La part des prêts bancaires dans les financements totaux est toutefois tombée à 52%, signalant le poids pris par le «shadow banking» dans le pays

La participation de Pictet à l’acquisition de la banque d’investissement Duff & Phelps par un consortium mené par Carlyle n’est pas motivée par un changement de stratégie. Il s’agissait d’un investissement réalisé par son équipe de private equity pour le compte de clients. La stratégie propre du gérant de fortune suisse reste, elle, concentrée sur la croissance interne.

Nasdaq OMX réfléchirait sans nul doute à la possibilité d’une offre sur Euronext, l’opérateur des Bourses de Paris, Amsterdam, Bruxelles et Lisbonne, si ce dernier était mis en vente, a déclaré à Reuters Robert Greifeld, directeur général du groupe américain. Le 20 décembre, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) a annoncé le rachat de Nyse Euronext, une opération de 8,2 milliards de dollars. ICE a d’emblée déclaré qu’il chercherait à se séparer d’Euronext.

La banque américaine, numéro trois des fonds monétaires outre-Atlantique, a décidé d’imiter Goldman Sachs en détaillant la valeur de ses fonds sur une base quotidienne. La mesure entrera en vigueur le 14 janvier. L’établissement publiera sur son site les données arrêtées la veille à 15 heures concernant la valeur de trois fonds éligibles à l’achat de papier commercial.

Selon les données fournies par la Banque de France, les dépôts sur les livrets bancaires français soumis à l’impôt ont atteint 178,68 milliards d’euros en novembre, soit un recul de 3,52 milliards d’euros après une baisse de 12,4 milliards le mois précédent. Il s’agit du chiffre le plus bas depuis novembre 2011.

La nouvelle agence américaine de protection du consommateur, le Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a publié de nouvelles règles concernant l’encadrement du crédit hypothécaire. Elles entreront en vigueur au 1er janvier 2014. Il s’agit notamment d’imposer aux banques de vérifier scrupuleusement la solvabilité des emprunteurs avant d’accorder un prêt.

L’opérateur boursier Bats Global Markets a indiqué qu’un «problème de système informatique» avait affecté depuis quatre ans le prix auquel avaient été passés des centaines de milliers d’ordres de vente à découvert aux Etats-Unis (445.203 précisément, depuis le 24 octobre 2008). Bats précise n’avoir reçu aucune plainte de ses clients à ce sujet.

Selon le chef de l’Agence nationale de gestion du Trésor (NTMA), l’Irlande est proche d’un financement de marché normalisé qui la rendrait éligible au programme de rachat de titres publics par la BCE (OMT). «La transaction de mardi (2,5 milliards d’euros à échéance 2017) est proche de la normalisation, peut-être que les adjudications mensuelles seront la cerise sur le gâteau», a estimé John Corrigan.

La production industrielle allemande n’a que timidement rebondi en novembre après sa forte baisse d’octobre, renforçant le scénario d’une contraction au quatrième trimestre. Soutenue par les biens d'équipement et le BTP, la production des usines a augmenté de 0,2% en novembre alors qu’elle avait reculé de 2% le mois précédent (révisé de -2,6%), selon les chiffres du ministère de l’Economie.

Lauréat du prix Nobel d’économie en 1986 pour ses travaux sur le développement de la théorie des choix publics, qui souligne l’impact des intérêts propres des politiciens sur les politiques économiques des gouvernements, James M. Buchanan est décédé ce mercredi à l’âge de 93 ans. Parmi ses écrits, on retiendra «Les limites de la liberté» (1975) et «Liberté, marché et Etat» (1985).

Le président Obama devrait proposer ce jeudi la nomination du chef du personnel de la Maison blanche Jack Lew au poste de secrétaire au Trésor, en remplacement de Timothy Geithner. L’information est rapportée par Bloomberg et le Wall Street Journal. Agé de 57 ans, Jack Lew a également été le responsable du Bureau de la gestion et du budget (OMB).

Sur Europe 1, le ministre de l’Economie et des Finances, Pierre Moscovici, a assuré que le futur taux du Livret A, en vigueur à partir du 1er février, ne baisserait pas d’un point. Compte tenu de l’inflation, une application stricte de la formule prônée par la Banque de France, pourrait faire descendre le taux à 1,25% contre 2,25% actuellement, estiment des économistes. «Si on conclut que c’est l’inflation plus 0,25 (point) au moins, non ce ne sera pas un point, je peux le dire», a déclaré le ministre.

Au moins un quart des dirigeants de petites et moyennes entreprises américaines ont repoussé un investissement ou une embauche fin 2012 en raison de la menace du «mur budgétaire», selon une enquête publiée par Vistage International. Un accord budgétaire a été conclu in extremis le 31 décembre entre la Maison blanche et le Congrès.

