BNY Mellon has announced that it has recruited Ron Bruder as managing director for its wealth management team dedicated to ultra-high net worth families and family offices. Bruder had previously been head of subscriptions to the primary market of the Chicago Board Options Exchange at the bank Goldman Sachs.

Baring Asset Management (Barings) on 6 December announced the appointment of Michael Siciliano as head of sales for North America. He will report to George Harvey, head of sales, development and client services. Michael Siciliano previously worked at Merganser Capital Management in Boston, where he was director of sales. Barings plans to increase its offerings of multi-asset class products to North American clients, strategies which Siciliano knows particularly well, Barings says in a statement.

Handelsblatt reports that Fidelity Investments has submitted a license application to the SEC to create ETFs based on equity and bond indices of both US and foreign securities. The asset management firm is apparently planning to launch ETFs based primarily on fundamental rather than cap-weighted indices, including indices from Wisdom Tree, as well as short ETFs. These plans will only be achieved after some time, as the time required to obtain licenses is a matter of months, and may be over a year.

BNY Mellon Asset Servicing on 6 December announced that Touchstone Investment Advisors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western & Southern Financial Group, has retained it for administration, accounting and transfer agency services for its 42 mutual funds, with assets of over USD7bn in 110,000 client accounts. These services had previously been provided by JP Morgan.

Cinco Días notes that the asset management group Capital World is the largest shareholder in McGraw-Hill (with a stake of 10.26%), which owns Standard & Poor’s (S&P), and that its stake in Moody’s is even higher (12.6%). Vanguard holds 4.58% of MacGraw-Hill, and 5.02% of Moody’s. Alliance Bernstein controls 1.67% of S&P and 3.94% of Moody’s. Intech, an affiliate of Janus Capital, has a 1.30% stake in S&P and 1.89% in Moody’s; the stakes of BlackRock International, State Street and Independant Franchiser are 2.46 %, 3.24 % and 1.86%, respectively, while their stakes in Moody’s come to 2.18%, 4.25% and 2.51%.In addition to that, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Invesco and BNY Mellon are also shareholders in the agencies, and Berkshire Hathaway, the portfolio firm for Warren Buffett, holds 12.8% of Moody’s.The situation is different for Fitch, which is an affiliate of the French Fimalac group.

In order to settle class action legal proceedings in which Merrill Lynch had been named, filed among others by public pension funds (including the Mississippi state fund), Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) has agreed to pay USD315m to reimburse invetors who lost money on mortgage-backed securities, the Wall Street Journal reports. BofA had already set aside funds for the payment.Wells Fargo, for its part, had already agreed to pay USD125m to pension funds in a similar case.The WSJ points out that there is a number of similar class-action lawsuits underway against US banks. BofA is the most exposed, due to its acquisition of Countrywide Financial in 2008, and Merrill Lynch in 2009.

If one or more euro zone governments should lose their AAA rating, the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) also intends to lower its rating for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), if heads of government do not reach agreement at their summit on Thursday and Friday on a solution to the crisis, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.Currently, the EFSF has a AAA rating. A spokesperson for the facility has announced that a downgrade would not mean that the facility can no longer issue debt, but would mean that financing costs would increase significantly.

From 5 December, ETFs will be subject to more flexible regulations in China, Asian Investor reports. The new rules published by the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges stipulate that it is not possible to adopt short positions on ETFs. The number of shares eligible for margin call operations and securities lending have been tripled, from 90 to 285. The new list includes the seven largest ETFs in the country (SSE50, SSE180, SSE Dividends and SSE Corporate Governance on the Shanghai stock excchange, and SZSE100, SZSE mid- and small-cap and SZSE Composite in Shenzhen).

The Swiss asset management firm Partners Group (about EUR20bn in assets) on 6 December announced that it has been included in the MSCI Switzerland index since 30 November, after being included in the SMIM (Swiss Small & Mid Cap Index), which includes the 50 largest publicly-traded companies in Switzerland.The MSCI Switzerland index is a part of the MSCI World Index (developed markets) and thus in the MSCI All Country World Index, which is thus included in the MSCI All Country World & Frontier Markets Index.Partners Group has announced that its inclusion in the MSCI Switzerland index has resulted in a signifiant increase in demand from active and passive investment vehicles.

