Inès de Dinechin will “soon” leave Lyxor Asset Management, where she was chairman, the asset management firm of the Société Générale group has announced in a statement released on Thursday. She was appointed to the role in June 2013, after the departure of Alain Dubois. She had previously served as CEO. De Dinechin will be replaced as of yesterday by Lionel Paquin. He also joins the board of directors in the key client banking and investor solutions division.Paquin was previously head of the managed accounts platform at Lyxor since 2011. He also served as director of risks and internal control, and had been a member of the board of directors at Lyxor since September 2007.The departure comes at a time when Lyxor AM has announced that in 2013 it posted an increase in its assets under management of EUR5bn for the year, to EUR80bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Outflows are accelerating from asset management at BNP Paribas. In 2013, this activity, driven by BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) saw outflows of EUR31.4bn, despite a positive net inflow of about EUR200m in fourth quarter, according to data released by the banking group on 13 February. In 2012, the affiliate had already seen EUR18.8bn in net redemptions. The BNP Paribas group states that the outflows in 2013 largely materialised in money market funds, without giving more detail. The result is that assets under management have melted away like snow in summer, to EUR370bn at the end of 2013, compared with EUR405bn at the end of 2012, down 8.5%. BNP Paribas does not plan to rest on its laurels. In its strategic plan for 2014-2016, the group has assigned a clear objective to BNPP IP: restart inflows. This should be a challenge given the performance posted in the past few years. By 2016, BNPP IP is hoping to bring in net inflows of EUR40bn. To that end, it has set three key areas for priority development: institutinoal clients, Asia-Pacific and emerging markets, and lastly, platforms and distribution networks. The future will tell whether BNPP IP will succeed.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The service provider S&P Capital IQ on 13 February announced the launch of Deal Detector, a new detection tool for businesses which have the same characteristics in terms of valuation and fundamentals as businesses which have already been the targets of acquisition operations. The initiative comes at a time when a marked rise has been observed in merger and acquisition activities worldwide, with an activity volume which last year topped USD2.6trn, the best result since 2007, a statement from S&P Capital IQ states. Deal Detector will then alert investors about potential investment ideas ahead of potential merger and acquisition operations. The tool allows for sectoral trends to be detected without specifying a time horizon for each investment idea, also setting it apart from traditional research, which is generally based on a 12-month timetable.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Shares in Aberdeen Asset Management have fallen below 420 pence, the price at which it finances the cost of the acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership for GBP550m, Financial News reports. For each penny below this level, the asset management firm will have to pay an additional GBP1.3m, according to estimates by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Aberdeen will be required to pay Lloyds an additional GBP16.9m over the next 12 months if the decline persists.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Last year, 27 new open-ended German real estate funds were offered to investors, according to data from the Berlin-based ratings agency Scope. Of these funds, only 4 invest internationally as a priority, compared with 9 out of 68 in 2012. In detail, 2 specialise in the United States, one in Australia, and one in Belgium. Although the number of funds specialised in international real estate has fallen year on year, the issue volume is far larger, Scope notes. These issues accounted for 18% of the total issues registered by German real estate funds in 2012, which will increase to 34% in 2013. One of the explanations of this increasing weight is the size of real estate funds specialised in foreign assets, which are up sharply.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The OECD on 13 February unveiled its standard model for the exchange of information, a single new global standard for the automatic exchange of data between tax authorities worldwide, which will be presented to G20 finance ministers in 10 days’ time. Jurisdictions will be required to procure information from their financial institutions and automatically exchange them with other jurisdictions on an annual basis. The standard defines the information to be exchanged, the institutions which will be subject to declaration. The types of account and the taxpayers concerned, and the reasonable diligence procedures to be followed by financial institutions. The OECD will officially present the standard for adoption by the G20 finance ministers at their meeting on 22 and 23 February in Sydney, Australia. In 2013, the G20 invited the OECD to develop a global standard for the automatic exchange of information, and remains the factor driving progress toward the establishment of greater tax transparency worldwide. More than 40 countries have agreed to adopt the standard.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With a new shareholder and a new name, Dexia Asset Management, now known as Candriam Investors Group, can at last dream of the future. “We are aiming for growth of 8% to 10% in our assets per year, supposing that markets gain 4-5% per year,” says Naïm Abou-Jaoudé, CEO of Candriam. “Over five years, that makes 50% more assets, which would allow us to exceed the EUR100bn mark.” Currently, assets at Candriam, which has been acquired by the US firm New York Life, total EUR73bn, after a peak in 2007, at EUR105bn. “We will finally be able to regain lost market share and return to our leading position, now that the weight of history and our uncertainties over the sale are behind us,” Abou-Jaoudé says. The two drivers of growth in assets will be distribution, which represent 28% of assets, and institutionals, which acount for the remainder. Abou-Jaoudé is placing a lot of hope in distribution clients, who had previously been cooled by the sales process and the reputation of the former parent company. Also, it is notable that 35% of assets are managed for Belfius (ex-Dexia) and BIL, under “long-term partnerships.” International activities are not forgotten, and Candriam plans to add to its institutional team in Germany, focused on distribution, recruit a head of consultants in England, and add to staff in Switzerland. “We are in development mode,” says Abou-Jaoudé, who confirms that teams from Dexia AM will remain in place. Lastly, Candriam will also be able to create new products, with the launch of a total return income fund, a European private investment fund and an optimum value private equity fund for insurers. Abou-Jaoudé does not rule out offering funds from investment boutiques of New York Life to European invetors, but that is in the consideration stages at present. The shareholder may also place assets with Candriam, but it is also too soon to say about that.

