«Une nouvelle catégorie d’émetteurs de taille moyenne émerge»
Christophe Auvity, responsable global credit BNP Paribas Asset Management
Amundi et Natixis GAM s’imposent de plus en plus face à BNP Paribas IP
Leurs encours continuent à croître, portés par une forte collecte chez NGAM. Deux fois plus petit qu'Amundi, BNPP IP décroche encore
Amundi et NGAM devancent BNPP IP
Seul Natixis Global AM a collecté au troisième trimestre parmi les gestionnaires des banques françaises cotées, tandis que BNPP IP totalise plus de 31,6 milliards d’euros de sorties de capitaux depuis janvier. Ses encours, qui baissent encore, sont inférieurs de moitié à ceux d’Amundi.
Ageas France devrait renforcer ses investissements dans les obligations souveraines
Bertrand Hau, Directeur général délégué et directeur financier et comptable d’Ageas France à la rédaction de www.institinvest.com : Le portefeuille d’Ageas France comprend enfin 3% à 4% de cash mais aussi quelques lignes stratégiques et un investissement très réduit dans du private equity. Concernant le niveau des liquidités, l’institution prévoit de se rapprocher dans les prochains mois de la part prévue par son allocation stratégique c’est-à-dire 1,5% de cash. « Cette évolution devrait se faire au profit d’un renforcement de nos investissements dans les obligations souveraines, ajoute le directeur financier. Nous menons actuellement une réflexion dans ce sens. Nous avons d’ailleurs récemment investi dans des emprunts émis par la Belgique et par la France avec le souci d’augmenter la duration des actifs afin d’adapter notre portefeuille à l’augmentation des maturités de notre passif ».
L'UMR diminue légèrement son exposition à l'immobilier
L’Union Mutualiste Retraite, qui gère huit milliards d’euros, a vu son exposition à l’immobilier diminuer de 10 à 9 %. La caisse de retraite, qui disposait d’un bon matelas de plus-value latentes d’après Philippe Rey, son directeur des investissements, a en effet profité de prix jugés élevés pour vendre aux enchères un certain nombre de biens parisiens, notamment des bureaux. L’UMR compte réallouer une partie des liquidités tirées de ces ventes pour investir de dix à vingt millions d’euros dans des commerces de proximité, de type franchises nationales, situées sur les grandes artères de villes de province. Le rendement cible est situé entre 5 et 6 %.
L'emploi américain résiste mieux que prévu au «shutdown»
L’emploi américain a révélé des bonnes surprises cet après midi, avec des créations d’emplois non agricoles qui ont dépassé le seuil symbolique des 200.000 en octobre, à 204.000, malgré les inquiétudes concernant la fermeture temporaire des administrations américaines («shutdown») durant une bonne partie du mois. Les chiffres des mois précédents ont également été sensiblement révisés à la hausse, à 163.000 en septembre et même 238.000 en août. Le taux de chômage a en revanche légèrement augmenté à 7,3%, conformément aux attentes.
L’excédent commercial allemand au plus haut
L’excédent commercial de l’Allemagne a atteint en septembre un montant sans précédent, le pays s’exposant ainsi à nouveau au risque d'être critiqué pour une croissance qui serait beaucoup trop dépendante du commerce extérieur et pour sa contribution aux déséquilibres macroéconomiques. Corrigé des variations saisonnières, l’excédent est ressorti à 18,8 milliards d’euros contre 15,8 milliards en août, dépassant le précédent record de 18,7 milliards de septembre 2007. Les exportations ont augmenté de 1,7% et les importations ont baissé de 1,9%.
Le gouvernement français planche sur les économies de 2015
Le ministre de l’Economie et des Finances Pierre Moscovici a indiqué que le gouvernement consacrera mercredi un séminaire à une nouvelle phase de «modernisation de l’action publique» devant se traduire par des économies budgétaires en 2015. «Il faut que ces économies accompagnent des réformes de l’administration publique et permettent d’offrir des prestations qui soient non seulement équivalentes mais même meilleures» a clamé le ministre.
Les investisseurs européens n’ont pas peur du «tapering» de la Fed
Selon une étude de Fitch Ratings publiée aujourd’hui, seuls 12% des investisseurs obligataires européens craignent que le ralentissement des rachats d’actifs de la Réserve fédérale américaine conduise à un ralentissement de la demande mondiale. En revanche, 40% d’entre eux estiment qu’ils pourraient entraîner une hausse de la volatilité sur les marchés obligataires.
