P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Private equity fund capital fundraising in second quarter totalled USD122bn, a level not achieved by the sector since the financial crisis. In fourth quarter 2008, fundraising totalled USD171bn, according to statistics from Preqin. The total of USD122bn may rise by a further 10% to 20%, Preqin estimtaes, as some funds have not yet disclosed their final fundraising figures. The number of funds which held a hard close, however, is at an all-time low. Only 54 did so in second quarter, while 155 held a soft close. Preqin states that the average size of funds closed in third quarter was USD800m, a 11-year record. This high average is the result of hard closes for large funds and the lower number of funds. The ten largest funds, among them the Warburg Pincus balanced fund (USD11.2bn raised), took in USD67bn, or 55% of total funds raised.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Long-term funds in Europe posted net redemptions of EUR39.095bn in May, compared with EUR40.334bn in April, bringing the total for the first five months of the year to EUR195.743bn, according to statistics from Morningstar. Meanwhile, money market funds have seen net redemptions of EUR3.578bn, compared with net subscriptions of EUR677m the previous month, meaning that the January-May period resulted in net outflows for this class of EUR7.692bn.By asset class, the strongest net subscriptions in May were for bond funds (EUR20.047bn, compared with EUR26.540bn in April) and allocation funds (EUR11.404bn, comapred with EUR10.700bn in April), which have posted their best month to date. Hedge funds attracted EUR2.663bn, compared with EUR3.062bn the previous month. In the first five months of the year, bond products have seen net inflows of EUR90.172bn, while allocation funds have attracted EUR51.800bn and hedge funds show net inflows of EUR14.505bn.In terms of groups, the strongest net inflows were to Franklin Templeton (EUR3.625bn in May and EUR7.796bn in the first five months of the year), followed by JPMorgan (EUR3.399bn and EUR7.094bn), In May, BlackRock posted net inflows of EUR1.735bn, compared with EUR1.732bn for BNP Paribas, EUR1.677bn for Pimco, and EUR1.399bn for DWS.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Four out of 19 former employees of ING IM will manage new UCITS-compliant emerging market debt funds launched by Neuberger Berman, Fundweb reports.Bart van der Made will be responsible for the Neuberger Berman Emerging Market Debt – Hard Currency fund, while the Neuberger Berman Emerging Market Debt – Local Currency fund will be managed by Raoul Luttik. The Neuberger Berman Emerging Market Debt Corporate Debt fund will be led by Nish Popat and Jennifer Gorgoll.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The New York-based firm Wisdom Tree Investments (USD27.7bn in ETF assets) has listed two new ETFs on NASDAQ which are hedged for currency risks, the WisdomTree Japan Hedged SmallCap Equity Fund (ticker: DXJS) and the WisdomTree United Kingdom Hedged Equity Fund (DXPS), which charge fees of 0.58% or 0.48%, respectively, which come as additions to the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ, 0.48%), and the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ, 0.58%).The first covers Japanese small caps of at least USD100m traded in Tokyo, while the second includes British companies which also pay dividends, and which earn at least 80% of their revenues in the United Kingdom.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With the AdvisorShares Treesdale Rising Rates ETF, the asset management firm Advisor Shares has applied to the SEC for a license for an actively-managed ETF designed to confront a potential rise in interest rates, with Treesdale Partners as its sub-adviser, Index Universe reports. The average duration will be -5 to -15 years, which will be partly offset by long positions on Treasurys, interest rate swaps, and other products. The fund aims to generate improved returns in an environment of rising interest rates, by investing primarily in MBS with interest-only cash flows, interest-only swaps, and certain mortgage derivatives. For its part, Treesdale will retain the negative duration of the portfolio by investing in US Treasury bonds and other liquid fixed income instruments.The new fund will carry the acronym HDGB and have its primary listing on the NYSE Arca platform.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Alps Advisors, an affiliate of DST Systems, on 28 June announced that it has launched the ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs ETF, which replicates the S-Network International Sector Dividend Dogs Index. The fund, whose ticker on NYSE is IDOG, aims to capture the performance of large caps in developed counties outside the Americas. The index includes the five equities which offer the highest dividends in each of the six sectors of the S&P 500.The new fund is an international variant of the ALPS Sector Dividend Dog ETF (NYSE: SDOG), which was launched barely one year ago, and which has attracted over USD250m in subscriptions.The total expense ratio is 0.50%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } IndexUniverse has announced that Deutsche Bank has applied for a sales license in the United States for three more ETFs hedged for currency risis, but the tickers and TER rates have not yet been revealed. They are the db x-trackers MSCI Asia-Pacific ex Japan Hedged Equity Fund, db X-trackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity Fund and db x-trackers MSCI United Kingdom Hedged Equity Fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The European Commission on 1 July sent a letter of complaint to 13 major European banks, including BNP Paribas, and US banks suspected of having conspired to prevent rivals from trading on the credit derivative swap (CDS) market, or to delay their entry into this market. In addition to BNP Paribas, the establishments concerned are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Bear Stearns (acquired since then by JP Morgan Chase), Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as the largest provider of financial information on the CDS market, the consultant Markit and the international derivative association ISDA, the Commission says in a statement. “It would be unacceptable if banks collectively blocked trades in order to protect their revenues in the over-the-counter derivatives sector,” the European commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, says in a statement.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a peer review of the supervisory practices EEA national competent authorities (NCAs) apply in enforcing the requirements of the Market Abuse Directive (MAD). The Directive deals with the prevention of the dissemination of misleading information, the breach of reporting obligations and market abuse.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Kay Swinburne, a member of European parliament and a member of the economic and monetary affairs committee, has called on the European Commission to identify the important asset management firms from a systemic point of view, Financial News reports. While she recognises that the sector does not present systemic risks, she says “we are seeing much larger growth of big asset management firms, several of which are exploring new business opportunities which may fundamentally alter their business model and in time increase their systemic importance,” the website says.

