The British insurer Legal & General (L&G) is planning to lay off 70 people as part of a restructuring of its distribution platform, whose personnel would be reduced from 160 to 90, Money Marketing reports. This restructuring is related to the entry into force of RDR legislation at the beginning of 2013.

In the United Kingdom, pension funds managed by specialists earn better results than those which are managed by diersified managers, according to a 20-year study which will soon be published in the Journal of Finance, the website IPE reports. The superior performance of specialists is particularly pronounced in UK equities, the most popular asset class with British pension funds, the study finds. According to professor David Blake, co-author of the report and head of the Pensions Institute at the Cass Business School in London, “specialists in UK equities have earned a average alpha after commissions of 35 basis points per year, while diversified managers earned a negative alpha of 54 basis points.” Another finding of the study is that putting managers in competition with each other produces a sharp increase in returns. “Pension funds which have abandoned the use of only one specialist in favour of several specialists have increased their performance by an average of 131 basis points,” says Blake. The same trend can be observed for diversified managers, where a transition from one to several managers improves performance by 63 basis points. In both cases, fees increased by only 3 basis points.

The scandal over manipulations of the Libor interest rate by the British Barclays Bank claimed another victim on 3 July, in the person of the CEO of the bank, Bob Diamond, who became the shameful emblem of the crimes of the City. The chairman of the board of directors at Barclays, Marcus Agius, had announced his resignation the day before, in an effort to calm the scandal, which had ignited public opinion and British political decision-makers. “External pressure on Barclays has reached a level which risked damaging the venture, and I couldn’t let that happen,” the American director said in a statement to explain his shock immediate resignation. “I am very disappointed because the events of last week give an image of Barclays and its employees which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Diamond adds.

The director of sales and marketing at Old Mutual Asset Managers (OMAM), Simon Wilson, will be leaving the group, FundWeb reports. The decision follows the announcement in late April of a merger of OMAM and Skandia Investment Group to form an entity led by the head of OMAM, Julian Ide. Wilson joined OMAM in 2004.

The British alternative management group Man has recruited Judy Sanders as senior adviser in its British institutional unit, Investment Europe reports. Sanders previously spent seven years as chief investment officer for the public pension fund for the West Midlands, whose assets under management total GBP8.7bn. The recruitment is motivated, at least in part, by a growing interest on the part of institutional investors in alternative management. Between 2009 and 2011, allocations by British pension funds to hedge funds increased from 1.8% to 4.1%, according to statistics from the national pension fund association. And a recent survey by SEI found that 38% of institutionals were planning to increase their investments in hedge funds, more than twice as many as were planning to reduce their exposure. While employed at the West Midlands pension fund, Saunders developed an allocation dedicated to alternative investments, up to 35%, of which 10% was allocated to absolute return strategies.

In May 2012, the Italian asset management sector underwent net outflows of EUR1.16bn, compared with EUR1.3bn in April, and net subscriptions of EUR2.4bn in March. Since the beginning of the year, Italian asset managers have seen outflows of more than EUR5.47bn, Assogestioni reports.Open-ended funds in the first five months of the year posted net redemptions of nearly EUR3.34bn, with net redemptions of EUR3.53bn from equity products, and EUR3.79bn from money market funds. However, bond funds have posted net subscriptions of EUR7.17bn in January-May, of which hEUR851m were in May, compared with EUR1.58bn in April and EUR3.8bn in March.The top three actors in terms of asset volumes have seen net outflows in May: EUR853m for the Intesa Sanpaolo group (Eurizon Capital and Banca Fideuram, EUR214.45bn in assets as of 31 May), EUR505.4m for the Generali group (EUR138.2bn in assets) and EUR297.5bn for Pioneer Investments (EUR98.1bn in assets) of the UniCredit Group.

In first quarter 2012, total financial assets of insurance companies and pension funds in the euro zone totalled EUR7.222trn, compared with EUR6.935trn the previous quarter, according to statistics from the European Central Bank. In the same period, technical insurance claims, the largest category of liabilities for insurance companies and pension funds, increased, from EUR6.136bn to EUR6.267bn. This increase is due in nearly equal parts to positive transactions and valuation effects. In terms of ventilation of the overall balance sheet for insurance companies and pension funds in the euro zone, assets in securities other than equities as of the end of March 2012 represented 39% of total financial assets in the sector. Shares in mutual funds represented the second-largest exposure, with 24% of total financial assets. Lastly, equities and other participations represented 11% of the total.

