p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } CB Richard Ellis Investors, a real estate fund management firm, on 15 November announced the appointment of Jean Lamothe as president of CB Richard Ellis Investors Europe. He will direct the UK and European platforms, and will also be responsible for strategic orientation, operational management, financial results and leadership of a single European platform.

In its most recent fiscal year, ending on 30 September 2010, Franklin Templeton Investments has posted net inflows in Europe of USD24bn via distributors and institutional investors, making it one of the largest destinations of inflows in the region.Franklin Templeton says in a statement that France has participated in this trend, as Templeton France SA in the period saw all-time high net inflows of EUR1.2bn for the sub-funds of the Luxembourg Sicav Franklin Templeton Investment Funds (FTIF), which has a total of USD72bn in assets under management in Europe. Assets under mangaement in France totalled USD3.2bn as of 30 September 2010.Inflows went both to fixed-income and equities products. For bonds, subscriptions largely went to the Templeton Global Bond Fund and Templeton Global Total Return Fund. In the equities category, inflows were largely concentrated on emerging markets equities, via the Templeton Asian Growth Fund.These results confirm the group’s resolutely international model, with half of net sales now consisting of international sales (outside the United States).

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 15 November, GAM Holding announced that its assets under management, excluding the CHF17bn in Julius Baer funds distributed by Swiss & Global Asset Management and “sub-advised” by GAM, totalled CHF118.7bn as of the end of September, which represents an increase of CHF2.1bn, or 2%, compared with 30 June. This increase is due to net subscriptions related to the diversification of the product range. For GAM, assets as of 30 September totalled CHF53.8bn, compared with CHF53.1bn three months earlier. Net subscriptions and market effects were partially offset by the depreciation of the US dollar against the Swiss franc. Net inflows concerned the fixed income range, including the funds which GAM sub-advises for Swiss & Global Asset Management, as well as single manager absolute return funds and Asian equities strategies. For Swiss & Global Asset Management, assets increased from CHF78.3bn as of the end of June to CHF81.9bn as of 30 September, also due to net subscriptions and market effects. The negative impact of the falling dollar was partially offset by the rise of the euro against the Swiss franc.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the first nine months of the year, MLP posted net profits of EUR12.5m, compared with losses of EUR2.3m the previous year, while profits for continued operations increased from EUR11.7m to EUR17m, on earnings of EUR348.8m compared with EUR345.3m. In third quarter, net profits totalled EUR6.8m, compared with EUR4.6m for the corresponding period of last year. Due to net subscriptions from retail and institutional investors, and to positive market effects, assets at MLP as of 30 September totalled a new record of EUR19.3bn, compared with EUR18.7bn as of 30 June, and EUR12.5bn one year previously. The number of clients as of the end of September totalled 771,000, compared with 767,000 as of the end of June, and 781,000 one year previously. The number of client advisers fell to 2,317 as of the end of September, from 2,359 as of the end of June.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The German-Austrian management firm C-Quadrat, in which AmpegaGerling Asset Management last month acquired a 32.6% stake (see Newsmanagers of 14 October), has announced net profits for the first nine months of the year of EUR9.3m, compared with EUR3m in the corresponding period of last year. In the period under review, assets in funds increased from EUR2.66bn to EUR3.04bn, while assets under management overall increased to EUR4.86bn from EUR4.51bn.