The Irish investment fund association (IFIA) on 27 November announced that it is opening a representative office in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The new location brings the number of IFIA offices worldwide to 12. The professional association has four offices in the United States (New York, Atlanta, Boston and Chicago), five offices in the Asia-Pacific region (Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney), two offices in Europe (Frankfurt and London) and one in Latin America (Sao Paulo). The development of offices abroad appears to be bearing fruit, as in first half, Ireland attracted nearly half of all inflows to UCITS funds. According to statistics from the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA), Ireland attracted 45% of all inflows to the European market in the first six months of the year, with gains in all asset classes. In 2012, the Irish fund industry reached EUR1trn in assets domiciled locally, and EUR2trn in assets under administration, the statement adds.

The Swedish investment fund association Fondbolagens Förening has published a book on responsible investment, at a time when climate talks are beginning in Doha. A survey by TNS Sifo Prospera of 1,600 Swedes aged between 18 and 79 finds that they place a high importance on the “responsible” product ranges from asset management firms. On a scale of 1 (not important) to 5 (very important), this aspect receives an average of 4. SRI is more popular with women (4.3) than men (3.7).

In slightly over six months, UniCredit has taken in over EUR500m for its “Green” wealth management product, which uses iShares ETFs (BlackRock group), Plus, the weekly supplement of Il Sole – 24 Ore reports.

Global emerging market funds have seen inflows in October totalling a net GBP228m, the best inflows for any month, according to statistics from the British investment management association (IMA). These are followed by UK Equity Income strategies (net inflows of GBP172m), £ Strategic Bond (GBP147m), Mixed Investment Shares 20-60% (GBP146m) and Global Equity Income (GBP132m). Globally, net inflows totalled GBP924m in October, compared with GBP655m the previous month. For the second consecutive month, equities top the asset classes, with net inflows of GBP550m, followed by bonds (GBP336m).

Skandia has signed an agreement with eight asset management firms for its low-cost fund range, which will initially be launched under the Select brand name, Fund Web reports. The firms are: Aberdeen, BlackRock, BNY Mellon, Fidelity, Henderson, JP Morgan, Schroders and Threadneedle. Skandia has declined to disclose details about the price terms. Eventually, the range is expected to include 12 asset management firms.

In these difficult times, a growing number of investors are insisting on meeting the heads of businesses before buying a stake – which leaves the directors less time to run their businesses, the Wall Street Journal explains. This trend is not likely to stop. In a study which has not yet been published, Eugene Soltes, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, shows that investors who met the CEO of a mid-sized US business between 2004 and 2010 more frequently tended to make better investments.

SAC Capital will hold a telephone meeting with investors on Wednesday in order to respond to concerns in relation to ties of the hedge fund’s which the US authorities are calling the largest insider trading scandal ever, the Financial Times reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The US authorities claim that SAC avoided USD194 in losses and made gains of USD83m on bets against the prices of the pharmaceutical companies Wyatt and Elan ahead of the results of tests of Alzheimer medications. The meeting will be held before the US markets open.

Currently (as of 31 October), Acropole Asset Management has assets of about EUR750m, of which about EUR150m are in mandates. Assets under management have increased by about 20% since the beginning of the year, half of this due to market appreciation, and half to net subscriptions, Emmanuel Martin, CIO, said on Tuesday.The FCP Acropole Global High Yield (150 positions), launched on 13 July 2010, which is currently 57% invested in convertible high yield bonds, has assets of EUR51bn, and has posted inflows of about EUR10bn since the beginning of 2012.

Teresa Watkins has left Comgest, where she spent nearly ten years, Citywire Global reports. She had been manager of the Comgest Growth Mid Caps Europe, a fund with EUR22.6m.

Swiss Life would like to «significantly» expand its asset management business and will manage it from now on under the brand «Swiss Life Asset Managers», according to a statement released on 28 November by Swiss Life at its investor day, which lays out the new “Swiss Life 2015” orientations for the Swiss Group. Swiss Life will use its expert knowledge and experience in the field of real estate investment and fixed-interest and asset-allocation-based products to expand the business with the goal of increasing its contribution to earnings by more than 20% by 2015. As part of “Swiss Life 2015,” Swiss Life is strengthening its presence in Germany and Switzerland. From now all production and distribution organisations in each market will be managed under one roof to optimise market development and exploit synergies. In Switzerland, Swiss Life would like to position itself as a provider of complete global retirement and financing solutions. In Germany, its goal is to evolve towards the status of a financial advising and insurance business.

A 97.3% stake in Mexican-based Afore Bancomer, the pension fund administrator owned by the Spanish firm BBVA, has been sold to Afore XXI from Banorte for USD1.6bn, and even as much as USD1.73bn counting the cash at the business at the completion of the transaction, Funds People and Cinco Días report. Afore Bancomer has EUR13.13bn in assets under management for 4.4 million clients.For BBVA, the deal will bring net capital gains of EUR800m. The Spanish group is also planning to sell its pension fund management affiliates in Chile, Colombia and Peru.

