Axa Wealth se propose de lancer une plateforme d’investissement en direct avec un groupe de sociétés de conseillers financiers indépendants au cours des six prochains mois, rapporte Fund Web. La plateforme, dont le lancement répond à une demande des conseillers financiers, proposera environ 130 fonds sélectionnés par Architas (groupe AXA).

Hedgeanalytics, a spinoff of the High School for management and law in Zurich, has published its first ratings for funds of hedge funds, Agefi Switzerland reports. The ratings are based on a Total Risk Rating system for rating systemic risks, whose primary emphasis is on operational risks, and then on market, credit and liquidity risks taken into account by the evaluation. The ratings are based on due diligence based on the most recent scientific findings, which will help to create a basis for comparison of hedge funds.

The financial market data provider Interactive Data Corporation has formed a partnership with the Swiss firm RepRisk, a specialist in business intelligence in environmental, social and governance (ESG) areas, in order to extend the range of content available via Prime Terminal Solution, the custom offering from Interactive Data for desktop computers.Quantitative data from RepRisk on reputation risk indicators for various businesses and sectors, with current and historical data, will be available via PrimeTerminal. The solution will allow finance professionals (fund managers, advisors at private banks) to follow the ESG performance of companies worldwide, and to select the ones for their portfolios which perform best, and which demonstrate that they effectively comply with the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI). Users will also have access to critical reviews published by a wise range of diverse stakeholders (media, NGOs, government agencies, community groups, universities, think tanks and social media).

According to the most recent TNS Infratest survey, undertaken in September 2011, covering a sample of 1,000 people, 59% of German investors are invested primarily in equity funds, with 41% (up from 34% in 2011) holding shares in bond funds, and 27% (compared with 18%) invested in shares in money market funds. One German in five is invested in commodity funds, compared with one in six at the time of the previous survey, published last year, Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM), which commissioned the survey, reports.For equity funds, the percentage placed by investors in European equity products has increased to 86% (from 71%), while 24% hold shares in funds of equities from industrialised countries, and 8% hold shares in emerging markets equity funds.These data should, however, be regarded in relative terms, as only 17% of Germans hold shares in investment funds, as in the two previous years.

Société Générale Securities Services has appointed Dirk Werthmann as head of client relations for Germany. He had previously worked at the BNY Mellon group. In 2010, he become head of sales to non-financial instutitons at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing GmbH, and since 2011 has served in the same role at BNY Mellon SA/NV in Frankfurt. At SGSS, where he reports to Jochen Meyers, head of sales and client relations for Germany and Austria, Werthmann will be in charge of developing relations with major clients of SGSS Deutschland in Germany and Austria, and will assist major international institutional clients (asset management firms, insurers, corporates and institutional investors).

Petercam is working to develop a high yield bond strategy that would invest in government bonds denominated in local currencies from emerging markets, which would meet socially responsible investment (SRI) criteria. The fund would be an addition to the high yield range from the Belgian asset management firm, which already includes two funds: the Petercam L bonds Eur High Yield Short Term and the Petercam L Fund – Petercam L Bonds Higher Yield. The introduction of an SRI filter aims to meet demand from clients, says Thierry Larose, senior manager at Petercam. The fund, currently in production, would exclude certain countries, such as China and Russia. The new strategy, which is expected in second half, will be managed by the high yield bond strategies team, led by Bernard Lalière.

“The hoped-for rebound has come,” Dominique Carrel-Billiard, CEO, said on Tuesday at a presentation of 2011 results for Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM), which included operating profits of EUR215m, compared with EUR191m in 2010 and EUR171m in 2009.AUM as of 31 December, of EUR51bn, ultimately fell by only EUR4bn over the year. Axa IM France had net inflows of about EUR1.6bn, but Axa Rosenberg had further net outflows of EUR5bn. Net redemptions were limited to EUR1.2bn, while market effects and disposal of operations each «cost» the firm EUR3bn in assets, and currency effects were positive to the tune of EUR5bn.The CEO claims that Axa IM is now well-prepared for 2012, with a return to good performance at Axa Rosenberg, due to its enhanced index, emerging Asia and long term/long volatility strategies. Axa IM also now has a range “which has something for everybody,” and will now aim to strengthen its platforms (Germany, UK, Netherlands, Switzerland and Nordics). The asset management firm is also planning to develop in India in the long term, through its cooperation with Bank of India. It is also planning to launch loan products.Carrel-Billiard says that the client categories that will be worked particularly hard this year were fund distributors, followed by mid-sized institutionals and finally institutionals such as sovereign wealth funds and major Dutch, US and British pension funds.

