In the half ending on 31 March, Raymond James Financial has posted net profits of USD136.2m, down 16% compared with USD162.6m in October 2010-March 2011.Net profits in the asset management unit have nonetheless increased to USD32.4m, compared with USD30.8m (+5%).

State Street Corporation has created a protocol to standardise collection and transfer of risk information concerning hedge funds, entitled Open Protocol Enabling Risk Aggregation (OPERA). In combination with the TruView risk management platform, OPERA allows institutional investors to analyse their risks more exhaustively and to have a stable reporting framework for each of their hedge fund investments.The new protocol was developed in cooperation with a working group in which major hedge fund managers and institutional investors were represented.State Street states that as of 31 March, it had about USD895bn in alternative assets under administration.

Assets under management at AllianceBernstein (Axa group) as of 31 March 2012 totalled USD419bn, up 3.2% compared with 31 December 2012, the firm announced in a statement on 2 May. Compared with 31 March 2011, assets under management were down 12.2%, or USd58.2bn. In first quarter 2012, the sale of Canadian and Australian activities at Axa resulted in outflows of USD5.8bn, following outflows of USD3.7bn in fourth quarter 2011. Total outflows in the quarter totalled USD12.1bn. However, positive market effects more than offset this development. The institutional unit (USD222.43bn in assets) finished the quarter with net outflows of USD12.9bn, but the retail unit (USD124.2bn in assets under management) posted net inflows of USD2.3bn.

Skandia Investment Group has closed its Paris office, according to information received by Newsmanagers. The British asset management firm has also dismissed Bogdan Popescu, who had been head of the office since its opening in May 2008. Popescu has not been a member of staff at Skandia for a month, and the communications firm which had worked with the firm in France has also not been working with the firm for a month. The closure may be related to a reorganization at Skandia Investment Group, as France no longer represents a core target market, although inflows in 2011 were good. French clients are reportedly now being redirected to Spain. The move comes at a time when the Skandia group has announced a merger betweem Skandia Investment Group and Old Mutual Asset Managers UK. Skandia Investment Group (which was then known as Skandia Global Funds) opened an office in Paris, France in 2008, with the intention of releasing its Best Ideas fund to institutional investors. The fund invests in the best investment ideas of several managers, and funds whose management had been outsourced to other asset management firms.

The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on Wednesday announced that it has sanctioned Citigroup Global Markets, Morgan Stanley, UBS Financial Services, and Wells Fargo Advisors a total of more than USD9.1 million for selling leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs) «without reasonable supervision and for not having a reasonable basis for recommending the securities», according to a statement. The firms were fined more than USD7.3 million and are required to pay a total of USD1.8 million in restitution to certain customers who made unsuitable leveraged and inverse ETF purchases.FINRA found that from January 2008 through June 2009, the firms «did not have adequate supervisory systems in place to monitor the sale of leveraged and inverse ETFs, and failed to conduct adequate due diligence regarding the risks and features of the ETFs. As a result, the firms did not have a reasonable basis to recommend the ETFs to their retail customers. The firms’ registered representatives also made unsuitable recommendations of leveraged and inverse ETFs to some customers with conservative investment objectives and/or risk profiles. Each of the four firms sold billions of dollars of these ETFs to customers, some of whom held them for extended periods when the markets were volatile».FINRA sanctioned the following firms: Wells Fargo – USD2.1 million fine and USD641,489 in restitutionCitigroup – USD2 million fine and USD146,431 in restitutionMorgan Stanley – USD1.75 million fine and USD604,584 in restitutionUBS – USD1.5 million fine and USD431,488 in restitution

The French asset management firm Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale group) has listed nine new French-registered ETFs replicating sectoral indicces of the S&P 500 on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform (Deutsche Börse), bringing the total number of ETFs listed in Frankfurt to 965.All of these products charge 0.20%.A list of these funds is available as an attachment.

The Frankfurt-based independent asset management firm Lupus alpha, continuing the development of its absolute return activities, has appointed Alexander Raviol, the head of its 9-member absolute return team, and Stephen Steiger, to manage the new Luxembourg-registered fund Lupus alpha Volatility Opportunities, a second volatility product, which was launched on 29 February. Lupus alpha already manages over EUR1bn in funds of this type.The Volatility Opportunities fund aims to generate returns on the long term 450 basis points higher than the Eonia, using several strategies such as long/short vega (mean reversion), implied-realized spread, and relative value. The new fund will aim to offer institutional investors a product which provides stable revenues, even in difficult market periods.Ralph Lochmuller, managing partner and CEO, says that a third volatility strategy will be launched by the end of the year.CharacteristicsName: Lupus alpha Volatility OpportunitiesISIN code: LU0670235364Front-end fee: maximum 5%Management commission: 1%Performance commission: 20% of performance exceeding the Eonia hurdle rate + 350 basis points, with high watermarkMinimal subscription: EUR7,500

