L’indice Nikkei a chuté de 12% depuis le 22 mai, et le rendement des obligations d’Etat japonaises à 10 ans a presque triplé depuis le 5 avril

Henri Chaffiotte, Directeur général délégué de la CARMF lors d’une table ronde organisée par amLeague et Newsmanagers : On sait quel est le style de gestion d’un fonds, mais nous nous déterminons avec la performance globale du fonds et sa volatilité plutôt que par rapport à son style de gestion. Nous recherchons les fonds, évidemment, qui ont la meilleure performance, et qui n’ont pas une forte volatilité. On regarde assez peu les performances à court terme puisque nous avons un horizon de placement assez long. Évidemment, on regarde ce qui s’est passé depuis le début de l’année, mais c’est plus pour la mesure du bêta, pour voir ce qu’ont fait les marchés en général et si cela a une influence sur notre portefeuille. Sur l’alpha, nous raisonnons au minimum sur une période d’un an. Nous allons même jusqu'à trois ans ou cinq ans. Effectivement, s’il y avait un gros soubresaut de marché, ce serait différent. Le choc de 2008 par exemple nous a amenés à modifier un peu notre allocation, notre choix de gérant. Mais depuis le début de l’année, on ne peut pas considérer qu’il y a eu un choc systémique important sur les marchés actions. C’est donc sans influence sur notre stratégie d’allocation d’actifs à moyen terme. Nous avons à la fois de la croissance et de la value dans nos fonds. A cela s’ajoute une partie de gestion directe qui représente un peu moins de 20 % de notre poche actions. Mais là, il s’agit plutôt une gestion opportuniste. La croissance a mieux marché que la value sur la période récente. On essaie plutôt de faire de la croissance sur les marchés en développement en particulier sur tous les marchés émergents, mais nous en avons aussi même en Europe où il y a des entreprises mondialisées en croissance. L’Europe est surtout intéressante sur la value. Ce sont les perspectives de rebond qui sont intéressantes. C’est pour cela que nous gardons nos fonds value, et n’avons pas été tentés de les arbitrer en faveur des fonds de croissance.

L’Organisation des pays exportateurs de pétrole (Opep) a décidé de laisser son objectif de production inchangé jusqu'à la fin de l’année. Le plafond global de production du cartel sera donc maintenu à 30 millions de barils par jour (bpj) jusqu'à la prochaine réunion, en décembre, a annoncé le ministre vénézuélien du pétrole, Rafael Ramirez. Le cours du baril de Brent était en légère baisse vendredi à 101,54 dollars, non loin du seuil de 100 dollars considéré par l’Opep comme satisfaisant pour ses 12 pays membres.

