Cinda Asset Management, la «bad bank» de China Construction Bank créée dans les années 90, pourrait récolter jusqu'à 1,8 milliard d’euros à l’occasion de son introduction à Hong Kong. Les investisseurs répondent présent dans le contexte d’une hausse attendue des créances douteuses en Chine.
Le président de la BCE a rejeté un rapport rédigé par le Comité européen du risque systémique (CERS) qui préconisait une nouvelle méthodologie pour l'évaluation du risque provoqué par la détention de dette souveraine et lui a demandé de revoir sa copie. Selon ces propositions, la dette souveraine émise par le pays d’origine des banques devait être traitée dans leur bilan comme la dette d’entreprise sur le moyen terme.
En amont de l’absorption de Neuflize Private Assets par sa grande sœur Neuflize OBC Investissements, la banque Neuflize OBC dévoile le nouvel organigramme de son pôle gestion d’actifs. Ce dernier réduit ses effectifs et rationalise sa gamme de fonds ouverts.
Le gouvernement britannique doit annoncer aujourd’hui la privatisation d’un portefeuille de près d’un milliard de livres de prêts accordés à des étudiants inscrits dans les années 1990. Cette cession, au profit d’un spécialiste du recouvrement de dette, se fera pour une fraction de la valeur faciale du portefeuille. L’opération a été orchestrée par des banquiers de Barclays et Rothschild.
Antoine Lissowski, directeur général adjoint de CNP Assurances s’est exprimé lors de la huitième Convention du Centre des professions financières qui s’est déroulée mardi 19 novembre sur le processus de diversification de la gestion des encours des assureurs : « Au cours des neuf premiers mois de 2013, CNP Assurances a investi 7 milliards d’euros dans les obligations d’entreprises », signale Antoine Lissowski, directeur général adjoint de CNP Assurances. « Nous avons investi dans plusieurs fonds dédiés au financement de ces projets en dette ou en capital. Nous avons, par ailleurs, noué un partenariat avec Natixis pour participer au fil de l’eau, en fonction de notre appétit, à des financements qu’elle origine. Nous intervenons essentiellement une fois l’infrastructure opérationnelle, autrement dit dans la seconde phase de financement et non dans la phase de construction qui suppose une gestion quotidienne et un risque lié à la livraison que nous ne maîtrisons pas », développe Antoine Lissowki. En outre, l’initiative a été prise avec d’autres assureurs de lancer deux séries de fonds dans des nouveaux secteurs de croissance, des « nova » et des « novo », des fonds actions et obligations pour les entreprises de taille intermédiaires. « Nous entendons par ces fonds avoir un effet d’entrainement sur les secteurs sur lesquels nous sommes positionnés et avoir une certaine influence sur la réglementation ». C’est ainsi que les fonds « novo » ont donné l’occasion d’introduire dans la réglementation des assurances les « fonds de prêts à l'économie ». « Auparavant les assureurs n’avaient pas le droit, ou pouvaient dans une proportion très restrictive, détenir des prêts aux entreprises ». Enfin, un fonds stratégique de participation a été mis en place avec Sogecap, Crédit Agricole Assurances et BNP Paribas Assurances. « Cette structure investit dans les actions à hauteur d’environ de 5% du capital avec l’objectif d’entrer dans le conseil d’administration des sociétés et de jouer un rôle dans le pilotage de la rentabilité et de la politique financière. Elle s’inscrit dans une logique d’investissement de participation qui non seulement se trouve être un peu moins cher que l’investissement sur le marché coté mais qui surtout permet d’entrer dans une certaine familiarité avec l’entreprise financée ».
Selon le Forum mondial sur la transparence et l'échange d’informations à visée fiscale, mis en place par l’OCDE, le Luxembourg, Chypre, la Suisse, les Iles Vierges et les Seychelles ne respectent pas les standards internationaux en la matière. Ces cinq juridictions n’ont pas partagé de données fiscales avec d’autres pays et/ou n’ont pas réuni d’information sur les détenteurs finaux d’entités enregistrées sur leur territoire.
