KKR et TPG figurent parmi les candidats au rachat d’AsiaInfo-Linkage, une SSII chinoise cotée aux Etats-Unis rapporte L’Agefi. L’opération pourrait atteindre plus d’un milliard de dollars, selon des sources citées par Reuters.

Wasatch va fermer aux nouveaux investisseurs son fonds Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund, qui pèse plus d’un milliard de dollars. La société de gestion américaine a décidé de ne pas pénaliser la stratégie petites et moyennes valeurs du produit en limitant la taille de ses encours.

Le programme FSI France Investissement 2020 a été lancé hier, doté de 5 milliards d’euros, dont 4 milliards apportés par le FSI, sur 8 ans, ainsi que les fonds d’investissement Nova 1 et Nova 2 destinés aux PME-ETI cotées, rapporte L’Agefi. Ces deux fonds ont levé 161,5 millions d’euros, dont 40 millions auprès de la CDC et le solde auprès de douze assureurs ou bancassureurs. Gérés par CM-CIC AM et par Amiral Gestion, ces fonds fermés, d’une durée de cinq ans, se fixent un objectif de rentabilité supérieur à l’indice composite formé à 50% du CAC Small et à 50% du All shares.

Le pôle gestion d’actifs de la société Rathbone Brothers a fait état pour l’exercice 2011 d’une progression de 30% de son résultat avant impôts à 39,2 millions de livres.Les actifs sous gestion s’inscrivaient au 31 décembre à 15,85 milliards de livres, en hausse de 1,4% par rapport à fin 2010.

Axa Wealth se propose de lancer une plateforme d’investissement en direct avec un groupe de sociétés de conseillers financiers indépendants au cours des six prochains mois, rapporte Fund Web. La plateforme, dont le lancement répond à une demande des conseillers financiers, proposera environ 130 fonds sélectionnés par Architas (groupe AXA).

Mark Lyttleton va abandonner la gestion du BlackRock UK fund qui sera désormais assurée par le co-gérant du fonds, Nick Little, rapporte Money Marketing.Nick Little, qui co-gérait ce fonds depuis septembre 2011, prendra ses nouvelles fonctions à compter du 1er mars. Mark Lyttleton gérait ce fonds de 447 millions de livres depuis septembre 2001. Mark Lyttleton continuera de gérer le fonds absolute alpha (1,2 milliard de livres d’actifs sous gestion) et le fonds dynamique (872 millions de livres).

La police de la ville de Londres enquête sur une tentative de fraude présumée de 150 millions de dollars de la part d’un ancien trader de Threadneedle, selon le Financial Times. La société de gestion a confirmé mardi que la police et les autres autorités avaient été informées après que des contrôles internes aient été déclenchés et que l’exécution d’un ordre suspicieux ait été stoppée en août dernier. Threadneedle, qui gère environ 60 milliards de livres, souligne ne pas avoir perdu d’argent.

From 29 February 2012, the LBPAM Obli Crédit fund, managed by La Banque Postale AM (LBPAM), will undergo several modifications in orde rto “regularise the fund and bring it into compliance with UCITS IV regulations (directive 2009/CE of 13 July 2009).” All investments in shares in mutual funds or other funds which do not comply with these regulations, including alternative strategies, will be removed, as will risks related to investments in alternative strategy investment funds. The modifications will be noted in the prospectus of the FCP fund, whciwh ill be updated on 29 February 2012. The other characteristics of the FCP fund will remain unchanged, the asset management firm states on its website.

