Déjà présent à Bruxelles depuis trois ans, Lazard Frères Gestion (LFG) compte ouvrir une antenne en Suisse cette année, rapporte l’Agefi. Ensuite, la société française s’attaquera à d’autres marchés jugés porteurs, à commencer par l’Espagne, puis l’Italie et enfin l’Allemagne. Lazard Frères Gestion qui se consacre plutôt à une clientèle de banque privée, pour des comptes de plus d’un million d’euros, et au conseil d’institutionnels hors du circuit des grands appels d’offres ne craint pas de doublons avec la filiale américaine Lazard Asset Management (LAM), précise le quotidien. En 2009, la société affiche 9,2 milliards d’encours (+15%) et déjà 10 milliards à ce jour. La collecte, de 972 millions l’an dernier hors mandats, doit atteindre 1,1 milliard cette année grâce notamment au segment des conseillers en gestion de patrimoine dans lequel la société s’est lancée il y a un an.

Groupama Asset Management s’apprête à créer cette année sa première Sicav de droit luxembourgeois. L’objectif est de toucher une clientèle de distributeurs européens, à savoir les banques privées et la multigestion. Dans cette perspective, la Sicav reprendra surtout les stratégies «typées» de la société de gestion française, et notamment celles du pôle gestion absolue. «Notre ambition est d’avoir 3 à 4 compartiments assez rapidement», indique Jean-Marie Catala, directeur du développement.Jusqu'à présent, l’expansion internationale de Groupama AM s’est faite au travers de sa gamme française, principalement en accompagnement de la croissance de sa maison mère à l'étranger. Mais Jean-Marie Catala reconnaît que pour aller plus loin, le Luxembourg est un passage obligé. «La coquille administrative la plus efficace dans le cadre d’une distribution européenne est la structure luxembourgeoise, qui a dix ans d’avance», estime-t-il. Il ajoute que cette création s’opère en anticipation de la directive Ucits IV en 2012. «Nous aurons alors deux ans d’historique», indique-t-il.A l’heure actuelle, 7 milliards d’euros, soit 8 % des encours de Groupama AM (88,8 milliards d’euros), sont gérés pour des clients étrangers. La société a notamment une présence marquée en Italie, au travers de sa filiale Groupama Sgr depuis fin 2006 et en Espagne, via une succursale créée mi 2008. La prochaine étape dans le développement européen est l’Europe du Nord, incluant la Scandinavie, la Finlande, les Pays-Bas, l’Allemagne et l’Autriche. Des accords de distribution ont déjà été mis en place, mais Groupama souhaite aussi cibler les institutionnels et donc étudie aujourd’hui la meilleure façon de les approcher.Au total, Groupama AM veut collecter 500 millions d’euros sur l’international en 2010, sur 3 milliards d’euros en dehors du groupe et 4-5 milliards globalement. En 2009, la société a enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 2 milliards d’euros, soit un niveau inférieur aux objectifs annoncés l’an passé de 5 milliards d’euros et à la collecte de 2008 (5,3 milliards d’euros). En fait, en milieu d’année, la société avait collecté 3 milliards, mais elle a ensuite accusé sur la fin de l’année des sorties sur les fonds monétaires.Ses encours ont néanmoins progressé de 9 % sur l’année à 88,8 milliards d’euros, soit son niveau le plus élevé. Son bénéfice net augmente de 58 % à 24,2 millions d’euros, sur un chiffre d’affaires en hausse de 21 % à 134,4 millions.

L’heure de la consolidation pourrait sonner à plus ou moins brève échéance pour Natixis Global Asset Management. Ainsi, rapporte Reuters, à l’occasion du Forum de la gestion d’actifs organisé par l’agence de presse, l'établissement s’est dit ouvert à un rapprochement européen - de type Amundi, né de la fusion des gestions du Crédit agricole et de la Société générale.Directeur général de Natixis Global Asset Management, Pierre Servant a en effet confirmé que son mandat avait pour objectif de regarder les opérations de consolidation «plutôt avec un acteur de plus petite taille que nous», a-t-il précisé, afin de «garder le contrôle». Dans le détail, Pierre Servant a clairement manifesté sa préférence pour une opération à l'échelle du Vieux Continent, en raison d’une dimension européenne de la société de gestion qu’il juge insuffisante.Natixis Global AM, dont les encours s'élèvent à 505 milliards d’euros à fin 2009 avec une collecte nette l’an dernier de 11,4 milliards n’envisage toutefois pas un rapprochement à n’importe quel prix. L’opération, selon Pierre Servant devra être «financièrement raisonnable» et avoir «du sens au niveau industriel».En outre, des acquisitions «de taille raisonnable» - quelques centaines de millions d’euros en valeur au maximum - en Europe, comme en Suisse ou en Grande-Bretagne sont envisagées. Enfin, la banque veut également renforcer sa présence dans les pays émergents, qualifiés de «nouveaux pays industrialisés» notamment la Chine continentale, la Corée du Sud, Hong-Kong, l’Inde ou encore le Brésil.