Pimco and Source on 3 July announced that the Pimco German Government Bond Index Source ETF (or “Bund”), which since 25 June has been available for trading on the XTF segment of the Xetra platform (see Newsmanagers of 26 June 2012), is now licensed for sale in the United Kingdom, Austria, France, Finland and Italy (only for institutional investors), the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The Bund is the seventh fund to join the Pimco Source physically invested ETF range. The range, launched last year, includes MINT strategies – the first actively-managed bond ETFs in Europe – and the first bond ETFs to weight various countries by their GDP, in order to optimally reproduce the benchmark indices of emerging market government bonds denominated in local and European currencies.

Over the weekend, a hidden clause in a transportation bill, which will have a significant impact on pension funds, has come into force in the United States, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The discount rate will now be calculated on the basis of average returns over the past 25 years on good quality corporate bonds, and will no longer be based on the past two years. As rates have been much higher over the longer period than the shorter one (during the recent downturn), this accounting trick had given manoeuvring room to pension funds, whose coverage rate on liabilities will mechanically increase. This could lead funds to return to equity markets as investors. As contributions to pension funds by businesses are set to decline, profits will increase, and thus so will tax revenues.

First State Investments has announced the appointments of Will Oulton as global head of socially responsible investment (in London), and Pablo Berrutti as global head of socially responsible investment (in Sydney). The appointments follow the arrival of Amanda McCluskey on the Asia-Pacific Equities and global emerging markets team at First State Stewart, which is based in Singapore. Oulton, vice president of the European socially responsible investment forum (EUROSIF) and director of the British socially responsible investment forum (UKSIF), previously worked at Mercer Investments London, as head of socially responsible invesment for the EMEA region. Berrutti previusly served as head of socially responsible investment at Perpetual in Sydney. He is currently president of the research group at the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), and director of the Australasian socially responsible investment association.

At its general meeting in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) has appointed four new members to its board:Philippe Zaouati, deputy CEO in charge of development and responsible investment at Natixis Asset ManagementPhilip Armstrong, director of the Global Corporate Governance ForumHeloisa Belotti Bedicks, CEO of the Brazilian Institute of Corproate GovernanceJon Feigelson, senior managing director and general counsel & head of Corporate Governance, TIAA-CREFThe four replace Arnaud de Bresson (Paris Europlace), Sandra Guerra (Better Governance), Dr. Nasser Saidi, (Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance in Dubai) and Christy Wood (ICGN).

Credit Suisse has sold another 7% of its stake in Aberdeen Asset Management, reducing its stake to 2.8%. The group sold 80.4 million shares, representing about GBP205m at current prices. The Swiss group has confirmed reports initially circulated by Bloomberg, and adds that the operation will have a positive influence on the group’s profits in third quarter, without specifying further. The reduction in the stake will also have an impact on owners’ equity at Credit Suisse. In first quarter 2012, the Swiss bank already reduced its stake in Amberdeen by 10 percentage points, to 9.8%. Tier 1 owners’ equity got a boost of CHF0.2bn, while the contribution to profits of the operation totalled CHF146m.

Eric Helderlé of Carmignac Gestion, Jean-Louis Laurens of Rothschild et Cie Gestion, and William Margoline of CM-CIC Management have joined the board of the French financial management association (AFG), as trustees, the association has announced in the most recent issue of Gestion Info (June 2012, no. 4). Also on the board are Pascale Guillier of Carmignac Gestion, Denis Faller of Rothschild et Cie Gestion and Luc Peyronel of CM-CIC Asset Management. The AFG states that it has two new members, LFPI Asset Management and Nature Gestion.

The hedge fund firm Cube Capital has decided to open its Global Opportunities hedge fund to external investors, Pension & Investments reports. Assets under management in the event-driven fund from Cube Capital total about USD100m, from partners, funds of funds, and family offices.

A survey by the Edhec-Risk Institute of 139 North American professionals specialised in index-based investment finds that this population is certainly aware of the biases that cap-size weighted indices involve, but that they do not want to replace them. Although nearly 100% of those surveyed consider that the size-related biases introduced by cap-size weighted indices are an important or very important question (compared with 71% in Europe), only 23% of professionals estimate that “alternative” indices could replace cap-size weighted indices.

