Le 6 août, l’américain Eaton Vance a bouclé l’acquisition de 49 % du canadien Hexavest (10,8 milliards de dollars d’encours fin juillet). Le 4 septembre, Eaton Vance (192,9 milliards de dollars d’actifs au 31 juillet) a annoncé qu’il lance quatre fonds d’actions dont la gestion sera assumée par une équipe Hexavest dirigée par Vital Proulx, président et CIO.Il s’agit des fonds Eaton Vance Hexavest Emerging Markets Equity Fund (Class A: EHEAX, Class I: EHEIX), Eaton Vance Hexavest Global Equity Fund (Class A: EHGAX, Class I: EHGIX), Eaton Vance Hexavest International Equity Fund (Class A: EHIAX, Class I: EHIIX) et Eaton Vance Hexavest U.S. Equity Fund (Class A: EHUAX, Class I: EHUIX). Ces produits seront gérés selon une méthode combinant une approche fondamentale exclusive d’Hexavest et des modèles quantitatifs.

Vanguard Group a annoncé qu’Edward Owens, senior vice president de Wellington Management Company, qui gère 20 fonds Vanguard, va prendre sa retraite à la fin de cette année, rapporte The Wall Street Journal. L’intéressé gère notamment le Vanguard Health Care Fund, dont l’encours se situe à 22,4 milliards de dollars.Edward Owens sera remplacé par Jean Hynes, associate portfolio manager, qui fait partie de l’équipe de gestion du fonds depuis 1991.

Selon L’Agefi qui cite une information du New York Post, les fonds de capital-investissement TPG, Leonard Green, Berkshire Partners et CCMP seraient en lice pour le dernier appel d’offres attendu dans les prochaines semaines concernant les activités américaines de Redcats, filiale du groupe PPR. Huit marques sont concernées, dont principalement le site et le catalogue de vêtements grande taille OneStopPlus.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) vient de nommer Calum Smith au poste nouvellement créé de responsable du pôle «Global Aggregate» au sein de l'équipe fixed income basée à Edimbourg, rapporte Investment Europe.Calum Smith travaillait précédemment chez BlackRock. L'équipe fixed income de SWIP gère quelque 70 milliards de livres.

Leslie Richman, basé à Chicago, et Duncan Crawford, basé à Londres, ont été promus co-global head, alternative investment solutions, dans le pôle prime clearing services de Newedge, une co-entreprise de Société Générale et Crédit Agricole CIB. Ils sont subordonnés à Chris Topple, global head of prime clearing services. Le premier était depuis deux décennies responsable d’alternative investment solutions pour les Etats-Unis tandis que le second était le patron mondial de la branche capital introductions, poste auquel il sera remplacé par Keith Johnson, basé à Chicago, et qui était jusqu’à présent head of capital introductions Americas.Pour leur part, James Skeggs, à Londres, et Ryan Duncan, à Chicago, deviennent co-heads mondiaux du advisory group qui est chargé de l’analyse des stratégies de hedge funds. James Skeggs était head of research EMEA, Ryan Duncan head of research Americas (il est aussi le président du comité des indices de Newedge). Dans leur nouvelle fonction, ils seront subordonnés à Leslie Richman et Duncan Crawford.

GulfMena et SoloCapital vont lancer dans les tout prochains jours un hedge fund qui sera basé à Dubaï et qui sera seulement le deuxième hedge fund accueilli par la place financière, rapporte Mena FM.Les deux sociétés veulent mettre en œuvre une stratégie de négoce systématique qui vise une performance de plus de 25% par an pour une volatilité d’environ 10%. Déjà approuvé par les autorités de tutelle, le hedge fund devrait être lancé à la mi-septembre avec un capital de 10 millions d’euros. Les deux partenaires visent un encours de 40 à 50 millions d’euros d’ici à la fin de l’année et de 250 à 350 millions d’euros dans les trois ans.

Business Immo rapporte que la société d’investissement Patron Capital Partners lève 880 millions d’euros pour son fonds Fund IV. Spécialisé dans l’acquisition d’actifs distressed et investissements opportunistes pour un montant unitaire de 30 à 100 millions d’euros, le fonds a capacité à investir seul ou en joint ventures à hauteur de 3 milliards d’euros, précise le site. L’objectif de rendement est compris entre 17 à 22 %.

La société de gestion écossaise Aberdeen Asset Management, par le biais de son antenne allemande Aberdeen Immobilien Kapitalanlagegesellschaft, a lancé en mai dernier un fonds immobilier à destination des investisseurs institutionnels doté au départ d’un peu plus de 100 millions d’euros d’amorçage. Il s’agit du deuxième fonds immobilier lancé cette année en Allemagne par Aberdeen.Dénommé «Städte und Wohnen», le fonds investira dans un premier temps dans de l’immobilier résidentiel à Berlin, Francfort, Hambourg et Karlsruhe. Des investissements sont également en cours à Heidelberg et Munich. L’objectif du fonds est d’investir environ 1 milliard d’euros dans l’immobilier résidentiel allemand.

