The Greek government has decided to fully repay a ten-year, EUR435m loan which matured on 15 May, which will bring gains for hedge funds such as Elliott Advisors, which had speculated that the debt would be repaid. The hedge funds would sued Greece if it had defaulted on this debt issue under international law, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.The Greek finance ministry says that this repayment do not guarantee that other borrowing under international law will also be repaid in full. In addition, the FAZ points out, the repayments will provoke lawsuits from investors who have previously agreed to a haircut.

Long-term mutual funds (excluding money market funds) in April posted net inflows of USD20.8bn, compared with USD29.3bn in March, according to statistics from Morningstar. Since the beginning of the year, net inflows to mutual funds total USD124.96bn. Bond mutual funds have attracted a net total of USD16.9bn, compared with USD24.9bn in March. In the first four months of the year, bond mutual funds show net inflows of USD96.85bn. However, mutual funds dedicated to US equities have finished the month of April with net outflows of USD9.3bn, bringing redemptions since the beginning of the year to USD28.79bn. International equity funds nonetheless attracted USD5.03bn, and show inflows of over USD9bn since the beginning of the year. Money market funds show limited outflows of USD17.28bn, but since the beginning of the year, net redemptions total nearly USD131bn.

The Luxembourg investment fund association (ALFI) has retained the consultant KPMG to deliver a report on the state of responsible investment in Europe. The study, undertaken in late 2010, was released at the first ALFI conference on sustainable investment (http://www.alfi.lu//sites/alfi.lu/files/files/Publications_Statements/P…). It finds that the sector included 1,236 funds with total assets of EUR129.49bn. Sustainable investment in Europe represents nearly 1.6% of the European investment fund market in terms of assets, and 2.3% in terms of the number of funds.Multi-sectoral ESG (environmental, social and governance) funds represent the largest category, with a total of 704 funds. The environment is the preferred investment theme for asset managers. Four sub-categories - “climate change/renewable energies,” “environment/ecology,” “carbon” and “water” - represent EUR30.49bn in assets.The 42 Islamic funds counted in the survey totalled EUR0.94bn in assets.In geographical terms, with a market share of 28% in sustainable investment funds, Luxembourg is the largest domicile by the number of funds. France and Luxembourg share a market share of 45%. Luxembourg is the second-largest domicile in terms of assets.

UCITS-compliant funds have seen net inflows in March of EUR47bn, compared with EUR19bn in February, according to statistics commissioned by the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA). Inflows to long-term UCITS funds, excluding money markets, totalled EUR32bn in March, compared with EUR18bn the previous month. Bond funds in particular saw exceptional inflows, with subscriptions totalling a net EUR26bn, compared with EUR9bn in February. Equity funds attracted a further EUR1.5bn in the month under review, comapred with EUR4bn in February. Diversified funds, for their part, attracted EUR4bn, four times more than in February. Money market funds finished the month with net inflows of EUR15bn, compared with EUR1bn in February. There were more limited inflows to dedicated funds, which posted subscriptions totalling EUR10bn, compared with EUR16bn in February. UCITS funds as of the end of March had total assets of EUR5.868trn, up 0.8% compared with the end of February, as non-UCITS funds for their part posted an increase of 0.9% to EUR2.289trn.

The second hearing of representatives of Wegelin bank before the US courts is set for 23 May in New York, the city prosecutor’s office announced on 15 May. The Swiss private bank was subpoenaed in February by the US courts over allegations of tax fraud. An initial hearing was set in February, but no US lawyer representing the Swiss bank was in attendance. It was claimed that “the legal conditions for the opening of a criminal proceeding were not satisfied.” The bank had not received its subpoena in correct and due form. Wegelin was subpoenaed on 2 February by the United States as part of legal actions against two of its employees. Those employees between 2002 and 2011 offered their services to US taxpayers seeking to conceal their assets from the tax authorities via a series of smokescreens and anonymous accounts.