The financial ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has raised its rating of Greece to CCC, following a debt exchange operation which allowed the country to cancel about EUR105bn in debt, according to a statement released on 2 May. The firm had already issued a rating of CCC for new bonds issued by Greece, following the debt exchange, which was finalised on 25 April. The rating has a stable outlook. The ratings agency estimates that it an economic recovery in Greece is possible, if planned reforms are fully enacted, if a contraction in revenues turns around, and if investor appetite for the country gradually recovers. However, despite the raised rating, S&P estimates that Greek debt levels “remain high” and that the structural reform programme involves risks as to its enactment, “particularly” following legislative elections on 6 May. The agency estimates that there is a 30% to 50% probability of bonds issued by Greece being paid back, which was already the case before the country’s rating was raised.

China Investment Corporation (CIC), the federal participation and investment firm (SFPI/FPIM) and A CAPITAL, the largest fund manager for investments between China and Europe, on 2 May announced the creation of a fund which will invest in European groups which are leaders in their markets, with a view to accelerating growth in China. A CAPITAL is based in China and Euorpe, and is the General Partner of the A CAPITAL China Outbound Fund. CIC and SFPI will be the Limited Partners of the Fund, via a dedicated structure entitled China Belgium Mirror Fund. Koen Van Loo, CEO of SFPI, says: “We are very happt to participate in the creation of the Fund, and are convinced by its highly distinctive investment strategy. With the help pf CIC and A CAPITAL, we will allow Belgian and European firms to accelerate their growth in China. The creation of this fund confirms the close ties between Belgium and China, our ability to attract Chinese investors to the heart of Europe, and market a very important step for our economy.” A CAPITAL invests in European companies whose earnings are over EUR100m, which are leaders in their markets, and which have strong potential for growth in China. The preferred sectors are companies with highly technological activities, brands, distribution networks, and the environment. The particularity of A CAPITAL is that it co-invests with Chinese public or private investors in order to jointly ensure and accelerate potential growth. The objective is to create genuine strategic partnerships, to contribute to the solidity and the performance of European companies invested in, and to create value for all parties.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced on Wednesday the appointment of Charles McKenzie to the position of head of client portfolio management EMEA, in the global fixed income team, leading a team of 15.Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Asset Management, he was head of fixed income EMEA at Aberdeen Asset Management.In this role Charles McKenzie will report to Bob Michele, chief investment officer, global fixed income, currency and commodities and will be responsible for client management, product design and new business development in the region.

Malcolm Naish, director of real estate at SWIP, will be retiring in June, a statement from the asset management firm announces. He had served in this role since October 2007. The firm has not yet announced the name of the person who will replace Naish.

Henderson has seen net outflows in first quarter 2012 of GBP857m. Due to positive market and foreign exchange effects, assets nonetheless incresed by GBP2.4bn, to GBP66.7bn as of the end of March. Henderson has seen outflows from all asset classes except real estate (+GBP22m) and all types of clients.

In London, Pictet Asset Management has announced the creation of shares denominated in US dollars and euros, available to external investors, in its long/short equity fund Agora (USD100m), based in the Cayman islands, and managed by Elif Aktug and Benoît Capiod. The product was launched in April 2011, and relies on 20 to 25 strategies.

Since 2 May, Sean Chang has become head of Asian debt at Baring Asset Management in Hong Kong. He reports to Alain Wilde, head of fixed income and currency, and Wilfred Sit, CIO for Asia. Pending permission from the regulator, Chang will become manager of the Baring Asian Debt fund, and several Asian debt portfolios.Since 2007, Chang had been investment director at HSBC Global Asset Management, where he was responsible for Asian debt portfolios for retail and institutional investor clients. In his 16-year career in the area of fixed income in Asia, he has also worked at Mirae Global Investment Management, Hang Seng Investment Management and Invesco Asia.

The Danish fund manager Jyske Invest has announced that asstes in its Jyske Invest Swedish Equities and Jyske Invest Global Real Estate Equities funds have fallen to a level at which the products will be liquidated on 23 August 2012, pending agreement from an extranordinary shareholders’ meeting on 14 May.Meanwhile, if an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting on 14 May approves the move, the Jyske Invest Eastern European Equities fund will be converted into the Jyske Invest Russian Equities fund on 10 June 2012. The change will not alter the investment strategy too much, insofar as two thirds of the fund are already invested in Russian equities.

