The hedge fund management firm Citi Capital Advisors, which is in the process of becoming independent of Citi, is launching an investment fund dedicated to CLIs, Absolute Return + Alpha reports. Citi, which will retain a stake in the firm, will also provide sales for the new vehicle.

The asset management firm GAM has limited inflows to its catastrophe bond fund, launched in fourth quarter 2011, due to capacity limitations in the sector, Investment Week reports. GAM has established a waiting list fro new subscriptions to the GAM Star Catastrophe Bond fund, due to a lack of new issues in which managers can invest. Assets under management by the fund currently total GBP80m. The fund has earned returns of 7% since its launch, compared with an average of -0.82% as of 28 June, Morningstar reports.

Investors estimate that a third wave of quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve is unlikely this year, despite rumours of such a possibility, according to a survey of major asset management firms by the wealth management unit of the Singapore-based OCBC group. Only 135 of managers surveyed expect a third wave of quantitative easing. The majority of firms surveyed (56%) are neutral on the question.

Investment Europe reports that the Italian asset management firm Duemme SGR has announced that it will be selling its real estate fund activity to Idea Fimit. Following the agreement, Idea Fimit will manage a range of eight real estate funds, with total assets of about EUR560m. The asset management firm has EUR10bn in assets under management in 31 funds, Investment Europe states.

According to reports in Fondsprofessionell, Andrej Brodnik, who had been head of the Frankfurt office of BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd, left the business at the end of June. He had been head of retail distribution in Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe since 2001.His successor will soon be named.

Niklas Helmreich, who had most recently been a partner at the consulting firm Strateco, after serving as director sales & operations at Mercedes Benz Bank, has been appointed as director of CMC Markets for Germany and Austria. He is based in the new Frankfurt office, opened in June.

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, relayed by Fondsprofessionell, Lars Hille, a member of the board at DZ-Bank, one of the central entities of the German co-operative banks, may become chairman of the board at DekaBank, the central asset management firm for the German savings banks, in August. He would succeed Oliver Behrens, who has been serving in the role in the interim since the dismissal of Franz Waas in early April.

In order to improve the performance of its North America Trust (GBP299m), which ranks 78th out of 83 US equity funds in the United Kingdom, Martin Currie has recruited Penny Kyle from the Kuwait Investment Office as co-manager with Tom Walker of the group’s North American portfolios, Investment Week reports. The Scottish asset management firm has also transferred David Forsyth, co-manager of the fund, to the equity income team, as a senior analyst.

Following the resignation of the chairman of the board at Barclays, Marcus Agiu, the British government has announced a series of investigations and legal changes in the wake of manipulations of the Libor inter-bank interest rate by the bank and several others, Les Echos reports. The British prime minister, David Cameron, has announced a Parliamentary investigation into banking practices, which will be led by the head of the Treasury commission, Andrew Tyrie. The United Kingdom should have “tougher and more transparent regulations of all the major financial sectors,” Cameron says. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has also announced an enquiry into the functioning of the Libor.

The Austrian-German asset management firm C-Quadrat (AT0000613005) on 2 July filed in an ad hoc release that it plans to acquire 100% of BCM (Luxembourg) SA, and so the entirety of BCM & Partners LLP, a London-based independent asset management firm specialised in credit funds, multi-asset class funds and funds of funds, with assets of about EUR800m. Assets under management by C-Quadrat totalled EUR2.93bn as of the end of 2011.The sale price, which is in the course of being negotiated, is expected to represent 10% of the market capitalisation of C-Quadrat, which a potential adjustment after 3 3/4 years, not to exceed +/-30%. Financing will be provided through owners’ equity, including shares which had been in the firm’s own control, and the use of credit.If due diligence provides satisfactory results, the deal may be signed by the end of July 2012 and would then be closed in third quarter.

McGraw-Hill and CME on 2 July announced the launch of the S&P Dow Jones Indices, the world’s largest provider of indices of financial markets. S&P Dow Jones Indices calculates over 830,000 indices, publishes benchmarks for 575 ETFs worldwide representing assets of USD387bn, and acts as an ADN for about USD1.5trn in indexed assets. S&P Dow Jones Indices is 73% controlled by McGraw-Hill, while CME owns 24.4% via its affiliates.

