François Gazier, ancien responsable de l’offre de la Banque Robeco, a rejoint Haussmann Patrimoine, un cabinet de conseil en gestion de patrimoine indépendant, pour être gestionnaire de patrimoine au sein du département financier. L’intéressé avait passé une vingtaine d’années chez Robeco, d’abord en tant que responsable des relations clientèle, puis responsable middle office clients de la banque, avant d’être responsable de l’offre en 1999. Depuis 2010, il était third party marketer.Les activités d’Haussmann Patrimoine couvrent le conseil en investissement financier, le démarchage bancaire, le courtage d’assurance vie et prévoyance, les transactions immobilières, l’intermédiaire en opération de banque, la recherche de financements et les services de Gestion Privée Indépendante et de Gestion de Fortune.

Eurosic a consenti à un fonds d’investissement conseillé par J.P.Morgan Asset Management une option pour l’acquisition des immeubles de bureaux 52 Hoche et Avant Seine situés à Paris, totalisant ensemble près de 54.500 m². Le montant de la transaction est de 508 millions d’euros. Cette promesse devrait être réalisée fin juin 2012. Le premier ensemble héberge le siège du cabinet d’avocats Allen & Overy et le second celui du groupe BPCE.

Dans le cadre de la gestion active d’Opcimmo, son OPCI grand public, Amundi Immobilier a acquis en VEFA (Vente en l’Etat Futur d’Achèvement), auprès de Kaufman et Broad, un immeuble de bureaux de 7.620 m2 situé au 142 avenue Paul Vaillant Couturier à Paris (14ème). L’immeuble, dénommé « CAP 14 » et situé en façade du périphérique fera l’objet d’une démarche HQE - Haute Qualité Environnementale -. La qualité environnementale des bâtiments consistera à maitriser leur impact sur l’extérieur et à créer un espace intérieur sain et confortable. L’immeuble sera doté de 135 parkings en sous-sol et sera livré en juin 2014. Cet ensemble est d’ores et déjà intégralement loué à Kaufman et Broad dans le cadre d’un bail de 9 ans ferme.

Le 29 février, le régulateur chinois (CSRC) a donné son agrément à la nomination de Shao Jiejun comme managing director de GTJA Allianz Funds, qui était sans patron depuis sept mois. L’intéressé a pris ses fonctions le 3 mars, indique Z-Ben Advisors.

Les actifs sous gestion de GAM Holding AG, hors actifs gérés par GAM et distribués par Swiss & Global Asset Management, s’inscrivaient fin 2011 à 107 milliards de francs suisses, en recul de 9% par rapport à fin décembre 2010, a indiqué le groupe le 6 mars dans un communiqué.Cette baisse de près de 11 milliards de francs résulte pour l’essentiel d’un impact négatif de marché de 6 milliards de francs et d’une décollecte nette de 3,8 milliards de francs malgré les souscriptions nettes enregistrées par Swiss & Global AM et dans l’activité institutionnelle de GAM.Le bénéfice net accuse une baisse de 18% à 165,7 millions de francs.GAM a terminé l’année sur une décollecte de 4,9 milliards de francs à comparer à une collecte nette de près de 6 milliards de francs en 2010. Les actifs sous gestion de GAM s’établissaient fin décembre à 44,8 milliards de francs contre 53,6 milliards un an plus tôt.Du côté de Swiss & Global Asset Management, la collecte nette s’est élevée à 0,4 milliard de francs en 2011 contre 9,7 milliards de francs l’année précédente. Au 31 décembre 2011, les actifs sous gestion affichaient un recul de 4% par rapport à fin décembre 2010 à 76,9 milliards de francs

Selon Le Temps, HSBC Private Bank réfléchit à réduire entre 10 et 20% ses effectifs. La filiale suisse du groupe britannique emploie 6.700 personnes dans le monde, dont près de la moitié en Suisse. Les chiffres avancés dépassent les coupes annoncées l’été dernier au niveau du groupe, qui déclarait alors vouloir supprimer 30. 000 emplois d’ici à 2013 – soit environ 10% de ses effectifs – sur un total de 330 000. Selon les informations du Temps, HSBC Private Bank réfléchirait à présent à remercier, à elle seule, environ 15% de ses collaborateurs.

