Primonial et Suravenir ont annoncé s'être associés pour le lancement de Sérénipierre, un contrat d’assurance vie multisupports qui a la particularité de proposer un fonds en euros Sécurité Pierre Euro, essentiellement investi en immobilier (biens en direct et supports immobiliers collectifs OPCI et SCPI).Le contrat offre également une gamme d’unités de compte : Primonial Capimmo de Primonial REIM (SCI en immobilier d’entreprise), les fonds de fonds de Primonial Asset Management, ainsi qu’une cinquantaine de fonds en architecture ouverte (Carmignac, Fédéral Finance, Franklin Templeton IM, HSBC Global AM, JP Morgan AM, La Financière de l’Echiquier, Rothschild & Cie Gestion…).

Le iShares Dax est devenu le fonds distribué en Allemagne qui affiche l’encours le plus élevé, souligne le Financial Times Deutschland. Il a en effet collecté 8 milliards d’euros en 2011 alors que tous les autres fonds vendus dans le pays subissaient des sorties nettes de presque 25 milliards. Et, grâce au dernier rally boursier, il atteint désormais un encours de 12,3 milliards d’euros, détrônant ainsi le plus gros fonds immobilier offert au public, le Dekafonds, qui affichait 11,5 milliards d’euros fin 2011

Bien que son bénéfice d’exploitation se soit accru de 11 % à 52,3 millions d’euros, le prestataire allemand de services financiers MLP affiche pour 2011 un bénéfice net de 12,5 millions d’euros (- 63 %) en raison d'éléments exceptionnels (programme d’investissements et de rationalisation).Le chiffre d’affaires du pôle gestion de fortune (MLP et Feri) a baissé de 0,3 million à 78,5 millions d’euros en raison des turbulences sur les marchés financiers qui ont incité les particuliers à se maintenir sur le banc de touche. Le chiffre d’affaires total de MLP s’est accru de 6 % à 526,7 millions d’euros.A noter enfin que le nombre de conseillers à fin 2011 s’est situé à 2.132 contre 2.273 un an plus tôt. Le nombre de clients, pour sa part, s’est accru à 794.500 contre 774.500 douze mois auparavant.

Depuis le 29 février, trois ETF actions de State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) sont admis à la négociation sur le segment XTF de la plate-forme électronique Xetra (Deutsche Börse). Cela porte à 939 le nombre de fonds indiciels cotés sur XTF.CaractéristiquesDénomination : SPDR S&P Euro Dividend Aristocrats ETFCode Isin : IE00B5M1WJ87Indice de référence : S&P Euro High Yield Dividend Aristocrats IndexTFE : 0,30 %Dénomination : SPDR S&P UK Dividend Aristocrats ETFCode Isin : IE00B6S2Z822Indice de référence : S&P UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats IndexTFE : 0,30 %Dénomination : SPDR FTSE UK All Share ETFCode Isin : IE00B7452L46Indice de référence : FTSE All-Share IndexTFE : 0,30 %

Le secteur des hegde funds a subi une décollecte de plus de 15 milliards de dollars en janvier, la plus importante depuis janvier 2009 où les rachats avaient culminé à 17,7 milliards de dollars, rapporte TrimTabs dans son bulletin hebdomadaire.TrimTabs relève que même si les hedge funds ont dégagé une performance de 3,1% en janvier, ils ont malgré tout sous-performé le S&P 500 de 110 points de base.

Selon L’Agefi, l'équipe de direction de Natixis Capital Partners vient de boucler sous la forme d’un management buy-out la reprise de la société, qui opère désormais sous le nom de Captiva Capital Management. La société d’investissement immobilier s’attend à investir plus de 200 millions d’euros en 2012, précise le quotidien.

En 2001, Swiss Life France a résisté malgré un marché de l’assurance vie chahuté. «Notre collecte nette, qui avoisine 480 millions d’euros, est restée positive quasiment sur l’ensemble des mois de l’année, même si le second semestre s’est révélé plus faible que le premier», a indiqué à L’Agefi Eric Le Baron, directeur général de Swiss Life Assurance et Patrimoine. Soit un recul des souscriptions de 44% sur un an, contre une baisse de 85% pour le secteur, selon les données de la Fédération française des sociétés d’assurance. La part des produits en unités de compte est passée en un an «de 31% à 40,6%, soit le double du marché», a-t-il ajouté.

