La filiale d'ABN Amro a confié à BNP Paribas Securities Services l'exécution de 6 milliards d'euros d'ordres annuels sur les marchés

Le nouvel ensemble disposera de 25 milliards de dollars d’actifs dans le secteur grâce à la présence de la cible en Europe et en Asie-Pacifique

André Talmon, ancien membre du conseil d’administration du groupe Sperian, s’est vu infligé une amende de 3,5 millions d’euros pour délit d’initiés par l’Autorité des marchés financiers. Elle lui reproche d’avoir acheté des titres entre mars et mai 2010, alors qu’il savait que la société faisait l’objet d’une OPA de Cinven en mars, puis d’une contre-offre d’Honeywell en mai.

A l’issue de la réunion de son comité, la Banque du Japon a décidé de maintenir son programme de rachat d’actifs visant à doubler sa base monétaire en deux ans. Pas de quoi faire refluer le rendement des obligations d’Etat à 10 ans qui se rapprochait, à 0,90%, de son plus haut d’un an de 0,92% atteint la semaine dernière. L’indice Nikkei confirmait son optimisme pour atteindre son plus haut niveau depuis décembre 2007.

Dans son dernier discours en tant que gouverneur de la banque centrale canadienne, Mark Carney, qui prendra le 1er juillet ses fonctions de gouverneur de la Banque d’Angleterre (BoE), a exhorté l’Europe à mener «des réformes importantes et soutenues» sous peine d’ouvrir la voie à «une décennie de stagnation qui menace ce continent». Et de citer l’exemple du Japon qui s’est lancé, selon lui, «dans une expérience audacieuse en matière de politiques économiques». Or, le nouveau gouverneur de la BoE se voit donner de nouvelles marges de manœuvre avec le reflux plus sensible que prévu de l’inflation britannique à 2,4% au mois d’avril, après 2,8% en mars et 2,6% anticipé par le consensus. De quoi conforter l’autorité monétaire dans son programme de rachats d’actifs. La livre sterling chutait ce matin de 0,7% contre dollar, à 1,5154, et 0,9% contre euro, à 1,1742.

Un peu plus d’une semaine après un investissement de 835 millions de dollars dans la société américaine de prêt à porter True Religion, TowerBrook Capital Partners s’offre une part majoritaire de Kaporal, un spécialiste du jean haut de gamme qui compte cinquante magasins en France. Le deal valorise la société entre 50 et 100 millions d’euros, selon Financial News qui rapporté l’information.

La réaction de l'économie américaine à la baisse des dépenses publiques et à l’augmentation de la pression fiscale sera un élément décisif de l'évolution de la politique d’assouplissement quantitatif (QE) de la Réserve fédérale, a estimé hier William Dudley, président de la Fed de New York disposant d’un droit de vote permanent lors des réunions de la Fed, et proche de Ben Bernanke.

L’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) conduit une enquête sur le parcours de l’action Natixis depuis l’annonce au mois de février d’une opération visant à simplifier les liens capitalistiques entre Natixis et sa maison mère BPCE, a déclaré mardi François Pérol, président du directoire de BPCE. «L’AMF mène une enquête sur le comportement du titre, cette enquête ne remet pas en cause l’opération elle-même», a-t-il indiqué au cours de l’assemblée générale annuelle de Natixis qui s’est tenue hier. Natixis et BPCE ont annoncé le 17 février une réorganisation de leurs liens qui passera par le rachat, pour un montant de 12,1 milliards d’euros en cash, des certificats coopératifs d’investissement que Natixis détient dans les Caisses d'épargne et les Banques populaires. Cette annonce avait fait bondir de 22,5% le titre de Natixis le lendemain.

Selon les données de la Banque de Grèce, le financement de la Banque centrale européenne fourni aux établissements grecs a diminué de 10,5 milliards d’euros en avril, tandis que le soutien exceptionnel à la liquidité (ELA) apporté par la banque centrale du pays a augmenté de 12 milliards d’euros. Cette dernière s’est ainsi établie à 33,43 milliards le mois dernier.

Les trois opérateurs publics ont décidé de créer le label «bpifrance export» pour commercialiser leur offre de soutiens publics à l’export à destination des ETI et PME. Celle-ci a été «rationalisée pour devenir plus lisible», indique Coface dans un communiqué. L’annonce en sera faite demain lors d’une conférence de presse organisée à Bercy sur le soutien aux exportations des ETI et PME.