Le Barclays Bank U.K. Retirement Fund, le fonds de pension de Barclays, envisage de céder un portefeuille de private equity pour un montant d’environ 350 millions de livres, rapporte l’agence Bloomberg.Le fonds de pension a fait appel à la firme de conseil Cogent Partners pour gérer la vente de ce portefeuille qui comprend des engagements dans des fonds de LBO en Europe et aux Etats-Unis.Les actifs sous gestion du fonds de pension de Barclays s'élèvent à environ 21 milliards de livres.

BNY Mellon a lancé le 31 janvier le BNY Mellon Emerging Markets Corporate Debt Fund, un fonds investi dans des obligations d’entreprises des marchés émergents.Basé à Dublin et de type Ucits, le produit est géré par l’équipe dette émergente d’Insight Investment, dirigée par Colm Mc Donagh. Cette société fait partie du réseau de boutiques de BNY Mellon Asset Management depuis 2009. Le fonds, qui fera partie de BNY Mellon Global Funds, sera investi dans les obligations des entreprises de marchés émergents du monde entier qu’elles soient libellées en dollars ou en devises locales. Il se présente comme un portefeuille de «meilleures idées». Il est actuellement disponible à la vente au Royaume-Uni et en Irlande, mais il devrait être agréé dans d’autres pays d’Europe, et notamment en France.

Anthony Nutt et John Hamilton vont abandonner la co-gérance du fonds Jupiter Distribution, dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à 250 millions de livres, et dont la gestion sera désormais pilotée par Alastair Gunn et Rhys Petheram, rapporte Investment Week.Alastair Gunn a rejoint Jupiter en 2007, après avoir été responsable de la recherche actions chez Arbuthnot Securities. Rhys Petheram, arrivé chez Jupiter en 2006, était précédemment analyste crédit chez Moody’s.Anthony Nutt continuera de gérer le Income trust dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à plus de 2 milliards de livres, le High Income fund de 529 millions de livres (avec Ariel Bezalel) et le Dividend & Growth trust de 66 millions de livres. John Hamilton reste en charge du Corporate Bond fund (212 millions de livres).

Thierry Dissaux, président du Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts: Nous avons à peu près deux milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion, essentiellement sur des produits monétaires court terme. Notre allocation d’actifs aujourd’hui, c’est à peu près 75 % de fonds monétaires court terme, 20 % d’obligataires, mais avec une duration inférieure à deux ans, et une poche actions qui représente à peu près 5 % de nos actifs. Parce qu’on pense qu’on n’aura pas nécessairement besoin de retirer l’intégralité de nos fonds pour nous porter sur une défaillance bancaire, nous nous réservons la possibilité d’une petite poche supplémentaire, une poche moyenne sur les obligations avec un peu de duration. Il est prévu de remettre à plat la gestion obligataire, vraisemblablement courant 2012. Les performances constatées ces derniers temps étant légèrement en-dessous de notre benchmark, nous étudierons les évolutions possibles. Nous aurons peut-être également besoin d’ajuster notre gestion à la nouvelle donne en matière de notations.

La Caisse de Pensions de Nexans Suisse Previcab (295 millions de francs suisses) a décidé de se séparer de son gérant actions internationales, Notenstein Banque Privée SA. Les performances n'étaient pas à la hauteur des attentes. Le montant à savoir 10 millions de francs suisses a été transféré à Pictet pour une gestion passive en actions internationales et pays émergents. La Caisse travaille avec UBS sur des mandats en gestion passive pour les obligations internationales et suisses. Les actions locales sont donc gérées passivement par Pictet AM ainsi que les actions internationales et de pays émergents. Zürcher Kantonalbank est détenteur d’un mandat sur les small et mid caps. Pour les actions internationales en gestion active, le Fonds travaille avec GMO mais aussi de manière passive avec IST Investmentstiftung. La gestion du risque de change est assurée par la Caisse elle même. Le Fonds investit avec UBS et IST sur l’immobilier international. Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch et Macquarie Bank Group sont en charge des investissements en infrastructures. La stratégie d’investissement intègre : 2% en cash, 38% en obligations en francs suisses, 13% en obligations en devises étrangères, 10% en actions suisses, 12% en actions internationales, 2% en actions de pays émergents et 23% en immobilier suisse.

