BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) announced on March 28 that it has appointed three experienced professionals in London to its Institutional business line. Marc Fleury becomes head of sales for the corporate & endowments segment. He joined BNP Paribas in 2007 where he has, among other things, headed the sales team at Theam, BNPP IP’s Partner specialising in indexed and systematic investment solutions. Marc Fleury will be responsible for driving BNPP IP’s sales activity with corporates and endowments in Europe and the Middle East. Anne Dille‐Weibel becomes head of sales for the insurance segment. She has led BNPP IP’s sales activities related to banks and insurance companies in France since 2007, and for the past two years has been responsible for co‐ordinating the company’s sales to insurance companies around the world. Finally, Katherine Simons joins the company as head of global RFP (request for proposal). She has been leading and developing RFP, due diligence and marketing activities since 2000 with GAM, Franklin Templeton Investments and Old Mutual Global Investors. At Franklin Templeton she ran the firm’s global RFP activity, managing an integrated team of writers across the United States, Europe and Asia.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Slowly but surely, assets in Spanish investment funds are rising. On 21 March 2014, assets under management totalled EUR169bn, up by EUR2.35bn, or 1.41%, according to data compiled by VDOS Stochastics. In the first three weeks of the month of March, net subscriptions totalled EUR2.36bn. Santander AM retains its place as the top player in the market, with EUR30.45bn in assets under management as of 21 March. The firm places ahead of BBVA AM, which has a total of EUR23.68bn in assets. Santander AM has also won the prize for the best monthly inflows, with EUR435m in net subscriptions. Santander AM places ahead of Invercaixa Gestion (EUR284m in inflows), BanSabadell Inversion (EUR282m), BBVA AM (EUR231m), and lastly, Kutxabank Gestion (EUR220m).

Heading into the final days of the first quarter of 2014, emerging markets equity funds came within USD12 million of posting inflows for the first time since mid-October as institutional investors went looking for value at the country level. Flows into Thailand, Chile, Brazil, India and Russia Equity Funds ended in positive territory.This narrower focus was also evident in Europe equity fund flows, with four country fund groups taking in over USD100 million headed by Italy Equity Funds’ record setting USD342 million during the week ending March 25, according to EPFR’s data. Investors declined to chase the latest surges by US and Japanese equity markets. As a result, redemptions from developed markets equity funds accounted for the bulk of the USD8.3 billion that flowed out of all equity funds during the week. Bond Funds took in another USD4.4 billion while USD10.3 billion was pulled out of money market funds with Europe money market funds accounting for the biggest share of that total.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } The investment advising firm Koris International, which is already known for its expertise in risk management techniques, is launching a vast transparency operation concerning the quality of ETFs. More precisely, Koris is proposing to review key elements and to take into account the valuation of an ETF, and also to share its allocation experience. On a monthly basis, Koris will publish a detailed analysis of a given top index, and the largest ETFs replicating the index. “Rather than discerning what is expected to be a good or bad ETF, good operational or legal structure, or the appropriate commission level, we have decided to share our experience related to the evaluation of risks and the performance of ETFs,” Jean-René Giraud, CEO of Koris International, explains to Newsmanagers. The choice of ETFs has clearly been dictated by the strong expansion of the type of instrument worldwide, firstly in the United States, and also in Europe in recent years. “ETFs are not an asset class as some may claim, but they very clearly serve as incontrovertible bricks in the construction of a portfolio for most investors, says Giraud. Hence the initiative by Koris, whose first experience has already made it possible to draw some conclusions. Initially, the collection of information has already proven much more complicated than expected. “Public data is not necessarily accurate, we are also facing outdated information, heterogeneous elements concerning legal and operational frameworks, many elements that have kept us very busy in the past few months,” explains Giraud. Then, the first study carried out by Koris made it possible to conclude that standard deviation models are not necessarily a panacea, and that new exams do not represent an appropriate indicator either to measure the quality of an ETF. Trading volumes on regulated markets are limited to small operations. And now we know that although no statistics are available, the over-the-counter market represents more than 55% of total transactions concerning ETFs. This situation complicates the job for institutionals in a practical way, since this means analysing market spreads. Koris has chosen to start with one of the indices which is probably one of the most difficult to replicate in the equity universe: the MSCI Emerging Market Index, which covers multiple markets, multiple time zones, multipe currencies and sometimes very small markets. Giraud concludes with the observation that “rising returns from an index are an experiment in complex management, which is too often judged too hastily by investors. The quality of an ETF cannot really be limited to the analysis of fees, tracking error, or physical or synthetic format.” From his point of view, “the future of this tool in the institutional world will involve a much less rigorous selection approach. Our study provides a basis for analysis which the investor can rely on. We are also planning to extend our investigation to the difficult conditions in which these instruments are traded off-market.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Three former employees of the inter-bank broker Icap have been charged in the United Kingdom for their presumed role in the Libor inter-bank lending scandal, the British serious fraud office (SFO) announced on 28 March. The new charges bring the number of people charged in the UK by the SFO in the case of nine, as in January the agency sought a budgetary extension to complete the investigation. The three people are suspected by the SFO of manipulating rates in a concerted manner “between 8 August 2006 and 7 September 2010.” Icap is one of the groups sanctioned by the British and US authorities as part of the Libor scandal which brokeout in 2012 as Barclays was fined. In addition to Barclays and Icap, many firms worldwide have been caught up in the scandal. UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) also faced fines.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Regulations are continuing to cause difficulties for asset managers. According to a survey by the investment consulting firm Investit, presented in London, which suveyed 60 members of the general management at 24 investment service and portfolio management providers, planned regulatory changes remain the top priority for 93% of respondents, Funds Europe reports. In the top 3 priorities, this issue is far out in front, followed by data management in second place for 66% of respondents, and front-office systems, the third priority for 52% of managers. Unsurprisingly, the Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) directive is subject to the most concerns, followed by expected changes in the composition of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) and the application of Dodd-Frank.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) before the weekend named Tom McDonagh acting senior investment officer (SIO) for real assets, effective April 1, 2014.McDonagh will take over the position vacated by Ted Eliopoulos, who has been named interim chief investment officer upon the passing of Joe Dear, CalPERS chief investment officer. McDonagh is currently a senior portfolio manager in the Global Fixed Income asset class.As acting SIO of Real Assets, McDonagh will be responsible for implementation and management of investment strategy and policy for the pension fund’s USD27.8 billion portfolio in real assets worldwide.

