Mutual Fund Wire relays reports in Bloomberg that profit before interest and taxes at Fidelity fell last year to USD2.3bn, from USD3.3bn in 2011, on revenues down 1.2% to USD12.6bn.The asset management unit underwent further net outflows of USD5.3bn, compared with USD36.3bn in 2011, largely due to net redemptions of USD35.3bn from equity funds. Fixed income and asset allocation products had inflows of USD17.3bn and USD23bn, respectively.

Daniel Vasella is not claiming a non-competition indemnity of CHF72m, negotiated with Novartis. The decision has been welcomed universally, although some regret that it was taken late. The Basel-based pharmaceuticals firm on 19 February announced that it has reached an agreement with its outgoing head to cancel an agreement rendered public on 15 February, which triggered a wave of anger in Switzerland. Vasella will, however, receive a maximum of CHF12m per year from Novartis over six years as a settlement. The cancelled contract had stated that Vasella would only receive the entire amount if he agreed not to transfer to the competition. Vasella agreed that he will not retain the money, but will donate all or part of it. “We will continue to believe in a non-competition clause, but we think that the decision to cancel the agreement is in the interest of shareholders and participants at the business,” says the vice president of Novartis, Ulrich Lehner, in a statement released by the group.

The Swiss federal financial market supervisory authority (Finma) on 19 February announced that the law on the bankruptcy of collective investments will come into effect on 1 March. The regulation will improve the transparency of bankruptcy proceedings. “The new law clarifies the terms of the law on collective investments about bankruptcy law, and determines the way in which bankruptcy suits should be conducted,” Finma says in a statement.

Kim Woodrow, who for 31 years was global chief operating officer (COO) at LaSalle Investment Management, and who will be retiring at the end of this year, will on 1 April step aside for Elisabeth Shteeman, who had most recently been COO investment banking specialised in commodities and real estate at Morgan Stanley, Fonds Professionell reports.

Directeur commercial d’UFFI Ream, puis directeur du développement de Corum AM, Mikael Fellbom rejoint à présent Carmignac Gestion comme directeur pays pour la région nordique, rapporte Investment Europe. Il sera basé à Luxembourg et subordonné à David Fregonese, directuer mondial des ventes.Mischa Cornet, qui couvrait les marchés nordiques, va désormais se focaliser sur les Pays-Bas et le Luxembourg.

Of 13 strategies monitored by the Edhec-Risk Institute, only two showed losses in January, with losses of 0.30% for merger arbitrage, and of 4.92% for dedicated short bias. However, long/short equity made 3.40%, and emerging markets made 3.06%.Since January 2001, the best average annual returns have been for emerging markets, at 10.3%, and distressed securities, with 10.5%. The latter strategy is the only one with a Sharpe ratio over 1, at 1.06.

According to the «Office Space Across the World» survey by Cushman & Wakefield, relayed by Das Investment, rent per square metre in the west end of London last year rose to EUR178 per month, meaning that the British capital is anew more expensive than Hong Kong (EUR125) for the first time since 2008. Rio de Janeiro takes third place, at EUR112.New Delhi is the city where rents rose most rapidly last year, up 25% compared with 2011, to EUR110.

Sal. Oppenheim has confirmed reports in Reuters that the Deutsche Bank affiliate is planning to merge the wealth management firms Oppenheim Vermögenstreuhand (OVT) and Wilhelm von Finck Deutsche Family Office to create a leader in the German high net worth segment, Handelsblatt reports. OVT is the illiquid wealth management and financial accounting specialist, while Wilhelm von Finck Deutsche Family Office is a more traditional wealth management firm. Each firm has about 50 employees, and there are no plans to reduce staff following a potential merger.

The European Securities Markets Authority 9ESMA) on 19 February published its final report on consulting firms serving shareholders specialised in proxy voting (“The Proxy Advisor Industry.”) ESMA did not find any major problems with the activities of consulting firms with investors and issuers within the European Union. However, it identified a number of concerns about the independence of these firms, as well as the accuracy and reliability of the advice provided. In this environment, ESMA recommends that consulting firms set up a code of conduct, which would identify, reveal and manage conflicts of interest, and which would promote transparency while ensuring the accuracy and reliability of advice. ESMA has had very positive initial feedback from companies concerned, such as Glass Lewis, Institutional Shareholder Service (ISS), Manifest and Proxinvest, and the work to develop the code will begin in the next few weeks.

The Hamburg-based asset management firm Aquila Capital will launch a bond strategy based on a risk-parity quantitative approach, a “global first,” Citywire Global reports. The fund will invest in government bonds, corporate bonds, carry positions on emerging markets, and inflation-linked bonds. Allocation is made on the basis of risk.

