Le groupe Aberdeen Asset Management a annoncé le bouclage de l’acquisition du gestionnaire de fonds américain Artio Global Investors, selon un communiqué publié le 22 mai. Aberdeen a déboursé 179,7 millions de dollars sur la base d’un prix de 2,75 dollars par action et d’une prime de 46,3 millions de dollars par rapport à la valeur de l’actif net au 31 mars 2013. Cette opération permet à Aberdeen de développer ses activités en Amérique du Nord, avec une extension de son réseau de distribution et un renforcement de ses capacités dans le fixed income. Les actifs sous gestion d’Artio s'élevaient à 10,6 milliards de dollars à la date du 17 mai 2013, pour l’essentiel dans l’obligataire.

La société de gestion Newton, qui fait partie de BNY Mellon Investment Management, a annoncé le recrutement de Khuram Sharih au poste nouvellement créé d’analyste high yield au sein de l'équipe Global Fixed Income, selon un communiqué publié le 21 mai.Khuram Sharih travaillera aux côtés de Sebastien Poulin, qui a rejoint l'équipe en février 2012. Il sera directement rattaché à Parmeshwar Chadha, qui pilote plus de 1 milliard de livres d’actifs sous gestion dans l’obligataire high yield. Khuram Sharih travaillait précédemment chez Cairn Capital en tant qu’analyste senior sur le crédit.

Occitan Capital Partners, une société de hedge funds créée par d’anciens traders de Nomura et Boussard & Gavaudan, ferme ses pertes après deux ans de pertes, rapporte Financial News, citant quatre personnes proches du dossier. La société avait obtenu un investissement de Reservoir Capital Group et de Nomura.

Emiel van den Heiligenberg, CIO du groupe solutions multiclasses d’actifs chez BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP), va rejoindre plus tard cette année Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) comme directeur de l’allocation d’actifs en remplacement de David North qui a quitté l’entreprise au bout de douze ans d’ancienneté, rapporte Fundweb.

Selon Fundweb, Lloyds Banking Group procède à la vente de 15 % supplémentaires du gestionnaire St James’s Place (SJP) pour 500 millions de livres, afin de renforcer son capital.Une participation de 20 % avait déjà été vendue en mars, mais le groupe doit observer une période de blocage de 180 jours au minimum avant de pouvoir vendre les 21 % de SJP qu’il détient encore.

Le suisse Partners Group (28 milliards d’euros) indique avoir revendu sa participation dans le britannique Cabot Credit Management (7,7 milliards de livres d’encours) à une filiale du capital investisseur J. C. Flowers & Co, pour un montant qui n’a pas été divulgué.En avril 2011, Partners Group avait acquis une participation dans Cabot conjointement avec AnaCap Financial Partners, pour faciliter la fusion entre Cabot Financial et Apex Credit Management, une transaction qui devrait être bouclée dans un très proche avenir.

Vanguard vient de lancer sur le London Stock Exchange quatre nouveaux ETF à réplication physique, renforçant sa gamme déjà composée de cinq ETF sur le marché européen. Ces nouveaux fonds domiciliés en Irlande couvrent l’Europe, l’Asie hors Japon, le Japon et le monde : Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe UCITS ETF, Vanguard FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan UCITS ETF, Vanguard FTSE Japan UCITS ETF et Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield UCITS ETF.Le total des frais sur encours (TFE ou TER en anglais) de ces fonds «low cost» s’échelonne entre 0,15 % et 0,29 %. Vanguard a drainé près de 290 milliards de dollars d’encours sur les ETF depuis le lancement de son premier produit en 2001.

Swiss Life Asset Managers a enregistré au premier trimestre une collecte nette de 1,6 milliard de francs suisses, selon les chiffres communiqués le 23 mai par le groupe d’assurances Swiss Life. La société a ainsi poursuivi sa progression dans le domaine de la gestion de fortune de clients externes grâce à des mandats supplémentaires. Le groupe affiche un rendement net des placements non annualisé de 1,4% entre janvier et mars, contre 0,9% pour la période correspondante de 2012.

