La BCE réserve son soutien aux banques
La banque centrale élargit son arsenal, mais écarte tout programme d'achat massif d'emprunts d'Etat
George Soros tire parti de la chute de MF Global
Le malheur des uns fait le bonheur des autres. Le quotidien américain relève ainsi que le fonds familial de George Soros a acquis environ 2 milliards de dollars de dette européenne précédemment détenue par MF Global, par l’intermédiaire de l’offre présentée par l’administrateur de la faillite à Londres, KPMG. Cette dette précisément a précipité la mise en faillite de MF Global le 31 octobre dernier.
Augmentation des prix du gaz de 4,3%
Le gouvernement devrait annoncer une augmentation des tarifs réglementés du gaz limitée à 4,3% applicable au 1er janvier prochain, selon le quotidien qui ne cite pas ses sources. Après la suspension de la décision de gel des prix du gaz par le Conseil constitutionnel, le premier ministre, François Fillon, s’était engagé sur une hausse qui n’excède pas 5%.
L’Europe se réforme pour regagner la confiance des marchés
Les dirigeants européens se sont mis d’accord sur un nouveau traité à 17 qui met fin au PSI et prévoit une contribution de 200 milliards au FMI
L'emploi marchand stagne en France
L’emploi salarié marchand a stagné au troisième trimestre en France, après une hausse au deuxième, selon les statistiques publiées jeudi par l’Insee. Les secteurs principalement marchands ont créé 3.600 postes sur la période juillet-septembre, après 53.600 au deuxième trimestre (révisé), soit 0% après +0,3% au deuxième, précise l’Institut national de la statistique.
La Banque de France confirme la dégradation de l'activité
La dégradation de l’activité se confirme en France. L’indicateur du climat des affaires dans l’industrie a baissé d’un point en novembre à 95 points et celui des services est resté inchangé à 95 également, selon l’enquête mensuelle de conjoncture publiée jeudi par la Banque de France. La Banque de France a confirmé prévoir une croissance nulle au quatrième trimestre 2011 alors que la plupart des économistes s’attendent à une contraction de l’activité de la deuxième économie de la zone euro.
La BCE réduit d'un quart de point ses taux directeurs
La Banque Centrale Européenne a annoncé sa décision de réduire d’un quart de point ses taux directeurs. Conformément à ce qu’avaient anticipé près des deux tiers des analystes interrogés par Reuters, le taux de refinancement, principal taux directeur de la BCE, a été ramené d’un quart de point, à 1,00%. Le taux de facilité de dépôt est abaissé à 0,25% et le taux de prêt marginal revient à 1,75%, réduits eux aussi de 0,25 point. Le gouverneur Mario Draghi tiendra à 14h30 la conférence de présentation de la décision. De son côté, la Banque d’Angleterre (BoE) a laissé inchangé jeudi l’objectif de ses rachats d’actifs sur les marchés financiers en dépit des tensions liées à la crise de la dette dans la zone euro. En outre, la banque centrale britannique a comme attendu maintenu son taux directeur à 0,5%, soit au même niveau depuis mars 2009.
L'agence chinoise Dagong abaisse la note de la France à A+
L’agence de notation chinoise Dagong a dégradé la note souveraine de la France de AA- à A+ avec perspective négative en raison de perspectives de croissance faibles, d’une hausse de l’endettement public et d’un risque croissant sur le système bancaire lié à la crise de la dette en zone euro.
Prague opposé à l'idée de soumettre son budget à Bruxelles
«Nous sommes prêts à négocier sur des sanctions sur l’irresponsabilité budgétaire. Il est inacceptable pour nous d’envoyer nos projets de budget à Bruxelles à chaque fois, avant même leur approbation par le parlement», a déclaré le Premier ministre tchèque Petr Necas, cité par le journal Lidove Noviny.
La gestion Bêta prend sa revanche sur les stratégies alpha
Noël Amenc, directeur de l'Edhec Risk Institute, l'institut de recherche spécialisé en gestion d’actifs qui fête ses 10 ans aujourd'hui.
08/12/2011
Patrick Evershed et New Star soldent leur contentieux
Patrick Evershed et New Star ont passé un accord confidentiel hors des tribunaux pour mettre fin au procès intenté par le gérant pour licenciement abusif, rapporte Investment Week. Patrick Evershed réclamait 1 milliard de livres à son ancien employeur, New Star, maintenant détenu par Henderson, affirmant qu’il avait été brimé par le fondateur, John Duffield.
