P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Total costs related to new regulations of platforms announced just before the weekend by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) total about GBP82m, or nearly EUR100m, Fundweb reports. For the sector, one-time costs will represent between GBP33m and GBP67.2m, while ongoing costs will range from GBP8.3m to GBP14.9m. For platforms, the one-time costs associated with dicontinuing commissions will total between GBP27.6m and GBP61.8m, while the ongoing costs will total between GBP7.2m and GBP13.8m Compared with FSA estimates published in June, these costs have run GBP16m over for one-time costs, and GBP4m for ongoing expenses.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The real estate fund division of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM), formerly known as RREEF, has announced that it has acquired the Metris office building (31,000 square metres) in Munich from the LaSalle German Income and Growth Fund, for EUR150m.The property, completed in 2011 and wholly leased to more than 25 businesses, mostly in the IT sector, has been added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund grundbesitz europa, whose assets currently total EUR3.8bn, in 45 properties. With the acquisition of Metris, the proportion of German properties in the fund increases to 20.2% from 16.5%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Hamburg-based Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) has announced that on 1 June, Björn Thiemann will take over as head of the management team for the open-ended real estate funds UniImmo: Europa (DE0009805515) and UniImmo: Global (DE0009805556).Thiemann had previously been manager of the largest fund from Deka immobilien, the Deka-Immobilien Europa, with assets of about EUR12bn (see Newsmanagers of 29 April). He will now be responsible for managing funds with an overall volume of nearly EUR10bn (as of 28 February), including EUR8.24bn for the UniImmo: Europa and EUR1.72bn for the Global fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Alastair Gillespie, from Principal Global Investors, has joined BlackRock as chief investment officer for real estate in the Asia-Pacific region, to build a dedicated team, Asian Investor reports. Gillespie will be based in Singapore, and will report to Mark Howard-Johnson, global head of real estate securities, and Marc Desmidt, head of alpha strategies for Asia-Pacific. Gillespie joined Principal in April 2009. He was already based in Singapore, and was co-head of research and real estate for the Asia-Pacific region.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Spanish banking group Santander on 29 April announced the resignation of its CEO, Alfredo Saenz, who has been replaced by Javier Marin, head of the insurance, asset management and private banking division of the group.Saenz, 70, had served as CEO of Santander since 2002. He was given a suspended sentence of three months in prison in 2011, and barred from practising, due to a case dating back to 1994, and a few months later was granted a pardon by the Spanish government.Alfredo Saenz Abad has informed the board of directors at the bank, meeting on Monday in Santander, that he will be stepping down from his responsibilities as vice president and CEO, and that he will no longer be a member of the board, Santander has announced in a statement, without stating the motives for the resignation.Observers, however, point to the legal vicissitudes of the case dating back to 1994, which has had very recent ramifications. Saenz’ sentence was for filing frivolous lawsuits against clients, in order to recuperate unpaid loans, when he was chairman of Banesto, a bank which Santander acquired in 1994. The Socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero pardoned him in November 2011, a few days after his defeat in legislative elections, and converted his prison sentence into a fine.But the Supreme Court partially overturned the pardon in February this year, claiming that the government was acting beyond its powers by cancelling the legal consequence of the sentence, i.e., the bar from practising professionally. However, on 12 April, the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy, who succeeded Zapatero, passed a decree which allows bankers with a legal record to continue to practice.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Japanese pension funds are planning to modify their asset allocation policies, to privilege alternative asset classes and foreign bonds, Asian Investor reports, citing an annual stidy by JP Morgan (“Japan Pensions Industry Database”). According to the study, planned allocation to alternative asset classes, including emerging markets, have risen by 1.9 percentage points from March 2012 to March 2013, to 10.6%. Allocations planned to foreign hedged bonds (3.6% from 3.5%) and non-hedged bonds (8.8% from 8.2%) are also up. The study proposes a more detailed examination of allocations to alternative asset classes, which is a sign of new exposure to multi-asset class strategies, as well as real estate debt. Larger allocations to absolute returns, private equity, real estate and REITs have also been observed. Japanese REITs in particular in first quarter earned returns of 35.8%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Net inflows to the wealth management units of the UBS group in first quarter totalled about CHF24bn, their highest level since 2007, according to a statement released on 30 April. Net profits totalled CHF988m, down 4.5% year on year, but well above analysts’ expectations.Wealth Management has posted a pre-tax profis of CHF664m in first quarter 2013, compared with CHF398m in the previous quarter. Net inflows of CHF15bn were the largest since 2007.Wealth Management Americas has posted pre-tax profits of USD251m, compared with a pre-tax profit of USD216m in the previous quarter. This improvement involves a reduction of 3% in operating costs, largely due to lower provisions for lawsuits, regulatory and other similar issues. Net inflows improved to USD9.2bn.Global Asset Management has posted pre-tax profits of CHF190m in first quarter 2013, compared with CHF148m in fourth quarter 2012. Excluding money market investments, the unit has posted net inflows of CHF5.1bn, compared with a net ouflow of CHF3.8bn in the previous quarter.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } EFG Financial Products (EFG FP) has appointed Nathan Parker as director of Operational Services. He began in the role on Monday, the structured product placement service provider states. His predecessor, Valerio Roncone, left the busines at the end of March, in order to dedicate himself to other challenges, EFG FP reported in a statement released on Monday, 29 April. In his new role, Parker will oversee all mack and middle office activities. He will report to COO Michael Hölzle. The new director has over 16 years of experience with this type of activity at UBS, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan. He had most recently been head of middle office for Strucured-Credit EMEA at UBS.

