UBS Global Asset Management has launched the UBS (Lux) Key Selection Sicav – Global Alpha Opportunities, the first UCITS III hedge fund from the Swiss firm to be released in Italy, Bluerating reports.

UBS reports that the UBS-IS CMCI Oil ETF is the only oil ETF available on the European market to date. The product, launched on 18 June and listed on the Swiss stock exchange, synthetically replicates the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index (CMCI), which aims to limit the influence of rolling positions. The fund is denominated in US dollars and is aimed primarily at high net worth retail investors. The counterparty for the swap if the UBS investment bank, and this risk is 100% covered. UBS has already planned to launch shares in the fund denominated in US dollars for institutional investors, as well as shares in Euros hedged for forex risks, for both retail and institutional investors. CharacteristicsName: UBS-Index Solutions - CMCI Oil ETF (USD) SF-A ISIN: CH0109967858 Currency of fund: USD Trading currency: USD Management commission: 0.45%

On June 18th, the CNMV registered the Luxembourg Sicav Aberdeen Global II. It has 26 sub-funds, most of them bond products. The British asset management firm (EUR161.8bn in assets) is planning to aim largely at institutional investors in Spain and Portugal.

Henderson Global Investors, the UK based asset manager with over USD90 billion assets under management, has appointed Nancy McNally as director of consultant relations, North America. Reporting to Nick Adams, head of global consultant relations, Nancy joined on 1st June 2010. She will be working alongside Mark Toomey, director of institutional asset management, and Michael Nagy, associate director of consultant relations, North America. Nancy has 10 years’ experience in asset management at Fidelity Investments, Robeco Investment Management, Clay Finlay and, most recently, Gartmore.

Six people have left the London office of Citadel Investment Group, the Chicago-based hedge fund manager, according to Financial News. Alex Maddox, who headed up Citadel’s European securitsation desk, has joined Deutsche Bank.

Henderson Group has announced that discussions regarding a potential acquisition by the Group of certain businesses of RidgeWorth Capital Management, Inc., the US asset manager owned by SunTrust Banks, Inc., have been discontinued as the parties have not reached agreement on terms.

State Street Global Advisors has announced the appointment of Raymond Haines as head of UK Liability Driven Investing (LDI) and Christopher J. Goolgasian, who joined SSgA as a senior portfolio manager in the Multi Asset Class Solutions (MACS) group in Boston. The company also announced the transition of Gregory Taieb from its Montreal office to support the UK MACS team in London. SSgA’s MACS group provides asset allocation, LDI and exposure management solutions to clients across all asset classes globally. Haines worked previously at LV= Asset Management where he was most recently chief investment officer. Joining Haines on the London team is Gregory Taieb, a MACS portfolio manager in Montreal who will relocate to London to support the company’s continued growth in that market. Boston-based Goolgasian joins State Street from Pyramis Global Advisors, where he was an institutional portfolio manager.

Schroders has announced that one of its subsidiaries has acquired 49 per cent of the share capital of RWC Partners Limited. The 49 per cent stake in RWC represents a financial investment by Schroders and was acquired mainly from existing third party, individual shareholders. RWC will remain a separate legal entity and will continue to be managed by the existing management team, says a release. RWC had gross assets of approximately GBP10 million as at the date of completion of the transaction.

Newton, an affiliate of BNY Mellon Asset management, announced on 21 June that one of its British arms, Newton Investment Management Limited has been assigned a new management mandate by the pension fund for the University of London, the Superannuities Arrangements of the University of London.

On Tuesday, British Airways (BA) overcame the last obstacle to its merger with Iberia, Cinco Días reports: the British airline reached an agreement with the trustees of its two pension funds, New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS) and Airways Pension Scheme (APS), by which it pledges to make annual contributions of about GBP330m (EUR394m), in addition to which an amount estimated at 3% per year will be added to account for inflation. These contributions will run until 2026 for NAPS and 2023 for APS. Additional contributions from BA to offset the funds’ deficit (EUR4bn) are planned for years in which cash surpluses exceed GBP1.8bn. The agreement also includes a guarantee of GBP250m to ensure that pensions are paid in case of insolvency.

Credit Suisse and Dow Jones Indexes have signed an agreement which covers the calculation, licensing, branding and marketing of the hedge fund indexes formerly known as the Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Indexes. The joint venture between Credit Suisse and Tremont Capital Management, Inc. has been dissolved. Under this agreement, the indexes will be branded Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Indexes, and Dow Jones Indexes will calculate, distribute and market the indexes, while Credit Suisse affiliates will continue to manage the financial products linked to them. Credit Suisse and Dow Jones Indexes intend to keep the methodologies and rules for each of the existing indexes consistent with past practices. The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Indexes are a family of hedge fund indexes which include broad market and investable indexes, all designed to track hedge fund performance. The indexes are constructed from a database of more than 5,000 hedge funds. The index family presently consists of 17 indexes. Dow Jones Indexes will discontinue its existing hedge fund indexes as of June 30.

