Vendredi, la Deutsche Lufthansa a indiqué dans un communiqué boursier que Templeton Global Advisors (Bahamas) lui a notifié le 11 janvier avoir franchi le 10 janvier le seuil de 5 % des droits de vote et posséder 5,001 % du capital. Le gestionnaire américain Franklin Templeton Investments avait franchi le seuil des 3 % le 31 août.Le 10 janvier 2011, BlackRock avait déjà franchi pour sa part le seuil des 5 % (à 5,08 %) et n’a pas notifié depuis être descendu au-dessous de cette limite.Les deux gestionnaires américains sont ainsi les deux principaux actionnaires de la compagnie aérienne allemande, devant Axa, qui est redescendu sous la barre des 3 % (à 2,80 %) le 31 octobre.

2011 a été une année mécaniquement difficile pour les gestionnaires contrarian et value. Pourtant, compte tenu de la nature de sa gamme de fonds et de sa variété, Mandarine Gestion affiche à la fois une collecte nette et un repli limité de son bénéfice par rapport à 2010. Avec une expansion à l'étranger qui se poursuit méthodiquement.

La société de gestion Polar Capital a fait état pour les trois mois à fin décembre d’une collecte nette de 193 millions de dollars, a indiqué la société le 13 janvier.Sur les neuf premiers mois de l’exercice, la collecte nette s'élève ainsi à 826 millions de dollars, avec des souscriptions nettes de 889 millions de dollars pours les fonds long only mais des rachats nets de 63 millions de dollars du côté des hedge funds. Les actifs ous gestion, qui s'élevaient à 4,28 milliards de dollars fin novembre, s’inscrivaient à 4,24 milliards de dollars fin décembre.

Robert Talbut, le directeur des investissements (CIO) de Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) a été nommé par le conseil de l’Association of Britsh Insurers (ABI) à la présidence du comité des investissements de l’ABI, en remplacement d’Alain Dromer, CEO d’Aviva Investors qui a démissionné de cette fonction en raison de l’accroissement de sa charge de travail liée aux problématiques de gouvernance et à la Kay Review du gouvernement britannique.La nomination de Robert Talbut comme président du comité des investissements prend effet au 17 janvier, mais l’intéressé devient avec effet immédiat membre du conseil de l’ABI. Entre autres fonctions qu’il exerce, Robert Talbut est aussi membre du comité de gestion d’actifs de l’Investment Management Association (IMA).

Cedrus Partners vient de publier son rapport annuel sur les fonds ESG (environnement, social et gouvernance), ISR (investissement socialement responsable) et thématiques (eau, bois, énergies renouvelables, social…), qui reprend notamment les statistiques (encours, performance, dispersion) sur les 483 fonds présents dans la base mondiale de recherche de la société. Principal enseignement du rapport, les fonds actions de l’univers «ont bien résisté en termes de rachats en 2011", souligne Cedrus Partners. Les rachats nets ont ainsi représenté 2,07 milliards sur la période d’observation, soit 5 % du total des encours sous gestion de cette catégorie de produits, qui s'élèvent à fin 2011 à 37,940 milliards d’euros. Les rachats sur la catégorie des fonds monétaires ont été plus importants en relatif, avec des sorties nettes de 2,68 milliards sur un an, pour arriver à 23,649 milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion. Concernant le nombre de produits recensés par Cedrus Partners dans sa base, les fonds actions spécialisés dans l’ESG, ISR et les thématiques connexes sont toujours plus nombreux. 136 nouveaux fonds actions ont vu le jour en 2011, contre 109 en 2010. On note surtout un coup d’accélérateur sur les fonds actions «monde», avec 41 création de fonds l’an dernier contre 27 en 2010. Coté promoteurs de fonds, certains ont su attirer les investisseurs malgré des conditions de marché difficiles. Dans la catégorie ESG Eurozone, c’est le fonds AG2R Actions ISR qui a enregistré le plus de souscriptions nettes. Dans la catégorie ESG Europe, Vanguard SRI European Stock se place premier. Dans l’ESG World, c’est également Vanguard avec son produit Vanguard SRI Global Stock. Pictet se retrouve en première place des fonds de la catégorie Global Environnement avec son Pictet-Environmental Megatrend Selection. La catégorie Sustainable Energy est dominée par SAM Smart Energy, et la catégorie Water par Sarasin Sustainable Water. CPR Silver Age arrive premier en termes de souscriptions nettes de la catégorie Social Themes. Parmi les fonds Global Sustainability, c’est le fonds First State Global Emerging Markets Sustainability qui a séduit. Enfin, la catégorie Ressources & New Materials a consacré le fonds thématique Pictet Timber.Le rapport est accessible en pièce jointe de l’article.

