BBVA AM et Bankinter Gestión de Activos viennent d’enregistrer auprès de la CNMV, le régulateur espagnol, deux nouveaux fonds de gestion passive, révèle Funds People. Ainsi, Bankinter lance le fonds Bankinter Renta Semestral 2019, dont le portefeuille sera composé à 95 % de dette émise par les Etats de la zone euro ou les Communautés autonomes et à 5 % en liquidité. Ce véhicule pourra également investir en obligations privées ou publiques d’émetteurs de l’OCDE ayant une notation minimale de BB- ou identique à celle de l’Espagne.Pour sa part, BBVA lance le fonds BBVA Bonos Plazo VII, qui investira dans la dette émise par l’Espagne (initialement à hauteur de 96,6 %) et en liquidité. Si nécessaire, le véhicule pourra également investir dans des dettes émises par les Etats de la zone euro ou les Communautés autonomes, ainsi que dans des dettes privées en euros d’émetteurs de l’OCDE.Le montant initial d’investissement est de 500 euros pour le fonds de Bankinter et de 600 euros pour celui de BBVA. Les commissions de gestion sont fixées à 0,58 % pour le produit de Bankinter et à 0,85 % pour celui de BBVA.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs GAM vient d’enregistrer sur le marché espagnol, en tant que compartiments de sa Sicav luxembourgeoise GAM Star (Lux), deux nouveaux fonds de performance absolue, l’un centré sur les pays européens et l’autre sur les pays émergents, dévoile Funds People. Le premier fonds, baptisé GAM Star (Lux) European Alpha C EUR et qui compte un historique de plus de 10 ans, investit ainsi dans les actions des pays européens libellées en euros. Géré par Gianmarco Mondani, Roberto Cantaluppi et Paolo Longinotti, ce véhicule combine des stratégies long/short avec une approche bottom-up. Le deuxième fonds, GAM Star (Lux) Emerging Alpha C Euro, est orienté exclusivement sur les actions des pays émergents et est géré par Enrico Camera et Ian Cartmill. Actuellement, le portefeuille est principalement exposé au Moyen-Orient (6,27%), à l’Europe de l’Est (4,95%) et sur Taiwan (3,32%).

La «silver économie» (activités liées au vieillissement) s’est enrichie d’un fonds d’investissement sectoriel, rapporte L’Agefi. Un premier tour de table pour ce fonds de capital-investissement de 42 millions d’euros, a été réalisé auquel ont contribué Bpifrance (premier souscripteur à hauteur de 10 millions), les organismes de prévoyance et de protection sociale Klesia, Malakoff Médéric, Ircem Mutuelle (5 millions), Ocirp, Réunica, Humanis et Harmonie Mutuelle. Les instigateurs du projet espèrent atteindre 100 millions, voire légèrement au-delà, dans les douze mois. Géré par Innovation Capital (ex-CDC Innovation), le fonds entend investir entre 2 et 10 millions d’euros dans dix à quinze sociétés innovantes réalisant jusqu'à une dizaine de millions d’euros de revenus.

