Asian high net worth clients have not made major modifications to their asset allocations since 2008, with one significant exception: they are reducing their exposure to hedge funds, family office heads have stated at a round table held by Asian Investor. However, it has been observed that a minority of high net worth clients, while avoiding hedge funds, are not hesitating to invest in club deals, venture capital and private equity, which are not risk-free investments by any means.

UCITS hedge funds have posted further subscriptions in fourth quarter 2012, with inflows of EUR0.6bn for single mangers and EUR0.1bn for funds of funds, according to statistics released by MondoAlternative. For the year 2012 overall, products from single managers posted inflows of EUR7.7bn, while funds of funds underwent outflows of EUR121.1m. Bonds are largely responsible for growth in the sector, with inflows of EUR5.9bn for the year as a whole. Statistics from MondoAlternative show that funds with over EUR2.5bn in assets posted inflows of EUR3.6bn in 2012, while smaller funds attracted EUR2.7bn over the year, and start-ups showed net subscriptions totalling EUR1bn.

Threadneedle on 4 February announced the launch of the Threadneedle (Lux) Asian Equity Income Fund, a Luxembourg Sicav which comes as an addition to the firm’s range of funds focused on dividends, and which responds to demand on the part of investors for return strategies. The fund, a conversion of the Threadneedle (Lux) Asia Fund, aims to earn returns and capital appreciation by investing in high-quality companies operating in Asia which offer attractive dividends and sustainable growth. Primary characteristics of the fund Benchmark: MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Outperformance objective: 3% per year Number of positions: 50 to 60 Structure: Luxembourg Sicav Management fees: net 1.5% per year for retail share class

In January 2013, the daily trading volume for on-book ETF trades on European markets of NYSE Euronext totalled EUR228m, 18.07% higher than in December (EUR193.1m), but 13.98% less than in the corresponding month of last year.Total on-book trades last month came to EUR5.24bn, 29.31% more than in the previous month, and 10.07% less than in January 2012.Block trades volumes contracted by 30.71% compared with December, to EUR0.84bn.NYSE Euronext states that the median spread improved last month to 25.1 basis points, which represents a 21% decline compared with December, and a decline of 37% compared with January 2012.

Natixis last week provided a few details on its website concerning Vega Investment Managers .The asset management firm, which was unveiled in late December as the Natixis expert unit for multi-management and fund selection under open architecture, dedicated to all clients of the firm (retail, institutional, corporate), is also specialised in investment solutions aimed at wealth management clients.The asset management firm is a joint venture controlled 60% by Banque Privée 1818, and 40% by Natixis Asset Management, with EUR6.5bn in assets under mangement. Marc Riez is its CEO, and Isabelle Reux-Brown, deputy CEO, is responsible for management and due diligence, a statement says.Vega IM has 45 fund managers in the areas of collective management (equities, fixed income, multi-management), mandated management, advising and fund selection under open architecture. It aims to meet the needs of wealth management clients of the Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne networks (BPCE) for portfolio construction and the selection of investment supports.

“EUR200m from the first FCPR are invested. We are aiming for EUR400m for the second (OFI InfraVia European Fund II), an objective which me might achieve in six to nine months, since EUR200m in commitments have already been received. This success is certainly due to our good execution and the fact that we receive quality assistance from OFI,” Vincent Levita, chairman and chief investment officer at OFI Infravia, an asset management firm specialised in infrastructures, in which OFI controls a 40% stake, has told Newsmanagers.For the first FCPR, “We attracted a dozen insurers as investors. For the second, launched in spring 2012, we are planning to double the number of subscribers, while retaining existing ones and extending the circle to pension funds and other European institutionals. One third of our fundraising will involve Swiss, German, Dutch, British and Scandinavian organisations,” the manager adds.When asked about personnel, Levita states that the team currently has 10 members, and is expected to have “15 members by the end of this year, plus one person to manage existing portfolios.”“Not only is the asset class now better known, but results have been good. In 2012, the top fund brought in cash returns for investors of 6%,and performance was a net 12%. We are aiming for the same type of results for the number two fund, with total leverage of 50% to 60%, the head of OFI InfraVia states.

Fidelity Investments has announced that it has been selected by Dell as a provider for its defined-contribution plan. Since 8 January, the Boston-based asset management firm has become the data collector for the 401(k) plan, which has about 50,000 members, and whose assets under administration total about USD3.4bn. In a statement, Fidelity pledges to provide assistance and online and telephone advising, as well as Internet seminars. Affiliates at Dell will also have access to 180 Fidelity investment centres in the United States, as well as the NetBenefits guidance resource from the asset management firm.

BlackRock is being sued by two US pension funds, who accuse it of systematically “looting” revenues from lending the securities of investors, Financial Times Fund Management reports. The lawsuit claims that several iShares ETFs listed in the United States had a commission model which allowed an affiliate, the BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, to retain 40% of revenues generated by securities lending. It claims that BlackRock, iShares and nine administrators systematically violated their fiduciary duties by establishing the remuneration structure.

