La société de capital-investissement CVC Capital Partners a annoncé le 22 juillet avoir levé 10,5 milliards d’euros pour son dernier véhicule, plus que les 9 milliards visés initialement. Selon L’Agefi, 10,25 milliards sont d’ores et déjà acceptés, les 250 millions restants devant être validés d’ici à la fin du trimestre.CVC Capital Partners VI devient le plus gros fonds européen levé depuis le début de la crise financière, d’après les données de Preqin. Seul l’américain Apollo l’a surpassé en 2010, en collectant 16,2 milliards de dollars (12,9 milliards d’euros).

Dans une note communiquée à certains médias britanniques, Schroders se dit déçu par le classement «Spot the Dog» des plus mauvais fonds publié par Bestinvest (lire Newsmanagers du 22 juillet). Le gestionnaire objecte que Bestinvest a intégré dans son palmarès le fonds Schroder QEP Global Active Value sans prendre en considération le fait que ce fonds est principalement institutionnel et que seuls 20 millions de livres sur les 3,2 milliards de livres d’encours sont détenus par des particuliers. Dans une réponse à Schroders par le truchement de Money Marketing, Bestinvest remarque que le fonds en question est disponible sur plusieurs plates-formes retail comme Cofunds et Fundsnetwork et dispose clairement d’une classe de parts retail. Il est donc éligible à une inclusion dans le palmarès…

Selon Investment Week, Royal London Asset Management prépare le lancement de trois fonds obligataires à duration courte. Ces trois fonds seront gérés chacun par l’un des trois gérants spécialisés sur cette classe d’actifs : Paul Rayner, Craig Inches et Sajiv Vaid. Le lancement des trois fonds devrait avoir lieu soit au troisième trimestre 2013 soit au plus tard au quatrième.

Avec effet rétroactif au 1er janvier, ETFlab Investment GmbH, filiale à 100 % de Deka Deutsche Girozentrale Deutsche Kommunalbank, vient d'être absorbée par Deka Investment GmbH qui devient ainsi le pôle unique de Deka en matière de gestion active de fonds offerts au public et institutionnels, de mandats de Master-KAG (administration et comptabilité de fonds) ainsi que pour le développement et la gestion de fonds indiciels.ETFlab (4,7 milliards d’euros fin mai) intègre ainsi officiellement la sphère de compétence d’Oliver Behrens, membre du directoire responsable de la clientèle institutionnelle, des placements en valeurs mobilières et des marchés de capitaux.Rien ne changera pour la clientèle, si ce n’est le nom du gestionnaire et le nom des produits, qui prendront tous le préfixe «Deka». La distribution restera focalisée sur la clientèle institutionnelle.Les salariés d’ETFlab seront tous repris par Deka Investment, qui conserve son site de Munich.Parallèlement, la société indique qu’elle lance le Deka DAX ex Financials 30 UCITS ETF (code Isin : DE000 ETF L43 3) qui est chargé à 0,30 % et réplique les 30 principales valeurs du Dax et du Mdax hors financières.