Le groupe bancaire liechtensteinois Verwaltungs- und Privat-Bank AG (VP Bank) a indiqué le 9 mars qu’il avait dégagé l’an dernier un bénéfice net de 59,8 millions de francs suisses après une perte de 80,3 millions en 2008.Mais VP Bank a encore enregistré une sortie de fonds l’an dernier. Le reflux net a atteint 1,1 milliard de francs suisses, après 1,3 milliard en 2008. Les actifs sous gestion totalisaient 29,5 milliards fin 2009, après 28,5 milliards fin 2008.Le conseil d’administration proposera à l’assemblée générale le versement d’un dividende de 3,50 francs suisses par action au porteur contre 2,50 et de 0,35 (0,25) franc suisse par action nominative.

Sa filiale britannique, Alliance & Leicester, a émis l'équivalent de 1,44 milliard de livres, sans avoir eu besoin d'inclure une clause de rachat

Notre indicateur de dispersion de performances est sorti par le haut après une consolidation à plat inédite depuis quinze ans

L’AFT pourrait syndiquer cette semaine 3 à 5 milliards d'euros de sa ligne 2060

Le placement de l’OAT 25 avril 2060 portera sur un montant de trois à cinq milliards d'euros et interviendra ces prochains jours

db x-trackers has listed a Luxembourg-registered ETF ont the Singapore stock exchange which replicates the CSI 300, an index of Chinese equities, Financial Times Fund Management reports. The product complies with the UCITS III directive.

db x-trackers has listed a Luxembourg-registered ETF on the Singapore stock market which replicates the CSI 300, an index of Chinese equities, Financial Times Fund Management reports. The product complies with the UCITS III directive.

With the GS Absolute Return Portfolio, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has registered a UCITS III-compliant version of its GS Fundamental Equity Long Short Strategy fund, a hedge fund launched in August 2004 which has earned annualised returns of 5.3%, compared with 2.3% for the S&P 500, with volatility of 6.8%, compared with 15.5% for the index, Funds People reports. The new product has weekly liquidity (instead of monthly liquidity for the hedge fund), and has leverage of 2.1 times (with the maximum level set at 3 times), and its net exposure to the market is slightly above 20%. The fund’s objective is to outperform the Libor by 200 to 600 basis points, with total volatility between 6% and 12%.

The reporter for the proposed AIFM (Alternative Investment Fund Managers) directive at the European Parliament, Jean-Paul Gauzès, has confirmed, at a conference held by the EIFR (European Institute of Financial Regulation), that after a three-year period, funds from non-EU countries (often “offshore”) may be eligible for a passport to be offered for sale in the European Union. This would give less substance to the term “non-UCITS fund,” which Anglo-American managers, adapted to offshore vehicles, have been pleased to learn, Agefi reports. However, Gauzès pointed out that to make this possible, the countries in question must sign regulatory equivalence agreements with the European countries. If these agreements are not signed, the fund will not be eligible to be bought or sold there, the newspaper reports.

Fund Strategy reports that Invesco Perpetual is planning to add two new products to its range of Asian equities funds. They include an opportunistic conviction fund and a revenue fund which focuses primarily on rising dividends in Asian markets.

Most investors in mutual funds did not abandon the equities asset class during the period of market depression in 2008-2009, but they didn’t show much enthusiasm for adopting new positions in the following rebound, according to research which has recently been published by Vanguard. In a study entitled “Equity Abandonment in 2008-2009: Lower Among Balanced Fund Investors,” the researchers found that only a very small number of investors in equities (about 1%) completely withdrew from the market during the period of turbulence. Investors in diversified funds generally held their positions. The percentage of investors who abandoned these funds was about 50% lower than for holders of shares in equities funds. In another study entitled “2009: A Return to Risk-Taking,” researchers note that investors’ marked preference for bond funds over equities funds during the rebound on the equities markets stands in total contradiction with the behaviour of investors in previous phases of rebound on equities markets. In 2003, for example, investors withdrew USD265bn from money market funds and placed USD152bn in equities funds, and USD51bn in diversified funds. Nothing similar took place in the 2009 rebound. Investors withdrew about USD500bn from money market funds, and only placed USD9bn in equities funds, but put USD340bn in bond funds. The study also touts the virtues of prudent diversification. An investor, for example, who had a portfolio 100% invested in equities would have lost nearly 25% in the period of market downturn from 2007 until 31 December 2009.

