«Nous constatons une accélération des appels d’offres en épargne salariale depuis le début de l’année», indique à L’Agefi Hebdo Frédéric Petiniot, directeur général du cabinet de conseil Amadeis, qui dénombre dix appels d’offres au premier trimestre 2012, contre 22 sur l’ensemble de l’année 2011. Plusieurs tendances se dessinent dans le marché des appels d’offres de ce type. «L’architecture ouverte s’impose de plus en plus : certaines entreprises choisissent une société de gestion différente pour chacun de leurs FCPE (fonds communs de placement d’entreprise)», relève Dominique Dorlipo, président de Russell Investments France. Par ailleurs, «de plus en plus d’entreprises s’intéressent à la multigestion au sein des fonds diversifiés, ajoute Dominique Dorlipo. Il s’agit aussi bien de petites que de grandes entreprises, tous secteurs d’activité confondus». Pour Xavier Collot, directeur du développement commercial d’Amundi Epargne Entreprise, les entreprises cherchent des sociétés de gestion capables d’accompagner les salariés dans la bonne compréhension de leur épargne entreprise. Elles demandent également de la simplicité en matière d’offre de placements. «Les gammes doivent être courtes et lisibles», souligne-t-il.

Selon une source proche du dossier citée par L’Agefi, la proposition initiale de recapitalisation du groupe de technologies Technicolor par le fonds d’investissement Vector était «très loin de celle de l’autre prétendant, JPMorgan, tant d’un point de vue financier que dans le soutien apporté à la stratégie de la direction de Technicolor». Mais l’offre dévoilée lundi par Vector a été améliorée. Sans rejeter formellement sa proposition, le conseil d’administration de Technicolor juge «non sollicitées» les propositions de résolutions de Vector et réaffirme son soutien à l’offre de JPMorgan. Il ne ferme pas pour autant totalement la porte au fonds : «Dans l’hypothèse où les résolutions JPMorgan ne seraient pas adoptées par l’assemblée générale, les contrats JPMorgan seraient caducs» a-t-il précisé.

Selon L’Agefi qui cite une information de Reuters, Affiliated Managers Group, Federated Investors, New York Life Insurance et Permira envisagent de déposer une offre sur Dexia AM. Macquarie est également en train d'évaluer le gestionnaire d’actifs. Dexia espère céder sa division de gestions d’actifs, qui gérait à fin décembre 78 milliards d’euros d’encours, pour environ 750 millions.

Selon des sources proches du dossier citées par L’Agefi, une plainte contre X a été déposée au parquet de Paris en février pour abus de biens sociaux, délit d’initiés et manipulation de cours, à l’encontre d’Ernest-Antoine Sellière, président du conseil de surveillance de Wendel, et Jean-Bernard Lafonta, ancien président du directoire. La plainte déposée par Arnaud Desclèves, ancien directeur juridique de la société d’investissement reproche à Jean-Bernard Lafonta d’avoir cédé en 2007 pour 40 millions d’euros de titres Wendel, alors qu’une clause de conservation (lock-up) avait été imposée aux cadres en raison de leur situation d’initiés sur la montée de la société au capital de Saint-Gobain.Ernest-Antoine Seillière, aurait «fait la même chose», selon le plaignant. En outre, lors du départ en mars 2009 de Jean-Bernard Lafonta, remplacé par Frédéric Lemoine, l’actif net réévalué de Wendel aurait été artificiellement gonflé. Enfin, le plaignant pointe du doigt «le remboursement illégal des parts de carried interest».

Des jours sombres attendent les nouveaux entrepreneurs du monde de la gestion de fonds, selon Mattias Hagen, responsable de la recherche de gérants pour SEB Wealth management, interrogé par Citywire. En effet, les obstacles réglementaires devraient saborder leurs rêves de lancer une nouvelle entreprise. Il pense également que nous allons faire face à une concentration du secteur de la gestion d’actifs, tant du côté des producteurs que des distributeurs.

La société de gestion américaine Eaton Vance Management a annoncé le lancement de deux fonds Ucits investis sur les marchés émergents et les actions monde, rapporte Citywire. Sa filiale Parametric Portfolio Associates gérera ces deux produits, appelés Eaton Vance International (Ireland) Parametric Emerging Markets Core et Eaton Vance International (Ireland) Parametric Global Equity.

