Réunie mardi, la commission mixte paritaire sur le projet de loi de sécurisation de l’emploi a validé la rédaction de l’article 1er généralisant la complémentaire santé à tous les salariés, en reprenant la version adoptée par l’Assemblée Nationale. Les clauses de désignations ont donc été rétablies, alors qu’elles avaient été supprimées par le Sénat. L’APAC déplore «un passage en force».

L’agence de notation a hissé la note de crédit de la Colombie de BBB- à BBB, citant les perspectives de croissance du pays à long terme et une vulnérabilité moins forte à des chocs extérieurs. Elle a également fait passer la perspective associée de positive à stable.

L’Autorité des marchés financiers met à disposition sur son site internet un guide pédagogique à l’attention des actionnaires individuels. Ce document est présenté comme un outil ayant «vocation d’aider à la bonne compréhension des décisions soumises au vote des actionnaires».

L’utilisation du yuan comme moyen de paiement international a progressé de 32,7% en mars par rapport au mois précédent, contre une hausse moyenne de 5,1% pour l’ensemble des devises, selon la société coopérative Swift chargée des transferts interbancaires. La France figurait le mois dernier au quatrième rang des utilisateurs offshore du yuan derrière le Royaume-Uni, Singapour et Taiwan.

Le conseil des gouverneurs du Mécanisme européen de stabilité (MES) a donné son accord de principe au programme d’assistance financière conclu avec Chypre. En vertu de ce plan, Nicosie recevra jusqu’à 10 milliards d’euros, dont 9 milliards via le MES et 1 milliard via le FMI.

Comme nous vous l’annoncions le 5 février 2013, la seconde phase de l’appel d’offres de la Coface est sur le point de démarrer avec le lancement de différents lots pour sélectionner les gérants qui intègreront la plateforme pilotée par Amundi. Le consultant bfinance qui organise l’appel d’offres va prochainement envoyer les questionnaires aux gérants pré sélectionnés sur 6 lots, que voici : Money Market Emerging Equity Corporate Euro Global HY Emerging Market Debt European Equity Il n’y a pas d’indication de taille de chaque lot pour le moment, néanmoins, le montant global avoisinera les 2 milliards d’euros.

Agé de 46 ans, il a la lourde tâche de former un nouveau gouvernement

Les commandes de biens durables aux Etats-Unis ont reculé de 5,7% en mars après un gain révisé de 4,3% le mois précédent, freinées par une chute de la demande dans l’aviation commerciale. Hors défense et aviation, elles ont progressé de 0,2% le mois dernier. «Le rapport confirme que le rythme de croissance s’est modéré entre le début et la fin du premier trimestre», souligne BNP Paribas.

Le conseil des gouverneurs du Mécanisme européen de stabilité (MES) a donné son accord de principe au programme d’assistance financière conclu avec Chypre. En vertu de ce plan, Nicosie recevra jusqu’à 10 milliards d’euros, dont 9 milliards via le MES et 1 milliard via le FMI.

Jean Pisani-Ferry, directeur du groupe de réflexion européen Bruegel, a été nommé mercredi par le Premier ministre Jean-Marc Ayrault commissaire général à la stratégie et à la prospective à compter du 1er mai 2013. Son mandat à la tête du think tank Bruegel, qu’il avait fondé en 2005, s’achevait le 1er janvier 2014. Son adjoint Guntram Wolff le remplace.

En marge du 2ème forum mondial des caisses de dépôt, qui s’est tenu à Paris, la Caisse des dépôts a signé avec son homologue marocain un accord bilatéral en vue de renouveler leur coopération institutionnelle sur les thèmes de la gestion de l’épargne, des dépôts et consignations ainsi que de la retraite.

La Réserve fédérale lancera le 8 octobre prochain la version redessinée du billet de 100 dollars, qui comprend de nouveaux éléments de sécurité tels qu’un ruban 3D et l’image évolutive d’une cloche à l’intérieur d’un encrier cuivré. Ce nouveau design avait été présenté en 2010 mais son lancement a été reporté en raison d’un retard de production inattendu.

Le BBVA a annoncé la cession à Integra et Profuturo de sa société de gestion de fonds de pension péruvienne Horizonte pour 544 millions de dollars, ce qui génère une plus-value de 272 millions de dollars.La banque espagnole avait par ailleurs indiqué le 22 avril avoir bouclé quatre jours plus tôt la cession de Horizonte Colombie à Aval Acciones y Valores et ses filiales Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente et Porvenir pour 541,4 millions de dollars, avec une plus-value de 263 millions de dollars.Ces deux transactions mettent un terme au processus des ventes des sociétés de gestion de fonds de pension du BBVA en Amérique latine. Au total, elles auront généré selon Funds People des plus-values de 1.765 millions d’euros sur un montant de 4 milliards.

Funds People rapporte que cette semaine deux sociétés de gestion de fonds ont été liquidées en Espagne. Il s’agit de Lazard Gestión, parce que la banque privée dont elle faisait partie arrête ses activités en Espagne, et de Banca Civica gestión de Activos, qui a été absorbée dans InverCaixa.

