Aberdeen Asset Management a indiqué que la demande pour ses fonds actions pendant l’été lui a permis d’attirer 621 millions de livres de souscriptions nettes en juillet et août, soit 85 % de plus que ces trois derniers mois, rapporte le Financial Times. Mais la collecte sur les fonds alternatifs à plus forte marge a reculé de 8,3 % à 27,7 millions.
Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) a annoncé l’admission à la négociation sur le London Stock Exchange (LSE) de dix ETF Global Sector le 27 septembre. Ils sont cotés en livres sterling et en dollars et affichent un taux de frais sur encours de 0,45 %.Il s’agit des fonds :Lyxor ETF MSCI World Consumer Discretionary TRLyxor ETF MSCI World Consumer Staples TRLyxor ETF MSCI World Energy TRLyxor ETF MSCI World Financials TRLyxor ETF MSCI World Health Care TRLyxor ETF MSCI World Industrials TRLyxor ETF MSCI World Information Technology TRLyxor ETF MSCI World Materials TRLyxor ETF MSCI World Telecommunication Services TRet Lyxor ETF MSCI World Utilities TR
Temenos Group SA a annoncé le 28 septembre avoir conclu un accord pour le rachat du spécialiste luxembourgeois des logiciels Odyssey Group SA. Cette société propose des solutions de logiciels dans les domaines du private banking et du wealth management et devrait réaliser cette année un chiffre d’affaires de 75 millions de dollars.La reprise sera financée en grande partie avec les liquidités et des crédits pour un montant de 81 millions de dollars. Par ailleurs, Temenos reprendra des dettes d’Odyssey pour un montant de 20,3 millions de dollars, ce qui valorise la société luxembourgeoise à 101,3 millions de dollars.
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management a annoncé le 27 septembre la nomination, avec effet immédiat, de Mario Alini en qualité de président et directeur général par intérim de Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) S.AMario Alini partagera son temps entre Genève et Zurich. Il sera rattaché à David Jervis, responsable du secteur Wealth Management dans la zone EMEA (Europe/Moyen-Orient/Afrique). Parallèlement, il conservera ses fonctions de Chief Administration Officer (CAO) de MLCM, rattaché à Franz Barthel, CAO du secteur Capital Markets de Merrill Lynch en Allemagne.Mario Alini a rejoint Merrill Lynch en 2007 en tant que CAO des activités Capital Markets pour la Suisse, poste qu’il occupe encore aujourd’hui.
La société de gestion Threadneedle a annoncé, lundi 27 septembre, le lancement d’un service destiné à accompagner les fondations et les family offices dans leur allocation d’actifs et leur stratégie.Simultanément, l'établissement a annoncé l’arrivée de Ian Dalziel pour prendre la responsabilité de cette nouvelle activité, en créant la fonction de Head of Global Private Wealth and Foundations. L’intéressé sera basé à Genève.Ian Dalziel est un ancien député conservateur au Parlement européen, cofondateur à Edimbourg de la banque privée Adam & Company en 1983 et qui, de1991 à 2008, a été general manager et administrateur du family office de Schlumberger-Primat.
Au 1er janvier 2011, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Luxembourg S.A. intégrera WestLB International S.A, conformément à un accord annoncé le 27 septembre par les allemands DekaBank et la WestLB et sous réserve de l’agrément des autorités compétentes. DekaBank a remporté l’appel d’offres, mais le montant de la transaction n’a pas été divulgué.La WestLB a été contrainte par la Commission européenne de céder toutes ses participations non stratégiques en échange d’un feu vert aux subventions qu’elle a reçues. Les salariés de WestLB international seront repris par DekaBank Luxembourg.
Architas (groupe Axa) a fait enregistrer par la CNMV le fonds Architas Multi-Manager (SA) Unit Trust, domicilié en Irlande et comprenant 18 compartiments, rapporte Funds People.Le fonds sera commercialisé en Espagne par la succursale locale de BNP Paribas Securities Services.
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers (Edrim) a fait enregistrer le 24 septembre le fonds Saint-Honoré Active Stratégies auprès de la CNMV. Ce produit de droit français sera commercialisé en Espagne par Allfunds Bank, Banco Inversis, CM Capital Markets Bolsa, Self Trade Bank et Tressis. L’agrément concerne les parts C, E et I.
