Le Comité de politique monétaire a maintenu le dispositif de soutien à l'économie américaine dévoilé il y a six semaines

Les économistes espèrent un retour de la croissance avant mi-2013

...

Les économistes espèrent un retour de la croissance avant mi-2013

Dans le cadre de sa politique d'élargissement de son univers d’investissement et en conformité avec les cinq valeurs de sa charte ISR, l’Etablissement de retraite additionnelle de la fonction publique (ERAFP) vient d’attribuer 2 mandats actifs et 4 mandats stand-by de gestion financière. L’ERAFP a lancé en février 2012 un appel d’offres restreint, composé de deux lots, dont l’objet est l’attribution de mandats d’obligations convertibles sur la zone Europe, avec la possibilité d’investir jusqu'à 20% hors d’Europe, et sur la zone Monde. A l’issue de la procédure de sélection, l’ERAFP a décidé d’attribuer le lot n°1, Obligations convertibles de la zone Europe - gestion ISR non benchmarkée, à la société Schelcher Prince Gestion. Acropole AM et Natixis Asset Management sont les gérants suppléants. Le lot n°2, Obligations convertibles de la zone Monde - gestion ISR non benchmarkée a lui été attribué à la société Lombard Odier Gestion. BNP Paribas Asset Management et Fisch Asset Management sont les gérants suppléants. Pour l’ensemble des lots, la composition du portefeuille décidée par l’entreprise d’investissement sélectionnée devra être conforme au dispositif ISR de l’ERAFP. Pour cela l’entreprise d’investissement devra analyser chaque obligation convertible de son portefeuille et de l’indice utilisé comme univers pour l’application du principe de best in class au regard du dispositif ISR de l’ERAFP par ses propres moyens et/ou en s’appuyant sur des ressources externes. Les montants investis estimés à un horizon de trois ans sont de l’ordre de 80 millions d’euros sur la zone Europe et 130 millions d’euros sur la zone Monde. La durée initiale du marché est de quatre ans avec la possibilité pour l’ERAFP de reconduire le marché pour deux périodes successives de deux ans chacune.

As of 30 September, total assets at 3,866 Luxembourg funds came to EUR2.314448trn, compared with EUR2.295399trn one month earlier, and EUR2.296717trn as of the end of August, according to statistics from the CSSF. Assets under management in specialised investment funds (SIF) represented EUR10.715bn.

The British Financial Services Authority (FSA) has sanctioned two firms, Plus500UK Limited and James Sharp and Company, for failing to send detailed reports within the required deadlines on transactions completed between 2007 and 2011. The two firms have been fined GBP205,128 and GBP49,000, respectively. The FSA has also filed actions against former independent financial advisers who no longer had licenses to practice their activities.

Old Mutual Global Investors on 24 October announced that Anthony Gillham has been appointed as the sole manager of the Skandia Stategic Bond Fund (GBP165m). The statement does not allude to the fact that Gillham had co-managed the fund with Adam Smears, head of investment research, who is not part of the newly-formed management team at Old Mutual GI (see elsewhere in Newsmanagers), and that the latter has left the business.

A deterioration in the quality of credit from European businesses has been relatively marked in the first half of the year, even though few of these businesses have defaulted, the financial ratings agency Standard & Poor’s reports in a new study (“Europe’s Sovereign Crisis Continues to Erode Credit Quality.”) In the first nine months of the year, there were four ratings downgrades for every one ratings upgrade among both financial and non-financial sector businesses, compared with a ratio of about one to two in the previous two years. Continued access to financing will be a key factor in maintaining this default level, particularly in light of an increase in debt maturing in the next two years, the study finds. In September 2012, the default rate for businesses rated speculative grade was 2.3%, compared with 1.6% at the end of 2011, and 1% in 2010. On 2012, investors accepted a slight increase in their exposure to risk, when they could expect higher returns. That offset weak earnings and reduced refinancing risks, particularly for businesses at the bottom of the ratings scale.

La CNMV a donné son agrément à la commercialisation du fonds à compartiments Fongrum FI d’Inversis Banco, rapporte Funds People. Ce véhicule comporte les fonds Fongrum/Valor et Fongrum/Renta fija mixta. La gestión est confiée à atl2 Capital Gestión.

Open-ended funds in Italy posted net subscriptions in September of EUR1.4bn, according to the most recent statistics from Assogestioni, the Italian association of management professionals. These inflows, entirely to foreign-registered funds, were driven by bond funds, with EUR1.8bn, and balanced funds, with EUR1.3bn. However, equity funds saw outflows of EUR378m, and money market funds, EUR1.1bn. With the addition of closed funds, collective management posted net inflows of EUR1.6bn in September. However, mandated management saw outflows of EUR1bn, of which EUR904m were to institutionals. In terms of players, Banco Popolare ranks first, with net subscriptions of EUR573m, followed by Invesco (EUR301m) and Ubi Banca (EUR268m). At the bottom of the rankings, however, are Generali (-EUR492m), BNP Paribas (-EUR239m) and Credit Suisse (-EUR190m). As of the end of September, open-ended funds on sale in Italy had assets of EUR494bn, while the entire Italian asset management sector (including closed funds and mandates) had EUR990bn.