Filiale néerlandaise de BinckBank, Alex Vermogensbeheer a affiché pour le premier trimestre des souscriptions nettes de 310 millions de dollars. Quant à l’encours, il a gonflé en trois mois de 35 % à 1.363 millions d’euros fin mars, rapporte Fondsnieuws.

Le hedge fund Azentus Capital management, dirigé par un ancien spécialiste de la gestion pour compte propre de Goldman Sachs, Morgan Sze, a dégagé 8% depuis le début de l’année jusqu’au 22 avril, rapporte l’agence Bloomberg.Les actifs sous gestion d’Azentus s'élèvent à environ 1,6 milliard de dollars. Azentus, qui est basé à Hong Kong, gère un hedge fund offrant une approche multistratégie globale centrée sur l’Asie. L’indice de référence, le Eurekahedge Multistrategy Hedge Fund Index, affiche une performance de 2,3% sur les torise premiers mois de l’année.

Sun Life (Hong Kong) vient de recruter Stanley Ngan au poste nouvellement créé de responsable de la gestion d’actifs de son pôle retraites, rapporte Asian Investor.Stanley Ngan était précédemment responsable pour la région Asie-Pacifique de la sélection et de l’analyse de fonds chez UBS Wealth Management. Il a pour mission de développer l’offre de retraite de Sun Life et il a un mandat pour recruter un professionnel dans ce domaine. Les actifs de retraite sous gestion de Sun Life dans la région s'élèvent actuellement à environ 2 milliards de dollars.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The hedge fund Azentus Capital Management, led by a former proprietary trading specialist from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Sze, has earned 8% since the beginning of the year as of 22 April, the news agency Bloomberg reports. Assets under management at Azentus total about USD1.6bn. Azentus, which is based in Hong Kong, manages a hedge fund which offers a global multi-strategy approach focused on Asia. The benchmark index, the Eurekahedge Multistrategy Hedge Fund Inde, has earned 2.3% in the first three months of the year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at La Française as of the end of March totalled EUR37.57bn, compared with EUR37.26bn as of the end of December 2012, the asset management firm has announced in a press conference. In first quarter 2013, international inflows totalled nearly EUR300m, compared with EUR92m in first quarter 2012, and EUR511m in 2012 overall. International assets totalled EUR2.1bn as of the end of March 2013, or nearly 6% of total assets at La Française. Inflows for 2012 overall totalled EUR1.64bn, with equivalent contributions from securities (EUR830m, compared with a negative contribution of EUR824m in 2011) and real estate (EUR811m, compared with EUR1.14bn in 2011). If all goes well, La Française is aiming for assets of EUR50bn by 2015, the CEO of La Française AM, Patrick Rivière, confirms.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In January-March 2013, Janus Capital Group has earned net profits of USD28m, compared with USD3.12m in October-December, and USD22.6m in the corresponding period of 2012. As of the end of March, assets totalled USD161.8bn, compared with USD155.6bn three months previously, and USD158.9bn one year previously. Assets under management totalled an average of USD161.8bn in first quarter this year, compared with USD155.6bn in fourth quarter 2012, and USD158.9bn in the first three months of 2012.In January-March, market appreciation contributed a net USD11bn, while long-term funds saw net outflows of USD3.9bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of March, assets in the asset management unit at Ameriprise Financial, after adjustment, totalled USD466bn, compared with USD455bn three months previously, and USD463bn twelve months previously.Assets managed by the British firm Threadneedle totalled USD128bn, as at the end of December, compared with USD123bn as of 31 March 2012, while assets at Columbia totalled USD341bn, USD300bn three months earlier, and USD344bn as of 31 March 2012.Year on year, asstes at Ameriprise rose 1% to USD466bn, compared with USD463bn, while positive market effects were partially offset by net outflows and currency effects.For first quarter as a whole, asset management at Ameriprise underwent net outflows of USD5.7bn, due to net redemptions from institutional management, while retail flows were neutral overall. Strong net retail subscriptions at Threadneedle were offset by net redemptions from Columbia.Pre-tax operating profits for the asset management unit in January-March 2013 totalled USD144m, compared with USD141m in October-December, and USD131m in first quarter 2012.Net profits for continued operations at Ameriprise Financial for the first quarter totalled USD388m, compared with USD336m in October-December, and USD245m in the corresponding period of last year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Intech Investment Management, a subsidiary of Janus Capital, on 23 April announced launch of its suite of Emerging Markets (EM) strategies, which include Emerging Markets Managed Volatility, Emerging Markets Low Volatility and Emerging Markets Core, reflecting increased institutional investor demand for these types of products. These products are benchmarked to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The Managed Volatility strategy has an excess return target of 3% to 4% above the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, with a risk target of approximately 25% less than the benchmark, on average. The Low Volatility strategy seeks market-like returns with a risk target of approximately 35% less than the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, on average. Intech’s Emerging Markets Core strategy seeks an excess return of 3% to 4% above the benchmark, with 3% to 4% tracking error. Intech, founded in 1987, has approximately USD40bn in assets under management, and offers investors highly rigorous mathematical equity investment strategies, whose objective is to earn long-term returns higher than those of a target benchmark index, while reducing the risk of significant underperformance.