Les OPCI approchent de la maturité
Ces fonds d'investissement immobiliers de droit français montrent une relative diversification, sept ans après leur création, selon l'AFG et l'Aspim.
La BCE entretient le suspense sur un QE
La chute des prix du pétrole pourrait conduire à une nouvelle baisse des projections d'inflation.
La BCE entretient le suspense sur un QE
La chute des prix du pétrole pourrait conduire à une nouvelle baisse des projections d'inflation.
L’épargne salariale ne progresse que dans les grandes entreprises
Les bénéficiaires investissent davantage dans les actions. Le Club de l’Epargne Salariale émet des réserves sur certaines propositions du Copiesas.
Aberdeen AM recrute un responsable pour le numérique
Aberdeen Asset Management vient de recruter Rob Hudson en qualité de responsable du développement de son activité numérique. Sa mission sera notamment de renforcer la communication digitale avec les clients et les investisseurs. L’intéressé arrive en provenance de Charles Stanley Direct.
Le Brésil accélère le rythme de son resserrement monétaire
En relevant le taux Selic à 11,75%, la banque centrale fait grimper les taux réels au-dessus de 6% malgré des perspectives de croissance atones
Mandarine Gestion signe un partenariat au Royaume-Uni
La société de gestion française a signé un partenariat avec la société de distribution Harrington Cooper, pour la commercialisation au Royaume-Uni de son fonds Small & Mid Caps Europe, Mandarine Unique. Déjà présente dans le pays depuis plusieurs années, Mandarine Gestion gère des portefeuilles pour une clientèle de family offices et de multigestion.
Financière de l'Echiquier recrute pour déployer sa marque
La société de gestion nomme Laurent Sécheret au poste nouvellement créé de directeur marketing & communication. Actuel directeur de la communication d’Axa IM, Laurent Sécheret prendra ses fonctions le 5 janvier prochain et retrouvera donc à la Financière de l’Echiquier son ancien patron chez Axa IM, Dominique Carrel-Billiard, directeur général de la société.
Le gouvernement complète ses mesures pour la construction
L’exécutif a dévoilé hier un plan visant à compléter les mesures en faveur de la relance de la construction, fondé sur la simplification, la formation, la gestion de l’amiante et le développement du numérique dans le secteur. Il s’ajoute aux annonces de juin et août. Son financement, d’un montant de 70 millions d’euros, sera pris sur le fonds de compensation des risques de l’assurance construction.
TTF : le calendrier ne sera pas tenu
L’engagement, pris en mai, de parvenir à un accord avant la fin de l’année sur une taxation des transactions financières (TTF) dans onze pays de l’Union européenne ne sera pas tenu. La présidence italienne a en effet dû reprendre à zéro les négociations sur le champ des dérivés taxables, la proposition du ministre français des Finances Michel Sapin de s’en tenir aux CDS (credit default swap) non compensés n’ayant pas reçu de soutien suffisant. «Ce ne sera clairement pas prêt la semaine prochaine», a expliqué hier une source diplomatique en référence à la réunion des ministres des finances des 8 et 9 décembre, la dernière avant la trêve des confiseurs. Paris et Berlin ont pourtant réaffirmé récemment de concert leur souhait d’introduire cette taxe en 2016. La plupart des pays européens, dont le Royaume-Uni, soucieux de défendre la City, s’opposent énergiquement à ce projet.
John Boehner s'engage sur le budget américain
Le président républicain de la Chambre des représentants, John Boehner, s’est engagé hier à surmonter les objections de certains membres de son parti et d’approuver le projet de budget fédéral afin de ne pas provoquer une fermeture (shutdown) de certains services publics. Le responsable estime que le projet de budget pourrait être adopté la semaine prochaine, avant la date butoir du 11 décembre, avec l’appui de certains élus démocrates.
Conférence Citywire Paris : émergents et performance absolue
EOS Allocations a assisté à la conférence Citywire regroupant 8 sociétés de gestion majoritairement anglo-saxonnes (basées à Londres). Nous avons effectué des entretiens avec chacun des gérants présents. Cette conférence est d’autant plus intéressante que ces gérants se déplacent relativement peu souvent à Paris.
Les CGPI rêvent d’une banque qui leur serait dédiée
Dans cadre de la 2ème édition de l’Etude sur l’évolution du métier de CGPI publiée par AXA Thema et conduite par Périclès Consulting, les conseillers en gestion de patrimoine indépendants ont été interrogés sur leur modèle économique de demain.
Financière de l'Echiquier recrute pour déployer sa marque
La société de gestion annonce la nomination de Laurent Sécheret au poste nouvellement créé de directeur marketing & communication. Actuel directeur de la communication d’Axa IM, Laurent Sécheret prendra ses fonctions le 5 janvier prochain et retrouvera donc à la Financière de l’Echiquier son ancien patron chez Axa IM, Dominique Carrel-Billiard, directeur général de la société.