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2009, the French financial regulator, the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), granted only 25 licenses to management firms, compared with 50 in 2008, a decline of 50%. In the same period, 29 licenses were cancelled. This represents a 71% increase year on year, which is due partially to difficult market conditions, and partly to a consolidation in the profession. As a result, the number of active asset management firms has fallen slightly to 567 as of 31 December 2009, the AMF reports in its report on asset management for third parties in 2009, published on Monday. This level remains high, the AMF says. This development did not prevent assets from increasing, as, following a decline in 2008, they increased by 12% both for mandated and collective management, to EUR2.533trn. This increase in assets did not directly result in an increase in earnings at portfolio management firms (-8%), as the sector was penalised by unfavourable declines in assets in second half 2008 and a product mix oriented to more prudent but less lucrative strategies, the AMF reports. After heavy declines in 2008 (-34.5%), operating results at portfolio management firms remained stable in 2009, at EUR2.2bn. Operating margins recovered, from 18% in 2008 to 20% in 2009, but nonetheless remain well below their peaks in 2006 (25%). In 2009, the number of management firms to have posted operating losses remains high, at 123 (23% of the total), compared with 137 firms in 2008, while entrepreneurial management firms represent the largest number of firms to have posted operating losses.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On Tuesday, 16 November, Barclays France launched Bmarkets, the listed structured products platform from Barclays Capital. About 200 certificates are on offer to French private investors on Euronext Paris, including 100% Open-End certificates and leveraged certificates known as Turbos Infinis. The certificates are based on a wide range of underlying assets, including CAC 30, French large caps, European and American shares, international indices. Barclays will also offer stock-picking based on specific themes, sectors or regions via exclusive indices. The first available series, the Chips indices (a reference to “blue chips”), aim to provide access to selections of quality shares (China Chips, Euro Chips, Green Chips, etc). As investors are tending to avoid more complex products, Bmarkets does not aim to revolutionise the product range for structured products, but merely to offer investors solutions which will allow them to imagine and deploy their strategies. ‘The current situation does not lend itself to fantasy or to experimentation. Bmarkets aims to simplify investors’ lives as much as possible,” explained Estelle Elbaz, head of the Euronext-listed structured products at Barclays Capital, at a press conference on 15 November. With this in mind, Bmarkets offers several informational resources for pedagogical purposes, a quarterly magazine, SimpliCity, a weekly newsletter, SimplyFi, and video and radio programs. The objective of Bmarkets in France is to gradually enrich the product offerings to achieve about 1,000 products during the year 2011. Bmarkets, created in 2009, is now active in several European countries, including Germany, where it has over 4,000 products, and where it is aiming for 20,000 by the second half of 2011, and in Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore). The next steps are Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom in Europe, and China and India in Asia.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Invesco Ltd and Morgan Stanley announced at the end of last week that the 30.89 million ordinary shares being placed on the market by an affiliate of Morgan Stanley (see Newsmanagers of 12 November) will be offered as part of a secondary placement at USD21.48 each, which will bring in revenues for the vendor of USD664m. On Friday, the closing price of the shares was USD22.13, down 1.43% from the previous day.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Pershing, an affiliate of BNY Mellon, has announced its acquisition of the custody and clearance activities of Jeffereies & Company. The sale price has not been disclosed. By the terms of the agreement, Jefferies will gradually transfer its broker-dealer clients to Pershing, which will offer them its full range of services.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Chinese management firm Harvest Global Investment (HGI), in which Deutsche Asset Management (Asia) owns a 30% stake, has signed an outsourcing deal with State Street, Asian Investor reports. By the terms of the agreement, State Street will provide middle office services, which will allow HGI to reduce its costs. This is the first time that State Street has won a mandate of this type from a Chinese management firm.

