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; } After the departure of 19 members of the emerging market debt team to Neuberger Berman (see Newsmanagers of 3 May), ING Investment Managers is planning to increase personnel in the unit to 28 people, Hans Stoter, CIO since February, has told Citywire. The reconstruction of the team will be based on transfers from other bond teams and the elimination of redundancies, limiting the position of co-head of department to a single position. Some repsonsibilities in the area of emerging market bonds have been transferred to the multi-asset class team. However, ING IM has already begun to recruit for fund management, with the arrival of Marco Ruijer (see Newsmanagers of 9 April). Stoter declined to state how much assets have been lost since the departure of the team to Neuberger Berman. At the beginning of the year, ING IM had USD16bn under management in emerging markets.

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 { } As Javier Marín has been promoted to deputy director of Santander, the group has appointed the director of marketing, the private banking division, asset management and insurance, Luis Moreno García, to replace him as head of the unit, Funds People reports. García will be replaced by Maria Dolores Pescador Castrillo. Two other changes will be made in the division: José Salgado Fuertes de Villavicencio becomes global head of private banking, while Óscar Villoslada becomes head of the insurance arm, which had previously been the responsibility of Jorge Morán. Juan Alcaraz remains as head of asset management.

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 French independent asset management firm Oaks Field Partners has received a license from the NCMV to release its first fund in Spain, OFP 400, an absolute return product with daily liquidity, Funds People reports. There are also plans to register the OFP 150 fund. The OFP 400, launched in 2009, aims for outperformance of 400 basis points above the Eonia, with total volatility of 4% to 6%. It is managed by Emeric Challier, Abbas Benboubker, Joséphine Hicter and Sébastien Le Berre. OFP is the third foreign asset management firm to start up in Spain since the beginning of this year, after J. Chahine Capital and Ellipsis AM.

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 { } According to quarterly reports from ING, the asset management firm ING Investment Management (ING IM) in first quarter underwent net redemptions in Europe and Asia totalling EUR0.4bn for retail and EUR2.8bn for institutional. Assets as of the end of March totalled EUR45.7bn for retail and EUR61bn for institutional, Fondsnieuws reports. In the United States, retail at ING IM also saw net outflows of EUR0.4bn in January-March, but institutional generated net inflows of EUR1.1bn.

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 { } Mirae Asset Management is planning to make its ETFs available internationally, more precisely on US, Latin American and South Asian markets, Asian Investor reports. So far, 130 house ETFs are available in several countries, of which 75 are available on the Toronto market. Mirae AM is planning to enter the US market with niche products, and will aim primarily at institutionals.

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 { } Caroline Kuhnert, head of Central 7 Eastern Europe & Turkey at UBS Wealth management, has been promoted to head of Emerging Markets UHNW from 1 June, and will now be responsible for maintaining relationships with ultra-high net worth clients in emerging markets, finews.ch reports. Kuhnert will be base din Zurich, and will report to Jow stadler, global head of UHNW, and Paul Raphael, head wealth management global emerging markets.

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; } Assets at hedge funds specialised in Asia rose by 7.6% in first quarter to a total of nearly USD95bn, its highest level since its peak in 2007, according to statistics released by HFR in its most recent HFR Asian Hedge Fund Industry Report. Net inflows for the quarter totalled over USD1.3bn, their highest level since third quarter 2011. The HFRX Japan index posted gains of 11.7% in first quarter, their highest level since fourth quarter 2005, which is nonetheless less than 19% gains for the Nikkei 225. HFR estimates that out of a total of about 1,150 funds, nearly 370 hedge funds invest in the Japanese market as a primary priority, in equities, bonds and currencies, while about 270 investment funds invest elsewhere in Asian developed and emerging markets, and more than 500 funds invest solely in emerging Asian markets. HFR states that more than 70% of assets under management in Asian hedge funds are dedicated to Equity Hedge strategies, compared with only 27% for the hedge fund sector worldwide. Only 5% of Asian hedge funds rely on macro strategies.

