Les actifs sous gestion de la Banque cantonale de Lucerne s’inscrivaient fin décembre à 25,1 milliards de francs suisses, en recul de 0,4% par rapport à décembre 2010. L’effet marché négatif n’a été qu’en partie compensé par une collecte nette de 382 millions de francs, a précisé la banque dans un communiqué.Le bénéfice après impôts a progressé de 2,5% à 173,6 millions de francs suisses. La banque se dit confiante pour 2012 et prévoit un résultat du même ordre de grandeur que celui de 2011.

Pour 2011, le bénéfice net de la gestion de fonds d’investissement du Santander a plongé de 38,9 % à 43 millions d’euros pendant que celui de la gestion de fonds de pension diminuait de 4,8 % à 10 millions d’euros. Les recettes totals de la gestion d’actifs et des fonds de pension ont diminué de 2 % à 1.251 millions d’euros.Au 31 décembre, l’encours des fonds d’investissements avait diminué de 9,6 % à 102,61 milliards d’euros , dont 27,42 milliards contre 34,31 milliards en Espagne (- 20,1 %), pendant que celui des fonds de pension s'était contracté de 12 % à 9,64 milliards d’euros.Le coefficient d’exploitation à l'échelon du groupe s’est détérioré l’an dernier à 44,9 % contre 43,3 % pour 2010 et 41,7 % pour 2009.Quant au bénéfice net, il a chuté de 34,6 % sur 2010, à 5,35 milliards d’euros (contre 8,18 milliards), après une dotation de 3,18 milliards d’euros aux réserves exceptionnelles afin de faire face aux problèmes de l’immobilier.

Désormais, les trois fonds d’actions (Ibex 35, Euro Stoxx 50 et S&P 500) et profilés (Conservador, Moderado et Dinámico) d’ING Direct Espagne investiront dans des fonds Amundi et non dans des fonds InverCaixa, rapporte Funds People. En effet, ING Direct a décidé de confier la gestion de six de ses sept fonds à la filiale commune du Crédit Agricole et de la Société Générale et donc de la retirer à l’espagnol inverCaixa (La Caixa). De fait, Amundi gérait déjà les fonds VaR d’ING Direct. La politique de gestion et les commissions des fonds ainsi transférés demeurent inchangées.Renta 4 conserve la gestion du fonds d’obligations d’Etat et d’entreprises de la zone euro d’ING Direct.Les sept fonds d’ING Direct représentent un encours de 735 millions d’euros.

Il faut moderniser d’urgence les systèmes de pension en Asie pour assurer aux travailleurs d’aujourd’hui des revenus au moment de la retraite qui soient sûrs, durables et suffisants, selon un nouveau rapport de l’OCDE («Pensions at a Glance : Asia/Pacific»). Le rapport observe que de nombreux systèmes de retraite, dans la région, sont mal préparés à faire face au vieillissement rapide de la population qui se produira au cours des deux prochaines décennies. Entre aujourd’hui et 2050, la population âgée de plus de 65 ans dans les économies de la région Asie/Pacifique non membres de l’OCDE va pratiquement tripler, passant de 6 % à 17 %.Actuellement, le niveau des pensions est élevé par rapport aux revenus d’activité, dans certains pays, par exemple en Chine, au Vietnam et au Pakistan. L’âge précoce de départ à la retraite, en particulier pour les femmes, crée des pressions financières supplémentaires. En outre, les systèmes de pension de nombreux pays seront difficilement en mesure de fournir des revenus sûrs aux personnes âgées, pour quatre raisons : le champ d’application des systèmes de pension officiels est relativement limité ; Il est très fréquent que l’épargne soit retirée avant le départ à la retraite ; L’épargne constituée en vue de la retraite est souvent liquidée sous forme de capital, avec le risque que les gens utilisent trop vite cette épargne, Les prestations servies ne sont pas automatiquement ajustées pour refléter l’évolution du coût de la vie.Le rapport analyse les systèmes de retraite de 16 pays asiatiques dont l’Australie, la Chine, l’Inde, l’Indonésie, le Pakistan, les Philippines et le Vietnam. Le champ d’application des systèmes de pension officiels dans la région Asie/Pacifique est beaucoup plus limité que dans les pays de l’OCDE, note le rapport. Cela va de 56 % à Hong Kong à seulement 5.8 % en Inde et 4 % au Pakistan. En Chine, bien qu’il y ait 159 millions d’adhérents à des systèmes de pension, le taux de couverture n’est encore que de 17 %. Par comparaison, la moyenne pour la zone de l’OCDE est de 63 % et de non moins de 75 % pour le Japon.De même, les taux de remplacement bruts, qui expriment le niveau des prestations en proportion des revenus d’activité moyens des travailleurs durant leur vie active, varient grandement dans la région Asie/Pacifique puisqu’ils vont de 12,7 % à Singapour à 80,9 % aux Philippines. Les taux de remplacement tendent à être plus élevés, en moyenne, en Asie du Sud, variant entre 65 % en Inde ou 69 % au Pakistan et 49 % au Sri Lanka. En Asie du Sud-Est, le taux de remplacement est d’environ 30 % en Malaisie comme à Hong Kong, tandis qu’il est de 77.9 % en Chine pour un niveau de revenu d’activité moyen. La moyenne pour la zone de l’OCDE ressort à 57 %.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) a renforcé son équipe dédiée à l’immobilier, déjà forte d’une cinquantaine de collaborateurs, avec l’arrivée de Geoff Hepburn en qualité d’investment manager, rapporte Investment Week.Geoff Hepburn travaillait précédemment chez Hartwell où il occupait des fonctions similaires. Il est rattaché à Nick Ireland et sera notamment responsable de la gestion du Halifax Investment Fund Managers Limited Property fund. SWIP a également promu six membres de l'équipe au statut d’investment director, dont Ross Braithwiate, gérant du fonds récemment lancé SWIP/CWI Pan European Urban Retail. L’an dernier, les actifs sous gestion du pôle immobilier ont fait un bond de 40% à 8,5 milliards de livres.