ComPlan, la caisse de retraite de Swisscom qui dispose 7,8 milliards de francs suisses d’encours, a réalisé en 2012 un rendement annuel de + 8,95%. La caisse mène une étude actifs-passifs et prépare des changements de stratégie d’investissement en conséquence. Le Conseil de fondation a décidé de réaliser une étude Asset & Liability (actifs et passifs) avec un conseiller externe. Il faut s’attendre à ce que l'étude débouche sur des adaptations de la répartition stratégique de la fortune, explique comPlan dans son dernier rapport annuel. L’année dernière, le régime a investi dans deux fonds immobiliers et a embauché un gestionnaire de couverture de change. PPCmetrics à Zurich agit comme contrôleur, mais ne conseille plus sur les investissements. ComPlan a notamment changé son dépositaire mondial. Depuis le 1er Octobre 2012, le Fonds a préféré UBS à Julius Baer. La catégorie de placement Obligations Monde a fait l’objet d’un changement. La majeure partie des titres issus de deux mandats de gestion de fortune (obligations Europe et Monde) a été transférée vers un fonds institutionnel. Ce fonds reproduit un indice qui tient compte également de la solidité budgétaire des Etats à long terme. Une petite partie des obligations à courte durée résiduelle n’a pas été intégrée dans le fonds. Ces titres sont conservés dans un «portefeuille Legacy» jusqu'à leur échéance et leur remboursement en 2013. Dans la catégorie Placements immobiliers Suisse, les premiers investissements dans une fondation de placement et dans un fonds négocié hors Bourse ont été effectués.

Le gouvernement américain a ajouté 306 milliards de dollars (237 milliards d’euros) de dette nouvelle durant la suspension de quatre mois du plafond de la dette, alors qu’aucun compromis ne semble en vue au Congrès. Le plafond a de facto été rétabli dimanche à 16.700 milliards de dollars, correspondant au niveau de la dette vendredi, alors que la dette sujette à cette limite s'élevait à 16.394 milliards avant la suspension en février, selon des chiffres communiqués lundi par le Trésor.

Un mouvement de desserrement des marges sur les crédits bancaires pour les entreprises semble en cours, si l’on en croit l’enquête mensuelle Rexecode-AFTE. L’enquête de mai fait apparaître ainsi une baisse substantielle du solde d’opinions sur l'évolution des marges de crédits bancaires (écart entre les réponses «tendance à augmenter» et «tendance à baisse»), qui passe en un mois de 14,4% à 10,9% pour se retrouver nettement sous sa moyenne historique (14,8%).