L’Etablissement de retraite additionnelle de la fonction publique (ERAFP) a publié sur son site la liste des marchés conclus par l'établissement en 2013 et établie dans les conditions définies par l’arrêté du 21 juillet 2011 pris en application de l’article 133 du code des marchés financiers.On y retrouve les traditionnelles sélections d’entreprises d’investissement pour l’attribution de mandats de gestion financière. Par exemple, Robeco AM, Natixis AM et Fundlogic ont été retenus pour un mandat portant sur des actions cotées de moyennes et grandes capitalisations Etats-Unis dans le cadre d’une gestion active ISR non benchmarkée.Mais on y apprend également que la société Ethifinance a été sélectionnée pour la formation des administrateurs de l’ERAFP sur la gouvernance, le contrôle interne et la déontologie. Ou encore que deux agences de conseil en vote aux assemblées générales ont été sélectionnées, Proxinvest pour l’analyse des AG de sociétés françaises, ISS pour l’analyse des AG de sociétés internationales On observe aussi que la société Fractales a été retenue pour la sélection d’un outil de gestion actif-passif et la mise en place d’un modèle ALM pour un régime de retraite par capitalisation. Et l’ERAFP a également retenu deux prestataires pour son assistance juridique, le cabinet d’avocats en droit public Adden, et le cabinet d’avocats d’affaires Allen & Overy. Mais l’objet du marché le précise bien : il s’agit d’une assistance «ponctuelle"…

L’heure du grand nettoyage a sonné chez Ignis Asset Management (AM). La société de gestion britannique, filiale du groupe d’assurance vie Phoenix, a en effet annoncé la restructuration de sa gamme de fonds «offshore» afin d’utiliser le Luxembourg comme le centre unique pour ses fonds européens. Ainsi, les fonds domiciliés à Dublin, en Irlande, vont fusionner le 29 mars 2014 dans la structure luxembourgeoise (Ignis Funds Sicav). L’objectif poursuivi est, ainsi, de réaliser des économies de coûts et permettre une plus grande croissance de ses actifs à l’avenir. Au total, cinq fonds vont donc fusionner au sein de leurs équivalents au Luxembourg. Il s’agit des fonds Ignis International China, Ignis International Global Equity, Ignis International North America, Ignis International Pan European et, enfin, Ignis International Asia PacificDe fait, la Sicav Ignis AM Luxembourg affiche actuellement 2,6 milliards de livres d’encours (3,15 milliards d’euros) contre 300 millions de livres (363 millions d’euros) pour son équivalent irlandais. «Ces changements permettront à notre activité de se concentrer sur les produits les plus appropriés et ceux que nous estimons être les mieux en phase avec les besoins futurs de nos clients», explique Ignis AM dans une note. En parallèle, Ignis AM a décidé de fermer deux fonds, à savoir Ignis International Global Government Bond (10,2 millions d’euros d’encours) et Ignis International Global Technology (10,7 millions d’euros d’actifs) en raison de leur petite taille, ce qui les rend économiquement non viables. Résultat: Russ Oxley et Stuart Thomson, gérants du Ignis International Global Government Bond, vont désormais se concentrer sur le fonds Ignis Absolute Return Governement Bond. Geoff Paton, qui gérait le fonds Ignis International Global Technology, reste quant à lui au sein de l'équipe actions américaines de la compagnie. En outre, le groupe va relancer au Luxembourg le fonds Ignis International Emerging Markets Select Value (229 millions d’euros d’encours), désormais géré par Mark Julio en remplacement de James Smith.

Le fournisseur d’outils d’aide à l’investissement MSCI a publié le 25 février les résultats de son étude semestrielle sur les pratiques d’allocation des fonds de pension et des fonds souverains dans le monde. Une enquête réalisée au quatrième trimestre 2013 auprès de 80 institutionnels dans le monde représentant près de 4.000 milliards de dollars d’actifs."L’enquête montre que le plus grand défi des institutionnels est d’unifier les objectifs de long terme avec le caractère de court terme de la gestion d’actifs. Il ne ressort aucun consensus sur la fréquence des décisions d’allocation stratégique ou encore sur les méthodes utilisées. Cela peut entraîner de très grandes variations dans les résultats des investissements», indique Neil Gilfedder, managing director et responsable de la recherche analytique appliquée chez MSCI, cité dans un communiqué.L’enquête indique aussi que 95% des participants envisagent d’accroître ou de maintenir leurs allocations dans les classes d’actifs alternatives. Les raisons avancées pour la détention d’actifs alternatifs sont très variables. «Lorsqu’ils investissent dans l’immobilier notamment, certains institutionnels recherchent du rendement, d’autres du revenu et d’autres encore une diversification des risques. Sans une compréhension claire de la façon dont les classes alternatives contribuent au risque et au rendement au sein d’un portefeuille, ils n’ont aucune base sérieuse pour fixer des objectifs à leurs investissements», explique Neil Gilfedder.L’enquête s’est plus spécifiquement intéressée aux mesures prises par les institutionnels pour renforcer la gestion du risque de leur exposition à l’immobilier. A partir de données concernant 138 institutionnels, la recherche a analysé l’utilisation des indices de référence et la surveillance des risques de portefeuilles et de risques liés à la classe d’actifs. Bien que 70% des institutionnels utilisent des indices immobiliers, plus de 80% d’entre eux font preuve d’incohérences, notamment en utilisant des indices nationaux alors qu’ils investissement à l’international.

