JP Morgan Asset Management has recruited Robet Stark for the newly-created position of head of the strategy and development team, Mutual Fund Wire reports. Stark had previously worked at Russell Investments, where he served in a similar role. He will report to the chief financial officer of JP Morgan AM, David Brigstocke.

Crédit Agricole SA on 13 June announced plans to appoint Xavier Musca, former secretary general of the French Presidency under Nicolas Sarkozy, as deputy CEO of the bank, the publicly-traded entity of the Crédit Agricole group.The bank says in a statement that in this position, Musca will be responsible for the international activities of the retail bank, asset management and insurance.His appointment will be subject to approval by the group’s board of directors on 17 July. “The final appointment of Musca will come after a consultation with the deontology commission,” the bank says.

La Française AM on 13 June announced that in association with a team of experienced founders from finance and investment banks, it is creating a new firm known as La Française IS, with capital of EUR10m, 65% controlled by La Française AM and 35% by its four founders. A license will be applied for from the AMF for the firm.The objective for the new operation is to be able to offer investors a range of funds which includes quantitative and alternative management techniques, and custom investment solutions (including liability-driven investment approaches, need for asymmetrical and diversifying solutions, etc.) via funds or dedicated mandates.

In the first four months of this year, open-ended funds in Germany have seen net outflows of nearly EUR4.33bn, compared with EUR4.18bn in the corresponding period of 2011, with net redemptions of EUR6.67bn in April, partly due to net redemptions of EUR3.8bn from the iShares Dax (followed by net inflows of EUR3.6bn to the same ETF in May), and to the transfer of a product range weighting EUR3.1bn from the Oppenheim group to a newly-created affiliate.The German BVI association of asset management firms states that institutional funds (Spezialfonds), however, attracted EUR18.62bn in January-April, compared with EUR14.36bn in the first four months of 2011, of which EUR4.27bn, compared with EUR4.11bn, were in April.Mandates raised EUR3.31bn in the first four months of the year, compared with net outflows of EUR514.5m last year, of which EUR2.84bn were in April, compared with outflows of EUR2.2bn in the corresponding month of 2011.In terms of open-ended securities funds, net redemptions in January-April totalled EUR5.8bn. But Allianz has raised a net total of nearly EUR5.94bn, putting it ahead of Union Investment, which has seen inflows of EUR1.31bn. Net outflows topped EUR5.27bn at BlackRock (iShares ETFs), EUR404.9m for Comstage (ETFs from Commerzbank), EUR2.38bn for Deka (German savings banks), and EUR1.61bn for DWS/DB Advisors/Deutsche Bank group (with net outflows of EUR1.29bn for ETFs from db x-trackers). ETFlab (Deka) attracted EUR604.4m in the first four months of the year.

The Finnish firm Estlander & Partners has selected the SEI group to provide outsourcing services for its hedge fund activities, Hedge Week reports.SEI will provide back office services, including accounting, fund administration and client services.

Leaders in the asset management industry in terms of profits are going to enlarge the gap with their rivals, a new McKinsey study of the asset management industry funds.In 2013 and beyond, the top 25 percent (top quartile) of players in terms of profitability will capture up to 70% of a potentially contracting profit pool, expected to fall to a total level of EUR7.2bn to EUR11.2bn.In 2011, players in the top quartile had already increased their share of total profits in the sector, which contracted to EUR9.6bn, to 58%, compared with only 25% in 2007, though at the time, profits represented a total of EUR13.7bn.Players in the second and third quartiles will share an increasingly slender slice of a shrinking cake: 10% in 2013, compared with 44% in 2007.In 2013, profit margins are expected to vary from 11.9 to 13.9 points, depending on the evolution of the markets, compared with 10.8 in 2011 and 16.6 in 2007.

The central asset management firm for the German savings banks, DekaBank, has announced that as of the end of May, its new structured wealth management service, launched in February 2011, Deka-Vermögenskonzept (available in 7 variants), has topped EUR1bn in assets, with over 30,000 subscribers from among the retail clients of the savings banks. As of the end of 2011, inflows totalled EUR850m.

The annual retirement savings barometer by Union Investment for 2012, launched in 2007 and undertaken by the Forsa institute, on the basis of a survey of 500 German household financial decision-makers, finds that 62% of respondents say they have made adequate arrangements to avoid financial restrictions during their retirement. About one fifth of respondents, however, say they have not built up enough money for retirement.56% of respondents say that they will be able to allow themselves the same level of spending in retirement as they had during their active lives, while 44% claim that their additional savings will not be enough to maintain their lifestyle.Meanwhile, 94% of those surveyed say that they have at least en approximate idea of the amounts they will receive when they retire, while 21% say that it’s not worth for them to worry about complementary retirement savings.On the subject of Riester subsidized retirement saving plans, 43% of respondents say they have signed up for such policies, but 16% feel they are not necessary.

