BNY Mellon has been awarded a Capital Markets Services licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for its new dedicated Singapore-based subsidiary to provide fund management services in Singapore. The licence was approved on 11, November 2013.With the new licence, the Singapore subsidiary, BNY Mellon Investment Management Singapore Pte. Limited, will be able to conduct a full range of investment management activities, including research, portfolio management, marketing and sales of collective investment schemes. BNY Mellon Investment Management has been offering global investment solutions to institutional investors in the region through its investment boutiques.BNY Mellon employs over 450 people in the city.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a statement on practices governed by the Takeover Bid Directive (TBD), focused on shareholder cooperation issues relating to acting in concert and the appointment of board members. The statement contains a White List of activities that shareholders can cooperate on without the presumption of acting in concert.The statement is in response to a request by the European Commission for clarity on these issues.

Fund managers and analysts at SAC Capital Advisors are in talks with competing hedge fund firms, including Moore Capital Management, to join these companies as SAC prepares to close its London office, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. In addition to Moore, SAC employees have been in talks with Millennium Management, BlueCrest Capital Management and Balyazny Asset Management.

Schroders on 13 November announced its decision to bring its convertible bond management in-house, which since the beginning of 2008 has been outsourced to an external partner, the Swiss firm Fisch Asset Management.Peter Reinmuth, manager of the current “star” funds of the range, Schroder ISF Convertible Bond and Schroder ISF Asian Convertible Bond, will join the British asset management firm on 29 November 2013. he will be accompanied by two other experts from Fisch AM (including a member of the trading team), as well as an external manager, all of whom will join the British group by the end of Npvember to manage existing vehicles. The management team will be distributed between Zurich and Singapore, and will be placed under the responsibility of the Frenchman Philippe Lespinard, CIO Fixed Income at Schroders.Schroders has a volume of assets under management of nearly EUR1.5bn in convertible bonds, and as of 2013 has posted net inflows of over EUR500m to this asset class.

After an increase of USD71.5bn in September, assets under management by Legg Mason, Invesco, Franklin Templeton and AllianceBernstein posted further gains of USD57.5bn in October, for a total of EUR2.7487trn. Overall, that represents an increase of 2.14% month on month.In detail, Franklin Templeton has posted gains of USD24.2bn in its assets in one month, to USD868.9bn, while at Invesco total assets under management as of the end of October totalled USD763.9bn, an increase of USD18.4bn compared with 30 September.At Legg Mason, the increase totalled USD13.9bn, for a total of USD669.9bn as of 31 October. Lastly, AllianceBernstein has posted gains of USD1bn to its assets, to USD446bn.

Atos has entered the close circle of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World (DJSI), which from the 2,500 largest companies in the world, selects the 10% which are recognised as the best performers in terms of corporate responsibility, both from a governance and from an environmental and social point of view. This recognition represents a further step by Atos in terms of corporate responsibility. For three years, after a rating of A+ from the Global Reporting Initiative for its sustainable development report and the recognition awarded by the “Great Place to Work” institute to several of its affiliates, Atos would like to become a point of reference for the IT services industry.

Murielle Didier, head of multi-management clients and private banks for France and Monaco at ING Investment Management, after serving as a senior salesperson for these clients at BNP Paribas Investment Partners (initially Fortis IM), is joining JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) in Paris, in the position of senior head of sales for the multi-management and distributor client segment. Her arrival brings personnel on the dedicated team to four.

BNP Paribas Investment Partners is planning to launch a high yield corporate bond fund denominated in RMB via its joint venture HFT Investment Management, a joint venture with Haitong Securities, Citywire reports.The new strategy, HFT (HK) China High Yield Bond fund, allows the joint venture to buy shares in Chinese companies for up to RMB800m, or about EUR98m.

Domenico Siniscalco has resigned from the chairmanship of Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset managers, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. The decision was taken in order to avoid a “potential conflict of interests” between his position as chairman of the association of asset management firms, and his role as head of Morgan Stanley, at the time of the reorganization at Telecom Italia. Morgan Stanley is advising the telecommunications firm on its sales of assets, and for an issue of convertible bonds, but these operations are contested by minority shareholders in Telecom Italia.Domenico Siniscalco will be replaced by his vice chairman at Assogestioni, Giordano Lombardo, president of Pioneer, until the convocation of a general assembly.

As announced to Newsmanagers by George Muzinich (see Newsmanagers of 7 October), the New York-based asset management firm Muzinich & Co (USD25bn in assets) has launched its Emerging Markets Short duration Bond Fund, which, as its name indicates, invests in a diversified portfolio of investment grade and high yield short-duration corporate bonds, issued by companies focused on emerging markets.For the new Luxembourg-registered fund, managed by Warren Hyland and Christina Bastin, which prefers bonds in hard currencies, for the moment only a super-inistitutional S share class (IE00BCCW0T67), with a minimal subscription of USD100m, has been launched. These shares charge 0.5%, but A shares in US dollars, euros and pounds sterling charge 0.8%. Assets total about USD60m.