Calpers has signed an agreement to license proprietary portfolio management software from Ermitage – one of Europe’s oldest quantitative hedge fund managers, according to the Financial Times. The pension fund is now going to roll out the trading software, known as Optics, across its long-only and absolute return portfolios.

The California pension fund CalPERS on 15 November announced that it has adopted a new strategy of engagement with underperforming businesses. Rather than publicly denounce them in its “Focus List,” as it has done each spring for 20 years, CalPERS will now make direct contact with firms, and propose resolutions at general shareholders’ meetings.The change is inspired by the observation that name and shame tactics, though still effective a few years ago, no longer bring the desired results. According to a study by Wilshire Consulting of 155 businesses between 1999 and 2008, the 96 firms which were not on the Focus List but which were closely monitored by CalPERS instead far outperformed the 59 businesses which were placed on the Focus List for five-year periods.At its 2011 general shareholders’ meetings, CalPERS will deploy a new selection process, based on financial and extra-financial criteria, which will aim to propose resolutions at firms which had previously been consigned to the Focus List.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After a continual increase from 2001 to 2007, management commissions earned by portfolio management firms (SGP) last year fell for the second consecutive year, by 7%, from EUR10.34bn to EUR9.66bn, the AMF indicates in its report on third-party management in 2009, published on 15 November. Over two years, the decline represents nearly 20%. Nevertheless the proportion of management commissions for operating products has increased slightly, to 87%. Management commissions are composed 98% of mandated management commissions and mutual fund management commissions, while the remainder consists of commissions related to the management of foreign-registered funds. After a disintegration in the proportion of OPC commissions from operating products in the past three years, the AMF in 2009 observed a return to 2006 levels, with 79.4% of total operating proceeds. The proportion of mandate commissions from operating products is down slightly, to 6%, from 6.7% one year previously. Management firms with over EUR1bn in assets under management accounted for 87% of all commissions, down from 89% in 2008. They also accounted for 58% of managers (compared with 57%), and 22% (compared with 24%) of management firms. Commissions for all SGP activities, defined as the ratio of total management commissions over total assets under management, were 0.34% in 2009, compared with 0.41% in 2008, with strong disparities depending on the type of management undertaken. Generalists managing less than EUR500m charged 1.19%, compared with 1.55% in 2008, while private management firms charged a rate of only 0.13%, compared with 0.41% one year previously.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to the most recent statistics from Europerformance-Six Telekurs, the category of equities funds shows an average variation of 3.4% to its assets, considerably more than the bond fund category (0.1%) and money market funds, which have seen their assets continue to decline (-1.1%). For equities products, internationally-invested funds have seen the strongest increase in their assets (4.7%), followed by funds composed of European equities (3.6%). At the other end of the spectrum, French equities funds posted the most moderate increase (2.6%). Once again, outflows from money market funds was strong (-4.94%), while dynamic type money market funds posted net inflows of 1.16%. For bond funds, Euro zone mutual funds posted outflows of 0.2%. However, high yield funds saw net inflows of 0.13%. A study of performance confirms that it has been a good month for equities funds, which show average gains of 2.86%, with an increase of 3.57% for French equities funds, just behind funds invested in the Euro zone, which posted the highest average gains (3.70%). International funds saw gains of 2.03%.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Hedge Week reports that in early 2011, the Austrian management firm Erste Sparinvest will launch the ESPA Alternative Diversified Fund, its first UCITS-compliant hedge fund, an Austrian-registered product which will start up with seed capital of EUR50m. The management of the fund will be entrusted to the Alternative Investment Group at Erste Bank, led by Mark Cachia, a team which manages USD650m in multi-strategy funds of hedge funds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Spanish RMBS Fund from Renta 4 will be absorbed into the Spanish-registered fund of hedge funds Minerva from the same management firm, Funds People reports. The Spanish RMBS, launches slightly over one year ago, was never actively promoted, and its assets essentially consist of the seed capital. Renta 4 retains two other hedge funds, Accurate Global Assets and Mosaic Iberia.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For its institutional real estate fund WestInvest TargetSelect Hotels, Deka Immobilien has acquired the Atlantic Congress Hotel in Essen from Zech Group GmbH. The sale price has not been disclosed. The property is a four-story hotel with 248 rooms and measuring 18,000 square metres.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Hedge Fund.net, the hedge fund industry in October posted the highest net subscriptions since November 2009, as investors regained confidence in signs of economic stabilisation and strong increases on the markets, The Wall Street Journal reports. These net subscriptions totalled USD18.4bn, compared with USD12.2bn in September, USD6.73bn in August, USD7.72bn in July, and net redemptions of USD2.54bn in June.Average performance was 2.23% for October, bringing the total for the first ten months of the year to 7.42%. Assets as of the end of October totalled USD2.41trn, including USD52.7bn in market effects and USD18.4bn in net subscriptions.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Investors are flocking to ETFs specialised in precious metals, and assets in the SPDR Gold Shares fund from State Street total nearly USD60bn, The Wall Street Journal reports, adding that the fund owns more gold than all the central banks in the world save five. The iShares Gold Trust (BlackRock), with USD4.8bn, has gained a lot of assets since it split its shares on a 10-to-1 basis, which appears to prove that retail investors are flocking to the previous metals ETF segment at a time when there is a major risk of a correction.The iShares Silver Trust, for its part, has seen a 15% increase in the number of shares since 1 September, and has USD9.6bn in assets. Among the other ETFs with less than USD1bn in assets are the ETFS Physical Gold Shares from ETF Securities and the Sprott Physical Gold Trust. For silver, there are also the ETFS Silver Trust and the Powershares DB Silver Shares (Invesco).The ETFS Physical Platinum Shares and Physical Palladium Shares were launched this year, and made a very good start in terms of inflows.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and US Attorney’s office in Manhattan are investigating whether hedge fund Harbinger misled investors by failing to disclose in a timely fashion a USD113m personal loan it extended to its founder Philip Falcone, according to The Wall Street Journal. The authorities are also looking at whether the hedge fund asset management company allowed some clients to withdraw money after the financial crisis while barring others from doing so.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Richard Phillips, co-head of British retail at GLG Partners, has been appointed head of British retail at the group resulting from the merger, following the recent completion of its acquisition of GLG Partners.Phillips’ alter ego at GLG, Andrew Thatcher, will be in charge of ex-GLG activities in Asia, and will report to Tim Rainsford, who since 2007 has been managing director of Man Investments for the Asia-Pacific region.

