Chacune de leur côté, les deux banques ont structuré une émission verte à coupon bonifié à partir de l’OAT green de la France.

Les reventes de logements ont rebondi en février aux Etats-Unis après deux mois consécutifs de repli, mais la pénurie chronique de maisons à vendre reste un frein pour le marché. La fédération nationale des agents immobiliers (NAR) a annoncé hier que ces ventes de logements anciens avaient augmenté de 3% le mois dernier à 5,54 millions d’unités en rythme annualisé corrigé des variations saisonnières (CVS). Le rythme des ventes en janvier a été confirmé à 5,38 millions d’unités. Les économistes prévoyaient en moyenne une hausse de 0,5% à 5,4 millions d’unités en février.

Abou Dhabi va donner plus de poids à son fonds souverain Mudabala Investment en lui apportant un autre structure, Abu Dhabi Investment Council, selon un communiqué publié hier. L’an dernier, Mudabala avait déjà absorbé un autre véhicule, International Petroleum Investment. Cela lui avait permis de se hisser à la 14e place mondiale des fonds souverains, avec 125 milliards de dollars (102 milliards d’euros) d’encours, selon le Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. Selon cette même source, Abu Dhabi Investment Council gère 123 milliards de dollars. C’est aussi le premier actionnaire de First Abu Dhabi Bank, née l’an dernier de la fusion de deux premiers établissements bancaires du pays.

Chaque jeudi, L’Agefi livre ses indicateurs clés de crédit pour suivre l'évolution des marchés.

Soutenu par InnovFin Equity, avec le soutien financier de l’Union européenne au titre des instruments financiers Horizon 2020, et d’autres investisseurs européens tels que Nestlé, Fondo Italiano d’Investimento et Bpifrance, Five Seasons Ventures, a réalisé le premier closing de plus de 60 millions d’euros d’un nouveau fonds de capital-risque dédié aux investissements dans la Food Tech et l’Agri Tech. Le fonds se concentrera sur les start-ups européennes développant des innovations technologiques visant à résoudre les principaux défis auxquels le secteur est actuellement confronté, allant d’une alimentation plus saine aux chaînes d’approvisionnement plus courtes en passant par la nutrition personnalisée et des protéines alternatives, explique la société. Malgré le nombre croissant d’investissements, les acteurs du capital-risque dans ce secteur sont rares, en particulier en Europe où Five Seasons Ventures sera le principal fonds européen de capital-risque indépendant spécialisé dans ce domaine. En Europe, le financement a atteint 1,4 milliard d’euros en 2017, soit près du double du montant de l’investissement en 2016, selon les données de Dealroom.co. « La France possède de nombreux atouts pour permettre l’émergence de start-ups à succès dans le domaine de la Food tech; nous sommes donc heureux de nous associer au Fondo Italiano di Investimiento, au Fonds Européen d’Investissement et à Nestlé pour soutenir le premier fonds de l’équipe Five Seasons Ventures qui a vocation à accélérer la croissance des start-ups de la Food tech européennes – notamment françaises et italiennes. Ce projet illustre par ailleurs notre volonté d’accompagner une nouvelle équipe expérimentée qui rejoint l’écosystème français du capital-risque en faisant le choix de s’installer à Paris », déclare Benjamin Paternot, Directeur Exécutif en charge de l’activité Fonds de Fonds de Bpifrance.

Un nouveau venu dans le monde des sélectionneurs de fonds vient de voir le jour. L'Association Société Française des Sélectionneurs de Fonds (SF2) vient d'annoncer sa création, à l’initiative de Philippe Sarica (photo), spécialiste de la finance comportementale et de la sélection de fonds, autour d’un groupe d’experts financiers.

Selon une étude menée par PwC à l'échelle mondiale, les dirigeants de la gestion d'actifs restent très confiants quant aux perspectives de croissance de leurs sociétés en 2018, mais ils sont inquiets des nombreuses menaces auxquelles ils sont confrontés.

Le conseil d’Administration de l’AUREP a nommé Catherine Orlhac (photo) présidente de l’AUREP. Elle succède ainsi à Jean Aulagnier, désormais vice-président fondateur.

Les reventes de logements ont rebondi en février aux Etats-Unis après deux mois consécutifs de repli, mais la pénurie chronique de maisons à vendre reste un frein pour le marché. La fédération nationale des agents immobiliers (NAR) a annoncé aujourd’hui que ces ventes de logements anciens avaient augmenté de 3% le mois dernier à 5,54 millions d’unités en rythme annualisé corrigé des variations saisonnières (CVS). Le rythme des ventes en janvier a été confirmé à 5,38 millions d’unités. Les économistes prévoyaient en moyenne une hausse de 0,5% à 5,4 millions d’unités en février.

