Morten Spenner, le directeur général d’International Asset Management, a quitté la société le mois dernier, rapporte The Wall Street Journal, citant un porte-parole. Il y travaille toujours en tant que consultant. IAM, l’une des plus anciennes sociétés de hedge funds basées à Londres, affiche des encours sous gestion et conseil de 3 milliards de dollars.

La société de gestion britannique Close Brothers Asset Management vient de renforcer son équipe actions avec le recrutement de cinq analystes, rapporte Fundweb.Les nouvelles recrues vont renforcer l’expertise de la société dans les secteurs de la consommation, de la santé, des financières, de l'énergie, des matériaux de base et des services aux collectivités.

Dans le cadre du litige portant sur des swaps de taux liés au Libor, la société Graiseley Properties, maison-mère de l’opérateur de résidences médicalisées Guardian Care Homes (GCH), a décidé d’abandonner les poursuites contre Barclays, rapporte L’Agefi. Les parties sont convenues d’une restructuration commerciale de la dette de Graiseley.Selon la banque, GCH lui devait environ 70 millions de livres, incluant des prêts. Les swaps, qui étaient destinés à réduire l’exposition de la société à la hausse des taux d’intérêts, ont fini par lui coûter 12 millions de livres.Le groupe immobilier indien Unitech bataille également contre Deutsche Bank, indique le quotidien. Un dossier qui peut déboucher, en l’absence d’un accord similaire à celui conclu par Barclays, sur un procès.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The index provider Stoxx has announced that it is updating its rules concerning country classifications. The classification rules now include a new market capitalisation filter, one of the criteria taken into account to rank a country into developed or emerging markets. The new rule stipulates that the total transaction volume in a country must be over USD15bn, so that the country can be considered a developed or emerging market. In order for a country to continue to be ranked in one category or another, it now needs to have a trading volume of at least USD10bn, compared with USD15bn previously.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Michael Kollo, the head of quantitative research and risks at Renaissance Asset Managers, has left the firm, Investment Week reports. He joined the firm in 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Old Mutual Wealth is currently in talks with Woodford Investment Management to assign the star manager Neil Woodford a mandate for the WealthSelect proposition, Citywire reports. Woodford, former star manager at Invesco Perpetual, joined Oakley Capital to found his own asset management firm, Woodford Investment Management, whose official launch is expected during the month of May. A spokesperson for Old Mutual Wealth has confirmed to Citywre that prelimary talks with Woodford Investment Management are in progress. If the talks are successful, they would not be the first for Woodford. The manager last week won a mandate for GBP3.65bn from St James Place.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British asset management firm Close Brothers Asset Management has added to its equity team with the recruitment of five analysts, Fundweb reports. The new recruitments come as additions to the expertise at the company in the consumer, health, financial, energy, base materials and utility sectors.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Morten Spenner, CEO of International Asset Management, left the firm last month, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing a spokesperson. He is still working there as a consultant. IAM, one of the oldest hedge fund firms based in London, has assets under management and advising of USD3bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss private bank Pictet is planning to develop its wealth management activities in London, and would like to recruit five to 10 private bankers for that purpose in the next few months, the news agency Reuters reports. The bak currently employs over 200 people in London, where it has recently moved to Mayfair. Personnel at Pictet in London are mostly involved in asset management activities.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Odey Asset Management is adding to its research teams. The British hedge fund has recruited Simon Schafer, a former analyst at Goldman Sachs specialised in tech businesses, eFinancial News reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. Schafer had previously worked at Goldman Sachs since 2001, and had covered stocks such as Ericsson, Nokia and Infineon. Odey AM, which has USD12.2bn asset under management, makes its second heavyweight recruitment after the arrival of Didier Scemema last month, former head of research dedicated to European tech businesses at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } At least two London pension funds have confirmed their desire to create a collective investment vehicle (CIV) which would allow them to reduce costs and increase their returns, the website IPE reports. Two local utility funds, Borough of Waltham Forest and Wandsworth Borough Council, have agreed to finance the creation of the collective vehicle. With this in mind, the pension funds will found an ad-hoc company in which they will be shareholders (ACS), which will also take the form of a tax-transparent fund. According to the pension funds, the CIV structure permits potential savings of GBP20m, for assets under management of only GBP5bn. This estimate is based on portfolios currently held by pension funds, and initially only establishes that most investment mandates at the new structure will be passive mandates.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has established a new ad-hoc group responsible for investigating hedge fund activities. The SEC investigation will focus on communications of hedge funds to their clients, the valuation of their assets, and information they offered clients, Opalesque reports. The creation of the group appears to be a result of weak results from hedge fund visits initiated under the Dodd-Frank law. The market authority is planning to recruit more specialists in the valuation of level 3 assets held by hedge funds, as these assets are often very difficult to evaluate due to their low levels of liquidity.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EdRAM) at the end of 2013 launched a return strategy entitled Edmond de Rothschild Fund – Income Fund. The new income fund prefers a bottom-up approach based on stock-picking using a combination of 2 flagship expertise from Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management: European equity management, and management of corprorate debt. It aims for regular distribution of income and capital appreciation, with a mid- to long-term horizon. Under current market conditions, the fund aims to distribute annual income of 5%. The fund concentrates its investments with at least 50% of assets in European corporate bonds, regardless of rating and size. The equity sub-fund, for its part, will represent 0% to 50%, with an invetment universe composed primarily of stocks of the Stoxx 600 index. The fund aims for businesses with attractive returns, and offers access to a wide range of investments representing about 1000 issuers and a wide range of businesses. Under current market conditions, the fund aims to distribute annual income of 5%. Main characteristics of the fund ISIN codes Class A: LU0992632538 Class B: LU0992632611 Class Ia: LU0992632371 Class Id: LU0992632454 Distribution of returns: Classes A and Ia: Capitalisation; Class B and Id: Distribution Subscription fees: Max 4.5% Subscription fee (to Luxembourg regulator): Class A and B: 0.05% Class Ia and Id: 0.01% Total fees: class A and B: Max 1.30%; Class Ia and Id: Max 1.65% Conversion fee: Max 0.5% Exit fee: N/A Subscribers concerned: Class A and B: All subscribers to Class Ia and Id: Institutionals Minimal initial subscription: Class A and B: 1 share Class Ia and Id: EUR500,000