Swiss Life Asset Managers, qui rassemble depuis fin 2012 les expertises du groupe Swiss Life en matière de gestion d’actifs pour compte de tiers, a engrangé l’an dernier une collecte nette de 5,6 milliards de francs grâce à de nouveaux mandats et à des apports dans des fonds institutionnels et des fonds ouverts au public, a annoncé le groupe le 26 février. Les actifs sous gestion pour compte de tiers s'élèvent ainsi à 27,6 milliards de francs (+ 34%). Ajoutés aux placements des sociétés d’assurance de Swiss Life, les actifs gérés par Swiss Life Asset Managers ont atteint 155 milliards de francs fin décembre 2013 contre 148 milliards de francs un an plus tôt.. En 2013, Swiss Life Asset Managers a pu maintenir les produits directs de ses placements dans le portefeuille d’assurance au niveau élevé de l’année précédente, à savoir 4,3 milliards de francs. Avec les plus-values réalisées et les réévaluations du portefeuille immobilier, le rendement net des placements atteint 3,9% contre 4,8% l’année précédente. Swiss Life Asset Managers a augmenté son résultat sectoriel de 21% à 166 millions de francs. Au niveau du groupe, le bénéfice net se chiffre quant à lui à 784 millions de francs, contre 99 millions de francs en 2012 suite à des amortissements sur des actifs incorporels.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Carl Vine, former managing director of UBS and SAC Capital Advisors, has teamed up with the firm Dymon Asia Capital in Singapore to launch a global long/short equity hedge fund, Bloomberg indicates. The fund will primarily invest in the Asia-Pacific region. The management of the fund will be assured by a team led by Vine based in Oxford. Dymon Asia Capital will provide the infrastructure for the fund. The product will have USD150m in assets at start, and does not plan to accept subscriptions beyond USD500m, according to Bloomberg.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Robeco has merged its natural resources and infrastructure equities funds into a single fund specialised in trends in global growth, Citywire reports. The new fund entitled Robeco Global Growth Trends Equities will be managed by Henk Grrotvels and Marco van Lent.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The data provider MSCI on 25 February published the results of its half-yearly study of allocation practices at pension and sovereign funds worldwide. The study was conducted in fourth quarter 2013 of 80 institutionals worldwide with nearly USD4trn in assets. “The study finds that the largest challenge for institutionals is to unify long-term objectives with the short-term character of asset management. It finds no consequence on the frequency of strategc allocation decisions, or on the methods used. This can lead to considerable variation in investment results,” says Neil Gilfedder, managing director and head of applied analytical research at MSCI, cited in a statement.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Danish pension fund ATP, one of the largest in Europe (DKK592bn), has sold its German bonds and fixed income swaps for DKK20bn, in order to increase its investment in infrastructure, Financial Times fund management reports. It is the first major change for the fund since the arrival of its new CEO, Carsten Stendevad.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Investors are heading for bond ETFs in large numbers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bond ETFs listed in the United States took in USD16bn between 1 and 21 February, according to TrimTabs Investment Research. It is expected to bring in the largest month since the launch of the first bond ETF in 2002, and double the monthly record set in May 2012 (USD84.bn). Among the ETFs which have benefited from this trend are the iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF, which has more than doubled its size to USD6.3bn, after receiving USD3.8bn since the beginning of February. The Pimco 7-15 Year U.S. Treasury Index ETF has seen its assets multiplied by six after subscriptions of USD57.3m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Invesco Real Estate has officially announced the recruitment of Etienne Dupuy as director for Europe of asset management (see Newsmanagers of 18 February 2014). He will be based in Paris, alongside Paul Joubert, director for Europe of transactions, and will be responsible for leading valuation projects for European assets, and will oversee a team of 16 asset management and real estate professionals located in 6 European countries. In this role, he joins the Investment Committee as well as the Executive Board Europe.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Morgan Stanley Wealth management has announced an addition to its range of consulting services for defined contribution retirement programmes, with the introduction of a new discretionary investment programme. The new programme allows retirement heads at Morgan Stanley and Graysone to assume some fiduciary responsibilities to assist the providers of retirement plans with allocation decisions and complex selections. The providers may use Morgan Stanley models based on risk, or new target date portfolios put in place by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