The US firm Third Avenue Management has announced that it has signed a partnership with Jim Millstein, former head of restructuring at the US Treasury. They will join forces to create new products and strategies which will focus on distressed businesses. Millstein led the restructuring of AIG in the United States.

It has been a difficult year for Man Group, but an acceptable one in France. “We posted very satisfactory inflows last year for all of our range. We even saw several hundreds of millions of dollars in inflows to the GLG European Alpha Alternative Ucits fund, managed by Philippe Isvy, and nearly USD100m for the Japanese equity fund, Japan Core Alpha. Convertibles are also subject to sustained demand,” says Olivier Dubost, managing director in charge of distribution for Man and GLG funds in France.Despite an environment that remains uncertain. Dubost is expecting to extend these good results to other strategies in 2012. In particular, he is planning to once again promote a flagship strategy from GLG, European Long/Short Strategy, which for 10 years has been managed by the co-founder of GLG, Pierre Lagrange, with a team of 30 people, of which a UCITS version was launched in July 2010. Assets under management for this strategy total about USD1.1bn, of which USD250m are for the UCITS version. It has earned annualised returns of slightly over 10%, with volatility of 8.5% over ten years, while the MSCI Europe has gained 4.70% in its UCITS version since the beginning of the year.Another area which will be foregrounded this year is a volatility strategy which offers hedging against extreme risks, which is particularly well-adapted to management of funds of funds. This strategy, which is in the process of being replicated in a non-UCITS-compliant onshore version, earned returns of over 25% in 2011.Dubost is also planning to foreground decorrelated strategies, CTAs and macros which exist in UCITS-compliant formats.Has the crisis had much effect on the way assets are managed at Man? Dubost says that “risk management, which has not fundamentally changed because of the crisis, remains a cornerstone of long/short management, but neutral exposure to the market has been applied more strictly since early 2009.”Dubost continues to extol the virtues of alternative management as a means of diversification in the construction of a portfolio. “It seems to me that alternative management should not systematically be seen as an asset class unto itself, and I maintain that we need to integrate a dose of alternative into every asset class, for example, long/short equities within the equities allocation.”Overall, the group offers 12 UCITS-compliant alternative strategies, including generalist, sectoral, emerging markets, and others. All of these rely in simple replication, i.e. without the use of a transformation process based on derivative products.

“The UCITS IV directive is good news, not because it provides a way to accelerate cross-border mergers of funds, as the tax questions have not all been resolved, but because it creates a European master-feeder fund structure,” Christophe Coquema, COO, explained at a presentation of results for Axa Investment Managers on Tuesday in Paris. Axa IM is interested in the formula, which would allow for an actively-managed master fund to have several national funds with similar objectives as feeder funds. The French asset management firm has recently set up a dedicated initiative to reduce the number of funds, which would also reduce costs and improve profitability. Axa IM is eventually aiming for a 15% to 20% reduction in its fund universe, Coquema says. Clearly, it is not possible to apply the same fine-toothed approach to the catalogue of dedicated funds as to open-ended funds, which number 400 to 500 in Europe.

Ratings of structured financing in Europe improved further last year, according to an annual study of the sector recently published by Standard & Poor’s. The percentage of ratings which were lowered in 2011 came to 22.3%, compared with 25.4% the previous year. This development reflects both macroeconomic trends in Europe and modifications to ratings methodologies, the agency says in a statement. Standard & Poor’s points out, however, that the number of ratings lowered represents 2.5 times the number of ratings that were raised.

