En 2011, Janus a vu ses encours diminuer de 169,5 milliards de dollars à 148,2 milliards de dollars. Ce recul résulte principalement de rachats nets sur les fonds de long terme (12,2 milliards de dollars). L’effet marché a joué à hauteur de 9,1 milliards de dollars.La société de gestion américaine a aussi vu son bénéfice net revenir de 169,5 milliards de dollars en 2010 à 148,2 milliards de dollars en 2011.

La société de gestion d’origine australienne First State Investments International vient d’ouvrir son bureau à Paris, confirmant une information parue dans Newsmanagers en septembre dernier. Situé 14, avenue d’Eylau dans le 16ème, ce bureau accueillera deux personnes. Ainsi, Philippe Taillardat, nommé co-responsable des investissements dans les infrastructures européennes en septembre, travaillera aux côtés d’Eva von Sydow, directrice commerciale Europe, qui gère la distribution des produits First State dans la région depuis près de 10 ans.First State connaît déjà le marché français, puisque la société y a lancé ses produits en 2002. Aujourd’hui, treize fonds sont agréés dans l’Hexagone, dont des produits fonds actions asiatiques et marchés émergents, ressources mondiales, actions mondiales, immobilier coté et infrastructures, qui sont les spécialités de la société. Celle-ci gérait 87,7 milliards de livres fin septembre. Jusqu’ici, la société couvrait sa clientèle française depuis Londres. Celle-ci se compose de fonds de fonds, de banques privées, de compagnies d’assurances, de family offices… pour un montant qui n’a pas été divulgué.Ce bureau parisien constitue la première adresse de First State sur le continent européen, sachant que la société ne compte pas s’arrêter là. La prochaine étape est l’Allemagne, avec une ouverture à Francfort prévue dans le courant de l’année…

La plate-forme NYSE Euronext de Paris a admis à la négociation le 26 janvier un nouvel ETF d’Amundi sur les obligations gouvernementales qui réplique l’indice EuroMTS Highest-Rated Gvt 1-3Y . Cela porte la cote des places européennes de NYSE Euronext à 586 ETF cotés 684 fois.Dénomination : Amundi ETF HR 1-3Code Isin : FR0011161215TFE : 0,14 %

A l’occasion du Forum économique mondial, qui se tient à Davos jusqu’au dimanche 29 janvier, près de 40 chefs d’Etats, 200 membres de gouvernements et 1 000 entreprises débattent de nouveaux modèles économiques qui pourraient favoriser une croissance « juste et durable ». Au programme, notamment, la question de la croissance et de l’emploi. Sophie des Mazery, directrice de Finansol, propose de mettre la finance au service de l’utilité sociale. « S’il y avait une mesure à prendre en France, mais aussi au niveau européen, ce serait d’investir 1% de l'épargne financière dans l'épargne solidaire. Cela permettrait de financer des entreprises à fort impact social, dans le domaine de l’environnement, de la solidarité internationale ou encore du logement social. En France, l’encours de l'épargne solidaire ne représente que 3,1 milliards d’euros contre 3 500 milliards pour l'épargne traditionnelle. Ce 1% d’investissement en plus permettrait de multiplier par 10 l’encours actuel de l'épargne solidaire, et donc de créer des centaines de milliers d’emplois ».

Arnaud Simon, gérant-sélectionneur de fonds à La Banque Postale, dans une table ronde organisée par amLeague et Newsmanagers, le 18 janvier 2012: Nous essayons d’optimiser nos choix dans les styles de gestion quand on comprend bien le mode de fonctionnement des gérants. On sait très bien qu’il y a des styles, des périodes favorables pour la value et d’autres pas. En gros, ce qui a fonctionné l’an dernier, c'était tout ce qui était croissance défensive et tout ce qui était tourné vers les émergents de près ou de loin. Il se trouve que la croissance défensive est tournée vers les émergents. Il y a des thèmes qui se chevauchent. Nos gérants value ont des biais très cycliques et valeurs financières. Il ne faut pas forcément entendre gestion value comme gestion peu volatile et peu risquée. Souvent cela se recroise avec des gérants croissance qui ont des visions un peu plus long terme, sur des activités plus stables. Cela se retrouve dans les cours de Bourse. Il ne faut donc pas tout jeter à la poubelle. Je suis d’accord, on pourrait voir que les derniers de 2011 seront les premiers de 2012. Il faut en être conscient. Mais si on regarde juste les gérants value qui sont en queue de peloton, on constate quand même de gros écarts entre eux. On peut quand même faire son choix et optimiser les choses.

