Dans un communiqué publié ce matin, Pierre Moscovici, ministre de l’Economie et des Finances, annonce «avoir demandé à l’Agence des Participations de l’Etat de préparer la cession de la participation de l’Etat excédant le seuil de la majorité du capital de la société Aéroports de Paris à plusieurs investisseurs de long-terme, dans le cadre d’une procédure hors marché, ouverte et transparente, et de proposer au Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement de s’y associer». Par ailleurs, l’Etat considérera avec la société une offre réservée aux salariés.L’Etat détient actuellement 54,5% du capital social d’Aéroports de Paris, et le FSI en détient 5,6%. La cession envisagée assurerait à l’Etat de conserver la majorité du capital, conformément à la loi. Bercy justifie cette opération par sa politique de gestion active des participations de l’Etat, et le fait qu’elle dégage des ressources en fonds propres pour de nouveaux secteurs porteurs de développement économique.
David Petraeus, l’ancien général de l’armée américaine qui a démissionné l’an dernier de son poste de patron de la CIA, rejoint KKR, rapporte The Wall Stret Journal. Agé de 60 ans, il sera président d’un nouvel « institut » interne centré sur les prévisions macroéconomiques, la communication, les politiques publiques et le conseil en investissements dans les marchés émergents.
Matthew Williams quitte la gestion du fonds Japanese Sicav equity fund de Standard Life Investments après plus de 10 ans de service, rapporte Citywire Global. La gestion sera confiée à Shigeru Oshita de Sumitomo Mitsui Trust. Cela s’inscrit dans le cadre de l’échange de stratégies d’investissement entre la société de gestion du japonais Sumitomo Mitsui Trust et Standard Life Investments qui a débuté en 2010. Ainsi, à l’avenir, tous les fonds actions Japon de SLI seront gérés par Sumitomo.
Le premier compartiment de la plate-forme coordonnée luxembourgeoise d’Ashburton, une filiale basée à Jersey du sud-africain FirstRand Group, est l’Africa Equity Opportunities Fund qui se focalisera sur la sélection d’actions sous-évaluées cotées en Afrique, hors Afrique du Sud. La gestion en est confiée à Paul Clark, qui veille, dans le cadre de la gestion du risque à n’investir que dans des titres compatibles avec la liquidité hebdomadaire.CaractéristiquesDénomination; Africa Equity Opportunities FundMonnaie de référence : USDIndice de référence: MSCI Emerging (Hurdle) Frontier Markets Africa ex. South Africa Index (USD)Souscription minimale :USD 10.000 (parts R)USD 100.000 (parts I) Commission de gestion: 2 % maximum (parts R)1,5 % (parts I)Commission de performance15 % maximum de la surperformance par rapport au taux butoir
Rory Bateman, actuellement responsable des actions européennes chez Schroders, voit ses responsabilités élargies aux actions britanniques. Les actions UK étaient jusqu'à présent dirigées par Richard Buxton, lequel a démissionné en mars après onze années passées au sein de la société de gestion britannique. Il a rejoint Old Mutual Global Investors en tant que responsable des actions britanniques.Selon un communiqué, Rory Bateman devient «head of UK equities» avec effet immédiat. Suite à sa nomination, les équipes de gestion «value», qui étaient jusqu'à présent divisées en deux équipes (gestion value actions UK et gestion value actions européennes) seront regroupées en une seule équipe «value», sous la direction de Rory Bateman. Schroders gère 236,5 milliards de livres d’encours à fin mars 2013.
Le britannique Brewin Dolphin a vu ses actifs sous gestion progresser à 28,1 milliards de livres durant le semestre à fin mars, contre 25,7 milliards de livres un an plus tôt, selon le rapport intérimaire publié le 29 mai. Dans le même temps, le bénéfice avant impôts du semestre à fin mars 2013 s’est inscrit à 6,9 millions de livres, en recul de près de 44% par rapport au semestre à fin mars 2012.Brewin Dolphin a par ailleurs annoncé un placement d’actions pour un montant de 40 millions de livres afin de financer sa croissance.
