The Department of Labor had been planning to release new regulations for 401(k) plans on this 31 January, but the regulations will be released “in a few weeks” the Wall Street Journal reports. The rules change will allow millions of employees to make significant savings.The Department of Labor will require plan administrators and asset management firms to disclose the costs of 401(k) plans, which will lead firms to reduce commissions and offer other investing choices. The new transparency regulations will allow businesses to negotiate better conditions, and will allow employees to seek the most cost-effective plans.

The consultancy firm Mercer has acquired Pensjon & Finans, a Norwegian consultant specialised in investment advising to pension funds. Following the acquisition, Espen Kløw, CEO of Pensjon & Finans, will become head of Mercer’s activities in Norway.

The British Man group on 30 January announced that it has signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). There are now 988 signatories to the PRI, of which 126 are in the United Kingdom. “The decision is an illustration of Man’s ongoing engagement with responsible investment. As one of the largest alternative management firms, we how that the signing of the PRI encourages other members of the sector to follow our example,” Man’s CEO, Peter Clarke, says in a statement.

Since the US Federal Reserve has announced that it will be maintaining interest rates at their current low levels for another three years, inflows to emerging market equity and bond funds have reached levels not seen since second quarter 2011. According to statistics released by EPFR Global, equity funds have attracted a net total of USD8.62bn in the week to 25 January, nearly half of which went to emerging market equity funds. Since the beginning of the year, inflows to emerging market equity funds are approaching USd6bn. Bonds, for their part, have posted inflows of slightly over USD6bn, an amount not seen since the beginning of third quarter 2010, Since the beginning of the year, bond funds have seen net inflows of USD20.3bn, compared with USD17.4bn in the corresponding period of 2010. The regain in appetite for risk has also resulted in net inflows of over USD2.5bn for high yield bond funds. Net redemptions from equity funds have fallen to their lowest levels in more than six months. Money market funds finished the week on 25 January with outflows of USD7bn.

The London-based asset management firm Javelin Capital has launched a UCITS-compliant version of its market neutral equity hedge fund on the Sicav platform from Goldman Sachs International, Hedge Week reports. The Javelin Capital Emerging Markets Alpha Fund will seek to replicate the market neutral fund Javelin Capital Global Equity Strategies, whose assets under management total USD32m.

The administration of Jersey has added to its range of funds, with the introduction of a private investment fund, Hedge Week reports. Private investment funds are closed funds, available to a limited number of qualified, professional or institutional investors. The funds may be subject to a fast-track approval process, generally a maximum of three working days.

Legislation and fear of more restrictive standards to come are obstructing the creation of European pension funds, according to a study undertaken by Aon Hewitt in December 2011, covering 60 major businesses operating in Europe, with over 2 million employees. In response to a question about the pertinence of cross-border pension funds, 76% of businesses participating in the study say that they support entities of this type. However, the three major factors which are preventing employers from putting in place cross-border pension funds are perceived cmolpexity of legislation (66%), a lack of clarity about the way in which European legislation is enacted and regulated nationally (48%) and the perceived weight of national regulatory requirements (40%). Another one third of respondents were hesitant to use the Single Brand framework to create additional costs which future regulatory changes may give rise to. The consulting firm, which has recently responded to the second consultation by EIOPA (the European authority for professional insurance and complementary retirement) on revisions to the European IORP directive, opposed the legislative changes, which may increase costs for employers rather than increasing adoption of complementary professional retirement schemes. Kevin Wesbroom, director of the Retirement Risk Mangement department at Aon Hewitt, says that “given the material implications of potential changes described in the EIOPA consultation document, we are concerned at this stage about the lack of a profound cost/benefit analysis of the impact of the changes. The blindfolded transposition of the Solvency II regime planned for the insurance industry will damage availability of professional complementary retirement, and will complicate their management.” René van Leggelo, an expert in international mobility and European pension funds at Aon Hewitt France, concludes that “for the past 18 months, I have seen a growing interest in the French market for optimisation of complementary retirement plans. Some CAC 40 businesses are currently in a feasibility study phase considering potential combinations of their European plans in a single vehicle such as a IORP.”