Credit Suisse and Dow Jones Indexes have teamed up to provide the alternative management indexes previously known by the name Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Indexes. By the agreement, the indexes will be renamed as Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Indexes. Credit Suisse has also dissolved its joint venture with Tremont Capital Management. Dow Jones Indexes will now calculate, distribute and market the indexes, while affiliates of Credit Suisse will continue to manage the financial products associated with them. The two parters are planning to retain the existing methdologies and rules for each index. Dow Jones Indexes, for its part, will discontinue its own hedge fund indexes from 30 June. The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund indexes are a family of 17 hedge fund indices which seek to replicate the performance of hedge funds. They are based on data from more than 5,000 funds.

Despite a global eocnomic context which remains uncertain, the number of millionaires and the volume of their wealth are both rising, according to the 14th edition of the World Wealth Report, published on 22 June by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini. This population once again represented 10 million people in 2009; their wealth increased 18.95 to a total of USD39trn. The most wealthy of them saw a 21.5% increase in their wealth in 2009. These figures show that the return to better economic conditions has made it possible to offset losses in 2008, and to return to 2007 levels. “The past few years were particularly marked for high net worth investors. While in 2008, the wealth of millionaires fell unprecedentedly, one year later, we are already seeing signs that it is recovering, and that in some regions, it has fully returned to the levels of wealth seen in 2007,” explains Gilles Dard, president for private management activities in France and continental Europe at Merrill Lynch. “Emerging markets continued to drive this recovery, particularly India, China, and Brazil,” says Laurence Chrétien, in charge of the World Wealth Report for France at Capgemini Consulting. “The Asia-Pacific region was the only region where macroeconomic indicators and drivers of wealth creation developed significantly in 2009.” While the increase in the number of millionaires and their wealth was generally more marked in emerging countries, most high net worth individuals continue to be concentrated in the United States, Japan and Germany, which alone account for 53.5% of this population as of 2009 (54% in 2008). In France, the number of millionaires has increased 10.8% to a total of 383,000. North America still has the largest number of millionaires, at 3.1 million, which corresponds to 31% of the world’s millionaires.

FIL Investment Management has announced that the equities fund Fidelity Deutschland Select (DE000A0D8C60), which was launched on 1 March 2005, and which is managed by Alexandra Hartmann, will be liquidated on 30 June 2010. As of 30 April, the fund had only EUR25m in assets. As of 21 June 2010, the fund had earned 8.83% since the beginning of the year, and 31.53% since its launch, but had lost 30.13% over three years.

As announced more than two months ago (see Newsmanagers of 7 April), Nomura Asset Management Deutschland has renamed the funds of its Maintrust range, replacing the MAT prefix with Nomura, from 23 June. In addition, the new names are intended to provide more transparency as of the objectives of the funds. The ISIN Codes will remain unchanged. Former name New name MAT Asia Pacific Fonds Nomura Asia Pacific FondsMAT Japan Aktien Nomura Japan Equity FondsMAT Fundamental Japan Nomura Fundamental Japan FondsMAT Fundamental Europa Nomura Fundamental Europe FondsMAT Asian Bonds Nomura Asian Bonds Fonds MAT Euro Plus Nomura Euro Convertible FondsMAT Real Return Nomura Real Return FondsMAT Real Protect Nomura Real Protect FondsMAT Medio Rent Nomura Medio Rent Fonds MAT APO LIQUID Nomura APO LIQUID Fonds Nomura AM Deutschland is also planning to import open-ended Luxembourg and Irish funds to Germany.

Feri EuroRating Services has found in a study of 60 insurers covering 90% of the unit-linked insurance policy market that of the 2,994 funds on offer, only about one quarter of them are rated A or B (the highest ratings), or in other words, that only one quarter of products have a sustainably higher-than-average performance with relatively low risk. Feri EuroRating adds that insurers tend to rely on flagship funds in the sector, which often have performance issues. The most used fund, offered by 37 out of 60 insurers, is the European Growth fund from Fidelity Funds, followed by the Templeton Growth (Euro), offered by 35 providers, DWS Vermögensbilgundsfonds I (24), and the BGF World Mining Fund from BlackRock (22). However, the Templeton Growth is rated D (the only one of the top 15 funds). But the DWS Akkumula, Carmignac Patrimoine and Investissement funds and the South East Asia Fund from Fidelity are all rated A. Meanwhile, many insurers tend to use their own funds in policies, while as a general rule the quality of in-house funds is lower than that of third-party products: the percentage of funds rated A or B among in-house funds is only 16%, while it comes to 29% for third-party funds.