In the years from 2001-2010, hedge funds with assets of under USD100m have earned annual returns of 10.1%, compared with 8.3% for funds which total assets of USD100m-USD500m, and 8% for funds with over USD500m, according to a recent study by Barclays Bank, relayed by Fonds Professionell.The difference is even larger if the top quartile of each category is considered, with average gains of 99% per year for the first group, 71% for the second, and 60% for the third.Although the funds with less than USD100m include funds which are by far the most lucrative, it also includes some of the worst.

The Financial association on 21 February released its practical guide to solidaristic employee savings, which aims to inspire employees to subscribe to a solidaristic employee savings fund. Savings in solidaristic FCPE funds, which are partly invested in businesses with socially responsible policies, provide a way to create jobs for the long-term unemployed, construct social housing and to foster international solidaristic activities that respect the environment. In 2010, solidaristic FCPE funds certified by Finansol delivered total financial returns ranging from 2.6% to 9.75%.

With the Microbank Fondo Ético Garantizado, registered by the CNMV on 17 February, InverCaixa will launch a fund on 27 April which is both guaranteed and ethical, and which will mature on 2 May 2016. On that date, subscribers will receive 100% of their initial net asset value, plus 55% fo the returns on an equally-weighted basked of equities composed of shares in five companies of the FTSE4Good Europe index, selected on the basis of responsible investment criteria. The firms are the Spanish Inditex, the German firms Allianz ,Bayer and Deutsche Bank, and the Dutch KPN. Returns may vary from 0% at the worst to 7.4% per year at the best.CharacteristicsName: Microbank Fondo Ético Garantizado, FIISIN code: ES0171732003Front-end fee: 4%Management commission: 1.64%Early withdrawal penalty: 4%

Private equity investor BC Partners has attracted investment commitments in 18 months of EUR6.5bn for its new European Capital IX buyout funds, the largest in Europe since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. But, the Börsen-Zeitung reports, the managing partner for Germany at BC Partners, Stefan Zuschke, has admitted that the company had to make concessions to investors in the form of reduced commissions. The circle of investors has been enlarged compared with the previous fund, with the arrival of Asian investors. Zuschke claims that it is still possible to make deals totalling as much as EUR1bn or EUR2bn in Germany, even though banks have become more cautious.

The hedge fund from John Paulson is being sued by a former investors who claims that the firm failed to undertake appropriate due diligence on Sino Forest, a Chinese forestry firm which cost the Paulson & Co funds about USD460m when its share price collapsed, the Financial Times reports. The investor in question is Hugh Culverhouse, a former Federal prosecutor. The lawsuit may be a class action suit.

On Tuesday evening, a US federal judge dismissed a case filed by Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee for the business interests of Bernard Madoff, against UniCredit and three of its affiliates, including Pioneer Global Asset Management, the Wall Street Journal reports. Judge Rakoff found that there were not sufficent grounds to invoke the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act against the defendants, particularly as that legislation does not apply to securities fraud.

The Investment Management unit of BNP Paribas Real Estate has had another full year in 2011. Earnings have risen by more than 10%, to EUR89.2m. This activity, which has been growing rapidly for three years, has also seen “very good inflows,” Philippe Zivkovic, chairman of BNP Paribas Real Estate, said at a press conference on 21 February. Assets under management in Europe as of the end of December totalled EUR12.7bn (of which EUR4.1bn are in France), an increase of EUR1.9bn year on year.New investment vehicles are in preparation. For several years, OPCI funds have been exclusively dedicated to institutional investors. The OPCI SPF1 will finish its investment programme in first half, and a second commercial OPCI will be launched at the end of June. The OPCI HPF1 (Health Property Fund), dedicated to health properties, will make its first acquisitions in first half 2012.There are also other plans to launch OPCI Funds dedicated to specific asset classes.All real estate activities at BNP Paribas Real Estate, where the Investment Management profession accounted for 14% of earnings last year, have earned net profits of EUR142m, compared with EUR139m (EUR129m excluding one-time elements) in 2010, for operating profits up 11% to EUR156m, and gross earnings of EUR658m (+6%).Zivkovic has also announced that the firm is preparing a new three-year development plan “with the first effects in the year 2012,” but had no further comment.