The Munich-based wealth management firm Novethos Financial Partners has launched an absolute return fund of funds with Universal-Investment, the Optimal Risk Return Strategy UI, a German-registered diversified product. Since its launch in January 2010, the strategy, which is defensive in the selection of funds and portfolio construction, has generated average annual returns of over 8%, says Andreas Meißner, CEO of Novethos. In the future, the management team is aiming for total annual returns of 5% to 7%.Currently, the fund is positioned primarily on alternative asset classes, option strategies, long/short products and funds which bet in a discretionary manner on positive market cycles. The portfolio will at its outset be invested in Tungsten Paragon UI, Bayerninvest Bond Global Select, Invesco Balanced Risk, and Secquaero Next Generation, a specialist in catastrophe bonds.CharacteristicsName: Optimal Risk Return Strategy UIISIN code: DE000A1J31X6Front-end fee: maximum 5%Management commission: currently 2.05%Performance commission: 15% of performance exceeding a hurdle rate of 6%, with high watermark

The California pension fund CalPERS on 19 February announced a decision no longer to invest in assault weapon manufacturers. These weapons have not been permitted for sale in California since a shooting in December 2012 at a primary school in Connecticut. An examination of all asset classes has identified an amount of USD5m invested in two weapons makers. This represents a de minimus divestment for the fund, with about USD255bn in assets under management, and it will have no impact on costs, a statement says.

The French financial management association (AFG) has reacted vividly to a planned tax on financial transactions which the European Commission has recently plassed. The French asset management industry “solemnly” draws attention to the “devastating consequences” of the planned legislation. = Firstly, the planned law “targets savings and not speculation,” though the initial objective for the FTT was to fight speculative financial activities. French mutual funds would be very severely affected and in some cases would disappear: they would be subject to a “double” taxation, since their clients would be required to pay a tax when they sell shares in the fund, even though purchases and sales of shares by mutual funds were already taxed. Money market and bond mutual funds would have negative returns just due to the tax, or in the best case, would have extremely low returns. Many categories of fund would disappear from the French market. Furthermore, the planned laws “do not meet their budgetary objectives and destroy jobs,” as “transactions would move outside the ‘increased cooperation’ zone, and outside the Union.” Budgetary resources and jobs in countries concerned would be penalised. Lastly, the AFG claims, the law “restricts movement.” Unlike what the Commission’s document says, the law would create highly significant distortions in competition, and significant concerns for savings clients in the European Union, including businesses and governmennts which issuer debt in the Union, and the asset management industries in the Union, whether or not they are domiciled in the country which is establishing the tax. In order to conserve international clients, French asset management will have no choice but to domicile its funds and mandates, and to undertake its financial management, in countries which are not subject to the tax. “The French asset management industry would like talks to take place immediately at the Council, in consultation with the European Parliament, to develop plans that are not subject to these criticisms, the statement concludes.

Since 19 February, NYSE Euronext has been listing 584 ETFs 674 times on European markets, with four new Luxembourg-registered volatility funds from Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale group), admitted to trading on the Amsterdam market. They include the Lyxor ETF DLVIXEUR (LU0871960976), which replicates the DLVO Dynamaic Long Vix Futures, as does the DLVIXUSD (LU0871961438). Both charge fees of 0.75%. The other two funds are the Lyxor ETF DSVIXEUR (LU0871961511) and Lyxor ETF DSVIXUSD (LU0871961602), which replicate the DSVO Dynamic Short VIX Futures IDX, with a TER of 0.40%.

The sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding is planning to launch an affiliate specialised in investments in equities, real estate and private equity worldwide on the stock exchange, Handelsblatt reports. The affiliate will have USD3bn in its funds, and the issue of shares would raise a similar amount for the business. Initially, subscriptions to shares will be restricted to Qataris, and will then be extended to other countries.

Près de 50 milliards de dollars ont été transférés illégalement hors de Russie en 2012, dont plus de la moitié ont peut-être été contrôlés par un même groupe de personnes, a annoncé mercredi le président de la Banque centrale russe (BCR). «On a l’impression qu’ils (ndlr: la moitié de ces transferts) sont contrôlés par un seul et même groupe bien organisé», a déclaré le président de la BCR Sergueï Ignatiev au quotidien Vedomosti, sans donner de détails.

Lisbonne espère revenir sur la totalité du marché obligataire cette année et sondera sans doute la demande avec un emprunt dont l'échéance pourrait atteindre les 10 ans, a confié hier le directeur de l’agence de gestion de la dette publique (IGCP). Le mois dernier, le Portugal a adjugé 2,5 milliards d’obligations à 5 ans, sa première émission depuis qu’il avait été contraint de solliciter une aide internationale en 2011.