The Swiss group Vontobel would like to strengthen its presence in Asia-Pacific, with the development of target activities. The Zurich-based group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), including growth markets in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore, according to a statement released on 27 November. As a part of the co-operation strategy, Vontobel will offer ANZ its expertise, particularly in global investments and structured products, a statement says. The partnership will probably begin in the first half of 2013. The bank is pleased to be able to support ANZ in the development of its activities with private clients due to its expertise in placement and products, Vontobel’s CEO, Zeno Staub, says in the statement.

The alternative asset management firm Investcorp has announced that it has signed an agreement to sell FleetPride, a US trailer seller, to the private equity firm TPG. The sale was priced at USD1bn.

Following a 45.5% decline year on year to EUR340.7m in January-September 2011, economic profits (profits according to IFRS accounting standards before taxes, plus the results of valuation of financial instruments) at Deka in the first nine months of 2012 were up 30.6%, to EUR444.9m.The central asset management firm for the German savings banks is predicting a “noticeable’ increase in its profits for the year 2012 overall, following a 58.6% decline to EUR383.1m last year.Due to market appreciation, assets increased to EUR154.3bn as of 30 September, compared with EUR151bn as of the end of December, and EUR142.63bn as of the end of September 2011.Deka has seen net outflows in the first nine months of 2012 of EUR2.188bn, compared with EUR5.338bn in the corresponding period of last year. However, net inflows to real estate funds totalled EUR1.5bn, compared with EUR0.7bn. Securities funds have seen net outflows of EUR3.6bn, compared with EUR6bn, but the wealth-management platform Deka-Vermögenskonzept has seen net inflows of EUR1.2bn, and the Deka-Basisanlage formula, launched this year, attracted EUR200m as of the end of September.

The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published on November 27 the Final Report on Principles for Ongoing Disclosure for Asset Backed Securities (ABS Ongoing Disclosure Principles), which contains principles designed to provide guidance to securities regulators who are developing or reviewing their regulatory regimes for ongoing disclosure for asset-backed securities (ABS).The objective of the ABS Ongoing Disclosure Principles is to enhance investor protection by facilitating a better understanding of the issues that should be considered by regulators in relation to ongoing disclosure regimes for ABS.

The head of the China Investment Corporation (CIC), Jin Liquin, is not mincing his words. The new regulations imposed by the United States and Europe are the largest threat to global growth, according to claims reported by Asian Investor. “Over-regulation and inappropriate interventions are the largest risks to the global recovery, which threaten the effective functioning of the financial system,” he said at an international conference held in Mumbai. “In the United States and Europe, over-regulation is widespread. In every sector, excessive regulation is an obstacle to economic development, in the same way that excessive taxation is destructive.” This increase in regulation will discourage investment, the CIC head says. The fund has assets under management of about USD410bn.

Petercam is preparing to launch an SRI fund of emerging market bonds denominated in local currencies, Yves Huo, head of sales for France and Italy, has announced. The new UCITS-compliant fund, which could be launched in first quarter 2013, would follow a rather strict SRI approach, which would determine the size of stakes in the portfolio. The Belgian asset management firm is responding to growing interest on the part of investors in emerging markets, and once again markets its desire to grant a larger presence to socially responsible management.

A survey by the Forsa institute of 700 holders of stocks and/or of shares in investment funds in Germany (31 October-12 November) finds that 52% of respondents are hostile to the introduction of a financial transaction tax (FTT), while 39% are in favour. The opposition is strongest among families with children (62%) and women (60%).The survey was commissioned by Union Investment, the central asset management firm for the German co-operative banks.

La politique d’investissement du RRUQ (2,5 milliards de dollars canadiens) se distingue par un recours systématique à la gestion active et par la place importante accordée aux thématiques d’investissement alternatives. Les placements privés/infrastructures (9 %), l’immobilier (7,5 %), les autres placements alternatifs (4 %) et les matières premières (3 %) représentent près d’un quart de l’allocation stratégique, contre 32 % pour les titres à revenus fixes, 19,5 % pour les actions canadiennes et 25 % pour les actions étrangères. Le portefeuille de titres à revenu fixe est presque intégralement exposé au marché domestique. La diversification internationale est laissée à la discrétion des gérants et ne fait pas l’objet de mandats spécifiques à l’exception d’un mandat en dette émergente, dont l’objectif est d’apporter un rendement absolu additionnel par rapport à la courbe des taux canadienne. En revanche, le poids des marchés étrangers dans les investissements en actions augmente de façon tendancielle au détriment des actions domestiques. « Depuis 2008, l’ensemble des investissements sur les marchés actions étrangers ont été regroupés en une seule ligne d’actions mondiales avec comme indice de référence le MSCI ACWI ex-Canada. L'équipe de placement, avec l’accord du comité de placement, détermine ensuite l’exposition aux différents marchés sous-jacents », explique Normand Belley, conseiller senior en placement au RRUQ. Le portefeuille d’actions étrangères se compose de mandats exposés aux grandes et petites capitalisations américaines et internationales, de deux mandats investis sur les marchés émergents, et d’un mandat d’actions mondiales. La prochaine révision de la politique de placement pourrait faire la part belle aux mandats d’actions mondiales, au dépend de l’exposition régionale aux marchés américain et européens (EAFE). Plutôt que d’opérer une gestion des investissements en interne, les équipes du RRUQ se concentrent sur la définition de la politique de placement ainsi que sur la sélection de gérants, celle-ci résultant d’un croisement entre une recherche multicritère et les informations accumulées au fil du temps. Le régime n’hésite pas à solliciter des expertises en dehors de son marché domestique.

