P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlueCrest Capital Management, the US hedge fund whose assets under management total about USD14bn, lost 8.3% in the month of June, according to a note from investors obtained by Bloomberg. The hedge fund BlueTrend has lost 9.2% since the beginning of the year until 21 June. The hedge fund has earned average annual returns of 12.9% since its launch in 2004, and has never shown losses for a calendar year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Insight Investment has recruited Philip Anker as global head of distribution, a new position arising from the firm’s desire to develop its activities internationally, Investment Week reports. The current head of distribution, Sarah Aitken, is leaving his job, but the recruitment is not directly related to his departure, as the new position has global reach. Anker, who previously worked at Paloma Partners, a US multi-strategy hedge fund, will be based in London and will join the management bodies at the firm.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Citywire db x-trackers Emerging Markets Sentiment Indicator (SEMI) was unveiled on 27 June. It aims to be the first predictive indicator in Europe of capital flows to emerging markets. It is calculated independently by Citywire, and is sponsored by Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM). The sentiment indicator reflects the opinion of fund management professionals about emerging markets, and is based on the results of a Citywire quarterly survey of 101 managers focused on emerging markets, with total assets of about EUR200bn. The most recent survey was carried out in March and April 2013.In detail, the EMSI is established on the basis of manager sentiment concerning ten markets: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Taiwan. For equities, bonds and diversified portfolios, Citywire asks managers about their current sentiment concerning markets as well as the evolution they expect for markets in the next twelve months, on one hand, and on the weighting of portfolios on a six-month horizon, on the other.The EMSI (base 1000) came out at 1009, which reflects a predominantly optimistic attitude. Among the markets under review, managers are preferring China and India for the next six months: 34% of managers are planning to increase allocation to China in their funds by at least 5% in the next 6 months, and the percentage stands at 32% for India.As a complement, Citywire is asking respondents how the MSCI Emerging Market Index will develop compared with the MSCI World Index. For the first edition of the EMSI, 49% of managers predict that the MSCI EM will outperform the MSCI World, while 31% hold the opposite opinion.Institutional investors may access the report for free upon request at the address http://www.etf.db.com/DE/DE/sentiment-indicator

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Following changes to the emerging market debt team at ING Investment Managers (ING IM), 20 members of which have joined Neuberger Berman, Danske Bank has decided to reallocate a USD1.6bn mandate for emerging market debt to a team led in London by Samuel Finkelstein at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), Citywire reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Manulife Asset Management is in the process of adding to its team in charge of asset allocation in Asia, in the expectation of a “great rotation” in an environment of low interest rates and an ageing population, Asian Investor reports. The firm, with more than USD100bn in assets under management in allocation strategies with total assets under management of over USD250bn, last year installed a team of two people in Hong Kong, and is planning more recruitments during the quarter.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } According to fondweb.de, Franklin Templeton has decided to close its equity product Templeton Frontier Markets Fund, managed by Mark Mobius snce 14 October 2008, to new investors from 28 June, 2013. Current shareholders will be allowed to continue to invest. The soft closing aims to protect performance for existing subscribers, to allow the management team to continue to deploy a value strategy. As of 31 March, the Luxembourg-registered fund had assets of USD1.836bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The US firm First Trust Advisors is continuing its offensive in Europe. After launching its first three ETFs in April this year (see Newsmanagers of 11 April 2013), First Trust is planning to offer two new products in the AlphaDEX range, one of them dedicated to the euro zone, and the other to international high dividends equities, by September or slightly later, Martin Molère, head of sales at First Trust for continental Europe, has told Newsmanagers. The dividend ETF will offer quarterly liquidity. The ETFs already launched by First Trust, which are domiciled in Ireland and listed in London, are currently available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France. Switzerland and Benelux are expected to follow. All ETFs listed use the exclusive AlphaDEX methodology from First Trust, which is designed to select a combination of growth equities and attractive fundamental value. This methodology selects equities from a base universe, and separates them into growth and value categories. The weighting of equities held in ETFs is not based on market capitalisation, but on their AlphaDEX scores. The scores for growth equities are based on three measurements: price appreciation over three, six and twelve months, growth in sales, and their price/sale ratio. The scores for value equities are also based on three measurements: the book price/value ratio, their price/cash flow ratio, and returns on assets. As of 21 June, ETFs under management had USD12bn in assets, compared with USD8.1bn at the beginning of the year. Of this total, the AlphaDEX range currently represents USD5.8bn.

