GoldPoint Partners, la filiale de capital investissement de New York Life Investments, a nommé Sean Gelb, ancien «vice president» chez Blackstone, au poste de directeur financier (chief financial officer). Dans le cadre de ses nouvelles fonctions, l’intéressé, qui compte plus de 17 ans d’expérience dans l’industrie financière, supervisera la comptabilité quotidienne de la société et de ses fonds. Sean Gelb arrive en provenance de Blackstone où il était «senior vice president» de la division Private Equity Tactical Opportunities, Finance and Accounting».

MiddleNext, l’association professionnelle française indépendante représentative des valeurs moyennes cotées vient de publier son « Panorama de lagouvernance des valeurs moyennes cotées ». Avec l’aide d’EthiFinance, agence indépendante d'évaluation extra-financière spécialisée sur lathématique de la responsabilité sociétale des entreprises(RSE) MiddleNext détaille la façon dont le pouvoir est organisé et exercé au sein des valeurs moyennes françaises cotées sur le marché réglementé d’Euronext. L'étude qui porte sur près de 360 sociétés appréhende les fonctionnements et les enjeux et souligne l’évolution de la gouvernance des valeurs moyennes au fil des années. Dans ce cadre, l'étude donne notamment une évolution du nombre de femmes dans les conseils d’administration ou de surveillance permettant ainsi de mesurer l’impact et les conséquences de la loi Copé/Zimmermann parue en janvier 2011. «La répartition du capital, le nombre d’administrateurs et de comités créés sont également des indicateurs très révélateurs de la structure des valeurs moyennes», indique également Caroline Weber, directrice générale de MiddleNext, dans son édito.L'étude peut être consultée en cliquant sur le lien : http://middlenext.com/IMG/pdf/PANORAMA_DE_LA_GOUVERNANCE_VF.pdf

La société financière suédoise Catella lance une activité de gestion d’actifs immobiliers en Espagne et au Portugal sous la direction de Javier Hortelano, un ancien partenaire de PwC.La nouvelle entreprise, basée à Madrid, va se concentrer sur des investissements immobiliers et de la gestion d’actifs pour le compte d’investisseurs espagnols et étrangers. L’activité Property Investment Management de Catella est déjà présente en Allemagne, en Finlande, en France, au Danemark et dans les pays baltes et représente 3,1 milliards d’euros.« Le marché espagnol est dans une phase de redressement : l’activité et les volumes d’investissement sont en croissance, et cela inclut des flux importants de capitaux étrangers », commente Timo Nurminen, responsable du Property Investment Management chez Catella.Javier Hortelano travaillait précédemment au sein de PwC Real Estate Transaction Services, où il dirigeait le pôle immobilier commercial. Il est également président du Spanish Council of Shopping Centres and Retail Parks, un poste qu’il conservera.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs britannique F&C a repris la gestion de ses fonds « Global Emerging Markets » à LGM Investments, une société sœur, suite à l’intégration de leurs équipes marchés émergents l’année dernière, rapporte Investment Week. Rasmus Nemmoe et Irina Hunter, gérants chez LGM en charge du fond LGM Global Emergings Markets Growht and Income depuis 2012, vont ainsi reprendre le contrôle des produits de F&C à compter du 1er juillet, précise le site d’information britannique.Tout comme F&C, LGM Investments est une filiale de BMO Global Asset Management. Les deux sociétés de gestion ont décidé de rapprocher leurs équipes dédiées aux marchés émergents en novembre dernier. Les gérants Jeff Chowdhry et Sam Mahtani continueront de travailleront au sein de l’équipe dirigée par le directeur des investissements de LGM, en se concentrant en priorité sur la stratégie des marchés émergents mondiaux, indique Investment Week.

La société de gestion américain Legg Mason a décidé d’intégrer huit fonds actions de sa filiale Martin Currie au sein de sa gamme de fonds ICVC, rapporte Investment Week. Concrètement, Legg Mason a fusionné huit fonds actions gérés activement par Martin Currie, société acquise en octobre, au sein de sa gamme « OEIC » britannique à compter du 26 juin 2015. Les fonds de Martin Currie concernés totalisent 500 millions de livres d’actifs et couvrent les actions mondiales, européennes, chinoises, japonaises, d’Asie-Pacifique, des Etats-Unis et des marchés émergents.

