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Le passage du versement trimestriel au versement mensuel des retraites va permettre à l’Agirc-Arrco de dégager un peu plus de 8 milliards d’euros. A ce montant s’ajoute environ 1,7 milliard d’euros de réserves de gestion et d’action sociale. « Nous allons donc investir à court terme environ 10 milliards d’euros aux alentours de la fin d’année, indique Philippe Goubeault, directeur financier de l’Agirc-Arrco. Nous sommes en train de réfléchir au type de produits à sélectionner, sachant que nos fonds devront avoir un horizon de placement de deux ans maximum. Nous réfléchissons aux conditions d’utilisation de nos fonds dédiés. Certains de ces fonds ont en effet affiché sur les dernières périodes des performances moins élevées que celles enregistrées par les OPCVM monétaires dans lesquels nous sommes actuellement présents. La relative sous-performance de nos fonds dédiés est liée au fait que les gérants sont contraints par nos horizons de placement. A l’inverse, les fonds ouverts parviennent parfois à capter un surplus de performance en ayant une partie de leur portefeuille placée sur des titres plus longs ». L’Agirc-Arrco investit également dans une troisième catégorie de produits, les livrets et les dépôts à terme, car ceux-ci offrent des rémunérations intéressantes. « Nous avons investi jusqu'à 700 millions d’euros dans ce type de produits de court terme, émis par des banques très bien notées, ajoute Philippe Goubeault. Il n’y a actuellement pas ou très peu de corporates qui émettent des titres avec des caractéristiques répondant à nos besoins ». Précisons enfin que le passage à la mensualisation du recouvrement des cotisations permettra de dégager un peu plus de 9 milliards d’euros à investir début 2016.

Les présidents de la Faider et de la F2IC et le délégué général du Cercle des épargnants ont écrit au Premier ministre Jean-Marc Ayrault pour lui demander à être entendus dans le cadre de la concertation sur la remise à plat fiscale annoncée par Matignon. «Malheureusement, les épargnants, trop souvent considérés depuis plsuieurs années comme une simple variable d’ajustement fiscale, pour ne pas les qualifier autrement, ne sont pas encore associés à votre réflexion», regrettent les trois signataires.

Les ventes de logements neufs aux Etats-Unis ont augmenté de 25,4% en octobre, leur plus forte hausse depuis mai 1980, un chiffre qui suggère que la reprise du marché immobilier ne souffre pas de la remontée des taux du crédit. Le département du Commerce a fait état mercredi de 444.000 ventes en rythme annualisé. En septembre, les ventes ont baissé de 6,6%, a-t-il précisé.

Le Mécanisme européen de stabilité (MES) a dégagé un bénéfice net de 185,7 millions d’euros sur les neuf premiers mois de 2013, à comparer à une perte de 500.000 euros au dernier trimestre de 2012. Le bénéfice tient pour l’essentiel à 182 millions d’euros d’intérêts perçus sur des prêts accordés à l’Espagne et à Chypre, pour des montants respectifs de 41,3 et 4,5 milliards d’euros. Son précurseur, le Fonds européen de stabilité financière (FESF), qui a financé les plans de sauvetage de la Grèce, de l’Irlande et du Portugal, a quant à lui réalisé un bénéfice de près de 74 millions sur la période, en hausse de 8,3% par rapport à la même période de 2012.

L’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) attire dans un communiqué l’attention du public sur les agissements de personnes se présentant comme ses salariés ou ses mandataires et qui proposent aux investisseurs français de réaliser des transactions sur des sites d’options binaires non autorisés. «Des particuliers ont signalé à l’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) avoir été démarchés par des personnes se présentant comme salariés ou représentants de l’AMF afin de réaliser des opérations sur des sites d’options binaires, dans le but prétendu de leur permettre de récupérer les sommes précédemment perdues sur de tels sites. En contrepartie, les investisseurs doivent effectuer un versement auprès d’une autre plate-forme d’options binaires», indique le gendarme boursier.

La banque centrale canadienne a maintenu son taux directeur inchangé à 1%. Dans son communiqué, elle met en avant des risques baissiers sur l’inflation, alors que la croissances des prix n’a atteint que 0,7% dans le pays au mois d’octobre.

