Head of internal sales chez Pimco, Stephen Rudman a rejoint Rafferty Asset Management, qui conseille Direxion Funds et Direxion Shares comme managing director et head of sales. Il sera chargé de diriger les ventes de Direxion aussi bien dans le domaine des ETF que dans celui des mutual funds alternatifs.Le nouvel arrivant est subordonné à Eric Falkeis, president & COO de Rafferty, qui a lui-même été recruté il y a deux mois chez US Bancorp Fund Services, où il était CFO (lire Newsmanagers du 18 mars).

L’ancien chancelier de l’Echiquier conservateur, Lord (Norman) Lamont, est entré pour une activité à temps partiel dans le comité des investissements de Stanhope Capital (5 milliards de livres), rapporte Financial Times Fund Management. Il remplace Davis Laws, devenu ministre de l’Education (schools minister) en 2012.Par ailleurs, Stanhope Capital, dont les clients sont des familles aisées et des organismes caritatifs, a nommé deux associés supplémentaires. Il s’agit de Jamie Korner, l’ancien charities director de Newton Investment Management, et de Simon Paul, directeur chez le gestionnaire de fortune Sand Aire, qui rejoindra d’ici à la fin de l’année.

Le gestionnaire alternatif américain Monarch Capital, spécialiste de la dette «distressed» ouvre un bureau à Londres, environ 20 % de ses encours de 5,5 milliards de dollars d’encours étant investis en Europe, rapporte Financial Times Fund Management.Le bureau sera dirigé par Josiah Rotenberg, managing principal, qui pilotait les investissements en Europe à partir d’Israël et qui va s’établir à Londres, où il sera secondé par un autre principal, Matthew Glowasky, actuellement basé à New York. Ils dirigeront une petite équipe sur place.

Ian Kelson ayant décidé de prendre un peu de recul, il sera remplacé comme head of international fixed income chez T. Rowe Price à Londres par Arif Husain, qui vient de quitter AllianceBernstein, rapporte Citywire.Gérant-vedette, l’intéressé était head of European and UK fixed income et gérait les fonds AllianceBernstein European Income, GI Plus Fixed Income et Global Bond Portfolio.

Le britannique Ashcourt Rowan Asset Management a annoncé qu’il va externaliser les services de portefeuille, de règlement et de conservation de ses fonds à TD Wealth Institutional. Cette migration est déjà effective pour les nouveaux clients tandis que les anciens seront basculés d’ici à la fin du mois.

Le Français Antony Vallée et son équipe vont gérer le nouveau JPMorgan Global Convertibles Income Fund, un produit domicilié à Guernesey, rapporte Funds Europe.Ce fonds sera investi en obligations convertibles dans une vaste gamme de secteurs. Durant la première année, les dividendes seront versés semestriellement, mais JPMorgan Asset Management prévoit de passer ensuite à des versements trimestriels.La souscription est ouverte jusqu’au 5 juin et la négociation commencera le 11 juin.

DOUBLON

Avec la formule Metzler Fonds-Vermögensverwaltung, la banque privée francfortoise Metzler propose désormais l’accès à une gestion de fortune sur la base de fonds d’investissement à partir d’un montant de seulement 10.000 euros. Elle est disponible sous forme de portefeuilles profilés exposés à 30, 50 ou 70 % au fonds Metzler Global Selection, dont l’allocation aux actions est géré de manière souples. Le reliquat est placé en ETF d’obligations d’Etats ou d’entreprises, d’obligations émergentes, d’obligations sécurisées, d’obligations à haut rendement, d’actions de sociétés de matières premières ou d’instruments monétaires.Ce produit est piloté par l’équipe d’allocation d’actifs tactique de Metzler Asset Management que dirige Günther Gerstenberger.La commission de gestion s’échelonne selon la formule choisie entre 1,25 % et 1,6 %, ce à quoi s’ajoutent les coûts de négociation de 0,18 % par transaction sur le volume de l’opération.