08/11/2013
Julius Baer builds presence in Panama
Julius Baer announced on November 7 that the transfer of Merrill Lynch’s International Wealth Management (IWM) business based in Panama has started yesterday. With this step Julius Baer will enhance its existing presence in this «important market», enabling the Bank to capitalise on the growth momentum in Panama and other Latin American countries.Merrill Lynch has run wealth management activities in Panama for 40 years and has built a solid team of long-serving financial advisors and support staff, catering to a sophisticated local and international client base. The employees and client relationships of the Panama business were transferred on 6 November 2013. The client assets will be transferred in a staggered manner, expected to be completed by mid-2014.Julius Baer’s business in Panama will operate as a broker-dealer and be regulated by the Superintendency of the Securities Markets of the Republic of Panama. The licence was granted to Julius Baer in August 2013 and was activated on 6 November 2013.So far the IWM businesses located in Switzerland, Uruguay, Chile, Luxembourg, Monaco, Hong Kong, Singapore, UK, Spain and Israel have started the transfer process and are moving ahead as planned. The next businesses to transfer, expected to occur before the end of the year, are in Bahrain, Lebanon and the UAE. Preparations for these transfers are well under way.
08/11/2013
Asian SWFs continue to invest in Europe
The financial crisis has not put Asian sovereign wealth funds off the European territory. These sovereign funds are continuing to invest directly in Europe, although they generally use intermediaries and local partners to invest in the United States, according to the SWF Institute.The two Singapore SWFs in particular, GIC Private Limited and Temasek Holdings, have increased their presence in Europe. In the past few months, GIC Private has become the second-largest private shareholder in the Royal Mail. The two Singapore funds have also invested in Rothesay Life, while GIC invested in the Broadgate office and shopping centre.Direct investments by Asian SWFs in the United Kingdom totalled USD18.9bn between third quarter 2011 and second quarter 2012. This is followed by Germany, with USD7.73bn in direct investment, France (USD2.74bn), Switzerland (USD2.63bn), Russia (USD1.91bn), and Spain (USD1.38bn). In the same period, investments in the United States, which are indirect, perhaps except for institutional real estate, totalled USD5.48bn.It is also notable that the Korean sovereign Wealth fund KIC and the Korean pension fund NPS have both opened offices in London. The two major Asian public actors, like their counterparts, would like to increase their European exposure to real estate, bonds, equities and infrastructure.
08/11/2013
Azimut posts inflows of nearly EUR400m in October
The Italian asset management firm Azimut in October 2013 recorded net inflows of EUR384m, of which about EUR160m were to sub-funds of the Luxembourg-based AZ Fund 1 and AZ Fund Multi Asset. This brings inflows since the beginning of the year to EUR2.5bn. In addition to this, assets which entered the perimeter of Azimut following acquisitions in Singapore in Brazil total EUR217m. Total assets under administration at Azimut come to EUR23.3bn, including EUR20.8bn in assets under management, an increase of 18.9% since the beginning of the year.
08/11/2013
German institutionals suffer from pressure on returns
According to an annual survey by Union Investment of 104 German institutional investors, more than two thirds of heads surveyed feel that it is important not to have returns below a given level, 8 points higher than in 2012. Meanwhile, 89% of respondents feel that regulatory obstacles reduce their room to manoeuvre and their capacity to outperform, 5 points more than in 2012, and 15 more than in 2011.Currently, German institutionals are 61% invested in bonds and 11% in money markets (compared with 23% in 2012), while their exposure to equities is limited to 5%. Allocation to alternative investments, for its part, has increased to 18%, from 10% last year.The priorities also have changed: avoiding losses is “extremely important” or “very important” for 82% of respondents, compared with 92% in 2012, but care to achieve a given minimal return has become “particularly important” for 64% of respondents, compared with 55% last year, which shows that pressure on returns has increased. Only 18% of investors, however, now feel that it is “important” to avoid underperformance compared with an index, down from 32% in 2012.
08/11/2013
Deutsche Bank sets up shop in Shanghai free zone
Deutsche Bank has obtained permission from the Chinese banking commission (CBRC) to set up shop in the pilot Shanghai fre zone, according to a statement released on 7 November. The Shanghai office will be responsible for corpoate clients and financial establishments in the region, while offering a wide range of financial services. The German bank already has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Qinqdao. It also has a regional centre in Hong Kong, which this year celebrated its 55th birthday.
