Henderson Gartmore Fund is cleaning house at its fund range. According to Fondsweb, the asset management firm has recently merged and discontinued share classes. The Emerging Markets Fund R EUR dist. (LU0113993801), Pan European Fund R dist. (LU0201075453) and Latin America Fund (LU0200080918) have been merged. Shares in the Pan European Fund B EUR acc. (LU0135928025), Global Focus Fund B EUR acc. (LU0200076569) and Global Focus Fund I EUR acc. (LU0298310920), however, have been discontinued. The reason given by the asset management firm is insufficient assets to justify the independent existence of share classes, Fondsweb reports.

For second quarter, Credit Suisse has announced net profits of CHF788m. The Asset Management unit has earned pre-tax profits of CHF133m, down 48% compared with first quarter. The bank’s asset management firm benefited on paper from the sale of a part of its stake in Aberdeen asset Management, to the tune of CHF66m. Without this gain, pre-tax profts totalled CHF67m, compared with CHF202m in second quarter 2011. Gains related to investments suffered due to market conditions, and totalled CHF27m, compared with CHF101m in first quarter 2012, and CHF156m in second quarter 2011. Commission-based earnings totalled CHF407m, which represents a 3% increase compared with the first quarter of last year, with an increase in performance commissions. The Asset Management division has posted net subscriptions of CHF400m. These were largely for alternative investments in emerging markets, which attracted subscriptions, offset by redemptions from more traditional products.

In the Libor scandal, all eyes were on the Bank of England yesterday, Les Echos reports. Documents provided to one of the members of the Treasury Commission in Westminster has shown that Bob Diamond, former head of Barclays, and Paul Tucker, second in command at the Bank of England, were close. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, has announced that the New York Fed in 2008 realised that Libor was “structurally problematic” and shared its thoughts with the British Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Bank of England. But in London, Mervyn King announced that he did not act sooner because the Fed did not send him any documents proving that there had been manipulation.

The London office real estate market is attracting buyers. And mostly, they are foreign investors, according to the findings of a study undertaken by BNP Paribas Real Estate in first half 2012. Since the beginning of the year, more than EUR7.5bn hve been invested in office real estate in central London. BNP Paribas Real Estate finds that there has been a 41% increase in transactions in second quarter 2012, compared with the same period last year, while in first half 2012, 71% have been foreign investments (primarily from North America, the Middle East and Germany). Overall, in central London, nearly 625,000 square metres were leased in second quarter, compared with 700,000 square metres in first quarter. In terms of rental value, the markets of the West End, the City and Midtown are holding up, the study adds.

Selon Les Echos, la baisse du taux de dépôt de la Banque centrale européenne à 0 % ne modifiera pas la politique d’investissement de Swiss Life. « Elle n’a pas changé l’environnement économico-financier. Et notre trésorerie dont la rémunération dépend des taux courts ne représente qu’une fraction limitée de nos actifs, soit entre 0 et 3 % selon les moments », explique ainsi Philippe Richer, directeur de la gestion des mandats de Swiss Life France. Majoritairement investis en obligations, les assureurs ne conservent qu’une poche monétaire « résiduelle ». Ils restent un peu liquides pour être en mesure de régler facilement des sinistres.

Natixis a annoncé avoir rejoint la plate-forme de négociation actions paneuropéenne Equiduct. La banque entend ainsi «renforcer son offre de meilleure exécution à destination des clients de ses réseaux bancaires partenaires».

L’Autorité a indiqué qu’à la demande de Nyse Euronext le seuil constitutif d’une offre au public de titres obligeant à l’élaboration d’un prospectus est fixé à 2,5 millions d’euros lors des introductions en Bourse sur le compartiment d’Alternext Paris.

L’Etablissement de retraite additionnelle de la fonction publique a annoncé lancer, dans le cadre de la diversification de son allocation d’actifs, un appel d’offres restreint visant à l’attribution de trois mandats de gestion de fonds de fonds diversifiés. L’Erafp vise avec ces mandats «une allocation diversifiée, flexible, dynamique et opportuniste».

La société de conseil en capital-investissement a fait part hier du refinancement de l’immeuble situé à Paris pour 190 millions d’euros auprès de Helaba (Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen), PBB (Deutsche Pfandbriefbank) et LBB (Landesbank Berlin).

Face au Sénat, le président de la Réserve Fédérale s'est contenté de dire que son institution restait prête à agir pour soutenir l'économie

De passage à Paris et à Londres, les représentants de la Qatar Financial Center Authority (QFCA), une émanation gouvernementale, sont lancés dans une opération séduction. Objectif : convaincre les groupes financiers occidentaux, notamment les gestionnaires d’actifs, de développer leur activité dans l'émirat, dont la place financière veut rivaliser avec Dubaï.