According to reports in the Econmic Observer relayed by Z-Ben Advisors, the first two cross-border ETFs in China, the China AMC Hang Seng Index fund and the E-Fund Hang Seng China Enterprises Index ETF are in the process of being licensed by the Chinese securities commission (CSRC) and may soon be released on the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges, respectively.If they receive their licenses, these ETFs would allow holders of Qualified Somestic Institutional Investors (QDII) access to diversified exposure to the Hong Kong market.In addition to investments in Chinese yuan, the funds would also allow investors to use other currencies for subscriptions and redemptions.

European Union finance ministers yesterday reached agreement on rules to increase the owners’ equity requirements for banks, after making numerous concessions to London, Les Echos reports. The initial proposal would have raised the “hard” limit on owners’ equity for establishments from 2% to 7% in the long term. Ultimately, the compromise found leaves a way for individual countries to set two parallel owners’ equity requirements, one at 3% for all bank risks, and one at 2%, for domestic risks only. London also received a commitment that the European regulator (EBA) would not be authorised to consider whether the 3% limit is discriminatory in certain countries. An agreement must now be reached at the European Parliament.

“With ETFs, we have a fantastic product, but recently we have focused above all on the bad points. In 2008, no ETFs were closed. When the Fukushima disaster happened, ETFs stayed open. That’s something we should stress. We deliver what we promise: we are diversified, we are regulated, and we are open for trading,” Thorsten Michalik, head of db x-trackers, said at an open session at the InsideETFs Europe days, held Tuesday and Wednesday in Amsterdam.Michalik claims this last point is one to emphasize now. He estimates that the ETF industry should do more to highlight the fact that ETFs are also trading tools, and to improve the tradability of these products, with lower spreads. Spreads remain higher in Europe than in the United States, he says.However, Michalik thinks that investors in ETFs are already using these products as trading tools. “Since 2011, for equities, investors in ETFs are more active than active managers themselves,” he says. The ETF turnover is 25% of equity turnover in the US, compared with 6% in Europe.There is thus huge potential for the ETF sector in Europe in this area.In order to make products more easy to trade, an area which Michalik considers more important than trading costs, the creation of an ETF association remains necessary, Michalik says. “EFAMA, the European fund and asset management association, may help us when there are problems, but in questions of trading, we need an association to represent us,” he says. When asked later about this subject, Michalik adds that such a structure will be created this year.“If we stress our strengths, which are that we are diversified, highly regulated and open for trading, the next few years will be fantastic for ETFs,” he concludes.

The pro-growth camp has new supporters. A growing number of investors are also estimating that monetary policy worldwide is “too restrictive” and are calling for new measures to stimulate growth, according to the most recent BofA Merrill Lynch survey, undertaken between 4 and 10 May, and covering a sample of 234 invetors represnting cumulative assets under management of USD526bn.The proportion of allocators who consider the policies in place too restrictive has more than doubled between April and May, to a net total of 23%, compared with 11% in April. Nearly two thirds of investors estimate that Greece could still hold some negative surprises in store this year, compared with 48% in April. Logically, 60% of respondents to the survey expect that the European Central Bank will launch a new phase of quantitative easing by the end of 2012, compared with 51% in April. Optimists who predict the global economy to improve in the next twelve months represent 15%, compared with 28% in February this year. Meanwhile, the percentage of investors who are concerned about runaway inflation is only 2%, compared with 21% in April. “Investors have lost hopes of growth and inflation which they had formed in the first months of the year, and they are now turning to political leaders to introduce measures to stimulate them,” says Gary Baker, head of European equity strategies at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. In this context, averation to risk remains pervasive, and 35% of investors say their risk levels are below normal, compared with 21% in April. 28% of investors are overweight in cash, compared with 24% last month. Underweight positions on bonds have fallen to 33% in May, compared with 48% the previous month, and overweight positions on equities total only 16%, compared with 28% in April. Appetite for commodities is also at a seven-month low, with 2% of respondents underweight on commodities, compared with 8% overweight in April.The study finds that demand for US equities has remained strong during the month under review, but may decline in the next few months. At the same time, optimism about outlooks for the Chinese economy have continued to decrease, with 10% of respondents betting that local conjuncture will improve in the next 12 months, compared with only 4% in April.With Greek risks once again flagging spirits, investors have also reduced their exposure to the euro, with 32% of respondents underweight in the euro compared with 20% in April and March. 49% predict that the European currency will depreciate in the next twelve months, compared with 32% in April.

