Fidelity Worldwide Investments has recruited three people in Italy, Bluerating reports. Matteo Buonomini, formerly of Banca Esperia and BNP Paribas, is appointed as senior manager – fund selection units. Alessandro Furrer (formerly of Aviva Investors and Aletti Gestielle) and Gianluca Cerone (formerly of Société Générale and Morgan Stanley Investment) join the commercial structure dedicated to seeking out financial advisers and private banks. They will be senior sales manager and sales manager, respectively.

A survey in first quarter undertaken by RBC Dexia and Accenture of 33 Spanish asset management firms representing 65% of total assets in the sector has found that professionals are expecting profound changes in their industry, as concentration continues, managers increasingly specialise and a growing focus on efficiency and performance. They also predict that success will depend on technological progress and that the trend to outsource will continue.The survey finds that the three major asset management firms alone account for 45% of total assets and that the average size of a fund in Spain is only EUR57m, which compares with EUR262m in the United Kingdom and EUR300m in Switzerland. In the past three years, the number of funds in Spain has contracted by about 20%, to 2,500.

The trustee in charge of recuperating money for victims of the fraud perpetrated by Bernard Madoff has so far made more money for himself and his law firm in the three and a half years since the former fund manager went bankrupt than he has distributed to the victims. According to a report published on the website of the trustee, Irving Picard, the liquidation of the investment fund managed by Madoff, who is serving a 150-year prison sentence, has so far cost over USD554m. This total includes commissions to the director himself (USd5.1m), but mostly consists of the paychecks of the lawyers at work on the case, which total about USD300m, as well as the costs for special consultants (about USD220m) and investment bankers (USD1m). Meanwhile, money which was theoretically regained by Picard and his teams total USD9.1bn, but most of this money is not available at the moment, as it is still subject to appeals or legal actions related to the validity of the distribution system chosen. Overall, only USD329.6m has been paid out so far, while the pyramid scheme orchestrated by Madoff, the largest stock market fraudster to date, cost between USD17.3bn and USd65bn, depending on whether you count only the principal or principal with interest. At USD850 per hour, Picard and his law firm, Baker & Hostetler, are beginning to look more like “full-time princes” than Robin Hoods in the forest, the New York Times claimed on 29 May.

The single currency is not enjoying its finest hour. European citizens on the whole are unsatisfied with the euro, but they are not likely to abandon it and return to their previous currencies, according to a survey undertaken by the Pew Research Center in eight countries. Strong majorities are in favour of keeping the euro in Greece (71%), France (69%) and Germany (66%). The Spanish population is still 60% in support of the euro, and 52% of Italians are in favour of retaining the single currency. In this environment, the euro on the evening of 29 May fell to its lowest level since early 2010 against the US dollar, at USD1.2503, compared with USD1.2541 the previuos evening. The euro was also penalised by a ratings downgrade for Spain by a small US ratings agency, Egan-Jones, to BB- from B previously.

The sale of Dexia AM is fast approaching, Agefi reports. The submission of binding offers is scheduled for mid-June, and the final choice will be made in July. Dexia AM has received 40 expressions of interst, 20 non-binding offers, and has appointed six final candidates, Pierre Mariani, deputy director of Dexia bank, told Les Echos yesterday. No names have been released, but rumours put investment funds including Permira and Bain Capital up against the Australian bank Macquarie. A bid by the latter would make sense: “A major part of the value of Dexia AM is in Australia via Ausbil Dexia,” a business banker tells the newspaper. However, he notes, no bids are said to be coming from any European actors.