Christian Dargnat, freshly elected as president of EFAMA, the European Fund and Asset Management Association, and also CEO of BNP Paribas Asset Management, has described to Newsmanagers the four priorities which will guide his two-year term, and that will be soon introduced to the board at the association.The first point is that asset management must appear as a long-term investment. “Today, we have an image problem with regulators and politicians. Asset managers are placed in a category with bankers and insurers. But we are different,” says Dargnat, at the Fund Forum International in Monaco. “We need long-term investment, and if there is an industry which can do that, it’s asset management,” he adds. He points out that in France, life insurance has hitherto served in this role. In order to achieve this mission, the EFAMA president would like to use three techniques: integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, with the ambition of finding a common definition of socially responsible investment for Europe, the creation of a long-term investment fund under UCITS 6, and the establishment of portable pensions.The second priority for Dargnat is to “demonstrate to our fellow citizens that asset management delivers added value.” He says that “if you want growth, you have to restart investments, you need savings.” Asset management comes to the rescue again. “Regulators are spending their time punishing us and considering us as bankers. We need to show them that thanks to the savings we capture, we are at the service of the economy,” he says.Pedagogy is a third core priority of the new EFAMA president. This means highlighting the interests of clients, restoring their trust and bringing them closer to professionals. That must involve a simplification of the message, as the client does not necessarily need to know everything that is under the hood of a fund. More concretely, he points to initiatives in Sweden and Italy, where the asset management professional associations send representatives to school to explain what the profession is.Lastly, Dargnat would like to make the voice of EFAMA better heard, at a time when regulations affecting asset management are increasing at a frenetic pace. To do that, he sees a need for more unity and the addition of more members, in order to strengthen the resources of the association.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Since the beginning of the year, the Vice Fund, which invests in shares in the alcohol, tobacco, weapons and gambling sectors, may have underperformed the S&P 500, with gains of only 9.47%, compared with 11.5% for the flagship indicator of the US market. But, El Confidencial remarks, over three years, the product from the asset management firm USA Mutuals has beaten the S&P 500, with gains of 16.5% compared with 10.6%.By way of illustration, an investment of USD10,000 in 2002 in the fund would as of 31 March 2013 have been worth USD27,691 for the Vice fund, compared with USD21,229 for the S&P 500.The Vice Fund is 15.6% invested in Altria, 5.6% in Philip Morris, and 4.7% in Lorillard, for tobacco, and 4.1% each in Las Vegas Sands and Galaxy Entertainment, for gambling.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } In the month to 24 June, the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has issued extensions for QFII quotas totalling USD900m, compared with USD680m in May.Legg Mason Investments (Europe) Limited, AEGON USA Investment Management, LLC, UBS Global Asset Management (Hong Kong) Ltd., ICBC Investment Management Company Limited and HSBC Global Asset Management (Taiwan) Limited have each received a license for USD100m, while the sovereign fund Korea Investment Corporation and the Swedish Andra AP-Fonden (AP2) have quotas totalling USD200m each.According to Z-Ben Advisors, the increase in volume for additional contingents is largely due to the fact that SAFE expects a decline in global liquidity due to a reduction in quantitative easing in the United States.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Swiss Federal financial market surveillance authority (FINMA) has revised its document “Guidelines for wealth management.” The new version of the text states the duties of wealth managers in their relationships with their clients, including a requirement to report commissions. The most recent verdicts of the Federal court and a revision to the law on collective investments are taken into account. The revised guidelines come into force from 1 July 2013. The document “Guidelines for wealth management” (Circ.Finma 2009/1) defines the guidelines that Finma uses as reference criteria to admit rules of conduct for an organisation which is active in wealth management as minimal requirements. Verdicts handed down by the Federal court with respect to individual wealth management as well as the revised law on collective investments have been made necessary in the revised document. Research (client risk profile), information (information about risk) and diligence (updating of risk profile) requirements as well as a requirement to disclose commissions, are included.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; }A:link { } In only six months, CVC Capital Partners has received commitments for more than EUR14bn from investors, the Financial Times reports. The private equity firm raised EUR11.8bn for its new fund for a new closing expected in mid-July, and another EUR2.5bn to EUR4.0bn for a final closing at the end of the year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; }A:link { } Citigroup and HSBC have received permission to sell local funds in China, a breakthrough at a time when foreign bankers are usually excluded from the domestic retail market, the Financial Times reports. The two banks will now be able to offer funds designed by local asset management firms for retail, corporate and institutional investors. Other foreign banks, such as Standard Chartered and Bank of East Asia, have also applied for licenses to sell local funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; }A:link { } From hedge funds such as those from Bridgewater Associates and AQR Capital Management to mutual funds and pension funds, products which apply risk parity strategies have been severely affected by the current turmoil on the markets, the Wall Street Journal observes. Risk parity managers use leverage to increase returns on bond investments, in order to make them more closely resemble equity investments.In addition, equities have fallen at the same time as bonds after the Fed suggested that it may slow its quantitative easing policy. To make the situation worse, commodities and inflation-linked securities, which are largely used by risk parity managers, have also seen heavy losses due to the decline of inflationary expectations.According to Morningstar, risk parity mutual funds have seen average losses of 6.75%, while a composite index of 60% S&P 500 and 40% Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index made 6.76%. Risk parity funds often aim to beat a 60/40 benchmark.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } According to El Confidencial, the chairman of Inmobiliaria Colonial, Juan José Bruguera, and deputy director Pere Viñolas are seeking to avoid the Spanish real estate firm being required to accept a bid from the chairman of OHL, Juan Miguel Villar Mir, who, with Mexican billionarire Mariasun Aramburuzabala and the Colombian family Santo Domingo, is offering to inject EUR750m to recapitalise the business, which is burdened with a debt of EUR4bn. To achieve that, Colonial is offering the 57% stake which it holds in the French publicly-traded firm Société Foncière Lyonnaise (SFL) to the Government Pension Fund-Global (GPFG), the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund managed by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } AXA Real Estate has announced the acquisition from Generalitat de Catalunya of a portfolio of offices located in Barcelona for EUR172m. The portfolio includes 13 properties leased to government bodies. The office properties are all located in the Barcelona business centre and have a total floor area of over 105,000 square metres. The acquisition of 11 of the properties will be completed on 28 June 2013, while the purchase of two other properties will be completed in mid-July. Generalitat will continue to occupy the properties, as it has signed a 20-year lease for annual rent of EUR16.2m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Spanish asset management firm Bestinver (Acciona group) has decided to open a commercial representative and analytical office in London. The new office comes in addition to two other existing analysis and investment centres in Madrid and Shanghai. In the next two years, the MD and star manager at the asset management firm, Francisco García Paramés, will personally direct the London office, dedicating most of his time to analysis.From the point of view of sales activity, the decision marks a new step in the geographical diversification strategy for Bestinver investors. “This strategy, initiated four years ago, means that today, one third of total assets are of international origin, which guarantees better stability in our investments,” Beltrán Parages Reverter, director of sales at Bestinver Gestión, says in a statement.In terms of asset management, the London office will primarily allow Bestinver to be closer to companies in which it invests, and more generally to improve its access to information about businesses “which are, or which may be investment targets. London is the main European financial and investment centre, and we think that this location will help us in our management activity, since 80% of the wealth managed by the Bestinver group is invested in European businesses,” says Reverter.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Pending the approval of the regulatory authorities, John Misselbrook has been appointed as interim CEO of Aviva Investors (GBP274bn as of the end of December 2012), replacing Paul Abberley, who becomes head of investments, effective immediately.Misselbrook had previously been non-executive director of Aviva Investors, and he has served in operational management roles in the financial services sector, including as COO of Barings.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The asset management firm Assénagon which already has a presence in Munich and Luxembourg, on 27 June announced that it has opened a representative office in Zurich in order to increase its presence on the Swiss market and to be closer to its institutional clients. The Swiss market will be served by Viktor Senn and Nestor Wildhaber, both of whom were previously at UniCredit in Switzerland, a statement from the firm says. Assets under management at Assénagon total EUR11bn.