La MGEN a une poche immobilière historiquement importante : elle représente « 3 fois la moyenne habituelle, de l’ordre de 25% du portefeuille, 500 000 mètres carrés au total, indique Fabrice Henry, Trésorier général. Nous sommes propriétaires de tous nos locaux à quelques exceptions près et nous disposons d’un immobilier de placement relativement important par ailleurs. Avec la crise de 1998 et l'évolution des prix parisiens, notre poche immobilière a grossi naturellement avec d’importantes plus-values latentes. Mais il faut être prudent compte tenu des évolutions du secteur. La MGEN est en train de retravailler « complètement » son allocation d’actifs, avec un peu de retard du fait de la crise, selon Fabrice Henry : La crise européenne a montré que les obligations n'étaient pas d’une sécurité absolue. Elles constituent 50% de notre portefeuille géré par Egamo, (soit 30% de l’ensemble des actifs) essentiellement françaises et réparties entre titres souverains et corporate. La mutuelle va dorénavant devoir prendre en compte les effets de Solvabilité II mais aussi ceux de la fiscalisation des mutuelles : « Sans vouloir chercher absolument des placements défiscalisés, il faudra tenir compte de ce que cette mesure peut produire », explique Fabrice Henry. Concernant l’immobilier, les mutuelles sont traditionnellement peu présentes. Cette stratégie va-t-elle changer ? Très clairement l’immobilier nous a permis de passer la crise de 2008, reconnait Fabrice Henry. Mais nous n’avons pas l’habitude de nous endormir sur nos lauriers. Qui dit que l’immobilier va continuer à augmenter ? La chute semble de plus en plus sérieuse pour 2012.

The investment boutique from Robeco specialised in sustainable investment, SAM, on 26 January released its 9th annual report, The Sustainability Yearbook, at the Davos global economic forum. The report, undertaken in collaboration with KPMG, presents businesses recognised as leaders in sustainability in 58 different sectors. The businesses were evaluated through a detailed study undertaken annually by SAM. The leaders in each sector are businesses which set the standards in the industry for environmental, social and governmental practices. Three French businesses were recognised as standard-bearers in their respective industries for sustainability. These leaders in their respective sectors are Air France-KLM (airlines), Alcatel-Lucent (communications), and Sodexo (hotels, restaurants, bars and leisure).

The Cologne-based Oppenheim Fonds Trust GmbH (OPFT) has announced that on 1 March it will be extending its range to include open-ended funds from Investec Asset Management. OPFT has been retained as exclusive distrbutor for these products in Germany. The German firm, an affiliate of Sal. Oppenheim (Deutsche Bank group), as of the end of November managed EUR15.5bn, while assets at Investec currently total about USD83bn.

The Swiss firm Diapason Commodities Management has registered the UCITS-compliant fund Diapason Commodities with the CNMV, Funds People reports. The asset management firm will be represented in Spain by Atrium Portfolio Managers.

The strategy of the former BlackRock Income Portfolio has been loosened in order to allow the management team a wider choice of potential sources of revenue and performance, including alternative sources of revenue such as master limited partnerships (MLP), REITs, and other instruments. The name of the fund has also been changed to BlackRock Multi-Asset Income Fund (acronym: BAICX); the product will be offered to retail and high net worth private clients.The product has no constraints, and will be managed by the team at BlackRock Multi-Asset Client Solutions (BMACS), which includes 150 people, and as of the end of December managed USD80bn for retail clients. BMACS develops institutional-type tactical allocation strategies for foundations, pension funds, sovereign funds, 401(k) corporate savings plans, and retail clients. The objective of the tactical allocation is to exploit a vast range of possibilities while limiting volatility. For the new fund, volatility will be maintained at a lower level than a traditional balanced portfolio (60/40).