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The La Française group is remaining faithful to its objective of becoming a European leader among multi-specialist asset management firms. «We are therefore going to continue to focus on core expertise, while developing partnerships to assist our development,” the chairman of the board at La Française, Xavier Lépine, said on 23 April at a press conference.With this in mind, the firm is in the process of setting up a planned merger between UFG Courtage and Colet Dupont Partenaires, which will become CD Partenaires, with an increase in the stake held by La Française AM to 75% of capital in the new platform.CD Partenaires will offer a global range dedicated to independent financial advisers through open architecture, “but not to everyone,” says Lépine. In other words, there will be a qualitative selection of manager partners, with a specific range of a few life insurance policies. With capitalisation of slightly over EUR2bn, CD Partnenaires, whose commercial resources are also expected to be enlarged, is already positioned as the second-largest platform on the French market.Another project planned for 2013 is a merger, recently reported by Newsanagers (16 April 2013) of New Alpha Am and NextAM, to create the European leader in asset management incubation Alongside this new unit, La Française is planning to launch a holding company separate from Next AM, which would aim to assist independent players with distribution both in France and abroad. The aim is to construct a portfolio of 4 to 7 positions, with two projects under study, one in France, and the other elsewhere.Lastly, as announced slightly under one year ago (Newsmanagers of 14 June 2012), La Française is entering a new area of business, investment solutions, with the creation of La Française Global Investment Solutions (LFGIS). This third pillar of the group, which is now operational, comes as an addition to its securities and real estate activities at La Française AM, and its incubation activities at NexT AM.La Française GIS aims to offer investors a platform which incorporates absolute return, quantitative management and credit management type alternative management techniques, as well as a platform for custom investment solutions via mandates or dedicated funds, or index-linked issues to meet liability/asset balance issues related to contractual or legal obligations.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Xavier Linsenmaier, 42, is joining UBGI - Groupe Union Bancaire Privée, the Paris-based asset management firm for Union Bancaire Privée, specialised in the management of convertible bonds, as a portfolio manager specialised in this asset class, and particularly the Asian market. He comes as an addition to convertible teams following the launch of the UBAM Convertibles Global fund. Linsemmaier began his career at JP Morgan, and joined proprietary trading at Bred Banque Populaire in 1996. In 2000, he becamse Deputy CIO at CCR Gestion (UBS AM), and founded the first volatility arbitrage fund, before joining the convertibles arbitrage hedge fund at Equalt, formerly CPRA2M, in 2003. From 2005, he specialised in Asian markets, as head of the Asian convertibles desk at HSBC in Hong Kong. More recently, he was a partner at Acropole AM, where he managed Asian convertibles, and contributed to credit funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Since March, Markus Steiner, who had been CEO of UBS Fund Management (Switzerland) at UBS Global Asset Management, is managing director for Switzerland at State Street, according to reports from finews. He is expected to replace the country head of the US group, René Charrière.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Investment Europe reports that Alex Merla, senior director at Société Générale in Milan, has been appointed as head of sales for Lyxor Asset Management funds in Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Latin America. He will report to Christophe Baurand, global head of sales & marketing, and will lead a team of five people. Vérionique Parizet will hold the same responsibilities for Central Europe.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Sun Life (Hong Kong) has recruited Stanley Ngan for the newly-creation position of head of asset management in its pension unit, Asian Investor reports.Ngan had previously been responsible for fund selection and analysis for the Asia-Pacific region at UBS Wealth Management. He will aim to develop the pension fund range from Sun Life, and has a mandate to recruited a professional in this area.Pension assets under management at Sun Life in the region currently total about USD2bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Netherlands-based affiliate of BinckBank, Alex Vermogensbeheer, has posted net subscriptions in first quarter of USD310m. Assets have increased in three months by 35%, to EUR1.363bn as of the end of March, Fondsnieuws reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Funds People reports that this week, two fund management firms closed down in Spain. They are Lazard Gestión, because the private bank to which it belongs has ceased activities in Spain, and Banca Civica Gestión de Activos, which was absorbed into InverCaixa.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) has appointed Christopher Schnabel as sales director in Germany. He reports to Jochen Meyers, managing director of sales & Relationship management for SGSS in Germany and Austria.Christopher Schnabel will be responsible for further developing SGSS’ presence and growth in Germany, focussing in particular on pension funds as well as church and non-profit organizations which require Master-KAG (Centralisation of all assets of an institutional investor into legal vehicles (Spezialfonds) administered by one German Investment Company (KAG) in order to centralise and streamline accounting, reporting and risk management) and trustee services for their investments.Christopher Schnabel began his career at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking in Frankfurt in 2008, where he was a member of the Financial Institution Group covering the German and Austrian markets.