As of April 22, 2013, EDHEC-Risk Institute (ERI) has inaugurated its new smart beta index design and production activity, ERI Scientific Beta. These products a designedto implement Smart Beta 2.0 investments, Edhec said on April, 29th.From April 22, ERI Scientific Beta has been offering 30 flagship indices free of charge under the brand name Scientific Beta. These flagship indices represent popular smart beta strategies in the area of diversification, but ERI Scientific Beta will subsequently be producing indices for other strategies (style, fundamentally-weighted, factor replication, and optimal liquid). In a year’s time, ERI Scientific Beta intends to have around one hundred free flagship indices that are representative of all the possible smart beta choices. The provision of information on the flagship indices includes daily transparency and allows all investors to replicate the indices without charge. Ultimately, the Smart Beta 2.0 approach will provide investors with a choice of 2,442 customised indices.In total, if the costs of the launch are included, more than EUR6m will have been spent to create this unique smart beta platform. More than 30 people have been working on this project for over two years and the plan is to double the team in the next 24 months.The revenues from ERI Scientific Beta’s smart beta platform (www.scientificbeta.com) correspond to the provision of advanced analytics enabling the investor to carry out in-depth analysis of the risks and performances of smart beta indices. These analytics are unique on the market because they are dynamic and allow investors to test the quality and robustness of the benchmark they choose before any decision on the choice of weighting scheme or risk factors is made. As a part of a not-for-profit organisation, ERI Scientific Beta will ask for a reasonable fee of €10,000 (13,500 USD) per year, beyond the free flagship indices, for the possibility of customising a benchmark according to the risks chosen by the Smart Beta 2.0 investor, and for access to advanced analytics that will enable investors to carry out in-depth analysis of the risks of smart beta indices and of the consequences of their choice of benchmark customisation on the performance and risk of the benchmark.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Arnim Kogge, from the private bank Ellwanger & Geiger, and Manfred Mühlheim, director of wealth management at the private bank Südwestbank, have become the two general directors of Vertiva Family Office, a new independent affiliate of Südwestbank. Südwestbank controls a 51% stake in its capital. The family office, which has a total of five employees, is headquartered in the Rothschild Haus in Stuttgart.Südwestbank has also announced the creation of a private banking office in Fellbach, as well as a branch in Tüttlingen for corporate clients.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In January-March 2013, pre-tax profits for the asset and wealth management (AWM) unit at Deutsche Bank were up by EUR13m compared with the corresponding period of last year, when they totalled EUR142m (see Newsmanagers of 30 April 2012). This growth is largely attributable to an increase of EUR88m, or 8% of revenues, of which EUR37m, or 8% of the increase was for portfolio and fund management, due to market appreciation and net subscriptions. Precise figures will be released on 30 April. IBIT is announced at EUR221m.Assets increased by EUR29bn in first quarter 2013, due to EUR18m in market appreciation, EUR8bn in currency effects, and EUR6bn in net inflows. After several quarters of net outflows, net subscriptions have been recorded for institutional active and retail management, and for wealth management. As of the end of March 2012, total assets for the AWM unit were declared at EUR820bn.For the group overall, net profits in first quarter 2013 totalled EUR1.661bn, compared with a loss of EUR2.513bn in October-December, and a net profit of EUR1.408bn in the corresponding period of last year. The cost-income ratio improved to 71% from 135% the previous quarter, and 76% in January-March 2012. The bank has also announced a capital increase through the issue of 90 million shares, intended to increase core tier 1 owners’ equity by EUR2.8bn. That will increase the Basel III ratio to about 9.5%, from 8.8% as of 31 March.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A UBS real estate fund has sold the Skyper office building in Frankfurt (39 stories, 41,000 square metres) for about EUR300m to Allianz Real Estate, which has purchased it for several companies of the Allianz group. The major tenants of the Skyper tower are the Bundesbank, the asset management firm Deka Investmentfonds, HSBC, and the law firm Bird & Bird & Weil Gotschal & Manges.UBS had acquired the property from Deka-Immobilien in 2006. The cost of constructing the building, completed in 2005, is estimated at EUR480m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Rockefeller Foundation (USD3.6bn in assets) has entered the world of impact investing, Financial Times Fund Management reports, in an interview with its chairwoman, Judith Rodin. It has already invested USD140m in this area, and Rodin predicts that it will represent 5-10% of the average portfolio in 10 years’ time.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The market operator NASDAQ OMX on 29 April announced its decision to launch NASDAQ OMX PSX, a platform which may claim a place as the preferred trading site for ETPs. The platform will be launched during the month of May, after the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been obtained.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According tot the “State of World’s UNHW Population 2012-2013” report by the consultancy firm Wealth-X, the number of individuals with wealth of over USD50m in Asia fell 2.1%, to 42,895, and their assets overall have fallen 6.8%, to USD6.25trn. In Europe, the number of such individuals has fallen 1.9% (to 53,440), with a total of USD6.95trn, while in the United Staets, the number of UHNW persons increased 3.3% to 65,295, with a total of USD8.88trn.Switzerland has 5,595 people whose wealth exceeds USD50m, which represents an increase of 7.2%, or 395 people in one year, finews reports, on the basis of Wealth-X data. The increase in 2012, is largely due to a significant increase in the value of real estate in Switzerland, and to rises on Western stock markets. The arrival of high net worth immigrants has had only a slight impact on the overall development.