OFI REIM has acquired a real estate portfolio composed of 4 office and commercial buildings with a total area of 16,000 square metres, two of which are located in Paris, and the other two in the central business districts of Marseille and Nice, for one of the investment funds it manages in partnership with F&C REIT, for EUR77m. The transaction brings real estate assets in the fund, launched in 2010, to EUR350m, a statement says.

US authorities are planning to launch civil proceedings against the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) for its poor evaluation of the risks presented by certain assets before the financial crisis, the ratings agency S&P announced on 4 February. The agency calls the accusation “unjustified.” These will be the first Federal legal proceedings againt a major ratings agency for illicit behaviour which is claimed to be tied to the financial crisis. The civil division of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has informed the firm that it is planning to file a lawsuit against S&P, and concentrate on the 2007 ratings of certain US bonds backed by CDOs.

Invesco Switzerland has appointed Stefan Mosberger as Senior Relationship Manager, the affiliate of the independent wealth management firm Invesco announced on 4 February. Before being appointed to his current position, Mosberger had been a senior consultant at Ecofin Investment Consulting, and before that, was a specialist in alternative investments and deputy head of the investment firm Adavis.

Thomas Steinemann, ancien directeur de la stratégie et directeur des produits multi classes d’actifs du groupe Vontobel, a été recruté au poste de CIO de la banque privée suisse Bellerive, rapporte Finews. Il s’agit d’une création de poste.

Wealth management at UBS in 2012 posted net inflows of CHF26.3bn, considerably more than in 2011, according to statistics released by the group on 5 February. Sustained inflows to funds from Asia-Pacific, emerging countries, and from high net worth clients worldwide continued. Wealth Management Switzerland posted net inflows of CHF4.2bn, up by CHF1.8bn. Wealth management activities last year posted pre-tax profit of CHF2.9bn, up 1.8%.Wealth Management Americas has posted record pre-tax profits of USD873m, up 40%, and has posted net inflows of USD22.1bn of new money, up by USD8bn.The Global Asset Management unit, for its part, has posted a pre-tax profit up 19% to CHF544m, due to improved returns which benefited clients. In addition to excellent performance in real estate and alternative investment activities, UBS repotts that 62% of collective management funds posted returns which ranked in the first or second quartile in their class for the year.In 2012, UBS, which has reduced its performance premium pool by 7% to CHF2.5bn, has also announced a new remuneration model, in order to better reconcile the interests of employees and shareholders. The changes will place the emphasis on the mid- and long-term performance of employees, offer employees an opportunity to profit from the long-term success of the business, and simplify the UBS remuneration system, while rendering it more transparent.

Credit investment strategies will need to adapt to less direectional credit markets, and exploit carry and relative value potential, while managing duration and liquidity risks, the financial ratings agency Fitch Ratings finds in a new study published on 4 February. In this environment, flexibility will need to occupy a more important place for investors, including fund selectors, the agency claims. “After four years of significant compression of returns and massive inflows, an increasing level of repricing risks has been observed for nominal returns and withdrawals of liquidity,” says Manuel Arrive, senior director in the Fund and Asset Manager team at Fitch. “As a result, funds which offer flexibility in the allocation of risks (to manage beta) and selectivity (to generate alpha) both over the long and short term will need to gain traction.” The soveregn component of credit returns are at all-time highs, while the spread component is at or slightly below long-term levels (16 years) of 135 basis points, and 630 basis points for the high yield and investment grade categories. This leaves traditional long-duration credit portfolios more exposed to an increase in nominal interest rates than credit spreads.

Ireland has become the first country in Europe to propose detailed measured to apply the AIFM directive, following the publication by the Irish central bank of its updated guide for alternative investment funds, according to a statement released on 4 February by the Irish Funds Industry Association (IFIA).The authorisation procedures and processes in the directive will be in place by the end of first quarter, well ahead of the deadline for full enactment of the directive, set for 22 July 2013, the Irish professional association states.In this enviroment, Marc Saluzzi, chairman of the Luxembourg investment fund association, defends himself in the pages of FTfm, the Financial Times weekly supplement dedicated to asset management, against accusations that he is seeking to claim market share from the financial centre’s Irish rival. “We share the same objectives as the Irish, and there is more than enough activity to share between the two markets,’ Saluzzi says. A proposed application of the directive is currently being examined by the Luxembourg parliament. The proposed legislation may be passed by the end of first quarter, Saluzzi says.

iShares, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform from BlackRock, on Tuesday, 5 February announced that it has registered four ETF funds in France replicating minimum volatility indices. The funds aim to offer reduced volatility compared with traditional indices. iShares points out in this regard that the MSCI Europe index posted daily fluctuations of +/- 2% more than three times per month on average, while over the past three years, that has occurred only about five times per year. “Many investors have ceased taking positions on equity markets due to this accentuated volatility,” a statement says.The four new Irish-domiciled ETFs, which use optimised physical replication, are the iShares MSCI Europe Minimum Volatility (TER : 0.25%), the iShares MSCI World Minimum Volatility (0.30%), the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility (0.40%), and the iShares S&P 500 Minimum Volatility (0.20%). They are the first ETFs domiciled in Europe based on their respective indices.

