The German asset management firm Deka Immobilien has announced that it has resold the logistics property Myren 6 & 8 (15,000 square metres), located in Huddinge near Stockholm, “at a profit.” The property is wholly leased to Posten Sverige AB and was purchased for about EUR35m by the British asset management firm Rockspring Property Investment Managers.Myren 6 & 8 were acquired in 2004 for an institutional real estate fund from Deka.

The Swiss banking group Syz & Co on 14 November announced the launch of the Global high Yield sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav Oyster, with eight share classes (in US dollars and hedged for currency risks in euros, Swiss francs and Singapore dollars).The management of the global high yield bond product, which is currently reserved for institutional clients, will be outsourced to the US management boutique Seix Investment Advisors. The fund will soon be registered for sale to retail clients in several European and Asian countries, Syz states.The Oyster Global High Yield fund reproduces the strategy and investment philosophy of the unconstratined high yield strategy from Seix, which Syz says generated about twice as much returns as its peer group over five years. Concentrating on liquid bonds and limiting risks by avoiding bankruptcies, the portfolio of the Global High Yield fund is composed of a portfolio of 80 to 100 positions.ISIN codes:OYSTER Global High Yield USD LU0688633410OYSTER Global High Yield EUR-hedged LU0688633683OYSTER Global High Yield CHF-hedged LU0688633501OYSTER Global High Yield SGD-hedged LU0688633766OYSTER Global High Yield I USD LU0688633840OYSTER Global High Yield I EUR-hedged LU0688634061OYSTER Global High Yield I CHF-hedged LU0688633923OYSTER Global High Yield I SGD-hedged LU0688634228

The secretary general of the French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) on 14 November announced that it has opened an investigation of the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, after the firm announced that it had released a message to several of its subscribers in error stating that the credit rating for France had been downgraded (see Newsmanagers of 14 November). The AMF has also contacted the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA), in its role as controller of the professional responsibilities of ratings agencies.

The board of directors at UBS has appointed Sergio P. Ermotti as CEO of the group, effective immediately. He has held the position for the interim since 24 September 2011. The decision of the board to award the position of group CEO of Ermotti was taken following an extensive evaluation process, the bank said on 15 November in a statement. The chairman of the board of directors, Kaspar Villiger, has decided to step up changes to the board at UBS, and not to stand as a candidate for his own seat at the general assembly on 3 May 2012. After his election to the board of directors at the next general shareholders’ meeting, Axel Weber, who is expected to be appointed as vice-chairman of the board, will succeed Villiger as chairman of the board of directors. The board of directors and the executive board at UBS have finalised their plans to reposition the bank and the board of directors has defined a strategy for UBS. In his new role, Ermotti will be in charge of deploying the new strategy, which “concentrates on our leading wealth management activities and our position as the largest universal bank in Switzerland,” says Ermotti, cited in the statement. The details of the new strategy will be unveiled on UBS Investor Day, which will be held on 17 November 2011 in New York.

Credit Suisse is planning to fully integrate Clariden Leu into its organisation by the end of 2012, the bank announced in a statement on 15 November. The move will result in recurring annual cost savings of about CHF200m, and an increase in private banking profits of CHF800m by 2014. CS is expecting the integration to strengthen its position and to increase the profitability and efficiency of private banking operations. The currently clients of Clariden Leu will be transferred to Credit Suisse. Hans-Ulrich Meister, Chief Executive Officer Private Banking at Credit Suisse, has been elected as chairman of the board at Clariden Leu, while Hanspeter Kurzmeyer is appointed as its new CEO.

Pimco on 14 November announced the launch of the Pimco GIS Credit Absolute Return fund, aimed at investors seeking a diversified strategy focused on absolute returns with no benchmark. The fund has an “all-terrain” investment style, has considerable freedom in terms of the financial instruments to be integrated into its portfolio, and is managed by Mark Kiesel, Managing Director and Head of corporate debt portfolios. The fund combines long-term strategic investments and more short-term tactical opportunities in order to offer positive returns regardless of the market environment. It is designed to allow investors to diversify their bond portfolio without exposing themselves to risks that Pimco estimates are inherent to indices. The fund will be based on the expertise of Pimco in the area of credit, its proven investment process, research capacity and risk management techniques, in order to offer a strategy focused on absolute returns to investors seeking alternatives to long-only traditional funds. “The Pimco investment process orients our macroeconomic scenario, and allows us to identify risk factors in various bond markets,” says Kiesel. “We complement this top-down approach with a rigorous bottom-up analysis which aims to obtain the best long and short positions in each segment of the bond market: investment grade credit, high yield bonds, emerging market credit, bank loans, and municipal and convertible bonds.” The fund comes as an addition to the Global Investor Series (GIS) from Pimco, which complies with UCITS regulations. The range, registered in Dublin, now has 45 sub-funds, representing EUR57bn in asstes under management as of 30 June 2011. In addition to daily liquidity, the funds offer investors a way to expose their portfolios to a wide range of asset classes, ranging from global and regional traditional bond funds, to credit portfolios, to alternative and asset allocation solutions. The funds are available in several share classes denominated in several currencies, depending on the needs of the client. Institutional share classes in the funds will be available for sale under the ticker code PIMCIUA.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc, the portfolio company for Warren Buffett, on 14 November announced that it has acquired 5.4% of International Business Machines Corp (IBM), for a total of USD10.7bn, the Wall Street Journal reports.The investment at current market prices represents USD12bn, thus Berkshire Hathaway has already made gains of 12%. After State Street, Berkshire Hathaway was the second-largest shareholder in IBM as of 30 September. The buyer had begun to amass shares since March, twice receiving confidential treatment from the SEC.Since the beginning of this year, the share price for IBM has increased by 28%, while the S&P 500 index was flat. With an investment in IBM, Buffett breaks with his longstanding aversion to the technology sector.

Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, and Axa Real Estate Investment Managers, acting on behalf of Axa France Insurance Companies, has announced that their Paris office joint venture partnership has exchanged contracts to acquire by the end of the year a portfolio of prime Paris offices for EUR290 million (excluding transfer taxes), reflecting a passing cap rate of 6.0%. This second acquisition by the JV has been negotiated off market and comprises three office properties, with some retail units on ground floors: two in Paris and one in Boulogne-Billancourt, in the Western Business District of Paris. The details of the assets are as follows: 28 – 32 Victor Hugo – Paris 16 – A prime office asset located in the heart of the Paris central business district in the immediate vicinity of Place de l’Etoile. It has a total GLA of approximately 9,500 sqm, of which 900 sqm of retail, arranged over five basement levels, a ground floor and seven upper levels. The property is fully let. 99 Avenue de France – Paris 13 – Located in the Rive Gauche business area in the 13th district of Paris, the asset has a total GLA of approximately 14,300 sqm, of which 4,600 sqm of retail, arranged over two basement levels, a ground floor and eight upper levels. It is fully let. Le Prélude – Boulogne-Billancourt – A headquarter office building located within Boulogne-Billancourt, in the established Western Business District of Paris. It has a total GLA of approximately 8,200 sqm arranged over three basement levels, a ground floor and six upper levels. It is fully let to a single strong covenant tenant. The JV between Norges Bank and Axa Real Estate was launched in August 2011 to target co-investment opportunities in the Paris office market.

NewAlpha Asset Management, an affiliate of IFO AM specialised in the incubation of management firms in the inception phase, has signed its seventeenth incubation partnership with the Heieck Siebrecht Capital Advisors company, via an investment of USD40m in the asset manager’s flagship fund. HSCA AG, based in Zurich, is an independent company founded in 2009 by Frank Siebrecht and Stefan Heieck. Siebrecht and Heieck had a total of over 26 years of experience in German and European equities. Siebrecht was an equities analyst at Deutsche Bank for 9 years, before spending three years at Absolute Capital Management, where he was co-manager of the Absolute Capital Germany fund. Heieck was in equity sales at DG Financial Markets, and then at ManFirst Capital, before joining Absolute Capital Management to co-manage Absolute Capital Germany. Heieck Siebrecht Capital Advisors uses an absolute return strategy on European equities with a particular focus on German, Swiss and Austrian large and midcaps. HSCA also includes in its investment universe European rivals to their German counterparts.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has announced the appointment of Carol Baldwin Moody as senior portfolio manager for investment compliance and operational risk. As the head of CalPERS new Investment Compliance function, she will be responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring investment management compliance and operational risk programs and policies. Moody comes to CalPERS from Wilmington Trust, where she was senior vice president and chief risk officer.

The US investment firm Evercore Partners Inc has bought a 45% stake in Evercore Investment Management LLC (24 employtees, USD3.5bn in assets) for about USD45m in cash. The transaction will be closed by the end of the year.The founders and employees of the firm will retain the remaining 55%. Alain De Coster, Laurence Russian and Guilherme Ribeiro do Valle, the founders, will remain as heads of ABS IM, and will sign long-term employment contracts. They will invest a large part of the proceeds of the sale in products managed by ABS.

The French entrepreneurial asset management firm IT Asset Management (about EUR150m in assets) has recruited Ines Thibault as head of sales for France. She had previously been head of sales at Algofi.Pierre Nicolle, an intern sales assistant, has been recruited as a salesperson for France. He joined the asset management firm in December 2009, after being responsible for development of major accounts at a finance specialist IT services company. He will be in charge of monitoring and distribution of funds in France to institutional clients and independent financial advisers.IT Asset Management is also adding to its sales drive in Europe, with the registration of the IT Funds Info Tech fund in Spain, and a new sales partner in the United Kingdom, Gemini Investment Management.

At the end of last month, assets under management by Legg Mason totalled USD628.7bn, compared with USD611.8bn as of 30 September. This level remains well below USD662.5bn at the end of June, and USD671.8bn as of 31 December 2010.Among its long-term assets, the equity allocation increased to USD159.4bn as of the end of October, from USD144.9bn at the end of September (it totalled USD184.2bn as of the end of last year), while bond products totalled USD359bn as of 31 October, compared with USD355.5bn one month previously, and USd355.8bn as of 31 December 2010.Assets in money market funds were down to USD110bn, from USD111.4bn as of 30 September. As of the end of 2010, these asstes totalled USD131.8bn.

