AXA Investment Managers vient d’annoncer le lancement d’un fonds obligataire crédit global, le AXA WF Global SmartBeta Credit Bonds, qui vient compléter la gamme des fonds SmartBeta.Le fonds a été spécialement conçu pour les investisseurs institutionnels à la recherche d’une exposition crédit globale cherchant une exposition crédit globale à faibles coûts, sans les inconvénients des stratégies passives.Le fonds est co-géré par Damien Maisonniac à Paris et Lionel Pernias à Londres. Tous deux sont membres de l'équipe d’investissement crédit global, dirigée par Nicole Montoya.Le ticket d’entrée a été fixé à 5 millions d’euros, les frais de gestion pour la part institutionnelle «Z» étant de 15 points de base.

Andrea Calandra a été nommé commercial Italie d’UBS ETF dans l’équipe dirigée par Simone Rosti, rapporte Advisoronline. L’intéressé est arrivé dans le groupe UBS en 2011. Il était initialement responsable des investissements pour UBS Global Asset Management (Italia) SGR puis dans l’équipe de gestion de fortune comme conseiller clientèle.

Entre décembre 2012 et janvier 2013, le nombre d’offres d’emploi dans les services financiers à Londres ont bondi de 76 % à 2.331 postes selon Morgan McKinley. Mais cette hausse ponctuelle ne peut masquer une tendance bien moins favorable pour l’emploi dans la City. Sur un an, les offres dans les services financiers ont chuté de 18 % sur un an. Ces chiffres viennent confirmer les prévisions du Centre for Economics and Business Research Dans son ensemble, la City devrait perdre 13.000 postes en 2013, précise Funds Europe.Parmi les secteurs qui continuent à embaucher, on trouvera cette année la conformité et les services informatiques. Ces deux types de métiers devraient bénéficier d’une régulation plus lourde et une volonté de lutter contre les crimes financiers, qui poussent les entreprises à se doter d'équipes de juristes et d’informaticiens hautement spécialisés.

Le pôle gestion de fortune Wealth and Investment Management du groupe Barclays a fait état pour l’année 2012 d’un bénéfice avant impôts de 315 millions de livres, en hausse de 52% d’une année sur l’autre. Au cours du seul quatrième trimestre, le bénéfice imposable a progressé de 46% par rapport au trimestre précédent à 115 millions de livres.Les actifs de la clientèle se sont accrus de 13% à 186 milliards de livres, en raison principalement d’une hausse de la collecte nette issue du segment HNW (High Net Worth).Barclays souligne dans un communiqué que 2012 était la troisième année de mise en œuvre du programme stratégique à cinq ans qui vise à faire de la gestion de fortune un pôle d’excellence du groupe et qui donne des résultats très satisfaisants.

L’Autorité des services financiers britannique FSA a condamné UBS à une lourde amende de 9,45 millions de livres pour avoir exposé ses clients à des risques jugés inacceptables lors de la commercialisation du fonds AIG Enhanced Variable Rate. La banque suisse a vendu ce produit entre décembre 2003 et septembre 2008 à 1.998 clients fortunés, qui ont au total investi initialement environ 3,5 milliards de livres dans le fonds. Lors de la chute des marchés en 2007 et 2008, de nombreux investisseurs ont tenté de retirer leurs avoirs mais sans succès, le fonds ayant été fermé. Suite à une enquête auprès de 33 clients, la FSA a conclu que 19 d’entre eux avaient été victimes d’une vente abusive de la part d’UBS et que douze autres étaient susceptibles de l’avoir été. UBS a accepté de dédommager les clients concernés, pour un montant estimé à près de 10 millions de livres, selon la FSA. Le régulateur estime que la banque suisse est coupable de graves manquements dans cette affaire et lui reproche notamment d’avoir mal informé ses clients, et d’avoir mal évalué les risques liés au fonds.

Selon un proche du dossier, Legg Mason Inc devrait annoncer ce mercredi matin (13 février) que Joseph Sullivan, le CEO par intérim, est confirmé à ce poste à titre permanent, rapporte the Wall Street Journal. Cette annonce mettrait fin à cinq mois de recherche menée par le gestionnaire d’actifs (654 milliards d’encours fin janvier contre 1.000 milliards début 2008) et le cabinet de recruteurs Korn/Ferry International.Avant d'être CEO par intérim, Joseph Sullivan était head of global distribution. Il avait pris la tête de la société après la démission de Mark Fetting au 1er octobre.