The German asset management firm Barings Asset Management GmbH has announced the recruitment of Sebastian Haimerl as sales manager, in charge of relationship management for wealth management and fund of fund manager clients in Germany and Austria. He had previously been a retirement management specialist at ebase. Haimerl joins the team led by Oliver Morath, CEO of Barings Germany and head of sales for Europe & Middle East in Frankfurt.

Andrew Bosomworth, CEO of Pimco for Germany, announced in early June that the US asset management firm no longer held more than a negligible exposure to German federal government bonds (bunds) in its portfolio, not so much because the returns on these securities has fallen as because the level of fiscal risk (in light of the European rescue) reduces their quality, Fondsprofessionell reports.Meanwhile, the cash allocation for open-ended funds ranges from 5% to 15%, while the percentage before the crisis was only 1% to 5%.

James Dilworth, CEO of Allianz Global Investors (AGI) has told Handelsblatt that the names of the independent brands RCM, Nicholas Applegate and NFJ, which exist alongside that of Allianz Global Investors Europe, will gradually disappear.AGI is seeking to increase its visibility, now that Pimco is no longer its ‘own’ affiliate, but has been promoted to become a direct affiliate of the German insurer, and has thus become a sister company of AGI.Pimco now itself offers bond products even in Germany, and AGI is in the process of strengthening its own bond team. Concentration on one brand may help the firm to more easily keep up with Pimco.

For an undisclosed sum, Banca March has acquired a stake of an unknown size in Consulnor, an independent financial products and services firm, serving private banking and institutional investor clients, Funds People reports.Consulnor manages about EUR900m, of which more than one third are in 43 Spanish Sicav funds. The new merged entity with Banca March represents about EUR7.5bn in assets under management in private banking.

Peter Butler, 63, founder and CEO of Governance for Owners, a British asset management firm specialised in shareholder engagement, is leaving his job. He will remain involved in the firm half-time, as founding partner emeritus. Stephen Cohen will replace Butler as the firm’s new CEO. He joined the firm this week, to provide a period of transition ahead of a handover of powers on 24 July, at a meeting of the board of directors. Cohen had been head of the hedge fund firm Troika Dialog, which he founded, and COO of Montanaro Asset Management. He also worked for Mercury Asset Management, Zurich Scudder and Putnam Investments. Before founding Governance for Owners, Butler was CEO of Hermes Focus Asset Management, part of the BT pension fund.

ISAM, the hedge fund launched by Lord Fink, former CEO of Man Group, has doubled its assets to USD1bn in the past 12 months, despite difficult markets, the Financial Times reports. The London-based firm has also recruited Darren Upton, former head of trading at AHL, the Man fund, to head its research, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Cyrille Urfer joined Gonet & Cie in April as head of asset allocation, Agefi Switzerland reports. After 13 years at Credit Suisse, where he served as portfolio manager in the private banking department, Urfer spent 10 years at Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, where he directed the Private Asset Management entity. From 2008 to 2011, he was Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Fixed Income/Equity, at ADIC (Abu Dhabi Investment Council), the sovereign and investment fund of the government of Abu Dhabi.

According to BarclayHedge and TrimTabs, hedge funds saw net redemptions in April of USD5.1bn, or 0.3% of their assets, following net subscriptions of USD2.8bn in March. On the basis of results disclosed by 3,042 funds, total assets as of the end of April totalled USD1.7trn as of 30 April, which represents an increase of 1.6% in the first four months of the year.In the twelve months to the end of April, hedge funds posted net outflows of over USD12.7bn, with net redemptions in six months during that period.

Selon nos informations, la Mutuelle de la Société Générale (SG) a lancé en mai, un appel d’offres restreint avec l’aide du consultant Fixage sur les convertibles, les actions euro et un mandat obligataire type assurantiel, pour un montant total de 120 millions d’euros. Les trois FCP concernés avaient été lancés en janvier 2007. Alain Saulay, président de la Mutuelle de la Société générale, explique : il était convenu de remettre en jeu leur gestion après cinq ans de fonctionnement. Une fois les prestataires désignés, la mutuelle de la Société générale s’assurera du transfert des fonds d’ici fin 2012. Le président de la mutuelle précise l’agenda : le changement de gérants n’est pas pressé, nous allons prendre notre temps car nous souhaitons mettre en place un nouveau système de gestion avec nos partenaires. L’objectif étant de disposer, en amont, de davantage de réactivité et d’un meilleur contrôle, dans la logique de Solvabilité II. Selon une source proche du dossier, sur les convertibles et actions euro, la recherche porte sur un gestionnaire de fonds ouverts, pour un investissement compris entre 10 et 20 millions d’euros. Le mandat obligataire de type assurantiel se verra allouer plus d’actifs. La réception des dossiers est désormais terminée. Le comité financier de la mutuelle s’est réunie la semaine dernière pour sélectionner 9 candidats parmi les 15 pré-sélectionnés par leur consultant. Elle procèdera mercredi 13 juin à la dernière phase d’audition des candidats retenus à l’issue de la phase écrite. Les critères de gestion prépondérants seront la rentabilité, la performance et la réactivité des gestionnaires. Dans la restructuration de son mode de fonctionnement, la mutuelle de la Société générale met en place une commission financière et une commission d’audits pour la gestion de ses encours.

