Premier Asset Management a nommé Chris White au poste de responsable des actions britanniques. Il remplace dans ses fonctions Simon King, qui a quitté la société pour poursuivre de nouvelles opportunités professionnelles. Chris White est également gérant des fonds Premier Income et Premier Monthly Income, précise Moneymarketing. Suite au départ de Simon King, il reprend également la gestion des fonds pilotés jusqu'à présent par ce dernier, le Premier UK Growth et le Premier UK Mid 250, en attendant qu’un nouveau gérant le remplace.

Le gestionnaire britannique Henderson Group plc a indiqué dans son «trading update» publié le 9 juillet qu’il estime avoir enregistré pour le semestre au 30 juin un bénéfice sous-jacent de l’ordre de 100 millions de livres, dont 57 millions de livres de commissions de performances. Les résultats définitifs doivent être publiés le 8 août.Le communiqué précise que le groupe affiche un potentiel de commissions de performance inférieur pour le second semestre 2013, de sorte que le montant de ces revenus devrait s’avérer «substantiellement» inférieur au niveau affiché pour janvier-juin.

Le capital-investisseur américain Rosemont Investment Partners a acquis une participation minoritaire dans le gestionnaire britannique Silk Invest, spécialiste des marchés frontières. Cet appui financier doit permettre à Silk Invest de lancer de nouveaux produits en Amérique du Nord et dans d’autres régions dans lesquelles la firme britannique n’est pas encore présente, en dehors de sa base européenne, indique un communiqué.Dans ce contexte, Silk Invest, dont l’encours totalise environ 200 millions de dollars répartis sur quatre stratégies actions, fonds obligataire et un fonds de private equity produits alimentaires et boissons. Le gestionnaire britannique est déjà présent dans 14 pays et devrait ouvrir prochainement un bureau au Nigeria.Les dirigeants actuels de Silk Invest demeureront aux commandes et la majorité du capital restera dans leurs mains et dans celle des associés actuels.Silk Invest est le 25ème investissement de Rosemont, qui a accompagné Silvercrest Asset Management pendant six ans, jusqu'à 2007, passant d’un encours nul à 8 milliards de dollars ; les actifs gérés ressortent actuellement à 11 milliards de dollars et la société est cotée.De même; Rosemont a aidé Champlain Investment Partners, passé en quatre ans du stade de jeune pousse à 3,1 milliards de dollars en 2008. A présent Champlain gère 5 milliards de dollars et appartient en totalité à son personnel.

En 2012, la gestion d’actifs a renoué avec la croissance, après quatre années difficiles. L’encours mondial est passé à 62.400 milliards de dollars l’an dernier, en hausse de 9 %, dépassant le record de 2007 de 57.200 milliards de dollars. C’est ce qui ressort de la 11ème étude sur le secteur de l’asset management (*) du Boston Consulting Group (BCG). L'étude repose sur enquête examinant les données des 120 des leaders du secteur, qui représentent au total 53 % de l’encours mondial. Autre bonne nouvelle, la rentabilité de l’industrie de la gestion d’actifs s’est améliorée, davantage grâce à un effort fait sur les coûts que par la conquête de nouveaux clients, note le BCG. La marge d’exploitation se situe en 2012 à 37 % des bénéfices nets, contre 38 % avant crise. Les bénéfices se sont par ailleurs élevés à 80 milliards de dollars, certes en hausse de 7 % en 2012 mais encore 15 % en deçà des niveaux d’avant la crise financière. Le BCG souligne toutefois que la hausse des encours et des bénéfices des acteurs de la gestion d’actifs repose en très grande majorité sur l’effet marché. Les souscriptions nettes n’ont représenté que 1,2 % des encours mondiaux en 2012, ce qui reste «relativement modeste», selon l’enquête.Autre enseignement de l'étude annuelle, les gérants d’actifs qui ont su tirer leur épingle du jeu sont les gérants spécialistes proposant des produits de niche et les gérants «ambidextres» spécialisés dans deux catégories d’actifs. Ces derniers ont su maintenir leur activité historique tout en captant les flux de nouvelles classes d’actifs à forte croissance. Depuis 2010, les gérants d’actifs «traditionnels» ont enregistré une baisse de 2 % de leurs bénéfices par an alors que les gérants spécialistes et «ambidextres» ont vu leurs profits bondir de 10 % par an sur cette période. BCG constate que la gestion américaine continue de grignoter des parts de marché dans le monde et en Europe tout particulièrement. Les deux premiers gérants en termes de souscriptions nettes en Europe sont Pimco et BlackRock. Ils ne sont devancés que par Vanguard aux Etats-Unis. La gestion mondiale tend de plus en plus à être dominée par le poids lourds du secteur, note le BCG. Le Top 10 des gérants américains ont ainsi attiré en 2012 presque deux tiers des souscriptions nettes parmi les acteurs ayant enregistré des flux positifs. Cette proportion n'était encore que de 54 % en 2011.(*) «Global Asset Management 2013: Capitalizing on the Recovery»