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US asset management firm Muzinich has teamed up with the Spanish company Arcano to launch a new EUR200m loan fund on the Spanish market, dedicated to local small and midcaps (SMB), the website Expansion.com reveals. The objective for the fund is rapidly to reach EUR500m. The vehicle, entitled Iberian Private Debt Fund, aims to issue direct loans to Spanish businesses for a unit price of up to EUR30m over 7 years. The fund also targets institutional and high net worth investors. The minimal initial investment is set at EUR50,000, and “total expected returns for the investor are a net 7% to 9%,” Manuel Mendivil, a partner at Arcano, tells Expansion.com. The objective for the two partners is to include 15 to 25 companies in the portfolio of the fund, from different sectors and regions. The fund is aiming for businesses with a total EBITDA of EUR5m to EUR30m, “although most investments will be in businesses with a total EBITDA of EUR10m to EUR20m,” Justin Muzinich, chairman of Muzinich, tells Expansion.com. The new Spanish product is a replica of a fund which Muzinich launched in Italy last month, which held a first closing at EUR150m, and whose objective is also set at EUR500m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After regrouping its asset management and private banking activities in 2012, the Berenberg group is now backtracking. After the departure of Markus Taubert, who had been director of the unit, the two activities are now divided into two again. The position of director of asset management has been assigned to Tindaro Siragusano, while Peter Raskin becomes head of private banking.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The German asset management firm Metzler Asset Management has lost the emerging market equity specialist manager Simone Beer, Citywire reports. Beer, who had worked at Metzler for seven years, had managed the group’s fund of Russian equities since its launch in August 2010. She has been replaced by Christian Geier, who had worked with Beer in the team dedicated to eastern European equities. The Metzler Russia fund lost 19.6% in the three years to February 2014, as the benchmark index of the fund, RTS CR, lost 19.88% in the same period.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The performance of hedge fund manager John Paulson (USD21bn in assets under management) ended March in negative territory, largely affected by losses on the gold market, sources cited by the news agency Reuters reports. The Paulson Advantage Plus fund lost 7.4% last month, which drove performance since the beginning of the year to +2.6%. The Paulson Enhanced Fund, for its part, lost 6% for the month, resulting in returns of 2.4% since the beginning of the year. The Paulson Credit Fund lost 2.5% in March, while the Paulson Recovery Fund lost 0.5%, and the two strategies showed gains of 5% since the beginning of the year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The wealth management firm Evercore Wealth Management has announced that it is opening an office in Tampa, Florida, which will aim to assist high net worth clients in Florida and the south-eastern United States. The firm has also recruited three new partners from GenSpring Family Offices and its affiliated company, SinTrust Bank.

