p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Noel Fessey, managing director at Schroder Investment Management Luxembourg, estimates that the cost of deploying the Key Investor Information Document (KIID) required by the European UCITS IV Directive will be tquice as high as for the simplified prospectus under UCITS III, FundWeb (the new name of Fund Strategy) reports.The manager stated at the Alfi conference that Schroders will invest EUR1m to create a KIID for all its UCITS-compliant funds, compared with EUR0.5m in 2005 for the simplified prospectus. Fessey estimates that the British management firm will also dedicate EUR0.3m annually to maintaining the KIID documents.The high cost of the KIID is due to the fact that it involves several areas of activity at the management firm, including development, compliance, accounting, distribution and marketing, aside from costs related to retaining lawyers, consultants, writers and translators.Schroders is planning to shoulder the added cost of the documents without passing it on to investors.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French Strategic Investment Fund (Fonds d’investissement stratégique, FIS) in 2010 made 21 direct investments in businesses for total engagements of EUR1.7bn, the Fund announced on 16 March at a publication of its annual results.The investments, all of them minority stakes, for amounts ranging from a few million to several hundred million euros, went two thirds to privately-held businesses, and involved both growth SMBs, mid-sized, and large groups.Total assets at the FSI totalled EUR21.8bn as of 31 December 2010, of which EUR3.6bn were capital commitments that were not called in. The FSI’s engagements in industrial and service sectors totalled EUR16.2bn.In 2010, net profits totalling EUR646m, were largely from dividends from affiliates and unconsolidated participations, with the largest contributor being France Télécom.Net latent capital gains on publicly-traded shares totalled EUR1.4bn, of which EUR350m were due to investments since the creation of the FSI. Jean-Yves Gilet, CEO of the FSI, says in a statement that the FSI has three priorities in 2011: “promoting socially responsible investment, placing our actions in the development dynamic for industries, and enlarging our perimeter of action in the provinces towards SMBs. With this initiative, we would like to identify and contact all growth businesses.”

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The California pension fund CalPERS on 16 March announced that its board of directors has approved a motion to maintain its return rate at 7.75%, by a vote of seven to three.

L’agence de notation durable Oekom Research vient de publier son troisième rapport annuel sur la responsabilité sociétale des entreprises. L’agence souligne notamment que l’investissement durable a continué de progresser durant la crise. A l’échelle de la planète, l’investissement durable, prenant en compte les critères ESG, représente quelque 8.000 milliards d’euros, contre 5.000 milliards d’euros pour l’Europe.Au 31 décembre dernier, 550 sociétés sur un total de 3.100 sociétés dans une cinquantaine de pays, soit environ une sur six, remplissait les exigences du label «Prime Status» accordé par Oekom. Un quart des sociétés évaluées disposait d’un embryon de gestion du développement durable mais plus de la moitié de l’échantillon affichent de piètres performances en matière de développement durable, estime l’agence. Certaines sociétés dans les marchés émergents n’ont d’ailleurs pas à rougir dans ce domaine par rapport à leurs homologues des pays développés, relève Oekom.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Santander Asset Management on 16 March announced the appointment of José Maria Martinez-Sanjuan as head of fund selection.In his new role, he will be in charge of constructing a list of recommended products for the international team at Santander AM< and will also be in charge of coordinating relations between Santander and other asset management groups.Martinez-Sanjuan previously worked at an affiliate of Santander AM, Banco Banif, where he was head of fund research and alternative investment analysis.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management arm of the Delta Lloyd group, delta Lloyd Asset Management, has opened an office in Hong Kong, which will initially have three investment specialists in charge of identifying companies in which Asia funds to be launched by the end of the year might invest. Delta Lloyd AM is planning to focus on healthy businesses with promising outlooks which are undervalued, and buy stakes of at least 5% in their capital.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss federal financial market surveillance authority (Finma) on 16 March announced that it has concluded its investigation into the Abrasives affair, begun in January 2009. The authority found that the investor Giorgio Behr violated his obligation to declare his investment in Abrasives, under article 20 of the stock market law. Finma says in a statement that it has reported Behr’s actions to the federal Finance department. Finma adds that the Bank am Bellevue actively supported Behr in his actions, “thus violating its organisational obligations and guarantees of irreproachable activity.” The scandal stems from a statement on 1 April 2008 that a group of investors, represented by Behr, had increased their stakes in the voting rights of the sia Abrasives company to a surprising degree, passing the 3% and 5% thresholds on 26 March 2008, 10% on 27 March 2008, and 15% and 20% on 1 April 2008. The company continued to be publicly traded until 2009. For the pursposes of the investigation, Finma opened an administrative procedure against Bank am Bellevue, which appeared to be the primary buyer of the Abrasives shares on the market. Finma also retained an investigator. In autumn 2009, Finma then opened an administrative procedure against Behr, on the basis of the investigator’s report. The two major procedures revealed that Behr was able to increase his stake in Abrasives to more than 20% of voting rights in only a few days – between the end of March and tbe beginning of April 2008 – with the help of Bank of Bellevue, which bought the nominate shares in the names of and on behalf of its clients, in order to subsequently sell them to Behr. The bank thus “parked” the shares in sia Abrasives in clients’ names. In acting in this way, Behr committed a severe violation of his obligation to declare the stake under the stock market law, his organisational requirements, and the guarantee of irreproachable activity. The bank took organisational measures during the procedure. Finma has imposed several conditions on it, and has threatened to cancel its banking license if they are not satisfied.