Assets under management by Swiss investment funds as of the end of January totalled CHF648.9bn, up CHF18.2bn compared with the previous month, according to statistics from Swiss Fund Data and Lipper. All fund categories posted net subscriptions, except strategic investment funds. Net inflows in January totalled CHF2.4bn, compared with CHF923.3m the previous month. Equity funds attracted CHF1.2bn, while bond funds attracted CHF956m. The largest subscriptions went to equity funds in the Emerging Markets Global category, bond funds denominated in Swiss francs, and money market funds in Swiss francs. Japanese equity funds and money market funds denominated in US dollars, however, saw redemptions.

More than 100 pension funds in the Netherlands will have to reduce their rights and/or benefits if their financial situation does not improve adequately in the next few months, the website IPE reports. Reductions under consideration could total an average of about 2.3%, but 34 pension plans are probably in a position of not being able to avoid a reduction in benefits of slightly under 7%, according to estimates by the Netherlands Central Bank (DNB).

From 29 February 2012, the LBPAM Obli Crédit fund, managed by La Banque Postale AM (LBPAM), will undergo several modifications in orde rto “regularise the fund and bring it into compliance with UCITS IV regulations (directive 2009/CE of 13 July 2009).” All investments in shares in mutual funds or other funds which do not comply with these regulations, including alternative strategies, will be removed, as will risks related to investments in alternative strategy investment funds. The modifications will be noted in the prospectus of the FCP fund, whciwh ill be updated on 29 February 2012. The other characteristics of the FCP fund will remain unchanged, the asset management firm states on its website.

The asset management affiliate of the Banque Neuflize OBC on 21 February 21 announced the launch of the NOBC Convertibles 2012 fund, a horizon fund of funds which will allow investors to benefit from convertibles based on equities, issuer credit risk premiums, and from the valuations specific to this asset class. The fund will initially be invested primarily in convertible bonds (more than 97%), with maturities prior to or very near January 2016, with high average returns and adequate diversification. The fund will have a high internal rate of return, and when the dynamics of the market permit it, active management to provide profit-taking and reinvestments based on a simple principle: securities whose rate of return have fallen significantly will be sold off and replaced by securities with higher returns and at least equal credit risk. The attraction for the investor is to benefit partially from the three qualities of convertible bonds described above, and to have a means to benefit from trades executed by managers. In order to maximally profit from the opportunities that arise, the fund is initially 70% invested in high yield bonds, and slightly under 50% invested in small and midcaps. As of Friday, 10 February, the average annual gross percentage rate for securities in the portfolio was 6.1%, and the average sensitivity to equities was 30%. NOBC Convertibles 2016 may be considered a defensive convertibles fund, in that the delta is initially moderate (30%), and will gradually be reduced as the fund appraches maturity. Investors will also not be subject to rising interest rates if they remain invested until maturity. The average sensitivity of the fund (to credit, valuation and interest rates) will also decrease over time. Another significant opportunity is that in a period in which the returns for funds in euros for insurance policies is about 3% per year, the fund provides a way to take a position on a horizon fund that invested in convertible bonds and allows for diversification of investments. NOBC Convertibles 2016 is also eligible for investment from life insurance policies from Neuflize Vie, a high-end life insurance firm from Banque Neuflize OBC. The Convertibles team manages about EUR900m in assets, of which EUR500m are via two open-ended funds: NOBC Europe Convertibles and NOBC Monde Convertibles.

Wasatch has closed its Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund, which has over USD1bn in assets, to new investors. The US asset management firm has decided that it will not penlise the small and midcaps strategy of the product, and is therefore limiting its asset volume.

Mark Lyttleton will be ceasing his participation in the management of the BlackRock UK Fund, which will now be managed by the fund’s co-manager, Nick Little, Money Marketing reports. Little, who had been co-manager of the fund since Septemebr 2011, will begin in his new position on 1 March. Lyttleton will continue to manage the absolute alpha fund (GBP1.2bn in assets under management) and the dynamic fund (GBP872m).