Last week, the Belgian financial markets and services authority (FSMA) issued a public warning over the activities of Micron Associates, a firm which claims to offer investment services. “Micron Associates has no license in Belgium as an investment firm. It is therefore not authorised to furnish investment services in Belgium or from Belgian territory,” the regulator states. The authority advises against giving any money to the firm. Micron Associates claims to be based in Spain, at Moll de Barcelona s/n, edificio Este 8 planta, World Trade Center Barcelona.

As of 31 March 2012, overall net assets in collective investment organisms and specialised investment funds registered in Luxembourg totalled EUR2.217206trn, compared with EUR2.203159trn as of 29 February 2012, an increase of 0.64% month on month, according to statistics from the financial sector surveillance commission (CSSF). Over the past twelve months, net asset volumes have increased 1.20%. An increase of EUR14.04bn observed last month represents the remainder of positive net issues for EUR18.102bn (+0.82%), and unfavourable evolution of financial markets, for -EUR4.055bn (-0.18%).

Pour rappel, le Ravgdt (régime d’allocations viagères des gérants de débits de tabac) a lancé un appel d’offres public européen de l’ordre de 350 millions d’euros, sur 2 FCP dédiés, de droit français de gestion diversifiée. Pour retrouver dans le détail la brève publiée le 6 février: cliquez ici Contactée par Instit Invest, le Ravgdt a reconnu avoir reçu 24 plis à ce jour. Seuls 9 participants maximum (5 au minimum) seront invités à répondre au questionnaire qui sera envoyé une fois que le service juridique de la CDC aura établi la conformité de chaque dossier de candidature. Une responsable estime que le nombre de candidatures est important, par rapport à la taille des fonds en jeu, et en comparaison avec l’appel d’offres de l’Ircantec, où 33 dossiers de candidature avaient été réceptionnés, pour un encours de 6 milliards d’euros au total. Outre le nombre plus faible de candidatures groupées, la responsable note un retard chez les acteurs étrangers dans la création de fonds avec le passeport européen, en dépit de la directive UCITS IV. Certaines sociétés de gestion de renom en Europe ont préféré ne pas répondre en raison de leur état d’impréparation en la matière.

Créé début 2012 avec le soutien de sept grands investisseurs institutionnels et géré par NewAlpha Asset Management, le compartiment Performance Absolue de la SICAV Emergence annonce la signature de son premier partenariat d’incubation avec la société Eiffel Investment Group. A l’issue d’un processus rigoureux de sélection associant étroitement les investisseurs, Emergence investira 30 millions d’euros dans le fonds d’Eiffel Investment Group spécialisé sur le crédit européen, portant ses actifs à près de 70 millions d’euros, et lui permettant d’atteindre plus rapidement la taille critique pour se développer en France et à l’international. Lancé fin 2011, ce fonds investit dans les instruments de dette d’entreprises et d'établissements financiers européens et vise à dégager une performance absolue, peu corrélée à l'évolution des marchés financiers. La stratégie mise en oeuvre par ce fonds s’inscrit pleinement dans un contexte de désintermédiation du marché du crédit, de bouleversement de la hiérarchie habituelle des emprunteurs et d'évolutions réglementaires affectant les prêteurs traditionnels. Le renforcement des règles prudentielles applicables aux banques, principales sources de financement des entreprises, crée notamment un besoin urgent d’autres formes de financement des entreprises. En mobilisant davantage l'épargne privée et institutionnelle, le secteur de la gestion d’actifs assure ainsi un lien prépondérant entre les entreprises et les investisseurs. L'équipe de gestion du fonds est dirigée par Emmanuel Weyd, en charge des stratégies de crédit chez Eiffel Investment Group depuis 2009. Emmanuel Weyd a 20 ans d’expérience sur les marchés de crédit européens, notamment acquis chez J.P. Morgan en tant que co-responsable de la recherche crédit pour l’Europe, puis responsable des marchés de dette pour la France, le Benelux et la Suisse et enfin en tant que managing director dans l'équipe d’investissement sur fonds propres. Auparavant, il avait passé 4 ans chez Standard & Poor’s en analyse crédit. Agréée par l’AMF en 2010 et basée à Paris, Eiffel Investment Group est une société de gestion et d’investissement issue d’un spin-off du Groupe Louis Dreyfus. Détenue majoritairement par Jacques Veyrat, l’ancien Président Directeur Général du Groupe Louis Dreyfus, elle est dirigée par Fabrice Dumonteil, qui était auparavant directeur financier de Neuf Cegetel. Eiffel Investment Group a l’ambition de devenir un acteur important de la gestion à performance absolue en France et en Europe. Les actionnaires initiaux du fonds de place Emergence comptent parmi les principaux investisseurs institutionnels français et totalisent plus de 1.200 milliards d’euros de réserves financières En lançant Emergence début 2012, l’industrie de la gestion française, leader en Europe par le montant des capitaux gérés (2.700 milliards d’euros fin 2011), et reconnue pour son expertise, sa capacité d’innovation, et son dynamisme entrepreneurial, s’est dotée d’un fonds, destiné à faciliter la création et le développement en France des meilleurs talents de la gestion d’actifs. Le projet Emergence s’inscrit dans un contexte d’accélération de la compétition européenne et mondiale où l’incubation des gérants les plus talentueux devient un enjeu capital pour les investisseurs institutionnels en quête de performance et de transparence. Emergence contribue aussi à renforcer le métier de la gestion d’actifs en France (plus de 80 000 emplois aujourd’hui) dans une optique de long terme. Le fonds Emergence Performance Absolue est géré par NewAlpha Asset Management, un des leaders européens de l’incubation, récompensé à plusieurs reprises pour sa capacité à détecter et accompagner les gérants les plus talentueux au niveau international.

