L’inflation s’est inscrite à +2,5% au mois d’août en rythme annuel, montre la première estimation publiée mercredi par Eurostat, conformément aux attentes des analystes interrogés par Reuters. La hausse de juillet s’est également inscrite à +2,5%.

Berlin a approuvé le cadre d’un projet de loi sur le renforcement des pouvoirs du Fonds européen de stabilité financière (FESF), ouvrant la voie à la présentation du texte devant le parlement d’ici fin septembre. La réforme du FESF, négociée entre dirigeants européens lors du sommet du 21 juillet, prévoit notamment que le fonds puisse intervenir sur le marché secondaire de la dette publique ou agir de manière préventive.

Bloomberg n’est pas parvenu à obtenir l’abandon des poursuites engagées à son encontre par l’horloger suisse Swatch qui accuse l’agence de presse d’avoir enregistré en secret une conférence téléphonique avec des analystes et d’en avoir distribué une transcription à ses clients. «Parce que l’enregistrement audio autorisé est soumis à la protection du droit d’auteur, et parce que la plainte sur le droit d’auteur a été déposée dans les règles, je rejette la motion», écrit le juge. Les deux parties ont été convoquées pour une audience le 16 septembre.

La croissance du commerce de marchandises entre les principales économies mondiales a fortement ralenti au deuxième trimestre, en raison notamment d’un coup de frein brutal aux importations de la Chine, montrent les statistiques publiées mercredi par l’OCDE. Les importations globales des pays du G7 et des «Brics» (Brésil, Russie, Inde, Chine et Afrique du Sud) n’ont augmenté que de 1,1% sur la période avril-juin par rapport au trimestre janvier-mars, durant lequel elles avaient progressé de 10,1%. Aux Etats-Unis, les importations ont elles aussi décéléré, leur hausse passant de 11,1% à 3%.

S&P a relevé la note souveraine du Pérou de «BBB-« à «BBB», l’agence de notation estimant que le nouveau président Ollanta Humala va mener une politique budgétaire équilibrée et prendre des mesures pour soutenir la croissance. La semaine dernière, Moody’s avait dit qu’elle envisageait de relever sa note sur le pays de «Baa3» à «Baa2» d’ici la fin de l’année.

Dans un entretien paru dans Option Finance, le directeur général adjoint en charge des finances de GDF Suez, Gérard Lamarche, revient sur les mesures mises en place suite aux forts mouvements de marchés cet été. Nous avons adopté un reporting renforcé, en temps réel, notamment en ce qui concerne la liquidité du groupe. La politique de gestion du risque de contrepartie a quant à elle été renforcée en 2008, que ce soit en matière de cash management, ou d’opérations sur dérivés. Cette procédure, validée par le comité d’audit et le conseil d’administration du groupe, n’a pas été assouplie depuis (sauf modification à la marge). Elle prend en compte trois principaux paramètres; l'évolution des CDS de nos contreparties, leurs notations et les fluctuations de leur cours de Bourse. En fonction de leur évolution, notre exposition à une contrepartie est automatiquement et immédiatement réduite. Nous avons donc procédé à des ajustements de nos placements au cours de l'été. Cependant, ces mouvements de réallocations ont débuté bien avant et ont lieu depuis un an, dans le contexte d’aggravation de la crise grecque. De plus, depuis 2008, nous avons systématisé la mise en place de contrats CSA (Credit Support Agreement), c’est à dire des contrats de collatéralisation, avec nos contreparties bancaires pour toutes nos transactions de dérivés. Ils ont précisément pour objectif de réduire notre risque de contrepartie en cas de défaut de l’une d’entre elles, grâce à un mécanisme d’appel de marge régulier et généralisé. Enfin, le contexte actuel nous incite à diversifier d’autant plus nos ressources bancaires. Ainsi, peu après la publication de nos résultats le 10 août dernier, nous avons annoncé la signature d’un partenariat industriel et financier avec le fonds chinois China Investment Corporation (CIC), qui va investir 2.3 milliards d’euros dans les activités Exploration-Production du groupe, ainsi qu’un partenariat avec la banque ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) pour accompagner le développement et le financement de l’activité du groupe en Asie. Notre ambition est d’incorporer cette banque chinoise, et à l’avenir d’autres banques appartenant aux BRIC, dans notre pool de banque de référence.

The alternative management firm Carlisle Management Company, based in Luxembourg, has appointed Victor Heggelman as chief financial officer of the company, from September 2011. Heggelman previously spent two years in the financial department of Carlisle.

The British management firm Schroders has announced that it has registered the fifth fund of its GAIA (Global Alternative Investor Access) platform in Spain, Funds People reports. Following the third-party funds Schroder GAIA Egerton European Equity and Schroder GAIA Sloane Robinson Emerging Markets, and the inhouse funds Schroder GAIA Opus Multi-Strategy and Schroder GAIA QEP Global Absolute, the CNMV has issued a registration for the GAIA CQS Credit (LU0616010236), which already has a sales license in France (see Newsmanagers of 11 July).

