Robeco Boston Partners, le spécialiste de l’approche value au sein du groupe Robeco, a terminé l’année 2013 sur les chapeaux de roue. Ses actifs sous gestion s’inscrivaient fin décembre 2013 à près de 51 milliards de dollars, contre 27 milliards de dollars à fin 2012. Une évolution due pour 40% à l’effet marché mais à 60% à la collecte nette. Depuis le début de l’année, la collecte s’est poursuivie et les actifs sous gestion tutoient désormais la barre des 54 milliards de dollars, avec une collecte de l’ordre de 600 millions de dollars émanant du marché européen. La part de l’international dans les encours se situe actuellement autour de 25% à 30% avec tendance ascendante.Christopher Hart, le gérant du fonds Robeco BP Global Premium Equities, de passage à Paris, a souligné le 13 février qu’il était désormais plus prudent vis-à-vis des grandes capitalisations et cherchait plutôt des opportunités d’investissement du côté des capitalisations moyennes. Le fonds, actuellement sous-pondéré sur l’Amérique du Nord mais surpondéré sur l’Europe continentale et très peu exposé aux marchés émergents, comporte une centaine de lignes. Depuis que Christopher Hart assure la gestion de cette stratégie (juillet 2008) jusqu'à fin 2013, le fonds a dégagé une performance annualisée de 10,29% net de commissions contre 7,86% pour l’indice MSCI World.Christopher Hart a indiqué à Newsmanagers que Robeco Boston Partners avait lancé il y a environ 6 mois une stratégie long/short global qui pourrait être ultérieurement introduite sur le marché européen.

L’Union Financière de France (UFF) poursuit sa marche en avant. En 2013, la filiale d’Aviva France a dégagé un résultat net consolidé de 18,4 millions d’euros, en progression de 21 % par rapport à 2012. En l’espace d’un an, son résultat d’exploitation a, quant à lui, augmenté de 21 % à 27,7 millions d’euros.La banque conseil en gestion de patrimoine a enregistré une progression sensible de son activité commerciale. De fait, sa collecte brute globale a augmenté de 14 % par rapport à 2012, pour dépasser le seuil du milliard d’euros (1,011 milliard). Cette performance a été portée par l’assurance vie (+20 % à 458 millions d’euros), la reprise des investissements en valeurs mobilières (+16% à 142 millions) et une progression des ventes de lots immobiliers (+15% à 215 millions). En revanche, l’UFF accuse une légère baisse des souscriptions en SCPI, en recul de 3 % sur un an à 96 millions d’euros. «Nos clients ont retrouvé un plus grand goût pour les actions et les multisupports, notamment en assurance vie, et ils ont continué à s’ouvrir vers la diversification, à savoir les placements dans les PME, tout en confirmant leur attachement très fort à l’immobilier», a commenté Nicolas Schimel, PDG d’UFF. Sur l’ensemble de l’année 2013, l’UFF a enregistré une collecte nette de 83 millions d’euros, contre 49 millions d’euros en 2012. Portés par ces flux entrants positifs et par un impact positif de la valorisation de ses actifs, ses encours gérés augmentent ainsi de 8 %, passant de 7,23 milliards d’euros en 2012 à 7,8 milliards d’euros en 2013.En 2014, la société entend bien poursuivre son action visant «à développer notre potentiel de distribution», a précisé Paul Younès, directeur général délégué d’UFF. La nouvelle année sera surtout consacrée à l’intégration des 220 collaborateurs du réseau Aviva Epargne & Conseils (AEC), acquis au 1er janvier 2014. «Cette acquisition nous permet d’afficher 10 milliards d’euros d’encours, grâce aux 2,5 milliards d’AEC, et de porter notre réseau commercial de 900 à 1.150 conseillers, a indiqué Paul Younès. En 2014, nous allons travailler à la fusion opérationnelle afin d’avoir un seul et même réseau homogène.» En parallèle, l’UFF compte accélérer le développement de CGP Entrepreneurs, sa filiale dédiée aux conseillers en gestion de patrimoine indépendants qui compte aujourd’hui une quinzaine de partenaires. Afin d’atteindre rapidement une taille critique dans ce domaine, l’UFF ne cache pas «regarder les opportunités pour des acquisitions potentielles», selon Paul Younès. Enfin, soucieuse de proposer davantage de produits actions à ses clients en 2014, l’UFF fait évoluer son offre en lançant de nouveaux produits comme UFF Euro Valeur 0-100, UFF Sélection Premium et, surtout, le fonds UFF Tremplin PME éligible au nouveau PEA-PME et dont la gestion est confiée à la Financière de l’Echiquier. «Nous allons prendre le cheval de bataille du PEA car nous considérons que c’est le meilleur produit pour investir en actions», a souligné Paul Younès, tout en précisant ne s'être fixé aucun objectif en termes d’encours sur ce fonds PEA-PME.