Les dirigeants de la zone euro envisagent des prêts bonifiés à des pays du bloc qui mettraient en oeuvre des réformes structurelles améliorant leur situation à moyen terme, selon un document de travail de l’Union européenne qui fait l’objet d’une discussion au niveau politique. «Les prêts n’impliqueraient que des transferts budgétaires limités entre pays», précise le document de neuf pages obtenu par Reuters.
In third quarter, the Italian asset management sector posted net inflows of EUR16.3bn, according to the most recent statistics from Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset management professionals. These inflows were driven by management of insurance products (EUR7.8bn) and open-ended funds (EUR6.9bn). Total assets come to EUR1.293trn. Collective management represents 45% of this total, equivalent to EUR576bn.
Global money market funds will lost one third of their assets under management next year under the combined effects of low interest rates and new regulations, the Financial Times reports. Reforms to the industry in the United States and Europe may trigger outflows of at least 30%, according to Moody’s. Small and mid-sized funds will be the worst affected.
The CNMV on 11 October registered the SSgA Europe Small Cap Alpha Equity Fund and the SSgA EMU Small Cap Alpha Equity Fund, two French-registered products from State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), Funds People reports. The funds will be sold in Spain by Allfunds Bank.
US pension fund TIAA-CREF (USD542bn) has announced a joint venture with CNP Assurances, a French insurance company, to co-invest in three retail properties in Germany.The portfolio has a gross value of USD1.2 billion (EUR924.1 million) and consists of shopping centers across Germany: PEP (Munich), Erlangen Arcaden (Erlangen) and Gropius Passagen (Berlin).TIAA-CREF acquired the assets and will manage them on behalf of the newly created joint venture. AEW Europe advised CNP Assurances on the deal.The announcement advances TIAA-CREF’s strategy to manage assets in partnership with sophisticated investors around the world. The US fund currently manages real estate investments on behalf of sovereign wealth funds and other institutions in the United States. This partnership is the first in which TIAA-CREF manages European-based properties for a joint venture, according to a press release.TIAA-CREF directly owns more than USD28.5 billion in gross assets (as of 9/30/13) of primarily high-quality properties in the office, retail, industrial and multifamily sectors across the United States and Western Europe.
Henderson Global Investors has soft-closed its Credit Alpha fund, as it approaches GBP1bn in assets, for liquidity reasons, Citywire Global reports. The fund, co-managed by the duo of Stephen Thariyan and Chris Bullock, with Tom Ross, had a target capacity of GBP1bn for the strategy. It is now at GBP870m.
Schroders has closed the Cazenove UK Smaller Companies fund to all investments, after a wave of inflows to the product, which drove assets to GBP1.06bn, Investment Week reports. The strategy, managed by Paul Marriage, has doubled in six months. The decision, which will take effect from 22 January 2014, was taken to protect performance.
New research from Cerulli Associates finds that consultants expect that their outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) business will comprise 18.5% of total assets in 2016, on average up from 12% at the end of 2012."Over the past decade, institutional investors have been seeking more proactive advice and ceding portfolio decision-making, as investment options have grown increasingly complex and markets have become more volatile,» Michele Guiditta, associate director at Cerulli, explains. «A number of institutional investors have opted for an OCIO arrangement, delegating oversight and decision-making for all or part of their investment portfolios.»
Quantitative asset management firm Tobam has appointed Rudyard Ekindi as head of Marketing. Ekindi will organise and strengthen efforts by the company to explain and promote the advantage of maximal diversification to investors and the financial community, including consultants.Ekindi will be based in Paris and report to Christophe Roehri, Director of Development at Tobam.From January 2009 to August 2013, Ekindi was director of research for the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) in the United Kingdom. He was previously aDirector at Credit Suisse Asset Management, where he worked as a portfolio manager specialised in quantitative strategies and alternative investments.
