Markus Wiedemann, responsable crédit investment grade chez DWS Investments

Matthieu Grouès, associé-gérant, responsable des gestions chez Lazard Frères

Pascale Gilbert, responsable gestion obligataire à la Française AM

Le secteur affiche une performance de 2,8% en janvier selon HFR, qui se montre optimiste pour l’année 2013

Après une chute de 16% sur le marché des devises en 2012, la tendance s'est inversée en janvier grâce à la normalisation partielle du marché

Les autorités fiscales suisses excluent que le ministre français du Budget ait eu un compte bancaire ouvert à la banque UBS «à son nom ou à celui d’une société» depuis 2006, affirme le Journal du Dimanche, qui cite une source dans l’entourage du ministre de l’Economie Pierre Moscovici. Le journal en ligne Mediapart a toutefois maintenu ses accusations.

La banque d’investissement a mis la main sur «certains actifs et activités» du broker britannique spécialisé dans les valeurs moyennes et les small-caps. La société de Bourse était à la recherche de fonds depuis que la FSA avait bloqué il y a plusieurs mois un financement qui devait provenir de l’homme d’affaires ukrainien Denis Gorbounenko.

La société de private equity a conclu le rachat, pour un montant non révélé, du fabricant britannique de produits capillaires GHD. Le vendeur, Montagu Private Equity, avait lui-même mis la main sur l’entreprise en 2007 pour 160 millions de livres (189 millions d’euros). Selon Sky News et Reuters, le montant consenti par Lion Capital serait deux fois supérieur.

Le ministre australien des Finances, Wayne Swan, a indiqué que l’opérateur principal régissant la Bourse du pays maintiendra sa situation monopolistique sur le règlement et la compensation des transactions sur le marché actions pour une durée d’au moins deux ans, en rejetant sur ce laps de temps tout projet de licence permettant l’entrée d’un nouvel opérateur qui viendrait concurrencer l’ASX.

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. Le nombre de mandats à attribuer est de 4. Lot nº: 1 Intitulé: Actions Global Small Cap - Indexé 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 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 Obligations Emerging Markets (local currency) - Indexé 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 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

A l’occasion de la mise en concurrence des fonds ouverts sur sa gestion monétaire (200 millions d’euros), le Comité de Gestion des Oeuvres Sociales des établissements hospitaliers (CGOS), avec l’appui du consultant Amadeis a retenu trois société de gestion lors du quatrième trimestre 2012. Il s’agit de : La Française AM BFT Gestion BNP Paribas AM

L’agence de notation Moody’s - qui pourrait être poursuivie devant les tribunaux par le département américain de la Justice pour ses notations avant la crise - a annoncé un profit en hausse de 66% pour le dernier trimestre 2012, à 160 millions de dollars. Les résultats de Moody’s et des autres agences de notation sont portés par la demande des entreprises qui tendent à profiter de la faiblesse des taux d’intérêt pour refinancer leur dette. L’agence prévoit un bénéfice annuel 2013 situé entre 3,45 et 3,55 dollars par action, au-dessus des attentes.

Le déficit commercial des Etats-Unis s’est réduit en décembre à son plus bas niveau depuis près de trois ans. Il a atteint 38,54 milliards de dollars, selon les statistiques, corrigées des variations saisonnières, du département du Commerce, bien au-dessous des 46 milliards attendus par le consensus des économistes. Au mois de novembre, le déficit commercial est ressorti à 48,61 milliards de dollars (révisé de 48,7 milliards dollars).

Les dirigeants européens ont conclu, après 24 heures de négociations, un accord sur leur budget 2014-2020, en baisse pour la première fois de l’histoire de l’Union européenne. Le président du Conseil européen a rallié l’adhésion des Vingt-Sept à une enveloppe de 960 milliards d’euros de crédits d’engagement, hors Fonds européen de développement et instruments hors cadre financier, soit 1,0% du Revenu national brut (RNB, proche du PIB) de l’UE.

A l’occasion de la publication de ses résultats annuels, Apollo Global Management a annoncé avoir achevé la levée de son fonds spécialisé dans les ressources naturelles sur un montant de 1,3 milliard de dollars.

