Standard Life Investments has teamed up with Swedish banking group Länsförsäkringar to distribute its GARS fund to investors in Sweden.The fund will be available to the Swedish retail marketplace through Länsförsäkringar’s unit linked platform. Länsförsäkringar is Sweden’s only customer-owned and locally based banking and insurance group.

The global network of UBS, including professional areas such as wealth management, Swiss banking, global asset management and investment banking, will now be supplied with environmental, social and governance (ESG) data by RepRisk, and the data will also be integrated into the compliance database at the banking group, particularly for “controversial” businesses.This will allow the bank to improve risk management and control new, onboarding, clients and investments, as well as to undertake due diligence on transactions. UBS has pledged not to provide financial services and not to use any provider whose primary activities or revenues may carry risks related to environmental and social issues.

Valiant bank has lost several executives from its Bern offices in the past few months in investment advising, Agefi Switzerland reports. Four directors and a client adviser in this segment, who had joined the Private Banking department, have left to join competitors. The style of management of the head of private banking and board member Martin Gafner is said to be the cause.

The institutional asset management firm specialised in convertible bonds, Fisch Asset Managemnt, on 24 January announced a net inflow of CHF900m for 2011. Assets under management have increased by about 20%, to a record level fo CHF5.2bn, despite a strong appreciation in the franc against the euro and US dollar in particular.The firm ,which mostly serves institutional clients in German-speaking countries, now has 49 employees, following the recruitment of several convertibles specialists. Fisch AM also states that it has improved its client reporting.

Assets under management in Swiss investment funds as of the end of December 2011 totalled about CHF621bn, up by slightly over CHF4bn compared with the end of November, according to statistics from the Swiss Funds Association.Net inflows in December totalled CHF923.2m. The “other funds” category, which includes commodities funds, funds of hedge funds and private equity funds, attracted slightly over CHF1bn. Equity funds posted net inflows of CHF244m, while bond and money market funds saw redemptions totalled CHF76.3m and CHF81.4m, respectively. Asset diversification funds finished the month with net outflows of CHF174.2m.

On 26 January, about 90,000 shareholders in DEGI Europa (ISIN code: DE0009807800) will receive a third payment as part of the liquidation of the open-ended real estate fund, announced on 22 October 2010, Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland has announced. The distribution this time will be EUR3 per share, which represents a total of EUR78.6m, or 8.5% of remaining assets of EUR921.9m as of 31 December.The fund had already paid out EUR9.70 per share on 24 January 2011, and EUR1.85 on 25 July 2011. The next distribution will take place in July 2012, and its amount will depend on the liquidity generated from sales of properties. The final liquidation of the fund is scheduled for 30 September 2013.

The alternative management specialist boutique Hermes BPK Partners has launched a managed futures fund, Alpha Vault Managed Futures, whose assets under management already total USD275m, Hedge Week reports. The solution provides protection for institutional investors in periods of high market turbulence, via investments concentrated in mid-term CTA. Assets under management at Hermes BPK Partners, which is also a fund of hedge fund manager, total over USD2.3bn.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the Blackstone Group has received investment commitments totalling over USD6bn for its new real estate fund Blacksone Real Estate Partners VII, which will invest most of its portfolio in distressed assets, the Financial Times reports. Fundraising began last spring, and the closing will come later this year.The previous fund, Real Estate Patners CI, closed in 2008, raised USD10.9bn. Tony James, chairman of Blackstone, has said in the past that he expects REP VII to be at least as large as its predecessor.

The German asset management firm Sauren Fonds Service (EUR2.1bn in assets under management) has announced that it has added a share class to its Sauren Global Defensiv fund of funds (EUR1.24bn), launched in February 2003, that pays 3% annually. The Global Defensiv is a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Sauren Fonds-Select. Subscriptions for the new 3F share class (ISIN LU0731594668) will be open from 9 to 28 February 2012. Front-end fees are 3%, and the management commission is 0.45%, while sales commission is 0.35%.Sauren will charge a 10% commission on performance exceeding the annual 3%.

With Pimco Deutschland GmbH, which was entered on the commercial register on 7 December 2011, the US firm Pimco (Allianz Global Investors group) has created a German-registered affiliate, based in Munich, with assets of about EUR200bn, led by Craig Dawson and Andrew Bosomworth.The new asset management firm has been licensed by BaFin to sell products aimed exclusively at professional investors.As of the end of November, the Irish-domiciled Pimco Europe managed EUR42.74bn in Germany in open-ended funds.

The CEO of Raymond James, Paul Reilly, has confirmed that Richard K. Riess, executive vice president of asset management a the group, CEO of Eagle Asset Mangement and chairman of the board of trustees for the Eagle fund range, will be retiring on 31 December 2012. Riess, who has spent over 35 years at the firm, will continue to work on some projects alongside Reilly, a statement says. Raymond James has confirmed that it is currently seeking a replacement for Riess.