A securities underwriting license which Blackstone has recently acquired will allow it to participate in issues on the primary equity market at initial public offerings or capital increases, as a co-underwriter or co-manager, Agefi reports. The term designates banking actors who occupy a secondary role in the organisation of operations of this type, as opposed to lead underweiters. The primary attraction for the investment firm is to diversify its sources of revenue beyond alternative management and advising on mergers and acquisitions.

In January, investors placed USD30.77bn in ETFs, compared with USD29bn in January 2012, and a record of USD37bn in September last year, according to statistics from IndexUniverse. Assets in ETFs listed in the United States rose by 5% in January, to a total of USD1.423trn. About USD29bn of the USD30.77bn in inflows were placed in equity ETFs, of which more than half were for international equity funds, IndexUniverse reports. Among the big winners of the month, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund posted inflows of USD3.37bn, while assets under management totalled USD52.13bn.

Money market funds have a quality problem: investors are placing too much money in them, the Wall Street Journal observes. These inflows are driving funds, which are buying short-term debt with high ratings, to seek higher returns in investments that had previously been considered too risky, including debt from French banks. Investors placed USD149bn in money market funds based in the United States between the beginning of November and 30 January, bringing assets of USD2.695trn.

Bridgewater Associates has announced to investors that it will be launching a new hedge fund this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. The firm has described its new fund, All Weather Major Markets, as a variation of its All Weather strategy, which seeks to deliver returns regardless of the economic environment. Bridgwater has also sold another minority stake in its capital to an unnamed buyer, in order to help ensure its long-term viability.

In a statement, Amundi ETF has announced that its Amundi ETF S&P 500 Eur Hedged Daily, Amundi ETF Topix Eur Hedged Daily and Amundi ETF MSCI Emerging Markets funds are now available in Spain, where the product range from the asset mangaement firm now includes 11 ETFs, Funds People reports.

Renaissance Asset Managers (RAM) is planning to close a fund dedicated to sub-Saharan African markets to new investors, due to strong inflows since last year, Asian Investor reports. Assets under management in the fund, launched in October 2010, total USD120m, while the capacity of the fund had been USD150m. The fund, which has doubled in size since the end of July 2012, invests in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, and aims for average returns of 15% per year, with a diversified portfolio of 60 to 70 positions.

European Investors Incoporated (EII, USD11bn in assets as of the end of October), via Warburg Invest, is releasing a German-registered real estate fund, EII Global Sustainable Property Fund, which invests worldwide, and whose equity selections are made in cooperation with the green ratings agency oekom research, based in Munich. The portfolio, managed by a team based in New York, Singapore and Amsterdam, is at least 51% invested in securities from companies whose activities are compatible with sustainable development and conservation of the environment, which respect minimal standards for human rights, and which militate for acceptable working conditions, and which respect the principles of good governance. It may also invest up to 40% in money market instruments and/or bank savings accounts, and invest up to 10% of its assets in other UCITS-compliant funds. Characteristics Name: EII Global Sustainable Property Fund ISIN code: DE000A0RHE36 Management commission: Currently 0.95% (1.35% according to KIID)

Schroder Investment Management on 4 February announced the release of Wealth Preservation USD, a wealth management sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav Schroders International Select Fund (ISF), which is no longer available in France, but which is available elsewhere in four share classes (A, C, E and I).The multi-asset class fund was launched on 30 January 2013. The “all-weather” portfolio is managed by Malcolm Melville, and is aimed at retail investor as well as high net worth private clients. The manager will use no short positions, leverage or complex derivatives. He will focus on in-depth research on countries and commodities to identify investments which are likely to generate returns which are “comfortably” above inflation.CharacteristicsName: Schroder ISF – Wealth Preservation USDISIN codes:LU0877817550 (A share class)LU0877817717 (C share class)LU0877818012 (E share class)LU0877818285 (I share class)Front-end fee:4% (A share class)1% (C and E share classes)0% (A share class)Management commission:1.90% (A share class)1.05% (C share class)0.68% (E share class)0.17% (I share class)

Kneip, a provider of services to the asset management sector, on 4 February announced the appointment of Renaud Oury to the position of head of sales.In his new role, Oury will be responsible for developing Kneip’s services for asset managers, administrators, and jurists.Renaud Oury had previously worked at CetrelSecurities as managing director.

