La Commission européenne a annoncé l’ouverture d’enquêtes contre Nike, Universal Studios et Sanrio, pour déterminer si ces groupes ont bloqué illégalement certaines ventes transfrontalières, ou interdit à certains distributeurs en ligne de vendre leurs produits. Cette initiative fait suite à une enquête menée par Bruxelles concernant les pratiques dans le commerce électronique de 1.900 entreprises. «Nous allons examiner si les pratiques en matière de licences et de distribution employées par ces trois entreprises empêchent éventuellement les consommateurs d’accéder à un choix plus large et à de meilleures offres dans le marché unique», a déclaré Margrethe Vestager, commissaire européen à la concurrence.

Bâti autour d’Amaïka, le nouvel ensemble totalisera plus de 650 millions d’euros d’actifs sous gestion et visera 1 milliard d’encours d’ici quatre ans.

La croissance de l'économie italienne atteindra 1,3% cette année, a indiqué hier la Banque d’Italie, qui relève ainsi sa prévision par rapport à une précédente estimation à 1% et s’aligne sur celle du Fonds monétaire international. La Banque centrale avait déjà relevé son estimation le 9 juin, mais a décidé de le faire à nouveau après un premier trimestre meilleur que prévu, marqué par une croissance de 0,4% par rapport aux trois mois précédents.

La Première ministre britannique Theresa May compte rencontrer aujourd’hui les dirigeants des principaux partis politiques d’Irlande du Nord pour obtenir un accord entre unionistes et nationalistes sur la formation d’un nouvel exécutif régional (Stormont), a fait savoir hier le 10 Downing Street. Le Parti conservateur, qui a perdu sa majorité absolue lors des législatives du 8 juin, cherche le soutien des unionistes du DUP, qui compte dix députés à Westminster. Mais les nationalistes du Sinn Féin craignent qu’un tel rapprochement ne remette en cause les équilibres politiques locaux et n’entame la neutralité du gouvernement dans les tractations sur l’exécutif. Celui-ci, biconfessionnel, s’est effondré en janvier. Le Sinn Féin ne veut pas que le DUP présente sa dirigeante, Arlene Foster, pour le poste de chef de l’exécutif tant que les résultats d’une enquête pour corruption ne sont pas connus.

Les acteurs du marché des green bonds ont dévoilé hier une nouvelle mouture de leurs règles de transparence.

Carlyle a annoncé hier avoir achevé la collecte d’un fonds d’obligations adossées à des créances (collateralized loan obligations, ou CLO) d’un montant de 413,5 millions d’euros. Carlyle Euro CLO 2017-1 dispose d’une période de réinvestissement de quatre ans et une phase de non-call (interdiction d’exercice de la clause de rappel) de deux ans, avec une maturité finale à juillet 2030.

Chaque jeudi, L’Agefi livre ses indicateurs clés de crédit pour suivre l'évolution des marchés. Cette semaine : la dette financière.

A l'occasion de sa participation à la 3e édition des Coupoles Distrib Invest, Benoît de Brie, responsable de la multigestion de DNCA Investments, expose la stratégie de développement du pôle multigestion de la société parisienne. Un développement qui passe notamment par la signature de nouvelles gestions pilotées auprès des assureurs.

Le nouvel ensemble, baptisé SANSO Investment Solutions, se positionnera comme un fournisseur de solutions d’investissements totalisant plus de 600 millions d’euros d’encours sous gestion. Il prendra en compte dans sa gestion des critères liés à la responsabilité sociale, des thématiques d’avenir ou d’impacts liées aux enjeux du développement durable.

Hexagone Finance et TwentyFour AM annoncent avoir conclu un accord commercial pour la distribution des fonds de TwentyFour AM auprès des investisseurs institutionnels en France.

L'auteur Jean-François Boulier, ancien président du directoire d'Aviva Investors France, revisite dans son livre « Chronique d’une très grande crise », les années qui ont précédé et suivi la crise de 2007 au travers de ses nombreuses chroniques publiées, à l'époque. Il les rassemble et les contextualise. Entretien.

La croissance de l'économie italienne atteindra 1,3% cette année, a indiqué aujourd’hui la Banque d’Italie, qui relève ainsi sa prévision par rapport à une précédente estimation à 1% et s’aligne sur celle du Fonds monétaire international. La Banque centrale avait déjà relevé son estimation le 9 juin, mais a décidé de le faire à nouveau après un premier trimestre meilleur que prévu, marqué par une croissance de 0,4% par rapport aux trois mois précédents.

