Le spécialiste de la retraite LV= vient d’annoncer qu’il avait ajouté sept fonds à sa liste de fonds disponibles pour les conseillers en gestion et leur clientèle.Il s’agit de trois fonds de Fidelity et de quatre fonds de Threadneedle : Fidelity Multi Asset Allocator Balanced Fidelity Multi Asset Allocator Defensive Fidelity Multi Asset Allocator Growth Threadneedle Global Equity Income Threadneedle UK Equity Income Threadneedle European Select Threadneedle Defensive Equity & Bond

L’opération de refinancement (LTRO) de la Banque centrale européenne a contribué à renforcer la confiance des investisseurs, ce qui s’est traduit au mois de février par la poursuite de la collecte dans toutes les catégories de fonds en Europe.Les fonds Ucits ont ainsi enregistré une collecte nette de 19 milliards d’euros en février, contre 25 milliards d’euros en janvier, selon les statistiques communiquées par l’Association européenne de la gestion financière (Efama).Les fonds coordonnés de long terme (c’est-à-dire hors fonds monétaires) ont drainé en net 18 milliards d’euros contre 19 milliards d’euros le mois précédent. Les fonds obligataires ont terminé le mois sur une collecte nette de 11 milliards d’euros, contre 13 milliards en janvier, les fonds d’actions ont engrangé en net 4 milliards d’euros, un montant similaire à celui du mois précédent, les fonds diversifiés enregistrant pour leur part des souscriptions pour un montant net de 1 milliard d’euros contre 2 milliards d’euros en janvier.Les fonds monétaires ont attiré en net 1 milliard d’euros contre 6 milliards d’euros en janvier.Les fonds non coordonnés ont réalisé en février une collecte nette de 16,1 milliards d’euros contre 6,8 milliards d’eruos en janvier, pour l’essentiel en raison d’une collecte nette de 16,2 milliards d’euros dans les fonds dédiés contre 6,4 milliards en janvier.L’encours des fonds Ucits s’est accru de 1,9% en février par rapport au mois précédent à 5.821 milliards d’euros, l’encours des fonds non-Ucits augmentant de 1,7% à 2.268 milliards d’euros.

Le fonds de private equity dédié aux services financiers, BlackFin Capital Partners, a annoncé le 17 avril l’acquisition de 100% du capital du comparateur de produits d’assurance Chiarezza, lancé par le groupe Admiral Group Plc en Italie en février 2010. Chiarezza propose sur le site http://www.chiarezza.it/ un service gratuit permettant aux internautes de comparer une large offre de produits d’assurance par prix et caractéristiques, et finaliser la souscription en ligne ou au téléphone. Chiarezza travaille avec un large panel d’assureurs directs et fonctionne selon un modèle de courtier rémunéré à la souscription et au renouvellement de polices d’assurance. Le marché de l’assurance directe, en particulier au travers d’Internet, connaît une forte croissance en Italie. L’acquisition par BlackFin Capital Partners devrait permettre à Chiarezza d’accroître ses investissements marketing, d’offrir de nouveaux services aux internautes et d’élargir son panel d’assureurs.

Ce mercredi 18 avril, Allianz Global Investors annonce le gel jusqu'à nouvel ordre des souscriptions et des rachats de parts du fonds de fonds immobiliers Allianz Flexi Immo (parts A et C, codes ISIN DE0009797332 et DE0009797340). Cette mesure fait suite à la vague de fermeture de fonds immobiliers offerts au public en Allemagne. Les rachats de plus de 200 millions d’euros depuis le début de 2011 ont rogné l’essentiel des actifs liquidables à court terme et le Flexi Immo n’est désormais plus investi qu’en fonds immobiliers dont les remboursements sont suspendus ou dans des lignes qui ne sont pas mobilisables à court terme.Le fonds, lancé le 16 septembre 2008, affiche actuellement encore un encours de 170 millions d’euros.

Patron depuis 2008 du service entreprises, services publics et retraites d’entreprises chez le gestionnaire Frankfurt Trust (BHF-Bank), Lutz Morjan a été recruté comme senior sales director institutionals chez ING Investment Management Allemagne. Il sera plus particulièrement chargé des «solutions clients» pour les assureurs et les caisses de retraite d’entreprise en Allemagne, aux côtés de Michael Schrinner, Thomas Wendt et Monika Ritter, dans l'équipe des ventes institutionnelles.

