Le fonds de pension californien CalPERS a annoncé ce 29 mars la nomination de Clinton L. Stevenson en qualité de directeur de l’investissement des Investment Management Engagement Programs (IMEP). Dans ses nouvelles fonctions, Clinton L. Stevenson aura plus particulièrement en charge les nouvelles sociétés de gestion, les efforts du fonds de pension en matière de développement durable, de diversité et d’inclusion ainsi que le suivi des sociétés de gestion externes. La nouvelle recrue a plus de trente ans d’expérience dans le secteur de l’investissement, dont une trentaine d’années à la fondation Ford, où il était directeur de l’investissement.

Comme chaque année, l’Agirc-Arrco a procédé en à un examen du maintien des mandats de gestion et a décidé en 2016 de retirer 3 mandats de gestion (1 en actions, 2 en gestion diversifiée), écrit L’Agefi Hebdo dans son édition du 30 mars, citant Philippe Goubeault, directeur financier de l’Agirc et de l’Arrco. Lors de ces opérations de réallocation, des plus-values ont été inscrites au bilan. Certaines caisses membres ont aussi réinternalisé la gestion de leurs actifs, «en raison de frais de gestion injustifiés au regard des surperformances délivrées», écrit l’hebdomadaire. La gestion des réserves a permis de dégager 2 milliards d’euros de produits financiers qui ont réduit le déficit du régime. Ce déficit était de 2,24 milliards d’euros fin 2016, contre 3 milliards d’euros auparavant. Le taux de rendement des actifs a été de 3,5% en 2016. A fin décembre, l’Agirc-Arrco avait une poche de 10 milliards d’euros de réserve technique de fonds de roulement destinée à supporter les désinvestissements nécessaires au versement des retraites pour 2017 et 2018. Elle est investie en actifs de court terme. L’autre poche, de 53 milliards d’euros en valeur de marché, est non mobilisée pour les deux années à venir et est à 30% en actions et 70% en obligations. Par ailleurs, l’Agirc-Arrco n’exclut pas des appels d’offres à destination des gérants spécialisés sur le smart beta dans les prochains mois.

Suite au récent décès d’Henri Emmanuelli, la commission de surveillance de la Caisse des dépôts (CDC) a procédé à l'élection de son nouveau président en la personne de Marc Goua, a annoncé la Caisse des dépôts. Député socialiste de Maine-et-Loire et maire de Trélazé, il assurait déjà l’intérim. Agé de 77 ans, Marc Goua présidera également l’ensemble des comités spécialisés de la commission de surveillance.

En plein accord de fusion avec Aberdeen, Standard Life a annoncé la cession de ses activités d’assurances à Hong-Kong, Standard Life (Asia) Limited, à sa propre coentreprise chinoise, Heng An Standard Life Insurance Company Limited (“HASL”). Standard Life Asia a été créée en 1999 et est une filiale indirecte, en propriété exclusive de Standard Life. Elle fournie des solutions d'épargne et d’investissement et distribue des produits via des partenariats avec des conseillers financiers indépendants. HASL est de son côté une coentreprise d’assurance en Chine créée en 2003 entre Standard Life et Tianjin TEDA International Holding (Group) Co., Limited (“TEDA”) dont Standard Life détient 50%. Dans un communiqué, Standard Life précise que l’opération doit obtenir l’accord des autorités locales et pourrait prendre jusqu'à 18 mois.

The Korean asset management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments has retained the French third party marketer (TPM) Compagnie Financière Jacques Cœur (CFCJ) to distribute its funds to institutional investors in France, Newsmanagers reports.“This partnership will allow us to accelerate our development serving French institutionals,” Frédéric Niamkey head of sales for France, Geneva and Monaco at Mirae, explains, adding that the TPM formula has already been tested by the firm “with success” in other markets, including some in Southern Europe.The signature of this partnership in France follows the arrival of Niamkey at Mirae in 2015 to cover French-speaking Europe from London, and comes as part of a pan-European development strategy. The strategy was already begun 10 years ago, with the creation of a special Sicav in 2007, which was then put on the back burner during the financial crisis, as investors stayed clear of emerging markets.The product range from the Asian asset management firm will initially be composed of three equity funds: Mirae Asset Asia Sector Leader Equity Fund, an Asia ex Japan equity fund, Mirae Asset Asia Great Consumer Equity Fund, an Asian equity fund themed on consumption, and Mirae Asset India Sector Leader Equity Fund, an Indian equity fund.Niamkey says the time is right to kick off sales efforts in France and Europe, as most funds on sale on the European market have a track record of more than three years, and larger asset volumes (EUR400m for Asia Sector Leader, EUR500m for Asia Great Consumer, EUR150m for India Sector Leader). The Sicav currently has assets of EUR1.9bn. In addition to France, the product is on sale in Switzerland, Germany, Northern Europe and Southern Europe.Mirae, founded in 1997, now has assets under management of over EUR90bn, and is relying on its specialisation and base in Asia to win over investors. The firm, founded in South Koera, has offices in several Asian countries (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, India), to serve the region. Christophe Chen instits that the firm is independent and that it has a strong base of Asian clients to cushion it from the skittish ways of European investors, who are more volatile in emerging markets.

