On Thursday, Deutsche Bank announced that its due diligence on accounts at sal. Oppenheim has been going positively so far, and that it will have reached a decision over a possible acquisition of a stake (of 30% to 50%) in the firm by mid-October, Handelsblatt reports. According to sources close to the firm, it is likely that Deutsche Bank will later acquire a majority stake in the family-owned private bank.

The British management firm Martin Currie has announced that it has signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI). Tim Hall, managing director of the investment team, says that Martin Currie has long recognized the importance of taking a full range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into account in corporate research. These elements will now be more systematically integrated into the analysis undertaken by the research team.

As Philipp Hensler has left the company, DWS Investments has appointed Michael J. Woods as US head of distribution. He will report directly to Ingo Gefeke, the new Global Head of Distribution and Product Management. Woods was most recently Head of Financial Intermediaries and Investments Group at Evergreen Investments. He was previously CEO of XTF Global Asset Management.

Groupama, which yesterday announced its half-yearly results, has posted an increase in its earnings in first half 2009 of 8.4%, to EUR8.358bn, due to “strong growth in insurance and the deployment of solid platforms for international development, says Jean Azéma, its CEO. However, due to the turbulence in Europe earlier this year, net results were down 40.5%, to EUR166m. For financial and banking activities, net banking proceeds are up 18.2%, to a total of EUR116m. On the asset management side, assets under management by Groupama Asset Management and its affiliates total EUR89.5bn as of 30 June 2009, an increase of EUR8.2bn compared with the end of December 2008. These results are closely related to the evolution of the bond market and the good performance of equities management, which outperformed the market, Groupama says. Total net inflows in first half 2009 are positive at EUR3.1bn, of which EUR2.3bn were earned outside the group.

With at least one month to go until the next G20 summit, the Basel Committee on 27 August published a set of guidelines which will aim to support,and perhaps provide a framework for, the work of the IASB in relation to provisioning, evaluation and fair valuation, and related problems. The guidelines will help the architect of international accounting standards to set up a new set of basic reference points for financial instruments, which will aim to replace the highly controversial IAS 39 standard, to improve the utility and pertinence of financial reporting for all parties, including prudential regulators, the Basel Committee says in a statement. Central banks add that these principles will also facilitate the handling of larger issues related to procyclicity and systemic risks. In July of this year, the IASB published a survey and review of classification and evaluation systems for financial instruments for comment until mid-September. The guidelines, which draw lessons from the financial crisis and which respond to recommendations made at the G20 summit in April, also reflect the necessity for rapid accounting of losses on loans in order to make projections of the consequent outcomes, with an awareness that their fair value is not appropriate in a context of dislocated or illiquid markets, and authorises reclassifications of assets in very specific circumstances from the fair value category into the amortised cost category, and promotes the same regulations for all these categories. To appease partisans of fair value, the Basel Committee statement points out that the new approach to financial instruments “will not result in an expansion of accouting in fair value,” for companies involves in intermediary activities in particular. Credit instruments, particularly loans, will not be included in the fair value accounting category, the statement says. The chairman of the Basel committee, Nout Welling, also points out that one of the lessons of the crisis is that “all accounting regulations must be articulated with appropriate practices in terms of risk management,a nd should promote transparency, in order to assist supervisors, banks, investors and other participants to achieve their respective objectives.” This also means that the objectives of international accounting: transparency, readability, comparability of financial states, have not yet been achieved. The Basel Committee says in its statement that the need to produce transparent and comparable information will lead to a revision of IFRS 7 standards. The IASB has put this revision on its agenda for the beginning of the coming season. It is one of the propositions included in the survey and report cited above.

In first half, Henderson Global Investors (HGI) has posted pre-tax profits of GBP34.7m, compared with GBP60.6m, while profits at Henderson Group have fallen 47% to GBP27.1m, comparedd with GBP50.8m. Henderson Group shows a net loss of GBP0.6m, compared with profits of GBP41.2m in January-June 2008. The British asset manager blames the deterioration in its results to net outflows of GBP2.9bn, as well as to the negative impact of capital losses and currency effects, which represented a total of GBP1.7bn. As of the end of June, assets totalled GBP53bn, compared with GBP49.5bn as of the end of December, and GBP52.6bn twelve months previously. The acquisition of New Star on 9 April brought in about GBP8.1bn in assets; these totalled GBP8bn as of the end of June.

