La marge d’exploitation de Franklin Resources Inc, gestionnaire connu sous la marque de Franklin Templeton Investments, a diminué pour l’exercice au 30 septembre à 35,4 % contre 37,3 % pour 2010-2011, mais le bénéfice net a progressé à 1.931,4 millions de dollars contre 1.923,6 millions.Au 30 septembre, l’encours ressortait à 749,9 milliards de dollars, contre 659,9 milliards un an auparavant. L’augmentation de 90 milliards de dollars ou de 14 % en un an est attribuable à l’effet de marché pour 96,4 milliards de dollars qui a été en partie compensé par 2,3 milliards de remboursements nets (contre 36,4 milliards de souscriptions nettes pour le précédent exercice).

La société de gestion italienne Arca SGR, gérant 16 milliards d’euros, vient de signer un accord de distribution avec la banque italienne Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara. De cette manière, ses fonds seront commercialisés via les agences des 137 filiales de l’établissement en Italie. L’accord a été noué pour une durée de 10 ans.

Invesco a enregistré pour septembre des souscriptions nettes de 301 millions d’euros en Italie, rapporte Bluerating, citant Assogestioni. La société américaine est ainsi le premier acteur étranger en termes de collecte nette pour la deuxième fois en trois mois. Sergio Trezzi, managing director d’Invesco pour l’Italie et co-responsable de l’activité européenne retail en Europe, juge que le marché italien offre de grandes opportunités aux sociétés de gestion capable de se distinguer par la qualité de leurs produits, leur offre mondiale et leur indépendance.

En douze mois, l’encours des fonds du Banco Sabadell s’est accru de 4,2 % pour atteindre au 30 septembre 8,56 milliards d’euros tandis que celui des fonds de pension gonflait de 32,2 % à 3,58 milliards d’euros. Ces hausses sont dues selon Funds People à l’intégration de la caisse d’épargne CAM et ne proviennent pas d’une action délibérée, au contraire.De fait, le Sabadell a incité ses clients à se porter sur des produits de passif, sur des dépôts. D’ailleurs, le montant des commissions de gestion a diminué durant les neuf premiers mois de l’année de 15,9 % à 76,1 millions d’euros, justement pour cette raison, a expliqué l’administrateur délégué Jaime Guardiola.Le groupe Sabadell a enregistré pour janvier-septembre une chute de 56,3 % son bénéfice net à 90,6 millions d’euros, en raison des provisions liées à l’immobilier.

Selon le rapport trimestriel du groupe Santander, le bénéfice net du pôle gestion d’actifs est ressorti pour les fonds d’investissement à 48 millions d’euros sur les neuf premiers mois de l’année, soit 49,9 % de plus que pour janvier-septembre 2011, tandis que celui dégagé sur les fonds de pension, à 7 millions d’euros, progressait de 7,6 %.L’encours au 30 septembre ressortait à 140,1 milliards d’euros, soit 1 % de plus que fin 2011, dont 103 milliards en fonds d’investissement et fonds de pension. La gestion traditionnelle représentait un volume de 137 milliards d’euros, l’alternatif les quelque 3 milliards restants.A l’échelon du groupe Santander, le bénéfice net des trois premiers trimestres accuse une chute de 66 % à 1.804 millions d’euros, après 3.475 millions d’euros de provisions destinées à couvrir les risques immobiliers en Espagne.

