La banque privée Neuberger Berman enrichit son offre de solutions alternatives avec le lancement du Neuberger Berman Uncorrelated Strategies Fund. Ce fonds au format Ucits a démarré avec 71 millions de dollars de «seed capital» émanant de clients au Royaume-Uni, en Suisse et en Scandinavie.L’objectif du fonds est de dégager des rendements absolus positifs et de donner la priorité à des stratégies non corrélées aux actions ou à l’obligataire sur la durée d’un cycle de marché. L'équipe d’investissement, dont le gérant de portefeuille Fred Ingham, retient des stratégies différenciées telles que Global Macro, Equity Market neutral, Short Term Trading ou encore Trend Following, qui ont par le passé dégagé des rendements distincts de ceux des classes d’actifs traditionnelles et qui ont aussi démontré de faibles corrélations entre elles sur le long terme.Le fonds domicilié en Irlande est enregistré à la vente au Royaume-Uni et en Europe continentale.

Deux anciens traders spécialisés dans le pétrole vont lancer le mois prochain un hedge fund dédié aux matières premières, rapporte le Wall Street Journal qui cite une source proche du dossier. Baptisé Rose Commodities, ce fonds est créé par Richard Rosenblum, ancien responsable mondial du pétrole et du négoce de dérivés chez Goldman Sachs, et par Arthur Colarossi, ancien spécialiste du trading sur options chez BBL Commodities. Ce nouveau véhicule d’investissement a d’ores et déjà recueilli plus de 200 millions de dollars de souscriptions.

La société d’investissement Breega Capital a finalisé un nouveau fonds de 100 millions d’euros dans les fintechs et l’assurtech, rapporte Les Echos. Souscrit par une quarantaine de banques régionales et mutualistes, dont le Crédit Agricole, ainsi que des assureurs, il va investir dans les nouvelles technologies du secteur au sens large tout en mettant l’accent sur l’accompagnement des entrepreneurs en ressources humaines et sur le plan juridique.

La firme américaine de capital-investissement White Oak Equity Partners (White Oak) a annoncé, ce 27 juin, l’acquisition d’une participation minoritaire au capital de Row Asset Management, une société de gestion systématique et quantitative global macro qui affiche plus de 800 millions de dollars d’actifs sous gestion. Les détails de la transaction n’ont pas été divulgués. Cette transaction « permet à Row Asset Management d’améliorer sa flexibilité financière afin d’être plus opportuniste pour accroître ses expertises et ses encours », explique White Oak dans un communiqué.A l’issue de la transaction, Row Asset Management continuera d’être dirigée par Ryan O’Grady, son co-fondateur et directeur général, et Jeffrey Weiser, co-fondateur et « President ». De fait, ils conservent le contrôle opérationnel de l’entreprise et ainsi que le contrôle des processus d’investissement et de recherche. Cependant, « White Oak jouera un rôle stratégique pour aider Row Asset Management à atteindre ses objectifs à moyen et long terme, à savoir le développement de son infrastructure de trading et d’exécution, ses équipes et ses actifs sous gestion », souligne la firme de capital-investissement.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs alternatif américain P. Schoenfeld Asset Management (PSAM) a annoncé l’acquisition d’une participation minoritaire au capital de CdR Capital, une société d’investissement alternatif basée à Londres et à Genève. Les détails de l’opération n’ont pas été dévoilés. Fondée en 1997 par Peter Schoenfeld et basée à New York et à Londres, PSAM affiche environ 2,2 milliards de dollars d’actifs sous gestion. Pour sa part, CdR, qui a vu le jour en 2012, gère plus de 3 milliards de dollars d’actifs.L’objectif de cette transaction est « de capitaliser sur l’expertise en allocation d’actifs et en investissement quantitatif de CdR Capital », explique PSAM dans un communiqué. Dans le cadre de leur accord, PSAM et CdR Capital se sont également engagés à collaborer pour mettre sur pied des coentreprises et construire des solutions d’investissement sur-mesure à leurs clients.

