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22/10/2013

Record assets for hedge funds as of the end of September

According to Hedge Fund Research, total assets under management by hedge funds worldwide as of the end of September reached their fifth consecutive quarterly record, at USD2.510trn, which represents an increase of USD94bn over the end of June.Net subscriptions totalled USD23bn, which is the highest level since second quarter 2011.The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index in July-September posted returns of 2.2%, bringing gains in the first nine months of the year to 5.5%, while the best results were for equity hedge strategies, which attractedUSD10.6bn in net subscriptions (assets totalled USD686bn), and event-driven, which attracted USD6.4bn in third quarter, and USD16.4bn in January-September.
22/10/2013

Seung Minn leaves Allianz GI

Allianz Global Investors has replaced Seung Minn as manager of the Allianz US Equity fund (USD856m) after six and a half years, Financial News reports. Steve Bereza has become the principal manager of the fund. A spokesperson for Allianz GI has explained to FN that Minn has left the firm.
22/10/2013

More than 60% of institutional investments intermediated by consultants in 2012

New research from Cerulli Associates finds that more than 60% of institutions’ asset flows were consultant-intermediated in 2012 with the rest coming from direct sales, according to their recent survey of institutional asset managers."Given the significance of investment consultants, just over half of the asset managers we polled plan on placing an even greater emphasis on fostering consultant relationships,» states Michele Giuditta, associate director at Cerulli. «This percentage initially appeared low to us, but our discussions with institutional distribution leaders confirmed that many firms are already devoting substantial resources to these efforts and plan on continuing to do so. Finally, Cerulli reports that many investment committees are redefining their roles, delegating more of the day-to-day investment-related responsibilities to their gatekeepers, and focusing more on overall policy matters.
22/10/2013

Three promotions at Axa Real Estate IM

AXA Real Estate Investment Managers has announced key new appointments to strengthen its management team, particularly in the Alternatives business unit. Riccardo Dallolio, who joined AXA Real Estate in 2011 as head of European transactions, will become sector head of alternatives and will be responsible for overseeing AXA Real Estate’s Alternatives Business Line. This new business unit was launched by AXA Real Estate in October 2012 in response to increasing demand from investors for exposure to alternative assets such as healthcare and student accommodation and is now being expanded to include hotels, data-centres, residential, forest and other specific situations. Laurent Jacquemin, who is currently global head of corporate finance and has over 14 years’ experience in the real estate industry will replace Riccardo as head of European transactions. Philippe de Martel will be promoted from head of corporate finance France to replace Laurent as global head of corporate finance.
22/10/2013

SocGen appoints a new head for the Middle East

Société Générale on Monday, 21 October announced the appointment of Richad Soundardjee as head of the Société Générale group for the Middle Eastern region. He will also be head of Société Générale Dubai. He replaces Eric Wormser, who will assume a new role in the Group. Soundardjee will aim to develop the activities of Société Générale, and to strengthen its presence in the region, and particularly the Gulf countries. Soundardjee will be based in Dubai, and will report to Slawomir Krupa, head of the finance and investment bank, private banking, asset management, and securities professions for the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Dounsardjee joined Société Générale in 1994, and was previously head of capitsl markets for the CEEMEA region, since 2009.
22/10/2013

Former UBS banker may be extradited to the United States

Raoul Weil, a major Swiss asset manager, may be extradited to the United States, following his arrest on holiday in Italy, the Financial Times reports. He is accused of helping US clients with USD20bn in assets to evade US taxes, when he was working at UBS. Weil, 53, now openly worked in the Swiss asset management sector as CEO of Reuss Private Group, which has over CHF4bn in assets.
22/10/2013

E Fund to launch an RQFII ETF

E Fund Management will list a cross-market ETF in Hong Kong, which may be traded in Hong Kong dollars or in Chinese renminbi, Asian Investor reports. The RQFII (renmibi denominated qualified foreign institutional investor) will track the CES China 120 index, composed of A and H shares listed in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
22/10/2013