Andrew Formica, CEO of Henderson Global Investors, has told Newsmanagers that he hopes to recruit one or more global emerging market equity specialists by the end of the year, and that he would like to add a team dedicated to US equities. Emerging market debt is also an area which interests him, he said at the International Fund Forum in Monaco.The plans aim to diversify the expertise of the British asset management firm, and follow several operations of this type. Henderson has recently acquired 33% of the Australian asset management firm 30 West Asset Management, a specialist in international natural resources, and has recruited a US credit team.However, major deals such as an acquisition of New Star or Gartmore are a thing of the past. Formica says the prices are now too high in the asset management industry. “They have doubled in five years. We paid 5 times EBIT for New Star, and now, prices are about 9 times.”This price rise reflects the improved situation for asset management firms. “Formidable opportunities are opening up to us today. Firstly, clients, who are concerned about having too much cash, are looking for new sources of returns. Meanwhile, as banks disengage from sectors, new activities are becoming available to us, such as direct lending, real estate, infrastructure debt, etc.” the operation recently initiated by Henderson with TIAA-CREF in real estate is an indication of this trend.With respect to the Retail Distribution Review, it can be expected to penalise asset management businesses in the short term, but benefit them in the long term. “RDR will have an impact on volume. The money will move to ETFs, to the detriment of active management. But at the same time, that will remove barriers to entry. In addition, rather than working with all companies, advisers will prefer only a few asset management firms. That will also promote better dialogue with clients,” Formica concludes.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm GLG Partners would like to recruit James Ind as an addition to its Macro and Relative Value teams, and launch a new total return fund, Investment Week reports. The new fund, which will be domiciled in the United Kingdom, will be a value strategy which will aim for returns of Libor + 5%. It will be managed by the macro team, conisting of Jamil Baz and Sudi Marappa, who has recently left Pimco to join GLG. Ind previously worked at Russell Investments, where he was a portfolio manager for multi-asset class strategies.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Despite a very difficult economic environment, ultra-high net worth clients in the countries at the heart of Europe, France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland (FIGS), are growing in number and in wealth, according to statistics released by Wealth-X in its 2012-2013 annual report. As of June 2013, the number of ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients in FIGS totalled 29,000, with cumulative wealth of over USD3.9bn. This total is higher than the GDP of most major economies on the planet, with the exception of the United States, China and Japan. For Europe as a whole, the number of ultra-high net worth clients is down 1.9% to 53,440 with assets of USD6.950trn (-2.7%). Six German cities are in the top ten FIGS cities, while the population of ultra-high net worth clients in Germany (15,770) is higher than that of China (11,245).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Declining markets in June led to a fall of EUR180m in assets in Spanish funds, to EUR137.780bn as of 30 June, Expansión reports. This represents the first decline since the beginning of the year, according to Ahorro Corporación. However, net subscriptions have continued. They have totalled EUR2.140bn, due to EUR2.2bn in net inflows to bond funds. Guaranty funds have seen further net redemptions of EUR410m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Funds People reports that the asset management affiliate of Inversis Banco, Inversis Gestión, has launched its third umbrella fund (after Fongrum Fi and Gestión Multiperfil), Gestión Boutique SI, which has received a license from the CNMV and consists of five funds managed by four Spanish-registered financial advisory firms (EAFIs): C2 Asesoramiento Patrimonial, GInvest Patrimonis, Bissan Value Investing and GP Invest.C2 asesoriamento Patrimonial manages a prudent fund (C2 Estrategia Equilibrada, maximum 20% equities), and a higher-risk fund (C2 Estrategia Dinámica, maximum 40 % equities). GInvest Patrimonis manages the GinvestSmart 9primarily diversified fund, 35-65% international equities), while Bissan Value Investing is responsible for the Bissan Value Fund, an international equity sub-fund managed with a quantitative approach.GP Invest EAFI manages the GPI Global Investment Allocation, which invests 70% of its assets in third-party funds and 30% in equities, bonds and derivatives which are expected to generate outperformance.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Last year, clients of Brummer & Partners were not celebrating: their largest hedge fund, Lynx, lost 5.14%, Dagens Industri reports. The second-larget fund, Brummer Multi Strategy, exposed to all hedge funds managed by the Swedish firm, earned 4.4%. Nonetheless, the four owners of Brummer & Partners earned SEK300m, DI.se reports.

