p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Agefi Switzerland reports that Christian Gast has been appointed director of iShares Switzerland from 1 November 2010. iShares offers exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from BlackRock and is hoping to strengthen its presence on the Swiss market. Previously, Gast was executive director at UBS Global Asset Management. Andreas Zingg also joined iShares on 1 November, taking over as head of sales for German-speaking Switzerland. He also previously worked at UBS Global Asset Management. “We will invest in the Swiss market and strengthen our team in the next few months,” says David Gardner, head of sales for iShares in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Clariden Leu, an affiliate of Credit Suisse Group, on 4 November announced in a statement that it has opened a representative office in Abu Dhabi. The office, which opened on Wednesday, is a sign of the bank’s ambition to strengthen its strategic presence in the Middle East. The bank is also present in Dubai and Cairo. “Our presence in Abu Dhabi will help us in the future to respond more quickly and individually to the wishes of our Middle Eastern clients,” says the CEO of Clariden Leu, Hans Nützi.

AFG (the French investment management association) at a press conference on 4 November welcomed the publication of a report by the French high committee for the markets on the strategy and development of the French management industry. The president of AFG, Paul-Henri de la Porte du Theil, who co-chaired the working group whose proposals were approved on 15 October by the Minister for the Economy, Christine Lagarde, emphasized the need for a successful transposition of the UCITS IV directive. This means, among other things, a transposition which would be rapid, to be completed before the end of March 2011, with a public consultation launched before the end of December. It would be a literal transposition without gold plating, and would be an occasion to strengthen the readability and competitiveness of the regulatory framework and therefore of product offerings.With this in mind, de la Porte du Theil argues that there are too many technical obstacles discouraging investment by non-residents. “If we want to attract investors, it is indispensable for them to understand the rules,” he said. Therefore, the working group has made a certain number of recommendations, including setting up a reference for OPCVM funds on the Paris market by 2012, which would allow management firms to better understand the passive for funds that they manage, through order marking, and to promote direct orders in a secure framework, in oder to allow foreign investors to establish a direct relationship with the management firm, and to develop a system in France similar to that of the transfer agent.AFG will also actively participate in the international promotion of asset management, and set up better coordination of all parties concerned, including AFG, asset management firms, regulatory and public authorities, and will aim to mobilize the entire industry ecosystem. A framework dedicated to international promotion will be set up under the umbrella of the AFG, which will have added means to deploy this strategy.

The planned AIFM directive, which will be definitively passed on 11 November, is not a step in the right direction, says the AFG. “The directive includes positive aspects and negative aspects. The positive aspects are numerous, including maintaining freedom of investment for professionals and application waiting periods. But there is one major negative element: the passport,” Paul-Henri de la Porte du Theil, president of the French investment management association AFG, said at a press conference on 4 November.“Even the philosophy of the passport is bad,” de la Porte du Theil insisted. The problem is the extension of the passport to non-European companies by 2015, insofar as this widely-discussed opening of the doors will give them the same rights as European companies without subjecting them to the same requirements. “Non-European management firms should be required to set up in Europe, in areas with serious regulation. We missed an opportunity to repatriate funds and jobs, and we will be exposed to competition distortions, since the ‘light’ zones, even if they pledge to apply European governance principles, will remain ‘light.'” the AFG president claims.AFG therefore argues that it is essential to strengthen the role of the new European regulator, the ESMA, which will have the double duty of overseeing the establishment of a genuine European label, and ensuring a minimal competitive equity with offshore funds. “The most important responsibilities to devolve to the ESMA are determined, but the details of their application are not yet,” de la Porte du Theil warns.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The political consultant at the centre of the pay-to-play scandal concerning the Common Retirement Fund of the State of New York (USD125bn), Henry “Hank” Morris, has pleaded guilty in the corruption case, the Wall Street Journal reports. Morris, a political advisor to the former Comptroller of New York, Alan Hevesi, was accused by prosecutor general Andrew Cuomo of taking bribed “disguised” as investment commissions in exchange for intermediating mandates for management firms. Hevesi was last month the seventh person to plead guilty in the case.

According to new research by Hedge Fund Research and Glocap cited by the Financial Times, year-end bonuses for US hedge fund employees will increase by 5 per cent this year – after rising on average by 15 per cent in 2009. The average fund manager at a small hedge fund could expect an annual compensation, including bonus, of about USD1.23m.

