Les ministres réunis cette semaine à Downing Street sous l’égide du premier ministre David Cameron auraient accepté de recentrer leur stratégie vers la relance de la croissance plutôt que vers l’austérité, selon des propos de Nick Clegg, vice-premier ministre, cité par le journal. Le gouvernement pourrait ainsi utiliser la garantie de l’Etat pour réaliser d’importants projets d’infrastructures.

La croissance annuelle en Chine pourrait ressortir en-dessous de 7% si le gouvernement ne met pas en place d’autres mesures de soutien à l’économie, selon le journal américain qui cite Chen Donqi, vice-président de l’institut de recherche économique du développement national et de la réforme. Ceci passerait par une baisse des taux d’intérêt et du ratio de réserve obligatoire des banques, ajoute-t-il.

Alors que se tient ce soir le sommet informel des chefs d'Etat européens, l'organisation plaide pour un processus de rééquilibrage de la croissance

La couronne suédoise a reculé de près de 3% contre euro depuis fin février malgré des perspectives économiques et budgétaires plus favorables

KKR aurait déjà amassé 2 milliards de dollars pour son second véhicule dédié à la région. Carlyle et TPG ne ménagent pas non plus leurs efforts

Le Premier ministre italien, Mario Monti, a indiqué que le secteur public allait rembourser entre 20 et 30 milliards d’euros de factures non-réglées au secteur privé d’ici la fin de l’année. U texte va permettre aux entreprises de réclamer le remboursement des impayés publics via un système de crédit d’impôts, mais également de solliciter les banques en utilisant les factures publiques comme garanties.

L’opérateur boursier américain ne fait plus partie des prétendants au rachat du London Metal Exchange (LME), selon des sources proches du dossier citées par Reuters. En revanche, deux autres acteurs, InterContinental Exchange et Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, seraient toujours dans la course.

L’Allemagne ne pense pas que l'émission d’obligations communes à la zone euro soit une solution à la crise de la dette et ne changera pas d’avis à ce sujet en dépit des appels de la France et d’autres pays, a déclaré mardi un responsable allemand qui s’exprimait lors d’un point de presse à la veille d’un sommet européen informel.

L’agence de notation Fitch Ratings a abaissé la note souveraine du Japon à A+ contre AA auparavant, avec une perspective négative. Cette décision «reflète les risques croissants pesant sur la situation de crédit souverain du Japon, conséquence de ratios d’endettement élevés et en hausse».

Amundi entre au capital de Tobam, la société de gestion quantitative créée par Yves Choueifaty. La filiale du Crédit Agricole et de Société Générale prend 17,5% du capital, pour un montant non communiqué. Les actions sont rachetées aux salariés de Tobam ainsi qu’auprès du fonds de pension américain CalPers qui reste néanmoins actionnaire de la société de gestion. Ce dernier était entré au capital de Tobam il y a un an, à hauteur de 17,5% également. Yves Choueifaty et les salariés de la société de gestion détiennent toujours la majorité du capital. En parallèle, Amundi et Tobam ont signé un accord commercial qui doit permettre à la société d’Yves Choueifaty de se déployer en Asie ou au Moyen-Orient. Tobam gère 2 milliards d’euros d’actifs, à comparer aux 688 milliards d’euros d’Amundi.

The Environmental Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has issued a call for the creation of a genuine global environmental governance body in a statement which will be presented on Tuesday, addressed to the Rio+20 summit. If a genuine global environmental governance body is not created to further sustainable development objectives, with the power to take decisions and require adherence to them, future generations will be endangered, says Françoise Vilain, rapporteure for the statement to be released today. One month ahead of the UN summit scheduled for 20-22 June in Rio.

Since its launch in May 2011, the PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF has seen inflows of about USD1.6bn, more than any of the 400 other funds launched last year, and it has gained 9.5%, compared with losses of 0.7% for the S&P 500 in the same period, the Wall Street Journal reports. This appears to reinforce the argument that solid shares outperform without causing the wrenching ups and downs that many investors consider unnecessary punishment. But some indices already show that the tide may already have turned against the fund: its lead on the larger market has fallen in the past three to four months.

