La banque centrale a laissé son taux à 0,75%. Son président a souligné que c’est l’action des gouvernements qui déclenchera le programme d’achat de dette.

Le président de la BCE les encourage à poursuivre les réformes. Il a rappelé l'importance de la conditionnalité de l'OMT

La banque centrale prévoit une balance des comptes courants déficitaire en 2015, contre un excédent de 79,9 milliards de dollars cette année

Avec le iShares Global Government AAA-AA Capped Bond (acronyme SAAA), iShares vient de lancer le 3 octobre son douzième ETF en Europe. C’est un produit d’obligations gouvernementales des meilleures signatures qui a été admis à la cotation sur la Bourse de Londres (LSE) le 4 octobre et qui investit en obligations à taux fixe en monnaies locales émises par les Etats de pays développé du monde entier notes au moins AA3 par Fitch, Moody’s ou S&P. Il s’agit d’un produit de droit irlandais à replication physique et le portefeuille ne pourra être investi à plus de 20 % dans un seul pays. L’indice répliqué couvre 19 pays et 13 monnaies.CaractéristiquesDénomination : iShares Global Government AAA-AA Capped BondCode Isin : IE00B87G8S03TFE : 0,20 %

Bury Street Capital, un distributeur de fonds londonien dont la clientèle se compose de fonds de pension et de gestionnaires de fortune dans toute l’Europe, a signé un accord avec l’américain Federated Investors (138 fonds, 355,9 milliards de dollars d’encours) en vue de commercialiser dans toute l’Europe des produits coordonnés existants ou à venir de Federated.Dans un premier temps, Bury Street Capital commercialisera et distribuera trois stratégies obligataires (Federated Emerging Markets Global Debt Fund, Federated U.S. Total Return Bond Fund et Federated High Income Advantage Fund) avec de nouvelles classes de parts qui seront lancées avant la fin du quatrième trimestre, sous réserve d’un agrément de la Banque centrale d’Irlande. De plus, la firme britannique commercialisera le Federated Strategic Value Equity Fund.

Janus Capital International Limited, la branche internationale de Janus Capital Group, lance le Janus Global Flexible Income Fund. Ce fonds crédit mondial, co-géré par Gibson Smith, Darrell Watters et Chris Diaz, utilisera un processus fondamental, et investira à la fois dans l’univers investment grade et haut rendement. L’indice de référence principal est le Barclays Capital Global Aggregate Bond Index. Ce fonds est en cours d’enregistrement en France.

La société de gestion suédoise East Capital, spécialiste des marchés émergents, vient de signer les Principes pour l’investissement responsable des Nations Unies.Louise Hedberg, responsable de la gouvernance au sein de la société, explique que la prise en compte des critères ESG (environnementaux, sociaux et de gouvernance) va aider East Capital à prendre de meilleures décisions d’investissement, «ce qui nous l’espérons se traduira par des rendements à long termes plus attrayants pour les clients». Elle ajoute que East Capital pratique déjà l’exclusion, en n’investissant pas dans des entreprises générant une part important de leurs chiffres d’affaires avec la fabrication et la vente d’armes, de tabac ou de produits pornographiques. Concernant les critères ESG, plutôt que d’exclure les sociétés qui sont à la traîne, East Capital préfère entamer un dialogue afin de susciter des améliorations.

Sur un peu plus de 700 fonds présents sur le marché suédois, 89 gèrent moins de 100 millions de couronnes suédoises (soit 11,6 millions d’euros), selon le quotidien économique scandinave Dagens Industri. Or, pour qu’un fonds soit rentable, ses encours doivent être cinq fois plus élevés que cela, indique Jonas Lindmarker, de Morningstar.Dagens Industri publie la liste de ces 89 fonds qui représentent moins de 100 millions de couronnes d’encours et qui donc risqueraient d’être fermés, comme cela a été le cas récemment pour plusieurs produits.

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) en Italie a été mandaté par Allianz Global Investors Fund SICAV (AGIF) pour agir en tant qu’agent de transfert local afin de lui fournir des services d’agent payeur et de gestion des relations avec les investisseurs en Italie.

