The British firm Standard Life Investments (SLI) has reopened its British small caps fund UK Smaller Companies fund, which is now available on the SLI platform, Investment Week reports. The fund had been closed to new investors in August 2011 when its assets under management totalled GBP1.3bn. It has since lost more than GBP300m in assets, and now has a total of GBP988m. Hence the decision to undertake a limited reopening of a ‘house’ fund.

According to statistics from Morningstar, European long-term funds in May underwent net capital outflows of EUR8.9bn, while money market and allocation funds posted net subscriptions of EUR15.35bn and EUR855m, respectively.In detail, equity funds have undergone the largest net outflows, totalling about EUR12.5bn, while hedge funds suffered net redemptions of EUR1.09bn. Commodities and convertibles have also posted net redemptions of EUR202m and EUR484m, respectively. However, bond funds have seen net subscriptions of EUR4.93bn in May.Morningstar states that in May, money market funds denominated in US dollars have posted inflows of EUR11bn, making it the most popular Morningstar short-term category, while money market funds denominated in euros attracted EUR7bn in assets, and funds in pounds sterling posted EUR4bn in redemptions.Since the beginning of the year, long-term funds have posted net subscriptions of EUR46.69bn, while net inflows to money market funds have totalled EUR37.89bn. Among long-term funds, net inflows went largely to allocation funds (EUR8.88bn) and particularly bond funds (EUR48.34bn), while equity funds have seen net outflows of EUR11.34bn.

Aberdeen Asset Management is adding two new funds ot its range on the theme of Brazil. They are the Aberdeen Global – Brazil Bond Fund and Aberdeen Global – Brazil Equity Fund, which will be added to Aberdeen’s product range via the transfer of fund shares from the Crédit Suisse Brazil Bond Fund and Crédit Suisse Brazil Equity Fund to the Aberdeen Global Siav. The management of the two funds has been provided by Aberdeen since 2 April 2012. The Brazilian equity strategy is managed by the emerging markets equity team, led by Devan Kaloo, head of Emerging Markets at Aberdeen. The emerging market debt team led by Brett Diment manages the bond fund. The two products, which have been available in France since 15 June, are also on sale in Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Characteristics ISIN codes: Aberdeen Global - Brazil Bond Fund LU0728927558 (retail A1 Distribution share class), management fees 1.50% LU0728927632 (retail A2 Capitalisation share class), management fees 1.50% LU0728927988 (retail E1 Distribution share class), management fees 1.50% LU0728928283 (institutional I2 Capitalisation share class), management fees 1.50%Aberdeen Global - Brazil Equity Fund LU0728926402 (retail A2 Capitalisation share class), management fees 1.75% LU0728926824 (retail E2 Capitalisation share class), management fees 1.75%

Janus Capital Management will be launching a new fund, which will be managed by its affiliate Intech, Mutual Fund Wire has announced. The Janus Aspen Intech U.S. Low Volatility Portfolio will invest exclusively in equities, with a low volatility strategy. The team led by Adrian Banner will be in charge of managing the new product.

The German asset management firm Deka Immobilian has acquired a, 11,400 square metre commercial property located in the Cœur de Bastide district of Bordeaux, on the right bank of the Garonne river, form a joint venture of Groupe Soline and Groupe Deret. The property, which has a High Environmental Quality (HQE) label, will be added to the portfolio of an institutional real estate fund.

Carmignac Gestion on Wednesday, 27 June announced that it has publicly pledged to adopt and apply the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, instituted by the United Nations (UN-PRI).

Having already acquired mutual funds from Fifth Third Bancorp (with total assets of USD5bn) and the British firm Prime Rate Capital Management in April, Federated Investors has announced that it has acquired the eight mutual funds of the Performance Funds Trust from Trustmark Investment Advisors and Trustmark National Bank. The transaction includes four equity funds, two bond funds and two money market funds; the latter have assets of USd571m. The funds, which have a total of USD903m in assets, will all be merged into existing Federated products.The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Christopher Donahue, chairman and CEO of Federated (USD363bn), says that his group is inclined to buy more mutual funds from banks.

With the creation of the Global Collateral Services unit, which will be led by Kurt Woetzel, senior executive vice president and head of Global Operations and Technology, BNY Mellon can now offer broker-dealers and institutional investors facing increased needs in terms of collateral management due to new regulatory requirements, a service which brings together its global resources in the areas of segregation, allocation, financing, and transformation of collateral. BNY claims a place as the largest global custodian and one of the largest actors in securities lending, with USD3trn in lendable assets.

