Senior vice president, Philippe Currat, qui atteindra l'âge de 65 ans en mai 2013, a souhaité quitter le comité exécutif de la Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild S.A. à compter du début de l’année 2013, soit effectivement dès le 9 janvier, a indiqué la banque genevoise dans un communiqué publié le 8 janvier après la clôture des marchés.Philippe Currat siégeait au comité exécutif de la banque de gestion privée depuis 25 ans.

GLG, l’entité du groupe Man Group, vient de recruter Kumaran Damodaran chez Pimco en tant que gérant de portefeuilles spécialisé sur les marchés émergents au sein de sa plate-forme obligataire. Il va retrouver son ex-collègue Sudi Mariappa, qui a été lui aussi embauché récemment en provenance de Pimco, et qui va co-diriger la plate-forme macro et fixed income de GLG aux côtés Jamil Baz.GLG a aussi recruté, pour cette nouvelle équipe, Brian Pinto de la Banque Mondiale en tant qu’économiste macro senior, spécialiste des marchés émergents.Enfin, l’équipe sera complétée par Richard Bateson, qui vient de Man AHL, et devient analyste quantitatif senior.

Le groupe suisse Syz & Co a annoncé l’enregistrement en Suisse de quatre nouveaux compartiments de sa sicav luxembourgeoise Oyster. L’enregistrement de ces nouveaux compartiments traduit la volonté du groupe de répondre aux besoins spécifiques de la clientèle professionnelle suisse. En effet, la Suisse représente actuellement l’un des axes principaux de développement des fonds Oyster. Avec la gamme Oyster et les compartiments Oyster Multi-Manager de la Sicav 3A Alternative Funds, ce sont 36 fonds qui sont proposés aux investisseurs helvétiques, une gamme en constante évolution allant de stratégies très conservatrices de type absolute return à des stratégies traditionnelles sur différentes classes d’actifs, en passant par des approches plus novatrices de type « Newcits ».OYSTER European SelectionOyster European Selection adopte l’approche et la philosophie du fonds Oyster European Opportunities. Adaptée aux exigences d’une clientèle institutionnelle, la stratégie vise les actions européennes dotées d’un fort potentiel de croissance sur les 5 années à venir. Grâce à son horizon de placement plus long, le fonds tire profit de l’expertise et des fortes convictions de son gérant, Eric Bendahan, spécialiste des actions européennes. OYSTER US SelectionOyster US Selection se focalise sur les actions américaines en combinant une analyse bottom-up avec un complément top-down destiné à anticiper les changements dans les cycles économiques. Le fonds, géré par Scout Investments, Inc., un gestionnaire américain, offre une stratégie disponible en format UCITS exclusivement à travers la Sicav Oyster.OYSTER Global High DividendOyster Global High Dividend investit dans les actions à haut dividende dans le monde entier. Géré par SYZ Asset Management SA et Syz & Co Asset Management LLP avec Roberto Magnatantini comme lead-manager, Oyster Global High Dividend combine analyse quantitative et fondamentale, avec un accent particulier sur la croissance des dividendes.OYSTER Global High YieldOyster Global High Yield est investi en obligations à haut rendement du monde entier. Le fonds est géré par Seix Investment Advisors LLC, un gestionnaire spécialisé établi aux Etats-Unis.

Deux anciens de chez Man Investments rejoignent les équipes chargées du suivi des gestionnaires de fortune indépendants et des family offices en Suisse chez Swiss & Global Asset Management (87,4 milliards de francs d’encours fin septembre). Remo Badertscher, senior relationship manager chez son ancien employeur, et Markus Lienert, qui était responsable de la clientèle des gestionnaires de fortune indépendants pour le Liechtenstein et la Suisse, ont été recrutés dans l'équipe des ventes de Swiss & Global AM à Zurich.

