Sous réserve de son approbation par l’assemblée générale, la mutuelle d'épargne Carac affiche pour 2011 un résultat net de 70,9 millions d’euros contre 28,8 millions d’euros pour 2010 et 19,6 millions en 2009. Selon un communiqué, cette performance s’explique «par la bonne gestion financière de la Carac, mais aussi par le changement de régime fiscal, qui a conduit à un remboursement de l’impôt 2010".Les encours en valeurs de marché ressortaient fin décembre à 8,5 milliards d’euros contre 7,8 milliards fin 2010 et 7,8 milliards fin 2009 tandis que les produits nets des placements financiers sont ressortis pour l’an dernier à 306,2 millions d’euros contre 290 millions pour 2010 et 287,6 millions pour 2009.Après avoir augmenté de 13,5 % en 2010 à 472,8 millions d’euros en 2010, le montant des cotisations brutes est ressorti pour 2011 en progression de 5,09 % à 448,7 millions d’euros.Quant au stock de la provision pour la participation aux excédents, il s’est accru à 177,4 millions pour 2011 contre 167,7 millions fin 2010 et 168,2 millions fin 2009.
Capula Investment Management cherche à étendre ses activités à l’Asie en s’implantant à Hong Kong, selon des sources proches du dossiers citées par Hedgeweek. Le hedge fund basé à Londres gère actuellement 13 milliards de dollars.
Newsmanagers a rencontré le tout nouveau patron de la distribution retail de BlackRock, quelques semaines après le lancement par le CEO Laurence D. Fink de l'initiative "Investing for a New World" par laquelle le gestionnaire américain veut inciter "les gérants, les entreprises et les pouvoirs publics à transformer les épargnants sur le court terme en investisseurs de long terme".
Henderson Property, le pôle immobilier d’Henderson Global Investors gérant plus de 16 milliards d’euros d’encours, a signé un accord de joint-venture en Italie avec la société locale Investire Immobiliare SGR, du groupe Banca Finnat Euramerica, pour le développement et la distribution de fonds.Le partenariat donnera naissance à deux catégories de fonds. D’une part des fonds immobiliers italiens pour des investisseurs italiens principalement investi directement ou indirectement dans l’ommobilier international. Ils seront créés et gérés par Investire Immobiliare avec l’aider d’Henderson SGR comme conseiller.D’autre part, des fonds immobiliers conçus pour des investisseurs internationaux, principalement investis directement ou indirectement dans l’immobilier italien, qui seront créés et gérés par Henderson SGR avec l’aide d’Investire Immobiliare en tant que conseiller. Henderson renforce ainsi son rôle en Italie. Le lancement du premier fonds (Core + fonds paneuropéen) est prévu avant l’été 2012.
Les Echos reports that Jérôme Kerviel on Friday filed a lawsuit against Société Générale, his former employer, for “fraudulent judgement.” The bank has announced that it will be suing the former trader for “calumnious denunciation,” and has also announced that it “will be making its arguments as part of the appeals process,” which will take place from 4 to 28 June. Kerviel accuses Société Générale of concealing form a Paris correctional court that through a fiscal disposition it had been able to recuperate EUR1.7bn of the EUR4.9bn that it claims to have lost due to fraud.
The US financial industry watchdog authority, FINRA, will soon take a position on the use of inverse and leveraged ETFs, the news agency Reuters reports. “We don’t have a problem with these products. We simply want to make sure that the vendors of these products understand them well,” the head of deontology, Bardley Bennett, tells the news agency. According to statistics from Lipper, inverse and leveraged ETFs total USD29.3bn in assets, 2.55% of total ETF assets in the United States of about USD1.15trn.
The investment firm Renaissance on 1 March launched a hedge fund with USD3.5bn in assets under management, mostly funds invested by employees of the firm, but also capital from outside clients, the news agency Bloomberg reports. The Renaissance Institutional Diversified Alpha Fund (RIDA) is the first fund to be launched by Renaissance in five years. The new vehicle gained 3% in March and the first 13 days of April. The fund, which initially invests in equities listed on the US stock markets and on futures contracts and forwards, will not have a benchmark index. Renaissance also manages the Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (RIEF), whose assets under management total USD7bn, and the Renaissance Institutional Futures Fund (USD4bn), which is reserved for employees of the firm. The RIEF fund has gained 11% since the beginning of the year, following 35% gains in 2011.
