Les minutes de la Fed publiées hier ont une nouvelle fois fait chuter les devises des pays émergents, notamment la lire turque, le real et la roupie

Les minutes de la Réserve fédérale publiées mercredi soir ont conduit à de nouvelles dépréciations des devises des pays émergents. Le real brésilien, la lire turque ainsi que la roupie indienne sont les principales victimes du ralentissement imminent des rachats d’actifs de la Fed. Le montant des sorties de capitaux de ces pays commence en outre à devenir inquiétant.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The cost of insured disasters worldwide in the first half of 2013 is estimated at USD20bn in the most recent Sigma study from Swiss Re, released on 21 August. The balance sheet for natural disasters alone comes out to USD17bn. The study also counts 7,000 deaths related to these disasters in the first half of the year. The total amount of damages due to either the forces of nature or man-made causes comes to USD56bn, 16% less than th USD67bn observed in the first half of 2012. Last year, insurers had to pay out USD21bn over the same period, of which USD3bn were for damages caused by humans, as this year. Since January, the total volume of insured damages is slightly below average, but the hurricane season and the winter in Europe may raise the level for some insurers, warns Kurt Karl, head economist at Swiss Re.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The alternative asset management firm AQG Capital Management, based in Singapore, is expected to launch a market neutral quantitative fund in early September dedciated to pan-Asian equities, according to HFI. The Able Quant Master fund, which is starting up with capital of USD100m from the Korean firm Hyundai Securities, is one of the most awaited hedge funds in the region, due to the large initial size of the fund at startup. The Singapore monetary authority (MAS) is expected to issue approval shortly.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The German market operator Deutsche Börse on 21 August announced that it plans to extend the activities on its Eurex derivatives platform, in order to allow for trading of futures contracts and options on currencies. “From 7 October, FX contracts will also be available in the list of tradeable products” on Eurex, the group says in a statement. This platform will initially offer futures and options on six pairs of currencies: EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, EUR/CHF, GBP/USD, GBP/CHF and USD/CHF, the most popular pairs in day-to-day OTC trading of currency derivative contracts.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The gold equity manager Rob Turner has left UBS to pursue other opportunities, according to reports in Citywire Global. Turner, who had been based in Sydney, officially resigned in early July, after 7 years at the firm.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Singapore sovereign fund, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, is in negotiations to acquire half of Broadgate, an office and retail complex located in the City of London, the Financial Times reports, adding that it would be one of the largest real estate operations since the financial crisis in the UK. The stake would be purchased from Blackstone for GBP1.7bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British consulting firm AFH Financial, a specialist in wealth management, has raised GBP2.8bn in capital to finance its acquisition strategy, Investment Week reports. This sum comes from an acquisition of ordinary shares and non-guaranteed bonds which will be partly added to fixed capital, but which will also provide a way to finance future acquisitions by the firm. Since its IPO in June 2011, the firm has completed 14 acquisition operations, and has increased the number of advising mandates from 53 to 120. Total assets advised by AFH total about GBP600m as of the end of July 2013.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock has recruited Mark Wharrier of NewSmith to work alongside Adam Avigdori on the UK income fund, with GBP604m in assets, Investment Week reports. The US asset management firm is adding to its team after a period of underperformance by the fund.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Credit Suisse hedge fund index gained 0.88% in July, as six of the ten strategies that make up the index earned positive returns, according to the most recent monthly report by Credit Suisse, released on 21 August. The best-performing strategies in the month under review were Event Driven (+1.51%) and Long/Short Equity (+1.95%). Since the beginning of the year, Event-Driven strategies show gains of 8.64%, while Long/Short Equity is up 9.10%. However, the Dedicated Short Bias strategy lost 5.74% in July, and has lost 17.38% since the beginning of the year. According to Credit Suisse, the sector last month posted net inflows of about USD500m, bringing assets under management to about USD1.9trn.