L’allemand SEB Asset Management (SEB AM) a annoncé le 30 mai le lancement du SEB Asia Pacific REIT Fund, un FCP de droit luxembourgeois dont l’administration est assurée par Universal-Investment-Luxembourg (filiale du francfortois Universal-Investment) et qui investira exclusivement dans des real estate investment trusts (Reit) de la région Asie-Pacifique.Ce produit conforme à la directive OPCVM IV est destiné à des investisseurs désirant des revenus élevés et des distributions régulières sans encourir de risques «incalculables».La gestion est assurée par une équipe répartie sur les sites de Francfort et Singapour et dirigée par Thomas Körfgen, head of real estate equities ainsi que Julian Mittag, gérant de fonds Reit.CaractéristiquesDénomination : SEB Asia Pacific REIT FundCodes IsinParts A : LU0753286219 Parts C : LU0757781637Souscription minimale : 5 millions d’euros (parts A)Distributions : février, mai, août et novembreCommission de gestion : 0,40 % (parts A et C)

L’autrichien Partner Bank commercialise désormais en Allemagne le Kopernikus-Index-Korb, un modèle de gestion de fortune à base d’ETF exclusivement à réplication physique qui a été lancé en Autriche en mai 2011et n’a affiché en 2011 qu’une perte maximale de 15 % tout en étant investi à 100 %, rapporte Fondsprofessionell. Pour les quatre premiers mois de 2012, ce produit enregistre une performance de 6,3 %, net de frais.

Depuis mercredi, la cote du segment XTF de la plate-forme de négociation électronique Xetra (Deutsche Börse) comporte un total de 981 références, avec l’adjonction de sept ETF de droit irlandais lancés par UBS Global Asset Management.En fait, il s’agit de trois nouveaux produits répliquant des indices MSCI USA, USA Value et World, mais disponibles à chaque fois en parts I (institutionnelles) et A (retail). Le septième réplique le S&P 500. Ces ETF affichent des taux de frais sur encours (TFE ou TER) compris entre 0,23 % et 0,45 %.

L’antenne britannique du groupe Old Mutual Asset Managers a nommé Steven Brown au poste de responsable de la distribution auprès des conseillers, priorité étant donné aux partenariats stratégiques sur le marché britannique wholesale dans la perspective de l’introduction de la réglementation RDR le 1er janvier 2013.Steven Brown travaillait précédemment chez RBS Global Banking & Markets. Il prend ses fonctions le 1er juin.

Selon nos informations, le FRR vient de terminer la phase des candidatures pour l’appel d’offres marché public portant sur le renouvellement des mandats « Actions Europe ISR » constitués en 2006 et arrivés à échéance en décembre 2011. Le FRR a retenu 10 candidats pour le lot 1 (mandats de fonds collectifs thématiques pour 150 millions d’euros) et 6 candidats pour le lot 2 (mandats de gestion active Actions Europe, nouvelle croissance durable pour 200 millions d’euros). La prochaine étape consistera à envoyer les documents d’offres (questionnaires) aux candidats, vraisemblablement début juillet, ce qui permettra ensuite de réduire le nombre de sociétés de gestion à rencontrer dans le cadre d’une due diligence.

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch UCITS-compliant fund platform has admitted another alternative management firm, The Rohatyn Group. The group has launched the MLIS TRG Global Emerging Markets UCITS Fund, which invests in equities as well as bonds in local currencies from emerging markets, using directional strategies, relative value and pair trades.CharacteristicsName: MLIS TRG Global Emerging Markets UCITS FundISIN code: LU0717846496Management commission: 2% (currently 1%)Performance commission: 20% with high watermark (currently 10%)Minimal subscription: EUR1m

The timetable to enact Basel III legislation remains unchanged, despite the euro zone debt crisis, the head of the financial stability board (FSB), Mark Carney, stated on 30 May. The new Basel III standards, passed in 2010, will gradually be enacted from 2013, and will be fully in force by 2019, the head said following a meeting in Hong Kong of the banking regulatory organism. “I would not call this timetable aggressive. It is a timetable established by consensus. It will not change,” the head, who is also governor of the Canadian central bank, told the press. Many US banks are said not yet to have fully applied Basel III standards, published in 2004, which have been rolled out in Europe. Some actors in the sector nonetheless claim that the rules adopted are too strict at a time when the world is facing a credit drought provoked by the debt crisis in Europe. “It is absolutely essential … that banks be correctly capitalised,” says Carney. Applying the measures “will contribute to financial stability and growth worldwide, including in Europe,” the head adds.

Several Chinese asset management firms, including China Universal, E-fund, Harvest, ICBC-Credit Suisse, Full Goal and Yinhua, are currently in talks with the Shanghai (SSE) and Shenzhen (SZSE) stock exchanges to launch money market ETFs, ahead of applying to the Chinese regulator (CSRC) for a license, Z-Ben Advisors reports. If the plans are approved by the authorities, cash deposits in securities accounts could be used to buy shares in these money market ETFs. Currently, asset management firms are still facing several technological problems such, for example, as T+0 transactions, which would then help to ensure liquidity.