Aberdeen Asset Management a annoncé ce lundi le recrutement de Manuele De Gennaro, qui sera responsable du développement de la clientèle institutionnelle en Suisse, notamment dans la partie germanophone. Il était auparavant Senior Relationship Manager au sein de Credit Suisse, où il suivait la clientèle des fonds de pension, assureurs et autres institutions.

Le gestionnaire de fortune GAM a annoncé le 30 juin la nomination de Martin Jufer au poste de directeur régional pour l’Europe continentale, en remplacement de Michele Porro qui a décidé de quitter la société avec effet immédiat. Une promotion pour Martin Jufer qui était jusqu’ici responsable des opérations pour l’Europe continentale.Larissa Alghisi Rubner, en charge de la communication du groupe depuis 2010, accède quant à elle à la direction de GAM, précise un communiqué.

Le Groupe Sequoia a emménagé courant juin dans ses nouveaux locaux, au 13 route de Florissant à Genève, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. Il s’agit de l’ancienne adresse de Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse), reprise en 2012 par Julius Baer. Le Groupe Sequoia, qui recouvre les filiales Sequoia Asset Management et Sequoia Wealth Management, récupère ainsi un espace de 1200 mètres carrés sur lequel il dit pouvoir optimiser l’installation et le déploiement de ses équipes de gestion.

Decalia Asset Management, la société de gestion genevoise dirigée par Alfredo Piacentini – l’un des cofondateurs de Syz – a reçu la licence de gestionnaire de placements collectifs (LPCC) de la part de la Finma, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. Le gérant indépendant complète ainsi son activité de gestion de patrimoine en se consacrant également à la gestion d’actifs, avec la volonté de créer et gérer des produits à haute valeur ajoutée. Dans les prochaines semaines, Decalia prévoit ainsi de lancer sa propre SICAV luxembourgeoise, dont elle assurera la gestion et la distribution. Passée de 10 collaborateurs en octobre (pour plus d’un milliard de francs suisses sous gestion) à 15 personnes aujourd’hui, Decalia va également renforcer son équipe commerciale au cours des prochains mois. La société a récemment lancé un premier fonds de dette privée réservé aux investisseurs qualifiés, en partenariat avec un spécialiste londonien du financement aux entreprises.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs britannique Ashmore Group, spécialiste des marchés émergents, vient de lancer un nouveau fonds dédié aux actions chinoises, baptisé Ashmore All Chinese Equity Fund, qui offre aux investisseurs la possibilité d’investir sur les marchés de valeurs chinoises «onshore» et «offshore», rapporte Citywire Global. Ce nouveau produit permet aux investisseurs institutionnels et particuliers d’avoir accès aux actions chinoises A et H (A-Shares et H-Shares) et au marchés ADR. Ce nouveau fonds est une sicav Ucits domiciliée au Luxembourg. Il investira dans des entreprises qui enregistrent une croissance durable de leurs résultats sur le moyen et long terme.

Pioneer Investments annonce l’arrivée d’Angel Márquez au poste de senior sales manager au sein de son équipe commerciale basée à Zurich. Il sera responsable pour le développement des relations commerciales avec la clientèle institutionnelle sur le marché suisse. Il occupait auparavant un poste similaire chez Allianz Global Investors Europe.

Sweden’s Catella is entering the property investment management business in Spain and Portugal in an initiative under the leadership of Javier Hortelano who joins from his previous role as a partner at PwC. “We are continuously evaluating expansion to new and selected regional markets. The Spanish market is in a recovery phase; business activity and investment volumes are growing, including large inflow of foreign capital. The establishment of property asset management operations in Spain is based on our successful launch of a similar business in France in early 2014. Given Javier’s experience and the similarity of the markets, we also see Portugal as a natural expansion for our Iberian business,” says Timo Nurminen, head of Property Investment Management at Catella.Javier Hortelano joins Catella from his partnership role at PwC Real Estate Transaction Services where he led the commercial real estate practice (retail, offices and logistics). He is also chairman of the Spanish Council of Shopping Centres and Retail Parks, a position he will essentially retain.The new enterprise will focus on property investment and asset management on behalf of Spanish and foreign investors. The platform will be independent of Catella’s existing real estate advisory business in Spain, and will be based in Madrid.Catella’s Property Investment Management business area has assets under management of approximately EUR 3.1 billion and operations in Germany, Finland, France, Denmark, Spain and the Baltics.