The banker Pascal Quiry has left BNP Paribas to launch an investment fund, Les Echos reports. Quiry, who has been a partner at Paribas since 1986, had for the past five years been in charge of execution teams in European and American mergers and acquisitions at the bank. He was also a member of the international board of directors. The objective of the small asset management firm which he is in the process of founding, and which is expected to be up and running by the end of the year, is to invest in blocs of shares in businesses which are considered undervalued, for the long term. A team of three to four people is in the process of being recruited.

Frédéric Lasserre and Christophe Cordonnier, two former managing directors of commodity market activities at Société Générale, have announced the launch of Belaco Capital, a commodity investment fund which will be managed in Paris. The official launch date for the fund is set for 4th quarter 2012. Lasserre built and led the research and strategy teams at Société Générale, while Cordonnier, who has worked with him for the past 15 years, set up and led the sales and commodity structuring teams at Société Générale, a statement says. They will be joined by François Beuzelin, who has spent 12 years at Société Générale, where he had been director of trading activities for metals, before working on an investment fund for the past 2 years.

AXA Investment Managers has announced the launch of a series of innovative corporate bond strategies. ‘SmartBeta’ strategies have been designed specifically for investors seeking low-cost credit exposure without the drawbacks of market capitalisation weighted index-based strategies. AXA IM’s SmartBeta strategies take an active approach to define the investment universe and therefore aim for a more attractive risk/return profile than that offered by passive index tracking strategies.Tim Gardener, Global Head of Consultant Relations, AXA IM commented: «We have seen significant interest from institutional investors and their consultants, who want a more intelligent and pragmatic approach to capture the market return within the corporate bond segment. SmartBeta offers a middle ground for those clients looking to harvest the return of the market whilst still avoiding the inefficiencies of a purely passive approach. It is a strategy that is designed with the aim of protecting portfolios from both systemic and event risk and to deliver a less volatile return."AXA Fixed Income’s Portfolio Manager Analysts begin by using a number of rules based and fundamental filters to arrive at the investible universe of bonds. The portfolio is then constructed to achieve an optimal level of diversification such that it is not unduly exposed to a tail risk at a stock, sector or country level. Using relative value analysis, those bonds that are deemed to be best value are purchased and equally weighted in the portfolio. Given that the purchase price of a bond is critical to overall return of a buy and hold strategy, this approach maximises the beta of the portfolio over the medium term.AXA IM’s approach boasts two differentiating features: it optimizes purchase costs by striving for best execution and also rebalances investments more optimally than standard index funds. Unlike with a purely passive approach in which the evolution of the index dictates the buying and selling of bonds potentially leading to overweighting the most indebted issuers, AXA IM’s approach strives to ensure that poorly valued or ‘at risk’ bonds are not purchased. In addition, regular monitoring by the AXA Fixed Income team aims to ensure that diversification and credit worthiness of the portfolio is maintained as the SmartBeta strategy rests on the premise that a bond held to maturity delivers its beta in full provided it does not default even partially.SmartBeta strategies will be managed by senior portfolio managers within AXA IM’s Fixed Income expertise. Mark Benstead, who is Head of AXA Fixed income for UK and Asia, will be responsible for managing SmartBeta portfolios across the sterling denominated corporate bond market. Anne Velot, Head of Continental Credit will manage European SmartBeta strategies, and Nicole Montoya, Head of Global Credit and Money Market will manage the strategy across the global universe of corporate bonds.The SmartBeta strategies will be managed by senior portfolio managers in the bond management team at AXA IM. Mark Benstead, head of credit in the United Kingdom, will manage the SmartBeta Sterling portfolios; Anne Veelot, head of credit for continental Europe, will be in charge of euro SmartBeta strategies, while Nicole Montoya, head of global credit and money markets, will manage global credit strategies.