L’homme d’affaires a été mis en examen pour escroquerie aggravée par la vulnérabilité de la victime et de recel d’abus de faiblesse au préjudice de l’héritière de L’Oréal Liliane Bettencourt, a indiqué le parquet de Bordeaux. Cette mise en examen concerne l’investissement de 142 millions d’euros effectué par Liliane Bettencourt dans la holding LOV Group Invest.

La confiance des promoteurs immobiliers a légèrement baissé en février, en raison de la hausse des prix des matériaux de construction, montre l’enquête mensuelle de la fédération NAHB. Son indice de confiance ressort à 46 en février, après avoir atteint son plus haut niveau depuis avril 2006 en janvier à 47.

L’agence de notation a abaissé la note à long terme de la Tunisie de «BB» à «BB-». Selon S&P, il y a un «risque que la situation politique se dégrade encore dans un contexte de dégradation des perspectives économiques, extérieures et budgétaire». La note est placée sous perspective négative.

Un comité de représentants de créanciers du Belize a approuvé hier l’échange de dette de 550 millions de dollars, après près d’un an de laborieuses négociations. Dans le cadre de l’accord trouvé à l’unanimité, les créanciers pourront échanger leurs obligations en dollars contre de nouvelles obligations dont la maturité a été fixée à 2038.

Les investissements directs étrangers en Chine ont reculé 7,3% sur un an au mois de janvier, à 9,27 milliards de dollars. Il s’agit du huitième mois consécutif de baisse. Les investissements non financiers ont en revanche progressé de 12,3% à 4,91 milliards.

Qatar Holding va créer une nouvelle société d’investissement d’une valeur de 12 milliards de dollars et qui serait côtée à la Bourse de Doha d’ici 6 à 8 semaines. «Nous étudierons tous les secteurs dans tous les pays du monde» a indiqué Hussain al Abdullah, vice-président de la holding. Le fonds débuterait avec une mise initiale de 6,5 milliards, dont 3,5 milliards proviendraient de Qatar Holding, 2,5 milliards d’investisseurs privés qatari et 500 millions d’investisseurs particuliers.

Le déficit du commerce extérieur nippon a atteint un record de 1.630 milliards de yens (13 milliards d’euros) au mois de janvier. Certes l’affaiblissement du yen a permis aux exportations d’enregistrer une hausse de 6,4%, mais dans le même temps, les importations ont progressé plus rapidement à un rythme de 7,3%, mettant ainsi en lumière une faiblesse de la politique menée par le gouvernement.

Le gouverneur de la Banque centrale sud-coréenne, Kim Choong Soo, a indiqué ce matin que l’amélioration de la conjoncture internationale était un bon signe pour l’économie du pays, qui devrait croître de 2,8% cette année. Une déclaration qui semble écarter toute baisse de taux, alors que les économistes attendaient un tel geste pour contrer la hausse du won, notamment contre yen.

Andrew Bailey a été nommé à la tête de la Prudential Regulation Authority, le nouveau régulateur financier britannique logé au sein de la BoE. Il débutera dans son nouveau rôle le 1er avril et deviendra également gouverneur délégué de la BoE pour la régulation prudentielle. Il a assuré que le régulateur se focaliserait sur un nombre limité de points.

Les députés français ont adopté mardi par 315 voix contre 161 le projet de loi bancaire qui obligera les établissements financiers à loger, d’ici à 2015, leurs activités les plusrisquées dans des filiales financées de façon autonome. Ce texte présenté par Pierre Moscovici, le ministre de l’Economie, répond à un engagement pris par François Hollande pendant la campagne présidentielle afin de tirer les leçons de la crise financière de 2008.

Le parquet de Francfort a annoncé l’ouverture d’une enquête sur deux sociétés soupçonnées d’avoir escroqué des investisseurs à hauteur de plusieurs millions d’euros. Selon une personne au fait des investigations citée par Reuters, les sociétés concernées sont le groupe immobilier Deutsche S&K Sachwert à Francfort et United Investors Treuhand à Hambourg.

L’agence de notation a estimé ce matin dans un rapport que «l’économie chinoise est en phase de reprise et un atterrissage brutal devient de plus en plus improbable». Moody’s estime que la croissance en 2013 devrait se situer dans le haut de la fourchette de 7,5% à 8,5% initialement prévue, et que «le nouveau gouvernement semble engagé sur la voie des réformes dans les secteurs financier, fiscal et structurel».

Rabobank cède sa filiale de gestion d'actifs pour un montant total de 1,94 milliard d'euros, mais conservera les activités bancaires