Amiral gestion a décidé de suspendre les souscriptions du FCP SEXTANT PME (FR0010547869 - FR0011171412 et FR0010556753) dès que l’actif net du fonds atteindra le seuil de 250 millions d’euros, annonce la société. Elle explique vouloir préserver «une sélection rigoureuse de nos titres et des spécificités du segment des petites et moyennes valeurs européennes éligibles au PEA PME». L’encours du fonds s’inscrivait à 220 millions d’euros au 26 juin 2017, précise le communiqué."Cette mesure est prise dans l’intérêt des porteurs de parts du FCP ; l’objectif est d’assurer les meilleures conditions de gestion, dans un univers de petites et moyennes capitalisations européennes et la gestion de la liquidité sont des facteurs de création de valeur prépondérants», ajoute le communiqué.

La société de gestion britannique Eleva Capital a obtenu le 14 juin son agrément (Numéro : GP-17000015) auprès de l’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), selon la base GECO disponible sur le site du régulateur français. La société est basée 15 avenue Matignon, dans le 8ème arrondissement de Paris. Grâce à cette licence, Eleva Capital est autorisée à commercialiser des OPCVM et des mandats sur le marché français. Elle peut également proposer du conseil en investissement.Fondée en 2014 par Eric Bendahan, un ancien de Banque Syz & Co, Eleva Capital est spécialisée à 100 % dans les actions européennes. En septembre 2016, la société avait recruté Pierre-Louis Chandelier, ancien cofondateur de Karakoram, en tant que responsable des relations avec les investisseurs pour les marchés francophones.Eleva Capital aurait en fait déménager de ses bureaux de Londres pour installer l’ensemble de ses équipes dans ses locaux parisiens.

La Financière Responsable a annoncé avoir rejoint le réseau d’investisseurs de la place de Paris : Paris Europlace. La société de gestion met en avant le fait qu’elle est l’une des premières TPE de la gestion d’actifs à rejoindre cette organisation. Par ailleurs, le travail de Paris Europlace dans le domaine de la finance durable semble l’avoir convaincu. «La Financière Responsable pourra ainsi contribuer à l’effort entrepris par Paris Europlace, les investisseurs institutionnels et les grandes entreprises françaises», explique-t-elle. La société de gestion rappelle ainsi son approche ESG (Environnement, social et gouvernance) dans sa gestion avec une base de données extra-financières propriétaire : l’Empreinte Ecosociale et rappelle avoir été sélectionnée par la Sicav de place Emergence.

Les investissements directs réalisés par les fonds souverains au cours du premier semestre (au 28 juin 2017) ont totalisé 50 milliards de dollars, contre 54,17 milliards de dollars au premier semestre 2016 et 67,3 milliards de dollars au premier semestre 2015, selon des statistiques communiquées par l’association internationale des fonds souverains (SWFI). Un ralentissement qui serait lié aux événements politiques à travers le monde, indique l’association. Cela dit, les investissements directs s’inscrivaient à 140,27 milliards de dollars sur l’ensemble de 2016, en progression par rapport à l’année précédente (122,04 milliards de dollars).

Le gestionnaire d’actifs suisse GAM a décidé de mettre fin à son partenariat avec la boutique londonienne North of South Capital, spécialisée sur les marchés émergents, a appris Citywire Selector. Les deux sociétés s’étaient alliées en 2011 pour lancer le fonds GAM Star North of South EM Equity, un véhicule long/short sur les marchés émergents géré par Matt Linsey. L’accord avec North of South Capital prendra fin officiellement le 1er juillet 2017.Selon une lettre adressée aux actionnaires, consultée par Citywire Selector, ce fonds sera repris en interne par GAM et sera rebaptisé GAM Star Emerging Equity. Sa gestion sera confiée à Tim Love, directeur des stratégies actions marchés émergents chez GAM.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } As part of regular work, the French financial market authorities, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR), yesterday released a new list of actors who are offering investments in France on the unregulated currency (forex) markets without a license. Here is a list of the newly-identified sites: www.x90.com / X90 www.mt4invest.com / MT4 INVEST www.gss-fi.eu / GSS FINANCIAL www.boomforex.net / BOOM FOREX www.promfx.com / PROMFX