A compter du 1er mars, Piet Molenaar, qui était depuis janvier 2011 le CIO du fonds de pension de Stork, rejoint Allianz Global Investors (AGI) comme directeur de la gestion fiduciaire pour le Benelux et l’Europe du Nord. Il sera chargé de développer des solutions complètes pour les fonds de pension et caisses de retraite, d’intensifier les relations avec la clientèle existante et de recruter de nouveaux clients. Il sera basé à Rotterdam et subordonné à Andrew Hilka, head of pensions d’AGI.L’encours de la gestion fiduciaire d’AGI représente 13 milliards d’euros

Le britannique Henderson Global Investors a annoncé le 29 février avoir dégagé l’an dernier un bénéfice net de 33,9 millions de livres contre 77,4 millions de livres en 2010. Le résultat avant impôts affiche toutefois une progression de 58% d’une année sur l’autre à 159,2 millions de livres en raison pour l’essentiel de l’acquisition de Gartmore, dont l’acquisition a été bouclée le 4 avril 2011 pour un montant de 365,4 millions de livres, et qui a contribué pour neuf mois au résultat de l’exercice.Les actifs sous gestion affichaient au 31 décembre 2011 une progression de 4% à 64,3 milliards de livres. L’acquisition de Gartmore a contribué à un apport d’actifs sous gestion de 15,7 milliards de livres, qui a toutefois été en partie effacé par des désinvestissements. L’année s’est terminée sur une décollecte nette, surtout au second semestre, de 6,4 milliards de livres, dont 4,7 milliards de livres du côté de la clientèle institutionnelle. L’impact négatif des marchés et des devises a représenté au total 2,7 milliards de livres

Jusqu’au 23 mars, LCL lance deux nouveaux fonds à formule dédiés aux particuliers : LCL Triple Horizon (Mars 2012), éligible au compte-titres et au PEA, et LCL Triple Horizon AV (Mars 2012), éligible à l’assurance-vie. D’une durée de trois ans, ces fonds offrent une sortie potentielle par anticipation chaque année en fonction du comportement de l’indice Euro Stoxx 50 (hors dividendes). Si son évolution est positive ou nulle par rapport à son niveau initial, les fonds offrent un gain fixe de 7% à 1 an (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 7%) ou 14% à 2 ans (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 6,77 %) ou 21% à 3 ans (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 6,56 %). En cas de hausse de l’indice de plus de 7%, ce gain est majoré, il passe respectivement à 10 % (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 10 %), 20 % (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 9,54 %) et 30 % (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 9,14 %). Le capital n’est pas garanti à l'échéance mais protégé jusqu’à une baisse de l’indice de 50% à l’échéance. Au-delà d’une baisse de l’indice de plus de 50% à l’échéance, le capital n’est plus garanti et le porteur supporte une perte en capital équivalente à l’intégralité de la baisse de l’Euro Stoxx 50. Caractéristiques : Code Isin LCL Triple Horizon (Mars 2012) : FR0011162452 / LCL Triple Horizon AV (Mars 2012) : FR0011162445 Frais courants 3% TTC maximum l’an. Frais d’entrée 2,5% maximum pour les souscriptions centralisées jusqu’au 23/03/2012. Pour le fonds éligible à l’assurance vie, les frais sur versements ou d’arbitrages sont ceux applicables aux contrats d’assurance vie dans lesquels l’opération est réalisée Frais de sortie : 0% à l’échéance1% au cours des fenêtres de sorties trimestrielles 3% aux autres dates (2% aux autres dates pour le fonds eligible à l’assurance vie) Frais de tenue de compte 20€ l’an et par compte Valeur liquidative de la part : 100 euros Minimum à la souscription : Minimum de la première souscription