Société Générale Securities Services in Italy ()SGSS S.p.A.) on 5 March announced that it has been mandated by Hermes Linder Fund Sicav Plc to act as a local transfer agent to provide payment agency and investor relationship management services. SGSS in Italy provides a complete range of securities services, including settlement, custody and depository banking, fund administration, liquidity management and transfer agency services. Hermes Linder Fund Sicav Plc is the first SICAV incorporated in Malta for which SGSS is serving as a local transfer agent. It is managed by Praude Asset Management Limited, an asset manager which provides investment services, and which is registered with the Malta Financial Services Authority.

Ubi Banca is planning to sell its 27% stake in Arca Sgr, Bluerating reports, citing an article in La Repubblica.

The Brazilian asset management firm Bradesco Asset Management is planning to increase its activities in Asia, with the appointment of a head of sales for Hong Kong, Asian Investor reports. The position will probably be filled during second half 2012, at Bradesco Securities in Hong Kong, an entity which opened in February. IN Asia, Bradesco AM already has an office in Tokyo, and a partnership with Mitsubishi UFJ for distribution. Assets under management in both equities and bonds total USD1.5bn. Assets under management at Bradesco AM total USD125bn.

Governments need to act now in order to ensure that transportation infrastructure and public works which the world will need between 2020 and 2030 will be ready on time, according to a report published recently by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), “Transcontinental Infrastructure Needs for 2030.” The OECD claims that passenger air traffic could double, while merchandise air traffic will triple, and the volume of maritime containers in ports will quadruple worldwide by 2030. The report notes that most of the current infrastructure at access points and corridors will be unable to absorb the traffic, even if there is only a 50% increase in demand. The OECD values the investment required to meet the demand for the next decades at USD53trn, the equivalent of 2.5% of annual global GDP. Of this total, more than USD11trn will be needed for ports, airport and major rail junctions alone. The private sector will necessarily have to increase its investment in strategic transport infrastructure, the report finds. Pension funds will certainly play a more active role in providing financing, but before engaging much money, they will need more transparency and regulatory certainty.

In 2011, Allianz Real Estate announced that it had invested a total of about EUR2bn in equity and debt. Direct investments total about EUR1bn, a statement says. Among its direct investments, there are major transactions such as the acquisition of an 80% stake in the Skyline Plaza shopping centre in Frankfurt, and the acquisition of the Forum Seine office property in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the suburbs of Paris.

Annual studies by PwC of transactions in the energy and renewable energy sectors (“Power Deals” and “Renewable Deals”) have found a strong increase in the value of mergers and acquisitions in the two sectors, of 15% and 40%, respectively. Total transactions in 2011 in the electricity and gas sectors totalled USD174bn. In Europe, the total value of mergers and acquisitions fell to USD40bn in 2011, down 43% in value compared with the previous year. North American utilities made all-time record deals in 2011. The value of these deals has more than doubled year on year, to USD108bn. The main reason for this very high activity is consolidation between the sectors in the United States. Mega-deals have been a highly active sector, with seven operations out of the ten largest in the world, and the largest deal in 2011: the acquisition of the natural gas transporter El Paso Corp by the energy storage and transport giant Kinder Morgan, for a total of USD37.9bn.

Although its asset management operations in 2011 posted record operating profits, with a very low cost/income ratio, Allianz is now planning to completely overhaul the unit, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. The group is laying the concept of boutiques to rest, as it has admitted that the increasing complexity of products requires that distribution be closer to each product, and no commercial organisation is able to place the full range of disparate investment styles credibly and completely.

Stefan Tölg, a member of the board at Wave Management AG (VHV group) in charge of portfolio management, research and product development, has been recruited from 1 March as chief representative (Generalbevollmächtigter) at Pioneer Investments Germany.He will be head of the institutional client management and solutions unit, and will be in charge of developing the client base of complementary retirement funds and insurers, says CEO Evi Vogl.