The Nyon-based asset management firm EIM, in the person of its founder and chairman Arpad Busson, is currently said to be in talks with potential acquirers, Agefi Switzerland reports, citing sources contacted by Bloomberg. In the past few weeks, the two hedge fund firms UBP, with the acquisition of the French Nexar Capital Group, and Gottex, which is seeking to grow its business in Asia Pacific with the acquisition of Penjing Asset Management of Hong Kong, have opted for expansion. However, FRM (Financial Risk Management) has preferred to join the Man Investments group. EIM had previously acted primarily as a consolidator, and it plans to retain this role, says its spokesman, Neil Bennett. Total assets under management of USD6.2bn as of the end of 2011 strictly limit the circle of potential buyers, even though it is half what it was before the crisis, the newspaper estimates.

Pioneer, the asset management firm of the Italian Unicredit group, is planning to take the occasion of the UCITS IV directive to launch French-registered funds. The new European regulations allow the manager to do so without opening a local asset management firm, with a European passport for products. The Paris office of Pioneer, led by Fabien Madar, will be able to create dedicated funds for French institutional investors, which had previously been impossible, costing the firm “some opportunities.” The application for the European passport, which is underway, will take some time – at least a year. That will help the firm to achieve its objective of EUR2bn in the next two years in the region covered by Madar, which also includes Belgium, Monaco, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Assets now total EUR1.6bn, after inflows of EUR120m since the beginning of the year. In 2011, Pioneer France posted net subscriptions of EUR200m, and saw an increase in its assets from EUR1.35bn to EUR1.5bn. This came even though the firm worldwide saw a decline in its assets of 13.2% to EUR162.1bn, largely due to difficulties on the Italian market. In the next five years, Pioneer is planning to increase its assets by 15% per year, under a strategic plan launched six months ago.The plan, which represents an investment of 20% of earnings, aims to increase the percentage of assets managed for clients outside Pioneer, which are now on a par with assets coming from the parent company. “We would like this share to represent the majority of our assets,” explains Sandro Pierri, the new head of asset management at UniCredit and the next CEO of Pioneer, on a visit to Paris. This will involve stepping up the firm’s presence abroad, particularly in Asia and Latin America, and strengthening its investment capacities. In terms of geographical development, Pierri points out that an office in Mexico will soon be opened, and that a country head will soon be recruited for it. In terms of investment teams, several people have already been recruited, particularly for the emerging market investment hub being created in London, and for global equities in Boston. Others are to come. Lastly, an appointment will probably be made to replace Pierri in his role as head of Western Europe and international activities at Pioneer Investments, following his promotion to CEO of Pioneer.

In Europe, corporate investment grade credit funds are being used as refuge investments, according to the financial ratings agency Fitch Ratings (“Sector Update – Corporate Credit and High Yield Funds.” In the period from December 2010 to April 2012, corporate bond funds outperformed equity fiunds by 11.2%, Fitch Ratings finds. Since the beginning of the year, inflows to corporate credit funds have totalled about EUR8.3bn, as subscriptions to investment grade assets have topped subscriptions to high yield by about EUR4.3bn. However, in the past ten years, inflows to high yield funds have been nearly the same as for investment grade funds. Fitch remarks that inflows to credit funds reflect an appetite on the part of investors for this asset class, rather than their conviction in the ability of managers to actively manage exposure to the market. In the past few years, the performacne of corporate credit funds has not seemed to follow any pattern: no credit fund which ranked in the top quartile between 2006 and 2009 has managed to retain that level since 2009. Meanwhile, the funds which performed worst between 2006 and 2009 have often ranked in the top two quartiles in 2009-2012. As of the end of March 2012, corporate investment grade bond funds represent about EUR200bn in assets, while high yield funds have a total of about EUR35bn.

Difficulties in refinancing un-rated leveraged buyout (LBO) debt in Europe is continuing, Moody’s says in a report published on 29 May. The agency states that 254 businesses are facing a need to refinance EUR133bn in debt which will mature by 2015. At least one quarter of them may be facing default, and this figure may double if high yield bond markets remain closed for a long time due to external factors. “More than half of debt maturing in 2015 is concentrated at 36 businesses, each of which has issued over EUR1bn in debt,” says Chetan Modi, head of leveraged financing for Europe at Moody’s and author of the report. “Although this debt is widely distributed over several sectors, the majority of debt requiring refinancing will mature in 2014.” The results of the Moody’s study are in line with the previous analyses of the ratings agency, but these businesses now have one less year to wait until the refinancing crunch of 2014-2015. This refinancing peak is an issue to worry about, due to macroeconomic conjuncture and the poor quality of this debt.