Falcon Private Bank développe ses activités à Londres. Le gestionnaire de fortune zurichois contrôlé par l’Emirat d’Abou Dhabi vient de racheter à Credit Suisse sa filiale Clariden Leu (Europe), établie dans la capitale britannique. Le montant de la transaction n’a pas été divulgué.Anciennement Clariden Leu Asset Management UK, l'établissement londonien affichait à fin août des actifs sous gestion de 2 milliards de francs. Active dans la gestion de fortune pour la catégorie des clients très riches, la banque emploie 57 collaborateurs, dont 22 conseillers financiers et 10 professionnels de l’investissement. La cession marque une des étapes finales de l’intégration de l'établissement zurichois Clariden Leu au sein de Credit Suisse. Dans le cadre de ce processus, qui doit s’achever cette année, le numéro deux bancaire helvétique a déjà cédé en mars dernier à son concurrent du Liechtenstein LGT Group l’unité d’affaires de Clariden Leu dédiée aux produits d’investissements adossés à des assurances. Clariden Leu compte parmi les plus grandes banques privées de Suisse. Elle est issue de la fusion en 2007 de cinq unités de gestion de fortune de Credit Suisse: Clariden, la banque Leu, la Bank Hofmann, la Banca de Gestione Patrimoniale et Credit Suisse Fides.

En juin, Lloyds TSB Private Banking a délocalisé son back-office (300 personnes) des Acacias en à Eysins, toujours en Suisse. «La Suisse reste très importante pour Lloyds, a affirmé Russell Galley. L’investissement que nous faisons à Eysins en est la preuve.» Pour la banque, qui vise particulièrement les expatriés britanniques et les clients anglophiles, le pays a l’avantage d’être proche de Londres. Quant à la fin annoncée du secret bancaire, Russell Galley pense que ce qui fait la force de la place suisse, c’est son histoire, son expertise et ses connaissances, a-t-il expliqué. Pas le secret bancaire.» Alors que plusieurs succursales ont été fermées ces derniers mois – notamment en Amérique du Sud – et que les encours sont passés de 14,3 milliards de livres à 12,1 milliards entre juin 2011 et juin 2012, Russell Galley assure que la «banque n’a nulle intention de vendre son entité suisse».

La société de gestion finlandaise FIM vient de lancer deux fonds : FIM Orient Alpha, investi dans des fonds Asie à rendement absolu, et FIM Top Yiel, investi sur les marchés obligataires du monde entier. Les deux produits ont été lancés le 28 septembre 2012.

Mutual Fund Wire fait état d’une notification de Dai-ichi Life Insurance à la SEC selon laquelle l’assureur nippon a acheté 1,5 million d’actions supplémentaires du gestionnaire américain Janus le lundi 1er octobre, pour 14,5 millions de dollars, ce qui augmente la participation de Dai-ichi d’un point de pourcentage. Dans une notification séparée, Dai-ichi a confirmé détenir 28 millions d’actions Janus, soit 14 % du capital ordinaire.Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company avait annoncé son intention d’acquérir entre 15 % et 20 % de la société de gestion américaine Janus Capital Group dans le cadre d’une «alliance stratégique» conclue le 10 août (lire Newsmanagers du 13 août).

Selon L’Agefi, la banque a dévoilé une restructuration profonde de ses activités de finance islamique, avec un recentrage sur la Malaisie et l’Arabie Saoudite, en conservant une présence limitée en Indonésie. Hormis pour les opérations de banque de gros, HSBC ne proposera plus de produits de finance islamique au Royaume-Uni, aux Emirats arabes unis, à Bahreïn, au Bangladesh, à Singapour et à Maurice.

Touchstone Investments a attribué à BNY Mellon le mandat de comptabilité, d’administration, d’agence de transfert et de «blue sky services» pour quatre mutual funds supplémentaires. Cela porte à 58 le nombre de mutual funds confiés par Touchstone à BNY Mellon. Les encours concernés représentent ainsi 13,7 milliards de dollars pour 250.000 comptes clients.Actuellement, BNY Mellon assure des services de comptabilité et d’administration de fonds pour 107 gammes de fonds comprenant 1.700 produits dont les actifs se situent à 1.370 milliards de dollars.

Falcon Private Bank is developing its activities in London. The Zurich-based wealth management firm controlled by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has acquired the affiliate Clariden Leu (Europe), based in the British capital, from Credit Suisse. The sale price has not been disclosed. Formerly Clariden Leu Asset Management UK, the London-based firm as of the end of August had assets under management of CHF2bn. The bank, which is active in wealth management in the ultra-high net worth client category, has 37 employees, including 22 financial advisers and 10 investment professionals. The sale marks one of the final steps in the integration of the Zurich-based Clariden Leu establishment into Credit Suisse. As part of that process, which is expected to be completed this year, the second-largest Swiss bank has already sold the business unit of Clariden Ley dedicated to investment products associated with insurance policies, in March this year, to its rival, Liechtenstein-based LGT group. Clariden Leu is one of the largest private banks in Switzerland.. It was born of a merger in 2007 between five wealth management units of Credit Suisse: Clariden, the Lu bank, Bank Hofmann, Banca de Gestione Patrimoniale, and Credit Suisse Fides.