Next week, the US high yield asset management firm Muzinich (USD9bn) will announce the launch of a sixth sub-fund of its Irish Sicav. After the Short Term Duration High Yield (see Newsmanagers of 30 September and 22 October), which was recently released for sale, the firm will release the Bond Yield ESG in France, a largely Euro SRI fund, with 80% of its positions rated investment grade, and 20% high yield investments.The new product was licensed by the AMF on 27 August, at the same time as the Short Term Duration fund. It will have a duration of 5-6 years, and will be seeded with USD50m from Scandinavian clients. The consultant for the new best-in-class fund will be Sustainanalytics.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Michel Dumoulin on Friday retired from Martin Maurel Gestion Institutionelle. His funds will be taken over by Valérie Oelhoffen, formerly of Covéa Finance, who joined the institutional asset management firm of the Martin Maurel group one month ago. There she joined Brigitte Pascaud, who co-managed some funds with Dumoulin, including the MMGI Euromix Actions fund. The management team also includes Nathalie Bourdoncle.

“We have posted net subscriptions of about EUR50m per month since the beginning of the year,” says Brice Anger, head of development for M&G Investments in France. In other world, the British asset management firm has attracted about EUR500m YTD in France, and assets are now over EUR1.2bn, compared with EUR1bn at the beginning of September (see Newsmanagers of 7 September). Inflows went 50/50 to fixed income products and equities. For bonds, flexible funds and global bonds saw most of the inflows, while for equities, subscriptions went largely to the Global Basics and American Fund.Aled Smith, head of global equities and manager of the American Fund (an OEIC fund of US equities with EUR2bn, and about EUR300m in net subscriptions YTD), says that the 65-position portfolio earns 95% of its performance through stock-picking, and aims to minimise draw-down. Currently, the fund is underweight on financials, and overweight on tech stocks, where the management team is beginning to look for smaller caps. Allocation is weighted according to risk “so that investors can sleep easy.”

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The New York-based commodities trading firm Systematic Alpha has appointed Solomon Josue as its sales representative for Asia, Hedgeweek reports. Josue is the founder and president of Asia Pacific Advisors, an alternative investment advising firm focused on the Asia-Pacific region. Assets under management at Systematic Alpha total USD640m.

Pierre Simonet on 1 October joined the portfolio management firm PIM Gestion France, with assets of over EUR500m, as CEO and director.Béatrice Philippe remains chairwoman of the board of directors at the French firm, and CEO of its sister company Philippe Investment Management, based in New York.Simonet was a member of the French regulator CMF from 1998 to 2002. He also served as director and CEO of CPR Asset Management.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to a research by Reinhold & Partners, cited by Agefi, the French alternative management industry is not competitive. “A detestable image and no domestic market are two major obstacles to any slight inclination to setting up in the country, and any possible development for existing companies,” conclude the writers of the research, who spoke to about 200 international players, in partnership with the French asset management association (AFG). French alternative asset management does not attract investments from major funds of funds, family offices, or pension funds, which further accentuates the gap from managers based in the United Kingdom or Switzerland. 66% of French-speaking managers surveyed, and 80% of English-speaking managers, say that setting up in France brings no competitive advantage. The research also blames the French tax regime, which is unattractive.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Government Pension Fund - Global (the former Petroleum fund), the second-largest sovereign fund in the world, earned returns of 7.2% in third quarter, bringing its value to NOK2.908trn, or about EUR356bn, the Bank of Norway announced on 4 November. “Better-than-expected results for some businesses and easing fears of an economic downturn in Europe contributed to rises for equities markets,” explained Yngve Slyngstad, CEO of the investment direction at the Bank of Norway. The equities portfolio gained nearly 10%. In the past quarter, the fund took on an added NOK49bn the to the contribution of oil revenues by the government. However, currency effects wiped out NOK132bn, as the appreciation of the Norwegian kroner mechanically reduced the value of investments in foreign currencies. The Bank of Norway also announced that it has made its first foray into real estate investment, in Regent Street in London, with the acquisition of 25% of a real estate portfolio owned by the Crown Estate for GBP448m. The fund will receive a share of rents from shops and offices in the street for a period of 150 years. 5% of the value of the fund will eventually be invested in real estate, in other countries, so as not to distort the Norwegian market. The fund was previously 60% invested in equities, and 40% in bonds.