Mario Draghi renvoie à début 2015 l'examen d'un QE
Pressé de préciser quel pourrait être le calendrier de la mise en œuvre d’un QE intégrant des obligations souveraines, Mario Draghi, le président de la BCE, a souligné à l’issue de la réunion mensuelle de la banque centrale qu’ «au début de l’an prochain, le Conseil des gouverneurs réévaluera le soutien monétaire engagé, l’expansion du bilan et les perspectives de stabilité des prix, les perspectives d'évolution des prix». Refusant de donner plus de précisions, il s’est contenté d’indiquer qu’ «‘au début’ (de 2015) veut dire ‘au début’, cela ne veut pas dire la prochaine réunion, cela dépend beaucoup de la manière dont notre évaluation se passera». Une mesure de QE «peut être conçue, je pense, pour avoir un consensus», a encore déclaré Mario Drahi, laissant entendre qu’une unanimité ne serait pas nécessaire.
Pour la BCE, un QE est désormais une "intention, pas encore un objectif"
Son président, Mario Draghi, a confirmé, jeudi, qu'un QE intégrant éventuellement des obligations souveraines était "prévu" début 2015, ce qui ne veut pas dire "attendu"
04/12/2014
Eight European equity funds out of ten underperform their benchmarks
2014 is on track to be one of the worst years for active European equity fund management, Fitch Ratings says in a new report. Eighty per cent of European equity funds underperformed their benchmark to end -November 2014 versus 58% for 2013. Moreover, on average, funds are 2.7% behind their benchmarks, net of fees, as at end-November 2014, compared with 0.6% in 2013. Defensive sectors and «mega-cap» stocks, which are large constituents of indices, strongly outperformed in 2014, notably in the second quarter. This, coupled with a strong sector rotation throughout the year, has undermined stock pickers, particularly those showing a quality / growth or mid-cap stock bias. In this context, active European equity funds are threatened by ETFs, given their fees relative to ETFs and the underperformance in 2014. In Fitch’s opinion, inflows to European equity funds, particularly those coming from US investors, may favour ETFs over active funds in the future. Finally, flexible equity funds may gain traction in the future, should markets continue to be driven by macro uncertainties and characterised by sharp sector rotations, frequent drawdowns and rapid recoveries.
04/12/2014
Skalis AM recruits for its multi-asset team
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Skalis Asset Management has announced the recruitment of Stephan Rauh, who joins the multi-asset team as a manager. He will be responsible for investment in inflation-linked bonds, euro bonds and commodities. Rauh previously worked at MEAG Munich Ergo Asset Management.
04/12/2014
UBS to appear before US court over sales of CDOs
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } UBS will be required to appear before a court in the United States over its sale of collateralized debt obligations (CDO). According to several press agencies, a New York court on Tuesday found that a lawsuit by the US investment firm Loreley Financing dating back several years will go to court. The suit is for USD331m. Loreley Financing previously filed suit against UBS and other banks in 2011 and 2012 for false information as part of sales of CDOs. The securities, which included Residential Mortgage-backed Securities (RMBS) and Credit Default Swaps (CDS), were sold in 2006 and 2007 and caused Loreley heavy losses during the financial crisis.
04/12/2014
UBS French unit cuts staff
The asset management unit of UBS in France, CCR Asset Management, could slash 61 of its 82 positions, according to people close to the matter quoted by L’Agefi. 54 employees are involved, 7 positions being unfulfilled. According to UBS, CCR AM will focus on three activities: real estate, the distribution of UBS funds to French institutional clients, and the distribution of funds and mandates to private banking clients in France.Only asset allocation will remain. The other funds which were until now managed by CCR AM should be merged with other UBS funds. An unlimited strike started on Wednesday afternoon.
04/12/2014
Sycomore buys a family office
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Partners at Sycomore are preparing to make their entry into the capital of Financière Margot, which is becoming Sycomore Family Office, official. The new structure joins the other two professions at Sycomore: asset management and corporate finance. The Sycomore holding company holds a controlling minority stake in the capital of the family office. Financière Margot, led by Jean Bernard Dudouit, founder of the firm in 2005, has over EUR1bn in advised financial assets, in addition to the EUR2.5bn in assets under management at Sycomore AM. The family office, which also provides traditional concierge and family governance services, targets entrepreneur clients who “have succeeded” in their activities or are in the process of selling their businesses. For wealth management, clients must possess overall financial assets of EUR20m, though this is not a strict requirement.
04/12/2014
Janus Capital creates position for director of sales for Germany and Austria
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Janus Capital has appointed Oliver Stahlkopf to the newly-created position of director of sales for Germany and Austria. He will be responsible for client relationships with institutionals and financial institutions. Stahlkopf is based out of the Frankfurt offices of Janus Capital. He reports to Jamie Wong, head of consultant relations EMEA & Asia, in London. Stahlkopf joined Janus Capital from Lyxor Asset Management, where he was responsible for institutional clients in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the alternative strategies portion.
04/12/2014
Jupiter appoints Stephen Mitchell as head of international equity strategy
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Jupiter on 3 December announced the appointment of Stephen Mitchell as head of international equity strategy. In this newly-created role, Mitchell will be responsible for the development of Jupiter’s activities in international equities for institutional and retail investors in the United Kingdom and internationally. Mitchell has over 30 years of investment experience. Mitchell, who will join Jupiter next year, had since 2011 been associate director at Caledonia Investments plc (Caledonia). He managed the global income and growth part of the investment fund, and chaired the investment committee and the approval committee at Caledonia. Before that, for 21 years, Mitchell served in various positions of responsibility in the asset management industry, first at Fleming & Co and then at JP Morgan Asset Management.
