P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The wealth management firm Brooks Macdonald reported growth in its assets under management of 7.6% n first quarter, to GBP4.97bn, compared with GBP4.62bn as of the end of December 2012, according to an interim report published by the group. Assets advised fell 1.4% to GBP352m. Real estate activities, a part of Braemar Estates, saw an increase in their assets under administration of nearly 12%, and topped GBP1bn, at GBP1.004bn, compared with GBP897m at the end of fourth quarter 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to the annual Philinx-IETF survey undertaken in first quarter, the OPCI fund market represented EUR28bn in gross assets as of the end of 2012, an increase of 22% compared with 2011, and a new record. The survey finds that the OPCI market continues to be dominated by RFA OPCIs, “either as dedicated funds or club deals, which represent EUR27bn in gross assets.” These figures may be compared with the levels of gross assets held by SIICs as of the end of 2012, totalling about EUR85bn, as both are essentially institutional investment vehicles. In the past five years, RFA OPCIs have accounted for most growth in indirect ownership of real estate by institutional investors. IEIF states that this strong growth is due to the dynamism of the 20 asset management firms that are particularly active in the area of these regulated institutional vehicles, including collective management entities such as Amundi Immobilier and La Française REM, asset management firms related to major insurance companies, such as Groupe Crédit Agricole, Groupe Allianz, and pure players such as Viveris REIM. The survey also finds growth in asset management firms affiliated to publicly-traded realty firms such as Foncières des régions and Icade. The year 2012 saw rapid growth for retail OPCIs, whose capitalisation increased by EUR248m, to EUR854m as of the end of the year, in a trend supported by the launch of the Selectiv’immo fund from Axa REIM and the OPCIMMO from Amundi Immobilier. IEIF states that their size remains modest compared with SCPI vehicles, whose capitalisation totalled EUR27bn as of the end of 2012, and which saw net inflows of EUR2.50bn in 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Vanguard Investments Switzerland GmbH on 22 April announced the appointment of Peter Ritler as senior institutional sales executive in Switzerland. Ritler will aim to strengthen institutional activity in Switzerland at Vanguard, alongside Jacques-Etienne Doerr and Rula Schoenberger, concentrating its efforts on ranges of tracker funds and ETFs from the firm. Ritler will be based in Zurich, and will report to Simon Vanstone, director of the European institutional division of Vanguard. Before joining Vanguard, Ritler spent six years at Threadneedle Investments in Zurich, a firm for which he had served as head of sales since 2007. Before Threadneedle Investments, Ritler spent five years as a portfolio manager at Banque Leu.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss group Syz & Co (private banking, institutional management, Oyster funds) as of the end of December posted assets of CHF25bn, which represents an increase of 18% year on year. 57% of this increase of CHF3.9bn, or CHF2.2bn, is attributable to net inflows, and the remaining 43%, or CHF1.7bn, are due to market appreciation.Consolidated net profits for 2012, after deduction of dividends distributed to minority stakeholders, comes to CHF12.6m, compared with CHF12.4m in 2011.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Since the beginning of April, the Austrian asset management firm Erste Asset Management has announced, Gerold Permoser has become the group’s chief investment officer, responsible for all asset management activities (Erste AM and Erste Sparinvest) and investment strategy for all investment funds in Austria, Germany, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.Permoser was previously CIO at Macquarie Investment Management Austria KAG.He replaces Harald Egger, who has been apppointed as head of equity fund management, an area he will be responsible for developing.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The investment fund Blackstone on 22 April announced that it would be acquiring Strategic Partners, a private equity affiliate of the bank Credit Suisse, for an undisclosed total. Assets under management at Strategic Partners total USD9bn, a statement says. The transaction is “subject to rigorous approval conditions” and is expected to be finalised by the end of third quarter.Strategic Partners “complements the existing activities of Blackstone,” says Tony James, chief operating officer at Blackstone, cited in a statement, adding that “Many of us here at Blackstone have in the past been colleagues of the team at Strategic Partners, and that gives us confidence that our business cultures will marry well.”The sale is part of a plan by Credit Suisse to sell off business units announced on 18 July 2012, the statement says. Strategic Partners, founded in 2000, is a specialist in secondary private equity investment, with a team of 26 people.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Taiwan public employees’ pension fund has launched a request for proposals to manage each of five portfolios of USD168m each for a duration of four years, Asian Investor reports. Interested parties should submit bids by 2 May. Assets under management at the pension fund total about USD17bn, of which 35% have been placed with external managers.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } State Street Corporation on 22 April announced that it has been selected by the Italian asset management boutique Ersel Asset Management SGR SpA to provide a range of investment services. State Street is currently the custodian for FCP funds from Ersel, and the group will now provide net asset value calculation and centralisation/transfer agency services for the entire fund range, as well as middle office services for FCP funds and hedge funds. According to State Street, the choice is a sign of the growing interest of asset management boutiques in providers able to offer complete fund administration services, covering both middle office and back office. A recent study of asset management boutiques commissioned by State Street found that managers of asset management boutiques are well-positioned, through diversification, to benefit from the “alpha rush” that investors are currently engaged in, but that many of them will need to overcome the limitations of their internal systems. For example, according to 32% of managers of asset management boutiques, their operational IT infrastructure is in need of “some” or “considerable” improvement.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US firm Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI) has announced that on 12 April, it acquired the 30-story Sabadell Financial Center skyscraper (523,000 square feet) in Miami from an affiliate of the Spanish bank Sabadell, Testa Immuebles en Renta, for USD185m.As of 31 December, PREI had net assets of USD36bn (gross USD52.2bn), for 490 clients worldwide.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stenham Asset Management has launched two funds of hedge funds, Stenham Credit Opportunities and Stenham Healthcare, according to a statement from the firm. Stenham Credit, launched on 1 January with USD21m, has earned 3.44% since the beginning of the year. The fund is aiming for annual returns of 8% to 12%. The fund includes long/short credit, structured credit and distressed debt strategies, which are often not easily available to traditional investors. The fund invests in 6 to 10 conviction managers, and offers quarterly liquidity. The other fund also offered at the same time, Stenham Healthcare, with USD15m, has gained 7.48%. This concentrated fund also targets double-digit annual returns. It has 6 to 10 managers with good track records. It offers monthly liquidity.