Pour attirer à nouveau une clientèle institutionnelle échaudée par les performances décevantes des dernières années, la gestion alternative cherche de nouvelles approches. L’une des solutions se trouve dans les plates-formes de comptes gérés, note La Tribune. Elles permettent d’accéder à un ensemble de hedge funds et de construire une allocation en fonction des objectifs de risques, «mais surtout de pouvoir gérer ses entrées et sorties tout en ayant une vue d’ensemble du portefeuille investi par la plate-forme choisie», détaille le quotidien. Car aujourd’hui, «les investisseurs veulent choisir là où ils investissent avec chacun de leur gérant, tout en bénéficiant d’une transparence et d’un contrôle des actifs meilleurs», souligne Cyril Julliard, président et cofondateur d’Eraam.

L’Agefi rapporte que BNP Paribas pourrait réduire les conséquences sociales du plan de réorganisation de sa BFI si la banque renonçait à verser tout dividende au titre de l’exercice 2011, selon un rapport commandé par les syndicats. Se calant sur les anticipations des analystes, l’enveloppe serait proche de 2 milliards d’euros. L'économie permettrait d’envisager une réorganisation du pôle CIB moins lourde en terme de réduction du bilan et donc de suppressions de postes, écrivent les auteurs. Ils estiment ainsi que 170 postes pourraient être conservés en France sur les 373 visés.

Cinco Días has provocatively published an article only shortly after the credit ratings of many euro zone countries were downgraded, entitled “Should AAA ratings be the only point of reference for the markets?” Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has replied that the answer is no, for two reasons that have nothing to do with errors of judgement on the part of ratings agencies. The first reason is that ratings from the three major ratings agencies (Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch) do not mean exactly the same thing, and so attention must be paid to methodology. The second reason is that the best ratings are much more rare as a result of the crisis. As there are fewer AAA ratings, S&P recommends that courageous investors adopt positions on investors with slightly lower ratings, but should continue to rely on their own research, and take decisions on the basis of the reasons for the rating, and not the rating itself.

The exponential growth of the ETF Sector may be slowed in 2012. Recommendations which will very soon be published by the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) are expected to be rather strict, with the emphasis on counterparty risk and systemic risk controls, according to a study of the European market published recently by the research agency Celent. As a result, volumes under management in the synthetic ETF sector may decline, Celent estimates. Synthetic ETF fund creations were highly intensive between 2006 and 2010, a year when nearly 90% of releases of new synthetic products were in Europe (compared with 6% in the United States). The proportion of synthetic ETFs in the ETF market now represents 45% by value, compared with slightly over 20% in 2005. The synthetic ETF sector may begin to approach levels observed in the United States, where assets under management in the sector are lower due to regulatory restrictions. In Asia, where the market is just beginning, synthetic ETFs may play a major role in Hong Kong and Singapore, Celent predicts in another study dedicated to ETFs in Asia. But there again, regulations may have a lasting impact on the terrain. The Hong Kong market regulator (SFC) last year established rules to reduce counterparty and collateral risks, and to improve the transparency of synthetic products. Lyxor threatened to leave the market at that time. In Singapore, the regulator is planning to make changes to regulations similar to the European ones. If the modifications introduced are less rigorous than those put in place in Hong Kong, the Singapore market may overtake Hong Kong. Of the other Asian markets, Australia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, investors prefer physical ETFs. In other words, volumes in physical ETFs may well continue to increase, but for synthetic ETFs, it is more likely that there will be stagnation or slight growth in the synthetic market, in both Asia and Europe.

The Managed Funds Association is calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to withdraw a rule that forbids hedge funds from advertising publicly and soliciting investors, the Financial Times reports. The rule (rule 502 (C) of Regulation D) is so broad in its application that most hedge funds are not allowed to communicate with unqualified third parties, including the press.

2011 was a difficult year for contrarian and value managers. However, due to the nature of its fund product range and its variety, Mandarine Gestion has posted both net inflows and only a slight decline in its profits compared with 2010. The firm is planning to methodically continue its foreign expansion.

Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, has filed a lawsuit against investors who received payouts from the fraudster, via Fairfield Security and Kingate Global Fund, the Wall Street Journal reports. Picard is also seeking USD77m from Banco Itau Europa Luxembourg SA and Banco Itau Europa International, USD30.6m from Crédit Agricole SA and its Swiss affiliate, USD43.4m from Arden Asset Management and several of its affiliates, and USD36.5m from the British asset management firm Grosvenor Investment Management and its affiliates.

Despite a difficult environment, the hedge fund sector has had a good year in 2011. The average size of a new hedge fund totalled about USD40m, similar to the amount observed in Europe, BNY Mellon observes in a report on hedge funds in Asia. However, most funds launched in the region have generally not met their initial objectives, or have been delayed. In 2012, the situation is expected to remain difficult, BNY Mellon estimates, although there is a trend to maintain allocations to emerging markets. In Sinagpore, new hedge fund regulations planned for early 2012 include the appointment of independent administrators. This move favours a “new status quo” in the sector which will favour inflows, particularly as attention paid to good governance, particularly counterparty risks, were central concerns of last year. With the development of better governance in mind, BNY Mellon touts the development of prime custody structures, which merge the roles of the custodian and prime broker. The establishment of sophisticated prime custody services will also allow hedge funds to improve execution and collateral management, which may favour reduction in costs and improved reporting.

For 2011, the asset management unit at JPMorgan has posted net inflows of USD71bn. For fourth quarter alone, subscriptions totalled USD58bn, due to inflows of USD53bn to money market products. Long-term products have seen inflows of USD5bn. Due to these inflows and despite falling markets, assets under management as of the end of 2011 were up 3% compared with the previous year, at USD1.3trn. For fourth quarter, the asset management unit at JPMorgan has seen a decline in its net profits of 40% compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, to USD302m. That is due to a decline in net revenues of 13%, to USD2.3bn.

After a period of integration into the Morningstar group, which has now concluded, Seeds Finance has announced that it is planning to take a step forward in its development as a platform for European expertise for the group in the areas of institutional investors (Solvency 2, etc), risk control and alternative strategies. In order to enter this new development phase, Seeds Finance has added to its teams, with the arrival of two people, Christophe Tardy and Cécile Astier. Tardy, currently director of strategy and projects at Morningstar France, a position he has held since April 2011, becomes deputy CEO of Seeds Finance, in charge of development in France and French-speaking Switzerland. Astier, who began in her position on 9 January, comes as an addition to consultant teams, contributing her expertise in hedge fund strategies and fixed income instruments. Astier managed the hedge fund analysis team at Lyxor AM for five years (fixed income, credit and volatility strategies). Tanguy de Lauzon gets a promotion as part of the reshuffle, and becomes deputy CEO of Seeds Finance, in charge of advising activities. De Lauzon, currently director of alternative management and fund selection, joined the team at Seeds Finance more than three years ago, after eight years spent at SGAM AI as a manager and hedge fund analyst. Alban Duchaine, director of client services and risk control, will receive additional responsibilities. Duchaine will coordinate the various advising offerings from Seeds Finance to institutional investors, particularly the Solvency 2 product range. Duchaine has been contributing to the development and success of Seeds Finance for over 5 years.

On Friday, Ethos, Swiss Foundation for Sustainable Development, published the 2012 edition of its corporate governance principles and proxy voting guidelines, which reinforces the attention paid to environmental and social challenges facing companies. The new edition specifies that when the board’s proposals constitute a significant environmental or social risk they cannot be approved. Also, the board cannot be discharged for its management of the company, when the company is involved in an accident that had a serious negative impact on employee health or the environment or when the company is accused of serious violations of employee or supplier social rights. In case of mergers or acquisitions, a proposal cannot be approved when the products or the corporate practices of the new entity do not respect the human or labour rights of the employees or seriously harm the environment. Regarding shareholder resolutions, which are often tabled on the agenda of general meetings of US and Canadian companies, Ethos will support those that aim at improving the company’s social responsibility.

Thames River has recruited Brett Golledge, who joins the Global Credit team from UBS where he was head of credit trading until November 2011. He will will become co‐manager of the team’s funds alongside Stephen Drew, who heads the team. The recruitment comes as a part of a restructuring of the team, which has led to the departure of Mehrdad Noorani, portfolio manager, and Chris Currington, the Global Credit team’s chief operating officer. Another person has also been recruited, from Gruss Asset Management: Jennifer James, as head of research.

