Des fonds étudient une offre sur les marchés d'actions et de dérivés continentaux de Nyse Euronext

La SICAV de Place Emergence sera bientôt dotée d’un deuxième compartiment, sur les actions. Il privilégiera les fonds investissant en actions ou en quasi-fonds propres (convertibles, etc.). L’objectif de ce compartiment sera d’incuber des fonds proposant des stratégies innovantes et des compétences spécialisées» et «ayant des ambitions internationales». Une fois le délégataire sélectionné, l’ambition est de collecter entre 150 et 300 millions d’euros auprès d’investisseurs institutionnels. Pour rappel, Emergence rassemble les principaux investisseurs de la Place pour apporter des capitaux à gérer aux jeunes sociétés de gestion basées en France, ou souhaitant s’y implanter, et accélérer leur développement dans leurs premières années d’existence. Emergence fournit entre 25 millions et 50 millions à chaque gestionnaire retenu pour trois ans, le partenariat devant durer entre 7 et 10 ans. L’objectif d’Emergence est d’offrir aux investisseurs la performance des fonds incubés et une participation aux revenus futurs des sociétés de gestion. Le fonds leur permettra d’identifier les équipes de gestion les plus prometteuses et de contribuer à leur croissance en leur confiant des capitaux à gérer. La priorité a en outre été donnée à l’attrait du fonds pour les investisseurs, en les plaçant au c??ur de la gouvernance (participation au conseil d’administration, définition des objectifs, désignation d’un comité d’investissement), en choisissant le partage de revenus (sans prise de participation au capital), et en optimisant les contraintes de Solvabilité II (« transparisation » du portefeuille). Les gérants intéressés ont jusqu’au 21 mai pour manifester leur intérêt, avec une clôture du dépôt des dossiers fixée au 3 juin. La désignation du vainqueur devrait intervenir pour le forum financier de Paris Europlace en juillet.

Le portefeuille de la Caisse d’Assurance Vieillesse des Pharmaciens (CAVP) comprend 11% d’actions, essentiellement européennes (98% de la poche) gérées via des fonds dédiés confiés à des sociétés de gestion comme BNP Paribas IP, Edmond de Rohtschild AM ou encore Amundi. Néanmoins, depuis 5 ans, la CAVP a augmenté la part des fonds ouverts dans cette classe d’actifs en faisant appel à des asset managers de taille plus modeste comme Métropole Gestion, Mandarine Gestion ou encore Moneta AM. « Nous n’avons pas de gestion thématique en portefeuille car il est difficile de trouver le bon point d’entrée, souligne Alain Pestre. Nous n’investissons plus dans les actions émergentes depuis 2010 car la volatilité est trop forte sur ces marchés. Nous préférons arbitrer avec de la dette émergente en devises locales car, dans tous les cas, nous récupérons le coupon, et cela nous permet d'être exposé à la croissance des pays émergents et à leur devise. Ce type d’investissement est particulièrement intéressant pour une institution comme la nôtre avec un passif très long ».

L’Italie envisage de porter son objectif de déficit budgétaire en 2014 de 1,8% actuellement à 2,9% du PIB, soit juste en-dessous de la limite fixée par l’Union européenne, ont confié plusieurs sources à Reuters. La date la plus probable de cette annonce serait en septembre, au moment de la préparation de la loi de finances, quand le gouvernement actualisera ses projections économiques.

Les ventes au détail aux Etats-Unis ont légèrement rebondi en avril, contrairement aux attentes, après un accès de faiblesse en mars, montrent les statistiques officielles publiées lundi. Le département du Commerce a fait état d’un rebond de 0,1% des ventes après une baisse de 0,5% en mars (chiffre révisé par rapport à -0,4% annoncé initialement).

C’est la thèse que défend le président de l’Eurogroupe, Jeroen Dijsselbloem. «De nombreux éléments de l’union bancaire peuvent être mis en place. Le problème de la modification des traités peut être réglé plus tard», a déclaré le responsable néerlandais à la presse avant une réunion de l’Eurogroupe à Bruxelles. Une position que ne partage pas l’Allemagne.

Dans un rapport, la Commission européenne estime que la Grèce atteindra ses objectifs budgétaires cette année et l’an prochain, mais Athènes devra réaliser de nouvelles économies pour faire face aux exigences de ses bailleurs de fonds pour 2015 et 2016. La nouvelle coalition au pouvoir a dépassé ses objectifs budgétaires pour 2012, ajoute le rapport de la Commission daté du 7 mai et publié lundi.

