Le nouveau UBS D German Logistics Property Fund 2 d’UBS Allemagne vise un rendement annuel de 7 %. Ce produit destiné aux investisseurs institutionnels se focalisera sur l’immobilier logistique locatif en Allemagne et utilise le statut de fonds institutionnel allemand (Spezialfonds). Le gestionnaire ambitionne un encours de 300 millions d’euros.CaractéristiquesDénomination : UBS (D) German Logistics Property Fund 2Code Isin : DE000A0DJ3L2Souscription minimale : 2,5 millions d’euros

Les actifs sous gestion du groupe GAM s’établissaient fin mars 2012 à 110,6 milliards de francs suisses, contre 107 milliards de francs fin décembre 2011, a indiqué le groupe dans un communiqué publié le 18 avril. Une évolution due pour l’essentiel à un effet marché positif qui a largement compensé l’impact négatif des devises. Le groupe signale par ailleurs une légère décollecte sur les trois premiers mois de l’année.Les actifs sous gestion de GAM proprement dit s’inscrivaient fin mars à 45,7 milliards de francs contre 44,8 milliards de francs fin décembre. Du côté de Swiss & Global AM, les actifs sous gestion ont terminé le trimestre à 80,5 milliards de francs, en hausse de 3,6 milliards de francs par rapport à fin décembre. Outre un effet marché positif, Swiss & Global a enregistré des souscriptions nettes au premier trimestre notamment dans les fonds d’actions et dans les ETF dédiés aux métaux précieux physiques.

Le groupe suisse spécialisé dans la gestion de patrimoine Aquila vient d’obtenir une licence bancaire, rapporte le site Finews. Les services bancaires désormais proposés par Aquila s’adressent autant aux sociétés partenaires du groupe qu'à des sociétés de gestion indépendantes externes, des family offices et leurs clients.Avec cette initiative, le gestionnaire de patrimoine espère être mieux armé que la concurrence pour faire face aux évolutions réglementaires en Suisse et plus généralement en Europe.Les actifs sous gestion d’Aquila s'élèvent à plus de 5 milliards de francs suisses.

La Fondation Ethos, qui regroupe plus de 130 caisses de pension et de fondations d’utilité publique suisses, recommande aux actionnaires d’approuver tous les points à l’ordre du jour de l’assemblée générale d’UBS le 3 mai… sauf trois. Elle préconise d’une part de voter contre le rapport de rémunération 2011 et l’augmentation de capital conditionnel pour les actions des collaborateurs et d’autre part de refuser le quitus au conseil d’administration, vu que le pôle banque d’investissement a subi une perte de près de 2 milliards de francs.De fait, Ethos juge que la rémunération de la direction générale est trop élevée et ne comporte pas de limite vers le haut. Par ailleurs, la prime d’arrivée de quatre millions de francs versée sans contrepartie au nouveau président, Axel Weber, est «injustifiable et inacceptable».Le conseil d’administration d’UBS propose un doublement du capital conditionnel pour permettre l’attribution d’actions dans le cadre des plans de participation des collaborateurs. Le capital conditionnel s'élèvera ainsi à 7,8% du capital existant, ce qui peut conduire à une dilution significative pour les actionnaires. D’ailleurs, Ethos rappelle qu’au cours des trois dernières années, 8,4% du capital ont été distribués aux collaborateurs sous forme d’actions. «Ces chiffres sont l’expression d’une politique qui conduit à des rémunérations variables excessives», insiste la Fondation.

Le fonds de private equity dédié aux services financiers, BlackFin Capital Partners, a annoncé le 17 avril l’acquisition de 100% du capital du comparateur de produits d’assurance Chiarezza, lancé par le groupe Admiral Group Plc en Italie en février 2010. Chiarezza propose sur le site http://www.chiarezza.it/ un service gratuit permettant aux internautes de comparer une large offre de produits d’assurance par prix et caractéristiques, et finaliser la souscription en ligne ou au téléphone. Chiarezza travaille avec un large panel d’assureurs directs et fonctionne selon un modèle de courtier rémunéré à la souscription et au renouvellement de polices d’assurance. Le marché de l’assurance directe, en particulier au travers d’Internet, connaît une forte croissance en Italie. L’acquisition par BlackFin Capital Partners devrait permettre à Chiarezza d’accroître ses investissements marketing, d’offrir de nouveaux services aux internautes et d’élargir son panel d’assureurs.