Abou Dhabi va donner plus de poids à son fonds souverain Mudabala Investment en lui apportant un autre structure, Abu Dhabi Investment Council, selon un communiqué publié aujourd’hui. L’an dernier, Mudabala avait déjà absorbé un autre véhicule, International Petroleum Investment. Cela lui avait permis de se hisser à la 14e place mondiale des fonds souverains, avec 125 milliards de dollars (102 milliards d’euros) d’encours, selon le Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. Selon cette même source, Abu Dhabi Investment Council gère 123 milliards de dollars. C’est aussi le premier actionnaire de First Abu Dhabi Bank, née l’an dernier de la fusion de deux premiers établissements bancaires du pays.

Employee savings are growing. At the conclusion of 2017, assets in employee savings set a new record at EUR131.5bn, up 7.3% compared with the end of 2016, according to an annual survey published on 20 March by the Association Française de la Gestion financière (AFG) “This growth is largely due to a positive one-year market effect,” AFG says.As of the end of 2017, employee shareholding assets represented EUR50.7bn, or 38.5% of the total. For their part, diversified funds, which themselves invest largely in equities, totalled EUR80.8bn, or 61.5% of total assets.The AFG also states that assets in SRI funds (excluding technical effects) rose 14% in 2017. The result is that “more than one euro out of four is placed in SRI, excluding employee shareholding,” the professional association says. Meanwhile, solidaristic funds have continued to grow, with EUR7.4bn, up more than 19% in one year.Although assets have risen strongly, the number of employee shareholding accounts has remained stable at over EUR10.3bn. However, the number of companies participating rose 3% to a total of 315,000, “including 310,000 SMEs with fewer than 250 employees who subscribe to employee savings,” the AFG says.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } The Spanish bank CaixaBank on Monday, 19 March announced that it is launching Smart Money, the first digital investment advising service to join its online banking platform. The new service offers clients customized investment recommendations, and allows them to oversee all of their investments via the online banking platform. Smart Money also allows clients to access a wide range of different assets and markets via managed portfolios, with a minimal investment of EUR1,000 and a cost of EUR6 per year. Each client is required to first answer a questionnaire, to allow the platform to evaluate their personal situation. “Users will instantly receive appropriate recommensations, depending on their investment objectives and their tolerance to risk,” CaixaBank says in a statement. “Then they have access to the portfolio of investment funds from the bank.” The new service, which is 100% online, is compliant with the MiFID 2 directive. At this launch, CaixaBank specially created new funds to allow for Smart Money portfolios to be constructed. The asset management unit at CaixaBank currently has EUR44.89bn in assets under management, and a market share of 16.71% as of the end of February in Spain, according to statistics from Inverco, the Spanish asset management association.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } Acofi Gestion on 20 March announced the acquisition of a solar farm operating at 12 MW in the French region of Aude, from RES, one of the global leaders in the renewable energy development industry. The acquisition is made on behalf of its fund Transition Énergétique France, which now controls over 165 MW in operating solar and wind assets, Acofi Gestion says in a statement.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } La Française, with assets under management totalling over EUR66bn as of the end of 2017, is continuing its development strategy in Asia, with the appointment of Jennifer Choi as director of investor relationships for South Korea. Choi will be based in Seoul, and will report directly to the director of investor relationships for Asia, Shawna Yang. Choi brings her vast experience in managing and evaluating assets in commercial and hotel real estate, a statement says. Before joining the group, Choi was senior manager on the foreign real estate investment team at Korea Investment Management (KIM), responsible for sourcing and analysis of financial assets, fundraising and investor relationships. She previously worked for nearly nine years on the Cushman & Wakefield valuation team, three of whom were based in Los Angeles, where she specialised in valuation of hotel establishments. “2017 marked a new turning point for La Française. The signing of a major transition in Brussel for a club of Korean and French investors has brought assets under management on behalf of Asian investors over EUR1bn, As we opened our first Korean office in 2016, this growth is exceptional! The arrival of Choi is a real advantage for the team, and I am persuaded that she will play a key role in the development of our real estate expertise,” says Philippe Leconte, CEO of La Française AM International.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } Caceis on 20 March announced that it is setting up a new management team for the private equity real estate securitisation (PERES) activity. To strengthen its position in the market and capitalise on synergies with the Crédit Agricole group, Caceis has recruited Bruno Bourbonnaud, previously global head of financial institutions at CACIB, the investment bank from Crédit Agricole, Bourbonnaud is appointed as global head of the PERES professional area, and joins the executive board at Caceis. Arnaud Garel-Galais, previously head of commercial development for PERES in the United Kingdom, has been appointed as group head of coverage & business development for the activity worldwide. According to a statement, the Private Equity Real Estate Securitisation (PERES) activity at Caceis has seen “exceptional growth in the past few years, due to major investment in equity bridge financing services.” With a place as the largest French depository for private equity funds, private debt and infrastructure, Caceis has EUR170bn in assets under custody in private equity funds for international clients.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } Jean-Charles Belvo, formerly of La Financière de l’Echiquier, has joined Inocap Gestion as European large cap equity manager, his LinkedIn profile says. Belvo officially began in the role in February 2018. According to the website of Inocap Gestion, Belvo is responsible for “consolidating the strategy put in place at the asset management firm.” Belvo, who holds a masters degree in management from ESCP Europe, began his career in 2007 as a financial analyst at Amiral Gestion and HSBC. He then joined La Financière de l’Echiquier in 2009, where he served as analyst and fund manager for European equity funds. According to his LinkedIn profile, he left La Financière de l’Echiquier in May 2017.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) on 20 March announced an investment of USD10m, in the form of share capital, in FX Innovation, one of the leaders in information technology consulting services in Quebec. The transaction will allow FX Innovation to pursue its growth plan, which aims for expansion of its activities, and acquisitions in North America. The Motreal-based business is also planning to invest in development of innovative solutions related to automation of management for information technology. “With the importance that we place on the digital transformation, the IT sector has strong potential for growth, particularly in IT could services. FX Innovation also has one of the largest expert centres in Montreal,” a statement says.

