L'éditeur de logiciel de gestion des ressources humaines ADP (Automatic Data Processing) et Bill Ackman, le gérant du hedge fund activiste Pershing Square, sont engagés dans une bataille d’influence alors que l’assemblée générale d’ADP se profile le 7 novembre. Cette bataille pourrait même devenir quasi-juridique avec chacun annonçant son intention de se plaindre auprès du régulateur américain, la SEC, pour fausses informations concernant la santé du groupe ou ses perspectives. Bill Ackman arguant du fait que l’entreprise sousperforme, tandis que la direction d’ADP dit le contraire et demande que son conseil d’administration soit réélu à l’assemblée générale.

A l’issue du troisième trimestre 2017, les actifs sous gestion d’Apollo Global Management (Apollo) se sont inscrits à 241,6 milliards de dollars, en progression de 4,2% par rapport au trimestre précédent et en hausse de 28% sur un an, a annoncé la société d’investissement américaine à l’occasion de publication de ses résultats. La croissance des encours d’un trimestre sur l’autre a été essentiellement portée par une collecte nette 7,27 milliards de dollars.Au cours du trimestre écoulé, Apollo a enregistré 664,2 millions de dollars de revenus contre 503,7 millions un an plus tôt, soit une croissance de 32 % sur un an. Son bénéfice net trimestriel ressort à 198,6 millions de dollars contre 94,6 millions de dollars au troisième trimestre 2016. Enfin, son bénéfice net économique s’établit à 431,6 millions de dollars contre 230,7 millions de dollars un an plus tôt.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs VAM Global Management a promu David Cockerton, jusque-là conseiller senior (« senior adviser »), au poste de directeur du développement pour l’ensemble du groupe, rapporte Reuters. Il sera rattaché à David Macdonald, directeur commercial et marketing de la société de gestion. David Cockerton, qui a rejoint VAM en début d’année 2017, compte plus de 20 ans d’expérience dans l’industrie financière. Il a précédemment travaillé au sein de la compagnie d’assurance Zurich.

The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) announces that assets under management of Luxembourg domiciled funds reached EUR 4.037.14 billion (EUR 4.037 trillion) as at 30 September 2017. This represents a 7.9% increase since the beginning of this year and is mainly due to net sales. Denise Voss, Chairman of ALFI, explains in a statement : “This increase in asset under management clearly demonstrates the confidence that asset managers, fund distributors and investors have in our fund centre. Luxembourg is the second largest fund domicile after the US. The growth of assets under management has been quite spectacular with the increase from 3 to 4 trillion taking merely 3 years. Luxembourg funds are now distributed in over 70 countries around the world and we now have 4.110 funds domiciled in Luxembourg.”

NN Group announced that it has completed the sale of NN Life Luxembourg to Bankers Insurance Holdings S.A., part of the family of independent insurance companies supported by Global Bankers Insurance Group. The transaction, which was announced on 6 April 2017, will not have a material impact on the capital position and operating result of NN Group. It will not impact NN Group’s asset management business in Luxembourg.

La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec announced, on 30th October, a loan of USD150 million to Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (Innergex), an independent Canadian leader in renewable energy. The investment takes place as Innergex announces the acquisition of Alterra Power Corp. (Alterra), a renewable energy company operating in Canada, The United States and Iceland. The transaction will allow Innergex to diversify its asset portfolio, both geographically and in terms of energy ressources.In business since 1990, Innergex develops, owns and operates hydroelectric power plants, wind farms and solar farms. In addition to strengthening these three activity sectors, acquiring Alterra allows Innergex to integrate geothermal energy into its offering. This transaction will also help Innergex achieve an operating capacity of over 2,000 MW by 2020.

The Global Investor Confidence Index published by State Street Global Exchange decreased to 96.9 for October 2017, down 7.5 points from September’s revised reading of 104.4. The decline in sentiment was driven by an 8.7 point drop in the North American ICI to 96.8, along with a 6.7 point fall in the Asian ICI to 96.2 and a 0.7 point decrease in the European ICI to 93.1.“In October, we’ve seen a plunge in global investor sentiment to levels last seen in March of this year,” commented Ken Froot. “Investors may be factoring in the effects of monetary policy normalization and the potential for a more hawkish chair at the Federal Reserve. Concerns may also be surfacing over the impact of a stronger US dollar on emerging Asian markets. In the face of continued geopolitical concerns, we will have to wait and see how investor sentiment unfolds as 2017 nears an end.”“Rising yields, a continued sense of uncertainty around US fiscal and trade and the imminent selection of a new Fed chairperson are keeping markets on tenterhooks,” said Timothy Graf, head of Macro Strategy, EMEA, and State Street Global Markets. “The retreat in Investor Confidence being led by North American investors is not so surprising given so much market attention has focused on events in the region.”The Investor Confidence Index was developed by Kenneth Froot and Paul O’Connell at State Street Associates, State Street Global Exchange’s research and advisory services business. It measures investor confidence or risk appetite quantitatively by analyzing the actual buying and selling patterns of institutional investors. The index assigns a precise meaning to changes in investor risk appetite: the greater the percentage allocation to equities, the higher risk appetite or confidence. A reading of 100 is neutral; it is the level at which investors are neither increasing nor decreasing their long-term allocations to risky assets. The index differs from survey-based measures in that it is based on the actual trades, as opposed to opinions, of institutional investors.