At the end of third quarter, net profits at comdirect bank (Commerzbank group) were down 6.3% compared with January-September 2011, to a total of EUR53.93m.Assets under administration as of 30 September totalled EUR47.91bn, compared with EUR39.40bn one year earlier, while assets on the B2B platform (ebase) totalled EUR20.62bn, compared with EUR15.20bn.

Morgan Stanley on 24 October announced the launch of a new fund as part of its FundLogic Alternatives range. In partnership with Equinox Fund Management, the MS QTI UCITS Fund is the first fund in a series of four CTA strategies that comply with UCITS format. Equinox is a multi-management firm based in the United States, specialised in the construction of portfolios constructed from CTA programmes. Its nominal assets under management total over USD2bn. The systematic strategy offered by Morgan Stanley was designed by Quest Parntners, a CTA management firm based in New York.

The French-registered FCP fund CPR Silver Age, launched on 22 December 2009, now has EUR80m in assets, and has posted EUR28m in inflows since the beginning of this year. The EUR100m threshold appears likely to be passed by the end of this year, and CPR Asset Management (Amundi group) received a license from BaFin early in October to sell the fund in Germany, while a license application has also been submitted to the Swiss agency Finma. Sweden is also on the hit list, and CPR has not ruled out creating a Luxembourg-registered clone of the product, to reach a broader client base (also see Newsmanagers of 4 October).The basic idea is to use the secular trend of an ageing population to create a portfolio of 50 securities likely to see long-term growth exceeding that of the economy and European markets. Since launch, as of 15 October, the fund shows returns of 29.9% (22.3% since the beginning of the year), compared with 16.9% (13.3%) for the MSCI Europe index in euros, with dividends reinvested, which is a commercial landmark. The managers, Vafa Ahmadi (director of thematic equity management) and Clément Maclou, have constructed a highly active conviction-based portfolio of about 50 holdings, which differs considerably from this index. This results in significant overweight positions in stocks corresponding to the seven relevant macro-sectors (financial savings, dependency, health equipment, leisure & lifestyle, health products, pharmaceuticals, and security). Though it is not an SRI fund, the managers have incorporated an ethical dimension in their selection of stocks, with the assistance of Vigeo and Amundi ISR. The fund is also advised by a 9-member committee of experts led by Gilles Duthil, chairman of the Silverlife institute, a think tank specialised on the economy of ageing populations.At launch, the fund was primarily of interest to institutional investors, mutual insurers and employee savings structures. Now, it appears to be pertinent to private bankers, multi-managers and asset allocators.

The Blackstone group is preparing to launch a fund which will acquire stakes in hedge fund management firms on the secondary market, as traditional actors such as banks are now pulling out due to sometimes disappointing returns from the sector and regulations, the Reuters agency reports.The activities of Blackstone related to hedge funds have assets under management of USD46.2bn.The size of the new fund, which has not been closed, may reach as much as USD2bn to USD3bn, it is said. Few actors are intervening in this niche activity. One of the largest actors is Neuberger Berman, with its Dyal fund.

Kevin Scherer, a former portfolio manager at Citadel, is planning to launch a hedge fund dedicated to commercial and residential mortgage debt and ABS the news agency Bloomberg reports. The new vehicle, entitled Continuum Investment Management, will be launched in January 2013 by Scherer, with the assistance o three former colleagues from Citadel. It will aim for assets of USD250m.

BNY Mellon in March launched the BNY Mellon Absolute Return Bond Fund, a UCITS IV-compliant version of the absolute return bond fund managed by its boutique Insight Investments (USD280bn in assets under management). The product, managed by Peter Bentley, head of global and British credit, is now on sale in France. The BNY Mellon Absolute Return Bond Fund, which is based on a strategy developed by Insight Investment since 2006, invests both in long and short positions on government bonds, corporate and investment grade debt, corporate high yield debt, ABS, emerging market debt, cash, and money market instruments. The fund, which currently has USD125m in assets, aims to outperform the Euribor 3-month money market index by 3% per year. Risk controlling, a real demand of institutional investors, is an integral part of the fund. Portfolio risks are evaluated with the assistance of a VaR system. The management team defined a “risk unit” framework on the basis of an in-house model, in order to allocate risk within the portfolio. Characteristics ISIN code: IE00B706BP88 Minimum investment: EUR5m Annual management fees: 0.50% Maximum front-end fees: 5% Performance commission: 10%

The recent arrival of Guillaume Jonchères at Banque Leonardo is accompanied by the arrival of Jacques Loussert. Loussert had been manager of the Sarbacan Fund at Sarbacan Capital Limited, with whom the former chairman of Cogefi Gestion had worked when the two asset management firms were integrated into Cogefi. The Imago fund, whose creation at Banque Leonardo Newsmanagers announced a few days ago, will be an exact copy of the Sarbacan fund.The long/short fund, investing in European stocks, can claim a track record since 2006, with annual performance of 5.18%, slightly under the equity markets, but with volatility of less than 5. It will be likely to be attractive to private clients of Banque Leonardo, as it is eligible for equity or life insurance savings plans. According to its managers, the fund aims to position itself between funds in euros with steeply falling returns, and funds exposed to equity markets.