Virgin Money and Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) announced that they have agreed in principle to enter into a new strategic joint venture for the provision of asset management services to Virgin Money customers. As part of the joint venture, ASI will provide fund management services and access to its state-of-the-art digital technology. Under the terms agreed in principle, and subject to further mutual due diligence, regulatory and other relevant approvals and agreement of definitive contracts, ASI is expected to acquire 50 per cent of Virgin Money Unit Trust Managers Limited (“VMUTM”) for an upfront cash payment in excess of GBP40 million which is expected to result in an increase of approximately 40 basis points in Virgin Money’s CET1 ratio.Virgin Money currently has over 200,000 retail investment customers and GBP3.7 billion in assets under management. The joint venture with ASI will broaden Virgin Money’s retail investment proposition, explains the press release. It will also extend ASI’s strength and depth in providing customer focused diversified solutions to Virgin Money’s existing investor base and leverage the strength of both brands to increase assets under management over time. “This mutually beneficial relationship will give our customers a broader fund choice and the tools and capability to invest for the future with confidence. As a result, it offers a compelling proposition for our customers and offers excellent value for our shareholders. It is expected to generate significant growth in assets under management, drive additional capital-light returns and to be game-changing for our investment business over the longer term.”, said Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Chief Executive at Virgin Money.Completion of the transaction is expected to take place by the end of 2018.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } The investment company Ardian has engaged the Rothschild bank to sell its 49% stake in Luton airport, the fifth-largest airport in the United Kingdom, Reuters reports, citing banking sources. Ardian and the Spanish airport operator Aena, who controls the remaining 51%, acquired the site from Albertis in 2013 for EUR508m. Aena has a preferential right to acquire the stake held by Ardian, which will be valued at over USD400m (EUR326m), sources say. At a meeting with analysts this month, the chairman of Aena stated that the Spanish group was not prepared to acquire the stake held by Ardian at any price, and that in the operation it sees an occasion to bring a new financial partner into the capital at Luton.