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) a annoncé le 17 avril avoir été mandaté par la Banque Fédérale Mutualiste pour fournir des services de conservation globale sur un portefeuille de 1,2 milliard d’euros. SGSS offrira ses services en matière de fiscalité, avec notamment les traitements relatifs à l’application des taux d’imposition réduits à la source et des exonérations d’impôts, à la récupération fiscale, la gestion de la documentation fiscale, les reportings règlementaires auprès des administrations fiscales ainsi que les reportings fiscaux à destination de la clientèle.

La Française AM a mandaté BNP Paribas Securities Services pour la fourniture de services d’administration, de conservation, d’agent de transfert et de valorisation.Le mandat concerne les activités de La Française des Placements, LFP Sarasin AM, La Française Real Estate Managers et La Française AM International.

Oddo Asset Management va travailler avec le chinois Guosen Securities, lequel a signé lundi un protocole d’accord avec Oddo & Cie pour la gestion d’actifs ainsi que la banque d’affaires. Il s’agit du premier partenariat en Chine pour la société de gestion française. Concrètement, et dans un premier temps, Guosen conseillera Oddo AM pour le lancement d’un fonds obligataire en renminbi géré et distribué par la société française. Ce produit sera commercialisé en France mais également dans les autres pays où cette dernière est présente. De son côté, Oddo AM conseillera notamment son partenaire chinois pour le lancement d’un fonds thématique «global luxury and lifestyle» investi en actions mondiales liées au secteur du luxe géré et distribué en Chine continentale par Guosen Securities. Ce produit sera piloté par Emmanuel Chapuis et François-Régis Breuil. Le partenariat pourrait s’étendre à l’avenir sur le terrain de la gestion privée, a indiqué un porte-parole d’Oddo AM à Newsmanagers. En revanche, il n’est pas prévu de prise de participation ou de la création d’une structure commune. Par ailleurs, ans le domaine de la banque d’affaires, Oddo Corporate Finance et Guosen conseilleront des sociétés françaises souhaitant s’introduire en Bourse sur les places financières chinoises, mais également les sociétés chinoises souhaitant accéder aux marchés actions européens.Détenue à 70% par le gouvernement de la province de Shenzen, Guosen Securities est l’une des cinq premières sociétés de Bourse en Chine, d’après le communiqué de presse annonçant l’accord. Employant 12.000 personnes, elle est active dans le courtage, la banque d’affaires et la gestion d’actifs.A fin 2010 Guosen a dégagé un résultat net de 3,1 milliards de renminbi (environ 310 millions d’euros) et dispose de fonds propres à hauteur de 15 milliards de renminbi (environ 1,5 milliard d’euros).

Après le départ de Sergio Míguez, directeur des investissement de performance absolue, qui rejoint Lazard (lire Newsmanagers du 16 avril), le poste de directeur des hedge funds chez BanSabadell Inversión échoit à Félix Sánchez, qui était gérant de fonds de hedge funds depuis 2005, rapporte Funds People. Dans ses nouvelles fonctions, Félix Sánchez est subordonné directement à José Antonio Pérez Roger, directeur des investissements.Pour l’instant, BanSabadell Inversión ne gère que 41 millions dans des hedge funds, mais son encours alternatif se situe à 1,07 milliard d’euros en comptant les fonds de hedge funds, de matières premières, un fonds immobilier et des fonds quantitatifs de performance absolue.

Credit Suisse has announced that it has recruited several senior bankers, who will be added to its private banking team for the Asia-Pacific region. Song Kun joined Credit Suisse Private Banking in Hong Kong as managing director and senior client partner for the Greater China region. Song previously worked at Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacitic) Ltd., where she was managing director of investments for private banking at the group. Jimmy Lee, previously head of Clariden Leu for Asia, is appointed as managing director in charge of integration of Clariden Leu activities, following the acquisition of the bank by Credit Suisse. Yee Chin Lit, also from Clariden Leu, becomes managing director and head of the Indonesian market.

