Family offices in Hong Kong and Taiwan insurers are among the institutional investors who are showing increasingly marked interest in issues of socially responsible investment (SRI), the asset management firm Impax Asset Management, a specialist in socially responsible investment, claims, Asian Investor reports. Impax, which is 25% controlled by BNP Paribas Investment Partners, is working with the distribution platform of the French group to increase its Asian assets over the past five years. Currently, Asian assets under management from Impax total only GBP50m, half of which originates from australia, out of assets of GBP2.2bn. Several factors, however, militate in favour of this interest for sustainable investment, including a desire on the part of the Chinese government to take measures to combat pollution. But institutional type allocation to sustainable investment remains modest, totalling a maximum of about 5%.

BNP Paribas IP has recruited Tan Puay-Lit, formerly of BlackRock, as head of official Asia-Pacific institutions, and deputy CEO for Singapore, Asian Investor reports. The appointment became efective on 7 November. Puay-Lit previously spent five and a half years as director of institutional clients in Singapore for BlackRock.

Petercam Asset Management has launched a high yield corporate bond fund, Petercam L Bond EuR Corporate High Yield, which will be managed by Thierry Larose and Bernard Lalière. The two are currently responsible for two high yield funds, Petercam L Bonds Higher Yield and Petercam L Bonds EUR High Yield Short Term.

As head of Amundi, the largest European asset management firm by assets under management, Yves Perrier admits it: the significant outflows form networks in France, especially Crédit Agricole, has now become a major trend. Despite all this, Amundi is still showing good results since the beginning of the year. It owes this to its international activity, and activities serving institutional investors. Hence the firm's partnership strategy, buying stakes or making acquisitions guided by the firm to make it one of the players who count in the industry.

Schroder GAIA Sirios US Equity, the UCITS format USA long/short equity fund launched in February 2013, whose management is outsourced to a well-known asset manager, John Brennan at Sirios Capital Management, has clearly won over many investors. Due to the modest range of quality UCITS format USA long/short equity funds in Europe, the fund has taken in very strong subscriptions since its launch barely eight months ago, and now has total assets of over USD700m. The Schroder GAIA Sicav, specialised in liquid alternative strategies, adapted to UCITS IV format, now includes 7 specialised funds for different investment strategies (including 5 outsources to external managers and 2 managed internally), with overall assets of over EUR2bn.

The Irish-registered, UCITS-compliant fund Baring European Opportunities Fund, launched in London on 29 October 2013, was licensed last week in France. The new product will be managed by Nick Williams and Colin Riddles, who will manage it in the same way as their Baring Europe Select Trust, a fund whose assets exceed EUR1bn. The portfolio will include an average of 100 positions on a universe of 7,000 businesses.For A-class shares, the minimal subscription is EUR2,500, and annual management fees are 1.5%. An institutional share will also be available.According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, the Baring European Opportunities Fund, whose benchmark index is the MSCI Europe Smallcap Index, is starting up with EUR150m contributed by two institutional investors, one British and one German. The new product will be subject to strong demand due to the fact that the four main competing products now either have suspended subscriptions, or have nearly reached their capacity limits.Since the beginning of the year, net subscriptions to Barings in Europe are estimated at about EUR1.4bn, while the manager has seen outflows of about EUR400m from Asia since May.

The CNMV has issued a sales license for Spain to three ETFs from Lyxor UCITS ETF, the SG Europe Quality Income, the CSI 300 A-Share- C-EUR and the BTP 10Y – MTS Italy Government Bond –C- Eur, Funds People reports.