On the basis of statistics from the Inverco association of Spanish asset management firms, BBVA AM in November posted an increase of EUR600m in its assets, to EUR21.369bn, as net subscriptions represented EUR560m, Expansión reports. This is visibly related to a campaign to win over clients from other asset management firms, by offering a 2% discount on transfers and successful launches of several products.As a result, assets under management by BBVA AM as of 30 November were EUR460m higher than those at InverCaixa, compared with only EUR141m one month earlier.This does not concern Santander AM, which took back the top spot from BBVA AM in April, and whose assets have increased by EUR790m in November, to over EUR24bn.In the top rankings, Sabadell has pushed Bankinter out of seventh place, by a minimal margin of EUR5m.

The enthusiasm for China was not enough to snap the current outflow streak for emerging markets equity funds, which now stands at five straight weeks, as investors continue to gravitate towards developed markets equity funds which have absorbed nearly USD350 billion year-to-date, according to EPFR.Hopes that China’s new leadership is committed to reforming the world’s second largest economy have translated into four straight weekly inflows with the latest hitting a 45 week high. YTD redemptions from emerging markets equity funds pushed past the USD20 billion mark in late November.Overall, investors committed USD13.04 billion to EPFR global-tracked equity funds during the week ending November 27 while bond funds took in USD1.24 billion and a net USD2.3 billion flowed out of money market funds.

Funds People reports that the CNMV has issued a sales license for Spain to the Legg Mason Western Asset Macro Opportunities fund, which deploys a global macro and liquid alternative strategy, and aims for maximal returns with a total volatility of 5% to 10%. It is managed by Kenneth Leech and Prashant Chanran. The fund, with daily liquidity, charges a management commission of 1% for the “premier” share class, and 1.5% for the A share class.

Allianz Global Investors has recruited Daniel Lee as head of sales, Fund Web reports. Lee previously worked at Cazenove Capital Management as head of discretionary sales for the United Kingdom. Lee, based in London, reports to the head of sales for the United Kingdom, Fraser Blain.

In the United Kingdom, retail investments aimed at women are far fewer in number than the masculine version. The number of female investors totalled about 5.8 million, compared with 8.4 million men, according to a study by Duncan Lawrie Private Bank. This populaion of female investors is not yet seeking to blaze its own path. A majority of them (54%) take the advice of a financial adviser to manage their investments, while for men, only 36% of them use financial advisers. Among those who have no investment portfolio, nearly one woman in five (17%) say that the mere thought of investing is too worrisome and that they don’t want to lose money, while 18% say that they do now have enough conficende in their knowledge and understanding of investment to get started. The study finds, however, that as women become increasingly present in professional life and their income rises, the number of female investors is expected to increase, and the gap will close with the male investor population.

The head of the investment solutions team at Skandia, James Millard, has left the firm, as the management of the Select range has been integrated into Old Mutual Global Invetors. Millard became head of investment solutions in December 2012, Fund Web reports.The management of the Select range will now be provided by John Ventre and his multi-asset class team. The Select range has been renamed as WealthSelect, and is expected to be launched during first quarter 2014.

Dirk Bradtmüller, who since 2007 had been director at UBS Global Asset Managment, responsible for relationships with banks and fund of fund managers, has been recruited as senior sales director in the distribution team at Henderson Global Investors for Germany, Fonds Professionell reports. He will be responsible for large banking clients, private banks, multi-managers and institutional investors.At UBS Global AM, Bradtmüller will be replaced by Alexander Werani, who had been sales director at ING Investment Managemet in Frankfurt, with responsibility for the wholesale distribution channel in Germany.

The German financial services provider MLP has announced in a market statement on 3 December that Swiss Life has notified it that on 27 November, it sold the remaining 9.9% stake which it held in its capital. At current prices, that represents a sale of over EUR50m.These securities were the remaining 27% stake in MLP which Swiss Life had inherited in the portfolio of AWD, a rival of MLP acquired by Swiss Life, which has since become known as Swiss Life Select.MLP has also announced that, also on 27 November, Fidelity, via FMR LLC, has increased its stake to 7.10% of capital, compared with less than 5% previously.

Hedge funds have evolved to run non-traditional products such as long-only and liquid alternative strategies. The aim is to meet new demand from institutional investors, shows a new survey by Deutsche Bank («Alternatives to Mainstream») quoted by Hedge Week. Institutional investors are moving away from traditional asset allocation in favour of a risk-based approach, incorporating hedge funds into their core portfolio rather than as a separate alternatives allocation. Over half of investor respondents allocate to non-traditional hedge fund products, including 36 per cent who invest in hedge fund-run long only.According to Deutsche Bank, 33 per cent of all investors increased their allocations to non-traditional hedge fund products last year, and another 43 per cent on average plan to increase their allocations over the next 12 months.

