The Meeschaert group has confirmed that Philippe Troesch is joining the firm as director of management, chairman of the board at Meeschaert Asset Management, and a member of the executive board at Meeschaert Gestion Privée. Troesch had previously been CEO of the Paris office of Aberdeen Asset Management (see Newsmanagers of 24 January 2012).

The US ETF specialist WisdomTree has announced net profits for fourth quarter 2011 of USD0.9m, up from USD0.6m in fourth quarter 2010, and USD1.4m in the previous quarter. For the year 2011 as a whole, net profits total USD3.1m, compared with losses of USD7.5m in 2010. The firm has announced net subscriptions of USD756m in 2011. As of the end of the year, assets under management totalled USD12.2bn.

Natixis has announced the appointment of Philippe Jeanne to the position of head of management for Financial Management (ALM). He will report to Luc-Emmanual Auberger, director of Finance and Risk, and a member of the board of directors at Natixis.Jeanne, 48, joined the Calyon bank in London in 2003 as global head of trading for emerging markets, and arrived at Natixis in 2005, where he had previously served as head of forex activities, a statement says.

In the space of the last 12 months, the Blackstone Group has invested USD11bn on a recovery in the commercial real estate market, which has been facing high vacancy rates and competition from online retail, the Wall Street Journal reports. The private equity investor has become one of the largest owners of shopping centres in the United States. Now, these bets appear to be paying off. The 588 shopping centres acquired from Centro Property are generating returns of 8%, while the 36 grocery stores acquired from Equity One General are generating 7.5% returns, as is a 95% stake in big box centers from EPN Group.

As of the end of 2011, the Paris office of Muzinich managed USD1.8bn, and had USD250m in inflows since the beginning of the year. According to Eric Pictet, CEO for the French-speaking countries, net subscriptions last year totalled over USD900m, half of which came from France, while the remainder was divided between Luxembourg, Belgium, Geneva and Monaco.In terms of products, Muzinich is planning to launch a fund in autumn (September-October) which will give managers very broad freedom to invest in all grades of investment, and to hedge these positions, “but we are in a study phase right now,” the Paris head says.Across the Muzinich group, assets in funds have increased spectacularly in the past few years, from USD471m as of the end of 2008 to USD6.4bn as of the end of 2011 (compared with USD3.02bn twelve months earlier), while total assets have risen to USD13.77bn as of the end of last year, compared with USD9.94bn as of the end of 2010, USD6.32bn as of the end of 2009, and USD3.14bn as of the end of 2008. In other words, funds represent about 50% of total assets, while the remainder is distributed between mandates and white-label products (sub-advisory).Although Muzinich is a US company, 90% of its assets come from Europe. “We are planning to launch our first mutual fund in the United States in March. It will be a near-reproduction of the UCITS-compliant fund Short Duration, with 10% to 20% loans. We have recruited two people from Seix, Michael Eachern, who will manage the new product, and Sam Zona, director of marketing at Seix, who will be responsible for development on the US market,” Pictet concludes.

Etienne Gorgeon, head of fixed income and credit management at Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers (EDRIM), on 31 January announced that in the current environment, investors, particularly private banking clients, are seeking extremely simple products, which has led the manager to extend the subscription period until 15 April for two horizon share classes in the EdR Millésima 2016 fund (ISIN Codes; C share class (retail): FR0011138395; I share class (instituitonal): FR0011142090), based on a buy and hold strategy. The closing date for the fund, launched on 15 November, was originally scheduled for 1 March. But the product has already attracted EUR160-170m, and EDRIM is therefore planning to keep the subscription window open for extra time.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Divesh Makan, who was then a client adviser at Goldman Sachs, has been clever enough to contact with the founders of Facebook since 2006, and has become the wealth management adviser for several of them, including founder Mark Zuckerberg, COO Sheryl Sandberg and founding chairman Sean Parter, as well as the CEO of Zynga, Mark Pincus. Makan will be among the beneficiaries of the Facebook initial public offering. In December, he went independent with his colleagues, Chad Boeding and Michael Anders to found Iconiq Capital LLC.

Since 31 January, the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform (Deutsche Börse) is listing its 921st ETF: it is the Irish-domiciled SPDR S&P 400 US Mid Cap ETF (IE00B4YBJ215), focused on US midcaps. The product charges fees of 0.30%. The issuer is State Street Global Advisors (SSgA).

