Le taux unique de 15,5% de prélèvements sociaux, prévu dans le PLFSS 2014, ne sera pas appliqué aux PEL, aux PEA et à l'épargne salariale

Le probable franchissement du plus haut de 2011 devrait ouvrir la voie à une hausse à 3.170 points voire jusqu’à 3.300 points

La banque centrale veut s'assurer qu'elle satisfera à leurs besoins croissants de liquidité après la fin de la politique monétaire très accommodante

Selon des sources citées par le quotidien, la Fed de New York s’intéresse au degré d’exposition des banques aux fonds d’investissement immobilier cotés spécialisés dans les prêts hypothécaires (MReits), des véhicules très vulnérables à une hausse soudaine des taux d’intérêt. Les achats de MBS à long terme sont financés avec des prêts à courts termes sur le marché du repo. Le FMI s’est lui aussi inquiété au cours des dernières semaines des risques entourant les mortgage REITs. L’institution de Washington a plaidé pour un renforcement de l’encadrement de ces acteurs afin de réduire le risque d’une faillite en cascade des contreparties.

Le ministre des Finances allemand semble avoir renoncé à vouloir rembourser la dette du pays à partir de 2015, préférant désormais ne pas emprunter davantage et ne pas augmenter les impôts. Il précise que l’objectif est de ne plus émettre de dette nouvelle à partir de 2015 et de ramener la dette à moins de 60% du PIB, contre 80% à peu près actuellement, en l’espace de 10 ans.

Anne Mazzanti, Directeur Général Délégué de La France Mutualiste à la rédaction de www.institinvest.com : Grâce à l'évolution du Code de la Mutualité, nous pouvons axer notre recherche de diversification vers des projets de financement du tissu industriel, notamment des PME. Nous avons par ailleurs investi en private equity via La Financière Patrimoniale d’Investissement (LFPI), société du groupe Lazard, qui cible des sociétés hexagonales du mid market ainsi que dans un fonds de mezzanine. Cela représente pour le moment moins de 1 % de nos engagements mais nous regardons attentivement l’offre dans le non coté, dans une optique de « buy and hold ». Jusqu’au début des années 2000, nous avons financé des collectivités territoriales au travers de prêts et nous pourrions nous y intéresser à nouveau.

La banque centrale du pays a décidé aujourd’hui de réduire ses taux directeurs de 25 points de base pour les fixer à 3,50%, soit leur plus faible niveau historique. Elle a néanmoins ajouté que les «chocs adverses» qui ont secoué l’économie mexicaine étaient en voie de normalisation. Dans ce contexte, «le comité considère que de nouvelles baisses du taux de référence ne seront pas nécessaires dans un proche avenir», a précisé le communiqué.

Le ministère des finances du pays a indiqué qu’il relevait le montant autorisé de transferts de capitaux à l’étranger à partir du 24 novembre de 500.000 euros actuellement à un million pour les entreprises par l’intermédiaire des banques domestiques. Les documents administratifs jusqu’ici réclamés pour effectuer des transferts pouvant allés jusqu’à 300.000 pour le paiement de biens et services, ne seront plus nécessaires.

Madrid va rembourser par anticipation un emprunt bancaire de 12 milliards d’euros contracté l’an dernier pour doter un fonds de financement des collectivités locales, a annoncé la numéro deux du gouvernement, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria. Grâce à la baisse des taux survenue depuis, l’Espagne espère économiser 900 millions d’euros de charges d’intérêt. Les prêts seront convertis en obligations ou remboursés.

La fenêtre ouverte le mois dernier par le gouverneur de la banque centrale indienne, Raghuram Rajan, permettant aux banques de convertir en billets verts leurs dépôts en devises étrangères a déjà attiré plus de 10 milliards de dollars et pourrait atteindre 15 milliards d’ici la clôture de l’opération le 30 novembre prochain. Une réussite pour la RBI qui permettra au pays de gonfler ses réserves de change, qui ont fondu de 13% à 281 milliards de dollars depuis leurs plus hauts atteints en 2011.