European asset managers are set to rationalise further, but a widespread mergers and acquisitions spree is unlikely, Fitch Ratings says. “We do not expect widespread M&A because there are not many large candidates left and deals can bring considerable risks. There could be stark cultural differences among managers and they may also face investor outflows. Other challenges include a negative impact on an asset managers’ credit profile if an acquisition involves debt funding, regulatory hurdles in the approval phase and over-paying in a competitive market, particularly if a bidding war is triggered”, according to the rating agency. Nevertheless, Fitch Ratings expect some further selective M&A activity among European asset managers, particularly where institutional investors increasingly demand scale, such as alternative investment, private equity and real estate. The agency also expect the acquisition of smaller specialists to remain popular ways for asset managers to add competences, products, clients or distribution channels. Finally, European asset managers have also generated interest from overseas parties. These transactions enhanced growth platforms and increased geographical diversification of previously North American- or Asian-focused funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to data supplied on 13 February by the VDOS Stochastic company, assets in Spanish common investment funds have risen by 2.34% in January, to a total of EUR162.29bn. In the past month, net subscriptions totalled EUR3.2bn, according to VDOS Stochastic.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Allianz Global Investors (GI) plans to give a new breath of life to its Global Solutions division. The division, which now includes 90 professionals in Euorpe, Asia-Pacific and the United States, currently has over EUR60bn in assets under management for over 100 high-calibre institutional clients. The asset management firm does not plan to stop as it is on the right path. “We are aiming for growth in our assets of 10% per year, and EUR5bn more in assets this year,” says Dr. Reinhold Hafner, chief investment officer for Global Solutions at Allianz GI, on a visit to Paris on 13 February. The Global Solutions entity, founded in 2011, aims to offer clients a range of custom investment services and solutions oriented around various units: risk investment advising, retirement solutions, manager search and selection, hybrid life insurance solutions, and lastly, fiduciary management. This latter activity is still expected to grow further. “It is an area in which we have strong demand from clients,” says Hafner. Fiduciary management currently represents between EUR15bn and EUR16bn in assets under management, with about 13 or 14 clients.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } SPGP is adding to its sales force. The asset management firm led by Cédric Chaboud has recently built a distribution team through the recruiment of processionals from major market players. Sassan Golshani, 37, has joined SPGP as director of development and marketing. Golshani, formerly of Richelieu Finance Gestion Privée, KBL, was previously director of Global Investment Managers, the asset management firm of the Global Investment Services group. Golshani will rely on a team of two people, which is expected to grow rapidly, according to SPGP. Marie-Alex Robert, 25, joins the firm in the position of external head of sales. After an initial experience at Fédéral Finance in 2011, she previously served at the Global Investment Services group at its affiliate specialised in distribution of external funds as development representative for France and International. Henri Rayot, 30, is appointed as Institutional sales representative for Europe (Benelux, Switzerland and Germany). Rayot, formerly of Oddo Securities and Crédit Agricole CIB in Frankfurt, joined SPGP in 2012, initially to sell equity and bond funds to institutional investors in Europe (Switzerland, Benelux and France).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Dreyfus, of the BNY Mellon group, has launched the Dreyfus Global Emerging Markets fund, an actively-managed equity fund. The affiliated firm Newton Capital Management will sub-advise the fund, with two emerging market specialists from the firm, Robert Marshall-Lee and Sophia Whitbread.