On 12 November, NYSE Euronext admitted a 558th ETF to trading on the European markets, in Amsterdam. It is a FinEx fund, the Fin Ex HELD Gold, whose ticker is FXGD and which replicates the morning gold fixing in London (Gold London AM fixing). The total expense ratio totals 0.45%.Elsewhere, 15 new Netherlands-registered funds from SNS Beleggingfondsen (non-ETF) have been admitted to the NYSE Euronext NAV Trading Facility (formerly Euronext Fund Service of EFS). This brings the total number of non-ETF funds listed on the platform to 209. The list of new products is available in the attached pdf document.

Lazard Asset Management has launched a UCITS version of its Global Hexagon equity strategy, Fundweb reports. The long/short fund, Lazard Global Hexagon Equity, invests worldwide, including in emerging markets. The portfolio manager, Jean-Daniel Malan, will manage the fund.

A regain in interest in European equities has given an unexpected boost to a long neglected segment: 130/30 funds, Financial Times fund management reports. For example, the Europe Equity Plus fund from JPMorgan, launched in 2007, has seen its assets leap to USD1.25bn, although it had only USD24m in December 2012.

Funds on sale in Sweden in October recorded net inflows of SEK4.1bn (EUR0.46bn), after SEK1.3bn (EUR0.15bn) in September, according to the most recent statistics from the Swedish fund association Fondbolagens Förening. Inflows were driven by balanced funds, which totalled SEK3.9bn (EUR0.44bn). Equity funds, for their part, took in SEK1.3bn (EUR0.15bn), due to Swedish equity funds and European equity funds. Money market funds, however, saw recemptions of SEK1.6bn. Year to date, funds on sale in Sweden have recorded net inflows of SEK62.8bn (EUR7bn), due to balanced and equity funds. As of the end of October, assets in funds on sale in Sweden totalled SEK2.389trn (nearly EUR270bn), about 55% of which is in equity funds.

Lyxor has launched the Lyxor UCITS ETF CSI 300 A Shares ETF in Sweden, Fondbranschen reports. The fund charges fees of 0.40%.

Funds People reports that Mutuactivos has notified the CNMV of its decision to open the liquidation period for its Mutuafondo Multimix fund of funds as of 7 November 2013. Due to the effects of redemptions and transfers to other funds from the group, assets in the product had fallen to EUR13.7m as of the end of June.As of the end of September, the Multimix posted returns of 4.25% since the beginning of the year. Its annualised performance over three and five years was 2.84% and 2.72%, respectively, according to calculations by the Inverco association of asset management firms.

The European private equity investor 3i on 11 November announced that it had completed its acquisition of the intrastructure operation of the British Barclays group, at Barclays Infrastructure Funds Management.The activity includes four private funds, which invest in British and European PPPs as well as in energy projects, and which have assets under management of GBP780m.The Barclays entity will be renamed as 3i BIFM, and will be integrated into the 3i infrastructure activity led by Cressida Hogg. The team dedicated to infrastructure will be based at the London and Paris offices of 3i.

Rob Geeraets, director of institutional sales at F&C, after working at Lombard Odier and Kas Bank, has been recruited as director for the newly-created position of head of distribution at Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) for Benelux, Fonds Nieuws reports. Geeraets will report to Jenny Segel, director of distribution for Europe at AMG.

According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, Gérard Moulin is leaving Delubac Asset Management this Wednesday. He is reportedly leaving to “manage much more” at another firm.It is thus not entirely by chance that Delubac AM on 12 November announced the arrival of Timothée Malphettes as head of equity management. Malphettes managed the Covea Equities Euro until his departure from Covea.The firm states that Malphettes will “aim to develop equity expertise at the structure, and will also manage the Delubac Pricing Power fund, alongside Séverine Alluin, co-manager of the fund since 2011.” The new recruit states that with Alluin, he will continue to “manage the Delubac Pricing Power fund with respect for the selection criteria of the companies that make its success.”

South Korea and Russia are expected to announce a joint fund of USD500m on Wednesday to stimulate trade and investment between the two countries, on the occasion of a visit to Seoul by Vladimir Putin, the Financial Times predicts. The fund, which will be financed and managed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Korea Investment Corporation, comes as part of efforts to triple flows of direct investments between the two countries in the next two years.

The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index posted a positive performance of 1.58% in October (+4.80% YTD).Equity strategies generated strong performance. L/S Equity Long bias was up 1.6% in October (13% YTD).The CTA Long Term returned 4.03%), but is down 2.37% year to date.

