Two of the largest actively-managed equity funds from Swedbank, Allemansfonden and Kapitalinvest, have outperformed their benchmarks only one year out of ten. In this context, the Swedish consumer protection agency will review whether marketing by the Scandinavian bank was misleading, Svenska Dagblatet reports. Both funds are managed by the Swedbank asset management firm, Robur.

Feri EuroRating Services has released rankings of the asset management firms which as of the end of September had the highest percentage of well-rated funds (A and B) in seven European countries. Threadneedle leads in five countries (United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy) and places second in France (after Schroders).The French firms are vegetating at the bottom of the rankings. Lazard AM is the only large actor (more than 25 funds rated) to place in the top 10 in France, in ninth place.Among firms with 8 to 25 funds rated, Lyxor, Natixis and Carmignac Gestion are in a tie for 10th place in Italy, while Comgest takes sixth place in France and ninth in Austria.

According to Funds Europe, Jupiter Asset Management will serve as delegate investment adviser for a range of funds from Emirates NBD Asset Management, the fund management unit of the largest bank in Dubai. The London-based asset management firm will also serve in this role for the Emirates Global Quaerterly Income Fund, a sub-fund of the Lxuembourg Siacav from Emirates NBD AM.

In 2012, 73% of European third-party marketers raised less than EUR100m, a new research* by Sagalink Consulting shows. The largest proportion of these players (36%), which help asset management firms to distribute their funds, took in EUR10m to EUR50m.These sums contrast with levels observed in North America, where 70% of TPMs raised more than EUR100m last year.This gap is due to a “more mature and more structured” market in North America, Sagalink explains. In Europe, the profession is more recent, and it is sometimes used as a “transitional solution” by some sales professionnels when they find themselves unemployed. The differences between European and North American TPMs does not stop there, however.71% of European TPMs have an average contract duration of 1 to 3 years, while in North America, 70% of TPMs have relationships with their clients of over 4 years. Sagalink suggests that this volatility in the TPM profession in Europe “is also comparable to the custom among foreign asset management firms, and particularly British and American ones, to use TPMs to test foreign markets, before either hiring local sales teams of their own or pulling out.”As a logical result, North American TPMs negotiate remuneration contracts which offer better financial conditions, with 85% of TPMs able to obtain a fixed monthly remuneration of USD7,000 on average, in addition to which they receive a variable rate of about 20%. The main source of remuneration in Europe is variable pay, whose average is higher in the United States (40% of management fees).In terms of product range, most North American TPMs sell alternative funds such as real estate, private equity and hedge funds. Due to restrictive regulations, European players are more concentrated on long-only expertise. Another difference is that US TPMs are focused on a few funds, often with only one star manager, while the majority of Europeans have a catalogue of over 6 funds.*The study covered 100 TPMs based in 20 countries.

Investors who track commodity indices are fleeing the strategy at a record pace, the Financial Times reports. New estimates by Citi finds that USD36bn left passive commodity investments in the year to the end of November, while for the year 2012 overall, net subscriptions totalled USD27.5bn. Assets under management in commoditites totalled USD273bn in October, compared with a peak of USD380bn in April 2011.

From January 1, 2014, Geneva’s Private Bankers will be replaced by the Association of Swiss Private Banks, according to a statement published on December 4. This creation follows announcements by several private banks of plans to change their legal structure to that of a limited company.Geneva’s Private Bankers will undergo significant changes, broadening its scope so as to include both the institutions which recently changed their legal status (La Roche 1787 Private Bankers, Lombard Odier & Cie, Mirabaud & Cie and Pictet & Cie), and private bankers who were not previously members of this group. Renamed Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB), it thus intends to become a national-level organisation representing privately-owned Swiss banks. The founding members of the ASPB are Bordier & Cie, E. Gutzwiller & Cie, Gonet & Cie, La Roche 1787 Private Bankers, Lombard Odier & Cie, Mirabaud & Cie, Mourgue d’Algue & Cie, Pictet & Cie, Rahn & Bodmer Co. and Reichmuth & Co.Christoph B. Gloor will serve as the chairman of the new association. From January 1, 2014, only 7 members will remain within the Swiss Private Bankers Association. The organisation will be scaled down and its objectives limited to defending the specific interests of private bankers.

