P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The most recent Emerging-Markets-Investmentbarometer (January) from J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) finds that only 2.7% of 2,000 Germans surveyed by GfK had already invested in “growth regions” of the world, compared with 2.8% in the November survey. However, 96.9% of respondents, compared with 97.1% in November, do not plan to invest in these regions, which Jean-Guido Servais, head of marketing for continental Europe at JPMAM considers difficult to understand.These references certainly point to some scepticism, as 42.7% of Germans do not even know the expression “emerging markets,” while 35.7% (compared with 36.8% in November) consider emerging markets much more risky than euro zone government bonds. However, 36.2% of respondents say they are absolutely not interested in investments in emerging markets, compared with 35% in November.The percentage of respondents who say they plan to invest in emerging markets has risen slightly, from 3.2% in November to 4.5% in January.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The State Street Investor confidence index for February 2013 is up 8.7 points, to 94.8, compared with a corrected level of 86.1 last month. As in January, the increase is primarily attributable to North American institutions, with the regional confidence index up to 99, 13.9 points higher than the previous month (85.1 in corrected figures).Institutional investors in Europe are also showing more optimism, up from 89.4 (corrected) to 92.2 in February. However, the confience of institutional investors in Asia is down, with the regional index at 85.5, down 4.5 points compared with a corrected level of 91 points in January.“In February, we observed continuing demand for equities on the part of institutional investors,” says Ken Froot, creator of the monthly index. “Since the record lows of November last year, appetite for risk has recovered strongly. However, some risks are still taking shape on the horizon, which may soon give cause for reflection, including fiscal negotiations in the United States, the results of elections in Italy, and the direction that the policy of the US Federal Reserve will take. Caution is therefore appropriate. However, we can reasonably conclude that strong and sustained divestment by institutions in the past few years has ended, at least for the moment.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The international pension programme (IPP) market is continuing to develop rapidly, according to the fifth annual study by Towers Watson of multinational groups (“International Pension Plan Survey.”) The study found 33 new international pension programmes in 2012, bringing the total number of such programmes at businesses surveyed to 403. The survey finds that IPPs have developed in multi-country formats, in pan-European structures such as professional retirement institutions (IORP). Defined-contribution programmes remain the most popular form of IPPs, outstripping defined-benefit IPPs that still exist, but which are generally closed to new members. The survey also finds that a new defined-contribution programme was created last year. The number of investment funds offered by IPPs, and their sophistication, are continuing to increase, as about 40% of IPPs offer up to 10 investment funds, and the others offer more than 10. About 40% of IPPs now offer lifestyle options, which take into account demographics, risk profiles, and currencies. “The development of institutional investment funds has led to a reduction in costs for IPP products. That can bring substantial savings for those members who have passive strategies that charge only six basis points. Such fee levels can put these products advantageously in competition with charges on defined-contribution plans in the United States and the United Kingdom,” says Michael Brough, a senior consultant at Towers Watson.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Angola has recently created a sovereign wealth fund with USD5bn in assets (and USD3.5bn per year thereafter), to distribute a part of its oil revenues to the poor, but political opponents and NGOs have criticised Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos for appointing his son, José Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos, to the three-member executive board chaired by Armando Manuel, economic adviser to the president.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Hans Stoter, head of credit, has been promoted to CIO of ING Investment Management, replacing Mark Weber, who becomes executive vice president of structured assets, loans & alternatives, based in the United States, Citywire reports.The new chief investment officer will be replaced as head of the credit unit by Tim Dowling, who will continue to be based in New York, and who belongs to the US high yield bond team. Dowling will take over the activities of Stoter as principal portfolio manager for ING high yield funds and a mandate for Danske Invest.