Selon nos informations, la Banque Postale pour compte propre a terminé une phase de sélection pour un gestionnaire de fonds contractuel dédié portant sur la multigestion alternative. Le montant serait de l’ordre de 50 millions d’euros avec la prise en compte de filtres ISR dans la sélection. A l’issue de la procédure d’appel d’offres restreints (3 finalistes), le choix s’est porté sur Amundi IS en association avec Morningstar comme advisor. Contacté à ce sujet, la Banque Postale n’a pas souhaité commenter cette information.

Following the recent manipulation of LIBOR, the European Commission on September 5 launched a consultation inviting stakeholders to comment on possible new rules for the production and use of indices serving as benchmarks in financial and other contracts.Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier said: «The international investigations underway into the manipulation of LIBOR have revealed yet another example of unacceptable behaviour by banks. Doubts about the accuracy and integrity of indices can undermine market confidence, cause significant losses to consumers and investors, and distort the real economy. It is therefore essential that steps are taken to ensure the integrity of benchmarks and the benchmark-setting process. The Commission has already acted quickly to amend its legislative proposals on market abuse. However, changing the sanctions regime alone may not be sufficient: wider work is required to regulate how indices and benchmarks are compiled, produced and used."The consultation is wide-ranging: it covers all benchmarks, not just interest rate benchmarks such as LIBOR but also commodities and real estate price indices for example and it seeks to identify possible shortcomings at every stage in the production and use of benchmarks.The ultimate objective is to ensure the integrity of benchmarks. All options are on the table but any solution should guarantee that benchmarks are not subject to conflicts of interest, reflect the economic reality that they are intended to measure and are used appropriately.

Tobias Pross, director of institutional distribution, on 5 September announced that Allianz Global Investors (AGI) will be offering its clients a way to reduce counterparty risks on their over-the-counter derivatives (OTC) from December: transactions made in this area from client portfolios will go via a central counterparty. AGI will thus allow investors to benefit from the protection provided by European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), which is expected to come into force sometime in 2013.

Last month, daily trading volumes for on-book trades of ETFs on European markets of NYSE Euronext fell 16.4% compared with the previous month, to EUR191.7m, compared with EUR239.7m in July, and EUR257.7m in June. There were no new launches in August, and at the end of the month, the number of publicly-traded ETFs totalled 676, of which 587 were primary listings, comapred with 687 and 593 at the end of July.Block trades in August totalled EUR521.2m, compared with EUR741.5m in July (-29.7%), and EUR733.4m in June. They also represented 11.8% of total trading volume, compared with 14.1% in July The median spread in August stood at 28.1 basis points, compared with 29.7 points the previous month, and 31.15 points in June.

Frédéric Luyet, most recently deputy head of private banking at Credit Suisse for the Geneva region, will be joining the Basel-based Banque Sarasin as director of the French-speaking Swiss private banking unit in Geneva.Luyet will report to Bas Rijke, head of the Geneva office, and will lead a team of more than 20 people, composed of experienced client advisers and credit specialists, investment advisers and financial planners.Sarasin business with private clients based in Switzerland will be increased considerably from Geneva.

A merger announced between the two Swiss commodity specialist groups Glencore and Xstrata appears to have suffered a major setback, the New York Times reports. Shareholders in Xstrata will on Friday vote on the proposed operation, which would create a giant valued at about USD86bn. However, Qatar Holding, which is owned by the Qatar sovereign fund, is opposed to the terms of the merger. Qatar Holding, which owns 12% of Xstrata, is said to favour a ratio of more than 3 Glencore shares to one Xstrata share, while Glencore, which controls 34% of Xstrata, is offering 2.8 shares for each one.

Partners Group and Avista Capital Partners have acquired the US medical shoe and clothing maker Strategic Partners, in partnership with management of the firm. Strategic Partners is a leader in its sector, as well as in school uniforms, a statement released on 6 September says. The acquisition price has not been disclosed.

Senait Asgede has become the next to leave the Swedish team at Aviva Investors, the Swedish website Fondbranschen reports. She has joined Credit Suisse Asset Management in Stockholm. She there joins Tove Bångstad, who has made the same move, and who is now in charge of Scandinavian markets at Credit Suisse AM.