On 25 August, the CNMV issued a license for the Luxembourg-registered Sicav JKC Fund, which includes the sub-funds LFP JKC China Value and LFP JKC Asia Value. The management firm is UFG-LFP International, and the “investment manager” is JK Capital Management Ltd. of Hong Kong. Sales of the fund will be provided by Allfunds Bank and Banco Inversis, the Spanish regulator states.

The Swiss management firm Capital International Funds (CIF), an affiliate of the Capital Group of Companies, has become the twelfth foreign asset management firm since the beginning of the year to register in Spain.On 25 August, the CNMV issued a registration for three Luxembourg Sicavs from CIF: Capital International Emerging Markets Fund (EUR6.14bn), Capital International Fund, which includes nine bond and equities sub-funds focused on geographical regions, and Capital International Portfolios, with five equities and bond sub-funds focused on developed and emerging countries.The distributor selected for the three Sicavs is Allfunds Bank.

For first half 2011, the German SRI investment advising firm versiko (which controls the Luxembourg-based asset management firm Ökoworld Lux) posted net profits of EUR1.15m, compared with EUR1.5m, but profits on the balance sheet increased to EUR5.08m from EUR2.34m.Owners’ equity at versiko represents 70% of the balance sheet.

In first half, Robeco (Rabobank group) attracted EUR4.9bn in net subscriptions, of which EUR2.3bn came from institutional investors, IPE reports. Net profits rose to EUR100m, from EUR43m in the corresponding period of last year.Performance was satisfactory overall, with 8-9% for equities, and bonds earning between 1% and 3%. But since then, the performance of equities nosedived. Roderick Munsters, CEO, predicts that due to the selloff in recent weeks, the level of assets at the end of the year will be lower than expectations, which will have a negative impact on revenues in 2012 and will make it all the more urgent to reduce costs.

BNP Paribas is hoping to increase its presence in wealth management in China, continuing its efforts to concentrate on high-potential markets. The French bank has recruited Alfred Tsai for its Wealth Management division. Tsai, who resigned from his position as managing director at Julius Baer in Hong Kong last month, will join the group in October, in order to direct BNP Paribas Wealth Management China, Asian Investor reports.

AXA Real Estate Investment Managers, with EUR39.4 billion of assets under management as at March 2011, has announced that it has appointed Henrik Bastman as Nordic head of asset management. Based in Stockholm and reporting to Alphons Spaninks, AXA Real Estate’s regional head of property services group for Benelux and Nordics, he will be responsible for sourcing acquisitions and effecting appropriate disposals in the Nordics, in line with the best strategy for each client or fund mandate in the region. He will also oversee the in-house team responsible for the delivery of asset management plans to maximise the value of individual properties. Henrik Bastman joins from EFM, where he was head of asset management for the EUR1 billion Nordic Retail Fund, which has Cornerstone as the fund manager. Before that he spent seven years at Jones Lang LaSalle, where he was an associate director in its Stockholm office, specialising in the retail market. He began his career in the banking sector at JP Morgan in London. AXA Real Estate manages approximately EUR1 billion of assets across the Nordics

HSH Nordbank has sold a portfolio of 47 stakes in European private equity funds, which have total assets of EUR620m, for an undisclosed amount, to a group of investors consisting of Axa Private Equity and LGT Capital Partners.The Hamburg-based bank states that as a part of the asset sale process, it already sold its stakes in four funds with a total volume of EUR47m to two “international investors” in early August.