La Commission européenne a annoncé l’ouverture de trois enquêtes contre Nike, Universal Studios (groupe Comcast) et Sanrio (propriétaire de la marque Hello Kitty), pour déterminer si ces groupes ont bloqué illégalement certaines ventes transfrontalières, ou interdit à certains distributeurs en ligne de vendre leurs produits. Cette initiative fait suite à une enquête menée pendant un an par l’autorité européenne de la concurrence concernant les pratiques sur le commerce électronique de quelque 1.900 entreprises en Europe, dans le cadre d’une stratégie plus large visant à stimuler le commerce en ligne et la croissance économique dans le bloc.

La Première ministre britannique Theresa May compte rencontrer jeudi les dirigeants des principaux partis politiques d’Irlande du Nord pour tenter d’obtenir un accord entre unionistes et nationalistes sur la formation d’un nouvel exécutif régional, a fait savoir mercredi le 10 Downing Street. Le Parti conservateur de Theresa May, qui a perdu sa majorité absolue aux Communes lors des législatives du 8 juin, cherche à obtenir le soutien du plus important parti d’Irlande du Nord, les unionistes du DUP, qui compte dix députés à Westminster. Mais les nationalistes du Sinn Féin craignent qu’un tel rapprochement ne remette en cause les équilibres politiques en Ulster et n’entame la neutralité du gouvernement britannique dans la supervision des tractations pour l’avènement d’un nouvel exécutif biconfessionnel. L’exécutif biconfessionnel (le Stormont) s’est effondré en janvier dernier et des tractations sont en cours. Le Sinn Féin ne veut pas que le DUP présente sa dirigeante, Arlene Foster, pour le poste de chef de l’exécutif, tant que les résultats d’une enquête pour corruption ne sont pas connus.

AEW has signed a new mandate with a German pension fund, whose name has not been disclosed, to construct a new pan-European core portfolio. About EUR100m in capital will be invested in tertiary and residential assets. The portfolio is expected to grow in coming years. “Our objective via this mandate is to construct a sustainable real estate portfolio, with an attractive total return for our client. We are targeting markets which are subject to strong demand both on the part of tenants and investors. With over EUR100m in exclusive assets, we have progressed far in the construction of this portfolio. The management of the mandate will involve the 10 local teams of our European platform,” Marc Langenbach, head of fund management & separate accounts at AEW in Germany, says in a statement.

BofA Merrill Lynch June Fund Manager Survey finds record number of investors consider equities overvalued. Net 44% of investors surveyed say equities are overvalued, the highest response on record and up from net 37% last month. Three quarters of investors surveyed say internet stocks are expensive (57%) or bubble-like (18%) .Net 84% of respondents indicate the US is the most overvalued region for equities, a new all-time high; investors find European equities (net 18%) and EM equities (net 48%) to be undervalued. Average cash balance increases to 5.0%, up from 4.9% in May and still above the 10-year average of 4.5%. “Market vulnerability to profit weakness is very high,” said Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist, “with investors’ perception of excess valuation coinciding with high global profit expectations.” Ronan Carr, European equity strategist, added that, “With the allocation to Eurozone equities still near historical highs the pause in performance may last a while longer.”Net 47% of investors surveyed say global monetary policy is “too stimulative,” the highest number in over six years.

Investment funds on sale in Germany in April posted net inflows of EUR18.4bn, including EUR11.2bn for open-ended funds dedicated to institutional investors, while funds open to the public showed net inflows of EUR5.1bn, according to the most recent statistics from the German association of asset management firms.As of the end of April 2017, asset management firms based in Germany had EUR2.9trn in assets under management, including EUR1.538trn in funds dedicated to institutional investors.

Old Mutual Global Investors, part of Old Mutual Wealth, has hired Nick Payne, Salman Siddiqui and Liz Fernandes, to form the business’s new global emerging markets equity desk.Headed by Nick Payne, the team has over 40 years of combined experience in researching and managing global emerging markets and frontier equity investments. The trio join OMGI from Nomura Asset Management, where they worked together for three years, most recently on the Nomura Global Emerging Markets Equity Fund. Nick Payne, named head of global emerging markets, will report to OMGI’s CEO, Richard Buxton.Subject to regulatory approval, OMGI are set to bring the management of the Old Mutual Global Emerging Markets Fund in-house. The USD244.6m fund which is currently managed by Fisher Asset Management, LLC, will be insourced on 21 July 2017, and fund management responsibilities will be assumed by the new team.The fund’s objective will be unchanged; however, following the change of investment adviser, OMGI intends to reduce the fund’s annual management fee.

The consulting group Cyrus last week acquired the agency Seine et Saône Finance, which has EUR120m in financial assets. With locations in Paris and Lyon, the agency was founded 21 years ago by Sylvain Theux. It has six employees, and advises about 150 families. Cyrus Conseil, which is 33% controlled by BlackFin and 67% by its directors, had EUR2.5bn in assets before the operation.

