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31/01/2013

Two Scandinavian funds blacklist a Volvo partner

The seventh Swedish AP fund and the Norwegian oil fund have blacklisted Dong Feng, the owner of a Chinese truck maker in which Volvo has acquired a 45% stake, as the firm has sold military equipment to countries that are currently subject to UN embargoes, The Local.se reports, citing Swedish television. The Swedish fund will not be allowed to acquire shares in Dong Feng. However, it has no plans to revise its stake in Volvo.
31/01/2013

Amundi opens an affiliate in Taiwan

Amundi, which has been present in Asia for 30 years, with assets of USD70bn for Asian investors, has officially opened the office of a wholly-owned subsidiary in Taipei, Amundi Taiwan, whose chairman is Jean-Paul Mazoyer, deputy head of Amundi.The new affiliate was founded in December, and has received a license from Securities Investment Consulting Enterprise (SICE) from the Securities & Futures Bureau (SFB). The objective is to forge closer and more lasting ties with Taiwanese investors.Mazoyer points out that the new office comes in addition to Amundi’s offices in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, China, Malaysia and Brunei.Yves Perrier, CEO of Amundi and a member of the executive board at Crédit Agricole SA, says Asia is a growth region, with favourable demographics, an enormous pool of savings and pension funds with highly significant assets. Amundi is highly positive about the future of Taiwan, which explains the creation of the local affiliate.
31/01/2013

F&C suffers nearly GBP5bn in net redemptions in fourth quarter 2012

out In the fourth quarter of 2012, F&C Investments underwent net outflows of GBP4.9bn. These outflows are largely the result of the withdrawal of GBP2.4bn in fixed income assets by Friends Life, which is internalising its management, and will recall a further GBP6.2bn in bond assets over the course of the year. The consumer and institutional unit (which includes wholesale, retail trusts and third-party institutionals) has posted net outflows of GBP1.3bn, including GBP956m for third-party institutional investors alone. For the year as a whole, F&C has seen net redemptions of GBP13.3bn, of which GBP1.9bn are for the consumer and institutional unit. As of the end of 2012, assets at F&C totalled GBP95.2bn (or EUR117.5bn), down from GBP100.1bn (EUR119.9bn) one year previously.
31/01/2013

Acquisitions and sales of properties for Union in Germany

For an undisclosed amount, Union Investment Real Estate has acquired the Bülow Carrée office and commercial complex in Stuttgart, which is slated for completion in mid-2013. The property will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Deutschland.The asset management firm has also sold the Bei dem Neuen Krahn 2 property in Hamburg to a pension fund. The property had been part of the portfolio of the institutional real estate fund DIFA-Fonds Nr. 3. Liquidity from the sale will allow Union to acquire other properties at a rate of EUR20m each.
31/01/2013

Axa Wealth lays off sales staff

According to Investment Week, Axa Wealth has reduced its sales personnel by 30, or about 10%. The firm is parting with 10 front-line individuals and 20 in support functions.The layoffs follow the completion of preparations for the rollout of RDR regulations, and the separation of Axa Wealth from Friends Life, which took three years. In addition, the Elevate platform has now reached maturity.Axa Wealth has meanwhile recruited five tax wrapper specialists.
31/01/2013

Man Group hopes to launch a hedge fund dedicated to Japan

The alternative management firm Man Group is planning to launch a hedge fund dedicated to Japan, led by Tony Bartlett, a former Citadel manager, the news agency Bloomberg reports.FRM Capital Advisors, a firm which was acquired by Man Group in May 2012, will make a significant investment in the fund, which will be managed by Arena Capital Management, which also provides capital to young hedge funds.
31/01/2013

Legal & General to acquire Cofunds

Following months of negotiations, Legal & General will soon acquire Cofunds, according to Fundweb. L&G already holds a 25% stake in the business, while other major shareholders include International Financial Data Services, Threadneedle, Newhouse Capital Partners and Jupter. Assets under administration at Cofunds total GBP45bn as of 30 September 2012.
31/01/2013

Russell launches a range of defensive fundamental indices

As a complement to the Russell Defensive indices, which are cap-weighted, Russell Indexes is launching the Russell High Efficiency Defensive Indexes™, which integrate a range of economic and market risk factors, to create a stability score which is intended to help investors to identify high quality and low volatility equities and to over- or underweight their exposures in line with their stability score, rather than their capitalisation size.Russell Indexes also announces that the new High Efficiency Defensive indices represent the first and only range of Russell low volatility indices to offer a low tracking error, which is important for retirement savings plans and foundations. This characteristic is the result of a cooperation with Westpeak Global Advisors, with the new Russell indices based on its ActiveBet® portfolio construction methodology.Initially, the High Efficiency Defensive Indexes range will include 22 indices, which will be derived from the Russell US and Global indices.
31/01/2013

