Jusqu’au 23 mars, LCL lance deux nouveaux fonds à formule dédiés aux particuliers : LCL Triple Horizon (Mars 2012), éligible au compte-titres et au PEA, et LCL Triple Horizon AV (Mars 2012), éligible à l’assurance-vie. D’une durée de trois ans, ces fonds offrent une sortie potentielle par anticipation chaque année en fonction du comportement de l’indice Euro Stoxx 50 (hors dividendes). Si son évolution est positive ou nulle par rapport à son niveau initial, les fonds offrent un gain fixe de 7% à 1 an (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 7%) ou 14% à 2 ans (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 6,77 %) ou 21% à 3 ans (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 6,56 %). En cas de hausse de l’indice de plus de 7%, ce gain est majoré, il passe respectivement à 10 % (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 10 %), 20 % (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 9,54 %) et 30 % (Taux de Rendement Actuariel de 9,14 %). Le capital n’est pas garanti à l'échéance mais protégé jusqu’à une baisse de l’indice de 50% à l’échéance. Au-delà d’une baisse de l’indice de plus de 50% à l’échéance, le capital n’est plus garanti et le porteur supporte une perte en capital équivalente à l’intégralité de la baisse de l’Euro Stoxx 50. Caractéristiques : Code Isin LCL Triple Horizon (Mars 2012) : FR0011162452 / LCL Triple Horizon AV (Mars 2012) : FR0011162445 Frais courants 3% TTC maximum l’an. Frais d’entrée 2,5% maximum pour les souscriptions centralisées jusqu’au 23/03/2012. Pour le fonds éligible à l’assurance vie, les frais sur versements ou d’arbitrages sont ceux applicables aux contrats d’assurance vie dans lesquels l’opération est réalisée Frais de sortie : 0% à l’échéance1% au cours des fenêtres de sorties trimestrielles 3% aux autres dates (2% aux autres dates pour le fonds eligible à l’assurance vie) Frais de tenue de compte 20€ l’an et par compte Valeur liquidative de la part : 100 euros Minimum à la souscription : Minimum de la première souscription

La société de gestion britannique Martin Currie a fusionné les fonds North American Alpha (28 millions de livres d’actifs) et Martin Currie Global (44 millions de livres) dans d’autres fonds afin de moderniser et de simplifier la gamme.Le North American Alpha fund, une stratégie qui n’est plus adaptée à l’environnement, a été intégré dans le Martin Currie North American fund, dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à 418 millions de livres, tandis que le Martin Currie Global fund a été fusionné avec le Global Equity Income fund qui pèse 18 millions de livres et qui offre un potentiel de croissance important, selon Martin Currie.Les actifs sous gestion de Martin Currie s’inscrivaient fin 2011 à 5,5 milliards de livres après avoir culminé à quelque 10 milliards de livres.

Simon Clinch va rejoindre Invesco Perpetual en tant que gérant de fonds actions américaines le mois prochain, sous la direction de Simon Laing, rapporte IPE.com. Il était précédemment gérant chez J Rothshild Capital Management.Invesco a aussi annoncé le recrutement de Rob Barrett, en tant que responsable commercial institutionnel basé à Londres. Il travaillait précédemment chez HSBC Global Asset Management, JP Morgan et UBS.

Newton, filiale de BNY Mellon Asset Management, annonce avoir renforcé son équipe dédiée à la clientèle privée par le recrutement de Clare Huijnen au poste d’investment manager. Elle rejoint la société en provenance de HSBC Private Bank, où elle était membre de l'équipe de conseil en investissement.