Schroder a annoncé avoir fait enregistrer auprès de la CNMV pour la commercialisation en Espagne de son fonds long/short marchés émergents Schroder GAIA Sloane Robinson Emerging Markets (lire notre dépêche du 24 septembre). De plus, le gestionnaire britannique a fait enregistrer deux autres fonds de sa plate-forme GAIA (Global Alternative Investor Access), le Schroder GAIA Opus Multi Strategy (multistratégie) et le Schroder GAIA QEP Global Absolute (obligations mondiales market neutral). Le Schroder GAIA Egerton European Equity était déjà enregistré en Espagne depuis quelques mois (voir notre dépeche du 11 février).

Le 2 novembre, la Banque centrale de Norvège (Norges Bank) a notifié à la CNMV détenir 3,152 % dans Gamesa Corp Tecnologica SA. Cette prise de participation est effectuée pour le compte du Governement Pension Fund - Global (GPFG), l’ancien Fonds pétrolier. Cette acquisition représente aux cours actuels environ 40 millions d’euros. Les autres grands actionnaires sont Iberdrola, qui vient de monter (le 3 novembre) à 16,137 % et BlackRock à environ 8,3 % au total, dont 4,93 points de pourcentage acquis le 3 novembre.

Le 24 septembre, March Gestión de Fondos a créé le fonds de droit espagnol March New Emerging World qui utilise comme indice de référence le MSCI Emerging Markets ; le produit a été enregistré le 29 octobre par la CNMV.Le portefeuille pourra être investi jusqu'à 70 % dans d’autres fonds. Il sera exposé au minimum à 75 % à des actions de pays émergents et jusqu'à 20 % en actions de sociétés de pays de l’OCDE dont entre 5 et 50 % des résultats proviennent des pays émergents. Le fonds pourra être investi d’autre part jusqu'à 20 % en matières premières au travers d’indices ou de dérivés.La gestion de ce produit a été confié à Santiago Montero Ruíz, head of multi-management.CaractéristiquesDénomination : March New Emerging WorldCode Isin : ES0160933000Commission de gestion 1,9 %

Clariden Leu, filiale de Credit Suisse Group, a annoncé le 4 novembre dans un communiqué l’ouverture d’une représentation à Abou Dhabi. Le bureau inauguré mercredi traduit la volonté de la banque de renforcer sa présence stratégique au Moyen Orient. La banque est également présente à Dubaï et au Caire. «Notre présence à Abou Dhabi nous aidera à l’avenir à répondre encore plus vite et de manière plus individualisée aux souhaits de notre clientèle du Moyen Orient», selon le CEO de Clariden Leu, Hans Nützi, cité dans le communiqué.

Seules deux sociétés de gestion parmi celles ayant plus de 25 fonds notés par Feri en Allemagne affichent pour le troisième trimestre une proportion de 50 % ou plus de produits notés A et B. Il s’agit d’Union investment (banques populaires) avec 57,1 % (48/84) et LBB-Invest avec 50 % (13/26). Les suivants sont Erste Asset Management (48 %), Threadneedle (47,6 %), LGT Group (46,2 %) et BlackRock (45 %). Viennent ensuite Universal-Investment (43,9 %), JP Morgan (42,9 %), DWS Investment (41,7 %, mais sur 103 fonds) puis Franklin Templeton et State Street (40 % chacun).Parmi les gestionnaires avec 8 à 24 fonds notés, Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) se détache avec 87,5 % de produits notés A ou B, devant DJE (78,6 %), Vitruvius (77,8 %) et Carmignac (75 %, 6 fonds sur 8).

Sur les 16,54 milliards d’euros de souscriptions nettes affichées pour janvier-septembre par les fonds de valeurs mobilières répertoriés par l’association allemande BVI des sociétés de gestion, le groupe Allianz Global Investors se classe de très loin en tête, avec une collecte de 12,71 milliards d’euros… grâce aux 13,88 milliards drainés par Pimco Europe. Le groupe DWS/DB Advisors/DB (Deutsche Bank) a attiré pour sa part 1,67 milliard d’euros, uniquement grâce aux 3,57 milliards de sa filiale ETF db x-trackers.Parmi les autres spécialistes des ETF, ont note que BlackRock, avec ses fonds iShares, a drainé 800,5 millions, et ComStage a attiré 565,1 millions. En revanche, ETFlab (Deka) a subi des sorties nettes de 390,2 millions.En ce qui concerne les deux autres grandes maisons généralistes, Deka (caisses d'épargne) a subi des remboursements nets de 4,48 milliards d’euros et Union Investment (banques populaires) a accusé des sorties nettes de 2,19 milliards.

