Le fonds souverain de Singapour GIC a cédé une participation de 7,26% représentant quelque 120 millions de dollars dans le conglomérat malaisien Sunway, selon des documents obtenus par Reuters. GIC était l’un des principaux actionnaires de Sunway, avec une participation de 8,72%. GIC dispose d’une option de vente sur le reliquat de sa participation.

La société italienne de capital investissement Ambienta SGR a annoncé, ce 4 novembre, avoir bouclé son fonds Ambienta II à hauteur de 323,5 millions d’euros, dépassant ainsi son objectif initial de 300 millions d’euros. Ce véhicule a attiré une large palette d’investisseurs: fonds de pension, compagnies d’assurance, fonds de fonds et family offices d’Europe et des Etats-Unis. Parmi eux, on peut citer Generali, HarbourVest, Hermes, Pantheon, RobecoSAM, Stafford Capital Partners, Unigestion, Zurich Insurance ou encore Intesa Sanpaolo.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } In first quarter 2014, the market share for real estate funds reserved for institutional or qualified investors rose in Italy, according to the most recent statistics from Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset managers. In that period, 15 funds of this type went into operation, bringing the total number of real estate funds to 193, with EUR22bn in assets. However, the weight of real estate funds dedicated to retail investors has fallen. There are now 22 such funds, and their assets total EUR4bn. In total, as of the end of June, the real estate industry had 215 funds, with assets of EUR26bn. That represents an increase of 2.4% for the half, due to an increase in supply. Assogestioni notes that the real estate fund industry is highly concentrated: the top three players now account for 51% of total assets.

Investors pulled USD27.5bn from Pimco’s flagship Total Return Fund in October, with nearly half those flows occurring during the first five trading days of the month, according to a press statement. It was the 18th consecutive month of outflows from the fund, wrote the Financial Times. Outflows from the fund «slowed considerably» during the month of October, underlines the asset management firm. «The daily average flow for the last five days in October was approximately one-tenth of the daily average flow during the first five trading days after Bill Gross’s departure.» «Flows from the Total Return Fund peaked on September 26th, and slowed sharply throughout October,» said Daniel Tarman, a Pimco spokesperson.On a trailing three-month basis the fund achieved a return of +0.97% after fees, and year-to-date the fund has achieved a return of +4.16% after fees.The Pimco Total Return fund assets were USD170.9 billion as of October 31.

UBS has licensed the MSCI UK IMI Extended SRI Index for the sixth in a series of socially responsible ETFs. The series tracks the MSCI Global Socially Responsible (SRI) Index family covering both emerging and developed markets:•UBS ETF (LU) MSCI UK IMI Socially Responsible Ucits ETF•UBS ETF (LU) MSCI Emerging Markets Socially Responsible Ucits ETF•UBS ETF-MSCI Pacific Socially Responsible Ucits ETF•UBS ETF-MSCI Europe & Middle East Socially Responsible Ucits ETF•UBS ETF-MSCI World Socially Responsible Ucits ETF•UBS ETF-MSCI North America Socially Responsible Ucits ETF