Le gestionnaire central des banques populaires allemandes, Union Investment, a fait état le 22 juillet d’un encours record de 197,7 milliards d’euros au 30 juin, contre un précédent record de 191 milliards fin 2012 et 180,8 milliards douze mois auparavant. Les souscriptions nettes ont totalisé 2,7 milliards pour le retail contre 0,4 milliards pour janvier-juin 2012 et 1,1 milliard pour l’ensemble de l’an dernier, tandis que les rentrées nettes institutionnelles ont représenté 4 milliards d’euros contre 6,2 milliards pour la période correspondante de 2012.Concernant le retail, Union se félicité particulièrement du succès de sa gamme PrivatFonds de produits multiclasses d’actifs, qui a drainé 960 millions d’euros en net durant le premier semestre, pour atteindre pratiquement les 3 milliards d’euros. Par ailleurs, le gestionnaire a enregistré durant la période sous revue 134.000 nouveaux contrats d'épargne en unités de compte avec des entrées nettes de 570 millions d’euros. Les plans d'épargne retraite subventionnés du type Riester ont attiré 650 millions en net.En revanche, les fonds garantis nouvellement lancés ont drainé 400 millions d’euros, mais les prises de bénéfices et les arrivées à échéance de certains fonds se sont traduites pour ce segment par une sortie nette de 350 millions d’euros.Pour les fonds immobiliers offerts au public, la collecte nette est demeurée forte, avec 1,5 milliard d’euros.Enfin, Union indique que les souscriptions nettes du pôle institutionnel (4 milliards d’euros) ont surtout concerné les obligations sécurisées (covered bonds), les obligations d’entreprises des pays émergents et les stratégies actions à fort dividende.Le gestionnaire indique par ailleurs avoir recruté au premier semestre 22 nouveaux clients institutionnels, dont 20 n’appartenant pas à la sphère coopérative.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a 46-page memo to employees, the hedge fund management firm SAC Capital Advisors claims that its CEO, Steve A. Cohen, “did not even read” an email of August 2008 concnerning Dell, on which recent accusations on the part of the SEC (last Friday) are founded. The SEC claims that Cohen failed to take appropriate measures to prevent insider trading offences being committed. Lawyers for SAC Capital claim that the accusations by the SEC are baseless, and that Cohen receives more than 1,000 emails per day, the Wall Street Journal reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), exercising additional powers newly granted to it by Dodd-Frank legislation for the first time, has fined Panther Energy Trading LLC, a high-frequency trading operator, and its owner, Michael J. Coscia, USD1.4m, for disrupting the markets in 2011, by placing trades to incite other investors to sell and buy dutures contracts on corn, oil and other commodities at totally fictive prices («bogus price levels»), the Wall Street Journal reports. The CFTC is also requiring that Panther Energy reimburse USD1.4m in undue profits to the CFTC.The British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), for its part, has fined Michael J. Coscia USD903.176 for deliberate manipulation of commodity markets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Index Industry Association (“IIA”), the global organisation for index providers and the index industry, has launched a set of standards which define Best Practices for index providers globally. The IIA Best Practices are designed to ensure the highest quality and integrity of indices administered, maintained, or calculated by index providers. The IIA also announced today that CRSP, Research Affiliates LLC and STOXX have all joined the Association, bringing the total number of index providers represented by the IIA to 10, including many of the largest in the industry.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland has announced that it has sold The Park, a complex of 12 office properties with a total of 116,000 square metres in Prague, to an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, for a total amount slightly below its most recent expert valuation.Four of the properties had belonged to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund DEGI Europa (DE0009807800), seven of them in the portfolio of DEGI International (DE0008007998), while the last one belonged to DEGI Global Business (DE000A0ETSR6). The transaction, the largest ever made on the Prague office real estate market, according to Aberdeen Germany, allows the DEGI funds, which are in the liquidation process, to procure cash.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } James Rainbow, head of UK marketing at Schroders, will lead a new team responsible for monitoring financial institutions and strategic accounts in the United Kingdom, now that the acquisition of Cazenove has been completed, Fundweb reports. The team will be responsible for developing the group’s relationships with financial advisory firms active throughout the country, banks, insurers, platforms and wraps.Fundweb adds that Rainbow will report to Robin Stoakley, managing director of UK intermediary, and that he will continue to serve as head of marketing for the United Kingdom until September.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UK-based Tatton Capital (GBP300m), an affiliate of Paradigm, is acquiring Prism Capital Management, another asset management firm, with GBP720m, and assets in four multi-managed funds.Prism was founded in 2009 by Paradigm, Octopus Investments and a group of financial advisers. Octopus will remain as manager of the fund. The CEO of Tatton, Lothar Mentel, is a former Octopus employee.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Cinco Días reports that BlackRock has declared to the CNMV that its stake in the capital of the Ferrovial company has passed the 3% threshold. The asset management firm purchased 22.03 million shares, representing 3.004% of capital, for a total of EUR283m. Southeastern Asset Management owns 4.8% of Ferrovial, which is controlled by the Del Pino family, which holds 44.9% of capital.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Yerlan Syzdykov has been appointed as head of emerging market funds and leveraged financing at Pioneer Investments. He remains principal manager of the Emerging Market Debt fund. In his new role, Syzdykov replaces Greag Saichin, who has left the firm for AGI, Investment Europe reports. The new head will see his team enlarged, with the arrival in August of two new managers: Desmond English, from Commerzbank, and Ester Law, from Société Générale.