In April, equity markets lost 0..65%, while after six months of steep decline, implicit volatility increased month on month by 1.7 percentage point to 17.2%.In this environment, only two of the 13 strategies monitored by the Edhic-Risk Institute posted positive results, with monthly returns of 1.02% for short selling and 0.50% for bond arbitrage. The heaviest losses were for long/short equity, with 0.65%.Since the beginning of this year, the best returns were for distressed securities (6.2%) and long/short equity (5.5%), while the worst performer was short selling, with losses of 11.8%.Meanwhile, since the beginning of January 2001, the best two results, according to Edhec, were for distressed securities, with 10.4% per year (the only ratio with a Sharpe ratio of over 1, at 1.02), just ahead of emerging markets at 10.2% (with a Sharpe ratio of 0.60).

Sales of pension funds in Europe could be compromised if the sector is included in the PRIPs (Packaged Retail Investment Products) directive, Financial Times Fund Management suggests. The Association of British Insurers is preoccupied by a proposed rule that individuals would be required to seek independent advice before subscribing to any fund. That would hamper the long-awaited introduction of a British proposed regulation which would ensure that employees automatically join corporate pension funds, FT FM reports.

Following its launch in France, Germany and the United Kingdom in January 2012, Closing Circle (www.closingcircle.com) is now open for business in all European countries, and aims to become the largest investment and merger and acquisition social network in Europe, the firm announced in a statement released on 21 May. “I am very proud of the growth of our member base. Closing Circle is continuing to attract the interest of professionals and investment and M&A firms, and we are signing up new members every day,” says David Chouraqui, founder of Closing Circle, cited in a statement. “Our members are private equity firms, family offices, institutional investors, funds of funds, M&A advisers, financial banks, financial and strategic consulting firms. All are established businesses with a solid trading record.” Firms such as Apax Partners, KPMG, The Gores Group, Riverside Europe Partners, Lincoln International, European Capital, Bryan, Garnier & Co, Qualium Investissement, Better Capital, Bencis Capital Partners, BlackFin, Verdoso, Apposite Capital, Arcano Corporate Finance, da vinci Capital, Easton Corporate Finance, Mountain Cleantech, Mayland, Izurium Capital, M&A International, Serena Capital, GEREJE Corporate Finance, Aloe Private Equity, Vulcain, AEC Partners, Ohana & Co, Consulnor, HDR Partners, Nordic Corporate Finance, Phidelphi Corporate Finance and many others have already signed up for Closing Circle.

Man Group (59bn of AUM) has agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of FRM Holdings Limited, a global hedge fund research and investment specialist with funds under management of approximately USD8billion. Man will integrate FRM with its multi-manager business. Man and FRM’s combined multi-manager business will have total funds under management of approximately USD19 billion. The combined business will trade under the FRM brand and will be led by Luke Ellis, chief executive of Man Multi-Manager and previously managing director of FRM. Blaine Tomlinson, founder of FRM, will become non-executive chairman of the combined business.The contingent consideration to be paid over three years comprises a maximum of USD82.8 million in cash, net of total net assets acquired (subject to post-closing balance sheet adjustments) and dependent on asset retention a 47.5% share of performance fees attributable to FRM’s existing funds under managementover three years, subject to a cap.The deal is expected to be completed before the end of Q3 2012.

As of the end of December 2011, assets under management at BNP Paribas (Switzerland) totalled CHF37.4bn, down 9%. The bank earned pre-tax profits in 2011 of CHF414m, up 14% year on year. Revenues, however, were down 12% to CHF1bn. Operating profits rose 16% compared with 2010 to a total of CHF428m, due to a reduction in management fees (-3%) and capital gains on the sale of real estate properties.

Swiss Fund Platform, which claims to be the first Swiss independent fund distribution platform aimed at wealth managers, on 21 May announced the launch of its activities. “Wealth managers can consult the trading conditions at any time and rapidly receive detailed reports on their products in order to work with as much transparency as possible. All risks of conflict of interest must be minimised,” says Michael Däppen, Managing Director, in a statement. The platform already has 100 funds issued by 18 providers, including Man Investments, Bank Vontobel, Lombard Odier, Skandia and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise BCV. In addition to these, small investors such as Anaxis and Plenum Investments are also represented.