08/12/2011
Des fonds de pension danois créent leur société de gestion
Unipension, une structure détenue par trois fonds de pension danois, a obtenu de la part des autorités locales l’autorisation de créer une société de gestion, Unipension Fondsmæglerselskab A/S, à la fin de l’année. Cette nouvelle entité gérera les actifs de ses propriétaires mais a vocation à travailler avec des tiers, afin de dégager des économies d’échelle.Elle représente aujourd’hui un encours de 80 milliards de couronnes danoises, soit environ 10,8 milliards d’euros.Unipension Fondsmæglerselskab sera filiale d’Unipension, elle-même détenue par le fonds de pension danois des architectes (AP), le fonds des MA, MS et PhD danois et le fonds de pension des universitaires dans l’agriculture et des chirurgiens vétérinaires.
08/12/2011
Valartis se recentre sur la clientèle privée
Valartis Group (Valartis) a décidé de vendre son activité de cartes de crédit Valartis Bonus Card à Cornèr Bank et de concentrer ses efforts sur la poursuite du développement de ses activités de private banking, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. L’activité de private banking de Valartis se trouve concentrée sur trois pays: la Suisse, le Liechtenstein et l’Autriche, les deux derniers n'étant pas des marchés intensément compétitifs, ce qui relativise la taille encore petite de Valartis dans ce domaine. A fin juin 2011, les actifs sous gestion s'élevaient à 6,5 milliards de francs (6,3 milliards à fin 2010). Les actifs de clients privés totalisaient 4,6 milliards de francs et ceux de clients institutionnels 1,9 milliard de francs.
08/12/2011
Fitch monte la note de Lombard Odier IM à M2-
Précédemment fixée à M3, la note de gestionnaire d’actifs de Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM, 42 milliards de dollars d’encours fin septembre) pour ses activités de fonds de hedge funds et de réplication de beta alternatif (1,3 milliard de dollars fin septembre) a été relevée par Fitch Ratings à M2-. Ces activités, qui emploient 13 professionnels de l’investissement, sont basées à Genève.Cette promotion reflète l’achèvement d’une restructuration majeure des activités dans le domaine des fonds de hedge funds autour de la plate-forme de comptes gérés, la stabilisation des équipe d’investissement, la solution des problèmes hérités de la crise de 2008, le redéploiement du processus de construction des portefeuilles et les perfectionnements apportés à la plate-forme technologique.Sur le moyen terme, précise Fitch, le défi central pour LOIM sera de développer sa plate-forme de comptes gérés et d’accélérer les souscriptions pour atteindre la masse critique. D’autre part, le gestionnaire devra fournir des services plus développés dans les domaines du conseil, de l’offre sur mesure et de la communication.
08/12/2011
Danish pension funds set up an asset management firm
Unipension, a structure controlled by three Danish pension funds, has received approval from the local authorities to set up an asset management firm, Unipension Fondsmæglerselskab A/S, at the end of this year. The new entity will manage the assets of its owners, but will also work with third parties, in order to realise economies of scale. It now represents assets of DKK80bn, or about EUR10.8bn. Unipension Fondsmæglerselskab will be a unit of Unipension, which in turn is owned by the architects’ pension fund (AP), the pension fund for Danish MAs, MScs and PhDs (MP) and the pension fund for agricultural academics and veterinary surgeons (PJD)..
08/12/2011
Berkshire Hathaway makes first venture into solar energy
For an undisclosed amount, First Solar Inc has sold its Topaz solar power facility in San Luis Obispo county, California, to MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway, the Wall Street Journal reports.The value of the asset is estimated by the two partners at “over USD2bn.”The transaction marks the first venture for the portfolio management firm controlled by Warren Buffett into the area of solar energy. The firm had previously only operated wind farms and traditional power plants.