Filiale de l’assureur britannique Standard Life, Standard Life Investments vient d’enregistrer ses trois premiers fonds en France. Pour autant, la société gère déjà 900 millions d’euros dans l’Hexagone, principalement dans l’obligataire et pour des institutionnels, confie Jennifer Richards, co-responsable du développement européen interrogée par NewsManagers. Cette stratégie française s’inscrit dans le cadre du développement des encours hors groupe, qui représentent désormais plus de 50 % des près de 180 milliards de livres gérés par SLI, contre 40 % en 2010 et... zéro il y a 13 ans.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The managers of Artemis, Adrian Frost and Adrian Gosden have taken positions on shares in Lloyds Banking Group, which is approaching the value of 61.2 pence per share at which the state entered the capital of the bank during the financial crisis, Investment Week reports. The two managers estimate that the banking group may return to its dividend distribution policy as it returns to profitability. Shares in Lloyds Banking Group have gained nearly 100% in the past year, with a price of over 60 pence at closing on 16 May, for the first time since April 2011. At a general shareholder’s meeting held in London on 16 May, the CEO of the bank, Antonio Horta-Osorio, predicted a return to profitability in 2013, after a loss of GBP570m in 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } finews reports, citing Bloomberg, that Felipe Cruz, Arnaud Langlois and Mark Napp are leaving UBS O’Connor to join the London offices of the New York hedge fund management firm Millennium, while their colleagues Bernard Khkong and Rabin Tambyrajasont are moving to the London-based BlueCrest.UBS O’Connor has USD6bn under management out of CHF28bn in alternative and quantitative assets at the Swiss group. The string of departures are apparently due to a bonus limit imposed in February as part of a new remuneration structure applicable to the entire UBS group.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Polar Capital is planning to launch an investment trust dedicated to major international banks, for its two manangers John Yakas and Nick Brind, in order to exploit the highly attractive valuations of banks worldwide, Investment Week reports. The launch may come in late June, with an objective of under GBP100m. The trust will have a 7-year horizon, and will invest primarily in banks worldwide, with an allocation reserved for insurers and asset managers.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Andrius Isciukas, global high yield analyst at HSBC Asset Management, is joining M&G Investments to work with Stefan Isaacs and James Tomlins on high yield portfolios. He will also support Ben Lors in investment grade funds, Investment Week reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2012, net profits at J. Safra Sarasin Holding totalled CHF171.6m, compared with CHF118.53m the previous year, the firm’s annual report states.Total assets at the group as of the end of December were CHF129.58bn, compared with CHF30.88bn, largely due to the integration of the Basel-based Sarasin bank, most of which was acquired from the Netherlands-based Rabobank in November 2011.The merger of Banque Sarasin and Bank J. Safra (Switzerland) is expected to be completed by the end of June.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Third Point in first quarter sold off its stake in the capital of Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg reports. The hedge fund led by Daniel Loeb, whih at the end of 2012 reported a stake valued at USD148.2m, did not mention Morgan Stanley in a list of positions filed with the SEC.Third Point bought the shares at an average price of USD16.77 each in January. Morgan Stanley shares gained 15% in the quarter to nearly USD22, with a peak at USD24.47.Moore Capital Management bought 4.49 million shares in first quarter, valued at USD98.6m as of 31 March. Lansdowne Partners, for its part, bought 1.92 million shares, valued at USD42.2m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Rob Drijkoningen, who leads the emerging market debt team recently constituted by Neuberger Berman with the recent recruitment of 22 people, 19 of them from ING IM (see Newsmanagers of 3 May), has announced to Citywire that it is launcing the Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Hard Currency Debt Fund in early June, which will be managed by Bart van der Made, based in the Hague.In July, the US asset management firm will launch the Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Local Currency Debt Fund, managed by a team led by Raoul Luttik (the Hague) and Prashant Singh (Singapore).It also plans to release the Neuberger Berman Corporate Fund, which will be managed by Nish Popat (the Hague) and Jennifer Gorgoll (Atlanta).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to figures by the economic newspaper Napi Gazdaság relayed by Fondsprofessionell, the portfolios of bond funds by the star manager Michael Hasenstab at Franklin Templeton single-handedly control about 10% of Hungarian public debt, with EUR10.3bn as of the end of March. This generates annual revenues for the US asset management firm of USD500m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Andrea Beltratti has been appointed as chairman of Eurizon Capital SGR, the asset management firm of the Intesa Sanpaolo group, Bluerating reports. Daniel Gros has been confirmed as vice-chairman and CEO, and Mauro Micillo as deputy director.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } “With the upgrade to Baa3 from Baa1 on Thursdayof the rating assigned to Turkey by Moody’s (see elsewhere in today’s Newsmanagers), following an upgrade to BBB- by Fitch in November, now allows the country to be truly considered ‘investment grade’ by pension funds,” Murat Mercan, vice-minster for Energy, tols a small press conference in Istanbul on Friday morning.According to Aziz Unan, who since its inception (on 3 January 2006) has managed the Irish UCITS-compliant Ottoman Fund, a Griffin product which was “adopted” in July 2012 by the Russian Renaissance Asset Managers, the vein of Turkish businesses has become sufficiently promising that this emerging European portfolio of 70 positions includes 43 Turkish companies. Eight out of the top 10 positions of the portfolio are Turkish companies, including banks (Vakiflar, Is, Garanti, Halk and Akbank) as well as the mobile telephone operator Turkcell, to profit from a rise in consumer spending by households in a country where 50% of the population of 75.6 million people are aged under 30, and from a nominalisation of interest rates as inflation falls. The Ottoman Fund has for several years also held shares in the auto manufacturer Tofas, which has had astonishing performance on the stock market, and is distributing 109% of its profits in 2012.The fund also invests in businesses such as Tupras (oil), which is aiming to reduce the energy dependency of the country, and Petkim Petrokimya (petrochemicals). Unan is betting on the growth of the rail industries, with Kardemir (steel), and on the media, with Dogan (which controls Hürryiet).According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, Renaissance (USD3bn in assets, of which USD700m are in UCITS-compliant funds), is now planning to extend its product range with the launch of a country fund dedicated especially to Turkey, for institutionals, sovereign fund and platforms in particular. An analyst is expected to arrive to support Unan in Istanbul.The turnover rate has historically totalled 70% to 100% (78% in 2012). The minimal potential for gains over 12 months required by the asset management firm to invest in a share is 25-30% for large caps, 50% for midcaps, (USD1-5bn in capitalisation), and at least 100% for small caps. Assets in the fund have now risen to USD78m, and the manager expects to be able to absorb subscriptions of up to USD250m without having to change its way of constructing the portfolio.For commercial reasons the Renasset Ottoman Fund uses the MSCI Emerging Europe 10/40 index (40 positions) as its benchmark, but Unan covers a much larger universe of 210 businesses in emerging Europe, as he estimates that, in markets which have hitherto been underexploited, “the indices should be considered as simple measurement instruments, but they are certainly not appropriate as portfolio construction tools.” No position accounts for less than 1% of assets, as this is a conviction fund, as also demonstrated by the fact that the portfolio only contains one third of the companies in the universe selected. Since its “adoption,” annual performance totals 26.4%.CharacteristicsName: Renasset Ottoman FundISIN codes:IE00B0T0FN89 Retail EURIE00B72Y2S04 Retail USDIE00B8G12179 Institutional EURIE00B4XYZP84 Institutional USDIE00B87PYK12 Institutional GBPFront-end fee (retail): Maximum 5%Management commissions:1.75% (retail share class)1.25% (institutional share class)Minimal initial subscriptionEUR5,000 (retail share class)EUR1m (institutional share class)