Long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) registered increased net sales of EUR 31 billion, compared to EUR 21 billion in November, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA). In 2013, long-term UCITS net sales totalled EUR 320 billion.Net sales of equity funds totalled EUR 20 billion, up from EUR 10 billion in November, as balanced funds recorded a rise in net sales to EUR 13 billion, up from 8 billion in November. However, net sales of bond funds returned to negative territory in December with net outflows of EUR 6 billion compared to net inflows of EUR 6 billion in the previous month. Money market funds registered large net outflows of EUR 19 billion, which can be explained by cyclical end-year withdrawals. Net inflows into UCITS amounted to EUR 13 billion, down from EUR 18 billion in November. Total net assets of UCITS increased 0.1 percent in December to EUR 6,929 billion, whilst non-UCITS assets grew by 0.3 percent to EUR 2,799 billion.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on February 13 launched a consultation on Guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures (APMs). The aim of the guidelines is to encourage European issuers to publish transparent, unbiased and comparable information on their financial performance in order to provide users with a better understanding of their performance. Some examples of APMs include EBIT (Earnings Before Interest & Tax), EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation), free cash flow, underlying profit or net-debt. The Consultation Paper follows on from ESMA’s decision to review and replace the 2005 CESR Recommendation on APMs with Guidelines under Article 16 of the ESMA Regulation to tackle concerns about APMs used by issuers.The proposed guidelines are aligned with other regulations and guidance issued by securities regulators in the United States, Australia and Canada on this matter, according to a press release. The closing date for responses to this consultation is 14 May 2014 and ESMA expects to publish the final guidelines in the fourth quarter of 2014.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock is offering five mutual funds which will aim to provide long-term performance corresponding to the returns tied to BlackRock CoRI retirement indices. CoRI indices help investors to estimate the future annual returns from their current savings at the age of 65, or inversely, estimate the savings effort recommended to reach a certain level of income at 65. The five funds on offer are the following: - BlackRock CoRI 2015 Fund (BCVAX) - BlackRock CoRI 2017 Fund (BCWAX) - BlackRock CoRI 2019 Fund (BCXAX) - BlackRock CoRI 2021 Fund (BCYAX) - BlackRock CoRI 2023 Fund (BCZAX) These products are invested as a priority in bonds, but may also invest in other financial instruments. They will be managed by Scott Radell and James Mauro of the North America portfolio solutions unit, within the alpha bond strategies unit dedicated to the Americas region at BlackRock.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The global unlisted equity fund managed by David Samra and Daniel O’Keefe at Artisan Partners will be closed to most new investors at the end of this week, Citywire reports. The fund has USD14.1bn in assets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Two Netherlands-based pension funds whose identities have not been disclosed have launched a request for proposals for club deals in European residential real estate, excluding the Netherlands, the website IPE reports. The consulting firm Grontmij Capital Consultants has been retained to lead the request for proposals. The size of inveatments will total between USD10m to USD30m per mandate. The two pension funds say they prefer an active approach, but may acept core, value-add, opportunistic or sectoral (diversified or specific) approaches.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Two Netherlands-based pension funds whose identities have not been disclosed have launched a request for proposals for club deals in European residential real estate, excluding the Netherlands, the website IPE reports. The consulting firm Grontmij Capital Consultants has been retained to lead the request for proposals. The size of inveatments will total between USD10m to USD30m per mandate. The two pension funds say they prefer an active approach, but may accept core, value-add, opportunistic or sectoral (diversified or specific) approaches.

New research from Cerulli Associates finds separately managed accounts and fund-of-one investment structures continue to gain popularity among institutional investors.The key difference between a fund of one and a managed account is the ownership and control of the assets. In a managed account, the assets are owned and controlled by the investor; however, in a fund of one, the hedge fund manager retains control. «Demand for alternative assets across retail and institutional channels has recently gained steam,» explains Michele Giuditta, associate director at Cerulli. «Asset managers are broadening options to better meet clients’ needs and objectives, and improving asset vehicles and structures used to package these products,» states Giuditta. «Since the market downturn in 2008, separately managed accounts and fund-of-one structures have increased in popularity among investors. These structures provide institutional investors improved control, transparency, liquidity, and lower fees.»