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; } On Monday, proceedings will begin in London in a lawsuit filed by Alexander Vik against Deutsche Bank, Handelsblatt reports. Vik is seeking USD2.5bn in damages and interest from the German bank, which he claims liquidated the positions of the Sebastian Holdings fund in 2008, as it was unable to pay USD530m in additional collateral.The bank claims that the lawsuit is baseless, and has filed a countersuit for USD246m in damage claim for abusive rupture of contract.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Investment Europe, the British regulator has issued the Spanish firm March Gestión de Fondos (MFG, EUR2.2bn) a license to sell shares denominated in pounds sterling in its flagship funds Vini Catena (EUR100m), Family Business and Torrenova (EUR700m) in the United Kingdom.For the moment, these products will be offered to wealth managers and the major IFA distributors.RDR-compliante shares will be launched subsequently.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Fitch Ratings on 22 April published an update to its criteria and ratings scale for asset management firms.Among the modifications made by the agency are a new five-point descriptive sale, new ratings definitions which explicitly label managers according to the standards practised by institutional investors, with more explicit ratings attributes for each of 30 ratings factors, and an introduction of ratings outlooks, which indicate the direction that a rating may take over a two-year period.The ratings resulting from these modifications will be communicated separately at a later date, Fitch Ratings says, but it does not expect major changes for the 55 asset management firms it rates.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Depositary receipt indices from BNY Mellon have been selected by VelocityShares for three new emerging market ETFs.They are the VelocityShares Emerging Markets Depository Receipts ETF (Nasdaq ticker: EMDR), VelocityShares Emerging Asia Depositary Receipts ETF (ASDR), and VelocityShares Russia Select Depositary Receipts ETF (RUDR), which respectively replicate the BNY Mellon Emerging Market DR, BNY Mellon Emerging Asia DR and BNY Mellon Russia Select DR indices.VelocityShares claims that the products are the first to offer wide exposure to emerging market equities with the comfort of developed market regulation. The ETFs invest exclusively in American Depositary Receipts (ADR) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDR).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Index Universe reports that WisdomTree has submitted a new license application to the SEC (following the one of July 2011) for the WisdomTree Germany Hedged Equity Fund, an ETF focused on German equities, which replicates an in-house index weighted by dividends.In order to be included in the index, shares are required to have been issued by a company listed in Germany, but which realises less than 80% of its earnings in Germany. They are also required to have paid at least USD5m in cash dividends in the previous fiscal year, and must have a market capitalisation of over USD1bn.In the index, the shares are weighted according to their cash dividends, with the ones that distribute the highest dividends accorded a greater weight. The allocation limit is set at 25% of the portfolio per sector.