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) on 29 April announced the sale of its retail banking activities in Spain to Banco Sabadell for equities and cash. LBG will receive 1.8% of Sabadell as part of the operation. The stake in equities is values at EUR84m, in addition to which up to EUR20m will be paid in cash. Lloyds explains that the sale, which is expected to be finalised in the next few months, comes as part of its strategy to rationalise its international presence. The two groups will also collaborate to explore business opportunities in various areas, including asset management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asset management firms in the United Kingdom are confronting opposition from shareholders concerning the high pay scales for executives, and particularly bonuses, Financial Times Fund Management report. On 2 May, Schroders is expected to meet with protests from shareholders about the excessive pay scales for management, including Michael Dobson, its CEO, whose annual cash bonus last year was GBP2.2m, compared with a base salary of GBP400,000. Pirc, the governance advisory firm, recommends that shareholders in Henderson vote against high pay scales at the firm’s general shareholders’ meeting on 1 May. Last month, Jupiter Asset Management had to confront discontented shareholders over uncapped bonuses for management, including for the CEO Edward Bonham Carter.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The London-based asset management firm Odey Asset Management has increased its stake in Man Group to 6.07%, the news agency Reuters reports. Odey had previously increased its stake in the capital of the alternative asset management firm to 5.15%, in October 2012. Since then, shares in Man have risen by about 30%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 31 March 2013, total assets at Aberdeen Asset Management came to GBP212.3bn, compared with GBP193.4bn as of the end of December, and GBP187.2bn one year previously. Net subscriptions in the six months to the end of March totalled GBP4.39bn, of which GBP1.1bn were in October-December, and nearly GBP3.3bn in first quarter of this year, compared with GBP3.33bn in the quarter to the end of March 2012. Since the beginning of the fiscal year ending on 30 September 2013, market appreciation has generated additional assets of GBP11.9bn, while currency effects contributed GBP8.8bn to the increase in assets under management.Martin Gilbert, CEO, has reported that in the first quarter of the fiscal year, distributable profits totalled GBP145.7m, compard with GBP93.6m in the period from October 2011 to March 2012. The board of directors has decided to distribute an interim dividend of 6 pence per share on 13 June, to shareholders registered as of 10 May. That represents an increase of 36% compared with the interim dividend distributed in 2012.Brakes may be put on Asia-Pacific equity fundsNet subscriptions went mostly to the major equity products, global emerging markets, Asia-Pacific and global equities (see Newsmanagers of 26 March), but also to emerging market debt, with net inflows of GBP1.4bn in six months (compared with GBP0.3bn last year), bringing assets in the emerging market debt strategy to GBP7.5bn, up 60% year on year.Martin Gilbert has announced that, in light of these continual subscriptions, Aberdeen is preparing to close some of its Asia-Pacific equity funds, which have attracted a total of GBP4.46bn in six months, while global emerging market equity funds have attracted over GBP3.26bn. In March, the asset management firm introduced a front-end fee of 2% for global emerging market equity funds domiciled in Europe and the United Kingdom (see Newsmanagers of 11 February 2013), and closed its global emerging market equity funds in the United States to investors.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The German BVI association of asset management firms has announced that as of the end of December, depositary banks in Germany held in custody EUR1.2983trn, for 6,003 funds, including 2,115 open-ended funds (EUR333.95bn), and 3,888 institutional funds (EUR964.34bn).The BVI states that it has extended its data for depositary banks, in co-operation with the Praxisforum Depotbanken. This statistic also includes proceeds both from securities funds (2,061 open-ended funds and 3,602 institutional funds) and real estate funds (54 open funds and 286 institutional funds). It now also includes German funds from providers who do not belong to the BVI, funds launched in Germany for foreign providers, and assets in funds in the process of liquidation.The largest player is by farBNP Paribas Securities Services (Frankfurt branch), with EUR1,875bn, before State Street Bank (EUR176,9bn) and The Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV (Asset Servicing, Frankfurt branch) with EUR132,2bn. For institutional funds (Spezialfonds), BNP Paribas Securities Services is the leader, with EUR183.7bn, followed by the Bank of New York Mellon (EUR121.7bn), and JP Morgan with EUR108.7bn. State Street Bank, for its part, is the top player by far in the area of custody for open-ended funds, with a total of EUR79.9bn, followed by German firms, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale (EUR35.4bn) and DZ Bank (EUR26.6bn).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to statistics from the Luxembourg financial sector watchdog (CSSF), assets in collective investment organisms and specialised investment funds in Luxembourg as of the end of March totalled EUR2.52892trn, or 2.47% more than at the end of February (EUR2.46807trn).EUR38.63bn of this increase of EUR60.85bn in one month is due to market appreciation, while EUR22.21bn is due to net subscriptions.

