«UniCredit informs that, following an in-depth analysis of the benefits of various options open to its Asset Management arm, it has concluded that the best solution is for Pioneer Investments to focus on its organic growth, also in light of the market evolution of the last twelve months».The Italian bank confirmed on Thursday that it was calling off the sale of Pioneer.Three groups wanted to buy the asset management arm of UniCredit : Amundi, Natixis and Resolution. The Italian government also tried to merge it with Eurizon, the asset management business of Sanpaolo Intesa."Pioneer Investments has been growing organically for sometime now - its strong financial performance in 2010 reconfirms this. The business is in much better shape than it was when the review process was launched. Profits and revenues were up 13% from 2009 while Assets under Management grew from EUR176 billion in 2009 to EUR187 billion in 2010. In addition, there was consistent improvement in investment performance across the main ranges with a number of standout strategies», says a press release.The Italian bank adds : «A focused strategy which will further enhance the quality of Pioneer Investments’ product offering while maintaining focus on delivering an outstanding level of client service is being finalised».

In order to supply their increasing efforts in the area of alternative products, US managers are recruiting. 69% of them employ at least one product manager for alternative investments, while 46% have at least one marketing professional dedicated to these products, and 42% have at least one person in sales for these products, Mutual Fund Wire reports.The Retail Alternative Products and Strategies 2011 report from Cerulli Associates, which is also quoted by Investment News and alphametrix, finds that 67% of the time, managers produce more white books for their alternative products than for traditional products, while 58% hold teleconferences for alternative products more often than for traditional products.Cerulli estimates that last year 65 alternative products were launched, compared with 45 in 2009, and that these funds posted an increase of 60% in their assets, compared with 16% for all other categories of mutual funds. Total assets in these mutual hedge funds totalled USD201bn, or 2.6% of total assets in long-term mutual funds, compared with 1.9% as of the end of 2009.

With the Fidelity Patrimoine fund, a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Fidelity Funds, launched on 1 April, Fidelity has created a reactive asset allocation fund based on the formula of the FF Fidelity Gestion Equilibre, but with a wider diversification of eligible asset classes (with the addition of commodities), and more reactive management, in that risky assets may represent 0-60% of the portfolio. Prudent assets may vary from 40% to 100%. Expected relative outperformance due to tactical asset allocation of 1% to 2% is complemented by 0.5% to 1.5% from selection of underlying assets.The product is managed in Paris by David Ganozzi. CharacteristicsName: FF Fidelity PatrimoineISIN code: LU0080749848 – distribution (A) share classBenchmark index: 50% BofA ML Euro Large Cap / 15% MSCI Europe / 15% MSCI World ex Europe / 10% DJ UBS Commodity Index / 10% Euro 1w LibidFront-end fee: maximum 5.25% Management commission: 1.53%

In March, the British asset management firm Charlemagne Capital launched the Magna New Frontiers Fund (IE00B65LCL41), a UCITS-compliant version of the offshore products Charlemagne Frontiers Fund. The new fund carries a management commission of 1.95% for retail shares (R class, from EUR5,000), and 1.25% for institutional shares (N class, from EUR1m), with a 20% commission on performance exceeding the MSCI Frontier Markets index.The manager, Stefan Böttcher, says that the volume of the fund will be limited to EUR100m, and that the new fund differs from other frontier products in that it aims to invest particularly in countries that are not part of the MSCI emerging markets index, which leaves a universe of over 100 countries of various sizes, such as Argentina and Uruguay in the Americas, most of the African countries, the Middle East, the Baltic and Balkan countries of Europe, and several Asian markets, such as Pakistan, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka.Böttcher says in his management notes that frontier markets have underperformed emerging markets, and that most of these markets, with the notable exception of Sri Lanka, are still below 2008 levels. They are thus not highly correlated to developed countries or to emerging markets, but their lack of development means that a selective approach is necessary. Currently, the manager is avoiding Venezuela and Vietnam, due to political and economic risks, and steering clear of North Africa until the situation there clarifies. The cash allocation currently represents 290% of assets. The preferred countries are Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Romania.Böttcher’s favourite shares are currently Fondul Proprietates (Romania), Bank of Georgia, Mongolian Mining Corporation, Bulgartabac Holding, Mouwasat (Saudi Arabia), and Tau Capital (Kazakhstan).