Le courtier en ligne affiche une hausse de 17,2% du nombre d’ordres exécutés en 2013 à 3,5 millions et comptait près de 78 000 comptes fin 2013, année de belles performances pour les indices boursiers. Le produit net bancaire de Bourse Direct progresse de 13,6% à 29,5 millions d’euros et le résultat net de 9,9% à 3,4 millions. «Malgré le risque de tensions sur les marchés que pourraient susciter les incertitudes sur les pays émergents en 2014, Bourse Direct a connu un début d’année 2014 très dynamique en termes d’activité et de recrutement», indique la filiale de Viel & Cie.

AXA Investment Managers a annoncé vendredi qu’il va gérer un nouveau collateralised loan obligation (CLO) d’environ 370 millions de dollars, Allegro CLO I. Il s’agit à la fois de son premier CLO 100% américain et du premier produit de ce genre que le gestionnaire émet depuis 2008-2009. Allegro CLO est un portefeuille fermé, adossé exclusivement à des prêts bancaires aux entreprises. Le portefeuille est au minimum investi à 90% dans des prêts senior de premier rang, les 10% restant pouvant être alloués, entre autres, en prêts de second rang. Les titres n’ont été souscrits que par des investisseurs institutionnels américains.

Delta AM a officialisé vendredi la recomposition de son capital. La société de gestion spécialiste des «situations spéciales» sur les marchés obligataires corporate était jusqu’à présent détenue à hauteur de 60% par ses associés-fondateurs, et à 40% par Amlab, la structure d’incubation de La Banque Postale Asset Management (LBPAM), qui a cessé ses activités. Les associés-fondateurs conservent 60% des parts, tandis que la Financière Dassault et Blue Alpha, récemment constituée par Thierry Callault (ancien directeur général délégué du Groupe OFI) reprennent chacun 15,05% du capital auprès d’Amlab, qui conserve 9,9%.

Le Pib de la zone euro a cru de 0,3% au quatrième trimestre 2013 mais s'est globalement contracté de 0,4% l'an passé, celui de la France s'adjugeant 0,3% de hausse au quatrième trimestre et sur l'année

Certaines pratiques observées par l’Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution dans le cadre de sa mission de contrôle des pratiques commerciales la conduisent à préciser par une position ses attentes en matière d’imputation des frais de recherche des bénéficiaires de contrats d’assurance vie. «L’ACPR considère que les pratiques consistant à imputer sur le montant du capital décès versé au bénéficiaire tout ou partie des frais générés par la recherche de ce dernier, que cette imputation soit prévue ou non dans les clauses du contrat, sont contraires aux dispositions du Code des assurances, du Code de la mutualité et du Code de la sécurité sociale», indique un communiqué.

La Financial Conduct Authority hausse le ton envers les prestataires de services de retraite à prestations définies outre-Manche. L’autorité signale qu’une étude préliminaire a permis de mettre en avant que le marché ne respectait pas les meilleurs intérêts des épargnants. 8 personnes sur 10 pourraient selon la FCA obtenir une meilleure pension de retraite s’ils venaient à changer de prestataire. La situation est selon le régulateur la plus critique pour les personnes disposant d’une faible pension. «Il devrait y avoir de la concurrence sur l’ensemble du marché, pas uniquement pour les plus fortunés», a martelé le directeur général de la FCA, Martin Wheatley. La consultation concernant les améliorations à apporter est ouverte pendant un mois, jusqu’au 14 mars. La FCA engage en parallèle une étude approfondie de la concurrence sur le marché de ces annuities, pour aller «au cœur du problème».

Les actifs sous gestion détenus par les «trusts» chinois ont encore progressé de 46% en 2013 mais ont ralenti à un rythme de 8% au dernier trimestre

Cette semaine, l'appétit retrouvé des investisseurs internationaux a permis aux deux pays de lever 1,5 et 2,5 milliards de dollars à 31 et 10 ans

Elle sera transposée dans les pays qui adoptent l'échange automatique d'informations. Les banques redoutent des coûts et une application inégale

Leurs prévisions dérivent à la baisse à court terme mais l'inflation devrait continuer à se redresser, comme le prédit la BCE

L’organisation a publié hier sa nouvelle norme unique en matière d'échange automatique d’informations fiscales. Elle devrait être transposée dans le droit des pays qui soutiennent ce principe et notamment ceux du G20 qui s’y sont ralliés au printemps dernier sous la pression des Etats-Unis.