BNP Paribas holds onto lead in rankings of French treasury specialists in 2012

BNP Paribas bank has held onto its top spot in the 2012 rankings of specialists (or primary dealers) in French treasury securities (SVT), the French Agence France Trésor (AFT) has announced in a statement released on 30 January.BNP Paribas takes first place, followed by Société Générale and the US bank Morgan Stanley. Barclays Bank takes fourth place, followed by HSBC in fifth, Natixis in sixth, Crédit Agricole in seventh, Royal Bank of Scotland in eighth, and UBS in ninth place.For the 20 SVTs overall, 100 points were awarded, with a weighting of 40 for participation in offerings, 30 for presence in the secondary market, and 30 for qualitative aspects.For participation in offerings and acquisitions of bonds, Morgan Stanley finishes ahead of BNP Paribas. On the secondary market, Société Générale takes first place, followed by Barclays Bank. Lastly, for the quality of its service, Société Générale takes first place, followed by BNP Paribas.
31/01/2013

Foreign asset managers gain ground in Spain

At a time when Spanish funds lost assets last year because redemptions were so high, foreign asset managers have seen an increase in their assets of 17.8% to USD53bn, the Inverco association of asset management firms estimates on the basis of data from 22 firms, with total assets of EUR37.65bn. Funds People reports that these 22 firms had net subscriptions of EUR4.7bn, meaning that the volume of net inflows may be valued at EUR6bn for foreign firms overall.JPMorgan remains the largest foreign player, with nearly EUR6bn in assets (+10.6% in one year), followed by BlackRock (EUR5.03bn, +54.7%) and Amundi (EUR3.3bn, +20.5%). BNP Paribas IP, however, has seen a decline of 9.7%, to EUR2.03bn. The strongest increases in assets under management were at Pictet (+78.7% to EUR1.59bn) and M&G Investments (+77.3% o EUR1.74bn).
31/01/2013

Natixis GAM launches a retail fund in the United Kingdom

Fundweb reports that Natixis Global Asset Management has entered the British market, with the Loomis Sayles Strategic Income fund, managed by the multi-sector bond team led by Dan Fuss, Elaine Stokes and Matt Eagan. The fund will invest in corporate, convertible and government bonds.The fund is the first sub-fund of a British-registered OEIC vehicle.
31/01/2013

Vanguard launches its first ETF funds in Switzerland

Vanguard Asset Management on Wednesday morning announced the launch of its first ETF funds in Switzerland, with the cross-listing on SIX of three of its Irish-domiciled products, in a further step in its continuing deployment in Europe.The three physical replication funds in question are the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, the Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF, and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF. They carry TERs of 0.09%, 0.25%, and 0.45%, respectively.The introduction in Switzerland follows the launch of the first five European ETFs from Vanguard AM in London. The firm is planning to compete with its existing rivals on this market with a low-cost product range.Vanguard AM manages USD245.6bn in ETFs assets. In the US, Vanguard set a mutual fund industry record in 2012 with USD141.2 billion in net cash inflow, including USD52.2 billion in ETF inflow.
31/01/2013

Assets under management at Union Bancaire Privée up 12%

Assets under management at Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) as of 31 December 2012 totalled CHF80bn, up 12% compared with the end of 2011, according to a statement released on 30 January. “This increase is the result of net inflows of funds from private and institutional clients, good performance of management, and acquisitions,” a statement says. UBP has acquired Nexar Capital Group and ABN Amro Bank (Switzerland). Consolidated net profits for the group totalled GBP175m in 2012, virtually identical to the previous year (CHF176m). The operational integration of ABN Amro Bank (Switzerland) AG was completed on 31 May 2012, thus synergies were realised only in second half.
31/01/2013