The Roche-Brune AM company, currently 68% controlled by the Primonial group and 32% controlled by Roche-Brune Patrimoine (the holding company of Bruno Fine, chairman and founder of the asset management firm), is soon expected to undergo a reshuffle of its shareholder structure, a statement has announced. Applying agreements reached with the Primonial group, Roche-Brune Patrimoine is planning to acquire the full stake of Primonial, and to bring in a new strategic partner, Midas Wealth Management, a Luxembourg-based asset management firm. At the conclusion of the operation, 45% of capital in the asset management firm, which has EUR502m in assets under management, will be held by Midas Wealth Management, in parity with Roche-Brune Patrimoine, which on this occasion is increasing its position. The remaining 10% of capital in Roche-Brine AM will be acquired by MONAB, the private holding company of Alain Blanc-Brude, chairman of Midas Wealth Management. All of these operations are subject to approval by the AMF. A statement says that for Midas Wealth Management, the entry of Roche-Brune AM into its capital aims to enrich its product line serving high net worth clients, with the expertise of Roche-Brune AM in equity management, and access to new client segments within and outside of France. Roche-Brune AM, which will remain in Paris, says that “the new partnership signed with Midas Wealth Management comes as part of the same logic of multi-boutiques which it put in place with the Primonial group, while offering new opportunities in the area of sales and reimagined governance.” All management activities serving third parties will be organized around two key strategies: private debt and equities, with global cumulative assets of EUR1.9bn, distributed over three categories of client: high net worth, institutional and retail. “This reorganization of capital reaffirms the permanence of the asset management firm lead by the team of Bruno Fine, chairman of Roche-Brune AM, and Grégoire Laverne, deputy CEO, and continued efforts in research and development on the proprietary M.U.S.T. model developed by the asset management firm since its inception,” the statement concludes.

BlackRock veteran fund manager Dennis Stattman is to retire from the asset management giant in August after 28 years at the firm, sayid Money Marketing. Stattman is the lead co-manager of the GBP14bn BlackRock Global Allocation fund. The multi-asset fund will continue to be run by the four other co-managers Dan Chamby, David Clayton, Kent Hogshire, and Russ Koesterich. Stattman serves as head of the global allocation team within BlackRock’s multi-asset strategies group. He is also a member of BlackRock’s global operating and leadership committees.

Jay Jacobs, Pimco’s president and managing director, will retire from the asset manager on Sept. 30th, after a 19-year career with the firm. His responsibilities will be taken over by Robin Shanahan and Peter Strelow, both managing directors, named as co-chief operating officers. Ms. Shanahan and Mr. Strelow will report to Pimco’s chief executive officer Emmanuel Roman. Robin Shanahan has been at Pimco for 10 years and is currently the firm’s global head of human resources. Peter Strelow has been at Pimco for 15 years and is currently the chief administrative officer and global head, funds.Jay Jacobs will continue to serve the firm as an advisor to Emmanuel Roman until at least September 2018. In January, he will join Georgetown University’s Center for Financial Markets and Policy as a Distinguished Global Fellow. Jay Jacobs was also recently appointed to the board of directors of The Peterson Institute for International Economics. Both institutions are based in Washington, DC.

The Swiss asset management firm RobecoSAM, a specialist in sustainable management, on 13 June announced the recruitment of four client professionals. Stéphane Matile is appointed as head of wholesale clients and country head for Switzerland, while Rüdiger Zeppenfeld becomes director of institutional clients. Johannes Weisser and Susane Linhardt are appointed as senior client portfolio manager and client portfolio manager, respectively, for the Swiss market and globally.Matile has over 15 years of experience, including 13 years at Raiffeisen Capital Management, where he had most recently been responsible for international clients, and country head for Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Zeppenfeld has over 20 years of experience in asset management, with a specialty in development of activities. He had most recently been working at Berenberg Asset Management, where he had been senior head of business development, after 14 years at State Street Global Advisors in Germany and Switzerland. Weisser has 15 years of experience in the financial industry. He served at Bank J. Safra Sarasin, where he was promoted to head of fixed income and absolute return. He had most recently served at Bank Zurich, where he had been director of the bond investment team as senior investment manager. Linhardt, for her part, has 10 years of experience in the finance sector. She has worked as an equity analyst at Citi- Banchile in Chile, and also at Bradesco Securities in London and at Munich Re & Ergo Asset Management (MEAG).