In February 2012, the amount outstanding of shares/units issued by euro area investment funds other than money market funds was EUR137 billion higher than in January 2012. This increase was due mainly to increases in share/unit prices, according to statistics from the European Central Bank. The amount outstanding of shares/units issued by euro area investment funds other than money market funds increased to EUR6,021 billion in February 2012, from EUR5,884 billion in January 2012. Over the same period, the amount outstanding of shares/units issued by euro area money market funds decreased to EUR924 billion, from EUR938 billion. Net subscriptions to in shares/units issued by euro area investment funds other than money market funds amounted to EUR25 billion in February 2012, while transactions in shares/units issued by money market funds amounted to EUR3 billion. The annual growth rate of shares/units issued by euro area investment funds other than money market funds, calculated on the basis of transactions, was 0.7% in February 2012, while the annual growth rate of shares/units issued by euro area money market funds was -0.7%. In terms of the breakdown by investment policy, the annual growth rate of shares/units issued by bond funds was 1.6% in February 2012. Transactions in shares/units issued by bond funds amounted to EUR8 billion in February 2012. The annual growth rate and transactions of equity funds were -1.5% and EUR3 billion respectively. For mixed funds, the corresponding figures were 0.5% and EUR10 billion.
Credit Suisse has announced the appointment of Chwe Soon Gek as head of strategy and economic research at the private bank for the Asia-Pacific region. Chew previously worked at Clariden Leu.
Henderson Global Investors’ EUR16 billion property business and Investire Immobiliare SGR, the property funds asset management company belonging to Banca Finnat Euroamerica Group, have signed a joint venture agreement for the development and distribution of property funds. The partnership will focus on funds structured around two different premises: Italian real estate funds targeting Italian investors, predominantly investing directly or indirectly in international real estate which will be set up and managed by Investire Immobiliare with the assistance of Henderson SGR as Fund adviser for the identification of investment opportunities and management of assets directly or indirectly owned;Real estate funds developed for international investors, predominantly investing directly or indirectly in Italian real estate, which will be set up and managed by Henderson SGR with the assistance of Investire Immobiliare as Fund adviser for the identification of investment opportunities and management of assets directly or indirectly owned. Henderson Property can boost its strategic positioning within the Italian market, which it targets through its dedicated Milan-based team, with an increased Italian product offering for its extensive network of international institutional clients. It is hoped that the platform will launch its first Fund – a Core + pan-European fund – before Summer 2012.
BNP Paribas Securities Services (BNP Paribas) has added Hong Kong to its cross-border fund distribution network, enabling it to support non-Hong Kong-domiciled fund managers’ distribution requirements in the region. The move simplifies and optimises global fund managers’ access to Hong Kong by making it easier for them to register funds for distribution and interact with their local institutional investor clients more efficiently. Lawrence Au, head of Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Securities Services said, “(...) more than 75% of the world’s top 50 managers have established distribution channels in Hong Kong in the past decade.”
Capula Investment Management is seeking to extend its activities to Asia, with the opening of Hong Kong offices, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Hedgeweek. The London-based hedge fund currently manages USD13bn.
The Financial Services Authority has lost a lawsuit against John Pottage, former CEO of the wealth management division of UBS in the United Kingdom, the Financial Times reports. The regulator had been seeking a fine of GBP100,000 for inappropriate conduct in a series of compliance issues which did not personally implicate Pottage. It was the first time that the FSA had sought a penalty against a director for inadequate oversight, rather than for direct responsibility for wrongdoing.
The Lyxor Hedge Fund index gained 1.5% in first quarter 2012. This result conceals significant disparities between strategies. The Lyxor L/S Equity Long Bias index has gained 6.92%, while the Lyxor L/S Equity Short Bias Index lost 7.17%. In the month of March alone, the general index lost 0.5%.
«Investors are aware that the media sector faces specific risks particularly relating to trust and ethics which can have very significant financial impacts, as seen in the UK’s phone hacking case,» said François Passant, executive director of Eurosif, in a statement announcing the launch of the Eurosif Media Sector Report 2012. «In our report we recommend that publishers are more transparent about the reliability of their sources, adhere to accepted ethical standards and distinguish more clearly, fact and opinion. By enhancing trust, publications grow their audience and advertising revenue, which appeals to investors,» he adds.The report notes that the variety of activities of the media sector limits investor’s ability to analyse the investment implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues for the sector as a whole. But it identifies seven important points for investors : trust, freedom of expression, press ethics, security and privacy, environmental impact, copyright and content diversification.
The Citi group has been awarded a mandate by Guggenheim Investment Advisory, a division of Guggenheim Partners, to provide middle office, administration and custody services for the hedge fund platform of Guggenheim, Hedgeweek reports.
The Study Center for Corporate Social Responsibility (ORSE) has published a practical guide laying out the interactions between operational risks in the Basel II referential and environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks under ISO 26000 standards, and their embodiment in the form of indicators, by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the European federation of financial analyst associations (EFFAS). Daniel Lebègue, chairman of ORSE, says “this guide enriches in two ways. Firstly, it adds to referentials for direction of risks, by throwing additional light via the prisim of ESG. It also provides an addition to the extra-financial analysis approach, and extra-financial ratings agencies which do not systematically cover questions related to operational risks.”