Faber to advise mandates from a Zurich firm

The Zurich-based asset management firm Premium Strategy Partners has recruited Marc Faber, who is known as Dr. Doom, to advise its mandates, Citywire Global reports. He will advise the three managers at the firm, including the co-founders Dieter Lüscher and Otto Koller, on investment decisions.
22/10/2013

Asset management firms fight for their bonuses

Asset management firms are vigorously combatting proposed restrictions on their bonuses, according to a document obtained by FTfm. EFAMA proposes that managers should be able to receive three quarters of their bonuses in the year they were awarded, rather than only 60%, as suggested by the European Commission. The Efama amendment will be studied at a meeting of the European Council working group on UCITS V, scheduled for Monday.
22/10/2013

Lyxor lists new ETF in Paris

NYSE Euronext has announced that it has admitted a new ETF to trading on the Paris stock exchange from Lyxor Asset Management, bringing the number of these products listed on the European markets of NYSE Euronext to 656. The number of primary listings now totals 566.CharacteristicsName: Lyxor ETF LTM PEABenchmark index: MSCI Emerging Markets Latin AmericaTicker: LTMPTotal expense ratio: 0.65%
22/10/2013

Nearly 20 money market funds have been bailed out

About 20 money market funds were bailed out by their parent companies in order to prevent them from undergoing losses during the financial crisis of 2006-2009, according to Moody’s, cited by Financial Times fund management. The revelation that 16 US money market funds received capital injections in 2010, and three other products (one of them non-US) were bailed out in 2011 come at a time when the debate over regulations in the US sector is intensifying.
22/10/2013

FundLogic admits long/short fund from Broadmark

Morgan Stanley on 14 October launched the MS Broadmark Tactical Plus UCITS Fund on the FundLogic Alternatives plc platform. The fund is managed by Broadmark Asset Management LLC, which aims for returns higher than the risk-adjusted average will lower volatility than the S&P 500, regardless of the position in the market cycle. To do that, the management team can take long and short positions on equity markets, investing primarily in futures on US equities, ETFs, and options.CharacteristicsName: MS Broadmark Tactical Plus UCITS FundISIN code: IE00BC1JD990Ticker: FLBTB1U:IDSales licenses: France, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain; in progress: Germany and Switzerland
22/10/2013

Euro-hedged share class in STHY ETF from Pimco/Source created

The two asset management firms Pimco (Allianz group) and Source on 21 October announced the creation of a share class hedged for currency risks in euros for their ETF PIMCO Short-Term High Yield Corporate Bond Index Source (ticker: STHY), a fund whose benchmark currency is the US dollar, and which has already reached USD550m in assets, though it was launched only in March 2012.The fund, listed on the London Stock Exchange, replicates the BofA Merrill Lynch 0-5 Year US High Yield Constrained Index, a broad benchmark covering more than 800 corporate bonds denominated in US dollars. The euro-hedged shares carry a total expense ratio of 0.60%, compared with 0.55% for shares in US dollars.
22/10/2013

Schroders adds cat bonds fund to its GAIA platform

Daniel Ineichen, manager of the NGAR Secquaero ILS Fund since May 2011, will manage the new Schroder GAIA Cat Bond Fund, which joins the UCITS-compliant hedge fund platform GAIA (Global Alternative Invesment Access).The new product, which on 21 October merged with the NGAR Secquaero ILS Fund from Secquaero Advisors, will invest at least 80% of its assets in catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS). Schroders states that the portfolio will be primarily exposed to regions with a high concentration of high net worth insurance clients, such as the United States, western Europe and Japan.The objective is to outperform the Libor 3-month in US dollars by 600 basis points per year, after fees. Schroders states that the NGAR Secquaero ILS Fund has a track record of 7.27% per year since its launch on 15 August 2011.The GAIA platform currently has asets of EUR2.5bn. It will soon have seven funds, of which five are external (Schroder GAIA CQS Credit, Schroder GAIA Egerton Equity, Schroder GAIA Sirios US Equity, Schroder GAIA Avoca Credit (which is expected to be launched on 7 November) and the Schroder GAIA Cat Bond) and two in-house funds (Schroder GAIA Global Macro Bond and Schroder GAIA QEP Global Absolute).
22/10/2013