In January-March, net profits at Morgan Stanley fell ot USD968m, from USD1.78bn in first quarter 2010. This is an increase over the USD836m figure recorded for October-December, however.The global wealth management group in first quarter shows net revenues of USD3.44bn, compared with USD3.35bn in the previous quarter, while pre-tax profits comred to USD348m, compared with USD390m and USD278m. Morgan Stanley states that as of 21 March, total client assets came to USD1.7trn, of which USD501bn were in fee-based accounts. Net inflows in first quarter totalled USD11.4bn, and inflows to fee-based accounts totalled USD1.78bn. For asset management, net inflows fell to USD626m in January-March, compared with USD858m in October-December, and USD653m in first quarter 2010; meanwhile, pre-tax profits for the operation totalled USD127m, compared with USD356m in fourth quarter 2010, and USD174m in January-March last year. As of 31 March, assets under management or supervision represented USD284bn, compared with USD262bn one year previously, due both to positive market effects and to net subscriptions, largely to money market funds. Net subscriptions totalled USD1.4trn, compared with net outflows of USD6.8bn in January-March 2010.

Dick Weil, CEO of Janus Capital Group, announced on 21 April that its chief financial officer (CFO), Greg Frost, has resigned, and will be leaving the business around 1 August. The next CFO will be Bruce Koepfgen, who will join Janus at the beginning of June. Koepfgen worked at Allianz Global Investors (AGI) from 2003 to 2009, partly as CEO of Oppenheimer Capital, an affiliate of Allianz, and as chairman of Allianz Global Investors Fund Management. With Weil, he was also a member of the executive board at Allianz Global Investors.

For first quarter 2011, BlackRock on 21 April announced net profits by US-GAAP accounting standards of USD568m, compared with USD657m in October-December (-14%), and USD423m in the corresponding period of last year (+34%).Assets as of the end of March totalled USD3.6484trn, 2% more than at the end of December (USD3.561trn), and 8% more than one year earlier (USD3.3639trn). Of this total, iShares and ETP products represented USD475bn for equities and Usd126.8bn for bonds, compared with USD448.16bn and USD123.1bn three months earlier, and USD388.39bn/USD109.42bn one year previously.BlackRock explains that the increase in assets under management of USD87.5bn during first quarter is due to a net market appreciation of USD100bn, and USD34.7bn for long-term products, which were partially offset by net redemptions of USD24.4bn from money market products, and outflows of USD4.5bn in dividends. Outflows related to IPO or merger-related totalled USD18.4bn.The US asset management firm says that as of 14 April, net subscriptions in the pipeline totalled USD82.4bn, of which USD60.7bn were for long-term products (55% index-based and 45% actively-managed products), USD6.2bn for money markets, and USD15.5bn for portfolios advised.The multi-asset class category also saw an increase in assets to UDS207.98bn as of 31 March, 12% more than as of the end of December, and 34% more than one year previously, while USD6.8bn of the increase of USD22.4bn in first quarter come from net inflows to fiduciary mandates; for defined contributions, net inflows totalled USD16.8bn.The CEO, Larry Fink, also says that in the period under review, BlackRock Solutions won a net 12 mandates.

For the second quarter of the fiscal year ending 30 September, Raymond James Financial has announced net profits of USD80.92m, which represents a decline of 1% compared with the USD81.72m in October-December, and an increase of 45% over the USD55.63m of the corresponding quarter in 2009-2010. For first half (to 31 March), net profits have risen 65%, to USD162.64m. As of the end of March, assets under administration and assets under management both set new records. For assets under administration, the total came to USD275bn, compared with USD262bn three months earlier, and USD242bn one year previously. Assets under management, for their part, totalled USD35.6bn, compared with USD33.4bn as of the end of December, and USD29.3bn as of the end of March 2010. The increase is due both to market effects and to net subscriptions. Asset management contributed USD30.82m to pre-tax profits in the first six months of the fiscal year (which totalled USD256.75m), compared with USD23.3m in the corresponding period of 2009-2010.

Janus Capital on 21 April announced net profits of USD37.9bn in January-March, compared with USD65.9m in the previously quarter, and USD31.3m in the corresponding period of last year. The operating margin totalled 32.1%, compared with 34.7% in October-December, and 27.3% in first quarter 2010.As of 31 March, assets increased to USD173.5bn from USD167.3bn as of the end of December, and USD165.5bn one year previously. The increase in assets under management in first quarter is the result of a positive net market effect of USD6.7bn, partially offset by net redemptions of USD2.7bn for long-term funds, with net outflows of USD3.1bn for equities funds, and net subscriptions of USD0.4bn for bond products.