The asset management firm SEB Asset Management, an affiliate of the Swedish banking group SEB, which has been present in France for several years via its funds, is seeking to develop its presence serving French independent financial adviser (IFA) clients. To achieve this, it has recruited Adil Benmakhlouf, previously of Morgan Stanley, as salesperson for France dedicated more partiuclarly to these clients. He is based in London, like all of the team covering France, but regularly travels to France. He works with Laurent Farcy-Briant, head of sales for France and French-speaking Switzerland. In order to win over French IFAs, SEB AM is playing the Scandinavian card, which currently has a favourable image, to the fullest. The range on offer to these clients thus naturally includes three Scandinavian equity funds from SEB which are already registered in France. These are the SEB Nordic Fund, a Scandinavian equity fund managed by Tommi Saukkoriipi, formarly of Nordea, the SEB Nordic Small Cap Fund, a fund specialised in Scandinavian small caps, and the SEB Nordic Focus Fund, a fund based on the best ideas from Scandinavia managers at the firm. This range will soon be complemented by other products, including the Asset Selection (CTA) fund and a quant-managed global equity fund, which will also be made available to institutional investors. Opening to IFAs will allow SEB AM to continue its development in France, which began a few years ago, and which has hitherto been focused on professional clients (fonds of funds, insitutionals). Laurent Farcy-Briant, who joined the firm two and a half years ago to cover the French markte, says that at the time, SEB AM had only EUR12m under management for French clients, who were primarily invested in the SEB Asset Selection fund. These assets now total nearly EUR100m, distributed over a wide variety of products, and a more diversified range of clients.

Following a restricted request for proposals for the 1st lot of contract 2011FRR07 (thematic collective fund mandate – Global Universe), the French national pension fund, the Fonds de réserve pour les retraites (FRR), has decided to select the bids from the following asset management firms: 1. BNP Paribas Asset Management SAS 2. Kleinwort Benson Investors The mandates will be awarded for a duration of four years, renewable for 1 year. The indicative total amount of funds placed for management may total EUR150m. The FRR on 21 September 2012 launched a restricted request for proposals for selection of investment service providers to manage transition operations. At the conclusion of the selection process, the FRR decided to select the bids from the following candidates: · Blackrock Advisors (UK) Limited · Goldman Sachs International· Russell Implementation Services The mandates are awareded for a period of three years, renewable for 1 year.

The German asset management firm publity Performance GmbH has selected Caceis to serve as its depository fr its open-ended real estate investment funds, according to a statement released on 14 November. The first real estate fund was successfully migrated to Germany by Caceis in April 2013. the migration of the second fund is planned for January 2014. Publity AG< the paent company based in Leipzig, invests largest in commercial real estate, as well as in office and residential properties located in German cities, such as Frankfurt-am-Main, Hamburg, and Munich. Publity Performance GmbH, an affiliate of publity AG, is an independent asset management firm (Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft).

The New York-based hedge fund Third Point has acquired USD150m in equities in the largest issue from the Turkish asset management firm Emlat Konut GYO, 49.3% controlled by the Turkish government, the news agency Bloomberg reports. According to sources familiar with the transaction, the acquisition of Third Point is its only investment in the Turkish market. Thid Point has increased its stake from slightly under 5%, the level at which a declaration is required in Turkey.

Amilton Asset Management has announced the recruitment of Thierry Crovetto as manager. The arrival responds to “the desire of Amilton Asset Management to strengthen its expertise in asset management, including the bond and absolute return asset classes,” a statement says. Since 2009, Crovetto was responsible for investment strategy at G&G Private Finance, an asset management firm based in Monaco. He previously worked for various asset management firms and banks, in Monaco and Luxembourg, including Société Générale. With assets of about EUR420m, and a wide range of products and services, Amilton Asset Management is present in private clients, institutional investmsnts, Family Offices and independent fianncial advisers.

The private banking and wealth management unit at the Arbuthnot Banking unit has opnened an office in Dubai in order to develop its activities in the region. Meanwhile, Arbuthnot Latham has recruited four senior bankers for the new unit, Paul Donovan and Kieran McDonnell, previously of Coutts, as directors, as well as Giles Hanson and Peter Casey of HSBC and Barclays, respectively, as associate directors, Clare Doyle, Frances White and David Smith have been appointed as private banking executives.

Aberdeen AM will probably today sign off on the purchase of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) from Lloyds Banking Group, to create the first independent publicly-traded fund management firm in Europe, Agefi reports, citing the Sunday Times. The price of about GBP500m (nearly GBP600m), paid in shares, will allow Aberdeen to manage about GBP250bn in assets. Life insurance activities at Scottish Widows will continue to be housed at Lloyds.