Fidelity Worldwide Investment has announced that Mike Nikou will assume the role of managing director, South-East Asia, based in Singapore, with effect from 15 July 2013. He will be responsible for developing the overall business strategy and implementing plans to grow the retail and institutional businesses in Singapore and surrounding key South-East Asian countries. In addition, he will take responsibility for Asia ex-Japan product development. Mike Nikou has been with Fidelity for over 16 years and his last appointment with Fidelity was in the role of the managing director, Northern and Southern Europe within the Continental European region, overseeing distribution across the Nordic Region, Poland, Benelux, Italy, Spain and Latin America. In 1996, he started Fidelity’s Nordic business by opening up an office in Stockholm. The office has grown steadily and now has 12 employees, covering institutional and wholesale business across the Nordic region.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Monika Ritter, head of relationships with consultants and institutional clients for the past six years at ING Investment Management, after spending three years at Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management and Asset Management, is joining Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM) in Germany as senior institutional sales manager.She will be responsible for both advising businesses and foundations and contacts with consultants. She will report directly to Jörg Schomburg, head of instutional sales for Germany.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has introduced new tax-transparent fund structures, in order to bring British regulations into line with the terms of the AIFM directive, which will come into effect on 22 July this year. As part of the rollout of the AIFM directive in the UK, the FCA has introduced two new legal co-ownership and limited partnership structures, to facilitate investment in British funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mark Mobius, the legendary bond manager at Franklin Temlpeton, has told Financial Times Fund Management that he has no intention of retiring, although he is nearly 77 years old. He admits, however, that the firm has begun to prepare for his eventual departure. “We have a succession plan. It’s a large organisation, and I have two people on the team who have been with me since the beginning in 1987. In fact, there are 20 people who could easily replace me tomorrow if I got hit by a bus,” he tells FTfm.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } At its latest working seminar, on 18 and 19 June in Montreal, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) decided to focus more on behavioural economics and social networks, according to a statement released on 1 July. Participants in the seminar cited means that regulators could use to strengthen trust and encourage informed decisions by retail investors. They have also analysed the opportunities and risks that social networks represent in the financial sphere, and for market regulators. The members of the board have decided to integrate behavioural finance into the IOSCO regulatory approach, and to use it to improve the effectiveness of regulation. The board has also given its agreement for social networks to be used as an instrument to influence investor behaviour, to gather information, and to identify market trends.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Amundi (EUR750bn in assets under management) has recruited Nicholas Melhuish as head of global equities, a newly created position. He will be based in London, and will aim to develop international equity management at the French asset management firm.Before joining Amundi, Melhuish worked at UBS Global Asset Management (2007-2012), where he was head of global equity management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Australian Macquarie group has added to its fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) unit, with the appointment of Thierry Albert Wizman as globla interest rates and currencies strategies, the style specialist wealthadviser reports. Wizman, who will be based in New York, previously worked at the emerging market specialist Artha Capital as a senior analyst and director of research.