BBVA Asset Management’s lead over Santander Asset Management has now reached two percentage points of market share, to 20.61%, Expansión reports, adding that BBVA AM did not really overtake Santander AM until the end of 2008. Among the other asset management firms which have gained ground in the past few months are La Caixa, which, according to VDOS Stochastics, has attracted more than EUR2bn between the beginning of the year and 21 August, largely due to campaigns to promote their guaranteed funds. The Catalonian savings bank has gained market share to reach a total of 7.42%, compared with 5.6% as of the end of December.

Jeudi, la Deutsche Bank a indiqué que sa due diligence des comptes de Sal. Oppenheim s’est jusqu'à présent déroulée «positivement» ; elle devrait être achevée à la mi-septembre et une décision sur une éventuelle prise de participation (entre 30 et 50 %) pourrait être prise pour la mi-octobre, rapporte le Handelsblatt. Selon les proches du dossier, il est vraisemblable qu’ultérieurement la Deutsche prendra la majorité dans la banque privée familiale.

Jeudi, la Deutsche Bank a indiqué que sa due diligence des comptes de Sal. Oppenheim s’est jusqu'à présent déroulée positivement ; elle devrait être achevée à la mi-septembre et une décision sur une éventuelle prise de participation (entre 30 et 50 %) pourrait être prise pour la mi-octobre, rapporte le Handelsblatt. Selon les proches du dossier, il est vraisemblable qu’ultérieurement la Deutsche prendra la majorité dans la banque privée familiale.

JP Morgan Asset Management has announced the recruitment of Pierre-Yves Bareau as head of the management team specialised in emerging markets debt. He will be in charge of coordinating international emerging market debt management teams located in the various geographical regions. Bareau has been managing portfolios of emerging markets debt for 20 years. He joins JP Morgan Asset Management after serving as director of emerging markets debt management at Fortis Investments for more than 10 years. Bareau will be based in London, and will report directly to Bob Michele, global director of bond management at JP Morgan Asset Management.

As of the end of July, worldwide assets for iShares (Barclays Global Investors, or BGI) totalled USD414.4bn, for market share of 48.1%, compared with USD380.23bn (48.2%) one month earlier, and USD324.84bn (45.7%) as of the end of December. The ETF management firm states that it has brought in net subscriptions worldwide of USD32bn, so that investment income totalled USD55.39bn, more than 1.7 times the total of net inflows. iShares, which as of the end of July had 391 ETF products on sale, up from 361 as of the end of last year, is by far the top provider of products of this type in the world, ahead of State Street (with a market share of 15.2% as of the end of July, and 104 funds), Vanguard (7.8% and 104 funds), and Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale, 4.5% and 105 funds). In Europe, iShares is also the top provider, with assets of USD72.26bn in 158 products, which represent a market share of 39.6% for its Irish and German product ranges. The two runners-up are Lyxor, with 103 funds, USD37.37bn in assets under management, and a market share of 20.5%, and db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank), with 105 funds, Usd29.79bn, and a market share of 16.3%. As of the end of June, the leader, iShares, had Usd64.40bn and 158 products, for a market share of 38.8%. It finished 2008 with USd55.89bn in assets in 145 funds and a market share of 39.1%. Its net inflows in Europe are estimated at EUR4.3bn.

Investment Week reports that F&C has launched a program to redeem debt for holders of its subordinated securities for a total of GBP260m. The operation will involve a swap of up to 50% of existing loan notes with a coupon of 6.75%, which trade below par, for senior shares with a set coupon of 9%, to be redeemable in 2016. The transaction will allow the management firm to reduce its debt by GBP32.5m.

Rod Davidson is leaving Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) to become head of fixed income at Alliance trust, which offers no bond products, either as a part of its unit trust product range, or within its OEIC range, Investment Week reports. Davidson will arrive at the beginning of January, with three of his partners from SWIP: Garteh Quantrill, Stuart McMaster and Stuart Steven.

Shirley Garrood, currently COO of the business, has been appointed chief financial officer of Henderson Group, effective 1 September, replacing Toby Hiscock, who is retiring. Garrood joined the British asset management firm in 2001.

The private equity investor CVC and the Asturian Cosmen family have made an offer of GBP560m (450 pence per share) in cash for the 81.4% of National Express that the Cosmen family does not already control, Cinco Días reports. The bid is higher than the GBP500m offer previosuly expected. Among the other major shareholders in National Express are Barclays (8%) and Prudential (6.58%). National Express is also reported to interest Stagecoach and Arriva.

