Confirmant une information relayée la semaine passée par plusieurs sources, le patron d’UniCredit Federico Ghizzoni a reconnu que sa banque était en discussions conjointement avec sa rivale Intesa Sanpaolo et KKR en vue du montage par ce dernier d’un fonds de prêts à risques détenus par les deux banques. Une décision doit être prise d’ici cet été.

Superintendant du département des Services financiers de l’Etat de New York, Benjamin Lawsky a dévoilé certains détails de son projet d’encadrement des monnaies virtuelles. La régulation devrait voir le jour cette année. Il s’agit notamment de soumettre à licence les entreprises acceptant ce mode de paiement.

D’après l’Agefi, les candidats à la gestion de ce véhicule de 100 millions d’euros ont jusqu’au 21 février pour déposer leur dossier. Le cahier des charges est exigeant. Le fonds viager de la Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC) va bientôt prendre forme. L’institution de la rue de Lille a lancé récemment un appel d’offres pour sélectionner le gestionnaire de ce futur véhicule dont la taille doit atteindre 100 millions d’euros et dont le projet avait été officialisé cet automne. La date de remise des copies est prévue le 21 février, a appris L’Agefi de plusieurs sources proches du dossier. Poussé par le député Henri Emmanuelli, le président de la commission de surveillance de la CDC, ce fonds viager doit permettre d’apporter un complément de revenus aux retraités propriétaires de leur logement. Les biens seront vendus au décès de l’occupant. Par rapport au viager traditionnel conclu entre particuliers, la mutualisation des logements a l’avantage d'éviter la «spéculation» sur l’espérance de vie du vendeur et de gommer pour l’investisseur le risque de longévité. Ce marché a d’ailleurs suscité ces dernières années les créations de sociétés ou de fonds spécialisés à destination des investisseurs institutionnels, comme Coremimmo ou Fundageo. La nouveauté du produit explique que la Caisse des dépôts ait transmis un cahier des charges particulièrement exigeant, d’une quarantaine de pages. L’heureux élu devra apporter sa connaissance du marché du viager et sa capacité à gérer des biens, tout en ayant un agrément de société de gestion pour ce type de fonds. Il doit également être membre de l’Association française de gestion financière (AFG) ou de l’Association française des sociétés de placement immobilier (Aspim). Des tandems associant spécialistes du viager et sociétés de gestion devraient donc être constitués. Virage Viager, le cabinet d’Eric Guillaume - créateur du fonds Coremimmo - devrait ainsi déposer un dossier en s’appuyant sur un asset manager. La Française, Paref ou Primonial seraient également intéressés, de même que le groupe Gérard Auffray, un vieux routier de l'épargne. Côté investisseurs, la CDC aurait déjà réuni 80 millions sur les 100 millions visé par le fonds. L’institution apporterait 20 millions, tout comme CNP. Une poignée de mutuelles et d’institutions de prévoyance, à l’image d’Agrica, compléteraient le tour de table.

La Française et Tages Capital, une société de gestion et de conseil en investissement, ont annoncé aujourd’hui la conclusion d’un partenariat stratégique dans le domaine de la multi-gestion alternative. Sous réserve de l’accord des autorités de tutelle, La Française prendra 40% de Tages Capital, la branche de gestion d’actifs du groupe, et lui déléguera la gestion de sa gamme actuelle de fonds de hedge funds dont les encours sous gestion sont d’environ 1 milliard de dollars. Basé à Londres, Tages Capital accueillera ainsi deux gérants deux gérants de fonds de La Française.

Pour son premier grand oral devant le Comité des services financiers de la Chambre des représentants américaine, la nouvelle présidente de la Réserve fédérale (Fed) a rappelé que l'économie américaine avait progressé à un rythme de 3,5% au second semestre 2013, après 1,75% au premier. Elle a néanmoins souligné que la reprise du marché du travail est «loin d'être achevée» en dépit d’une baisse du taux chômage, revenu à 6,6%. Elle a ainsi confirmé la garantie offerte par la Fed que les taux Fed funds restent à leur niveau actuel «bien après que le taux de chômage soit descendu sous le seuil des 6,5%, notamment si l’inflation anticipée continue d’être sous l’objectif des 2%».