The German company Siemens on 15 May announced in a statement to the market that the sovereign wealth fund DIC Company Ltd, from the Emirate of Qatar, has passed the 3% threshold in its capital, and as of 7 May held 3.04% of voting rights. At current share prices (EUR66.55 on Xetra at closing time on Tuesday), that corresponds to an investment of about EUR2bn.

A spokesperson for Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) has confirmed to Financial News that the Swiss asset management firm will be closing its British institutional funds, an activity opened in 2007 and operated hitherto in partnership with Natixis Global Associates. The decision is said to follow redemptions on the part of major investors who had held about 90% of shares, finews reports.Despite the closure of these funds, UBP, which in 2010 created a British affiliate, UBP Investment Funds, will continue to manage assets for institutional investors in the United Kingdom.

In first quarter 2012, according to statistics from Pridham, assets in retail funds at Threadneedle in the United Kingdom totalled GBP472.1m, bringing total assets in these products to a record GBP20.8bn, putting the asset management firm ahead of Fidelity Investments and very close behind Invesco and M&G (see Newsmanagers of 2 and 10 May).

Eric Poon, regional head of business development, Asia Pacific at Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), has joined Baring Asset Management (Barings) as regional head of institutional business, Asia ex-Japan. He will be based in Hong Kong and will report to Gerry Ng, CEO, Asia ex-Japan. He will be in charge of sales and development serving institutional clients, including sovereign wealth funds. Asia-Pacfic represents about USD4bn in institutional assets for the British asset management firm.Barings has also recruited Alexander Garton as director, client service & relationship management. Garton had been director in corporate broking at Evolution Securities. He will be based in London and will report to Tim Lord, head of client service & relationship development. His duties will include managing relationships with institutional clients in the United Kingdom.

The British asset management firm Neptune has appointed Andy Larkin as head of strategic partnerships in a restructured sales team, following the departure of John Lester, Investment Week reports.Larkin, who replaces Lester, had previously worked at M&G. Neptune has also recruited Nick Pogmore from Ignis and Harry Reeves from Artemis for its sales team. The new team will be operational by mid-August.

On 11 May, the CNMV issued a sales license for Spain to the ProActif Europe fund from the French firm Oddo Asset Management. The fund may vary its allocations to European equities and cash from 0% to 100%. As of the end of April, the fund was 36% invested in cash, and 64% in European equities, of which 9 points were hedged, so that net exposure was 55%.

EDF a annoncé le lancement d’un fonds de capital-risque doté d’une capacité d’investissement d’au moins 60 millions d’euros, dédié aux entreprises énergétiques spécialisées dans les « cleantechs » ou écotechnologies (technologies innovantes respectueuses de l’environnement). Ce fonds, baptisé Electranova Capital, a pour vocation « de financer en France et en Europe, dans le secteur de l'énergie, de jeunes entreprises innovantes à fort potentiel de croissance via des prises de participation minoritaires », explique un communiqué du géant français de l'électricité. EDF, qui s’est associé pour créer ce fonds à Idinvest Partners (ex-AGF Private Equity), a défini « le périmètre d’investissement du fonds et apportera son expertise » dans les écotechnologies. Electranova Capital sera géré « avec une autonomie conforme aux pratiques de la profession », précise-t-on de même source. Un vaste champ d’action s’ouvre à Electranova, dans un secteur des écotechnologies en pleine éclosion : EDF évoque, entre autres, « l’essor des réseaux électriques intelligents », « l’avènement des véhicules électriques », « l’efficacité énergétique » et les énergies renouvelables, ou encore « le stockage de l'électricité ». En ce qui concerne le financement, EDF abondera lui-même la nouvelle structure à hauteur de 30 millions d’euros et l’assureur allemand Allianz y contribuera pour 10 millions d’euros. Des discussions approfondies « sont en cours avec d’autres partenaires de renom souhaitant être associés à ce projet aux côtés d’EDF et la recherche d’investisseurs se poursuivra pendant toute l’année 2012 », indique encore le communiqué.