L’Union européenne veut exclure le cinéma, la musique et la télévision des discussions avec les Etats-Unis en vue d’un accord de libre-échange, a déclaré vendredi le commissaire au Commerce, Karel De Gucht. Il a précisé que les Etats membres de l’Union devraient pouvoir continuer de protéger ces domaines, même s’il souhaite discuter d’exceptions pour la distribution de produits culturels sur internet. Cette position pourrait permettre de conclure un accord sur la position de l’Union face aux Etats-Unis lors d’une réunion des ministres européens du Commerce, le 14 juin.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The branch of Cambridge Associates in Singapore has received a license from the monetary authority MAS to offer capital market services, which will allow it to offer local clients complete outsourcing of their asset selection and allocation processes, Asian Investor reports. The firm has also opened a second office in Singapore.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Danish firm Sparinvest is preparing to launch the Sparinvest-Haitong Money Market RMB fund in August with Haitong Securities. It will be a money market fund denominated in yuan, whose management will be provided by Haitong International (USD10bn in Hong Kong), Citywire reports.The CEO of Sparinvest, Per Noesgaard, has also stated that by the end of the year, the Danish business will legally become a subsidiary of its Luxembourg office. He also states that due to cost reductions, net profits will double this year from EUR8.8m in 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Brazilian asset management firm Victoire Brasil Investimentos is launching its first fund in France, Victoire Brasil Select Funds UCITS, which invests in Brazilian equities. The Luxembourg-registered product will be available from Amadé Global Partners, a third party marketer with whom the Latin American structure has teamed up to develop on the French and Spanish markets. Victoire Brasil Select Funds UCITS, which is actively-managed, offers exposure to Brazilian equity markets. The investment universe is composed of all shares listed in Brazil without constraints as to sector, style or cap size. The portfolio, with assets of nearly EUR54m as of 30 March, is concentrated on 20 mid-sized companies. Victoire Brasil Investimentos, founded in 2004, is 100% owned by the team and manages over EUR800m as of 28 March 2013. The structure is not the first Brazilian asset management firm to enter France. Bradesco Asset Management, an affiliate of a major Brazilian bank, has also been serving French investors for several months.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Brian Schaub and Chad Meade, who have recently left Janus Capital Group (Newsmanagers of 14 May 2013), have joined the alternative asset management firm Arrowpoint Partners, based in Denver, as Janus is, and co-founded by their former colleague David Corkins, the news agency Bloomberg reports. The two managers will concentrate on investment opportunities in corporate small and midcaps, their area of expertise. At Janus, they had managed two of the best funds from the firm, the Triton fund (USD4.9bn under management) and the Venture Fund (USd2.3bn in assets under management). Assets under management at Arrowpoint total about USD2.2bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As a result of growing and expanding demand for fiduciary solutions (i.e. investment outsourcing) among corporate defined benefit plans, non-profits and healthcare systems, Russell is shifting two long-time Russell employees to new leadership roles in the company’s U.S. fiduciary solutions business, which has served clients for more than 30 years. Lisa Schneider, who has worked at Russell for 25 years, has been named to the role of managing director, non-profits and healthcare systems. To fill her former role, 25-year Russell veteran Bruce Clarke has been promoted to managing director, client service. Schneider is charged with developing the suite of investment strategies, products and reporting tools for Russell’s non-profit and healthcare system clients and prospects.Clarke is responsible for oversight of all national client service strategies and initiatives and leads the service team in the delivery of strategic advice, implementation solutions and administrative services to Russell’s investment management clients.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After the acquisition of the branches of Lloyds TSB in Spain, Banco Sabadell has acquired the onshore private banking activity of the British firm in Miami, Funds People reports. This will allow Sabadell to increase its assets managed by its international branch in Miami to USD5bn, and assets managed by the group in Florida to USD12bn, with Sabadell United Bank.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on May 30 announced that it has approved co-operation arrangements between EU securities regulators, with responsibility for the supervision of alternative investment funds (AIFs), including hedge funds, private equity and real estate funds, and 34 of their global counterparts. ESMA has negotiated the agreements on behalf of all 27 EU Member State securities regulators as well as the authorities from Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. While ESMA has negotiated the MoUs centrally, they are bilateral agreements that must be signed between each EU securities regulator and the non-EU authorities. These co-operation arrangements are a key element in allowing EU securities regulators to supervise efficiently the way non-EU alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) comply with the rules of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), and are a pre-condition in allowing non-EU AIFMs access to EU markets or to perform fund management activities on behalf of EU managers.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 29 May, Fidelity Merrimack Street Trust filed an application (form N-1A) for the Fidelity Mortgage Securities ETF with the SEC. The fund currently has neither a ticker nor a TER.It will be an actively-managed fund, which will invest at least 80% of its assets in investment grade mortgages and repos of securities of this type. The portfolio may also invest in US public debt, and will endeavour to maintain a risk level similar to that of the Barclays US MBS Index.Exposure to risk will be adjusted through the use of leverage via derivatives (swaps, futures and options, futures contracts), and the management team may allocate assets to various market segments and maturities.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The investment firm Meridiam infrastructure on 30 May announced the financial closing of a project to construct and renovate 3,000 student residences in the United Kingdom for the University of Hertfortshie, and the Uliving consortium, which will be responsible for the deaign, financing, construction and operation of the units. The financial contribution from Uliving will be made through unincreased bonds for a total amount of GBP214m, or about EUR250m. The Uliving consortium joins Meridiam, majority shareholder with 55%, Bouygues Développement (13.3%), Centro Place Investments, an affiliate of Derwent Living (13,3%), the University of Hertfordshire (13.3%) and Legal & General Assurance Society (5%). The University of Hertfordshire is located in Hatfield, a Northern suburb of London and historic heartland of the British aeronautics industry.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } NYSE Arca on Thursday admitted two ETFs from State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) to trading, the PDR Barclays 1-10 Year TIPS ETF (ticker TIPX), whose TER is 0.15%, and the SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV), which charges 0.58%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The range of products from Turgot Asset Management was on 26 April complemented by the creation of Turgot Oblig Plus, which the firm is now offering for sale and which is led by Bertrand Billé, from Efigest.The fund, “managed in a flexible and wealth management manner,” may be invested according to opportunities in all types of international bonds (government, corporate, financials, convertibles, hybrids, etc.) and may hedge itself in case of interest rate increases (sensitivity to rates between -2 and +5).The non-benchmarked performance objective is to outperform the Eonia by at least 100 basis points. The fund is composed at least 50% of bonds rated investment grade by at least one of the big three ratings agencies (S&P, Moody’s, Fitch), and a maximum of 25% convertible bonds.CharacteristicsName: Turgot Oblig PlusISIN code: FR001120549Front-end fee: 2%Ongoing fees: 2.47%Performance commission: 30% of performance exceeding the Eonia + 100 basis points