SF Institutional Invest GmbH, the investment asset management firm for SachsenFonds Holding GmbH, has retained the depository banking services of CACEIS for its alternative investment funds (FIA). SF Institutional Invest GmbH is specialised in the management of real estate assets and in development projects related to renewable energies in Europe. Jürgen Gobel, Managing Director de SachsenFonds Holding GmbH, comments: “Caceis has solid experience in the closed fund industry and has a lot of expertise in real estate assets. Its ability to manage issues of compliance with the AIFM direcive and its extended range of services for FIAs such as Special funds, were a determining factor in our choice.”
The US-based asset management firm Nationwide Financial (King of Prussia, Pennsylvania), which had USD54bn in assets under management in 108 funds as of 30 September, has set itself the objective of increasing its net inflows by 18% to 20% on average over the next five years. With this in mind, on 20 November it announced the recruitment of six “wholesale” distribution specialists to develop mutual fund sales.They are Linc DuPree (formerly of JPMAM), Jane Flanigan (formerly of ProShares), Michael Harvey (formarly of Columbia), Michael Matarazzo (formerly of Direxion), Maryam Rusch (formerly of Highland Capital) and Carla Jimenez, who had been financial advisor.
The former ERNY Financial, which was transformed into Reality Shares Inc in July, on 18 November officially announced that it is starting up its activities, as manifested in the application for a license for three fundamental ETFs focused on dividends: two passive products, the Reality Shares Isolated U.S. Dividend Growth Index ETF, and the Reality Shres Isolated Global Dividend Growth Index ETF, and an actively-managed fund, the Reality Shares Isolated Dividend Growth ETF.Reality Shares is led by Eric Ervin, co-founder, CEO and chairman, who over 16 years has set up the wealth management unit of Ervin Miller at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.The other members of the management are Ryan Ballantyne, director of capital markets (ex Miller Tabak & Susquehanna), Dan Janowiak, director of institutional sales (ex Allianz Global Investors Capital), Kristi Procopio, director of marketing (ex Bank of the Internet et BofI Federal Bank), and Tom Trivella, chief administrative officer & chief compliance officer (ex Citadel Securities)
Isaac Corré and Josh Astrof, two partners at the hedge fund firm Eton Park Capital Management, will leave the firm at the beginning of 2014, Financial News has learned. The reasons for their departure remain unclear.
Petercam has obtained permission to distribute its Luxembourg Petercam L Fund Sicavs in Italy, Investment Europe reports. The funds are available to private clients from 19 November.
Amiral Gestion has appointed Benjamin Biard as deputy CEO in charge of development and marketing. The firm is also recruiting Bastien Goumare as a small and midcaps analyst.Biard, who arrived at Amiral Gestion in March 2012 as director of development and marketing, was previously head of distribution for France at Tocqueville Finance, since 2009. For his part, Goumare joined Amiral Gestion as an analyst in 2013.The asset management firm has 14 employees and manages EUR470m.
The US SRI manager Calvert Investments (USD12.5bn in assets as of 31 October) has announced the recruitment of Michael L. Davis, who from 2009 to his resignation in November 2012 was deputy assistant secretary in the Department of Labor, before joining Prudential Retirement as vice president and head of the stable value business, as director of institutional sales. In 2006, at a time when he was working at JPMorgan Chase in asset management, Davis was appointed by Black Enterpreise magazine as one of the “75 most powerful Blacks on Wall Street.”
The New York-based private equity firm Blackstone on 21 November announced the appointment of David Calhoun as senior managing director and head of private equity portfolio operations. Calhoun, who is CEO of Nielsen Holdings NV, will become head of a team of 21 professionals responsible for deploying initiatives to create value in companies in the Blackstone portfolio, in cooperation with the CEOs of these firms.Calhoun will report to Joseph Baratta, global head of private equity.