Evli Fund Management company has renewed the name and strategy of its Alfa bond fund to Evli Nordic Corporate Bond. The fund focuses on Nordic rated investment grade and high yield bonds and unrated corporate bonds.The background research shows that the Nordic corporate bond market is already a sizable market of a value of EUR 150 billion and is growing. The unique combination of strong fundamentals and attractive valuation is luring more and more non-Nordic investors. However, most European investors still invest only in officially rated corporate bonds in these markets, although the track record shows that Nordic smaller unrated companies typically yield more than similar credit risk profiles. These smaller unrated companies represent over 70 percent of the Nordic issuers."The Nordic bond market offers a vast variety of sectors, local mix and structure. With the Nordic Corporate Bond fund, we can focus on the potential both the rated and unrated Nordic companies offer. In addition, Evli is in a prime position to offer investors diversification and additional return potential to their bond portfolio. We have close to 20 years of investment experience in Nordic corporate bonds and an expert team of portfolio managers analyzing and buying Nordic credit» Kim Pessala, managing director of Evli Fund Management Company, comments.The objective of the Nordic Corporate Bond fund is to offer an actively managed fund with high, stable return and European off-index corporate bond investments from quality issuers to investors interested in the Nordic market. The fund consists of 100 percent corporate bonds from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } The Cantonal Bank of St-Gall has announced the recruitment of Hanspeter Wohlwend as head of private banking. Wohlwend, who is expected to begin in the position in March 2018, replaces Daniel Lipp, who left the cantonal bank in May last year. Wohlwend currently works at the Liechtensteinischen Landesbank (LLB), where he is head of product management. Before joining LLB in March 2016, he was chief operating officer (COO) at the Notenstein private bank from 2012 to 2015.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } The Swiss asset management group Bellevue on 31 October announced that it has decided to cover costs related to research when the MiFID II directive comes into force at the start of 2018. Bellevue is thus taking the same line as many other Swiss asset management firms, such as Vontobel, GAM and Unigestion, which have announced that they will not pass costs related to research on to the end client.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } ACG Management, a specialist in investment in private SMEs in France and the French overseas territories, and a pioneer in Corsican FIP vehicles, has announced the closure with capital gains of its Fonds d’Investissement de Proximité (FIP) Néoveris Corse, launched in 2009. The redemption will be completed before the initially planned maturity date of 31 December 2017. Capital gains are 6.17% of the nominal capital released. This means that subscribers to the funds will already have received a tax reduction on their income taxes of 50% of the subscribed amount, and will thus now receive an additional redemption of capital and distribution of capital gains, for 106.17% of the nominal sum (excluding front-end fee, tax breaks and social contributions). The FIP Néoveris Corse 2009, the third launched by ACG Management, was used to finance 10 Corsican SMEs active in various sectors such as construction, real estate promotion, energy, tourism, and retail, a statement says. “This third redemption from our Corsican FIP funds shows the capacity of our local investment team to create value. All of the businesses assisted throughout the life of the fund were able to grow and all generated returns for subscribers,” says Arnaud Chocca, director of stakeholding and head of the Corsican unit, in a statement.

Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM) announced the launch of the Axa World Funds Framlington Digital Economy fund that invests across the digital economy value chain, managed by Framlington Equities. Areas of investment will include companies involved in the discovery, decision making, delivery and execution of the online commerce process. The fund also invests in companies acting as ‘enablers’ for traditional businesses looking to take advantage of the expanding digital opportunity set. Jeremy Gleeson will be the lead manager of this new Luxembourg domiciled Sicav, with assistance from the AXA IM Framlington Equities’ Thematic team. «The launch of this fund follows the success of our circa 3bn USD robotech strategy launched in 2015 and is part of the expansion in Framlington Equities’ broader thematic fund offering», said Mark Beveridge, Global Head of Framlington Equities at Axa IM.Commenting on the launch of the Axa World Funds Digital Economy fund, lead fund manager Jeremy Gleeson, said: “The digital era is still in its infancy when you consider that only 9% of global retail sales are transacted online, and internet retailing is expected to grow at an average rate of 14% over each of the next 5 years. The constant advances in technology continue to have an impact on our everyday lives. We are only at the beginning of this digital journey and we believe this represents a huge opportunity for investors."“There are two significant drivers in play here, the more obvious one being the ability to access products and services via connected devices. The smartphone that many of us carry around with us all the time is providing a gateway to how we as consumers get information, and make purchase decisions, he added. The other driver is more subtle – demographics. Millennials, defined as those under the age of 35, have grown up with the internet always being there and with the option to shop online. They are also just entering their peak spending years. Businesses need to prepare themselves to cater for this digitally savvy segment of the population.”The investment team will focus on identifying companies that facilitate different parts of the online consumer journey, including companies that enable digital transformation. The companies in the investment universe will cover:1. Discovery of the product – e.g. online marketing and advertising such as search engine and social media;2. Decision making – e.g. e-commerce, web portals and mobile app companies;3. Delivery of the product(s) – e.g. companies that help facilitate payments (fintech) and logistics;4. Digital data and enablers – e.g. specialist companies who assist businesses with their digital migration.The team will aim to invest in globally listed stocks in both developing and emerging markets and across the market cap spectrum. The portfolio will typically have approximately 40-60 holdings. The team will work closely with the Framlington Equities regional and sector specialists to identify the global and local opportunities that align with the thematic approach of this fund.The launch builds on Framlington Equities’ long history in thematic investing including technology, healthcare, listed real estate, biotechnology and more recently, robotech. Jeremy Gleeson has 20 years’ experience investing in the technology sector focusing on different themes and innovations.The Axa WF Digital Economy Fund is registered in UK, Austria, Belgium (retail only), Germany, Denmark, Spain (retail only), Portugal (retail only), Finland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

The French asset management firm Métropole Gestion has quietly closed its Frankfurt office. The news has been confirmed to the German press. When approached for comment, the Paris office of the firm maintained an eloquent silence.This is a clear change in strategy, as Métropole Gestion entered the German market in 2009. In March this year, Isabelle Lévy announced in an interview with NewsManagers that the Frankfurt office would be maintained “due to the very considerable decentralisation of the German market, which requires us to have a team on site.” This is clearly no longer the case. The Frankurt office had been the only foreign office of the asset management firm, about 50% of whose assets (EUR6.1bn) originate from clients outside France.Métropole Gestion is now planning to direct its distribution activities from Paris. The three members of the Frankfurt office have left the company.The asset management firm, which targets professional investor clients, including institutional investors as well as private banks, advisers and funds of funds, sells products in Germany, Switzerland, Benelux, Austria, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates.

Each cycle has its preferences. After years of promoting US equity funds, the US group Legg Mason is now seeking to make itself better known for its bond expertise in France, as Vincent Passa, head of the Paris office since 2010, reveals to NewsManagers. “Legg Mason got well-known in the late 1990s, when the Banque du Louvre began to sell US equity funds, which truly was a differentiating theme at the time. But that made investors forget that Legg Mason is a big bond firm,” explains Passa. “And we think that in the current cycle, bonds have become undeniable.” It should be said that the US equity market is viewed by some as increasingly risky after years of growth. The French offices has not been spared the trend of outflows from US equity funds, particularly those managed actively in the United States.The efforts of the Paris office have thus for some time been oriented to sales of flexible, alternative and emerging market fixed-income expertise. There is a wide range to choose from the numerous boutiques of Legg Mason. The largest of these is Western Asset (Wamco), one of the largest fixed income managers in the world, with USD435bn in assets under management as of the end of September. The expertise of Western Asset extends to all of the major global bond markets, and the firm has offices in Pasadena, New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sao Paulo, with expertise in emerging market debt.The US group has also acquired new boutiques in recent years, to diversify its expertise. “The objective of the group is to follow the demand of clients,” says Passa. This, for example, has led to the merger in May 2016 of EnTrustPermal, wich combine the multi-asset alternative expertise of Permal with the distressed debt expertise of EnTrust. Slightly before this, it acquired RARE Infrastructure, to offer listed infrastructure funds. In 2016, Legg Mason also acquired Predician Investments, to allow it to create ETFs. Ten have been created in the United States, and Australia is to follow soon. “For Europe, it will be a little later,” says Passa. “the group will adapt to the success of the activities already launched.”Meanwhile, a new organisation has also been put in place in Spring this year, to optimise sales efforts in continental Europe. “The head of sales for Europe, Justin Eede, has taken on additional responsibility for distribution in the Americas outside the United States. So in Spring the group decided to set up two sub-regions for Europe: one for Southern Europe, which includes France, Italy and Spain, and one for Northern Europe, where Benelux (wich was attached to the French office) joins Switzerland, Germany and Austria.” Thus, Paris now has less than USD900m in assets under management. And the head of the region is the Italian country head, Marco Negri.“It will allow me to concentrate on France better, and even more so since I am sure that very good news are coming from institutional clients. The new organization of distribution activities is now bearing fruit,” he explains. Since the start of the fiscal year at Legg Mason, which begins in April, the Paris office has seen net inflows of USD150m.