Following the departure of Sergio Míguez, CIO for absolute return products, who is joining Lazard (see Newsmanagers of 16 April), the position of director of hedge funds at BanSabadell Inversión has now been handed to Félix Sánchez, who had been a hedge fund manager since 2005, Funds People reports. In his new position, Sánchez will report directly to José Antonio Pérez Roger, chief investment officer.For the moment, Bansabadell Inversión manages only EUR41m in hedge funds, but its alternative assets total EUR1.07bn, including funds of hedge funds, commodities, one real estate fund and absolute return quant funds.

The Aabar sovereign fund from Abu Dhabi, which controls 6.5% of capital in the Italian UniCredit bank, has entered the board of directors at the firm with two seats, replacing Libyans, the newspaper Corriere della Sera reports. The Aabar fund, the largest shareholder in the firm with 6.5%, is nominating its chairman Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi, adding that the chairman of Ferrari, Luca Cordero de Montezemolo, will also join the board as a representative of the fund. Libya will no longer have membership on the board, the newspaper reports, three weeks ahead of the general shareholders’ meeting on 11 May, which will elect the new board of directors. Libya did not participate in the most recent EUR7.5bn capital increase at UniCredit, which was completed in January, and marked a rise in the stake held by the Aabar fund.

Lutz Morjan, who has been head of business services, public services and corporate pensions at the asset management firm Frankfurt Trust (BHF-Bank) since 2008, has been recruited as senior institutional sales director at ING Investment Management Germany. He will be in charge of client solutions for insurers and corporate pension funds in Germany, in which role he will work with Michael Schrinner, Thomas Wendt and Monika Ritter, on the institutional sales team.

Assets under management at the GAM group as of the end of March 2012 totalled CHF110.6bn, comapred with CHF107bn as of the end of December 2011, the group announced in a statement published on 18 April. This development is largely due to positive market effects, which largely offset the negative impact of exchange rates. The group has also announced a slight outflow in the first three months of the year.Assets under management at GAM in the strict sense as of the end of March totalled CHF45.7bn, compared with CHF44.8bn as of the end of December.At Swiss & Global AM, assets under management at the end of the quarter came in at CHF80.5bn, up CHF3.6bn compared with the end of December. In addition to positive market effects, Swiss & Global has posted net subscriptions in first quarter, particularly to equity funds and ETFs dedicated to physical precious metals.

The Swiss group Aquila, specialised in wealth management, has received a banking license, the website Finews reports. Banking services offered by Aquila will be aimed both at partner companies of the group and at external independent asset management firms, family offices and their clients. With this move, the wealth management firm is hoping to make itself better armed than the competition to confront regulatory changes in Switzerland and more generally in Europe. Assets under management at Aquila total over CHF5bn.

The international alternative investment management association (AIMA) on 17 April released a 40-page statement laying out and analysing the differences between the regulations proposed by the European Commission and the recommendations of the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) for measures to be included in the level 2 MiFID directive.The association explains that it is seeking to illustrate and analyse the marked divergences of the Commission’s text from the recommendations, and points out a few unseen consequences of the proposed modifications.The divergences between the Commission document and the ESMA recommendations appear to be both “significant and extensive.” In their current form, the rules proposed by the Commission could disturb the functioning of the asset management sector in the European Union and worldwide, and may also work against some of its declared objectives in the areas of investor protection and financial stability, the AIMA claims.

The American hedge fund manager John Paulson has told Bloomberg that he is shorting European government bonds, and buying CDS on European debt in order to protect himself against defaults, Investment Week reports.

The private equity fund dedicated to financial services BlackFin Capital Partners on 17 April announced that it has acquired 100% of capital in the insurance product comparison firm Chiarezza, launched by Admiral Gorup Plc in Italy in February 2010. Chiarezza offers a free service at http://www.chirezza.it, which allows web surfers to compare a wide range of insurance products on the basis of their price and characteristics, and to complete subscriptions online or by telephone. Chiarezza works with a wide range of direct insurers, and operates on the model of brokers paid for subscriptions and insurance policy renewals. “This transaction represents BlackFun’s fifth investment, and illustrates the fund’s capacity to undertake proprietary operations in high-growth segments in the financial sector in Europe,” BlackFin says in a statement.