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has formally approved the registration of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), based in the United Kingdom, as a credit rating agency (CRA) under Article 16 of the CRA Regulation. The registration takes effect from 3 June 2013. There are currently 20 registered and two certified CRAs in the EU. Amongst the 20 registered CRAs, three operate under a group structure, totalling 16 legal entities in the EU, which means that the total number of CRA entities registered in the EU is now 33.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French association of investors for growth (AFIC) on 30 May issued a statement welcoming the adoption on the same date by the US private equity asspciations of European standards for reporting and evaluation of stakes. These standards are now globally applicable. The standards laid out by the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines Board (IPEV) have been officially adopted by the U.S. National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and the Private Equity Growth Council (PEGCC), the organisations which include the major players in private equity in the United States. These standards, developed by French, British and European private equity associations (AFIC, BVCA and EVCA) are already shared by more than 40 national private equity associations in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Canada. These are now also adopted by the largest private equity market in the world: the United States. “This step shows both the need to adopt common standards for all of the private equity industry, which is now largely converted by international investors who need a reference and a consistent means of evaluation between countries and continents. It is also a sign of the growing influence of Europe in matters of accounting benchmarks which are appropriate for private equity, while retaining their compatibility with US GAAP and IFRS standards,” the AFIC says in a statement.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Citywire, most German-registered funds from Sal. Oppenheim will be transferred to another Deusche Bank affiliate, DWS, while the Luxembourg-registered products will retain the Sal. Oppenheim brand name. Fondsprofessionell also reports that Amelie Harms was on 1 May promoted to director of wealth management for retail clients at Sal. Oppenheim, after four years as head of customer services at Oppenheim Fonds Trust (OPFT).

The private equity investors Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic will acquire 50% of the holding company for the asset management arm of Santander, Santander Asset Management (EUR152bn), for slightly over EUR1.023bn, which corresponds to nearly 1.35% of assets. The transaction, which is expected to be closed by the end of the year, will bring the Spanish group net capital gains of EUR700m, Santander says in a statement releaed on Thursday evening.Santander AM is present in eleven countries : Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Luxembourg, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. Its two major markets by assets under management are Spain, with EUR45.4bn, and the United Kingdom, with EUR24.4bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Neuberger Berman Europe has signed a distribution agreement in Italy with Skandia Vita, a life insurance platform, Bluerating reports. Three new funds from the US firm will be available to subscribers to insurance policies: Neuberger Berman Short Duration High Yield Bond Fund, Neuberger Berman China Equity Fund, and Neuberger Berman US Real Estate Securities Fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Artemis Investment Management has hired Richard Pursglove as head of retail from September this year. Strengthening Artemis’ existing sales team and reporting to Artemis’ head of asset gathering, Dick Turpin, he will be responsible for the future development and delivery of Artemis’ retail distribution strategy. Richard Pursglove had been head of UK third party distribution at Goldman Sachs Asset Management since October 2011.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The founder of Skandia Best Ideas, Alan Durrent, and the former multi-manager from F&C and Architas Richard Philbin have teamed up to launch the new multi-manager activity from Harwood. Durrant will be CEO of the new activity, which will be a part of the Harwood Capital group. Philbin will be chief investment officer. Harwood Multi Manager, which has yet to receive regulatory approval, is planning to launch a series of multi-manager funds, which will be subject to a very strict volatility budget.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UBS Wealth Managers has recruited four client advisers for wealth management on the British market, Finews repors. Matt Hoyne joins UBS in Edinburgh, from Lloyds. Simon Pearson and Richard Walker will be added to teams in Manchester. They had previously worked for Lloyds and Brown Shipley, respectively. Lastly, Carl Tremlin joins from Lloyds Mayfair Private Banking, and will work in London, serving clients in the South of England. The recruitments come in a favourable context for UBS on the British market, particularly in areas outside London. Assets under management by UBS Wealth Managers have increased by 50% in the past four years.