Outre l’annonce ce jeudi par le groupe d’assurances Swiss Life d’une collecte nette de 1,6 milliard de francs suisses pour sa société de gestion au premier trimestre 2013, cette dernière, dont une partie de la gestion est implantée à Zürich, en Suisse alémanique - tandis que le reste est basée à Paris - vient d’officialiser l’ouverture d’un bureau de représentation en Suisse romande, à Genève. Le bureau exclusivement dédié à la distribution a pour objectif de constituer une nouvelle base de clientèle, a indiqué Jean-Pierre Grimaud, directeur général de Swiss Life Asset Management (SLAM) interrogé par Newsmanagers. La clientèle recherchée est, pour le moment, institutionnelle, à partir des caisses de pension – notamment au sein du GIP (Groupement des institutions de prévoyance) -, des assureurs et surtout des banques privées. Pour la circonstance SLAM a recruté Julien Boissié, un ancien de Tocqueville Finance, qui débutera seul mais pourra, en fonction des résultats, être secondé à terme. En chiffres, Swiss Life AM espère engranger entre 100 et 200 millions de francs d’actifs sous gestion sur dix-huit mois sachant que, selon Jean-Pierre Grimaud, la société part dans cette partie de la Confédération de «presque zéro»...Côté produits, la société de gestion ne prévoit pas de lancer de produits particuliers à l’occasion de l’ouverture de son bureau. Elle propose d’ores et déjà en Suisse une gamme de fonds de droit suisse exprimé en francs ainsi que plusieurs fonds de droit luxembourgeois et de droit français. «L’intérêt de ces derniers produits est d'être libellés en euros», a précisé Jean-Pierre Grimaud qui a reconnu que le succès n’avait pas été au rendez vous en Suisse alémanique auprès des investisseurs institutionnels. En revanche, à Genève, la séduction devrait opérer selon le dirigeant qui table notamment sur ces fonds «minimum variance» et sur ses fonds «risk parity». A cela s’ajoute une offre immobilière importante chez Swiss Life AM qui compte notamment des produits collectifs et une offre luxembourgeoise avec une capacité de sourcing importante sur la France, l’Allemagne et la Suisse en mesure de plaire aux investisseurs helvétiques.

Spécialiste des fonds chez Bank Julius Baer, Stefan Paulus a été recruté comme senior relationship manager chez Dexia Asset Management pour servir la clientèle institutionnelle en Suisse alémanique et au Liechstenstein.Quelque 80 fonds (actions, obligations, ISR, alternatifs) de Dexia AM bénéficient d’un agrément de commercialisation en Suisse.

Pour un montant non divulgué, le hambourgeois Union Investement Real Estate (UIRE) a acheté à BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions Immobilien Schweiz AG un centre logistique de 30.740 mètres carrés situé à Oftringer (60 km à l’Ouest de Zurich) loué à Fiege Logistik Schweiz AG. Cet actif est affecté au portefeuille du fonds immobilier offert au public mais réservé aux institutionnels UniInstitutional European Real Estate.Les fonds immobiliers d’UIRE détiennent au total 18 actifs logistiques pour un volume total de 630 millions d’euros.

La société nordique Tundra Fonder a lancé un fonds actions asiatiques hors Japon pour l’ancien spécialiste des marchés émergents de BankInvest Jon Scheiber, révèle Citywire Global. L’intéressé avait quitté BankInvest en mai 2012 et rejoint Tundra début 2013. Le fonds aura une approche quantitative, et s’appellera Tundra QuAsia fund.

Eva Gottfridsdotter-Nilsson, directrice générale de Länsförsäkringar Fondförvaltning, l’activité de gestion d’actifs de la banque suédoise Länsförsäkringar Bank, a été réelue en tant que présidente de l’association suédoise des fonds d’investissement, Fondbolagens förening, pour une année supplémentaire.Peter Branner, de SEB Fonder, a été réelu vice-président. Trois nouveaux membres ont été accueillis au sein du conseil d’administration de l’association : Thomas Hedberg (Swedbank Robur), Javiera Ragnartz (Handelsbanken Fonder) et Maria Rengefors (Nordea Fonder).Enfin, Fondbolagens förening a intégré deux nouvelles sociétés : M&G Investments et KPMG.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Tracy Collins, a senior associate partner in the charities team at Sarasin & Partners, will in July 2013 join Rothschild Wealth Management as director of the charities team. She will be based in London, and will report to Nadu Patel, head of charities in the wealth management unit in the United Kingdom. Patel joined from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in 2010.Meanwhile, Mark Kary, who joined Rothschild in 2010 and was appointed as head of wealth management in 2012 (he is the former CEO of Polar Capital), has announced the recruitment of Charles Costa Duarte and Jake van Beever, to form a team of wealth management client advisers. The two men had previously worked at TSB Private Banking, where they were responsible for assisting ultra-high net worth (UHNW) retail clients.