Although traditional private banks still control a majority of the market, universal banks have strengthened their positions in wealth management since the crisis in 2008, Les Echos reports.According to a survey by Eurogroup Consulting, the number of wealth management clients of major banking networks increased 19% between 2008 and 2011, while growth was limited to 4% for traditional establishments. Similarly, assets under management in this activity segment have increased by 39% at universal banks and 17% at pure private banks.“The major universal banks are now more engaged in this profitable profession, which is also advantageous in the new environment created by Basel III,” says Cécile Huntzinger, a director at Eurogroup Consulting and co-author of the study. But traditional private banks still have nearly four times more clients than the wealth management arms of generalists.

The billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Tuesday announced that he has prostate cancer, and that he will continue to manage Berkshire Hathaway during his treatment, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a letter to shareholders, the manager, 81, explains that he has stage 1 prostate cancer, an early and treatable form of the illness. He will begin two months of daily radiation treatment in mid-July.

The US bank Bank of America (BofA) is planning to sell its international asset management unit, in the hopes of generating USD3bn in cash, Agefi Switzerland reports, relaying reports from AFP. A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment. The international asset management and investment division has seen a 22% declint in its net profits in fourth quarter 2011 compared with the same period in 2010, on unchanged earnings of USD4.2bn.

Oddo Asset Management will work with the Chinese firm Guosen Securities, which on Monday signed an agreement protocol with Oddo & Cie for asset management and business banking. This is the first partnership in China for the French asset management firm. To begin with, Guosen will advise Oddo AM on the launch of a renminbi bond fund to be managed and distributed by the French firm in France and other countries where the asset manager is present. For its part, Oddo AM will advise its Chinese partner on the launch of a global luxury and lifestyle themed fund, which will invest in global shares connected with the luxuries sector, managed and distributed in continental China by Guosen Securities. The partnership may be extended in the future to include private management, a spokesperson for Oddo AM tells Newsmanagers. However, there are no plans for acquisition of any stakes or the creation of a joint venture. In the area of business banking, Oddo Corproate Finance and Guosen will advise French firms which are planning IPOs on Chinese markets, as well as Chinese firms seeking access to European equity markets. Guosen Securities, 70% owned by the Shenzhen provincial government, is one of the five largest stock market companies in China, according to a press statement. With 12,000 employees, it is active in brokerage, business banking and asset management. As of the end of 2010, Guosen earned net profits of RMB3.1bn (about EUR310m), and has owners’ equity totalling about RMB15bn (about EUR1.5bn).

Joël Séché's term as head of Saur will no longer be justified beyond its end on 27 May, the strategic investment fund (FSI), which controls 38% of capital in the third largest French water treatment business, announced in a statement on 17 April. The statement comes at a time when Séché Environnement, also chaired by Séché, and which controls one third of capital in Saur, declared late last year that it plans to exercise an option to buy FSI’s stake in order to take control of the business. “The FSI now observes that there is a complete stalemate between the management of the business and its chairman. All parties know that this situation is severely damaging the development of the business,” the Fund writes in a statement. “Mr. Séché has been appointed executive chairman of the firm ahead of the exercise of the buy option he had been granted. His term and the period in which he will be able to exercise this option will end on 27 May 2012. Beyond that date, in the absence of an exercise of the option giving control of the company to Mr. Séché, his term as chairman will not be justified,” the FSI adds.

Assets under management by the Investment Management unit at Goldman Sachs were down by USD4bn in first quarter, to USD824bn. The quarter under review saw a net outflow of USD26bn. This development was partially offset by positive market effects totalling USD22bn. Profits for the unit totalled USD1.18bn in first quarter, down 7% compared with fourth quarter, and 8% compared with first quarter 2011. The group has reported net profits for first quarter of USD2.08bn, more than double the corresponding period of last year.

La Française AM has retained BNP Paribas Securities Services to provide administration, custody, transfer agency and valuation services. The mandate includes the activities of La Française des Placement, LFP Sarasin AM, La Française Real Estate Managers and La Française AM International.