En lien avec l’offre publique d’achat lancée par EFG Funding (Guernsey) Limited («EFG Funding») auprès des titulaires de certificats fiduciaires EFG le 12 décembre 2012 et la sollicitation de consentements en vue d’approuver, par des résolutions extraordinaires, entre autres, les modifications proposées des conditions des certificats fiduciaires EFG, EFG Funding a indiqué qu'à l’expiration de l’offre, le 7 janvier 2013 à 16h (H.E.C.), un montant nominal cumulé de 251.399.000 euros des certificats fiduciaires EFG avait été validement proposé. Ceci représente 94,95% des certificats fiduciaires EFG actuellement en circulation, à hauteur d’un montant nominal de 264.781.000 euros. Les titulaires des 94,95 % des certificats participeront à l’assemblée des titulaires et voteront en faveur des résolutions extraordinaires. Pour être adoptées, les résolutions extraordinaires requièrent une majorité d’au moins deux tiers des voix exprimées, de sorte qu’il est attendu qu’elles seront approuvées à l’assemblée des titulaires qui se tiendra le 11 janvier 2013 à 10h (H.E.C.), indique la société.Le communiqué précise que l’offre publique d’achat est menée à bien sous réserve de certaines restrictions et conditions, notamment:- l’émission réussie, en janvier 2013, d’une obligation Tier 2 par EFG Funding, assortie d’une garantie subordonnée par EFG International, le montant nominal cumulé en CHF des titres subordonnés tenant lieu de capital Tier 2 selon Bâle III étant égal ou supérieur au montant nominal cumulé des certificats acceptés à titre d’achat en lien avec l’offre d’achat ou à un montant inférieur de titres en CHF déterminé par EFG Funding à sa discrétion;- l’adoption des résolutions extraordinaires décrites dans le mémorandum d’information et- l’adoption de certaines résolutions par les actionnaires d’EFG Finance (Guernsey) Limited.L’annonce des résultats de l’assemblée des titulaires devrait avoir lieu le 11 janvier 2013, tandis que l’annonce relative au respect des conditions de l’offre est attendue pour le 28 janvier 2013.

The former chairman of the international alternative management association (AIMA) and hedge fund sector specialist Todd Groome is joining the Highwater group, specialised in corporate governance, The Asset reports. Groome, who from 2009 to 2012 represented the hedge fund sector as head of the AIMA, has recently served as a senior adviser to Albourne Partners and as adviser to a hedge fund successfully launched in 2011. The Highwater group offers corporate governance services to hedge funds and asset management firms via the appointment of independent administrators and other means.

While remaining as chief research officer, Fred Fraenkel has been promoted to the position of chairman of Fairholme Capital Management, replacing Bruce Berkowitz, CIO and managing member, who had held the position for the interim since the resignation of Charlie Fernandez in spring 2012. Fraenkel joined Fairholme in 2011, after serving as chief investment officer at Beacon Trust Company.

Jes Staley, former lieutenant of the head of JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, is joining the hedge fund firm BlueMountain Capital Management, the Financial Times reports. The firm is one of the hedge funds which brought down the US banking trader known as the whale of London. Staley had been head of investment banking.

Jens Peers has been appointed CIO sustainable equities of Mirova, the responsible investment division of Natixis Asset Management, where he will report directly to Philippe Zaouati, the deputy CEO of Natixis AM, Head of Mirova. Jens Peers started his career in 1998 as a financial advisor at KBC Bank, Brussels. He subsequently joined KBC Asset Management in 2001 as a financial analyst. In 2003, he moved to Kleinwort Benson Investors, Dublin, as head of portfolio management - environmental strategies on the following thematic areas: water, agribusiness, cleantech (renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management). Mirova has EUR4bn in assets under management in SRI assets, EUR7.7bn in assets advised in ESG strategies and EUR20.4bn in assets in voting and engagement (as of 30 September 2012).

Two former employees of Man Investments are joining teams responsible for assisting independent wealth management advisers and family offices in Switzerland at Swiss & Global Asset Management (CHF87.4bn in assets as of the end of September). Remo Badertscher, senior relationship manager at his former employer, and Markus Lienert, who had been head of clients for independent wealth management advisers in Liechtenstein and Switzerland, have been recruited for the sales team at Swiss & Global in Zurich.