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 German firm Assénagon Asset Management on 3 April created a Luxembourg-registered fund which offers institutional investors a source of regular income from investment in European equities that pay high dividends, without assuming the entirety of share price risks. The product is the Assénagon Substanz Europa, which aims to distribute 4.5% per year in dividends. The fund is licensed for sale in Luxembourg, Germany and Austria.The portfolio will invest in 50 shares, out of a universe that includes 600. These equities will be equally weighted, and the portfolio will be hedged on an ongoing basis with the use of puts and out-of-the-money calls.CharacteristicsName: Assénagon Substanz EuropaISIN code: LU0819201681Front-end fee: 3%Management commission: 1.5%

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bestinver, which held fourteenth place in the 2012 Fund Brand report, ranks tenth in the Fund Brand 2013 rankings. It is the only Spanish firm among the top ten preferred firms for Spanish fund pickers, the top three of which have held their positions, in order: Carmignac, JPMorgan Asset Management and Fidelity, Funds People reports.Pimco makes its first appearance in the rankings, in fourth place, replacing Franklin Templeton, which is in fifth place, ahead of BlackRock, which has also lost one place. However, M&G Investments, in seventh place, has gained six places from the 2012 rankings. The British firm finishes ahead fo Amundi and Deutsche AWM.The next ten, after Bestinver, are Swiss & Global AM, Invesco, Schroders, Pictet, BNY Mellon, BNP Paribas IP, Goldman Sachs AM, Robeco, Pioneer and Morgan Stanley.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The mixed office (3,800 square metres), commercial (1,000 square metres) and housing (400 square metres) building TK Shin-bashi in Tokyo, which was purchased in 2004 for the Deka S-Property N°1 fund, has been resold for EUR44m to a Japanese REIT. Deka Immobilien states that it earned a capital gain on the transaction.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNY Mellon on 22 April announced that it has started trading operations at BNY Mellon Capital Markets EMEA, the new London-based structure which offers capital market services on a wide range of bonds and equities to institutional clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As part of its alternative management development strategy, Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), which one year ago acquired the French firm Nexar, on 22 April announced that it has selected Guggenheim Fund Solutions (GFS) as a partner to develop a single platform which will allow client sto access a selection of dynamic and high-potential hedge fund managers, as well as a new-generation IT system which meets the requirements of investors for transparency, governance and reduction of structural risks.More specifically, UBP uses its strong experience in hedge fund investment to identify, select and track the best managers operating on the GFS managed account platform. At this time, 14 accounts are already active on the new fund platform; the bank is aiming for 30 by the end of 2013.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Luxembourg Sicav Martin Currie Global Funds (USD500m), an affiliate of the Scottish firm Martin Currie, has selected Kinetic Partners as a provider of management company services, or ManCo services, for its range of UCITS-compliant funds, Funds Europe reports.

Les actifs des hedge funds ont progressé au premier trimestre de 122 milliards de dollars, leur plus forte hausse sur un trimestre depuis le quatrième trimestre 2010, pour s'établir à 2.375 milliards de dollars, selon le dernier HFR Global Hedge Fund Industry Report. La collecte nette s’est élevée à 15,2 milliards de dollars au premier trimestre, son plus haut niveau depuis le premier trimestre 2012. La plupart des stratégies, 14 sur 15, ont enregistré des soucriptions. La stratégiesde Relative Value Arbitrage (RVA) a terminé le trimestre sur une collecte nette de 9,4 milliards de dollars, poursuivant ainsi une tendance observée depuis trois ans, ce qui en fait la stratégie la plus importante en termes d’encours à près de 640 milliards de dollars. L’indice HFRI Relative Value a progressé de 3,3% au premier trimestre après un gain de 10,6% l’an dernier. Les stratégies macro ont de leur côté drainé 3 milliards de dollars en net au premier trimestre 2013, dont quelque 5 milliards de dollars sur les stratégies Systematic CTA. L’indice HFRI a gagné 1,4% au premier trimestre après un recul de 0,3% en 2012.

BNY Mellon a annoncé le 22 avril le démarrage des opérations de trading par BNY Mellon Capital Markets EMEA, la nouvelle structure basée à Londres qui propose des services de marchés des capitaux sur une large gamme d’obligations et d’actions aux clients institutionnels d’Europe, du Moyen Orient et d’Afrique.

Le bureau parisien de BNY Mellon Asset Management a récemment invité James Harries, de Newton Investment Management Ltd (l’une des quelque vingt «boutiques» BNY Mellon), pour présenter le fonds BNY Mellon Global Real Return qu’il gère dans le cadre d’une stratégie dont l’encours se situe aux alentours de 10 milliards de livres, dont 1,32 milliard d’euros (fin mars) pour le fonds de droit européen que commercialise BNY Mellon. Sur ce sous-total, 320 millions proviennent de France. Et les souscriptions nettes depuis le début de l’année pour le produit européen ont été de l’ordre de 30 millions d’euros.Le fonds, de droit irlandais, est géré par sept personnes à Londres. «Pour ce produit de performance réelle et multiclasses d’actifs, nous visons une volatilité située entre celle des obligations et celle des actions et, en fait, nous sommes pour l’instant à 4,8 %. L’objectif est de gérer annuellement une performance correspondant à l’Euribor plus 400 points de base sur cinq ans, hors frais de gestion. Il n’y a pas d’indice de référence, d’optimiseur ou d’allocation d’actifs prédéterminée. Il y a seulement des thèmes que nous aimons et ceux que nous n’aimons pas», a indiqué James Harries à Newsmanagers.Pour le coeur de portefeuille, le taux de rotation se situe à 20 % ou moins ; pour le tactique, le «turnover» est évidemment supérieur. «Nous avons environ 50 lignes actions et 50 lignes obligataires», précise le gérant.Ce dernier explique qu’en ce moment «le portefeuille est exposé à un peu plus de 60 % aux actions (industrielles, services publics, télécommunications et biens de consommation courante ainsi que valeurs nippones couvertes pour le plus long terme), 2 % en convertibles (RWC et Aviva Investors en ce moment), 24 % en obligataire, dont la moitié d’obligations gouvernementales (Norvège, Australie, Nouvelle Zélande), en sachant que nous sommes prudents sur la dette émergente, 8 % en or et minières et 8 % de numéraire. Il y aussi 1 % en notes à taux flottant (Neuberger Berman). Nous avons la possibilité de shorter sous forme de dérivés uniquement aux fins de couverture».Le fonds est autorisé à la commercialisation dans quatorze pays européens en dehors du Royaume-Uni et de l’Irlande, dont la France, l’Allemagne, le Luxembourg et l’Italie.