Shortly before the summer holiday, the European Commission finally unveiled a group of three legislative proposals to improve consumer protection in the area of financial services, and to address a lack of confidence on the part of the public.The three parts of the whole include proposed legislation on key investor information documents (KIID) for retail investment products, a revised Directive on Insurance Intermediation (DII) and last but not least, a proposal to strengthen protections for subscribers to investment funds, currently protected by the OPCVM directive.Following the publication of these proposals, five major professional associations, the CFA Institute (investment professionals), EuroFinuse (an association representing the users of financial services), FECIF (an association representing financial advisers and intermediaries), EFAMA (the European association of fund and asset managers) and AILO (an association representing cross-border life insurance companies) welcomed the initiative by the Commission, and insisted on the need for KIID documents to cover the widest possible range of savings products.The five associations agree on the point that one of the major challenges of KIID legislation is the format and contents of key investor information documents. They need to be as standard as possible to allow retail investors to compare th characteristics, returns on investment, risks, and costs of various savings products. With this in mind, the CFA Institute, with the support of EuroFinuse and FECIF, is currently setting up a research project on a standardised cost presentation format for the KIID. The research will be published in autumn.OPCVM/UCITSModifications to current rules for mutual funds proposed by the Commission are based on lessons drawn from the financial crisis, so as to continue to guarantee the safety of investors and the integrity of the market. In particular, the proposal will aim to ensure that the OPCVM label continues to inspire confidence, by ensuring that the obligations and responsibilities of the depository (the entity which guarantees the assets) are clear and uniform throughout the EU3.The proposal includes three parts: A precise definition of the duties and responsibilities of all depositories acting on behalf of a mutual fund; clear rules concerning remuneration of mutual fund managers: the way in which they are remunerated must not encourage excessive risk-raking. Remuneration policy will take long-term investor interests and the realisation of the investment objectives of the mutual fund better into account; and A common approach to ways to sanction major infractions of the legal framework governing mutual funds, introducing joint standards for administrative fee levels, so that these will always be higher than the potential profits of violating the regulations in force. Key Investor Information Documents/KIIDThe Commission’s proposal in relation to retail investment products would inform consumers in an easy-to-understand way, introducing a new, innovative standard for product information, expressed in clear language, much more comprehensible to the consumer. The document is known as a Key Investor Information Document (KIID). The proposal would require that each designer of investment products (investment fund managers, insurers, banks) to produce these documents for each investment product.

The Singapore-based hedge fund Dymon Asia Capital has recruited David Chan, who led macro trading in Asia at Goldman Sachs, the news agency Bloomberg reports. Chan will be teamed up with Dymon, which last year was the best-performing vehicle in Asia among major hedge funds. Assets under management at Dymon in February this year totalled USD2.85bn, of which USD2.5bn are in the firm’s flagship macro fund.

The CNMV on 29 June issued a sales license for Spain to the Santander 95 España 2 fund, a product which guarantees at least 95% of capital, which would represent a maximal loss of 1.6952% per year, at maturity on 31 July 2015. However, as a complement, Santander AM offers a maximal remuneration of 170% of the performance of the Ibex 35 index between 31 July 2012 and 17 July 2015, up to a limit of 20%, which would be equivalent to a maximal return of 29%, or 8.8587% per year.Until 31 July, the fund will invest at least 75% in repos and cash, while the remainder will be invested in corporate bonds. During the guarantee period, the portfolio will be invested in debt issued or guaranteed by European Union governments in cash, while the allocation to corporate bonds from companies domiciled in the EU is limited to 35%.CharacteristicsName: Santander 95 España 3, FIISIN code: ES017492005Maturity: 31 July 2015Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 0.3% until 31 July 2015, 1.3% thereafterEarly withdrawal penalty: 5% from 1 August 2012Minimal subscription: EUR30,000

On 29 June, the CNMV issued a sales license for Spain to the French-registered fund Edmond de Rothschild Eastern Europe, managed by Gegham Ananyan, with Thomas Gerhardt, head of emerging markets equity and commodity management (see Newsmanagers of 26 April 2012).

The 300 largest institutional investors in Asia, Japan and Australia have posted cumulative assets of USD32.8trn, according to the July issue of AsianInvestor magazine. For the first time, the magazine has included Japan and Australia in its rankings, meaning that it is not possible to evaluate year-on-year developments. In the Asia ex Japan region, however, assets under management are up year on year, to USD18.1trn, from USD15.6trn. This development is due to growth in inflows as well as corrections, the magazine reports. The 50 institutional investors in Japan add USD13.1trn to this sum, while the 26 names selected for China represent cumulative assets of USD11trn, far higher than South Korea (USD2trn).

The German financial services provider max.xs has announced the creation of an advisory unit, “sales consultants,” which will aim primarily to offer asset managers a practical toolbox to help them elaborate the positioning of their products and their commercial strategy in German-speaking markets. Concretely, max.xs will provide information on distribution channels and assistance to establish marketing and communication strategy, as well as contacts with the major service providers. That may prove useful for asset managers seeking to develop an access strategy for German-speaking markets, and to establish a solid business plan. In addition, max.xs specialists may provide useful assistance in evaluating the effectiveness of commercial strategy and optimising sales service activities.max.xs has also announced that it has received an exclusive distribution mandate serving German institutional and wholesale investors for the Austrian asset management firm Kathrein Privatbank. The agreement extends to mutual funds as well as institutional products in the areas of European government bonds and overlay solutions.