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) on 17 April announced that it has been retained by Banque Fédérale Mutualiste to provide global custody for a portfolio worth EUR1.2bn. SGSS will offer taxation services, including handling of application of withholding tax breaks and tax exemptions, fiscal recuperation, management of taxation documentation, regulatory reporting to tax authorities, and tax reporting to clients.

The European Commission on Tuesday granted its approval to Swiss tax agreements with Germany and the United Kingdom. The agreements are “wholly in line with European law,” the commissioner in charge of taxation, Algirdas Semeta, told media in Brussels. The work undertaken by the Commission and the two member states to revise the agreements demonstrates that it is possible to succeed in a fruitful collaboration, Semeta says. “The results are there, and meet the EU’s requirements as well as those of member states very well,” he added. The Commission received the text of the taxation agreement between Switzerland and Austria only last Thursday. For this reason, its analysis is still underway, Semeta explained. Following an initial examination of the test, the Commission addressed a few questions to the Austrian government, but no positions have been articulated so far.

Reto Germann has been recruited by Unigestion to oversee a additions to its presence serving institutional clients in Germany and Austria, from Credit Suisse, where he had worked since 2009, after two years at Barclays Capital, and a start to his career at UBS in 1993. He will report to Tom Leavitt, managing director and head of the institutional clients team.

The US-based data provider S&P CapitalIQ on 3 April acquired the QuantHouse company from a group of investors led by Newedge (Société Générale and Calyon) for an undisclosed amount. QuantHouse is an independent provider of market data and fully automated trading solutions, offering ultra-low latency technologies, algorithms, proximity hosting and order routing services to hedge funds, market makers and prop desks.QuantHouse is led by Pierre-François Filet, CEO and co-founder, Pierre Feligioni (COO and co-founder) and Denery Fenouil, chief technical officer and co-founder. The 90 employees of QuantHouse in Paris, London and New York will be integrated into the “enterprise solutions” unit of S&P Capital IQ. Products and services will initially continue to be sold as stand-alone items, but gradually, all S&P Capital IQ and S&P Indices content will be included in QuantHouse data feeds. The acquisition of the French firm follows that of R2 Financial Technologies and precedes that of CMA, in deals which reportedly should allow S&P CapitalIQ to provide one of the most complete platforms in the sector in terms of market data and risk analysis.

Investors have scaled back both risk-taking and their expectations for global growth after concerns about European Union (EU) economies resurfaced, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers from 5 to 12 April covering an overall total of 256 panelists with USD706 billion of assets under management. A 54 percent of the panel says that EU sovereign debt funding is the number one tail risk, up from a 38 percent in March. A net 63 percent of the panel predicts that Spain is likely to provide a negative surprise in 2012, up from a net 50 percent last month. But France is close behind Spain, with a net 56 percent of the panel saying France could provide a negative surprise, up from a net 52 percent.Investors have increased cash positions significantly since March. A net 24 percent of global asset allocators are overweight cash in April, up from a net 6 percent one month ago. A net 26 percent of asset allocators are overweight equities, down from a net 33 percent in March. Investors have increased allocations to pharmaceuticals, a counter-cyclical sector while reducing positions in materials, a cyclical sector. A net 20 percent of the panel says that the global economy will strengthen in the coming year, down from a net 28 percent in March - sentiment had improved steadily from November, when a net 29 percent predicted economic deterioration. A net 3 percent of the global investor panel expects corporate profits will worsen in the next 12 months, compared with a net 6 percent predicting an improvement in profits last month. Amid reduced optimism, investors are predicting more QE from both the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB). Only 36 percent of the global panel expects no further QE from the Fed, down from 47 percent in March. Many global investors have increased allocations to U.S. equities in April or expressed an intention to do so. A net 27 percent of global asset allocators are overweight U.S. equities in April, up from a net 14 percent in March. The U.S. is also the region that net 18 percent of the panel would like to overweight - only a net 2 percent named the U.S. as their preferred overweight last month. Investors within the U.S. are less optimistic, however. A net 8 percent of U.S.-based investors say the country’s economy will get stronger in the coming year, down from a net 29 percent in March.