Ce mercredi 18 avril, Allianz Global Investors annonce le gel jusqu'à nouvel ordre des souscriptions et des rachats de parts du fonds de fonds immobiliers Allianz Flexi Immo (parts A et C, codes ISIN DE0009797332 et DE0009797340). Cette mesure fait suite à la vague de fermeture de fonds immobiliers offerts au public en Allemagne. Les rachats de plus de 200 millions d’euros depuis le début de 2011 ont rogné l’essentiel des actifs liquidables à court terme et le Flexi Immo n’est désormais plus investi qu’en fonds immobiliers dont les remboursements sont suspendus ou dans des lignes qui ne sont pas mobilisables à court terme.Le fonds, lancé le 16 septembre 2008, affiche actuellement encore un encours de 170 millions d’euros.

Patron depuis 2008 du service entreprises, services publics et retraites d’entreprises chez le gestionnaire Frankfurt Trust (BHF-Bank), Lutz Morjan a été recruté comme senior sales director institutionals chez ING Investment Management Allemagne. Il sera plus particulièrement chargé des «solutions clients» pour les assureurs et les caisses de retraite d’entreprise en Allemagne, aux côtés de Michael Schrinner, Thomas Wendt et Monika Ritter, dans l'équipe des ventes institutionnelles.

A long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) by the European Central Bank has strengthened investor confidence, which has resulted in positive net inflows in February to all fund categories in Europe. UCITS continued to experience strong net inflows in February amounting to EUR 19 billion, albeit down from EUR 25 billion recorded in January, according to statistics from the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA). Net sales of long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) remained steady in February registering net inflows of EUR 18 billion, compared to EUR 19 billion in January. Bond funds recorded net inflows of EUR 9 billion in February, down from EUR 13 billion in January, while net sales of equity funds registered net inflows of EUR 4 billion, the same level as in January. Balanced funds also enjoyed net inflows of EUR 1 billion during the month, compared to EUR 2 billion in January. Total non-UCITS recorded a jump in net sales in February to register net inflows of EUR 16 billion, up from EUR 7 billion in January. Special funds (funds reserved to institutional investors) recorded an increase in net inflows in February of EUR 16 billion, compared to EUR 7 billion in January. Total assets of UCITS increased 1.9 percent in February to stand at EUR 5,821 billion at end February. Total assets of non-UCITS enjoyed an increase of 1.7 percent in February to EUR 2,268 billion at month end.

The European Commission on Tuesday granted its approval to Swiss tax agreements with Germany and the United Kingdom. The agreements are “wholly in line with European law,” the commissioner in charge of taxation, Algirdas Semeta, told media in Brussels. The work undertaken by the Commission and the two member states to revise the agreements demonstrates that it is possible to succeed in a fruitful collaboration, Semeta says. “The results are there, and meet the EU’s requirements as well as those of member states very well,” he added. The Commission received the text of the taxation agreement between Switzerland and Austria only last Thursday. For this reason, its analysis is still underway, Semeta explained. Following an initial examination of the test, the Commission addressed a few questions to the Austrian government, but no positions have been articulated so far.