A la surprise générale, la banque centrale israélienne a baissé son taux directeur de 0,25 point de pourcentage pour le ramener à 1,5%, son niveau le plus bas depuis trois ans. L’institut dirigé par Stanley Fischer a par ailleurs annoncé un programme d’achat de devises étrangères afin de limiter la progression du shekel.

La France et l’Allemagne présenteront le 28 mai à Paris une démarche commune visant à lutter contre le chômage des jeunes, a rapporté le Rheinische Post. Baptisée «New Deal for Europe», elle impliquera la Banque européenne d’investissement qui exercera un levier pour débloquer plusieurs dizaines de milliards d’euros de crédits pour les sociétés prêtes à créer des emplois pour les jeunes.

Deux milliards d'euros sont versés via le MES

Au cours de l'entretien que Dominique Carrel-Billard a accordé à Newsmanagers, le dirigeant de l'un des acteurs majeurs de la gestion d'actifs en Europe est revenu sur les bons résultats de sa société de gestion cette année, sur ses développements internationaux et sur la stratégie menée pour accroitre ses flux. Le directeur d'Axa IM expose également ses convictions sur l'avenir de la gestion d'actifs, notamment en France, et sur le rôle à jouer de la Place de Paris dans un contexte réglementaire de plus en plus contraignant...

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British tax authorities on 9 May launched a vast international investigation with their Australian and US counterparts, after receiving confidential information on offshore companies created by businesses or individuals to avoid taxes. The government has 400 gigabytes of data, which will help them to track parties who have concealed assets offshore. “The message is simple: if you engage in tax evasion, we will come after you,” the British finance minister, George Osborne, warns in a statement. The British government has invested hundreds of millions of pounds into combatting tax evasion, at home and abroad. These data represent a new weapon in the arsenal of the British financial regulators. According to the Guardian newspaper, the data provided to the authorities may in part be the same as those which were recently unveiled at an inernational press conference by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), inclulding confidential information on thousands of offshore companies. The 400 gigabytes of data are probably the largest leak of its kind ever to the British financial authorities, the press notes. They reveal the extensive use by rich individuals and businesses of complex offshore structures in order to conceal assets in various countries, including Singapore, the Virgin, Cayman and Cook Islands, the British Treasury says in its statement. The data are still being analysed, but the British tax authorities have already discovered that at least 100 people have benefited from these structures. Some have already been identified and are being investigated, according to the same source. The British tax authorities will also focus on the names of more than 200 accountants, lawyers and tax advisers who helped to set up these structures. British citizens who have used them will have to regularize their situation themselves, in default of which, the tax authorities warn, they will be exposed to legal action or very high financial penalties. Their identities may also be made public. The joint investigation by the British, Australian and US tax authorities may be the beginning of one of the largest tax investigations in history, the ICIJ notes on its website.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } By 2020, the number of Chinese millionaires will double, putting the country just behind the United States, according to projection by WealthInside published by Asian Investor. Their number will increase from 1.3 million in 2012 to 3.3 million. Indian millionaires will number over one million by 2020. According to a survey by HSBC of continental Chinese clients, 70% are planning to entrust the management of their financial assets to a professional in the future, and to invest outside China.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Gottex Fund Management Sarl, an affiliate of the Lausanne-based firm Gottex, and Astmax Asset Management, a firm based in Tokyo, have pooled their offerings in the area of Sub-Advisory services for institutional and other clients in Japan. The two partners are offering bespoke multi-asset class products and investment services for hedge funds, Gottex says in a statement. The two businesses have also decided to sell a selection of products from the two firms on their respective networks.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Morningstar has announced that Daniel Needham has been appointed global chief investment officer for Morningstar Investment Management and managing director for Morningstar Investment Management Europe. Needham previously served as managing director and chief investment officer for Morningstar Investment Management’s Asia-Pacific operations, including Ibbotson Associates Australia. He will continue to lead this area until the company appoints a new chief investment officer, Asia-Pacific. Needham will relocate to the United Kingdom from Australia later this year and will divide his time among London, Chicago, and Sydney. As of the end of March 2012, Morningstar Investment Management had approximately $157 billion in assets under advisement and management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The bond specialist Bill Gross has reduced the cash positions of his flagship portfolio, the Pimco GIS Total Return Bond fund, whose assets under management total USD292bn, to 3%, from 8% as of the end of March, Citywire reports. The manager has also reduced his exposure to investment grade credit from 9% at the end of March to 7%.Gross has increased his exposure to Treasuries, from 28% in February to 33% as of the end of March, and 39% as of the end of April. Gross has also redeployed liquidity from MBS and emerging market debt. Exposure to MBS now totals 34%, compared with 1% as of the end of March, while emerging market debt accounts for 8%, compared with 1% at the end of March.