Regulatory changes which spell the end of banking secrecy in cases of tax evasion not not only in cases of tax fraud have cost the major Liechtenstein banks. Net redemptions have totalled CHF1.6bn for LGT, and CFH304m for Landesbank (LLB), the Börsen-Zeitung reports. LGT, which is acquiring the Swiss affiliate of Dresdner Bank has seen net outflows equivalent to those in second half 2008, but its assets, which as of the end of June were CHF79bn,will increase due to the acquisition by about CHF9.4bn.

The Danish asset management firm Sparinvest has set up a consulting committee. Allan Timmermann, professor at the University of California, San Diego, and Thorsten Hens, professor at the Swiss Banking Institute at the University of Zurich, will be the first appointments to the new body. The consulting committee will be in charge of defining reliable criteria on which to base products which meet the requirements of the new market, Sparinvest says.

The British asset management firm Hermes (EUR30bn in assets) has asked directors of Dax and MDax companies in a letter to make use of the opportunities offered by the new law on managerial pay scales (Gesetz zur Angemessenheit der Vorstandsvergütung, or VorstAG), and to to hold general meetings to pass consultative votes on pay scales for board members, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. If the businesses refuse to do so, Hermes will choose some companies on which it will impose (with at least 5% of capital) agenda items added to the programs at general meetings.

According to estimates by VDOS Stochastics relayed by Cinco Días, assets un securities funds on sale in Spain increased between 1 and 21 August by EUR1.06bn, or 0.63%, to nearly EUR170.16bn. For the first time since the start of the crisis, these funds show net subscriptions (of EUR446m), while positive market effects represented EUR612m.

A fin juin, l’encours du fonds de pension Första AP-fonden (AP1) ressortait à 181,4 milliards de couronnes, ce qui représente un gonflement de 9,8 milliards par rapport au 31 décembre, bien que l’effet de marché ait été positif de 11,5 milliards de couronnes (soit une performance nette de 6,7 % contre une perte de 8 %). Ce décalage s’explique par le fait qu’AP1 a subi pour la première fois des sorties nettes de 1,7 milliard de couronnes, principalement en raison du départ à la retraite des salariés nés dans les années 1940.AP1 précise dans son rapport semestriel avoir changé son modèle de gestion en préférant une formule de performance absolue à une politique de gestion active. Avant frais, la performance des actifs cotés est ressortie à 7,5 % pendant que la poche alternative accusait une perte de 4,4 % (soit de 400 millions de couronnes), pour l’essentiel à cause d’une dépréciation de 6 % des actifs immobiliers.

Gérard Firmin, responsable de la gestion actions de Prévoir, est décédé brutalement le 11 août. Il avait rejoint la société de gestion en 1998 et gérait les fonds Prévoir Perspectives et Prévoir Gestion Actions. Dans l’état actuel des choses, Corinne de Caumont reprend la gestion des actifs et des fonds qui étaient pilotés par Gérard Firmin, indique un communiqué. Titulaire d’un DESS de finance, l’intéressée collabore au sein de Prévoir depuis 1996. Jusqu’à présent, elle était en charge de la gestion des portefeuilles actions du Groupe Prévoir représentant environ 700 millions d’euros et était également le second gérant des fonds Prévoir Perspectives et Prévoir Gestion Actions. Début septembre, Armin Zinser, gérant à l’OCDE, devrait rejoindre Prévoir pour renforcer l'équipe.

La croissance des cotisations en assurance vie continue, mais devient moins dynamique. Selon les dernières données de la Fédération Française des sociétés d’assurance (FFSA), les cotisations sont en hausse de 2 % au mois de juillet, pour des souscriptions nettes totalisant 5,7 milliards d’euros. Sur l’ensemble des sept mois de l’année, les cotisations sont en progression de 6 % en glissement annuel. La collecte nette (cotisations – prestations) s'établit à 32,9 milliards d’euros, en hausse de 18 % sur un an. A fin juillet, les versements sur les supports en euros sont toujours favorisés (+12 %), tandis que les versements sur les supports en unités de compte restent en diminution (-24 %).