As in fourth quarter 2011, first quarter 2012 saw a considerably slowed pace of IPOs due due to the euro zone debt crisis. As of 30 June 2012, 4 firms added themselves to listing on Alternext, compared with 14 in the same period of the previous year (of which 6 were transfers from Euronext or the free market, which nuances the difference), according to statistics from Allegra Finance. In the Euronext portion of the market, 7 operations were completed in first half 2012, driven by a trend for the healthcare sector: it has been the bext quarter since 2008 in terms of the number of operations completed. In terms of fundraising, IPOs have allowed busnesses to raise EUR18m on Alternext, which is considerably below the levels achieved in the same period of last year. Notably, public IPOs represent the majority of operations, which reflects some confidence on the part of operators in retail demand.

The data provider S&P Capital IQ on 2 July announced the acquisition of the London-based firm Credit Market Analysis (CMA), a provider of data on over-the-counter markets. The acquisition comes in addition to those of R2 Financial Technologies and QuantHouse, which will allow S&P Capital IQ to offer very broad risk and market data analysis platforms.

State Street Corp has been selected by Emory University to provide risk analysis for its endowment, which has total assets of USD5bn; the contract includes data management, risk measurement and investment analysis, which will provide an overall picture of the exposure of all portfolios to various risks, and to factors derived from characteristics of those risks. The Boston-based firm was already responsible for custody, performance measurement and compliance for the Emory endowment.

According to the manager of the Total Return Fund (USD259bn) from Pimco, Bill Gross, if current trends continue and nothing is done to correct them, the United States will owe 125% of its GDP in 2015, compared with 100% currently. But counting USD66trn in deficit for the social security and healthcare systems and USD38trn in unfinanced debt for local and state governments, and the ratio will reach 800%, Investment Week reports. However, Gross recommends not underweighting Uncle Sam during the debt crisis, since in the United States, money seeking a refuge will find deep and liquid equity and bond markets.

The US asset management firm Neuberger Berman (USD199bn in assets as of the end of March) has announced that it signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI) on 29 June.

BlackRock has reached a final settlement to acquire Swiss Re Private Equity Partners (“SRPEP,”) the investment fund specialised in private equity and infrastructure from Swiss Re, according to a statement from BlackRock published on 3 July. The fund managed investments valued at USD7.5bn as of the end of May 2012. The sale price has not been disclosed. All investments of SRPEP will be taken over, and the way is open to other engagements by Swiss Re on the alternative platform BAI (BlackRock Alternative Investors). SRPEP, which is present in Zurich and Geneva, will be integrated into the BlackRock Private Equity Partners (BRPEP) fund. This will allow it to strengthen its presence in Europe and Asia. The platform will have USD15bn in assets under management. Philippe Hildebrand, former chairman of the Swiss national bank, who resigned, will in October become the operational second in command at BlackRock.

Swiss Life is planning to change the name of its German affiliate AWD. If the plans go ahead, one of the best-known and most controversial brand names on the German financial market would disappear, also signifying the end of the era of Carsten Maschmeyer, the founder of AWD, Financial Times Deutschland writes. A final decision will be made by November, the newspaper reports, citing sources close to the insurer. A spokesperson for Swiss Life, contacted by Newsmanagers, declined to comment on the reports.

The BlackRock group has appointed Frank Rosenschon as director of institutional business in Switzerland, according to a statement released on 2 July. The new director will report to Leen Meijaard, director of business in continental Europe, and to the head for Switzerland, Martin Gut. Rosenschon has spent the past four years at Credit Suisse. “We would like to strengthen our presence in the area of pension funds, insurers and family offices,” says Gut, cited in the statement.

The asset management firm IFP Fund Management SA, specialised in convertible bonds, and founded in 2003 by Giuseppe Mirante, is changing names, following a management buyout, according to a statement from the firm. It will now be known as Mirante Fund Management SA (MFM). As of 15 August, the two IFP funds, which are actively managed and licensed for retail sale in Switzerland in several share classes, will also be renamed, and will be relaunched under the name MFM. However, the ISIN numbers, depository bank and administrator of the funds will not change. Assets under management by the firm currently total CHF470m, of which CHF320m are for its flagship product, the IFP Global Convertible Bonds fund. Giuseppe Mirante, 42, and Alexis Martin, 32, will lead the firm based in Buchillon, while Markus Bossard, 43, Gianfranco Iuliano, 37, and Matthias Neubrand, 29, at the Zurich offices, will pursue the firm’s proven strategy of conservative and traditional orientation in portfolios and convertible bonds, with an emphasis on controlled and constant growth, both for house funds and for special mandates from institutional clients.