Caution: Fragile! The high yield bond sector should be handled with a lot of precaution, the research agency Cerulli emphasizes in the most recent edition of The Cerulli Edge - European Monthly Product Trends Edition, August 2013 Issue.Cerulli has focused on the more obscure qualities of the sector, due to the spectacular moves in flows observed recently. Flows to high-yield bond funds were dramatically reversed in June, bleeding EUR11 billion (USD14.6 billion) and bringing June year-to-date 2013 takings down to EUR7.7 billion.Confronting such movements requires a certain number of preconditions to be satisfied, to avoid severe consequences. «The first imperative is to stay active,» said David Walker, a senior analyst at Cerulli Associates. «Being able to modify portfolio duration and switch between markets is critical when rates start rising.""The second imperative is, do not grow too large,» added Barbara Wall, a Cerulli director. «Fund size limits maneuverability in thin markets. Liquidity risk, along with re-pricing and security-specific risks, are three central risks managers will have to be able to negotiate going into 2014."That said, fund flows in 2012 suggest allocators are not wholly convinced of the merits of staying small. The largest high-grade and high-yield credit managers raised more than half the flows in their respective sectors last year. Smaller funds gathered 40% of flows in 2012.The third must for managers is to use protection. High-yield managers confess relief at being untouched by the ban on naked short selling affecting European sovereign debt. Freedom to buy insurance using credit default swaps (CDS) is crucial. A significant impediment to CDS becoming more mainstream in high-yield strategies is that many of the current inflows are from allocators making their first allocation, and they believe wrongly that a plain vanilla cash fund has a lower risk profile.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In first half 2013, several very large Chinese private equity funds of funds have succeeded in attracting billions of US dollars, and several vehicles of this type are reportedly to be seeking to raise funds on the market, Asian Investor reports. The largest fund of funds in first half was the Guochuang Kaiyuan Fund of Funds, launched at the initiative of CDB Capital, an asset management affiliate of the China Development Bank, which took in RMB15bn, or USD2.45bn. This is followed by the Private Equity Fnud VII from Portfolio Advisors, which has concluded fundraising with USD1bn, and the Global Value fund from Partners Group, which attacted USD680m. The Guochang Kaiyuan Fund of Funds is the fruit of a joint venture between China Development Bank and the venture capital specialist Suzhou Ventures, which is hoping to raise a total of RMB60bn in the long term for funds of funds. This ambitious objective is partly related to a change in regulations which now allows insurers to invest up to 10% of their assets under management in private equity funds, compared with 5% previously.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Legal & General Investments has launched its Multi-Index range, a series of five multi-asset class profiled funds, which vary according to their risk strategy. This is a low-cost range, with management fees of only 0.25% per year, which aims to meet the current need of financial advisers, according to Legal & General. The L&G Multi-Index 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 offer exposure to direct investment in equities, bonds and real estate. Exposure to UK and international equities and bonds is achieved with tracker funds from L&G, while investment in British real estate is made through the L&G UK Property Trust. Each fund of the range carries a certain level of risk, which will be maintained over time. L&G uses data from the independent asset management firm Distribution Technology to determine the allocation corresponding to each risk profile.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The ratings agency Fitch Ratings has confirmed its Asset Manager rating of ‘High Standards’ for Sycomore AM, with a stable outlook. The ‘High Standards’ rating assigned to Sycomore AM is based on scores for the following criteria: Company: High, Controls: High, Portfolio Management: Higest, Operations: High, and Technology: High. The rating reflects the institutional organisation of the firm, which has EUR1.7bn in assets under management as of the end of June 2013, the discipline of its stock-picking process, managed by an experienced and stable team of 12 manager-analysts, and the solidity of the risk management framework and effectiveness of the operational framework, which is adapted to the volumes and types of assets traded, a statement says.