The Wealth-X company, a specialist in research into the ultra-high net worth (UHNW) client segment, on 6 December announced the appointment of Steve Farrer as vice-president and head of development for activities in China. Farrer will be based in the Hong Kong offices of the firm, and will lead a strategic expansion of the company in China. Wealth-X already has an office in China, in Guangzhou. Farrer previously worked for the World-Check and Mastercard International companies, as a consultant specialised in financial services, and particularly regulatory risks and deontology. According to the most recent research by Wealth-X, China has 11,475 private individuals whose wealth totals at least USD30m, while in Hong Kong there are 3,200 such people.

UBS Wealth Management has recruited Valerie Chou for the newly-created position of head of clients for the global family office (GFO) unit, Asian Investor reports. Chou will be based in Hong Kong; she previously worked at Morgan Stanley, and will report to Amy Lo, head for high net worth clients in the Asia-Pacific region. The appointment is a sign of the importance UBS attaches to the Asia-Pacific region for this family office activity. The group has refused to give figures about assets, but says merely that staff are increasing in the region. UBS Wealth Management has also recruited Linda Kwo, previously of BNP Paribas, as country head for Hong Kong.

Schroders is preparing a contingency plan in case of a euro zone break up, the Financial Times reports. Alan Brown, chief investment officer at the British asset management firm, which has GBP182bn in assets under management, says that Schroders is avoiding banks which clear their trades in euros through the most vulnerable euro zone countries, and is favouring the ones which work with Germany. The asset management firm has also shortened the list of collateral it will accept.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has sent a letter to the five major banks in the United Kingdom – HSBC, Barclays, Standard Chartered, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, calling for a “significant reduction” in bonuses paid to bankers, La Tribune reports.

Van Eck Global has recently launched Market Vectors Index Solutions (MVIS), a German-registered firm which will develop, sell and license the Market Vectors range of indices. The indices are currently used as the basis for many ETF funds from the US firm. Lars Hamich has been appointed CEO of MVIS.

There is a mismatch between long term actual and expected returns for private equity strategies, reveals bfinance in a global survey of institutional investors issued yesterday. Responses from institutional investors highlight a significant difference between expected returns from private equity strategies and the reality of realised net of fees returns in their portfolio. 93% of institutions set their private equity funds a performance target (net internal rate of return - IRR) of over 10% yet less than half generated an actual net IRR of more than 10%.However expectations and experience varies greatly by investment strategy. In terms of individual strategies, institutions considered expected returns from private debt investments as the most closely aligned with actual returns.74% expected a net IRR of over 10% and nearly 70% achieved this. In contrast investors’ sentiment on venture capital shows the largest difference between expectations and past experience with 87% of all investors expecting over 10% net IRR and only 44% of such investors having achieved 10% or above net IRR from prior venture capital investments.Also according to bfinance, 88% of investors identified «portfolio return enhancement» as the first or second most important reason to invest in private equity. A similarly important rationale for investing in private equity is the ability to obtain returns from sources not accessible through public markets: 81% of all investors say this as the first or second reason for investing. In contrast, only 24% of investors saw «risk diversification» as being amongst the first two reasons for allocating to private equity.

On 6 December, the Norwegian finance ministry decided to place Alstom SA on a list of businesses under watch due to gross and unacceptable corruption risks in its activities.In a letter to the finance ministry on 1 December 2010, the Ethics Council recommended that Alstom be removed from the investment universe from the Government Pension Fund – Global (GPFG), the former Oil Fund.The ministry has instructed the Ethics Council to place the company under observation for a period of four years, and to monitor its efforts to fight corruption and develop corruption prevention systems. The Counsel will provide an annual update and issue a new recommendation at the end of the observation period.In his statement, the ministry states that he attaches importance to the fact that Alstom is currently facing legal actions in several countries, and that the outcome of these actions is not yet known.