L’enquête mensuelle du Conference Board a fait état d’une nouvelle hausse plus forte que prévu de la confiance du consommateur américain en novembre. L’indice est ressorti à 73,7 contre 73,1 en octobre (révisé de 72,2), alors que le consensus des économistes interrogés par Reuters le donnait à 73,0. Il n’avait pas atteint un tel niveau depuis février 2008, au début de la crise financière.

Lors d’une visite à Paris, le Premier ministre russe Dmitry Medvedev a assuré que la Russie n’avait pas le projet d’échanger ses réserves de changes libellées en euro contre d’autres devises. «Nous n’avons pas l’intention de les réallouer. Malgré les problèmes (de la zone euro), nous pensons que cela va s’arranger», a-t-il déclaré à l’occasion d’une conférence de presse.

Le département du Commerce a fait état de commandes globales inchangées le mois dernier. Il a révisé en légère baisse le chiffre de septembre, qui ressort désormais en hausse de 9,2%, au lieu d’une hausse initiale de 9,8%. Hors transports, les commandes sont en progression de 1,5%, alors que le marché tablait sur une baisse de 0,5%, après une hausse de 1,7% le mois précédent.

Les parlementaires portugais ont définitivement adopté le projet de budget 2013 qui prévoit des hausses d’impôts sans précédent depuis quatre décennies. Fondé sur hypothèse de contraction de 1% du PIB portugais l’année prochaine, le budget vise à ramener le déficit budgétaire de 5% du PIB cette année à 4,5% l’année prochaine pour respecter les conditions du plan de sauvetage financier.

Les prix des maisons individuelles ont augmenté conformément aux attentes en septembre, confirmant l’amélioration progressive du marché immobilier, selon l’indice S&P/Case-Shiller. Cet indice composite, basé sur les prix dans 20 zones métropolitaines des Etats-Unis, a progressé de 0,4% en septembre par rapport à août, en données ajustées des variations saisonnières (CVS).

La Facilité européenne de stabilité financière (FESF) a annoncé mardi l'émission d’une obligation à un an dans un futur proche. Le fonds européen réagit ainsi à la perte du Aaa de la France chez Moody’s, qui l’avait obligé à annuler un placement de titres à 3 ans. Les statuts du FESF prévoient en effet que ses nouvelles émissions soient garanties à 100% par des Etats ayant une note au moins égale à la sienne chez chaque agence. Ce n’est plus le cas de la France chez Moody’s, où le FESF a gardé son Aaa.

Les coûts d’emprunt à deux ans de l’Italie sont tombés sous le seuil de 2% mardi lors d’une adjudication de dette souveraine, à leur plus bas niveau depuis octobre 2010, l’accord sur l’aide à la Grèce conclu la veille ayant rassuré les investisseurs. L’adjudication de mardi est la dernière émission d’obligations à coupon zéro de l’année. Rome a réalisé plus de 95% de son objectif de 460-465 milliards d’euros fixé pour 2012.

Le Trésor espagnol a placé mardi pour 4,09 milliards d’euros de bons à trois et à six mois, un montant légèrement supérieur à ses prévisions, et les deux adjudications ont été marquées par une baisse des rendements par rapport aux précédentes opérations d'échéance équivalente. Le Trésor avait prévu de placer entre trois et quatre milliards d’euros de titres.

L'économie britannique a affiché une croissance de 1% au troisième trimestre, selon une deuxième estimation publiée mardi, mais elle aura du mal à maintenir ce rythme. La sortie de récession a été rendue possible par la consommation des ménages, en hausse de 0,6% sur le trimestre - sa plus forte augmentation depuis plus de deux ans - et soutenue par les Jeux olympiques de Londres durant l'été.

Dans ses prévisions d'automne, l'OCDE ne table plus que sur une hausse du PIB mondial de 2,9% cette année et de 3,4% l'an prochain en raison de la crise de la zone euro où elle appelle la BCE a abaisser ses taux.

La banque brésilienne de développement a accordé un prêt de 8,3 milliards d’euros à Norte Energia pour financer la construction du barrage de Belo Monte en Amazonie. Un prêt qui couvrira 80% des besoins du projet. Une part de 40% du prêt transitera par l’intermédiaire de Caixa Econômica Federal et BTG Pactual qui recevront respectivement 7 et 2 milliards de dollars.