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) is adding to its range with the creation of an area of expertise in global emerging market debt. To lead the new activity, Greg Saichin will join AllianzGI as head. Saichin had previously served as head of emerging market funds and leveraged financing at Pioneer Investments.AllianzGi believes in the strong potential of this new asset class. “In a context of long-term rebalancing of global growth to the detriment of OECD markets and in favour of emerging markets, emerging market debt is an increasingly important and attractive asset class for long-term investors. Higher growth rates in these countries will be sustained by increased levels of investment, which will be financed primarily with debt,” says Andreas Utermann, Co-Director and Global CEO at AllianzGI. As of 31 March 2013, assets under management at AllianzGI total EUR316bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With retroactive effect to 1 January, ETFlab Investment GmbH, a wholly-own subsidiary of Deka Deutsche Girozentrale Deutsche Kommunalbank, has been absorbed by Deka Investment GmbH, which now becomes the sole Deka unit for active management of open-ended and institutional funds, Master-KAG mandates (fund administration and accounting) and for the development and management of index-based funds.ETFlab (EUR4.7bn as of end-May) thus officially comes under the authority of Oliver Behrens, a board member resopnsible for institutional clients, investments in securities and capital markets.Nothing will change for clients, except for the names of the manager and its products, which will all adopt the prefix “Deka.” Distribution will continue to be focused on institutional clients.ETFlab employees will all be transferred to Deka Investment, which will retain its Munich premises.Meanwhile, the firm has announced the release of the Deka DAX ex Financial 30 UCITS ETF (ISIN code: DE000 ETF L43 3) which replicates the 30 largest shares of the Dax and the Mdax, excluding financials. The TER is 0.30%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The central asset management firm for the German co-operative banks, Union Investment, on 22 July reported record assets of EUR197.7bn as of 30 June, compared with a previous record of EUR191bn as of the end of 2012, and EUR180.8bn twelve months previously. Net subscriptions totalled EUR2.7bn for retail, comapred with EUR0.4bn in January-June 2012, and EUR1.1bn for all of last year, while institutional net inflows totalled EUR4bn, compared with EUR6.2bn in the corresponding period of 2012.For retail, Union is particularly proud of the success of its PrivatFonds range of multi-asset class products, which attracted a net EUR960m in first half, to a total of nearly EUR3bn. The asset management firm also signed up 134,000 net unit-linked savngs contracts in the period under review, with net inflows of EUR570m. Riester-type subsidized retirement savings accounts attracted a net EUR650m.However, newly-launched guaranteed funds attracted EUR400m, but profit-taking and the maturing of some funds resulted in a net outflow from this segment of EUR350m.For open-ended real estate funds, net inflows remained strong at EUR1.5bn.Lastly, Union reports that net subscriptions for its institutional unit (EUR4bn) particuarly concerned covered bonds, emerging market corporate bonds, and high-dividend equity strategies.The asset management firm also announced that in first half it signed up 22 institutional clients, of whom 20 are from outside the sphere of the co-operative companies.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } 58% of hedge fund managers surveyed by the agency Kneip (90 companies in London, Paris and Luxembourg) say they will need to recruit for their back office teams in order to meet the requirements of the AIFM directive which are weighing on the sector, Agefi reports. A majority of asset managers feel that the costs inherent in the directive or the reputation risks associated with being unable to comply with the regulations as essential reasons to add resources.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Investment Week, Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) is preparing to launch three short-duration bond funds. The three funds will each be manage by one of three managers specialised in this asset class: Paul Rayner, Craig Inches and Sajiv Vaid. The launch of the three funds will take place either in third quarter 2013, or at the latest in fourth quarter.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The private equity firm CVC Capital Partners on 22 July announced that it had raised EUR10.5bn for its most recent investment vehicle, more than the initially targeted EUR9bn. According to Agefi, EUR10.25bn in investments have already been cleared, and the remaining EUR250m have yet to be validated by the end of the quarter. CVC. Capital Partners VI becomes the largest European fund raised since the onset of the financial crisis, according to data from Preqin. Only the US firm Apollo did better in 2010, collecting USD16.2bn (EUR12.9bn).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a note distributed to some British media outlets, Schroders claims that it is disapopinted in the “Spot the Dog” rankings of the worst investment funds recently published by Bestinvest (see Newsmangers of 22 July). The manager objects that Bestinvest has included the Shroder QEP Global Active Value fund in its rankings without taking into consideration that the fund is primarily institutional, and that only GBP20m of its GBP3.2bn in assets are held by retail investors.In a response to Schroders from a spokesperson for Money Marketing, Bestinvest remarks that the fund in question is available on several retail platforms such as Cofunds and Fundsnetwork, and clearly has a retail share class. It is thus eligible for inclusion in the rankings.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss UBS group on 22 July announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) concerning lawsuits filed primarily on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, related to residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in the years 2004 to 2007.The agreement, which has yet to be finalised, counts among the approximately CHF865m in one-time charges written down by the bank for second quarter, which cover both lawsuits and other impairments, of which CHF700m were for “corporate center-non-core & legacy portfolio,” and CHF100m for the wealth management unit, due to the tax agreement between Switzerland and the United States.This will not prevent UBS from posting pre-tax operating profits for second quarter of approximately CHF1.020bn, while net profits distributable as dividends will total approximately CHF690m.At an official presentation of results for April-June on 30 July, UBS is expected to report net subscriptions of CHF10.1bn for its asset management unit, and CHF2.7bn for the Wealth Management Americas division, while the global asset management unit posted net outflows of CHF2bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } If the financial services sector were regulated appropriately, it would allow for the creation of 250,000 new jobs by 2020. But according to PwC, a recent report by whom is cited by FundWeb, the current reforms are holding back the financial advising sector as well as the accessibility of products. In the same report, PwC estimates potential growth in GDP by 2020 at 2% to 3%, and new jobs in financial advising alone at 47,000.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Le Figaro, the British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has handed down a fine of nearly USD1m (EUR758m) [sic] against Michael Coscia, a market trader based in the United States, for manipulation of British commodity markets. It is the first fine for high-frequency trading offences. The FCA states that the US authorities have also fined Coscia for manipulation of the US markets.