Novethic on Wednesday launched the Circle of Institutionals, which is intended to unite investors “driven by a desire to identify and understand the environmental, social and government risks weighing on their investments in order to better control them,” according to the socially responsible investment research centre. The two founding members of the group are the Caisse des Dépôts, the parent company of Novethic, and AG2R La Mondiale. They have been joined by the French pension fund, the Fonds de réserve pour les retraites (FRR), and will soon also be joined by the ERAFP. Two other institutional players are also expected to appear soon, says Anne-Catherine Husson Traore, CEO of Novethic, at a conference organised by the centre. “We are expecting to have 10 members by the end of next year,” she says. The Circle will aim to hold a meeting every quarter on a theme chosen by its members and illuminated by several experts. These might include the carbon bubble, the percentage of women on boards of directors, palm oil, access to water, etc.

Returns on absolute return funds have improved recently, as more than 70% of strategies have posted positive returns in 2012 and 2013, due to a more favourable environment, according to a study published by the financial ratings agency Fitch Ratings. Returns have shown less volatility but have still developed independently of market conditions, particularly volatility and correlation. Over the past three years, the agency says, short-term volatility strategies have performed better as volatility has declined. However, in the more long term, funds which deploy different strategies for low and high volatility environments have shown more stable long-term returns. The best-performing funds use short-term volatility strategies, for example, by exploiting relative value and carry trade to earn the best results when volatility is low, and directional strategies in periods of high volatility. Since the end of 2010, assets under management in absolute return strategies have more than doubled, to nearly EUR200bn, according to figures from Lipper, Fitch Ratings points out. Most absolute return funds use short-term volatility strategies, which have earned better results than long-term strategies since 2010. The drivers of carry performance and relative value have favoured higher returns than directional strategies in a context of declining market volatility, says Michael Arrive, senior director of the Fund and Asset Manager Rating team at Fitch.

In one year, assets at Idinvest Partners have risen from EUR3.3bn to EUR4bn, achieving the market plan announced at the end of 2012 (see Newsmanagers of 12 December 2012). On Tuesday, Christophe Bavière, chairman of the managing board, and Benoist Grossmann, managing partner, reaffirmed their objective of doubling assets under management in five years, but from this new base of EUR4bn. These assets are distributed with EUR2.9bn for financing of European companies (funds of funds, secondary transactions, owners’ equity, senior or mezzanine debt), and EUR1.1bn in financing for young and innovative companies (with the largest Parisian venture fund, focused on information technologies, cleantech and health).The press conference was an occasion for Idinvest Partners to announce that it had raised EUR65m, with Idinvest Private Value Europe, the first fiscal FCPR dedicated to lending to non-public SMEs, which was closed in September, and that it is launching a successor fund, Idinvest Private Value Europe II, whose inflow objectives are about EUR80-90m. The subscription period is open in principle until January 2015.

“Concrete integration of environmental, social and government criteria is not progressing,” Novethic finds in its most recent survey of ESG strategies of European institutional investors. 65% of institutionals do say that they have adopted a policy or charter which explains how they take ESG criteria into account in financial management, 23% more than in 2011. But the 19% who had planned to formalise their socially responsible investment policies last year have still not kept their promises. One quarter of the panel have no plans to formalise an SRI policy. A larger number of respondents who had formalised an SRI policy this year than in 2012 are interested in controversial subjects, such as investments in commodities and offshore havens. Only controversial weapons are among their priorities. Only 10% of European institutionals have adopted sector policies, which define the conditions under which they wish to invest in sensitive sectors or activities (arms, palm oil, etc.). This is a sign for Novethic that SRI policies “remain for the most part superficial.” This reduced involvement on the part of insitutionals may arise from the fact that they do not feel under pressure from stakeholders, Novethic suggests. The other factors slowing the development and integration of ESG cited by institutionals are the cost of implementation, short-term regulatory attitudes, doubts about financial performance, and others. Novethic notes, however, that ESG is an increasingly familiar concept. In addition, the control of long-term risks is gradually becoming the main motivation for institutionals to integrate ESG criteria, which represents a note of hope for the future.