The Asian asset management affiliate of Prudential in the United Kingdom and sister company of M&G, Eastspring Investments, is preparing to open an office in London after settling in Luxembourg in April this year. The objective is to set out to conquer European clients. Despite the European origins of its parent company, 90% of clients of the Hong Kong and Singapore-based firm are Asian.In order to develop in Europe, Eastspring Investments has not needed to create ad-hoc products. The Asian firm has already had a Luxembourg Sicav since the mid-2000s. It has been used to serve Asian clients, the UCITS format being an effective passport in this market. In addition to a track record of several years, the Sicav with 45 sub-funds already has assets of USD20bn, while the firm has nearly USD100bn in assets under management (of which 60% are managed for its parent company, 33% for retail and 7% for institutional clients).Development in Europe (and the United States), however, were preceded by a rebranding of the Asian asset management affiliate of Prudential. The firm, which is present in 11 Asian countries, had been using a variety of different names related to its parent company. The decision was taken in February this year to unify these and to select a single brand, Eastspring Investments.“The choice of a brand was a major step in our international development process,” Guy Strapp, the new CEO of Eastspring Investments, says at the Fund Forum International in Monaco. Two other reasons are cited as reasons for the timing of the new location in Europe: the need to have a sufficiently long track record for European investors, and the maturity of the market towards investments in Asia.In Europe, the main target countries are the Nordics, with the registration of the Sicav in Sweden, these countries are more sensitive than others to investment in emerging markets. For France, as for Germany and Italy, some hurdles still need to be cleared. Nonethtless, Strapp is planning to move step by step and gradually build a presence in Europe. Although he remains discreet about objectives, he does not conceal his admiration for the success of sister company M&G in Europe...