La distribution des bonus annuels reste un moment fort dans la vie de chaque professionnel de la finance. Les attentes ne sont toutefois pas les mêmes d’un coté et de l’autre de l’Atlantique. Selon deux récentes études menées par eFinancialCareers, les professionnels de la City sont 41% à se déclarer «plus inquiets» sur ce sujet qu’ils ne l’étaient en 2011. 29% des financiers londoniens s’attendent à recevoir des bonus inférieurs à ceux perçus en 2011. Ils sont même 18% à penser qu’ils n’en auront pas du tout. En 2011, ils n'étaient que 11% à estimer qu’ils n’auraient pas de bonus. Le pessimisme semble bien ancré dans les esprits des professionnels de la City puisque 52% s’attendent à une diminution du bonus sur les trois prochaines années. De l’autre côté de l’océan, le moral semble en revanche au beau fixe. Pour 48% des professionnels de la finance de Wall Street, soit 7 points de pourcentage de plus que l’an passé, le bonus 2012 sera supérieur à celui de 2011. Ils ne sont que 10% à déclarer qu’ils ne pensent pas recevoir de bonus cette année. 58% s’attendent à ce que leurs bonus continuent de croître ou restent stables au cours des trois prochaines années. Parmi ceux-là, 53% envisagent un retour aux bonus versés en 2006-2007. 44% des sondés aux Etats-Unis considèrent l’argent comme leur principale motivation au travail.

Standard Life Investments vient de lancer le Emerging Market Debt OEIC Fund, un fonds de dette émergente destiné à des investisseurs particuliers et institutionnels. Le produit, dont l’indice de référence est le JP Morgan EMBI Global Diversified, sera principalement investi en dette libellée en dollars.L’équipe dette émergente, dirigée par Richard House, investira en fonction d’une approche fondamentale, macro-économique et en utilisant une analyse détaillée des pays pour bâtir un portefeuille de meilleures idées.

Andreas Dahl a quitté Cheuvreux pour rejoindre l’équipe gérant le hedge fund Carve au sein de la société suédoise Brummer & Parters, rapporte Realtid.se. Carve est géré par quatre gérants sous la direction de Per Josefsson.

The Global Multi Asset unit of JP Morgan has announced the launch of a new series of target date funds, with a passive management component. The ten new strategies offered by JP Morgan in the SmartRetirement Blend range use the same allocation models as its reference target date funds, the SmartRetirement range, whose assets under management total over USD12bn. The latter funds are managed actively, while the new funds will use ETFs based on indices to allocate to certain asset classes, such as US equities.

Acropole Asset Management this summer launched Acropole Patrimoine, a fund of funds developed on the basis of eight funds of its product range, with three allocations, to convertibles, credit and absolute returns. The asset management firm specialised in convertible bonds is planning to use the product as a bridgehead to retail clients, via private banks and independent financial advisers. Virtually all of its assets have hitherto come from institutional clients, who are more familiar with this relatively technical asset class. Acropole AM now holds a 7% market share in convertible bonds. But with the arrival of new competitors in this asset class, which is largely a province of institutional investors, the asset management firm needs to turn to new sales outlets for its products. It is hoping to bring in up to EUR50m for Acropole Patrimoine in the next 18 to 24 months. After a first foray into the French retail market, Acropole AM will next attach the European retail market, with this fund as the advance guard. Acropole AM currently has slightly under EUR800m in assets under management. “Net inflows have totalled EUR50m since the beginning of the year, while market effects have also come to EUR50m,” says Jacques Joakimides, chairman of the asset management firm. Characteristics of the fund ISIN code: I-class shares (minimal subscription: EUR100,000) FR0011263524, R-class shares FR0011263532 Management fees: I-class shares: 0.3%; R-class shares: 1.2% Variable management fees: 10% on performance exceeding the capitalised Eonia Subscription commission: Maximum 1%, not paid into the fund

The ratings agency Standard & Poor’s on 25 October lowered its rating of BNP Paribas by one notch, from AA- to A+, and placed it on a negative ratings watch, alongside other businesses such as BPCE, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale and Crédit Mutuel, among the major French brands. Standard & Poor’s explains that it took the measures due to a deterioration of conjuncture in France. In addition to BNP Paribas, the agency has cut its ratings for Banque Solfea, an affiliate of the energy group GDF Suez dedicated to financing housing renovations, from A+ to A, and for Cofidis, a consumer credit affiliate of Crédit Mutuel, from A- to BBB+.

EFG Financial Products, which has recently been admitted to trading, has announced that on 19 October it was notified that the sovereign fund Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte. Ltd (GIC) and JPMorgan Chase, via JPMorgan Asset Management and JPMorgan Investment Management, have passed the 3% threshold in its capital, and now control 3.38% and 3.24% of shares in circulation, respectively.