The three equity funds (Ibex 35, Euro Stoxx 50 and S&P 500) and profiled funds (Conservador, Moderado and Dinámico) from ING Direct Spain will now invest in Amundi funds and not funds from InverCaixa, Funds People reports. ING Direct has decided to hand the management of six of the seven funds to the joint venture of Crédit Agricole and Société Générale, and to withdraw them from the Spanish firm InverCaixa (La Caixa). Amundi was already manager of the VaR fund from ING Direct. The management policies and commission levels for the transferred funds will remain unchanged.Renta 4 will retain management of the euro zone government and corporate bond fund from ING Direct.The seven funds from ING Direct represent assets of EUR735m.

In 2011, net profits from investment funds at Santander fell 38.9%, to EUR43m, while pension fund managmeent profits fell 4.8% to EUR10m. Total revenues from asset management and pension funds fell 2%, to EUR1.251bn.As of 31 December, assets in investment funds were down 9.6% to EUR102.61bn, of which EUR27.42bn, compared with EUR34.31bn, were from Spain (-20.1%), while pension funds contracted by 12% to EUR9.64bn.The cost-income ratio for the group deteriorated last year to 44.9%, compared with 43.3% for 2010, and 41.7% for 2009.Net profits fell 34.6% compared with 2010, to EUR5.35bn (compared with EUR8.18bn), after a contributed ot EUR3.18bn to emergency reserves to confront real estate difficulties.

Pension systems in Asia are in urgent need of modernisation in order to ensure current employees that they will have an income at retirement which is sure, sufficient and sustainable, according to a new report from the OECD (“Pensions at a Glance: Asia/Pacific.”) The report observes that many retirement systems in the region are poorly prepared to confront a rapid ageing of the population which will take place in the next two decades. Between now and 2050, the population aged over 65 in economies of the Asia/Pacific region not belonging to the OECD will virtually triple, from 6% to 17%.Currently, pension levels are high compared with revenues from work, in some countries such as China, Vietnam, and Pakistan. The young age of retirement, particularly for women, creates additional financial pressures. Pension systems in many countries would be hard-put to provide sure incomes to the elderly, for four reasons: the range of application of official pension systems is relatively limited; it often happens that the savings are withdrawn before retirement; savings for retirement are often liquidated in the form of cash, with the risk that people will use the money up too quickly; and benefits paid out are not automatically adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of living.The report analyses retirement systems in 16 Asian countries, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam. The dissemination for official pension systems in the Asia/Pacific region is far more limited than in OECD countries, the report notes. The rate is 56% in Hong Kong, but only 5.8% in India and 4% in Pakistan. In China, although there are 159 million members of pension schemes, the coverage rate is only 17%. By comparison, the average for OECD countries is 63%, and it is no less than 75% in Japan.Gross replacement rates, which express the level of benefits as a proportion of average wages for workers in their active life, varies widely in the Asia/Pacific region, from 12.7% in Singapore to 80.9% in the Philippines. Replacement rates tend to be higher in South Asia, ranging from 65% in India and 69% in Pakistan to 49% in Sri Lanka. In South-East Asia, the replacement rate is about 30% in Malaysia and in Hong Kong, while it is 77.9% in China, for an average income. The average for OECD countries is 57%.

The economic crisis has created uncertainty on the European real estate market, raising the essential question of investment financing, according to annual projections for the public sector published by PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), in a report entitled “Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2012.” A direct consequence of this observation is that the choice of preferred markets depends more on their potential for safety than on their potential for strong growth.According to the survey of more than 600 actors in commercial real estate in Europe, outlooks for a recovery in 2012 depend on the way in which recent regulatory measures (Basel 3, Solvency 2 and MiFID) will influence bankers’ propensity to offer commercial loans, and the health of the financial system under the strains of the sovereign debt crisis, which may provoke a massive liberation of assets by banks from investors. Market participants will pay a premium for quality and secure investments. At least one actor in two is looking for highly secure or core assets. The trend is not new, but it is particularly strong in 2012, in the face of market uncertainty. That is the reason that the Scandinavian countries and Germany are preferred over London and Paris.

The index provider MSCI on 31 January announced the launch of a new service, MSCI ESG Sovereign Ratings, designed to identify a country’s exposure and its resulting management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, and estimate the long-term impact of these factors on the sustainable development of the country. By providing a long-term vision of the development of an economy, the new ratings service serves as a complement to traditional analysis of sovereign debt as an aspect of the solvency of a country.

Agefi reports that Hang Seng Bank is planning to launch the first tracker fund denominated in Chinese yuan replicating the performance of the price of gold in London (fixing in US dollars). The operation will aim to bring in amundant liquidity in yuan present among Hong Kong investors, who are positive on the long term about the price of gold and the appreciation of the Chinese currency, the newspaper reports.

