Pour le deuxième trimestre, le Santander affiche un bénéfice net de 85 millions d’euros pour le pôle gestion d’actifs/assurances, ce qui représente une baisse de 6 % sur janvier-mars ; pour le premier semestre, la baisse atteint 12 %, à 175 millions d’euros.Les recettes d’exploitation de la gestion d’actifs ont représenté 304 millions d’euros pour avril-juin contre 289 millions pour le premier trimestre et 302 millions pour la période correspondante de l’an dernier.Fin mai, Warburg Pincus et General Atlantic ont annoncé qu’ils achètent 50 % du pôle gestion d’actifs Santander Asset Management.A l'échelon du groupe, le Santander a déclaré un bénéfice net part du groupe de 1.054 millions d’euros pour le deuxième trimestre contre 1.201 millions pour le premier et 86 millions pour avril-juin 2012.

Pour janvier-juin 2013, l’Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) a déclaré le 30 juillet un bénéfice net consolidé de 77,2 millions de francs suisses (62,7 millions d’euros) contre 70 millions pour la période correspondante de l’an dernier.Au 30 juin, l’encours sous gestion se montait à 81,1 milliards de francs ou 66 milliards d’euros contre 80 milliards au 31 décembre, ce qui reflète des souscriptions nettes et ne tient nécessairement pas compte des montants correspondant à l’acquisition, annoncée fin mai, de l’activité de banque privée internationale de Lloyds Banking Group, puisque cette transaction ne sera bouclée qu’au 31 octobre 2013.

HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) a nommé Xavier Clavel au poste de directeur d’Alternative Investment Group Switzerland, indique Finews. Il travaillait auparavant chez GAM où il était head of private clients. Xavier Clavel a rejoint son nouvel employeur début juillet. L’Alternative Investment Group compte 90 collaborateurs conseillant une clientèle investie dans les hedge funds, le private equity et l’immobilier.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Despite the departure of Euan Munro, who had been manager of the Global Absolute Return Strategies fund (GBP17.8bn) to Aviva Investors, where he becomes CEO, Standard Life Investments (SLI) is planning to launch a more aggressive version of the product at the end of summer, which will be aimed at institutional investors, Money Marketing reports.Concretely, SLI is aiming for outperformance of 750 basis points exceeding the Libor UK 6 month with the new fund, instead of outperformance of 500 basis points with the current product.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Fitch, the 10 largest US money market funds have allocated about 15% of their assets of USD652bn to short-term deposits and securities issued by euro zone banks, the Financial Times reports. That represents an increase of about 90% compared with June 2012, when fears of a breakup of the euro zone were at their height.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Despite an increase in operating revenues to GBP931m from GBP926m in July-December 2012 and GBP894m in the corresponding period of last year, pre-tax profits for the wealth & investment management unit at Barclays in first half 2013 fell to GBP47m from GBP175m in second half 2012, and GBP99m in January-June last year. In second quarter, the unit saw a loss of GBP13m, largely due to the Transform redeployment programme, redemptions to clients, and asset depreciations.The increase in operating revenues for first half is due to high net worth clients, with strong growth in the Americas and Asia in particular.Net commission revenues increased in January-June to GP485m, compared with GBP480m in second half 2012, and GBP486m in the corresponding period of last year. Adjusted net profits for first half were up to GBP3.59bn, compared with GBP4.34bn in the corresponding period of 2012, largely due to GBP640m in charges related to the Transform program launched in February.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mattioli Woods has acquired all capital in Thoroughbred Wealth Management Limited and its affiliate Atkinson Bolton Consulting Limited, a wealth management firm. According to a statement, the total acquisition price is GBP5.99m. The management team at Atkinson Bolton will be integrated into Mattioli Woods.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French asset management firm Carmignac has signed an agreement with Fidelity to allow its funds to be listed on the British platform of the latter, FundsNetwork.The Carmignac range available to investors and advisers in the United Kingdom includes 10 funds with asset classes denominated in pounds sterling. All share classes in pounds are hedged for currency risks against the euro.