BFT Gestion is coming out of the shadows. The French asset management firm known for fixed income and cash management, which had previously lived in the shadow of its parent company, Amundi, now has new ambitions. It has two goals: to develop into other asset classes and to extend its client base.At the end of 2013, BFT Gestion had EUR19.4bn in assets under management, “doubling assets in the space of ten years,” says Stefan Narbutas, CEO. Over the years, the money market specialist has accelerated its diversification to become a multi-asset class manager. However, money markets continue to account for most of it assets under management (around 80%) and the weight of other asset classes is more modest: EUR2.5bn for credit as of the end of February EUR1.5bn in total return, and EUR600m in European equities and convertibles.“Our ambition is to intensify the development of our credit, equity and total return management,” says Narbutas. The asset management firm is planning to redouble its efforts in equities. “By the end of 2016, we want to increase European value equity management over EUR1.5bn in assets in 2016,” Narbutas says. This would be triple the EUR600m in assets under management as of the end of February.Meanwhile, although only 4 of the 14 OPCVM funds of the range have assets of over EUR1bn, the asset management firm is hoping to significantly increase the size of its funds. “We want to double the number of OPCVM funds whose assets are over EUR500m by the end of 2016,” the CEO points out. Lastly, BFT Gestion is not planning to leave money market management behind. The asset management firm will be converting a dedicated fund into an open-ended fund, bringing the number of money market funds in the range to 3.In order to accelerate its development, BFT Gestion is planning to set out to conquer new client segments. This need becomes imperious as institutionals represent 70% of clients and assets. In France, the priority is therefore private clients via external distribution. These clients represented only 3% of assets as of the end of 2013. The objective of BFT Gestion is to increase the percentage of clients coming from external distribution to 10% by the end of 2016.The asset management firm has set itself a second development goal: to conquer international institutional investors. “Our intention is not to set out on the quest ourselves,” says Narbutas. “However, Amundi has all the necessary resources.” With this in mind, BFT Gestion on 15 April 2013 launched the Amundi Fund Absolute Global Dividend fund, which is focused on futures on dividends, and housed in the Luxembourg Sicav from Amundi, Amundi Funds. “This fund is registered in 30 countries, and we can now sell it abroad,” says Narbutas. “Being domiciled in Luxembourg is an important advantage for selling products internationally.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bank of New York Mellon has had to face the anger of its shareholders over costs, profitability and management pay scales at its annual meeting, but Gerald Hassell, its chairman and CEO, rejected calls to sell the group’s asset management business, the Financial Times reports. The head told investors that such a sale had been considered. “We’ve done the math, we’ve done it several times, we continue to look at it,” he said.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Lyxor hedge fund index lost 0.91% in March, but in the first three months of the year, the performance of the barometer of the hedge fund sector remains slightly positive, with a gain of 0.53%. In the month under review, most strategies showed losses, with the exception of credit (+1.1%) and global macro (+0.6%). In the first three months of the year, the best returns were for the L/S Credit Arbitrage (+2.69%), Convertible Bonds and Volatility Arbitrage (+2.58%), and Fixed Income Arbitrage (+2.44%). However, the Lyxor CTA Long Term index lost 4.22% in first quarter.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Natixis Global Asset Management will launch a concentrated global equity fund, in order to develop its product range based in the United Kingdom, Investment Week reports. The French asset management firm is in advanced talks with its Chicago-based affiliate, Harris Associates, to launch an OEIC fund in second half 2014. If it obtains permission, the product will be the fourth in its British range. Natixis GAM is also seeking to increase staff in London by at least 25% this year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }The Danish financial market authority,Finanstilsynet, has laid out ten initiatives to reduce costs andimprove returns at asset management firms.The proposals for directors are asfollows:Focus to reduce variable costsSet cost objectives against thecompetitionSeek to better use economies ofscaleAdopt a critical approach whenselecting an adviserHave a solid procedure forselecting an adviserHave performance objectivesagainst the competitionReact fast to poor performanceDetermine a response to poorperformanceConsider passive management as analternative to active management with poor performanceEvaluate the quality of advisingin the investment process.The Danish authority adds that it hasfound that all asset managemnt firms studied respected several of theten points, but that none respected all of them.

Deux ans après la restructuration de sa dette, la Grèce lancer demain la syndication d’un emprunt obligataire à 5 an. Athènes cherchera à lever au moins 2 milliards d’euros sur cette maturité. La taux grec à 10 ans est passé mercredi sous le seuil des 6%, grâce à une détente de 7 points de base.

L'actuel directeur général de la Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC) va remplacer Pierre René Lemas

La Grèce est sur le point d'émettre son premier emprunt obligataire depuis son placement sous assistance financière internationale en 2010. L'émission syndiquée de 2 milliards d’euros à 5 ans pourrait avoir lieu demain selon le Wall Street Journal.

La Chine n’est nullement pressée de mettre un terme à la récente dépréciation du yuan en dépit de nouvelles pressions de la part des Etats-Unis. Le quotidien cite un responsable de la banque centrale chinoise, des banquiers et des analystes, selon lesquels Pékin ne prendra aucune mesure à court terme. Le yuan a cédé cette année 2,3% face au dollar, ce qui en fait la monnaie la plus faible en Asie sur la période. Le cadre de la PBOC avance que les autorités chinoises ne pourront agir qu’en cas de «dépréciation sévère» susceptible de déstabiliser l’économie du pays. La faiblesse du yuan permettrait même à Pékin de déjouer les paris des spéculateurs qui considèrent le renforcement de la devise comme un pari gagné d’avance.

La trajectoire pluriannuelle des finances publiques devrait être remise à Bruxelles autour du 23 avril

La trajectoire pluriannuelle des finances publiques devrait être remise à Bruxelles autour du 23 avril

Le Premier ministre fait selon le gouverneur de la banque de France une erreur de diagnostic lorsqu’il explique que la croissance plus faible en zone euro qu’ailleurs est liée à la politique de la BCE. Quant aux remarques de Manuel Valls à l’occasion de son discours de politique générale sur l’euro fort, Christian Noyer estime que la force de la monnaie européenne n'était pas liée à la politique monétaire de la BCE, tout en reconnaissant qu'«il serait souhaitable de tous les points de vue (...) qu’il soit un peu plus faible».