The NYSE Euronext trading platform in Paris on 26 January admitted a new Amundi ETF based on government bonds, replicating the EuroMTS Highest-Rated Gvt 1-3 Y, to trading. The addition brings the listings on the European markets of NYSE Euronext to 586 ETFs, listed 684 times. Name: Amundi ETF HR 1-3 ISIN code: FR0011161215 TER: 0.14%

At the request of members seeking more intimate understanding of asset management techniques that are sometimes poorly understood and relatively underdeveloped in France, the French association of institutional investors (Af2i) on 26 January published its “Guide to alternative management investments and operational due diligence” (on sale form the website http://www.af2i.org/ for EUR100). The 50-page document was created by a working group led by Vincent Ribuot (UMR) and Francis Weber (Réunica), vice-presidents of the association, and composed in partnership with HDF Finance and Reinhold & Partners. The pedagogical guide aims to bring institutional investors better understanding of the particularity of alternative management funds, their strategies, and the various types of actors and vehicles encountered in the industry, and of regulatory constraints which apply to French investors.

This year, as in 2011, the protection of savings investors will be at the centre of the efforts of the French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). The watchdog is planning to scale up its actions to promote improvement in sales conditions for financial products, with the creation of a Savings Observatory, the chairman of the AMF, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, announced on 26 January at a press conference. Having gained much knowledge in the past few months, “we will also clarify the doctrine applicable to investment advising services, for example in the area of training of sales staff and the traceability of advising,” says Jouyet. This doctrine will be elaborated in a concerted manner with the ACP in a joint unit, which Natalie Lemaire has led since the beginning of the year.Investor protection will also be a reason for the AMF to address two major challenged: preparation of the UCITS V legislation, which will aim to harmonise regulation of depositories, and the transposition of the MiFID directive for alternative management. A working group led by Monique Cohen and Jean-Luc Enguéhard will present its conclusions by the end of June for the future of alternative management in France.Shareholder rights will also be on the agenda for 2012 at the AMF, with areas of improvement in the operation of shareholders’ meetings, where rules will be formulated on the basis of the findings of a working group led by Olivier Poupart-Lafarge. The findings of the working group will be open for consultation in the first few weeks of February.In the area of efficiency and integrity of markets, Jouyet points out that the new market direction was intended to become the central interlocutor for financial intermediaries. The AMF will also extend its surveillance to reporting on a significant portion of derivative transactions, which will be included in AMF databases.Jouyet has also reiterated the AMF’s opposition to the introduction of a tax on financial transactions. “The Paris financial centre will be better preserved if we do not penalise it,” the AMF chairman says. Citing the competitiveness of the market and continued efforts to develop bond platforms and allow for CDS settlement in Paris.

A tax on financial transactions would bring in EUR1bn per year, four times more than the market tax repealed in 2008, Les Echos reports. The government will target all securities traded in Paris. Equities would be taxed 0.1%, as stipulated in the European directive. Bonds would not be taxed.

The Aviva Investors group is planning to add to tis range of multi-asset class funds, with two new products, the Aviva Investors Multi-Asset I and III funds, Investment Week reports. At the same time, Aviva has decided to rename its three existing funds, Adventurous Multi-Asset (now known as Aviva Investors Multi-Asset V), Balanced Multi-Asset (which will take the number IV), and Cautious Multi-Asset (renamed as II). The two new products, managed, like their predecessors, by Justin Onuekwusi, are designed for defensive or moderately prudent investors, and will be launched on 6 February.

Since 23 January, the London Stock Exchange is listing four new synthetic replication ETFs from iShares. The iShares S&P GSCI Dynamic Roll Agriculture Swap, the iShares S&P GSCI Dynamic Roll Energy Swap, the iShares S&P GSCI Dynamic Roll Metals Swap and the iShares S&P GSCI Dynamic Roll Commodity Swap are UCITS-compliant funds which replicate newest-generation S&P GSCI indices, and offer exposure to agriculture, energy, industrial metals and commodities as a whole.The products use the multiple counterparties platform from iShares for synthetic replication ETFs, with 120% overcollateralisation on a daily basis, and total transparency of the portfolio (collateral, indices, swap counterparties, aggregate exposure to swaps and swap spreads), also on a daily basis.

The former co-CEO for Asia at Janus Capital, Jack Lin, is taking over as head at Pioneer (UniCredit group) for Asia and the Middle East, Asian Investor reports. He will be in charge of development for institutional activities in the region. As of 31 December, assets under management at Pioneer totalled EUR162bn, of which 51% were in Italy, 22% in the United States, 12% in Germany, 6% in Austria and 6% internationally.