Selon un accord de coopération signé entre BNP Paribas Cardif et Bank of Beijing, cette dernière continuera d’apporter son soutien grâce à son réseau de distribution et à sa base de clientèle à ING-BOB Life Insurance, même après l’acquisition par le groupe français de 50 % dans cette coentreprise, rapporte z-ben advisors.

Le gestionnaire britannique Aberdeen Asset Management a embauché Edmund Wandeler comme senior business development manager pour la Suisse, rapporte Fondsprofessionell. L’intéressé était jusqu'à présent senior sales manager chez DWS (Deutsche Bank), également en Suisse.

Hanna Ahrens, qui était était sales manager pour la clientèle institutionnelle allemande, autrichienne et suisse chez Axa Investment Managers Allemagne, a été recrutée pour développer les relations avec les entreprises et les caisses de retraite d’entreprise en Allemagne dans l'équipe de vente institutionnelle de Feri Trust. Elle aura pour mission de commercialiser les stratégies de gestion multi classes d’actifs liquides, l’overlay de risque et les actifs alternatifs.

La Deutsche Börse a admis le 5 juillet à la négociation sur le segment XTF de sa plate-forme électronique Xetra le premier ETF à gestion active de Commerz Fund Solutions, Europe SectorTrend UCITS ETF. Actuellement, la cote du segment XTF comporte 1009 ETF.Le nouveau fonds réplique l'évolution d’un portefeuille dynamique d’indices d’actions pour dégager sur le moyen à long terme une surperformance par rapport aux marchés larges d’Europe. Il utilise la stratégie de robustesse relative Europe de FERI qui doit donner une indication de la manière dont un indice a évolué par rapport à un indice de référence. Pour entrer dans la composition du portefeuille, les indices retenus doivent afficher une robustesse supérieure sur le moyen terme à celle constatée sur le court terme.La stratégie est actualisée sur une base hebdomadaire. Au moment de la repondération, tous les indices ont le même poids.CaractéristiquesDénomination : Europe SectorTrend UCITS ETFCode Isin : LU0861095221Taux de frais sur encours : 0,90 %Indice de référence : FERI RS Europa Strategie