The German asset management firm Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) has acquired the Euro Plaza 4 office building (48,500 square metres), located in the centre of Vienna, from the Austrian firm Klapsch Immobilien, for about EUR150m.The property will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Deutschland.Open-ended real estate funds from UIRE have now invested EUR400m in the Austrian capital.

A survey for the most recent edition of the CDP Global Water Report of 185 mid-sized businesses finds that this year, 53% of firms surveyed, compared with 38% in 2011, suffered a negative impact due to problems related to water (drought, flooding, increase in compliance costs, regulatory uncertainty, and poor water quality). Now, 68% of respondents, up from 59%, estimate that water represents a substantial risk to their activities, while 71%, compared with 63% see a commercial opportunity in responsible water strategy. However, 29% of respondents are still unable to wholly perceive the risks to their activities related to water. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the Government Pension Fund – Global (GPFG, former Norwegian Oil Fund), estimates that companies need to provide more information on the way in which they manage risks related to water.

A Paris court of appeals yesterday confirmed a five-year prison sentence, with a minimum of three years hard time for the former Société Générale trader Jérôme Kerviel, the news agency Reuters reports.Kerviel, who was sued for losses at the bank of EUR4.9bn in 2008, will also have to repay damages. The verdict confirms that the young man has been found guilty of “abuse of confidence, false statements and fraud, and introduction of fraudulent information into an IT system.”David Koubbi, Kerviel’s counsel, says he is studying the possibility of an appeal, and says that the verdict is an “absolutely lamentable injustice.”Kerviel walked out of court free, as the court did not require his detention.

Judge jed Rakoff has setenced Rajat gupta to two years in prison and a fine of USD5m, Les Echos reports. The former McKinsey head, who was found guilty in June this year of insider trading after disclosing insider information to the Galleon fund about Goldman Sachs, will enter detention on 8 January. He is planning to appeal the verdict. Raj Rajaratnam, founder of the speculative fund Galleon, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. He is awaiting a verdict on his appeal on Thursday.

Rajat Gupta, former head of McKinsey, has been sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of USD5m, the Financial Times reports. Gupta was found guilty in June of providing insider information he was privy to as a board member at Goldman Sachs to his friend Raj Rajaratnam, co-founder of Galleon Group. The secrets included details of a capital injection of USD5bn from Warren Buffett.

AllianceBernstein used to be know for its equity funds. But since the former Goldman Sachs executive Peter Kraus became chairman and CEO in 2008, the asset management firm has turned massively to bond funds, the Wall Street Journal relates. At the end of 2007, Alliance Bernstein had 72% of its assets under management in equities (USD580bn), and 25% in bonds (USD198bn). Now it holds about USD240 billion, or about 57% in bonds and 27% in stocks. This strategy is paying off for the moment. But analysts estimate that an excessive dependence on the popularity of bond funds may be risky.

The Swedish asset management firm GustaviaDavegårdh Fonder is changing its name to Gustavia Fonder, the Swedish website Fondbranschen reports. The reason for the change is that Björn Davegårdh is no longer active at the business.

The British firm Schroders has recruited Alan Young as head of institutional sales in Hong Kong, Asian Investor reports. Young is a specialist in the Asian market, who previously worked at State Street Global Advisors as head of northern Asia.

For July-September, Morningstar’s net profit was USD27.1m vs USD27.9m in Q2, 2012, but it stills shows a yoy increase of USD21.4m.Assets under management and advisory at end-September for the Investment Advisory Services division amounted to USD142.4bn vs USD138,1bn thre months earlier and USD119/3bn twelve months ago.For Retirement Solutions, AUM was USD45.4bn vas USD41.7bn as of June, 30th, and USD36.3bn on September, 30th, 2011.

According to multiple sources cited by the weekly Agefi Hebdo, the wholesale bank from BPCE will merge its affiliates Natixis Multimanager (NMM) and 1818 Gestion, as part of a project entitled “Elite.” On 1 January 2013, 1818 Gestion will absorb NMM, currently a part of Natixis Asset Management (NAM). NAM will control 40% of the new entity, compared with 60% for Banque Privée 1818, an internal presentation obtained by Agefi Weekly says. The firm will include the expertise of the Natixis group in multi-management, a sector in crisis, including funds of hedge funds.

BNY Mellon has named Marina Lewin head of sales for its Asset Servicing business in the Americas. Lewin will report to Samir Pandiri, CEO of Americas Asset Servicing & Alternative Investment Services. She will be based in New York, managing teams in several U.S. cities, as well as Dublin, London and Hong Kong.

The planned merger of the asset management structures of AG2R-La Mondiale, Agicam et La Mondiale Gestion d’Actifs, or LMGA (see Newsmangers of 24 October) and the creation of a single portfolio management firm will be likely to result in the emergence of a multi-management entity of respectable size, with EUR4bn in assets currently, half contributed by each of the two participating entities.Rationality is also expected to be maintained with the emergence of a single investment management team.