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Real estate investments topped sovereign wealth funds’ investments in 2012, according to a report published by the Sovereign Wealth Center at Institutional Investor, Bloomberg reports.Real estate represented 26% of investments made by SWFs in 2012, compared with 14% the previous year. It is followed by financial services and commodities, which two sectors accounted for 23% each, compared with about 30% the previous year. SWFs have increased their alternative investments, not only in real estate, but also in private equity. This trend is expected to continue this year, due to the economic environment, the Sovereign Wealth Center predicts.In a perfect illustration of this trend, the Norwegian SWF’s (GPFG) exposure to the real estate sector totals slightly under 1%, and is expected to increase in the coming years to 5%.Total investments made and publicly announced by SWFs fell by 17% last year, however, to USD53.3bn, with Europe attracting 53% of this total, followed by the Asia-Pacific region (18%) and North America (9%).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mikhail Mora has left Principal to join Santander Asset Management in the United States as director of fund distribution, Mutual Fund Wire reports. Currently, the Spanish firm has no presence on the US fund market, but the firm is reportedly targeting the private equity firms Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to sources familiar with the matter, US prosecutors are planning to press criminal charges against the alternative management firm SAC Capial Advisors LP as part of an insider trading investigation, the Wall Street Journal reports.On Friday, SAC told its clients, without giving a reason, that it will no longer be co-operating unconditionally with the directors of the investigation.Assets at SAC total about USD15bn, more than half of which is managed on behalf of the founder, Steven A. Cohne, and employees of the group.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 28 June, seven funds from Union Investment will be liquidated, the central asset management firm for the German co-operative banks has announced. This includes the following products:- UniConvertibles- UniEM China & Indien- UniEM IMMUNO 90- UniEM Middle East & North Africa- UniEuroRenta Governments- UniFlexInvest: EuroAktien and- UniRentaEurolandPlus 5JUnion has also decided to merge six funds into the UniGlobal II, without cost to shareholders. They are the following products:- UniProInvest: Aktien- UniProInvest: Aktien -net-- UniSector: ConsumerGoods- UniSector: Finance- UniSector: GenTech and- UniSector: MultiMedia

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Luxembourg Sicav HSBC Global Investment Fund (GIF) has a new sub-fund, an emerging market equity fund, which is intended to combine the advantages of active and passive investments, HSBC Global Asset Management (Deutschland) has announced. The firm is now offering the HSBC GIF Economic Scale Indexation Global Emerging Markets Equity fund (ISIN codes: AC share class: LU0819120683; AD share class: LU0819120766) in Germany.It is the first fund in a series of smart beta products using optimised indices. The equity indices are improved by a modification of weighting factors, and these smart indices are then replicated by a passive fund. This modification in weighting is expected to allow the indices to outperform traditional indices without taking additional market risks.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Wall Street Journal reports that iShares will in June close the iShares Diversified Alternatives Trust (ticker: ALT) which has USD57m in assets. It will be the firm’s first liquidation of an ETF in over a decade. The fund is an actively-managed product.