Pension funds are increasingly delegating their decision-making, according to the 2012 governance survey undertaken by Russell Investments, which considered the points of view of 300 UK defined benefit pension schemes. The trend reflects more specialist roles and the additional skill sets required to manage portfolios dynamically. It highlights a busy Trustee agenda and the need for an increasing fiduciary reach. Governance extends beyond strategy and hiring managers, to aspects of implementation such as foreign exchange exposure, and derivatives and overlay management. The research also shows opportunity for further improvement in the extend of decision-making delegation to investment committees and levels of execution. Time spent on investment issues also comes under scrutiny. The largest schemes spend on average 25.7 hours a year on investment issues, while this time is reduced to 7.5 hours per year for smaller funds (less than GBP100m in assets). And only around a quarter of investment committees actually «execute», i.e. review investments or make specific investment decisions.
Assets under administration by the British firm Hargreaves Lansdown have increased 11% in first quarter 2012 compared with the end of 2011 to a total of GBP26bn as of the end of March. This development is due to a net inflows of GBP974m, and a positive market effect totalling GBP1.6bn.
Newsmanagers has met the brand new head of retail distribution at BlackRock, a few weeks after the firm's CEO, Laurence D. Fink, kicked off the “Investing for a New World” initiative, with which the US asset management firm hopes to incite “managers, businesses and public powers to transform short-term savers into long-term investors.”
DWS Investments on 20 April announced that it is releasing the Winton Global Equity fund, a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav DWS Concept, in Germany. The product will apply the scientific and risk management approach of Winton Capital Management (USD28bn in assets as of the end of January), with a 100% long exposure an a portfolio of about 1,000 holdings from the universes of the S&P 1200 and the MSCI World. The objective is to generate outperformance of 200-300 basis points compared with the MSCI World, after fees, in US dollars. To summarize the concept of the fund, DWS explains that “Winton does not believe in market efficiency.” Characteristics Name: DWS Concept Winton Global Equity ISIN code: LU0708390678 Front-end fee: 0% Management company fee: 0.7%
Le SIPTU, le premier syndicat irlandais, a indiqué vendredi qu’il n’appellerait pas à voter pour le nouveau pacte budgétaire européen, que Dublin soumettra à référendum le 31 mai, s’il n’inclut pas la mention d’un soutien à la croissance. Selon un sondage publié la semaine dernière, le pacte budgétaire est actuellement soutenu par une courte majorité d’Irlandais, mais 40% des personnes sondées restent indécises.
L’Europe n’a pas encore surmonté la crise de la dette mais les dernières décisions prises par la zone euro la placent sur le bon chemin, a déclaré le ministre allemand de l’Economie Wolfgang Schäuble. Mais selon lui, il lui faudra encore du temps pour que la zone euro regagne la confiance des marchés. Evoquant le cas de l’Espagne, il a estimé que les réformes déployées étaient vraiment impressionnantes.
La Commission des infractions fiscales (CIF), une instance du fisc, a informé mi-avril 14 dirigeants et anciens dirigeants de Wendel de l’éventualité de poursuites pénales pour fraude fiscale, a rapporté le Journal du Dimanche. C’est le prochain ministre du Budget qui devra prendre la décision formelle de dépôt d’une plainte pénale. Un redressement fiscal de 240 millions d’euros touche déjà ces 14 personnes.
Le gouvernement espagnol a présenté vendredi de nouvelles réformes dans les secteurs de la santé et de l'éducation destinées à réduire les dépenses publiques de dix milliards d’euros par an, au moment où le président du gouvernement Mariano Rajoy cherche à rassurer les marchés. Les onze régions dirigées par le Parti populaire (PP) de Mariano Rajoy ont déjà signé les mesures.
Le second tour de l'élection présidentielle française opposera le 6 mai le socialiste François Hollande, arrivé en tête du premier tour avec 28,63% des suffrages exprimés, au président actuel, Nicolas Sarkozy, qui a rassemblé 27,08% des votes, selon les chiffres du ministère de l’Intérieur. Fait marquant du scrutin : la candidate du Front national, Marine Le Pen, signe le meilleur score présidentiel de l’extrême droite sous la Ve République avec 18,01% des suffrages. Pour le second tour de l'élection présidentielle, le candidat socialiste remporterait une victoire nette sur son adversaire, d’après les résultats de trois sondages réalisés hier après l’annonce des premières estimations des résultats. François Hollande est en effet crédité de 54,5% par l’Ifop, de 54,0% par Ipsos, et de 56,0% par CSA. Nicolas Sarkozy a appelé hier à trois débats avec son adversaire entre les deux tours.
L’indice PMI préliminaire calculé par HSBC traduisant l’activité du secteur manufacturier en Chine s’est légèrement redressé au mois d’avril mais reste en zone de contraction pour le sixième mois consécutif, à 49,1 points après 48,3 points en mars. «Le ralentissement économique en Chine s’est stabilisé» estime Citigroup qui table sur une croissance de 7,9% au deuxième trimestre.