The three open-ended real estate funds from Deka in 2011 posted net subscriptions of EUR500m in total, Handelsblatt reports. Institutional real estate funds had net inflows of EUR460m. Matthias Danne, CFO at Deka, says he is doubtful that the open-ended real estate funds CS Euroreal (Credit Suisse) and SEB ImmoInvest, which have EUR6bn in assets each, will bring in enough liquidity to be able to reopen to redemptions by May, the deadline for reopening the funds. The same question may be asked of the KanAm grundinvest fund, which is considerably smaller.

The Australian asset management firm First State Investments International has opened an office in Paris, as initially announced in Newsmanagers in September last year.The office, located at 14, avenue d’Eylau in the 16th district of Paris, will have a staff of 2 people, as reported previously.Philippe Taillardat, who in September was appointed as co-head of investments for Euorpean infrastructure, will work alongside Eva von Sydow, head of sales for Europe, who has managed distribution of First State products in the region for nearly 10 years.First State already knows the French market, as the firm first offered its products there in 2002. Now, 13 funds are licensed for sale in France, including Asian equity and emerging markets, global resources, global equities, publicly-traded real estate and infrastructure funds, which are the specialties of the firm, which had GBP87.7bn in assets under management as of the end of September.The firm had previously served French clients from London. These clients include funds of funds, private banks, insurance companies, and family offices, with an undisclosed total amount in assets under management.The Paris office is First State’s first address on the European continent, but the firm is not planning to stop there. The next step is Germany, with an opening planned in Frankfurt later this year.

In 2011, Janus has seen a decline in its assets from USD169.5bn to USD148.2bn. This is largely the result of net redemptions from long-term funds (USD12.2bn). Market effects played a role in this totalling USD91bn. The US asset management firm has also seen a decrease in its net profits, from USD169.5bn in 2010 to USD148.2bn in 2011.

As of the end of December, assets under administration at Raymond James Financial totalled USD270bn, 5% more than at the end of September, and 3% more than one year previously. Assets under management were up 9% for the quarter and 5% over twelve months, at USD35bn.Net profits in October-December, the first quarter of the new fiscal year, came out to USD67.32m, compared with USD68.93m in July-September, and an all-time record of USD81.72m for the corresponding period of 2010.Pre-tax profits for asset management activities totalled USD15.81m, compared with USD17.76m the previous quarter and USD15.59m in October-December 2010.

For the year to 31 December, Invesco Ltd has reported adjusted net profits of USD781.6m, up 22% compared with 2010. By US-GAAP accounting standards, these net profits total USD729.7m, representing an increase of 56.7% compared with the previous year. These 2011 results take into account a complete year of activity for the retail funds acquired from Morgan Stanley, compared with only 7 months in 2010.Assets as of 31 December were up 1.4% year on year, to USD625.3bn, while average assets in 2011 came out to USD634.3bn, 19.2% more than in 2010.

Vanguard has appointed two new managing directors. The Financial Advisor Services group welcomes Martha King as managing director of the affiliate. Chris McIsaac is appointed managing director of the Institutional Investor Group.

DWS Investments is releasing a range of more than 70 funds for French clients. The objective for DWS Investments is to become one of the top 10 foreign asset management firms in France. “We are going to concentrate on strategies which work well, while offering innovative strategies. Several new products are in preparation,” says Philippe Goettmann, director of DWS Investments for France and Monaco. In spring, the asset management firm will be adding to its range in this asset class in France, and will release a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav DWS Invest, German Equities, on the French market. In 2012, the asset management firm of the German Deutsche Bank group is planning to put the commercial emphasis on five groups of products on the French market: high dividend equities, convertible funds, emerging market funds (Africa, Russia, eastern Europe, and others), theme funds (agribusiness, infrastructure, new resources, and others), and of course, German equity funds. “We have found that French investors hve a strong interest in German equities,” says Goettmann. The DWS Deutschland fund, which has total assets of EUR2.9bn, attracted EUR900m in net subscriptions in 2011. DWS Investments manages EUR256bn in assets worldwide, of which about EUR1bn were for French clients as of the end of 2011, a stable level compared with the end of 2010.