After USD148.7m in first quarter 2010, distributable profits at Blackstone in January-March 2011 toalled USD196.55m, which represents an increase of 32%. By US-GAAP accounting standards, net profits in the first three months of this year totalled USD42.7bn, compared with a loss of USD121.4m in the corresponding period of last year, both after costs related to the initial public offering and acquisitions.Fee-generating assets as of the end of March totalled USD124.03bn, compared with USD98.07bn one year previously (+26%), while total assets were up year on year by 43%, to USD150bn.The two largest categories within fee-generating assets as of the end of March were private equity (USD35.89bn, +43% in one year) and hedge funds (USD35.85bn, +24%). Real estate and credit respectively stood at USD26.45bn (+11%) and USD25.84bn (+28%).

James Giddens, the court-appointed recevier for Lehman Brothers, has received agreement from JP Morgan Chase to transfer USD861m in cash and securities belonging to Lehman, which will now be redistributed to victims of the bankruptcy in September 2008, Handelsblatt reports. In order for the transaction to be valid, however, a court must still give its approval.

La société de gestion a enregistré au premier trimestre une collecte nette de 34,7 milliards de dollars pour ses fonds à long terme. Les actifs sous gestion ont grimpé de 8% sur un an pour atteindre 3.650 milliards de dollars, portés par une reprise des marchés mondiaux. Ces gains «ont montré un solide élan sous-jacent aussi bien en gestion active que passive», estime William Katz, analyste chez Citigroup.

Les deux fonds de capital-investissement ont ouvert des discussions préliminaires en vue de lancer une offre conjointe pour une participation de 1,5 milliard de dollars dans la banque malaise RBH Capital. Abou Dhabi Commercial Bank, qui détient la participation, a mandaté Goldman Sachs et Bank of America-Merrill Lynch afin de diriger l’opération.

Le conseil d’administration de Nyse Euronext a de nouveau rejeté à l’unanimité l’offre de ses concurrents américains Nasdaq OMX et IntercontinentalExchange jugée trop risquée pour privilégier celle moins importante de Deutsche Börse. Le groupe cible a jugé que cette nouvelle offre était «substantiellement la même que celle précédemment rejetée», selon son président Jan-Michiel Hessels.

«UniCredit a conclu que la meilleure solution pour Pioneer Investments était de se concentrer sur la croissance interne», a déclaré la première banque italienne dans un communiqué publié jeudi soir, confirmant une décision rapportée par l’Agefi dans son édition du 11 avril. «La maison est en bien meilleure forme qu’elle ne l'était quand le processus de révision a été lancé», a ajouté UniCredit. Pioneer avait été valorisée 3,5 milliards d’euros par la banque d’affaires Banca Leonardo. UniCredit avait reçu des offres du britannique Resolution et des français Natixis et Amundi, filiale du Crédit Agricole, mais elle les aurait estimées insuffisantes. Elle avait aussi été en discussion avec Intesa Sanpaolo en vue d’un rapprochement entre Pioneer et la filiale gestion de celle-ci, Eurizon. L'échec de cette solution, privilégiée par le gouvernement italien, aurait sonné le glas du projet de cession.

L’organisation estime qu’après 0,8 % en 2011, la croissance devrait atteindre 2,3 % en 2012. Mais elle s'alarme du « niveau critique » de la dette

La justice a décidé de modifier unilatéralement les termes de la dette subordonnée de la banque, une décision contestée par certains investisseurs

Depuis lundi, l’euro/dollar a rebondi de 3,5 % à un plus haut depuis novembre 2009 de 1,463

Depuis lundi, l’euro/dollar a rebondi de 3,5 % à un plus haut depuis novembre 2009 de 1,463

Les banques s'attendent à une nouvelle baisse de la demande de crédit hypothécaire au deuxième trimestre, selon l'enquête trimestrielle de la BoE

Le montant de la dette liée à des acquisitions en Europe s’est replié de 3 % depuis le début de l’année, à contre-courant de la tendance mondiale

Le groupe de travail, constitué sous l'égide du département de la Justice, vise à répondre à la montée des prix du carburant à la pompe

La revue Petroleum Intelligence Weekly avance de sources saoudiennes que l’Arabie Saoudite devra maintenir au cours des prochaines années sa production au-delà de neuf millions de barils quotidiens (8,29 millions le mois dernier). Les capacités de production pourraient être renforcées afin de satisfaire une demande en hausse plus prononcée que prévu antérieurement.