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 120%; }p.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }p.cjk { font-family: «Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }p.ctl { font-family: «Droid Sans Devanagari"; font-size: 12pt; } Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) has launched a hub in Luxembourg to assist asset management firms with sales of their UCITS and alternative funds internationally. Managers will now have a single point of entry to facilitate access to a local and cross-border network for distribution of their funds in Europe and Asia. The expert unit, located in Luxembourg, is composed of a multilingual team specialised in the construction of UCITS and alternative funds, and offers a solution to assist the local representative with distribution of funds in 14 countries. The option includes five local representative components: access to the market, management of fund registrations, administrative and legal support, monitoring of requests from investors, and monitoring of information from the local market. SGSS fills a role as ongoing co-ordinator with its various local agents, and also provides consolidated vision of fund activities, for better steering of distribution.

Alternative assets are expected to reach USD15.3trn by 2020, compared with USD7.9trn at the end of 2013, according to a report released on Monday by PwC (“Alternative Asset Management in 2020: Fast Forward to Centre Stage”). Assets may reach only USD13.6trn by 2020, “in the case of rising interest rates in Europe and in the United States and normal correction of capital markets”, the report warns.In the next five years, “we expect the alternative asset management industry to undergo a period of transformation as players reorganize their activities and operations, and make technology a priority on their investment list,” the consulting firm suggests.The asset management sector is also fully expected to benefit from the improving global economic environment, placing asset management actors in the front line to confront social and economic changes.To reach such summits, however, players will have to work to catch up their product mix and to open the doors to new distribution channels, PwC predicts.Assets in South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East will rise more faster than in developed countries, PwC predicts. This growth will be primarily driven by growth in assets at sovereign funds, and by the emergency of new sovereign investors, a large majority of whom will come from South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The largest growth in allocations is expected to be driven by private equity, real estate and infrastructure.The report also predicts that alternative asset management firms will develop more sophisticated market strategies, more concentrated distribution circuits, and better-recognized brands.Additionally, PwC predicts that alternative asset management firms will continue to move into sectors traditionally more dominated by banks, such as lending, securitization and financing. Others will go so far as to form partnerships with banks or major institutional investors, to provide integrated expertise in the management of new asset classes and the design of custom products.

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; } Axa Investment Managers has launched a new strategy focused on global emerging market small caps. Its objective is to offer institutional investors access to potential alpha offered by businesses in emerging markets whose market capitalisataion totals between USD100m and USD2.5bn, the asset management firm says in a statement. The strategy will be managed by Axa Rosenberg, the specialist in systematic equities at the Axa IM group.

As direct-to-consumer platforms grow in Europe, companies with the required scale and brand name can further cut out the middleman to sell their own funds on their own platforms, according to the latest issue of The Cerulli Edge--European Monthly Product Trends Edition. The asset management companies (AMCs) operating websites that eliminate the middleman completely, currently account for only a tiny fraction of overall activity, writes Cerulli Associates. However, with the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) in the United Kingdom, and similar moves in the Netherlands, having banned retrocessions, investors are increasingly executing specific transactions solo, with only occasional and guidance from advisors. «As retrocessions recede, there may yet be more scope for high-profile asset management companies with sufficient scale to become even more direct through their own platforms, without burning any bridges with established D2C channels,» says Barbara Wall, Europe research director at Cerulli.

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 120%; }p.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }p.cjk { font-family: «Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }p.ctl { font-family: «Droid Sans Devanagari"; font-size: 12pt; } The real estate asset management firm Savills Investment Management (Savills IM) has appointed Peter Brostrom as head of its activity for Scandinavian countries, following a decision by Hakan Blixt to leave the firm, Reuters reports. Brostrom, who joined Savills IM in 2008, previously served as a portfolio manager for retail funds in the region. Meanwhile, Savills IM has appointed Helene Henning as head of asset management for its activities in Scandinavian countries. She has been working at the firm since 2012 as an asset manager.

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; } Russell Investments has recruited Daniel Miatello as sales support & client servicing associate in Italy, Bluerating reports. Miatello will report to Massimo D’Onghia, head of retail sales for Italy. Miatello joins from Janus Capital International, where he had been sales support for southern Europe.