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } The Canadian pension fund investment body CPP Investment Board (CPPIB) and Encino Energy, a US oil and gas company, have signed an agreement to create Encino Acquisition Partners (EAP), a body which will specialist in acquisitions of oil and gas assets in the United States. As part of the partnership, CPPIB will invest USD1bn, while Encino will make USD25m available to EAP. EAP will specialise in the acquisition of major, high-quality assets with well-established production sites in mature basins in the continental 48 states, the pension fund states. As part of the agreement, Encino agrees to target, evaluate and seize acquisition opportunities, and to operate the properties owned by EAP.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Amiral Gestion has decided to suspend subscriptions to its FCP SEXTANT PME (FR0010547869 - FR0011171412 and FR0010556753) once the net asset value of the fund reaches EUR250m, the firm has announced. It explains that it is seeking to preserve “rigorous selection of our stocks and the specificities of the market of european small and midcaps eligible for PEA PME.” Assets in the fund totalled EUR220m as of 26 June 2017, the statement says. “This measure is being taken in the interests of shareholders in the FCP fund; the objective is to ensure the best management conditions. The universe of European small and midcaps, and liquidity management will be the primary factors creating value,” the statement says.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Passively-managed US equity funds in May posted net inflows of USD13.1bn, compared with USD17.1bn the previous month, according to statistics released by Morningstar. However, in active management, US equity funds posted net outflows of USd16.2bn, compared with USD16.8bn in April. Bond funds were most popular in May, with inflows of USD36.9bn, followed by international equity funds (USD35.7bn).

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } At its first annual conference, held on 27 June, the Spanish asset management firm Cobas AM, led by Francisco Garcia Parames, announced the forthcoming launch of a hedge fund concentrated on 20 stocks, the specialist website Funds People reports. The names of the stocks has not been disclosed, nor has the launch date for the fund. Meanwhile, Cobas AM has also announced the forthcoming registration of a Spanish Sicav, without providing more details about the dates. Other projects are more advanced. The asset management firm will be launching pension funds in the first two weeks of July. It will also register a Luxembourg Sicav in Spain by August. Lastly, Garcia Parames took the occasion to present the board of directors of the firm, composed of Luis Enrique Palencia, Maria Angeles Leon, Miguel del Riego and Valeriano Hernandez-Tavera.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Over 4,000 personal savings plans (PIR) have been signed in the space of three months by retail and institutional clients on the dedicated platform Online Sim, a securities intermediation company controlled by the Ersel group, launched in March, Bluerating reports. The platform makes over 30 funds eligible for PIR from 15 asset management firms available to investors. By the beginning of July, other funds will be made available.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } The real estate asset management firm LaSalle Investment Management and the investment company Ardian have teamed up to complete the acquisition of the Europa building in Levallois-Perret from the Lagardère group, on behalf of two pan-European funds. This is the first acquisition by Ardian Real Estate in France. Europa, located at 145-149 rue Anatole France in Levallois-Perret, is an office building with large floors and 2,700 square metres, over eight stories. The property will undergo a major renovation after the departure of the Lagardère group, to reposition the property as a “Grade A” building, the two partners say in a statement. The sale price has not been disclosed.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } La Financière Responsable has announced that it has joined the network of investors in the Paris financial industry: Paris Europlace. The asset management firm highlights the fact that it is one of the first asset management micro-companies to join the organisation. The work of Paris Europlace in the field of sustainable finance appears to have won the firm over. “In this way, La Financière Responsable can contribute to efforts taken by Paris Europlace, institutional investors and large French businesses,” it explains. The asset management firm points to its environmental, social and governance (ESG) approach to management, with a proprietary extra-financial database, Empreinte Ecosociale, and also notes that it has been selected for the Emergence Sicav.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } The US private equity firm White Oak Equity Partners (White Oak) on 27 June announced the acquisition of a minority stake in the capital of Row Asset Management, a systematic and qualitative global macro asset management firm, which has over USD800m in assets under management. The details of the transaction have not been disclosed. The transaction “will allow Row Asset Management to improve its financial flexibility, to make it more opportunistic to increase its expertise and assets,” White Oak explains in a statement. At the conclusion of the transaction, Row Asset Management will continue to be led by Ryan O’Grady, co-founder and CEO, and Jeffrey Weiser, co-founder and president. The two will retain operational control of the business, and control of the investment and research process. “White Oak will play a strategic role in assisting Row Asset Management to achieve its mid- and long-term objectives of developing its trading and execution infrastructure, teams and assets under management,” the private equity firm states.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } The Swiss private bank Julius Baer is adding to its team in Frankfurt with the recruitment of Tobias Wehle as senior portfolio manager from 1 July. This is the sixth recruitment in Frankfurt, and the third asset management recruitment in the space of a few weeks. Wehle previously worked at Berenberg Bank in portfolio management.