Le climat des affaires en Allemagne s’est légèrement détérioré en avril, conformément aux attentes, selon l'étude mensuelle réalisée par l’institut Ifo. L’indice est ressorti à 110,4, un niveau pratiquement conforme au consensus, qui prévoyait 110,5. Il était de 111,1 (confirmé) au mois de mars. L’indice reste toutefois proche des plus hauts atteints ces derniers mois, alors que le ministère des Finances anticipe pour le premier trimestre un doublement de la croissance par rapport au précédent.

L’Agence France Trésor annonce l’adjudication, le mardi 26 avril, d’un montant global de 7,5 milliards d’euros de bons du Trésor (BTF). Cette opération portera sur 3,5 milliards d’euros de bons à 12 semaines qui arriveront à échéance le 21 juillet, sur 2 milliards d’euros de bons à 27 semaines, à échéance du 03 novembre, et sur 2 milliards d’euros de bons à 49 semaines, à échéance du 5 avril 2012.

Les ventes au détail ont progressé contre toute attente en mars en Grande-Bretagne, soutenues par les produits alimentaires, montrent des statistiques officielles publiées jeudi. Selon l’Office national de la statistique, les ventes au détail ont augmenté de 0,2% sur un mois en volume, contre un recul de 0,9% (révisé de 0,8%) en février.

Paul Grice, le responsable des obligations britanniques et internationales de F&C Asset Management, a quitté la société, selon Financial News. Il y avait passé cinq ans.

Après le lancement récent du db Physical Gold GBP Hedged ETC (lire notre article du 18 avril), db X-ETC a annoncé le 20 avril l’admission à la cote du London Stock Exchange de trois autres ETC couverts du risque de change en livres sterling, le db Physical Silver GBP Hedged ETC, le db Brent Crude Oil Booster GBP Hedged ETC et le db Agriculture Booster GBP Hedged ETC.Celui sur l’or physique est chargé à 0,69 %, celui sur l’argent physique affiche un TFE de 0,85 % alors que ceux sur le pétrole et l’agriculture, qui sont en réplication synthétique, affichent 0,45 % de frais de gestion.L’encours des ETC sur la plate-forme cb X-ETC se situait au 19 avril à 1,4 milliard d’euros.

Le luxembourgeois HSBC Trinkaus Investment Managers indique avoir recruté Christian Klein chez IP Concept Fund Management pour développer son activité de fonds à le marque du distributeur. Il a le titre de directeur du département commercial pour la clientèle institutionnelle. Il est subordonné aux deux directeurs généraux Thies Clemenz et Ralf Funk.

Depuis le 15 octobre 2010, le britannique M&G Investments a obtenu l’agrément de commercialisation aux Pays-Bas de 14 de ses fonds offerts au public (*). A présent, une équipe de trois personnes basée à Francfort va s’employer activement à distribuer ces produits. Elle est dirigée par Volker Buschmann, managing director et head of Northern Europe sales assisté de Andrea Below, business development manager, et d’Helen Oeij, sales support.Les cibles seront les gérants de fonds de fonds, les gestionnaires de fortune, les family offices, les assurances et les banques. Depuis 2005, M&G se focalisait aux Pays-Bas sur la clientèle institutionnelle et notamment les fonds de pension.Le gestionnaire britannique précise que sur les 40,8 milliards d’euros d’encours de ses fonds retail, 7,96 milliards ou 19,5 % proviennent d’Europe continentale.(*) M&G American Fund, M&G Asian Fund, M&G Global Basics Fund, M&G Global Leaders Fund, M&G Global Growth Fund, M&G Japan Smaller Companies Fund, M&G Pan European Fund, M&G European Corporate Bond Fund, M&G Global Convertibles Fund, M&G European Strategic Value Fund, M&G Pan European Dividend Fund, M&G Global Emerging Markets Fund, M&G Global Dividend Fund et M&G Optimal Income Fund.