Les milieux d’affaires exhortent le gouvernement à négocier au plus tôt une période de transition de deux ans.

La parole à... Khalid Aït Yahia, économiste à Coface

Ellipsis AM et Theam font valoir ces stratégies sur les dividendes implicites qui profitent, en Europe, d’un déséquilibre structurel entre l’offre et la demande de couvertures.

La parole à... Frédérick Lacroix, avocat associé chez Clifford Chance

Infrastructures de marché

C’est l’année où le taux de pénétration des véhicules entièrement électriques (VE) atteindra 90 % au niveau mondial, prévoient les analystes de Bank of America ML sur la base d’une analyse des coûts comparés. La part de marché des purs VE atteindrait 12 % dès 2025. Le point d’inflexion des coûts essence/électrique basculerait en faveur des VE en 2022-2023.

Les parts d’OPCVM protégées contre le risque actions et le risque de taux sont interdites, mettant fin à des pratiques disparates entre les pays.

La banque centrale s’engage avec prudence dans le processus d’arrêt de son programme de rachats d’actifs.

On trouve beaucoup d’informations dans le rapport du Trésor américain consacré au secteur de l’assurance et de la gestion d’actifs. Soucieux de savoir, à l’heure de la croissance exponentielle des ETF, si les Américains ont la possibilité de gérer leur épargne via internet, et surtout d’accéder à l’information sur les fonds via ce canal, le Trésor précise que 84 % des adultes ont un accès internet aux Etats-Unis (niveau inchangé depuis 2011). Heureusement, le taux monte à 92 % pour les ménages détenteurs de fonds mutuels. Il en reste tout de même quelques-uns en marge.

Sens inverse. Alors que l’Esma vient purement et simplement d’interdire la commercialisation de parts d’OPCVM couvertes contre le risque de taux et celles protégées du risque action (lire page 37), l’AMF et l’AFG réfléchissent à leur création pour les FIA (fonds d’investissement alternatifs). Un « mouvement contraire » que l’AFG justifie : « nous avons milité et nous militons toujours pour le développement de ces parts qui permettent de répondre à un besoin client ». La directive AIFM portant sur les gestionnaires d’actifs, et non sur les fonds, la définition des catégories de parts de fonds et leurs caractéristiques/ratios/contraintes s’est faite au niveau national. Il n’existe donc pas définition ou de règle européenne sur les classes de parts de fonds alternatifs.

On connaît des banques centrales qui vont être jalouses. Dix ans après une vague d’ultra-hyperinflation (dont le point culminant fut un billet de « zollar » de 100.000 milliards), le Zimbabwe est de nouveau confronté à une déferlante d’inflation. Sur la base du taux de change, 112 % en septembre. Sur la base de produits alimentaires de base, entre 30 % et 150 % en deux mois, sur la base d’un économètre local, 65 % en septembre. Il n’y a que les statistiques officielles pour ne rien déceler : 0,78 % en glissement annuel. Du travail d’artiste, commente un économiste du cru.

L’analyse de... Hervé Juvin, président de Natpol

La société prend une part majoritaire au capital de ce gérant actions alternatif basé à Hong-Kong, et fondé par l'ancien patron des investissements de la SAFE chinoise.

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

La Réserve fédérale a laissé ses taux inchangés mais se montre plus positive sur la croissance économique

Son existence et le lancement d'un nouveau fonds ont été révélés seulement hier dans la presse par Investment Europe. La société Sagara Financière est pourtant le fruit du rachat en avril 2017 de Day Trade Asset Management (DTAM), société de gestion agréée par l'AMF en 2002 et dont ont été conservés une partie de l'équipe, des outils de gestion ainsi que le fonds US Equity Premium, peut-on lire sur son site Internet.