Bernard Droux, one of the eight partners at Lombard Odier, has claimed in Business Week, relayed by finews, that the firm is in a position to achieve its net inflow objective of CHF7-8bn, as in 2011 (CHF7.2bn). The banker claims that Swiss banks are profiting from uncertainty in Europe. They may have lost assets due to the attacks on Swiss banking confidentiality, but foreign clients are attracted by the security and safety of the Swiss financial market, and are likely to invest even if they have to declare it all to the tax authorities.

Costs related to regulatory compliance have more than doubled in the past five years for 63% of private banks with less than CHF10bn in assets, according to a study published on Monday by the ZeFir, the centre fore financial reguatory issues at the University of Zurich, Agefi Switzerland reports. To satisfy the regulations and laws currently in force, smaller firms also need to dedicate a proportionately larger number of employees in legal and compliance issues. This percentage runs as high as 5% for banks with less than CHF10bn in assets, compared with 2% for those with larger volumes.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has issued an operating license to the fund management firm Yingda FMC, which is the 73rd entity in Mainland China to be issued with a license. Yingda FMC, with share capital of CNY120m, is 49% controlled by Yingda International Trust, 36% by China Communications Construction, and 15% by Aerospace Science & Industry Finance Corp, Z-Ben Advisors states.

In first half, the Ibex index of Spanish equities lost 17.08%. of the 104 funds of Spanish equities monitored by Morningstar, 50 saw heavier losses than the benchmark, 17 lost 15% to 17%, and 13 lost 13-15%, Cotizalia reports. The best result was for the Fidelity Iberia Fund, which lost only 4.18% or 4.87%, depending on the share class. The next two are EDM-Inversión (-6.24%) and Gesconsult Crecimiento (-6.5%). The Caja Ingenieros Iberian Equity fund is in fourth place, with losses of 6.6%.

Doreen Mallon, head of relations with strategic clients at Berenberg Lux Invest in Germany, on 1 July joined the Luxembourg-based firm Alceda as director, fund sales, to direct distribution of UCITS-compliant funds on the Alceda platform to institutional clients in Germany and German-speaking countries, Fondsprofessionell reports. She joins the sales team, for which Alceda has also recently recruited Helmut Dörrbecker (see Newsmanagers of 25 May).

La Fondation de prévoyance de Skyguide, Skycare (1 milliard de francs suisses d’actifs) a finalisé sa dernière étude ALM en avril de cette année. La Fondation a décidé d’investir dans les obligations convertibles qui représentent maintenant 2,5% des actifs du portefeuille. Le régime est aussi en train de revoir sa stratégie d’investissement ainsi que ses partenaires asset managers. Les réflexions devraient aboutir à des résultats en juillet. Le Fonds souhaite aussi travailler avec plusieurs asset managers pour son allocation en fonds de hedge funds. L’allocation en fonds de hedge funds est récemment passée de 20% à 15% tandis que l’investissement en obligations d’entreprises est monté de 2,5% à 5% des actifs. La stratégie d’investissement est maintenant la suivante : 25% en actions, 25% en immobiliers direct ou indirect, 15% en fonds de hedge funds, 15% en obligations (incluant 2,5% d’obligations convertibles), 10% en liquidités, 5% en private equity et 5% en crédit.