DWS Investments, the asset management firm of the Deutsche Bank group, has created the DWS Global Financial Institute (DGFI), an economic research institute, which published its first working document on Monday. The mission for the new structure is to “bring together independent points of view in the mid- to long-term from two different worlds: finance, and academia.” The structure will be led by Dr. Henning Stein. Lord John Eatwell, chairman of Queens’ College, Cambridge, will be chairman of the DGFI Foundation. The contributors to DGFI will include Asoka Wöhrmann, chief investment officer at DWS, economist in chief Johannes Müller, head of research Petra Pflaum, and renowned professors from throughout the world. The publications will cover a wide range of research, from macroeconomics and finance to psychology and sociology. The first working document is entitled “Real Interest Rates Worldwide: A story of Two Regimes,” by Jagjit Chadha, professor of economics at the University of Kent, and a partner at the centre for international macroeconomic and financial research at the University of Cambridge. It details the real implications of a general decline in interest rates, why they are beneficial for the current global economy, and why we can expect a gradual rise in interest rates when the global economy returns to growth.

On 29 February, the Chinese regulator (CSRC) issued a license for the appointment of Shao Jiejun as managing director of GTJA Allianz Funds, which had not had a head for seven months. Jiejun began in his new role on 3 March, Z-Ben Advisors reports.

Assets under management at GAM Holding AG as of the end of 2011 totalled CHF107bn, down 9% compared with the end of December 2010, the group announced in a statement on 6 March.This decline of nearly CHF11bn in assets is largely due to negative market effects of CHF6bn, and net outflows of CHF3.8bn, despite net subscriptions to Swiss & Global AM, and institutional activities at GAM.Net profits are down 18% to CHF165.7m.

The independent investment analysis provider Morningstar on 5 March announced that it is releasing a CIC identification management system to assist insurers with their reporting obligations under Solvency II legislation. Morningstar will rely on a global database containing over 8 million codes for securities, in oder to offer a CIC code management system to insurance companies which will allow them to identify all that assets held under standard categories defined by the European System of Financial Supervision (EIOPA). The solution uses a proprietary system developed by Morningstar, which asks insurers for information to identify all types of assets with a standard CIC code.

The net return over the year on the overall net assets of the French pension fund FRR since 1st January was +0.37% and the FRR’s annualised performance, net of all expenses, since the commencement of operations totals 2.65%. Against challenging market conditions, the net assets held up well, according to the FRR. On 31 December 2011, the fund had net assets of EUR35.1 Bn whereas they stood at EUR37 Bn on 31 December 2010. However, during the course of the year, EUR2.1 Bn were paid out to CADES on 25 April 2011. In total, the movement in net assets, excluding the pay-out, was therefore EUR+200 M. This resilience of the net assets is attributable to the combined effect of three factors. - First, the strong performance (+4.5%) of hedging assets (bonds) which accounted for around 60% of the portfolio on average. This performance is due to a large extent to the fall in interest rates of issuers seen as a safe refuge in periods of uncertainty (Germany, United States); - Secondly, the diversification of the performance portfolio which softened the crash affecting the equities markets. The performance of this compartment over the year was -5.9%, whereas European equities lost 14.5%1, due in particular to the resilience of American equities (+2%), US corporate bonds (+9%), debt instruments of emerging countries (+3.4%) and commodities (+1%). - Finally, flexible management of the performance compartment helped to reduce the volatility of the portfolio during the course of the year. The financing ratio reached 136.5%, slightly lower than its level at the beginning of the year (139.25%). This slight fall is due to the combined effect of the increase in asset value and the even greater increase in the value of liabilities due to the fall in the reference discounting rates (10 year treasury bonds (OAT) dropping from 3.36% to 3.15%). Taking market movements into account, the hedging compartment on 31 December represented 62.1% of total assets and the performance compartment 37.9% on the same date.

BNP Investment Partners on 29 February joined the ranks of the asset management firms competing for the amLeague title. For the moment, the asset management firm is limiting its participation to the “Global Equities” full invested mandate, launched on 1 January this year, which invests internationally with the Stoxx 180 net return as its benchmark.