L’Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) tisse sa toile. La banque spécialisée dans le private banking vient d’annoncer l’acquisition de Nexar Capital Group (Nexar), société de gestion française dédiée à la gestion alternative créée par Arié Assayag (CEO), Eric Attias (CIO) et Bernard Kalfon (responsable des stratégies de volatilité). Cette transaction, dont les conditions n’ont pas été divulguées et qui reste subordonnée aux approbations réglementaires, va permettre à l’ensemble UBP-Nexar de «bénéficier d’une plateforme élargie, de capacités de distribution globales et de solutions innovantes en matière de placement alternatif», précise un communiqué. En pratique, en disposant de bureaux à Genève, New York, Londres, Paris, Jersey, Tokyo et Hong Kong, le groupe d’investissement alternatif combiné va former une division à part entière au sein de l'établissement qui rapportera directement à Guy de Picciotto, président du comité exécutif de la banque.Pour justifier l’opération, l’UBP s’est dit convaincue du rôle déterminant des fonds de hedge funds pour répondre aux attentes spécifiques de ses clients, via des portefeuilles combinant une gestion active, un contrôle du risque et des services interactifs auprès des investisseurs. La banque souhaite de fait offrir aux investisseurs internationaux des solutions de gestion et des services de conseil en placement.L’UBP qui est dotée d’une gamme diversifiée de services de conseil en hedge funds et gère actuellement plusieurs fonds, ainsi que des mandats personnalisés, dispose de 60,7 milliards de francs suisse d’actifs sous gestion à fin juin 2011. L’an dernier, la banque a racheté la banque privée suisse ABN AMRO Bank (Switzerland) AG qui lui a permis d’accroître sa masse sous gestion de 20%. De son côté, Nexar Capital a acquis en mai 2011 la société de gestion alternative Ermitage Group six mois après le rachat d’ Allianz Alternative Asset Management (AAAm). Nexar, visait alors autour de 10 milliards d’euros d’encours d’ici à 2015, grâce à une combinaison de croissance organique et de rachats opportunistes...

Le 24 février, la CNMV a donné son agrément à un fonds alternatif de droit espagnol lancé le 2 février par March Gestión de Fondos. Le March Patrimonio Renta investit en dépôts à vue ou avec une échéance inférieure à 1 an émis par des établissements de crédit de l’UE ou de pays de l’OCDE, en instruments monétaires cotés ou non, pourvu qu’ils soient liquides et en obligations publiques ou privées. Le risque devise ne pourra dépasser 100 % de l’exposition et l'équipe de gestion a interdiction d’investir dans d’autres fonds. L’exposition maximale du fonds aux actifs sous-jacents ne pourra dépasser 200 % de l’encours et le recours au crédit est plafonné à 10 %.Le March Patrimonio Renta, dont la référence est l’euribor 12 mois plus 50 points de base, offre une liquidité journalière.CaractéristiquesDénomination : March Patrimonio Renta, FILCode Isin : ES0160922003Commission de gestion 0,5 %Commission de banque dépositaire : 0,05 %

Le 29 février, KanAm Grund KAG a annoncé que le fonds immobilier offert au public KanAm grundinvest* va être liquidé d’ici au 31 décembre 2016 et que les porteurs de parts seront remboursés, parce qu’il est désormais évident que les remboursements, gelés depuis près de deux ans, ne pourront pas reprendre comme prévu le 6 mai 2012, faute de liquidités suffisantes pour honorer les demandes prévisibles de rachat.Depuis la suspension des remboursements en mai 2010, le gestionnaire munichois a vendu environ 30 % du portefeuille pour augmenter la liquidté, générant ainsi environ 1 milliard d’euros.Les porteurs de parts percevront dans les prochaines semaines un premier versement de 200 millions d’euros. Les distributions suivantes s’effectueront sur un rythme semestriel en fonction des recettes tirées de la vente des actifs.Actuellement, le portefeuille comporte encore 51 actifs d’une valeur vénale d’environ 6,3 milliards d’euros. Le fonds affiche une performance de 64 % sur les dix années à fin janvier 2012.On se souvient que KanAm a été fin septembre 2010 le premier gestionnaire allemand à décider de liquider un fonds immobilier offert au public, le KanAm US grundivest. Ce fonds doit être liquidé pour le 31 mars 2012. (*) DE 0006791809

Avec le recrutement de Robert Kellermann, directeur des relations consultants chez Pioneer Investments à Munich, Feri Trust pourvoit le poste nouvellement créé de directeur de la clientèle institutionnelle pour l’Allemagne. Il sera chargé de cultiver les relations avec la clientèle existante et de recruter de nouveaux clients.Jürgen Obermann, membre de la direction générale de Feri Trust, rappelle qu’avec la réorientation stratégique du groupe Feri, l’activité de conseil a été séparée de la gestion d’actifs, qui est désormais logée chez Feri Trust et qui propose des solutions multi-classes d’actifs mais aussi du private equity, des hedge funds, de l’immobilier ainsi que de la gestion transversale du risque.Avec sa maison-mère, MLP, le groupe Feri affiche actuellement plus de 20 milliards d’euros d’encours sous gestion ou sous mandat de conseil.