At its first intervention, the new Paris management of Invesco AM can only express its satisfaction. The figures for continental Europe in general and for France in particular are expected to make 2013 a record year for the asset management firm. Matthieu Grosclaude, deputy CEO and chief operating officer for Cross Border Retail, assisted by Olivier Brouwers, head of Retail Business for Benelux, Northern Europe and France, have reported net inflows on the continent as of 30 September of USD9.6bn, bringing assets under management by the firm to USD51.6bn in this part of the world. In detail, cross-border funds from Invesco excelled this year, as Grosclaude pointed out that in terms of net flows, the retail proportion was 7% for Europe, excluding money markets. “And the market is promising for these funds,” the director adds, pointing to net inflows for the industry of over USD220bn. Invesco’s assets under management have risen from USD665bn as of the end of 2012 to EUR745bn as of the end of September, while the proportion for Europe is only 7%, compared with 68% for the United States (USD502.5bn) and 15% for the United Kingdom (USD113.1bn). Grosclaude has also welcomed a record year for Invesco France. As of the end of October, net inflows totalled USD500m, two thirds of which was from institutional clients, and the remainder from funds of funds and private banks. In total, the head notes, French clients represent assets of EUR3.5bn, In addition to which there are EUR900m for the multi-management activity. The asset management firm is not planning to lose this momentum in 2014. To achieve this, it is planning to launch a new multi-asset fund as an addition to its balanced range. This addition to the product range from Invesco AM will concern continental Europe exclusively, as the product already exists in Great Britain. The firm also wishes to strengthen the ability of its products to meet local or regulatory needs. Lastly, the ETF range from PowerShares will not be overlooked next year. “It will be added to,” Brouwers confirms.

The US business bank Goldman Sachs is concerned that the United Kingdom may leave the European Union following a referendum, and is threatening to move most of its activities to the euro zone, to Paris or Frankfurt, Les Echos reports. The business bank states, however, that this prospect is still a long way off, as it is not yet certain that there will be a referendum in the United Kingdom.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Group is recruiting for its distribution teams dedicated to the Middle East and North Africa regions, Funds Europe reports. The firm has appointed Jad Shams to the newly-created position of head of sales for these two markets. Shams, who had previously been director of Natixis Global Asset Management in Dubai, will be based in London, and will oversee the development of sales of the Luxembourg Sicav Mirae Asset Global Discovery Fund in the Middle East. Mirae Asset has EUR44.3bn in assets under management.

The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, Government Pension Fund – Global (GPFG, USD818bn), on 3 December announced that it has acquired a 25% stake in the Quadrant property (25,000 square metres) in Regent Street in London’s West End. The sale price was GBP97.5m.The remaining 75% of Quadrant 3 will continue to be held by the Crown Estate, which will also continue to manage the property.

La société Athymis Gestion lance Safir, un fonds d’allocation d’actifs qui se définit comme «clé en main » pour les conseillers en gestion de patrimoine.L’OPCVM propose une allocation dynamique dont l’objectif est de surperformer l’indice de référence composé de 50% d’actions et 50% d’obligations via, respectivement, les indices MSCI Daily net total return World Euro et Euro MTS Global Index. Le fonds associe trois sociétés de gestion spécialisées dans différents domaines : Athymis Gestion, pour l’allocation d’actifs, Fourpoints IM spécialiste de la gestion actions de croissance et Schelcher Prince Gestion, pour les obligations.

Le cabinet d’avocats Reed Smith était conseil de Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners et de ses co-investisseurs pour l’entrée de son fonds Winch Capital 2 au capital du groupe Star’s Service Le groupe Star’s Service, leader français de la logistique du dernier kilomètre, entend accélérer sa diversification au cours des prochaines années à travers un programme soutenu de croissance externe. Afin de soutenir ce développement, les actionnaires du groupe dirigé par Hervé Street ont décidé de structurer un nouveau tour de table: Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, au travers du fonds Winch Capital 2, accompagné de Socadif et BNP Paribas Développement, prennent une participation minoritaire aux côtés d’Hervé Street et de son équipe dirigeante.Cette transaction permet de déboucler l’opération de sponsorless arrangée par Capzanine en 2010 avec la sortie des investisseurs financiers Capzanine, Naxicap et Agregator/Backbone.L’équipe de Reed Smith était menée par Emmanuel Vergnaud, associé en corporate, et composée de Mickaël Levi et Maëliss Bourbon, collaborateurs en corporate, Alexandre Tron, associé en financement, Stéphane Letranchant, counsel en fiscal et Séverine Martel, counsel en droit social.