Philippe Currat, who will reach the age of 65 in May 2013, has announced plans to leave the executive board at Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild S.A. at the beginning of 2013, from 9 January, the Geneva-based bank has announced in a statement released on 8 January, after the close of the trading day. Currat had been chairman of the executive board at the private bank for 25 years.

GLG, the discretionary investment manager of Man Group plc, has announced a number of senior hires to its macro and fixed income team. The appointments are part of a focus on expanding GLG’s strategy as it relates to absolute return macro and fixed income. Kumaran Damodaran joins Sudi from Pimco as a portfolio manager focusing on emerging markets within GLG’s fixed income platform. He has significant experience managing absolute return and outperformance portfolios and has worked closely with Sudi Mariappa in the past, who also joined GLG in October.Brian Pinto will join from the World Bank to take on the role of Senior Macro- Economist, specialising in emerging markets. With many publications to his credit, Brian has spent nearly thirty years at the World Bank, where he is currently Senior Adviser, focusing on sovereign debt, financial integration and growth in emerging markets. He will work closely with GLG strategist Driss Lamrani. Richard Bateson joins from Man AHL as a Senior Quantitative Analyst. He currently heads a strategy within AHL which trades trend, reversion and value strategies across over 150 markets. He is also an Associate of the OxfordMan Institute, Oxford University. The overall macro and fixed income platform will be co-headed by Jamil Baz and Sudi Mariappa.

The Swiss Siz & Co group has announced that it has registered four new sub-funds of its Luxembourg Oyster sicav in Switzerland. The registration of the new sub-funds is a sign of the group’s desire to meet the particular need of Swiss professional clients. Switzerland currently represents a major area of development for Oyster funds. With the Oyster range and the Oyster Multi-Manager sub-funds of the Sicav 3A Alternative Funds, 36 funds are offered to Swiss investors, a range which is constantly developing, and which ranges from highly conservative absolute return strategies to traditional strategies focused on various asset classes, and more innovative “newcits” approaches. OYSTER European SelectionOyster European Selection adopts the approach and philosophy of the Oyster European Opportunities fund. The strategy is appropriate for the requirements of institutional clients, and targets European equities with strong potential for growth in the next five years. With its longer investment horizon, the fund benefits from the expertise and strong convictions of its manager, Eric Bendhan, a specialist in European equities. OYSTER US SelectionOyster US Selection focuses on US equities, combining bottom-up analysis with a top-down complement which aims to anticipate changes in economic cycles. The fund, managed by Scout Investments, Inc., a US asset management firm, offers a strategy which is available in UCITS format exclusively via the Oyster Sicav. OYSTER Global High DividendOyster Global High Dividend invests in high-dividend equities worldwide. Managed by SYZ Asset Management SA and SYZ & Co Asset Management LLP with Roberto Magnatantini as lead manager, Oyster Global High Dividend combines quantitative and fundamental analysis with a particular emphasis on growth in dividends. OYSTER Global High YieldOyster Global High Yield invests in high yield bonds worldwide. The fund is managed by Seix Investment Advisors LLC, an asset management firm based in the United States.

Jupiter has announced that Luca Evangelisti and Harry Richards have joined the fixed interest and multi-asset team as credit analysts, reporting to Hilary Blandy, Senior Credit Analyst.An Italian national, Luca Evangelisti joins the company from Moody’s, where he was an associate in the Financial Institutions Group for two years. Harry Richards will be transferring internally from Jupiter’s Private Clients & Charities Team, where he has been working since 2011. He has experience of quantitative and qualitative fund analysis and client portfolio monitoring.With these appointments, the fixed interest and multi asset team will comprise 11 members - four credit analysts, one quantitative analyst, two fixed income portfolio managers, two convertible/ multi-asset portfolio managers and two specialist dealers.

Schroders has ended its relationship with its auditor, PwC, which had served it for over 50 years, the Financial Times reports, adding that the change is a sign that major corporations are becoming more aware of accusations that they are not hard enough on those who check their books. The asset management firm has chosen KPMG instead.