La Qatar Financial Center Authority (QFCA) démarche les gestionnaires d'actifs étrangers pour qu'ils développent leur activité dans l'émirat

Le gouverneur de la BoE a directement mis en cause Bob Diamond dans la gestion du scandale du Libor

La parution de l’édition de 18h de L’AGEFI Quotidien reprendra le lundi 27 août

La parution de l’édition de 14h de L’AGEFI Quotidien reprendra le lundi 27 août

The finer classifications recently introduced by Europerformance a SIX Company have made it possible to locate a few categories which have posted net subscriptions in the month of June from among all French mutual funds, but these results are not outstanding, either in therms of the number or the amounts of the subscriptions in question. The month of June brought severe net outflows for all families of funds. The category of treasury funds shows a negative lfow of 3.58%, due to net outflows totalling EUR13.11bn. The bond family, for its part, has posted a decline in assets under management of 1.39%, with outflows of EUR896.09m, and market effects of -0.04%. Equity funds, for their part, have posted even larger outflows, totalling EUR1.59bn for the month. Assets under management have nonetheless increased fairly considerably overall (+2.46%), and this is due to significant market effects of 3.44%. This scenario also plays out for convertible funds. Net outflows total EUR4.49bn, while assets are up 1.38% due to market gains of 1.56%. In more detail, according to Europerformance statistics, the distinction between subscription and market effects shows that for money market funds, facing EUR13.11bn in outflows, the performance of mutual funds represented only EUR166m, minus EUR1m in revenue effects. For the bond family, meanwhile, market and revenue effects accentuated the decline in assets, of -EUR85m for the former and -EUR13m for the latter. Both in terms of net outflows and market effects, the category of funds invested in euro zone equities was hardest hit. Net outflows totalled EUR838m, while market and revenue effects represented -EUR190 and EUR12m, respectively. But the most spectacular result was for the equities family, where performance effects totalled EUR5.74bn, less EUR39m in revenue effects. The category of mutual funds investing in European equities was responsible for the majority of these results. Net outflows totalled EUR735m, while performance effects totalled EUR4.73bn, in addition to which there were EUR38m in revenue effects. Lastly, for convertible bonds, performance effects represented EUR157m.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) on Monday, 16 July issued a warning against the Robinson and Schroder company, located at 26 rue Edward Steichen in Luxembourg (www.robinsonschroder.com). The British regulator warns that the firm is not licensed to undertake regulated activities in the United Kingdom, including investment advising and investment on behalf of third parties in equities or bonds.

Sovereign funds may be considering buying up asset management affiliates of banking groups, in order to reduce management fees and acquire new professional competence, Financial Times Fund Management reports. “That’s the next step in the evolution of sovereign funds. Learning to become an asset manager takes a lot of time, and you can gain time by buying that expertise directly,” says Nicholas Griffin, European head of financial services strategy at KPMG. Such acquisitions will considerably cut into revenues for various actors in the profession, FT FM notes.

The largest US pension fund, CalPERS, has posted returns of 1% for its fiscal year, ending at the end of June, compared with 20.9% the previous year, according to its head of management, Joe Dear, Agefi reports.

The New York and Connecticut state attorneys have launched an investigation to determine whether manipulation of the Libor caused losses which they suffered in the past, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Credit Suisse has appointed a head for the Chinese region. Nicole Yuen will be in charge of the equity market for China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, Das Investment reports. Yuen had previously served in a similar role at UBS.

GLG Partners, the asset management arm of Man Group plc, has announced that on Monday, 16 July it formed an equity management team in Asia. The long/short equity team, based in Hong Kong, and adept in stock-picking based on a fundamental approach, will be jointly led by David Mercurio, head of Asian equities and co-head of global equity strategies, and Ben Freischmidt, a specialist in risk management, a statement says. Mercurio joined GLG in September 2011, and previously worked for the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC); Freischmidt, for his part, has been working for GLG since March 012, after co-founding the Singapore firm LionRock Capital, where he was chief operating officer. The two executives will be in charge of a team of four sectoral specialists: David Walsh, an expert in the industrial sector, Nick Vidale, who covers finance, Sahil Khanna, a specialist in the consumer and technology, media and telecommunications sectors, and lastly Carl Esprey, a materials sector analyst who will be based in London, a statement says. Walsh, an industrial sector equity manager, joined GLG in April 2012 as an Asian equity portfolio manager. Before GLG, he had worked at Optimal Fund Management since 2002, where one of his most recent roles was as a partner and Asia Pacific ex Japan equity portfolio manager. Esprey joined GLG in January 2008 in London, as manager in charge of a portfolio of commodity and mining sector equities within the European long/short strategy. He previously worked for the Corporate Finance division of BHP Billiton in London. Nick Vidale, a financial sector equities analyst, will join GLG In August 2012 as manager of an Asian equity portfolio. Since 2010, he had been a regional expert in the financial sector for CLSA in Hong Kong. Lastly, Sahil Khanna, equity manager for the consumer and technology, media and telecommunications sectors, will also be joining GLG in August 2012 as an Asian equity portfolio manager. He previously worked for Geosphere Capital, where he was a senior analyst in charge of the consumer and tech sectors since 2011.

