Rabobank, le groupe coopératif néerlandais de services financiers négocierait actuellement un accord avec les autorités américaines et britanniques concernant le scandale de manipulation des taux interbancaires, rapporte L’Agefi qui cite une information de Bloomberg. L’amende pourrait se situer entre 330 et 470 millions d’euros. Rabobank a déjà indiqué coopérer sur le sujet avec les autorités de l’Union européenne, du Japon, de Hong Kong, de Singapour, de Suisse et des Pays-Bas, Même si Rabobank a annoncé sa sortie du panel de l’Euribor, des procès ne peuvent être exclus, précise le quotidien.

JPMorgan a annoncé prévoir la suppression de 17.000 postes sur deux ans, principalement dans le crédit immobilier (13.000 à 15.000 emplois) et la banque de détail, rapporte Le Financial Times. Ces réductions, qui représenteront 7 % des salariés de la banque, seront partiellement compensées par des recrutements dans les métiers de l’asset management, la banque privée et la banque d’affaires, précise le quotidien.

Le fonds immobilier institutionnel WestInvest TargetSelect Logistics compte un actif de plus avec l’acquisition par Deka Immobilien de PCC II à Brême, une installation logistique de 23.700 mètres carrés achetée 25 millions d’euros et qui sera livrée en novembre 2013 pour être louée en totalité à Daimler Benz. Deka Immobilien avait déjà acheté l’ensemble PCC I (16.000 mètres carrés) en 2010.

Muzinich & Co. a annoncé mardi 28 février avoir enregistré 4,2 milliards d’euros de souscriptions nettes en 2012, ce qui porte le montant de ses actifs sous gestion à 16,8 milliards d’euros fin décembre, soit une hausse de l’ordre de 60% par rapport à 2011. Pour sa part, le bureau parisien, couvrant la zone Europe francophone – France, Belgique, Suisse romande, Luxembourg et Monaco – a drainé 1,7 milliards d’euros de souscriptions nettes, essentiellement auprès de clients tels que des banques privées, des family offices, des multi-managers et des institutionnels, et représente plus de 3 milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion. En 2013, Muzinich & Co. entend poursuivre la commercialisation du LongShortCreditYield, dernier compartiment du UCITs « Muzinich Funds » lancé en juin 2012 qui affiche 70 millions d’euros d’encours à ce jour. La société de gestion compte également activement proposer ses deux fonds de Loans lancés en 2006 et 2008 après une refonte du prospectus en vue d’en améliorer la liquidité, précise un communiqué."Deux autres projets pour lesquels des recrutements ont été effectués sont en voie d'être finalisés», ajoute-t-on chez Muzinich & Co. «Le premier concerne le lancement d’une stratégie «Global Tactical» dans le Corporate Crédit qui aura pour objectif de délivrer une performance absolue via une allocation dans toutes les signatures, sur toutes les zones géographiques, y compris les pays émergents, et une gestion de la duration. Le second consiste à accompagner le mouvement de désintermédiation bancaire en Europe en lançant des fonds de droit luxembourgeois investis dans des dettes de sociétés de taille moyenne avec un EBITDA de 10 à 50 millions d’Euros."Enfin, pour le développement et le service des clients suisses et belges, Eric Pictet, directeur général du bureau de Paris, doit s’appuyer sur une nouvelle collaboratrice qui vient de rejoindre la structure parisienne.

Hans Stoter, head of credit, a été promu CIO d’ING Investment Management en remplacement de Maark Weber, qui devient executive vice president of structured assets, loans & alternatives aux Etats-Unis, rapporte Citywire.Le nouveau directeur des investissements sera remplacé à la tête du pôle crédit par Tim Dowling, qui reste basé à New York et qui fait partie de l’équipe des obligations haut rendement américaines. Tim Dowling reprendra les activités de Hans Stoter comme gérant de portefeuille principal sur deux fonds haut rendement d’ING et un mandat pour Danske Invest.

Pour un montant non divulgué, Cecabank, la banque des caisses d'épargne espagnoles, achète l’activité de dépositaire de fonds d’investissement, de sicav et de fonds de pension d’Ibercaja, qui représente un volume de 9,2 milliards d’euros, rapporte Funds People. Le contrat a été signé fin 2012 et le transfert des fonds gérés par Ibercaja (4,47 milliards d’euros) à Cecabank a déjà été bouclé.Avec cette transaction, Cecabank devient le leader espagnol des dépositaires, avec quelque 44 milliards d’euros.