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 index provider S&P Dow Jones Indices on 6 May announced the launch of the S&P 500 Buyback Index, an index to measure the performance of the top 100 equities with the highest buyback ratios of the S&P 500 index in the past 12 months. “Buybacks may be considered an important indicator of the health of businesses. Like dividends, redemptions are another means for businesses to deliver value to shareholders. In 2012, companies of the S&P 500 bought back USD399bn in shares, and continue to hold record amounts of cash.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The hedge fund manager Philip Falcone, who is being sued for misusing client assets to pay taxes, is settling with the SEC, Agefi reports. He will step down from his position as investment adviser for two years, and his firm, Harbinger Capital Partners, will pay a fine of USD18m. The agreement has yet to be approved by the Department of Justice and commissioners from the regulatory authority.

According to a study released by Greenwich Associates and sponsored by iShares, institutional investors are increasing their use of ETFs in a variety of ways to help solve investment challenges. More than half of institutional investors plan to increase their use of ETFs by the end of this year.This fourth yearly edition of the survey outlines year-over-year changes in the behaviors of corporate and public pension funds, foundations and endowments, investment consultants, insurance companies and investment managers in the U.S.. For the first time, the study surveys investment consultants, insurance companies and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs).Across all institutions participating in the study, 58% describe their use of ETFs as generally strategic or long-term in nature, a slight increase from 57% in 2012. In general, Greenwich Associates defines a strategic investment as any asset that is held for a year or longer. 70% of institutional ETF users employ ETFs for tactical portfolio adjustments, up sharply from 48% in 2012.The most common application for ETFs by institutions is used within the core of their portfolios. 72% of insurance company users and 67% of pensions, foundations and endowments that use ETFs employ these products to obtain passive exposures in the “core” component of their portfolios. Approximately 80% of RIAs that buy ETFs use them for passive “core” exposures, and 90% of investment consultants who advise their clients to make use of ETFs recommend using these products for passive exposure to complete core/satellite portfolio structures.Eventually, while nearly 90% of institutions use ETFs for domestic equities exposure and 74% use ETFs for international equity portfolios, ETFs are also gaining traction in fixed income. 55% of institutions invest in domestic fixed income ETFs. As one would expect, usage of domestic fixed income is most common among insurance companies at 78%. Interestingly, 74% of RIAs also employ ETFs in domestic fixed income.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } US asset management at Old Mutual in first quarter posted net subscriptions of GBP2.6bn Emerging markets and Old Mutual Wealth posted inflows of GBP0.4bn each. Funds under Management (FUM) at the quarter end increased by 7% to £288.4 billion from £262.2 billion at 31 December 2012 due to positive market movements an net client cash flow of £3.9 billion across the Group

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management by the Cantonal Bank of Lucerne as of the end of March totalled CHF27.6bn, compared with CHF26.8bn as of the end of December 2012, according to a statement released on 7 May. Gross profits for the bank totalled CHF59.8m, up 4.2%.

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; } The Swiss private bank Frey is planning to submit a license application in the United States to assist its US clients from offices in the US, the Reuters news agency reports on the basis of information from sources in Switzerland. The United States operation would allow the bank to avoid potential lawsuits by US authorities who suspect Frey of assisting US clients to evade US taxes. The bank says that it is prepared to help US authorities with its investigations, as well as being prepared to open a United States arm of the busines.s Assets under management at Frey total slightly over CHF2bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Agefi, the Sheet Metal Workers Local 33 Cleveland District Pension Plan has filed a class action lawsuit against 12 banks, accusing them of distorting competition on the CDS market, as these derivatives carry an entitlemens to compensation in the event of default of the underlying asset. The banks being sued are BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Barclays, HSBC, UBS, RBS, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank. The fund, cited by Reuters, claims that banks boycotted a CDS trading platform initiated by the Chicago stock exchange, CME, and the hedge fund Citadel in 2008. It also supports financial establishments which took advantage of their presence on the boards and committees of the market data provider Markit and the industry lobby, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), to prevent competition from emerging.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Spanish courts on 8 May refused to extradite the Swiss former HSBC bank IT employee Hervé Falciani, claiming that the deeds he is accused of would not be subject to prosecution in Spain, the National Audience court in Madrid has declared. Falciani, who was arrested in Barcelona in 2012, and who holds French and Italian citizenship, is accused by Switzerland of theft of banking data which made it possible to identify thousands of tax evaders. Switzerland, which issued an international arrest warrant for him, had requested his extradition froM Spain for theft and disclosure of industrial or commercial secrets and banking confidentiality. In its verdict, the National Audience claims that the deeds cited by Switzerland would not be subject ot prosecution in Spain, as in the latter country there is not “a specific penal protection of banking confidentiality as such.”