The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) on 30 January launched a highly-awaited consultation on regulations for UCITS-compliant ETF funds. The ESMA proposals cover both synthetic and physical ETFs, and lay out the requirements under consideration for these UCITS ETFs, index-based UCITS funds, efficient portfolio management techniques, total return swaps, and strategy indices for UCITS funds. In other words, ESMA’s recommendations are not limited to ETF funds, and also cover total return swaps, for which ESMA is planning additional requirements in relation to collateral, and UCITS funds investing in strategy indices, for which the eligibility requirements have been made stricter. According to the ESMA president, Steven Maijoor, “the objective with these recommendations is to improve investor protection and limit risks related to some practices by strengthening the applicable standards for collateral received, for example, in the context of securities lending activities. The recommendations also aim to improve the quality of information provided to investors, in order to allow them to take informed investment decisions. For UCITS-compliant ETF funds, ESMA is proposing the required use of an identifier for all funds, which would be included in the definition of UCITS-compliant products. Investors would be required to obtain additional information when a UCITS-compliant ETF fund is actively managed and does not replicate an index. The consultation also extends to the contents of the regime to be put in place for investors in the secondary market, including ways to sell these shares. In the chapter on securities lending, ESMA proposes that the collateral used to reduce counterparty risks should comply with the criteria put in place by the CESR, and recommends that haircut and diversification criteria also be strengthened. ESMA also insists on the need to improve regulation of complex products on sale to retail clients. “The recommendations make it possible to treat problems related to an increase in the number of complex products on sale to retail investors, and will contribute to regulatory convergence for these products,” says Maijoor. The consultation is open until 30 March. The final text of the recommendations will be completed by mid-2012.

The British Treasury is putting pressure on the US administration to make changes to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) for limited liability companies, Investment Week reports. Under FATCA legislation, non-American financial establishments from 2012 will be required to sign agreements with the US tax authorities, to disclose all pertinent information about financial accounts of clients identified as US clients. Any institution which refused to sign such an agreement with the US tax authorities would face a 30% withholding of their US revenues. As a subsequent draft of the legislation is awaited from the US administration, British sources say that the passage of the law would cause considerable problems. US authorities are reportedly not opposed to a “country-by-country” solution.

According to the CSSF, assets in Luxembourg-registered collective investment organisms and specialised investment funds totalled EUR2.0965trn as of 31 December last year, an increase of 1.80% compared with the previous month. Positive variation totalled EUR37.093bn, due to market effects of EUR40.577bn (+1.97%), and net subscriptions totalling -EUR3.484bn (-0.17%). For the year, the total volume of assets in Luxembourg-registered funds fell by 4.66%.

The three sub-funds of the Luxembourg Sicav LO Funds, EMEA (USD31.1m as of 6 December), Pacific Rim (USD44.3m) and Greater China (USD29.9m), will be merged into the single product LO Funds – Global Emerging Markets, which will be renamed at LO Funds – Emerging Equity Risk Parity (EUR38.76m as of the end of November).The deal was decided on by the board of directors at Lombard Odier Funds, as assets in the three funds taken over by the Emerging Equity Risk Parity funds have fallen below the legal minimum of USD50m in assets, and their management objectives, investment policies and investment universes are ultimately similar. The merger will bring economies of scale and a rationalisation of the product range from Lombard Odier.The Emerging Equity Risk Parity fund will invest at least two thirds of its portfolio in equities from companies headquartered in an emerging country or which realise the majority of their activities there, according to the criteria of the MSCI Emerging Market Index. The remaining one third of assets may be invested in shares in companies which do not satisfy these criteria, and allocation to convertible bonds may not exceed 10%.

Odette Cesari, directeur des investissements d’Axa France dans un article paru dans l’Agefi Hebdo numéro 308: Les investissements en obligations restent principalement effectués en OAT, le poids du Portugal, de la Grèce et de l’Irlande représentant moins de 1 % des actifs. Cependant, il ne faut pas assimiler tous les pays PIIGS (Portugal, Irlande, Italie, Grèce et Espagne, NDLR) qui connaissent chacun des situations bien différentes. Cette année et les suivantes, la gestion actif/passif est plus que jamais au c??ur de nos préoccupations : la duration du portefeuille est gérée en adéquation avec celle du passif, actuellement de 7 ans.

Confiante au regard de sa gestion financière de l’année 2011, la Caisse Régionale du Crédit Agricole du Nord-Est souhaite garder la même ligne de conduite. Sa trésorière, Corinne Chilain, confirme : « Nous attendons toujours d'élargir notre horizon de placement pour adapter notre stratégie ». Au c??ur de ses préoccupations, la gestion de la liquidité et des risques des 700 millions d’encours de la caisse. Avec un portefeuille obligataire pour 80 % des actifs, la performance est peu importante et la direction financière préfère jouer la carte de la prudence avant de lancer de nouveaux investissements. « Nous réfléchissions à investir sur des OATs et des covered bonds, c’est toujours à l'étude » précise Corinne Chilain qui garde un ??il sur certaines classes d’actifs en attendant le bon moment pour remanier le portefeuille. Travaillant principalement avec Amundi, la trésorière n’exclue pas de faire appel à d’autres partenaires externes : « peut-être qu’au deuxième semestre, nous seront plus à même de lancer de nouveaux investissements », et confiera alors à nouveau une partie de la gestion à la Société Générale, BNP et Natixis, gérants avec lesquels la caisse travaille habituellement.