L’hémorragie s’accélère pour la gestion d’actifs de BNP Paribas. En 2013, cette activité portée par BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) a subi une décollecte de 31,4 milliards d’euros, malgré une collecte nette positive de l’ordre de 200 millions d’euros au quatrième trimestre, selon les données publiées par le groupe bancaire le 13 février. En 2012, la filiale avait déjà accusé 18,8 milliards d’euros de retraits nets. Le groupe BNP Paribas indique que la décollecte en 2013 s’est notamment matérialisée dans les fonds monétaires, sans donner plus de détail. Résultat: ses actifs sous gestion ont fondu comme neige au soleil, ressortant à 370 milliards d’euros fin 2013 contre 405 milliards fin 2012, soit une baisse de 8,5 %. BNP Paribas n’entend toutefois pas baisser les bras. Dans le cadre de son plan stratégique 2014-2016, le groupe a assigné à BNPP IP un objectif clair: relancer la collecte. Une vraie gageure au regard des performances affichées ces derniers années. A horizon 2016, BNPP IP doit ainsi réaliser un objectif ambitieux: engranger 40 milliards d’euros de collecte nette. Pour ce faire, la filiale de gestion d’actifs a ciblé trois axes de développement prioritaires: la clientèle institutionnelle, l’Asie-Pacifique et les marchés émergents, et, enfin, les plates-formes et les réseaux de distribution. L’avenir dira si BNPP IP aura réussi à relever ce défi.

L’action Aberdeen Asset Management a chuté en deçà des 420 pence, prix auquel il finance l’acquisition de Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (Swip) pour 550 millions de livres, rapporte Financial News. Pour chaque penny en dessous de ce niveau, la société de gestion devra trouver 1,3 million de livres supplémentaire, selon les estimations de Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Ainsi, Aberdeen devra payer à Lloyds 16,9 millions de livres en plus sur les 12 prochains mois si la baisse persiste.

Dans l’univers de la gestion alternative américaine, les comptes gérés et les « fund-of-one » affichent une popularité grandissante auprès des investisseurs institutionnels, observe Cerulli Associates. Les « funds-of-one » sont des structures d’investissement sur mesure dédiées à un seul investisseur. La différence principale avec les comptes gérés (ou « managed accounts »), que l’on ne présente plus, est que dans ces dernières structures, les actifs sont détenus et contrôlés par l’investisseur, tandis que pour les « funds-of-one », la société de hedge fund garde le contrôle. « La demande pour les actifs alternatifs de la part des investisseurs retail et institutionnels s’est récemment accélérée », explique Michele Giuditta, directeur associé chez Cerulli.« Les sociétés de gestion élargissent la palette des options offertes pour mieux répondre aux besoins et aux objectifs des clients, et améliorent les véhicules et les structures utilisées pour proposer ces produits, poursuit-il. Depuis le retournement des marchés en 2008, les comptes gérés et les structures « fund-of-one » ont vu leur popularité croître parmi les investisseurs. Ces structures fournissent aux investisseurs institutionnels des contrôles, une transparence et une liquidité accrus, ainsi que des frais plus faibles. »