La Banque d’Angleterre a dit mardi qu’elle n’avait rien trouvé à l’appui des affirmations des médias voulant qu’elle ait fermé les yeux ou à tout le moins ait été au courant de manipulations des taux de référence du marché des changes. La banque centrale a discuté, le 23 avril 2012, avec des cambistes londoniens de leurs procédés de fixation des taux de référence soit plus d’un avant l’ouverture d’une enquête internationale sur des soupçons de manipulation. Durant cette réunion, les traders ont révélé qu’ils échangeaient des informations sur les positions de leurs clients par l’intermédiaire de «chatrooms» en ligne, avaient dit des sources à Reuters le mois dernier.

Le pôle investissement de l’Eglise d’Angleterre, Church Commissioners, augmente son allocation d’actifs aux placements alternatifs à 33 %, rapporte Financial News. Aujourd’hui, un quart du portefeuille de 6 milliards de livres est investi dans l’alternatif.

Le fonds souverain de la Corée, Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), va créer un centre de recherche d’une vingtaine de personnes afin d’accompagner son processus d’allocation avec des analyses macro et microéconomiques, rapporte Asian Investor.Le nouveau patron du fonds de pension, Ahn Hank Hong-Chul, indique s'être inspiré de grands fonds souverains comme NBIM en Norvège ou encore GIC à Singapour qui ont mis la recherche au cœur de leur processus d’investissement.Les actifs sous gestion de KIC s’inscrivent à environ 72 milliards de dollars.

La société de gestion australienne AMP Capital a nommé Simon Warner en tant que responsable obligataire, à compter du 7 février. Il succède à Mark Beardow, qui a été promu CIO des équipes « specialist investment » en décembre 2013.Simon Warner était jusqu’ici responsable des marchés macro chez AMP Capital au sein de l’équipe obligataire. Il a occupé ce rôle pendant 7 ans. Avant de rejoindre AMP Capital en mars 2007, Simon Warner officiait chez JPMorgan Chase à Londres, Sydney et Singapour.L’équipe obligataire d’AMP Capital comprend 30 professionnels de l’investissement répartis entre l’Australie, la Nouvelle Zélande, Hong Kong et Chicago. AMP Capital gère 135 milliards de dollars.

Le fonds de pension finlandais Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company (Etera) a attribué un mandat à State Street pour lui fournir une gamme de solutions pour fonds de pension. Portant sur plus de 5,6 milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion, les prestations de State Street comprendront des services de conservation de titres, de comptabilité de fonds, de prêt-emprunt de titres, de compensation de produits dérivés, de gestion de collatéral, de routage d’ordres OPCVM, et de services de suivi quotidien du risque."Les investisseurs institutionnels ont besoin d’accéder aux données en temps réel pour optimiser leurs décisions d’investissement. Cela contribue à expliquer pourquoi presque 90 % d’entre eux prévoient d’investir dans des systèmes de gestion et d’exécution des ordres au cours des trois prochaines années», commente Paola Bergamaschi, responsable EMEA des solutions dédiées aux fonds de pension chez State Street.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management and Harvest Global Investments are launching a physical replication ETF on the Milan stock exchange based on the CSI300 index, composed of Chinese A-class equities. The db x-trackers CSI00 Index UCITS ETF (DR) is, according to its promoter, the first ETF compliant with UCITS in Italy to offer investors direct access to the Chinese equity market.