Agefi reports that Hang Seng Bank is planning to launch the first tracker fund denominated in Chinese yuan replicating the performance of the price of gold in London (fixing in US dollars). The operation will aim to bring in amundant liquidity in yuan present among Hong Kong investors, who are positive on the long term about the price of gold and the appreciation of the Chinese currency, the newspaper reports.

The Swiss asset management firm responsAbility (USD1bn in assets) has announced that it has launched what it claims is the first fund in the world to specialise in small farmers in developing countries and on fair trade, entitled responsAbility Fair Trade Fund. The Swiss-registered product was launched on 21 December 2011, in cooperation with Credit Suisse Funds, and has received a sales license from the Swiss regulator, Finma.The fund will make working capital available to producers and sales organisations (most often cooperatives) to finance harvests, exports, or the purchase of equipment. The responsAbility Fair Trade Fund will invest mostly in bonds with a set rate and a maturity of less than or equal to one year.The fund is available in retail shares denominated in Swiss francs, euros, and US dollars, while institutional shares are available only in Swiss francs and euros. The objective is a net performance of 3% to 5% over a 5-year period.

The European fund and asset management association (EFAMA) on 31 January welcomed the recommendations of the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) for UCITS-compliant ETF funds.“EFAMA recognizes that this consultation document follows a considered and nuanced approach which will help to improve the already robust regulation of UCITS products, in order to ensure that all UCITS products are even safer for investors, a requirement which is at the core of the priorities of the association,” says Peter De Proft, CEO of EFAMA.However, EFAMA continues, the paradox is that UCITS vehicles, particularly UCITS-compliant ETFs, appear to be more closely monitored by regulators than non-UCITS ETPs, such as ETNs which are far less regulated. “EFAMA is concerned by these imbalances, and thus encourages ESMA and other regulators to concentrate on all these products,” De Proft continues, adding that EFAMA reiterates its support for the planned PRIPS directive, which would put all retail financial products on an even footing.Following this general appreciation, the professional association will undertake a detailed analysis of ESMA’s proposals in order to provide a finer appreciation of its point of view.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has added to its team dedicated to real estate, which already has 50 members. Geoff Hepburn joins the team as investment manager, Investment Week reports.Hepburn previously worked at Hartwell, where he served in a similar role.He will report to Nick Ireland, and will be responsible for the management of the Halifax Investment Fund Managers Limited Property fund.SWIP has also promoted six members of the team to the position of investment director, including Ross Braithwate, manager of the recently-launched SWIP/CWI Pan European Urban Retail fund.Last year, assets under management in the real estate unit rose 40%, to GBP8.5bn.