Le gestionnaire alternatif munichois BayernInvest (47 milliards d’euros d’encours) a absorbé sa filiale luxembourgeoise à 100 % BayernInvest Luxembourg (1 milliard d’euros) spécialiste du service aux fonds et au lancement de fonds à la marque du distributeur (white labeling). Cette dernière entité fournit des solutions sur mesure pour des stratégies complexes de droit luxembourgeois sous forme de fonds coordonnés ou de fonds d’investissement spécialisés (FIS).Ces solutions pourront désormais être intégrées dans l’offre disponible en Allemagne sous forme de fonds offerts au public, mais cela ne signifie pas pour autant que BayernInvest ait l’intention de se lancer sur le segment du retail, a précisé Oliver Schlick, CIO. L’idée est de lancer des fonds offerts au public spécialisés destinés à des investisseurs avertis recherchant des rendements attrayants.Dans le cadre de cette intégration, Guy Schmit, directeur général de BayernInvest Luxembourg, rejoint la direction générale de BayernInvest à Munich. Il y conservera la responsabilité de Luxembourg mais sera aussi chargé du marketing et de la distribution.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } As of the end of 2012, assets under management by the top 100 alternative asset management firms in the world totalled USD3.1trn, according to an an estimate by Towers Watson. The report covers seven asset classes and seven types of investor. It reveals that real estate managers have the highest level of assets (34%, with over USD1trn), followed by direct private equity funds (23% and USD717bn), direct hedge funds (20% and USD612bn), private equity funds of funds (10%, and USD31bn), funds of hedge funds (6% and USD176bn), infrastructure funds (4% and USD128bn), and lastly, commodity funds (4% and USD118bn).Overall, assets in hedge funds represent USD5.1trn, with a similar distribution to that observed for the top 100 actors in the sector, excepting real estate, which accounts for 26%, and direct hedge funds, also 26%.Towers Watson has also found that pension funds are the providers for 36% of assets under management by the top 100 hedge fund managers, compared with 19% for wealth managers, 9% for insurers, 6% for sovereign wealth funds, 5% for banks, 3% for funds of funds and 2% for foundations.The top three hedge fund managers by assets are Macquarie Group (USD94.84bn), Bridgewater Associates (USD84.04bn), and CBRE Global Investors (USD80bn). The top French actor is Axa Real Estate, which takes sixth place with USD65.45bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French public pension fund Etablissement de Retraite additionnelle de la Fonction publique (ERAFP) has announced that it has awarded an active mandate and two standby mandates in Europe real estate. The active mandate goes to Axa Real Estate Investment Managers SGP and the stand-by mandates are awarded to CBRE Global Investors France SGP and LaSalle Investment Management SAS.The mandate is to manage a portfolio of non-publicly traded real estate properties located in Europe, in member countries of the OECD. Investments will be primarily in office and commercial properties, but may also concern residences or other storage activities.For indicative purposes, the amounts invested over a three-year horizon may be about EUR350m,” a statement says.The duration of the contract is ten years.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } PFR Gold fund, the fund investing in gold by the hedge fund manager John Paulson, lost 23% in June. It is the third consecutive double-digit loss for the fund, Investment Week reports. Since the beginning of this year, the cumulative losses for the product, which has USD300m in assets, total 65%. Investment Week points out that the price of gold fell by 26% in first half 2013. An ounce of gold is currently trading at about USD1,250.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } IndexUniverse reports that DirexionShres has filed a license application for an ETF to specialise in master limited partnerships (MLPs). The primary advantage will be a total expense ratio of 0.65%, while the competing products Alerain MLP from ALPs (USD6.55bn) and JP Morgan Alerian MLP ETN (USD5.7bn) charg 0.85%.However, the lest costly ETF of MLPs is the Global X product, which costs only 0.45%, and which has already attracted USD64bn since its launch in April 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } On 5 July, FlexShares Trust filed a license application (form N1-A) with the SEC for the FlexShares Global Infrastructure Index Fund, an ETF whose benchmark index and total expense ratio have not yet been set. The fund will be advised by Northern Trust Investments (NTI).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Deutsche Börse on 5 July admitted the first actively-managed ETF from Commerz Fund Solutions to the Xetra electronic platform, the Europe SectorTrend UCITS ETF. Currently, the XTF segment lists 1009 ETF funds.The new fund replicates the evolution of a dynamic portfolio of equity indices, in order to earn outperformance in the mid-term compared with the bright markets of Europe. It will use the FERI relative European robustness strategy, which aims to provide an indication of the way in which an index has evolved compared with a benchmark index. In order to be included in the portfolio, indices selected must be more robust over the mid-term than is observed over the short term.The strategy is updated on a weekly basis. At the time of adjustment of weighting, all indices are equally weighted.CharacteristicsName: Europe SectorTrend UCITS ETFISIN code: LU0861095221Total expense ratio: 0.90%Benchmark index: FERI RS Europa Strategie