ETFGI, an independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported that assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in Europe reached a new record high of USD682 billion at the end May 2017 surpassing the prior record of USD658 billion set at the end of April 2017. Year to date, ETF/ETP assets have increased by 19.1% from USD572 billion to US$682 billion.ETFs and ETPs listed in Europe gathered net inflows of USD12.65 Bn in May marking the 33rd month of positive net inflows. Year to date, net inflows stand at USD53.21 Bn. At this point last year there were net inflows of USD17.60 Bn. Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered net inflows of USD8.06 Bn in May, bringing year to date net inflows to USD32.27 Bn, which is greater than the net outflows of USD6.08 Bn over the same period last year. In May, European equity ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest net inflows with USD4.28 Bn, followed by ETFs/ETPs providing exposure to global equity indices with USD1.88 Bn, and emerging market equity ETFs/ETPs with USD1.55 Bn, while North American equity ETFs/ETPs experienced net outflows with USD229 Mn.Fixed income ETFs and ETPs experienced net inflows of USD3.52 Bn in May, growing year to date net inflows to USD12.38 Bn, which is less than the same period last year which saw net inflows of USD16.15 Bn. iShares gathered the largest net ETF/ETP inflows in May with USD6.25 Bn, followed by db x/db ETC with USD1.64 Bn and UBS ETFs with USD1.49 Bn net inflows.

The US asset management firm Neuberger Berman on 27 June announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with Becon Investment Management, an independent third-party distributor dedicated to Latin American markets. The range of UCITS funds will now be available to private banks, wealth management firms and multi-family offices in the region. “Financial intermediary clients in Latin America will now increasingly have better access to investment strategies from Neuberger Berman,” says Maximiliano Rohm, head of development for Latin America at Neuberger Berman in Argentina.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, has signed an agreement with Eastspring Investments, the Asian asset management affiliate of Prudential, to raise USD500m for a programe of infrastructure project financing for emerging markets. Eastspring Investments is the first Asian investor to participate in the programme, entitled MCPP Infrastructure. The objective is to raise a total of USD5bn from international institutional investors, to modernize infrastructure in emerging markets by 2021, particularly electrical, water, transportation and telecommunications infrastructure in these countries. Under the agreement, IFC, which is the largest development assistance institution in the world, will provide the sourcing of projects and investments, and will provide Eastspring Investments with co-financing opportunities in these projects, corresponding to the investment strategy of the asset management firm. The MCPP Infrastructure programme was designed for institutional investors seeking to increase their exposure to infrastructure in emerging markets. The programme already has another partner: the German insurer Allianz.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has yesterday published the final findings of its asset management market study and announced the package of remedies it will take forward to address the concerns identified in its interim report into the sector.Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive at the FCA said: “The asset management sector is important to the economy, managing the savings of millions of people and in the current low interest environment it’s vital we help people earn a return on their savings. We need a competitive sector, attracting investment into the United Kingdom which also works well for the people who rely on it for their financial wellbeing».The final report confirms the findings set out in the interim report published last year. This found that price competition is weak in a number of areas of the industry. Despite a large number of firms operating in the market, the FCA’s analysis found evidence of sustained, high profits over a number of years. The FCA also found that investors are not always clear what the objectives of funds are, and fund performance is not always reported against an appropriate benchmark. Finally, the FCA found concerns about the way the investment consultant market operates.Responses to the interim report from industry, investor representatives and others have helped the FCA develop the package of remedies. The remedies the FCA are taking forward fall in to three areas.To help provide protection for investors who are not well placed to find better value for money, the FCA proposes to:- strengthen the duty on fund managers to act in the best interests of investors and use the Senior Managers Regime to bring individual focus and accountability to this;- require fund managers to appoint a minimum of two independent directors to their boards;- introduce technical changes to improve fairness around the management of share classes and the way in which fund managers profit from investors buying and selling their funds. To drive competitive pressure on asset managers, the FCA will:- support the disclosure of a single, all-in-fee to investors;- support the consistent and standardised disclosure of costs and charges to institutional investors;- recommend that the DWP remove barriers to pension scheme consolidation and pooling;- chair a working group to focus on how to make fund objectives more useful and consult on how benchmarks are used and performance reported.To help improve the effectiveness of intermediaries, the FCA will:- launch a market study into investment platforms;- seek views on rejecting the undertakings in lieu of a market investigation reference regarding the institutional advice market to the Competition and Markets Authority;- recommend that HM Treasury considers bringing investment consultants into the FCA’s regulatory perimeter.The implementation of the remedies will take place in a number of stages. Some do not require consultation and are now being taken forward. The FCA has published a consultation paper, focussing on the remedies related to governance and technical changes to promote fairness for investors. The FCA has also published the consultation on rejecting the undertakings in lieu today.Some remedies will require further work in light of other legislative initiatives, including MiFID II and will be consulted on later in the year. Finally some of the measures are dependent on the outcomes of the proposed working groups. Full details of the timetable can be found in the final report.