BlackRock vient de recruter Gary S. Shedlin, de Morgan Stanley, en tant que senior managing director et directeur financier (chief Financial officer). Lors de son arrivée le 11 mars, il deviendra aussi membre du comité exécutif mondial de la société de gestion, sous la direction de Laurence D. Fink, président et directeur général. Gary S. Shedlin remplace Ann Marie Petach, qui rejoint BlackRock Solutions en tant que senior managing director dans l’activité Client Solutions. Chez Morgan Stanley, Shedlin était vice chairman, investment banking et un managing director au sein du Financial Institutions Group. Il a conseillé BlackRock sur presque toutes ses transactions stratégiques.

La Société Générale, qui publiait ses résultats annuels ce mercredi matin a fait état pour 2012 d’un pôle Banque privée, Gestion d’Actifs et Services aux Investisseurs dont la contribution nette part du Groupe a significativement augmenté. La progression atteint 21,6% par rapport à 2011 (hors dépréciation d’écart d’acquisition sur TCW et Newedge) pour s’établir à 287 millions d’euros. Au sein du métier gestion d’actifs, la contribution d’Amundi, dont la banque détient une partie avec le Crédit Agricole, est de 115 millions d’euros en 2012, contre 98 millions d’euros en 2011. Par ailleurs, les actifs sous gestion de Lyxor, qui appartient au pôle BFI, sont en hausse sur l’année passant de 73,6 à 75,4 milliards d’euros. Sur l’ensemble de 2012, le produit net bancaire de Société Générale s’est inscrit à 23,11 milliards d’euros, en baisse de 9,9% à données publiées et en repli de 10,3% en données constantes par rapport à l’année précédente, tandis que son résultat net a chuté de 67% à 774 millions d’euros.

L’ancien head of alternative asset management au sein de la division financial institutions investment banking de Barclays, Anthony Maniscalaco, devient managing director de l’équipe investissement de Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM) aux côtés de Greg Hall, senior managing director.La mission de cette équipe consiste à acquérir des participations dans des gestionnaires de hedge funds. Actuellement, BAAM gère environ 45 milliards de dollars d’actifs discrétionnaires dans de nombreuses filiales ou unités d’affaires.J. Tomilson Hill, vice chairman de Blackstone et president & CEO de BAAM, a précisé que BAAM compte augmenter de manière significative son effectif cette année. En 2012, le nombre d’associés a doublé, avec six nominations.

L’ancien chef économiste de WestLB Mellon Asset Management, Holger Sandte, rejoint la société de gestion Nordea à Copenhague comme directeur de l’analyse Europe, rapporte Das Investment.

Deutsche Bank a engagé les démarches pour commercialiser un ETF obligataire dédié aux obligations municipales à long terme américaines, rapporte IndexUniverse.Le db X-trackers Municipal Infrastruture Revenue Fund vise les obligations émises par les Etats, les collectivités locales et les autres émetteurs de titres défiscalisés. L’ETF s’intéressera plus particulièrement aux obligations émises pour financer des projets d’infrastructures.

In 2012, conversions of French money market funds to SRI (socially responsible investment) totalled EUR7.7bn, Novethic reports in its most recent study on the subject. Like last year, this phenomenon explains most of the increase in assets for open-ended UCITS-compliant funds on sale in France with an SRI approach, which increased by EUR12.491bn to a total of EUR76.736bn (+19.4%). The other contributor was a market effect totalling EUR4.1bn. However, investors are still not a part of the picture: SRI UCITS funds have seen net redemptions of EUR1.4bn. In 2011, they had posted slightly lower inflows. However, not all funds are alike: bond funds posted subscriptions of EUR1.2bn, while equity funds saw outflows of EUR2.8bn. Money markets had a virtual flatline. Novethic also notes that 34 SRI funds disappeared as product ranges were rationalised. Due to the launch of only 26 funds, the total number of products fell for the first time this year, to 304, compared with 312 in 2011. Conversions of money market funds also brought changes to the rankings of asset management firms active on the French market. The conversion of the money market fund BNP Paribas Mois tripled the firm’s assets in open-ended SRI funds to about EUR8bn, and put it in second place, ahead of Natixis AM, whose SRI unit has been renamed as Mirova. With over EUR30bn, Amundi remains the leader. The firm of the Crédit Agricole group consolidated its lead with an increase of EUR8bn to its assets, partly thanks to inflows of EUR3.5bn and the conversion of a money market funds. Mirova, however, has seen a decline in its assets of over EUR2bn, due to redemptions from its money market funds.

