Devenue Leonteq, l’ancienne EFG Financial Products a présenté le 23 juillet des résultat en forte augmentation : le bénéfice avant impôt pour le premier semestre 2013 a opéré un bond en avant de 142 % en glissement annuel à 24,7 millions de francs suisses, le coefficient d’exploitation (cost-income ratio) s’est amélioré à 70 % contre 84 % pour janvier-juin 2012 et le bénéfice net a gonflé de 124 % à 21,5 millions de francs.Le volume de transactions s’est accru pour sa part de 34 % à 7,8 milliards de francs et le nombre de clients est ressorti pour le premier semestre à 515 contre 406 un an plus tôt. La marge moyenne par transaction est ressortie à 105 points de base, ce qui représente une baisse de 4 % sur janvier-juin 2012 (109 points de base) mais une progression de 3 % sur juillet-décembre de l’an dernier.Leonteq a aussi indiqué qu’il compte fermer sa succursale de Madrid ouverte en 2011 parce qu’elle n’est pas parvenue à la taille critique.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Anne Lui, head of marketing & communications at Value Partners Group in Hong Kong, after serving as head of business media relations for Asia ex Japan at Nomura (formerly Lehman Brothers), has been recruited by Baring Asset Management as head of marketing, Asia ex Japan. She continues to be based in Hong Kong, and will report to Claire Fraser head of marketing & communications, who is based in London, and who has recently been appointed to the position, replacing Ian Pascal (see Newsmanagers of 17 July).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Société Générale Private Banking has announced the appointment of Olivier Gérard as head of the portfolio management and strategy & expertise unit for private banking assets, replacing Stéphane Wathier.Gérard will be based in Luxembourg, and will aim to co-ordinate and promote portfolio management activities (discretionary management and management advising) serving the international private banking network, as well as services and recommendations provided by the unit he will lead.He will report directly to Bruno Lèbre, head of wealth management solutions. In addition to his new responsibilities, Gérard will retain his position as head of Prime Market Access.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } NYSE Euronext on 23 July announced that it had admitted a new EasyETF from BNP Paribas Investment Partners Luxembourg, the EPRA Euro, to trading on the Paris exchange. The European markets of NYSE Euronext now list 673 ETFs, of which 584 are primary listings.CharacteristicsName: EasyETF EPRA EuroIndex; FTSE EPRA EurozoneTotal expense ratio: 0.45%

