Société de gestion de portefeuille de SCPI et OPCI commercialisés par les Caisses d’Epargne et La Banque Postale, Ciloger vient d’annoncer le lancement de la SCPI Ciloger Habitat, permettant aux investisseurs de bénéficier du dispositif «Scellier». Ce dernier permet de bénéficier pour chaque part, dès l’année de la souscription, d’une réduction d’impôt de 25% de son montant, à raison d’un neuvième par an. Ciloger Habitat constituera un patrimoine de logements neufs, géographiquement diversifié et situé en priorité en Ile-de-France et dans les zones urbaines à fort potentiel (zones A, B1 et B2). La société de gestion précise que les logements seront sélectionnés au regard des normes édictées en matière environnementale - réglementation thermique et performance énergétique (éco conditionnalité).

A compter du 9 juillet, AXA IM a décidé de modifier les caractéristiques de ses fonds Axa IM Euro Liquidity et Axa Eonia. Premier changement : la limite de 10 % maximum d’investissement en Euro Commercial Paper sera supprimé.Ensuite, le taux du marché utilisé pour la valorisation de titres de créances négociables en euros de maturité supérieure à trois mois est modifié. Le taux sera désormais «courbe de swap Eonia (méthode OIS) ".Enfin, la maturité des instruments sélectionnés n’excédera pas 4 ans à l’achat pour Axa Eonia et 2 ans pour Axa IM Euro Liquidity.

Bank of America (BofA), after its acquisition of Marrill Lynch, has overtaken UBS as the largest private bank in the world, the Financial Times reports. Scorpio Partnership reports that the US firm has USD1.5trn in assets, just ahead of the Swiss bank, whose assets fell to USD1.9trn in 2007 and USD1.5trn last year. Thanks to its merger with Wachovia, Wells Fargo (USD1trn) has also entered the top 10 largest private banks in the world, as has Goldman Sachs. Scorpio reports that private banks manage USD14.5trn (-16.7% compared with 2007), and their profits have fallen by an average of 32.9%, while their cost-income ratio last year deteriorated to 72.4% from 63.7%.

La Tribune reports that Northern Rock, the British bank nationalised last year, will be split into two entities: one which will include branches and current accounts, and one which will contain loans and toxic assets, in preparation for a sale of the healthy portion of the group. Downing Street’s effort to sell the nationalised bank have been controversial. The current economic situation renders these efforts more vexed. On the one hand, the bank is being encouraged to refund the government aid it has received as soon as possible, but it is also being encouraged to increase lending to households in order to restart the ecnomy. The government must also be flexible with those financial firms which are not able to repay their debts. The result is that the bank’s capital reserves have fallen below the minimum level, and the government may be required to reach into its pockets once again.

Bernard Madoff, prisoner 1727-054, has engaged the services of Herb Hoelter, a specialist consultant at the National Centre for Institutions and Alternatives, to help him to find the best prison possible to serve his 150-year prison sentence in, the Times reports. Among the illustrious clients of Hoelter are the former president of Sotheby’s, Alfred Taubman, and the financiers Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky.

The investment bank of the Royal Bank of Canada group is made a series of recruitments in Europe, Hedge Week reports. Carmine Meoli has been appointed head of sales for private bakning, while Arif Hussein and Peter Drewienkiewicz joins RBC Capital Markets as part of the sales and trading team. Meoli was previously at ABM Amro and Deutsche Bank, while Hussein and Drewienkiewicz were previously at UBS.

The European Commission has issued a statement on the security of derivatives markets and simultaneously launched a consultation on the subject, which will conclude with a public hearing on 25 September. Depending on the results of the consultation, the Commission will draw operational conclusions, and will then propose appropriate measures, including legislation if necessary, by the end of the year to increase transparency and financial security. The statement, which points out the considerable diversity of OTC derivative markets, mentions some tools which may be used to maintain financial stability, including, among others, standardisation which may reduce operational risks, databases which increase transparency, and operational efficiency. On this last point, the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) has launched a feasibility study on the possibility of creating data center locations in the European Union. Another potential measure is compensation by central counterparties (CCPs). The industry has agreed to set up a central compensation service for CDS by 31 July. If CCPs do not honour their commitments, the Commission says that it will consider other measures to push for centralised compensation. The Commission has also published two working documents. The first of these analyses OTC derivatives markets, while the second is a consultation instrument which includes a detailed questionnaire to be returned by 31 July.

