Des voix s'élèvent pour demander à Angela Merkel d'ouvrir le dossier des euro-obligations

Selon l’enquête semestrielle de l’AFG, les actifs gérés en épargne salariale s’établissaient à 93,8 milliards d’euros à fin juin, soit une hausse de 6 % sur six mois et de près de 11 % sur un an. Les fonds diversifiés (55,2 milliards d’euros) représentaient 59 % des encours contre 41 % pour les fonds d’actionnariat salarié (38,6 milliards d’euros). Les investissements dans les fonds ISR représentaient 9,8 milliards d’euros soit un doublement des encours sur un an.

La société de private equity compte investir en 2012 sensiblement les mêmes montants qu’en 2011 sur le marché secondaire des fonds de capital-investissement, a indiqué à Reuters Vincent Gombault, directeur de l’activité «fonds de fonds». Axa PE, qui lève actuellement un nouveau fonds sur ce marché, a enchaîné les transactions en 2011 pour un montant total d’environ 2,6 milliards d’euros.

La banque centrale de Norvège, qui gère le fonds souverain du gouvernement norvégien, détient désormais 5,15% du capital de Groupe Eurotunnel et 4,48% des droits de vote.

Le vice-président exécutif de China Investment Corp, Jesse Wang, a confié à Bloomberg que le fonds souverain chinois pourrait apporter une aide «indirecte» à l’Europe. Le fonds ne saurait être «le véhicule principal» si Pékin souhaitait agir pour résoudre la crise de la dette, mais pourrait répondre à des opportunités d’investissement.

Pour aider les banques qui peinent à se financer sur les marchés, la banque centrale pourrait rallonger la maturité de ses opérations à long terme.

Les opérations de refinancement à treize mois ne suffiraient plus aux établissements qui peinent à lever de l'argent sur les marchés

Les investisseurs, notamment les gérants d'actifs japonais, vendent leurs obligations d'Etat de la zone euro tandis que la crise tarde à être résolue

Des voix s'élèvent pour demander à Angela Merkel d'ouvrir le dossier des euro-obligations

D’importants investisseurs de Chine et du Moyen-Orient ont lié contact avec la société de private equity de Guy Hands afin de créer un fonds d’investissement dédié dont l’actif oscillerait entre 500 millions et un milliard d’euros. Ce véhicule pourrait constituer comme un pont pour Terra Firma en lui permettant de poursuivre ses investissements avant la levée de son prochain fonds et après l’expiration prochaine de la période d’investissement de celui déjà en place.

Après le passage hier de la note portugaise en catégorie spéculative par Fitch, Moody’s a fait subir cette nuit le même sort à la note de la Hongrie

L'économie allemande a accéléré sa croissance au troisième trimestre, la consommation ayant enregistré sa hausse la plus marquée depuis plus d’un an, selon les données détaillées publiées jeudi par l’Office fédéral de la statistique. Le produit intérieur brut (PIB) est confirmé en hausse de 0,5% pour le troisième trimestre en données corrigées des variations saisonnières, après une hausse de 0,3% au cours des trois mois précédents. En rythme annuel, la croissance ressort à 2,5%, après 3% au deuxième trimestre. Autre satisfaction sur le front des indicateurs, le climat des affaires s’est amélioré contre toute attente en novembre. L’indice calculé par l’institut Ifo est ressorti à 106,6 en novembre, après 106,4 en octobre. Les économistes interrogés par Reuters anticipaient une nouvelle baisse à 105,1. Les analystes préviennent toutefois que ces chiffres pourraient constituer les dernières bonnes nouvelles pour l'économie allemande pendant un certain temps, à mesure que s’intensifie la crise de la dette de la zone euro. En effet, le taux du Bund 10 ans atteint un plus haut de 2,17 %, alors que le taux britannique était au même moment à 2,16% .Depuis 1 an et demi, la hausse des taux pour les pays périphériques entraînait une baisse de ceux de l’Allemagne.

