Christophe de Backer, DG d’Edmond de Rothschild, veut séparer le développement commercial de la gestion de portefeuille dans sa banque privée en France. Une réorganisation qui bouscule les habitudes des banquiers privés de la maison et a déjà entraîné plusieurs départs
La dépréciation des devises émergentes contraint de plus en plus de banques centrales à relever les taux d’intérêt, parfois même brutalement comme en Turquie, et le durcissement monétaire n’est probablement pas fini. Doit-on pour autant craindre un effondrement de la croissance des émergents, similaire à celui de 1998-1999?
Paul-François Fournier, à la tête de la direction de l’innovation de Bpifrance, va décliner aujourd’hui un plan d’action selon lequel la banque publique consacrera cette année un milliard d’euros de financement innovation, soit 30% de plus que l’année dernière. L’ambition de l’ancien patron du Technocentre d’Orange: «Que les pousses que nous aidons aujourd’hui à innover soient dans trente ans au CAC 40 !»
Selon nos informations, l’Institution interprofessionnelle de Retraites Complémentaires de la Martinique (IRCOM) aurait lancé un appel d’offres pour un fonds diversifié. Le consultant serait Insti7. L’IRCOM est une institution de retraite complémentaire régie par le code de la Sécurité sociale, adhérente de la fédération ARRCO (Association pour le Régime de Retraite Complémentaire des salariés). Créée en 1994, elle a fait suite en Martinique à la CMGRR qui avait été créée en 1974. L’IRCOM recouvre les cotisations de retraite complémentaire obligatoire des salariés du secteur privé, cadres et non cadres, du département de la Martinique (sauf salariés relevant de l’agriculture et des activités du bâtiment et des travaux publics) dont elle reçoit l’affiliation par l’intermédiaire des entreprises martiniquaises.
La Reserve Bank, la banque centrale sud-africaine, a relevé mercredi son taux directeur d’un demi-point, à 5,5%, resserrant sa politique monétaire face à la montée des tensions inflationnistes et à la chute du rand, la monnaie nationale. L’institut a revu à la hausse sa prévision d’inflation 2014, à 6,3% contre 5,7% jusqu'à présent et à la baisse ses prévisions de croissance de l'économie sud-africaine pour cette année et l’an prochain, à 2,8% et 3,3% respectivement contre 3,0% et 3,4% auparavant.
La croissance de l'économie belge a atteint 0,4% au quatrième trimestre par rapport au trimestre précédent, montre la première estimation officielle du PIB publiée mercredi, sa meilleure performance en près de trois ans. Sur un an, la hausse du PIB a atteint 0,9% sur octobre-décembre. Sur l’ensemble de l’année 2013, le PIB belge a augmenté de 0,2%, après une contraction de 0,1% en 2012.
Marqué par l’annonce récente du départ de son directeur général et co-responsable des investissements, Mohamed El-Erian, la société de gestion filiale d’Allianz a nommé quatre directeurs adjoints des investissements. Mark Kiesel, Virginie Maisonneuve (en provenance de Schroders), Scott Mather et Mihir Worah occupent actuellement des postes de directeurs exécutifs.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Itau Asset Management, the asset management firm specialised in Latin America affiliated to the Itau Unibanco group, has recruited Ken Casey as head of its British office in London, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by eFinancial News. Casey had previously been senior director of the Itau Asset Management office in Dubai, according to his LinkedIn profile. He will replace Griffith Williams, former head of the institutional activity in Europe, who has left the firm.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The UK asset management firm F&C on Tuesday morning announced that it had agreed an offer of acquisition by the Canadian firm BMO Asset Management (Europe), 100% owned by the Bank of Montreal, for a total of GBP708m. The previous day, the London-based firm had confirmed that talks were in progress (see Newsmanagers of 28 January 2014). Under the terms of the acquisition, each shareholder will receive 120 pence in cash per share. Additionally, a dividend of 2 pence per share will be paid. The price of 122 pence represents a premium of 30.5% over the F&C share price as of 24 January, a statement says. Yesterday, shares rose over 120 pence. The acquisition will allow BMO, whose asset management activity has a total of GBP80bn as of 31 December, to double its assets under management. F&C, which also published annual results on Tuesday morning, has assets of GBP82bn as of the end of 2013, down from GBP95bn recorded one year earlier, after net outflows of nearly GBP19bn over the year. F&C will represent the centerpiece of European activities for BMO Global Asset Management, the statement says. The British firm will use the distribution platforms of the Canadian group in North America and Asia, while the latter firm will be able to sell its products in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. For the moment, BMO Global Asset Management owns several multidisciplinary management centres in Canada and the United States, and a few specialist boutiques in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } John Duffield has recruited his former colleague Mark Skinner as adviser to develop the retail activities of Brompton Asset Management, Investment Week reports. Skinner was the former director of retail sales and marketing at New Star before the collapse of the firm, then led by Duffield. The firm was then taken over by Henderson.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Luxembourg-based asset management firm Sparinvest has decided to merge its European equity fund Small Cap Value, launched in October 2011, in order to realise economies of scale, Citywire reports, adding that the firm took the decision to close the fund in December 2013. The remaining assets in the fund have been moved to the Sparinvest European Value Fund vehicle, managed by Jens Moestrip Rasmussen and Per Kronborg Jensen. According to Lipper data, the Sparinvest European Small Cap Value Fund had USD700,000 in assets at closing on 12 December. The vehicle reached a peak of USD3.94m in February 2012.