Cinco Días rapporte que BlackRock a déclaré à la CNMV avoir franchi le seuil de 3 % au capital de la société Ferrovial. Le gestionnaire a acheté 22,03 millions d’actions, ce qui représente 3,004 % du capital et un montant de 283 millions d’euros.Southeastern Asset Management détient 4,8 % de Ferrovial, qui est contrôlé par la famille del Pino, laquelle possède 44,9 % du capital.

Le marché a pour objet la fourniture de services de gestion de portefeuilles (actions et obligations) pour compte du Fonds de compensation commun au régime général de pension (FDC) qui a créé à cet effet en 2007 une société d’investissement à capital variable-fonds d’investissement spécialisé (SICAV-FIS) à compartiments multiples. Le marché est divisé en 4 lots, chaque lot correspondant à un type de gestion (gestion passive ou gestion active) sur une classe d’actifs spécifique. Lot nº: 1 - Intitulé: Actions Global Small Cap - Indexé BlackRock Investment Managers (UK) Limited Le lot nº 1 porte sur la gestion passive d’un portefeuille d’actions investissant dans des actions et titres assimilés à des actions de sociétés à petite capitalisation des pays développés inclus dans l’indice de référence. Indice de référence: MSCI Daily TR Net Small Cap World USD (converti en EUR). Montant indicatif du mandat: EUR 140 millions Lot nº: 2 - Intitulé: Actions Global Small Cap - Actif Allianz Global Investors Europe GmbH (UK Branch) Le lot nº 2 porte sur la gestion active d’un portefeuille d’actions investissant dans des actions et titres assimilés à des actions de sociétés à petite capitalisation des pays développés inclus dans l’indice de référence. Indice de référence: MSCI Daily TR Net Small Cap World USD (converti en EUR). Montant indicatif du mandat: EUR 140 millions Lot nº: 3 - Intitulé: Obligations Emerging Markets (local currency) - Indexé UBS Global Asset Management (UK) Limited Le lot nº 3 porte sur la gestion passive d’un portefeuille d’obligations et titres assimilés à des obligations des marchés émergents inclus dans l’indice de référence. Indice de référence: JPMorgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Composite Unhedged USD (converti en EUR). Montant indicatif du mandat: EUR 140 millions Lot nº: 4 - Intitulé: Obligations Emerging Markets (local currency) - Actif Pictet Asset Management Limited Le lot nº 4 porte sur la gestion active d’un portefeuille d’obligations et titres assimilés à des obligations des marchés émergents inclus dans l’indice de référence. Indice de référence: JPMorgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Composite Unhedged USD (converti en EUR). Bloomberg Ticker: JGENVUUG Index Montant indicatif du mandat: EUR 140 millions Pour lire l’avis complet : cliquez ici

Le gouvernement envisage de demander une ligne de crédit de précaution pour pouvoir bénéficier éventuellement de l'aide de la BCE

Le Président a annoncé que la coalition de centre-droit resterait au pouvoir jusqu'en 2015

Le Président a annoncé que la coalition de centre-droit resterait au pouvoir jusqu'en 2015

Les sociétés de gestion entrepreneuriales ne veulent pas être «les derniers pigeons oubliés». Tel est le cri lancé par les membres du groupe de réflexion New City Initiative au gouvernement qui n’a pas jugé bon de les inclure au menu de l’amendement pigeon. Le temps est venu de réparer cette «injustice» afin de pouvoir selon le think-tank «préserver les PME financières indépendantes et ainsi la compétitivité de la place parisienne».

La plate-forme de négociations de dérivés filiale de Deutsche Börse proposera à compter du 10 septembre des options sur les contrats à terme basés sur les Obligations assimilables du Trésor d’une maturité restante de 8,5 à 10,5 ans. Eurex indique répondre à une forte demande, plus de 48.000 de ces contrats ayant été échangés en moyenne par jour au premier semestre contre 7.500 l’an passé.