AEW Europe SGP, filiale à 100% d’AEW Europe, a acheté pour le compte de l’ERAFP (Etablissement de Retraite Additionnelle de la Fonction Publique) l’immeuble Christophe Colomb 2 situé au 4/10 rue Mozart à Clichy à proximité de la station du RER C « Saint Ouen » et du futur prolongement de la ligne 14 du métro.Cet immeuble de bureaux, acquis auprès d’IVG Institutional Funds, d’une surface d’environ 8.700 m² est loué par Nexans depuis la livraison de l’immeuble en 2001. Le locataire occupe actuellement 88% de la surface de l’immeuble.Lors de cette opération, l’acquéreur était conseillé par l’Etude Prud’homme et Baum et le vendeur par l’Etude Thibierge.

La performance des placements («total return») de Zurich Insurance s’est élevée l’an dernier à seulement 1,3%, contre 7% l’année précédente. Le «net return» recule à 3,5% contre 4,4% l’année précédente.Le groupe suisse gérait quelque 208 milliards de dollars d’investissements à la fin de 2013. Les produits de taux représentent 85,6% du portefeuille du premier assureur suisse.

Les salaires dans le secteur de la finance suisse devraient enregistrer une légère hausse par rapport à l’an dernier, après plusieurs années de stagnation, selon le «Global Salary Survey 2014» publié par l’agence de recrutement Robert Walters. Dans la banque privée et l’asset management, un gérant de portefeuille avec une expérience de 5 à 7 ans peut espérer en moyenne 100.000 à 130.000 francs suisses en 2014. Pour une expérience de 7 à 10 ans, la rémunération fixe se situe entre 130.000 et 180.000 euros. Pour une position «sales» dans l’asset management, le salaire moyen est de 110.000 à 140.000 francs pour une expérience entre 5 et 7 ans, et de 130.000 à 170.000 France suisses pour un profil plus expérimenté, précise Finews.

La Banque Linth, contrôlée par la Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB), a fait état pour l’exercice 2013 d’une collecte nette de 244 millions de francs suisses, soit plus du double par rapport aux 119 millions de francs engrangés l’année précédente.Les actifs sous gestion ont ainsi progressé de 8,5% pour s'établir à 5,98 milliards de francs suisses.Le bénéfice net s’est inscrit en hausse de 9,6% sur l’année à 16,9 millions de francs.