The Belgian Asset Managers Association (BEAMA) has elected Marnix Arickx, CEO of BNP Paribas Asset Management Belgium, as its new chairman at a general shareholders’ meeting on 12 June. Arickx succeeds Hugo Lasat of Degroof Petercam Asset Management, who had been in the position for three years, and remains as a director.The association has also elected two vice-chairs: Katrin Eycjmans, financial adviser at Capfi Delen Asset Management, and Myriam Vanneste, global head of product management at Candriam Investors Group, and executive director of Candriam Belgium.The new terms will run from June 2017 to June 2020.

Gatehouse Bank plc and Columbia Threadneedle Investments launch the Threadneedle (Lux) – Gatehouse Shariah Global Equity Fund, following regulatory approval by the CSSF (Co mmission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier) in Luxembourg and the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) in the UK. The fund draws on both Columbia Threadneedle’s investment philosophy and process and Gatehouse’s Shariah investment expertise. The fund is an actively managed equity portfolio investing in between 50 and 80 Shariah compliant stocks globally in accordance with the Shariah Guidelines as determined by the Shariah Supervisory Board and Gatehouse as the Shariah Compliance Advisor. In t his role, Gatehouse will provide ongoing advice for the fund and monitor its activities with regard to its adherence to the Shariah guidelines. The Fund aims to outperform its benchmark, the MSCI Islamic M - Series index, by 2% per annum over rolling 3 year periods. Simon Haines is the lead portfolio manager and is supported by Columbia Threadneedle’s Global Equities team based in London consisting of 12 individuals with 15 years’ industry experience on average. IdealRatings as Shariah Stock Screening Provider to the Fund. IdealRatings provide research that expands upon that u ndertaken by Islamic index providers and permits asset managers to tailor portfolios to the Shariah guidelines relevant to their products. All investment ideas under consideration for inclusion within the Fund will be assessed with regard to their Shariah compliance.

The British ETF provider Source has announced the launch of Source MSCI Europe Ex-UK ETF, a tracker fund listed on Xetra in Germany, which offers diversified exposure to large and mid-cap companies in 14 developed countries other than the United Kingdom. “We have observed an increase in demand for European equities, at a time when uncertainties concerning the prospects for the United Kingdom is rising,” Source notes in a statement. The asset management firm says that ongoing fees will be 0.20% per year, a “far lower level than its direct rivals.”

Métropole Gestion will be applying measures of the FROG working group, and is to transform seven of its common investment funds (FCP) into a French-registered SICAV. Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS), its custodian and fund administrator, made the announcement, as it will be assisting the asset management firm with the conversino process. According to a statement, the Sicav is expected to benefit from “a solid framework to protect the interests of investors, with a dedicated governance charter.” The objective is that it be “a reference of quality for foreign investors.” According to SGSS, the transformation will have no impact on the past performance track records of the funds, which will be conserved from their launch, or on their ISIN codes. Outside France, Métropole Gestion sells its products in Switzerland, Benelux, Germany, Austraia, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Sweden. It is also present in the Middle East.

Natixis has announced the launch of Magenta Juillet 2017, a four-year investment solution, offering a guarantee on 90% of capital at all times, equivalent to a risk of capital loss of up to 10%. This is a security backed by French equities, open for sale until 28 July, 2017. Mahenta Juillet 2017, available as part of unit-linked life insurance policies, is benchmarked to the French equity market via the CAC Large 60 Equal Weight Excess Return (“CAC Large 60 EWER”) index, sponsored by Euronext, covering the 60 largest stocks listed on the Paris stock market. The final redemption value of Magenta Juillet 2017 will depend on the evolution of the index, and an absence of default by the issuer or its underwriter. The nominal value is EUR1,000, and shares are available exclusively via the insurer Generali Vie until 26 June 2017.

Old Mutual Global Investors vient de recruter trois gérants de Nomura Asset Management pour créer un desk actions émergentes mondiales. Le trio, composé de Nick Payne, Salman Siddiqui et Liz Fernandes, travaille ensemble depuis trois ans. Dernièrement, il gérait le Nomura Global Emerging Markets Equity Fund. Nick Payne était responsable des actions émergentes et frontières de Nomura et gérant principal du fonds. Salman Siddiqui et Liz Fernandes étaient gérants de portefeuille.Chez OMGI, l’équipe sera dirigée par Nick Payne, nommé responsable des marchés émergents mondiaux, et qui sera rattaché au directeur général de la société, Richard Buxton. L'équipe pilotera le fonds Old Mutual Global Emerging Markets, d’un encours de 244,6 millions de dollars, dont la gestion est actuellement déléguée à Fisher Asset Management et qui doit être réinternalisé le 21 juillet. L’objectif du fonds reste le même, mais les frais de gestion annuels seront réduits.