L’Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) tisse sa toile. La banque spécialisée dans le private banking vient d’annoncer l’acquisition de Nexar Capital Group (Nexar), société de gestion française dédiée à la gestion alternative créée par Arié Assayag (CEO), Eric Attias (CIO) et Bernard Kalfon (responsable des stratégies de volatilité). Cette transaction, dont les conditions n’ont pas été divulguées et qui reste subordonnée aux approbations réglementaires, va permettre à l’ensemble UBP-Nexar de «bénéficier d’une plateforme élargie, de capacités de distribution globales et de solutions innovantes en matière de placement alternatif», précise un communiqué. En pratique, en disposant de bureaux à Genève, New York, Londres, Paris, Jersey, Tokyo et Hong Kong, le groupe d’investissement alternatif combiné va former une division à part entière au sein de l'établissement qui rapportera directement à Guy de Picciotto, président du comité exécutif de la banque.Pour justifier l’opération, l’UBP s’est dit convaincue du rôle déterminant des fonds de hedge funds pour répondre aux attentes spécifiques de ses clients, via des portefeuilles combinant une gestion active, un contrôle du risque et des services interactifs auprès des investisseurs. La banque souhaite de fait offrir aux investisseurs internationaux des solutions de gestion et des services de conseil en placement.L’UBP qui est dotée d’une gamme diversifiée de services de conseil en hedge funds et gère actuellement plusieurs fonds, ainsi que des mandats personnalisés, dispose de 60,7 milliards de francs suisse d’actifs sous gestion à fin juin 2011. L’an dernier, la banque a racheté la banque privée suisse ABN AMRO Bank (Switzerland) AG qui lui a permis d’accroître sa masse sous gestion de 20%. De son côté, Nexar Capital a acquis en mai 2011 la société de gestion alternative Ermitage Group six mois après le rachat d’ Allianz Alternative Asset Management (AAAm). Nexar, visait alors autour de 10 milliards d’euros d’encours d’ici à 2015, grâce à une combinaison de croissance organique et de rachats opportunistes...

On 29 February, KanAm Grund KAG announced that the open-ended real estate fund KanAm grundinvest (DE 0006791809) will be liquidated by 31 December 2016, and that shareholders will be reimbursed, as it is now apparent that redemptions, which have been frozen for nearly two years, will not be reopened as planned on 6 May 2012, due to a lack of sufficient liquidity to honour expected redemption demands.Since redemptions were suspended in May 2010, the Munich-based asset management firm has sold about 30% of its portfolio in order to rise liquidity, generating about EUR1bn.Shareholders will receive an initial payment in the next few weeks of EUR200m. Subsequent distributions will be made on a half-yearly basis, depending on revenues from sales of properties.Currently, the portfolio still includes 51 properties, with a market value of about EUR6.3bn. The fund has posted returns of 64% for the ten years to the end of January 2012.In September 2010, KanAm became the first German asset management firm to decide to liquidate an open-ended real estate fund, the KanAm US grundinvest. The fund will be liquidated by 31 March 2012.

The share price performance of locally-listed EM affiliates of multinationals is vastly better than that of both emerging and developed markets broadly as well as their own local markets, according to a study carried out by Yale University’s Martijn Cremers and commissioned by Aberdeen Asset Management. There are 92 such companies across the emerging world, including Unilever PLC, for example, that has listed affiliates in India, Indonesia and Pakistan in which it has stakes of 37%, 85% and 75% respectively. Over the thirteen years from June 1998 to June 2011, a period chosen for its balance between sample size and history length, the listed affiliates returned 2,229%. This compared with total returns of parents, local markets and parents’ markets of 407%, 1,157% and 147% respectively. This pattern of outperformance was consistent across each region too. Affiliates in LatAm, EMEA and Asia outperformed their local indices by 41%, 134% and 50% respectively. “The two main reasons for this outperformance are improved corporate governance and a stabilizing role of the parent companies. Both seem critical specifically in financial crises. These give affiliates a clear comparative advantage over their local competitors that should endure in the foreseeable future,” explains Martijn Cremers, associate professor of finance at Yale School of Management. These findings contradict the so-called perceived wisdom of those who have argued the most effective way for investors to obtain exposure to emerging markets is through developed market companies.

The platform from Merrill Lynch has listed a UCITS-compliant version of the Currency Program from the US asset management firm QFS Asset and Risk Management. The product is the QFS Currency UCITS Fund, which invests with a quantitative process in bonds and currencies on the basis of fundamental data, with the objective of profiting from inefficiencies in conjunctural cycles.CharacteristicsName: QFS Currency UCIFS FundISIN code: LU0690450225Management commission: 2%Performance commission: 20% with high watermarkMinimal subscription: EUR1m

The Danish EU presidency has proposed a compromise which would allow national regulators to set the level of additional tier 1 equity required for systemic banks, Les Echos reports. Under the proposals, which are a part of the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board and the Basel Committee, national supervisors would be allowed to increase the base owners’ equity ratio, which has been set at a minimum of 7% under the new Basel III regulations. This compromise, achieved at the initiative of the Danish presidency, may also include an easing of short-term liquidity requirements for banks.