Stoxx Limited, a global index provider and creator of the leading European equity indices, has announced the launch of the Euro Stoxx 50 Investable Volatility Index. The new index complements the existing VStoxx index by measuring forward implied volatility in a replicable format that can serve as the basis of financial products.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British asset management association (IMA) has launched a call for bids to outsource its fund surveillance, fundstrategy reports. The professional association says that UCITS regulations allow funds to invest more easily in derivative products, which make the verification process more difficult as to how well the funds are in line with the IMA’s sectoral nomenclature. Interested candidates should present themselves by mid-October and submit a bid by 19 November.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The ESG (environmental, social and governance) analysis agency Eiris is taking growing interest in sustainable investment as an occasion to launch a service dedicated to ethical engagement on the part of investors in businesses. The new Eiris Engagement Service was unveiled on 27 September in London. It will be unveiled worldwide on 4 October in San Francisco, at a conference organised by UN PRI. The service set up by Eiris involves all phases of responsible engagement, selection of themes and companies, and the publication of recommendations for businesses, the establishment of contracts, and the organisation of conferences. It also proposes to assist investors in enacting the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, and the new British governance code.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian pension fund regulator, Covip, on 9 September authorised Arca SGR to take over management of the open-ended pension fund Gestielle Pensione e Previdenza (EUR90m in assets and 4,000 members), which will be absorbed by the open-ended pension fund Arca Previdenza as of 1 January 2011. The merger will make Arca Previdenza the largest open-ended pension fund (FPA) in Italy, with assets of over EUR1bn, and 122,000 members. It is also the leader in terms of the number of collective policies, with over 3,000 agreements with businesses and organisations. Since the beginning of the year, Arca Previdenza also registered over 4,000 new members, 50% more than in the corresponding period of last year.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 1 January 2011, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Luxembourg S.A. Will absorb WestLB International S.A., in keeping with an agreement announced on 27 September by the German firms DekaBank and WestLB, pending approval from the relevant authorities. DekaBank won an RFP, but the price of the acquisition has not been revealed. WestLB was required by the European Commission to sell all its non-strategic stakes in exchange for approval for government assistance that it received. Employees at WestLB International will be transferred to WestLB Luxembourg.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNP Paribas Securities Services announced on 27 September that it has launched a complete range of custody and settlement services for Chinese bonds denominated in RMB, in Hong Kong. Its first settlement operation took place on 22 September 2010. The new range of offerings comes as part of ongoing innovation at BNP Paribas Securities Services in the Asia-Pacific region, and its complete international network. It provides a full range of new investment opportunities in RMB to its current and future clients, based in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world. Trading volumes in RMB settled throughout the region have been steadily rising, and now represent an average of CNY7.2bn per month since February 2010, which opens up new horizons to international investors. “Concretely, this agreement between Hong Kong and China will allow any investor of any type to achieve exposure to Chinese renminbi via the Hong Kong market,,” says Lawrence Au, head of Asia-Pacific at BNP Paribas Securities Services. In addition, “Hong Kong is becoming not merely a gateway to China, and we are very pleased to help our clients to seize opportunities which present themselves on this market.”
Agefi reports that Credit Suisse is predicting 15% growth for its net inflows for private banking activities in France in 2010. The growth objective for inflows group-wide is set at 65 per year.As of the end of June 2010, assets under management by Credit Suisse in France totalled EUR4.5bn, the newspaper notes.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Denise Simon, Arif Joshi and george Varino, who previously managed the GIF Global Emerging Marekets Bond, GIF New World Income and GIF Global Emerging Markets Local Debt funds at HSBC, are joining Lazard Asset Management, Investment Week reports. They will be based in New York, and will be responsible for creating a range of emerging market bond funds to be sold worldwide. Three research analysts will soon be joining them.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 22 September, The Hartford submitted a license application to the SEC (form 40-App 1), to create The Hartford Exchange-Traded Fund Trust. The firm plans initially to launch two passive bond ETFs, but other products, including equities products, may follow. The adviser for the funds will be Hartford Investment Financial Services, but the group is also planning to call in sub-advisers from within or outside The Hartford.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US-based Apex Fund Services on 27 September announced the launch of a fund administration service dedicated to the middle office, entitled Middle Office fund administration service (MOOR). The fund administration specialist says that the new service is the first in the world to offer hedge funds a real-time portfolio management system.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } RBC Dexia Investor Services has been selected by Cullen Capital Management, a New York-based management firm, to provide custody, fund administration, cash management and transfer agency services to its new UCITS-compliant fund domiciled in Dublin, specialised in high dividend strategies, Hedge Week reports.
According to the most recent edition of a half-yearly study of sustainable development in OECD countries by Petercam, Sweden continues to lead, while Switzerland has taken a place in the top three for the first time.The study, based on 53 indicators in five categories (democracy, environment, education, economy, health, and distribution of wealth), finds that France has improved its position in the rankings, rising from fifteenth to twelfth place, largely due to improvement in environmental issues. France has one of the best indicators of environmental performance, and does honourably in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, its ecological footprint, and protected land area as a percentage of overall land area. But the debate now raging over pension reforms reveals its true scale in a country in which the ratio of population dependent on retirement as a percentage of the overall population is one of the highest. France ranks between Mexico and Japan, in 32nd place. Sweden remains the leader in terms of sustainable development, and does respectably in all categories. It is followed by Norway, which is top in environmental protection. Switzerland and Denmark tie for third place. With the best result in the areas of health and distribution of wealth, Switzerland has gained three places in the rankings, and now nudges out Finland and the Netherlands.
40 per cent of wealthy investors’ expected portfolio returns are being swallowed up by fees and other charges, according to research by Royal Bank of Scotland cited by the Financial Times Fund Management. European private banks and other wealth managers have maintained their cost base over the past two years, despite plunging investment returns and declining assets under management, eroding returns for their clients.