The Swiss asset management firm responsAbility (USD1bn in assets) has announced that it has launched what it claims is the first fund in the world to specialise in small farmers in developing countries and on fair trade, entitled responsAbility Fair Trade Fund. The Swiss-registered product was launched on 21 December 2011, in cooperation with Credit Suisse Funds, and has received a sales license from the Swiss regulator, Finma.The fund will make working capital available to producers and sales organisations (most often cooperatives) to finance harvests, exports, or the purchase of equipment. The responsAbility Fair Trade Fund will invest mostly in bonds with a set rate and a maturity of less than or equal to one year.The fund is available in retail shares denominated in Swiss francs, euros, and US dollars, while institutional shares are available only in Swiss francs and euros. The objective is a net performance of 3% to 5% over a 5-year period.

The British firm M&G Investments on 31 January announced the appointment of Alex Jeffrey as CEO of Prupim, the real estate asset management arm of the group.Jeffrey previously worked at MPGA, the independent connsulting agency specialised in real estate, where he had most recently been chief investment officer.Jeffrey will begin in his new role in July 2012. He will report to the CEO of M&G, Michael McLintock.Assets under management at Prupim total about GBP15bn.

The global State Street Investor Confidence Index came out to 92.4 points in January, down 2.1 points compared with a corrected level of 94.5 in December. Institutional investors had the highest aversion to risk in North America, where the regional index was down 0.1 points to 89.8 compared with a corrected level of 89.9 in December. Confidence in Europe was down 10.1 points, from 101.7 points (corrected level) in December to 91.6 points in January. “European institutional investors are reallocating assets outside their basic positions on equities,” State Street notes. Investors in Asia have increased their allocations to equities, and the regional confidence index has risen 3.3 points to 96.9 from a corrected level of 93.6.

The European fund and asset management association (EFAMA) on 31 January welcomed the recommendations of the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) for UCITS-compliant ETF funds.“EFAMA recognizes that this consultation document follows a considered and nuanced approach which will help to improve the already robust regulation of UCITS products, in order to ensure that all UCITS products are even safer for investors, a requirement which is at the core of the priorities of the association,” says Peter De Proft, CEO of EFAMA.However, EFAMA continues, the paradox is that UCITS vehicles, particularly UCITS-compliant ETFs, appear to be more closely monitored by regulators than non-UCITS ETPs, such as ETNs which are far less regulated. “EFAMA is concerned by these imbalances, and thus encourages ESMA and other regulators to concentrate on all these products,” De Proft continues, adding that EFAMA reiterates its support for the planned PRIPS directive, which would put all retail financial products on an even footing.Following this general appreciation, the professional association will undertake a detailed analysis of ESMA’s proposals in order to provide a finer appreciation of its point of view.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has added to its team dedicated to real estate, which already has 50 members. Geoff Hepburn joins the team as investment manager, Investment Week reports.Hepburn previously worked at Hartwell, where he served in a similar role.He will report to Nick Ireland, and will be responsible for the management of the Halifax Investment Fund Managers Limited Property fund.SWIP has also promoted six members of the team to the position of investment director, including Ross Braithwate, manager of the recently-launched SWIP/CWI Pan European Urban Retail fund.Last year, assets under management in the real estate unit rose 40%, to GBP8.5bn.

Enakshi Roy, associate director, global emerging markets at Hermes Fund Managers, will be joining Baring Asset Management as investment manager, Latin America. In this position she will report to Mike Simpson, head of Latin American equities. Roy had previously worked at Pinebridge Investments Europe in London, and at William Blair & Co in Chicago.

Assets under management at F&C Asset Management as of the end of December 2011 totalled GBP100.1bn, compared with GBP103.2bn three months previously, the firm announced on 31 January. The positive impact of performance totals GBP2.5bn, which was offset by a negative currency effect of GBP1.6bn, and net outflows of GBP3.9bn. F&C AM has announced in a statement that 2012 will be another uear of significant outflows, this time to Friends Life, which is planning to withdraw GBP2.3bn in assets by the end of the year.

The asset manager Patrick Harrington, who has been at Jupiter since March 2009, has left the firm, effective immediately, Money Marketing reports. Harrington had been manager of the undervalued asset fund (GBP91m), the investment trust fund (GBP100m) and co-manager of the GBP66m income fund. Since taking up the position in March 2009, Harrington never managed to improve the performance of the undervalued assets fund, which will now be managed by Steve Davies, a member of the UK equities team at Jupiter.