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } According to monthly statistics by NYSE-Euronext, the European markets of the operator in June posted a daily volume of on-book trades of EUR290m, compared with EUR233.8m in May (+24%). The increase compared with June 2012 totals 12.5%. Meanwhile, total on-book traded increased by 12.7% compared with May, to EUR5.80bn, which represents an increase of 7.2% compared with the corresponding month of last year.The volume of block trades, for its part, totalled EUR1.9bn in June, 51.44% more than in May.The European markets of NYSE Euronext as of the end of June listed 579 ETFs, which brings the total, after secondary listings, to 673, compared with 576 ETFs and 600 listings, respectively, one month earlier.The median spread in June totalled 43.7 basis points, compared with 38.8 points in May.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } According to a Lipper study of the preferences of external fund managers in Europe, the three most popular managers are BlackRock, with products in which 1,258 funds invest, JPMorgan Asset Management (1,061) and Schroders (1,009). These are followed by Fidelity (877) and Franklin Templeton (831).The top European provider, Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM), takes seventh place, with 768 funds, and the top French firm is Amundi, in 10th place with 611 funds of funds investing.Ed Moisson, head of UK & cross-border research at Lipper, says that in the past three years, external funds of funds increased their allocation to bond funds to 28.7%, from 24.8%. Meanwhile, exposure to external equity funds fell to 54.9% in 2012, compared with 57.1% in 2011.In general, assets in external funds of funds in Europe have risen from 54% of total funds of funds as of the end of 2011 (EUR86bn) to 63% currently, representing EUR321.4bn, out of a total of EUR509.8bn.Currently, Moisson adds, net inflows from third-party funds of funds are on course to top the EUR32.3bn recorded in 2010, and may even approach the all-time record of EUR50.3bn in 2006.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } NYSE Euronext Rate Administration Limited, an affiliate of NYSE Euronext, on Tuesday, 9 July announced that it has been selected in a request for proposals led by Hogg Tendering Advisory Committee, to manage Libor. The transfer of administration from BBA LIBOR Ltd, an affiliate of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), to NYSE Euronext will be completed by the beginning of 2014, once permission has been granted by the competent authorities.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Investment Management Association (IMA) has announced that it has formed an independent consulting panel to assist in the next step of its study of research. The committee will docus on the research market, on the way in which research is paid, and improvements that could be made in this area.The conclusions and recommendations from the work of the panel will be published in a report in October 2013.The members of the committee are:Glenn Bedwin, Board Member, EuroIRPWill Goodhart, Chief Executive, CFA UKProfessor Tim Jenkinson, Professor of Saïd Business School, Oxford UniversitySteve Kelly, Managing Director, Thomson Reuters Extel andNeil Scarth, Principal, Frost Consulting