Agefi Switzerland reports that the Julius Baer group is opening an office in Singapore aimed primarily at Russian high net worth clients seeking to seize opportunities to invest in Asia. Julius Baer will be competing with UBS and Credit Suisse in Singapore, as well as BSI, which in March transferred its services for eastern European clients, particularly Russians, from Zurich to Singapore. According to estimates, assets under management in the region for Russian clients may more than double in five years, to USD50bn, according to Roman Scott, CEO of Calamander Capital, based in Singapore.
Axa Real Estate, a specialist in real estate with over EUR39.5 billion of assets under management, wholly-owned by Axa IM, has appointed Jean-Francois Le Teno as global head of sustainable development. He will take over from Gilles Bouteloup who will retire at the beginning of October. Jean-Francois Le Teno has worked for Axa Investment Managers for 3 years across a number of areas of the business, including international projects management, organisation, management control and IT. He previously held similar roles at Société Générale CIB. Jean-Francois Le Teno will form an integral part of Axa Real Estate’s Sustainable Steering Committee, which, chaired by the global heads of asset and fund management, ensures that sustainability remains an essential part of Axa Real Estate’s daily business.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Temenos Group SA announced on 28 September that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Luxembourg-based software company Odyssey Group SA. The firm offers software solutions for private banking and wealth management, and is in line to post earnings this year of USD75m. The takeover will be largely financed with liquidity and credit totalling USD81m. Temenos will also take on Odyssey’s debt, totalling USD20.3m, which values the Luxemburg firm at USD101.3m.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Merrill Lynch Wealth Management on 27 September announced the appointment with immediate effect of Mario Alini as interim chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch Bank (Switzerland) S.A. Alini will divide his time between Geneva and Zurich. He will report to David Jervis, head of the Wealth Management sector for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. He will also retain his position as chief administration officer (CAO) of MLCM, in which position he reports to Franz Barthel, CAO of the Capital Markets sector of Merrill Lynch in Germany. Alini joined Merrill Lynch in 2007 as CAO for Capital Markets activities in Switzerland, and continues to occupy that position currently.
The asset management firm Threadneedle announced on Monday, 27 September that it has launched a service which will aim to assist charities and family offices in their asset allocation and strategy.At the same time, the fund manager has also announced the arrival of Ian Dalziel, who will take over as head of the new activity, in the newly-created position of Head of Global Private Wealth and Foundations. He will be based in Geneva. Dalziel is a former conservative member of the European parliament, co-founder of the private bank Adam & Company in Edinburgh in 1983, and from 1991 to 2008 was general manager and administrator of the family office Schlumberger-Primat.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Liontrust announced on 27 September that it has appointed Mark Allpress from 30 September as head of retail distribution. In his new role, Allpress will be responsible for the sales team, with particular attention to advisers, wealth managers, platforms and life insurance companies. Allpress previously worked at Old Mutual Asset Management.
Aberdeen Asset Management a indiqué que la demande pour ses fonds actions pendant l’été lui a permis d’attirer 621 millions de livres de souscriptions nettes en juillet et août, soit 85 % de plus que ces trois derniers mois, rapporte le Financial Times. Mais la collecte sur les fonds alternatifs plus fortement margés a reculé de 8,3 % à 27,7 millions.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Buy and sell orders for shares in the German-registered real estate fund of funds Premium Management Immobilien-Anlagen – P – EUR (ISIN DE000A0ND6C8) have been suspended from 27 September, Allianz Global Investors (AGI) announced on Monday. The suspension is justified by redemption demands for about EUR1bn from the beginning of the year, half of which was from early September. The fund invests primarily in open-ended real estate funds which themselves have suspended their redemptions, and in properties which it is difficult to liquidate in the short term. As of 24 September, Premium Management Immobilien-Anlagen showed assets of about EUR1.7bn, compared with EUR1.96bn as of 31 March, and EUR2.4bn as of 30 September 2009. The fund was launched on 19 May 2008 by cominvest Asset Management GmbH.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Armin Grabowski, founder of Primus Asset Management in Zug (Switzerland), is the manager of the new Flexile Fund – Multi Assets, a Luxembourg UCITS fund launched by Axxion SA, which has recently received a sales license for Germany from BaFin. The long/short product offers daily liquidity, and aims for returns of 12% per year, with average volatility of 5%, investing in equities, commodities and derivatives, with weighting that will depend on the situations in the various markets. The emphasis will be on equities and commodities. The portfolio will include about 25 positions. The largest are currently Metro, Nestlé, BMW and Volkswagen. Stock-picking will depend on fundamental criteria, but buy and sell orders will be triggered by a trend-monitoring system. Sales to retail and institutional investors in Germany will be provided by Dyas Beratungsgesellschaft GmbH of Hamburg. CharacteristicsName: Flexile Fund - Multi AssetISIN Code: LU0493120595Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 2%Performance commission: 20% maximumMinimal subscription: EUR1,000