In fourth quarter 2011, only five of the 19 foreign asset management firms that have disclosed their results to the Spanish association Inverco posted net subscriptions. Overall, foreign asset management firm saw net redemptions of EUR1.7bn, at least for the companies that disclosed data to Inverco.Inverco says that the five firms which posted net inflows are JP Morgan AM (EUR107.16m), BNP Paribas (EUR59.3m), Robeco (EUR19.55m), Pictet (EUR13.47m) and EDM (EUR37.43m).The strongest outflows were EUR416.4m from Amundi Iberia, EUR303.13m from Franklin Templeton Investments, EUR278.58m from BlackRock, and EUR253.3m from Schroders.Overall, according to estimates from Inverco, assets at all foreign asset management firms probably fell by 10% in second half, to EUR45bn. For the 21 asset management firms which have reported their asset levels, assets under management as of the end of December totalled EUR31.14bn.The largest manager is JPMorgan AM with EUR5.42bn, followed by BlackRock with EUR3.25bn, and Amundi Iberia with EUR2.74bn. Then come Franklin Templeton, with EUR2.38bn, and BNP Paribas with EUR2.25bn.

La poche immobilière est faiblement représentée à la Maif, entre 2,3% et 10% selon la structure. Pour Benoit Jullien, directeur des placements et des investissements, les prix se sont maintenus artificiellement trop haut et trop longtemps : « Aujourd’hui, à moins de s’endetter sur 25 ou 30 ans, les jeunes générations d’actifs sont incapables d’acheter. Le secteur a été longtemps subventionné à coup de mesures fiscales pour faire progresser le stock d’immeubles. Mais cela a eu un effet désastreux : les prix se sont ajustés non pas sur la capacité réelle des agents à payer, mais sur les moyens des investisseurs institutionnels. » Autre frein à l’investissement en immobilier : les banques resserrent le crédit. « Le credit crunch est en cours de généralisation », prévient Benoit Jullien. Sans compter le Grenelle de l’environnement qui va rendre une grande partie du stock immobilier obsolète, et le chômage grandissant qui va pousser les entreprises à avoir moins besoin de mètres carrés pour loger leurs salariés. « Nous nous attendons à un ajustement de valeur assez fort, entre 10 et 15% », confie Benoit Jullien. D’où une réduction prévue de la poche immobilière, qui devrait tomber autour de 2,5% pour Parnasse Maif (branche vie) : « Tout en étant sous-pondéré en immobilier, nous allons nous orienter vers de l’immobilier Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQE) et un peu moins sur l’immobilier de bureau. » La Maif mise aussi sur l’investissement socialement responsable, avec des résidences étudiantes.

OPCA de la fonction publique hospitalière, l’Association Nationale pour la Formation permanente du personnel Hospitalier (ANFH) est agréée par le ministère de la santé pour collecter et gérer les fonds consacrés au financement du plan de formation (2,1% de la masse salariale), des congés de formation professionnelle (CFP), des congés pour VAE et des congés pour bilan de compétences (0,2% de la masse salariale), des études promotionnelles (0,6%) et à la formation professionnelle des travailleurs handicapés pris en charge par les ESAT (4,8%). L’approche ISR de l’ANFH repose sur trois valeurs structurantes: paritarisme, solidarité et proximité. Plus de 1000 administrateurs bénévoles et 26 délégations régionales oeuvrent depuis 1974 pour l'égalité d’accès à la formation continue et le développement des compétences des agents employés par les établissements sanitaires, médico-sociaux et sociaux publics, soit plus de 800 000 personnes. En 2011, l’ANFH a sélectionné Dexia AM, à l’issue d’un appel d’offres mené par Cedrus Partners, sur un FCP dédié de 50 millions d’euros sur du monétaire ISR.

Selon les prévisions du Congressional Budget Office, 2012 marquerait la quatrième année consécutive au-delà d'un tel seuil

Le quotidien croit savoir que Starwood Capital entend boucler «d’ici à un mois ou deux» la cession du pôle d’hôtellerie de prestige du Groupe du Louvre, valorisé entre 700 et 800 millions d’euros pour huit établissements. Un consortium du Moyen-Orient ainsi qu’un tandem formé d’Accor et d’Unibail-Rodamco se disputeraient l’affaire. Le premier «tiendrait la corde».

L'indice Case-Shiller a encore chuté de 3,7% en novembre sur un an. Mais une stabilisation du marché se dessine

La proposition de Nicolas Sarkozy pourrait à la marge augmenter l'offre de logements et donc accompagner la baisse des prix attendue

Cette classe d'actifs suscite l'appétit des investisseurs américains, notamment par sa moindre exposition à la crise de la zone euro