An expected wave of mergers and acquisitions is not materialising as predicted, according to a report published on 30 May by the asset management firm RW Baird of M&A activities in Europe, the United States, Asia and worldwide. In the first four months of the year, the number of transactions worldwide was down a record 5.4% compared with its 2011 levels. In Europe, the number of transactions has fallen by as much as 22.9% in April to 706 deals, its lowest level since August 2009. The attraction of businesses for mergers and acquisitions, however, is on the increase. Despite an unstable economy in the second half of 2011 primarily affecting the banking sector and the euro zone, a study by Grant Thornton also published on 30 May (in the International Business Report) finds that interest of business heads in mergers and acquisitions has increased, and that they are now seen as an essential tool for growth to achieve set expansion goals. The global number of businesses with plans for a merger-acquisition operation has risen from 26% in 2010 to 34% in 2012. This percentage includes both domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. France is in line with this global statistic, as 34% of French businesses are planning such an operation in the next three years. Internationally, Canada (42%), Braxil (40%), and the United States (37%) are the countries where the highest number of heads are considering growing their activities through merger or acquisition by 2015. only 28% of businesses have such plans in Europe, and 25% in Asia-Pacific. This percentage is falling all the more rapidly in countries where the economy remains uncertain, such as Greece, Ireland and Spain, where only 16% of corporate heads are currently planning a merger in the near future. The International Business Report also finds that among businesses planning to grow via an acquisition, 33% are planning to do so outside their home country, compared with 28% in 2010 (global average). European businesses are most interested in making an international deal (44%) to enter new markets.

The German asset management firm SEB Asset Management (SEB AM) on 30 May announced the launch of the SEB Asia Pacific REIT Fund, a Luxembourg-registered FCP fund whose administration is provided by Universal-Investment-Luxembourg (an affiliate of the Frankfurt-based Universal-Investment), which will invest exclusively in real estate investment trusts (REIT) in the Asia-Pacific region. The product is compliant with UCITS IV, and is aimed at investors seeking high returns and regular distributions without “incalculable” risks. Management is provided by a team at offices in Frankfurt and Singapore, and led by Thomas Körfgen, head of real estate equities, and Julian Mittag, manager of REIT funds. Characteristics Name: SEB Asia Pacific REIT Fund ISIN codes: A share class: LU0753286219 C share class: LU0757781637 Minimal subscription: EUR5m (A share class) Distribution: February, May, August and November Management commission: 0.40% (A and C share classes)

The Austrian Partner Bank is now offering the Kopernikus-Index-Korb, a wealth management model based exclusively on physical replication ETFs, launched in Austria in May 2011 and which in 2011 only made a maximal loss of 15%, while remaining 100% invested, in Germany, Fondsprofessionell reports. In the first four months of 2012, the product has posted gains of 6.3%, after fees.

Since Wednesday, the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform (Deutsche Börse) lists a total of 981 funds, with the addition of seven Irish-registered ETF funds launched by UBS Global Asset Management. There are in fact three new products which replicate the MSCI USA, USA Value and World indices and which are each are available in I (instutional) and A (retail) share classes. The seventh product replicates the S&P 500. The ETFs have total expense ratios ranging from 0.23% to 0.45%.

According to VDOS Stochastics, relayed by Cotizalia, Spanish investment funds have seen a decline in their assets of EUR2.53bn in May, due to losses of EUR1.58bn and net redemptions of EUR956m.

La polémique autour de la prime de non-concurrence de 400.000 euros versée à l’ex-patron d’Air France-KLM pourrait bien se transformer en casse-tête juridique, voire même en crise de gouvernance pour l’entreprise, rapporte Les Echos. Car, même si la majorité des actionnaires, réunis demain en assemblée générale à Paris, se rangeait derrière la décision de l’Etat actionnaire de voter contre, la convention prise en octobre dernier entre Pierre-Henri Gourgeon et son ancienne entreprise ne sera pas annulée pour autant. Quel que soit le vote des actionnaires, ce contrat d’une durée de trois ans, dont l’exécution a déjà commencé puisque les 400.000 euros ont déjà été versés à Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, resterait en effet parfaitement valide et rien n’obligerait ce dernier à rembourser, selon les juristes d’Air France-KLM.

The French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) yesterday issued a warning in relation to unlicensed web guides to high yield investment programmes (HYIP). The AMF has found that there are a number of websites which contain information on supposed high yield investment programmes (HYIP), which offer web surfers what claims to be advice about the quality of these HYIP> the websites rank or categorise the HYIPs on the basis of selected qualitative or quantitative criteria. The AMF warning is particularly in relation to the following sites, for which no authorised provider was clearly identified: www.hyip-france.com www.hyip-top-monitor.com www.hyip.com www.top-placements-hyip.com As a result, the AMF recommends that investors disregard advice from these sites, and not redistribute it to third parties in any form.