Le Trésor espagnol a placé mardi pour 3,01 milliards d’euros de bons à trois et neuf mois, deux opérations marquées par une baisse du rendement, tombés à un plus bas depuis au moins 2009 dans un contexte d’anticipation de baisse des taux d’intérêt de la Banque centrale européenne (BCE). Madrid avait prévu d'émettre entre deux et trois milliards d’euros de titres de dette à court terme. Pour le trois mois, Madrid a émis 0,86 milliard d’euros, le rendement revenant de 0,285% à 0,120%. Le Trésor espagnol a également émis pour 2,16 milliards d’euros de bons à neuf mois, avec un rendement en baisse à 0,787% contre 1,007%.

La contraction du secteur privé de la zone euro ne s’est pas aggravée en avril, le secteur des services connaissant même un léger mieux, mais cela ne veut pas dire pour autant que la fin de la récession est en vue. Selon les premières estimations de l’enquête mensuelle de Markit, l’indice des services est remonté à 46,6 en avril, contre 46,4 en mars. Mais le secteur privé allemand s’est, contre toute attente, contracté pour la première fois en cinq mois en avril, à 48,8 contre 50,6 en mars, ce qui pourrait vouloir dire que la première économie de la zone euro enregistrera une baisse de son produit intérieur brut (PIB) au deuxième trimestre après une hausse attendue au premier. En France, l’activité dans le secteur privé s’est contractée à un rythme moins prononcé que prévu en avril grâce à une amélioration dans le secteur des services. L’indice PMI composite flash, qui combine l’industrie et les services, est remonté à 44,2 après avoir touché en mars un plus bas de quatre ans à 41,9. Selon les données de l’Insee, l’environnement économique s’est dégradé au mois d’avril en France, faisant peser le risque d’une récession qui se prolongerait sur le deuxième trimestre. L’indicateur du climat des affaires, calculé d’après une enquête menée auprès des chefs d’entreprise, s’est ainsi replié de deux points pour retomber à 84, son plus bas niveau depuis août 2009. Pour les services, l’indicateur s’inscrit à 83, contre 84 en mars, et accuse un recul de sept points depuis janvier.

Le président italien a prêté serment pour un nouveau mandat de sept ans devant les deux chambres du Parlement, mais a menacé de démissionner au cas où les responsables politiques n’assumeraient pas leurs responsabilités sur les réformes à engager. Il a également dénoncé les nombreux échecs et l’irresponsabilité de la classe politique, jugeant le risque d’impasse politique sans précédent en Italie.

Plusieurs membres du conseil des gouverneurs de la BCE ont souligné hier le ralentissement de l’inflation et les perspectives médiocres de croissance dans la zone euro, ce qui semble indiquer que l’institution envisage de plus en plus sérieusement une baisse de ses taux directeurs. Le conseil des gouverneurs, qui prévoit une nouvelle baisse de l’inflation à 1,3% en 2014, doit se réunir à Bratislava le 2 mai.

Le président de la Fed de New York a estimé que les faiblesses de l’économie européenne et les péripéties budgétaires aux Etats-Unis signifient que «davantage doit être fait» pour redresser l’économie mondiale. «La bonne nouvelle est que les pays périphériques ont fait des efforts substantiels pour faire tomber leurs déficits budgétaires structurels», a-t-il ajouté.

Le président de la Commission européenne a ajouté sa voix hier à celles retentissant contre les politiques d’austérité budgétaires menées en Europe. «Tout en pensant que cette politique est fondamentalement juste, je pense qu’elle a atteint ses limites», a-t-il estimé lors d’une conférence. Et d’insister sur le «soutien politique et social» dont doit bénéficier toute politique.