“In the space of four years to the end of March, Janus has quadrupled its bond assets to USD22.7bn, which includes both funds and mandates. Inflows and assets have continued to increase strongly since the beginning of second quarter. In January-March, net subscriptions totalled USD1.2bn; they have significantly increased further since the end of March,” Colleen Denzler, global head of fixed income strategy for the US firm Janus Capital Group, has told Newsmanagers at an official opening of the firm’s Paris offices.Currently, the Denver-based asset management firm is not planning to extend its product family: “we estimate that our product range is currently complete. But we have not ruled out making another foray into the area of bank loans.” Concerning UCITS products, the range includes five products (High Yield, Global High Yield, Global Investment Grade, US Short-Term Bond, Flexible Income). Non-US investors may access six strategies via mandates (Core Plus Bond, Short Duration Bond, High Yield Bond, Global Core Plus, Global Investment Grade Bond, and Global High Yield Bond). “Our non-US bond asses as of the end of March totalled USD3.7bn,” says Denzler.“Currently, investor demand is concentrated on short-term bonds, due to the ongoing uncertainty, ‘flexible income,’ which allows clients to outsource their liability-driven investment to us, and high yield,” explains Olivier Systchenko, head of institutional clients. In terms of the positioning of Janus portfolios, Denzler says that currently, “we have no European banking sector bonds in our portfolio at all, and overall we are highly underweight on Europe and Asia. However, we are currently overweight on the United States and Latin America, since that is where we see the best investment opportunities at the moment.”

The US firm Pimco (Allianz group) has hired three specialists for its alternative investment platform, Hedgeweek reports. They are Neal Reiner, who is joining the firm as executive vice president, product manager for credit alternative energy, had previously been at Gottex Fund Management.The other two recruitments are Jennifer Strickland and Molly Hall, who will be arriving in Newport beach as executive vice presidents and senior alternative specialists. Strickland had been at BlueMountain Capital Management, while Hall had been at Canyon Capital Advisors.

Sébastien Lemonnier, who had been in charge of management of the Tocqueville Value Europe fund with Don Fitzgerald at Tocqueville Finance, has announced his departure from the asset management firm on the professional social networking site LinkedIn. “The page turned in a few days,” he notes, and he “had to leave Tocqueville Finance after nine good and loyal years.” The manager adds that in the past five years consecutively, his fund has outperformed its benchmark, the MSCI Europe DNR.

Pioneer Investments has announced a series of new recruitments for its sales teams in the United States. 15 new sales personnel will focus on wealth management and financial planners in various regions of the United States, bringing the team to 81 members. The appointments are a combination of internal promotions and external recruitments, a statement says.

The average coverage rate for Netherlands pension funds has fallen 5 percentage points in June, according to the specialist website IPE. The coverage rate for the pension fund ABP, for teachers and public employees, with assets of about EUR260bn, is expected to fall to about 87% as of the end of June, compared with 92% one month earlier. As a result, the pension fund will have difficulty keeping on track with its recovery plan, and may have to lower its benefits.

Bernard Wenger, second in command in sales to Germany and Austria since May 2011 at the British firm ETF Securities, will become head of distribution for the two countries, following the departure of Nigel Longley, who has resigned, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. Isabell Mössler, head of distribution for Europe, has announced that ETF Securities is planning to recruit for its sales team for the German market «in the mid-term.”

The central asset management firm for the German savings banks, DekaBank, is entering the certificate niche, and will compete in this highly profitable segment with the Landesbanken, which up until last year controlled a 50% stake in its capital, Handelsblatt reports. The decision was adopted by the board of directors on Thursday, and the feasibility of the project will be examined at the next meeting, in September. The major rivals of DekaBank for certificates in the public banking sector will be LBBW and Helaba.

The Asian asset management sector has cut Europe out as a potential investment destination, according to a survey by Asian Investor and Clifford Chance. Professionals based in Asia are showing limited interest in Europe as a destination for allocation of Asian assets, or as a domicile for new products. Only 9% of respondents chose continental Europe, compared with 20% in the last survey. However, 40% of respondents chose North America, putting it ahead of Asia ex Japan and China/Hong Kong.

Mary Shapiro, chairman of the SEC, on Thursday announced that the market watchdog would leave money market fund managers a choice of either increasing their regulatory capital, or being more transparent with investors about the value of their portfolios, the Wall Street Journal reports. Either asset management firms should maintain a thin cushion of capital along with restrictions imposed on investors seeking to exit the fund, or they should abandon the sacrosanct principle of constant USD1 NAV.

Germany’s SEB Asset Management on 28 June announced that as part of the liquidation of its open-ended real estate fund SEB ImmoInvest, it will pay out EUR10.25 per share to shareholders on 29 June, which represents a total of EUR1.2bn, or 20% of total assets. The net asset value of the fund will be reduced correspondingly.The next payment will come in December, and will be lower, as the asset management firm will be required to pay off loans contracted by the fund first.

The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) on 28 June published a consultation document about pay scales for managers of hedge funds, as part of its application of the MiFID directive. The consultation will remain open until the end of September, while the publication of a final report is slated for the end of 2012.

