Selon les professionnels de la gestion interrogés par Plus 24, dans un futur proche, l’épargne des Italiens sera entièrement aux mains d’étrangers. Rien ne semble pouvoir aller contre cette tendance. «En août 2008, la Banque d’Italie avait réuni les experts du secteur autour d’une table. A cette occasion, une liste de choses à faire avait été dressée», rappelle Alberto Albertini, administrateur délégué de Banca Albertini Syz. «Depuis, je crois que l’on a réalisé seulement 5 % de ce qui avait été décidé». Il faut dire que le système bancaire ne semble pas motivé à aider le secteur de la gestion d’actifs. Pour Manuela D’Onofrio, directeur des investissements de la banque privée d’UniCredit : «le secteur de la gestion d’actifs a toujours été considéré comme un appendice à l’égard duquel les banques italiennes n’ont jamais eu de vision stratégique et ont toujours eu une attitude opportuniste».

L’Agefi rapporte qu’à l’issue de quelques semaines de négociations, les directeurs indépendants du fonds immobilier australien coté ING Industrial Fund (IIF) ont approuvé l’offre de reprise formulée par un consortium d’investisseurs internationaux, dirigé par l’australien Goodman Group, émanation de Macquarie Bank.L’opération porte sur un portefeuille d’actifs logistiques évalué à 2,5 milliards de dollars australiens (1,9 milliard d’euros), dont une reprise de dette de 1,1 milliard par le consortium. Goodman Group détiendra une participation minoritaire de 19,9% du nouvel ensemble, appelé à devenir un fonds privé sous la dénomination de Goodman Trust Australia (GTA), précise le quotidien.

Le 23 décembre, UBS Gestión a lancé le fonds de droit espagnol Global Value Selection (ES0142338005), un produit obligataire sans indice de référence qui a été enregistré auprès de la CNMV le 30 décembre. Le fonds pourra être investi jusqu'à 100 % en fonds d’investissement. La commission de gestion se situe à 0,9 % et celle de performance à 9 %. Le conseiller du fonds est GBS Finanzas Investcapital.

Le 30 décembre, la CNMV a accordé son agrément de commercialisation en Espagne au fonds britannique M&G European Inflation Linked Corporate Bond Fund, un produit focalisé sur les obligations européennes indexées sur l’inflation. Ce produit sera commercialisé par Allfunds Bank. Caractéristiques Classe A EUR : GB00B3VQKJ62 Classe C EUR : GB00B41DM324

Le Handelsblatt consacre un portrait à Wolfgang Matis, qui devient non seulement patron de DWS pour l’Allemagne mais pour le monde entier, soit un encours de 274 milliards d’euros.Le nouvel homme fort est inconnu du grand public, mais les spécialistes lui ont fait une réputation de professionnel qui connaît à fond le marché des capitaux.Avec les nouveaux pouvoirs dont il est doté, Wolfgang Matis pourra pousser l’expansion de DWS à l’international, puisqu’en Allemagne où le marché est déjà réparti, le numéro un ne peut que perdre du terrain face à des gestionnaires des caisses d'épargne et des banques populaires qui disposent de réseaux imposants.Son atout est aussi d'être un banquier d’investissement, alors que la Deutsche Bank entend rapprocher ses gérants de portefeuille de la banque d’investissement puisqu’ils utilisent de plus en plus de dérivés qu’on ne trouve que chez cette dernière.

La banque d’investissement de J.P. Morgan Chase a fait enregistrer par le CNMV le fonds de convertibles et de performance absolue JP Morgan Mansart Investments CQS Convertible Alpha, qui a obtenu il y a neuf mois l’agrément du régulateur irlandais (lire notre article du 2 avril 2010).Ce fonds à liquidité hebdomadaire est conforme à la directive OPCVM III et son encours se situe aux alentours de 125 millions d’euros.

Selon le recensement effectué par Funds People quinze gestionnaires étrangers ont pris pied en 2010 sur le marché espagnol. Il s’agit d’ACPI IM, Alken Funds, Andbanc, Banque de Luxembourg, Brandes IP, Belgrave Capital Management, Fundlogic Global Solutions, Gamex Management, Harewood AM, IT Asset Management, Iveagh, Marshall Wace, Muzinich, Reyl, et SEB Asset Management.A cela s’ajoutent deux gestionnaires espagnols qui ont fait enregistrer en Espagne des fonds luxembourgeois : Auriga et Securities et A&G (groupe EFG).Enfin cinq nouvelles sociétés de gestion «locales» se sont installées : Amistra, Fineco Patrimonios (BBK), Lombard Odier, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management et Nmas1 AM.