As part of a process to develop regulations governing ratings agencies, the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) has been mandated by the European Commission to evaluate regulatory regimes in effect in Canada, Japan and the United States, and solutions to consider if there are manifest disparities with European regulations to govern ratings agencies, recently passed by the European Parliament and the European Commission. The terms of the regulations will be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities by the end of September, to come into effect 20 days later, in mid-October. The CESR will publish its findings by 15 February 2010.

Hines Italia Sgr is launching a real estate development fund with EUR950m in assets, Il Sole - 24 ore reports. The fund includes the Fondiaria Sai group and the American institution TIAA CREF among its investors.

Bank Julius Bär (Deutschland) on Monday morning announced that it will open a branch in Munich on 1 October 2009, which will coincide with the 20th anniversary of the bank’s first steps into the German market. Bank Julius Bär is already present in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart. The new branch will be led by Volker Rützel, who is leaving UBS Munich. He will be assisted by Jürgen Wörl and Stefan Hansen as relationship managers.

The European Commission on 3 July launched a large public consultation on the function of the depository for UCITS funds. The consultation will occupy a significant place in the choice and definition of measures the European Union is to take to remedy the insufficiencies observed in the UCITS depository sector, and to improve the level of protection for investors in UCITS funds. “The Madoff affair has shown that the terms of the UCITS directive have been interpreted in widely divergent ways, which created inequalities in the protection afforded to small investors. The proposed directive for alternative investment fund managers recently presented by the Commission increases the obligations for depositories and their responsibilities. Regulations which aim to protect small investors could not be allowed to be any less strict than they are for professional investors. This is why requirements for UCITS funds need to be harmonised and strengthened,” explains Commissioner McCreevy in a statement. The consultation will aim to collect opinions and information on the obligations of depositories, their area of responsibility, organizational requirements and admissibility and monitoring criteria. In the area of responsibility, particularly when a depository does not satisfy its responsibilities or becomes insolvent, the Commission will make an effort to determine what risks are likely to emerge. It considers that the burden of proof should rest with the depositor. It is also proposing to impose new requirements when a sub-depository network is used for asset custodial services. Participants are invited to submit contributions until 15 September. Information about the consultation is available at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/investment/depositary_fr.htm

Oswald Grübel, CEO of the Swiss banking giant UBS, has decided not to sell the firm’s brokerage and wealth management activities in the United States, which consist primarily of its affiliate Paine Webber, the American brokerage and wealth management firm acquired barely eight years ago for about USD10.8bn. To stimulate its brokerage activities, UBS is seeking a new head for US activities, the Financial Times reports.

With new regulations about to come into force at the end of June 2011 in the EU, which will open borders, the asset management sector in Italy will need to have actors with enough strength to compete with major foreign rivals, the Wall Street Journal observes. Marco Carreri, CEO of Prima SGR, predicts that there will be a large number of mergers of asset management firms in 2010, as companies with less than EUR7bn in assets will not be able to withstand the strength of the large groups as they have in the past, as it becomes more difficult to turn a profit. Marco Messori, chairman of Assogestioni, says management firms which dominate the market and which are controlled by banks will need to improve their efficiency. They will need to diversify their distribution networks so as not to be solely dependent on their banks’ house products any longer. The three largest actors in asset management are Intesa Sanpaolo with Eurizon and Banca Fideuram (EUR187bn), Generali (EUR127bn), and Unicredit with Pioneer (EUR115bn).