The independent financial analysis provider Morningstar announced on 30 August that it has created 18 new categories in order to better categorise alternative management funds which comply with UCITS requirements. “The new Morningstar categories for hedge funds represent a significant modernisation for the Morningstar categorisation for open-ended funds that use alternative investment strategies. It gives investors a clear description of the strategies deployed by managers,” a statement from Morningstar says.In particular, the new classifications are abandoning the term “absolute returns,” the statement says. According to Christopher Traulsen, CFA, director of fund research for Europe and Asia at Morningstar, “Absolute Returns had become too closely associated with a wider marketing term in the industry which made promises of returns that often failed to come true. In order to make our categories more useful and more transparent for investors, we have revised our classification system to better categorise alternative management funds according to their investment strategy.”The underlying portfolio and exposure to risk are the major factors to determine the category. Then, geographical region, asset class and specific investment strategies may be even more finely subdivided. For example, the strategies “Alt – Debt Arbitrage,” “Alt – Global Macro,” “Alt – Market Neutral – Equities,” and “Alt – Volatility” now represent specific categories.The former categories “Absolute Returns Euro, Absolute Returns Non-Euro and Long/Short” are being dropped, and will be replaced by the following more detailed classifications:Alt – Debt ArbitrageAlt – Diversified ArbitrageAlt – CurrenciesAlt – Event DrivenAlt – Funds of Funds – EquitiesAlt – Funds of Funds – OtherAlt – Funds of Funds – MultistrategyAlt – Global MacroAlt – Long/Short Equities – EuropeAlt – Long/Short Equities – InternationalAlt – Long/Short Equities – Emerging MarketsAlt – Long/Short Equities – UKAlt – Long/Short Equities – USAlt – Long/Short BondsAlt – Market Neutral – EquitiesAlt – MultistrategyAlt – Systematic FuturesAlt – VolatilityThe new categories will be used by Morningstar in Europe and Asia, and the classification system will also be used for hedge funds in the open-ended fund data base and for funds in the database dedicated to non-UCITS hedge funds. Investors will thus be more easily able to compare the two fund universes.Morningstar is making the new fund categories available on Morningstar Direct, the financial research and analysis software tool designed by Morningstar for professional investors, and also on its public website, http://www.agefi.fr/backoffice/scripts/www.morningstar.fr.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index for August 2011 declined to 89.6 in August, down 12.9 points from July’s revised reading of 102.5. The most significant decline was exhibited by North American investors, with confidence decreasing to 88.6, down 13.9 points from July’s revised level of 102.5. Declines were more muted elsewhere with the European Index sliding 4.6 points to 90.5, down from July’s revised reading of 95.1. Amongst Asian investors, confidence decreased 0.6 points from July’s revised level of 95.8, to 95.2. “Perhaps not surprisingly, the elevated level of volatility this month took its toll on investor sentiment,” commented State Street. “Diminished growth expectations, the downgrade of the US sovereign debt rating, and continued difficulties around European sovereign financing, all combined to cause institutional investors to reduce their allocations to risky assets. The key question that investors are grappling with is whether elevated levels of stress in the financial system will have real effects on the economy.”

The US-based management group Legg Mason will launch an income fund dedicated to US equities, which will be managed by ClearBridge Advisors, Money Marketing reports. The fund, which will be launched in mid-October, will replicate a strategy previously available to US investors. The management team for the fund (Hersh Cohen, Peter Vanderlee and Michael Clarfeld) will concentrate on high-quality firms which adhere to a policy of paying out high dividends. ClearBridge Advisors is the largest affiliate of Legg Mason dedicated to US equities, with assets under management of USD36bn.

Rosanna Burcheri, who had been a partner and manager of pan-European funds at FrontPoint Management, has been recruited by Artemis Asset Management as co-manager of its new Global Select fund (GBP41.9m). For this product, Artemis had already recruited Simon Edelsten, formerly of Taube Hodson Stonex (THS), and Alex Illingworth, formerly of Insight Investment, as managers.

Portfolio Adviser reports that Legg Mason is planning to release the ClearBridge US Income Fund to UK retail investors from October; the fund will replicate the US Equity Income Builder, managed by its US affiliate ClearBridge Advisors (USD58.1bn) in the United States. The managers of the new product will focus on companies which pay high dividends. The managers will be the same as for the original fund: Hersh Cohen, Michael Clarfeld, and Peter Vanderlee.

Viel & Cie on 31 August announced that its consolidated net profits totalled EUR12.3m in first half 2011, compared with EUR37.5m in first half 2010, on earnings down 3% to EUR456.9m. “First half 2011 saw a continuation of professional intermediation activities at the Compagnie Financière Tradition at consistent levels, but results were penalised by ongoing restructuring of activities aimed at individual investors in Japan,” the firm says in a statement. Consolidated operating profits totalled EUR21.6m in first half 2011, compared with EUR52.4m in first half 2010. Viel & Cie has announced a one-time net profit of EUR24.2m related to the sale of a real estate property by one of its affiliates in 2010. Excluding one-time elements in 2010, operating profits remain relatively stable in first half 2011 compared with the same period in 2010. The firm states that private banking activities with SwissLife Banque Privée, in which Viel owns a 40% stake, continued to grow, and included the acquisition of a stake in the management firm Prigest (which manages the Valfrance fund, among others), a sign of its desire to continue accelerated growth of this activity.

David Masse, head of clients, reporting and performance measurement at Russell Investments in Paris since 2003, is joining Invesco Asset Management as head of Client Services for France.He replaces Lionel Bonnin, who becomes head of development for distribution projects in continental Europe, also at Invesco AM.Nicolas Bouët, co-CEO of Invesco AM, says the recruitment of Masse is a sign of the firm’s desire to be present “as closely as possible to its clients, French professional investors.”