Alexander Scurlock, le gérant de Fidelity European Growth - un fonds affichant un encours de 6,7 milliards d’euros - est toujours convaincu de l’intérêt des actions. Dans ce cadre, il surpondère le secteur bancaire dans son portefeuille, rapporte Citywire.Selon Alexander Scurlock, la crise financière a modifié la dynamique du secteur financier, en réduisant la competition entre établissements et en permettant à certains d’entre eux d’accroître leurs marges. En raison du manque de liquidité irrriguant le systéme financier, le capital est devenu un actif stratégique procurant aux établissements disposant d’un solide bilan et de capitaux, un avantage significatif. Des établissements comme Barclays, Deutsche Bank et Credit Suisse peuvent, selon le gérant, tirer parti de cet environnement.

Selon Les Echos, les statistiques établies par Europerformance-SIX Telekurs montrent que les fonds français, qui ont collecté 12,3 milliards d’euros en juillet,ont vu leurs actifs progresser de 3,9%, à 850,69 milliards d’euros. Sur les sept premiers mois de l’année, la hausse des actifs est de 12,2%, hors fonds alternatifs. Sur ce dernier segment, l’hémorragie s’est certes arrêtée mais, avec 8,53 milliards d’actifs, il ne pèse plus que 1% de l’ensemble des encours des fonds français.

La Tribune rapporte que la Société Générale va émettre 1milliard d’euros de dette subordonnée en euros afin de renforcer ses fonds propres de première catégorie (Tier One). Les titres émis porteront un coupon de 9,375% avec une échéance fixée dans dix ans.

Au premier semestre 2009, le métier gestion d’actifs de Crédit Agricole, appelé à intégrer Société Générale Asset Management, enregistre des souscriptions nettes de 2,8 milliards d’euros. Ses encours ressortent ainsi à 473 milliards d’euros au 30 juin 2009, en hausse par rapport aux 457 milliards de décembre 2008, mais en repli par rapport à un an plus tôt où les encours étaient de 490 milliards d’euros. Au total, le pôle Gestion d’actifs, assurances et banque privée de Crédit Agricole a enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 14,5 milliards d’euros au premier semestre, portant les encours sous gestion à 775,5 milliards d’euros au 30 juin 2009. Le résultat net part du groupe du pôle ressort à 370 millions d’euros, en baisse de 26,3 % par rapport au premier semestre de l’année dernière.

Revenant sur la question des bonus, et après avoir qualifié de «bonne chose» l’adoption d’un Code de bonne conduite avec des «règles précises», François Pérol, le patron de Natixis, a précisé que le montant de la provision passée en prévision des bonus dans la banque ne seraient décidé que début 2010, sans exclure d’en verser même si Natixis est en perte sur l’année 2009, indique la Tribune.

Créée en mai 2009 par deux anciens de Merrill Lynch (C. Eric Brugel et Jeffery S. Erber), la société de gestion Grey Owl Capital Management annonce qu’après avoir déjà drainé quelque 160 millions d’euros, elle va désormais proposer aux particuliers haut de gamme sa stratégie «tout-temps» Opportunity Strategy. La souscription minimale est fixée à 250.000 dollars. L’horizon de placement doit être compris au minimum entre trois et cinq ans.Grey Owl est basée à Falls Church en Virginie, l’argument de vente étant de donner l’impression de prendre du champ par rapport aux «grandes sociétés de gestion mal gérées» de Wall Street dont le défaut serait d'être axées sur la distribution des produits et non sur la fourniture d’un conseil en investissement «best-in-class».Eric Brugel et Jeffery Erber sont partisans d’une approche «retour aux sources» (back to basics) qui consiste à identifier les valeurs sous-évaluées offrant la perspective d’importantes plus-values. L’idée consiste à sélectionner entre 15 et 25 lignes en actions, en fonds traditionnels, en ETF sectoriels et en instruments obligataires.

Le capital-investisseur britannique Terra Firma achète à Good Energies (groupe Brenninkmeijer) la société américaine Everpower Wind Holdings Inc. La Börsen-Zeitung rapporte que, selon des informations non confirmées, la transaction porterait sur 350 millions de dollars.

Le Groupe Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild a fait état pour le premier semestre d’un bénéfice net de 61,2 millions de francs suisses contre 105,6 millions pour les six mois au 30 juin 2008. Malgré un environnement difficile, la banque a enregistré un afflux d’argent frais de 3,4 milliards de francs. Les actifs sous gestion affichent une augmentation de 7,6 % à 88,6 milliards de francs contre 82,3 milliards au 31 décembre 2008. Les effectifs se sont accrus à une moyenne de 1.593 collaborateurs contre 1.517 à fin décembre 2008.