La Française AM prépare le montage d’un club deal immobilier de 500 M€, qui porterait sur un portefeuille d’hôtels. L’an dernier, le gestionnaire d’actifs avait signé un portefeuille de 97 murs de supermarchés dans le cadre d’un sale & lease back auprès de Carrefour Market pour 365 M€. En 2010, il avait repris, via l’OPCI, Silverstone les murs de 158 hôtels Formule 1 pour 200 M€. Avec la concrétisation de ce club deal, La Française AM maintient un objectif de collecte de plus de 1 Md€ sur l’immobilier en 2012, sensiblement équivalent à 2011 où l’asset manager avait collecté 1,134 Md€. Sur les 5 premiers mois de l’année, La Française AM enregistre une collecte nette de 237 M€ (271 M€ de collecte brute). L’immobilier représente un peu plus de 7 Mds€ d’encours sur les 36,5 Mds€ revendiqués à fin mai. Dans sa stratégie de développement dans l’immobilier, la Française AM lance cette année un fonds de dette, avec une équipe dédiée animée par Bertrand Carrez. Le fonds se positionne sur des actifs sous-jacents défensifs, principalement de bureaux et de commerces en France, et va cibler les financements senior/senior + d’une maturité de 3 à 10 ans, offrant un spread de l’ordre de 250 points de base. « Nous ciblons des investissements unitaires de 10 à 30 M€ pour un objectif de plusieurs centaines de millions d’euros », a précisé Xavier Lépine, président du Directoire de La Française AM. Le fonds amorcé par La Française AM avec le soutien de son actionnaire principal, le Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe, devrait s’ouvrir aux investisseurs au 4e trimestre 2012. Parmi les autres développements dans l’immobilier, La Française AM ambitionne de doubler la taille de son premier OPCI sharia, avec un objectif de 100 M€ d’encours à fin 2012 pour le compte de son client dédié. La première transaction avait porté sur un immeuble de bureaux au 91 boulevard Saint-Michel (Paris 5e), loué à France Télécom pour 10 ans, et cédé par Foncière des Régions, pour 46 M€.

Mais la croissance des mises en chantier risque d'être freinée par la baisse des financements disponibles

Après une baisse de la demande placée en 2011, les entreprises ont multiplié les mouvements, en particulier à Marseille et à Lille

Le gérant prendra 65% dans le pôle aux côtés de quatre fondateurs issus de la banque. Des encours de 6 milliards d’euros sont visés d’ici 2015

Après avoir touché un point bas, les rendements souverains se retendent dans l'attente de précisions sur l'avenir de la Grèce et de l'Espagne

Les pays qui se réuniront les 18 et 19 juin au Mexique ont une nouvelle fois les yeux rivés sur la zone euro

La société crée une activité dédiée aux solutions d’investissement. Elle détiendra 65% du pôle aux côtés des fondateurs, issus de la banque d’investissement, et vise un encours de 6 milliards d’euros d’ici à 2015. Elle lance par ailleurs une expertise en produits de dette dans l’immobilier.

Des règles plus souples sur l'actualisation des passifs devraient diminuer leur demande pour des actifs très longs, entraînant une pentification

Le sommet prévu les 18 et 19 juin à Los Cabos, au Mexique, au lendemain d’une élection cruciale en Grèce, sera accaparé par les problèmes de la zone euro. Les Européens souhaitent malgré tout que le sujet de la croissance dans les autres économies du monde soit abordé.

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Nicosie doit recapitaliser la deuxième banque du pays d'ici fin juin, alors que Moody's a dégradé cette nuit la note du pays de de deux crans à Ba3

Le projet complète la réforme du pacte de stabilité et de croissance et prévoit notamment l'introduction d'un fonds d'amortissement de la dette

En dépit des conditions de marché difficiles, l’actif du fonds alternatif londonien de l’ancien directeur général de Man Group, ISAM, a doublé selon le quotidien au cours des douze derniers mois pour atteindre un milliard de dollars. Le fonds aurait recruté Darren Upton, un responsable de la recherche d’AHL, entité de Man Group.