During 2017 AP2’s employees designed new indices for the global equities asset class. This means that the Fund now has ESG exposure on all internal capital in the foreign equity asset class, totalling SEK 99 billion. This is an important part of the Fund’s continued work with implementing ESG factors (Environmental, Social and Governance) in investment decisions. The new indices are fully in line with AP2’s mission, as they are expected to give a greater return at a lower risk and at the same time take into account aspects of sustainability.“We analysed which properties that were interesting to have in our new indices and concluded that we wanted to have exposure to four properties, but just two indices. This means that we have designed the indices for the benefit of equities in companies that have a low value and a good ESG profile, and equities whose returns are low volatile and independent of the returns of other equities,” says Tomas Morsing, Head of Quantitative Strategies at AP2.At the end of 2016, a project was initiated with the aim of replacing the current six single factor indices with two new ones; one for developed countries and one for emerging countries. These two indices would reflect all the properties that AP2 is seeking exposure to, so-called multi-factor indices.Including exposure to companies with a good ESG profile in the indices has been especially important for AP2. That is why the Fund’s new indices consider many different aspects of climate and environment, social factors and corporate governance factors during index construction. For example, equities in companieswith low carbon dioxide emissions or that have many women employees are favoured, while equities in companies that are often involved in a variety of controversies or that attempt to devote themselves to manipulative accounting will receive a lower index weighting.“Our new indices include many properties in ESG. To determine what we should focus on, we have turned to our sustainability strategy, our previous ESG work and to research within the area,” says Tomas Morsing.Previously, AP2 purchased finished indices from an external party, but the indices will now be designed internally. For this purpose, the Fund has developed a methodology that makes it possible to compare and study how the different properties affect an index return and risk profile.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System announced its corporate engagement plans for 2018. High priority initiatives include board diversity and climate risk reporting.As an engaged shareowner, CalPERS uses its proxy voting rights at about 11,000 companies to effect changes in line with its Investment Beliefs. «We engage companies on issues that protect the long-term health of their business and thereby our investment,» said Ted Eliopoulos, CalPERS chief investment officer. «Voting our proxies and keeping an open dialogue with businesses are part of our duties as a responsible shareowner."One initiative this year is board diversity. Companies with diverse corporate boards have been shown to produce higher financial returns when compared to companies with limited or no diversity on their boards. In 2017, CalPERS engaged more than 500 companies over the lack of women on their boards. This year, engagement will continue with companies that have not made an effort to improve. When necessary, votes will be withheld from directors at the company’s annual general meeting.In addition, CalPERS will continue its work to obtain climate risk reporting from companies. Reporting informs shareowners how a company plans to curb emissions and manage the risks it faces due to climate change and take advantage of opportunities.CalPERS will advance this effort through the Climate Action 100+ initiative, a consortium of 256 investors representing $28 trillion in assets under management, and advocating for stronger climate-related financial disclosures."Detailed reporting from companies is a valuable tool for shareowners,» said Simiso Nzima, CalPERS investment director for corporate governance. «These reports provide a more complete analysis of the risks and opportunities associated with our investments."Other key initiatives this year include gaining proxy access on corporate boards, opposing executive compensation plans due to performance issues, and obtaining majority vote standard for board of director elections.In 2017, CalPERS voted at over 11,000 companies worldwide. Notable wins included climate risk reporting at ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and PPL Corporation. CalPERS also won proxy access at Old Republic, concludes the press release

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; } No panic! Investors have a few areas of concerns, such as risk of a trade war, but they remain fairly confident overall, according to the latest Fund Manager Survey from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, covering a sample of 201 respondents, representing a total of USD579bn in assets under management, between 9 and 15 March. In a sign of investor confidence, cash allocations fell slightly in March, to 4.6%, from 4.7% the previous month. The threat of a trade war represents the extreme risk cited most often (30%), for the first time since January 2017, followed by inflation (23%) and a slowdown in the global economy (16%). Three quarters of investors, however, recognize that the global economy is at the end of a cycle, the highest percentage in the history of the monthly survey. 58% of investors think that profits per share will rise globally by another 10% in the next 12 months. «Cracks in the bull case are beginning to be seen, as asset managers cite concerns about global commerce, stagflation, and leverage,” asys Michael Hartnett, head strategist at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. “Investors can still be expected to react to these concerns, though interest rates and profits are supporting the optimism of the optimists,” he adds.

La société de gestion d’actifs britannique de Handelsbanken, Heartwood Investment Management, a agrandi son équipe avec trois recrutements, rapporte Funds Europe. Siobhan Pandya a été embauchée en tant que responsable de la communication des investissements. Elle était précédemment responsable du contenu marché actions de M&G Investments. Alistair Campbell et Nikki Howes ont été nommés « investment associates ». Le premier vient de Sarasin & Partners et la seconde, de JP Morgan.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs écossais Aberdeen Standard Investments et Virgin Money ont annoncé, ce 20 mars, avoir un trouvé un accord de principe en vue de la création d’une nouvelle coentreprise stratégique. Dans le cadre de cette alliance, Aberdeen Standard Investments fournira aux clients de Virgin Money ses services de gestion d’actifs et de fonds d’investissement. De même, Aberdeen Standard Investments va reprendre la gestion des 3,7 milliards de livres d’encours que Virgin Money gère actuellement pour le compte de plus de 200.000 clients particuliers. Pour ce faire, Aberdeen Standard Investment va acquérir 50% de Virgin Money Unit Trust Managers Limited, l’activité d’investissement et de retraite de Virgin Money, pour un montant de plus de 40 millions de livres en numéraire. Sous réserve du feu vert des autorités de régulation, la transaction pourrait être finalisée d’ici la fin de l’année 2018.Cette alliance « devrait transformer les offres d’investissement de Virgin Money auprès des particuliers, entraînant une croissance significative des actifs sous gestion », indiquent les deux groupes dans un communiqué. De même, la coentreprise doit permettre à Aberdeen Standard Investment « de renforcer ses expertises en proposant des solutions diversifiées à la base existante d’investisseurs de Virgin Money, tout en renforçant les deux marques afin d’augmenter les actifs sous gestion au fil du temps ».