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; } BlackRock is planning to close and liquidate 18 US iShares ETFs as part of an examination of its product offerings and their alignment with client needs. The products affected are as follows: FCHI – iShares FTSE ChinaAXJS – iShares MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Sm CapEWAS – iShares MSCI Australia Small CapEWCS – iShares MSCI Canada Small CapEWHS – iShares MSCI Hong Kong Small CapEWSS – iShares MSCI Singapore Small CapEEME – iShares MSCI Emerging Markets EMEAEGRW – iShares MSCI Emerging Markets GrowthEVAL – iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ValueESR – iShares MSCI EM Eastern EuropeAAIT – iShares MSCI AC Asia Info TechnologyEMDI – iShares MSCI EM Cons. DiscretionaryEMEY – iShares MSCI EM Energy CappedIFAS – iShares Asia Developed Real EstateIFNA – iShares North America Real EstateMONY – iShares Financials BondENGN – iShares Industrials BondAMPS – iShares Utilities Bond

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 120%; }p.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }p.cjk { font-family: «Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }p.ctl { font-family: «Droid Sans Devanagari"; font-size: 12pt; } The Bord of Directors of the Forum for Responsible Investment (FIR) has designated Thierry Philipponnat as its president. Philipponat is an actor in the area of associations, where he served as a member of the executive board at Amnesty International France, founded Finance Watch, which he directed unti 2014, replacing Bertrand Fournier. At the same time, Pascale Sagnier (AXA IM), Philippe Dutertre (AG2R La Mondiale) and Hervé Guez (Mirova) have also been named as vice-presidents. Meanwhile, four new directors joined the board of directors at the general assembly held on 16 June: BNP Paribas IP represented by Jacky Prudhomme, head of ESG integration and solidaristic investments, and Béatrice Verger, head of development for the SRI and solidaristic product range (substitute). Caisse des Dépôts represented by Anne-Catherine Husson-Traore, CEO of its affiliate Novethic, and Héléna Charrier director of socially responsible investment products (substitute). Éric Loiselet, director of several employee retirement regimes (IRCANTEC, RAFP) at the association of regions of France (ARF) and spokesperson for the Réseau des Administrateurs pour l’Investissement Responsable (RAIR). The eight bodies renewed on the board of directors are AG2R la Mondiale, AXA Investment Managers, CFDT, the Comité Intersyndical de l’Epargne Salariale (CIES), Humanis, Kepler-Cheuvreux, Mirova and Proxinvest.

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 120%; }p.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }p.cjk { font-family: «Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }p.ctl { font-family: «Droid Sans Devanagari"; font-size: 12pt; } Société Générale Private Banking Suisse has announced the appointment of André Mankowsky as head of Russian and Community of Independent States (CIS) clients in Zurich. He began in the role on 15 June 2015. Mankovsky had previously been managing director at Deutsche Bank, responsible for Russia and Eastern Europe. He will report to Julien Duniague, director of sales and marketing at SGPB Switzerland. Mankowsky served for 6 years as managing director at Deutsche Bank, responsible for the Russian and Eastern European market, based in Moscow and Zurich.

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; } Pioneer Investments has announced the arrival of Angel Márquez as senior sales manager on its sales team based in Zurich. Márquez will be responsible for the development of commercial relations with institutional clients on the Swiss market. He previously served in a simillar role at Allianz Global Investors Europe.

Mirabaud Asset Management has hired Paul Schibli as senior portfolio manager in charge of Swiss Equities alongside Patrick Huber. «The arrival of Schibli, an experienced manager rated ‘A’ by Citywire for his management skills in Swiss small- and mid-caps, is a strong signal of Mirabaud Asset Management’s commitment and ambition to expand its teams in a strategic asset class,» according to a press statement. Mirabaud Asset Management manages around CHF 1 billion in Swiss equities both in funds and mandates, for professional and institutional investors. With more than 20 years’ experience and unparalleled knowledge of Swiss companies, Schibli comes to Mirabaud Asset Management from DWS (Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management), where he was head of the Swiss equities team, with responsibility in particular for the management of a small- and mid-cap fund, with a highly successful track record. Schibli holds a degree from the University of Zurich and is a graduate of the University of St. Gallen (HSG). At Mirabaud Asset Management, Schibli will join with Patrick Huber in managing the various funds and mandates, either as lead portfolio manager or deputy. Both will report to Philip Watson, CIO Equities at Mirabaud Asset Management. Nicolas Bürki will continue to serve as analyst manager and, alongside Patrick Huber and Paul Schibli, will help analyse the Swiss companies covered by the team and manage a number of mandates.