Dans son Rapport d’Investisseur Responsable 2012, BNP Paribas Investment Partners revient sur sa politique d’investissement responsable au cours des dernières années. A fin 2012, la société de gestion indique gérer 240 milliards d’euros d’actifs intégrant les critères ESG. 20 milliards sont des actifs gérés en investissement socialement responsable (ISR). Un montant en constante évolution depuis dix ans. En 2009, les montants gérés en ISR représentaient 11 milliards d’euros.BNP Paribas IP a assisté l’an dernier à 1.279 assemblées générales, contre 396 en 2009. Au total, la société a participé dans le monde à 14.922 votes en assemblée, avec un taux d’abstention ou de vote contre de 17,7 %, indique le rapport.Concernant l’action sociétale, BNP Paribas IP indique avoir investi 25,5 millions d’euros en 2012 dans la microfinance à travers le monde et dans l’entreprenariat social en France. L’intégralité du rapport est consultable en pièce jointe (pdf).

A compter du 4 juin prochain, le fonds EasyETF SP GSCI Ultra Light Energy (EUR) sera radié d’Euronext Paris a annoncé Theam qui gère l’ETF.Caractéristiques : Nom : EasyETF GSUE EURCode Isin : LU0246046329

Le groupe Macif qui publiait hier ses résultats financiers en 2012 a fait état pour son pôle Finance-Epargne d’une baisse de la collecte de sa filiale d’assurance vie Mutavie. Cette dernière bénéficie néanmoins d’un encaissement net qui reste positif à 238 millions d’euros.Par ailleurs, le nombre de souscripteurs s’élève à 1,072 million (+ 3,3%), soit plus de 72 000 nouvelles souscriptions. L’épargne gérée s’établit à 17,3 milliards d’euros (+ 3,8%), les fonds propres et quasi fonds propres à 760 millions d’euros.

Carmignac Gestion a annoncé la division par dix de l’action du compartiment Carmignac Portfolio - Capital Plus A Euro acc (*). L’opération a été réalisée hier. «Les ordres passés jusqu’au cut off du vendredi 26 avril 2013 inclus ont été exécutés le 29 avril sur la valeur liquidative du 26 avril publiée ce même jour, donc sur la valeur ancienne de chaque action», indique le communiqué. Les ordres passés après le cut off du vendredi 26 avril 2013 tiennent compte du fractionnement. La première valeur liquidative fractionnée correspond à celle du 29 avril, publiée ce jour.(*) LU0336084032

D’après le site Schweiz am Sonntag relayé par finews, Spiro Latsis, l’actionnaire de référence grec d’EFG International, a déménagé pour raisons fiscales de Bellevue, dans la banlieue de Genève, à Monaco.