For an undisclosed amount, Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers (H&A), which has its own affiliate in Luxembourg, has sold its stake in the asset management firm Universal-Investment (EUR138bn in assets under management or administration) to two other shareholders, the private banks Berenberg and Lampe, whose stakes increase from 26.6% to 37.5% each. The other shareholder, the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), retains its 26.6% stake in Universal.

In an ad hoc statement on 29 May, Kabel Deutschland Holding announced that it had received information from BlackRock Hodco and BlackRock Financial Management that the US asset management firm controls over 10% of its capital, with 10.02% of voting rights as of 17 May.

The Qatar sovereign fund, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has applied for a qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) license, to invest directly in the Chinese onshore market, Asian Investor reports. The initiative by the fund comes in the wake of moves by other sovereign funds from the Middle East, all of which have QFII licenses, such as the Kuwait Investment Authority, which has received a USD300m license. According to a board member, the Qatari fund may invest up to USD30bn this year.

Le 7 juin 1936, le gouvernement du Front populaire instaure la semaine de quarante heures et l'octroi de quinze jours de congés payés pour les salariés ayant travaillé durant six mois dans la même entreprise. Dans le bâtiment et les travaux publics (BTP), les salariés changeant fréquemment d'employeur et risquant de ne pas bénéficier de ce repos, le gouvernement, à la demande de la profession, décide de créer un système spécifique de caisses (ainsi que dans les secteurs d'activités du transport, du spectacle et de la manutention portuaire), destiné à assurer la gestion et le paiement des congés payés des salariés du BTP. En 1947, ce dispositif est complété par un régime d'indemnisation du chômage pour cause d'intempéries. Au fil du temps, d'autres missions ont été confiées au réseau.

Amaury de Warenghien, directeur financier d’Axa France dans Option Finance numéro 1172: L’immobilier et les actions conservent un intérêt du fait de leurs perspectives de rendement à long terme et de la diversification qu’ils apportent, à condition toutefois de bien en régler le poids dans nos portefeuilles. Notre patrimoine immobilier, géré par Axa Real Estate, est constitué de biens en France (habitations, bureaux, commerces, logistique...) et se développe à l'étranger. Nous avons en effet un souci de diversification au sein de ce portefeuille. Le poids des poches actions, constituées d’actions en zone euro et internationales, a été divisé environ par deux sur cinq ans. Nous conservons nos placements dans le private equity. L’allocation d’actifs d’Axa France est la suivante: sur les métiers de la vie, elle était répartie fin 2011 avec 6% d’actions, 6% d’immobilier, 43% de crédit et 45% d’obligations souveraines. En ce qui concerne l’assurance dommage fin 2011, 12% d’actions, 8% d’immobilier, 50% de crédit et 30% d’emprunts d’Etats.

La société, qui entend profiter de la directive Ucits 4 pour créer des fonds de droit français, vise la barre des 2 milliards d'euros d'actifs

L'euro est tombé sous 1,25 dollar hier. Craignant l'aggravation de la crise, les gérants rapatrient un peu plus leurs fonds vers les Etats-Unis

Les dirigeants du gérant, que la banque Dexia doit céder, privilégient une solution qui leur laisserait davantage de marge de manœuvre

La monnaie européenne a atteint hier son plus bas niveau face au dollar depuis 2010, à 1,2461, pénalisée par la retraite d’Europe des grandes gestions.