La société Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (EdRIP) a annoncé mercredi 29 mai prendre une participation minoritaire au capital du groupe MCI au travers du fonds Winch Capital 2. MCI est spécialisé dans l’organisation de congrès scientifiques pour le compte notamment d’associations et d’institutionnels, et dans l’organisation de conférences et d’événements pour le compte d’entreprises. Le groupe possède 47 bureaux répartis dans 23 pays et a réalisé un chiffre d’affaires de 337 millions de francs suisse en 2012. Il s’agit de la quatorzième opération pour Winch Capital 2.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The South Korean asset management firm Mirae Asset Management is planning to develop its activities in Europe in the next few months, Asian Investor reports. The chief marketing officer at Mirae, Ashley Dale, will visit Euorpe next week to evaluate needs. Mirae, whose assets under management total about USD57bn, is also preparing two ETFs for the Hong Kong market during June, which is another area of development for the asset management firm. The first ETF will replicate the MSCI China index, while the second will replicate the Hang Seng High Dividend Yield.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Mutual Fund Wire, the ETF and hedge fund management firm Arrow Investment Advisers has appointed John Cadigan as director of its sales team, with the aim of expanding into the area of broker-dealers. He will report to Jake Griffith, chairman and head of sales.The new recruit had been managing director and national sales manager at Direxion Funds since September 2011, after serving for 10 years at Rydex, which has since been integrated into Gugenheim Investments.At Direxion, Cadigan has been replaced by Steve Rudman, who joins from Pimco.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } CPR Asset Management is seeking to strengthen its thematic product range with a new vehicle which may be launched during the month of September, Cyrille Collet, director of equity management, announced on 29 May at a press conference. The new fund will be a strategy dedicated to consumer habits, which will serve as the basis for portfolio construction.Collet has also announced that assets under management at CPR AM recently topped EUR23bn, whereas they had totalled EUR20.6bn as of the end of December 2012.As a part of this body thematic funds, which as very popular with investors, represent assets of about EUR600m. The CPR Silver Age fund, dedicated to the theme of ageing populations, has posted strong growth in less than one year, from EUR35m in September 2012 to EUR95m as of the end of December, and over EUR150m currently.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Convictions Asset Management, adept in active management and measured risk, is currently seeking opportunities for external growth, and may be interested in first which practice a wealth management strategy, Philippe Delienne, chairman of the asset management firm, told Newsmanagers on Wednesday.Since the beginning of the year, subscriptions and redemptions are balanced, and assets at Convictions AM remain stable, at about EUR600m.Since November 2011, the flagship fund from the firm, Premium, has earned 8%, with volatility of under 5%. Allocation to equities presently totals 30% to 40%.
Union Bancaire Privée on May 29 announced that it has agreed to acquire Lloyds Banking Group’s International Private Banking business. The price of the transaction is GBP100 million. This acquisition further boosts UBP’s standing both in Switzerland and in its core growth markets, such as the Middle East and Latin America. Once the requisite regulatory licences have been granted, Monaco and Gibraltar will become part of UBP’s global footprint. The transaction will increase UBP’s assets under management, which stood at CHF 83.2 billion as at 30 April 2013, by more than CHF 10 billion. UBP’s CEO, Guy de Picciotto, stated: “This acquisition further strengthens our position at the forefront of the industry and confirms our commitment to our Bank’s two core businesses – international private banking and asset management. We look forward to welcoming Lloyds’ teams and their expertise that we will put to use on an even larger scale. With our competitive range of private banking services and investment solutions, we are bringing our proficiency as a major Swiss and international-wealth-management player to Lloyds’ private clients.”
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } HSBC and Genevalor, the promoter of the Thema International fund, which had invested in Madoff, have reached an agreement to end a case filed on 30 April this year in Dublin, which was expected to last 14 weeks, Agefi Switzerland reporst. Thema had accused HSBC of negligence in its role as a depository bank for assets placed with the New York-based manager. The Irish-registered fund was seeking USD1.5bn. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. Officially, neither party admits fault in the surveillance of the Thema fund. The UCITS vehicle had USd1.1bn in assets under management when Bernard Madoff was arrested, on 12 December 2008. The terms of the agreement are subject to the approval of shareholders in Thema, which will hold a general shareholders’ meeting in July. The new out-of-court agreement will likely bring many lessons for other depository banks which were custodians of funds placed with Madoff, the newspaper reports, particularly UBS, as depository for the Luxalpha fund (USD1.4bn in assets).
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Expansión, Barclays has launched the Barclays MultiManager Bond Portfolio, a bond fund for which the management of each asset class segment is outsourced to the best manager in the category. Liquidity is daily and the minimal subscription is EUR1,000.