The British firm Threadneedle is launching the Columbia Threadneedle SICAV-SIF Absolute Commodities Fund, an absolute return fund investing in commodity markets, whose performance objective on an annual basis, after fees, is 10-15% over the long term, on the German market.The fund, managed by Nicolas Robin, is not UCITS-compliant, but has received a license from the CSSF. It is reserved for qualified and professional investors.

According to estimates by the agency ETFGI, European ETPs reached a record volume of assets under management as of 31 January, with USD389bn, compared with USD369bn one month previously. According to BlackRock, assets totalled USD387.5bn, compared with USD367bn at the end of December, as ETFGI and BlackRock estimate net subscriptions at USD6.7bn and USD6.6bn, respectively.The two firms are clearly placing the same managers at the top of the rankings for assets. iShares is credit by ETFGI with USD148bn, while BlackRock gives it USD148.6bn, followed by db x-trackers, with USD53bn or USD53.2bn, and the Lyxor Asset Management, with USD41bn or USD44.2bn.In terms of inflows, ETFI counts USD3.8bn for iShares, while BlackRock reports USD3.7bn. UBS GAM is in second place according to ETFGI, with USD842m, but third (in a tie with Amundi), with USD0.7bn, according to BlackRock, as BlackRock places db-x-trackers in second place with USD0.8bn. Amundi ranks third according to ETFGI, with USD716m.Credit Suisse and the cantonal bank of Zurich (ZKB) both showed outflows in January, totalling a net USD198m according to ETFGI and USD0.2bn according to BlackRock for the former, and USD148m/USD0.1bn for the latter.There is also a large disparity in estimates as to the number of ETPs: ETFGI counts 1,969, while BlackRock counts 2,132.

Net inflows to German closed-end funds contracted by 23% last year compared with 2011, to EUR4.50bn, from EUR5.85bn, the professional association for the sector, Verband Geschlossene Fonds (VGF) estimates. Net subscriptions from retail clients totalled EUR3.14bn (-35%), while subscriptions from institutional investors totalled EUR1.36bn (+25%). Investments in the sector contracted by 25% to EUR7.38bn, compared with EUR9.89bn.

The US asset management firm Rusell Investments has announced the release in Germany of the Russell Global Defensive Equity Fund (GDEF), aimed at investors interested in returns but also with reduced risks in a lower volatility evironment than other equity funds. The benchmark index is the Russell Global Defensive Index (GDI), but the portfolio is actively-managed, which allows for the use of several defensive strategies and the avoidance of over-invested sectors.

Groupama Asset Management on Thursday, 6 February announced the arrival of Christophe Morel as part of its economic analysis unit, in the position of Chief Economist. He will report to Marie-Pierre Peillon, head of Research.The unit aims to monitor and generate conjunctural and sturctural scenarios for the evolution of the macroeconomic and financial environment. It is also responsible for monitoring country risks, a statement says.From 2004 to 2006, Morel was head of the Strategic Allocation and Overlay Management departments at the French national pension fund, the Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites. Then, from 2006 to 2008, he was director of Tactical Allocation management at Natixis Asset Management. In 2008, he joined Odier Investment Managers as Deputy CIO of the Asset Allocation group.

Investment specialist Marc Seidner has taken over control of the fledgling equity unit at Pimco for the interim, following the recent departure of Neel Kashkari, Citywire reports.Weidner will serve in the role until a successor to Kashkari can be appointed.

Assets under management by the Investment Management and Advisory Services unit of Prudential Financial as of the end of December 2012 totalled USD827bn, compared with USD717.8bn as of the end of December 2011, according to statistics released by the group. Institutional assets as of the end of December totalled USD313.7bn, compared with USD271.8bn as of the end of September 2012, as retail assets totalled USD138.7bn, compared with USD119.3bn. Net inflows in fourth quarter totalled USD8.4bn for institutionals, as inflows in the retail segment totalled USD3.4bn. For the year, institutional inflows totalled USD17.2bn, and retail inflows totalled USD12.8bn. The group has reported annual net profits fo USD2.96bn, compared with USD2.84bn in 2011.