Orca Capital GmbH, a firm based in Munich, has selected Caceis to provide settlement for cash equity operations and settlement-clearance for its securities and trading operations. Orca Capital has also subscribed to the securities lending, execution and compensation services for derivative products from the provider. Caceis has migrated the operations of Orca Capital to its IT systems, and has been providing services to it since late 2016.Caceis has EUR2.522trn in assets under custody, and EUR1.573trn in assets under administration as of the end of 2016.

Keensight Capital, one of the leading players in Europe in Growth Private Equity, and Time for Growth, a European specialist in Growth Capital Digital, on 29 March announced that they have signed an agreement to sell their stake in Oodrive, a European leader in the management of sensitive data in SaaS mode, to a pool of investors led by Tikehau Capital. Time for Growth entered the capital of Oodrive I 2011, and Keensight Capital entered in 2013.Oodrive, founded in 2000, offers professionals file sharing, backup and electronic signature solutions. Its solutions are sold in over 90 countries to more than one million users, and to nearly 15,000 organizations.

The board of directors at HSBC Private Bank has appointed Christophe de Backer with immediate effect as director, the website Romandie.com reports. He replaces Elie Wakim, who will be leaving the management body this week. The new board of directors will now be composed of chairman Andreas von Planta and directors Carlo Lombardini, Khalid Abdullah Almolhem, Christophe de Backer, Kim Fox, Hans-Jürgen Koch and Marc Moses. De Backer will also join the supervisory board at HSBC Private Banking Holdings (Suisse), which includes the private banking operations of the British group in Switzerland and Luxembourg. De Backer joined HSBC Global Asset Management in September 2016 as a member of the executive board and director. De Backer now returns to a banking group which he knows well, as he joined HSBC Private Bank in 1990, and was then appointed as CEO of HSBC France in 2010. Before his return to HSBC, de Backer for three years (2012 to 2015) served at the Edmond de Rothschild group as CEO.

Pioneer Investments has announced the appointment of Matthias Inderbitzin with immediate effect to the position of head of the Swiss market. He will report directly to Fabien Madar, head for western and northern Europe at the asset management firm, now in the process of being taken over by the Amundi group. In this position, Inderbitzin replaces Rainer Lenzin, who in early April joined Credit Suisse to take over as director of distribution for asset management on the Swiss market.

The private bank Lombard Odier has signed an agreement with the Philippines-based UnionBank, with which it has founded two funds approved by the central bank of the Philippines. The two firms will co-manage the risk-based funds, which will be used as core investment vehicles for private clients in the Philippines. The new range includes an aggressive strategy, UnionBank Capital Accumulation Global Fund, and a second more defensive fund.Lombard Odier has since 2012 been signing strategic allegiances in Asia to extend its client base in the region. In addition to the Philippine bank, the private bank has signed an agreement with Kasikombank in Thailand, and has signed partnerships in Japan, Australia and South Korea.

The Vontobel private bank on 29 March announced that it is recruiting Stefan Armbruster as head of its Financial Products Europa division. Armbruster, who will begin on 1 July 2017, previously worked at Deutsche Bank, where he had been co-direcrtor of the Retail Structured Products division.Armbruster succeeds Wolfgang Gerhardt, who will be leaving at the end of April.

Chaque jeudi, L’Agefi livre ses indicateurs clés de crédit pour suivre l'évolution des marchés. Cette semaine : la dette non financière.

Le premier asset manager mondial remodèle une nouvelle fois sa gestion américaine active, face à la pression sur les prix et à des performances décevantes.