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Since the beginning of this year, institutional investors have placed an additional GBP2.8bn with SEI, including inflows of GBP1bn in the United Kingdom in the first two quarters of 2013. Since the beginning of 2012, institutional net subscriptions total GBP8.9bn.Among the new British clients recruited this year are Avery Dennison and Metroline, as well as a master trust defined contributions solution for the University of Cambridge. Recently, SEI won a mandate for GBP160m from the defined contribution pension fund Cooper-Avon Tyres Limited Pension Plan.Among the many US clients who have recently awarded it mandates, SEI cites Albemarle Corporation, Allied Systems Holdings, Inc., the Anne Carlsen Center, Blanchard Valley Health System, Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, Legacy Foundation, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mary Washington Healthcare, Montgomery County Employees’ Retirement System, the Reidsville Area Foundation, Santa Barbara City College and the University of Southern Mississippi Foundation.As of 30 June, via its affiliates and partnerships in which it holds a significant stake, SEI has assets under management or administration of USD507bn in mutual funds or segregated mandates. Assets under management totalled USD204bn, and volumes under administration totalled USD303bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to statistics from the CNMV relayed by Funds People, foreign asset management firms as of the end of March had assets of EUR44.504bn in Spain. Of this total, JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) had a market share of 10.89%, at EUR4.846bn, putting it just ahead of Carmignac, with EUR3.725bn and 8.37%.The French asset management firm places ahead of Pimco with EUR3.368bn and a market share of 7.57%, and then M&G Investments (EUR2.969bn and 6.67%) and Franklin Templeton (EUR2.679bn and 6.02%).Among French asset management firms, Amundi ranks eleventh in Spain with EUR1.126bn, and a market share of 2.53% among foreign firms, while Axa IM places 15th with EUR745m and 1.68%, and BNP Paribas is 19th with EUR583m and 1.31% of the market.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For second quarter, Santander has posted a net profit of EUR85m for the asset management/insurance unit, which represents a decline of 6% compared with January-March; in first half, the decline totalled 12%, to EUR175m.Operating revenues from asset management represented EUR304m in April-June, compared with EUR289m in first quarter and EUR302m in the corresponding period of last year.As of the end of May, Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic announced that they are acquiring 50% of the asset management unit Santander Asset Management. Groupwide, Santander has announced a net distributable profit of EUR1.054bn for second quarter, compared with EUR1.201bn in first quarter and EUR86m in April-June 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Australian asset management firm AMP Capital is building its presence in bond management in Asia. A specialist asset management team has been created, and for the first time, it is based not in Sydney but in Hong Kong, Asian Investor reports. Sonia Baillie, head of credit research, will move to Hong Kong in September, where she will join Nam Nguyen. They will together oversee all Asian bond activities and fixed income strategies.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After obtaining an ETF sales license in Hong Kong in June, Direxion has recently added to its sales team, Asian Investor reports. Grace Chiu has joined the team from Horizon Securities, where she had been a member of the institutional sales team in Hong Kong. Chiu speaks Cantonese and Mandarin.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Rustam Mursalimov on 19 July became an equity manager at Gazprombank Asset Management, where he also becomes a director, Citywire reports. Mursalimov had previously been an equity manager at the German firm Deka, where he had been head of investment in Russia, Turkey and Eastern Europe in the Emerging Europe team.Gazprombank AM, an asset management affiliate of the Russian firm Gazprombank, belonging to the gas giant Gazprom, has since March been led by Aylin Suntay, who joined the firm in September 2012 from Pictet AM, where he had been deputy CIO for equities.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Agefi, the chairwoman of the SEC, Mary Jo White, has told the Senate banking committee that the regulator is considering the question of whether banks should be allowed to hold assets such as shares in oil companies or metal warehouses when they are involved in commodities brokerage. Some information disclosure may be required.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US asset management firm Exchange Traded Concepts (ETC), which helps other asset management firms to put their ETFs on the market, has submitted an application to the SEC for a license for the Hull Tactical US ETF, which will be a “tactical” ETF with long and short positions on leveraged and inverse ETFs based on the S&P 500 index.According to IndexUniverse, the fund will be up to 200% long and 100% short. So far, no ticker or TER rate have been announced.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The private equity investor Fortress Investment Group has announced that it has closed a round of fundraising for its fund Fortress MSR Opportunities Fund II, which succeeds the first product of its type, closed in August 2012 with USD608m of commitments, with its planned total of USD1.1bn.The MSR Opportunities fund from Fortress are focused on investments in residential mortgage servicing rights. MSR are the monthly fees paid in exchange for servicing on mortgage debts, minus a basic service commission.Fortress IG as of the end of March had assets under management of USD56bn, for about 1,500 institutional and retail clients.