In 12 months, assets in funds at Banco Sabadell have increased by 4.2%, to a total of EUR8.56bn as of September, while pension funds have gained 32.2% to EUR3.58bn. Funds People reports that these gains are due to the integration of the savings bank CAM, and are not due to any deliberate actions; to the contrary.Sabadell has in fact been encouraging its clients to move to liability-side products, like savings deposits. Management commission levels have fallen in the first nine months of the year by 15.9%, to EUR76.1m, for precisely this reason, deputy director Jaime Guardiola explains.The Sabadell group has posted a decline of 56.3% in its net profits in January-September, to EUR90.6m, due to provisions related to real estate.

According to the quarterly report from the Santander group, net profits in the asset management unit from investment funds have totalled EUR48m in the first nine months of the year, 49.9% more than in January-September 2011, while profits from pension funds have totalled EUR7m, up 7.6%.Assets as of 30 September totalled EUR140.1bn, 1% more than at the end of 2011, of which EUR103bn are in investment and pension funds. Traditional management represented a volume of EUR137bn, while alternative management accounted for the remaining roughly EUR3bn.Over the Santander group as a whole, net profits in the first three quarters are down 66% to EUR1.804bn, after EUR3.475bn in provisions to cover real estate risks in Spain.

The British firm Barclays has recruited Adeline Chien as managing director and head of ultra high net worth (UHNW) clients in Hong Kong, Asian Investor reports. Chien had previously worked at EFG Bank, where she was head of a team in charge of high net worth clients in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. She has also worked for UBS and Goldman Sachs.

The distribution of annual bonuses continues to be a powerful moment in the life of every finance professional. Expectations are not always the same on either side of the Atlantic. According to two recent studies carried out by eFinancialCareers, 41% of City professionals say they are “more worried” about this subject than they were in 2011. 29% of London-based financial professionals are expecting to receive lower bonuses than they did in 2011, and 18% expect not to receive a bonus at all. In 2011, only 11% predicted that they would not receive a bonus. Pessimism appears to have strongly taken root in the mood of the City, as 52% are expecting their bonuses to fall in the next three years. On the other side of the ocean, morale seems to be on the upswing. For 48% of finance professionals on Wall Street, 7 percentage points more than last year, 2012 bonuses will be higher than in 2011, they predict. Only 10% say they do not expect to receive a bonus this year, while 58% expect their bonuses to rise or remain stable in the next three years. Of those, 53% are expecting their bonuses to return to 2006-2007 levels. 44% of respondents in the United States consider money their main motivation to work.

Between third and fourth quarter, international fund managers have not altered their positions on equity and bond markets. 50% of participants in the most recent HSBC survey have maintained a neutral outlook on equity markets, and 60% have done so for bonds. Among respondents, 40% are overweight on equity markets, and 20% on bond markets. Overweight positions on money markets have been chosen by 30% of managers.In fourth quarter, for this asset class, North America receives fewer positive opinions than in the previous quarter (60% compared with 70%). The same is true for Europe excluding the UK (40% compared with 50%), Asia-Pacific ex Japan (33% compared with 40%) and Greater China equities (43% compared with 50%). On fixed income markets, 75% of managers are preferring an overweight position on Asian bonds in US dollars, and 63% on Asian bonds in local currencies (compared with 38% and 25% in third quarter 2012). High yield bonds (90% have an overweight position) and emerging markets (70% are overweight) retain the favours of most fund managers.Assets under management at the 13 global asset management firms surveyed total USD4.14trn as of the end of second quarter 2012, down 3.3% compared with the previous quarter, while most of the decline has been due to equity funds (80%). Equity funds have posted net outflows of USD34.2bn. This is the eighth consecutive quarter of redemptions, HSBC says.The 13 fund management firms participating in the survey are: AllianceBernstein, Allianz Global Investors, Baring Asset Management, BlackRock, Eastspring Investments, Fidelity Investment Management, Franklin Templeton Investments, HSBC Global Asset Management, Invesco Asset Management, Investec Asset Management, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Schroders Investment Management et Lyxor Asset Management.The full statistics from the study are available as an attachment (pdf).