The asset management industry may be looking at a bright future. According to a study released by PwC, assets under management worldwide, which now total about USD63.9trn, may see stratospheric growth, to a total of USD101.7trn by 2020, an annual growth rate of nearly 6%.In other words, asset management firms are increasingly expected to occupy the foreground, as European banks alone are expected to see a deficit in owners’ equity of USD380bn in the next five years, PwC estimates.Global AUM growth will be driven by pension funds, HNWIs and sovereign wealth funds, according to PwC. In 2012, the AM industry managed 36.5% of assets held by pension funds, sovereign wealth funds (SWF), insurance companies, mass affluent and high-net-worth individuals (HNWI). PwC predicts that by 2020 the AM industry will manage USD101.7 trillion of clients’ assets, implicitly assuming the penetration rate to remain constant. However, given the AM industry is successful in penetrating these clients assets further, PwC believe that the AM industry would be able to increase their share of managed assets by 10% to a level of 46.5%, which would in turn represent a USD130 trillion in global AUM. Also, assets under management in the South America, Asia, Africa, Middle East economies are set to grow faster than in the developed world in the years leading up to 2020, creating new pools of assets that can potentially be tapped by the AM industry. However, the majority of assets will still be concentrated in the US and Europe.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After a stable period following the crisis, the number of merger and acquisition operations put into action by French groups rose in 2012 and 2013, with a slight increase in the size of the businesses acquired, and reduced interest on the part of buyers in emerging markets, according to a study by the auditing and consulting firm PwC, covering merger and acquisition operations by French industrial groups between 2009 and 2013. In 2014, PwC predicts a slight increase in these operations, with particular interst in acquisitions in developed countries (France, other countries of Europe, and the United States), and an increase in the average size of target businesses.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The investment boutique Myra Capital is proposing to launch a new multi-asset fund of funds to offer a more diversified approach to the market, Citywire reports. The Mura Solidus Global fund will be domiciled in Luxembourg, and may be launched in early March, after obtaining regulatory clearance. The absolute return strategy will invest as a priority in actively-managed funds and ETFs.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) is launching the “Core ETF” range, which will have a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.09% per year, or 9 basis points. The low-cost range includes ETFs which are already part of the offerings from the asset management firm, but which will have their fees reduced. This includes the X-trackers FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (DR), whose TER will be cut from 0.30% to 0.09% per year, and the db X-trackers DAX® UCITS ETF (DR), whose TER will be lowered from 0.15% to 0.09% per year. The 9 bp range will be complemented by the db X-trackers Eurostoxx 50 (DR), which will soon (during 1st quarter 2014) be converted to physical replication and will be complemented by another ETF of the MSCI USA index. “With this range of low-cost ETFs, we are seeking both to improve our range of current investors, and to extend our base of investors. With low TER, liquidity, transparency and visibility, this new range will interest a wide range of investors,” says Reinhard Bellet, head of DeAW Passive Asset Management, in a statement. With this initiative, DeAWM is entering the price war on the ETF market, which already involves Vangaurd, BlackRock and Lyxor.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Although many banks have made substantial progress in reducing the size of hteir balance sheets, they still have some way to go to meet the requirements of regulators and investors. At a time when an economic recovery is emerging in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, parallel or shadow banking is continuing to grow both in terms of volume and offerings. The agency Standard & Poor’s estimates, however, that the growth of shadow banking in western Europe could be slowed by some factors despite clear signs of a growing need for financing alternatives.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The international organisation of securities commissions (IOSCO) on 10 February published a consultation document on the foundations of a code of conduct for ratings agencies, which proposes significant changes to the current code from the organisation. The code was revised in 2008, after the bursting of the financial bubble, to introduce terms to improve the quality of information as well as reflections on the resolution of conflicts of interest related to the role of ratings agencies with issuers in the creation of structured products.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The London-based hedge funds Fenician Capital has recruited Andrew Crane of Investcorp as its CEO, Financial News reports. Crane had previously worked for VHC Partners and Fielity Investments.