As George Muzinich had announced to Newsmanagers (see Newsmanagers of 7 October), Munizich & Co is releasing the Irish-registered Global Tactical Credit Fund, managed by Mike McEachern, for sale.McEachern will make an effort to select the best credit investments on bond marktes worldwide, on the basis of the best relative values in terms of ratings, duration and geographical region, all coupled with rigorous bottom-up analysis of corporate bonds and loans in the IG and HY grades.The manager will be able to use portfolio heding techniques to reduce short-term volatility in periods of rising rates or widening spreads.The fund is not yet licensed for sale in France.CharacteristicsName: Muzinich & Co Global Tactical Credit FundISIN codes :IE00BF5S8N25 (distribution shares in GBP)IE00BF5S8J88 (accumulation shares in GBP)IE00BF5S8R62 (distribution shares in CHF)IE00BF5S8Q55 (distribution shares in EUR)IE00BF5S8P49 (distribution shares in USD)Front-end fee: 1%Management commission: 0.55% (distribution shares in GBP)0.29% for all other share classes

Despite his losses on Herbalife, William Ackman finished the month of November with further gains, the news agency Reuters reports. Its flagship fund, the Pershing Square L.P., whose assets under management total about USD12bn, has posted gains of 1.4%, after commissions, for the month of November, which brings returns in the first eleven months of the year to 10%, according to updated figures distributed to clients and obtained by Reuters.

The funded status of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan in November improved 2.1 percentage points to 93.9 percent, the highest level since September 2008, as higher interest rates lowered liabilities, according to the BNY Mellon Investment Strategy & Solutions Group (ISSG). The funded ratio for corporate pension plans is up 16.8 percentage points since the beginning of the year. For U.S. corporate plans, assets increased 0.4 percent and liabilities fell 1.8 percent. The decline in liabilities was due to a 15-basis-point increase in the Aa corporate discount rate to 4.85 percent. Plan liabilities are calculated using the yields of long-term investment grade bonds. Higher yields on these bonds result in lower liabilities.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) conceived by the United Nations as its financial arm in the battle on climate change, opened its head offices in Seoul on 4 December. The symbolic coffers of the fund are still empty, Reuters reports.The Fund, which is expected to attract most of about USD100bn (EUR74bn) which developed countries are planning to dedicate to this cause each year from now until 2020, is not expected to be operational before the second half of 2014.Richer countries affected by the financial crisis have not paid the sums promised, meaning that the GCF has only USD40m at its disposal, from a contribution by South Korea, which is also intended to cover administrative costs.

The Austrian asset management firm Erste Asset Management has announced the launch of the Erste Responsible Bond Emerging Corporate Fonds, which will invest in corporate bonds from emerging countries selected according to environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria from a universe comparable to that of the CEMBI index from JPMorgan.The portfolio of the fund, managed by Peter Varga, will not include any bonds rated less than B-, and all issues selected are required to have a higher-than-average volume, for reasons of liquidity.ISIN codes:AT0000A13EF9 (A, distribution share class)AT0000A13EG7 (T, accumulation share class)AT0000A13EH5 (VT total accumulation share class)

The Israeli Bank Leumi, which in January-September has posted net profits of NIS1.6bn (USD452m), compared with NIS1.19bn in the corresponding period of 2012, has announced that it has made an additional provision of NIS190m (USD54m) to cover additional costs the group may face as a result of investigations by the US authorities concerning the activities of Leumi between 2002 and 2010 with clients that are US taxpayers. A provision of NIS340m (USD96m) was previously made for the 2012 accounts.As of the end of September, assets under management by Leumi represented NIK1.039trn, or USD294bn, which represents an increase of 9.4%, compared with NIS950bn (USD269bn) one year previously.