Amundi posts highest net inflows in France in 2012

Amundi, Groupama Asset Management and Carmignac Gestion are doing well. According to a report on collective management in France undertaken by EuroPerformance – a SIX Company, these three firms showed progess in terms of assets and the highest inflows to their French-registered funds in 2012, with sometimes large discrepancies from their immediate competitors, as was the case for all affiliates of banking groups. Amundi has seen an increase of EUR16.053bn in its assets, while in second place, BNP Paribas Asset Management shows «only» a positive variation in its AUM of EUR6.191bn. The Crédit Agricole affiliate has posted a net inflow of EUR6.507bn, putting it far ahead of its rivals.For affiliates of insurers, Groupama AM (GAM) cannot claim as high a level of assets as Aviva Investors, which is second in the rankings for high variations in assets. Assets under management at Groupama, however, rose by EUR2.430bn, compared with EUR0.934bn for Aviva Investors. Groupama AM has also posted a net inflows of EUR1.780bn, which is twice as high as inflows at Macif Gestion, for example, its immediate competitor in the rankings (EUR0.934bn).In the independent asset management firm category, Carmignac Gestion has kept a strong lead over the second in the rankings, Oddo AM, with a variation in its assets of EUR5.202bn, compared with EUR1.306bn for its competitor. In terms of inflows, the asset manager based in the Place Vendôme in Paris has persisted, and is doing two and a half times better than Union Bancaire Gestion Institutionelle, second in the rankings (EUR2.465bn, compard with EUR0.962bn).The full study is available at www.europerformance.fr The following URL leads to its most recent address at that site: http://www.europerformance.fr/publications/bilan-annuel/16.html
31/01/2013

Head of sales leaves Fidelity

According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, Julien Jacquet will be leaving Fidelity in Paris, where he had served as head of sales to banks. The head, who will be taking on a new professional project, had been working at Fidelity for over five years.
31/01/2013

Acropole AM aims for complementarity with Financière de l'Echiquier

Jacques Joakimides, chairman and CEO of Acropole AM, has called the acquisition of his firm by Financière de l’Echiquier a “deal,” which remains subject to approval by the market authorities. “The deal was reached in six months,” the head says, “but not at the price announced in the press of 3% of assets.”The manager will join the board of directors at Financière de l’Echiquier, and will also serve as adviser to the chairman. The management team at Acropole AM will be retained virtually intact, as will the names of the firm and its funds. However, the convertible bond specialist firm will move from its current offices to join those of Financière de l’Echiquier in late March or early April.Joakimides says the two firms are highly complementary. “Management at Financière de l’Echiquier includes high quality equity research, while the attraction of our management is clear,” the Acropole AM head says. The ranges of funds at each firm will not undergo any mergers as the firms merge.Among the declared objectives, the sales teams at Financière de l’Echiquier will rapidly drive sales of convertible bond funds through IFAs and advisers with increased vigour, as clients of the firm had previously been wholly institutional.
31/01/2013

Significant rise in assets and profits at T. Rowe Price

As of the end of December, assets at T. Rowe Price totalled USD576.8bn, compared with USD574.4bn as of 30 September, and USD489.5bn twelve months previously. Net profits for 2012 increased to USD883.6m, up from USD773.2m the previous year.USD17.2bn of this increase of the USD87.3bn increase in AUM is due to net subscriptions (of which USD10.1bn are for retirement savings target date portfolios), and USD70.1bn are due to market effects.The Baltimore-based asset manager says that assets in mutual funds totalled USD346.9bn, or USD4bn more than at the end of September (USD0.4bn in net outflows and USD4.4bn in positive market effects in fourth quarter), USD57.5bn more than at the end of 2011.T. Rowe Price states that it has no debt and that its liquidity amounts to USD2bn.
31/01/2013

US hedge fund invests in Greek gaming monopoly OPAP

The US hedge fund Baupost Group now holds a 5.2% stake in the capital of the Greek firm OPAP, which holds a monopoly on gaming in the country, the news agency Reuters reports. Baupost is the third investment fund to acquire a significant stake in OPAP, which is valued at about EUR2.05bn. Silchester Inv. And Fidelity Investments already hold stakes of 5% each. Two other funds, Third Point and TPG Capital, are among the candidates interested in acquiring a 33% stake in OPAP which will be sold off in the next few months. The Greek government has planned to sell off most of its stake in OPAP as part of a privatisation fo government assets to raise about EUR2.6bn in 2013.
31/01/2013

US pension fund plans to divest from oil firms

The pension fund Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System, with USD2bn in assets, will on Thursday discuss a request from Miek McGinn, mayor of the city, to sell its stakes in major oil firms, due to the threat they pose in terms of climate change, the Financial Times reports. The firms in question are ExxonMobil and Chevron. If the fund were to wholly sell off its stakes in those businesses, it would be the first to do so.
31/01/2013

Lisbonne vise un retour à la croissance en 2014

La contraction de l'économie portugaise sera moins importante cette année qu’en 2012, un retournement étant attendu au cours de l’année permettant au pays de retrouver le chemin de la croissance en 2014, a estimé le Premier ministre portugais Pedro Passos Coelho. Et d’ajouter que les besoins financiers du pays pour 2013 sont couverts par le plan de sauvetage et le résultat d'émissions obligataires récentes.
31/01/2013