Le schéma intégrant la BCE semble abandonné. Mais le financement par le marché sera difficile

Le schéma intégrant la BCE semble abandonné. Mais le financement par le marché sera difficile

La banque émet des obligations adossées à des prêts automobiles français alors que souvent le sous-jacent de ce type d'opérations est allemand

Le Portugal évite la fuite des dépôts observée en Grèce. Mais la récession entraîne une hausse des défauts sur les prêts

L'AIE estime que la réglementation indispensable à l'exploitation harmonieuse de ces ressources accroîtra les coûts de production

Depuis le milieu de l'année 2006, les prix ont tout de même chuté de 35% selon Standard and Poor's

Selon une enquête de la Chambre de commerce européenne réalisée sur 557 sociétés européennes en Chine citée par le South China Morning Post, 22% d’entre elles envisagent de déplacer leurs opérations de Chine vers d’autres pays émergents du fait de la hausse des coûts du travail et des changements de réglementation. 40% des sociétés estiment la politique de Pékin est moins favorable aux sociétés étrangères qu’il y a deux ans.

Deux des plus grandes dynasties en Europe et aux Etats-Unis seraient en passe de réaliser une alliance stratégique, avec le rachat par RIT Capital Partners, trust d’investissement coté à Londres et présidé par Lord (Jacob) Rothschild, d’une participation de 37% dans les activités de conseil en gestion de fortune et de gestion d’actifs de la famille Rockefeller avec 34 milliards de dollars sous gestion, selon le journal qui ne cite pas ses sources. Le montant de la transaction n’est pas connu. Un partenariat qui prévoit de créer des fonds d’investissement destinés à réaliser des acquisitions communes dans le secteur de la gestion d’actifs.

Avec 245 millions de dollars de dettes pour 193 millions de dollars d’actifs, le cabinet d’avocats d’affaires s’est placé mardi sous la protection du Chapitre 11 de la loi sur les faillites. «La conjoncture négative, combinée à la croissance rapide du cabinet et à des montages de rémunération des associés, ont créé une situation où le cash flow était insuffisant pour couvrir les dépenses de capital et toutes les attentes salariales », a résumé Jonathan Mitchell, en charge de la restructuration de la firme. Dewey a mandaté Togut, Segal & Segal pour l’assister dans la procédure. La société, issue de la fusion en 2007 de Dewey Ballantine et LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & McRae, prévoit de tenir des auditions au cours desquelles les créanciers peuvent présenter des requêtes au juge. Il s’agit du plus grand cabinet d’avocats d’affaires américain à faire faillite. Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison et Heller Ehrman s’y étaient également résignés, en 2003 et 2008 respectivement.

A trois semaines des élections législatives en Grèce, Nouvelle Démocratie arriverait en tête avec 23,4% des suffrages, tandis que Syriza qui rejette l’austérité obtiendrait 22,1%, selon un nouveau sondage. Si 80,9% des Grecs se disent favorables au maintien de l’euro, 77,8% rejettent les programmes d’austérité. Côté irlandais, les derniers sondages indiquent que les électeurs devraient voter «oui» au traité européen, alors que le taux à 10 ans a progressé de 54 points de base en mai à 7,36%.

Le premier ministre chinois Wen Jiabao a estimé dans le Hunan Daily, que le rythme de croissance du pays faisait face à des pressions baissières accrues et a prôné des mesures de stabilisation. De son côté, le Hong Kong Economic Times indique que Wen Jiabao s’est engagé lors d’une réunion publique à conserver une croissance supérieur à 8%, alors que Pékin s’était initialement fixé un rythme de 7,5% comme objectif.

L'économie sud-africaine a progressé de 2,7% d’un trimestre sur l’autre, selon des données corrigées des variables saisonnières. Les experts s’attendaient à une hausse de 2,4%. Elle avait été de 3,2% au dernier trimestre 2011, mais la forte contraction du secteur minier, affecté par des grèves, notamment dans le secteur du platine, a eu un impact au premier trimestre.