The asset management affiliate of the Banque Neuflize OBC on 21 February 21 announced the launch of the NOBC Convertibles 2012 fund, a horizon fund of funds which will allow investors to benefit from convertibles based on equities, issuer credit risk premiums, and from the valuations specific to this asset class. The fund will initially be invested primarily in convertible bonds (more than 97%), with maturities prior to or very near January 2016, with high average returns and adequate diversification. The fund will have a high internal rate of return, and when the dynamics of the market permit it, active management to provide profit-taking and reinvestments based on a simple principle: securities whose rate of return have fallen significantly will be sold off and replaced by securities with higher returns and at least equal credit risk. The attraction for the investor is to benefit partially from the three qualities of convertible bonds described above, and to have a means to benefit from trades executed by managers. In order to maximally profit from the opportunities that arise, the fund is initially 70% invested in high yield bonds, and slightly under 50% invested in small and midcaps. As of Friday, 10 February, the average annual gross percentage rate for securities in the portfolio was 6.1%, and the average sensitivity to equities was 30%. NOBC Convertibles 2016 may be considered a defensive convertibles fund, in that the delta is initially moderate (30%), and will gradually be reduced as the fund appraches maturity. Investors will also not be subject to rising interest rates if they remain invested until maturity. The average sensitivity of the fund (to credit, valuation and interest rates) will also decrease over time. Another significant opportunity is that in a period in which the returns for funds in euros for insurance policies is about 3% per year, the fund provides a way to take a position on a horizon fund that invested in convertible bonds and allows for diversification of investments. NOBC Convertibles 2016 is also eligible for investment from life insurance policies from Neuflize Vie, a high-end life insurance firm from Banque Neuflize OBC. The Convertibles team manages about EUR900m in assets, of which EUR500m are via two open-ended funds: NOBC Europe Convertibles and NOBC Monde Convertibles.

Wasatch has closed its Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund, which has over USD1bn in assets, to new investors. The US asset management firm has decided that it will not penlise the small and midcaps strategy of the product, and is therefore limiting its asset volume.

The hedge fund from John Paulson is being sued by a former investors who claims that the firm failed to undertake appropriate due diligence on Sino Forest, a Chinese forestry firm which cost the Paulson & Co funds about USD460m when its share price collapsed, the Financial Times reports. The investor in question is Hugh Culverhouse, a former Federal prosecutor. The lawsuit may be a class action suit.

On Tuesday evening, a US federal judge dismissed a case filed by Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee for the business interests of Bernard Madoff, against UniCredit and three of its affiliates, including Pioneer Global Asset Management, the Wall Street Journal reports. Judge Rakoff found that there were not sufficent grounds to invoke the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act against the defendants, particularly as that legislation does not apply to securities fraud.

The Financial association on 21 February released its practical guide to solidaristic employee savings, which aims to inspire employees to subscribe to a solidaristic employee savings fund. Savings in solidaristic FCPE funds, which are partly invested in businesses with socially responsible policies, provide a way to create jobs for the long-term unemployed, construct social housing and to foster international solidaristic activities that respect the environment. In 2010, solidaristic FCPE funds certified by Finansol delivered total financial returns ranging from 2.6% to 9.75%.

Private equity investor BC Partners has attracted investment commitments in 18 months of EUR6.5bn for its new European Capital IX buyout funds, the largest in Europe since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. But, the Börsen-Zeitung reports, the managing partner for Germany at BC Partners, Stefan Zuschke, has admitted that the company had to make concessions to investors in the form of reduced commissions. The circle of investors has been enlarged compared with the previous fund, with the arrival of Asian investors. Zuschke claims that it is still possible to make deals totalling as much as EUR1bn or EUR2bn in Germany, even though banks have become more cautious.

Petercam is working to develop a high yield bond strategy that would invest in government bonds denominated in local currencies from emerging markets, which would meet socially responsible investment (SRI) criteria. The fund would be an addition to the high yield range from the Belgian asset management firm, which already includes two funds: the Petercam L bonds Eur High Yield Short Term and the Petercam L Fund – Petercam L Bonds Higher Yield. The introduction of an SRI filter aims to meet demand from clients, says Thierry Larose, senior manager at Petercam. The fund, currently in production, would exclude certain countries, such as China and Russia. The new strategy, which is expected in second half, will be managed by the high yield bond strategies team, led by Bernard Lalière.