The alternative investment management association (AIMA) has announced the appointment of Jack Inglis as head of the professional association, according to a statement released on 11 November.Inglis, who is expected to begin in his duties in early 2014, was previously head of distribution for prime services and a member of the global executive board for prime services at Barclays.Inglis will succeed Andrew Baker, who had been head of the association since the beginning of 2009.

Investors have regained confidence in the global economic outlook following resolution of the U.S. debt crisis, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey, carried out between 1 and 7 November, of a sample of panelists with USD599bn in assets under management. With political paralysis in Washington overcome, a net 67 percent of respondents now expect the world’s economy to strengthen over the next 12 months – up a notable 13 percentage points from October. In an important new question for the survey, investors were asked when the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin “tapering” its bond purchases – a signal that the central bank views economic conditions as robust enough to lessen its support. Forty-eight percent see this happening next March. Eighteen percent expect it in the second quarter of 2014.Investors increased their equity allocations slightly during the month to a net 52 percent overweight, while also upping their underweight in bonds. Their biggest shift was into global emerging markets equities, where they returned to a net overweight, while strong overweights in eurozone and Japanese stocks were moderated slightly. Strikingly, a small net majority of asset allocators now view equities as overvalued. This marked the first such reading on this measure since March 2004, but regionally, Europe is still considerably undervalued compared to the U.S. Over the month, fund managers also shifted their preferences strongly between global emerging markets. Reflecting the restoration of a potential hard landing in China as the greatest tail risk globally, emerging markets specialists scaled back their overweight in the country substantially to a net 11 percent, down 45 percentage points. China replaced Russia as their top pick among the BRIC markets on a 12-month basis, however.

The British boutique James Hambro & Partners has recruited Christopher Macklin, a former portfolio manager from Schroders Private Bank, as business development manager, Fundweb reports.Macklin, whose primary mission will be to develop activities with clients, will report directly to Tim Broughton.Assets under management and advised by Hambro & Partners total GBP1.2bn.

Net inflows to equity funds are on track to reach their highest levels since 2000, according to the most recent edition of the Pridham Report. According to statistics from the British investment management association (IMA), net inflows to equity funs have already topped GBP8bn in the first nine months of the year. In third quarter, Standard Life Investments tops the rankings for sales with net inflows of GBP819.9m. It is followed by Schroders with GBP622.1m, Artemis (GBP498.5m), Henderson (GBP481.9m) and BlackRock (GBP471.8m).

The British firm F&C Investments on 11 November announced plans to launch a new fund for its multi-asset class targeted risk fund, which already includes four products. The F&C MM Lifestyle Foundation Fund will be the least risky of the range, with an allocation to cash/fixed income of 64.3%, a proportion of equities of 27.7%, and a proportion of real estate of 8%. Each fund invests in a basket of 35 to 40 funds or instruments, and the range currently weighs about GBP435m.

M&G Investments is planning to launch a new income fund as an addition to its multi-asset class range, Citywire reports. The fund, M&G Income Allocation fund, is still pending permission from the authorities. It will be managed by Steven Andrew.

The asset management unit at UniCredit, housed at Pioneer, recorded net inflows of EUR7.7bn in the first nine months of the year. Captive and non-captive clients both contributed to inflows, the Italian bank says. As of the end of September, assets under management totalled USD168.9bn, up 7% since the beginning of the year (+EUR11bn), also due to positive currency effects (+EUR3.3bn).

KBL European Private Bankers (KBL epb) announced today the appointment of Cédric Lebegge as General Manager, Project Management Office, based in Luxembourg. In this newly created role, Lebegge will lead the coordination, monitoring and support of large-scale group projects.This appointment comes at a time when KBL epb is focused on realizing its vision to become a top 20 European private banking group by 2015. To achieve this ambitious goal, the group is currently identifying inorganic growth opportunities – including through potential acquisitions in its core markets.Simultaneously, KBL epb has launched a group-wide Transformation Programme, a series of 14 key initiatives aimed at further professionalizing its approach to clients, delivering greater value and contributing to bottom-line results.As head of the Project Management Office, Lebegge and his team will play a steering role in both of these areas, among others, ensuring the long-term success of such projects across the group’s nine-country European footprint.Earlier, Lebegge served as a Brussels-based Partner in the Financial Services Practice at Bain & Company, a global business consultancy. During his 15 years of service there, he led a range of large-scale transformation and integration programmes for leading banks in Europe and Latin America, working from the firm’s Amsterdam, Kiev, Paris and Sao Paulo offices.

Ulrich Köhne a décidé «pour motifs personnels» de démissionner de son poste de membre du directoire d’Union Investment Asset Management Holding avec effet au 30 novembre, annonce le groupe le 12 novembre. Ulrich Köhne était directeur financier depuis 2003.Jusqu'à la nomination d’un successeur, l’intérim des fonctions du partant sera réparti entre les autres membres du directoire.