Les actifs sous gestion du pôle Investment Management de Goldman Sachs se sont inscrits en baisse de 4 milliards de dollars au premier trimestre à 824 milliards de dollars fin mars. Le trimestre sous revue s’est caractérisé par une décollecte nette de 26 milliards de dollars. Cette évolution a été en partie effacée par un effet marchés positif de 22 milliards de dollars.Le produit net du pôle s’est établi à 1,18 milliard de dollars au premier trimestre, en recul de 7% par rapport au quatrième trimestre et de 8% par rapport au premier trimestre 2011.Le groupe a fait état pour le premier trimestre d’un bénéfice net de 2,08 milliards de dollars, qui a plus que doublé par rapport à la période correspondante de l’an dernier.

BNY Mellon annonce avoir été sélectionné par Touchstone Investments pour lui fournir des services d’administration de fonds, d’agent de transfert et d’enregistrement pour 14 mutual funds supplémentaires.

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) a annoncé le 17 avril avoir été mandaté par la Banque Fédérale Mutualiste pour fournir des services de conservation globale sur un portefeuille de 1,2 milliard d’euros. SGSS offrira ses services en matière de fiscalité, avec notamment les traitements relatifs à l’application des taux d’imposition réduits à la source et des exonérations d’impôts, à la récupération fiscale, la gestion de la documentation fiscale, les reportings règlementaires auprès des administrations fiscales ainsi que les reportings fiscaux à destination de la clientèle.

La Française AM a mandaté BNP Paribas Securities Services pour la fourniture de services d’administration, de conservation, d’agent de transfert et de valorisation.Le mandat concerne les activités de La Française des Placements, LFP Sarasin AM, La Française Real Estate Managers et La Française AM International.

Oddo Asset Management va travailler avec le chinois Guosen Securities, lequel a signé lundi un protocole d’accord avec Oddo & Cie pour la gestion d’actifs ainsi que la banque d’affaires. Il s’agit du premier partenariat en Chine pour la société de gestion française. Concrètement, et dans un premier temps, Guosen conseillera Oddo AM pour le lancement d’un fonds obligataire en renminbi géré et distribué par la société française. Ce produit sera commercialisé en France mais également dans les autres pays où cette dernière est présente. De son côté, Oddo AM conseillera notamment son partenaire chinois pour le lancement d’un fonds thématique «global luxury and lifestyle» investi en actions mondiales liées au secteur du luxe géré et distribué en Chine continentale par Guosen Securities. Ce produit sera piloté par Emmanuel Chapuis et François-Régis Breuil. Le partenariat pourrait s’étendre à l’avenir sur le terrain de la gestion privée, a indiqué un porte-parole d’Oddo AM à Newsmanagers. En revanche, il n’est pas prévu de prise de participation ou de la création d’une structure commune. Par ailleurs, ans le domaine de la banque d’affaires, Oddo Corporate Finance et Guosen conseilleront des sociétés françaises souhaitant s’introduire en Bourse sur les places financières chinoises, mais également les sociétés chinoises souhaitant accéder aux marchés actions européens.Détenue à 70% par le gouvernement de la province de Shenzen, Guosen Securities est l’une des cinq premières sociétés de Bourse en Chine, d’après le communiqué de presse annonçant l’accord. Employant 12.000 personnes, elle est active dans le courtage, la banque d’affaires et la gestion d’actifs.A fin 2010 Guosen a dégagé un résultat net de 3,1 milliards de renminbi (environ 310 millions d’euros) et dispose de fonds propres à hauteur de 15 milliards de renminbi (environ 1,5 milliard d’euros).

Après le départ de Sergio Míguez, directeur des investissement de performance absolue, qui rejoint Lazard (lire Newsmanagers du 16 avril), le poste de directeur des hedge funds chez BanSabadell Inversión échoit à Félix Sánchez, qui était gérant de fonds de hedge funds depuis 2005, rapporte Funds People. Dans ses nouvelles fonctions, Félix Sánchez est subordonné directement à José Antonio Pérez Roger, directeur des investissements.Pour l’instant, BanSabadell Inversión ne gère que 41 millions dans des hedge funds, mais son encours alternatif se situe à 1,07 milliard d’euros en comptant les fonds de hedge funds, de matières premières, un fonds immobilier et des fonds quantitatifs de performance absolue.

Le fonds souverain Aabar d’Abou Dhabi, qui détient 6,5% du capital de la banque italienne UniCredit, entre avec deux membres dans son conseil d’administration dont sortent les Libyens, selon le quotidien Corriere della Sera.Aabar propose son président Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi, précisant que le président de Ferrari, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, entrera également dans le conseil en tant que représentant de ce fonds.La Libye reste dehors, rappelle le quotidien, à trois semaines de l’assemblée générale de 11 mai qui doit voter la composition du nouveau conseil d’administration. La Libye n’avait pas participé à la dernière augmentation de capital de 7,5 milliards d’euros lancée par UniCredit et qui s’est achevée en janvier, marquant la montée en puissance du fonds Aabar, devenu le premier actionnaire de la banque.