BNP Paribas on Tuesday, 12 February confirmed to Agefi that subscriptions to the Parvest World Agriculture fund, which is the most exposed of its product range to soft commodities, has been suspended since 11 February. The decision was taken “as a precaution,” following the publication yesterday of a report by the NGO Oxfam about the activities of French banks on soft commodity markets, the newspaper states.

Morningstar reports that US long-term mutual funds in January posted net subscriptions of USD86.54bn, bringing their assets as of the end of the month to USD9.565bn. With the addition of USD28.6bn in net inflows to ETFs, it adds up to an all-time record for the month.However, money market funds have seen net redmptions of USD3.45bn, and their assets under management as of 31 January totalled USD2.536bn.Two asset managers clearly stand out for net subscriptions to their open-ended funds, excluding money markets and funds of funds. They are Vanguard, with nearly USD17.63bn, of which USD4bn went to the Vanguard Total Bond Market fund, and Pimco, with USD9.14bn.

AXA Investment Managers has announced the launch of a global credit bond fund, the AXA WF SmartBeta Credit Bonds, which comes as an addition to the range of SmartBeta funds. The funds were designed especially for institutional investors seeking global credit exposure at low cost, without the inconvenciences of passive strategies. The fund is co-managed by Damien Maisonniac in Paris, and Lionel Pernias in London. Both are members of the global credit investment team, led by Nicole Montoya. The front-end fee is set at EUR5m, while management fees for institutional Z-class equities are 15 basis points.

Final statistics from the Spanish Inverco association of asset management firms confirm that Spanish funds in January posted their first net subscriptions since March 2011, with EUR1.061bn. This figure is very similar to the EUR1.0463bn announced recently by VDOS Stochastics (see Newsmanagers of 11 February). In fact, 40 of the 62 asset management firms which release details of their asset flows to Inverco posted net inflows last month, with the three leaders Kutxabank Gestión (EUR344m), InverCaixa (EUR227m) and Allianz Popular (EUR197m).Assets increased by 1.99% last month, to EUR124.767bn, which represents an increase of 1.99%, the largest since August 2006. Taking into account Sicavs and real estate funds, assets under management increased 1.35%, to EUR206.818bn.BBVA tops the list of Spanish asset management firms by asset volumes, with EUR19.115bn, followed by Santander (EUR18.846bn) and La Caixa with EUR17.461bn. VDOS, for its part, estimates that Santander was the leader as of 31 January, with over EUR21.4bn, and that BBVA was in second place with EUR19.3bn.

BlackRock has announced that Gary S. Shedlin, a long-time strategic and financial advisor to BlackRock, will join the firm as senior managing director and chief financial officer. He will become a member of BlackRock’s global executive committee, reporting to chairman and chief executive officer Laurence D. Fink. Mr. Shedlin will succeed Ann Marie Petach, who is joining BlackRock Solutions as senior managing director in the client solutions business. Mr. Shedlin will join the Firm on March 11, 2013 and work closely with Ms. Petach through a transition period until she completes her tenure as CFO following the reporting of BlackRock’s first quarter earnings results. Mr. Shedlin joins BlackRock from Morgan Stanley, where he is vice chairman, investment banking and a managing director in the Financial Institutions Group. He has served as a trusted advisor to BlackRock on virtually all of its most significant strategic transactions.