The Australian firm AMP Capital is planning to develop in Asia from its Hong Kong offices, which opened on 4 September, Asian Investor reports. The asset management firm has also given its international CEO, Anthony Fasso, responsibility for clients based in Australia. Assets under management at AMP Capital total about USD125bn, of which 85% come from Australian clients. Fasso says that although the Australian market remains an essential one for its activities, the most dynamic areas in terms of growth are now abroad, including Japan and parts of Europe. AMP Capital is planning to develop its fixed income activities in Asia. Organic growth remains a priority, but the firm has not ruled out acquisitions if occasions present themselves.

Switzerland, for the fourth consecutive year, tops the overall rankings in The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013, released on September 5 by the World Economic Forum. France has lost three places to 21st place, due to the declining confidence of investors in tax policies that heavily penalise investment decisions. Singapore remains in second position and Finland in third position, overtaking Sweden (4th). These and other Northern and Western European countries dominate the top 10 with the Netherlands (5th), Germany (6th) and United Kingdom (8th). The United States (7th), Hong Kong (9th) and Japan (10th) complete the ranking of the top 10 most competitive economies. The report indicates that Switzerland and countries in Northern Europe have been consolidating their strong competitiveness positions since the financial and economic downturn in 2008. On the other hand, countries in Southern Europe, i.e. Portugal (49th), Spain (36th), Italy (42nd) and particularly Greece (96th) continue to suffer from competitiveness weaknesses in terms of macroeconomic imbalances, poor access to financing, rigid labour markets and an innovation deficit. Despite growing its overall competitiveness score, the United States continues its decline for the fourth year in a row, falling two more places to seventh position. In addition to the burgeoning macroeconomic vulnerabilities, some aspects of the country’s institutional environment continue to raise concern among business leaders, particularly the low public trust in politicians and a perceived lack of government efficiency. On a more positive note, the country still remains a global innovation powerhouse and its markets work efficiently. The large emerging market economies (BRICS) display different performances. Despite a slight decline in the rankings of three places, the People’s Republic of China (29th) continues to lead the group. Of the others, only Brazil (48th) moves up this year, with South Africa (52nd), India (59th) and Russia (67th) experiencing small declines in rankings.

The number of fallen angels, or companies whose ratings have fallen from investment grade into the speculative category, totalled 30 in second quarter, compared with 6 in the previous quarter, and 25 one year earlier, according to the financial rating agency Moody’s which is offering a new quarterly review of changes in ratings for investment grade corporate issuers. Moody’s sates that 26 of the fallen angels in second quarter, 87% of the total, were based in Europe, which brings the rate of fallen angels in Europe to 3.3% compared with 0.8% in first quarter 2012. This percentage is only 0.1% in North America and 0.0% in Asia, while the global rate was 1.2%, compared with 0.2% in first quarter. Moody’s estimates, however, that the rate of fallen angels will fall to 0.8% in third quarter, with rates of 0.5% in North America, 0.2% in Asia and 1.6% in Europe. This significant improvement in the European rate is said to be related to stabilising outlooks for the financial sector due to poor results in second quarter. Only 12% of firms in the financial sector are on a negative ratings watch at the end of second quarter, compared with 55% at the end of first quarter 2012.

On 6 August, the US firm Eaton Vance completed its acquisition of 49% of the Canadian firm Hexavest (CAD10.8bn in assets as of the end of July). On 4 September, Eaton Vance (USD192.9bn in assets as of 31 July) announced that it is launching four equity funds, which will be managed by the Hexavest team led by Vital Proulx, chairman and CIO.The funds are the Eaton Vance Hexavest Emerging Markets Equity Fund (Class A: EHEAX, Class I: EHEIX), Eaton Vance Hexavest Global Equity Fund (Class A: EHGAX, Class I: EHGIX), Eaton Vance Hexavest International Equity Fund (Class A: EHIAX, Class I: EHIIX) and Eaton Vance Hexavest U.S. Equity Fund (Class A: EHUAX, Class I: EHUIX). These products will be managed with a method that combines Hexavest’s proprietary fundamental approach with quantitative models.

Vanguard Group has announced that Edward Owens, senior vice president of Wellington Management Company, which manages 20 Vanguard funds, will be retiring at the end of this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Owens manages the Vanguard Health Care Fund, whose assets total USD22.4bn.Owens will be replaced by Jean Hynes, associate portfolio manager, who has been a part of the fund’s management team since 1991.

The Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations this morning signed an agreement with China Development Bank, its Chinese counterpart, to invest in French and Chinese SMEs, Les Echos reports. The two partners are creating a fund with EUR150m in assets, to be managed by Cathay Capital. The fund offers a way for China to invest in French SMEs with EUR10m to EUR200m in earnings, and for France to invest in Chinese businesses, with investments of EUR3m to EUR15m. Two investments have already been identified.