08/12/2011
Amundi remains cautious
“In 2012, two themes will dominate. On the one hand, preservation of capital, taking into account not only risks and returns, but also liquidity. On the other, the search for returns in an environment of low interest rates,” Pascal Blanqué, chief investment officer at the Amundi group, explained on Wednesday at an end-of-year strategy presentation.In the present situation, in which the «appeasement» scenario (65%) predicts that the euro zone crisis will ease, Amundi’s portfolios show relatively high caution. Overall, they are “long on cash and underweight in risk assets such as emerging markets, credit, and equities,” says Philippe Thurbide, director of research.Naturally, these points need to be more finely nuanced to apply to specific products. Romain Boscher, CIO for equity, plans to capture potential growth in emerging markets via businesses with strong exposure to these markets.It is also a time “to adopt assymetrical strategies in order to profit from market fluctuations off of a trend which is not necessarily an upward trend.” The manager is favouring minimum variance strategies, smart equities indices, and deep value. Portfolios are underweight in financials, and are confident in commodities, agriculture, and energy.Eric Brard, global head of fixed income, says that “the priority is to shelter assets, not to earn returns.” So far, Amundi has significantly reduced its portfolios of debt from peripheral European countries, and moved assets to AAA-rated euro zone debt; the asset management firm has also diverisified its portfolios into corporate credit, a process which will continue in 2012. Amundi is preferring investment-grade credit to government bonds, is diversifying internationally, and is taking an interest in convertibles.
08/12/2011
Atria Capital merges with Naxicap Partners
The asset management firm Atria Capital Partenaires yesterday announced to its investors that it is merging with Naxicap Partners, an affiliate of Natixis, Agefi reports, after announcing the operation on its website yesterday.Altria CP has seen several departures recently, and earlier this year was publicly reprimanded over a case that was ultimately settled out of court, brought by the wealth management firm Massena Patners, one of its investors. Fundraising for the next vehicle would logically have been more difficult.According to a source familiar with the matter, five professionals will be joining Naxicap Partners, and will take over management of the investments of the three Atria funds.
08/12/2011
Robeco foregrounds “contrarian” Asian expertise
On a visit to Paris, Arnout van Rijn, CIO and Asia-Pacific equity fund manager at the Robeco Asia Investment Center, has presented its team of five people and its range of Asian products to Newsmanagers. These represent equity assets of over EUR1.5bn.The major funds from the Asian investment centre are the Asia-Pacific Equities fund, with EUR700m in assets, and the Chinese Equities fund, with EUR600m. “We started in March with the Asian Stars Equities (ex Japan), which as of the end of October had EUR10m. … To be thorough, we also have an Indian Equities fund (EUR15.26m), which is advised by Canara Robeco in Mumbai,” the CIO says. The head of Asian equity management at Robeco claims that “in fact, we are investors who have confidence in the quantitative rankings of shares produced by our headquarters in Rotterdam, while also relying on filters which include a ‘decent’ increase in returns on owners’ equity, the cost of capital, and cash flows. We are adherents to the value approach, unlike other managers, who tend to be ‘growth’ in Asia.”
08/12/2011
Towers Watson recruits a head of wealth management for Asia
The Towers Watson group has announced the recruitment of Danny Howell as head of the wealth management unit for Asia. Howell will be responsible for the development of advising activities serving high net worth clients in Asia.Before joining Towers Watson, Howell worked for Commonwealth Bank of Australia as general manager.
08/12/2011
BSI granted a banking license in Hong Kong
The banking group BSI, based in Ticino in Switzerland and owned by Generali, has been issued with a banking license by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Agefi Switzerland reports.The group will also be permitted to fully exercise private banking activities and to offer clients a full range of banking and investment products.The license is a major step in the expansion of BSI in Asia, where activities have strongly contributed to net inflows of CHF2.9bn for the bank in second half.
08/12/2011
Massachusetts turns to ten hedge funds
The Massachusetts state pension fund, which manages about USD48bn in assets, has selected ten hedge fund managers for a series of mandates representing a total of USD245m in assets, Reuters reports.Among the managers selected are Jonathan Jacobson of Highfields Capital, William Ackman at Pershing Square Capital Management, and Yan Yuo at Capula Investment Management, who will each have an allocation of USD25m to manage. Also on the list are Brigade Capital, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Indus Capital Partners, Samlyn Capital and Winton Capital Management.Following the example of many pension funds, Massachusetts had previously relied on funds of funds to select managers and manage investments.In 2011, the state pension fund earned returns of 2%, with significant contributions from private equity and real estate. Investments in hedge funds made a loss of 2.18%.
08/12/2011
Ossiam soon to start up in physical replication also
According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, the asset management firm Ossiam has submitted a license application to a foreign regulator to be permitted to launch a physical replication ETF, whereas hitherto its range has been composed entirely of physical replication ETFs.