Investors have scaled back both risk-taking and their expectations for global growth after concerns about European Union (EU) economies resurfaced, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers from 5 to 12 April covering an overall total of 256 panelists with USD706 billion of assets under management. A 54 percent of the panel says that EU sovereign debt funding is the number one tail risk, up from a 38 percent in March. A net 63 percent of the panel predicts that Spain is likely to provide a negative surprise in 2012, up from a net 50 percent last month. But France is close behind Spain, with a net 56 percent of the panel saying France could provide a negative surprise, up from a net 52 percent.Investors have increased cash positions significantly since March. A net 24 percent of global asset allocators are overweight cash in April, up from a net 6 percent one month ago. A net 26 percent of asset allocators are overweight equities, down from a net 33 percent in March. Investors have increased allocations to pharmaceuticals, a counter-cyclical sector while reducing positions in materials, a cyclical sector. A net 20 percent of the panel says that the global economy will strengthen in the coming year, down from a net 28 percent in March - sentiment had improved steadily from November, when a net 29 percent predicted economic deterioration. A net 3 percent of the global investor panel expects corporate profits will worsen in the next 12 months, compared with a net 6 percent predicting an improvement in profits last month. Amid reduced optimism, investors are predicting more QE from both the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB). Only 36 percent of the global panel expects no further QE from the Fed, down from 47 percent in March. Many global investors have increased allocations to U.S. equities in April or expressed an intention to do so. A net 27 percent of global asset allocators are overweight U.S. equities in April, up from a net 14 percent in March. The U.S. is also the region that net 18 percent of the panel would like to overweight - only a net 2 percent named the U.S. as their preferred overweight last month. Investors within the U.S. are less optimistic, however. A net 8 percent of U.S.-based investors say the country’s economy will get stronger in the coming year, down from a net 29 percent in March.

In an environment in which fundraising is proving especially difficult, Cerberus Capital Partners (Cerberus) may encounter some difficulty in reaching its final objective for its next vehicle. The US investment firm, which had been aiming for USD3.75bn (EUR2.9bn) for its fifth-generation fund, has raised USD1.1bn since the launch of the process one year ago, according to a letter sent yesterday to investors in the firm, reported by Bloomberg and relayed by Agefi.

The Swiss bank UBS, which is subject to a preliminary investigation in France (see Newsmanagers of 16 April), on 17 April announced that it is prepared to fully cooperate with the French aurthorities if required. The French affiliate of UBS “has become aware of the information recently reported in the press in relation to a preliminary investigation which has reportedly been opened against it,” the bank says in a statement. “If the opening of the investigation is confirmed, UBS (France) will fully cooperate with the authorities in charge,” the bank says.

The Investment Company Institute (ICI) and the US Chamber of Commerce (US CoC) have filed a lawsuit in the US District Court of Columbia against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), because the Commission is planning to require some mutual funds and ETFs to register as “commodity-pool operators,” in addition to their registrations with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the Wall Street Journal reports. This would affect all funds which practice commodity-based strategies.The ICI and US CoC claim that the funds are already adequately regulated, and that the new regulations would affect about 500 products. The planned rules would cancel a rule from 2003 by which registered investment advisors were expressly excluded from the list of commodity pool operators.

Credit Suisse has announced that it has recruited several senior bankers, who will be added to its private banking team for the Asia-Pacific region. Song Kun joined Credit Suisse Private Banking in Hong Kong as managing director and senior client partner for the Greater China region. Song previously worked at Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacitic) Ltd., where she was managing director of investments for private banking at the group. Jimmy Lee, previously head of Clariden Leu for Asia, is appointed as managing director in charge of integration of Clariden Leu activities, following the acquisition of the bank by Credit Suisse. Yee Chin Lit, also from Clariden Leu, becomes managing director and head of the Indonesian market.

Following the departure of Sergio Míguez, CIO for absolute return products, who is joining Lazard (see Newsmanagers of 16 April), the position of director of hedge funds at BanSabadell Inversión has now been handed to Félix Sánchez, who had been a hedge fund manager since 2005, Funds People reports. In his new position, Sánchez will report directly to José Antonio Pérez Roger, chief investment officer.For the moment, Bansabadell Inversión manages only EUR41m in hedge funds, but its alternative assets total EUR1.07bn, including funds of hedge funds, commodities, one real estate fund and absolute return quant funds.