Phoenix and Friends Life win fund booby prizes

Bestinvest has published its 2013 “Spot the Dog” rankings of the worst investment funds, which include 113 funds that have chronically underperformed, which manage a total of GBP31bn for pension funds, Money Marketing reports.Phoenix and Friends Life are the two pension fund providers which have the most “dog funds” in their product ranges, with 15 and 17 products, respectively. But several outsourced funds also rank among the worst performers, such as the Legal & General BlackRock UK Dynamic fund and the Aviva Investec America fund.
22/10/2013

Odin Fonder recruits analyst and manager

The Swedish asset management firm Odin Fonder has recruited Thomas Nielsen as an equities analyst for its Scandinavian equities team, as well as Mariann Stoltenberg Lind as portfolio manager for Norwegian fixed income. Nielsen joins from Pareto, while Stoltenberg worked previously at Storebrand.
22/10/2013

UK pension funds waste billions on active management

UK pension funds “waste” more than GBP6bn per year by investing in actively-managed equity, bond and real estate funds, rather than passive funds which cost less and post better returns, according to a study by Evercore Pan Asset, cited by Financial Times fund management. The study of the 14 most popular asset classes with UK pension funds finds that the median passive fund outperforms the median active fund in 13 cases over the past five years. The average difference between the passive and active funds was 6.5 over five years, which is greater than the difference in price alone, which was an average of 60 basis points per year for active funds and 20 points per year for passive funds.
22/10/2013

Jupiter AM recrutis a director of marketing

Jupiter AM on Monday, 21 October announced the recruitment of Richard Wilson as head of marketing. He will join the asset management firm on 6 November this year, and will be responsible for developing and implementing the global marketing strategy of the firm. Wilson previously worked at HSBC Global Asset Management, Henderson Global Investors and New Star Asset Management, where he was director of marketing. Earlier in his career, Wilson served in a variety of positions related to marketing at Aberdeen Asset Management, Prolific Unit Trust Managers and Save&Prosper.
22/10/2013

Aberdeen and Macquarie reportedly the final suitors for SWIP

The three groups concerned have declined to comment on reports in Investment Week that only Aberdeen Asset Management and Macquarie Group remain in the running to acquire Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP, GBP146bn) from Lloyds Banking Group.
22/10/2013

GSAM acquires money market funds from RBS

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) will acquire the range of money market funds from RBS, Investment Week reports. The transaction will be completed in first quarter 2014. GSAM states that there will be no change in the way that accounts are managed during the transitional period, and that investors will not pay any fees. GSAM manages USd195bn in money market funds, of which 33% are in Europe. The acquisition will double the size of its product range denominated in pounds sterling, and will strengthen its presence in Europe.
22/10/2013

AP1 awarded damages from BNY Mellon

The Commercial Court in London has handed down a verdict in favour of The Swedish pension fund Första AP-fonden (AP1), which filed a suit in 2008 against BNY Mellon for reimbursement of losses occasioned by securities lending undertaken by BNY Mellon on behalf of the fund. The total damages were set at USD33.7m, or SEK219m, while the exact amount of the settlement remains to be determined. In addition, BNY Mellon will be required to reimburse AP1 for most of its legal costs related to the lawsuit.However, the US bank may still appeal.As the damages were entirely provisioned for in the annual accounts for AP1 in 2008, the damages and compensation for legal and interest expenses will have a positive impact on net investment income when the ruling goes into force.
22/10/2013