La division de gestion d’actifs de HSBC réfléchit au lancement d’un fonds d’un milliard de dollars (926 millions d’euros) spécialisé dans la dette privée d’entreprise, rapporte Bloomberg. La structure en charge du fonds était jusque-là logée dans la banque privée de HSBC, avant d’être transférée dans la division de gestion d’actifs afin d’ajouter à la clientèle privée potentielle des débouchés auprès d’investisseurs institutionnels. La taille du fonds n’est pas encore arrêtée et pourrait être augmentée en fonction de la demande.

La société de gestion coréenne Mirae Asset Global Investments vient de s'adjoindre les services du third party marketer (TPM) français la Compagnie Financière Jacques Coeur (CFCJ) afin de distribuer ses fonds auprès des investisseurs institutionnels en France.

L'AFG a publié les chiffres clefs 2016 de la gestion en France. Les encours globaux sous gestion affichent une collecte positive de 41,2 milliards d'euros correspondant à une progression de + 4,7 % des encours gérés, qui s’élèvent désormais à 3 760 milliards d'euros.

Selon nos informations, Exane AM vient de recruter Gonzague Ruskoné, ancien commercial institutionnel pour Degroof Petercam. Gonzague Ruskoné devrait officiellement prendre ses nouvelles fonctions courant avril. Il renforcera l'équipe commerciale France d'Exane AM.

L'objectif général du marché est de fournir à la Commission l'analyse rétrospective de la portée de la réalisation des objectifs de la directive sur les gestionnaires de fonds d'investissement alternatifs — directive 2011/61/UE du Parlement européen et du Conseil.

A l'occasion de la semaine de l'épargne salariale, initiative de Place à destination des salariés et des entreprises, l'AFG présente ses propositions, afin de promouvoir "une épargne utile, sociale et collective à placer au coeur d’un projet présidentiel de redressement du pays".

A la suite de son appel d’offres, l’Académie nationale de médecine a sélectionné Natixis AM pour créer des fonds communs investis en valeurs mobilières. Les portefeuilles à gérer seront de l’ordre de 20 à 30 millions d’euros correspondant aux dons et legs que l’institution reçoit. Le marché est souscrit pour un an. L’Académie rappelle qu’elle cherche une gestion en " bon père de famille afin d’assurer la pérennité du capital voire son augmentation”. Elle privilégie donc des mandataires ayant une expérience dans les fondations et le secteur associatif et offrant de la sécurité (qualité du dépositaire, agrément AMF....).

Aviva étudie la vente de sa filiale Friends Provident International, notamment spécialisée dans les produits d’assurance vie, une opération qui pourrait lui rapporter entre 500 millions et 700 millions de dollars (461-645 millions d’euros), selon une source de Reuters au fait du dossier. Reprenant une information d’abord parue dans le Wall STreet Journal, Reuters indique que près d’une demi-douzaine d’entreprises chinoises et de fonds européens ont signalé leur intérêt à l’assureur britannique.Friends Provident, qui est domiciliée sur l'île britannique de Man, compte quelque 160.000 clients et emploie plus de 500 personnes à travers le monde.

Record sums raised and a record number of companies assisted. Record would be the right word for the year 2016, according to figures released by the French association of investors for growth (Association Française des Investisseurs pour la Croissance, AFIC) on 28 March. EUR14.7bn were raised in 2016 by French venture capital professionals, which represents a 51% increase over 2015. 45% of these funds come from abroad, compared with 37% in 2015, in a sign of international interest in French businesses. More than EUR9.3bn will go to transmission of companies, and EUR1.6bn to innovation capital startups, the highest levels in four years. Only capital development has shrunk, to EUR3.7bn from EUR5bn the previous year, probably due to competition from debt or mezzanine operations.One important fact, says AFIC, is that insurers and banks have made a major comeback, placing their own equity as investors. These investments, at EUR1.3bn, have returned to their all-time highs before the crisis in 2006-2008.Another record is the number of companies assisted: nearly 1,900 in 2016, compared with an average of 1,600 over the past 10 years. This represents a record in Europe, according to AFIC. The total sum invested was EUR12.4bn, up 15% compared with 2015.