08/11/2013
Carmignac brings fund range to Cofunds
Carmignac Gestion has made its funds available over Cofunds, one of the UK’s largest investment platforms managing over GBP50 billion in assets for more than 800,000 investors.Cofunds clients will now have access to six sterling-denominated Carmignac Gestion funds, including the Carmignac Global Bond, Carmignac Emerging Discovery and Carmignac Emerging Patrimoine funds, according to a press release. There are plans to add further funds from the range later this year.“This is a milestone in our UK distribution drive,” said Eric Helderlé, deputy managing director of Carmignac Gestion.
08/11/2013
Record assets for Italian financial advisor networks
Networks of financial advisers in Italy as of the end of September represented assets under management of EUR270.8bn, according to Assoreti. That represents an increase of 8.7% compared with September 2012. Asset management products attracted the strongest inflows, and represent EUR202bn.
08/11/2013
Increase in third-party assets at Generali
Assets under management for third parties at Generali increased by 3.7% to EUR100bn, the group announced on Thursday. In total, assets under management by the insurer totalled EUR497bn (+2.3%). Operating profits increased by 14.8% to EUR367m.
08/11/2013
iShares posts more inflows than the entire ETP industry in Europe
In October and the first ten months of the year, net subscriptions to iShares ETPs have totalled USD5.4bn and USD18.9bn, respectively, while all European promoters (iShares included) respectively had USD4.1bn and USD13.6bn, according to estimates by the BlackRock Institute. iShares is also very far from number one by total assets, with USD194.2bn, out of a total of USD412.8bn.For its part, the European number two by assets (USD56.6bn), db x-trackers (DeAWM), suffered net outflows of USD3bn in October, and USD4.4bn in the first ten months of the year.Lyxor Asset Management, in third place with USD43.1bn in assets, has posted net subscriptions of USD0.4bn for last month, but net outflows of USD1.8bn in January-October. However, number 4, ETF Securities (USD16.7bn), has seen net outflows of USD3.6bn in the first ten months of the year, due to the weight of its gold product.
08/11/2013
BlackRock director deplores the data burden
Barbara Novick, a member of the global executive board at BlackRock, has declared that international regulators have created so many new rules that multinational companies now have to duplicate data which they publish in several countries in which they are present, Financial News reports. Speaking at the EFAMA Forum, she says: “we are in favour of transparency, but we are not in favour of publishing tons of data. Data is not the same thing as information...”
08/11/2013
Threats to the supremacy of London in asset management
The future of London as a global capital of fund management is assured for the next three years, acording to 96% of asset management firms surveyed by the law firm Nabarro, Investment Europe reports. But its dominance is in danger over the next 10 years. Only 60% of respondents think that London will remain a dominant centre for fund management. Toughening regulations, pressure on costs and competition from emerging markets will penalise the sector and undermine London’s leading role. The environmental tax is also perceived as a handicap.
08/11/2013
Switzerland ranks top for financial opacity
The non-governmental organisation Tax Justice Network (TJN) on 7 November unveiled its new fnancial secrecy index. Switzerland tops the list of shame with an index of 1765.2, putting it ahead of Luxembourg (1454.4) and Hong Kong (1283.3). The United Kingdom, which is 21st, with 361.3 points, would be first counting the Crown territories and dependencies of the United Kingdom overseas (Jersey, Isle of Man, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Virgin Islands, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Anguilla, Turks & Caicos).The United States are in sixth place, with 1212.9 points, while Germany is eighth, with 738.3 points. France is 43rd, with 190.9 points, and Italy is in 54th place, with 118.9.TJN estimates that between USD21trn and USD32trn in private financial savings are stashed away out of the reach of tax authorities or are lightly taxed in “opaque jurisdictions” worldwide. Illicit cross-border flows total between USD1trn and USD1.6trn per year.
08/11/2013
SPDR MSCI EM Beyond BRIC ETF now listed in Germany
State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) on Thursday, 7 November announced the launch of the UCITS ETF SPDR MSCI EM Beyond BRIC on the Xetra segment of Deutsche Börse. The fund, announced by Newsmanagers at the end of August, replicated the MSCI EM Beyond BRIC index. The index includes all MSCI markets ranked as emerging, except the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), and allows investors to access emerging markets of a more modest size than the BRIC countries. The index is built on the basis of the market capitalisations of these countries, with a limit of 15% per country. Characteristics: Symbol name - Deutsche Börse, Xetra SPDR MSCI EM Beyond BRIC UCITS ETF ZPRB (EUR)
08/11/2013
France downgraded by S&P
Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the sovereign rating of France one notch to ‘AA’ from ‘AA+'. The ratings agency changed the country’s outlook to stable from negative along with the downgrade."We believe the French government’s reforms to taxation, as well as to product, services and labour markets, will not substantially raise France’s medium-term growth prospects and that ongoing high unemployment is weakening support for further significant fiscal and structural policy measures,» the agency said."Moreover, we see France’s fiscal flexibility as constrained by successive governments’ moves to increase already-high tax levels, and what we see as the government’s inability to significantly reduce total government spending,» it said.