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; }A:link { } The CNMV has issued a sales license for Spain to Legg Mason Global AM for the equity funds Legg Mason Clearbridge Tactical Dividend Income and Legg Mason ClearBridge US Equity Income and for the bond fund Legg Mason Brandywine Income Optimiser.Funds People notes that, according to Bernardo Rivero de Aguilar, co-head of sales at Legg Mason for Spain, the three products have in common the characteristic of delivering regular income, “but not at any price.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Dirk de Vlaam, head of marketing & sales at Franklin Templeton for the Netherlands, has told Fondsnieuws that the asset management firm is now offering two share classes with no commissions in the Netherlands, to comply with new regulations that forbid commissions.The “z” share class has been available since last year, and is aimed at financial advisers who do not pass through a platform and who order shares directly from Franklin Templeton. The formula is available from EUR5,000.Franklin Templeton is now launching “w” shares, which are aimed more particularly at banks and wealth managers, with the minimal subscription in this case set at EUR3m.Currently, 26 funds are available in “w” shares, and 36 in “z” shares.

TwentyTwo Real Estate a annoncé jeudi 27 juin le rachat à LBO France et Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management d’un portefeuille d’immobilier résidentiel valorisé à environ 1 milliard d’euros. Il s’agit d’un ensemble de 7 600 maisons individuelles détenu par la Financière Selec et réparti dans toute la France. Les biens sont loués à EDF via un contrat de long terme. TwentyTwo Real Estate fondé par Daniel Rigny en 2012, précédemment associé de Perella Weinberg Partners réalise ici sa première opération, menée pour le compte d’un consortium d’investisseurs rassemblant des capitaux gérés par Massena Partners et par Farrallon Capital Management.

Mandarine Gestion a annoncé jeudi 27 juin l’arrivée de Thomas Vlieghe au sein de l’équipe « Allocation d’actifs » dirigée par Françoise Rochette, qui gère actuellement la partie flexible du fonds Mandarine Reflex.L’impétrant travaillait précédemment, depuis 2011, au sein de l'équipe de Françoise Rochette chez EdRAM, pour la gestion du fonds de Mandarine Gestion.

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) en Afrique du Sud a été mandaté par Trifecta Capital Services pour fournir des services de conservation. Ces services seront d’abord fournis en Afrique du Sud pour ensuite être proposés dans d’autres pays où Trifecta Capital Services est présent, précise un communiqué de SGSS.SGSS a été sélectionné par Trifecta Capital Services «pour son expertise reconnue en tant que prestataire de services titres en Afrique du Sud ainsi que pour sa présence et son développement en Afrique subsaharienne. SGSS, qui fournit des services titres locaux à des clients domestiques depuis plus de 20 ans, a également été choisi pour son envergure internationale et la gamme étendue de ses services internationaux, qui incluent les services proposés depuis peu à l’Île Maurice, au Ghana et en Tunisie».

Béatrice Belorgey succède à Sofia Merlo au poste de Directeur de BNP Paribas Banque Privée France a annoncé BNP Paribas, jeudi 27 juin. Elle sera dans ses nouvelles fonctions rattachée à Marie-Claire Capobianco, membre du Comité Executif du Groupe et Directeur des Réseaux France, et à Sofia Merlo, co-CEO de Wealth Management, indique un communiqué. Directeur Adjoint de la Banque Privée France depuis mars 2012, Béatrice Belorgey devient membre des Comités Exécutifs de BDDF (Banque de Détail en France) et de Wealth Management. Elle aura pour mission de poursuivre le développement des activités de la Banque Privée en France pour renforcer sa position de leader du marché avec 73 milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion.Pour sa part, Sofia Merlo continuera à développer cette activité stratégique pour le Groupe en se consacrant entièrement aux nouveaux enjeux sur les Marchés Domestiques et International Retail Banking (banques de détail du groupe hors zone euro) dont elle a la charge et plus particulièrement la France, la Belgique, l’Italie, les Etats-Unis, la Turquie, l’Allemagne, le Maroc....Diplômée de l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris et analyste financier (CEFA), Béatrice Belorgey a débuté sa carrière chez BNP Paribas en 1986 comme analyste crédit dans la Banque de Détail en France. En 2009, elle était responsable des Relations Investisseurs & de l’Information Financière du groupe et depuis mars 2012, directeur adjoint de BNP Paribas Banque Privée France.