Le britannique Henderson Global Investors a annoncé le 29 février avoir dégagé l’an dernier un bénéfice net de 33,9 millions de livres contre 77,4 millions de livres en 2010. Le résultat avant impôts affiche toutefois une progression de 58% d’une année sur l’autre à 159,2 millions de livres en raison pour l’essentiel de l’acquisition de Gartmore, dont l’acquisition a été bouclée le 4 avril 2011 pour un montant de 365,4 millions de livres, et qui a contribué pour neuf mois au résultat de l’exercice.Les actifs sous gestion affichaient au 31 décembre 2011 une progression de 4% à 64,3 milliards de livres. L’acquisition de Gartmore a contribué à un apport d’actifs sous gestion de 15,7 milliards de livres, qui a toutefois été en partie effacé par des désinvestissements. L’année s’est terminée sur une décollecte nette, surtout au second semestre, de 6,4 milliards de livres, dont 4,7 milliards de livres du côté de la clientèle institutionnelle. L’impact négatif des marchés et des devises a représenté au total 2,7 milliards de livres

The Danish EU presidency has proposed a compromise which would allow national regulators to set the level of additional tier 1 equity required for systemic banks, Les Echos reports. Under the proposals, which are a part of the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board and the Basel Committee, national supervisors would be allowed to increase the base owners’ equity ratio, which has been set at a minimum of 7% under the new Basel III regulations. This compromise, achieved at the initiative of the Danish presidency, may also include an easing of short-term liquidity requirements for banks.

The platform from Merrill Lynch has listed a UCITS-compliant version of the Currency Program from the US asset management firm QFS Asset and Risk Management. The product is the QFS Currency UCITS Fund, which invests with a quantitative process in bonds and currencies on the basis of fundamental data, with the objective of profiting from inefficiencies in conjunctural cycles.CharacteristicsName: QFS Currency UCIFS FundISIN code: LU0690450225Management commission: 2%Performance commission: 20% with high watermarkMinimal subscription: EUR1m

The iShares Dax has become the fund available in Germany with the largest asset volume, Financial Times Deutschland reports. The fund had inflows in 2011 of EUR8bn, at a time when all other funds on sale in the country were undergoing net outflows of nearly EUR25bn. Thanks to the most recent rally on the markets, the fund has reached assets of EUR12.3bn, dethroning the largest open-ended real estate fund, Dekafonds, which had EUR11.5bn in assets as of the end of 2011.

The hedge fund sector underwent outflows of more than USD15bn in January, the largest since January 2009, when redemptions peaked at USD17.7bn, TrimTabs reports in its weekly bulletin.TrimTabs reports that although hedge funds earned 3.1% in January, they nonetheless underperformed the S&P 500 by 110 basis points.

The quarterly publication of corporate results may have a negative impact on management and on the behaviour of shareholders, a report commissioned by the British government on risks related to investment for short-term profits has found, the news agency Reuters reports. The study, whose initial findings were unveiled on Wednesday, was launched after the acquisition of Cadbury by its US rival Kraft Foods last year. Some critics of the deal claimed at the time that it was driven by investors seeking quick profits. A clear majority of professionals surveyed for the study (insurers, shareholders’ associations, pension funds and individual investors) claimed atht the publication of quarterly results and intermediate reports on activities released by businesses were “useless or misleading.” The final conclusions of the study and its recommendations are expected in summer.

The British asset management firm Martin Currie has merged the North American Alpha fund (GBP28m in assets) and Martin Currie Global (GBP44m) into other funds, in order to modernise its fund range. The North American Alpha fund, a strategy which is not well-adapted to the current market environment, will be merged into the Martin Currie North American Fund, whose assets under management total GBP418m, while the Martin Currie Global fund has been merged with the Global Equity Income fund, which has GBP18m in assets, and offers significant potential for growth, Martin Currie says. Assets under management at Martin Currie totalled GBP5.5bn as of the end of 2011, and peaked at about GBP10bn.