Oddo Asset Management had net inflows of EUR600m in 2009, and is planning to double that amount this year, Reuters reports. To achieve that, the firm is betting on Europe. “We are not yet well-known enough internationally. There is work to be done in Europe to promote our expertise,” said Philippe Oddo, managing partner at Oddo & Cie, at a conference on asset management held by Reuters in Paris on 8, 9 and 10 March. Oddo’s assets totalled EUR12bn as of the end of December 2009.

Currently, there are only 32 ETFs on sale in Spain, 24 from Lyxor (Société Générale) and 8 from BBVA, while Santander has withdrawn from this sector, Expansión reports. But iShares (BlackRock) and db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) will soon be making their debut on the Spanish market. They are only waiting for one thing: that the Madrid government approve a royal decree which would allow them to list ETFs with Sicav status. According to experts, the passage of this legislation is imminent.

Amundi Asset Management on 8 March announced the launch of Amundi Tréso 12 month, its first mutual fund created with the Amundi brand name. Due to low returns from money markets, the French fund offers investors a 12-month cash management solution. The product is aimed primarily at institutional and corporate clients. Amundi Tréso 12 Month aims to outperform the Eonia capitalised at 0.60% per year, less the real management fees associated with each share. To provide higher returns than the money markets, the management team actively manages two sources of performance: credit and liquidity premiums offered by private and public bonds, fixed income premiums arising from the returns offered by long-term bonds that generally offer a higher risk premium than short-term bonds. These two sources of added value are most often decorrelated, particularly in times of high market volatility, which helps to provide more resistant performance.

The Danish management firm Sparinvest on 28 February received a sales license from the AMF for the Ethical High Yield Value Bonds sub-fund, an ethical management product that brings together exclusion, value management and high yield bonds, says Benoît Schouler, CEO of Sparinvest France. Assets in the Luxembourg fund are already about EUR37m, not due to seed capital but because an institutional investor has transferred assets to the new product from a non-ethical high yield fund, which now has assets of EUR304m. Sparinvest ethical funds have EUR117m, of which about EUR80m are in the Global Value Ethic. The ethical filtering of the portfolio is undertaken by the Swedish agency Ethix SRI Advisers, with whom Sparinvest has been collaborating since May 2008. The management team excludes businesses which do not respect international standards in environmental protection, human rights, labour rights, or corruption (normative approach), on the one hand, and businesses whose activities are related to weapons, tobacco, alcohol, pornography, gaming, or arms (sectoral approach), on the other hand. Characteristics Name: Sparinvest Ethical High Yield Value Bonds ISIN: LU0473784196 Front-end fee: 2% Management commission: 1.25%

For funds domiciled in the United Kingdom, net inflows in the month of January totalled GBP1.8bn, the highest level ever observed, according to statistics from the British asset management association (IMA). In keeping with tradition, this total is slightly lower than the December figure (GBP2.2bn), but 55% above the figure for January 2009. Assets under management totalled GBP470.1bn as of the end of January, slightly down compared with December (GBP480.6bn), but 32% higher than in January 2009 (GBP357.1bn). Examination by asset class reveals that equities represented 30% of net sales (GBP549m), Bonds accounted for 17% of net sales, at GBP317m. The “other” category totalled GBP375m, of which 59% was in “absolute return UK.” Within the equities asset class, investors preferred the Global, Asian and North American regions. Europe and the United Kingdom were the least popular categories, with net outflows of GBP208m from Europe ex UK.

Jeremy Lang and William Pattisson are planning their return to the industry with a new boutique called Ardevora Asset Management , following their departure from Liontrust almost a year ago, says Citywire. The duo plans to hire two fund managers to run money alongside them and will run long/short UK and global portfolios with absolute return targets between 7% and 10% a year.

Finance Asia reports that the private equity heavyweight Kohlberg Kravis roberts & Co (KKR) has recruited Abhijit Sen as administrative director and financier for its Indian offices. Sen, who will begin in his new position on 1 April, joins from Citi, where he was chief financial officer for South Asia (India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka). He will report to Sanjay Navar, who is head of KKR India, and who also left Citi, in November 2008, to join KKR.

Henderson Global Investors has appointed Brigid Jackson as a director of fixed income. In her role, she will be responsible for designing fixed income mandates and overseeing and communicating strategy, performance and risk for institutional clients. She joins the company on 5th May 2010. Brigid Jackson joins Henderson from Blackrock (Barclays Global Investors (BGI)) where was a fixed income strategist since 2007. Prior to this she was a business development director and client director at BGI since 2000. She joined BGI from JP Morgan Investment Management where she spent 3 years working in the institutional business.