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Axa Investment Managers has recruited Stephen Sexeny for the newly-created position of head of US client group. Sexeny, who began in the new role on 3 November, previously worked for New York Life, most recently as head of business development and investor relations at Cornerstone Capital Management. In his new position, based in Grenwich, Connecticut, Sexeny will be responsible for leading AXA IM’s distribution efforts in the United States, particularly serving institutional investors, pension funds, consultants, banking platforms, and other global distributors. He will develop investment solutions which will drawn on the full range of management expertise at the French asset management firm developed in Paris. A Participating Affiliate Arrangement introduced in July has broadened the range of investments available to US investors, by enabling AXA IM to offer strategies managed out of Europe to US investors. “The appointment of Stephen underlines our determination to continue building on the back of our successes so far this year,” says Xavier Thomin, head of Americas at Axa IM, in a press statement. AXA IM has won a number of new mandates in the US this year, including USD82 million from the San Antonio City Public Services Employee pension fund and aUSD397 million US investment grade fixed income mandate from a US reinsurer, the press statement adds. In the past 18 months, the asset management firm has alco launched two private funds in the United States: Axa IM International Small Cap Fund, and AXA US Core High Yield. It is also planning to introduce new strategies by the end of the year, particuarly via two collective management funds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } The US group Neuberger Berman has signed a partnership with Samsung Securities and the affiliated company Samsung Asset Management, with the objective of offering a range of investment products from Neuberger and developing new strategies. These three parties signed an agreement to this effect in Seoul on 27 October.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, the hedge fund led by Daniel Och, has reported a 10% decline in its profits in third quarter 2014, as it was penalised by weaker performance commissions and higher taxes. Distributable earnings, a figure which excludes some costs related to its IPO in 2007, fell to USD116.7m in third quarter 2014, from USD130.3m in third quarter 2013. In the first nine months of the 2014 fiscal year, distributable earnings totalled USD333.4m, down 3% from USD344.7m in the first nine months of 2013. As of 30 September 2014, assets under management totalled USD46.8bn, up 16% compared with 31 December 2013 (USD40.2bn in assets), and up 24% compared with 30 September 2013 (USD37.8bn in assets). This growth has largely been driven by net inflows of USD5.43bn in the first nine months of 2014, including USD639m in third quarter alone, the asset management firm says in a statement. However, assets fell to USD46bn as of 1 November, largely due to net outflows of USD615m since the end of third quarter.

The asset management unit at Natixis saw in the first nine months of the year net inflows of EUR24bn, said the bank in its results for the third quarter. Excluding money market funds, inflows stands at EUR27bn, of which EUR16bn for fixed income products and EUR12bn for equity products.As of the end of September, assets under management were at EUR708bn, EUR79bn more than the level of end of December. EUR359bn is managed out of the United States and EUR338bn is managed out of Europe.

Adopting a localization approach appears the best bet to gain success and challenge local players, according to Cerulli Associates’ report, Asia Marketing and Sales Organizations 2014.“Foreign asset managers that attempt to formulate a pan-Asian marketing and sales strategy need to address diverse regulations, differing investor maturity levels, and largely bank-dominated distribution networks inherent in the current landscape”, writes the consultant.Unlike local managers who have strong brand recognition either due to a long history in these markets or because they are part of a bigger financial holdings group, foreign managers have their work cut out to generate a level of brand awareness strong enough to challenge local players.Cerulli also found that more than 60% of Asian managers intend to increase leverage of the internet and social media platforms for advertising purposes. This is especially apparent in more locally focused markets such as China, India, and Korea."Asians generally seek financial information from their colleagues, friends, or relatives. As such, word of mouth will have a great impact on people’s perception of a fund manager. A re-post of an article from a fund manager by an investor in their WeChat or KakaoTalk accounts is a personal endorsement to hundreds of their friends,» says Rachel Poh, an analyst with Cerulli who co-led the report.Deepening relationships with major distributors in each market is also a key element in managers’ marketing and sales strategies."Providing consistent and continuous support, timely data, and proactive communication with easy access to portfolio managers are essentials that managers have to fulfil, and these can be best achieved with sufficient on-the-ground resources,» says Yoon Ng, Asia research director with Cerulli."Beyond increasing engagement with local partners and distributors, understanding the taboos within each market can help managers to structure marketing efforts and make it easier for distributors to sell their products, as well as forge closer relationships with them,» she adds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Alfred Berg, the Swedish affiliate of BNP Paribas Investment Partners, has recruited Petteri Karlsson as head of sales for the Swedish market, according to a press statement released on Tuesday. Karlsson will be based in Stockholm, and will cover both the institutional and distribution markets. Alfred Berg has also recently recruited Jonas Olavi as head of asset allocation for Northern Europe. Olavi was previously chief equity strategist at Nordea Bank, where he headed a group of equity strategists in the wealth management unit. He will begin in the position in January 2015. The Scandinavian asset management firm in September also recruited Peter van Berkelom for its Swedish equity management team, where he will be focused particularly on large caps. Van Berkelom most recently worked at Nordea Investment Management, where he was both an analyst and fund manager.