Muzinich & Co on 4 October announced the release in France of a long/short strategy high yield corporate bond fund, the LongShortCreditYield, launched on 19 June 2012, which has recently received a license from the French financial market authority, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). The LongShortCreditYield fund invests primarily in high yeld corporate bonds, and follows a long/short strategy. The sub-fund has a long bias. It is the 7th sub-fund of the UCITS IV-compliant unit trust Muzinich Funds, licensed in several countries, including France. The Long/Short High Yield Corporate Credit strategy, which has been applied for eight years as mandate managed by Muzinich & Co, has since its inception generated higher returns than the MuzinichAmericayield fund, which invests primarily in bond issues in US dollars with a BB/B rating. Like the mandate, the objective of the LongShortCreditYield fund is to maximise returns, regardless of market conditions, by combining in a single portfolio high yield bonds, short strtegies and arbitrage. The strategy is based on four key areas: long positions on high yield bonds with a neutral maturity of 3 to 4 years, bonds with short maturities, short positions, and arbitrage. The choice of allocation will be based on the conviction of the management team within a range preset in a rigorous control and risk management procedure. Gross exposure will vary between 100% and 200% of assets, depending on market conditions, with maximal leverage of 100%. The LongShortCreditYield fund is managed within the constraints applicable to UCITS products. For management it may use a total return swap (TRS) as well as credit default swaps (CDS), which are thus subject to counterparty risks. Assets in the LongShortCreditYield fund currently total USD50m. Major characteristics of the fund Legal format: Sub-fund of the UCITS-compliant Irish trust Muzinich Funds, licensed in France Benchmark currency: USD – capitalisation shares in euros and USD are available Hedge Euro Accumulation Units : Isin IE00B85Q587 Hedge USD Accumulation Units : Isin IE00B85QD60 Liquidity: Weekly, with 7 working day advance notice for redemptions Management fees 1% + 10% of outperformance, with high watermark

Six months after starting up, the asset management firm Russell Investments France has EUR300m in assets, while assets under management in France by the group, which has been present in the country since 1994, total EUR3bn.The French-registered asset management firm (11 professionals) has three French-registered dedicated multi-asset FCP products and a multi-asset class FCPE. Since its inception, Russell Investments France has already won mandates to manage two international strategies from a wealth manager, for a total of EUR60m, a statement says.

The reality of climate change has become a profound conviction for the majority of the population, which also estimates that the insurance sector has a role to play in fighting this development. According to a study undertaken by the AXA group with Ipsos in 13 countries worldwide, 61% of respondents estimate that insurers are responsible for limiting climate change risks. This figure is as high as 78% in Hong Kong, 69% in Turkey, and 65% in Italy. The study finds that 57% of respondents also feel that insurance companies can help people to adapt to the consequences of climate change. This opinion is most widespread in countries which are most concerned: 75% of Turkish respondents hold this opinion, as do 71% of Mexicans and 67% of Indonesians. For respondents, this responsibility is related to several actions tied to the core profession of insurers: offering new insurance products, inciting behaviour which is more respectful of the environment, and to initiate partnerships in collaboration with local and national authorities. AXA Has also published a report on climate change risks, which lays out knowledge of these risks and their probable evolution. It also presents tools available to insurers to evaluate these risks and the role that the insurance sector can play in bringing about responses to these challenges. This is the fourth report from AXA, following reports on Longevity, Retirement and Dependency. The documents are part of an initiative by the group to share its expertise on major developments in our society.

Mutual Fund Wire reports that it has received a filing from Dai-Ichi Life Insurance to the SEC that the Japanese insurer acquired a further 1.5 million shares in the US asset management firm Janus on Monday, 1 October, or USD14.5m, which increases the stake of Dai-ichi by one percentage point. In a separate notification, Dai-Ichi has confirmed that it holds 28 million Janus shares, equivalent to 14% of ordinary capital.Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company announced its intention to acquire 15% to 20% of the US asset management firm Janus Capital Group as part of a strategic alliance signed on 10 August (see Newsmanagers of 13 August).

Touchstone Investments has awarded a mandate for accounting, administration, transfer agency and blue sky services for four more mutual funds to BNY Mellon. This brings the number of mutual funds entrusted to BNY Mellon by Touchstone to 58. Their assets represent USD13.7bn, for 250,000 client accounts.Currently, BNY Mellon provides accounting and administration services for 107 ranges of funds, including 1,700 products whose assets total USD1.37trn.