Banca March a informé le régulateur espagnol des marchés, la CNMV, avoir acquis 100 % du capital social de Banco Inversis, révèle Funds People. Le 5 novembre dernier, Banca March était déjà devenue principal actionnaire de l’établissement financier, s’étant emparé de 92,9 % du capital de Banco Inversis.
Nikko Asset Management a étoffé ses équipes dirigeantes avec la nomination de quatre personnes. La société de gestion japonaise a ainsi nommé Takuya Koyama en tant que responsable mondial des ventes. Il sera chargé des ventes institutionnelles et retail à l’échelle internationale. Auparavant, Takuya Koyama a occupé différentes fonctions chez Nomura Securities, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers et Citicorp Securities Japan.Hideyuki Omokawa devient responsable de l’innovation produits stratégiques et il supervisera le développement de produits à l’échelle mondiale, tout en gérant les interactions entre les équipes commerciales et de gestion par le biais d’un bureau du CIO, nouvellement créé. Hideyuki Omokawa était précédmment président de FGI Capital Partners.Motonobu Hasegawa a été recruté en tant que responsable mondial des appels d’offres et il dirigera une équipe de spécialistes au Japon et à l’étranger. L’intéressé dirigeait précédemment l’équipe appels d’offres d’UBS Global Asset Management Japon. Il a aussi travaillé chez Aberdeen Investment Management, Credit Suisse Asset Management et Pictet Asset Management Japan. Enfin, dans l’équipe de gestion, Yu-Ming Wang, qui supervise les équipes d’investissement hors du Japon, a été nommé responsable mondial des investissements pour orchestrer le travail de l’équipe d’investissement mondial de Nikko AM, qui couvre des collaborateurs répartis dans neuf pays. Le CIO Japon Hiroki Tsujimura continuera à être responsable de la gestion dans le bureau de Tokyo.
State Street accélère son expansion en terre chinoise. Le groupe américain a annoncé l’ouverture d’un nouveau bureau à Shanghai dont la vocation est de proposer des services et des solutions dans le domaine des investissements alternatifs. L’objectif est d’accompagner ses clients hedge funds dans leur stratégie de développement en Chine. Il s’agit aussi pour State Street d’accélérer la croissance de son activité Alternative Investment Solutions (AIS) en Chine, notamment dans le private equity et l’immobilier.L’équipe de State Street basée à Shanghai sera directement placée sous la direction d’Eric Chow, responsable de la gestion des relations clients pour l’activité AIS en Asie-Pacifique. AIS propose une large gamme de services à plus de 750 clients, essentiellement des investisseurs institutionnels et des gérants de hedge funds, de fonds de private equity et de fonds immobiliers.