Standard Life Investments has launched its Emerging Market Debt OEIC Fund, aimed at both retail and institutional investors. Benchmarked against the JP Morgan EMBI Global Diversified Index, the fund will aim to provide income, with some capital growth, over the long term by investing primarily in US dollar denominated emerging market debt. The EMD team, led by Richard House, will invest by taking a research driven, top-down view and using detailed country analysis to build a portfolio of their best investment ideas.

MAM funds is planning to offer all of its funds under the brand name Milton by the end of the year, Money Marketing reports. The website states, however, that the final decision has not yet been taken. The firm currently offers its funds under three brand names: Milton, Midas and Acuim, following several mergers in the past five years.

Since 25 October, the listings on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform (Deutsche Börse) include a 1,006th ETF, following the admission to trading of the SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate ETF from State Street Global Advisors (SSgA).The Irish-registered product replicates the Dow Jones Global Select Real Estate Securities Index. It is an ETF of equities in realty firms worldwide, and the 43rd ETF from SPDR to be listed in Europe, marking the opening of this range to a new asset class. It is a physical replication fund, which is also licensed for sale in Ireland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.CharacteristicsName: SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate ETFISIN code: IE00B8GF1M35TER: 0.40%

The central asset management firm for the German savings banks, DekaBank, on 25 October announced the launch of an “immediate retirement solution” for retirement planning for those in the 60-67 age group. The Deka-RenteDirekt wrapper allows, with a single payment of at least EUR10,000, for a guaranteed minimum payment, combined with more flexible investment.Investments will continue until the 85th birthday of the saver into Deka Investment funds, while benefits will follow a redemption plan initially, and will then roll over into a life annuity from Öffentliche Versicherung Braunschweig, from the 85th birthday.Costs for the plan are EUR10 per year. At the start of the redemption plan, subscribers will pay a fee which will depend on the various funds used. On the basis of the initial allocation (1/3 Deka ZukunftsPlan I and 2/3 RenditDeka bonds), the front-end fee is 2.7%. Management fees may vary depending on asset allocation from 0.48% to 0.52% per year.

A regulatory requirement for all constant net asset value European money market funds to switch to a partial variable net asset value model would have little impact on fund ratings, Fitch Ratings says. Fitch thinks a move to partial variable net asset value (VNAV) funds - where assets with a residual maturity of less than three months continue to be priced on an amortised cost basis - along with new rules to combat liquidity risk, are among the most likely outcomes of the reviews of MMF regulation taking place in Europe. Liquidity risks could also be subject to new rules. The main uncertainty would be the reaction of investors and whether the switch could lead to significant disruption or outflows from a EUR500bn market segment. Fitch will be conducting a survey of investors in the coming weeks to identify the main implications of any regulatory changes.

The US bond team at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) in New York, focused on high yield, has been reinforced with the recruitment of three investment grade analysts. The new arrivals will report to Neil Murray, global head of credit.The new recruits are C. Ryan Miller, who had most recently been vice president & senior credit analyst at JPMorgan Chase Bank, Justin Ziegler (formerly of Keefe, Bruyette and Woods), and finally Martin McCudden, who has been transferred from the SWIP credit team in Edinburgh.