On the recommendation of the Ethics Council, the Norwegian finance ministry has removed the US firm FMC Corporation and the Canadian Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (Potash) from the invesment universe of rhte Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), the former Oil Fund, due to particularly grave violations of ethical principles. The violations are related to purchases of phosphates from the Moroccan Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP), which mines the mineral in Western Sahara, a territory which has no government of its own, and no recognized sovereign administrator.In a letter dated 30 September 2011, the finance ministry instructed Norges Bank (which manages the GPFG via its affiliate NBIM) to sell shares in FMC and Potash. The sales have now been completed. As of the end of 2010, GPFG held shares valued at NOK300m in FMC, and NOK1.57bn in Potash.

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the pension fund for the Norwegian government (USD550bn), would like to grant its shareholders the right to name candidates to the boards of directors at six US firms: Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab, Western Union, Staples, Pioneer Natural Resources, and CME Group. NBIM submitted proposals to this end on 22 November. At the time the proposals were submitted, the fund held stakes totalling between 0.6% and 1.1% in these firms, valued at a total of about USD1.4bn.

Le portefeuille obligataire de Spirica (Crédit Agricole Assurances) représente 70% de l’actif général à fin septembre 2011, tandis que la part de l’immobilier s'établit à 16%. Les actifs de diversification ont été renforcés au cours des trois premiers trimestres 2011. Cette poche représente 11% du portefeuille à fin septembre (contre 4% fin décembre 2010). La trésorerie, investie dès que possible tout au long de l’année afin d’optimiser le rendement de l’actif, représentait 3% de l’actif en instantané au 30 septembre 2011. Nous avons renforcé nos investissements dans des obligations d’entreprises industrielles françaises (secteurs : industries - biens et services industriels, bâtiment et matériaux de construction, médias). La part des obligations émises par des entreprises représente 59% du portefeuille obligataire au 30 septembre 2011. Au cours du troisième trimestre, nous avons privilégié les maturités courtes pour bénéficier d’une plus grande flexibilité de gestion. Parmi les actifs de diversification, les OPCVM de multigestion alternative ont bien résisté au cours du troisième trimestre. Spirica s’appuie sur le savoir faire et l’expertise d’Amundi et Amundi Alyernative Investments, pour la gestion financière de ses actifs obligataires et actifs OPCVM diversifiés, et à sélectionné des acteurs majeurs de la gestion immobilière en France pour la gestion des titres immobiliers tels que: La Française AM, Amundi Immobilier, Natixis AMI, BNP REIM.

La Mutuelle Générale gère 1.9 milliards d’euros à fin octobre 2011 dont 70% d’obligations à travers des mandats. Dans un article paru dans Option Finance, Denis Metzger, directeur financier de la Mutuelle Générale revient sur les grandes caractéristique de sa gestion financière: Nous nous focalisons sur les obligations de la zone euro. En revanche, nous possédons uniquement un tiers de titres d’Etats notés triple A, et deux tiers de crédit corporate. Notre allocation d’actifs est également marquée par une part significative, de l’ordre de 6% en immobilier. Nous possédons, à travers une SCI, nos immeubles d’exploitation, ainsi que des immeubles issus de nos anciens centres de vacances. Mais, depuis plusieurs années, nos investissements en immobilier se font uniquement à travers des OPCI. Nous sélectionnons ceux qui investissent en particulier dans des immeubles de bureaux, des locaux commerciaux et des établissements de santé. outre notre poche actions, qui représente 7% de nos encours et qui est gérée à travers des OPCVM, nous détenons aussi en direct des participations dans plusieurs sociétés. Sur le non coté, nous investissons essentiellement à travers des fonds de capital développement sur des entreprises françaises. Nous avons investi par exemple dans des FCPR d’Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners ou encore Xange Private Equity. Nous travaillons en priorité avec des boutiques et des maisons à taille humaine car nous trouvons que l’accès direct aux gérants y est plus facile. Pour notre gestion à travers des OPCVM, nous travaillons avec Exane, BFT, CPR AM, Rothschild&Cie, Oddo, Métropole Gestion, Efigest, ... Sur nos mandats, nous avons sélectionné cinq principaux acteurs: Rothschild&Cie, Covéa Finance (dans le cadre de notre accord avec la GMF), OFI AM, Tocqueville Finance et, historiquement, La Banque Postale AM.