Robert Gravil, directeur du patrimoine de la Carac : « En 2011, la Carac a réalisé 306 millions d’euros de produits nets de placements financiers. Les investissements se sont essentiellement portés sur des actifs obligataires d'émetteurs privés de très haute qualité. Des plus-values ont été également réalisées sur la cession d’actifs investis en actions au cours du premier semestre 2011. En 2012, nous allons poursuivre les investissements sur les obligations et renforcer notre exposition sur les obligations convertibles orientées taux sur l’Europe et le monde. Nous allons également augmenter la part des actifs immobiliers ainsi que le private equity, notamment les énergies renouvelables, les infrastructures. Enfin, nous envisageons de diversifier les zones géographiques sur lesquelles nous sommes exposés avec les fonds actions monde, tout en recentrant le nombre de gérants auxquels nous faisons appel, trop nombreux à ce jour.

Selon le centre de recherches IEIF, le marché des OPCI a connu en 2011 une progression record de près de 12 milliards d’euros, soit un doublement des encours par rapport à 2010. Le total d’actifs bruts sous gestion avoisinait à la fin de l’année les 23 milliards. Cette croissance est due aux OPCI RFA qui représentent la quasi-intégralité des encours sous gestion, dont près de 95 % d’entre eux sont de type EL avec recours au levier financier.

L’indice NAHB/Wells Fargo du moral des promoteurs immobiliers a progressé à 29 points en mai, soit son niveau le plus élevé depuis mai 2007, alors que le consensus Reuters attendait un chiffre de 26. L’indice était de 24 en avril (chiffre révisé de 25), ce qui marquait son premier recul depuis sept mois.

Le rendement des obligations d’Etat japonaises (JGB) a poursuivi sa chute cette nuit pour tomber à 0,095%, soit son niveau le plus faible depuis le mois de juillet 2005. Le taux à 10 ans baissait légèrement à 0,84% et le taux à 20 ans à 1,625%, dans une courbe qui s’aplatit. «Les investisseurs cherchent à rester à l’écart des actifs risqués» commente un trader.

La chambre de compensation, dont le service CDSClear fonctionne actuellement dans l’Hexagone avec quatre membres (BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, Natixis, Société Générale), collabore désormais avec dix institutions supplémentaires (BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley et UBS) à l’international.

Les retraits d’argent dans les banques grecques ont atteint 700 millions d’euros hier, une situation qui devrait empirer dans les deux prochains jours, selon le président de la République Carolos Papoulias aux chefs des partis politiques grecs. «Lors d’un entretien téléphonique avec le gouverneur de la Banque de Grèce, Georges Provopoulos, ce dernier m’a informé que la situation des banques était très difficile» et «que le système bancaire était actuellement très faible» selon le président.

La croissance manufacturière dans l’Etat de New York a rebondi en mai, après le fort repli enregistré le mois précédent, selon l’indice Empire State de la Réserve fédérale de New York qui donne l’un des premiers aperçus de la situation mensuelle de l’industrie américaine. L’indice dit Empire State est ressorti à 17,09, contre 6,56 en avril. Le marché anticipait un indice en hausse à 8,50.

Une phase de discussions va s'engager, notamment à l'occasion d'un sommet informel le 23 mai, en vue du Conseil européen de juin

François Hollande et Angela Merkel sont convenus de présenter des propositions au Conseil européen de juin

La société d’investissement confirme son soutien au chimiste de spécialités pour la construction en lui apportant 21 millions d’euros de fonds propres

Pour stopper l’érosion des investissements étrangers, Pékin envisage d’élargir le programme QFII aux fonds de pension et aux fonds d'arbitrage

Lundi et mardi, députés et ministres ont successivement arrêté leurs positions respectives qu’ils doivent désormais réconcilier

La zone euro, dont la croissance a été nulle au premier trimestre, échappe à une récession technique grâce à la locomotive allemande

Près de 44 milliards d'euros, essentiellement de RMBS, ont été émis depuis le début de l'année contre 84 milliards d'euros il y a un an