La crise a fait son œuvre. 69 % des investisseurs estiment désormais que la gestion des risques est «très importante» dans la sélection de gérants et est devenu essentielle à la conception et la mise en pratique de leur stratégie d’investissement au niveau de leur portefeuille. Fruit d’une enquête de bfinance qui, pour la circonstance, a interrogé quarante-cinq investisseurs institutionnels internationaux représentant un encours global d’actifs sous gestion de 482 milliards de dollars, cette proportion de plus des deux tiers des investisseurs interrogés continue encore de grandir, indique le cabinet de conseil. Concrètement, en 2013, les principaux risques identifiés pour les douze prochains mois par les investisseurs sont l’effondrement du prix des actifs, la volatilité et le risque de contagion, indique l'étude. Dans ce cadre, les institutionnels poursuivent dans leur volonté de diversifier l’allocation de leurs portefeuilles, avec un accent particulier mis sur la couverture des risques situés en queue de distribution et les pertes maximales. En matière d’actifs, ce sentiment conduit les investisseurs à s’intéresser de façon croissante aux actifs réels et aux stratégies de performance absolue. Or, rappelle l’enquête, cette évolution constituent un défi supplémentaire pour les départements des risques des fonds de pension.bfinance pointe aussi les systèmes peu sophistiqués dont disposent les investisseurs institutionnels pour suivre les risques. D’après l’enquête, 65 % des acteurs interrogés sont dans ce cas, ce qui conduit à une «sous-estimation potentielle des risques au niveau du portefeuille», est-il précisé. Il est vrai que les ressources que les investisseurs institutionnels allouent à la gestion des risques ne sont pas à la hauteur des besoins qu’ils expriment. En chiffres, «72 % d’entre eux n’ont pas suffisamment investi dans la gestion des risques», indique l'étude, qui fixe un seuil de 250 000 dollars pour un système de gestion des risques sophistiqué.

iShares a fait enregistrer mardi 21 mai un nouvel ETF auprès de NYSE Euronext Paris : le iShares Barclays Euro Corporate Bond Interest Rate Hedged. L’ETF qui suit les évolutions de l’indice Barclays EUR Corporate Interest Rate Hedged Index affiche un taux de frais sur encours (TFE ou TER) de 0,25 %. NYSE Euronext cote désormais 660 fois 576 ETF listés sur ses marchés européens.

Mike Buhl-Nielsen est le nouveau gérant pour le compartiment Jupiter Europa. L’intéressé était gérant adjoint du fonds depuis octobre 2011. Il remplace dorénavant Stephen Pearson, ce dernier restant impliqué dans la gestion en tant que gérant adjoint. Cette nomination permet à Stephen Pearson de se consacrer davantage à ses nouvelles responsabilités de directeur adjoint des investissements.Le fonds Jupiter Europa est le résultat de la fusion en octobre 2011 du fonds Jupiter Europa Hedge Fund et de Jupiter European Absolute Return.

Responsable de la distribution auprès des professionnels chez FPM Frankfurt Performance Management, Oliver Fischer rejoindra le 3 juin Charlemagne Capital comme head of Germany/Austria, rapportent les médias allemands. L’intéressé remplacera Davut Deletioglu, qui a décidé de quitter l’entreprise au bout de dix ans.