The Eurekahedge hedge fund index gained 1.46% in December, bringing its performance for the year as a whole to 6.19%. The Mizuho-Eurekahedge Top 100 index, which tracks the evolution of assets and the performance of the 100 largest hedge funds, for its part, posted gains of 5.82% in 2012. Distressed debt strategies earned the best results in 2012, with gains of 12.87% over twelve months.

Two former employees of Man Investments are joining teams responsible for assisting independent wealth management advisers and family offices in Switzerland at Swiss & Global Asset Management (CHF87.4bn in assets as of the end of September). Remo Badertscher, senior relationship manager at his former employer, and Markus Lienert, who had been head of clients for independent wealth management advisers in Liechtenstein and Switzerland, have been recruited for the sales team at Swiss & Global in Zurich.

Philippe Currat, who will reach the age of 65 in May 2013, has announced plans to leave the executive board at Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild S.A. at the beginning of 2013, from 9 January, the Geneva-based bank has announced in a statement released on 8 January, after the close of the trading day. Currat had been chairman of the executive board at the private bank for 25 years.

GLG, the discretionary investment manager of Man Group plc, has announced a number of senior hires to its macro and fixed income team. The appointments are part of a focus on expanding GLG’s strategy as it relates to absolute return macro and fixed income. Kumaran Damodaran joins Sudi from Pimco as a portfolio manager focusing on emerging markets within GLG’s fixed income platform. He has significant experience managing absolute return and outperformance portfolios and has worked closely with Sudi Mariappa in the past, who also joined GLG in October.Brian Pinto will join from the World Bank to take on the role of Senior Macro- Economist, specialising in emerging markets. With many publications to his credit, Brian has spent nearly thirty years at the World Bank, where he is currently Senior Adviser, focusing on sovereign debt, financial integration and growth in emerging markets. He will work closely with GLG strategist Driss Lamrani. Richard Bateson joins from Man AHL as a Senior Quantitative Analyst. He currently heads a strategy within AHL which trades trend, reversion and value strategies across over 150 markets. He is also an Associate of the OxfordMan Institute, Oxford University. The overall macro and fixed income platform will be co-headed by Jamil Baz and Sudi Mariappa.

The Swiss Siz & Co group has announced that it has registered four new sub-funds of its Luxembourg Oyster sicav in Switzerland. The registration of the new sub-funds is a sign of the group’s desire to meet the particular need of Swiss professional clients. Switzerland currently represents a major area of development for Oyster funds. With the Oyster range and the Oyster Multi-Manager sub-funds of the Sicav 3A Alternative Funds, 36 funds are offered to Swiss investors, a range which is constantly developing, and which ranges from highly conservative absolute return strategies to traditional strategies focused on various asset classes, and more innovative “newcits” approaches. OYSTER European SelectionOyster European Selection adopts the approach and philosophy of the Oyster European Opportunities fund. The strategy is appropriate for the requirements of institutional clients, and targets European equities with strong potential for growth in the next five years. With its longer investment horizon, the fund benefits from the expertise and strong convictions of its manager, Eric Bendhan, a specialist in European equities. OYSTER US SelectionOyster US Selection focuses on US equities, combining bottom-up analysis with a top-down complement which aims to anticipate changes in economic cycles. The fund, managed by Scout Investments, Inc., a US asset management firm, offers a strategy which is available in UCITS format exclusively via the Oyster Sicav. OYSTER Global High DividendOyster Global High Dividend invests in high-dividend equities worldwide. Managed by SYZ Asset Management SA and SYZ & Co Asset Management LLP with Roberto Magnatantini as lead manager, Oyster Global High Dividend combines quantitative and fundamental analysis with a particular emphasis on growth in dividends. OYSTER Global High YieldOyster Global High Yield invests in high yield bonds worldwide. The fund is managed by Seix Investment Advisors LLC, an asset management firm based in the United States.

JP Morgan Asset Management would like to enter the Australian fund market this year, says Jed Laskowitz, CEO of Asian fund activities and head of asset management in Asia for the US firm, at a press breakfast held by Asian Investor. The firm already has an institutional presence in the country. JP Morgan AM would also like to penetrate South-East Asia, and may launch its first ETF in China via its joint venture, the Asian website adds.

The former chairman of the international alternative management association (AIMA) and hedge fund sector specialist Todd Groome is joining the Highwater group, specialised in corporate governance, The Asset reports. Groome, who from 2009 to 2012 represented the hedge fund sector as head of the AIMA, has recently served as a senior adviser to Albourne Partners and as adviser to a hedge fund successfully launched in 2011. The Highwater group offers corporate governance services to hedge funds and asset management firms via the appointment of independent administrators and other means.

While remaining as chief research officer, Fred Fraenkel has been promoted to the position of chairman of Fairholme Capital Management, replacing Bruce Berkowitz, CIO and managing member, who had held the position for the interim since the resignation of Charlie Fernandez in spring 2012. Fraenkel joined Fairholme in 2011, after serving as chief investment officer at Beacon Trust Company.