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For an undiscloased amount, Cecabank, the bank for the Spanish savings banks, has acquired the fund investment depositary, Sicav and pension fund operation of Ibercaja, which has a total volume of EUR9.2bn, Funds People reports. The contract was signed in late 2012, and the transfer of managed accounts by Ibercaja (EUR4.47bn) to Cecabank has already been completed.With this transaction, Cecabank becomes the Spanish leader in depositary, with about EUR44bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Barclays posted net inflows of about CHF3bn last year in Switzerland, Agefi Switerland reports. Assets under management totalled CHF22bn as of the end of 2012, compared with about CHF18bn one year previously. This figure corresponds to assets under management in Switzerland and abroad by employees based in Switzerland, as well as assets managed on the Swiss platform by employees of the rest of the group. Barclays activities in Switzerland have thus doubled in size, with the proportion in private management as such and activities on the platform made available to other entities of the group. At a time when the financial marketplace is going through a reorganisation which is considered necessary, “Switzerland remains a key element in the international development of Barclays,” says the group’s CEO, Patrick Ramsey. Groupwide, assets under management total GBP186bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management by Swiss Life Asset Managers, a brand from Swiss Life which since the beginning of this year has included activities in the Investment Management sector, as of the end of December totalled CHF148bn, compared with CHF134bn the previous year, according to a statement released on 27 February.Of these assets, the proportion from third-party clients increased 24%, due to new mandates and positive market evolution, and now tops CHF20bn. Net inflows alone totalled over CHF2bn.In 2012, Swiss Life improved its corrected cost/income ratio taking into account one-time elements to 26%. From CHF788m, they are up to CHF993m, as corrected net profits totalled CHF681m, up 22% compared with the previous year (CHF557m).Largely due to amortisations of intangible assets of AWD (CHF578m), supplementary provisions for lawsuits, and restructuring costs related to the new “Swiss Life 2015” programme, net profits total CHF93m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Financial Times reports that JPMorgan will lay off 17,000 jobs over two years, largely in mortgage (13,000 to 15,000 jobs) and consumer banking. The job cuts, which represent 7% of the bank’s employees, are partially offset by recruitments in the asset management, private banking and commercial banking professions, the newspaper reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the wake of the recruitment of its new US Credit team in Philadelphia, announced on 13 February, Henderson Global Investors on 26 February announced that it has added to its teams in Singapore and London. All of these recruitments, in the United States, Europe and Asia, aim to strengthen the presence of Henderson Global Investors internationally, in order to develop global solutions to serve the needs of international clients. In Asia, Yann Ling Wong joined the real estate equity team for Asia-Pacific at the end of December as an analyst. She will be based in Singapore, and will report to Tim Gibson. The recruitment comes less than 3 months afte the appointment of Shiro Tsubota, CEO for Japan, and Mabel Chan, Director of Disribution for Asia. Ling had previously been involved in the development of sales centres and banking services at Standard Chartered Bank. The Real Estate Equity Asia-Pacific team plans to develop its presence selectively on a highly competitive market, where valuation levels are considered attractive and can respond to a rise in appetite for risk on the part of investors. Overall, the Asia-Pacific real estate equity team has USD1bn in assets under management, of which USD423m are managed in the Henderson Horizon Asia-Pacific Property Equities. In London, Paul O’Connor joined Henderson Global Investors on 28 January as head of multi-management. O’Connor will report to Bill McQuaker, and will be responsible for asset allocation for several funds of the multi-management range, as well as the development of products and services for investors. O’Connor had previusly been head of allocation for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region at Mercer Investment Consulting, and worked as a strategist and proprietary trader at Credit Suisse for 14 years. This is the second recruitment in a month for the multi-management team at Henderson Global Investors, which in December acquired a new senior manager, James de Bunsen, who joined from Armstrong Investment Managers. The multi-management team at Henderson Global Investors has over GBP5.4bn in asstes under management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Zurich-based Stoxx Ltd has announced that a license to use the Euro Stoxx 50 index has been awarded to China Universal, which is planning to launch an ETF to replicate the index. It is the first time that a Euro Stoxx 50 license has been awarded for an ETF on the Chinese market. Currently, there are a total of 21 ETFs worldwide based on this index.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a report on initiatives taken to educate investors («Report on Investor Education Initiatives Relating to Investment Services.») The objective for the initiative is to present a panorama to the members of the international organisation and the public of the various approaches used by supervisory authorities to initiate retail investors into questions concerning investment in financial products sold by intermediaries. The report finds that there is a variety of approaches. Some jurisdictions have placed eduction at the centre of their strategy, in order to ensure that investors are protected. But some authorities limit their education initiatives to the publication of alerts for investors. A very widespread practice in education is to structure the population of investors into target groups, each of which has a specific risk profile and variable financial knowledge. For example, in emerging countries, where the middle classes are developing rapidly, middle incomes represent a choice target. The report finds that many supervisory authorities have not set up processes to evaluate their various initiatives. IOSCO finds that one authority, AMF Quebec, is in the process of setting up an alphabetical financial index to measure the impact of financial education initiatives.