Depuis décembre 2013, State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) a commencé à enregistrer sur le marché espagnol une série de véhicules d’investissements dont sa célèbre gamme SPDR ETF, révèle Funds People. Dans un entretien accordé au site d’information, Olivier Paquier, responsable de SSgA pour l’Espagne, la France, Monaco et le Portugal, a confirmé l’enregistrement auprès de la CNMV, le régulateur local, de 41 ETF de sa gamme SPDR, donnant ainsi le coup d’envoi de la première phase de distribution de ses produits sur le marché espagnol.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss group Unigestion on 9 January this year received an AIFM, or alternative investment fund management, license from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) for its asset management firm based in France, Unigestion Asset Management (France) SA. The license will allow it to offer its client base of European institutional investors with access to hedge funds under the new regulatory framework. “We are certain that [this directive] will allow us to intensify our development in other member states of the European Union,” a statement from Gérard Pfauwadel, chairman of Unigestion Asset Management (France) SA, says.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The traditional annual State of the Union address was an occasion for Barack Obama to call for the creation of a new retirement savings account supported by the government, and to reassert his support for major real estate financing reforms. The President stated that he had asked the Treasury to create a retirement savings vehicle known as MyRA. Obama did not offer details of the new savings instrument, however. US President Obama also promised to overcome the obstacle of a divided Congress. He warned that he would act on his own initiative as needed to reduce inequality in the United States.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Top US officials are facing off to determine whether the asset management industry poses risks to the financial sector, and whether it therefore needs to be subject to stricter surveillance, the Wall Street Journal reports. Representatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who currently regulates asset management firms, are confronting a powerful but little-known office of the Treasury department which is seeking to lay the foundations for supervision of companies such as Fidelity Investments and BlackRock by the Federal Reserve. The regulatory battle, described by sources close to the situation, may complicate efforts by the US government to control non-banking companies which regulators feel may pose risks to the financial system.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Comgest has announced to subscribers in the Comgest Panda fund, a Luxembourg product, that the product has been absorbed into the Irish-registered fund Comgest Growth Asia ex Japan, a sub-fund of the Irish Sicav Comgest Growth. Shareholders have received an even exchange of their shares. “The merger is effective from 10 January,” the French asset management firm says, confirming information that has appeared in the English language press to Newsmanagers. Comgest Panda, managed by Chakara Sisowath and David Raper, had slightly over EUR100m in assets when these were transferred to the Comgest Growth Asia ex Japan, managed by the same two managers. The ensemble is expected to have a total of about EUR150m in assets. The integration of Comgest Panda comes as part of a strategy of “rationalisation of the product range,” according to the asset management firm. This will help to make commercialisation of the fund easier internationally. “Our Irish Sicav is largely used by Northern European, British and American investors, who are more comfortable with the format than with Luxembourg-registered funds,” explains Vincent Strauss, chairman of Comgest. “This is also the case for our Canadian clients, who are growing strongly,” he adds.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lyxor Asset Management has launched the Lyxor UCITS ETF EUROSTOXX BANKS on NYSE Euronext Paris. The ETF offers exposure to the major euro zone banks, selected from among the components of the EURO STOXX index in line with the ICB classification. It is the only UCITS product in Europe which replicates the Euro Stoxx Banks index, a statement says. Characteristics: Commissions: 0.30% ISIN code: FR001164647
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Legg Mason Global Asset Management is launching the Legg Mason Western Asset Macro Opportunities Bond Fund, a toal return bond fund managed by its affiliate Western Asset. The managers, Kenneth Leeth, chief investment officer at Western Asset, and Prashant Chandran, are preferring three themes: credit, the evolution of interest rates, and volatility conditions. They will seek to exploit movements in the market and opportunities to create value through active management of bond assets, futures, options and other derivative products, a statement says. The fund, created as part of an opportunistic strategy initiated in 2000, has already attracted USD200m in subscriptions.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Neuberger Berman has been selected by SEI to manage a USD200m mandate for its emerging market debt fund, SGMF Emerging Markets Debt. Neuberger Berman, which replaces Ashmore Investment Management in the management of this mandate, joins Investec and Stone Harbor Investment Partners in the management of the fund, with each firm managing a portion of the vehicle.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } State Street is accelerating its expansion in Chinese territory. The US group has announced that it is opening a new office in Shanghai, which will aim to offer services and solutions in the area of alternative investments. The objective is to assist hedge fund clients with their development strategy in China. For State Street, this will mean accelerating the growth of its Alternative Investment Solutions (AID) activity in China, particularly in private equity and real estate. The State Street team based in Shanghai will report directly to Eric Chow, head of management of client relationships for the activities of AIS in Asia-Pacific. AIS offers a wide range of services to more than 750 clients, largely institutional investors and hedge fund managers, private equity funds and real estate funds.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Zhu Changhong, the man who managed USD3.8trn in currency reserves in China, has resigned, the Wall Street Journal reports. Changhong, who had previously worked at Pimco, was recruited about four years ago. The reasons for his departure remain unclear, but sources familiar with his work indicate that he had difficulty with the culture of secrecy at the Chinese government agency.