AXA Real Estate a annoncé l’acquisition auprès de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Généralité de Catalogne) d’un portefeuille de bureaux situé à Barcelone pour un montant de 172 millions d’euros. Le portefeuille est composé de 13 immeubles loués à des administrations gouvernementales. Les immeubles de bureaux sont tous situés dans le centre d’affaires de Barcelone et représentent une superficie totale de plus de 105 000 mètres carrés.L’acquisition de 11 des biens doit être réalisée vendredi 28 juin 2013, tandis que l’achat des deux autres immeubles doit intervenir à la mi-juillet. La Generalitat continuera d’occuper les bâtiments, en ayant signé un bail de 20 ans représentant un loyer annuel total de 16,2 millions d’euros.

Citigroup et HSBC ont obtenu l’autorisation de commercialiser des fonds locaux en Chine, une avancée alors que les banques étrangères sont habituellement exclues du marché retail domestique, rapporte le Financial Times. Les deux banques vont désormais pouvoir offrir des fonds conçus par des sociétés de gestion locales aux particuliers, aux entreprises et aux institutionnels. D’autres banques étrangères comme Standard Chartered et Bank of East Asia ont aussi demandé une licence pour vendre des fonds locaux.

La banque privée des Emirats Arabes Unis NBAD augmente ce vendredi la capitalisation de sa filiale genevoise, NBAD Private Bank (Suisse), de 40 millions de francs pour atteindre 140 millions, renforçant ainsi sa capacité de financement, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. La filiale de Genève a une double mission de gestion de fortune et de participation active dans le financement du négoce international.

La Banque cantonale de St-Gall (SGKB) a décidé de recentrer ses activités sur son cœur de marché et a annoncé le 27 juin la cession de sa filiale Hyposwiss Private Bank Genève au gestionnaire de fortune Mirelis InvestTrust qui fait partie de Mirelis Financial Group. L'établissement cédé poursuivra son activité sous son ancienne appellation. Les activités en Amérique latine de Hyposwiss Banque Privée Zurich sont quant à elles cédées à la banque privée Espirito Santo, tandis que les activités en Europe de l’Est sont acquises par l'établissement Falcon Privat Bank.SGKB n’a pas précisé les prix de vente de ces diverses activités, mais a indiqué que l’opération pèsera à hauteur de 7 millions de francs suisses sur le résultat 2013. Les autres domaines d’activité – concernant essentiellement les clients suisses et allemands – seront intégrés à la SGKB au 1er janvier 2014 et gérés depuis le site actuel de Zurich, dans la division Private Banking Marché Suisse alémanique. Zurich reste, en outre, l’Investment Center qui met ses compétences d’investissement à disposition de l’ensemble du Groupe SGKB.La banque st-galloise «a décidé de recentrer sa stratégie pour se concentrer désormais sur son marché de proximité», selon un communiqué de Hyposwiss. SGKB a pour sa part souligné se concentrer sur le marché domestique en Suisse orientale et certains marchés helvétiques, ainsi que sur l’Allemagne."Avec ce changement de stratégie, SGKB réagit aux changements des conditions cadre dans la gestion de fortune, posant ainsi les fondations pour une croissance durable dans ses marchés clés», a souligné SGKB. «Des perspectives de croissance moroses, des marges plus faibles et une hausse des coûts en raison d’une régulation plus forte requièrent des volumes plus importants dans les différents marchés offshore, pour rendre une activité profitable», poursuit la banque cantonale.Pour faire face à cette situation, SGKB aurait dû effectuer d’importants investissements et des acquisitions, qui n’auraient pas été conformes à sa stratégie, poussant ainsi l'établissement à recentrer son activité. Les mesures mises en place vont se dérouler sur plusieurs mois.SGKB a indiqué par ailleurs avoir dégagé un résultat opérationnel «réjouissant» sur les cinq premiers mois de l’année. Sur la période, le produit brut bancaire a progressé de 3%, tandis que les coûts ont diminué de 1%, faisant progresser le bénéfice brut de 7% sur un an. En 2012, l'établissement de St-Gall avait dégagé un bénéfice net en hausse de 11,5% à 151,4 millions de francs suisses.