Muzinich & Co. a annoncé mardi 28 février avoir enregistré 4,2 milliards d’euros de souscriptions nettes en 2012, ce qui porte le montant de ses actifs sous gestion à 16,8 milliards d’euros fin décembre, soit une hausse de l’ordre de 60% par rapport à 2011. Pour sa part, le bureau parisien, couvrant la zone Europe francophone – France, Belgique, Suisse romande, Luxembourg et Monaco – a drainé 1,7 milliards d’euros de souscriptions nettes, essentiellement auprès de clients tels que des banques privées, des family offices, des multi-managers et des institutionnels, et représente plus de 3 milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion. En 2013, Muzinich & Co. entend poursuivre la commercialisation du LongShortCreditYield, dernier compartiment du UCITs « Muzinich Funds » lancé en juin 2012 qui affiche 70 millions d’euros d’encours à ce jour. La société de gestion compte également activement proposer ses deux fonds de Loans lancés en 2006 et 2008 après une refonte du prospectus en vue d’en améliorer la liquidité, précise un communiqué."Deux autres projets pour lesquels des recrutements ont été effectués sont en voie d'être finalisés», ajoute-t-on chez Muzinich & Co. «Le premier concerne le lancement d’une stratégie «Global Tactical» dans le Corporate Crédit qui aura pour objectif de délivrer une performance absolue via une allocation dans toutes les signatures, sur toutes les zones géographiques, y compris les pays émergents, et une gestion de la duration. Le second consiste à accompagner le mouvement de désintermédiation bancaire en Europe en lançant des fonds de droit luxembourgeois investis dans des dettes de sociétés de taille moyenne avec un EBITDA de 10 à 50 millions d’Euros."Enfin, pour le développement et le service des clients suisses et belges, Eric Pictet, directeur général du bureau de Paris, doit s’appuyer sur une nouvelle collaboratrice qui vient de rejoindre la structure parisienne.