TD P { margin-bottom: 0in; }P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Russell Investments has announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with Distribution Technology to provide independent analysis of risk profiles for 16 of its benchmark funds and portfolios. The analysis of risk profiles will take into account factors such as volatility, performance, and tactical and strategic allocations in order to evaluate the level of risk to investors for various strategies. The risk profiles will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. The strategies included in the analysis will be the following: Russell Defensive Assets Fund Secure Model Portfolio Cautious Model Portfolio Conservative Model Portfolio Russell Multi Asset Income Fund Moderate Model Portfolio Balanced Model Portfolio Russell Multi Asset Growth Fund Russell Real Assets Fund Progressive Model Portfolio Adventurous Model Portfolio Growth Model Portfolio Aggressive Model Portfolio Aggressive Plus Model Portfolio Russell International Growth Assets Fund Russell UK Growth Assets Fund

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bruce Karpati has been named chief compliance officer for US Prudential Investments, the mutual fund manufacturing and distribution business of Prudential Financial. Karpati spent more than a decade at the Securities and Exchange Commission, most recently as national chief enforcement officer for its asset management unit. His appointment at Prudential is effective Monday, May 13, 2013.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The private equity group Warburg Pincus on 10 May announced that it has completed a round of fundraising with USD11.2n for its eleventh fund, Warburg Pincus Private Equity XI. This is a record amount, slightly below its initial objective of USD12bn.Among the investors in the new fund are pension funds, sovereign funds, insurance companies and high net worth clients, a “significant number” of whom are not based in the United States, a statement says.In 2012, the group, whose assets under management total over USD40bn, invested USD2.3bn in 28 companies, while also returning USD6.2bn to investors. In first quarter 2013, Warburg Pincus returned a further USD3bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Lyxor hedge fund index gained 0.80% in the month of April, bringing gains since the beginning of the year to 3.2%, according to the most recent Lyxor Flash report, dated 8 May.Twelve strategies out of the 14 which compose the index finished the month with gains, including the Lyxor L/S Equity Market Neutral index, which gained 3.92% for the month, the Lyxor CTA Long Term (+2.98%), and the Lyxor Merger Arbitrage (+1.52%).The best strategy since the beginning of the year is the Lyxor L/S Equity Market Neutral, with gains of 11.39%, followed by the Lyxor L/S Equity Long Bias (+6.83%).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A proposed financial transaction tax (FTT) is continuing to come in for criticism from all sides, both on the continent and in the United Kingdom, where before the weekend prime minister David Cameron again raised a red flag over the proposals, claiming that they are a bad idea and cannot work unless applied through the world.Similar noises came from the eleven European countries participating in the project. The FTT is not a priority question, the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, claimed on 9 May. “We are just starting talks. This is not a major concern, to be very honest,” Schäuble said in response to a question on the subject of the financial transaction tax.“This year, next year … it’s not a major problem,” he claimed. Germany and ten other countries in January agreed to create a financial transaction tax which could be introduced from January 2014.The statement comes at a time when the German business leadership has stepped into the breach to denounce the proposed FTT at the publication of a study by the Deutsches Aktieninstitut (DAI). According to the organisation, representing publicly-traded companies and investors, the estimated cost of the FTT for 24 major German companies would range from EUR600m to EUR1.5bn. “Politicians are clearly now aware of the damage which the FTT Would cause to businesses in the real economy,” the president of DAI, Christine Bortenlänger, says.Last week, directors at Dexia also discussed the FTT at a general shareholders’ meeting for the group. The French-Belgian bank, which lost another EUR300m in first quarter, pointed out that its future results would depend on external events, including the government debt crisis and the introduction of the FTT. If the tax were introduced, it would have cost Dexia EUR574m last year. “We can’t absorb that. And if Dexia were more active on financial markets, that would have an impact of EUR700m, or more,” said Robert de Metz, chairman of the board of directors at Dexia, at the general shareholders’ meeting. He claims that the tax should not be introduced in its current form, which is the minimal position of many professionals.