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Premier Asset Management has appointed Chris White as head of UK equities. In this role, he replaces Simon King, who has left the firm to pursue new professional opportunities.White is also manager of the Premier Income and Premier Monthly Income funds, Moneymarketing states. Following the departure of King, he will also keep management of the funds he had previously managed, the Premier UK Growth and Premier UK Mid 250, until a new manager can replace him.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The British asset management firm Henderson Group plc has announced in its trading update, released on 9 July, that it estimates that in the half ending on 30 June, it earned underlying profits of about GBP100m, of which GBP57m are performance commissions. The final results are expected to be released on 8 August.The statement says that the group has reduced potential for performance commissions in second half 2013, meaning that these revenues are expected to be “substantially” lower than the level in January-June.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The US private equity investor Rosemont Investment Partners has acquired a minority stake in the British asset management firm Silk Invest, a specialist in frontier markets. This financial support will allow Silk Invest to launch new products in North America, and in other regions in which the British firm is not yet present, outside its European base, a statement says.In this context, Silk Invest, whose assets total about USD20bn in four equity strategies, a bond fund and a food and beverage product private equity fund. The British asset management firm is already present in 14 countries, and is expected to open an office in Nigeria soon.The current heads of Silk Invest will continue to control the firm, and the majority of capital will remain in the hands of current partners.Silk Invest is the 25th investment by Rosemont, which helped Silvercrest Asset Management to increase its assets from zero to USD8bn in six years, up to 2007; assets under management currently remain at USD11bn, and the company is publicly-traded.Rosemont has also helped Champlain Investment Partners, which in four years went from being a startup to USD3.1bn in 2008. At present, Champlain manages USD5bn and is wholly owned by its employees.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } NewAlpha AM and Next AM, which had submitted a joint application on Monday, were retained to manage the tenth sub-fund of the Emergence incubation fund, for equities, Agefi reports. The announcement is expected to become official tomorrow at the Paris Europlace conference.NewAlpha will be responsible for selecting emerging French asset management firms specialised in the equities and quasi-owners’ equity asset classes.Emergence will allocate capital to them at their first fundraising. Next AM will be able to begin sales of the equity sub-fund. The heads of Emergence hope to bring in at least EUR150m. The second sub-fund is more consensual than the first, based on active management, the newspaper reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } KKR has raised USD6bn for its third Asian private equity fund, making it the largest fund of its type in the region, the Financial Times reports. The private equity investor states that of this amount, USD1.5bn has come from Asian investors.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Mirabaud Asset Management has announced the recruitment of Alexandre Mignot, who from 19 August this year will join the team in charge of sales for funds and management mandates at Mirabaud Asset Management, alongside Thibault Amand, director of institutional sales. Amand will be responsible for assisting in the growth of assets and development serving private banking clients, family offices, and independent financial adviwers, Mirabaud AM states.Mignot began his career in 2008 at Meeschaert Asset Management, as head of external distribution activities for FCPs, management mandates and dedicated funds.On Tuesday, 9 July, the asset management firm also announced that it has signed a privileged partnership with the firm Actif Manager, founded by Yves Bruttin.The objective for Mirabaud Asset Management is also to strengthen its presence and commercial development serving IFAs. Actif Manager will advise Mirabaud Asset Management to set up partnerships with French platforms (insurers and bankers) dedicated to independent financial advisers. These partnerships will aim to make a range of dedicated products and services of the Mirabaud range available (including convertible bond, emerging market equity, and dynamic asset allocation mutual funds,) a statement says.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } On Wednesday, the Securities and Exhange Commission (SEC) will grant approval for one of the central measures of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Ace (JOBS Act), removing a prohibition against hedge funds and private equity firms from advertising private investments which do not require an SEC license.However, it is expected that although advertising restrictions will be eased, the SEC won’t finalize protection measures which defenders of investors claim are critical to combat fraud, for instance standards for advertising the performance of investments. Defenders of investors would also like to see the SEC raise minimal asset and income requirements for investments of this type to “accredited” investors. But the SEC will not be able to do that for at least one year, due to terms passed by Congress which require a minimal time period before regulations can be modified.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The British asset management firm Aberdeen Asset Management has recruited Edmund Wandeler as senior business development manager for Switzerland, Fondsprofessionell reports. Wandeler had previously been senior sales manager at DWS (Deutsche Bank), also in Switzerland.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Munich-based institutional fund management firm Bayerninvest (EUR47bn in asets) has absorbed its wholly-owned Luxembourg subsidiary BayernInvest Luxembuorg (EUR1bn), a specialist in services to funds and the launch of white label funds. The latter entity provides custom solutions for complex Luxembourg-registered strategies in the form of UCITS-compliant specialised investment funds (SIFs).These solutions can then be integrated into the product range available in Germany in the form of open-ended funds, but this does not imply that BayernInvest is planning to enter the retail segment, says Oliver Schlick, CIO. The idea is to launch specialised open-ended funds aimed at qualified investors seeking attractive returns.As part of this integration, Guy Schmit, CEO of BayernInvest Luxembourg, is joining the executive committee at BayernInvest Munich. He will continue to be responsible for Luxembourg, but will also be responsible for marketing and distribution.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Berlin-based agency Scope has analysed the results for 2,814 fund on sale to retail clients in Germany whose benchmark index is clearly identified, over one year and 10 years. On average, these products underperformed their benchmark by 2.5% year on year, and by nearly 25% over 10 years.This underperformance is largely due to total expense ratios (TER), which average 1.89% currently, while the average TER for equity ETFs on sale in Germany is 0.44%. In other words, the additional costs related to the active management of funds totalled 1.45 percentage points per year. If this is compared with average underperformance of 2.5% per year, it becomes clear that more than half of this underperformance is due to additional costs.Taking this additional cost of 1.45% per year as a basis, investors lost 15.5 percentage points over 10 years, taking into account compound interest. The additional costs related to active management thus represent nearly two thirds of the 25% average underperformance.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Hamburg-based private bank Berenberg has announced that it is planning to bring its advising activities in the area of arts in-house, so that its joint venture created in 2011 with Helge Achenbach and Stefan Horsthemke, Berenberg Art Advice GmbH, will be dissolved. Berenberg also won’t sell the “art” fund which has been planned.Andreas Brodtmann, managing partner, has stated that Berenberg would now like to intensify its international investments in art, and also to focus on monitoring art collections.