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; } Fondsnieuws reports that investors who bought structured bonds from the Netherlands-based Lehman Brothers Treasury BV, will receive a redemptoin of USD3.9bn. It is a first instalment, says Frédéric Verhoeven, of the law firm Houthoff Buruma. The Netherlands affiliate has a loan of USD34.5bn from its parent company, the US firm Lehman Brothers Holdings. Due to the anticipated recovery rate of 32%, Netherlands-based creditors may receive about USD6bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Norwegian sovereign fund has noticeably accelerated its investments in real estate, Le Temps reports. Among its most recent investments are nearly EUR450m in offices in the United States in February. The fund now has about EUR5bn in real estate assets, which represents only 0.9% of the fund’s total assets, far below the 5% objective defined by the Ministry of Finance. But, Le Temps reports, this is already three times higher than in September 2012.

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 British firm M&G Investments has reported net inflows for first quarter of GBP2.4bn, up 38% compared with first quarter 2012, according to statistics released on 7 May at a publication of resuls for the Prudential group. Assets under management totalled a record GBP238.4bn, of which slightly over GBP119bn were in external funds. In the retail unti, net inflows from European investors totalled a record GBP2.9bn, nearly double the total for first quarter 2012. This substantial inflow was more than enough to offset weak inflows in the United Kingdom, related to a decision by M&G last summer to slow inflows to its tow large corporate bond funds. Retail assets under management increased 28% year on year to GBP61.4bn, as of 31 March 2012, of which GBP18.7bn were from European clients compared with GBP10.4bn as of the end of March 2012. On the institutional side, the quarter finished with a modest net outflow, as the loss of short-term segregated mandates wiped out the positive impact of contributions from the Alternative Credit team at M&G. Assets under management from external institutional clients as of the end of March totalled GBP57.7bn, up 27% year on 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 { } The financial situation for pension funds improved overall in 2012, with average net returns of 7.4%, according to a statement released on 7 May by the professional retirement surveillance commission. The coverage rate improved, with 90% of retirement planning institutions with no state guarantee at the end of 2012 showing a coverage rat of at least 100%. Retirement planning institutions with no state guarantee also now measure their liabilities with more prudence. They have reduced their technical interest rate considerably, and now only 7% apply a rate of 4% or higher. Overall, only 4% of retirement planning institutions without a state guarantee still rank in the highest risk segment. However, 37% of these institutions without a state guarantee present a higher risk, due to promises of high-level services and reduced capacity to recover due to an increase in the proportion of annuitants at these institutions. Analysis also reveals that there are considerable differences between retirement planning institutions with no state guarantee and those with a state guarantee. This is unsurprising, since the two types of institution had previously been subject to different rules, particularly in relation to the requirement that they take recovery measures. Adaptations to new legal dispositions are also still ongoing. As of the end of 2012, only 27% of retirement planning institutions with a state guarantee had a coverage rate of at least 100%.

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 { } Fondsnieuws reports that BNP Paribas Investment Partners, which at the beginning of June reduced its range of Luxembourg funds, which had included 216 BNPP IP funds and 79 Parvest funds half a year ago, to 158 products, including 54 BNPP IP products and 104 Parvest funds, Bart Vemer, director of distribution at BNPP IP for Benelux, has announced. The 54 remaining BNPP IP funds will be profiled funds sold by the bank itself. Some BNPP IP funds will be merged with similar Parvest 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 { } The Luxembourg-based firm IPConcept has announced the launch of the SPI Bangladesh fund on June 2013, which will be available in two asset classes (I share class: LU0756285440, R share class: LU0756283072), Fondsweb reports. The portfolio will invest exclusively in equities of the MSCI Bangladesh Investable Market Index TRN index, with a limit as a general rule of 49% for the cash allocation, but this percentage may be raised in case of need.