The Swiss bank UBS, which is subject to a preliminary investigation in France (see Newsmanagers of 16 April), on 17 April announced that it is prepared to fully cooperate with the French aurthorities if required. The French affiliate of UBS “has become aware of the information recently reported in the press in relation to a preliminary investigation which has reportedly been opened against it,” the bank says in a statement. “If the opening of the investigation is confirmed, UBS (France) will fully cooperate with the authorities in charge,” the bank says.

The Investment Company Institute (ICI) and the US Chamber of Commerce (US CoC) have filed a lawsuit in the US District Court of Columbia against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), because the Commission is planning to require some mutual funds and ETFs to register as “commodity-pool operators,” in addition to their registrations with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the Wall Street Journal reports. This would affect all funds which practice commodity-based strategies.The ICI and US CoC claim that the funds are already adequately regulated, and that the new regulations would affect about 500 products. The planned rules would cancel a rule from 2003 by which registered investment advisors were expressly excluded from the list of commodity pool operators.

The international alternative investment management association (AIMA) on 17 April released a 40-page statement laying out and analysing the differences between the regulations proposed by the European Commission and the recommendations of the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) for measures to be included in the level 2 MiFID directive.The association explains that it is seeking to illustrate and analyse the marked divergences of the Commission’s text from the recommendations, and points out a few unseen consequences of the proposed modifications.The divergences between the Commission document and the ESMA recommendations appear to be both “significant and extensive.” In their current form, the rules proposed by the Commission could disturb the functioning of the asset management sector in the European Union and worldwide, and may also work against some of its declared objectives in the areas of investor protection and financial stability, the AIMA claims.

Lutz Morjan, who has been head of business services, public services and corporate pensions at the asset management firm Frankfurt Trust (BHF-Bank) since 2008, has been recruited as senior institutional sales director at ING Investment Management Germany. He will be in charge of client solutions for insurers and corporate pension funds in Germany, in which role he will work with Michael Schrinner, Thomas Wendt and Monika Ritter, on the institutional sales team.

Assets under management at the GAM group as of the end of March 2012 totalled CHF110.6bn, comapred with CHF107bn as of the end of December 2011, the group announced in a statement published on 18 April. This development is largely due to positive market effects, which largely offset the negative impact of exchange rates. The group has also announced a slight outflow in the first three months of the year.Assets under management at GAM in the strict sense as of the end of March totalled CHF45.7bn, compared with CHF44.8bn as of the end of December.At Swiss & Global AM, assets under management at the end of the quarter came in at CHF80.5bn, up CHF3.6bn compared with the end of December. In addition to positive market effects, Swiss & Global has posted net subscriptions in first quarter, particularly to equity funds and ETFs dedicated to physical precious metals.

The Swiss group Aquila, specialised in wealth management, has received a banking license, the website Finews reports. Banking services offered by Aquila will be aimed both at partner companies of the group and at external independent asset management firms, family offices and their clients. With this move, the wealth management firm is hoping to make itself better armed than the competition to confront regulatory changes in Switzerland and more generally in Europe. Assets under management at Aquila total over CHF5bn.

The American hedge fund manager John Paulson has told Bloomberg that he is shorting European government bonds, and buying CDS on European debt in order to protect himself against defaults, Investment Week reports.

The private equity fund dedicated to financial services BlackFin Capital Partners on 17 April announced that it has acquired 100% of capital in the insurance product comparison firm Chiarezza, launched by Admiral Gorup Plc in Italy in February 2010. Chiarezza offers a free service at http://www.chirezza.it, which allows web surfers to compare a wide range of insurance products on the basis of their price and characteristics, and to complete subscriptions online or by telephone. Chiarezza works with a wide range of direct insurers, and operates on the model of brokers paid for subscriptions and insurance policy renewals. “This transaction represents BlackFun’s fifth investment, and illustrates the fund’s capacity to undertake proprietary operations in high-growth segments in the financial sector in Europe,” BlackFin says in a statement.

Although traditional private banks still control a majority of the market, universal banks have strengthened their positions in wealth management since the crisis in 2008, Les Echos reports.According to a survey by Eurogroup Consulting, the number of wealth management clients of major banking networks increased 19% between 2008 and 2011, while growth was limited to 4% for traditional establishments. Similarly, assets under management in this activity segment have increased by 39% at universal banks and 17% at pure private banks.“The major universal banks are now more engaged in this profitable profession, which is also advantageous in the new environment created by Basel III,” says Cécile Huntzinger, a director at Eurogroup Consulting and co-author of the study. But traditional private banks still have nearly four times more clients than the wealth management arms of generalists.

The billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Tuesday announced that he has prostate cancer, and that he will continue to manage Berkshire Hathaway during his treatment, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a letter to shareholders, the manager, 81, explains that he has stage 1 prostate cancer, an early and treatable form of the illness. He will begin two months of daily radiation treatment in mid-July.

The US bank Bank of America (BofA) is planning to sell its international asset management unit, in the hopes of generating USD3bn in cash, Agefi Switzerland reports, relaying reports from AFP. A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment. The international asset management and investment division has seen a 22% declint in its net profits in fourth quarter 2011 compared with the same period in 2010, on unchanged earnings of USD4.2bn.

Oddo Asset Management will work with the Chinese firm Guosen Securities, which on Monday signed an agreement protocol with Oddo & Cie for asset management and business banking. This is the first partnership in China for the French asset management firm. To begin with, Guosen will advise Oddo AM on the launch of a renminbi bond fund to be managed and distributed by the French firm in France and other countries where the asset manager is present. For its part, Oddo AM will advise its Chinese partner on the launch of a global luxury and lifestyle themed fund, which will invest in global shares connected with the luxuries sector, managed and distributed in continental China by Guosen Securities. The partnership may be extended in the future to include private management, a spokesperson for Oddo AM tells Newsmanagers. However, there are no plans for acquisition of any stakes or the creation of a joint venture. In the area of business banking, Oddo Corproate Finance and Guosen will advise French firms which are planning IPOs on Chinese markets, as well as Chinese firms seeking access to European equity markets. Guosen Securities, 70% owned by the Shenzhen provincial government, is one of the five largest stock market companies in China, according to a press statement. With 12,000 employees, it is active in brokerage, business banking and asset management. As of the end of 2010, Guosen earned net profits of RMB3.1bn (about EUR310m), and has owners’ equity totalling about RMB15bn (about EUR1.5bn).

Joël Séché's term as head of Saur will no longer be justified beyond its end on 27 May, the strategic investment fund (FSI), which controls 38% of capital in the third largest French water treatment business, announced in a statement on 17 April. The statement comes at a time when Séché Environnement, also chaired by Séché, and which controls one third of capital in Saur, declared late last year that it plans to exercise an option to buy FSI’s stake in order to take control of the business. “The FSI now observes that there is a complete stalemate between the management of the business and its chairman. All parties know that this situation is severely damaging the development of the business,” the Fund writes in a statement. “Mr. Séché has been appointed executive chairman of the firm ahead of the exercise of the buy option he had been granted. His term and the period in which he will be able to exercise this option will end on 27 May 2012. Beyond that date, in the absence of an exercise of the option giving control of the company to Mr. Séché, his term as chairman will not be justified,” the FSI adds.

Assets under management by the Investment Management unit at Goldman Sachs were down by USD4bn in first quarter, to USD824bn. The quarter under review saw a net outflow of USD26bn. This development was partially offset by positive market effects totalling USD22bn. Profits for the unit totalled USD1.18bn in first quarter, down 7% compared with fourth quarter, and 8% compared with first quarter 2011. The group has reported net profits for first quarter of USD2.08bn, more than double the corresponding period of last year.

A long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) by the European Central Bank has strengthened investor confidence, which has resulted in positive net inflows in February to all fund categories in Europe. UCITS continued to experience strong net inflows in February amounting to EUR 19 billion, albeit down from EUR 25 billion recorded in January, according to statistics from the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA). Net sales of long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) remained steady in February registering net inflows of EUR 18 billion, compared to EUR 19 billion in January. Bond funds recorded net inflows of EUR 9 billion in February, down from EUR 13 billion in January, while net sales of equity funds registered net inflows of EUR 4 billion, the same level as in January. Balanced funds also enjoyed net inflows of EUR 1 billion during the month, compared to EUR 2 billion in January. Total non-UCITS recorded a jump in net sales in February to register net inflows of EUR 16 billion, up from EUR 7 billion in January. Special funds (funds reserved to institutional investors) recorded an increase in net inflows in February of EUR 16 billion, compared to EUR 7 billion in January. Total assets of UCITS increased 1.9 percent in February to stand at EUR 5,821 billion at end February. Total assets of non-UCITS enjoyed an increase of 1.7 percent in February to EUR 2,268 billion at month end.