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 120%; }p.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }p.cjk { font-family: «Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }p.ctl { font-family: «Droid Sans Devanagari"; font-size: 12pt; } Decalia Asset Management, a Geneva-based asset management firm led by Alfredo Piacentini, one of the co-founders of Syz, has received a collective investment management license (LPCC) from Finma, AGEFI Switzerland reports. The independent asset management firm thus adds to its wealth management activities, by also dedicating itself to asset management, out of a will to manage products with high added value. In the next few weeks, Decalia is planning to launch its own Luxembourg SICAV fund, for which it will provide the management and distribution. Decalia, which has grown from 10 employees in October (with over CHF1bn in assets under management) to 15 today, will also add to its sales team in the next few months. The firm has recently launched a first private debt fund reserved for qualified investors, in partnership with a London-based specialist in enterprise financing.

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 120%; }p.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }p.cjk { font-family: «Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }p.ctl { font-family: «Droid Sans Devanagari"; font-size: 12pt; } Aberdeen Asset Management on Monday announced the recruitment of Manuele De Gennaro, who will be responsible for development of institutional clients in Switzerland, particularly in the German-speaking parts. He was previously senior relationship manager at Credit Suisse, where he served pension funds, insurers and other institutional clients.

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; } German investors are not attracted by investment in mutual funds, according to the most recent statistics published by the German BVI association of asset management firms in its annual report. Average assets per head placed into funds in 2014 come to EUR9,777 for Germany, far behind the averages for other Western countries. In Australia, which tops the international rankings, an average of EUR56,130 is invested per savings investor. Germany is in 12th place, after France (6th, with an average of 22,100 euros) and the United Kingdom (9th place, with EUR15,528). Average assets have increased only slightly since last year, BVI notes. In 2013, the total stood at EUR8,700 per German investor. These figures stand in contrast to the very good health of the German fund industry, which has had record assets and subscriptions for several months. Flows have primarily been supported by institutional investors.

Le Premier ministre grec, Alexis Tsipras, examine une offre de dernière minute avancée par la Commission européenne pour parvenir à un accord sur un ensemble de réformes en échange d’une aide financière, ont indiqué mardi des sources grecques. La nouvelle a provoqué un bref retournement des marché actions. Le Premier ministre grec Alexis Tsipras a appelé le président de la Commission européenne Jean-Claude Juncker lundi soir et ce dernier, après avoir discuté avec le président de l’Eurogroupe Jeroen Dijsselbloem, a exposé les contours d’un accord de dernière minute, a confirmé à des journalistes Margaritis Schinas, un porte-parole de la Commission. Cette proposition contiendrait la promesse d’une renégociation de la dette grecque en octobre.

La filiale de gestion immobilière d’Amundi devrait signer l’achat du portefeuille de bureaux Aqua mis sur le marché par Union Investment, selon Property EU. Le montant de la transaction avoisinerait les 1,1 milliard d’euros. Ce portefeuille paneuropéen de 278.000 m2 loué à 90 % dégage un loyer annuel de 60 millions d’euros. Il est composé de 17 actifs répartis dans 6 zones (Londres, Paris, Vienne, Helsinki, Francfort, Munich, Rotterdam) et comprend trois immeubles de bureaux en France : l’Atrium Boulogne (22.000 m2) et le Prime (6.000 m2) à Boulogne-Billancourt, et le Marco Polo (7.500 m2) à Clichy. Ces trois actifs sont valorisés 250 millions d’euros.

La croissance économique a été plus soutenue que précédemment estimé au cours des trois premiers mois de l’année au Royaume-Uni, qui ont vu les revenus disponibles des ménages connaître leur hausse la plus marquée depuis 2001. Selon les chiffres définitifs de l’Office national de la statistique (ONS), publiés mardi, le produit intérieur brut (PIB) a augmenté de 0,4% au premier trimestre par rapport aux trois derniers mois de 2014, contre une estimation précédente de 0,3%. Sur un an, la hausse du PIB a été revue en hausse d’un demi-point de pourcentage, à 2,9%.

Les actifs alternatifs devraient représenter entre 13.600 et 15.300 milliards de dollars d’encours d’ici à 2020 contre 7.900 milliards de dollars fin 2013, selon un rapport publié par le cabinet PwC. L’estimation basse pour 2020 tient compte d’une éventuelle « hausse des taux d’intérêts en Europe et aux Etats-Unis et d’une correction normale des marchés de capitaux » prévient le rapport.