In a year of market surprises, major shock waves rocked the brand rankings in the sixth, annual evaluation of cross-border asset managers – FB50 2017, said a press release.An intoxicating mix of political drama, market dynamics and an industry in a major period of transition all contributed to significant changes to the cross-border and boutique brand rankings. Rising stars, falling angels and rejuvenated brands all featured in the new-look top ten. Only the top three brands held their positions. Some established groups floundered as mid-size players vied for attention with product flavours that paid brand dividends. Nordea and Robeco raced into the top ten while Pictet ousted Franklin Templeton from 4th position and joined Europe’s elite top five for the first time. Commenting on the study, Diana Mackay, Joint-CEO of MackayWilliams, said: “In a challenging year for the industry, Europe’s professional fund buyers provided asset managers with some clear signals on the types of companies and brands they want to engage with in the future. More than ever before, asset managers need to establish enduring differentiation through the emotional appeal of their brands. Delivery of product at the right price is no longer enough.”The study measures asset managers’ relative brand performance based on fund-selector perceptions across a range of drivers to highlight the leading cross-border brands. The research also examines the most successful third-party brands in each of Europe’s ten largest retail markets. Findings from this year’s study reveal that: • Despite a fall in the total brand score for all of the top three groups, BlackRock extended its lead over its immediate rivals.• Innovation and client focus were the drivers behind the rising groups, displacing managers without replacements for fading blockbuster products. • Investor appetite for thematics and socially responsible investments featured heavily amongst the groups with improved brand recognition. • Size is not a barrier to brand popularity for smaller groups able to prove their stability – a feature demonstrated by the boutique winner, Lannebo Fonder, and the fastest riser in this category, FundSmith.• Passive providers can differentiate and build brand on non-price-related attributes. iShares was top passive brand, rising six places to 14th position supported by a high score for innovation

As of the end of December 2016, 165 green funds were on sale in Europe, with assets of EUR22bn, according to the most recent study by Novethic, with the support of the energy efficiency agency Agence de l’environnement et de la maîtrise de l'énergie (ADEME). Although the number of funds has remained relatively stable since 2013, assets have risen 47%. This growth comes after AUM had fallen between 2009 and 2013 from EUR18.8bn to EUR15bn in the wake of the financial crisis, “COP 21 has happened, and the financial community is aware of climate risks,” says Dominique Blanc, director of research at Novethic, at a conference for green funds.However, these volumes and their growth remain moderate, compared with the total volumes of assets in green financing, outside the public fund sector, Novethic points out.Management of green funds is concentrated at a few pioneering players in this field. The top 10 account collectively for over EUR14bn, two thirds of total assets in the market. The top player is the Swiss Pictet AM, with three funds representing EUR4.6bn, including its famous water fund. It is followed by the French BNP Paribas IP, with eight funds, and EUR2.5bn, and the US firm BlackRock, with five funds (EUR1.6bn).Water remains the most popular theme with investors, as the 20 “water” specialist funds have total assets of EUR8.27bn. These are followed by the 84 “environment” funds, a broader theme with a total of EUR8.1bn in assets.In terms of asset class, a large majority of European green funds (85%, both in number and volume) are equity funds, but the market is gradually diversifying into bonds, with the growth of green bonds in particular.According to Novethic, among investors institutionals dominate the market, with only 15% of sub-funds analysed reserved for individual investors. At BNP Paribas Wealth management, Eléonore Bedel, head for SRI and impact investing, notes that as a proportion of client SRI assets, green funds represent 10%. But when the client decides (as part of advised or free management), this percentage rises to 30%. These funds, she says, are easier to understand.

After the departure of Jürgen Mahler from Oddo Meriten AM, where he was country manager for Italy, Lorenzo Gazzoletti, deputy CEO of the asset management firm, has decided to take over the head of the Italian arm and to represent the company in Italy, Funds People Italia reports. In Italy, the office, which has EUR1.2bn in assets under management, has been transformed in to a branch. “Since Italy is not only our largest market after our two domestic markets in France and Germany, but also the market with the largest organic growth, it seemed logical, reasonable and strategic to take this responsibility over directly. And not only due to the strategic position of this market, but also because, as an Italian, it is a natural field for me,” Gazzoletti explains. “I will be taking over control of the Milan office, no longer as a startup but as a fully existing entity to be grown, and will be driving us into areas that have not been explored before, such as institutionals.” Gazzoletti also says that in the short term, he will be recruiting a senior sales representative who will be responsible for institutionals. With this arrival, the Italian team will include six people.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } NN Investment Partners is teaming up with South Pole Group to ensure that investment decisions are based on the best information available with resepct to coal, waste and water. South Pole will provide a custom screening tool for portfolios to NN IP. The tool will make it possible to better identify firms which can be expected to do well in a context of climate change and overexploitation of resources. “The solution provided by South Pole Group delivers a significant addition to other ESG information about businesses and countries which we get from our other partners, our brokers and our internal research,” a statement says.