Long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) registered increased net sales of EUR 31 billion, compared to EUR 21 billion in November, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA). In 2013, long-term UCITS net sales totalled EUR 320 billion.Net sales of equity funds totalled EUR 20 billion, up from EUR 10 billion in November, as balanced funds recorded a rise in net sales to EUR 13 billion, up from 8 billion in November. However, net sales of bond funds returned to negative territory in December with net outflows of EUR 6 billion compared to net inflows of EUR 6 billion in the previous month. Money market funds registered large net outflows of EUR 19 billion, which can be explained by cyclical end-year withdrawals. Net inflows into UCITS amounted to EUR 13 billion, down from EUR 18 billion in November. Total net assets of UCITS increased 0.1 percent in December to EUR 6,929 billion, whilst non-UCITS assets grew by 0.3 percent to EUR 2,799 billion.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock is offering five mutual funds which will aim to provide long-term performance corresponding to the returns tied to BlackRock CoRI retirement indices. CoRI indices help investors to estimate the future annual returns from their current savings at the age of 65, or inversely, estimate the savings effort recommended to reach a certain level of income at 65. The five funds on offer are the following: - BlackRock CoRI 2015 Fund (BCVAX) - BlackRock CoRI 2017 Fund (BCWAX) - BlackRock CoRI 2019 Fund (BCXAX) - BlackRock CoRI 2021 Fund (BCYAX) - BlackRock CoRI 2023 Fund (BCZAX) These products are invested as a priority in bonds, but may also invest in other financial instruments. They will be managed by Scott Radell and James Mauro of the North America portfolio solutions unit, within the alpha bond strategies unit dedicated to the Americas region at BlackRock.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The global unlisted equity fund managed by David Samra and Daniel O’Keefe at Artisan Partners will be closed to most new investors at the end of this week, Citywire reports. The fund has USD14.1bn in assets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With a new shareholder and a new name, Dexia Asset Management, now known as Candriam Investors Group, can at last dream of the future. “We are aiming for growth of 8% to 10% in our assets per year, supposing that markets gain 4-5% per year,” says Naïm Abou-Jaoudé, CEO of Candriam. “Over five years, that makes 50% more assets, which would allow us to exceed the EUR100bn mark.” Currently, assets at Candriam, which has been acquired by the US firm New York Life, total EUR73bn, after a peak in 2007, at EUR105bn. “We will finally be able to regain lost market share and return to our leading position, now that the weight of history and our uncertainties over the sale are behind us,” Abou-Jaoudé says. The two drivers of growth in assets will be distribution, which represent 28% of assets, and institutionals, which acount for the remainder. Abou-Jaoudé is placing a lot of hope in distribution clients, who had previously been cooled by the sales process and the reputation of the former parent company. Also, it is notable that 35% of assets are managed for Belfius (ex-Dexia) and BIL, under “long-term partnerships.” International activities are not forgotten, and Candriam plans to add to its institutional team in Germany, focused on distribution, recruit a head of consultants in England, and add to staff in Switzerland. “We are in development mode,” says Abou-Jaoudé, who confirms that teams from Dexia AM will remain in place. Lastly, Candriam will also be able to create new products, with the launch of a total return income fund, a European private investment fund and an optimum value private equity fund for insurers. Abou-Jaoudé does not rule out offering funds from investment boutiques of New York Life to European invetors, but that is in the consideration stages at present. The shareholder may also place assets with Candriam, but it is also too soon to say about that.

European asset managers are set to rationalise further, but a widespread mergers and acquisitions spree is unlikely, Fitch Ratings says. “We do not expect widespread M&A because there are not many large candidates left and deals can bring considerable risks. There could be stark cultural differences among managers and they may also face investor outflows. Other challenges include a negative impact on an asset managers’ credit profile if an acquisition involves debt funding, regulatory hurdles in the approval phase and over-paying in a competitive market, particularly if a bidding war is triggered”, according to the rating agency. Nevertheless, Fitch Ratings expect some further selective M&A activity among European asset managers, particularly where institutional investors increasingly demand scale, such as alternative investment, private equity and real estate. The agency also expect the acquisition of smaller specialists to remain popular ways for asset managers to add competences, products, clients or distribution channels. Finally, European asset managers have also generated interest from overseas parties. These transactions enhanced growth platforms and increased geographical diversification of previously North American- or Asian-focused funds.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on February 13 launched a consultation on Guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures (APMs). The aim of the guidelines is to encourage European issuers to publish transparent, unbiased and comparable information on their financial performance in order to provide users with a better understanding of their performance. Some examples of APMs include EBIT (Earnings Before Interest & Tax), EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation), free cash flow, underlying profit or net-debt. The Consultation Paper follows on from ESMA’s decision to review and replace the 2005 CESR Recommendation on APMs with Guidelines under Article 16 of the ESMA Regulation to tackle concerns about APMs used by issuers.The proposed guidelines are aligned with other regulations and guidance issued by securities regulators in the United States, Australia and Canada on this matter, according to a press release. The closing date for responses to this consultation is 14 May 2014 and ESMA expects to publish the final guidelines in the fourth quarter of 2014.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The service provider S&P Capital IQ on 13 February announced the launch of Deal Detector, a new detection tool for businesses which have the same characteristics in terms of valuation and fundamentals as businesses which have already been the targets of acquisition operations. The initiative comes at a time when a marked rise has been observed in merger and acquisition activities worldwide, with an activity volume which last year topped USD2.6trn, the best result since 2007, a statement from S&P Capital IQ states. Deal Detector will then alert investors about potential investment ideas ahead of potential merger and acquisition operations. The tool allows for sectoral trends to be detected without specifying a time horizon for each investment idea, also setting it apart from traditional research, which is generally based on a 12-month timetable.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Shares in Aberdeen Asset Management have fallen below 420 pence, the price at which it finances the cost of the acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership for GBP550m, Financial News reports. For each penny below this level, the asset management firm will have to pay an additional GBP1.3m, according to estimates by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Aberdeen will be required to pay Lloyds an additional GBP16.9m over the next 12 months if the decline persists.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian asset management firm Azimut has completed its acquisition of 50% of capital in the FuturaInvest group, active in financial advising, and 50% of capital in the Brazilian asset management group. The acquisition is made via the Brazilian sub-holding company AZ Brazil Holding, and with partners at FuturaInvest.