The asset management firm Polar Capital has posted net inflows for the three months to the end of December of USD193m, the firm announced on 13 January. In the first nine months of the year, net inflows have totalled USD826m, with net subscriptions of USD889m for long-only funds, but net redemptions of USD63m from hedge funds. Assets under management, which totalled USD4.28bn as of the end of November, totalled USD4.24bn as of the end of December.

Robert Talbut, director and chief investment officer at Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), has been appointed by the board of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) as chairman of the ABI investment committee. He will take over from Alain Dromer, CEO of Aviva Investors, who is stepping down in recognition of the significantly increased time commitment required on stewardship activities and the Government’s Kay Review. Robert Talbut, who is currently deputy chairman of the committee, takes over as chairman of the ABI investment committee on January 17, 2012 and is appointed to the ABI Board with immediate effect.

Concerns about the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone led European investors in November to prefer liquid and low-risk investments. Long-term UCITS funds (exccluding money markets) saw outflows of nearly EUR29bn in November, compared with EUR19.3bn in October, according to statistics from the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA). Outflows from equity funds more than doubled month on month to EUR16.3bn in November, from EUR7.5bn in October, while net redemptions from bond funds for their part totalled EUR10.7bn, compared with EUR5.2bn in October. Diversified funds nearly returned to an even keep, with only EUR0.3bn in outflows, after EUR5bn in October. Money market funds, which underwent net redemptions in October totalled EUR10.4bn, posted net inflows in November of EUR19.7bn. For non-UCITS funds, inflows increased in November to EUR11bn, compared with EUR7bn in October, due to an increase in subscriptions to dedicated funds, to EUR11bn from EUR8bn previously. Total assets in UCITS funds contracted by 1.2% in November to EUR5.425trn, while non-UCITS funds posted a slight gain of 0.4% to EUR2.144trn.

On Friday, Deutsche Lufthansa announced in a statement to the markets that Templeton Global Advisors (Bahamas) on 11 January notified that on 10 January it had increased its stake above the threshold of 5% voting rights, with 5.001% of capital. The US asset management firm Franklin Templeton Investments passed the 3% threshold on 31 August. On 10 January 2011, BlackRock for its part passed the 5% threshold (with 5.08%), and has not issued any notification since that it has fallen below this level. The two US asset management firms are the two largest shareholders in the German airline, followed by Axa, whose stake fell below the 3% threshold (at 2.80%) on 31 October.

The asset management sector appears to have bid farewell to fair weather. While preparing for more turbulence ahead, at least in the first part of the year, managers surveyed by Cerulli Associates in Asia, Europe and the United States (representing a total of more than USD10trn in assets under management) appear resolved not to modify their strategies much. This does not mean that they won’t adapt if the markets stay badd for a long time. In such an environment, cost pressures would be likely to increase. Managers surveyed do not predict, however, that the theme of costs would be likely to steer business plans at asset management firms. An increase in costs is often related to development strategies, as at Natixis, which is seeking to generate 50% of its profits from markets other than the United States and France. For his part, James Thorneley, head of communications for the Aberdeen Investment Management group, says that attention to costs may lead to mergers of secondary funds, but that these savings may be directed to the launch of new funds. Aberdeen is not the only company to see the need to make cost savings in order to look to the launch of new, more sophisticated and more profitable products. “Clients are seeking product solutions which are not constrained to a single asset class, but which have a highly sophisticated risk profile,” says Daniel Lehman, hin European products at Allianz Global Investors. “We have a manager in the United States who uses option hedging strategies for equities indices, which is working very well,” he adds. Carlo Cavazzoni, head of international distribution at Generali Investments, claims that “volatility is an asset class we have to learn to live with... We see enormous potential in asset liability management (ALM) and all associated services, such as liability-driven investment (LDI).” In terms of distribution, after a hard year in 2011, 2012 is not starting out well, to the extent that asset management firms will be likely to pay particular attention to managing client relations and brand management.

BlackRock has announced the launch of three equities ETF funds of the iShares brand on the Arca platform on 10 January. The products include two small cap specialist products, the iShares MSCI Hong Kong Small Cap Index Fund (acronym: EWHS) and the iShares MSCI Singapore Small Cap Index Fund (EWSS). Both funds charge fees of 0.59%. The third new ETF fund is the iShares MSCI World Index Fund (URTH), for which the management commission is 0.24%.