D’après Funds People, Renta 4 vient de lancer sur le marché espagnol le hedge fund SwingTrading KA’U Value géré par KA’U Gestión de Activos. L'équipe de gestion vise une performance supérieure de 1.000 points de base à l’euribor 12 mois et une volatilité comprise entre 6 et 9 %. Pour cela, le fonds spécialiste des actions investira en CFD sur 5 à 30 valeurs sous-jacentes faisant partie des indices Dax 30, Euro Stoxx 50 et/ou Ibex 35. Il pourra également investir une partie de son encours en fonds d’investissement, notamment des produits de style value. Caractéristiques :Frais de gestion : 1,5 %/an Commission de surperformance : 10 %.Souscription minimale : 50.000 euros.

Durant les deux ans à fin novembre, le nombre de fonds espagnols est tombé à 2.473 contre 2.941, accusant ainsi une contraction de 15,91 %, rapporte la CNMV.Le processus s’est toutefois ralenti en 2010, avec une diminution de 4,6 % sur les onze premiers mois de l’année, contre 11,8 % entre fin novembre 2008 et fin décembre 2009.Pour l’essentiel, la rationalisation des gammes s’est effectuée au travers de fusions entre produits similaires. Cependant, le nombre de fonds obligataires à moyen terme n’a diminué que de 2 % en deux ans, à 283. La plus forte chute est accusée avec 50,3 % à 251 unités par les fonds «globaux».

En 2010 à nouveau, les fonds d’investissement ont été sacrifiés par les banques et les caisses d'épargne espagnoles, qui ont concentré leurs efforts commerciaux sur la captation de dépôts, au détriment même des sociétés de gestion qu’elles possèdent. C’est ce que l’on appelle la «guerre du passif"Lundi, Ahorro Corporación (caisses d'épargne) et l’association Inverco des sociétés de gestion espagnoles ont annoncé toutes deux que l’encours a diminué l’an dernier de 14,7 %, à 145,2 milliards d’euros selon la première et à 138,64 milliards selon la seconde. Cela est relativement cohérent avec les 15,35 % de baisse à 144,54 milliards d’euros annoncés par VDOS Stochastics au 24 décembre (lire notre dépêche du 3 janvier).Ahorro Corporación précise que, depuis 2007, leur niveau le plus élevé (250 milliards d’euros), les actifs sous gestion ont chuté de presque 42 %, tandis qu’Inverco estime la contraction à 115 milliards d’euros depuis fin 2006.

Equities funds dedicated to emerging markets attracted a record net total last year of slightly over USD92bn, compared with USD83.29bn the previous year, according to statistics from EPFR Global. In fourth quarter alone, net inflows to emerging markets equities totalled about USD39.6bn.Among the various categories, equities funds dedicated to frontier markets posted record net inflows of USD2.65bn, while the previous year they saw a slight outflow (USD216m). However, BRIC funds attracted a total of USD1.02bn, compared with USD5.63bn the previous year.Interest in African funds, which with net inflows of USD1.14bn, compared with outflows of USD66m in 2009, are an illustration of a trend toward higher-risk markets.Equities funds in developed markets registered a net outflow of USD62.36bn, compared with outflows of USD73.97bn in 2009. European funds, undermined by the debt crisis, underwent net outflows of USD22.1bn in 2010, where they had seen net inflows of USD1.24bn the previous year.In sector terms, commodities funds attracted a good part of inflows, with a total of USD29.44bn for the year, compared with USD19.94bn in 2009. Funds dedicated to consumer goods and real estate also did well, with inflows of USD3.21bn and USD7.02bn, respectively. Despite concerns related to Irish, Spanish, Greek and Portuguese government debt, funds dedicated to financials came back with strong inflows in fourth quarter to finish the year in positive territory, with a total of USD2.19bn, compared with outflows of USD1.16bn in 2009.Despite outflows in the final weeks of the year, bond funds finished the year with record inflows of USD372.45bn in 2010, following Usd302.64bn in 2009. High yield bonds attracted USD30.19bn, following USD31.78bn in 2009, and international bonds attracted USD110.73bn, compared with USD27.38bn in 2009.Money market funds had their second consecutive year of massive outflows, totalling USD485.13bn, compared with USD512.75bn in 2009.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Once again in 2010, investment funds were sacrificed by Spanish banks and savings banks, which dedicated their sales efforts to capturing savings, to the detriment even of the management firms owned by them, in a phenomenon known as the “deposit war.”On Monday, Ahorro Corporación (savings banks) and the Inverco association of Spanish asset management firms both announced that assets last year fell 14.7% to EUR145.2bn, according to the former, and EUR138.64bn, according to the latter. This is relatively coherent with the decline of 15.35% to EUR144.54bn announced by VDOS Stochastics as of 24 December (see Newsmanagers of 3 January).Ahorro Corporación states that since 2007, when assets were at their highest level (EUR250bn), assets under management have fallen nearly 42%, while Inverco estimates that the contraction totals EUR115bn since the end of 2006.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 23 December, BS Gestión launched the Spanish fund Global Value Selection (ES0142338005), a bond product with no benchmark index which was registered with the CNMV on 30 December. The fund may invest up to 100% in investment funds. Management commission is 0.9%, and performance commission is 9%. The fund is advised by GBS Finanzas Investcapital.