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For January-June 2013, Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) on 30 July declared consolidated net profits of CHF77.2m (EUR62.7m), compared with CHF70m in the corresponding period of last year.As of 30 June, assets under management totalled CHF81.1bn, or EUR66bn, compared with CHF80bn as of 31 December, which reflects net subscriptions and does not take into account sums corresponding to the acquisition of the international private banking activities of Lloyds Banking Group, announced at the end of May, as this transaction will not be completed until 31 October 2013.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } HSBC Private Bank (Switzerland) has appointed Xavier Clavel as director of the Alternative Investment Group Switzerland, Finews repors. He had previously worked at GAM, where he had been head of private client. Clavel joined his new employer at the beginning of July. The Alternative Investment Group has 90 advisers, advising clients who invest in hedge funds, private equity and real estate.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For the quarter to the end of June, operating margin at Franklin Templeton increased to 37% compared with 36.2% in January-March, and 36.1% in the corresponding period of last year. However, net profits fell to USD522.3m, compared with USD572.8m for first quarter 2013, while up 12% compared with April-June 2012 (USD455.3m).As announced (Newsmanagers of 15 July), assets as of 30 June totalled USD815bn, down 1% compared with USD823.7bn as of the end of March, but up by 15% compared with the level achieved twelve months previously.Franklin Templeton states that the decline in assets of USD8.7bn observed in April-June are largely due to a negative market effect of USD16.3bn, which could not be offset by net subscriptions of USD8.4bn. The increase of USD107.9bn compared with 30 June 2012 is due both to USD73.8bn in market appreciation and USD29.9bn in net subscriptions.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 30 June, AUM in the asset management operation at BNP Paribas totalled EUR375bn, compared with EUR404bn three months earlier (7.2%) and EUR412bn (-9%) one year previously, while wealth management assets totalled EUR272bn, compared with EUR277bn as of the end of March, though they were higher than the EUR257bn as of the end of June 2012. In total, the investment solutions unit (which also includes real estate, insurance and the personal investors division) posted assets under management of EUR869bn, compared with EUR906bn as of the end of first quarter and EUR873bn one year previously.In second quarter, the investment solutions unit underwent net outflows of EUR16.4bn, compared with EUR3.1bn for first quarter and EUR4.1bn in the corresponding period of last year, while asset management had outflows of EUR19bn, after EUR7bn in January-March, and EUR9.7bn in April-June 2012. Wealth management, however, has net inflows fo EUR2.8bn in April-June 2013, EUR6.3bn in January-March 2013, and EUR4.5bn for second quarter 2012.Pre-tax profits from institutional and retail asset management in second quarter totalled EUR188m, compared with EUR197m n January-March, and in first half it totalled EUR385m, the same level as in January-June 2012.The group, which considers asset management a strategic profession, has announced plans to increase revenues from this highly profitable unit by 10% by 2016, and to increase assets under management. BNP Paribas is planning to restart inflows with an objective of EUR40bn of inflows by 2016 to high added value segments, largely from institutional clients in Asia Pacific, and for emerging markets. The group will make targeted investments to achieve that, particularly in the institutional segment.Net distributable income for the group total EUR3.347bn in first half 2013, down 29.1% compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, when it registered the sale of a stake in Klépierre S.A.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } An analyst specialised in tech sector stocks accused of leaking information concerning a potential partnership between Yahoo and Microsoft to the benefit of hedge fund manager SAC Capital has been arrested by the FBI and indicted in California, Agefi reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } “As GCS Capital was not able to satisfy its obligations with respect to contractual payments in time for the closing date initially set for 28 June 2013, Dexia has no option, as announced on 24 June 2013, but to put a final end to talks with GCS Capital, and to announce the formal termination of the share sale agreement (for shares in Dexia Asset Management) with GCS Capital, effective from 30 July, 2013,” a statement released by Dexia on 30 July states.The French-Belgian group points out that for its part, it had fulfilled all the necessary conditions for the transaction since its announcement on 12 December 2012, and that it had obtained all regulatory clearance and permission from third parties required. It adds that all preconditions for the sale had been satisfied on its side within the agreed deadlines.However, Dexia states that it is still planning to complete the sale of Dexia AM “in the interest of the various parties concerned, particularly its clients and team members.” Discussions will begin again “as soon as possible” with other partners who have expressed a marked interest for the acquisition of the asset management affiliate.