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Paris office of Muzinich & Co, which also covers Luxembourg, Belgium, Monaco, Geneva and Lausanne, has posted net subscriptions in firs half of USD840m, for assets of “over USD5bn,” Eric Pictet, CEO of the Paris office, has told Newsmanagers. The number of active clients is about 150, distributed between private banks, family offices, insurers, pension funds and funds of funds.The largest net subscriptions went to Americayield and ShortDurationHighYield, followed by Enhancedyield, Europeyield and the LongShortCreditYield, while the Transatlanticyield posted slight redemptions.Groupwide, assets as of the end of June totalled USD23.8bn, of which USD15.4bn are in UCITS-compliant funds, which attracted USD2.49bn in first half. Of this total, the ShortDurationHighYield accounted for more than half, followed by the Americayield and Enhancedyield funds, while the Europeyield and Transatlanticyield underwent slight net outflows. The LongShortCreditYield, the youngest fund, launched in June 2012, posted net inflows of nearly USD100m.Among plans for the future, Muzinich is preparing a UCITS-compliant mixed short duration emerging market debt fund (high yield, investment grade, govies and financials). The product will be a sub-fund of the Irish Sicav managed by a new team, the first members of which were recruited a few months ago.Muzinich is also at work on an absolute return bond fund, which is already on sale in the United States, and which may be released in a UCITS-compliant version in a few months.Two private placement funds are also in preparation, one of which will invest in Italian businesses with an EBITDA of EUR5m to EUR50m.Pictet also states that the two “loan” funds (bank credit securitisations), launched in 2006 and 2008, represent USD120m. It is an attractive asset class, but the products are naturally not UCITS-compliant.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss hedge fund management firm Gottex Fund Management holdings on 23 July announced that it plans to announce a “small” operating loss for first half.It has also stated that its fee-earning assets as of the end of June totalled USD5.94bn, counting GBP325m at the British firm Frontier Investment Management, which were only officially consolidated on 4 July, compared with USD6.36bn as of the end of March That represents a decline of 6.5% in April-June.For GPM in the strict sense, assets fell by 5.7% over the quarter to USD5.27bn, due to net redemptions of USD170m, currency effects and “technical factors” which siped out USD210m, and a capital loss of USD30m.For the division specialised in Luma GSS services, assets fell by USD100m between the beginning of April and the end of June, to USD0.67bn, due to net redemptions of USD130m, and gross susbscriptions of USD30m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The firm formerly known as EFG Financial Products, now Leonteq, on 23 July presented strongly improved results: pre-tax profits in first half 2013 rose 142% year on eyar, to CHF24.7m, while the cost-income ratio improved to 70% from 84% in January-June 2012, and net profits rose 124%, to CHF21.5m.Transaction volumes, for their part, increased 34%, to CHF7.8bn, and the number of clients in first half totalled 515, compared with 406 one year earlier. Operating profit margins per transaction totalled 105 basis points, which represents a decline of 4% compared with January-June 2012 (109 basis points), but an increase of 3% compared with July-December last year.Leonteq has also announced that it plans to close its Madrid office, opened in 2011, since it has not achieved critical size.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As the firm Johannes Führ Asset Management (JFAM) acquires three quarters of VCH (see elsewhere in today’s Newsmanagers), Institutional Money reports that JFAM on 23 July announced that its founder, Johannes Führ, has resigned from his position as chairman of the advisory board and left the busness. He no longer had any operational responsibilties, and no longer holds a stake in the firm.In early 2013, high net worth private clients who had held 50% of JFAM since 2010 acquired the remaining capital in the firm.The firm continues to be led by management composed of Karl-Heinz Pfarrer, chairman and CIO, assisted by Allan Ricardo Valentiner, head of fixed income, and Thomas Mûhlberger (portfolio management).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The managing board and the supervisory board at Altira AG on 30 August decided at a general shareholders’ meeting to remove shares in the Entry Standard company from the Frankfurt stock exchange. A takeover bid will be offered to minority shareholders.In order to focus on its profession of financing German SMEs (Mittelstand), Altira has also sold the 74.5% stake it had held via the wealth management firm VCH Vermögensverwaltung AG in VCH Asset Management for an undisclosed amount, to a firm controlled by Johannes Führ, who controls the asset management firm Johannes Führ Asset Management.VCH will become known as Führ Capital Partners Vermögensverwaltung AG, an affiliate of Führ Capital Partners Asset Management, while Johannes Führ will become chairman of the supervisory board. The remaining shares in VCH remain in the hands of Robert Depner, who continues to serve as a MD.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Cotizalia reports that BlackRock, which has recently passed the 3% threshold in Ferrovial, has increased its stake in the Spanish firm Cie Automotive to 4.48%, buying the stake previously held by Portobello for USD29m on 12 July. At trading price on Monday (EUR6 per share in Cie Automotive), BlackRock’s stake is worth over EUR30m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Cotizalia reports that BlackRock, which has recently passed the 3% threshold in Ferrovial, has increased its stake in the Spanish firm Cie Automotive to 4.48%, buying the stake previously held by Portobello for USD29m on 12 July. At trading price on Monday (EUR6 per share in Cie Automotive), BlackRock’s stake is worth over EUR30m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nordea has reported net profits for second quarter 2013 of EUR800m, compared with EUR783m in first quarter. In first half, net profits total EUR1.58bn. Assets under management, at EUR219.2bn as of the end of June, are down by 1% compared with EUR223.3bn as of the end of first quarter. Negative market effects of EUR7bn were offset by inflows. In second quarter, net inflows totalled EUR2.9bn, compared with net redemptions of EUR400m the previous quarter. Operating revenues from asset management total EUR70m, compared with EUR55m in first quarter, and EUR32m one year previously. Operating profits from wealth management total EUR188m, compared with EUR172m in first quarter, and EUR131m in the corresponding period of last year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings yesterday confirmed that it sold its stake in Huaneng Renewables, a producer of renewable energy listed in Hong Kong, last week. The sale brought in HKD435.5m, according to Finance Asia, equivalent to USD56m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } At a time when it had officially been aiming for USD3.5bn (and internally predicting USD4bn), Brookfield Asset Management, based in Toronto, has managed to raise USD4.4bn for its new global real estate fund, the Wall Street Journal reports. It becomes one of the largest real estate funds to be created since the crisis.The largest investor in the new fund is an affiliate of Brookfield AM, which provided USD1.3bn.The new fund has already invested about USD1.1bn, of which GBP210m were in June, to acquire the British logistics firm EZW Gazeley, and USD500m in 2012 to acquire the Australian hotel group Thakral Holdings.