At the end of November, assets in funds domiciled in the UK set a new all-time record of GBP652bn, which represents an increase of over 50% compared with August 2008, the record previous to the financial crisis, says Daniel Godfrey, CEO of the Investment Management Association (IMA). Compared with the end of November 2011 (GBP565bn), the increase is 15%. The IMA states that net subscriptions for retail products in November totalled GBP1.2bn, compared with GBP338m one year previously, while net subscriptions to ISAs totalled GBP44m, compared with net outflows of GBP61m. Equity funds attracted GBP720m, the highest level since April 2011 (GBP1.25bn), while bond funds saw inflows of only GBP43m, the lowest level since net outflows of GBP142m in October 2008.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) on January 8 announced the launch of the Morgan Stanley Investment Funds (MS INVF) Global Premier Credit Fund. The fund seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns by investing in “Premier Credit,” the corporate debt issued by businesses characterized by dominant franchises or leading industry positions, low capital intensity and strong balance sheets.To build the portfolio and identify Premier Credit, the portfolio managers leverage fundamental research from MSIM’s Global Fixed Income team. Additionally, the new fund employs proprietary quantitative tools to screen the credit universe and continually monitor high quality issuers, resulting in a strong platform from which to assess credit quality.Richard Ford, European head of credit for MSIM, said, “The Global Premier Credit Fund aims to be an effective strategy to help investors wanting to diversify from government debt, by seeking higher yields through capturing the credit premium of the highest quality credits withlimited volatility and default risk (...)».

The management of currency risks for Fondoposte, the national complementary retirement fund for employees of the Poste Italiane and its affiliates, has been contracted to the Edmond de Rothschild group, Bluerating reports. It is the division specialised in currency overlay management at the asset management firm which will handle the contract.

The Eurekahedge hedge fund index gained 1.46% in December, bringing its performance for the year as a whole to 6.19%. The Mizuho-Eurekahedge Top 100 index, which tracks the evolution of assets and the performance of the 100 largest hedge funds, for its part, posted gains of 5.82% in 2012. Distressed debt strategies earned the best results in 2012, with gains of 12.87% over twelve months.

Sebastiano Ferrante at the beginning of 2013 became the new country head for Germany at Pramerica Real Estate International, succeeding Georg von Werz. As a member of the board of directors, he is also responsible for fund management. From 2007 to 2012, he was co-country head for Germany at Tishman Speyer Properties in Frankfurt, responsible for acquisitions and sales of properties in Germany, and of the operational platform of Tishman Speyer Properties. Pramerica Real Estate Investors (the European affiliate of Prudential Financial) has also announced that it has acquired the office building at 141 Bothwell Street (175,000 square feet) in Glasgow from the Strathclyde Pension Fund for GBP70m.

JP Morgan Asset Management would like to enter the Australian fund market this year, says Jed Laskowitz, CEO of Asian fund activities and head of asset management in Asia for the US firm, at a press breakfast held by Asian Investor. The firm already has an institutional presence in the country. JP Morgan AM would also like to penetrate South-East Asia, and may launch its first ETF in China via its joint venture, the Asian website adds.

Source Markets, one of the top providers of European ETPs, has announced the arrival of Feargal Dempsey as a member of its board of directors and an independent director. Dempsey is a consultant for ETFGI, the ETF analysis and consulting firm founded by Deborah Fuhr. He has served in several management positions at Barclays Global Investors/BlackRock, including head of strategy for iShares products in EMEA, head of product structuring for products in the EMEA region, and head of product governance. Source Markets plc is a firm domiciled in Ireland, which sells investment funds that comply with UCITS regulations.