Enakshi Roy, associate director, global emerging markets at Hermes Fund Managers, will be joining Baring Asset Management as investment manager, Latin America. In this position she will report to Mike Simpson, head of Latin American equities. Roy had previously worked at Pinebridge Investments Europe in London, and at William Blair & Co in Chicago.

Assets under management at F&C Asset Management as of the end of December 2011 totalled GBP100.1bn, compared with GBP103.2bn three months previously, the firm announced on 31 January. The positive impact of performance totals GBP2.5bn, which was offset by a negative currency effect of GBP1.6bn, and net outflows of GBP3.9bn. F&C AM has announced in a statement that 2012 will be another uear of significant outflows, this time to Friends Life, which is planning to withdraw GBP2.3bn in assets by the end of the year.

The asset manager Patrick Harrington, who has been at Jupiter since March 2009, has left the firm, effective immediately, Money Marketing reports. Harrington had been manager of the undervalued asset fund (GBP91m), the investment trust fund (GBP100m) and co-manager of the GBP66m income fund. Since taking up the position in March 2009, Harrington never managed to improve the performance of the undervalued assets fund, which will now be managed by Steve Davies, a member of the UK equities team at Jupiter.

The British firm M&G Investments on 31 January announced the appointment of Alex Jeffrey as CEO of Prupim, the real estate asset management arm of the group.Jeffrey previously worked at MPGA, the independent connsulting agency specialised in real estate, where he had most recently been chief investment officer.Jeffrey will begin in his new role in July 2012. He will report to the CEO of M&G, Michael McLintock.Assets under management at Prupim total about GBP15bn.

The global State Street Investor Confidence Index came out to 92.4 points in January, down 2.1 points compared with a corrected level of 94.5 in December. Institutional investors had the highest aversion to risk in North America, where the regional index was down 0.1 points to 89.8 compared with a corrected level of 89.9 in December. Confidence in Europe was down 10.1 points, from 101.7 points (corrected level) in December to 91.6 points in January. “European institutional investors are reallocating assets outside their basic positions on equities,” State Street notes. Investors in Asia have increased their allocations to equities, and the regional confidence index has risen 3.3 points to 96.9 from a corrected level of 93.6.

In fourth quarter 2011, only five of the 19 foreign asset management firms that have disclosed their results to the Spanish association Inverco posted net subscriptions. Overall, foreign asset management firm saw net redemptions of EUR1.7bn, at least for the companies that disclosed data to Inverco.Inverco says that the five firms which posted net inflows are JP Morgan AM (EUR107.16m), BNP Paribas (EUR59.3m), Robeco (EUR19.55m), Pictet (EUR13.47m) and EDM (EUR37.43m).The strongest outflows were EUR416.4m from Amundi Iberia, EUR303.13m from Franklin Templeton Investments, EUR278.58m from BlackRock, and EUR253.3m from Schroders.Overall, according to estimates from Inverco, assets at all foreign asset management firms probably fell by 10% in second half, to EUR45bn. For the 21 asset management firms which have reported their asset levels, assets under management as of the end of December totalled EUR31.14bn.The largest manager is JPMorgan AM with EUR5.42bn, followed by BlackRock with EUR3.25bn, and Amundi Iberia with EUR2.74bn. Then come Franklin Templeton, with EUR2.38bn, and BNP Paribas with EUR2.25bn.

Since 31 January, the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform (Deutsche Börse) is listing its 921st ETF: it is the Irish-domiciled SPDR S&P 400 US Mid Cap ETF (IE00B4YBJ215), focused on US midcaps. The product charges fees of 0.30%. The issuer is State Street Global Advisors (SSgA).

In 2011, net profits from investment funds at Santander fell 38.9%, to EUR43m, while pension fund managmeent profits fell 4.8% to EUR10m. Total revenues from asset management and pension funds fell 2%, to EUR1.251bn.As of 31 December, assets in investment funds were down 9.6% to EUR102.61bn, of which EUR27.42bn, compared with EUR34.31bn, were from Spain (-20.1%), while pension funds contracted by 12% to EUR9.64bn.The cost-income ratio for the group deteriorated last year to 44.9%, compared with 43.3% for 2010, and 41.7% for 2009.Net profits fell 34.6% compared with 2010, to EUR5.35bn (compared with EUR8.18bn), after a contributed ot EUR3.18bn to emergency reserves to confront real estate difficulties.