Le prix du brut pourrait légèrement baisser cette année

Selon des prévisions de l’Institut français du pétrole et des énergies nouvelles (IFPEN) présentées hier, une légère détente des prix du pétrole est envisageable en 2013 «mais bien entendu, ceci suppose qu’il n’y ait pas de risque de dérive lié au contexte géopolitique qui est particulièrement incertain et mouvant ». L’IFPEN vise un prix du Brent compris entre 100 et 120 dollars le baril contre 112 dollars en moyenne en 2012.
31/01/2013

La France s'inquiète de la hausse de l'euro

«L’euro est trop haut par rapport à ce que l'économie européenne est en droit d’attendre», a estimé le ministre du Redressement productif, Arnaud Montebourg. «Nous sommes attentifs à cette question qui est débattue au sein de l’Eurogroupe», a-t-il poursuivi.
31/01/2013

Bruxelles gèle des aides destinées à la Pologne

La Commission européenne a annoncé le gel de près de 890 millions d’euros d’aide destinées à la construction de routes en Pologne, le plus important bénéficiaire de fonds européens, en raison de soupçons d’entente entre les entreprises ayant répondu à l’appel d’offres. Le ministre adjoint chargé du Développement régional, Adam Zdzieblo, a réagi en jugeant cette décision «complètement incompréhensible».
31/01/2013

L’Europe veut sanctionner les importations d'acier chinoises

L’Union Européenne est sur le point d’imposer des droits de douane dissuasifs sur l’acier à revêtement organique chinois, la plupart des Etats membres estimant que Pékin subventionne illégalement ses producteurs. Ce serait la deuxième fois que l’Union imposerait de tels droits à l’encontre de produits chinois subventionnés, les droits en question étant par ailleurs bien supérieurs à ceux du premier cas.
31/01/2013

Statu quo monétaire en Nouvelle-Zélande

La banque centrale néo-zélandaise a décidé de maintenir ses taux d’intérêt à 2,5%, malgré des inquiétudes croissantes sur la flambée des prix immobiliers. «L’inflation des prix immobiliers s’est accélérée et nous la surveillons de près ainsi que la croissance des crédits aux ménages» a indiqué le gouverneur Graeme Wheeler. La devise progressait de 0,1% ce matin contre dollar, à 83,64.
31/01/2013

L’Allemagne prépare la séparation des activités des banques

Berlin devrait proposer un programme de séparation des activités de marchés et de dépôts des banques du pays, selon le journal qui cite un document préliminaire. Les banques dont les activités de trading pour compte propre, trading haute fréquence et de fonds d’arbitrage dépasseront 20% de la taille du bilan ou un montant de 100 milliards d’euros devront les transférer dans une entité séparée.
31/01/2013

Hong Kong accepte que des fonds étrangers investissent en yuan

Les autorités de Hong Kong auraient accepté le lancement de quatre «Mandatory Provident Fund» qui détiendront des investissements en yuan, selon le Hong Kong Economic Journal. Un fonds d’Invesco sera ainsi autorisé à investir en obligations libellées en yuan, alors que BOCI-Prudential pourra ainsi développer ses investissements en certificats de dépôts en yuan.
31/01/2013

La France souhaite durcir les règles sur les OPA

Selon le journal, l’AMF vient de constituer un groupe de travail avec des membres du patronat et quelques avocats dans le but de « prévenir le contrôle rampant et favoriser l’actionnariat moyen-long terme ». Le but est de faire converger ces travaux pour intégrer des propositions dans le projet de loi sur la rémunération des patrons et la gouvernance, qui doit être proposé en mars. L’Autorité avait déjà lancé une consultation sur une réforme des offres publiques en 2012. Elle n’avait pas abouti faute d’accord des répondants. Plusieurs pistes de réflexion seraient évoquées dans un document confidentiel, dont l’introduction d’un seuil de caducité automatique.
31/01/2013

Cessions minoritaires en vue dans ExxonMobil et Chevron

Le fonds de retraite des employés de la ville de Seattle devrait discuter aujourd’hui d’une cession de ses participations dans les sociétés pétrolières et gazières du fait de craintes sur les changements de climat, indique le journal qui cite sa directrice exécutive Cecelia Carter. Le fonds a 17,6 millions de dollars investis dans ExxonMobil et Chevron, soit moins de 1% de ses actifs totaux de 2 milliards.

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