Jes Staley, former lieutenant of the head of JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, is joining the hedge fund firm BlueMountain Capital Management, the Financial Times reports. The firm is one of the hedge funds which brought down the US banking trader known as the whale of London. Staley had been head of investment banking.

Jens Peers has been appointed CIO sustainable equities of Mirova, the responsible investment division of Natixis Asset Management, where he will report directly to Philippe Zaouati, the deputy CEO of Natixis AM, Head of Mirova. Jens Peers started his career in 1998 as a financial advisor at KBC Bank, Brussels. He subsequently joined KBC Asset Management in 2001 as a financial analyst. In 2003, he moved to Kleinwort Benson Investors, Dublin, as head of portfolio management - environmental strategies on the following thematic areas: water, agribusiness, cleantech (renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management). Mirova has EUR4bn in assets under management in SRI assets, EUR7.7bn in assets advised in ESG strategies and EUR20.4bn in assets in voting and engagement (as of 30 September 2012).

Source Markets, one of the top providers of European ETPs, has announced the arrival of Feargal Dempsey as a member of its board of directors and an independent director. Dempsey is a consultant for ETFGI, the ETF analysis and consulting firm founded by Deborah Fuhr. He has served in several management positions at Barclays Global Investors/BlackRock, including head of strategy for iShares products in EMEA, head of product structuring for products in the EMEA region, and head of product governance. Source Markets plc is a firm domiciled in Ireland, which sells investment funds that comply with UCITS regulations.

The British firm Federated Prime Rate Capital Management, an affiliate of Federated Investments, has registered its money market Sicav umbrella fund Federated Prime Rate Cash Management Funds, domiciled in Luxembourg, with the CNMV, Funds People reports.

At a time when Spanish asset management firms underwent net redemptions and a decline in their assets under management throughout last year, the assets at foreign asset management firms have increased 10.6% in the first eleven months of 2012, to a total of EUR52bn, Funds People reports.

The German open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienGlobal has announced that it has sold the office building at 5, Plaza de Cataluña in Barcelona, with 14,000 square metres, to an investor who wishes to remain anonymous. According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, the buyer would appear to be the billionaire Amancio Ortega, the largest shareholder in Inditex. Deka Immobilien states that the sale has allowed it to earn a capital gain. In addition, the sale comes as part of the strategy of Deka-ImmobilienGlobal, which is to focus its investments on major cities outside Europe, and on Germany and the United Kingdom.

Six years to the day after acquiring the portfolio, the German open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Global has resold its portfolio of five properties in Chile for EUR171m to Aurus Renta Inmobiliaria. The sale price is about EUR33m higher than the purchase price. The properties sold total 55,725 square metres of area in the Birmann 24, Torre Paris, Xerox, Bandera 76 and Teatinos 254-258 buildings in Santiago, Chile. After the sale, the UniImmo: Global fund retains six properties or stakes in properties in Latin America, totalling EUR230m.

The Swedish firm Stella Asset Management will liquidate its two hedge funds, Stella Nova and Stella Polaris, Privata Affärer reports. The funds had a difficult year in 2012. The Swedish website says this is only the beginning of a wave of hedge fund closures to come.

Carmignac Gestion has announced the arrival of Anne Bellavoine as director of marketing. In an interview with Newsmanagers, Eric Helderlé, CEO, explains that with this recruitment, the asset management firm hopes to place marketing at the centre of the concerns of the company, in light of its growth. The head says this choice comes at a time when Carmignac Gestion is posting results above expectations in the UK, and eventually, the development of the asset management firm will also extend to Asia and South America. “We are in an environment in which we are taking important steps, and are attacking new markets which are very different from the ones of continental Europe,” the director says. “And,” he adds, “the regulatory environment is presenting significant complications to the product approach.” In this environment, the new head will aim to take the “glocal” approach which is so highly valued at Carmignac Gestion. “Glocal” is global for funds on sale internationally in the large sense, and local for the fact that it takes into account the very different demand characteristics of each ountry (more or less strongly for distribution shares, capitalisation shares, etc.). In practice, Bellavoine will lead and co-ordinate the marketing team composed of 20 people, and will report to Eric Le Coz, deputy CEO. This is not a new position. Laurence Bertrand held this position before leaving the firm at the end of May 2012. However, “we needed a more strategic vision,” says Helderlé, adding that the managerial abilities of the recruit and her “sense of the customer” justify her recruitment, as marketing is no one of the professional activities covered previously. The new head spent 17 years at Société Générale, where she served successively as global director of Equity Sales and as chairwoman of SG Securities, director of the Equity and Derivatives market desk, and lastly as a banker in charge of financial institutions. The senior profile of the new recruit will open the doors of the strategic development board, unlike the firm’s last director of marketing.