Axa Real Estate targets EUR1 bn for its first dedicated real estate debt fund, the Financial Times says. The real estate manager has already raised EUR350m for the vehicle from a number of European insurance companies as well as its parent insurance group. Separately from the fund, the group has additional commitments of more than EUR1.15bn, taking the total war chest to invest in real estate debt to almost EUR1.5bn at present.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Funds People reports that Renta 4 has launched the hedge fund SwingTrading KA’U Value, managed by KA’U Gestión de Activos, on the Spanish market. The fund charges fees of 1.5%, and a performance commission of 10%.The management team will aim for returns 1,000 basis points higher than the Euribor 12 month, with total volatility of 6% to 9%.The fund, specialised in equities, will invest in CFDs on 5 to 30 underlying shares from the Dax 30, Euro Stoxx 50, and/or Ibex 35 indices. It may also invest part of its assets in investment funds, particularly value style funds.Minimal subscription is set at EUR50,000.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the two years to the end of November, the number of Spanish funds fell to 2,473 from 2,941, a contraction of 15.91%, the CNMV reports.The process slowed down in 2010, however, with a decline of 4.6% in the first eleven months of the year, compared with 11.8% between the end of November 2008 and the end of December 2009.For the most part, rationalisation of product ranges involved mergers of similar products. The largest decline was 50.3% to 251 “global” funds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 30 December, the CNMV granted a sales license for Spain to the British fund M&G European Inflation Linked Corporate Bond Fund (EUR A class, GB00B3VQKJ62; EUR C class, GB00B41DM324), a product focused on European inflation linked bonds. The product will be available from Allfunds Bank.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The investment bank arm of J.P. Morgan Chase has registered the absolute return convertible fund JP Morgan Mansart Investment CQS Convertible Alpha, which received a license from the Irish regulator nine months ago (see Newsmanagers of 2 April 2010), with the CNMV. The fund offers daily liquidity and complies with the UCITS III directive, and its assets total about EUR125m.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The California pension fund CalPERS on 3 January announced that at the end of 2010 it transferred its real estate portfolio National Office Partners (NOP) from Hines to CommonWealth Partners. The portfolio, with nearly USD1bn in assets (USD998m), includes more than 5 million square metres of office space in all major US cities. Its transfer comes as part of a redeployment policy for CalPERS’ real estate investments. The Californian fund will continue to collaborate with Hines in the United States in sustainable real estate, and also in other countries via other partnerships, particularly in Latin America (Brazil).

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Agefi reports that, according to several documents relayed by Reuters, BNP Paribas Investment Partners has begun restructuring two funds of hedge funds based in Luxembourg, following “significant” redemption demands. While the “Opportunity” and “Serenity” funds are aimed at a recommended investment horizon of four years, and annual returns of Libor +6% and Libor +3% on a three-year horizon, respectively, as of the end of November they had lost 5.75% and 1.9% since the beginning of 2010. As Le Canard Enchaîné reported last week, BNP Paribas IP has decided to freeze the two funds, in a move which it claims is technical and administrative, and which the firm says has no connection to the redemption demands. The bank says the funds are still in a condition of adequate liquidity. In a message dated 8 December, BNP Paribas IP informed its clients that the two funds concerned are being transferred from Fauchier Partners, an affiliate controlled at 50%, to Harewood Asset Management, a firm which is wholly owned by BNP Paribas. The move is intended to “modify liquidity conditions” for the funds, the message says.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With the assistance of the Luxembourg firm Axxion, the Nuremberg-based wealth management firm Catus on 22 November added to its Infinus range of profiled funds (Relaxed, Balanced and Dynamic, see Newsmanagers of 4 September 2009), with a sustainable development wealth management product, the Infinus – ecoConsort Fund.The product was granted a sales license for Germany by BaFin in late 2010. It is managed by Manfred Wiegel and Ernst Rudolf. The fund, with no benchmark index, may in case of need increase its exposure to cash to the detriment of equities. A risk budget defines the maximal tolerable loss in advance, though the goal is to generate stable returns over a longer period, and to avoid the usual high fluctuations of sustainable development funds, which may result from overly high specialisation.CharacteristicsName: Infinus – ecoConsort FundISIN code: LU0548331643currency of reference: euroFront-end fee: maximum 5%Management commission: up to 1.90%Minimal subscription: EUR500