Between 8% and 14% of a Swiss bank’s value depends on banking confidentiality, Agefi Switzerland reports. These are the findings of a university study published in the March issue of Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, covering a limited sample of four establishments (UBS, Credit Suisse, Julius Baer and Vontobel). Another finding is that banking confidentiality is mostly not appreciated for taxation reasons, but rather in order to protect individual privacy. The authors, one bank director and two professors in Zurich, find that the value of a management bank may be measured in the absence of banking confidentiality, and the value of confidentiality may be added to this, weighted according to the likelihood that confidentiality will be preserved.

The local Chinese press reports that the Chinese government has in principle authorised foreign hedge funds to raise capital within continental China. The funds will be required to be registered in Shanghai, but will be required to invest outside China, Z-Ben Advisors reports.Asset management firms involved in this activity will be required to apply for a license, and a quota from the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

Proposals by the French socialist party to include life insurance on the income tax scales has provoked questions from insurers, Les Echos reports. Insurers are worried that the move would drive French clients away from long-term savings. “One might worry that inflows might not keep up with costs in the next two to three months. Clients are already in a very cautious attitude at the moment, and they are preferring more precautionary types of savings,” says Bernard Le Bras, executive director of Suravenir (Crédit Mutuel Arkea).

Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has told a Congressional committee that the Volcker rule, part of the larger Dodd-Frank reforms, will probably not come into force at the beginning of July as planned, as a market consultation which ran until the end of February has received about 17,000 comments which will need to be analysed, the Financial Times reports. The Dodd-Frank law gives regulators an option to delay the application of the bill for up to two years.

Since 29 February, three equity ETFs from State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) have been available for trading on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform from Deutsche Börse. The new funds bring the total number of index-based funds listed on XTF to 939.CharacteristicsName: SPDR S&P Euro Dividend Aristocrats ETFISIN code: IE00B5M1WJ87Benchmark index: S&P Euro High Yield Dividend Aristocrats IndexTER: 0.30%Name: SPDR S&P UK Dividend Aristocrats ETFISIN code: IE00B6S2Z822Benchmark index: S&P UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats IndexTER: 0.30%Name: SPDR FTSE UK All Share ETFISIN code: IE00B7452L46Benchmark index: FTSE All-Share IndexTER: 0.30%

According to estimates by VDOS, Spanish funds as of 24 February had assets of slightly over EUR136bn, due to positive performance effects of EUR971m, and net redemptions of EUR504m since the beginning of the month, Funds People reports.

On 24 February, the CNMV issued a license for a Spanish-registered hedge fund launched on 2 February by March Gestión de Fondos. The March Patrimonio Renta invests in sight deposits or bonds maturing in less than 1 year, issued by credit institutions in the EU or OECD countries, public and private money market instruments, so long as they are liquid, and in public and private bonds. Forex risks may not exceed 100% of exposure, and the management team is not allowed to invest in other funds. The maximal exposure of the fund to underlying assets may not exceed 200% of assets, and use of credit is limited to 10%.The March Patrimonio Renta, which is benchmarked against the Euribor 12 month plus 50 basis points, offers daily liquidity.CharacteristicsName: March Patrimonio Renta, FILISIN code: ES0160922003Management commission: 0.5%Depository banking commission: 0.05%

Newton, an affiliate of BNY Mellon Asset Management, has announced that it has added to its team dedicated to private clients, with the recruitment of Clare Huijnen as investment manager. She joins the firm from HSBC Private Bank, where she had been a member of the investment board.

Simon Clinch will be joining Invesco Perpetual as a US equity fund manager next month. He will report to Simon Laing, IPE.com reports. He was previously at J Rothschild Capital Management. Invesco has also announced the recruitment of Rob Barrett as head of institutional sales, based in London. Barrett previously worked at HSBC Global Asset Management, JP Morgan and UBS.

