au mois de février dans l’Etat de New York après avoir atteint en janvier un plus haut de 20 mois, montre l’indice Empire State publié mardi. La composante des conditions d’activité a reculé à 4,48 ce mois-ci contre 12,51 en janvier. Les économistes interrogés par Reuters anticipaient une baisse moins marquée à 9,00.

L’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) attire l’attention du public sur les activités de la société Private Capital en rappelant que cette société n’est pas autorisée à recevoir des fonds ni à fournir des services d’investissement, ni à faire du démarchage bancaire et financier sur le territoire français. La société est notamment active sur le marché des changes.

L’indice des prix à la consommation au Royaume-Uni a reculé à 1,9% en janvier sur un an selon les chiffres de l’Office national de la statistique (ONS), contre 2,0% en décembre, alors que les économistes prévoyaient en moyenne une stabilité. De décembre 2009 à décembre 2013, le taux d’inflation avait chaque mois dépassé l’objectif de 2% de la BoE.

La banque centrale de Hongrie a annoncé mardi une nouvelle baisse de ses taux directeurs. Le taux de référence MNB à deux semaines a été réduit de 15 points de base, à 2,7%.