Nexity and La Française AM have merged their real estate management, property management and real estate trading activities in a new joint venture (LFP Nexity Services Immobiliers). The new joint venture is 75% owned by Nexity, and 25% by La Française REM.

The largest hedge fund in the world, Bridgewater Associates, last year earned returns of 23%, at a time when the average hedge fund finaished the year with losses of 5%, the New York Times reports.The source of the good results for Bridgewater, whose assets under management total about USD120bn, was positions on US Treasury bonds, German bonds, and the Japanese yen, according to sources close to the firm.In the past 20 years, Bridgewater has earned annual returns of 14.7%, bringing USD50m in profits for investors. In the same period, the S&P 500 made returns of about 8.7%.

From 1 to 20 January, assets in Spanish funds increased by 1.42%, or EUR1.893bn, due to positive market effects of EUR1.271bn, and EUR622m in net subscriptions, according to statistics from VDOS reported by Cotizalia. The two largest firms by assets are Santander, with EUR24.284bn, and a market share of 18%, and BBVA with EUR21.251bn.

AllianceBernstein on 26 January announced the European launch of the AB Select US Equity Portfolio fund (LU0683600562), managed by Kurt Feuerman. The Luxembourg-registered fund is focused on US large and midcaps, selected on the basis of bottom-up analysis and macroeconomic information. Feuerman, who joined AllianceBernstein in June 2011 after leaving Caxton Associates, has nearly 30 years of experience in the sector, and a track record proven over several market cycles. His US equity portfolios have consistently outperformed the S&P 500 since their creation. The strategy is not subject to any constraints in terms of market capitalisation, style, or sector. The team targets businesses which it considers to be well-established, with strong profit growth combined with reasonable valuation, transparent activity models, solid management teams, business policies favourable to shareholders, payment of dividends and share repurchases, and an imminent catalyst factor, such as profit announcements that will be likely to surprise investors with their solidity or to dissipate investor concerns.

Are they beginning to recover their health? European money market funds, which were widely avoided by investors again last year, are beginning to draw interest from investors seeking safety again. Statistics do not really argue in their favour, but outflows have slowed considerably from 2010 to last year.Signs of recovery in inflows have even been observed. In November, Swiss money market funds atrracted nearly CHF2bn, Cerulli reports in a research on money market funds. And the flagship fund from SWIP, the Sterling Global Liquidity Fund (GBP17.8bn), attracted about EUR840m in institutional assets in the first 10 months of 2011. SWIP hopes to continue in this vein in 2012, as institutionals begin to manifest interest in these vehicles that present reduced risk of loss once again.According to the research agency, the highly-regulated instruments that are money market funds may attract investors even though they may have lost their status as risk-free investments in the financial crisis.Asset management firms claim that the time has come to tap the aversion to risk of investors by launching new money market funds. ING Investments is working on a range of money market products to meet demand for “ultra-safe” investments. The boutique Prime Rate Capital, based in London, has launched a new “Cash Plus” product, aimed at investors seeking to park their money not only for a few days or weeks but for a few months, and who are therefore seeking slightly more attractive returns.Managers also state that the attraction of money market funds is expected to increase in parallel with investors’ revisions of their relationships with banks, whose ratings have widely been lowered by ratings agencies, and who are seeking to diversify their short-term exposure.

Tony Johnson, global head of sales & distribution at RBC Dexia Investor Services, on 26 January announced the recruitment of four directors worldwide.In Toronto, Siu-Kei Chung joins the firm as relationship director. He had previously been managing director, client executive at Butterfield Fulcrum in Bermuda, and will now report to Nathalie Gagnon, head of relationship & client management for Canada.Riccardo Dalfiume, ex-relationship manager for institutional investors at BNP Paribas Securities Services (BNPPSS) joins RBC Dexia IS as relatinship director for top tier client base in Italy. He will report to Mauro Dognini, managing director, Italy.Moris Pranio, formerly of BNPP SS, joins the firm as bid manager for the preparation and management of complex operations, the development of client solutions, and offers. He will also report to Dognini, as well as to Duncan Lowman, senior manager in charge of global sales enablement.In December, RBC Dexia IS also recruited a director of business development from Credit Suisse: Pierre Aicardi, who now reports to Marco Siero, managing director for Switzerland.