Carmignac Gestion has announced the arrival of Anne Bellavoine as director of marketing. In an interview with Newsmanagers, Eric Helderlé, CEO, explains that with this recruitment, the asset management firm hopes to place marketing at the centre of the concerns of the company, in light of its growth. The head says this choice comes at a time when Carmignac Gestion is posting results above expectations in the UK, and eventually, the development of the asset management firm will also extend to Asia and South America. “We are in an environment in which we are taking important steps, and are attacking new markets which are very different from the ones of continental Europe,” the director says. “And,” he adds, “the regulatory environment is presenting significant complications to the product approach.” In this environment, the new head will aim to take the “glocal” approach which is so highly valued at Carmignac Gestion. “Glocal” is global for funds on sale internationally in the large sense, and local for the fact that it takes into account the very different demand characteristics of each ountry (more or less strongly for distribution shares, capitalisation shares, etc.). In practice, Bellavoine will lead and co-ordinate the marketing team composed of 20 people, and will report to Eric Le Coz, deputy CEO. This is not a new position. Laurence Bertrand held this position before leaving the firm at the end of May 2012. However, “we needed a more strategic vision,” says Helderlé, adding that the managerial abilities of the recruit and her “sense of the customer” justify her recruitment, as marketing is no one of the professional activities covered previously. The new head spent 17 years at Société Générale, where she served successively as global director of Equity Sales and as chairwoman of SG Securities, director of the Equity and Derivatives market desk, and lastly as a banker in charge of financial institutions. The senior profile of the new recruit will open the doors of the strategic development board, unlike the firm’s last director of marketing.

Pioneer Investments has recruited two people for its institutional team in the United States. Mark Dacey has been appointed as head of consultant relations, while Amu DiMarzio joins the firm as a bond strategist. Dacey was previously at State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), where he was recently managing director and head of consultant relationships in the United States. DiMarzio joins from Putnam Investments, where she was recently vice president and credit analyst.

The French investor Union Mutualiste Retraite, which has EUR7.6bn in assets under management, has awarded Egamo, the asset management firm of MGEN a bond mandate for EUR4bn, following a consultation launched in September 2012. The management mandate for a core portfolio asset is a first for UMR, a press statement says. Egamo has about EUR2.8bn in assets under management in mandates and mutual funds.

The British firm Federated Prime Rate Capital Management, an affiliate of Federated Investments, has registered its money market Sicav umbrella fund Federated Prime Rate Cash Management Funds, domiciled in Luxembourg, with the CNMV, Funds People reports.

At a time when Spanish asset management firms underwent net redemptions and a decline in their assets under management throughout last year, the assets at foreign asset management firms have increased 10.6% in the first eleven months of 2012, to a total of EUR52bn, Funds People reports.

At the end of 2012, assets under management in European ETPs totalled USD367bn, 22.7% more than the USD299bn recorded the previous year, as net subscriptions totalled USD32.7bn of the USD68bn in asset growth, according to statistics from the BlackRock Institute. In December, net subscriptions totalled USD5.7bn, the highest level in 17 months.The top firm by assets and net inflows remained iShares (BlackRock), with USD140bn and USD18.5bn, respectively. It is followed by db x-trackers/db ETC (Deutsche Bank) with USD50.2bn, but only USD1.3bn in net subscriptions, and Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) with USD42.3bn and USD0.5bn in net inflows.ETF Securities, in fourth place by assets with USD24.1bn, has USD2.6bn in net subscriptions, while Source, in seventh place with USD13.3bn, has posted net inflows of USD5.1bn.

Six years to the day after acquiring the portfolio, the German open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Global has resold its portfolio of five properties in Chile for EUR171m to Aurus Renta Inmobiliaria. The sale price is about EUR33m higher than the purchase price. The properties sold total 55,725 square metres of area in the Birmann 24, Torre Paris, Xerox, Bandera 76 and Teatinos 254-258 buildings in Santiago, Chile. After the sale, the UniImmo: Global fund retains six properties or stakes in properties in Latin America, totalling EUR230m.

The Swedish firm Stella Asset Management will liquidate its two hedge funds, Stella Nova and Stella Polaris, Privata Affärer reports. The funds had a difficult year in 2012. The Swedish website says this is only the beginning of a wave of hedge fund closures to come.