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Norwegian sovereign fund has decided to significantly reduce its exposure to inflation-linked bonds, due to the restricted nature of the market, the Financial Times reports. The fund, which had inflation-linked bond assets of NOK95.7bn in June 2012, reduced this to slightly over NOK42bn as of the end of 2012, and to NOK26.1bn at the end of first quarter. Inflationary outlooks in the United States and Europe have fallen, as concerns about deflation have taken the fore.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } iShares has launched the iShares Barclays Euro Corporate Bond Financials UCITS ETF, which offers exposure to investment grade bonds denominated in euros, issued by financial sector firms. The fund, which comes in addition to the ETF range from iShares dedicated to corporate bonds, replicates the Barclays Euro-Aggregate: Financial Index. The fund charges fees of 0.20%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British asset management firm F&C has seen outflows of GBP1.5bn in the first three months of the year, as subscriptions in the retail segment were offset by redemptions from several strategic partners. Outflows due to redemptions by strategic partners in first quarter totalled GBP1.3bn, while F&C warns that the life insurer Achmea is planning to withdrawGBP10.3bn when its exclusive contract expires in October 2013. Despite redemptions for the quarter, assets under management at F&C rose 3.8%, to a total of GBP98.8bn as of the end of March, due to positive market and currency effects.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Some of the world’s largest hedge funds are betting on the Greek banking sector, the Financial Times reports. Farallon Capital, York Capital Management, QVT Financial and Dromeus will participate in recapitalising banks in the country. They are expected to participate in a capital increase of EUR550m planned for next month by Alph Bank, the second-largest lender in the country.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The family offices Oppenheim Vermögenstreuhand and Wilhelm von Finck Deutsche Family Office, both affiliates of Deutsche Bank, have decided to merge to form a single entity entitled Deutsche Oppenheim Family Office, the website Das Investment reports.The new firm of the Deutsche Bank group will continue to be positioned on the activities of the two merged entities, namely traditional wealth management for the unit succeeding Wilhelm von Finck, and management of illiquid assets at Oppenheim Vermögenstreuhand.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Brevan Howard Asset Management has recruited Peter Blandford, former head of gilt trading at Jefferies. According to several English-language sources, Blandford, who left the US bank in February this year after two years, joined Brevan Howard last week as a partner.Brevan Howard, whose assets under management total about USD37bn, is said to be nostalgic for the City, and to be seeking premises in the hedge fund district, after leaving the British capital for Geneva.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Long-term inflows, meaning inflows not including money market funds, have totalled EUR30.4bn in Europe, topping EUR20bn for the eighth consecutive month, according to the most recent monthly statistics from Lipper. Bond funds posted inflows of EUR17.3bn, compared with about EUR11bn in the previous month, largely due to a continued strong appetite for global, emerging market and flexible products. Equity funds posted inflows of EUR5.6bn, nearly EUR4bn less than the previous month. Japanese equity funds attracted a net EUR1.6bn in March, a level higher than that recorded for emerging market equity funds, which finished the month with net inflows of EUR1.3bn. Equity ETFs saw outflows of EUR130m, largely due to redemptions from funds investing in the euro zone totalling EUR1.2bn. Money market funds finished the month of March with outflows of EUR4.2bn, due to redemptions to investors in funds denominated in euros and US dollars. Lipper points out that absolute return funds, which posted net inflows of EUR6.3bn in March, also for the first time topped EUR200bn in assets under management. JP Morgan tops the rankings for inflows in March, with EUR3.2bn, followed by Pimco (EUR2.8bn) and Franklin Templeton (EUR2.6bn), but in the first three months of the year, Pimco wins out with net inflows of EUR9bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The independent asset management firm EMEA Capital has recruited Can Uran as managing partner and chief investment officer. He joins EMEA Capital from UBS, where he had been global co-head of emerging markets trading. He will be based in London.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Ashburton, based in Jersey, will soon be launching an African equity fund in UCITS format, which will be the first in a series of UCITS-compliant funds offered by the asset management firm, Citywire reports.The Ashburton Africa Equity Opportunities fund, which will be launched by the end of the month, will be the first fund from the firm to be domiciled in Luxembourg.The firm, which had previously been specialised in offshore products, would like to set up a new platform, in the form of an umbrella fund domiciled in Luxembourg, aimed at international clients, including clients outside Europe.