Le Qatar tiendra les 25 et 28 novembre des réunions avec les investisseurs obligataires à Londres et à New York, en vue d’un emprunt surtout destiné à conforter la présence du pays sur les marchés de dette. La précédente émission datait de novembre 2009. Le Qatar a mandaté six banques dont Citigroup, HSBC, JPMorgan et Standard Chartered pour diriger le placement.

Les prix des logements anciens ont augmenté de 1,1% au troisième trimestre en France, soit leur neuvième hausse consécutive, selon l’indice des notaires et de l’Insee publié jeudi. Le prix des appartements a augmenté de 1,3% et celui des maisons de 1,1%, selon les données provisoires corrigées des variations saisonnières. La hausse est plus marquée en Île-de-France, où les prix ont augmenté de 1,6% (1,6% pour les appartements et 1,7% pour les maisons).

L'économie britannique a affiché une croissance de 0,5% au troisième trimestre par rapport au deuxième, conformément à la précédente estimation, grâce à une augmentation des stocks des entreprises, selon les chiffres publiés par l’Office national de la statistique (ONS). Il s’agit de la croissance trimestrielle la plus élevée depuis le troisième trimestre 2010. Sur un an, la croissance est de 0,5%.

Le gouvernement belge a annoncé à grand renfort de publicité le lancement d’un emprunt d’Etat ouvert à toute la population. «Vu les difficultés sur les marchés financiers, nous voulons davantage faire appel à la capacité d'épargne des Belges pour financer la dette», a expliqué le Premier ministre chargé de gérer les affaires courantes, Yves Leterme, dans les journaux Le Soir et De Standaard. Le gouvernement sortant, qui gère les affaires courantes depuis avril 2010, a demandé à l’Agence de la dette d’activer un emprunt d’Etat ouvert à tous à trois, cinq et huit ans ans assortis de taux d’intérêt de respectivement 3,5%, 4% et 4,2%, soit un point de pourcentage de plus que lors de la précédente émission.

L’agence de notation financière Fitch a abaissé jeudi la note de crédit du Portugal, pour la placer en catégorie spéculative. La note est ramenée de BBB- à BB+ avec perspective négative. Fitch, qui estime que le Portugal sera en contraction économique de 3% en 2012, observe que d’importants déséquilibres budgétaires et une dette élevée font que la note souveraine du pays n’est plus compatible avec la catégorie investissement.

The European fund and asset management association Efama has welcomed the most recent efforts by the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA). “We are highly satisfied and positive about the document published last week. We are also more satisfied that our voice has been heard and taken into account on several points, for example, on the question of equivalence,” the director of Efama, Peter de Proft, told Newsmanagers at the annual alternative management conference organised by the association of the Luxembourg fund industry Alfi.In addition to this glowing report, a round table dedicated to enacting the MiFID directive has also shown that the debate which has surrounded the making of this text is far from over. In the chapter on the responsibilities of the securities depositories, for example, Patrice-Bergé-Vincent, director of the asset management regulation division at the French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), who led the Esma working group on depositories, had highly nuanced comments to make on the impact of the bill. While defending clauses limiting depository responsibilities, Bergé-Vincent also pointed out some shortcomings in the area of transfer of responsibility to sub-custodians, as level 1 measures in the document were too restrictive, from his point of view.Jean-Marc Goy, counsel for international affairs at the Luxembourg regulator CSSF, says the role of depositories is worrying, as it may be counter-productive. “These measures will result in an increase in costs, which will ultimately affect the client. This is the opposite of the objective of protecting the investor,” Goy claims. Some players in the sector are at risk of abandoning this activity, which would reduce the number of players and increase systemic risk. This is another consequence which would run against the declared objective of the directive, to reduce systemic risk. “We have expressed some reservations, but they have not been taken into account,” Goy says.Despite his satisfaction, de Proft admits that there is no doubt that the directive will have a cost. He also points out to changes in the field now underway. “The Commission, Esma, and the European Parliament want more protection for investors. That is of concern to everybody, but with the crisis, the issue of responsibility is at the heart of the debate,” de Proft says, adding that in the current environment, Europe wants to show that it is taking good decisions, and that its objective is to protect investors.