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 Fund Market Infrastructure project, a market infrastructure project dedicated to cross-border sales of investment funds, is now known as Fundsquare, the Luxembourg stock exchange announced on 6 May. The operational debut of the Fundsquare platform, which began as a project in 2012, is slated for third quarter 2013. By centralising data, standardising procedures for management of orders and reporting of data related to funds, Fundsquare aims to achieve significant economies of scle “while assuring transparency and simplification of communication flows,” a statement says. For its technical realisation, Fundsquare will rely on cutting-edge technologies developed by SWIFT and Altus. Lastly, for its deployment, Fundsquare will be supported by major players in the fund sector operating in Luxembourg, operating as a “User Group.” This group includes international distributors and transfer agents, most of whom operate in Luxembourg.

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 { } According to the BlackRock Institute, European ETPs overall in April had net outflows of USD0.8bn, which brings their net subscriptions in the first four months of the year to USD6.7bn. As of the end of April, assets in 2,142 ETPs domiciled in Europe totalled USD376.8bn, USD9.3bn more than at the end of December. Three of the ten largest asset management firms in April nonetheless showed net subscriptions. They are Source (USD0.4bn), iShares (USD0.3bn) and Amundi (USD0.1bn). Since the beginning of the year, net inflows from iShares totalled USD6.5bn, followed by Source (USD0.9bn), UBS (USD0.7bn), Amundi (USD0.6bn), and Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (db x-trackers), with USD0.3bn. However, Lyxor Asset Management and Credit Suisse in January-April underwent net outflows of USD1.1bn each, followed by ZKB with USD0.9bn, and ETF Securities (USD0.8bn).

On May 8th, Stoxx Limited introduced the Euro Stoxx 50 BuyWrite 100% Index. The new index measures the performance of a hypothetical portfolio of a long position of the Euro Stoxx 50 Index and a sold call option based on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index. It is designed to underlie financial products such as ETFs and other investable products. The Euro Stoxx 50 BuyWrite 100% Index follows the methodology of the existing Euro Stoxx 50 BuyWrite Index, however the strike price for the Euro Stoxx 50 Index option is set to 100% instead of 105% as in the existing index. “The Euro Stoxx 50 index options achieved 280 million traded contracts at the end of 2012, which makes them the world’s third largest traded index options after the Kospi 200 Options and S&P CNX Nifty Index» Stoxx told in a press release. The Euro Stoxx 50 BuyWrite 100% Index combines the Euro Stoxx 50 Index and a call option on this index. These two components are held in equal amounts and are adjusted on a monthly basis.Historical data for the Euro Stoxx 50 BuyWrite 100% Index is available back to January 18, 2002. The index is calculated in euro and available in price and net return version.

L’Agence France Trésor annonce l’adjudication, le lundi 13 mai, d’un montant global compris entre 6,8 et 8,0 milliards d’euros de bons du Trésor (BTF). Elle sera suivie le jeudi 16 mai, d’une adjudication d’un montant compris entre 7 et 8 milliards d’euros d’obligations assimilables du Trésor (OAT) de maturité moyenne. Ella adjugera le même jour entre 800 millions et 1,2 milliards d’OAT indexées sur l’inflation française (OATi) et sur l’inflation de a zone euros (OATei).

La politique monétaire ne devrait pas évoluer avant l’arrivée en fonction de Mark Carney le 1er juillet prochain

Le taux de TVA va être relevé de deux points et quinze sociétés vont être privatisées

Lisbonne a émis pour la première fois depuis 2011 de la dette à maturité 2024 pour un montant de 3 milliards d’euros et une demande trois fois supérieure.

Lisbonne a placé 3 milliards d'euros de dette à 10 ans pour plus de 9 milliards de demande. La dernière émission à 10 ans datait de 2011

La RBA a abaissé par surprise son taux directeur à 2,75%. La banque centrale déplore notamment la force persistante du dollar australien