According to a source familiar with the matter, Legg Mason Inc will this Wednesday morning (13 February) announce that Joseph Sulllivan, interim CEO, has been confirmed in the position permanently, the Wall Street Journal reports. The announcement will end five months of searching by the asset management firm (USD654bn in assets as of the end of January, compared with USD1trn as of the beginning of 2008), and by the recruitment firm Korn/Ferry International.Before serving as interim CEO, Sullivan had been head of global distribution. He took over as head of the firm following the resignation of Mark Fetting on 1 October.

Andrea Calandra has been appointed as a salesperson for Italy at UBS ETF, in the team led by Simone Rosti Advisoronline reports. Calandra joined the UBS group in 2011. He had initially been responsible for investments for UBS Global Asset Management (Italia) SGR, and then served in the wealth management team, as a client adviser.

Following a contraction of 8.9% in 2011, profits at the Hamburg-based Berenberg, the oldest private bank in Germany, increased 7.3% last year to EUR60.2m, Hans-Walter Peters, chairman of managing partners, has announced, also stating that total assets increased 8.3% to EUR28.2bn.Without providing comparative data, Berenberg states that assets in the asset management unit “significantly” increased to EUR10.5bn, largely due to strong net inflows to currency overlay strategies. Assets under management in open-ended funds increased by EUR350m last year, to a current total of EUR1.7bn.

From EUR188.1m at the end of December, the European Convertibles Bond Fund, a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Aberdeen Global II, has increased to EUR195.63bn as of the end of January. The Paris office of the Scottish asset mangement firm has been making efforts to highlight this area of expertise for French investors, with a visit from Pierre-Henri de Monts de Savasse, head of convertibles, for a presentation in Paris on 12 February.The asset manager claims that convertible bonds will be an ideal asset class in 2013 and 2014, as government bond rates are at their lowest, as are credit spreads, and many investors still estimate that equities are too risky. Convertible bonds are bonds which are “similar to equities, but with limited risk.”

Legg Mason will this week announce its choice as its new CEO, five months after initiating a search for a new CEO, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The announcement is expected on Wednesday. A new member of the board of directors is also expected to be announced.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) on 12 February published a peer study of risk governance policies, both by national authorities and by financial companies. The document finds that progress has been made since the outbreak of the financial crisis, and remarks that improvements have been much more significant on the part of financial companies that national powers. The report claims, however, that there remains considerable progress yet to be made, both on the side of banks and of national authorities. At the heart of good risk management is effective risk appetite policy, and progress in this area remains partial, the FSB points out. Among its recommendations, the FSB sees a need to strengthen the status and independent authority of the chief risk officer (CRO). The risk committee should oversee the performance and objectives of the CRI, who, for his part, should have unfettered access to the board of directors and the risk committee. The CRO should also have regular meetings with directors, without operational heads of the firm being present. He or she should also be involved in activities and decisions which may affect the risk profile of the firm.

Currently, the Spanish asset management firm BBVA Asset Management is seeking a chief investment officer for Europe, to fill a position left vacant since the promotion of Eduardo García Hidalgo to global CIO last July, and a director of asset allocation. Funds People reports that the corresponding job announcements have been listed on the website eFinancial Careers.

Investors in early February confirmed their confidence in the good outlooks for the global economy, while estimating that the current valuations of equities represent a supporting element following the recent rise of the market, according to the most recent survey, undertaken between 1 and 7 February by BofA Merrill Lynch, and covering 152 participants with cumulative assets under management of USD691bn. In the wake of the January figures, nearly 60% of investors are predicting the global economy to strengthen in the next 12 months. Expectations improve for profits, as 39% of respondents estimate that profits will increase in the next twelve months, compared with 29% in January. But 82% of respondents estimate that bonds are overvalued. Appetite for risk remains stable month on month, as investors overweight in cash declined from 8% in January to 2% in February, their lowest level since February 2011. “The persistence of a high level of optimism is a concern, and the markets may be vulnerable to bad news, but the support of valuations suggests that a possible correction would be brief and small in size, and our “large rotation” theme remains valid,” says Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. “Investors have found a balance between optimism about growth and prudence in their investment decisions. So far, investors have resisted the temptation to exuberanec,” says John Bilton, a specialist in European investment. Allocations to equities have remained at the high levels they reached in January, with 51% overweight in international equities. In the equity asset class, sectoral allocations are a sign of a slightly less desperate appetite for risk, as illustrated by a movement to defensive stocks. The percentage of investors overweight in pharmaceuticals was 27%, compared with 11% in January.