Japan’s financial services group Orix announced on July 1st that the acquisition of Robeco has been completed sooner than expected. Orix has acquired approximately 90.01% of the equity in Robeco from Rabobank. The total sale price as a result of adjustment to reflect Robeco’s most recent financial position was 1,937 million EUR.One of Orix’s and Robeco’s priorities will be to further develop the growth opportunities which exist in pension and asset management markets in Asia and the Middle East, where Orix has an established network. The Japanese group and Rabobank also will consider joint expansion in new business fields as strategic partners.Robeco’s management board will remain in their current roles with Roderick Munsters continuing as CEO.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Azimut has launched the first actively-managed index of China, via AZ Investment Management, according to Bluerating, citing Milano Finanza. The AZ CSI 300 has been based on the CSI 300 index, and redistributes it more evenly in sector terms in order to avoid excessive concentration on the financial sector.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Netherlands are preparing to limit bonuses in the financial sector more strictly than in Europe, Financial Times Fund Management reports. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Netherlands Finance minister, would like to reduce the limit for variable pay scales from 100% of fixed salary currently (which is in line with European projects) to 20% from January 2015. That could also apply to employees of Dutch groups based in the United States or Asia. Banks would be affected, as well as insurers, pension funds, and asset management firms.

Les levées de capitaux des fonds de private equity bouclés au deuxième trimestre ont atteint 122 milliards de dollars au total, un niveau jamais atteint par le secteur depuis le début de la crise financière. Au dernier trimestre 2008, les levées enregistrées s'élevaient à 171 milliards de dollars, selon les chiffres de Preqin publiés lundi 1er juillet. Le montant de 122 milliards de dollars pourrait devrait être revu à la hausse de 10 à 20%, estime Preqin, certains fonds n’ayant pas encore communiqué leurs levées de fonds finales. Le nombre de fonds ayant réalisé leur bouclage final est en revanche à son niveau le plus bas. Ils ne sont que 154 au deuxième trimestre, 155 ayant réalisé un bouclage partiel. Preqin précise que la taille moyenne des fonds bouclés au troisième trimestre est de 800 millions de dollars, un record sur 10 ans. Cette moyenne haute résulte de bouclages finaux de grands fonds et du nombre moins élevé de fonds. Les dix plus grands fonds, parmi lesquels le Warburg Pincus balanced fund (11,2 milliards de dollars levés) se partagent 67 milliards de dollars, soit 55 % du total des fonds levés.

Mark Mobius, le gérant légendaire de Franklin Templeton, a déclaré au Financial Times fund management qu’il n’avait pas l’intention de partir à la retraite, alors qu’il approche les 77 ans. Il reconnaît toutefois que la société a commencé à préparer son éventuel départ. « Nous avons un plan de succession. C’est une grosse organisation et j’ai deux personnes dans l’équipe qui sont avec moi depuis le début en 1987. En fait, il y a 20 personnes qui pourraient aisément me remplacer demain si je suis renversé par un bus », déclare-t-il au FT fm.

Le fonds d’investissement Kohlberg & Company va racheter le fabricant de pianos Steinway pour un montant de 438 millions de dollars, selon un communiqué publié le 1er juillet.Selon les termes de l’accord, Kohlberg va lancer une offre publique d’achat sur toutes les actions en circulation au prix de 35 dollars. Ce qui représente une prime de 33 % par rapport au cours de clôture moyen sur les trois mois au 28 juin 2013 et de 45 % sur 52 semaines. L’opération devrait être bouclée dans le courant du troisième trimestre.

L'éditeur de solutions globales Linedata, à destination notamment des professionnels de la gestion d’actifs, et Alpha Omega Financial Systems, éditeur de solutions logicielles post-trade reposant sur le protocole FIX, ont annoncé le 1er juillet un partenariat qui permettra aux clients buy side de réduire les risques et les coûts associés au traitement post-trade. «Ce partenariat vient confirmer l’engagement de Linedata à fournir des solutions globales qui répondent aux besoins des professionnels sur toute leur chaîne de valeur», souligne un communiqué. Ce partenariat se traduit par l’intégration de FIXAffirm dans la plate-forme de front office de Linedata, offrant ainsi aux clients de Linedata une gestion de leurs processus d’investissement depuis le front et le middle office jusqu’au back office. En assurant une connexion directe entre les contreparties via les réseaux FIX, FIXAffirm permet de corriger rapidement les erreurs potentielles ainsi que de confirmer et de valider les opérations à la date de l’exécution. FIXAffirm peut être déployé simultanément à une autre solution post-trade, ce qui réduit le risque lié à l’utilisation d’un prestataire unique. « Nous sommes ravis de ce partenariat prometteur avec Linedata qui permet de proposer une offre intégrée de trading et de post-trade aux sociétés de gestion du monde entier, et qui repose sur les toutes dernières technologies FIX. Compte tenu de l’utilisation croissante par les professionnels du protocole FIX pour le traitement post-trade, cette solution globale permet aux clients de Linedata d’accéder immédiatement à FIXAffirm sans coût d’implémentation, » explique Kamal Duggirala, directeur général d’Alpha Omega.