Arnaud Laforge, directeur financier de Prepar-Vie lors d’une table ronde organisée mi juin par amLeague en partenariat avec Newsmanagers : Nous ne gèrons pas en direct tout ce qui est investissements actions et assimilés. On sélectionne les OPCVM. On fait appel aux talents extérieurs. Nous avons une approche un peu différente, comme nos investissements actions sont très minoritaires, environ 5% des encours globaux qui totalisent 4,3 milliards d’euros, notre diversification sur ces titres a pour objectif d’obtenir la performance des actions. La gestion quantitative représente moins de 10% de nos investissements actions. On peut difficilement expliquer un choix qui serait très orienté vers cette gestion si cela ne se passait pas aussi bien. Aujourd’hui, quitte à se diversifier, on va plutôt vers des OPVCM ouverts à performance absolue qui peuvent en partie utiliser des techniques de gestion quantitative, mais pas seulement. Il y a différents processus de gestion, cela peut être du style global macro, partiellement monétaire et partiellement quantitatif. Mais on sait dès le départ que c’est un investissement qui sera moins volatil que les actions et moins performant que les actions. La couleur est annoncée. Dans nos répartitions d’actifs qui sont dans nos reportings, il n’y a pas de surprise possible. Au 1er janvier on ne sait pas comment le fonds va être investi. A posteriori, au niveau du reporting, c’est plus clair : il y a eu un investissement sur telle ou telle classe d’actifs, avec tel ou tel résultat. Dans tous les cas, c’est un chèque en blanc. Dans la gestion quantitative en alternative à l’investissement actions, cela peut être un peu difficile d’expliquer que cette diversification actions a été sur un vecteur qui a fait moins bien. C’est vrai que ces dernières années, quand on voit les performances du marché actions, c’est plutôt mieux ! Mais attention au déphasage les années où les marchés actions sont plus performants, si l’on est fortement investis sur ce vecteur. Un autre élément doit être aussi pris en compte : Sovabilité II puisque l’on est fortement chargé en actions. Investir dans la gestion alternative, si c’est pour avoir de l’eau tiède comme performance, n’offre que peu d’intérêt.

Le gestionnaire austro-allemand C-Quadrat (AT0000613005) a annoncé le 2 juillet dans un communiqué boursier son intention d’acquérir 100 % de BCM (Luxembourg) SA et ainsi la totalité de la société de gestion britannique BCM & Partners LLP, un gestionnaire indépendant londonien spécialiste des fonds crédit, des fonds multi-classes d’actifs et des fonds de fonds dont l’encours se situe à environ 800 millions d’euros. Les actifs gérés par C-Quadrat se situaient à 2,93 milliards d’euros fin 2011.Le montant de la transaction en cours de négociation devrait correspondre à 10 % de la capitalisation boursière de C-Quadrat, avec un éventuel ajustement au bout de 3 ¾ années qui ne pourra dépasser 30 % à la hausse ou à la baisse. Le financement sera assuré par des fonds propres, dont des titres provenant de l’autocontrôle, ainsi que par le recours à des crédits.Si la due diligence donne des résultats satisfaisants, la signature de la transaction pourrait intervenir avant la fin juillet 2012 et l’opération serait finalisée dans le courant du troisième trimestre.

Le fonds d’investissement dans les petites entreprises Perfectis, sponsorisé à hauteur de 20 % par l’assureur-crédit Euler Hermès Sfac, va s’adosser à HLD, le holding cofondé par Jean-Bernard Lafonta et soutenu par une dizaine d’entrepreneurs dont Claude Bébéar, la famille Decaux et Norbert Dentressangle, rapporte Les Echos. Un rapprochement salutaire pour l'équipe de Perfectis, qui a dû arrêter d’investir faute d’avoir réussi à lever son troisième fonds mi-2009. Et qui envisage même désormais de repartir en levée au deuxième trimestre de l’année prochaine, à hauteur d’une centaine de millions d’euros.

L’immeuble de bureaux de 3 900 m² propriété du fonds immobilier «BNL Portfolio Immobiliare» géré par BNP Paribas REIM et situé 49/51 rue Vivienne dans le 2ème arrondissement de Paris a été cédé à la SCPI EFIMMO 1 (Sofidy) le 31 mai 2012, ont annoncé les deux sociétés dans un communiqué publié le 2 juillet. L’immeuble, détenu en copropriété, développe une surface totale de 3 864 m² de bureaux avec une capacité de parking de 60 emplacements en sous-sol. Il a fait l’objet d’une restructuration totale en 2010/2011. L’intégralité des locaux est louée depuis le 15 septembre 2011 à la société Fremantle Média France (Groupe RTL) dans le cadre d’un bail ferme de 6 ans. “BNL Portfolio Immobiliare” est un fonds géré par BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management Italy (BNP Paribas REIM) et AEW Europe est l’asset manager local qui a coordonné les travaux de restructuration, procédé à la location de l’immeuble et exécuté la vente de l’actif.