The Californian pension fund CalPERS has adopted a set of core competencies that are desired for those that might serve as a member of the CalPERS board of administration. The complete list of competencies, recently adopted by the Pension Fund’s Board, specify more than 20 criteria in the areas of board governance, health care, pension plans, financial markets and communication, a statement from CalPERS released on 4 December states. The pension fund emphasises that the new initiative represents one more step in CalPERS efforts to strengthen the accountability, transparency and ethics of its board. Assets under management at CalPERS currently total over USD278bn.

UBS has announced several changes in its management and its Corporate Center division. Ulrich Körner, currently chief operating officer (COO), will from 1 January 2014 become chief executive officer (CEO) of Global Asset Management (GAM), in addition to his role as CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to a statement from the bank released on 5 December. He will replace John Fraser, chairman and CEO of Global Asset Management, who has decided to step down from his role as CEO and board member from 31 December. The chief financial officer (CFO), Tom Naratil, will from 1 January, in addition to his current responsibilities, assume those of group chief operating officer (COO). His area of responsibility will include the IT sector, group operations, corporate services and the industrialisation programme at the bank. The Corporate development will also be overseen by the CFO.

The Italian asset management firm Wise is launching Wise Private Debt, a fund which invests in non-publicly traded corporate bonds, until they mature, Bluerating reports. The fund is aimed at institutional investors, and will aim for a volume of EUR200m. The minimum investment is EUR5m to EUR20m, and the expected return is over 8%.

Royal Bank of Scotland et l’agence de notation Standard & Poor’s font l’objet d’une plainte déposée par un groupe de 16 investisseurs institutionnels européens devant la justice néerlandaise. Ces derniers leur reprochent des pertes accusées sur des produits financiers complexes au plus fort de la crise financière, et réclament jusqu'à 250 millions de dollars de dédommagements. La plainte concerne les fameux CPDO (constant proportion debt obligations), des produits de crédit à effet de levier créés en 2006 par ABN Amro et présentés à l'époque comme le nec plus ultra de l’innovation financière. Ces produits, dont la qualité suscitait déjà un vif débat entre agences de notation, avaient été notés AAA par S&P, avant d’exploser en vol en 2007-2008.

La Banque de France a publié jeudi une étude sur «les dangers liés au développement des monnaies virtuelles» en prenant pour exemple le Bitcoin. Elle rappelle que ce dernier permet de contourner les règles anti-blanchiment et n’offre aucune garantie de remboursement à son porteur. «Même si le Bitcoin ne remplit pas à ce jour les conditions pour devenir un support d’investissement crédible et poser ainsi un risque significatif pour la stabilité financière, il représente un risque financier certain pour les acteurs qui le détiennent», ajoute le rapport.

UBS a annoncé que John Fraser, PDG de l’activité de gestion d’actifs du groupe depuis 2001, allait quitter ses fonctions opérationnelles pour garder le titre de président. Ulrich Koerner, actuel directeur des opérations (COO), qui a supervisé le programme de recentrage et de réduction de coûts de la banque suisse, prendra la direction générale d’UBS Global Asset Management le 1er janvier 2014. Ses fonctions seront reprises par Tom Naratil, qui reste directeur financier.

La banque centrale norvégienne a reporté d’un an l'échéance à partir de laquelle elle prévoit de remonter son taux directeur. La Norges Bank, qui a maintenu son principal taux à 1,5%, précise que la première hausse devrait intervenir durant l'été 2015 alors qu’elle évoquait jusqu'à présent l'été 2014. «Les perspectives de croissance de l'économie norvégienne se sont quelque peu détériorées. Les prix immobiliers ont récemment baissé alors que la dette des ménages reste élevée», a reconnu la banque centrale.

Le Conseil des gouverneurs de la Banque centrale européenne a maintenu inchangé le taux d’intérêt des opérations principales de refinancement à 0,25%. Ceux de la facilité de prêt marginal et de la facilité de dépôt sont également inchangés, à respectivement 0,75% et 0,00%. Mario Draghi, le président de la BCE, commentera ces décisions lors d’une conférence de presse en début d’après-midi à Francfort. Il en profitera pour mettre à jour les prévisions de croissance et d’inflation pour la zone euro. Pour 2014, la BCE table jusqu'à présent sur une croissance du PIB de 1%. Elle prévoit un taux d’inflation de 1,5 % pour 2013.