Assets under management at the French-US business bank Lazard as of the end of 2012 totalled a record USD167bn, up 18% compared with the end of December 2011, and up 4% since 30 September 2012, according to a statement released on 7 February. For the year as a whole, Lazard has posted a net inflow of USD2.7bn, but fourth quarter brought net redemptions totalling USD47bn. Management commissions last year totalled USD806bn, down 1% compared with 2011, as performance commissions, for their part, rose 66% 6o USD44m, due to the returns earned on certain traditional and alternative strategies. Lazard has also reported net profits in 2012 of USD84.3m, compared with USD174.9m the previous year, due to a restructuring charge of USD103m.

The Spanish firm Abante (EUR1.2bn in assets under advising) has registered the Abante Global Funds Sicav, which includes four vehicles that may easily be sold outside Spain in this form, in Luxembourg, Funds People reports. The Sicav includes the equity fund Spanish Opportunities, managed by José Ramón Iturriaga, as are the Spanish funds Okavango and Kalahari Alpha, a clone of the Maral Macro fund managed by Juan Manuel Mazo, the flexible fund Abante Pangea, managed by Alberto Espelosín, and lastly, the Global Sector fund, a clone of the Abante Bolsa Absoluta, managed by a team led by Angel Olea.

The Swedish asset management firm East Capital had an excellent end to the year, and as of the end of December, was back above the EUR4bn threshold for assets under management, up from EUR3.4bn at the end of 2011, and compared with a peak of EUR5.7bn just before the 2008 crisis, according to the most recent available statistics. Inflows were primarily responsible for this development, although market effects also contributed to the result, the firm stated at a press conference in Paris on 7 February.The first week of the year was also highly satisfactory in terms of inflows, as investors took a particular interest in Turkey and the Balkans.At the beginning of the year, portfolios at East Capital were overweight on Russia, at near record levels. Central Europe is considerably underweight, and Turkey is slightly underweight. However, the Balkans and the Baltic countries are overweight. More generally, East Capital says that there is a highly marked interest in frontier markets, with contrasted outlooks.

Despite the challenges presented by the current environment, Asian hedge fund managers should continue to invest capital and get involved in new strategies, according to BNY Mellon. Hedge fund management firms with a reputation in the market will attract moderate inflows from their traditional investors, as US insitutionals and newcomers turn to ultra-high net worth investors and family offices, says Aidan Houlihan, managing director of alternative investment services at BNY Mellon. Fund launches are expected to be fewer in the next few months, which would not prevent Asian hedge fund managers from exploring new strategies. Coe managers already offer highly sophisticated macro or credit strategies, as well as multi-strategy funds. Long/short funds still represent about 75% of assets in hedge funds, down from 90% a few years ago.

Peter Harrison is returning to Schroders as global head of equities, following the departure of Ken Lambden. Lambden has decided to step down, and will leave the UK asset management firm on 15 March, after 15 years there and 9 yers in his current role.Harrison had previously been chairman and CEO of the British asset management firm RWC, which he joined in 2006. Before that, he worked at Deutsche Asset Management and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. He began his career at Schroders as an equities analyst.At RWC, Dan Mannix, former head of development, will succeed Harrison as CEO, but Harrison will remain as non-executive chairman, the British press reports.

In December, inflows to African equity funds totalled USD878.4m, the highest level in two years, and four times the previous month’s level, according to EPFR, cited by the Financial Times. This is a sign of demand on the part of investors seeking exposure to the region, the newspaper remarks.

Six Financial Information on 7 February announced that it is adding to its valuation activities, with the installation of a new valuation team in Frankfurt. The creation of the team will allow Six Financial Information to better meet growing demand from specialised consultants present in all the major financial markets on the planet, who are responsible for evaluating OTC products and financial instruments in the fixed income and derivative segments.

Assets under management by the VP Bank group ((Banque Privée de Gérance) as of the end of December totalled about CHF28.5bn, compared with CHF27.4bn at the end of 2011, according to a statement released on 6 February. The bank is nonetheless predicting a decline in net inflows of about CHF65m. Net profits for the group are expected to total about CHF47m, compared with CHF5.3m for the 2011 fiscal year.