Le gestionnaire londonien Plurimi Capital a lancé la commercialisation du Plurimi Sustainable Income Fund 1 qui se veut le premier fonds de développement durable focalisé sur les obligations européennes à haut rendement et dont l’encours représente déjà 150 millions d’euros.L’équipe de gestion de ce fonds destiné principalement aux investisseurs institutionnels (souscription minimale: 1 million d’euros) prendra en compte en dehors de l’analyse fondamentale des titres le résultat d’un examen des aspects développement durable des émetteurs, notamment en matière de gouvernance et de transparence.L’objectif de performance se situe à 8-12 % avec une volatilité de 4-5 %.La commission de gestion est fixée à 1,25 % et la commission de performance sera de 20 % pour un taux butoir de 1,25 % avec high watermark.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Hans Stoter, head of credit, has been promoted to CIO of ING Investment Management, replacing Mark Weber, who becomes executive vice president of structured assets, loans & alternatives, based in the United States, Citywire reports.The new chief investment officer will be replaced as head of the credit unit by Tim Dowling, who will continue to be based in New York, and who belongs to the US high yield bond team. Dowling will take over the activities of Stoter as principal portfolio manager for ING high yield funds and a mandate for Danske Invest.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For an undiscloased amount, Cecabank, the bank for the Spanish savings banks, has acquired the fund investment depositary, Sicav and pension fund operation of Ibercaja, which has a total volume of EUR9.2bn, Funds People reports. The contract was signed in late 2012, and the transfer of managed accounts by Ibercaja (EUR4.47bn) to Cecabank has already been completed.With this transaction, Cecabank becomes the Spanish leader in depositary, with about EUR44bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The State Street Investor confidence index for February 2013 is up 8.7 points, to 94.8, compared with a corrected level of 86.1 last month. As in January, the increase is primarily attributable to North American institutions, with the regional confidence index up to 99, 13.9 points higher than the previous month (85.1 in corrected figures).Institutional investors in Europe are also showing more optimism, up from 89.4 (corrected) to 92.2 in February. However, the confience of institutional investors in Asia is down, with the regional index at 85.5, down 4.5 points compared with a corrected level of 91 points in January.“In February, we observed continuing demand for equities on the part of institutional investors,” says Ken Froot, creator of the monthly index. “Since the record lows of November last year, appetite for risk has recovered strongly. However, some risks are still taking shape on the horizon, which may soon give cause for reflection, including fiscal negotiations in the United States, the results of elections in Italy, and the direction that the policy of the US Federal Reserve will take. Caution is therefore appropriate. However, we can reasonably conclude that strong and sustained divestment by institutions in the past few years has ended, at least for the moment.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The international pension programme (IPP) market is continuing to develop rapidly, according to the fifth annual study by Towers Watson of multinational groups (“International Pension Plan Survey.”) The study found 33 new international pension programmes in 2012, bringing the total number of such programmes at businesses surveyed to 403. The survey finds that IPPs have developed in multi-country formats, in pan-European structures such as professional retirement institutions (IORP). Defined-contribution programmes remain the most popular form of IPPs, outstripping defined-benefit IPPs that still exist, but which are generally closed to new members. The survey also finds that a new defined-contribution programme was created last year. The number of investment funds offered by IPPs, and their sophistication, are continuing to increase, as about 40% of IPPs offer up to 10 investment funds, and the others offer more than 10. About 40% of IPPs now offer lifestyle options, which take into account demographics, risk profiles, and currencies. “The development of institutional investment funds has led to a reduction in costs for IPP products. That can bring substantial savings for those members who have passive strategies that charge only six basis points. Such fee levels can put these products advantageously in competition with charges on defined-contribution plans in the United States and the United Kingdom,” says Michael Brough, a senior consultant at Towers Watson.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bonuses paid by Wall Street investment banks in 2012 were up about 8% compared with 2011, according to statistics published yesterday by Thomas DiNapoli, comptroller for the State of New York, Les Echos reports. Establishments covered by the study paid out about USD20bn. The average bonus rose 9%, to USD121,900, faster than the total sum, as the haul was shared between fewer recipients. The finance industry has still not returned to pre-crisis personnel levels. Staff taken into consideration by the study were down by 1,000 people in 2012 to 169,700. Compared with about 28,000 jobs lost during the crisis, the finance industry has created only 8,500 so far, for a net loss of 19,800.