D’après l’Agefi, les 19 Banques Populaires et les 17 Caisses d’Epargne devront investir au total 2 milliards d’euros en titres super subordonnés (TSS) au profit de BPCE afin que cette dernière puisse se conformer aux exigences de l’ACP. Les TSS, considérés comme du tier one mais pas comme du core tier one, porteront une rémunération avantageuse, autour de 11%. Ils auraient la faculté d'être convertis en actions ajoute l’Agefi. L’organe central se tourne donc à son tour vers ses banques régionales. Celles-ci verront peut-être dans les TSS un investissement plus rentable que leurs actions BPCE, qui ne versent pas de dividende. Pire, de sources concordantes, la valeur de ces actions BPCE va être dépréciée dans les comptes à fin 2011. A l'échelle des 17 Caisses d’Epargne, l’ardoise cumulée des dépréciations approche 1,1 milliard, avec pour certaines d’entre elles un résultat net quasiment réduit à zéro.

The Swiss wealth management specialist EFG International on 29 February announced at a presentation of its annual results that it is in negotiations with potential acquirers for all or part of its private banking activities in France, as part of an initiative to refocus its private banking activities. In France, the private management activities of EFG International which will be affected belong to EFG Gestion Privée, the former wealtth management arm of the asset management boutique Sycomore, acquired in 2008. EFG International is also present in France with EFG Asset Management, which has recently announced that it is releasing four sub-funds of its Irish Sicav New Capital in France (see Newsmanagers of 24 January 2012). EFG International is also active in France in the structured products segment. The group has reported a net loss for the 2011 fiscal year of CHF294.1m, due to restructuring costs (CHF46m) and amortisations (CHF223.8m), compared with losses of CHF721.8m in 2010. Assets under management that generate revenues as of the end of 2011 totalled CHF78.4bn, compared with CHF84.8bn as of the end of 2010. Net inflows to ongoing activities totalled CHF0.6bn. Taking into account discontinued activities, EFG has reported capital outflows totalling CHF1.2bn.

The British asset management firm Henderson Global Investors on 29 February announced that it has earned a net profit of GBP33.9m, compared with GBP77.4m in 2010. Pre-tax profits are nonetheless up 58% year on year, to GBP159.2m, largely due to the acquisition of Gartmore, which was completed on 4 April 2011 for a total of GBP365.4m, and which thus contributed to nine months of results for the fiscal year. Assets under management as of 31 December 2011 were up 4% to GBP64.3bn. The acquisition of Gartmore brought in assets under management of GBP15.7bn, which were nonetheless partially offset by divestments. The year ended with net outflows, largely in second half, of GBP6.4bn, of which GBP4.7bn were to institutional clients. The negative impact of markets and forex totalled GBP2.7bn.

With the recruitment of Robert Kellermann, head of consultant relations at Pioneer Investments in Munich, Feri Trust is planning to create a new position for him as director of institutional clients for Germany. He will be in charge of cultivating relationships with existing clients and recruiting new clients.Jürgen Obermann, a board member at Feri Trust, points out that with the strategic reorientation of the Feri group, advisory activities have been separated from asset management, now a part of Feri Trust, which offers multi-asset class solutions as well as private equity, hedge funds, real estate and risk overlay management.With its parent company, MLP, the Feri group currently has over EUR20bn in assets under management or under advisory mandates.

The Solvency II regulations will have a decisive influence on asset allocations by insurers, and BlackRock has tasked the Economist Intelligence Unit with undertaking a survey of 223 European insurance firms. The results are counterintuitive: 32% of respondents are planning to incresae their allocation to hedge funds, and 32% are also planning to increase their exposure to private equity, despite heavier regulatory ratios. This contradiction is due to the fact that insurers need revenues to keep up with their liabilities, and alternative products are more liable to provide these steady revenues.33% of insurers are also planning to increase their investments in corporate bonds. In terms of government bonds, about one quarter of companies are planning to increase their exposure, while another quarter are planning to reduce it.

From 1 March, Piet Molenaar, who had since January 2011 been CIO of the Stork pension fund, will be joining Allianz Global Investors (AGI), as head of fiduciary management for Benelux and Northern Europe. He will be in charge of developing complete solutions for pension and retirement funds, developing relationships with existing clients, and recruiting new clients. He will be based in Rotterdam, and will report to Andrew Hilka, head of pensions at AGI.Assets in fiduciary management at AGI total EUR13bn.