The Aabar sovereign fund from Abu Dhabi, which controls 6.5% of capital in the Italian UniCredit bank, has entered the board of directors at the firm with two seats, replacing Libyans, the newspaper Corriere della Sera reports. The Aabar fund, the largest shareholder in the firm with 6.5%, is nominating its chairman Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi, adding that the chairman of Ferrari, Luca Cordero de Montezemolo, will also join the board as a representative of the fund. Libya will no longer have membership on the board, the newspaper reports, three weeks ahead of the general shareholders’ meeting on 11 May, which will elect the new board of directors. Libya did not participate in the most recent EUR7.5bn capital increase at UniCredit, which was completed in January, and marked a rise in the stake held by the Aabar fund.

Assets under management at the GAM group as of the end of March 2012 totalled CHF110.6bn, comapred with CHF107bn as of the end of December 2011, the group announced in a statement published on 18 April. This development is largely due to positive market effects, which largely offset the negative impact of exchange rates. The group has also announced a slight outflow in the first three months of the year.Assets under management at GAM in the strict sense as of the end of March totalled CHF45.7bn, compared with CHF44.8bn as of the end of December.At Swiss & Global AM, assets under management at the end of the quarter came in at CHF80.5bn, up CHF3.6bn compared with the end of December. In addition to positive market effects, Swiss & Global has posted net subscriptions in first quarter, particularly to equity funds and ETFs dedicated to physical precious metals.

The Swiss group Aquila, specialised in wealth management, has received a banking license, the website Finews reports. Banking services offered by Aquila will be aimed both at partner companies of the group and at external independent asset management firms, family offices and their clients. With this move, the wealth management firm is hoping to make itself better armed than the competition to confront regulatory changes in Switzerland and more generally in Europe. Assets under management at Aquila total over CHF5bn.

The international alternative investment management association (AIMA) on 17 April released a 40-page statement laying out and analysing the differences between the regulations proposed by the European Commission and the recommendations of the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) for measures to be included in the level 2 MiFID directive.The association explains that it is seeking to illustrate and analyse the marked divergences of the Commission’s text from the recommendations, and points out a few unseen consequences of the proposed modifications.The divergences between the Commission document and the ESMA recommendations appear to be both “significant and extensive.” In their current form, the rules proposed by the Commission could disturb the functioning of the asset management sector in the European Union and worldwide, and may also work against some of its declared objectives in the areas of investor protection and financial stability, the AIMA claims.

The US-based data provider S&P CapitalIQ on 3 April acquired the QuantHouse company from a group of investors led by Newedge (Société Générale and Calyon) for an undisclosed amount. QuantHouse is an independent provider of market data and fully automated trading solutions, offering ultra-low latency technologies, algorithms, proximity hosting and order routing services to hedge funds, market makers and prop desks.QuantHouse is led by Pierre-François Filet, CEO and co-founder, Pierre Feligioni (COO and co-founder) and Denery Fenouil, chief technical officer and co-founder. The 90 employees of QuantHouse in Paris, London and New York will be integrated into the “enterprise solutions” unit of S&P Capital IQ. Products and services will initially continue to be sold as stand-alone items, but gradually, all S&P Capital IQ and S&P Indices content will be included in QuantHouse data feeds. The acquisition of the French firm follows that of R2 Financial Technologies and precedes that of CMA, in deals which reportedly should allow S&P CapitalIQ to provide one of the most complete platforms in the sector in terms of market data and risk analysis.

Reto Germann has been recruited by Unigestion to oversee a additions to its presence serving institutional clients in Germany and Austria, from Credit Suisse, where he had worked since 2009, after two years at Barclays Capital, and a start to his career at UBS in 1993. He will report to Tom Leavitt, managing director and head of the institutional clients team.

La Française AM has retained BNP Paribas Securities Services to provide administration, custody, transfer agency and valuation services. The mandate includes the activities of La Française des Placement, LFP Sarasin AM, La Française Real Estate Managers and La Française AM International.

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) on 17 April announced that it has been retained by Banque Fédérale Mutualiste to provide global custody for a portfolio worth EUR1.2bn. SGSS will offer taxation services, including handling of application of withholding tax breaks and tax exemptions, fiscal recuperation, management of taxation documentation, regulatory reporting to tax authorities, and tax reporting to clients.