The US asset management boutique Strategic Fixed Income, specialised in the US fixed income and currency segment, has won a USD329m bond mandate from Russell Investments, Citywire reports. Strategic Fixed Income becomes the fifth sub-adviser to the Dublin-domiciled funds Global Bond and Global Bond (Euro Hedged), as well as a fund based in Australia, International Bond. Assets under management in these funds total about USD4.1bn. The other managers of the three funds are Pimco (macro sectoral rotation), Colchester Global (fixed income and currencies), Brookfield Investment Management (mortgages) and Loomis Sayles (high yield and emerging markets).

The US asset management firm Eaton Vance Management has announced the launch of two UCITS funds investing in emerging markets and global equities, Citywire reports. Its affiliate, Parametric Portfolio Associates, will manage the two products, known as Eaton Vance International (Ireland) Parametric Emerging Markets Core and Eaton Vance International (Ireland) Parametric Global Equity.

Funds domiciled in the United Kingdom in April posted net retail subscriptions of GBP2.07bn, compared with GBP1.4bn in March and GBP3.21bn one year previously, according to statistics from the Investment Management Association (IMA). This is the highest amount since April 2011.However, institutional investors in the same period withdrew GBP1.31bn, following net subscriptions of GBP231.7m the previous month, and GBP536.7m in April of last year.Total assets in retail funds domiciled in the United Kingdom, for their part, fell to GBP607.3bn as of 30 April, compared with GBP613.3bn as of the end of March, although it has increased compared with GBP605.2bn twelve months previously.Meanwhile, assets under management by funds domiciled abroad as of the end of April totalled GBP36.8bn, compared with GBP37.1bn one month earlier, and GBP34.7bn as of 30 April 2011. Net subscriptions totalled GBP592.5m, compared with GBP282.4m in April and GBP418.8m in the corresponding month of last year.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) on 30 May announced that db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank group) has launched eight new fixed income ETFs which replicate Markit CDX North American indices in the investment grade and high yield categories of credit derivatives. The new funds bring the number of newly listed bond ETFs listed since April to 25. Overall, the LSE lists over 100 fixed income ETFs.

The Chilean bank Corpbanca SA on 30 May bought a 51% stake in Banco Santander Colombia SA and Santander Investment Trust Colombia, for USD624m, Investment Europe reports. The remaining shares and the Colombian affiliates of Santander will be acquired by 30 June. The total transaction price totals USD1.23bn, which Corpbanca will finance with a capital increase of USD650m.Cinco Días reports that the sale will generate capital gains for Santander of EUR615m.

The British arm of the Old Mutual Asset Managers group has appointed Steven Brown as head of distribution to advisers, with priority given to strategic partners on the UK wholesale market, with an eye to the introduction of RDR regulations on 1 January 2013. Brown previously worked at RBS Global Banking & Markets. He will begin on 1 June.

Christopher Faddy, Asia head of distribution for the asset management unit at Barclays, has been recruited as head, asset management distribution, for Asia ex Japan (NJA distribution) by Credit Suisse in Hong Kong. He will be responsible for providing investment management services to sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors and third-party distributors.

Instead of merging with the asset management firm Unicaja, as had originally appeared planned, Liberbank Gestión will be merging with Ibercaja Gestión (EUR4.43bn in assets under management as of the end of April), which will create Spain’s sixth-largest asset management firm, with assets in funds of EUR5.33bn, Funds People reports, putting it ahead of Ahorro Corporación (EUR4.78bn). Currently, Ibercaja Gestión is the seventh-largest Spanish asset manager, while Liberbank Gestión is 24th. The top five are, in order, Santander AM (EUR20.3bn). BBVA AM (EUR19.45bn), InverCaixa (EUR14.9bn), and Popuylar Gestió (EUR6.19bn).

According to the CNMV annual report, assets at Spanish asset management firms and investment funds as of the end of December totalled EUR132.369bn, 8% less than at the end fo 2010. Of the EUR11.256bn by which assets under management declined, EUR10.853trn were due to net redemptions, and EUR673m to losses on portfolios. Overall, 207 funds ceased operations, of which 204 were absorbed into other funds, As of the end of 2011, the profession had 2,341 funds, 88 less than one year previously. Average assets were down to EUR56m from EUR59m in 2010. Profits at the 114 Spanish asset management firms wree down by 6.5% last year, to EUR194m, compared with EUR207.5m, due to an 8% contraction in management commission revenues, at EUR1.61bn, partly offset by a 3.8% reduction in personnel costs to EUR188.26m.