Of slightly over 700 funds which are sold on the Swedish market, 89 have less than SEK100m (or EUR11.6m) in assets, according to the Scandinavian economic newspaper Dagens Industri. For a fund to be profitable, its assets much be five times higher than that, says Jonas Lindmarker of Morningstar. Dagens Industri publishes a list of 89 funds which have less than SEK100m in assets, and which therefore are at risk of being closed, as several products recently were.

Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild SA announces today that its subsidiary in Lugano, Banca Privata Edmond de Rothschild Lugano SA, has submitted a binding offer to the shareholders of Sella Bank AG, Lugano, for the acquisition of its entire share capital. This offer has been accepted. Negotiations will begin within the next few days to enter into a sales agreement that will be submitted to the Swiss financial regulator for approval.

In June, Lloyds TSB Private Banking moved its back office (300 people) from Axacias to Eysins, also in Switzerland. “Switzerland remains very important for Lloyds,” says Russell Galley. “The investment we are making in Eysins is the proof of that.” For the bank, which particularly tragets British expatriates and anglophile clients, the country has the advantage of being close to London. In relation to the declared end of banking confidentiality, Galley feels that it makes the strengths of the Swiss market its history, expertise and knowledge, he explains, and not banking confidentiality. Although several branch offices have been closed in recent months, particularly in South America, and assets have decreased from GBP14.3bn to GBP12.1bn between June 2011 and June 2012, Galley promises that the bank “has no intention to sell its Swiss entity.”

The Finnish asset management firm FIM has launched two funds: FIM Orient Alpha, which invests in Asia absolute return funds, and FIM Top Yield, which invests in bond markets worldwide. The two products were launched on 28 September 2012.

Janus Capital International Limited, the international arm of Janus Capital Group Inc., has launched the Janus Global Flexible Income Fund. The Fund, which is co-managed by portfolio managers Gibson Smith, Darrell Watters and Chris Diaz, will utilise a fundamentally driven process focused on credit-oriented investments around the world, in both investment grade and high yield. The primary benchmark is Barclays Capital Global Aggregate Bond Index.

IndexIQ on 4 October launched a hedge fund ETF, the IQ Hedge Market Neutral Tracker ETF. The ETF will offer exposure to the performance of market neutral hedge funds.

In line with its niche strategy, Axiom Alternative Investments on 4 October unveiled its new investment vehicle, Axiom CEF UCITS, an absolute return fund which will be the fist arbitrage fund of closed-end funds (CEFs) to comply with UCITS IV regulations. The 100% market neutral fund aims to trade on undervaluations (or premiums) in the net asset value of closed-end funds, and offers weekly liquidity. The fund invests solely in liquid CEFs, and has a performance objective of 8% (after fees), with low volatility (5%). It has a track record of more than 13 years, including 12 years of gains. The fund earns its returns from volatility in undervaluations (or premiums), without respect to their absolute levels. Each position is systematically and individually hedged via futures, ETFs, equities, and forex. The fund will be managed by Sean Hurst and John McCulloch, who joined Axiom Alternative Investments in March 2012 to develop and manage the CEF volatility arbitrage activity, and who have more than 15 years of experience in this segment. The fund’s capacity is about EUR100m. Major characteristics of the fund ISIN code: FR0011220326 Currency: EUR Legal format: French-registered common investment fund (FCP) AMF classification: Diversified Date of creation: 1 August, 2012 Management fee: Maximum 2% including all taxes Outperformance fee: 20%, including all taxes, of performance exceeding a mutual performance of +3% Front-end fee: maximum 1% Early withdrawal penalty: none Valuation: Weekly Date of settlement: 3 days after

The 1004th ETF listed on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform from Deutsche Börse (this number had previously been reached on 22 August) is the SPDR S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF from State Street Global Advisors (SsgA). It is an equity fund, which tracks an index that replicates the evolution of 100 companies of the S&P 500 with the lowest volatility.CharacteristicsName: SPDR S&P 500 Low Volatility ETFISIN code: IE00B802KR88Benchmark: S&P 500 Low Volatility IndexTER: 0.35%

With the Hamburg-based family office Honestas Finanzmanagement, the Frankfurt-based asset management firm Universal-Investment has launched a mandate fund, FO Vermögensverwalterfonds, which offers retail clients a wrapper managed by the best independent financial managers, under financial conditions which had previously been reserved for institutional clients. The selection of managers is made by a systematic process developed by Honestas.The first two management firms in the portfolio are Aramea Asset Management for a bond mandate (corporates, high yield, subordinated or convertible bonds) and Flossbach von Storch (equities and precious metals).CharacteristicsName: FO VermögensverwalterfondsISIN code: DE000A1JZLG8 Front-end fee: Maximum 5%Management commission: currently 1.4%Performance commission: 10% of performance exceeding a hurdle rate of 4%, with high watermark