La CNMV vient de délivrer à la nouvelle Andbank Wealth Management SGIIC l’agrément de société de gestion de placements collectifs, annonce Funds People. Le directeur des investissements de l’andorran Andbank en Espagne, Carlos Pérez Parada, sera le président directeur général de cette nouvelle structure qui compte actuellement cinq collaborateurs et qui compte se spécialiser sur la gestion de sicav et de portefeuilles. L’objectif est de gérer entre 14 et 16 sicav d’ici à la fin de l’année.Le contrôle interne est confié à Andbank tandis que l’administration et la comptabilité sont externalisées chez deloitte.Actuellement, Andbank affiche gère 800 millions d’euros pour des clients espagnols.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Currently, the Wall Street Journal reports, Starwood Capital Group is in talks to acquire seven shopping malls in the United States from Westfiwld Group, in a transaction which would be worth over USD1bn.The deal would be the latest in a series of major acquisitions in the area of commercial real estate, just after the sale of a stake in Shoppers World held by Blackstone to DDR for USD1.46bn.At the same time, Blackstone is preparing to launch Brixmor Property Group, an owner of strip malls, on the stock market.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stephen Rudman, head of inernal sales at Pimco, as joined Rafferty Asset Management, which advises Direxion Funds and Direxion Shares, as managing director and head of sales. He will be responsible for heading sales at Direxion in the area of ETFs as well as alternative mutual funds.Rudman will report to Eric Falkeis, chairman and COO of Rafferty, who was himself recruited two months ago from US Bancorp Fund Services, where he had been CFO (see Newsmanagers of 18 March).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 31 May, Rajat Sufi will become country head for the United States at the Scottish firm Martin Currie. He will be based in New York, and will have the title of senior vice-president, sales and client services. He had previously been managing director at Tradewinds Global Investors, an affiliate of Nuveen Investments, after serving as head, global sales team, at Nicholas Applegate Capital Management for nine years.Martin Currie has meanwhile recruited Mel Bucher as senior vice-president, US sales & client service. He had previously been head of institutional clients at SVM, a boutique in Edinburgh.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Frenchman Anthony Vallée and his team will manage the new JPMorgan Global Convertibles Income Fund, a product domiciled in Guernsey, Funds Europe reports.The fund will invest in convertible bonds in a vast range of sectors.In the first year, dividends will be paid every half year, but JPMorgan Asset Management is planning to then move to quarterly payments.Subscriptions are open until 5 June, and trading will begin on 11 June.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports, US Federal prosecutors are planning to file criminal charges against the hedge fund management firm SAC Capital LP under a law introduced to combat organised crime, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). It is extremely rare for investment companies to be charged under the law, and the procedure will require the advance permission of top individuals at the Department of Justice.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 30 April, assets in Swiss funds totalled CHF752.92bn, compared with CHF754.62bn one month previously, which represents a decline of 0.2%, or CHF1.7bn, despite net subscriptions of CHF785m, compared with CHF1.6bn in March. Institutional assets as of the end of April totalled CHF289.9bn, compared with CHF289.8bn one month previously, according to statistics from Swiss Fund Data and Lipper.Equity, money market and commodity funds have seen respective net outflows of CHF316.8m, CHF595.8m, and CHF982.7m, while bond funds had net inflows of CHF1.9531bn, and strategic investment funds attracted CHF549.6m.The rankings by assets remain unchanged, with UBS in first place, with CHF170.054bn as of the end of April, compared with CHF170.087bn as of 31 March, followed by Credit Suisse, with CHF117.845bn, compared with CHF117.870bn. Third place goes to Pictet, with CHF50.98bn, compared with CHF50.565bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Index Universe, Deutsche Bank will outpace WisdowmTree, with the launch of an ETF on 31 May based on German equities hedged for euro-dollar currency risks, the db x-trackers MSCI Germany Hedged Equity Fund (acronym on NYSE Arca: DBGR).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As about 35 institutional investors have oversubscribed to the fund for the intended volume, Neuberger Berman Group and Athyrium Capital Management have announced that they will be closing the Athyrium Opportunities Fund with USD507m in subscription commitments.The fund, which has already made five investments totalling about 20% of these commitments, will allocate USD25m to USD75m to finance small and mid-sized enterprises in the healthcare sector in the United States, Europe and Asia. It will engage in partnerships with the managements of companies in the pharmaceuticals, medical and diagnostic equipment sectors, which already have products and services in the commercial stage, and which are looking for long-term capital to drive growth.The fund is managed by a team that includes Jeffrey Ferrell, founder and managing partner at Athyrium, and Samuel Porat, managing director at Neuberger Berman Alternatives, as co-heads, as well as Laurent Hermouet and Richard Pines, partners at Athyrium.