Following the announced departure of Jean-Louis Laurens for Rothschild & Cie Gestion, Robeco is reorganizing its two entities in France “continuing the reorganization already conducted in December 2008.” Michel Maillard is appointed as chairman of the board at Banque Robeco, while Ali Ould-Rouis becomes chairman of Robeco Gestions. The two men have worked at Robeco for several years. Maillard, 60, who has been a part of the group since 1995, has been a board member since 1997, and CEO of Robeco Gestions since 2004. Ali Ould-Rouis, 44, joined Groupe Robeco France in November 2000, and has also been CEO and compliance officer at Banque Robeco since 2006.

From 1 July, Aberdeen has become the financial advisor to most of the traditional funds of the Credit Suisse range. This means that Aberdeen is now in charge of the financial management of its funds, following its own investment processes, although the range itself will continue to be administrated by Credit Suisse, according to a letter sent to Credit Suisse clients in France. “Credit Suisse is planning to transfer all operational tasks related to its fund range to teams at Aberdeen in 2010. To express Aberdeen’s role in the management of these funds, some of them will adopt the name ‘Aberdeen’ from today.”

According to a notification to the SEC, Warrenn Buffett has offered shares in his holding company Berkshire Hathaway worth about USD1.5bn to charities, including USD1.25bn for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.

L’Agefi Switzerland reports that Brian Singer, former head of the Global Investment Solutions division of UBS, who managed USD200bn in assets before his departure from the Swiss bank in 2007, has founded Singer Partners. To launch his firm, he is reforming a team which worked together for a decade. It promises to deliver a transparent, liquid and consistent asset management approach, which will rely on “Global Opportunity” strategy, inherited from Brinson Partners. Winger is also president of the “Free to Choose” think tank, inspired by the thought of Milton Friedman.

An increase in taxes on incomes over EUR175,000 per year from 40% to 50% in April 2010 will affect only 1% of British taxpayers, La Tribune reports. But City financial sector employees will be the first to be affected. The newspaper cites David Butler, founder of Kinetic Partners, who estimates that 25% of hedge fund managers in the United Kingdom may leave for other countries as a result of the change. Those who earn over EUR116,000 will lose a small tax deduction previously available to all taxpayers. The tax increase, announced two months ago, La Tribune reports, is one of a series of changes to UK policies to high net worth persons who have been resident in the country for two years or more. One of the great attractions of the City had long been “non-domiciled” tax status. For those with this status, only income earned in the United Kingdom was taxable there, and not income earned elsewhere. Gordon Brown’s government changed this disposition in 2008. Now, “non-doms” choose either to pay a fixed sum of EUR35,000, or to pay tax on all their income. Despite these less favourable conditions, few financial sector workers have chosen to move to other countries, the newspaper observes. And even with the added consequences of the hedge fund directive - which is far from being passed by the British government - for the moment, London remains a top location for managers.

The four-star hotel Radisson Blu (16,892 square metres, 196 rooms and suites) in Cracow has been sold for about EUR32m to Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) for the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Europa. This is UIRE’s first investment in the hotel sector in central Europe. The hotel portfolio includes 21 locations in Europe, with a total of 6,350 rooms. The Krakow hotel is also UIRE’s second investment in Poland, following the acquisition of the 3 Stawy shopping centre in Katowice by the UniImmo: Global fund in October.

In its monthly survey, the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) has found that in June, the proportion of investors’ assets dedicated to equities was 50%, up from 41% in spring. But, Le Temps reports, this is an increase for lack of a better alternative. Money market investments are returning virtually nothing, commodities have become overpriced again, and bonds are too difficult to access due to a market overcrowded by institutional investors, or they involve too much risk, the newspaper analyzes.

Frédéric Leroux, right-hand man to Edouard Carmignac, estimates that the financial crisis has strengthened his convictions in favour of emerging markets and commodities, Citywire reports. The Carmignac Patrimoine fund, which he manages with Carmignac, now has over EUR10bn in assets.