The hedge fund sector underwent outflows of more than USD15bn in January, the largest since January 2009, when redemptions peaked at USD17.7bn, TrimTabs reports in its weekly bulletin.TrimTabs reports that although hedge funds earned 3.1% in January, they nonetheless underperformed the S&P 500 by 110 basis points.

Between 8% and 14% of a Swiss bank’s value depends on banking confidentiality, Agefi Switzerland reports. These are the findings of a university study published in the March issue of Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, covering a limited sample of four establishments (UBS, Credit Suisse, Julius Baer and Vontobel). Another finding is that banking confidentiality is mostly not appreciated for taxation reasons, but rather in order to protect individual privacy. The authors, one bank director and two professors in Zurich, find that the value of a management bank may be measured in the absence of banking confidentiality, and the value of confidentiality may be added to this, weighted according to the likelihood that confidentiality will be preserved.

The local Chinese press reports that the Chinese government has in principle authorised foreign hedge funds to raise capital within continental China. The funds will be required to be registered in Shanghai, but will be required to invest outside China, Z-Ben Advisors reports.Asset management firms involved in this activity will be required to apply for a license, and a quota from the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

On 24 February, the CNMV issued a license for a Spanish-registered hedge fund launched on 2 February by March Gestión de Fondos. The March Patrimonio Renta invests in sight deposits or bonds maturing in less than 1 year, issued by credit institutions in the EU or OECD countries, public and private money market instruments, so long as they are liquid, and in public and private bonds. Forex risks may not exceed 100% of exposure, and the management team is not allowed to invest in other funds. The maximal exposure of the fund to underlying assets may not exceed 200% of assets, and use of credit is limited to 10%.The March Patrimonio Renta, which is benchmarked against the Euribor 12 month plus 50 basis points, offers daily liquidity.CharacteristicsName: March Patrimonio Renta, FILISIN code: ES0160922003Management commission: 0.5%Depository banking commission: 0.05%

According to estimates by VDOS, Spanish funds as of 24 February had assets of slightly over EUR136bn, due to positive performance effects of EUR971m, and net redemptions of EUR504m since the beginning of the month, Funds People reports.

Proposals by the French socialist party to include life insurance on the income tax scales has provoked questions from insurers, Les Echos reports. Insurers are worried that the move would drive French clients away from long-term savings. “One might worry that inflows might not keep up with costs in the next two to three months. Clients are already in a very cautious attitude at the moment, and they are preferring more precautionary types of savings,” says Bernard Le Bras, executive director of Suravenir (Crédit Mutuel Arkea).

Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has told a Congressional committee that the Volcker rule, part of the larger Dodd-Frank reforms, will probably not come into force at the beginning of July as planned, as a market consultation which ran until the end of February has received about 17,000 comments which will need to be analysed, the Financial Times reports. The Dodd-Frank law gives regulators an option to delay the application of the bill for up to two years.

Since 29 February, three equity ETFs from State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) have been available for trading on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform from Deutsche Börse. The new funds bring the total number of index-based funds listed on XTF to 939.CharacteristicsName: SPDR S&P Euro Dividend Aristocrats ETFISIN code: IE00B5M1WJ87Benchmark index: S&P Euro High Yield Dividend Aristocrats IndexTER: 0.30%Name: SPDR S&P UK Dividend Aristocrats ETFISIN code: IE00B6S2Z822Benchmark index: S&P UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats IndexTER: 0.30%Name: SPDR FTSE UK All Share ETFISIN code: IE00B7452L46Benchmark index: FTSE All-Share IndexTER: 0.30%

Although its operating profits rose 11% to EUR52.3m, the German financial services provider MLP has posted net profits for 2011 of EUR12.5m (-63%) due to exceptional elements (investment programmes and rationalisation).Earnings at the wealth management business unit (MLP and Feri) were down by EUR0.3m to EUR78.5m, due to turbulence on the financial markets which drove retail investors to stay on the benches. Total earnings at MLP rose 6% to EUR526.7m.The number of advisers as of the end of 2011 was 2,132, down from 2,273 one year earlier. The number of clients, meanwhile, rose to 794,500 from 774,500 twelve months previously.