In the years from 2001-2010, hedge funds with assets of under USD100m have earned annual returns of 10.1%, compared with 8.3% for funds which total assets of USD100m-USD500m, and 8% for funds with over USD500m, according to a recent study by Barclays Bank, relayed by Fonds Professionell.The difference is even larger if the top quartile of each category is considered, with average gains of 99% per year for the first group, 71% for the second, and 60% for the third.Although the funds with less than USD100m include funds which are by far the most lucrative, it also includes some of the worst.

The financial market data provider Interactive Data Corporation has formed a partnership with the Swiss firm RepRisk, a specialist in business intelligence in environmental, social and governance (ESG) areas, in order to extend the range of content available via Prime Terminal Solution, the custom offering from Interactive Data for desktop computers.Quantitative data from RepRisk on reputation risk indicators for various businesses and sectors, with current and historical data, will be available via PrimeTerminal. The solution will allow finance professionals (fund managers, advisors at private banks) to follow the ESG performance of companies worldwide, and to select the ones for their portfolios which perform best, and which demonstrate that they effectively comply with the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI). Users will also have access to critical reviews published by a wise range of diverse stakeholders (media, NGOs, government agencies, community groups, universities, think tanks and social media).

Hedgeanalytics, a spinoff of the High School for management and law in Zurich, has published its first ratings for funds of hedge funds, Agefi Switzerland reports. The ratings are based on a Total Risk Rating system for rating systemic risks, whose primary emphasis is on operational risks, and then on market, credit and liquidity risks taken into account by the evaluation. The ratings are based on due diligence based on the most recent scientific findings, which will help to create a basis for comparison of hedge funds.

Mark Lyttleton will be ceasing his participation in the management of the BlackRock UK Fund, which will now be managed by the fund’s co-manager, Nick Little, Money Marketing reports. Little, who had been co-manager of the fund since Septemebr 2011, will begin in his new position on 1 March. Lyttleton will continue to manage the absolute alpha fund (GBP1.2bn in assets under management) and the dynamic fund (GBP872m).

“The UCITS IV directive is good news, not because it provides a way to accelerate cross-border mergers of funds, as the tax questions have not all been resolved, but because it creates a European master-feeder fund structure,” Christophe Coquema, COO, explained at a presentation of results for Axa Investment Managers on Tuesday in Paris. Axa IM is interested in the formula, which would allow for an actively-managed master fund to have several national funds with similar objectives as feeder funds. The French asset management firm has recently set up a dedicated initiative to reduce the number of funds, which would also reduce costs and improve profitability. Axa IM is eventually aiming for a 15% to 20% reduction in its fund universe, Coquema says. Clearly, it is not possible to apply the same fine-toothed approach to the catalogue of dedicated funds as to open-ended funds, which number 400 to 500 in Europe.

Ratings of structured financing in Europe improved further last year, according to an annual study of the sector recently published by Standard & Poor’s. The percentage of ratings which were lowered in 2011 came to 22.3%, compared with 25.4% the previous year. This development reflects both macroeconomic trends in Europe and modifications to ratings methodologies, the agency says in a statement. Standard & Poor’s points out, however, that the number of ratings lowered represents 2.5 times the number of ratings that were raised.

The asset management unit of the Rathbone Brothers company has reported a 30% increase in its pre-tax profits for 2011, at GBP39.2m. Assets under management as of 31 December totalled GBP15.85bn, up 1.4% compared with the end of 2010.

Axa Wealth is preparing to launch a direct investment platform with a group of independent financial advising firms in the next six months, Fund Web reports. The platform, whose launch aims to meet demand from IFAs, will offer about 130 funds selected by Architas (AXA group).

The London City Police is investigating a suspected attempted fraud for USD150m by a former trader at Threadneedle, the Financial Times reports. The asset management firm on Tuesday confirmed that the police and other authorities had been notified after internal controls were triggered and the execution of a suspicious transaction was stopped last August. Threadneedle, which manages about GBP60bn in assets, points out that it lost no client money.

The manager of the Government Pension Fund – Global (formerly the Norwegian Oil Fund), Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), has announced that it will become the sponsor of the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA), which it has belonged to since 2008. It is the first foundation sponsor, and Anne Kwan, global head of ownership policy, says that the interests of the ACGA, which is highly competent and effective, are well-aligned with those of NBIM, which is a major investor in the region.