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 30 June, assets under management by 29 investment funds from Mutuactivos, an affiliate of Mutua Madrileña, totalled EUR2.672bn, an increase of 8.7% compared with the end of December, Funds People reports.The 16 pension plans from the firm had total assets of EUR198.3m, which represents an increase of 2.11% in six months.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Josef Schopf, who has been in his position at Lupus alpha for 10 years, will on 1 September join the asset management boutique Fidecum as a member of the portfolio management team; he will also be a member of the managing board, Das Investment reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 30 June, total assets in collective investment organisms and special investment funds in Luxembourg came to EUR2.48658trn, which represents a decline of EUR97.51bn, or 3.77% compared with the end of May, the financial sector surveillance commission (CSSF) reports.The decline represents both net outflows of nearly EUR13.63bn, and a negative market effect of EUR83.89bn.Compared with June 2012 (EUR2.185bn), assets are up by nearly 11.8%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jonathan Lipkin, director of public policy at the Investment Management Association (IMA), on 30 July stated that net redemptions from shares in British-registered bond funds to retail investors have reached a total of GBP624m, their highest leel since statistics began in 1992. For second quarter as a whole, this asset class has seen net outflows numbering only GBP5m.However, retail funds in June saw net inflows of GBP1.1bn, while institutional funds saw net redemptions of GBP1.7bn, totals which compare to respective net subscriptions of GBP855m and GBP370m.Equity funds remained more popular in June, with net subscriptions of GBP884m, bringing the total for second quarter to GBP2.5bn, their highest level since fourth quarter 2010. Lipkin states that British equity funds have even posted their strongest net inflows since October 2006, at GBP479m.The IMA states that total assets in funds domiciled in the United Kingdom as of 30 June came to GBP714.3bn, compared with GBP739.8bn one month earlier and GBP601.2bn as of 30 June 2012. For their part, funds domiciled abroad represented GBP55bn as of the end of June, compared with GBP57.3bn as of 31 May, and GBP46.8bn one year previously.

Benoît Briatte, Président de la Mutuelle générale de la police (MGP) dans un article publié par Option Finance : Notre allocation d’actifs cible est déterminée tous les quatre ans. Dans ce cadre, la mutuelle se fait accompagner par un prestataire extérieur, un cabinet d’actuariat. Notre prochaine allocation est prévue pour le mois de septembre ou octobre prochain. Dans ce cadre, nous allons poursuivre la diversification de notre portefeuille dans la limite de nos autorisations réglementaires. Nous avons dernièrement intégré les obligations convertibles et le high yield, nous souhaitons désormais développer nos actifs immobiliers en achetant des immeubles dans le cadre d’une politique d’investissement locatif afin d’augmenter notre résultat financier. Ce type de placement nous rapporte en effet chaque année entre 5,5 et 7 % de rendement moyen. Nous allons poursuivre nos opérations de diversification, pour continuer à compenser la baisse des taux d’intérêt dans nos résultats financiers. Nous avons également mis en pension des titres, ce qui viendra nous apporter une rémunération supplémentaire. En parallèle, nous avons depuis peu décidé de réorienter progressivement notre politique de placement monétaire des OPCVM vers des contrats à terme et des comptes sur livrets. Ceux-ci nous délivrent des rendements moyens de 1,8 %, contre proche de 0 % pour les OPCVM monétaires. Au quotidien, pour payer nos prestations nous préférons les livrets bancaires aux fonds de trésorerie. Ces deux produits sont en effet désormais équivalents en termes de liquidité. Mais nous avons pu négocier avec nos partenaires bancaires des tarifs plus avantageux, qui nous permettent d’obtenir dans certains cas un rendement supérieur, allant même jusqu'à 2,25 %.

Dans un entretien au Süddeutsche Zeitung, le président de la Banque centrale européenne voit dans la publication des minutes de ses débats la «prochaine étape nécessaire». Il indique qu’une proposition sera faite en ce sens au Conseil des gouverneurs pour discussion et décision. A la différence des autres grandes banques centrales, la BCE garde secret le compte-rendu de ses débats.

Selon des données provisoires, la hausse des prix alimentaires en Allemagne a débouché sur un taux d’inflation annuel de 1,9% en juillet après 1,8% en juin. L’inflation reste toutefois en deçà de l’objectif de la BCE. Pour Alexander Koch, chez UniCredit, l’inflation a sans doute atteint son point culminant, la conjoncture mondiale devant provoquer un fléchissement des prix des matières premières.