Selon efinancialnews.com, le pôle de gestion d’Aviva prévoit de supprimer la plupart de ses postes dans le trading actions à Londres au profit du fixed income, de l’immobilier et des fonds multi-actifs. Le coût final en termes de postes pourrait se chiffrer à 160.

Kweku Adoboli, poursuivi pour des transactions non autorisées qui se sont soldées en septembre par une perte de 2,3 milliards de dollars, a plaidé hier non coupable devant la justice britannique. L’ancien trader est en détention depuis septembre et risque jusqu'à dix ans de prison. Il était directeur des fonds indiciels d’UBS à Londres.

Après avoir déjà tenté il y a plusieurs années de dénicher un acquéreur, le distributeur américain de pièces automobiles va être racheté par le fonds de private equity pour 791 millions de dollars en numéraire. Fondé en 1921, Pep Boys, qui fait également de la réparation, compte plus de 7.000 centres de services aux Etats-Unis et à Porto Rico.

Le renforcement du contrôle sur la Grèce a fait l’objet de discussions en marge de la rencontre entre chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement hier à Bruxelles

La taxe sur les transactions financières et la hausse de la fiscalité des revenus du capital sont préjudiciables à l'activité du marché actions

Le pacte fiscal sera signé le 1er mars par 25 pays. Nicolas Sarkozy s’est félicité du «travail de clarification» réalisé hier à Bruxelles

Les nouvelles règles du secteur mettent l'accent sur la transparence, sans stigmatiser les ETF synthétiques

Les nouvelles règles du secteur mettent l'accent sur la transparence, sans stigmatiser les ETF synthétiques

Le rapprochement de Skandia Retail Europe et Old Mutual Wealth Management Continental Europe s'explique aussi par les attentes des clients

Après la nouvelle hausse de la CSG, le taux global d’imposition sur les intérêts atteindra 39,5% en France contre 26,4% outre-Rhin

Le panel d'appel a confirmé un jugement de première instance rendu en juillet. Les Etats-Unis et l'Union européenne crient victoire

Malgré un rebond de la production industrielle de 4% en décembre, la force du yen inquiète les autorités. Il a grimpé à 76,19 contre dollar

Mi-juin 2010, à la demande de l’AFG et pour étayer les discussions qui avaient alors lieu au sein du Haut Comité de Place, nous avions réalisé une étude sur le marché français de la gestion alternative. En ce début d’année 2012, il nous a semblé opportun de faire un point sur les évolutions qui ont marqué les derniers mois.

Dans quel univers financier la pratique du traitement du signal trouve-t-elle une application intéressante ?

Titre original : Constant Proportion Portfolio Insurance in presence of Jumps in Asset Prices

L’Autorité européenne des marchés (Esma) a publié lundi matin une consultation visant à encadrer davantage les exchange-traded funds (ETF) sous format Ucits, mais aussi d’autres produits Ucits utilisant des techniques de réplication d’indices et de total return swaps. L’Autorité s’est refusé à trancher le débat entre ETF physique et synthétiques et à classer ces derniers dans la catégorie des produits complexes. Elle propose plutôt de créer un label ETF, et d’introduire davantage de transparence vis-à-vis des investisseurs pour des pratiques telles que le prêt de titres. La consultation est ouverte jusqu’au 30 mars, pour une application attendue mi-2012.

Le Trésor italien a adjugé 7,48 milliards d’euros de dette sur des échéances de quatre, cinq et dix ans, avec des rendements au plus bas depuis octobre malgré le déclassement de la note de crédit du pays annoncée vendredi par Fitch. Rome espérait initialement lever entre 5,5 milliards et huit milliards d’euros. Le Trésor a levé 3,574 milliards d’euros à échéance mai 2017, avec un rendement moyen en baisse, à 5,39% contre 6,47% lors de la précédente adjudication de ce type intervenue mi-décembre. Le ratio de couverture ressort à 1,297. Sur l'échéance mars 2022, Rome a adjugé deux milliards d’euros de titres à un rendement de 6,08% (contre 6,98% précédemment). La demande a représenté 1,416 fois l’offre. Le Trésor a également placé des obligations à échéance 2016. Dans la foulée de ces opérations, le rendement des obligations italiennes à dix ans augmentait de 25 points de base, à 6,2%.