The joint venture Ping An Russell Investments is preparing to launch a multi-managed fund aimed at high net worth individual (HNWI) clients early in fourth quarter, Hedge Week reports. The new product, known as MoM, will provide access to the same local hedge funds selected by Russell Investment for US dollar investors via the future QFII fund reserved for qualified foreign institutional investors.

The CNMV has issued sales licenses to two more UCITS-compliant hedge funds from BlackRock, Funds People reports. They are products with daily liqudity, the BSF Absolute Return Bond Fund, a bond fund managed by Ian Winship, and the BSF Americas Diversified Equity Absolute Return Fund, an equity fund to be managed by Raffaele Savi and Travis Cooke.

GulfMena and SoloCapital will be launching a hedge fund in the next few days, which will be based in Dubai, and which will be only the second hedge fund accepted by the financial markets, Mena FM reports. The two firms are planning to deploy a systematic trading strategy which aims for returns of over 25% per year, with volatility of about 10%. The hedge fund, which has already been approve by the regulatory authorities, will be launched in mid-September with capital of EUR10m. The two partners are aiming for assets of EUR40m to EUR50m by the end of the year, and EUR250m to EUR350m in the next three years.

The 2008 financial crisis altered the behaviour of hedge funds in terms of risk management. A new study from the Managed Funds Association (MFA), BNY Mellon, and HedgeMark outlines new data showing that hedge funds are continuing to develop risk management practices that fit the needs of investors and fund managers alike.Managers of hedge funds have reinforced their internal controls with key recruitments, and considerably increased the amount of information released to investors on a regular basis. They have also made an effort to express their approach to risk management in comprehensible language, and are not hesitating to go into detail.The survey finds that 79% of firms now separate their risk manager and fund manager functions entirely to ensure independent oversight. More than 50% of participants estimate that independent verification of positions is an essential element in hedge fund surveillance.Institutional investors have welcomed the moves, and are not concealing their appetite for ongoing training in risk management. Efforts by hedge funds and professional associations are a step in the right direction, but need to be sustained in order not to be overtaken by developments in the sector.The survey finds that many hedge funds claim that practices put in place for risk management may generate alpha, and may allow them to stand out from the competition. In any case, reporting to investors will be produced on a daily or weekly basis for the next five years, compared with only 12% in 2007.

Funds People reports that, according to Expansión, Santander is planning to merge its ten foreign asset management affiliates in a single holding company. The project is already well-advanced, as Spanish, UK, Argentinian and Luxembourg asset management firms have already been integrated, and the Mexican asset management firm of the group will soon be added as the bank in this country holds its IPO.The group will gradually transfer the Brazilian, Chilean, Polish, Puerto Rican and Swiss asset management firms to the holding company, while Santander Asset Management has recently founded a German affiliate, which will soon open in Frankfurt.

The flagship index of the Paris stock exchange may be changed at the end of this week, Les Echos reports. Peugeot may be remoed from the index, to be replaced by the chemist Solvay, according to market specialists. Arkema and Sodexo are also among the candidates to join the CAC 40, where they would join Alcatel-Lucent and STMicroelectronics. The decision may be taken later this week, this evening or tomorrow, marking the first changes to the flagship index for nearly one year.

The Scottish asset management firm Aberdeen Asset Management, via its German affiliate Aberden Immobilien Kapitalanlagegessellschaft, this May launched a real estate fund aimed at institutional investors, with slightly over EUR100m in initial capital. It is the second real estate fund launched this year in Germany by Aberdeen. The fund, known as «Städte und Wohnen,” will initially invest in residential properties in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Karlsruhe. Investments are also underway in Heidelberg and Munich. The objective for the fund is to invest about EUR1bn in German residential real estate.

Frank Engels, CIO for fixed income, announced on 5 September that Union Investment (the central asset management firm for the German co-operative banks) has set up its own system of country ratings, because S&P, Moody’s and Fitch have demonstrated in the past few years that they continue to behave procyclically and to react too late.The system developed by Union allows for systematic, uniform and transparent judgement of the solvency of governments, on the basis of fundamental economic data and measurable social and political indicators. It is based on three basic elements: fundamental macroeconomic evaluation of the ability of governments to pay their debts, an estimate of the desire of these governments to pay, and thus to make the necessary reforms in the case of need, and lastly, an advanced warning system which detects signs of weakness in economies which had previously been solid.Compared with ratings by the established ratings agencies, the Union ratings are worse for many industrialised countries, due to weak growth, the scale of debt, and poor budgetary discipline. On the other hand, emerging countries with solid budgets and strong growth are better-rated than by the established ratings agencies.According to Engels, the country ratings system from Union has recently been able to anticipate about 80% of ratings adjustments by S&P, Moody’s and Fitch. The system will be integrated from 1 November into the basic allocation process for the UniInstitutional Global Government Bonds fund, which is focused on investment grade government bonds.