The founder of Neptune, Robin Geffen, has raised questions about plans to move the headquarters of Prudential from London to Hong Kong. According to rumours that Prudential is not denying, the head of Prudential, Tidjane Thiam, is planning to leave London in order to avoid the inconveniences of Solvency II regulations. Geffen claims in a column in the Scotsman newspaper that such a move could legitimately make investors ask questions about the solvency of the group, and particularly about the future of its asset management unit, M&G.“That’s one way for the group to avoid European solvency ratios. Investors would be right to be concerned,” Geffen claims. Neptune holds a stake of less than 3% in the British insurer.

Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), a bank specialised in private banking, has unveiled plans to acquire Nexar Capital Group (Nexar), a French asset management firm dedicated to alternative management, founded by Arié Assayag (CEO), Eric Attias (CIO) and Bernard Kalfon (Head of Volatility Strategies). The transaction, whose terms have not been disclosed, and which is still subject to regulatory approval, will allow the UBP-Nexar ensemble to “benefit from an enlarged platform, global distribution capacities, and innovative alternative investment solutions,” a statement says.With offices in Geneva, New York, London, Paris, Jersey, Tokyo and Hong Kong, the combined alternative investment group will form a division of its own within the establishment, which will report directly to Guy de Picciotto, chairman of the executive board at the bank.UBP explains that the reason for the deal is that it is convinced of the determining role that funds of hedge funds will play in meeting the specific expectations of its clients, via portfolios that combine active management, risk control and interactive services for investors. The bank would like to be able to offer international investors asset management solutions and investment advising services.

As of the end of December, the number of hedge funds worldwide topped 9,800, with launches of new funds still outnumbering closures in 2011 for the second consecutive year, according to the Hedge Funds 2012 report from TheCity UK.As of the end of 2011, total assets in hedge funds came to USD1.902trn, 3% less than one year previously, as net subscriptions of USD70bn were more than offset by a negative performance effect of 4.6%.According to TheCity UK, New York continued to be the largest centre for hedge fund management, with 42% of the global total, compared with more than 50% a decade earlier. The market share in London, at 18%, was slightly lower than at the end of 2010, but doubled in the space of 10 years. In addition, London accounts for 85% of assets managed by hedge funds in Europe, due to its local expertise, the proximity of clients and markets, and the fact that the UK is also a leading centre for hedge fund services such as administration, prime brokerage and custody.

On 28 February, Julius Baer Group had bought back 10.24 million of its own shares, at an average price of CHF34.39, which represents a total of about CHF352m. This concludes the equity buyback program launched on 23 May 2011.The board of directors will propose at the ordinary general shareholders’ meeting to be held on 11 April to cancel the repurchased shares via a capital reduction.

Although its operating profits rose 11% to EUR52.3m, the German financial services provider MLP has posted net profits for 2011 of EUR12.5m (-63%) due to exceptional elements (investment programmes and rationalisation).Earnings at the wealth management business unit (MLP and Feri) were down by EUR0.3m to EUR78.5m, due to turbulence on the financial markets which drove retail investors to stay on the benches. Total earnings at MLP rose 6% to EUR526.7m.The number of advisers as of the end of 2011 was 2,132, down from 2,273 one year earlier. The number of clients, meanwhile, rose to 794,500 from 774,500 twelve months previously.

The Swiss wealth management specialist EFG International on 29 February announced at a presentation of its annual results that it is in negotiations with potential acquirers for all or part of its private banking activities in France, as part of an initiative to refocus its private banking activities. In France, the private management activities of EFG International which will be affected belong to EFG Gestion Privée, the former wealtth management arm of the asset management boutique Sycomore, acquired in 2008. EFG International is also present in France with EFG Asset Management, which has recently announced that it is releasing four sub-funds of its Irish Sicav New Capital in France (see Newsmanagers of 24 January 2012). EFG International is also active in France in the structured products segment. The group has reported a net loss for the 2011 fiscal year of CHF294.1m, due to restructuring costs (CHF46m) and amortisations (CHF223.8m), compared with losses of CHF721.8m in 2010. Assets under management that generate revenues as of the end of 2011 totalled CHF78.4bn, compared with CHF84.8bn as of the end of 2010. Net inflows to ongoing activities totalled CHF0.6bn. Taking into account discontinued activities, EFG has reported capital outflows totalling CHF1.2bn.