Edmond de Rothschild will launch a merchant banking business in London this week, to make the City its largest centre after Paris, Geneva and Luxembourg, the Fiancial Times reports. The group, led by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, has recruited 20 senior advisers to launch its private banking and corporate finance business, alongside its existing asset management activity. The group now has 100 employees in London, but is planning to increase this number. Christophe de Backer, CEO of Edmond de Rothschild, has told the Financial Times that the private banking and asset management group may put up to 150 employees at its Mayfair offices, and that it is planning to expand if necessary.

The Global Convertible Bond team at RWC, headed up by Davide Basile, has taken over the RWC Cautious Absolute Rate and Currency fund.The fund will be renamed RWC Core Plus and it will be co-managed by Basile and Lakshman Harendran. The objective of the fund will be to generate strong real returns with low volatility. The fund will have a core portfolio of convertible bonds that will be complemented by the use of other asset classes and hedging.Basile’s team currently manage $1.8bn in long only convertible bonds funds having seen net inflow of $595m this year. The approach and asset allocation framework currently used by the team will be extended to RWC Core Plus. It is expected that the new strategy will have many of the benefits of a traditional convertible bond fund but it will have additional flexibility to express the macro views of the team to reduce downside volatility and enhance returns.The fund is a UCITS IV Luxembourg SICAV. It is registered for sale in a number of European countries.

GLG Partners has unveiled the GLG Undervalued Assets fund, Fund Web reports. The new product has received GBP40m in capital, and is expected to be launched on 15 November. Henry Dixon will manage the new portfolio, which will be invested predominantly in British equities with an emphasis on undervalued securities.

After a slowdown in second half 2012, the Italian real estate sector has finished the first six months of the year with stable evolution, Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset management professionals, reports. Total activities are approaching EUR42bn, slightly up by 0.4% compared with second half 2012. Assets in the 209 funds counted in Italy totalled EUR25.6bn, and gross inflows totalled EUR701m, down compared with EUR981m in December. Redemptions totalled EUR439m. In first half, 9 funds were launched and the average duration for new products is 14 years. The range in the sector is 90% composed of funds reserved for institutional or qualified investors (188 funds for EUR2bn). The 21 retail funds have assets of EUR4.6bn.

The former secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, has been recruited as president and managing director by the private equity firm Warburg Pincus, the Wall Street Journal reports. Geithner will report directly to the co-CEOs, Charles Kays and Joseph Landy, and will serve full-time in the operational roles at the firm of strategy and management for the group, investor relations, and questions related to investments.

César Zeitouni has left the Exane Archimedes fund, Citywire reveals. The long/short equity specialist was co-manager of the EUR326m fund with Gilles Lenoir since its launch in December 2006. Zeitouni will now concentrate on new fund launches.

M&G Investments has posted net subscriptions in Italy since the beginning of 2013 of over EUR2.5bn, and now has assets of over EUR7.1bn in the country, Andrea Orsi, associate director of M&G Investments Italia, tells Bluerating. “Italy now represents the second largest market for M&G, after the UK,” he says.In 2013, the British firm has formed 10 new distribution agreementswith networks of financial advisers and private banks. Five other agreements are expected to be signed by the end of the year, with three networks of financial advisers and two private banks.In Italy, M&G has 12 employees, who are supported by 10 native Italian speaking people based in London.

In the first nine months of the year, Eurizon Capital, the asset management firm of the Intesa Sanpaolo group, has posted net subscriptions of EUR9.8bn. This allowed it to increase its assets to EUR158bn as of the end of September (+8.6%). The results of operational management came to EUR173m, up by 50.4%.

Matthieu David, head of external distribution at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, has told Bluerating that the French asset management firm will soon start an “ambitious campaign” to relaunch the Parvest platform. In 2013, it says that BNP Paribas IP has seen an acceleration in its activities serving financial adviser networks.