Pension systems in Asia are in urgent need of modernisation in order to ensure current employees that they will have an income at retirement which is sure, sufficient and sustainable, according to a new report from the OECD (“Pensions at a Glance: Asia/Pacific.”) The report observes that many retirement systems in the region are poorly prepared to confront a rapid ageing of the population which will take place in the next two decades. Between now and 2050, the population aged over 65 in economies of the Asia/Pacific region not belonging to the OECD will virtually triple, from 6% to 17%.Currently, pension levels are high compared with revenues from work, in some countries such as China, Vietnam, and Pakistan. The young age of retirement, particularly for women, creates additional financial pressures. Pension systems in many countries would be hard-put to provide sure incomes to the elderly, for four reasons: the range of application of official pension systems is relatively limited; it often happens that the savings are withdrawn before retirement; savings for retirement are often liquidated in the form of cash, with the risk that people will use the money up too quickly; and benefits paid out are not automatically adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of living.The report analyses retirement systems in 16 Asian countries, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam. The dissemination for official pension systems in the Asia/Pacific region is far more limited than in OECD countries, the report notes. The rate is 56% in Hong Kong, but only 5.8% in India and 4% in Pakistan. In China, although there are 159 million members of pension schemes, the coverage rate is only 17%. By comparison, the average for OECD countries is 63%, and it is no less than 75% in Japan.Gross replacement rates, which express the level of benefits as a proportion of average wages for workers in their active life, varies widely in the Asia/Pacific region, from 12.7% in Singapore to 80.9% in the Philippines. Replacement rates tend to be higher in South Asia, ranging from 65% in India and 69% in Pakistan to 49% in Sri Lanka. In South-East Asia, the replacement rate is about 30% in Malaysia and in Hong Kong, while it is 77.9% in China, for an average income. The average for OECD countries is 57%.

The economic crisis has created uncertainty on the European real estate market, raising the essential question of investment financing, according to annual projections for the public sector published by PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), in a report entitled “Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2012.” A direct consequence of this observation is that the choice of preferred markets depends more on their potential for safety than on their potential for strong growth.According to the survey of more than 600 actors in commercial real estate in Europe, outlooks for a recovery in 2012 depend on the way in which recent regulatory measures (Basel 3, Solvency 2 and MiFID) will influence bankers’ propensity to offer commercial loans, and the health of the financial system under the strains of the sovereign debt crisis, which may provoke a massive liberation of assets by banks from investors. Market participants will pay a premium for quality and secure investments. At least one actor in two is looking for highly secure or core assets. The trend is not new, but it is particularly strong in 2012, in the face of market uncertainty. That is the reason that the Scandinavian countries and Germany are preferred over London and Paris.

The index provider MSCI on 31 January announced the launch of a new service, MSCI ESG Sovereign Ratings, designed to identify a country’s exposure and its resulting management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, and estimate the long-term impact of these factors on the sustainable development of the country. By providing a long-term vision of the development of an economy, the new ratings service serves as a complement to traditional analysis of sovereign debt as an aspect of the solvency of a country.

Natixis has announced the appointment of Philippe Jeanne to the position of head of management for Financial Management (ALM). He will report to Luc-Emmanual Auberger, director of Finance and Risk, and a member of the board of directors at Natixis.Jeanne, 48, joined the Calyon bank in London in 2003 as global head of trading for emerging markets, and arrived at Natixis in 2005, where he had previously served as head of forex activities, a statement says.

The Meeschaert group has confirmed that Philippe Troesch is joining the firm as director of management, chairman of the board at Meeschaert Asset Management, and a member of the executive board at Meeschaert Gestion Privée. Troesch had previously been CEO of the Paris office of Aberdeen Asset Management (see Newsmanagers of 24 January 2012).

In the space of the last 12 months, the Blackstone Group has invested USD11bn on a recovery in the commercial real estate market, which has been facing high vacancy rates and competition from online retail, the Wall Street Journal reports. The private equity investor has become one of the largest owners of shopping centres in the United States. Now, these bets appear to be paying off. The 588 shopping centres acquired from Centro Property are generating returns of 8%, while the 36 grocery stores acquired from Equity One General are generating 7.5% returns, as is a 95% stake in big box centers from EPN Group.