J.P. Morgan Asset Management (J.P. Morgan AM) a décidé de fusionner son US Fund (457 millions de livres d’encours) au sein du fonds plus petit JPM US Select (200 milions de livres d’encours), rapporte Investment Week. La société de gestion justifie sa décision par l’existence de « chevauchements dans les stratégies d’investissement » des deux produits. Avant d’être effective, la fusion doit recevoir l’approbation des investisseurs lors d’une assemblée générale extraordinaire qui se tiendra le 13 avril. Une fois cet obstacle passé, la fusion pourra intervenir le 28 avril. Le fonds JPM US Select, cogéré par Susan Bao, Scott Davis et David Small, présente de « meilleures perspectives de croissance future », a précisé J.P. Morgan AM.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs britannique Hermes Investment Management est en passe d’enrichir sa gamme de fonds obligataires avec le lancement, dans le courant de l’année 2018, d’un fonds crédit sans contrainte, rapporte Investment Week. Ce nouveau véhicule sera géré par Fraser Lundie, co-responsable du crédit et gérant de portefeuille sénior, et Andrew Jackson, responsable obligataire de la société de gestion. Le fonds a pour objectif de dégager un rendement de 5% au-dessus du Libor sur l’ensemble d’un cycle de marché. Pour y parvenir, il investira dans tout le spectre du crédit liquide à l’échelle mondiale, à savoir les obligations « investment grade » et « high yield » mais aussi la dette émergente, les obligations convertibles, les prêts et les titres adossés à des actifs (« asset-backed securities »).

Lyxor Asset Management s’est associé à la société britannique Portland Hill pour lancer un fonds d’actions internationales Ucits qui combinera des stratégies Long / Short et Event driven.Le nouveau fonds Lyxor / Portland Hill sera lancé sur la plate-forme alternative Ucits de Lyxor et cible l’univers des actions européennes. Selon Investment Europe, le fonds est domicilié en Irlande et gère déjà 28,9 millions d’euros d’actifs.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs américain PGIM, filiale de l’assureur américain Prudential Financial, a annoncé, ce 20 mars, l’arrivée de Howard Nowell en qualité de « managing director » au sein de son pôle dédié aux relations avec les institutionnels (« Institutional Relationship Group ») à Londres. Ce pôle a pour mission de servir les grands clients institutionnels au Royaume-Uni et en Europe et de nouer de nouvelles relations avec les investisseurs institutionnels de la région. Dans le cadre de ses nouvelles fonctions, Howard Nowell, qui a pris ses fonctions le 1er mars 2018, est rattaché à Michael Samaha, « managing director » en charge du « Institutional Relationship Group » pour l’Europe et le Moyen-Orient.Howard Nowell, qui compte 25 ans d’expérience dans la gestion d’actifs, était précédemment « managing director » chez BlackRock en charge de l’activité institutionnelle au Royaume-Uni. Avant de rejoindre BlackRock, il a été « vice president » et responsable des ventes pour l’Europe, le Moyen-Orient et l’Afrique chez Janus Capital Groupe, en charge plus particulièrement des équipes commerciales dédiées aux institutionnels et aux intermédiaires financiers. Au cours de sa carrière, il a également officié chez UBS Global Asset Management et a occupé différentes fonctions chez KPMG.

Investec Asset Management (Investec AM) a nommé Alastair Leather au poste nouvellement créé de directeur des ventes institutionnelles au Royaume-Uni, rapporte Pensions & Investments qui cite une porte-parole de la société. L’intéressé, qui prendra ses fonctions en avril, sera chargé de développer les relations de la société de gestion avec les consultants et les investisseurs institutionnels britanniques. Il sera rattaché à Edward Evers, responsable des consultants au niveau mondial. Alastair Leather arrive en provenance de Goldman Sachs Asset Management où il a officié pendant 10 ans, dernièrement en qualité de « vice president » en charge des ventes institutionnelles.