Face à une crise de la dette en zone euro qui menace de faire dérailler sa fragile reprise, l’Irlande alourdit la fiscalité. Dans le cadre de la présentation devant le Parlement de la seconde partie d’un nouveau budget de rigueur, le ministre des finances, Michael Noonan, a dévoilé 1,6 milliard d’euros de recettes supplémentaires. L’augmentation de deux points du taux de TVA permettra de dégager 670 millions d’euros, tandis que le relèvement d’autres impôts indirects apportera 330 millions. 600 millions proviendront enfin de mesures fiscales reconduites pour le prochain budget. Le gouvernement a par ailleurs abaissé de 1,6% à 1,3% sa prévision de croissance du PIB l’an prochain. Il estime que l’objectif de réduction du déficit reste valable mais qu’une dégradation supplémentaire des perspectives de croissance pourrait le contraindre à présenter un budget encore plus sévère en 2013 et au-delà.

En prévision du prochain sommet, le président du Conseil européen propose que le MES recapitalise directement des banques en difficulté et se voit donner le statut d’institution de crédit. Il suggère également que ses décisions ne soient plus prises à l’unanimité et plaide pour une révision de son plafond de ressources. Enfin, il estime que ses statuts doivent indiquer clairement que le cas de la Grèce restera «unique et exceptionnel».

Le parlement grec a adopté le projet de budget 2012 du gouvernement de Lucas Papadémos qui prévoit de nouvelles mesures d’austérité très décriées, conformément aux conditions du plan d’aide de 130 milliards d’euros du FMI et de l’UE. Un budget qui vise à ramener le déficit de 9% du PIB à 5,4% l’année prochaine.

Le Premier ministre s’est déclaré hier soir hostile à une hausse du prix du gaz supérieure à 5% en janvier 2012. François Fillon a prédit une hausse «très inférieure» à 10%. «Je souhaiterais que ce soit inférieur à 50% de cette somme», soit 5%, a-t-il ajouté. François Fillon n’a par ailleurs pas exclu de possibles nouveaux ajustements budgétaires en fonction de la réalité de la croissance française de 2012.

Les députés français ont adopté le nouveau projet de loi de finances rectificative pour 2011, le quatrième de l’année, qui inclut plusieurs mesures du dernier plan d'économies présenté le 7 novembre par le gouvernement. Le Sénat, où la gauche est désormais majoritaire, examinera à son tour ce texte à partir du 13 décembre.

Le gouvernement français a annoncé la création d’une filière sport à l’export pour inciter les entreprises à postuler pour les contrats de la Coupe du monde de football au Qatar en 2022, un marché estimé à 100 milliards de dollars. Ont notamment été sollicités Bouygues, Vinci et Veolia.

La première économie d’Amérique latine a enregistré une croissance nulle au troisième trimestre, après une croissance de 7,5% l’an dernier. En rythme annuel, la croissance du Brésil ressort à 2,1% au troisième trimestre, contre 2,4% attendu en moyenne par les analystes interrogés par Reuters.

Craignant un impact sur ses exportations vers l’Asie, la banque centrale a une nouvelle fois baissé ses taux de 25 pb à 4,25 %

Menacé de perdre son AAA, le FESF devait déjà voir sa durée de vie raccourcie de 2013 à 2012 selon l'accord franco-allemand de lundi

Les «sherpas» européens envisageraient de permettre au FESF actuel doté de 440 milliards d’euros de poursuivre son activité en l’état, et de créer en parallèle un autre fonds doté de 500 milliards de facilités de crédit qui pourrait voir le jour mi-2012, selon le quotidien qui cite des sources officielles. L’annonce pourrait être faite demain lors du sommet européen (lire aussi page 2).