Le régulateur américain des marchés à terme s’est dit déterminé à faire appliquer les règles garantissant la transparence des prix sur le marché des dérivés, estimé à 700.000 milliards de dollars. Son président Gary Gensler estime que cette transparence est un élément clé pour réduire les risques que fait courir ce marché à l’ensemble de l’économie.

L’agence a relevé à CCC de la note de la dette souveraine grecque, qui n’est plus ainsi en situation de défaut, le pays ayant réduit son passif d’un tiers environ au terme d’une restructuration de dette complexe et sans précédent. S&P, qui a assorti la note d’une perspective stable, prévoit que la dette restera élevée au cours des trois prochaines années, autour de 160 à 170% du PIB.

La société d’investissement indépendante vient de lancer la souscription de son fonds III, avec une taille cible de 180 millions d’euros. Près de 50% de cet objectif a d’ores et déjà été confirmé par des investisseurs existants. Montefiore Investment indique également compter désormais parmi ses investisseurs l’une des premières banques européennes ainsi qu’un fonds de fonds américain.

Le secteur privé a créé 119.000 emplois en avril aux Etats-Unis, alors que le marché attendait 177.000 postes supplémentaires, une donnée qui accroît le pessimisme des investisseurs avant la publication vendredi de la statistique américaine de l’emploi pour le mois écoulé.

L'économie belge a renoué avec la croissance au premier trimestre et n'était pas en récession au second semestre 2011 contrairement à ce qui avait été initialement annoncé, selon les données publiées mercredi. Le PIB a progressé de 0,3% sur les trois premiers mois de l’année par rapport au trimestre précédent. En rythme annuel, la progression est de 0,5%.

Le Département du Trésor américain a surpris les investisseurs hier en décalant à l’année prochaine au mieux l’émission d’obligations d’Etat à taux variables destinées à diversifier son portefeuille et à profiter de la politique durablement accommodante de la Fed en termes de taux courts. Il prévoit d’émettre 72 milliards d’obligations à 3,10 et 30 ans la semaine prochaine.

Le secrétaire au Trésor américain a réédité aujourd’hui son appel à la Chine pour poursuivre le processus de réévaluation du yuan face au dollar. «Un renmibi plus fort, (au cours) plus déterminé par le marché contribuera à consolider l’objectif de la Chine de s’orienter vers une production à plus forte valeur ajoutée, de réformer son système financier et d’encourager la demande intérieure».

Ce mouvement pourrait traduire une certaine défiance vis-à-vis des actifs libellés en euros

Aussi souhaitable soit-elle au regard de la forte dette extérieure, la consolidation des finances publiques européennes coûte de la croissance. Donner plus de temps à la réduction des déficits est une idée, mais les engagements pris pour regagner la confiance de nos créanciers extérieurs doivent être tenus au mieux. A l’initiative de la BCE, soutenue par la Commission, un pacte pour la croissance pourrait être scellé. L’idée est juste, si des projets d’investissement sont engagés dans la périphérie; mais l’idée n’est bonne que si elle ne crée pas de nouvelles dettes insoutenables.

Ils sont restés importants en mars, comme depuis le mois de décembre. Mais les capacités des banques des deux pays diminuent

Alors que la banque centrale a assoupli plus que prévu sa politique monétaire, le dollar australien semble surévalué aux yeux de certains économistes