The former economist in chief for WestLB Asset Management, Holger Sandte, is joining the asset management firm Nordea in Copenhagen, as head of research for Europe, Das Investment reports.

Assets under management at the Cantonal Bank of St-Gall as of the end of 2012 totalled CHF38.2bn, up 1.8% compared with the end of 2011, according to a statement released on 13 February. Positive market effects are the cause of this increase, as the bank saw a net outflow of CHF177m.

Assets under management at the Cantonal Bank of St-Gall as of the end of 2012 totalled CHF38.2bn, up 1.8% compared with the end of 2011, according to a statement released on 13 February. Positive market effects are the cause of this increase, as the bank saw a net outflow of CHF177m.

At a publication of its annual results, Société Générale has announced its commitment to the next phase of its Ambition SG 2015 plan. The organisation is now centred on three pillars of excellence, and the bank will see its structures and workflows simplified. In detail, with the objective of increasing is commercial and operational effectiveness, the bank has defined a first pillar which includes retail banking in France, which includes the current perimeter (Société Générale France Network, Crédit du Nord, Boursorama). A new pillar will be defined, which will include international retail banking and financial services. This will be created by merging the International Networks, Specialised Financial Services and Insurance units. Lastly, a third pillar will include finance and investment and private banking activities, asset management and investor services. This unit “will make it possible to develop commercial and operational efficiency, particularly in flox, with improed co-ordination of execution, settlement and custody activities, provided by SG CIB, Newedge and SGSS, respectively,” a statement says. The general management team is not modified, and will continue to be composed of the chairman and CEO, Frédéric Oudéa, and three deputy CEOs, Séverin Cabannes, Jean-François Sammarcelli and Bernardo Sanchez-Incera, working collegiately. The current perimeters of supervision for professions will also be retained, with Séverin Cabannes also responsible for overseeing the transformation of the group. For the management of new pillar projet plans, Didier Hauguel and Jean-Luc Parer will jointly assume responsibility for the new retail banking and international financial services unit which will be created. Didier Valet will be responsible for the new unit resulting from the merger of finance & investment banking with private banking, asset management and investor services. The name of the CFO of the group is now known. Philippe Heim will begin on 1 March. William Kadouch-Chassaing will suceed him as deputy CFO and director of strategy for the group. For his part, James Ripoll, director of asset management and investor services, has decided to continue his career outside the group, Société Générale has announced.

Société Générale, which released its annual results this Wednesday morning, has announced that it is combining its Corporate and Investment Banking and Private Banking, Global Investment Management and Services, as part of the second stage of the Ambition SG 2015 Plan. “This second stage consists in a project to simplify and refocus the organisational structure around the core businesses in order to increase revenue and cost synergies. This organisational structure would be based on three divisions,” a press statement says.Didier Valet will be in charge of the new division that will be the result of pooling the Corporate & Investment Banking and Private Banking, Global Investment Management Service activities. Jacques Ripoll, head of Global Investment Management and Services, has decided to pursue his career outside the Group. The two others divisions are : a French Retail Banking pillar, which covers the current scope (Societe Generale’s French Network, Crédit du Nord, Boursorama) and a new International Retail Banking and Financial Services pillar created by the combination of International Networks and Specialised Financial Services and Insurance, the aim of which is to improve synergies across countries and simplify the supervision. In 2012, the private banking, asset management and investor services unit saw its net contribution as a part of the group increase significantly, +21.6% compared with 2011 (not including the cost of the acquisition of TCW from Newedge), at EUR287m. Within the asset management profession, the contribution of Amundi, in which the bank controls a stake alongside Crédit Agricole, is EUR115m in 2012, compared with EUR98m in 2011. Assets under management at Lyxor, which is owned by the finance and investment banking unit, rose last year from EUR73.6bn to EUR75.4bn. For 2012 as a whole, net banking proceeds for Société Générale totalled EUR23.11bn, down 9.9% compared with published data, and 10.3% with constant data for last year, while its net profits fell 67%, to EUR774m.