As of the end of 2011, the Paris office of Muzinich managed USD1.8bn, and had USD250m in inflows since the beginning of the year. According to Eric Pictet, CEO for the French-speaking countries, net subscriptions last year totalled over USD900m, half of which came from France, while the remainder was divided between Luxembourg, Belgium, Geneva and Monaco.In terms of products, Muzinich is planning to launch a fund in autumn (September-October) which will give managers very broad freedom to invest in all grades of investment, and to hedge these positions, “but we are in a study phase right now,” the Paris head says.Across the Muzinich group, assets in funds have increased spectacularly in the past few years, from USD471m as of the end of 2008 to USD6.4bn as of the end of 2011 (compared with USD3.02bn twelve months earlier), while total assets have risen to USD13.77bn as of the end of last year, compared with USD9.94bn as of the end of 2010, USD6.32bn as of the end of 2009, and USD3.14bn as of the end of 2008. In other words, funds represent about 50% of total assets, while the remainder is distributed between mandates and white-label products (sub-advisory).Although Muzinich is a US company, 90% of its assets come from Europe. “We are planning to launch our first mutual fund in the United States in March. It will be a near-reproduction of the UCITS-compliant fund Short Duration, with 10% to 20% loans. We have recruited two people from Seix, Michael Eachern, who will manage the new product, and Sam Zona, director of marketing at Seix, who will be responsible for development on the US market,” Pictet concludes.

Etienne Gorgeon, head of fixed income and credit management at Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers (EDRIM), on 31 January announced that in the current environment, investors, particularly private banking clients, are seeking extremely simple products, which has led the manager to extend the subscription period until 15 April for two horizon share classes in the EdR Millésima 2016 fund (ISIN Codes; C share class (retail): FR0011138395; I share class (instituitonal): FR0011142090), based on a buy and hold strategy. The closing date for the fund, launched on 15 November, was originally scheduled for 1 March. But the product has already attracted EUR160-170m, and EDRIM is therefore planning to keep the subscription window open for extra time.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Divesh Makan, who was then a client adviser at Goldman Sachs, has been clever enough to contact with the founders of Facebook since 2006, and has become the wealth management adviser for several of them, including founder Mark Zuckerberg, COO Sheryl Sandberg and founding chairman Sean Parter, as well as the CEO of Zynga, Mark Pincus. Makan will be among the beneficiaries of the Facebook initial public offering. In December, he went independent with his colleagues, Chad Boeding and Michael Anders to found Iconiq Capital LLC.

The US ETF specialist WisdomTree has announced net profits for fourth quarter 2011 of USD0.9m, up from USD0.6m in fourth quarter 2010, and USD1.4m in the previous quarter. For the year 2011 as a whole, net profits total USD3.1m, compared with losses of USD7.5m in 2010. The firm has announced net subscriptions of USD756m in 2011. As of the end of the year, assets under management totalled USD12.2bn.

The three equity funds (Ibex 35, Euro Stoxx 50 and S&P 500) and profiled funds (Conservador, Moderado and Dinámico) from ING Direct Spain will now invest in Amundi funds and not funds from InverCaixa, Funds People reports. ING Direct has decided to hand the management of six of the seven funds to the joint venture of Crédit Agricole and Société Générale, and to withdraw them from the Spanish firm InverCaixa (La Caixa). Amundi was already manager of the VaR fund from ING Direct. The management policies and commission levels for the transferred funds will remain unchanged.Renta 4 will retain management of the euro zone government and corporate bond fund from ING Direct.The seven funds from ING Direct represent assets of EUR735m.

SIX Exfeed, an affiliate of SIX Swiss Exchange, has signed a cooperation agreement with Derivative Partners Research AG, for sales, marketing and delivery of custom data about structured products.According to a statement released by SIX Exfeed on 31 January, “this agreement will aim to bring together the advantages of both companies, and will complement the range of services from SIX Exfeed in the area of the CONNEXOR® Terms database, the interface between standard benchmark data for structured products traded on the Scoach Switzerland market.”The firm Derivative Partners Research AG is specialised in the preparation and calculation of key statistics, the provision of independent valuations, and the development of tools in the securitised derivative product sector.

Assets under management at the cantonal bank of Lucerne as of the end of December totalled CHF25.1bn, down 0.4% compared with December 2010. Negative market effects were only partly offset by a net inflow of CHF382m, the bank says in a statement. Pre-tax profits increased 2.5% to CHF173.6m, The bank says that it is confident for 2012, and predicts profits on a par with the 2011 results.