L’Office public chinois des changes, la State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), a accordé 1,85 milliard de dollars de nouveaux quotas QFII (investisseur institutionnel étranger qualifié) en octobre, portant à 64 milliards de dollars le volume de quotas QFII distribués à 258 institutions étrangères. Au cours du mois écoulé, Axa Fund Management a ainsi reçu un quota QFII de 100 millions de dollars, une première pour le groupe français. En outre, la SAFE a attribué des quotas supplémentaires à 12 sociétés de gestion participant au programme QFII, incluant notamment Citigroup First Investment, HSBC Global Asset Management (Taiwan), JP Morgan Chase Bank, National Association, Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management Co ou encore Investment Trust Management. En parallèle, la SAFE a distribué 294,4 milliards de renminbi (47,1 milliards de dollars) de quotas RQFII (investisseur institutionnel étranger qualifié pour la gestion en renminbi) à 91 institutions. Parmi elles, on trouve BNP Paribas Investment Partners et Carmignac, les deux premières sociétés françaises à recevoir de tels quotas pour un montant de 3 milliards de renminbi chacune.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } At the 5th annual Emerging Markets Leadership Forum, organised in Beijing by Credit Suisse, Ahmad Al-Sayed, CEO of the Qatar sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), announced that the fund has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Citic Group, to create a USD10bn fund to be invested in Asia. The new fund will receive 50/50 joint funding from the two partners, and will allow QIA to realise its ambitions in the region. “QIA is open to other partnerships, and we are seeking to invest USD15bn to USD20bn in the region in the next five years,” Al-Sayed announced at the conference. “QIA is expanding its offices in Beijing and New Delhi, and we are opening a new office in New York,” he added.

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Henderson Global Investors (Henderson GI) has recruited Glen Finegan as head of emerging market equities. Finegan, who will officially join the asset management firm on 5 January 2015, will report to Graham Kitchen, head of equities at the group. He replaces Chris Palmer, currently director for emerging market equities, who will be leaving Henderson GI, a firm he joined in 2011 during the Gartmore acquisition. In his new role, Finegan will be responsible for management of the emerging markets franchise at Henderson GI, which has GBP1bn in assets under management. Finegan previously worked at First State, where he was responsible for managing the First State Global Emerging Markets (GBP750m in assets) and First State Worldwide Equity (GBP37m) funds. Overall, he had GBP3bn in assets under management in emerging markets as lead manager, and GBP10bn as co-manager. In October 2013, he decided to take a sabbatical, and in August 2014, Fisrt State announced that he would not be returning to his former position.

Schroders Portfolio Solutions, part of Schroders Multi-Asset Business, has hired Philip Howard to the role of LDI Solutions Manager. He takes over from Daniel Morris, who is currently an LDI Solutions Manager in the London office. After a period of handover, Daniel Morris will transfer to New York at the beginning of 2015, where he will partner with US Multi-Asset Product Specialist Seth Finkelstein on a new venture to establish Schroders Portfolio Solutions business in North America.Philip Howard joins Schroders later this month from Mercer where he has been a part of its Financial Strategy Group for seven years.

La filiale titres du Crédit Agricole (85%) et de Natixis annonce aujourd’hui le lancement d’une offre intégrée qui lui permet d’être la contrepartie unique des sociétés de gestion, des banques et des investisseurs institutionnels, de l’exécution de leurs ordres jusqu’à la tenue de compte-conservation de leurs actifs. «Le développement de cette solution, simple et sécurisée, anticipe la mise en œuvre du règlement européen Emir qui imposera la compensation de certains dérivés OTC (IRS et CDS sur indices) avant la fin de l’année 2015», indique Caceis dans un communiqué.