BNY Mellon on February 24 announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the remaining 65% interest of HedgeMark International, LLC, a current affiliate and a provider of hedge fund managed account and risk analytic services. It has held a 35% ownership stake in HedgeMark since 2011. BNY Mellon will integrate HedgeMark’s capabilities with its Global Risk Solutions offeringsThe deal is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to regulatory approval. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2009 and headquartered New York, HedgeMark assists in the structuring, oversight, and risk monitoring of hedge funds, specifically dedicated managed accounts.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a long article, the Wall Street Journal discusses the departure of Mohamed El-Erian from Pimco, where he was CEO, and seeks to paint the mood which reigns at the US asset management firm, with its founder, the emblematic Bill Gross. “A high-pressure work environment that turned less collegial over the past year, a deteriorating relationship between the two senior executives and certain decisions by Mr. Gross that confused some employees” are said to be responsible for the departure of El-Erian. In June last year, Gross and El-Erian, who had long been considered a successor, confronted each other publicly over the subject of the conduct of the founder of the firm, the WSJ reports. In November, the executive board tried to make peace between them. El-Erian was offered more power. But he announced that he would be leaving. “You can’t leave,” Gross protested. “We need you.” Some thought that the two men would eventually overcome their differences. At the beginning of this year, El-Erian agreed to work with a mediator to fin a new way of making the company work, but Gross rejected the mediator. At the end of January, El-Erian therefore announced to Gross that he had taken his decision and left. The WSJ article also relates that Gross is a very demanding boss, that the working conditions are difficult, but that the firm pays some of the best salaries in the world of asset management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } “A good year for asset management,” the chairman of the board at La Banque Postale, Rémy Weber, said at a presentation of the bank’s results. Assets under management at affiliates of the asset management unit of La Banque Postale last year rose 3.5%, to EUR150bn. Net banking proceeds are up 11.9% to EUR134m. Management costs ere stable at EUR68m, while gross operating results were up 27.2%, to EUR66m. The cost/income ratio improved by tens of basis points, to 52.7%. Net inflows at La Banque Postale Asset Management totalled over EUR900m, excluding CNP, driven by the dynamism of institutional clients and despite outflows from the retail segment. The good performance of the markets and the performance of management have also brought in a level of assets at the end of 2013 more than EUR4.5bn higher than 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } JP Morgan Asset Management is planning to reduce its annual fees for the JPM Emerging Markets trust to 0.75% from 1%, if assets in the fund reach GBP800m after 1 July, Money Marketing reports. Assets under management in the strategy managed by Richard Tetherington currently total GBP688m, The performance commission will be maintained at 10%. In second half 2013, the trust was down 5.7%, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index was down by only 1.4%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Syz & Co is opening its doors on the Scandinavian market. The Swiss banking group on 25 February announced that in Sweden it has registered 12 of its Oyster funds. The range is already registered in 10 European countries. The choice of Sweden is no mistake. With EUR270m invested, “the Swedish investment fund market is an important market in Europe, and 76% of Swedes save in funds,” says Syz & Co. Like other European countries, Oyster will sell its funds to institutional investor clients, including pension funds, life insurers and professional intermediaries such as banks, asset management firms, platforms and distribution networks.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM) has made two recruitments as additions to its Asian bond team, Citywire Global reveals. Jim Veneau has been appointed as the new head of credit for Asia, while Christy Lee has been appointed as a manager in the Asian fixed income team. Veneau, former chief investment officer at HSBC Global Asset Management, previously based in the United States, will be responsible for Asian credit and fixed income portfolios, and will also ensure development of the credit and fixed income strategy of Axa IM in Asia. Lee, for her part, joins Axa IM in Hong Kong from UBS Asset Management, where she had been a portfolio managing partner. She will now be responsible for the development and execution of credit strategy at AXA IM, focusing on the pan-Asian credit market.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Northern Trust is strengthening its positions in Asia-Pacific. The asset management firm, based in Chicago, on 25 February announced the opening of a representative office in Malaysia to assist its current institutional clients to develop its activities in the country and the region. It becomes the seventh affiliate of the firm in Asia. To direct the new location, Northern Trust has recruited Ariani Rustam from Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank of the country. Before joining Northern Trust, she served for 12 years in the institution where she was senior executive in charge of risk management, operations, quantitative analysis, and in the past five years, director of the External Fund Management division, in which she participated in the introduction of new asset classes to diversify the investment of reserves from the Malaysian central bank. The Asia-Pacific region already represents a major area for growth at Northern Trust. Its assets under custody have risen by 26% per year between 2008 and 2013, while its assets under management have increased by 15% per year over the past five years.