F&C has recruited Ben Fox, founder of Goodheart Partners, as future head of its multi-alternative activity, ahead of the departure of its current director, Ken Kinsey-Quick, Citywire reports. As a part of the appointment, F&C will take over the flagship fund from Fox, the Goodheart Partners Horizon Fund – Target Return Fund. Alex Jones of Goodheart will also join the firm.

First State Investments has launched a Global Credit Income fund for the British market, in order to target wealth managers and discretionary investors, Investment Week reports. The fund is a mirror of the Australian Global Credit Income fund, with GBP2.7bn in assets.

Schroder Investment Management a annoncé le 4 février la commercialisation du compartiment patrimonial Wealth Preservation USD de sa sicav luxembourgeoise Schroders International Select Fund (ISF), qui n’est pas encore disponible en France, mais qui existe en quatre classes de parts (A, C, E et I).Ce fonds multi-classes d’actifs a été lancé le 30 janvier 2013. Le portefeuille «tous-temps» est géré par Malcolm Melville et vise le segment retail ainsi que les particuliers haut de gamme. Le gérant n’utilisera ni ventes à découvert, ni l’effet de levier ni des dérivés complexes. Il se focalisera sur une recherche en profondeur sur les pays et les matières premières pour identifier des placements susceptibles de générer des rendements «confortablement» supérieurs à l’inflation.CaractéristiquesDénomination :Schroder ISF - Wealth Preservation USDCodes Isin :LU0877817550 (parts A)LU0877817717 (parts C)LU0877818012 (parts E)LU0877818285 (parts I)Droits d’entrée :4 % (parts A)1 % (parts C et E)0 % (parts A)Commissions de gestion :1,90 % (parts A)1,05 % (parts C)0,68 % (parts E)0,17 % (parts I)

La gestion de fortune d’UBS a enregistré en 2012 une collecte nette de 26,3 milliards de francs suisses, soit nettement plus qu’en 2011, selon les chiffres communiqués par le groupe le 5 février. Les afflux soutenus de fonds en provenance d’Asie-Pacifique, des pays émergents et, au plan mondial, de la clientèle très fortunée se sont poursuivis. Wealth Management Switzerland a enregistré une collecte nette de 4,2 milliards de francs, en hausse de 1,8 milliard de francs. Les activités de gestion de fortune ont dégagé l’an dernier un bénéfice ajusté avant impôts de 2,9 milliards de francs, en hausse de 1,8%.Wealth Management Americas a réalisé un bénéfice record avant impôt de 873 millions de dollars, en hausse de 40%, et a réalisé une collecte nette de 22,1 milliards de dollars d’argent frais, en hausse de 8 milliards de dollars.Le pôle Global Asset Management a dégagé pour sa part un bénéfice ajusté avant impôts en hausse de 19% à 544 millions de francs suisses en raison de l’amélioration de la performance dont ont bénéficié ses clients. Outre l’excellente performance dans l’immobilier et les activités des placements alternatifs, UBS relève que 62% des fonds collectifs ont affiché une performance se plaçant dans le premier ou le deuxième quartile par rapport à la concurrence sur une année.Le groupe a toutefois bouclé l’année sur une perte nette de 2,5 milliards de francs «en raison notamment de pertes de valeur du goodwill et de coûts de restructuration liés à la mise en œuvre de la stratégie d’UBS, de pertes sur propre crédit ainsi que de dépenses visant à satisfaire aux exigences légales et réglementaires ou similaires».Pour 2012, UBS, qui a réduit le pool des primes de performance de 7% à 2,5 milliards de francs, a par ailleurs annoncé un nouveau modèle de rémunération afin de mieux concilier les intérêts des collaborateurs et ceux des actionnaires. Ces changements permettent de mettre l’accent sur la performance à moyen et à long terme des collaborateurs, d’offrir aux collaborateurs l’opportunité de bénéficier de la réussite à long terme de l’entreprise et de simplifier le système de rémunération d’UBS en le rendant plus transparent. Ces changements incluent: - des périodes différées plus longues- des conditions de performance pluriannuelles pour la rémunération différée liées aux actions- un instrument de capital différé capable d’absorber les pertes avec un seuil de déclenchement élevé, dans lequel les collaborateurs renonceraient au solde de rémunération différée si le ratio de capital de catégorie 1 common equity selon Bâle III devait passer en dessous de 7% ou si un événement de «non viability» survient- une réduction du montant maximum en espèces versé initialement comme prime d’encouragement à des collaborateurs individuels.

Thomas Steinemann, ancien directeur de la stratégie et directeur des produits multi classes d’actifs du groupe Vontobel, a été recruté au poste de CIO de la banque privée suisse Bellerive, rapporte Finews. Il s’agit d’une création de poste.