08/12/2011
Slight increase in inflows to unit-linked life insurance policies in October
Inflows to unit-linked life insurance policies in the month of October totalled EUR1.3bn, a slight increase compared with the previous month (EUR1.2bn, according to statistics from the French federation of insurance companies (FFSA, for Fédération française des sociétés d’assurances) and the group of mutual insurance businesses (GEMA, Groupement des entreprises mutuelles d’assurances).In the first ten months of the year, cumulative inflows to unit-linked policies totalled EUR15.9bn, down 5% year on year.The performance of unit-linked policies was positive once again in October (+3.2%), but remains negative for the first ten months of the year (-5%). In the same periods, the CAC 40 has earned returns of +8.7% and -14.8%, respectively.The percentage of total life insurance contributions directed to unit-linked policies came out to 15% for the first ten months of 2011, one percentage point more than in 2010.
08/12/2011
With CAM, Sabadell becomes seventh-largest Spanish AM firm
The Bank of Spain has auctioned off Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo (CAM) to Banco Sabadell. In the area of asset management, the merger will allow Sabadell Inversión to overtake Ibercaja Gestión, to become the seventh-largest Spanish actor, once it has absorbed Gestimed, the asset management affiliate of CAM, Cinco Días reports.As of the end of October, Bansabell Inversión had assets of EUR4.326bn, while assets under management at Gestimed totalled EUR483m. This adds up to a total of about EUR4.8bn, compared with EUR4.425bn for Ibercaja Gestión.
08/12/2011
Henderson sued by several pension funds
Several UK pension funds have filed a lawsuit against Henderson Global Investors, over its decision to acquire the infrastructure group John Laing in 2006 for its PFI Secondary Fund II, IPE.com reports. The pension funds, which invested in the fund, claim that the deal exposed them to unexpected liabilities (including the John Laing pension deficit), which resulted in a 66% fall in the value of PFI Secondary.
08/12/2011
Lombard Odier IM's AM rating to 'M2-' by Fitch
Fitch Ratings on December 7th announced it has upgraded Lombard Odier Investment Managers’ (LOIM, USD42bn in AUM at end-September) Asset Manager rating to ‘M2-' from ‘M3' for its fund of hedge funds (FoHF) and alternative beta replication activities. These operations which have USD1.3bn under management and employ 13 investment professionals in Geneva.This upgrade reflects the completion of the FoHF business major restructuring around the Managed Account Platform (MAP), stabilisation of investment teams, resolution of the 2008 crisis legacy issues, re-engineering of portfolio construction process and enhancement of the technological platform. In the medium term, a key challenge for LOIM will be to expand the MAP and accelerate fund raising to reach critical mass. Another related challenge is to developed services in the areas of advisory, customisation and communication.
08/12/2011
Valartis concentrates on private clients
Valartis Group (Valartis) has decided to sell its credit card business, Valartis Bonus Card, to Cornèr Bank, and to focus its efforts on continuing to develop its private banking activities, Agefi Switzerland reports.Private banking activities at Valartis are concentrated in three countries: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Austria; the latter two countries are not intensely competitive markets, which puts the relatively small size of Valartis in this area in context.At the end of June 2011, assets under management totalled CHF6.5bn (CHF6.3bn as of the end of 2010). Private client assets totalled CHF4.6bn, while institutional clients represented CHF1.9bn.
08/12/2011
Lazard plans Swiss office
Jean-Jacques de Gournay, managing partner at Lazard Frères Gestion, has announced in an interview with L’Agefi Suisse that a location in Switzerland is a priority objective for Lazard. “We are planning to develop in private wealth management in Europe. For the moment, we are highly present in France, and we created a structure in Spain a few months ago. In the short term, we would like to open an office in Switzerland. However, it is not our intention to do it quickly. We want to avoid the start-and-go approach which is popular among many Anglo-American firms. When we arrive somewhere, we stay a long time. We need to find someone who is both a developer and a manager, which is a difficult mission,” de Gournay explains to the Swiss newspaper. Asset management last year generated 43% of revenues for the group, returning to the level it had enjoyed in the early years of the last decade.
08/12/2011
Gender equality on boards: 37 publicly traded companies may be on the wrong side of the law
37 businesses listed in Paris, including EADS and STMicroelectronics, have no women on their boards of directors, eleven months after the passage of the Zimmermann-Copé law, which sets a quota of 40% on women on the governance bodies of listed companies, Les Echos reports. They have until mid-2012 to correct the shortfall. As a result, any appointment of male directors may be off the agenda.