Hans Stoter, head of credit, a été promu CIO d’ING Investment Management en remplacement de Maark Weber, qui devient executive vice president of structured assets, loans & alternatives aux Etats-Unis, rapporte Citywire.Le nouveau directeur des investissements sera remplacé à la tête du pôle crédit par Tim Dowling, qui reste basé à New York et qui fait partie de l’équipe des obligations haut rendement américaines. Tim Dowling reprendra les activités de Hans Stoter comme gérant de portefeuille principal sur deux fonds haut rendement d’ING et un mandat pour Danske Invest.

Pour un montant non divulgué, Cecabank, la banque des caisses d'épargne espagnoles, achète l’activité de dépositaire de fonds d’investissement, de sicav et de fonds de pension d’Ibercaja, qui représente un volume de 9,2 milliards d’euros, rapporte Funds People. Le contrat a été signé fin 2012 et le transfert des fonds gérés par Ibercaja (4,47 milliards d’euros) à Cecabank a déjà été bouclé.Avec cette transaction, Cecabank devient le leader espagnol des dépositaires, avec quelque 44 milliards d’euros.

L’Angola a créé récemment un fonds souverain de 5 milliards de dollars (et 3,5 milliards annuels ensuite) pour distribuer aux pauvres une partie des revenus du pétrole, mais les opposants politiques et les ONG ont critiqué le président José Eduardo dos Santos pour avoir nommé son fils, José Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos, dans le comité exécutif de trois membres présidé par Armando Manuel, le conseil économique du président.

En 2012, les 150 SCPI sont demeurées au rythme de collecte atteint ces dernières années, avec un total annuel dépassant les 2,5 milliards d’euros. Ce niveau de collecte nette connaît un léger tassement par rapport à 2011 (- 9,9 %) en raison du net recul des SCPI « immobilier résidentiel » : en particulier, les SCPI « Scellier » se limitent à 82,08 millions d’euros, dans la même veine que le retrait sensible des investisseurs particuliers « en direct » (- 42%, source : FPI). Sur la même période, les SCPI « immobilier d’entreprise » ont de leur côté atteint des niveaux record d’attractivité avec un total de 2,323 milliards en progression de 10,8% par rapport aux douze mois précédents.

Après les doutes de la semaine dernière, le président de la Fed a réaffirmé devant le Congrès que les rachats d’obligations d’Etat restaient nécessaires.

La Commission de régulation chinoise des marchés a changé ses règles pour autoriser les titulaires d’un passeport de Hong Kong, Macao ou Taïwan mais résidant en Chine continentale d’ouvrir des comptes de trading leur permettant d’investir dans des actions chinoises de classe A, indique le China Securities Journal. Une annonce officielle pourrait être faite dans les prochaines semaines.

La société américaine de private equity vise selon le South China Morning Post une collecte de 2 milliards de dollars pour un fonds dédié au secteur immobilier, qui réalisera des «investissements de grande envergure» au sein des «principales puissances économiques asiatiques». Le fonds souverain China Investment Corp et l’Autorité monétaire de Singapour vont «très probablement» prendre part à l’aventure.

Les autorités chinoises vont réclamer plus de transparence aux banques sur leurs activités hors bilan et limiter leur poids à 20% des dépôts

Le président exécutif de l’opérateur boursier de Chicago, Terrence Duffy, a assuré dans un entretien à la chaîne télévisée que l’augmentation des volumes traités trouvait sa source dans les acquisitions passées et que le groupe conservait un certain appétit pour les rapprochements de grande ampleur. Un entretien diffusé alors que Bloomberg a fait état lundi de discussions engagées entre CME Group et Deutsche Börse. L’opérateur allemand a démenti, l’américain est resté muet. Le CME a acquis le Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) en 2007 et le New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) l’année suivante pour un montant total de 20 milliards de dollars.

L'instabilité politique promet au moins plusieurs semaines de volatilité, et complique l'action de la BCE

L'arrivée de nouveaux investisseurs dynamise le marché du financement immobilier. CA CIB joue la carte des financements innovants

Le CAE, qui conseille le gouvernement, juge les aides au logement inefficaces et propose de taxer les stocks pour faciliter la baisse des prix

La filiale d’Axa a retrouvé une collecte positive l’an dernier et une croissance de ses encours. Le cas de sa filiale Rosenberg étant réglé, le gérant veut continuer à déployer ses expertises en Europe et en Asie, notamment auprès des institutionnels, en attendant une relance aux Etats-Unis.

Le président de la Fed entend maintenir une politique accommodante malgré les divergences sur les rachats d'actifs révélées la semaine dernière

Le gestionnaire de crédit londonien a placé sans difficulté ce qui est seulement la troisième transaction de ce type depuis 2008

L'instabilité politique promet au moins plusieurs semaines de volatilité, et complique l'action de la BCE

La collecte est redevenue positive l'an dernier. Le gérant continue à se développer en Europe et en Asie, en attendant la relance aux Etats-Unis