Janus Capital Group reports third quarter net income of USD25.1m vs USD23.4m in Q2; it is however down from USD27.4m for July-September 2011.As of September, 30th, AUM reached USD158.2bn from USD152.4bn three months earlier and USD141bn on September, 30th, 2011.The company states that the increase in assets during the third quart 2012 primarily reflects net market appreciation of USD7.8bn offsetby long-term net outflows of USD2bn. Fixed income and mathematical equity (managed by Intech) long-term net inflows totaled USD1bn and USD0.3bn respectively, while fundamental equity long-term net outflows totaled USD3.3bn

Bruno Vanier and Michel Audeban on 25 October officially launched their asset management firm, Gemway Assets, of which they are president and CEO, respectively, as Newsmanagers reported earlier this month. The presentation took place in the presence of Didier Le Menestrel, chairman of Financière de l’Echiquier, which controls 33.34% of capital, alongside BMVA, the holding company of Bruno Vanier and Michel Audeban (51.66%), and a group of 12 wealth management advisers to family offices (15%). Most of the presentation was dedicated to the first fund from Gemway Assets, GemEquity, which is managed by Vanier with Gerlel Majoros, formerly of Deka in Frankfurt, an then of UniCredito in London, until a third person can be recruited, which is expected during next year. With emerging markets as his chosen terrain, Vanier allies stock-picking mangement for two thirds of the portfolio with top-down management, with the help of two independent research organisations. In detail, the head limits the weight of cyclical stocks to one third of the fund, compared to 2/3 in indices, while the remaining two thirds are dedicated to investment in non-cyclical businesses. “This way,” says Vanier, “volatility is structurally lower.” For distribution, Gemway Assets is placing the emphasis on independent financial advisers, and is now listed on 20 platforms. However, the asset management firm is planning to approach institutional investors, and to enter international markets, where the firm can count on several investor “friends.” GemEquity currently has assets of EUR50m, of which EUR10m are from Financière de l’Echiquier, and has set an objective of EUR100m by the end of next year. Characteristics ISIN code: FR0011268705 (R share class)/FR0011274984 Front-end fee: maximum 3% Performance commission: 15% of positive performance exceeding the MSCI Emerging Markets NR index Size of shares: EUR100

Jean-François Tilquin has joined Convictions Asset Management as head of fixed income. More particularly, he is manager of the Convictions Classic fund, a new fund in the product range from the French asset management firm. Tilquin previously worked at the consulting firm CII Finance, where he was an investment and asset allocation adviser. Between July 2002 and 2008, he was chief investment officer at the Scor group. He has also been head of bond and diversified management business at Axa IM in Tokyo.

The Additional public function retirement establishment (ERAFP) has awarded two asset management mandated and four stand-by manager mandates under its policy to extend its investment universe, in line with its SRI charter. The ERAFP in February 2012 launched a restricted request for proposals, composed of two lots, with the objective of awarding convertible bond management mandates for the European region, with the ability to invest up to 20% outside Europe, in the Global region. Following the selection procedure, the ERAFP has decided to award the first lot, Convertible bonds in the European region – non-benchmarked SRI management, to the Schelcher Prince Gestion company. Acropole Am and Natixis Asset Management are the stand-by managers. Lot no. 2, Convertible bonds in the Global region – non-benchmarked SRI management, has been awarded to the Lombard Odier Gestion company. BNP Paribas Asset Management and Fisch Asset Management are the stand-by managers.

In third quarter, investment funds managed by ABC Arbitrage attracted a net total of EUR21.5m in net subscriptions, bringing the total in the first nine months of the year to EUR250m. Assets as of the end of September totalled EUR450m.The firm states that the funds “have posted attractive returns in light of the context, but below the group’s profitability objectives.”

For the fiscal year to September, 30th, 2012, Raymond James Financial reached a record USD295.87m net income vs USD278.35m, which includes 6 month of Morgan Keegan operations, a company that has been acquired on April 2nd, 2012. Excluding pre-tax, acquisition-related charges of USD59m, net income would have been USD334.2m.As of end-September, the company achieved record assets under management of USD42.8bn vs USD32.1bn and record assets under administration at USD390.3bn vs USD255.7bn

For the first nine months of this year, T. Rowe Price Group declares a net profit of USD647.8m, of which USD247.3m for Q3, versus USD584.8m and USD185.5m for the corresponding periods of 2011.As of September, 30th, AUM reached a record USD574.4bn, of which USD 342,9bn in US mutual funds. The USD84.9bn increase from USD489.5bn at end-2011 comes from USD.21.4 net new money and USD63.5bn in market appreciation. .