Sur 25 ans, les blue chips américaines et les marchés émergents affichent une performance annualisée respective de +9 % et +13 %

Elle a placé trois milliards d’euros de titres à cinq ans avec un rendement de 6,3 %, en hausse par rapport à la dernière adjudication

La Commission européenne devrait indiquer qu’il est justifié d’encadrer la liberté des agences de notation dans des «circonstances exceptionnelles» et dans une logique de «prévention des désordres», selon le texte qui doit être rendu public aujourd’hui et dont le quotidien s’est procuré une copie. La Commission estime ainsi que les agences peuvent augmenter «les effets de contagion» par des «biais subjectifs» et des dégradations de notes «arbitraires».

Le directeur général de la Banque asiatique de développement, Rajat Nag, a enjoint, dans un entretien au quotidien, la Chine et l’Inde de «faire tout leur possible» pour soutenir la zone euro à se relever de la crise dans la mesure où elle pourrait avoir «des effets de effets significatifs» sur le continent asiatique. «Nous sommes tous dans le même bateau» a indiqué le dirigeant.

Quinze banques européennes ont diminué de 24 milliards leur exposition à la dette italienne, soit 17% de la base à fin juin, selon un pointage de L’Agefi.

Les retraits subis par les fonds monétaires ont pesé sur les filiales de gestion des banques françaises. BNP Paribas et Amundi souffrent tout particulièrement. En revanche, Natixis confirme sa solidité depuis le début de l’année, notamment grâce à son ancrage américain.

Les deux groupes restent «en quête d’un nouvel équilibre» selon le quotidien au sein de leur coentreprise, La Banque Postale Gestion Privée. Pierre-Manuel Sroczynski, secrétaire général de La Banque Postale Asset Management, devrait prendre la tête de LBPGP. Cette nomination, qui ne sera officialisée que début décembre, confirme la volonté du groupe public de réduire le poids d’Oddo.

Les spreads se sont nettement tendus la semaine dernière. Les émetteurs non financiers sont également touchés

Le Premier ministre Lucas Papadémos a plaidé en faveur d'un nouveau programme d'ajustement budgétaire, une perspective que la droite rejette

La diminution, dont le gros provient de cessions de titres, atteint 24 milliards d'euros selon un pointage provisoire de « L'Agefi »

La croissance a rebondi de 1,5 % au troisième trimestre et de 6 % en rythme annualisé, avec une contribution du commerce extérieur de 0,4 point

La holding destinée à des prises de participations dans l’agriculture, sponsorisée par Massena Partners, a réalisé son premier closing avec un tour de table de près de 40 millions de dollars. Terra Magna Capital a sélectionné un portefeuille de terres agricoles détenues en pleine propriété, situées en Amérique Latine et d’une superficie totale de 70.500hectares.

«Nous avons anticipé la possibilité d’une croissance plus faible, compte tenu de la situation en Europe et dans le monde», a déclaré hier le Premier ministre François Fillon. «J’avais déjà indiqué il y a plusieurs jours que six milliards d’euros seraient gelés sur le budget 2012, si les prévisions de croissance n'étaient pas au rendez-vous. Ces six milliards d’euros gelés se transformeraient alors en annulation de crédits», a-t-il expliqué. Le budget 2012 de la France se fonde sur une hypothèse de croissance de 1% du PIB.

L’IASB et le FASB, les normalisateurs comptables, ont soumis hier à consultation une version révisée de leurs propositions visant à faire converger les exigences des normes IFRS et US GAAP pour la prise en compte des revenus tirés de contrats avec des clients. Ce standard révisé remplacerait notamment IAS 18 Revenus et IAS 11 Contrats de construction.

Le PIB du Portugal s’est contracté de 0,4% au troisième trimestre par rapport au trimestre précédent, la récession s’aggravant sous l’effet des mesures d’austérité, indiquent les données publiées par l’Institut national de la statistique (INE). L’estimation flash donne une contraction du PIB en glissement annuel de 1,7% durant le trimestre.

La plus haute instance judiciaire des Etats-Unis a accepté d’examiner des recours concernant la loi sur l’assurance-maladie et devrait rendre sa décision d’ici juillet 2012. Elle devra se prononcer sur le fait de savoir si le Congrès a outrepassé ses pouvoirs en rendant l’assurance-maladie obligatoire d’ici 2014 sous peine de payer une amende.

Après la création d’une joint-venture en août dernier dans laquelle Norges Bank a investi 700 millions d’euros, la banque centrale, pour le compte du fonds souverain norvégien, et Axa Real Estate (Axa RE) viennent d’acquérir pour 290 millions d’euros trois immeubles de bureaux situés à Paris et à Boulogne Billancourt, dans le cadre de leur coentreprise.