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The ETP provider Source has recruited Dominic Clabby as director of intermediaries in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Fund Web reports. He will cover platforms, intermediaries and independent financial advisers. Clabby was previously at Axa Elecate.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Duke Street, a British private equity firm majority owned by the French asset management boutique Tikehau, has announced that it has signed an agreement to sell its stake in Marlin Financial Group, one of the leaders in debt repurchasing in the United Kingdom, to Cabot Credit Management Limited. The transaction values Marlin at about GBP295m, a statement says.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss equity specialist Urs Beck has joined EFG Asset Management to oversee the launch of a fund dedicated to the Swiss market, Citywire reports. Urs Beck previously worked at the Cantonal Bank of Zurich, where he was responsible for Swiss equities in institutional and retail mandates.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Schroders has launched a fund dedicated to emerging market equities and particuarly to small caps, Citywire reports. The Schroder ISF Global Emerging Markets Smaller Companies fund, domiciled in Luxembourg, is currently in incubation and is aimed at institutional investors as a top priority.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aviva Investors will liquidate its Property Investment fund with GBP78.9m in assets, due to its size, which makes it economically unviable, FT Adviser states. The fund had reached GBP200m in early 2011. Weak performance and redemptions had led to the fall in assets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the next few days, the Italian minister of the economy and finance will approve a measure which will allow asset management firms to make one-time extensions to the maturity dates for publicy-traded real estate funds, Plus24 reports. The rule will allow subscribers in the fund to share their opinions. The measure is meant to allow asset management firms to breathe, especialy those whose funds will soon be maturing, and whose portfolios are still full of real estate properties. According to the draft document obtained by Plus24, asset management firms will have to modify the rules for their funds by 30 June 2014, to insert a way to make a one-time extension to the duration of the fund for a maximal period of two years, for the purposes of completing sales of investments.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The financial ratings agency Moody’s on 11 February published a guide, the first of its kind, to issuers based in China, including ratings. The document includes the main financial data as well as a summary of the risk profile for each issuer rated by the agency. The first edition includes 139 issuers, 116 Corporate and product & Infrastructure, 22 financial institutions, and China as a sovereign issuer.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stanislas Grenet, in charge of the credit arbitrage activity at Ofi Asset Management, is joining the convertible bond team at the asset management firm Ofi AM, led by Nancy Scribot–Blanchet et Olivier Ravey. Grenet will continue his credit arbitrage management activity. He reinforces the new team for the creation and management of synthetic convertibles. Grenet joined ADI Alternative Investments in 2006 as a manager-analyst for convertibles, and was later taken over by the Ofi group.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Despite its significant exposure to emerging markets, Barings in France has managed to finish the year 203 with net inflows of EUR80m, Benoît du Mesnil du Buisson, chairman of Baring Asset Management France, tells Newsmanagers. Assets under management as of the end of December 2013 totalled slightly over EUR1bn, compared with EUR900m as of the end of 2012. Groupwide, assets under management remained stable at about EUR44bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As Argentine is facing a seond default in 13 years, two US hedge funds are playing a central role but on opposing sides in effort to help the country through its current crisis, the Wall Street Journal relates. The two firms, Gramercy Funds Management and Elliott Management, have hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. But they have adopted contrary tactics in their attempts to get their money back. Gramercy, which has USD3.9bnin assets, is advising Argentine behind the curtain on how to restore their reputation with the international community and regain access to the markets. Gamercy is facing off against Elliott, which has been fighting Argentina for years.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Algebris Investments wants to continue to grow through new sales agreements, Alessandro Alsagna, COO of the structure, which has EUR1.5bn in assets, explains to Bluerating. “In partnership with a fund with only one strategy, we have in the past few years reached the point of managing various managed accounts and six funds, three of which are in UCITS format,” the director says. To sell this range, “We have in all eight agreements with distribution networks.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian asset management firm Kairos Partners, in which Julius Baer owns a stake, has recruitd Amir Kuhdari as head of sales. Kuhdari has worked for the past seven years at Franklin Templeton Italia, where he was sales manager and head of retail.