The Luxembourg regulator (CSSF) has authorised the first RQFII UCITS fund (renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor), a statement says. Such a product can now be created in Luxembourg, even though the asset management firm is not based in the country. However, the asset management firm must have RQFII status in its jurisdiction. A statement says that the RQFII UCITS is particularly attractive for foreign asset management firms which use Luxembourg as a platform to distribute their funds internationally. As of the end of June 2013, 18 asset management firms had already created renminbi funds in Luxembourg, representing CNY220bn in assets.

Schroder GAIA Sirios US Equity, la stratégie long short equity USA au format Ucits lancée fin février 2013, et dont la gestion est déléguée à un gérant externe très reconnu - John Brennan chez Sirios Capital Management - a manifestement séduit de nombreux investisseurs...Compte tenu de l’offre modeste en Europe de gestions long/short equity USA de qualité en format Ucits, le fonds a engrangé de très fortes souscriptions depuis son lancement il y a à peine huit mois et totalise déjà un encours de plus de 700 millions de dollars.La sicav Schroder GAIA, spécialisée sur des stratégies alternatives liquides, adaptées au format Ucits IV, regroupe aujourd’hui 7 fonds spécialisés par stratégie d’investissement (dont 5 délégués à des gérants externes et 2 gérés en interne) pour un encours global désormais supérieur à 2 milliards d’euros.

L’équipe obligations convertibles mondiales de RWC Partners, dirigée par Davide Basile, a repris la gestion du fonds RWC Cautious Absolute Rate and Currency, selon un communiqué. Le produit sera renommé RWC Core Plus et sera géré plus précisément par Basile et Lakshman Harendran.L’objectif du fonds sera de dégager des rendements solides avec une faible volatilité. Le portefeuille sera composé d’un cœur d’obligations convertibles qui pourra être complété par l’utilisation d’autres classes d’actifs et de couvertures.L’équipe de Davide Basile gère actuellement 1,8 milliards de dollars dans des fonds obligations convertibles et a enregistré depuis le début de l’année des souscriptions nettes de 595 millions de dollars. RWC gère un encours de 7,3 milliards de dollars. Le fonds, au format Ucits, est enregistré à la vente dans plusieurs pays européens.

GLG Partners a dévoilé le fonds GLG Undervalued Assets, rapporte Fund Web. Le nouveau produit a reçu 40 millions de livres de capitaux et devrait être lancé le 15 novembre. Henry Dixon gérera le nouveau portefeuille, qui sera investi de manière prédominante sur des actions britanniques avec un accent sur les valeurs sous-évaluées.

Le pôle de banque privée et de gestion de fortune du groupe Arbuthnot Banking vient d’ouvrir un bureau à Dubaï afin de développer ses activités dans la région.Parallèlement, Arbuthnot Latham a recruté quatre banquiers senior pour cette nouvelle antenne, Paul Donovan et Kieran McDonnell, précédemment chez Coutts, en tant que directors, ainsi que Giles Hanson et Peter Casey, issus de HSBC et Barclays respectivement, en tant que associate directors. En outre, Clare Doyle, Frances White et David Smith ont été nommés private banking executives.

Edmond de Rothschild va lancer une activité de banque d’affaires à Londres cette semaine, afin de faire de la City son quatrième centre après Paris, Genève et Luxembourg, rapporte le Financial Times. Le groupe, présidé par le Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, a recruté 20 conseillers senior pour lancer son activité de banque privée et de finance d’entreprise, aux côtés de son activité existante de gestion d’actifs. Le groupe a désormais 100 collaborateurs à Londres mais prévoit d’augmenter ce niveau. Christophe de Backer, le directeur général d’Edmond de Rothschild, a déclaré au Financial Times que le groupe de banque privée et de gestion d’actifs pouvait accueillir 150 personnes dans son bureau de Mayfair et qu’il envisageait de s’agrandir si nécessaire.

Aberdeen AM va probablement sceller aujourd’hui le rachat de Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) à Lloyds Banking Group pour donner naissance au premier gérant de fonds indépendant coté en Europe, rapporte L’Agefi qui cite le Sunday Times. Le prix d’environ 500 millions de livres (près de 600 millions d’euros) payé en titres va permettre à Aberdeen de gérer environ 350 millions de livres d’actifs. Les activités d’assurance-vie de Scottish Widows resteront logées au sein de Lloyds.