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Financial Times reports that JPMorgan will lay off 17,000 jobs over two years, largely in mortgage (13,000 to 15,000 jobs) and consumer banking. The job cuts, which represent 7% of the bank’s employees, are partially offset by recruitments in the asset management, private banking and commercial banking professions, the newspaper reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Barclays posted net inflows of about CHF3bn last year in Switzerland, Agefi Switerland reports. Assets under management totalled CHF22bn as of the end of 2012, compared with about CHF18bn one year previously. This figure corresponds to assets under management in Switzerland and abroad by employees based in Switzerland, as well as assets managed on the Swiss platform by employees of the rest of the group. Barclays activities in Switzerland have thus doubled in size, with the proportion in private management as such and activities on the platform made available to other entities of the group. At a time when the financial marketplace is going through a reorganisation which is considered necessary, “Switzerland remains a key element in the international development of Barclays,” says the group’s CEO, Patrick Ramsey. Groupwide, assets under management total GBP186bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management by Swiss Life Asset Managers, a brand from Swiss Life which since the beginning of this year has included activities in the Investment Management sector, as of the end of December totalled CHF148bn, compared with CHF134bn the previous year, according to a statement released on 27 February.Of these assets, the proportion from third-party clients increased 24%, due to new mandates and positive market evolution, and now tops CHF20bn. Net inflows alone totalled over CHF2bn.In 2012, Swiss Life improved its corrected cost/income ratio taking into account one-time elements to 26%. From CHF788m, they are up to CHF993m, as corrected net profits totalled CHF681m, up 22% compared with the previous year (CHF557m).Largely due to amortisations of intangible assets of AWD (CHF578m), supplementary provisions for lawsuits, and restructuring costs related to the new “Swiss Life 2015” programme, net profits total CHF93m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Several Goldman Sachs hedge funds have bought up loans for several million dollars to Lehman Brothers, from firms including Elliott Management and Empyrean Investments, the news agency Bloomberg reports. Goldman Sachs is also reported to have participated directly in the operation.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The most recent Emerging-Markets-Investmentbarometer (January) from J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) finds that only 2.7% of 2,000 Germans surveyed by GfK had already invested in “growth regions” of the world, compared with 2.8% in the November survey. However, 96.9% of respondents, compared with 97.1% in November, do not plan to invest in these regions, which Jean-Guido Servais, head of marketing for continental Europe at JPMAM considers difficult to understand.These references certainly point to some scepticism, as 42.7% of Germans do not even know the expression “emerging markets,” while 35.7% (compared with 36.8% in November) consider emerging markets much more risky than euro zone government bonds. However, 36.2% of respondents say they are absolutely not interested in investments in emerging markets, compared with 35% in November.The percentage of respondents who say they plan to invest in emerging markets has risen slightly, from 3.2% in November to 4.5% in January.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On earnings of EUR1.192bn, compared with EUR1.151bn in 2011, which represents an increase of 4%, Axa Investment Managers has posted operating profits of EUR223m, compared with EUR215m (+4%), Christophe Coquema, global COO, announced on 26 February.CEO Dominique Carel-Billiard has also announced that assets managed for insurance companies of the Axa group represent 68% of the total, while institutionals outside the group and distributors represent 20% and 12% of assets under management, respectively. Fixced income represents 55% of assets, compared with 21% for the multi-asset class arm, 16% in alternative, and 8% for equities.Assets increased 8% to EUR554bn, largely due to EUR45bn in market appreciation, EUR2bn in forex gains, and EUR3bn in net inflows (after three years of net outflows), while changes to the perimeter cost EUR9bn, of which EUR6bn were related to the partial sale of life insurance, savings and retirement activities of the Axa group in the United Kingdom. In 2011, Axa IM had net outflows of EUR1bn, and Carrel-Billiard says that net inflows in 2012 actually totalled EUR9-10bn, but that the ultimate total of EUR3bn corresponds to the “provoked” withdrawal of an unprofitable industrial employee savings client.