Durant les neuf premiers mois de cette année, les souscriptions nettes enregistrées par le secteur allemand de la gestion d’actifs ont atteint 61,8 milliards d’euros (dont 21,3 milliards pour le troisième trimestre) dont 29,26 milliards pour la période correspondante de l’an dernier. L’encours a atteint un niveau record de 1.808,48 milliards d’euros au 30 septembre, contre 12.794,71 millairds un mois plus tôt et 1.664,01 milliards un an auparavant.L’association allemande BVI des sociétés de gestion précise que, sur le total à fin septembre, les fonds offerts au public pesaient 689,37 milliards, les fonds institutionnels 799,12 milliards et les mandats 319,98 milliards.Sur les 18,92 milliards de souscriptions nettes depuis le début de l’année pour les fonds offerts au public, 4,6 milliards sont allés aux fonds passifs, même si les 10 fonds ayant collecté le plus sont des fonds actifs, avec en tête le Premium Management Stabilität A EUR (1,86 milliard d’euros) et le Templeton Global Bond Fund (1,23 milliard). Les fonds monétaires ont pour leur part subi une hémorragie de 10,5 milliards d’euros en net, pour retomber fin septembre à 48,4 milliards d’euros d’encours.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs australien a repris ses discussions avec Axa quant à une éventuelle nouvelle offre sur la filiale asiatique de l’assureur français, Axa Asia Pacific, a annoncé vendredi la société cible, selon Reuters.

La société de conseil, détenue majoritairement par Carlyle, prévoit de céder 14 millions de titres à un prix unitaire compris entre 17 et 19 dollars. En milieu de fourchette, l’offre devrait permettre à Booz Allen de lever quelque 252 millions de dollars.

«Vous pouvez investir dans BlackRock et nous continuerons à être un partenaire stratégique pour un très long moment», a déclaré le directeur général de Bank of American, Brian Moynihan, au lendemain de l’annonce d’une cession de 34,5 millions de titres. Ce placement secondaire réduira la participation de BoA dans BlackRock de 33,9% à 12,6%.

Troisième refinancement pour la tour CB 21 située à la Défense. Bayern LB, DG Hyp, Berlin Hyp et LBB viennent d’arranger un financement à hauteur de 270 millions d’euros pour ce bâtiment loué aux deux tiers à Suez Environnement. En juillet 2009, FDR avait refinancé CB 21 pour 290 millions d’euros sur 5,5 années auprès de banques différentes.

Le gestionnaire alternatif coté a dégagé au titre de son premier semestre, clos fin septembre, 227 millions de dollars de bénéfices avant impôts, 5,8% de mieux que ses prévisions de pré-clôture. Les actifs sous gestion ont grimpé à 40,5 milliards de dollars à fin septembre, contre 38,5 milliards trois mois plus tôt. Ces résultats ne prennent pas en compte GLG Partners, intégré depuis le 14 octobre.

L’opérateur boursier transatlantique a indiqué avoir achevé la migration de ses marchés cash et dérivés européens vers le centre de données de Basildon, au Royaume-Uni. Une opération similaire se poursuit aux Etats-Unis, avec le centre de Mahwah (New Jersey).

Selon une étude de Reinhold & Partners, une mauvaise image et une fiscalité défavorable limitent la levée de fonds auprès des gros investisseurs

L’AFG estime que les encours sous gestion ont progressé de 2,2 % en 2010 sur neuf mois, à 2.670 milliards d’euros. Ceux des OPCVM seuls ont cédé 2,1 %

Sur les 15 milliards d’euros d’économies prévus sur quatre ans, 6 milliards sont annoncés pour l'an prochain

L’AFG estime que les encours sous gestion de l’industrie ont progressé de 2,2% à fin septembre 2010, à 2.670 milliards d’euros, la progression des mandats compensant la baisse des OPCVM. Une récente étude souligne par ailleurs le déficit d’image de la gestion alternative à la française.