On Friday, Credit Suisse announced that it is extending its Xmtch range of ETFs listed in Switzerland, whose assets currently total CHF6.76bn. The Xmtch range, launched by Credit Suisse in 2001, includes a series of Swiss indexes. With the launch of 16 new ETFs, Credit Suisse is diversifying the range, which now includes a complete selection of elements to construct a portfolio with exposure to government bonds with a wide range of maturities and a focus on Europe and the United States. The range inclues a fund based on 1-3 year Swiss governement bonds, and funds based on the MSCI UK Large Cap and its United States and Japanese equivalents. In the area of European government bonds, ETF products replicate the iBoxx EUR Govt 1-3, 3-7, 7-10 and Inflation Linked, and the equivalent indexes in the iBoxx USD series. Lastly, four “satellite” products are based on the MSCI Small Cap EMU, UK, USA and Japan indexes.

F&C Asset Management has become a completely independent publicly traded management firm, for the first time in its 140-year history, following Friends Provident’s distribution of its 52% stake to shareholders, the Financial Times reports. While F&C had been considered an acquisition target when Friends was seeking to sell off its stake, the British management firm now finds itself in a position to acquire others. Alain Grisay, CEO, says F&C could act fast if it finds rare gems. The executive estimates that 15 European banks are no longer considering asset management a strategic activity.

On Thursday, Standard & Poor’s placed the long-term counterparty rating of BBB-, and short-term rating of A-3 for F&C Asset Management under watch with negative implications. The move also applies to its BB rating for subordinate debt. The measure is a result of a deterioration in debt servicing parameters, with EBITDA likely to fall below three and a half times the volume of debt.

Emily Porter, a portfolio manager at the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), says that the pension fund decided in 2007 to invest up to 20% of its GBP23bn portfolio in alternative assets, and that it is planning to select 25 hedge funds within the next two years at most, Professional Pensions reports. The goal will be to generate performance 500 basis points higher than the Libor, with volatility 50% that the equities markets. USS is planning to rely on the services of risk aggregators.

A general shareholders’ meeting at Marks & Spencer (M&S) on Wednesday will be lively, the Sunday Times reports. Management at the retail group is refusing to consider a resolution proposed by the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), which would call for the recruitment of an independent president by 2010, to limit the powers of the firm’s CEO, Sir Stuart Rose, who is currently both president and CEO.

Since the passing of the pop music icon Michael Jackson, the Dutch pension fund ABP has been rubbing its hands together. Every time the singer’s single “You Are Not Alone” is broadcast on the airwaves, the fund receives a sun in royalties, Fondsprofessionell reports. Via its music publishing firm Imagem, ABP owns the complete or partial rights to more than 12 hits by the dead pop idol. The firm also owns rights to about 100,000 titles by Madonna, Britney Spears, the Spice Girls and Daft Punk among others. The catalogue also includes a considerable amount of jazz and classical music. This demonstrably lucrative asset class has generated returns of about 8% per year for the pension fund.

The management team at Quality Funds, the third-party fund platform from BBVA, is now complete, Funds People reports. The CEO Juan Pablo Jimeno will be assisted by José Luís Segimón for traditional fund analysis and selection, while José Martín de Cabiedes is quitting as treasurer of BBVA and BBVA & Partners to become head of alternative investment selection. Richard Gutiérrez becomes head of operational risk, while Inés Castro, formerly head of analysis at Quality Funds, will take over as director of Fund Solutions.

Credit Suisse has applied to the CNMV for a license to sell an “active and flexible” fund of funds with assets invested predominantly in equities. The CS Global Fondos Gestión Activa will invest 30% to 75% of its assets in equities funds, and will not be allowed to acquire shares in bond assets rated below BB- by S&P, Funds People reports. Maximal exposure to currency risks will by 30%, and the management team will be able to invest up to 10% in alternative assets (hedge funds, real estate, etc). Management fees will be 1.5%.

Following Fibanc in early June, Cajastur has announced that it will liquidate its fund of hedge funds Liberta Multiestrategia, which had assets of EUR3m as of the end of March, and which was launched in September 2007. The fund was a feeder for a hedge fund from ICR Institutional Investment Management.