08/11/2013
Eiris recommends that stock markets encourage businesses to provide audited ESG data
The consultant Eiris recommends that stock exchanges encourage publicly-traded businesses to provide audited environmental, social and governance (ESG) data in a report on sustainable initiatives on financial markets. The firm also recommends co-operation between national regulators to develop rules for initial public offerings with ESG criteria, prefereably on a “comply or explain” basis. The report also identifies the motivations for market businesses to develop sustainable initiatives.
08/11/2013
UBS opens Global Family Office for French-speaking Switzerland
UBS is building its presence in Geneva in the ultra-high net worth and family office segments. To this end, two new heads have been appointed, and an doffice for the Global Family Office (GFO) in French-speaking Switzerland has been created, according to a statement released on 7 November. The GFO structure in Geneva is now led by Alain Krüger, while Marc Mandosse is responsible for Ultra-High Net Worth (UHNW). The two new heads “have considerable experience in banking and solid international references.” The arrival of Krüger allows UBS to create a branch office for the GFO in French-speaking Switzerland, providing its private clients with “direct access to solutions offered by the UBS group.”
08/11/2013
Pictet AM recruits from BNPP IP
Roger Price-Haworth, head of UK institutional business at BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP), has been appointed as head of institutional business development for the United Kingdom and Ireland by Pictet Asset Management. He will be based in London, and will report to Christoph Lanter, head of institutional business development in Geneva.Pictet AM has also announced that from Partners Group it has recruited Anahita Firouzbakht as consulting relations manager in the global consultant relations team. She will also be based in London, and will report to Fawzy Salarbux, head of global consultants.
08/11/2013
Strong growth in AUM at Old Mutual Wealth YTD
Old Mutual Wealth, which includes Skandia and Old Mutual Global Investors, has reported growth of 10%, or GBP6.8bn, to its assets under management in the first nine months of 2013, bringing them to a total as of the end of September of GBP76bn. Assets under management at Old Mutual Global Investors as of the end of September totalled GBP15.2bn, up 10% compared with the beginning of the year. Gross inflows in third quarter totalled GBP2bn, up by nearly 80% compared with third quarter 2012. Net inflows in the quarter totalled GBP300m. Assets under management at Skandia were up 16% since the beginning of the year to GBP26.2bn, due largely to the dynamic created by RDR regulations.
08/11/2013
Schroders boots its profits
Schroders has posted an increase of 31% to its pre-tax profits in the first nine months of the year to GBP349.6m.The British asset management firm has recorded net inflows in the period of GBP5.5bn, nearly the same level as in the first nine months of 2012 (EUR5.3bn). In third quarter alone, the firm had GBP1bn in inflows, of which GBP0.7bn were contributed by Cazenove, a firm recently acquired by Schroders.Assets under mangement at Schroders increased to GBP256.7bn as of the end of September 2013, compared with GBP202.8bn one year earlier, an increase of 27%, to which Cazenove also contributed.
08/11/2013
Ignis AM appoints two non-executive directors
Ignis Asset Management has appointed Eric Stobart and David Watts as non-executive directors. On the board, Eric Stobart will chair the audit and risk committee and David Watts will chair the investment committee.Eric Stobart currently holds non-executive roles in several companies and senior trustee positions on the pension schemes of different groups. He worked for what is now Lloyds Banking Group from 1977 to 2008. David Watts spent most of his professional career at Gartmore. He held various senior management positions including the role of chief investment officer and latterly the role of joint chief executive from 1996 until his retirement in 1999. David Watts is currently a non-executive director at JP Morgan Fleming Income & Growth Investment Trust.
08/11/2013
Investec Wealth reinforces teams in Edinburgh and Glasgow
Investec Wealth & Investment has recruited nine people for its teams based in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Fundweb reports. Seven of the nine recruits previously worked at Barclays, while the other two were at Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management. Investec Wealth & Investment had already recruited four investment professionals in August this year from Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management.