L’ex-directeur général de BNP Paribas REIM vient d’annoncer la création d’Atlantistar, une société de services de levée de fonds et de conseil en immobilier. David Aubin a pour ambition de proposer à son réseau d’investisseurs d’Asie, du Golfe et d’Europe des opportunités d’investissement et de création de valeur (bureaux, hôtels, commerces, santé, ..) en Europe. Atlantistar offre également des prestations de conseil stratégique (fusions-acquisitions, structuration et financement, corporate finance). Sa société-soeur, Aureus, également fondée et dirigée par David Aubin, participe à des investissements dans des projets sélectionnés.David Aubin était précédemment Directeur Général de BNP Paribas REIM (2010-2013), après avoir dirigé le groupe Institutions Financières (« FIG ») de BNP Paribas pour l’Europe. Avant cette date, David Aubin a travaillé comme Managing Director au sein des activités de marché de Société Générale (Dérivés-Actions en 1997-2004, Marché Primaire Obligataire en 2004-2007).

Selon L’Agefi qui cite une information du Wall Street Journal, Apollo Global Management aurait noué un accord pour l’acquisition pour 240 millions de dollars d’American Gaming Systems, spécialiste de la fabrication des machines à sous à Las Vegas.

Pour muscler son épargne financière, Boursorama, la filiale de la Société Générale va mettre en place dès cette semaine, en pré-ouverture, une offre de plans d'épargne en actions PEA-PME, à un mois de leur entrée en vigueur officielle, indique L’Agefi. Pour 2014, Boursorama Banque veut également lancer un produit de prévoyance, en partenariat avec un assureur qui reste à trouver.

Le groupe Kepler Cheuvreux a annoncé le 3 décembre l’acquisition du spécialiste des produits structurés Derivatives Capital. Avec plus de 1,2 milliard d’euros de produits structurés intermédiés en 2013, ce rapprochement donnera naissance à la première plateforme indépendante en France de produits structurés. Derivatives Capital, qui deviendra Derivatives Capital Kepler Cheuvreux, étendra son offre de services au travers des expertises métiers de Kepler Cheuvreux, parmi lesquels une analyse financière de premier plan en Europe ainsi qu’une recherche cross asset et une ingénierie financière dédiées. Kepler Cheuvreux intensifiera sa stratégie de croissance et élargira sa couverture clients grâce à l’expertise acquise par Derivatives Capital sur le marché français.Kepler Cheuvreux est un leader dans les services d’intermédiation, de recherche financière et de conseil indépendants en Europe. Le groupe exerce dans quatre secteurs d’activités : Actions, Dette & Crédit, Corporate Finance et Investment Solutions. L’équipe de Derivatives Capital rejoindra celle d’Investment Solutions, la ligne métier de Kepler Cheuvreux spécialisée dans la création et la distribution de produits structurés. Julien Marette, Président fondateur de Derivatives Capital, sera nommé Managing Partner de l’activité Investment Solutions dirigée par Nicolas Miara-Godet.«Après la récente acquisition de Cheuvreux qui a considérablement renforcé le Groupe en termes d’analyse financière et de couverture clients, le rapprochement avec Derivatives Capital marquera un tournant dans l’expansion du business Investment Solutions chez Kepler Cheuvreux », commente Nicolas Miara-Godet. Julien Marette ajoute: «Dans un marché où la taille critique devient un enjeu majeur la présence multi-locale, la qualité de l’actionnariat et la volumétrie de Kepler Cheuvreux seront autant d’atouts pour renforcer notre leadership sur le marché français et accélérer notre développement en Europe». La ligne métier Investment Solutions est spécialisée dans la recherche, la conception et la distribution de produits structurés sur-mesure sur toutes les classes d’actifs (actions, taux d’intérêt, matières premières, devises, fonds,…). La plateforme, organisée en architecture ouverte, offre des solutions d’investissement et de couverture adaptées à tous les clients professionnels: Institutionnels, Corporate et Gestions Privées (banques privées, sociétés de gestion, conseillers en gestion de patrimoine indépendants et réseaux de distribution). Les activités d’Investment Solutions sont dirigées par Nicolas Miara-Godet avec comme responsables adjoints Romain Chassard et, prochainement, Julien Marette. Elles intègrent les fonctions d’ingénierie, vente, marketing et recherche cross asset. Les produits d’Investment Solutions destinés au marché de la distribution seront proposés sous la marque commerciale «Derivatives Capital Kepler Cheuvreux».