Assets under management at the Swiss private bank Espirito Santo remained virtually unchanged last year at CHF4.7bn, virtually unchanged compared with the previous year, despite an increase in the number of new clients. Net inflows were hindered by unfavourable evolution of the markets and currencies, and totalled CHF190m, which drove down assets under management by 1.6%. Net profits fell 28% to CHF4.6m, largely due to costs related to credit risks.

The Financial Times reports that Credit Suisse is studying a sale of JO Hambro Investment Management, its private management activity in the United Kingdom. A source familiar with the matter has confirmed that a sale of the business is under study, although no decisions have yet been taken.

EFG International has agreed to sell its entire holding of approximately 10.2 million treasury shares - 7% - to its largest shareholder EFG Bank European Financial Group, a Swiss bank based in Geneva, at a price of CHF 7.43 per share, subject to the prorataclaw-back rights of other eligible shareholders.If EFG Bank European Financial Group acquired all 10.2 million treasury shares, its shareholding would increase to circa 56% vs a current holding of circa 49%."From a business standpoint, this transaction provides a stronger foundation for EFG International to build upon and reinforces its ability to focus on delivering medium term targets through disciplined, profitable growth (....)», according to a press release. «The sale of treasury shares also removes a source of uncertainty and evidences the largest shareholder’s commitment to EFG International and EFG International’s stated objective to remain a leading independent private bank».

A growing number of institutional investors are using ETFs to facilitate their management practices, including liquidity management, according to a study published by Greenwich Associates. The study, sponsored by iShares, finds that a significant number of institutional investors use ETFs to improve the liquidity of their portfolios. “Liquidity has become a governance issue since the outbreak of the financial crisis. Institutional investors have learned their lessons from this period to develop effective liquidity solutions. From this point of view, ETFs can represent a useful tool,” the study finds.

The post-2008 influx of institutional money into hedge funds has resulted in a marked increase in the global industry’s operational sophistication and transparency to investors, according to a new report by KPMG and the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA). The report, entitled “The Evolution of an Industry”, is based on a survey of 150 hedge fund management firms globally with more than USD550bn in combined assets under management. It found that hedge fund management firms have increased their operational infrastructure in areas like investor transparency and regulatory compliance as allocations from institutional investors have increased. Seventy-six per cent of respondents have observed an increase in investment by pension funds since 2008, while institutional investors as a whole, including funds of funds, accounted for a clear majority (57%) of assets under management. The report finds that the increase in institutional investment has led to more thorough due diligence and greater demands by investors for transparency, with 90% of respondents reporting an increased demand for due diligence since 2008. Eighty-four per cent of all respondents indicated they had increased transparency to investors since 2008, which is reflected by the fact that the majority of firms have taken on multiple members of staff to respond to these increased investor demands.

Only a few weeks after SEB Asset Management on 7 May announced the liquidation of the open-ended real estate fund SEB ImmoInvest, the German asset management firm Credit Suisse Asset Management Immobilien announced on 21 May that it was not in a position to satisfy all redemption demands for the CS Euroreal fund (EUR6bn in AUM, like ImmoInvest). The fund will therefore be liquidated by 30 April 2017. The asset management firm will issue payments every 6 months, with the first payment to come in the second half of 2012, along with December dividends at the latest.CSAM Immobilien states that redemption demands for the Euroreal fund (whose redemptions had been frozen for two years) exceeded available liquidity of EUR1.6bn (27% of assets), of which EUR1.25bn came from subscriptions and sales of properties at their market value or higher.

Jay Rosoff has joined Thesis Fund Management, an asset management firm which offers the Thesis Flexible Fund. He will be director of distribution for the product. Until 2010, Rosoff served as national sales manager at Allianz Global Investors in the United States.

BNY Mellon has announced that it has been selected by AdvisorShares to provide it with administration, accounting and custody services on 14 ETF funds in its range, which have total assets of over USD500m.

According to statistics from the CNMV relayed by Cotizalia, Egerton has become the seventh hedge fund management firm to declare a short position, representing more than 0.5% of capital in the Spanish firm Indra. Overall, declared short positions on the shares represent 11.3% of its capital.Other asset management firms with short positions on Indra include Adelphi Capital, Antiopodean Advisors, Eminence Capital. Hoplite Capital. Morton Holdings and Odey AM.