The investment advising firm Wells Fargo Funds Management, which advises the Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, has launched the Wells Fargo Advantage Absolute Return Fund, which will invest most of its assets in a master fund managed by the institutional investment specialist GMO. The fund gives access for the first time to the absolute return strategy from GMO. The fund aims for returns higher than inflation over the duration of a market cycle, regardless of market conditions. The fund is highly flexible, and has no constraints as to asset class or exposure (markets, sectors, countries, cap sizes.) It uses a very wide range of strategies, including inflation-linked bonds, emerging market debt, currencies, options, spread trading, natural resources, commodities, real estate and long/short.

With the Luxembourg-registered product SOP MultiAssetAllokation, Sal. Oppenheim (Deutsche Bank group) is offering a new multi-asset class fund which will make no direct investments and which will aim for an average annual return of 5% over the mid-term with ex ante volatility of 7% per year. The fund will be available from 2 April.The new fund, managed by Lars Edler, is constructed around a monthly rebalancing of projections for 14 equity, bond and commodity markets, with the possibility for short positions. The fund will invest in futures, ETF, ETC and ETN products.CharacteristicsName: SOP MultiAssetAllokationISIN codes: LU0724750038 (I share class)LU0724749709 (R share class)Front-end fee: 3% (R share class only)Management commission:0.60% (I share class)1.20% (R share class)Performance commission: 20% on performance exceeding 400 basis points (with high watermark)Minimal subscription: EUR0.5m (I share class)

On 5 March, Fidelity Worldwide Investment in Germany announced the launch of the Fidelity Asian Smaller Companies Fund, Fidelity China RMB Bond Fund and Fidelity Emerging Markets Inflation-Linked Bond Fund, all sub-funds of the Luxembourg-registered Fidelity Funds Sicav.The product specialised in small caps (under USD5bn) will have a portfolio of 125 to 200 positions. It is managed by Dale Nicholls in Singapore, and takes its orientation from the MSCI AC Asia Pacitfic ex Japan Small Cap Net Return Index (10% Australian equities), but does not constrain itself to that index.The China RMB Fund, which is managed in Hong Kong by Bryan Collins, will have 50 to 150 positions on offshore debt denominated in Chinese yuan from issuers in continental China. These are so-called “dim sum” debt, but, unlike competing products, the fund will invest only in investment-grade debts (rated at least BBB) denominated in Chinese yuan, but the asset management team will also be allowed to invest in bonds in currencies from industrialised countries, in which case currency risks will be hedged.The portfolio of the inflation-linked bond fund will include 10 to 50 sovereign emerging market issuers. It is managed by Aandy Weir, who may include up to 25% bonds denominated in strong currencies.CharacteristicsName: Fidelity Funds – Asian Smaller Companies FundISIN code: LU0702159426 (shares in EUR)LU0702159343 (shares in USD)Front-end fee: 5.25%Management commission: 1.50%Name: Fidelity Funds – China RMB Bond FundISIN code: LU0715234463Front-end fee: 3.50%Management commission: 0.75%Name: Fidelity Funds – Emerging Markets Inflation-linkd Bond FundISIN code: LU0699195888Front-end fee: 5.25%Management commission: 0.80%

The Audacia company, which offers financing solutions dedicated to profitable and growing small and midcaps, has recruited François Terrier as chief investment officer. At the same time, Nicolas Mulle becomes chief risk and participations officer.Terrier had previously been at Neuflize OBC – ABN-Amro in charge of development for the provincial network serving directors of businesses, before joining Neuflize OBC Corporate Finance handling high-value operations concerning private and family-owned businesses.Mulle, for his part, had managed corporate holdings at Audacia, after serving as chief investment officer from 2009 to 2011.

François Gazier, former head of the product range from Banque Robeco, has joined Haussmann Patrimoine, an independent wealth management advising firm in France, as a wealth manager in the financial department. Gazier spent 20 years at Robeco, first as head of client relationships, and then as head of middle office for banking clients, before becoming head of the product in 1999. Since 2010, he had been a third party marketer. The activities of Haussmann Patrimoine include financial investment advising, direct selling in the banking sector, life insurance and retirement planning brokerage, real estate transactions, banking operation intermediation, locating financing and services as an Independent Financial Adviser and Wealth Manager.