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The bank of the bishopric of Essen, Bank in Bistum Essen, a specialised institution working for ecclesiastical organisations and charities as well as their employees, has granted a mandate to the asset management firm Monega KAG for an ethical bond portfolio to satisfy the strictest requirements in terms of risk and return profile. The selection of securities, small and mid-sized corporate bonds, primarily, will be invested for the institutional fund by Johannes Führ Asset Management, with the assistance of the extra-financial ratings agency imug.The portfolio will be constructed after exclusion of shares in companies which earn a “significant” portion of their earnings in the following areas: weapons, stem cell research, alcohol, tobacco, nuclear energy, gambling, pornography, products and services related to abortion. In addition, the asset management team will exclude issues by businesses which flagrantly violate the standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) or human rights.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Munich-based asset management firm TMW Pramerica Property Investment has announced that it has sold the Vista Tower in Puteaux, near Paris, to a British real estate fund management firm, for EUR87m, while the property, which had been in the portfolio of the TWM Immobilien Weltfonds (which is required to be liquidated by 31May 2014) had been valued by experts at EUR98.5m on 9 February. The markdown is thus about 12%, and the transaction lowers the net asset value of the fund by EUR0.80, to EUR29.80 per share.The property, with 16,777 square metres, required an investment of only EUR119.79m. It is currently 77.4% occupied. The transaction went on the book on 17 May 2013, but was only publicly announced after a pre-emptive deadline for the city of Paris expired.The sale price totalled EUR0.6m. After credit and associated fees are paid off, the net proceeds of the sale total EUR32.7m, and have been wholly applied to the redemption of other debts.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Carmignac Gestion has liquidated its Carmignac Market Neutral fund, Citywire reports. With EUR122m in assets under management at the time of closure, the product had been managed by Vincent Steenman since January, replacing Maxime Carmignac, then on maternity leave. Steenman remains a member of the management team, as an analyst for the industrial sector, a spokesperson for Carmignac Gestion states. The Paris-based asset management firm has admitted that the fund did not meet the expectations of the team. Over three years to the end of June, the fund shows losses of 4.6%, Citywire notes.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Chinese banking sector regulatory commission (CBRC) has announced a series of new rules to complement current prudential regulations applicable to commercial banks (Commercial Bank Capital Management regulations), to improve transparency and bring reuglations into line with Basel III, Z-Ben Advisers reports.In detail, the regulator will now require commercial banks to publish audited financial reports at least twice per year, and that they declare information regarding capital instruments in the event of any significant change (large redemptions, transfers of securities).The texts will apply to commercial banks listed in continental China or offshore, as well as commercial banks whose capital exceeds CNY1trn. The firms will be required to comply with particularly strict regulations in terms of financial information.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The AIFM directive, which came into effect on 22 July, is still causing concerns among finance professionals, according to a recent study published by BNY Mellon, based on a survey of 70 professionals active in Europe, Asia, the United States and Latin America, with cumulative total assets under management of over EUR5trn. Half of respondents feel that uncertainty with respect to the challenges of the directive persist at their business. One third of respondents are concerned about not being ready in time and about the negative financial impact of the directive on their profession. Respondents are not expecting a positive impact from the AIFM directive. 50% predict that their business will be disadvantaged by AIFM in the mid-term. Only 18% hope that the directive will have beneficial effects on their profession. In order to meet the requirements of the new regulations, 58% of respondents have created AIFM project teams. Overall, respondents predict that the cost of the directive will total from EUR300,000 to over EUR1m for each business, BNY Mellon states. Respondents say the most costly elements are regulatory reporting and reporting on risk and compliance. To meet these additional costs, the survey finds that some providers are planning to pare back their product ranges, as 67% of all respondents are expecting the number of hedge funds to fall, and 39% think that their firm will cut back its range following the introduction of the directive, or that it will transfer funds out of the European Union.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Investment Week reports that Guy Stern, who has been appointed as head of multi-asset & macro investing at Standard Life Investments (SLI) following the announcement of the departure of Euan Munro (who becomes CEO of Aviva Investors in January 2014), has announced that SLI plans to revise its incentivation policy in order to win the loyalty of fund managers.The Global Absolute Return Strategies, or GARS unit, with GBP18bn in assets, which Munro had been head of, already lost three managers in September 2012: David Miller, Dave Jubb and Richard Batty, who moved to Invesco Perpetual.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian asset management firm Azimut has announced that it has achieved a total net inflow in June of EUR136.4m, of which more than EUR40m went to the Luxembourg sub-funds of Luxembourg funds AZ Fund 1 And AZ Fund Multi Asset, bringing net subscriptions in fist half to EUR1.4957bn, 73% more than in January-June 2013. Azimut has fully satisfied its inflow objectives for all of 2013, and 95% of all net subscriptions in 2012, in first half alone, says Pietro Giuliani, chairman and CEO of the group.Assets under management and administration as of 30 June totalled EUR121.1817bn, 8.1% more than as of the end of December, of which EUR18.9915bn are assets under management (+8.6%), while assets in funds totalled EUR16.6618bn (+6.3%).Investment Europe reports, for its part, that Paolo Martini has recruited four private bankers from Banca Esperia, Lorenzo Lamberti Scagliano, Cristiano Esclapon, Dario Giudici and Paolo Dameno Rota, for the firm’s wealth managemet team based in Milan.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Wall Street Journal has published reports on its website that, according to sources familiar with the matter, US Federal prosecutors are preparing to announce by the end of the week that they are filing criminal charges for insider trading against the hedge fund management firm SAC Capital Partners.The move precludes any last-minute administrative shuffles or changes of strategy on the part of the government.It is stated that the charges concern only SAC Capital Advisors, and not Steve A. Cohen, founder and CIO of the firm, personally.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Funds Europe reports that the BlackRock Investment Institute has downgraded Chinese sovereign debt by two slots, to 19th place overall. Although the current account surplus fell by more than 10% of GDP to 2.6% last year, according to the IMF, the country has currency reserves of USD3.4trn, or EUR2.6trn, which protects it from any external financing pressures.Meanwhile, BlackRock has raised Austria from 18th place to 16th place, with an improvement in its structural surplus and a strengthened international financial position. Lastly, the asset management firm has promoted Ireland and Spain, pointing out that fiscal austerity in each of these countries improves budgetary outlooks.