As of the end of October, assets in 196 Portuguese UCITS-compliant funds (OPCVM) totalled EUR6.496bn, down 1.1% compared with the end of Septmeber, while assets in 110 “special” funds (FEI) were down by 0.4% in one month, to EUR4.5026bn. According to the Portugese securities commission (CMVM), average assets in funds totalled EUR33.1m, compared with EUR33.5m for OICVM funds, and EUR40.8m compared with EUR41.7m for FEI funds.In other words, total assets of EUR10.9811bn as of 31 October are 22.4% lower than where they were as of the end of December 2010. And the Portuguese association of asset management firms Afpipp explains that the decline is due, in addition to market effects, to net redemptions of EUR181m in October, and EUR2.561m in the first ten months of the year.The top four asset management firms in the country are Caixagest, with a market share of 23.1%, ESAF (18.5%), BPI Gestão de Activos (17.4%), and Santander Asset Management (14.4%). Crédit Agricole Gestão places tenth, with a market share of 1.2%.

Raiffeisen remains the leading candidate to acquire Sarasin. A firm offer has been made by the co-operative banking group, Finanz und Wirtschaft reports, citing sources close to Raiffeisen. Julius Bär has also made a bid, the newspaper reports. Rabobank, which controls Sarasin, is expected to make its choice by the end of November, possibly even this week. Julius Bär is interested only in a complete takeover of the Basel-based bank, while the Raiffeisen group is reportedly prepared to acquire only one third of capital. The purchase price is expected to be under CHF1bn for Raiffeisen. Sarasin is currently valued at CHF2.1bn.

UBS and Credit Suisse are going back to basics. The two major Swiss banks this mouth announced that they are planning to scale down their investment banking and strenghten their wealth management in order to boost revenues and earn more reliable profits, the Financial Times reports. Wealth management is a more regular activity than investment banking, has lower costs, and consumes less capital.

In January-September, the volume of transfers from one fund to another in Spain totalled EUR22.74bn, which represents about 16.8% of average assets of EUR135.75bn, the Spanish Inverco association of asset management firms reports. The amount announced also represents 54% of gross subscriptions in the first nine months of the year (EUR41.47bn).

The CNMV on 18 November registered the Banesto Rentabilidad Objetivo fund from Santander Asset Management, which aims for average annual returns of 2.5%, though its net asset value as of 2 August 2013 would be et least 104.11% of its level on 16 December 2011.At least 75% of the portfolio will be invested in liquidities in government repo debt rated A- or better, while the remaining 25% will be placed in high quality governement debt repos and corporate bonds. For both allocations, issuers will be European Union issuers, and the average durations will be less than 3 months.CharacteristicsName: Banesto Rentabilidad Objectivo F1ISIN code: ES0113059002Management commission: 1.3%Withdrawal penalty: 2%Depository banking commission: 0.1%

The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA), a global, independent, not-for-profit international professional educational organization, is opening a new chapter in Korea.The CAIA Korea Chapter will be launched on November 24, 2011, in Seoul, South Korea.Korea is the third CAIA chapter to form in Asia; CAIA Singapore was established in 2005, CAIA Hong Kong in 2009.

Two asset management firms, EIM France SAS (EIM) and Alternative Leaders France (ALF) have been sentenced to pay fines of EUR300,000 and EUR150,000, respectively, by the French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), for shortfalls in the establishment of and adherence to procedures which could have allowed them to identify the risks related to some “Madoff” investments.The verdict of the Sanctions Commission of the regulator, published on the regulator’s website on 22 November, and dated 21 October 2011, cites failures at the two asset management firms concerning their due diligence obligations and professionalism in risk controlling for third-party investments.Concretely, following the discovery of fraud on the part of Bernard Madoff, controls were undertaken by the AMF “to determine, in general, whether procedures established by portfolio management firms to identify the nature of risks concerned and the level of these risks which may be tolerable, when selecting and monitoring hedge funds in which they invest.” The Commission adds that “the companies which received sanctions did not have the elements which would have been likely to constitute a reliable support for the investment decisions that needed to be taken, not in opacity, without access either to the premises or the teams at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, nor to the economic models employed, but in clarity, after creating diligence which is indispensable to protect the interests of shareholders.”

Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Invstment Securities (BLMIS), has obtained a refund of USD326m in taxes from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which were paid by Bernard Madoff to lend an illusion of legitimacy to his activities, the Wall Street Journal reports.Since the beginning of 2003, Madoff paid about USD330m to the IRS in the name of 145 foreign account holders who made dividends on their investments with Madoff. However, as the manager was fraudulent, he was not really paying such dividends, which would have been subject to withholding tax.The USD326m will be repaid to investors who lost money in the scheme.

The Turkish asset management industry represented assets of USD26.7bn as of September 2011, according to Financial Times Fund Management, which has published an article on this promising market. With the exception of Is Asset Management, most of the major asset management firms in the country are controlled by European or US asset management firms. Citibank, Unicredit, BBVA, ING, HSBC, and BNP Paribas IP are all present in the top 10, and other companies will soon join them, the weekly newsmagazine reports. Franklin Templeton has teamed up with Ak Bank to offer the Franklin Templeton Bric equity fund in Turkish lira, and Garanti and Fidelity are in negotiations to do similarly.

Despite the market turbulence, DekaBank, the central asset management firm for the German savings banks, in third quarter posted economic profits (profits according to IFRS accounting standards, plus the result of a valuation of financial instruments) of EUR4.1m, but in the first nine months of the year, they have fallen 45.5% to EUR340.7m, compared with EUR625.6m.Assets as of 30 September contracted by 8.1% compared with the end of December, to EUR142.63m, compared with EUR155.22m. That result is largely due to net outflows of EUR6.98bn from the asset management and capital markets (AMK) unit, compared with EUR2.03bn in the first nine months of 2010. In this area, the decline has affected largely open-ended funds and unit-linked wealth management, with net redemptions of EUR5.45bn, compared with EUR3.69bn, while net outflows from institutional funds and mandates were limited to EUR591m, compared with net inflows of EUR3.5m in January-October of last year.However, the asset management/real estate (AMI) unit continued to post net subscriptions, of EUR531m, compared with EUR1.38bn, with a contraction to EUR464m from EUR1.38bn for open-ended real estate funds.

Three sources familiar with the matter say that Steven A. Cohen, head and founder of the alternative asset management firm SAC Capital Advisors, is in the running to acquire the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, which is in bankruptcy. He is not the only one, as other billionaires are interested in the opportunity to pick up a major league baseball (MLB) team.The sale is being handled by the Blackstone Group, which appears not to be considering offers below USD1bn. The case is complicated by the fact that it is difficult to estimate the advertising revenues of the Dodgers after 2013.

In an empirical study of 3,571 hedge funds over 19 years (January 1990-March 2009), on the basis of the Barclay hedge fund database, three University of texas researchers (Gökce Soydemir, Jan Smolarski and Sangheon Shin) have drawn the conclusion that funds which rely on hurdle rates and/or high watermarks tend to underperform funds which do not use them. 74.5% of funds which use high watermarks do not offer hurdle rates. Emerging markets funds, equity funds and funds of funds also tend to significantly underperform other types of funds.Funds which charge high performance commissions also tend to outperform funds which charge more moderate commissions.In general, setting a high watermark or hurdle rate appears insufficient to generate higher returns; to contribute to higher returns, the hurdle rate or high watermark strategy needs to be accompanied by a high performance commission, in order to allow the fund to more easily achieve higher risk-adjusted returns.In the figures which accompany the survey, the authors observe that 855, or 24% of hedge funds use a hurdle rate, and 2,974 (83.3%) offer a high watermark to attract investors. Among these, 2,215, or 74.5%, do not use a hurdle rate.In total, 759 funds (21.3%) use both a hurdle rate and a high watermark, while 501 funds (14%) use neither. Lastly, hedge funds which charge a high watermark chage an average of 15.3% performance commissions, which is five times higher than those which do not use one.