Le directeur général de F&C, Alain Grisay, a vendu le 15 mars 1 million d’actions de la société de gestion britannique F&C, valorisées à plus de 770.000 livres, selon fundweb. La semaine dernière, le patron de Thames River, Charlie Porter, avait cédé un peu plus de 2 millions de titres à 82,63 pence par action.Parallèlement, Sherborne, le véhicule d’investissement du nouveau chairman de F&C, Edward Bramson, a racheté pour un peu plus de 300.000 livres de titres au cours des derniers jours. Edward Bramson a pris la présidence de F&C le mois dernier après l'éviction de plusieurs membres du conseil d’administration, y compris l’ancien chairman Nick MacAndrew.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } “Our seven-member team dedicated to emerging markets equities, which already manages USD10bn in assets, of which USD6bn are in Asia, will soon gain two analysts and one fund manager specialised in Latin America,” Douglas Cairns, investment specialist, Asia & emerging markets equities, at Threadneedle, has announced to Newsmanagers. Emerging markets account for about 10% of total assets at the British asset management firm (USD100bn). Emerging market bonds represent about USD2bn.According to Cairns, the stock-picking process for the four open-ended funds of the range will focus on shares “which are likely to generate at least 15% outperformance in the next 12 months.” The team will not invest in companies with a market capitalisation of less than USD300m.Threadneedle currently has a global emerging markets fund (Global Emerging Markets Equity Fund), with USD205m and 95 positions, an Asia fund with USD1.5bn and 99 positions, a Latin America fund with USD1.8bn and 49 positions, and only one country fund, dedicated to China (China Opportunities), with Usd125m in 75 positions. Cairns adds that “that’s enough for us currently; for now, we don’t see the use of adding new funds to this range, which is complete enough.”

Goldman Sachs Asset Management has agreed to acquire Benchmark Asset Management Company, an asset management company in India. The transaction is expected to close later in the year, subject to regulatory approvals. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Benchmark Asset Management Company was founded in 2001 and is the number one Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) provider by both market share and assets under management (AUM) in India. It has approximately USD700 million AUM, according to a press release. In addition, Goldman Sachs Asset Management intends to bring actively managed on-shore funds to India. Goldman Sachs Asset Management already has a team of eight based in Mumbai, headed by Prashant Khemka. The team currently provides research for off-shore funds including Indian equities and BRIC equities.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } At its general trustees’ meeting, held on the evening of 15 March, the French Responsible Investment Forum (FIR) elected half of its board of directors. The election was marked by the arrival of several new actors: Grégory Schneider-Maunoury (Aprionis), Stéphane Voisin (Cheuvreux), Marion de Marcillac (Eiris), Franca Perrin (Generali Investments), Eric Van La Beck (Macif Gestion), Pierre-Henri Leroy (Proxinvest), and Estelle Mironesco (Vigeo).Claude Jouven, former chairman of City Bank for France, Belgium and Luxembourg, was elected to the college of qualified personnel.Composition of the new board of directorsMartial Cozette*Jean-Philippe Desmartin Oddo SecuritiesDavid Diamond Allianz Global InvestorsPerrine Dutronc MSCIRobin Edme*Bertrand Fournier LFP–Sarasin Asset Management president of FIRVincent Jacob*Claude Jouven*Michel Laviale* Michel Lemonnier Groupama Asset Management vice-president of FIRMartine Léonard CM-CIC Asset Management vice-president of FIR Pierre-Henri Leroy ProxinvestGilles Maddalena Amundi GroupPaul de Marcellus HSBC Global Asset Management vice-president of FIRMarion de Marcillac EirisEstelle Mironesco VigeoFranca Perin Generali Investment FranceGrégory Schneider-Maunoury Aprionis Eric Van La Beck Macif GestionStéphane Voisin Cheuvreux *"qualified persons»

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Disinterest in the Japanese market in the past few years means that the number of funds investing in the Land of the Rising Sun managed in Paris is not large. And the population of funds in question – like the asset management firms that offer them - is a mixed bag. However, though these funds have seen heavy losses since the beginning of this week, fund managers have had the same behaviour: that is, not to freeze the funds, to avoid panic selling by investors who may put the existence of the fund in danger. Managers we have spoken to are insisting that they will continue to manage the funds pragmatically, with some admiration for the fact that the Tokyo stock market has remained open, and taking Japanese stalwartness in the face of such a dramatic situation as a powerful sign. Though no fund closures are planned, managers have made a few trades. “Concretely,” one of them tells us, “investments in businesses located on the east coast of the country, or which rely on lots of subcontractors, have been replaced by companies which have been preserved because they are located in the west, or do a lot of work abroad.” However, as expected, positions on shares in the consumer or luxury sectors have been cut back. Yet this is something short of a major revision of the portfolio. It is easy to see that it is impossible to predict the real impact of the disaster. The Japanese market will remain a market for stock-pickers, say many specialists, pointing out that the valuations of many shares have been attractive for a long time. The irony is that the market has seen a renaissance in the past few weeks as a result of favourable economic indicators. In the longer term, managers are divided, knowing that many investors will steer clear of the market for a long time, but also aware that the Japanese are never stronger than in adversity. But how long will it take to recover from a disaster like this?