Les Républicains ont pris mardi le contrôle du Sénat lors des élections de mi-mandat aux Etats-Unis, avec 52 sièges. En s’assurant la maîtrise des deux chambres du Congrès, ils devraient fortement limiter la marge de manoeuvre de Barack Obama pour ses deux dernières années de présidence. Les républicains ont remporté des sièges dans des Etats où les démocrates étaient favoris, comme en Caroline du Nord, tandis que leur chef de file, Mitch McConnell, sénateur du Kentucky, a été réélu.

Aidé par la faiblesse des positions vendeuses, le yen est revenu sur ses niveaux de fin 2007 contre dollar depuis l'annonce de la BoJ vendredi.

Dans une zone euro à la croissance atone, la France se distingue par la médiocrité de ses performances

Dans une zone euro à la croissance atone, la France se distingue par la médiocrité de ses performances.

Dans une lettre de mission envoyée fin octobre à Mireille Elbaum, présidente du Haut Conseil du financement de la protection sociale, le premier ministre Manuel Valls souhaite que les Urssaf centralisent les prélèvements actuellement récupérés par les caisses de retraite complémentaire Agirc et Arrco. Motif: rationaliser le recouvrement des prélèvements sociaux. Les syndicats s’y opposent.

Son bureau d'évaluation estime qu'après une première réaction adéquate, le FMI a appelé prématurément à l'austérité dans les pays développés

Les prêts de deux leaders du secteur, Lending Club et Prosper, pourraient être titrisés. Lendix veut lancer des opérations comparables en France.

Dublin a levé 3,75 milliards d'euros à 15 ans en concédant un taux de 2,49%, alors que le pays devrait afficher la plus forte croissance en Europe.

Afin de rembourser par anticipation les prêts contractés auprès du FMI lors de son plan de sauvetage, le pays a émis hier 3,75 milliards d’euros à 15 ans pour un rendement de 2,49%. Bruxelles anticipe une croissance du PIB irlandais de 4,6% cette année et 3,6% en 2015, la plus forte en Europe.

Les prix du pétrole sont tombés hier à un plancher jamais atteint depuis plus de deux ans, après que l’Arabie Saoudite a décider de baisser les prix du brut destiné à être vendu aux Etats-Unis, à la grande surprise des investisseurs. Cette décision pourrait ouvrir la voie à la poursuite de la baisse et exercer une pression supplémentaire sur les producteurs américains d’hydrocarbures, dont l’activité a été soutenue par le développement du pétrole de schiste.

Pimco, la filiale de gestion d’actifs de l’assureur Allianz, a annoncé hier que son fonds Pimco Total Return Fund a enregistré une décollecte de 27,5 milliards de dollars (22 milliards d’euros) en un mois depuis le départ de son fondateur et gérant star Bill Gross, le 26 septembre dernier. Pour la totalité du mois de septembre, les sorties avaient atteint 23,5 milliards de dollars.

Le tribunal constitutionnel espagnol a suspendu hier la «consultation citoyenne» que la Catalogne prévoyait d’organiser dimanche sur la question de son indépendance, après avoir déclaré anticonstitutionnel en septembre un projet de référundum du gouvernement régional. En réponse au tribunal, un porte-parole catalan a déclaré hier que les autorités restaient déterminées à organiser la consultation.

La commission des sanctions de l’AMF a prononcé une amende de 150.000 euros à l’encontre de la société de gestion, et de 50.000 euros à l’encontre de son PDG, Catherine Wajsman, pour n’avoir pas respecté les obligations de prestataire de services d’investissement.

Ludovic Fechner, dirigeant de Fundesys, explique les avantages de son métier de conseiller indépendant en sélection de fonds et décrypte les évolutions des attentes des distributeurs qui sont, selon lui, "peu diversifiés", averses au risque en quête de simplicité.