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Legg Mason Global Asset Management is adding to its team in Italy with the appointment of Stefano Colombo as head of client relations, Investment Europe reveals. Before joining Legg Mason, Colombo was in charge of client service at State Street Global Advisors, after working at PwC in its division dedicated to the financial services industry, and more particularly in asset management and private banking.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }Nordea has signed an agreement withBanca Popolare di Vicenza, by the terms of which the Italian bankwill distribute the 66 sub-funds of the Nordea I Sicav which arelicensed for sale in Italy, Bluerating reports.P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } About 45.3 million shares in F&C Asset Management, equivalent to a stake of 7.8%, have been traded in a single block at 122 pence per share, the same value as the GBP700m bid by Bank of Montreal (BMO), the Financial Times reports. Aberforth Partners, the sixth-largest shareholder in F&C, is reported to be behind the sale, and BMO is said to be the buyer. F&C shares finished down 0.3% to 124.4 pence. The BMO bid requires the approval of 75% of shareholders. Aviva and the directors of F&C give it support representing 12.3% of capital. But other investors in F&C, including Standard Life, which owns 10.3%, are keeping their options open in case of a rival bid.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } St James’s Place has declared its appetite for growth. At the publication of its annual results, the British asset and wealth management firm has announced that it is “in advanced talks” to acquire Henley group, an investment advising firm which has GBP400m (USD665m) in assets under management, and 4,000 expatriate clients in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. It is the firm’s first attempt as part of a more long-term strategy of international expansion, which will target British clients living in the Middle East if the Asian experiment is as successful as hoped, says David Bellamy, CEO of St James’s Place. The British firm dares to declare its ambitions at a time when it has published impressive results. In 2013, St James’s Place earned GBP190.7m in pre-tax profits, up 42% compared with 2012. Its net inflows totalled GBP4.3bn, up 28% year on year, bringing assets under management to GBP44.3bn, up 27% compared with 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Henderson Global Investors has promoted two fixed income managers in order to support John Pattullo and Jenna Barnard, FundWeb reports. Nicholas Ware has been appointed as co-manager of the Fixed Interest Monthly Income fund (GBP719.2m in assets) to work alongside John Pattullo and Jenna Barnard. Meanwhile, Rebecca Morris-Charles has been appointed as deputy manager for the Preference & Bond fund (GBP597.7m), also managed by Pattullo and Barnard.

La société de gestion spécialiste des marchés émergents Ashmore a accusé des rachats nets de 2,9 milliards de dollars sur les six derniers mois de 2013, pâtissant des sorties sur la classe d’actifs. Les encours ont décliné de 2,7 %. Le bénéfice avant impôts a baissé à 79,5 millions de livres, contre 114,1 millions au premier semestre de l’année.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } F&C Asset Management has warned investors that income is expected to fall in second half 2013, after a decline in assets under management, Money Marketing reports. The warning comes in a letter to shareholders, laying out the timetable for the acquisition of the firm by BMO Global Asset Management. “Due to the decline in average assets under management in second half 2013, revenues are expected to be lower than in the first half of the year.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Ashmore Group has suffered the full effects of the storm which is rocking emerging markets. The British asset management firm specialised in these markets has published disappointing results for the six first months. After the first half of its year, ending in December 2013, Ashmore Group has seen outflows of USD2.9bn. Although gross inflows have totalled USD7.3bn in the period, redemptions have totalled USD10.2bn. The result is that its assets under management are down 2.7%, to a total of USD75.3bn, compared with USD77.4bn as of the end of June 2013. In such a context, Ashmore Group has seen its earnings fall 18%, from GBP163.7m as of the end fo December 2012, to GBP134.6m as of the end of December 2013. Its pre-tax profits have meanwhile fallen 34%, to a total of EUR79.5m, compared with GBP120.2m one year previously.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As part of the trial of four former employees of Bernard Madoff, his former secretary on Monday declared, in her own defence, that she considered the disgraced financier a “big brother” to her and that she granted him such trust that she never questioned his instructions, the Wall Street Journal reports. Annette Bongiorno, who worked with the fraudster for 40 years, considered him her “hero” and never imagined that he was orchestrating a massive fraud. The secretary said she learned everything from Madoff and was therefore not surprised that she often had to backdate documents.