Deutsche Bank Wealth Management announced today that it has appointed Michael Morley, the former Chief Executive of Coutts & Co, to lead and build its UK business, one of the first of around 100 front-office hires planned for this year in high-potential.Morley was CEO of Coutts, the UK’s largest private bank, from 2009 to May 2016 and spent seven years as Chairman of the Board of Royal Bank of Scotland International before stepping down in January this year. He is a Member of the Board of the British Bankers Association and Chair of its Private Banking and Wealth Management Advisory Panel, and a Board Member of the Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association (PIMFA).Fabrizio Campelli, the London-based Global Head of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, said: “The UK is at the heart of the significant investments we are making in serving Deutsche Bank Wealth Management clients and Michael’s unparalleled experience as an executive and as a standard-bearer in the industry here make him the ideal leader for this new phase in our growth strategy. This is just the start.”Morley will join Deutsche Bank Wealth Management in July, working in the newly opened headquarters in the Zig Zag Building, in London’s Victoria. He will report to Peter Hinder, Head of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, the wealth management unit of Deutsche Bank, announced earlier this month that it plans to hire around 100 new client-facing employees in high-growth markets this year and to invest an additional EUR 65m in new client-focused digital technology over the next 18 months.

Le coût du démantèlement de deux banques de Vénétie à l’aide de fonds publics sera sans commune mesure avec les sommes «énormes» déboursées par l’Allemagne ou la Grande-Bretagne pour sauver leurs secteurs bancaires respectifs durant la crise financière mondiale, déclare le ministre italien des Finances. Dans une tribune publiée par l’hebdomadaire allemand Wirtschaftswoche, Pier Carlo Padoan défend la décision de l’Italie de démanteler Banca Popolare di Vicenza et Veneto Banca via une procédure qui pourrait nécessiter jusqu'à 17 milliards d’euros d’argent public. Il assure que cette décision était nécessaire pour sauver l'économie de la région.

L’Autorité de sûreté nucléaire a donné un avis provisoire favorable à la reprise de l’EPR de Flamanville, mais émet quelques réserves.

Chaque jeudi, L’Agefi livre ses indicateurs clés de crédit pour suivre l'évolution des marchés. Cette semaine : la dette souveraine.

Le régulateur britannique veut améliorer la transparence tarifaire et renforcer la responsabilité des gérants.

Alors que 80 % de son portefeuille est remis en jeu par appels d’offres, la caisse de retraite commencera à étudier les premières réponses écrites des gestionnaires, dès juillet.