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } HSBC Private Bank (Switzerland) has appointed Oliver Maas and Julien Froidevaux to the position of Managing Director. They will be responsible for reinforcing the activities of the private bank in the Multi-Family Office (MFO) sector, according to a statement released on 21 August. Maas, who began in the role this month, joins from Credit Suisse, while Froidevaux, who joined the bank in July, transfers from UBS, where he led the MFO for French-speaking Switzerland.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lombard Odier Investment Managers on 21 August for the first time used the electronic order routing service from Calastone for its Luxembourg-registered Sicav range, Investment Europe reports. Calastone offers a global trading platform which automates fund transactions between distributors and providers of funds. The Calastone network includes over 90% of British intermediaries and fund platforms, as well as hundreds of other distributors worldwide.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNY Mellon has recruited Gesa Benda as product segment manager in its team responsible for global collateral services (GCS). Benda, who had previously worked at Eurex as head of derivative compensation, will be responsible for relationships with clearing houses and the development of activities in Europe. She will report to Staffan Ahlner, managing director of GCS.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The fund Parvus Asset Management has reduced its stake in the advertising group Havas, in which it remains the second-largest shareholders, after Vincent Bolloré, according to a statement released on 21 August by the French market authority, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). The fund’s stake in the French group last week fell below the 15% threshold, and now totals only 11.30% of capital and voting rights. The fund management firm in 2012 became the second-largest shareholder in the firm, with a purchase of 16.58% of its capital. That stake was later increased to 17.41%. Despite the sale of a part of its stake, through a sale of equities on the market, according to information released by the AMF, Parvus remains the second-largest shareholder in Havas, after the entrepreneur Vincent Bolloré, who controls 36.53% of the firm, according to the most recent Thomson Reuters data.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bank of the West Wealth Management has launched a range of proprietary Bank of the West ETF portfolios, which include ETFs selected by the management and advising teams at the group, according to a statement from the firm. The new range of ETF portfolios, which comes in addition to recently-launched mutual fund portfolios, represent two major improvements for the open architecture platform Investment Advisory Solutions (IAS). Previously, these portfolios were available only to clients of the bank’s trust services. Bank of the West says that the bank’s asset allocation model, which determines the composition of portfolios, benefits from the global outlook provided by its parent company, BNP Paribas, which has a presence in over 80 countries. Investors are also increasingly interested in ETFs which are able to combine low cost with attractiv tax regimes. As of 31 December 2012, assets under management by the BNP Paribas group in the United States total over USD10bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Central Bank of Ireland on Wednesday 21 August announced the appointment of Cyril Roux as deputy governor, financial regulation. He will be responsible for all regulatory activities at the Central Bank. Cyril Roux is currently the first deputy secretary general of the French prudential supervisory authority for banks and insurance companies (Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution ACPR). He will take up his new position on the 1st October.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swedish financial establishment Söderberg & Partners has recruited a team of private banking specialists, who had previously worked at Erik Penser. They are Mats Gunnå, Ulf Wibåge, Henrik Nilsson and Kent Andersson. The objective is to develop the Wealth Management portion of the firm, especially the “Special Clients” division.