U.S. prime money market funds (MMFs) increased their exposure to eurozone banks in April, although asset allocations to these institutions remain well below 2011 levels, according to Fitch Ratings. As of end-April 2013, MMF allocations to eurozone banks represented 15.1% of assets under management within Fitch’s sample of the 10 largest U.S. prime money funds, a 14% increase over the prior month. MMFs’ eurozone allocations have almost doubled since end-June 2012, a sign of improving investor sentiment toward the region. This resumption in eurozone allocations also suggests that the March decline was a tentative retreat given the brief market uncertainty after the Cyprus banking system failure.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US manager Mary Chris Gay has left Legg Mason Capital Management, according to several sources. She has been replaced by her colleague, Sam Peters. Gay has since 1998 been manager of the Dublin-domiciled fund LMCM Value, whose assets under management total about USD2.3bn, and which had previously been managed by Bill Miller. Gay, who joined Legg Mason in 1988 as an analyst, would like to take her career in a new direction.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } LHI Leasing has selected Caceis as a depository bank for its dedicated funds, in compliance with the AIFM directive and its expected transposition into the German law on capital investments (KAGB0, according to a statement released on 22 May. LHI and Caceis will soon be creating the necessary organisation to create two large funds in the areas of real estate and renewable energies. “Caceis, as part of its depositary banking services, offers all asset classes which are indispensable to the creation of funds, and may integrate other asset classes. This factor played a crucial role in our decision,” says Oliver Porr, CEO of LHI Leasing and chairman of the board of directors at the German dedicated fund association (VGF). In addition to real estate and renewable energies, LHI is planning to launch funds specialised in reactors and aircraft leasing, for which Caceis will serve as depository bank.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } After beating its objectives for the 2012-2013 fiscal year ending in March, the Paris office of Legg Mason, led by Vincent Passa, has gotten a rolling start to the new fiscal year. Assets under management may top USD1bn by 2014, possibly duing first quarter, Vincent Passa has told Newsmanagers, at the annual Legg Mason conference in London. Passa intends to achieve his objective, largely by pushing an absolute performance bond strategy managed by Brandywine, a Legg Mason entity specialised in fixed income. Brandywine, which has about USD38bn in assets under management in fixed income, launched a new version of the bond strategy about one year ago, which allows negative bets on durations and currencies. The strategy, which has assets of about USD2bn (including mandates) is in the process of being registered in France, and in other European countries. In addition to this new product range, which is expected to be made available in the next few weeks, Legg Mason also plans to foreground complementary strategies on US equities, which have proven their mettle and which can offer attractive outlooks in a context of recovery in the US economy. This is the case with the Clearbridge US Aggressive Growth fund, whose assets under management total slightly over USD700m, an all-cap size fund which will soon be 30 years old, and which invests only in businesses which will be likely to provide sustained growth across cycles. The fund is currently underweight in tech and overweight in the biotech sector. Passa is also counting on two other US equity funds, the Royce Small Cap Opportunities (over USD600m in assets under management), which is expected to performe very well in rebound phases, and the Legg Mason Capital Management Opportunity fund, managed by Bill Miller. In addition to US equity funds, Passa is also counting on a fund of Asian debt denominated in local currencies from Western Am, which is expected to deliver returns of about 8% to 9%, with volatility of 8%. “We would like to offer French investors products which are appropriate for the environment and which perform well. That is the case for the products which we are highlighting and which are also complementary,” says Passa. If current trends continue, the Paris office, which has three employees and covers not only France but also Monaco and Benelux, may also be enlarged.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Taiwan-based asset management firm Yuanta Securities Investment Trust has signed an agreement with China Resources to create a joint venture in Shenzhen. A fixed income fund will be launched later in the year, Asian Investor states. In 2014, a cross-border ETF will be created. It will be traded in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } “Taking advantage of an anticyclical opportunity to invest in a very well-located property,” the German firm Deka Immobilien has acquired the Ronda building located at San Pedro 5 in Barcelona from a family office.The 4,000 square metre property, with 2,600 square metres of office space and 1,400 square metres of shops, was acquired for EUR19m, and will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund WestInvest InterSelect (DE0009801423).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss firm Partners group (EUR28bn) has announced that it has resold its stake in the British firm Cabot Credit Management (GBP7.7bn in assets) to an affiliate of the private equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co, for a sum which has not been disclosed.In April 2011, Partners Group acquired a stake in Cabot in conjunction with AnaCap Financial Partners, to facilitate the merger between Cabot Financial and Apex Credit Management, in a transaction which is expected to be completed in the very near future.