The new UBS D German Logistics Property Fund 2 from UBS Germany aims for annual returns to 7%. The product, aimed at institutional investors, will focus on rental logistical real estate in Germany, and will have the status of a German institutional fund (Spezialfonds). The asset management firm is aiming for assets of EUR300m.CharacteristicsName: UBS (D) German Logistics Property Fund 2ISIN code: DE000A0DJ3L2Minimal subscription: EUR2.5m

On Wednesday, 18 April, Allianz Global Investors announced that it will be suspending redemptions of shares in the real estate fund of funds Allianz Flexi Immo (A and C share classes, ISIN codes DE0009797332 and DE0009797340,) until further notice. The move follows a wave of closures of open-ended real estate funds in Germany. Redemptions of over EUR200m since the beginning of 2011 wiped out most of the assets in the Flexi immo fund which could be liquidated at short notice, and the fund is now no longer invested in anything other than real estate funds whose redemptions are susptended or holdings which cannot be mobilised in the short term.The fund, launched on 16 September 2008, currently has assets of EUR170m.

In an environment in which fundraising is proving especially difficult, Cerberus Capital Partners (Cerberus) may encounter some difficulty in reaching its final objective for its next vehicle. The US investment firm, which had been aiming for USD3.75bn (EUR2.9bn) for its fifth-generation fund, has raised USD1.1bn since the launch of the process one year ago, according to a letter sent yesterday to investors in the firm, reported by Bloomberg and relayed by Agefi.

The US firm Federated Investors has finalised its acquisition of Prime Rate Capital Management LLP (PRCM), a British asset management firm specialised in liquidity and fixed income products serving institutionals. Federated acquired the firm from Matrix Group Limited. The US firm managed USD369.7bn as of the end of 2011.

The retirementspecialist LV= has announced that it has added seven funds to itslist of funds available to independent financial advisers and theirclients.The funds include threeFidelity and four Threadneedle products.Fidelity MultiAsset Allocator Balanced Fidelity MultiAsset Allocator Defensive Fidelity MultiAsset Allocator Growth ThreadneedleGlobal Equity Income Threadneedle UKEquity Income ThreadneedleEuropean Select Threadneedle Defensive Equity & Bond

Pioneer Investments has hired five investment professionals for its new London based Emerging Markets hub.Reporting to Marco Mencini, head of equity and emerging markets research, the new team includes: Sebastian Barry Taylor, consumer analyst & team leader; Ji Young Park, consumer analyst; Richard Clode, technical analyst global emerging markets and Caroline Galligan, financial analyst. Oleksiy Soroka, senior credit analyst reports to Garrett Walsh, head of credit research Europe & Asia.Mauro Ratto, head of emerging markets, said: «we plan to expand our franchise with further hires in the coming months (...)».

Investors have scaled back both risk-taking and their expectations for global growth after concerns about European Union (EU) economies resurfaced, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers from 5 to 12 April covering an overall total of 256 panelists with USD706 billion of assets under management. A 54 percent of the panel says that EU sovereign debt funding is the number one tail risk, up from a 38 percent in March. A net 63 percent of the panel predicts that Spain is likely to provide a negative surprise in 2012, up from a net 50 percent last month. But France is close behind Spain, with a net 56 percent of the panel saying France could provide a negative surprise, up from a net 52 percent.Investors have increased cash positions significantly since March. A net 24 percent of global asset allocators are overweight cash in April, up from a net 6 percent one month ago. A net 26 percent of asset allocators are overweight equities, down from a net 33 percent in March. Investors have increased allocations to pharmaceuticals, a counter-cyclical sector while reducing positions in materials, a cyclical sector. A net 20 percent of the panel says that the global economy will strengthen in the coming year, down from a net 28 percent in March - sentiment had improved steadily from November, when a net 29 percent predicted economic deterioration. A net 3 percent of the global investor panel expects corporate profits will worsen in the next 12 months, compared with a net 6 percent predicting an improvement in profits last month. Amid reduced optimism, investors are predicting more QE from both the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB). Only 36 percent of the global panel expects no further QE from the Fed, down from 47 percent in March. Many global investors have increased allocations to U.S. equities in April or expressed an intention to do so. A net 27 percent of global asset allocators are overweight U.S. equities in April, up from a net 14 percent in March. The U.S. is also the region that net 18 percent of the panel would like to overweight - only a net 2 percent named the U.S. as their preferred overweight last month. Investors within the U.S. are less optimistic, however. A net 8 percent of U.S.-based investors say the country’s economy will get stronger in the coming year, down from a net 29 percent in March.

The European Commission on Tuesday granted its approval to Swiss tax agreements with Germany and the United Kingdom. The agreements are “wholly in line with European law,” the commissioner in charge of taxation, Algirdas Semeta, told media in Brussels. The work undertaken by the Commission and the two member states to revise the agreements demonstrates that it is possible to succeed in a fruitful collaboration, Semeta says. “The results are there, and meet the EU’s requirements as well as those of member states very well,” he added. The Commission received the text of the taxation agreement between Switzerland and Austria only last Thursday. For this reason, its analysis is still underway, Semeta explained. Following an initial examination of the test, the Commission addressed a few questions to the Austrian government, but no positions have been articulated so far.