Vanguard Asset Management has launched the Vanguard U.K. Short-Term Investment Grade Bond Index Fund, which offers income and accumulation shares. The new tracker fund is designed for investors seeking diversification of their fixed income allocation with a portfolio of high-quality bonds with shorter maturities. The fund’s target benchmark is the Barclays Global Aggregate 500MM U.K. Non-Government 1-5 Year Float Adjusted Bond Index, the pound sterling subset of the broader parent index, the Barclays Global Aggregate Float Adjusted Bond Index. The total expense ratio (TER) is 0.20%. The fund complements Vanguard’s existing all-maturity U.K. Investment Grade Bond Fund and expands its sterling-denominated fixed income mutual fund range to six.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Australian pension fund AvSuper has awarded a mandate to the Martin Currie group, based in Edinburgh, to provide management of an allocation dedicated to global emerging markets, Citywire reports. It is the fifth mandate to be won by Martin Currie on the Australian market. The aviation fund AvSuper Fund will invest in a mandate managed by the head of emerging markets at Martin Currie, Kim Catechis, and the portfolio manager Andrew Ness. The amount of the mandate has not been disclosed. The Global Emerging Markets team at Martin Currie (6 people) manage about USD1bn in assets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Net profits for the wealth management unit of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in the second quarter of its 2012/2013 fiscal year, ending on 30 April, totalled CAD225bn, up CAD13m or 6% compared to last year, resulting from net sales and capital appreciation, and higher transaction volumes, according to a statement released on 30 May. Compared to last quarter, net income was down CAD8 million or 3%, as higher average fee-based client assets was more than offset by the seasonality of performance fees recognized primarily in the first and third quarters. Assets under management as of the end of April totalled CAD370bn, up 5% compared with the previous quarter, and 15% compared with the previous year. Long-term assets, which as of the end of April totalled CAD124.1bn, are up 22% since March 2011. Assets under administration as of the end of April totalled CAD605bn, up 2% compared with the previous quarter, and 8% year on year. Investor & Treasury Services net income was CAD67 million compared to a net loss of CAD121 million a year ago. Excluding certain items related to RBCIS, net income of CAD98 million increased CAD17 million or 21%, largely due to improved results in RBCIS and incremental earnings related to our additional 50% ownership, which were partially offset by lower funding and liquidity revenue. Compared to last quarter, net income was down CAD13 million or 16%. Excluding the restructuring charge this quarter, net income increased CAD18 million or 23%, reflecting improved results in RBCIS.

HSBC Global Asset Management (HSBC GAM) vient de procéder à deux promotions au sein de son équipe actions asiatiques. Sanjiv Duggal, qui gère le plus gros fonds d’actions indiennes de la planète, le GIF Indian Equity fund avec 3,2 milliards de dollars, devient responsable du pôle actions indiennes et asiatiques.En outre, le gérant de portefeuille senior, Viresh Mehta, a été promu responsable actions pour le marché indien au sein de HSBC GAM. L'équipe dédiée aux actions indiennes devrait être renforcée.Le groupe HSBC a par ailleurs indiqué que son équipe de prime brokerage en Asie-Pacifique souhaitait doubler ses actifs de hedge funds au cours des douze prochains mois. Selon AsiaHedge, HSBC est le plus important administrateur de hedge funds dans la région.

La succursale de Cambridge Associates à Singapour vient d’obtenir auprès de l’autorité monétaire MAS une licence pour offrir des services de marchés de capitaux qui vont lui permettre de proposer à ses clients locaux une externalisation complète de leur processus de sélection et d’allocation d’actifs, rapporte Asian Investor.La société vient par ailleurs d’ouvrir un second bureau à Singapour.

La société de gestion brésilienne Victoire Brasil Investimentos lance son premier fonds en France, Victoire Brasil Select Funds UCITS, investi sur les actions brésiliennes.Ce produit de droit luxembourgeois sera commercialisé par Amadé Global Partners, un TPM auquel la structure latino-américaine s’est associée pour se développer sur les marchés français et espagnol.Les clients ciblés pour le fonds sont non seulement les investisseurs institutionnels de la place (assureurs, mutuelles et caisses de retraites, fonds de fonds), mais aussi les professionnels de la gestion de patrimoine (banques privées, family offices, conseillers en gestion de patrimoine).Activement géré, Victoire Brasil Select Funds UCITS offre une exposition aux marchés actions brésiliens. L’univers d’investissement est constitué de l’ensemble des valeurs cotées aux Brésil sans contrainte de secteurs, de styles ou de tailles de sociétés. Le portefeuille, d’un encours de près de 54 millions d’euros au 30 mars, est concentré autour d’une vingtaine de valeurs en moyenne.Créée en 2004, Victoire Brasil Investimentos est détenue à 100 % par l’équipe et gère plus de 800 millions d’euros au 28 mars 2013. La structure n’est pas la première société de gestion brésilienne à prendre pied en France. Bradesco Asset Management, filiale d’une grande banque brésilienne, a également commencé à démarcher les investisseurs français depuis quelques mois.