Hermes, the British asset management firm controlled by the BT pension fund, is planning to set up a team dedicated to emerging market bonds in Asia, Asian Investor reports. The firm is planning to scale up its presence in the region, and is considering new locations, including Hong Kong and Singapore, the website reports.

L’ancien numéro deux de Barclays, Jerry del Missier, a assuré hier devant la commission du Trésor de Westminster qu’il avait demandé à ses subordonnés de sous-évaluer le taux d’emprunt de Barclays sur les marchés, parce qu’il comprenait que la Banque d’Angleterre l’avait elle-même demandé à son patron Bob Diamond dans une conversation téléphonique, rapporte les Echos. Devant la commission, Bob Diamond avait pourtant affirmé la semaine dernière que Paul Tucker, le numéro deux de la Banque d’Angleterre n’avait pas formulé une telle demande.

RBC Dexia Investor Services annonce avoir été mandaté par Swiss & Global Asset Management pour fournir des services d’administration et de conservation pour quatre ETF gérés activement, lancés récemment sur la plateforme Xetra.

GLG Partners, l’entité de gestion d’actifs de Man Group plc, a annoncé la formation d’une équipe de gestion actions en Asie lundi 16 juillet. Basée à Hong Kong, l'équipe long/short actions, adepte de la sélection de valeurs selon une approche fondamentale, sera gérée conjointement par David Mercurio, responsable des actions asiatiques et co-responsable des stratégies actions mondiales, et Ben Freischmidt, spécialiste de la gestion des risques, indique un communiqué. David Mercurio a intégré GLG en septembre 2011 et travaillait auparavant pour Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) ; Ben Freischmidt, pour sa part, travaille pour GLG depuis mars 2012 après avoir co-fondé la société singapourienne LionRock Capital, dont il était responsable des opérations. Les deux cadres auront la responsabilité d’une équipe de quatre spécialistes sectoriels : David Walsh, expert du secteur de l’industrie, Nick Vidale, qui couvre la finance, Sahil Khanna, spécialiste de la consommation et des TMT, et enfin Carl Esprey, analyste du secteur des matériaux qui sera basé à Londres, indique un communiqué. David Walsh, gérant actions secteur industrie a rejoint GLG en avril 2012 en qualité de gérant de portefeuille d’actions asiatiques. Avant GLG, il travaillait depuis 2002 pour Optimal Fund Management, où ses dernières fonctions ont été celles de partner et gérant de portefeuille d’actions d’Asie Pacifique hors Japon. Carl Esprey, a intégré GLG en janvier 2008 à Londres, en qualité de gérant responsable d’un portefeuille d’actions du secteur des matériaux et du secteur minier au sein de la stratégie long/short européenne. Auparavant, il a travaillé pour la division Corporate Finance de BHP Billiton à Londres. Nick Vidale, gérant actions secteur financier – va rejoindre GLG en août 2012 en qualité de gérant de portefeuille d’actions asiatiques. Depuis 2010, il était expert régional du secteur financier pour CLSA à Hong Kong. Enfin, Sahil Khanna, gérant actions secteurs de la consommation et des TMT intégrera également GLG en août 2012 en qualité de gérant de portefeuille d’actions asiatiques. Il travaillait jusqu’alors pour Geosphere Capital, où il était analyste senior chargé des secteurs de la consommation et des technologies depuis 2011.

Credit Suisse vient de nommer une responsable pour la région Chine. Nicole Yuen sera en charge du marché des actions pour la Chine, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapour, la Thaïlande, la Malaisie et l’Indonésie, précise Das Investment. L’intéressée occupait auparavant un poste similaire chez UBS.

Le principal fonds de pension public américain Calpers affiche selon son patron de la gestion Joe Dear une performance de 1% pour son exercice à fin juin, rapporte L’Agefi, contre 20,9% engrangés sur l’année précédente.

Hermes, la société de gestion britannique détenue par le fonds de pension de BT, a pour projet de mettre en place une équipe dédiée aux obligations émergentes en Asie, indique Asian Investor. La société compte renforcer sa présence dans la région et réfléchit à de nouvelles implantations, dont Hong Kong et Singapour, précise le site Internet.

Threadneedle vient d’annoncer l’enregistrement en Belgique de 6 de ses fonds, après avoir obtenu l’agrément du régulateur. Il s’agit de compartiments de la sicav Threadneedle (Lux). Cette commercialisation vient s’ajouter à une gamme de fonds OEIC proposés aux investisseurs belges.Les fonds nouvellement commercialisés sur le marché belges sont les suivants : Threadneedle (Lux) Enhanced Commodities (ISIN LU0515768298)Threadneedle (Lux) Global Opportunities Bond (ISIN LU0640492673)Threadneedle (Lux) American Absolute Alpha (ISIN LU0515763737)Threadneedle (Lux) US Contrarian Core (ISIN LU0640476718)Threadneedle (Lux) European Absolute Alpha (ISIN LU0713326832)Threadneedle (Lux) European Smaller Companies Absolute Alpha (ISIN LU0570870567)