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Muzinich & Co. on Tuesday, 2 8 February announced that it posted EUR4.2bn in net subscriptions in 2012, bringing its total assets under management to EUR16.8bn as of the end of December, an increase of about 60% compared with 2011. For its part, the Paris office, which serves the French-speaking European countries – France, Belgium, French-speaking Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco – has attracted EUR1.7bn in net subscriptions, largely from clients such as private banks, family offices, multi-managers and institutionals, and has over EUR3bn in assets under management. In 2013, Muzinich & Co. plans to continue sales of the LongShortCreditYield fund, the most recent sub-fund of the UCITS-compliant Muzinich Funds, launched in June 2012, with EUR70bn in assets at present. The asset management firm is also planning to actively sell its two Loans funds launched in 2006 and 2008, after a revision of the prospectus in order to improve liquidity, a statement says. “Two other projects for which recruitments have been made are in the process of being finalised,” Muzinich & Co. adds. “The first is the launch of a Global Tactical strategy in Corporate Credit, which will aim to deliver absolute returns via allocation to all signatures, geographical regions, including emerging countries, and management of duration. The second is to assist in the movement away from banking intermediation in Europe, and to launch Luxembourg-funds investing in debt from mid-sized businesses with an EBITDA of EUR10m to EUR50m.” Lastly, in order to develop service for Swiss and Belgian clients, Eric Pictet, CEO of the Paris office, will recruit a new employee, who will join the Paris office.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The board of directors at LGT (Schweiz) AG, led by Thomas Piske (also CEO of the private banking unit of LGT Group), has promoted Heinirch Henckel to the position of CEO, from 1 April, replacing Hans Roth, who had been director of the Swiss affiliate since 2004, and who will now concentrate on his activity as a director.Henckel, who was CEO of the Swiss stock exchange, joined the LGT group in spring 2009 as a member of the board in charge of the Swiss locations of LGT, and clients in western Europe.The executive committee of LGT (Schweiz) will also be enlarged with the appointment of Florian Dürsele and Hanspeter Oes. Dürsele has previously been head of the international private banking activities of LGT Bank in Vaduz. In the future, he will be responsible for Italy, international and Germany at the Swiss affiliate.Oes joins from Bank Sal. Oppenheim (Schweiz) and will be COO.The presse release says that Rémy de Bruyn will remain as a member of the executive committee at LGT Bank (Schweiz), responsible for private banking in central and western Europe, southern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to estimates by TNS-Infratest for the Deutsches Aktieninstitut (DAI), the number of shareholders in equity funds, diversified & equity funds and diversified funds in Germany as of the end of December fell to 6,034 million, from 7.213 million at the end of June, and 6,174 million one year previously.At the end of last year, the number of Germans who own shares in equity and/or diversified funds was equivalent to 9.4% of the population. These 6,034 million represent an increase of 161.4% over the 1997 level (2.308 million), but a contraction of 38.2% compared with the 2001 record (9,766 million).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The institutional real estate fund WestInvest TargetSelect Logistics has one more property, with the acquisition by Deka Immobilien of PCC II in Bremen, a logistical property with 23,700 square metres of area, acquired for EUR25m, which will be completed in November 2013, and wholly leased to Daimler Benz. Deka Immobilien had previously acquired the PCC I complex (16,000 square metres) in 2010.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the wake of the recruitment of its new US Credit team in Philadelphia, announced on 13 February, Henderson Global Investors on 26 February announced that it has added to its teams in Singapore and London. All of these recruitments, in the United States, Europe and Asia, aim to strengthen the presence of Henderson Global Investors internationally, in order to develop global solutions to serve the needs of international clients. In Asia, Yann Ling Wong joined the real estate equity team for Asia-Pacific at the end of December as an analyst. She will be based in Singapore, and will report to Tim Gibson. The recruitment comes less than 3 months afte the appointment of Shiro Tsubota, CEO for Japan, and Mabel Chan, Director of Disribution for Asia. Ling had previously been involved in the development of sales centres and banking services at Standard Chartered Bank. The Real Estate Equity Asia-Pacific team plans to develop its presence selectively on a highly competitive market, where valuation levels are considered attractive and can respond to a rise in appetite for risk on the part of investors. Overall, the Asia-Pacific real estate equity team has USD1bn in assets under management, of which USD423m are managed in the Henderson Horizon Asia-Pacific Property Equities. In London, Paul O’Connor joined Henderson Global Investors on 28 January as head of multi-management. O’Connor will report to Bill McQuaker, and will be responsible for asset allocation for several funds