More than 100 pension funds in the Netherlands will have to reduce their rights and/or benefits if their financial situation does not improve adequately in the next few months, the website IPE reports. Reductions under consideration could total an average of about 2.3%, but 34 pension plans are probably in a position of not being able to avoid a reduction in benefits of slightly under 7%, according to estimates by the Netherlands Central Bank (DNB).

With the Microbank Fondo Ético Garantizado, registered by the CNMV on 17 February, InverCaixa will launch a fund on 27 April which is both guaranteed and ethical, and which will mature on 2 May 2016. On that date, subscribers will receive 100% of their initial net asset value, plus 55% fo the returns on an equally-weighted basked of equities composed of shares in five companies of the FTSE4Good Europe index, selected on the basis of responsible investment criteria. The firms are the Spanish Inditex, the German firms Allianz ,Bayer and Deutsche Bank, and the Dutch KPN. Returns may vary from 0% at the worst to 7.4% per year at the best.CharacteristicsName: Microbank Fondo Ético Garantizado, FIISIN code: ES0171732003Front-end fee: 4%Management commission: 1.64%Early withdrawal penalty: 4%

The Investment Management unit of BNP Paribas Real Estate has had another full year in 2011. Earnings have risen by more than 10%, to EUR89.2m. This activity, which has been growing rapidly for three years, has also seen “very good inflows,” Philippe Zivkovic, chairman of BNP Paribas Real Estate, said at a press conference on 21 February. Assets under management in Europe as of the end of December totalled EUR12.7bn (of which EUR4.1bn are in France), an increase of EUR1.9bn year on year.New investment vehicles are in preparation. For several years, OPCI funds have been exclusively dedicated to institutional investors. The OPCI SPF1 will finish its investment programme in first half, and a second commercial OPCI will be launched at the end of June. The OPCI HPF1 (Health Property Fund), dedicated to health properties, will make its first acquisitions in first half 2012.There are also other plans to launch OPCI Funds dedicated to specific asset classes.All real estate activities at BNP Paribas Real Estate, where the Investment Management profession accounted for 14% of earnings last year, have earned net profits of EUR142m, compared with EUR139m (EUR129m excluding one-time elements) in 2010, for operating profits up 11% to EUR156m, and gross earnings of EUR658m (+6%).Zivkovic has also announced that the firm is preparing a new three-year development plan “with the first effects in the year 2012,” but had no further comment.

“The hoped-for rebound has come,” Dominique Carrel-Billiard, CEO, said on Tuesday at a presentation of 2011 results for Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM), which included operating profits of EUR215m, compared with EUR191m in 2010 and EUR171m in 2009.AUM as of 31 December, of EUR51bn, ultimately fell by only EUR4bn over the year. Axa IM France had net inflows of about EUR1.6bn, but Axa Rosenberg had further net outflows of EUR5bn. Net redemptions were limited to EUR1.2bn, while market effects and disposal of operations each «cost» the firm EUR3bn in assets, and currency effects were positive to the tune of EUR5bn.The CEO claims that Axa IM is now well-prepared for 2012, with a return to good performance at Axa Rosenberg, due to its enhanced index, emerging Asia and long term/long volatility strategies. Axa IM also now has a range “which has something for everybody,” and will now aim to strengthen its platforms (Germany, UK, Netherlands, Switzerland and Nordics). The asset management firm is also planning to develop in India in the long term, through its cooperation with Bank of India. It is also planning to launch loan products.Carrel-Billiard says that the client categories that will be worked particularly hard this year were fund distributors, followed by mid-sized institutionals and finally institutionals such as sovereign wealth funds and major Dutch, US and British pension funds.

The US firm Third Avenue Management has announced that it has signed a partnership with Jim Millstein, former head of restructuring at the US Treasury. They will join forces to create new products and strategies which will focus on distressed businesses. Millstein led the restructuring of AIG in the United States.