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UK-based Henderson Global Investors (HGI) is launching an institutional fund focused on student residences in the United States. It will focus on existing properties associated with universities with at least 15,000 students, with an emphasis on those which hold a place in the first division in US college football or basketball.The objective for HGI is to invest with a partner, Pierce Education Properties, or to acquire entire properties and outsource their management to an external company, Greystar, which will be responsible for their day-to-day management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With the Metzler Fonds-Vermögensverwaltung service, Frankfurt-based private bank Metzler is now offering access to wealth management based on investment funds from only EUR10,000. It is available in the form of profiled portfolios which are 30%, 50% or 70% exposed to the Metzler Global Selection fund, whose allocation to equities is managed flexibly. The remainder is placed in government or corporate bonds, ETFs, emerging market bonds, covered bonds, high-yield bonds, shares in commodity companies, or money market instruments.The product is managed by the tactical asset allocation team at Metzler Asset Management, led by Günther Gerstenberger.The management commission varies according to the formula selected, from 1.25% to 1.6%, in addition to which trading costs of 0.18% per transaction are charged on the volume of the trade.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Notenstein private bank has added to its team dedicated to institutional clients. It has recruited two bankers from Sarasin. Aris Prepoudis will join he bank in December as director for these clients. Andreas Knörzer will become director of asset management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As Ian Kelson has decided to take some time off, he will be replaced as head of international fixed income at T. Rowe Price in London by Arif Husain, who has left AllianceBernstein, Citywire reports. The star manager had been head of European and UK fixed income, and managed the AllianceBernstein European Income, GI Plus Fixed Income and Global Bond Portfolio funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } London & Capital is opening a private management unit dedicated to high net worth clients. It will be led by Iain Tait and will offer wealth management and advising services. The unit was created out of the merger of “specialist investment” and “ultra high net worth” teams, Funds Europe reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Ashcourt Rowan Asset Management has announced that it will be outsourcing portfolio, settlement and custody services for its funds to TD Wealth Institutional. The migration has already been completed for new clients, while existing clients will be moved by the end of the month.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mike Buhl-Nielsen is the new manager of the Jupiter Europa sub-fund. Buhl-Neilsen had been deputy manager of the fund since October 2011. He now replaces Stephen Pearson, who will continue to be involved in management as deputy manager. The appointment will allow Pearson to dedicate more of his time to his new responsibilities as deputy chief investment officer. The Jupiter Europa fund is the result of the merger in October 2011 of the Jupiter Europa Hedge Fund and the Jupiter European Absolute Return fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The annual European Asset Allocation Survey by the consulting firm Mercer has found that the percentage of 1,200 pension funds surveyed (with a total of EUR750bn in assets) which allocate a part of their investments in the form of liability-driven investment (LDI) mandates has risen from 15% in 2012 to 26% this year, as the approach has become more widespread particularly in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.Nearly half of all heads surveyed say that they now have an exposure to alternative investments, while the percentage is as high as 75% in the United Kingdom. About one quarter of heads surveyed are planning to increase their allocation to alternative investments, while only 7% are planning to reduce it. However, allocation to equities has fallen to an average of 39%, from 43% last year (and 68% in 2003). British funds, which are traditionally the most exposed to equities, have now been overtaken by Irish, Belgian and Swedish funds. In addition to this, 30% of directors surveyed are planning to reduce the allocation to domestic equities, and 25% are planning to reduce their exposure to foreign equities.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The CNMV has issued the new firm Andbank Wealth Management SGIIC with a collective investment management license, Funds People reports. The chief investment officer of the Andorran Andbank in Spain, Carlos Pérez Parada, will be chairman and CEO of the new firm, which currently has five employees and plans to specialise in Sicav and portfolio management. The objective is to manage 14 to 16 Sicavs by the end of the year.Controlling will be undertaken by Andbank, while administration and accounting will be outsourced to Deloitte.Currently, Andbank has EUR800m in assets under management for Spanish clients.