of the multi-management range, as well as the development of products and services for investors. O’Connor had previusly been head of allocation for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region at Mercer Investment Consulting, and worked as a strategist and proprietary trader at Credit Suisse for 14 years. This is the second recruitment in a month for the multi-management team at Henderson Global Investors, which in December acquired a new senior manager, James de Bunsen, who joined from Armstrong Investment Managers. The multi-management team at Henderson Global Investors has over GBP5.4bn in asstes under management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Zurich-based Stoxx Ltd has announced that a license to use the Euro Stoxx 50 index has been awarded to China Universal, which is planning to launch an ETF to replicate the index. It is the first time that a Euro Stoxx 50 license has been awarded for an ETF on the Chinese market. Currently, there are a total of 21 ETFs worldwide based on this index.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a report on initiatives taken to educate investors («Report on Investor Education Initiatives Relating to Investment Services.») The objective for the initiative is to present a panorama to the members of the international organisation and the public of the various approaches used by supervisory authorities to initiate retail investors into questions concerning investment in financial products sold by intermediaries. The report finds that there is a variety of approaches. Some jurisdictions have placed eduction at the centre of their strategy, in order to ensure that investors are protected. But some authorities limit their education initiatives to the publication of alerts for investors. A very widespread practice in education is to structure the population of investors into target groups, each of which has a specific risk profile and variable financial knowledge. For example, in emerging countries, where the middle classes are developing rapidly, middle incomes represent a choice target. The report finds that many supervisory authorities have not set up processes to evaluate their various initiatives. IOSCO finds that one authority, AMF Quebec, is in the process of setting up an alphabetical financial index to measure the impact of financial education initiatives.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The London-based asset management firm Plurimi Capital has released the Plurimi Sustainable Income Fund 1 for sale, which claims to be the first sustainable development fund focused on European high yield bonds, whose asses already total EUR150m.The management team for the fund, aimed primarily at institutional investors (minimal subscription: EUR1bn), will, in addition to fundamental analysis of securities, operate on the basis of an examination of sustainable development aspect of issuers, particularly in the areas of governance and transparency.The performance objective for the product is 8-12%, with volatility of 4-5%.Management commission is set at 1.2%, while performance commission will be 20% on a hurdle rate of 1.25% with high watermark.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Carmignac Gestion on Tuesday, 26 February announced that it is adding to its Italian sales team with the arrival of Michele Scolletta and Zacaria al Jundi as Business Relationship Director and Relationship Executive, respectively. They join Giorgio Ventura, head of country, who the firm recruited in September 2012. Overall, the sales team at Carmignac Gestion in Italy now has nine members. Their main duty is to develop the asset management firm’s relationships with financial institutions and intermediaries. Before joining Carmignac Gestion, Scolletta was Head of Extra Captive Retail Distribution at Eurizon Capital, where he was responsible for relationships with banks and IFA networks. Al Jundi previously worked as part of the sales team at Eurizon Capital.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Angola has recently created a sovereign wealth fund with USD5bn in assets (and USD3.5bn per year thereafter), to distribute a part of its oil revenues to the poor, but political opponents and NGOs have criticised Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos for appointing his son, José Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos, to the three-member executive board chaired by Armando Manuel, economic adviser to the president.

En 2012, les 150 SCPI sont demeurées au rythme de collecte atteint ces dernières années, avec un total annuel dépassant les 2,5 milliards d’euros. Ce niveau de collecte nette connaît un léger tassement par rapport à 2011 (- 9,9 %) en raison du net recul des SCPI « immobilier résidentiel » : en particulier, les SCPI « Scellier » se limitent à 82,08 millions d’euros, dans la même veine que le retrait sensible des investisseurs particuliers « en direct » (- 42%, source : FPI). Sur la même période, les SCPI « immobilier d’entreprise » ont de leur côté atteint des niveaux record d’attractivité avec un total de 2,323 milliards en progression de 10,8% par rapport aux douze mois précédents.

Après les doutes de la semaine dernière, le président de la Fed a réaffirmé devant le Congrès que les rachats d’obligations d’Etat restaient nécessaires.