The FRR launched on the 17th may 2013 a request for proposals to select new managers for actively managed equities mandates. Following the selection process concerning lot 1 - « European small capitalisations » and lot 2 - « French small and medium capitalisations » the FRR has decided to accept the following proposals from these investment service providers: Lot 1 - « European Small capitalisations » - Fidelity Gestion - Montanaro Asset Management Limited - Standard Life Investments Limited - Threadneedle Asset Management Limited Lot 2 - « French Small and Medium capitalisations » - CM-CIC Asset Management - CPR Asset Management - Generali Investments Europe - ODDO Asset Management - Sycomore Asset Management The mandates are granted for a duration of four years with the option of a further year for an indicative amount of 500 million Euro for the lot 1 and 300 million Euro for the lot 2.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Swiss & Global Asset Management has launched the JP Emerging Markets Opportunities Bond Fund, fondsweb reports. The fund provides investors access to emerging market debt denominated in local or hard currencies. The strategy aims for returns of about 6% to 10% per year, with total volatility of 5% to 7%. For local currencies, the fund is currently invested in Brazil, Mexico and Poland, while for hard currencies, it is invested in Indonesian debt and debt from some eastern European countries, including Slovenia and Croatia.

ING Investment Mangement will in April launch two funds which will give UK and European investors larger access to its debt strategies, Investment Week reports. One of them will be an Asian high return corporate bond fund, which will replicate a fund dedicated to Japanese investors. It will be managed by Joep Huntjens, head of Asian debt at ING IM. The firm is also creating a European version of its ABS fund based in the Netherlands. The product will meet the requirements of the AIFM directive, and will be managed by Calvin Davies and Annemieke Aoldeweijer. It will receive a capital contribution of EUR250m from the Netherlands fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «WenQuanYi Micro Hei"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 12pt; } Parametric Portfolio Associates has launched the Paramatric Dividend Income Fund, a strategy which will be co-managed by David M. Stein, chief investment officer at Parametric, and Thomas Seto, managing director. The fund is advised by Eaton Vance Management and sub-advised by Parametric. Following a “top-down, disciplined and systematic” approach, the strategy seeks quality companies that have regular income and reduced levels of volatility on a sectoral bases, a statement says. Assets under management at Parametric totalled USD116.5bn as of the end of January 2014 for institutional investors, HNW clients and US and international investors.