New research from Cerulli Associates finds separately managed accounts and fund-of-one investment structures continue to gain popularity among institutional investors.The key difference between a fund of one and a managed account is the ownership and control of the assets. In a managed account, the assets are owned and controlled by the investor; however, in a fund of one, the hedge fund manager retains control. «Demand for alternative assets across retail and institutional channels has recently gained steam,» explains Michele Giuditta, associate director at Cerulli. «Asset managers are broadening options to better meet clients’ needs and objectives, and improving asset vehicles and structures used to package these products,» states Giuditta. «Since the market downturn in 2008, separately managed accounts and fund-of-one structures have increased in popularity among investors. These structures provide institutional investors improved control, transparency, liquidity, and lower fees.»

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Last year, 27 new open-ended German real estate funds were offered to investors, according to data from the Berlin-based ratings agency Scope. Of these funds, only 4 invest internationally as a priority, compared with 9 out of 68 in 2012. In detail, 2 specialise in the United States, one in Australia, and one in Belgium. Although the number of funds specialised in international real estate has fallen year on year, the issue volume is far larger, Scope notes. These issues accounted for 18% of the total issues registered by German real estate funds in 2012, which will increase to 34% in 2013. One of the explanations of this increasing weight is the size of real estate funds specialised in foreign assets, which are up sharply.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Robeco Boston Partners, a specialist in the value approach of the Robeco group, has finished the year in 2013 in flying colours. Its assets under management as of the end of December 2013 totalled nearly USD51bn, compared with USD27bn as of the end of 2012. This development is 40% due to market effects, and 605 due to net inflows. Since the beginning of this year, inflows have continued, and assets under management now total over USD54bn, with inflows of about EUR600m from the European market. The proportion of institutional assets as a part of asets now stands at about 25% to 30% and rising. Christopher Hart, manager of the Robeco BP Global Premium Equities fund, on a visit to Paris, tells Newsmanagers that Robeco Boston Partners about 6 months ago launched a global long/short strategy which may later be introduced on the European market.