Ces discussions n'ont pas abouti dans les délais prévus incitant Dexia à dénoncer l'accord de cession tout en restant ouvert aux propositions.

Raphaël Dressler, Directeur de CCI Finance, un GIE créé en 2009 à l’initiative des Chambres de Commerce et d’Industrie de Paris et de Nice et au service de la fonction finance, trésorerie et conseil des CCI en France à l’occasion d’une conférence organisée par Morningstar : Le recours à une société extérieure ne se fait pas toujours sans heurt... On a quelquefois l’impression d'être pieds et poings liés avec un conseil extérieur : si je vais jusqu’au bout de ma démarche, je perds du savoir. En termes de supports d’investissements et de classes d’actifs, les choix là aussi se sont complexifiés. J’observe une appétence pour le risque pour les non-sachants qui n’ont pas ajusté leurs objectifs et leurs benchmarks. On note ainsi des ruées vers des investissements que l’on préférerait ne pas travailler, comme l’alternatif. Il ne faut pas seulement écouter les sirènes des rendements élevés, mais également regarder les drawdowns maximum. D’où l’intérêt de trouver une solution extérieure et l’intérêt de l’approche solution. Pour rappel, CCI Finance travaille avec une quinzaine de sociétés de gestion.

La collecte nette du Livret A et du Livret de développement durable est restée faible en juin dans le sillage de celle de mai, selon la Caisse des dépôts. Celle du Livret A a atteint le mois dernier 0,27 milliard d’euros, portant l’encours à 265,2 milliards tandis que celle du LDD s’est élevée à 0,22 milliard d’euros pour un encours à 99,0 milliards. Sur le premier semestre, les collectes nettes atteignent selon la CDC respectivement 15,15 et 6,43 milliards d’euros.

Le gendarme des marchés outre-Atlantique a engagé des poursuites à l’encontre du fondateur de Bitcoin Savings and Trust, Trendon Shavers, soupçonné d’avoir mis en œuvre une pyramide de Ponzi basée sur la célèbre monnaie virtuelle. La SEC a mis en garde le public face aux arnaques que peuvent faire naître les monnaies virtuelles.

Reuters rapporte de sources bancaires que la société de private equity a obtenu des taux d’intérêt parmi les plus bas jamais observés pour un LBO dans le cadre de son rachat de Denver Gardner pour 3,9 milliards de dollars. KKR, qui n’a pas souhaité réagir, aurait emprunté 2,425 milliards en prêts et 575 millions en dette au taux combiné moyen de 4,8%.

Souscrit par six investisseurs institutionnels, dont Suravenir, le véhicule n’a pas atteint son objectif dans un marché désintermédié encore balbutiant

Les devises à rendement, comme le real brésilien, le dollar australien ou néo-zélandais ou encore la roupie indienne, se sont dépréciées par rapport au dollar en mai et juin après les annonces de la Fed sur le programme d’assouplissement quantitatif. Cependant, le calme retrouvé sur les marchés favorise le retour du carry trade.