L’excès de liquidité en zone euro est passé sous le seuil des 200 milliards d’euros, à 187 milliards, pour la première fois depuis le lancement par la BCE des opérations de refinancement à 3 ans (LTRO) des banques. Ce seuil est devenu psychologique depuis que Draghi y a fait référence en février comme le niveau au-dessus duquel la politique monétaire restait accommodante. Mario Draghi a évoqué plus récemment la fourchette de 100 à 200 milliards.

Hedge funds which invest in their human resources on average post higher returns than those which pay less attention to it, a new study by Citi Prime Finance finds. “People alpha” is becoming a distinctive element in an increasingly competitive sector. To measure this new form of alpha, Citi Prime Finance studied five criteria: the acquisition of talent, the retention of talent, learning and development and performance management. It finds that the element which makes the difference between the good and bad is retention of talent. To evaluate this aspect, Citi Prime Finance used two crieria: development of the culture of the hedge fund and remuneration. Firms which ranked well in terms of retention of talent also tent to have a good talent acquisition policy. CitiPrime Finance concludes by stating that, like operational alpha at its time (having a professional team in terms of operations and robust infrastructure), “people alpha” is a short-term phenomenon which allows leaders in the market to stand out for a limited period of time.

Sergio Penchas, a Brazilian citizen who has already spent more than 20 years at the Safra group, a large part of it at Banco safra in Brazil, and at JSI Investments, the family office from Safra, has been appointed as head of the asset management, products and sales division at Banque J. Safra Sarasin. He becomes a member of the executive board at the bank, and succeeds Burkhardt Vamholt, who has resigned.To assume the new role, Penchas has stepped back from his responsibilities on the boards of directors of Banque J. Safra Sarasin Ltd and J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG.

As of the end of June 2014, Franklin Templeton will withdraw its Templeton Growth Fund, launched in 1954, from the European market, since it is not UCITS compliant, and will thus be regulated under AIFMD, which would lead to excessive organisational difficulties. However, Fonds Professionell indicates, investors may continue to subscribe to shares in the fund in euros, as can holders of savings accounts. This is apparently the first fund to exit the market for this reason. The TGF fund received its sales license in Germany in 1982.Fonds Professionell points out that Franklin Templeton will continue to sell the Templeton Growth (Euro) Fund, which received a license in 2000. The fund is managed by the same team as the original fund, and pursues the same strategy. However, since then, the US fund (which charges fees of 1.10%) has outperformed its European clone (which has a TER of 1.84%) in eight of the years under review.

For its new infrastructure fund UniInstitutional Infrastruktur SICAV-SIF, aimed at institutionals, Frankfurt-based Union Investment has purchased two wind farms, constructed by Vestas and Nordex. One of them is located in Grenville en Beauce (départment Loiret), and the other in Gibbet Hill (Irish county of Wexford).The Greneville plant (eight turbines for 24 megawatts in total) was sold by VSB Energies Nouvelles, an affiliate of the German WSB (Dresde), while the Gibbet Hill facility (6 turbines for 15 megawatts in total) was purchased from the German promoter ABO Wind (Wiesbaden).Ten months after its launch, the fund has already invested about EUR143m in four European wind farms located in three countries. It will soon invest in a solar installation. The objective is to reach EUR300m in owers’ equity, which would allow for investment of about EUR800m.

Jupiter Asset Management has recruited Katharine Dyer as product specialist for its bond and multi-asset class team, Fund Web reports. Dyer will join Jupiter in December 2013 from BlackRock, where she worked as managing director and retail product specialist for multi-asset class client solutions.

Following recent press speculation, Aberdeen Asset Management confirmed on Thursday that it is in discussions with Lloyds Banking Group in relation to a possible acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership and the formation of a strategic partnership with Lloyds.“The potential acquisition would add further scale and diversity to the Company’s product range, thus complementing organic growth, consistent with the Board’s strategy,” according to the Scottish asset manager.If agreed, the acquisition would be funded through the issuance of new shares in the Company to Lloyds and additional deferred payments in cash, conditional on the performance of the partnership over a period of years.“The proposed transaction would also offer substantial cost efficiencies and synergies.” Earlier this week, Investment Week revealed Aberdeen and Australia’s Macquarie Group, were the two remaining bidders for the asset management business.