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Hamburg-based management firm Hansainvest, an affiliate of the insurer Signal-Iduna, on 30 December 2010 launched the German-registered UCITS-compliant fund Hansawerte, which will specialise in precious metals. Its benchmark is composed 50% of the price of gold, 30% of the price of silver, and 10% each those of platinum and palladium.It is an actively managed, US dollar-denominated product which uses ETCs, derivatives and indices, which is aimed primarily at institutional investors, although the minimal subscription is set at EUR50, which makes it also accessible to retail clients. The manager is Nico Baumach.CharacteristicsName: HansawerteISIN code: DE000A0RHG59Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 0.75%

The New York State Supreme Court has approved the first payment to investors in the Ariel Fund Limited, which was previously managed by J. Ezra Merkin and has been tied to Bernard Madoff’s investment vehicle, according to The Wall Street Journal.The cash distribution, totalling USD167 million, was paid by the end of 2010 to investors who suffered losses through the fund.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Les Echos reports that the largest bank in the United States, Bank of America, has paid USD2.62bn to the two public real estate mortgage organisms, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which accuses the bank of selling them high-risk debts via its affiliate Countrywide Financial. The settlement, which will require BofA to write down USD2bn on its books for fourth quarter, does not settle other, separate private suits.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French asset management firm Convictions AM on 3 January announced the recruitment of Yohan Kadri-Caillaux as portfolio manager. In his new role, Kadri-Caillaux will be in charge of management of portfolios and mandates in the private management team. Kadri-Caillaux was previously managing partner of the wealth management firm H Capital Portfolio Management (2007-2009).

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A new third-party marketing (TPM) firm has been founded in Paris. Following the launch of Aloha Finance by BlackRock veterans, it is now the turn of Alain Cuenot to crate his own firm, entitled Dream Team Finance. Cuenot, previously director of external distribution at Finance SA, and previously employed at Convictions AM, Axa, Aviva, JPMorgan Fleming AM, and the Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild, will offer his services to asset management firms and life insurance companies to assist in their commercial development. “In a word, it will be an outsourced sales/marketing team,” a statement says. His first clients will include Finance SA and Lutetia Capital.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Stoxx600 Banks index, which includes 53 European banking sector shares, lost 11.57% in 2010, Les Echos reports. It has underperformed nearly all the European indices, including the Euro Stoxx50, which lost 5.81% in 2010. Regulatory reforms and exposure to debt from some governments weighed down the sector. In an interview with the newspaper, Marie-Pierre Peillon, director of financial analysis at Groupama AM, says the banking sector “appears really inexpensive compared with its historic multiples. But when you look more closely at the fundamentals, there are still a lot of unknown quantities. Most of all, the sector is not highly transparent. Despite the size of annual reports, information is released in such a way that it is incomprehensible. This sector is likely to inspire investor scepticism.”

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } More than 26,000 German taxpayers last year declared assets held offshore in Switzerland or Liechtenstein to the tax authorities, Les Echos reports. As a result, the federal, regional and local governments are estimated to have shared a total of nearly EUR2bn in added tax revenues, the German finance minister says. Proposed legislation will bring in stricter consequences for tax evaders who report their assets in future.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Carlo Gentili, deputy director of Nextam Partners, says there is no place for small independent asset management firms in Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset management professionals, Plus 24 reports. “Assogestioni should be a technical association which helps us with more complex issues. It should provide us with assistance and advice on standardising practices and usage across the sector. All of that is missing,” he says.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to a survey undertaken by Funds People, 15 foreign managers entered the Spanish market in 2010. They are ACPI IM, Alken Funds, Andbanc, Banque de Luxembourg, Brandes IP, Belgrave Capital Management, Fundlogic Global Solutions, Gamex Management, Harewood AM, IT Asset Management, Iveagh, Marshall Wace, Muzinich, Reyl, and SEB Asset Management. In addition to this, two Spanish asset management firms registered Luxembourg funds in Spain: Auriga Securities and A&G (AFG group). Lastly, five new “local” management firms set up in Spain: Amistra, Fineco Patrimonios (BBK), Lombard Odier, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Nmas1 AM.