European management firms will need to step up their preparations ahead of the introduction of the Key Introduction Document (KID), the investor information document imposed by the UCITS IV directive, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the European management association (Efama). The study, entitled “UCITS IV: Time for Change,” says that many major European asset management firms have not yet understood the importance of KIDs and are inadequately prepared to confront the impact of them. The study finds that 58% of respondents have not yet understood the repercussions in terms of cost which the modifications which will be needed to bring their control systems into compliance will involve. “Currently, asset management firms are not yet aware of the effects of the introduction of the KID. This will change the way in which funds are perceived, and many management firms may, due to its introduction, find themselves with incomplete product ranges,” says Thierry Blondeau, a partner at PwC Luxembourg and UCITS IV Project Leader for Europe at PwC. “Those who are not yet prepared for the consequences in terms of costs and preparations which will be made necessary by the changes are in danger of having an ugly surprise when July comes, as the European Commission will likely pass application measures. Managers will need to start adapting their ways of working without delay if they don’t want to be caught on the wrong foot.”

The governments of France, the UK and Germany are proposing to impose a tax on banks, based on their balance sheets, the French government announced in a statement released on 22 June. The French finance minister says that the future British banking tax is included in the budget presented yesterday, and that France will reveal details of its banking tax in its next draft finance law. Germany, for its part, has been announcing since the end of March that a banking taxation framework will be imposed, and will introduce draft legislation to the council of ministers this summer. “All three taxes will aim to ensure that banking establishments will contribute in line with the risks to which they expose the financial system and the economy in general, and will encourage them to make the necessary adjustments to their balance sheets to reduce these risks,” the statement from the French government says. The precise details of each tax may vary depending on the context and tax framework in each country, but the level of taxation will take into account the need to guarantee equitable conditions. The French, British and German governments have agreed to follow an ambitious program of reforms to the financial sector defined by the G-20, which will include all aspects of the industry, and look forward to more discussion of the proposals with their international partners at the G20 summit in Toronto on 24 June, the statement adds.

Asset management may see average growth of 6.2% in assets in the period from 2009-2012, Dexia Asset Management estimates in a report submitted to Funds People, but which the management firm will not release in France until autumn. All the catalysts are in place, with strong potential for emerging markets, rising influence of sovereign funds, a need to increase retirement savings in Europe, and an increase in savings in Asia. The sector theoretically has fairly large potential for growth at the top, as the five largest global actors (Barclays Global Investors, State Street Global Investors, BlackRock, Allianz Global Investors avec Pimco and JPMorgan Asset Management) add up to a market share of only 9%, compared with 21% for the five largest auto makers, or 30% for the five largest pharmaceutical companies. On average, the market share for the five largest actors in a sector (banks, lon-life insurance, food & beverage, vehicles, asset management, pharmaceuticals) is 22%.

NYSE Euronext has announced that it has admitted seven new French-registered ETF funds from Amundi to trading on Euronext Paris, all of which charge fees of 0.14%. The funds are the Amundi ETFs US Treasury 1-3, US Treasury 3-7, US Treasury 7-10, Short US Treasury 1-3 Daily, Short US Treasury 3-7 Daily, Short US Treasury 7-10 Daily and Ex AAA Government Bond EuroMTS. Euronext now includes 541 listings for 493 ETF products based on over 300 indexes. Since the beginning of the year, 44 ETFs have been added to the European market listings of NYSE Euronext.

Agefi reports that, according to the claims of Jean-Pierre Gauzès, the reporter for the AIFM legislation to the European Parliament, who addressed the British chamber of commerce on 22 June, negotiations with the Ecofin council over the alternative management directive will not be completed before 30 June. Commissioner Michel Barnier had pledged to get the bill passed before summer.

Federal prosecutors Tuesday in civil lawsuits alleged that two of his longtime «back office» employees -Annette Bongiorno and JoAnn «Jodi» Crupi- «knowingly perpetuated» the fraud, says the Wall Street Journal. The lawsuits seek to seize about USD5 million in assets from the two employees. They include homes and cars.