Goldman Sachs takes over RBS AM money market funds

The asset management firm Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) on Monday, 21 October announced that it would be acquiring money market funds managed by RBS Asset Management, under the Global Treasury Funds brand. The sale price has not been disclosed. “The acquisition of these GSAM money market funds emphasizes our firm and ongoing commitment to provide global liquidity solutions,” Timothy O’Neill and Eric S. Lane, co-heads of the investment management division at Goldman Sachs, has announced. GSAM has US195bn in assets under management invested in money market funds, of which 33% are in Europe. The acquisition of Global Treasury Funds will allow the firm to virtually double the size of its product range denominated in sterling. The transaction is expected to be completed in first quarter 2014, pending approval by the Irish central bank and the Irish Stock Exchange, as Global Treasury Funds products are domiciled in Ireland, and by a vote of investors.
22/10/2013

Barclays launches synthetic index of EM bonds

Barclays has recently launched a synthetic index replicating the performance of emerging market bonds in local currencies, Asian Investor reports, stating that according to the British bank, it is the first index of its type. The index is entitled EM Local Currency Bond Synthetic Replication, and will allow the bank to offer its clients liquid exposure to an asset class for which demand is increasing steadily, Asian Investor states.
22/10/2013

Credit Suisse launches first LGBT equality index

On 21 October, Credit Suisse announced the launch of the Credit Suisse LGBT Equality Index™ (ticker on Bloomberg: CSLGBT Index), which, according to the Swiss group, is the first to replicate the performance of equities in companies which employ a policy to promote equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons (LGBT). It is a cap-size weighted index; in order to be eligible, companies must have a score of at least 80 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which is the national benchmark index for corporate policies and practices concerning employee members of the LGBT community. The index has been developed in cooperation with LGBT Capital, an opinion leader for responsible investment activities related to LGBT.Credit Suisse is also launching the Credit Suisse LGBT Equality Portfolio, an investable product which is avaiable only to clients of Credit Suisse Private Banking USA.
22/10/2013

Credit Suisse appoints two heads for asset management

Following the departure of Gerhard Fusenig, one of the co-directors of asset management at Credit Suisse, announced in September, the firm has released the names of his replacements. Timothy Blackwell will take over operational responsibility of the core investments unit. He will remain as director of real estate asset management, as well as equities, fixed income and indices. Michael Strobaek, for his part, has been appointed to a more representative position in addition to his role as Global CIO and Head of Investment Strategy & Research. As Head of Asset Management Switzerland, he will aim to represent asset management at Credit Suisse to the authorities, for example.
22/10/2013

Assets double at Alex Vermogensbeheer

Between the end of September 2012 and the end of September 2013, Fonds Nieuws reports, assets at the wealth management firm Alex Vermogensbeheer (BinckBank group) increased from EUR878m to EUR1.8bn. Net subscriptions totalled EUR191m in July-September, and EUR709m in the first three quarters. The scale of the net inflows is attributed to a television advertising campaign by Alex in July and August.
22/10/2013

Alceda recruits for institutional unit

The Luxembourg-based firm Alceda Fund Management (EUR5.4bn in assets under administration), ambitious to develop its structuring activity under the new European alternative management directive (AIFMD), has recruited Christian Holste as CEO for its German affiliate Alceda Advisors GmbH. Holste will be particularly responsible for building up the structuring range in the area of alternative investments on offer to institutional investors.Holste joined Alceda on 15 October. He had previously been CEO of Banque Bauer in Geneva, but has spent a large part of his career at UBS in Germany.
22/10/2013

L'immobilier flambe dans les grandes villes de Chine

Le prix moyen des nouveaux logements dans les 70 plus importantes villes du pays a augmenté de 9,1% sur un an le mois dernier, selon des calculs faits par Reuters à partir de données du Bureau national des statistiques publiées mardi. Les prix immobiliers ont ainsi enregistré en septembre leur hausse la plus marquée en près de trois ans.

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