The asset management unit of the Rathbone Brothers company has reported a 30% increase in its pre-tax profits for 2011, at GBP39.2m. Assets under management as of 31 December totalled GBP15.85bn, up 1.4% compared with the end of 2010.

Axa Wealth is preparing to launch a direct investment platform with a group of independent financial advising firms in the next six months, Fund Web reports. The platform, whose launch aims to meet demand from IFAs, will offer about 130 funds selected by Architas (AXA group).

The London City Police is investigating a suspected attempted fraud for USD150m by a former trader at Threadneedle, the Financial Times reports. The asset management firm on Tuesday confirmed that the police and other authorities had been notified after internal controls were triggered and the execution of a suspicious transaction was stopped last August. Threadneedle, which manages about GBP60bn in assets, points out that it lost no client money.

The manager of the Government Pension Fund – Global (formerly the Norwegian Oil Fund), Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), has announced that it will become the sponsor of the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA), which it has belonged to since 2008. It is the first foundation sponsor, and Anne Kwan, global head of ownership policy, says that the interests of the ACGA, which is highly competent and effective, are well-aligned with those of NBIM, which is a major investor in the region.

Les ressources du Diocèse de Toulouse proviennent pour 45% des quêtes, et de l'événementiel (baptèmes, mariages, obsèques, ...), pour 40% du denier de l'Église, qui finance les ressources humaines au sens large (traitement des prêtres et salaires des laïques). Le solde, à savoir 15% est apporté par les revenus financiers de l’immobilier et des placements en valeurs mobilières. Le diocèse de Toulouse est propriétaire de logements et bâtiments par le biais des héritages, dons et apports des prêtres. L’essentiel des revenus ne provient pas des loyers mais des placements sur des OPCVM que le Diocèse réalise, y compris pour la gestion de ces fonds propres. Le principe de prudence (conservation du capital) prévaut, sachant que les résultats positifs susceptibles d'être générés sont systématiquement mis en réserves. Le Diocèse détient majoritairement des obligations, mais aussi 20% d’actions. Par essence, Claude Gilabert, l'économe du Diocèse s’intéresse plus particulièrement aux valeurs éthiques. Ce qui le pousse à exclure de fait les secteurs de l’armement, les sociétés qui exploitent le travail des enfants. De même, le Diocèse ne souhaite pas prendre de risque de change. En 2011, l'économe a initié un projet de mise en place d’un fonds dédié sur l’ensemble de son portefeuille d’actifs (actions et obligations) afin d’optimiser l’allocation d’actifs et confier les choix de gestion à un seul interlocuteur. Un appel d’offres a donc été lancé en juillet 2011 auprès de 6 banques pour un FCP dédié diversifié de 10 millions d’euros. En novembre 2011, 3 candidats furent pré-sélectionnés, pour au final n’en retenir qu’un aujourd’hui. Le Diocèse attend la validation de l’AMF avant de communiquer sur le nom du lauréat. La gestion immobilière est assurée en interne. Il convient d’entretenir ce parc, qui représente un véritable défi pour 2012, notamment pour la mise aux normes d’accessibilité.

Le lancement des fonds d’investissement Nova 1 et Nova 2 était préconisé dans le rapport Rameix-Giami sur le financement des PME-ETI des secteurs industriels et de services, cotées sur les marchés réglementés et le marché Alternext. Ces deux fonds ont levé 161,5 millions d’euros, dont 40 millions auprès de la CDC et le solde auprès de douze assureurs ou bancassureurs (Axa, BNP Paribas Cardif, CNP Assurances, Predica, ACM, Sogecap, Aviva France, Suravenir, HSBC Assurances, Natixis Assurances et CCR). 40% des capitaux sont destinés à des introductions et 30% à des augmentations de capital. Ces fonds, fermés, d’une durée de cinq ans, se fixent un objectif de rentabilité supérieur à l’indice composite formé à 50% du CAC Small et à 50% du All shares. Nova 1 et Nova 2 seront gérés par CM-CIC AM et par Amiral Gestion.