Julius Baer SIM has made a number of changes to its executive management in Italy. The board of directors nominated Gian Paolo Bardelli as new CEO of Julius Baer SIM S.p.A., and Giovanni Flury, member of the executive board of Julius Baer, as new vice-chairman of the board of directors of Julius Baer SIM. Since 2006, Gian Paolo Bardelli has been in charge of international Private Banking at Julius Baer in Singapore, where he was also a member of the executive board Asia. He has spent his entire career abroad; while at UBS he worked in Zurich, Geneva and London prior to managing the BDL Banco di Lugano subsidiary in Singapore. Stefano Canossa, the outgoing CEO, is returning to Zurich to assume an important position in development projects, according to a press release. These appointments will contribute to the expansion of Julius Baer in the strategically important Italian market. The Swiss bank aims to expand its client network by increasing its size and geographical spread.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Fundstrategy reports that Axa Investment Managers has launched a Sterling Credit Short Duration Bond fund, aimed at the British retail market, which aims to reduce its sensitivity to interest rates. The launch of the product closely follows the launch of the US Short Duration High Yield fund, aimed at institutional investors, which was in great demand from discretionary managers and funds of funds. The new fund, managed by Julie Lamirel, invests in investment grade corporate bonds which will mature less than five years after their acquisition date. The fund hopes thus to reduce the potential impact of potential increases to the interest rate by the Bank of England.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Fundstrategy reports that a survey by Fidelity FundsNetwork of major management firms finds that 32% of them estimate that the FSA will be required to delay the deployment of the new RDR regulations for retail investment markets, beyond the planned date of 31 December 2012. However, they all predict that it will be effectively put into force. 32% of management firms surveyed estimate that the RDR will undertake a reduction of the size of platforms, while 37% think the opposite, and 26% are predicting a continuation of the status quo.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After recruiting four managers for its real estate team in early September (see Newsmanagers of 9 September), Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has announced the recruitment of Peter Macpherson as director of sales for the team, to begin at the end of January. Macpherson is head of client services at ING Real Estate Investment Management. He will be in charge of institutional sales.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stephanie Maier, who was most recently at the helm of a team of 30 analysts and six research partners focused on corporate ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance in developed and emerging countries at Ethical Investment Research Services (EIRIS), has been recruited as corporate responsibility manager at Aviva Investors. She will report directly to Steve Waygood, head of sustainability, research and engagement, and will work in close collaboration with Nigel Clemson, director of human resources, who is in charge of social responsibility worldwide.

Le Spanish RMBS Fund de Renta 4 va être absorbé par le fonds de hedge funds de droit espagnol Minerva du même gestionnaire, indique Funds People.Lancé il y a à peine plus d’un an, le Spanish RMBS n’a jamais été commercialisé activement et son encours se résume au capital d’amorçage. Renta 4 conserve deux autres hedge funds, Accurate Global Assets et Mosaic Iberia.

Julius Baer SIM a remanié sa direction en Italie. Le conseil d’administration a nommé Gian Paolo Bardelli en tant que nouveau CEO de Julius Baer SIM SpA. Il remplace à ce poste Stefano Canossa, qui retourne à Zurich pour occuper «un poste important dans des projets de développement», selon un communiqué de presse. Depuis 2006, Gian Paolo Bardelli était responsable de la banque privée internationale chez Julius Baer à Singapour, où il était aussi membre du comité exécutif Asie.Dans le même temps, Giovanni Flury, membre du comité exécutif, est nommé nouveau vice-président du conseil d’administration de Julius Baer SIM. Ces nominations vont contribuer à l’expansion de Julius Baer sur le marché italien, où la banque suisse souhaite étendre son réseau de clients, indique le communiqué.

La société de gestion chinoise Harvest Global Investment (HGI), dans laquelle Deutsche Asset Management (Asia) détient une participation de 30%, a signé un accord d’externalisation avec State Street, rapporte Asian Investor. Aux termes de cet accord, State Street fournira des prestations de middle office, ce qui permettra à HGI de réduire ses coûts. C’est la première fois que State Street remporte un mandat de ce type auprès d’une société de gestion chinoise.

Pour le compte de son fonds immobilier institutionnel WestInvest TargetSelect Hotels, Deka Immobilien a acheté à Zech Group GmbH l’Atlantic Congress Hotel d’Essen. Le montant de la transaction n’a pas été divulgué. L’actif est un hôtel quatre étoiles de 248 chambres et 18.000 mètres carrés.