Mario Lenke, most recently head of relationships with major banking clients, has been appointed as head of IFA sales at DWS. He will be responsible for distribution to IFAs, IFA networks, platforms, and financial portfolio managers. His predecessor, Ivan Rancic, has become director of distribution for retirement products throughout Germany. The two newly-promoted men will report to Steffen Leipold, director of external sales for Germany.

A former star journalist covering the financial markets for the German television network NTV, Stefan Riße, will manage the new Riße Inflation Opportunities UI fund, launched jointly by the wealth management firm HPM Hanseatische Portfolio Management and the independent fund manager Universal-Investment. The diversified, multi-asset class, German-registered fund will aim to earn performance in real terms by using fundamentals, liquidity and behavioural biases. Options and futures will be used to manage portfolio risk, which will gradually invested as opportunities arise.CharacteristicsName: Riße Inflation Opportunities UIISIN codes: DE000A1JUWR3 (B, retail share class)DE000A1JUV86 (A, institutional share class)Front-end fee: 5% (B-class shares)Management commission: 1.875% (B share class)1.125% (A share class)Performance commission: 15% on performance exceeding the hurdle rate, the German consumer price index

The central asset manager for the co-operative banks of North Rhine-Westphalia, WGZ, is releasing a fund administered by Monega and advised by Johannes Führ Asset Management, a specialist in bonds from German small and mid-sized enterprises, family-owned and entrepreneurial firms. The German-registered product, launched on 2 July, the WGZ Mittelstand-Rentenfonds, is primarily aimed at institutional investors in the co-operative sector. The fund is starting out with assets of EUR30m.CharacteristicsName: WGZ Mittelstand-RentenfondsISIN code: DE000A1JSWX5Management commission: 0.35%Minimal subscription: EUR100,000

Michelle Seitz, head of investment management, has announced that the US asset management firm William Blair & Company has decided to close the two funds of its international growth strategy to new investors from 30 June, in order to check increasing asset levels and preserve performance. This will affect the William Blair International Growth and William Blair Institutional International Growth funds, whose assets total USD4.8bn, out of a total of about USD12.4bn in the international growth strategy overall.

Assets in the Pimco Total Return Fund, managed by Bill Gross, as of 29 June totalled USD260.9bn, thanks to net subscriptions of USD1.36bn in June, bringing total net inflows in first half to USD5.9bn, compared with net redemptions of USD4.97bn in the corresponding period of last year, Mutual Fund Wire reports, relaying reports in the Wall Street Journal. In addition, with returns of 5.75%, the Pimco flagship fund has outperformed 96% of its peer group.

Michel Barnier, le commissaire européen aux services financiers, a présenté mardi un paquet de trois propositions législatives. La première est un règlement sur les documents d’information clés concernant les produits d’investissement de détail (Prips), la deuxième une révision de la directive sur l’intermédiation en assurance (IMD) et la troisième une proposition visant à renforcer la protection des acheteurs de fonds d’investissement, OPCVM 5. S’agissant de Prips, La proposition prévoit l’obligation, pour chaque concepteur de produits d’investissement (gestionnaires de fonds d’investissement, assureurs, banques), de produire un document d’information clé (Kid) pour chaque produit.

Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB) annonce le lancement d’Alpha Metals, une nouvelle plate-forme de trading électronique sur les contrats à terme échangés sur le London Metal Exchange (LME). Alpha Metals permet aux clients de la banque d’avoir un accès direct sur LMEselect et de bénéficier de ses capacités de teneur de marché sur les contrats à terme et les «spreads» de contrats à terme LME sur l’aluminium, le cuivre, le plomb, le zinc, le nickel et l’étain.

Les nouvelles commandes à l’industrie aux Etats-Unis ont progressé plus que prévu en mai, un signal encourageant pour le secteur industriel qui était apparu plus vulnérable à la crise de la dette en Europe. Les commandes à l’industrie ont progressé de 0,7% au mois de mai, selon les chiffres publiés mardi par le département du Commerce.

Le gouvernement français prévoit une croissance économique plus faible qu’escompté, à 0,3% en 2012 et 1,2% en 2013 contre 0,5% et 1,7% prévu dans le programme de François Hollande, a annoncé mardi le Premier ministre, Jean-Marc Ayrault. «Nous avions anticipé pendant la campagne la faiblesse de la croissance en 2012 : estimée à 0,7% par le gouvernement précédent, elle sera en réalité de 0,3%. Pour 2013, la prudence et la sincérité nous conduisent à anticiper une croissance de l’ordre de 1,2%», a-t-il dit dans son discours de politique générale.