Avec la défiance accrue des investisseurs vis-à-vis de la zone euro, le marché du financement structuré s'est refermé

Le plan d'austérité présenté hier a été accueilli positivement par les économistes et le marché

Grâce au plan d'austérité présenté hier, le Trésor a réduit de 20,2 milliards de livres les ventes de Gilts pour l’exercice 2010-2011 à 165 milliards

The Spanish asset manager UBS Gestión on 10 June created the RFMI Multigestión fund, which was granted a sales license by the CNMV the next day. The fund is in the category of international diversified funds investing primarily in bonds, and may invest up to 20% of its assets in equities supports. The management objective is to outperform the Spanish consumer price index by at least 230 basis points, with volatility of less than 10% per year. The sub-managers retained for the product are Credit Suisse Gestión, Lombard Odier Darier Hensch Gestión (España) and BNP Paribas Asset Management Spain. UBS Gestión will impose a 10-day delay on redemptions of over EUR300,000. Characteristics Name: RFMI Multigestión FIMinimal initial subscription: EUR6Direct management commission: 0.4%Indirect management commission: 2.5%Front-end fee: 0.09% up to EUR50m, then gradually declining up to 0.04% from EUR200,000,001m

On 28 May, Popular Gestión launched the Eurovalor Garantizado Emergentes fund, a guaranteed fund which was registered on 18 J une by the CNMV, and which guaranteed subscribers its net asset value on 7 September 2010 at maturity, on 13 February 2014. Investors will also receive a share of the evolution of the S&P BRIC40 Price Return index, corresponding to the average fo 41 monthly observations (with a limit of 1.10% up and 2% down), meaning the maximum guaranteed return will be 11.42%, and minimal rate of 0%. Characteristics Name: Eurovalor Garantizado Emergentes FI Minimal initial subscription: EUR500 Management commission: 0.5% up to 6 September 2010; 2% after 6 September 2010 Front-end fee: 4% Withdrawal penalty: 4%, except on 04/09/2012, 05/03/2013, and 03/09/2013, when there will be no penalty

HSBC Private Bank France on Monday, 21 July announced the launch of a new equities fund, HPWM Option Patrimoine, base on the FCP Patrimoine, which invests in French equities, to which a variable coverage via an options strategy based on the DJ Erurostoxx 50 index was added in order to amortise heavy declines and volatility on the European equities markets. Characteristics A-class shares (all subscribers): FR0010879643I-class shares (legal entities): FR0010884759 Front-end fees: A/I class shares: 1.50% maximum Management fees: A-class shares: 2.25% I-class shares: 1.90% Benchmark: 60% SBF 250/40% Eonia Price of one share: A-class shares: EUR100 I-class shares: EUR10,000 Minimal subscription: A-class shares: 1 share I-Class shares: share Eligibility: PEA/ insurance

L’agence de notation financière Fitch a annoncé le 21 juin la révision à la baisse d’un cran de la note de la dette à long terme de la banque française BNP Paribas, de «AA» à «AA-".Fitch indique que cette décision est surtout motivée par des problèmes structurels liés au business mix de la banque: la contribution «relativement importante» prise par la BFI, la détérioration de la qualité des actifs en 2009 et des ratios de fonds propres légèrement en dessous de la moyenne de ses homologues.

Dans un avis financier paru dans Les Echos, DWS Investment S.A. indique que la direction de la société a décidé, avec effet au 30 juillet 2010, de fusionner le FCP DWS China avec la classe d’actions LC du compartiment DWS Invest Chinese Equities, conformément à l’article 15 du règlement de gestion – Partie Générale.Les porteurs de parts de DWS China peuvent procéder au rachat de leurs parts jusqu’au 23 juillet 2010 inclus; les ordres reçus avant l’heure limite de réception des ordres seront pris en compte. L'émission de nouvelles parts de DWS China prendra fin le 25 juin 2010. DWS China, fonds commun de placement, et DWS Invest Chinese Equities, compartiment d’une société d’investissement à capital variable, sont conformes à la Partie 1 de la loi luxembourgeoise du 20 décembre 2002. Les porteurs de DWS China qui auront conservé leurs parts deviendront actionnaires de la SICAV et pourront donc exercer leurs droits de vote lors de l’assemblée générale des actionnaires, qui se tient le quatrième mercredi du mois d’avril de chaque année. La fusion ne génère aucun frais pour l’investisseur. Les statuts de la SICAV, le prospectus de vente complet et le prospectus de vente simplifié peuvent être demandés gratuitement auprès de la société de gestion. Les porteurs de parts de DWS China en désaccord avec la fusion précitée peuvent procéder sans frais au rachat d’une partie ou de la totalité de leurs parts dans un délai d’un mois après cette publication auprès de la société de gestion et de tous les agents payeurs mentionnés dans le prospectus de vente, précise l’avis.