Following the recruitment of Hakan Türktasar earlier this year (see Newsmanagers of 8 January), Schroders Germany on Monday announced the recruitment of Martin Theis for its client service activity. He will serve as an interface with Luxembourg, to coordinate fund administration, and will report to Joachim Nareike, director of Schroder Investment GmbH for Germany and Austria. Nicol Teixera, who left his position as head of marketing in June 2008 on Paternity leave, has returned as head of the event management service. Thomas Schalow will retain the position of head of marketing.

Pending regulatory approval, BNY Mellon is acquiring BHF Asset Servicing GmbH for EUR253m from BHF-Bank and Sal. Oppenheim. The transaction would also include the acquisition of the fund administration affiliate of BHF Asset Servicing, Frankfurter Service Kapitalanlage-Gesellschaft mbH (FSKAG). Together, BHF Asset Servicing and FSKAG have total assets under custody of EUR473bn, of which EUR33.1bn are for FSKAG, while the volume of activities at the depository bank totals EUR120bn. BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, which is taking over the two entities, would become the number two in the sector by volume in the German market, and would have 340 employees. The firm would be directed by Michelle Grundmann of BNY Mellon, who is managing director and branch heat Frankfurt/Main, with Jürgen P. Frank and Christopher V. Friedrich, who join the firm from BHF Asset Servicing. The three will report to Nadine Chakar, head of Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing.

On Monday, Deutsche Bank announced the launch of its own platform dedicated to Exchange Traded Commodities (ETC), db ETC Index plc, which is an ad-hoc company without its own assets, registered in Jersey, on the Xetra electronic trading platform from Deutsche Börse. The first four products, all of which are registered in Germany and charge fees of 0.45%, are the db ETC Brent Crude Oil Euro Hedged, Industrial Metals Euro Hedged, Short Brent Crude Oil Euro Hedged, and Monthly Short Gold Euro Hedged. Thorsten Michalik, director of db x-trackers (ETF) and db ETC, says that db ETC will be made available throughout Europe by the end of this year, and will include ETC funds replicating the evolution of gold, silver, platinum and palladium. By June, Deutsche Bank is planning to issue more than 30 bonds of this type. The management firm also plans to provide access not only to Euro hedged and US dollar commodity products, but also supports which sue «smart» commodity indices of the “Optimum Yield” range developed by Deutsche Bank, which are already used for ETF funds from db x-trackers carrying the “booster” suffix. New ETC funds Name: db ETC Brent Crude Oil Euro Hedged ISIN: DE000A1AQGX1 Management commission: 0.45% Name: db ETC Industrial Metals Euro Hedged ISIN: DE000A1AQGY9 Management Commission: 0.45% Name: db ETC Monthly Short Brent Crude Oil Euro Hedged ISIN: DE000A1AQGW3 Management commission: 0.45% Name: db ETC Monthly Short Gold Euro Hedged ISIN: DE000A1AQGZ6 Management commission: 0.45%

In 2009, Pictet has earned net subscriptions of CHF20bn, or EUR13.5bn. This brings assets under management to CHF251bn (EUR169bn), as of 31 December 2009. With the addition of global custody, assets total CHF388bn (EUR261bn).

An analysis of data from Feri/Lipper covering 1,200 equities funds in the past ten years reveals that only about 380 funds earned positive results, with about half of these also outperforming the MSCI index, Handelsblatt reports. Barely 144 funds earned annual returns higher than 5%; they are most often funds specialised in Eastern Europe, Asia, Australia, or small caps showing high growth. With that said, no fund has succeeded in outperforming the MSCI in all of the past ten years, while 40 managed to do so in nine out of 10 years; these, again, were mostly funds focused on Eastern Europe, Asia or Australia. Among funds specialised in global markets, only eight outperformed the index nine times out of 10.

Selon Finance Asia, le poids lourd du private equity, Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) vient de recruter Abhijit Sen en tant que directeur adminsitratif et financier de son antenne indienne.Abhijit Sen, qui prendre ses fonctions le 1er avril, vient de Citi où il était chief financial officer pour l’Asie du Sud (Inde, Bangladesh et SriLanka). Il est rattaché à Sanjay Navar, qui dirige KKR India, et qui, lui aussi, avait quitté Citi, en novembre 2008, pour rejoindre KKR.

La Banque des règlements internationaux (BRI) a élu Christian Noyer, gouverneur de la Banque de France, à la présidence de son board pour une durée de trois ans à compter du 7 mars, a indiqué lundi la BRI dans un communiqué.Christion Noyer prend la succession de Guillermo Ortiz, gouverneur de la Banque du Mexique.

db x-trackers vient de coter sur la Bourse de Singapour un ETF de droit luxembourgeois répliquant le CSI 300, un indice d’actions chinoises, rapporte le Financial Times Fund Management. Le produit est conforme à la directive Ucits III.