Inès de Dinechin will “soon” leave Lyxor Asset Management, where she was chairman, the asset management firm of the Société Générale group has announced in a statement released on Thursday. She was appointed to the role in June 2013, after the departure of Alain Dubois. She had previously served as CEO. De Dinechin will be replaced as of yesterday by Lionel Paquin. He also joins the board of directors in the key client banking and investor solutions division.Paquin was previously head of the managed accounts platform at Lyxor since 2011. He also served as director of risks and internal control, and had been a member of the board of directors at Lyxor since September 2007.The departure comes at a time when Lyxor AM has announced that in 2013 it posted an increase in its assets under management of EUR5bn for the year, to EUR80bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Outflows are accelerating from asset management at BNP Paribas. In 2013, this activity, driven by BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) saw outflows of EUR31.4bn, despite a positive net inflow of about EUR200m in fourth quarter, according to data released by the banking group on 13 February. In 2012, the affiliate had already seen EUR18.8bn in net redemptions. The BNP Paribas group states that the outflows in 2013 largely materialised in money market funds, without giving more detail. The result is that assets under management have melted away like snow in summer, to EUR370bn at the end of 2013, compared with EUR405bn at the end of 2012, down 8.5%. BNP Paribas does not plan to rest on its laurels. In its strategic plan for 2014-2016, the group has assigned a clear objective to BNPP IP: restart inflows. This should be a challenge given the performance posted in the past few years. By 2016, BNPP IP is hoping to bring in net inflows of EUR40bn. To that end, it has set three key areas for priority development: institutinoal clients, Asia-Pacific and emerging markets, and lastly, platforms and distribution networks. The future will tell whether BNPP IP will succeed.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Total return at Zurich Insurance last year totalled only 1.3%, compared with 7% the previous year. The net return is down to 3.5% from 4.4% the previous year. The Swiss group had about USD208bn in investments under management at the end of 2013. Fixed income products represent 85.6% of the portfolio of the largest Swiss insurer.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to data supplied on 13 February by the VDOS Stochastic company, assets in Spanish common investment funds have risen by 2.34% in January, to a total of EUR162.29bn. In the past month, net subscriptions totalled EUR3.2bn, according to VDOS Stochastic.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The OECD on 13 February unveiled its standard model for the exchange of information, a single new global standard for the automatic exchange of data between tax authorities worldwide, which will be presented to G20 finance ministers in 10 days’ time. Jurisdictions will be required to procure information from their financial institutions and automatically exchange them with other jurisdictions on an annual basis. The standard defines the information to be exchanged, the institutions which will be subject to declaration. The types of account and the taxpayers concerned, and the reasonable diligence procedures to be followed by financial institutions. The OECD will officially present the standard for adoption by the G20 finance ministers at their meeting on 22 and 23 February in Sydney, Australia. In 2013, the G20 invited the OECD to develop a global standard for the automatic exchange of information, and remains the factor driving progress toward the establishment of greater tax transparency worldwide. More than 40 countries have agreed to adopt the standard.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swedish asset management firm East Capital has licensed its Chinese equity fund East Capital China Fund for sale in Italy, Bluerating reports. The main investment themes for the product are rapid Chinese economic growth and outlooks for a revaluation of the yuan compared with other global currencies.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Syz & Co has launched the Oyster multi-asset inflation shield fund in Italy, under the name Oyster Mais, Bluerating reports. The portfolio is invested in bonds, equities and commodities.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bankinter Gestión, the asset management affiliate of the bank by the same name, has recruited Sebastián Larraza for its management team. Larraza will be responsible for strengthening quantitative risk management measures for the management of funds and portfolios, according to Funds People. Larraza had previously served at Ahorro Corporación Gestión as director of absolute return, multi-management and alternative management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Allianz Global Investors (GI) plans to give a new breath of life to its Global Solutions division. The division, which now includes 90 professionals in Euorpe, Asia-Pacific and the United States, currently has over EUR60bn in assets under management for over 100 high-calibre institutional clients. The asset management firm does not plan to stop as it is on the right path. “We are aiming for growth in our assets of 10% per year, and EUR5bn more in assets this year,” says Dr. Reinhold Hafner, chief investment officer for Global Solutions at Allianz GI, on a visit to Paris on 13 February. The Global Solutions entity, founded in 2011, aims to offer clients a range of custom investment services and solutions oriented around various units: risk investment advising, retirement solutions, manager search and selection, hybrid life insurance solutions, and lastly, fiduciary management. This latter activity is still expected to grow further. “It is an area in which we have strong demand from clients,” says Hafner. Fiduciary management currently represents between EUR15bn and EUR16bn in assets under management, with about 13 or 14 clients.