Rockspring, a British asset management firm specialised in real estate investments, has sold the B building of the Orléans Plaza complex from its PanEuropean fund to Primonial Reim. The property is wholly leased to GMF and Pôle Emploi. The investment volume totals EUR13.8m.

The German firm Warburg-Henderson KAG für Immobilien has acquired a 10,400 square metre commercial property located in Mariahilfer Straße in Vienna, which since 2003 had been owned by the open-ended real estate fund WestInvest ImmoValue from Deka Immobilien, for an undisclosed amount. For Deka, the sale means a more marked orientation to office properties for the WestInvest ImmoValue fund. The proceeds of the sale will be used shortly for new acquisitions.

In December, US long-term funds saw net outflows of USD10.55bn, but for the year as a whole, they posted net subscriptions of USD55.58bn, Morningstar reports. The heaviest net redemptions were from US equity funds, with USD18.46bn in December and USD98.77bn for 2011 as a whole. However, the taxable bonds category attracted USD11.81bn in December, and USD132.73bn in January-December. Long-term passively-managed funds in all asset classes also saw inflows, of a net total of USD62.2bn, compared with USD68.8bn in 2010. Morningstar points out that long-term funds have seen net redemptions in five of the past seven months. For money market funds, December brought net inflows of USD33.53bn, but 2011 was marked by net redemptions of USD110.11bn.

The stock market company BATS Global Markets (equities and options) has announced that BlackRock will be listing its first iShares brand ETF on the primary listing of its electronic trading platform on 24 January. The fund will be the iShares MSCI Norway Capped Investable Market Index Fund (ticker: ENOR). Seven other funds will be introduced soon thereafter: • iShares MSCI Australia Small Cap Index Fund (EWAS)• iShares MSCI Canada Small Cap Index Fund (EWCS)• iShares MSCI Finland Capped Investable Market Index Fund (EFNL)• iShares MSCI Germany Small Cap Index Fund (EWGS)• iShares MSCI India Index Fund (INDA)• iShares MSCI India Small Cap Index Fund (SMIN) et• iShares MSCI United Kingdom Small Cap Index Fund (EWUS)

Lyxor AM is launching the Lyxor ETF MSCI All Country World fund on the Milan stock exchange, Bluerating reports. The product replicates the MSCI All Country World index, which includes 2,500 businesses worldwide.

Olivier Mareuse, directeur financier de la Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) dans Option Finance numéro 1155: Notre portefeuille obligataire est de très bonne qualité et n’a de ce fait pas été affecté par la crise de cet été. Nous avons deux portefeuilles. Celui dit d’investissement qui est à long terme (20 milliards d’euros) est composé d’emprunts d’Etats, que nous conservons jusqu'à maturité. Nous sélectionnons des émetteurs européens de très grande qualité avec une surpondération en France et uniquement des titres à taux fixe. Le portefeuille de crédit (10 milliards d’euros) est quant à lui typiquement investi dans des obligations d’une durée plus courte, autour de quatre ans. Ce sont des titres à taux variables ou swapés pour éviter le risque de taux. Nous privilégions ici les obligations corporate de qualité, entièrement investment grade, notées A et au dessus. Cette stratégie a été adoptée depuis 2009 à la faveur de l'élargissement des spreads corporate. Globalement, nous procédons à une augmentation du portefeuille obligataire, notamment parce que nous enregistrons une hausse de nos ressources de dépôts au passif, émanant des notaires. Pour 2012, donc dans une logique d’adossement actif-passif, nous comptons renforcer les investissements en obligations. Dans le portefeuille obligataire, nous introduisons des émetteurs des pays émergents.

Alain Pestre, directeur des investissements de la Caisse d’assurance vieillesse des pharmaciens (CAVP) dans l’Agefi Hebdo numéro 307: Nous avons été clairement échaudés en octobre 2008 par la décision de l’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) d’autoriser les multigestionnaires à apposer des ???gates’ (seuils de rachat) leur permettant de limiter les retraits de leurs clients, en les échelonnant dans le temps. Aujourd’hui, la CAVP a limité son exposition à un fonds de six mandats gérés par Fundquest (dont une brique en gestion alternative) et un produit multigestionnaire alternatif de Lyxor. Même s’il reconnaît : Nous avions par le passé géré des stratégies alternatives en direct, mais cet environnement est complexe et nécessite un suivi dont seuls les gérants de portefeuille sont capables.