Funds
The chairmen’s committee of Euronext regulators has issued a letter to ICE and NYSE Euronext indicating that they are "not minded to object" to the proposed merger between the two companies.
With this important milestone achieved, ICE and NYSE Euronext now await final approvals to be issued by national authorities and regulatory bodies in each of the relevant European jurisdictions in order to complete the transaction.
Amber Capital has launched Amber Equity Fund – a UCITS version of the Amber Italia Equity Fund – on the Alpha UCITS platform.
The Amber Equity Fund is managed by Amber Capital Italia SGR, a Milan based asset management company regulated by the Bank of Italy. The company was established by Joseph Oughourlian, founder of the Amber Capital Group, the investment firm founded in 2001 with main offices in London and New York.
The Amber Italia Equity fund, incorporated in Italy as an approved domestic fund almost four years ago, was already managed by Giorgio Martorelli, portfolio manager of Amber
SS&C Technologies has acquired Prime Management Limited, a fund administrator and a service provider to investment structures, sponsors and managers in the insurance linked securities market.
Prime currently services 25 managers with USD6bn in assets under administration (AUA) from its Bermuda and Canadian offices. Clients range from emerging managers to large institutional managers.
This acquisition furthers SS&C’s ability to administer insurance linked securities and the funds which invest in them. This includes fund administration, accounting services specific to insurance linked securities, investor services, governance and compliance services, and advice and support to clients on best practices for establishing ILS fund
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy represented affiliates of KKR Asset Management (KAM) in connection with the USD300m upsize of the existing KKR Financial CLO 2011-1 secured financing.
This permitted the CLO issuer to borrow up to an incremental USD225m to purchase senior secured corporate loans.
In connection with the upsize, KKR Financial Holdings increased its residual interest in the transaction through the acquisition of an additional USD75m of subordinated notes. The transaction initially closed in March 2011 and was previously upsized in July 2011.
Partner Deborah M Festa led the Milbank team, which included associate Michael Nguyen.
“We
Universal-Investment and London based fund manager Stratton Street are launching the Stratton Street UCITS Renminbi Bond Fund UI.
This new UCITS fund follows the strategy of the Renminbi Bond Fund managed since 2007 by Stratton Street. The original strategy was set up before the offshore CNH or “dim sum” bond market, and has not yet invested in those bonds as they are illiquid and expensive. Instead at present the fund invests in high quality investment grade Asian bonds and uses currency hedges to gain renminbi exposure.
The original fund has had positive returns every year since launch, and
Morgan Stanley this week announced a partnership with Longchamp Asset Management, a French-based asset manager that specializes in the distribution of UCITS hedge funds, and La Française AM, a multi-specialist asset manager with a 10-year track record in alternative investments.
The collaboration between all three firms will see them leveraging their respective expertise to provide investors with access to new alternative UCITS sub-funds through a joint selection and seeding arrangement with La Française AM. Three funds have already been jointly selected and seeded by La Française AM under the partnership: the MS Turner Spectrum UCITS fund, the MS Dalton Asia
Schroders is to add another externally-managed fund to its Schroder GAIA platform, Schroder GAIA Avoca Credit – a fundamental credit long short strategy scheduled to launch in November 2013.
Schroder GAIA (Global Alternative Investor Access) is Schroders’ alternative UCITS platform designed to offer investors access to hedge fund strategies in the liquid, transparent and regulated UCITS format.
The fund will be managed by Simon Thorp and James Sclater from Avoca Capital Management, who have run this strategy for 13 years. Avoca’s existing UCITS fund, the Avoca Credit Absolute Return Fund, will merge into Schroder GAIA Avoca Credit upon
New York Life Investments is to acquire full ownership of Dexia Asset Management – an international asset manager with approximately USD100bn in assets under management – for EUR380m.
With management centres in Brussels, Paris, Luxembourg and Sydney, Dexia offers global fixed income, global equities, alternatives and asset allocation products across retail and institutional channels in 11 locations covering 25 countries.
The transaction, which remains subject to the approval of regulatory authorities, is expected to close on or about 31 December 2013.
The addition of Dexia Asset Management is expected to bring New York Life Investments’ total assets under
Azimut Holding has launched what is believed to be the first UCITS IV-compliant hybrid bonds funds in Europe. The fund – AZ Fund Hybrid Bonds – will invest 100 per cent of its assets in hybrid bonds and has an investment time horizon of four and a half years, reported investmenteurope.net.
The fund will offer diversification to investors in terms of issuer, sector, and geographic reach to produce a portfolio with an optimal risk/return profile. Stefano Mach, manager of the new fund, was quoted as saying: “Hybrid bonds are a funding source which is in between equities and traditional bonds
Integrated Asset Management is to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary, BluMont Capital, to Arrow Capital Management.
The closing of the transaction is subject to, among other things, receipt of all necessary approvals of applicable securities regulatory authorities. Pending approvals, the parties expect the transaction to close in the last calendar quarter of 2013.
The proposed sale of BluMont to Arrow will allow IAM to focus exclusively on its growing institutional business, which comprises approximately 85 per cent of IAM’s current assets under management, while complementing Arrow’s existing line-up of investment solutions to both Canadian and international clients. IAM intends