Le palmarès Fund Brand 50 de Fund Buyer Focus, présenté en exclusivité française par Newsmanagers, donne le nom des 50 marques de sociétés de gestion préférées des sélectionneurs de fonds en Europe. BlackRock, JP Morgan et Fidelity sont les grands gagnants de cette édition, trustant le podium grâce à leur force de frappe internationale (classement en pièce jointe). Diana Mackay, CEO de Fund Buyer Focus revient en détail sur les résultats du classement, révélateur des grandes tendances du marchés de la distribution de fonds en Europe.

L’inflation dans la zone euro est tombée en mars à son plus bas niveau depuis novembre 2009, avec une hausse de seulement 0,5% en rythme annuel, selon l’estimation flash publiée par Eurostat. Les économistes interrogés par Reuters s’attendaient en moyenne à 0,6%, après 0,7% en février. Pour le sixième mois consécutif, l’inflation dans la zone euro se situe ainsi nettement sous la barre de 1% l’an, dans ce que le président de la Banque centrale européenne Mario Draghi a qualifié de «zone dangereuse».

Cette estimation flash de Eurostat sur un an s'inscrit dans le sillage de la diminution de février à 0,7%. La BCE se réunit, jeudi.

Le fonds Pimco Total Return, plus important fonds obligataire au monde géré par Bill Gross, affiche selon Morningstar depuis le début de l’année (au 27 mars) une performance de 1,28%, inférieure à celle de 87% des fonds comparables aux Etats-Unis. Le fonds du gestionnaire californien est en retard de 0,75 point face à l’indice de référence cité par Morningstar, le Barclays US Aggregate.

Le déficit public de l’Espagne a représenté 6,6% du produit intérieur brut (PIB) en 2013, après 6,8% en 2012, a déclaré vendredi le ministre du Trésor Cristobal Montoro. L’objectif du gouvernement, qui était de 6,5%, a donc été légèrement dépassé. La Commission européenne anticipe pour l’Espagne un déficit de 5,8% cette année.

Un an après avoir imposé un contrôle partiel des capitaux lors de la déconfiture de son système bancaire, Chypre a aboli vendredi l’une de ces mesures, le plafonnement à 300 euros par jour des retraits de cash dans les banques. Le ministère des Finances de l'île a publié un décret en ce sens, assorti d’autres mesures qui assouplissent les contrôles instaurés au printemps 2013.

La Banque centrale américaine a indiqué samedi qu’elle allait revoir les procédures liées aux stress tests bancaires, après avoir dû récemment corriger à la marge les résultats de ces tests pour quelques-uns des trente établissements soumis à cet examen annuel de leur santé financière. «Nous allons rechercher la cause de l’erreur afin d’éviter qu’elle se reproduise», a souligné une porte-parole de l’institution.

Après deux semaines d’existence des fonds PEA-PME, Morningstar avait identifié vendredi dans ses bases de donnés 15 nouvelles arrivées dans cette catégorie, ce qui porte le nombre de fonds accessibles à 38 pour 62 parts différentes éligibles au PEA-PME. Ces fonds sont gérés par 34 sociétés différentes qui gèrent sur ce nouveau dispositif un montant global supérieur à 1 milliard d’euros.

L’Argentine est sur le point de recevoir un prêt d’un milliard de dollars (725 millions d’euros) de Goldman Sachs, rapporte dimanche le journal Pagina 12 proche du gouvernement. Il précise que ce prêt, d’une maturité de deux ans, portera un intérêt annuel de 6,5%. Le pays entend ainsi prouver que le dégel de ses relations avec les prêteurs internationaux commence à faire sentir ses effets positifs.

Les anticipations d'un QE à l'européenne nourrissent le mouvement de détente

Les anticipations d'un QE à l'européenne nourrissent le mouvement de détente

L'enquête annuelle de Fidelity auprès des entreprises suivies par ses analystes prévoit une reprise des investissements et une croissance des dividendes

Samir Bederr, responsable de la gestion crédit & convertibles à La Banque Postale Asset Management

Frédérik Ducrozet, économiste zone euro chez Crédit Agricole CIB

Bruxelles a décidé de faire une pause dans la négociation du partenariat entre l’Union européenne et les Etats-Unis

Elle assure que les règles qu'elle a publiées en février dernier se rapprochent des standards en vigueur depuis des années en Europe

Jean-Marie Mercadal, directeur général délégué en charge des gestions chez OFI AM

Christian Parisot, responsable de la recherche économique chez Aurel BGC

Pierre Guillemin, directeur allocations d’actifs et actions chez Swiss Life Asset Management