EFG Financial Products (EFG FP) a nommé Nathan Parker au poste de directeur Operational Services. Il a pris ses fonctions ce lundi, a précisé le fournisseur de services de placement de produits structurés. Son prédécesseur, Valerio Roncone, a quitté l’entreprise fin mars pour se consacrer à d’autres défis, précise EFG FP lundi dans un communiqué publié le 29 avril.Dans ses nouvelles fonctions, Nathan Parker s’occupera de toutes les activités de back et middle office. Il rapportera au COO Michael Hölzle. Le nouveau directeur dispose de plus de 16 années d’expérience dans ce type d’activités auprès d’UBS, de la Deutsche Bank et de JPMorgan. Dernièrement, il était responsable du middle office Structured-Credit EMEA chez UBS.

La collecte nette des pôles de gestion de fortune du groupe UBS s’est élevée au premier trimestre à environ 24 milliards de francs suisses, leur plus haut niveau depuis 2007, selon un communiqué publié le 30 avril. Le bénéfice net s’est inscrit à 988 millions de francs suisses, en recul de 4,5% sur un an mais largement au-dessus des attentes des analystes.Wealth Management a enregistré un résultat avant impôts de 664 millions de francs suisses au premier trimestre 2013 contre 398 millions au trimestre précédent. La collecte nette de 15 milliards de francs est la lus importante depuis 2007.Wealth Management Americas a enregistré un bénéfice avant impôts de 251 millions de dollars contre un bénéfice avant impôts de 216 millions de dollars au trimestre précédent. Cette amélioration traduit une réduction de 3% des charges d’exploitation en raison notamment de provisions moindres pour actions en justice, questions réglementaires et similaires. La collecte nette s’est améliorée à 9,2 milliards de dollars.Global Asset Management a enregistré un bénéfice avant impôts de 190 millions de francs au premier trimestre 2013, contre 148 millions de francs au quatrième trimestre 2012. Hors placements monétaires, le pôle affiche une collecte nette de 5,1 milliards de francs suisses, contre une décollecte nette de 3,8 milliards de francs au trimestre précédent.

Le hambourgeois Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) a annoncé qu’au 1er juin Björn Thiemann prendra la direction de l’équipe de gestion des fonds immobiliers offerts au public UniImmo: Europa(*) et UniImmo: Global (**). Jusqu’à présent, l’intéressé gérait le fonds principal de Deka Immobilien, le Deka-Immobilien Europa, d’un encours de quelque 12 milliards d’euros (lire Newsmanagers du 29 avril). A présent, il sera chargé de piloter des fonds d’un volume total de presque 10 milliards d’euros (au 28 février), dont 8,24 milliards pour le UniImmo: Europa et 1,72 milliard pour le Global.(*) DE0009805515(**) DE0009805556

Pour le premier trimestre 2013, le bénéfice avant impôt du pôle gestion d’actifs et de fortune (Asset & Wealth Management ou AWM) de la Deutsche Bank s’est inscrit en hausse de 13 millions par rapport à la période correspondante de l’an dernier. Cette progression est attribuable principalement à une hausse de 88 millions d’euros ou de 8 % du chiffre d’affaires, dont 37 millions ou 8 % d’augmentation pour la gestion de portefeuilles et de fonds, en raison de l’effet de marché et des souscriptions nettes. Les chiffres précis seront publiés ce 30 avril. L’IBIT, bénéfice avant impôt, est annoncé à 221 millions d’euros.Les encours ont augmenté de 29 milliards durant le premier trimestre 2013, grâce à 18 milliards d’effet de marché, 8 milliards d’effet de change et 6 milliards de rentrées nettes. Après plusieurs trimestres de sorties nettes, des souscriptions nettes ont été enregistrées pour la gestion active institutionnelle et retail ainsi que pour la gestion de fortune. A fin mars 2012, les encours totaux du pôle AWM avaient été annoncés à 820 milliards d’euros.A l’échelon du groupe, le bénéfice net du premier trimestre 2013 ressort à 1.661 millions d’euros contre une perte de 2.513 millions pour octobre-décembre et un bénéfice net de 1.408 millions pour la période correspondante de l’an dernier. Le coefficient d’exploitation (cost-income ratio) s’est amélioré à 71 % contre 135 % pour le trimestre précédent et 76 % pour janvier-mars 2012. Les nouveaux titres doivent faire l’objet d’un placement privé auprès d’investisseurs institutionnels.La banque a aussi annoncé une augmentation de capital par l’émission de 90 millions d’actions, censée augmenter ses fonds propres de premier rang (core tier 1) de 2,8 milliards. Cela doit permettre d’augmenter le ratio Bâle III à environ 9,5 % contre 8,8 % au 31 mars.