Schroders has published the conclusions of its most recent survey on asset alloction for defined contribution plans at companies whose equities are listed in the FTSE 350. It finds that in the past 12 months, 85% of the companies studied did not significantly modify their asset allocation, and that of the remaining 15%, few of them diversified. Most funds continue to deploy a strategy which is highly dependent on equities.Comparing the results of the 2012 and 2013 studies, it appears that the typical allocation for funds remains steady at 84%, with a reduction of 2 points, however, for exposure to British equities (to 31%), while the global equity allocation gains 2 points, to 48%. The weight of fixed income has been reduced to 8%, compared with 9.2%, and there has been no change in allocation to alternative asset, which remain at 8%.In terms of funds for companies of the FTSE 100, portfolios have changed only marginally, with the most notable change being an increase in the amount allocated to emerging markets, to 5%, from 3%. Funds of the FTSE 250 were more mobile, with a reduction of 5 points for the UK equity allocation, to 36%, and an increase of 4 points, to 48%, for global equities.

BlueBay Asset Management is launching an absolute return credit fund, Citywire report. The BlueBay Total Return Credit fund will be added to the range of Luxembourg funds from the firm, and will be managed by the asset allocation committee at the firm.

The wealth management firm st. James’s Place has seen its assets increase by 5% as of the end of September, to GBP41.8bn, and 20% since the beginning of the year, Investment Week reports. Net subscriptions have totalled GBP1.03bn, up 37% compared with the corresponding period of last year.

David Oliphant from Threadneedle has taken over the corporate bond strategy previously managed by Alasdair Ross Citywire Global reports. Oliphant will now manage the Threadneedle UK Corporate Bond Retail. Ross will remain as assistant manager of the fund, and will continue to manage the rest of his portfolio.

Martin Theisinger, managing director at Oppenheim Capital Management in charge of client relations and development after serving in management positions at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, Fortis Investments, Schroder Investment Management and JPMorgan Asset Management, has been appointed as a member of the general management at Meriten Investment Management GmbH (EUR24bn as of the end of September), an affiliate of BNY Mellon Investment Management. He will be responsible for sales and report to Werner Taiber, CEO.

The Taiwan arm of Pioneer Investments may, from 15 October, sell funds directly via local distributors, Asian Investor reports. By obtaining “master agent” status, the firm can sell its 21 offshore funds directly via banks in the country. In the past three years, the firm has raised EUR2bn from retail investors in Taiwan.

Starting next year and in the following years, the pressure on margins is expected to increase in the asset management sector, with competition getting more severe and activities that generate commissions falling, the financial ratings agency Fitch Ratings estimates in a study released on 24 October.The average margin on assets under management for European actors in the sector last year totalled 40 basis points, compared with 44 basis points in 2010. This decline, which is not considerable, is a sign of the long-term risk of pressure on margins. This development is partly related to the abandonment of high-margin equity products. “We estimate that this movement is expected to continue due to a growing trend for institutional investors to favour passive investments,” Fitch says, adding that the marings will also fall due to the gradual adoption of low-cost products (ETFs and target-date funds) by retail investors. This trend is structural, although a regain in interest in equities may temporarily boost margins. Competition may also intensify in Europe due to the relative openness of the market to foreign investors, attracted by the efficiency and simplicity of UCITS funds and the UCITS brand. US investors have responded favourably to the attactiveness of the UCITS brand, which is also beginning to win over Asian and Latin American mangers.

According to Funds People, citing Augusto Martin, head of Iberia, La Française AM has registered the Rendement Global 2020 LFP fund with the CNMV, a fund of investment grade and high yield bonds from issuers in the OECD region, or up to 30% in emerging markets, with maturities of 31 December 2020 at the latest.The fund wil be managed by Jean-Luc Hivert, co-head of fixed income, and Akram Gharbi. The objective is to outperform the returns on OATs maturing in 2020. The recommended investment duration is seven years.