Regulators must be attentive to the cost/benefit ratio for each measure they introduce, Claude Kremer, president of EFAMA, declared on Thursday, summarizing a closed meeting of asset management sector CEOs and representatives of regulatory authorities, held in the city.“Investor protection is essential, but if regulation makes products too costly and unattractive, that will slow investment over the long term” says Kremer. Directors in the asset management sector are also concerned about obstacles which regulation may pose to innovation.Kremer has stated that debates focused on four areas: efficiency, distribution, innovation and long-term savings.

Dans un arrêt attendu par l’ensemble des acteurs du secteur, la Cour Suprême des Etats-Unis a maintenu dans ses grandes lignes la réforme du système de santé. Une victoire pour Barack Obama à quelques mois du scrutin présidentiel. Par cinq voix contre quatre, la plus haute juridiction américaine a validé le «mandat individuel» qui contraindra la plupart des Américains à contracter une assurance maladie à partir de 2014. Cette exigence figure au cœur de la réforme, qui force également les assureurs à couvrir les problèmes de santé préexistants. La Cour a en revanche limité l’extension du programme Medicaid pour les plus modestes, estimant que le gouvernement fédéral ne pouvait pas menacer les Etats au portefeuille s’ils ne s’y conformaient pas pleinement.

Le gouverneur de la banque centrale luxembourgeoise, Yves Mersch, devrait être nommé au directoire de la Banque centrale européenne, ont rapporté jeudi à Reuters des sources de la zone euro. Yves Mersch remplacera l’Espagnol Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Parama, dont le mandat est arrivé à son terme en mai.

L’organisation des pays exportateurs de pétrole (Opep) s’attend à ce que la demande mondiale de pétrole affiche une croissance régulière, en particulier dans les pays développés, et ce malgré le ralentissement économique, ont annoncé jeudi dans un communiqué commun l’Opep et l’Union européenne. «Les réserves de capacités de l’Opep restent efficaces pour diminuer les pressions sur le marché», souligne-t-on.

Le Fonds monétaire international va envoyer une mission à Athènes la semaine prochaine pour faire le point sur les derniers développements économiques. Elle sera suivie d’une mission de négociation pour discuter avec les autorités des mesures nécessaires pour atteindre les objectifs du programme. L’institution de Washington enverra également à la même période une mission à Chypre, Nicosie ayant à son tour demandé un plan d’aide international.

Le conseil d’administration a nommé Damien Rahier directeur général de Portzamparc SA, sur proposition de Philippe de Portzamparc. Celui-ci, actuel PDG, évolue ainsi vers la fonction de Président. L’actionnariat du groupe reste inchangé, Philippe de Portzamparc et le groupe familial conservant 25,4% des parts. Le reste du capital est entre les mains de la Banque Populaire Atlantique (23,6%) et de B*Capital (51%).

Le Premier ministre du Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker devrait rester à la tête de l’Eurogroupe, tandis que l’actuel président du Fonds européen de stabilité financière (FESF) Klaus Regling va prendre la tête du Mécanisme européen de stabilité financière (MES), ont indiqué jeudi à Reuters des responsables au sein de l’Union européenne. Jean-Claude Juncker est le président de l’Eurogroupe depuis 2005. Son mandat expire à la fin du mois.

Le taux de croissance économique en Allemagne devrait ralentir à 0,3% seulement en 2013, après un taux déjà faible de 0,6% cette année, à la suite des mesures d’austérité qui devraient plonger ses partenaires européens dans la récession, selon l’institut d'études allemand IMK. «La récession en zone euro porte sérieusement atteinte à l'économie allemande», a estimé Gustav Horn, directeur de l’IMK.

Les inscriptions hebdomadaires au chômage ont diminué aux Etats-Unis lors de la semaine au 23 juin, à 386.000 contre 392.000 (révisé) la semaine précédente, a annoncé jeudi le département du Travail. Les économistes attendaient en moyenne 385.000 inscriptions au chômage. La moyenne mobile sur quatre semaines s'établit à 386.750 contre 387.500 (révisé) la semaine précédente.

L'économie américaine a ralenti comme prévu au premier trimestre et la baisse plus prononcée qu’attendu des dépenses de consommation et des exportations pourrait affaiblir les perspectives économiques pour le trimestre en cours. Le PIB des Etats-Unis a progressé de 1,9% en rythme annualisé selon des chiffres définitifs du département du Commerce. La croissance avait d’abord été annoncée à 2,2% au premier trimestre, avant d'être révisée à 1,9% dans une deuxième estimation.

«Je viens pour qu’il y ait des solutions très rapides pour soutenir les pays qui sont les plus en difficultés sur les marchés, alors même qu’ils ont fait des efforts considérables pour redresser leurs comptes publics», a déclaré le président français à son arrivée au Conseil européen, à Bruxelles. François Hollande a réaffirmé qu’il souhaitait que la croissance soit au cœur des engagements des Européens.