L’établissement financier suédois Söderberg & Partners vient de recruter une équipe spécialisée dans la banque privée qui travaillait précédemment chez Erik Penser. Il s’agit de Mats Gunnå, Ulf Wibåge, Henrik Nilsson et Kent Andersson. L’objectif est de développer la partie Wealth Management de l’établissement, et notamment la division « Special Clients ».

L’agence de notation Fitch Ratings a confirmé à ‘High Standards’ la note Asset Manager de Sycomore AM avec une perspective stable. Dans le détail, la note ‘High Standards’ attribuée à Sycomore AM repose sur les scores de critères suivants : Société : High/ Contrôles : High/Gestion de portefeuilles : Highest/Opérations : High/ Technologie : HighCette note reflète l’organisation institutionnelle de la société - qui gère 1,7 milliards d’euros à fin juin 2013 -, la discipline d’un processus de stock picking géré par une équipe expérimentée et stable de 12 gérants-analystes, ainsi que la solidité du dispositif de gestion des risques et l’efficacité de la plateforme opérationnelle adaptée aux volumes et aux types d’actifs traités, indique un communiqué.

Le fonds Parvus Asset Management a réduit sa participation au sein du groupe publicitaire Havas dont il reste toutefois le deuxième actionnaire derrière Vincent Bolloré, selon un communiqué publié le 21 août par l’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).Le fonds a franchi en baisse, la semaine dernière, le seuil des 15% du groupe français dont il ne détient plus que 11,30% du capital et des droits de vote.Le gestionnaire de fonds était devenu en mars 2012 le deuxième actionnaire de la société en faisant l’acquisition de 16,58% de son capital, une participation par la suite portée à 17,41%.En dépit de la cession d’une partie de sa participation, par le biais de la vente d’actions sur le marché selon les précisions fournies par l’AMF, Parvus AM reste le deuxième actionnaire d’Havas derrière l’entrepreneur Vincent Bolloré, qui contrôle 36,53% de la société, selon les dernières données Thomson Reuters.

BNY Mellon vient de recruter Gesa Benda en qualité de product segment manager au sein de son équipe en charge des services globaux sur le collatéral (GCS).Gesa Benda, qui travaillait précédemment chez Eurex en tant que responsable de la compensation des dérivés, va piloter les relations avec les chambres de compensation ainsi que le développement des activités en Europe. Elle est rattachée à Staffan Ahlner, managing director de GCS.

Le fonds d’investissement Cinven a annoncé mercredi 21 août l’acquisition de l’assureur-vie allemand Heidelberger Leben auprès de Lloyds Banking Group pour un montant d’environ 300 millions d’euros. Heidelberger Leben fournit des produits pour la retraite et des contrats d’assurance vie. Au 31 décembre 2012, les actifs sous gestion de l’assureur représentaient 5,2 milliards d’euros, principalement investis en unités de compte. Dans un communiqué, Cinven précise avoir identifié le secteur de l’assurance vie allemande et Heidelberger Leben comme une opportunité d’investissement intéressante sachant notamment que ce marché, le troisième plus grand en Europe, est encore très fragmenté et offre des possibilités de consolidation significative. L'équipe de direction de Heidelberger Leben sera dirigée par Michael Sattler, chief executive et Rolf-Peter Hoenen, ancien chief executive de HUK-Coburg et ancien président de l’Association d’assurance allemande («GDV») qui rejoindra l’entreprise en tant que président non-exécutif.

Le gérant actions aurifère d’UBS Rob Turner a quitté la société pour saisir d’autres opportunités, selon les informations de Citywire Global. L’intéressé, qui était basé à Sydney, a officiellement démissionné début juillet après avoir passé 7 ans dans la société.

Selon Bloomberg qui cite des sources proches du dossier, le fonds souverain de Singapour (GIC) serait l’acheteur de la participation de 50 % du complexe immobilier Broadgate à Londres mise en vente par Blackstone, pour un montant de 2,7 milliards de dollars.

BlackRock a recruté Mark Wharrier, de NewSmith, pour travailler aux côtés d’Adam Avigdori sur le fonds UK Income fund de 604 millions de livres, croit savoir Investment Week. La maison américaine renforce son équipe après une période de sous-performance pour le fonds.

La société de conseil britannique AFH Financial, spécialisée dans la gestion de fortune, a levé 2,8 milliards de livres de capitaux pour financer sa stratégie d’acquisition, rapporte Investment Week.Ce montant est issu de l'émission d’actions ordinaires et d’obligations non garanties qui sera en partie affecté au capital roulant mais qui permettra également de financer les futures acquisitions de la société.Depuis son entrée en Bourse en juin 2011, la société a bouclé 14 opérations d’acquisition et porté le nombre de ses mandats de conseil de 53 à 120. Le montant des actifs conseillés par AFH s'élevait à environ 600 millions de livres à fin juillet 2013.