The trial of James Fleishman begins this Wednesday in New York, the Financial Times reports. Fleishman, who was a sales manager at Primary Global, is answering charges that between 2008 and 2010, he belonged to a network which put hedge fund clients in contact with company insiders.The government has provided evidence including instant messages between employees of Primary Global and employees of the hedge fund management firms Balyasny Asset Management, Coatue Management, Janus Capital, SAC Capital and Diamondback. These firms have not been charged with wrongdoing. The case may also point the spotlight at other clients of Primary Global, such as Loch Capital and Level Global, which have been subpoenaed, but have not been charged with wrongdoing.

The Swiss alternative management firm Altin has posted a loss for first half 2011 of USD1.80m, compared with a loss of USD2.58m in first half 2010, the firm announced in a statement on 30 August.As of the end of June, the “extremely well-diversified” portfolio included 35 positions in hedge funds pursuing 10 different investment strategies. Due to active management of strategies and good selection of managers, the firm says that it was able to protect its investors’ portfolios, and that it comfortably outperformed the HFRI FoF Composite and MSCI World Hedged indices, with annualised returns of +7.18% since its launch.

The Banque Privée de Gérance (VP Bank) on 30 August announced that in first half 2011, it earned gross profits of CHF19.4m, an increase of nearly 20% compared with the previous year in the same period. Profits payable to shareholders increased 25% to CHF18.1m. First half 2011 brought a net inflows of CHF287.4m, compared with a net outflow of CHF346.2m one year previously. Assets under management as of the end of June totalled CHF27.2bn, compared with CHF28.2bn as of the end of December 2010.

HSBC Private Bank (Switzerland) SA in first half 2011 posted a net inflows of CHF6.2bn, largely from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. This 26% increase compared with the first six months of last year resulted in a decline in client assets under management of CHF9.4bn, to CHF177bn, compared with CHF186.4bn last year. The cause of this development is depreciation of foreign currencies against the Swiss franc. At constant exchange rates, the underlying performance of client assets under management has increased by 3% since the end of 2010, according to a statement from the Geneva-based affiliate of the London-based banking group, released on 30 August. Pre-tax profits fell 34% to CHF248m (+3% at constant exchange rates, at CHF386m).

The Chinese regulator (CSRC) on 30 August issued a fund management license to Chang’an Fund Management Company, which becomes the fifth organisation to receive such a license since the beginning of the year, and the 67th since the CSRC began to issue licenses of this type. Chang’an has capital of CNY100m, Z-Ben Advisors states.The shareholders in the asset management firm are Xi’an International Trust, with a 49% stake, the apparel manufacturer Metersbonwe, with 33%, and China Southern Industries, with the remaining 18%. The latter company has also since last month held a 10% stake in the largest fund management firm in the country, China AMC.

The wealth management advising firm Towry (known as Towry Law until May 2010, since its acquisition of Edward Jones Ltd in November 2009), has announced that as of the end of first half 2011, its discretionary assets under management had increased 29% in one year, to GBP4.5bn (compared with GBP3.5bn), and that net inflows in the first six months of the year totalled GBP450m.EBITDA was up 47% to GBP9.4m, compared with GBP6.4m in the corresponding period of 2010. Towry is not publicly traded, but is owned by its management and employees, along with the private equity investor Palamon Capital Partners.

What are the worst finds in the asset management sector for British investors? The most recent semiannual study by Bestinvest (“Spot the Dog,” Autumn 2011) counted 94 of them, up from 90 in the past two editions of the study. More presicely, 14% of funds in the sample (94 out of 682) did not manage to outperform their benchmark indices in any of the past three years, and underperformed the benchmark by at least 10%. This increase is connected to a much more worrisome development: the entry into the rankings of less well-performing funds from some of the management firms which are supposed to be among the circle of top quality managers has led to a 74% increase in the value of the funds concerned, to GBP23.16bn, from GBP13.29bn in September 2010. The sectors monitored by Bestinvest are UK all companies, UK equity income, UK smaller companies, Europe ex-UK, global emerging markets, Asia Pacific, North American, Japan and global. The management firms topping the list are Fidelity, with 2 funds, totalling GBP3.41bn, BNY Mellon/Newton with 4 funds and GBP2.05bn, and BlackRock with 2 funds and GBP1.99bn. The worst-performing fund according to the Bestinvest criteria is the Allianz RCM Global ecotrends (GBP11.7m), which is 41% behind its benchmark index over three years.

Axa Real Estate Investment Managers (39,4 milliards d’euros d’encours sous gestion en mars 2011) vient de nommer Henrik Bastman en tant que responsable de la gestion d’actifs pour les pays nordiques. Basé à Stockholm, il sera placé sous la responsabilité d’Alphons Spaninks, le responsable des services immobiliers au Benelux et dans les pays nordiques. Henrik Bastman était précédemment responsable de la gestion d’actifs du fonds Nordic Retail Fund (1 milliard d’euros) chez EFM. Axa Real Estate gère environ 1 milliard d’euros d’actifs dans les pays nordiques.