L’Espagne, dont la perspective de la note a été relevée mercredi soir à stable par Moody’s après des mouvements similairees chez S&P et Fitch, a placé jeudi matin 3,5 milliards d’euros d’obligations 2017 et 2018, avec des taux de couverture respectifs de 3,6 fosi et 2,2 fois.

Le ministre britannique des Finances, George Osborne, a annoncé une révision à la hausse des prévisions de croissance du gouvernement pour 2013 et 2014. L’Office for Budget Responsibility, l’organisme chargé d'établir les prévisions économiques utilisées pour préparer le budget, table sur une hausse du produit intérieur brut de 1,4% cette année, soit plus du double du chiffre évoqué en mars. La croissance doit monter à 2,4% en 2014, contre 1,8% auparavant attendu. Dans son discours semestriel sur la situation économique et budgétaire au parlement, George Osborne a toutefois prévenu que le gouvernement ne relèvera pas ses efforts d’austérité dans l’objectif d'équilibrer le budget en 2018-2019. Par ailleurs, la Banque d’Angleterre a laissé sa politique monétaire inchangée.

La banque centrale canadienne a maintenu son taux directeur inchangé à 1%. Dans son communiqué, elle met en avant des risques baissiers sur l’inflation, alors que la croissances des prix n’a atteint que 0,7% dans le pays au mois d’octobre.

L’AMF attire dans un communiqué l’attention du public sur les agissements de personnes se présentant comme ses salariés ou ses mandataires et qui proposent aux investisseurs français de réaliser des transactions sur des sites d’options binaires non autorisés, « dans le but prétendu de leur permettre de récupérer les sommes précédemment perdues sur de tels sites». « En contrepartie, souligne l’AMF, les investisseurs doivent effectuer un versement auprès d’une autre plate-forme d’options binaires».

Un amendement au projet de loi de finances rectificative, déposé par le rapporteur de la commission des Finances Christian Eckert et adopté, restreint le champ du plan d'épargne en actions (PEA). Il exclut à compter du 1er janvier 2014 le placement sur un PEA de «titres à fort effet de levier potentiel (bons et droits de souscription d’actions, actions de préférence)», «à l’exclusion toutefois des titres de cette nature déjà régulièrement placés sur un PEA», précise l’exposé des motifs.

Le fonds d’investissement de Xavier Niel et Jérémie Berrebi a lancé hier Kima15, une «nouvelle offre d’investissement exceptionnelle» à destination des start-up technologiques «du monde entier». En promettant d’apporter 150.000 dollars contre 15% du capital, cela en 15 jours, Kima Ventures entend présenter «le plus rapide et simple» moyen d’obtenir un financement. Le fonds table sur un soutien par ce biais à «au moins 50» start-up par an.

Conseillée par Rothschild, la société de private equity a selon Reuters choisi Morgan Stanley et UBS pour mener à bien l’introduction en Bourse l’an prochain du spécialiste espagnol de la certification. Carlyle a acquis Applus+ en 2007 pour 1,5 milliard d’euros. D’autres banques seront sélectionnées dans les prochains mois en tant que teneurs de livre. La cotation est attendue à Madrid, bien que la décision finale reste à prendre.

Bloomberg avance que le fonds alternatif Hayman Capital Management, qui réalise à cette occasion l’un de ses plus importants investissements, a pris une participation, dont le montant reste inconnu, au capital du constructeur automobile américain. L’action General Motors dispose selon l’investisseur d’un potentiel de hausse de plus de 40% sur les 12 à 18 prochains mois, au moment où le Trésor américain a indiqué qu’il sortirait du capital d’ici la fin de l’année.

Le gouvernement prévoit de céder pour 1,84 milliard d’euros d'actions de Bank of Ireland, qui en rachètera elle-même pour 537 millions d'euros

Le rapport Védrine propose des financements innovants sur le continent, avec la création d'un fonds commun d'infrastructures entre la CDC et l'AFD