David Petraeus, the former U.S. Army general who resigned last year as CIA chief, is joining KKR, the giant private-equity firm, according to The Wall Street Journal. The former general will be chairman of a new internal «institute» focused on macroeconomic forecasts, communications, public policy and advice on investments in emerging markets.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to reports in Agefi, Natixis AM (NAM) will transfer most of its sales teams to Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM), the holding company which supervises NAM, the real estate management firm AEW, and a collection of US boutiques. The objective is to significantly increase the proportion of NAM products, which remains very low. To that end, NGAM will create a new Luxembourg Sicav. The idea is also to better sell US expertise in France. 53 sales, customer service, marketing and communications professionals will in autumn begin to report to Hervé Guinamant, chairman of NGAM Distribution Internationale. At NAM, Philippe Zaouati, deputy CEO and head of socially responsible investment (Mirova), says the 130 remaining employees will primarily be dedicated to assisting the networks of BPCE, the parent company of Natixis.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Blackstone is planning to ask SAC Capital Advisors to redeem nearly USD400m, twice as much as had been planned at the beginning of the month, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. This sum represents most of Blackstone’s capital invested in SAC, sources say. This reflects growing concerns regarding the future of SAC, which is under investigation for insider trading. Although the sum of USD400m is low compared with the USD15bn under management by SAC, the decision by Blackstone is being closely watched by other clients, the WSJ comments. An institutional investor, Ironwood Capital Management, has also asked SAC Capital Advisors to redeem USD100m that it had invested in the firm.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } To replace Paul Healey, who will be retiring at the end of June, the US firm Robeco Investment Management has appointed Kerry James as head of institutional distribution, from 1 June. James, who since 2009 has been based in Rotterdam, where she is head of international distribution, will move to Boston. She will be responsible for institutional sales, relationships with consultants, client relationship management, and marketing. She had previously been responsible for sales of US products to institutional investors in Europe and Asia.Jan Feeney. co-CEO of Robeco IM, states that assets at the US affiliate of Robeco have increased from USD12bn at the end of 2008 to USD35bn as of the end of March 2013.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } An institutional investor, Ironwood Capital Management, has asked SAC Capital Investors, the hedge fund at the centre of an insider trading investigtion, to redeem USD100m that it had invested in the firm, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. Ironwood had been an investor since 2007. Its withdrawal is related to the fact that SAC has announced that it will no longer be providing investors with updates on the government investigation and is no longer cooperating unconditionally with the investigation.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 31 December 2012, the Geneva-based Reyl group posted assets under management of CHF7.3bn, which corresponds to an increase of 61.8% year on year. Assets in private onshore management and corporate finance have leapt 72.4%, to CHF5bn, while those at Reyl Asset Management increased 43%, to CHF2.3bn.The group has also announced that its net profits for 2012 were up 69.8% compared with the previous year, to CHF8.8m.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at Pictet as of the end of March totalled a record CHF301bn, passing their pre-crisis peak, Agefi Switzerland reports.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss private bank Bank Sarasin on 29 May announced several internal appointments to its Asset Management, Products & Sales unit. Jan A. Poser becomes head of research into asset management and sustainability, with immediate effect. Philipp E. Bärtschi is promoted to chief investment officer, Private Clients, with the mission of investment strategy and management of assets for private clients. Daniel Graf becomes head of the unit dedicated to institutional clients, with immediate effect.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jean-Baptiste Smeets, who had been sales manager for funds on the Netherlands market at Delta Lloyd Asset Management, is joining ING Investment Management (ING IM) as senior business development manager, Fondsnieuws reports.Smeets, who will be responsible for managing relationships with ING Bank, one of the largest distribution channels, and fund selection, will now report to Ronald Sminia, head of investment funds for retail clients.Assets under management by ING IM in the Netherlands total EUR15bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of December, the asset management unit of the Frankfurt-based private bank Metzler totalled EUR53bn, compared with EUR42bn one year previously, while the volume on the fund trading platform Merzler Fund Zchange totalled EUR11.5bn as of the end of 2012, compared with EUR10.9bn as of the end of 2010.Net profits at the bank remain unchanged compared with previous years, at EUR22.3m, and the dividend distributed remains at EUR2.3m, while the remainder will be added to cash reserves.As of the end of December, owners’ equity totalled EUR135m, compared with EUR114m one year previously, and EUR94m as of 31 December 2010.
Rory Bateman, currently head of European equities at Schroders, has been appointed head of UK and European equities with immediate effect. He replaces Richard Buxton who left the company in March after 11 years to join Old Mutual Global Investors as head of UK equities.In creating this new role, Schroders will also combine the value investing activities in the UK and Europe into one value team. Kevin Murphy, Nicholas Kirrage, Andrew Lyddon, Ian Kelly and Jamie Lowry will all report to Rory Bateman whose fund management responsibilities remain unchanged.Schroders had EUR279.7 billion as at 31 March 2013.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Brewin Dolphin has seen an increase in its assets under management to GBP28.1bn in the half to the end of March, compared with GBP25.7bn one year previously, according to an interim report published on 29 May. At the same time, pre-tax profits for the half to the end of March 2013 totalled GBP6.9m, down by nearly 44% from the half to the end of March 2012. = Brewin Dolphin has also announced a placement of equities totalling GBP40m, in order to finance its growth.
Threadneedle Investments on May 28 announced that Crispin Henderson, its former chief executive officer and current vice chairman of Global Asset Management for Threadneedle’s parent company Ameriprise Financial, will retire from the group on 31 May 2013 as he approaches his 65th birthday.Crispin Henderson joined Threadneedle in 2002 as chief operating officer, leading the finance, operations, administration and IT functions. He became managing director in 2006 and was appointed chief executive officer in 2007.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Fundweb reports that the British Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has announced that it has seen a 45% increase in the number of complaints it received concerning independent financial advisers in 2012 (4,139, compared with 2,857 one year earlier). Fundweb states that the complaints concerning advisers represent less than 1% of total claims.Banks represent 51% of claims.
Le service de médiation financière britannique, le «Financial Ombudsman Service» (FOS), indique selon Fundweb avoir enregistré un bon de 45 % dans le nombre de plaintes concernant les conseillers en gestion de patrimoine, reçues en 2012 (4.139 contre 2.857 un an plus tôt). Fundweb précise que les plaintes concernant les conseillers représentent moins d'1 % du total des réclamations.Les banques représentent 51 % des réclamations.