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US group Robeco Investment Management (USD18.7bn in assets as of the end of February), which includes Robeco Boston Partners, Robec-Sage and Robeco Weiss, Peck & Greer, has announced the recruitment of John Davis for the newly-created position of principal, intermediary sales. He will be based in the Los Angeles offices of Robeco, and will be in charge of coverage of financial intermediaries throughout the western United States. His hierarchical superior will be Paul Heathwood, managing director, head of intermediary sales. Davis was most recently at Highmark Funds, an affiliate of Union Bank of Los Angeles.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Regulators investigating potential manipulation of the Libor have concentrated their requests for information and interrogations on five banks, according to sources close to the case, cited by the Financial Times. The banks are UBS, Bank of America, Citigroup, Barlacys and WestLB.

Depuis vendredi, les prix du gaz naturel et du charbon sont en hausse et ceux des métaux en baisse

En annonçant une remontée prochaine des taux, la banque centrale a pesé sur les volatilités implicites

Si l’adjudication d’un milliard d’euros a été largement sursouscrite hier, son rendement moyen a atteint 4,33 % contre 4,06 % début mars

Bruxelles a assuré hier que son projet d'assiette commune pour l'impôt sur les sociétés n'est en rien un pas vers l'harmonisation des taux

Depuis vendredi, les prix du gaz naturel et du charbon sont en hausse et ceux des métaux en baisse

Le quotidien japonais assure qu’une conférence téléphonique a rassemblé mardi après-midi des représentants de plus d’une dizaine d’établissements financiers non-japonais au sujet de la situation dans l’Archipel. Certains notamment ont appelé à une fermeture immédiate du marché boursier du fait de la volatilité. Le Tokyo Stock Exchange a refusé de céder à ces appels.

vvv

Blackstone et Square Mile Capital ont convenu selon le quotidien d’acquérir auprès du fonds de garantie des dépôts bancaires aux Etats-Unis, la FDIC, un portefeuille de créances hypothécaires d’une valeur de 385 millions de dollars, pour un prix de 80 cents le dollar. Des créances adossées sur 45 hôtels et auparavant détenus par la banque en faillite Silverton, basée en Géorgie.

La cherté du quartier central des affaires devrait les inciter à étendre leurs univers de recherche et à augmenter leurs arbitrages

Les investisseurs sont quant à eux davantage intéressés par les centres commerciaux que par les bureaux

Le dollar est tombé à un niveau record de 76,25 yens avant une nouvelle injection de 5.000 milliards de yens de la part de la banque du Japon

La société a annoncé la signature avec succès d’une ligne de crédit revolver collatéralisée de 800 millions de dollars. L’opération consiste en une ligne de crédit revolver d’une durée de 3 ans et sera utilisée pour satisfaire les besoins en matière de liquidité et de fonds de roulement, et pour rembourser un financement octroyé par ArcelorMittal à Aperam. La ligne de crédit a été arrangée par SG CIB. 9 banques interviennent dans l’opération: SG CIB, BNP Paribas, Natixis, Santander, BBVA, Citibank, CA CIB, ING et HSBC Trinkaus.

La société de private equity a officialisé l’acquisition d’une part majoritaire significative de The Foundry Visionmongers, un développeur de logiciels d’effets spéciaux, à Advent Venture Partners ainsi que d’autres actionnaires. Les termes financiers de la transaction n’ont pas été divulgués. La participation pour cet investissement viendra de Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) II, un fonds de 530 millions de dollars clôturé en novembre 2008.

Xavier Bertrand envisage de rendre obligatoire le versement « d’une participation minimale aux salariés quand des dividendes sont versés aux actionnaires » et réfléchit « à ce que la participation augmente au moins aussi vite que les dividendes » a-t-il annoncé lors d’un congrès de DRH. Cette seconde mesure, qui a pris le dessus sur un éventuel plafonnement des dividendes, est soutenue par le Fondact, une association de promotion de l'épargne salariale, indique le journal Les Echos.

L’éditeur de logiciels polonais Asseco prendra sa décision d’ici la fin du mois sur une possible entrée sur le marché américain du Nasdaq. Il s’agirait d’une première pour une société polonaise. Asseco discute actuellement avec des investisseurs en vue de sonder leur intérêt pour un tel projet. Le numéro cinq européen a acquis fin 2010 une part de 50,2% du capital de l’israélien Formula Systems pour 145 millions de dollars.

Le développeur de produits ETP (Exchange Traded Products) a fait part de la nomination de Bank of America Merrill Lynch, via Merrill Lynch Commodities, comme seconde contrepartie à sa plateforme de valeurs sur matières premières. Bank of America Merrill Lynch rejoindra à compter du 13 avril UBS comme contrepartie contractuelle.