Musical chairs at AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM). The asset management firm has appointed Laurent Seyer as global head of distribution. He will be responsible for strengthening relationships with third-party clients at AXA IM and ensuring the effective distribution of high quality investment solutions from AXA IM to its clients, throughout the world, a statement says, adding that Seyer remains a member of the board of directors at AXA IM. He will be based in Paris, and will report to Andrea Rossi, CEO of AXA IM. Seyer, currently head of multi-asset client solutions (MACS), will be replaced on 1 March 2014 by Christophe Coquema, currently chief operating officer at AXA IM. Joseph Pinto, global head of markets and investment strategy (MIS), will simultaneously become global chief operating officer. They will both remain members of the board of directors, and will continue to report to Rossi. Seyer will continue to serve as global head of MACS until 1 March 2014, alongside his new responsibilities as global head of distribution. Seyer joined AXA IM in May 2012 as Global Head of Investment Solutions. He previously worked for Lyxor Asset Management, where he was chief executive officer from May 2006. Coquema was appointed global chief operating officer in December 2011, and is also a member of the executive board and the management committee at AXA Investment Managers. He joined AXA IM in July 2006 as head of strategy and innovation, and from 2007 to 2010 served as global ehad of shared operational functions at AXA IM (IT, change management, operational support service management, procurement and product engineering). Pinto has been global head of markets and investment strategy at AXA IM since December 2011. He is also a member of the executive board and the management committee at AXA IM. From 2007 to 2011, he was director for France, Southern Europe and the Middle East at AXA IM.

The index provider Russell Indexes has launched a new index which comes as an addition to its range of fundamental indices. The Russell fundamental US TOP100 Volatility Control 7% Index provides investors with exposure to the 100 largest US firms on the basis of three fundamental criteria: leverage-adjusted earnings, operational cash flow, dividends and equity repurchases, as part of a volatility control schema which aims to achieve volatility of 7%.

As of 30 September, assets at AllianceBernstein totalled USD45.2bn, which represents an increase of 2.4%, or USD10.6bn comapred with the end of June, and an increase of 6.3%, or USD26.3bn year on year.However, the US asset management firm states that in third quarter, it suffered net outflows of USD4.8bn, compared with net subscriptions of USD0.2bn in April-June, and net redemptions of USD4.4bn in the corresponding period of last year.In its quarterly report, AllianceBernstein states that as of 1 October, Axa has sold one of its affiliates, MONYLife Insurance Company, to a third party outside the group. As a result, AllianceBernstein has lost about USD7bn in bond assets out of the USD8bn managed by MONY as of 30 September. However, the loss of these assets does not have a major impact on operating revenues, insofar as they were very low-margin assets.Net profits at AllianceBernstein LP (the operating partnership) in third quarter totalled USD99.95m, compared with USD120.71m in April-June, and a loss of USD44.25m in the corresponding period of 2012. Net profits at AllianceBernstein Holding LP (the publicly-traded partnership) total USD29.52m, compared with USD40.28m in the previous quarter, and a loss of USD23.14m in July-September last year.

In third quarter 2013, Janus has posted outflows of USD4.2bn, which follow outflows of USD5.4bn in second quarter 2013, and USD2bn in third quarter 2012. All categories of funds showed outflows, except for “mathematical equity long term.” Due to positive market effects, Janus saw an increase in its assets nonetheless, to USD166.7bn as of the end of September, compared with USD160.6bn as of the end of June, and USD158.2bn as of 30 September 2012. Net profits totalled USD32.6m, compared with USD15.8m in second quarter, and USD25.1m in second quarter 2012.

Michael Novogratz, co-chief investment officers of macro funds at Fortress Investment Group, has publicly supported the virtual currency Bitcoin, at a conference in New York, the Financial Times reports. He says he personally invested in the currency three months ago. However, Fortress felt that it was too speculative to do itself. Among other investors in Bitcoin are the Winklevoss twins, who are working to launch an ETF backed by the currency.