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Occitan Capital Partners, a hedge fund firm founded by former Nomura and Boussard & Gavaudan traders, is closing down after two years of losses, Financial News reports, citing four sources familiar with the matter. The firm had received investments from Reservoir Capital Group and Nomura.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Newton, which is part of BNY Mellon Investment Management, has announced the recruitment of Khuran Sharih to the newly-created position of high yield analyst in the Global Fixed Income team, according to a statement released on 21 May. Sharih will work alongside Sebastien Poulin, who joined the team in February 2012. He will report directly yo Parmeshwar Chadha, who is responsible for more than GBP1bn in assets under management in high yield. Sharih previously worked at Cairn Cpaital as a senior credit analyst.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aberdeen Asset Management and its affiliates have announced that they have completed the acquisition of Artio Global Investors Inc., a U.S. publicly-listed asset manager, effective as of the close of business on May 21, 2013. Aberdeen has paid consideration of USD179.7 million, based on a price of USD2.75 per share. This represents a premium of USD46.3 million over Artio’s unaudited net asset value as of March 31, 2013. This acquisition will expand Aberdeen’s U.S. business, deepen its distribution network in the region and add to its existing fixed income capabilities. As of May 17, 2013, Artio managed assets of approximately USD10.6 billion.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The range of WisdomTree high dividend equity ETFs on 22 May gained an additional reference, in the WisdomTree U.S. Dividend Growth Fund (NasdaqGM ticker: DGRW).The product aims to replicate the fundamental weighting index WTDGI, which covers about 300 companies which pay dividends and combine the best characteristics for growth and quality as measured by long-term growth outlooks and returns on owners’ equity.The total expense ratio is 0.28%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } NYSE Euronext has announced that on 22 May, two ETFs from Lyxor Asset Management were admitted to trading on the Paris stock exchange, bringing the total number of ETFs listed on European markets of NYSE Euronext to 660, of which 576 are primary listings.The products, both of which charge fees of 0.40%, are the LYX Unlev VIX EUR (ticker: ULVO), which replicates the S&P VIX Futures Enhanced Roll, and the LYX Unlev VIX USD (ULVX), which uses the same index.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Lyxor is offering a new investment strategy in senior European debt, “Lyxor European Senior Debt,” which will be released by the British affiliate of Lyxor, Lyxor AM announced on 22 May at a press conference.The LBO loans market is not highly trafficked by institutional investors, who are generally exposed to senior loans via collateralized loan obligations (CLO). “The asset class is not highly present among institutionals, but the market is rather large to construct diversified portfolios,” says Thierry de Vergnes, head of debt management at Lyxor AM. The European loan market was driven by 245 businesses in 2011 and 2012, which borrowed a total of about EUR72bn. In first quarter 2013, EUR15bn in loans were issued.The financial crisis has resulted in the emergence of more favourable conditions for purchasers of loans at a time when investment capacity in CLOs is in the process of fading away. Weaker demand by European CLOs, whose reinvestment periods are generally maturing, and higher capital needs on the part of banks have led to an increase in margins on primary issues. This improvement in investment conditions has modified the investor base, as debt funds and direct investors are gradually replacing CLOs and banks. A considerable advantage compared with high yield bonds which have a set coupon is that loans have variable rate coupons, which represent partial coverage in the event of a rise in interest rates.The strategy offered by Lyxor, whose capacity may reach EUR200m, aims to generate annual returns 6% to 7% above the Eurbor 3-month rate on a 6 to 8 year horizon. Retail shares will aim to deliver annual revenues of approximately the Euribor 3-month +5%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stefan Paulus, a specialist in funds at Bank Julius Baer, has been recruited as senior relationship manager at Dexia Asset Management, to serve institutional clients in German-speaking Switzerland and Liechtenstein. About 80 funds (equities, bonds, SRI, hedge funds) from Dexia AM are licensed for sale in Switzerland.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The CNMV has issued a sales license for Spain to Eurizon MM Collection, a Luxembourg-registered Sicav umbrella fund from the Italian firm Eurizon Capital, with three sub-funds specialised in Japan, China and Brazil, respectively, Funds People reports. They are Daiwa Equity Japan, managed by Daiwa AM, Itaú Equity Brazil Domestic Dynamics, managed by Itaú Unibanco, and Guosen RMB Fixed Income, managed by Guosen Securities.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In first quarter 2013, net profits for the private banking unit at ABN Amro totalled EUR35m, compared with EUR57m in the corresponding period of last year, which was marked by significant one-time profits. In addition, the decline is due to a slight decline in margins and a higher level of pension costs.As of 31 March, assets in the private banking unit totalled EUR165.1bn, compared with EUR163.1bn three months previously, with inflows and outflows evenly balanced.