In February, open-ended funds on sale in Italy posted net inflows of EUR4.1bn, after EUR5.7bn in January, the most recent statistics from Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset management professionals, shows. This brings inflows in the first two months of the year to nearly EUR10bn, as the profession prepares to gather in Milan for Il Salone del Risparmio.Inflows were driven by bond funds (EUR2.8bn), flexible funds (EUR1.7bn) and diversified funds (EUR1.1bn). However, equity funds have seen slight outflows of EUR55m. As of the end of February, assets in open-ended funds totalled EUR920bn. With the addition of closed funds and mandated management, assets total EUR1.950trn.The asset management firm with the strongest inflows in February, unusually, was a foreign firm: Allianz, with more than EUR2bn in inflows for the month, following EUR1.3bn in outflows in January. The German firm is followed by Poste Italiane, with EUR1.9bn, and Intesa Sanpaolo, with EUR1.7bn.For outflows, Pioneer, the firm acquired by Amundi, stands out with redemptions of EUR1.6bn, followed by SSGA (-EUR906m), and Generali (-EUR513m).

Après le départ de Jürgen Mahler d’Oddo Meriten AM, où il était country manager pour l’Italie, c’est Lorenzo Gazzoletti, directeur général adjoint de la société de gestion qui a décidé de reprendre la direction de la succursale italienne et la représentation de la société en Italie, rapporte Funds People Italia. En Italie, le bureau de représentation, qui gère 1,2 milliard d’euros, a d’ailleurs été transformé en succursale. « L’Italie étant non seulement notre principal marché après nos deux marchés domestiques que sont la France et l’Allemagne, mais aussi le marché qui a la plus importante croissance organique, il me semble logique, raisonnable et stratégique de reprendre directement cette responsabilité. Et pas seulement en raison de la position stratégique de ce marché, mais aussi parce que, étant italien, c’est un terrain de jeu naturel pour moi », explique Lorenzo Gazzoletti. « En outre, j’assume le contrôle du bureau de Milan non plus comme une start-up mais comme une réalité bien lancée à faire croître, en la poussant sur des terrains qu’elle ne pouvait avant pas pratiquer, comme celui des institutionnels ». Lorenzo Gazzoletti indique d’ailleurs qu’il va recruter à court terme un commercial senior qui s’occupera des institutionnels. Avec cette arrivée, l’équipe italienne se composera de six personnes.

Le directeur général (CEO) de Credit Suisse, Tidjane Thiam, devrait prendre une décision le plus rapidement possible au sujet de la nouvelle augmentation de capital. Le dirigeant de la grande banque s’est exprimé en ces termes à une conférence des investisseurs le 28 mars à Hong Kong, rapporte l’agence Reuters. «Nous considérons différentes options», a précisé le CEO à l’agence Bloomberg. L’introduction en Bourse (IPO) partielle de Credit Suisse (Suisse) ne constitue plus qu’un filet de sécurité en termes de capitalisation, a rappelé Tidjane Thiam. Le Franco-Ivoirien a souligné les progrès réalisés par la banque ces dernières années, notamment en termes de croissance, de réduction des coûts et de fonds propres. Ces efforts permettent aujourd’hui à Credit Suisse d’envisager d’autres solutions que cette cotation de la banque universelle suisse à la Bourse suisse.

Le groupe bancaire suisse UBS a promu Anton Simonet au poste de responsable de la gestion fortune pour la Suisse, rapporte Citywire Switzerland, filiale de Citywire Selector. L’intéressé prendra officiellement ses fonctions le 3 avril et rejoindra également le comité exécutif de la banque pour la Suisse ainsi que le comité exécutif de la division de gestion de fortune. Il sera directement rattaché à Martin Blessing et Jürg Zeltner. Anton Simonet avait intégré UBS en 2010 au sein de sa division de gestion de fortune en tant que responsable du Proche-Orient, de l’Asie, d’Israël et de l’Afrique. En 2011, il était devenu responsable de la gestion de fortune pour l’est de la Suisse. Avant de rejoindre UBS, il avait occupé plusieurs postes chez Dresdner Bank. Anton Simonet remplace Christian Wiesendanger qui a été promu responsable des solutions et des plateformes d’investissements dédiées à la gestion de fortune.