An extension of the bond range from Axa Investment Managers in the United Kingdom will initially involve the addition of a global fund of inflation-linked securities similar to the Axa WF Global Inflation Bonds, but with the addition of emerging market debt, Investment Week reports. The product, managed by Marion Le Morhedec and David Dyer, will aim for 1% outperformance of average inflation, which is expected to be 3.5%.A second product would reportedly be a short-term emerging market debt fund managed by Damien Bouchet and Magda Branet, while the third fund, to be launched in a few weeks, would be a global strategic bond fund managed by Nick Hayes and CIO Chris Iggo.

The major causes of rising non-financial risks are increased complexity of operations (a cause considered significant by 77% of respondents), followed by reduced capacity on the part of some providers to guarantee deposited assets (59%), unclear or inadequate regulations (57%) and lastly, a total lack of responsibility on the part of asset management firms in relation to restitution of assets (53%), according to an Edhec-Risk survey. The study, entitled “Shedding Light on Non-Financial Risks – a European Survey,” was undertaken as part of the second year of work by the research chair in “Risks and regulation of the fund industry in Europe,” created in partnership with Caceis.The study clearly finds that regulatory priorities need to address themes to which the regulator has paid limited attention in its recent work, particularly the MiFID directive. The priorities cited are transparency, information and governance, in relation to regulation of non-financial risks, followed by financial responsibility in the industry. On this latter point, the fact must be underscored that non-financial risks are largely the result of decisions by the asset management firm.

On Wednesday, 18 April, Allianz Global Investors announced that it will be suspending redemptions of shares in the real estate fund of funds Allianz Flexi Immo (A and C share classes, ISIN codes DE0009797332 and DE0009797340,) until further notice. The move follows a wave of closures of open-ended real estate funds in Germany. Redemptions of over EUR200m since the beginning of 2011 wiped out most of the assets in the Flexi immo fund which could be liquidated at short notice, and the fund is now no longer invested in anything other than real estate funds whose redemptions are susptended or holdings which cannot be mobilised in the short term.The fund, launched on 16 September 2008, currently has assets of EUR170m.

The new UBS D German Logistics Property Fund 2 from UBS Germany aims for annual returns to 7%. The product, aimed at institutional investors, will focus on rental logistical real estate in Germany, and will have the status of a German institutional fund (Spezialfonds). The asset management firm is aiming for assets of EUR300m.CharacteristicsName: UBS (D) German Logistics Property Fund 2ISIN code: DE000A0DJ3L2Minimal subscription: EUR2.5m

The American hedge fund manager John Paulson has told Bloomberg that he is shorting European government bonds, and buying CDS on European debt in order to protect himself against defaults, Investment Week reports.

The private equity fund dedicated to financial services BlackFin Capital Partners on 17 April announced that it has acquired 100% of capital in the insurance product comparison firm Chiarezza, launched by Admiral Gorup Plc in Italy in February 2010. Chiarezza offers a free service at http://www.chirezza.it, which allows web surfers to compare a wide range of insurance products on the basis of their price and characteristics, and to complete subscriptions online or by telephone. Chiarezza works with a wide range of direct insurers, and operates on the model of brokers paid for subscriptions and insurance policy renewals. “This transaction represents BlackFun’s fifth investment, and illustrates the fund’s capacity to undertake proprietary operations in high-growth segments in the financial sector in Europe,” BlackFin says in a statement.

Although traditional private banks still control a majority of the market, universal banks have strengthened their positions in wealth management since the crisis in 2008, Les Echos reports.According to a survey by Eurogroup Consulting, the number of wealth management clients of major banking networks increased 19% between 2008 and 2011, while growth was limited to 4% for traditional establishments. Similarly, assets under management in this activity segment have increased by 39% at universal banks and 17% at pure private banks.“The major universal banks are now more engaged in this profitable profession, which is also advantageous in the new environment created by Basel III,” says Cécile Huntzinger, a director at Eurogroup Consulting and co-author of the study. But traditional private banks still have nearly four times more clients than the wealth management arms of generalists.