04/12/2014
TIAA Henderson Real Estate recruits a director of development
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } TIAA Henderson Real Estate (TH Real Estate) has announced the recruitment of Emilie Ciuntu as director of development. Ciuntu will work to identify, develop and deploy real estate strategies and products, as well as partnerships and acquisitions of businesses as additions to the TH Real Estate platform. Ciuntu will report to Austin Mitchell, global head of business development, and will divide her time between the London and Paris offices of TH Real Estate. Ciuntu has 13 years of experience in the real estate sector. Before joining TH Real Estate, she had served as senior director at CBRE Global Investors, where she worked for 10 years. Ciuntu also played a major role in the acquisition of ING REIM by CBRE in 2011, for USD940m.
04/12/2014
London stock exchange completes acquisition of Russell Investments
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } The London Stock Exchange on 3 December announced that it had completed its acquisition of Russell Investments from Northwestern Mutual, making Russell a 100% subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group. As previously announced, the London Stock Exchange is currently undertaking a thorough review of the asset management activities at Russell, which is expected to be completed in early 2015. There will be no changes to the products and services on offer from Russell in the short term.
04/12/2014
Partner at East Capital joins Ukrainian government
East Capital partner Aivaras Abromavicius has been appointed Minister of Economic Development and Trade in the new Ukrainian government. Aivaras Abromavicius’ new role is not combinable with his active role in East Capital and he will therefore resign from his position as senior advisor and partner. Jacob Grapengiesser, also senior advisor and partner, has worked closely with Aivaras Abromavicius for twelve years and will take the lead role for Eastern European investments while the overall responsibility remains with CIO and chairman, Peter Elam Håkansson. The Eastern European Public Equity investment team of East Capital is made up of 14 individuals and the funds and separate accounts have, since the start in 1997, been team managed.“I have been working in emerging and frontier markets nearly all my life, but this opportunity is a once in a lifetime one. I am truly passionate about Ukraine, the country that has been my and my family’s home for the past six years. East Capital has given me a lot over the past years, and now it is my time to contribute to the development of Ukraine”, said Aivaras Abromavicius.Mr Abromavicius comes from Lithuania and is married to a Ukrainian national.
04/12/2014
Report recommends that Norwegian fund continue to invest in fossil fuels
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } On Wednesday, a group of experts commissioned by the Norwegian government recommended that the USD870bn sovereign fund remain a shareholder in companies present in fossil fuels. “We do not think that climate issues can effectively be addressed through automatically excluding all coal or petroleum producers from the fund,” the report by a panel compsoed of several international professors claims. However, the authors of the study recommend that a new criterion for “contribution to climate change” should be included in the guidelines for companies which may be placed under observation or excluded. “This would allow for exclusion of companies on a case-by-case basis, where there is an unacceptable risk that the company contributes to or is responsible for acts or omissions that are severely harmful to the climate.”
04/12/2014
Inflows to ETPs to set new records in 2014
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Global ETPs attracted USD40.1bn to lift year-to-date asset gathering into record territory at USD267.9bn, with investors returning to equities after October’s stock market correction boosted fixed income, according to estimates released by BlackRock. The record of USD262bn, set in 2012, is also expected to be surpassed. US equities brought in USD36.1bn concentrated in large cap funds as the outlook for the U.S. economy improved and slowing global growth led to accommodative central bank activity in other regions. Japanese equity ETPs listed in the U.S. and Europe accumulated USD4.1bn in response to announcements of expanded stimulus and GPIF equity purchases, though Japan-listed funds saw offsetting outflows following a significant stock rally. The start of ECB bond purchases, and commitment to further action should inflation fail to adjust upward, helped European fixed income inflows reach USD2.0bn, predominantly in investment grade corporate debt.
04/12/2014
FRR awards three mandates in Japanese equities
French pension fund FRR launched on the 20 June 2013 a request for proposals to select new managers for actively managed Japanese equities mandates. Following the selection process, the FRR has decided to accept the following proposals from these investment service providers: Capital International Limited, JP Morgan Asset Management (UK) Limited and Schroder Investment Management Limited. The mandates are granted for a duration of four years with the option of a further year for an indicative amount of 450 million Euro.
04/12/2014
Kames launches two new absolute return equity funds
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } The British asset management firm Kames Capital, which has EUR67.6bn in assets under management, is adding to its range of absolute return funds with the launch of two new funds, Kames Equity Market Neutral Fund and Kames Equity Market Neutral Plus Fund. With this double launch, the asset management firm now has four vehicles in its absolute return product range. The two funds, which will have 50 to 100 positions each, will be managed by David Griffiths, David Pringle and Malcolm McPartlin. Both new products will be domiciled in Dublin, and offer share classes in pounds sterling, Swiss francs, euros and US dollars. The funds are currently registered for sale in the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands, following their launch in Ireland.