In Paris, JP Morgan Asset Managment finished the year 2011 on a very positive note from the point of view of assets, with about USD6bn.As at many other asset management firms, retail assets suffered from outflows while institutional clients continued to make net subscriptions.The surprise came from corporate clients, who invested USD2.5bn in new money in money market funds. These may be less profitable products for the manager, but it opens the door to sales staff, who may take advantage of the opportunity to win over new clients.

Axa Investment Managers has appointed Beltina Ducat as head of distribution for the southern European region (France, Italy, Spain) and the Middle East. She succeeds Joseph Pinto, who has been recently appointed as head of the Markets and Investment Strategy department and to the board at the asset management firm. Ducat will be based in Paris, and will report to John Baillie, director for global distribution and a member of the board at AXA IM; she will also join the executive board at the firm. Since 2009, Ducat had been head of the Distribution via Banking Groups team at Axa IM; she joined the firm in 2006. She had previously been a consultant and strategist at Accenture (2001-2006).

Yam Invest has announced the appointment of Pierre Coloin as CEO and board member at the group. Before joining the investment firm, Colin served as chairman of Bank of America Merrill Lynch for France. Via its affiliates Time Investors, Helse and Yareal International, Yam Invest is specialised in investments in mid-sized European businesses, particularly in the health and real estate sectors. The firm’s tier 1 equity totals over EUR350m, a statement says.

Marc Tournier has left Tocqueville Finance, confirming an information which had leaked in the press late last year (see Newsmanagers of 23 December 2011). The star manager of the Ulysse fund is no longer employed by the asset management firm, where he had been deputy CEO, and is also no longer a shareholder. At the end of the negotiations which have taken place over the past several days, the Banque Postale has acquired the 15% stake in the capital in Tocqueville that had been held by Tournier. The firm now controls 90% of the company. The sale price for the stake has not been disclosed.The departure of Tournier comes shortly after the sanctions commission of the French financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), in early December issued a sanction against Tocqueville Finance. This included a fine of EUR250,000 for the fund manager and EUR150,000 for the asset management firm, for price manipulation of shares in the rental car business Ada (see Newsmanagers of 5 December 2011). This event is not said to have been the reason for the fund manager’s departure. Bruno Julien, CEO of the asset management firm, tells Newsmanagers that it “was a personal decision on which we have no comment.” Julien also says that Tocqueville Finance has no intention at this time to appeal the AMF’s verdict. Tournier may yet appeal the decision in a personal capacity.In now appears that the graft of a manager known as a firebrand and free spirit to La Banque Postale, which invested in the capital of Tocqueville Finance in 2009, never took root. The arrival of the partner firm in the capital of the asset management firm, however, helped to reassure clients of the asset management firm and cemented its position in the competitive independent financial adviser market. For its part, the firm contributed a value management style, which the group had not previously had, and a “flagship” manager. “The increased stake in the capital of Tocqueville Capital is a successful integration.” says La Banque Postale. “Following the departure of Tournier, the ADN for active management at Tocqueville Finance, the firm he founded, will remain unchanged,” says Julien.In practice, the departure of Tournier will lead to changes in the management of funds: the man who had been co-manager of the Ulysse and Odyssée funds with Didier Roman will be replaced by Jacques Burlot, head of collective management, who is already manager of the Tocqueville Dividende fund, another heavyweight in the range, with EUR318.1m in assets as of the end of 2011, compared with EUR354.3m for the Ulysse fund, and Tocqueville Olympe Patrimoine.“Our organisation allows managers to continue to realise our value management philosophy with complete independence,” says Julien. “The solid shareholder which is La Banque Postale allows us to plan for the forthcoming development of our management teams and fund launches, while continuing to work to meet client expectations.”

The German asset management firm Deka Immobilien has acquired the Edinburgh One office building (5,100 square metres) from Friends Provident Life Assurance for EUR28m. The property, located in Edinburgh, is wholly leased to Scottish Widows, and will be added to the portfolio of an institutional real estate fund.

The 875 hedge funds identified by the German firm Absolute Research in 2011 posted an average loss of 4.5%, while the Dax and EuroStoxx 50 indices lost 13% and 15%, respectively. They also lost less than offshore hedge funds.As of the end of December, UCITS-compliant hedge funds had assets of about EUR118bn, which represents an increase of 25% year on year. The largest strategies were fixed-income (EUR40bn), equities and multi-asset classes, with about EUR30bn each.Overall, about 30% of UCITS-compliant hedge funds earned gains last year; the best-performing product in this universe, the Credit Suisse Custom Markets Global Carry Selector, is a volatility fund which earned returns of 40.82%. The best in the equity class was the long/short fund C-Quadrat IQ European Equity ETF, with 19.12%.At the other end of the spectrum, only 10% of these funds underperformed the Dax or Euro Stoxx 50 indices, with the worst result going to the Huserinvest New Horizon (L/S Equity), with losses of 53%.

Investment professionals estimate that a joint euro-bond issue could ease the euro zone crisis, so long as the issue is accompanied by a series of structural reforms, fiscal integration, and a solid joint governance framework.According to a survey by CFA of its European members, including in Switzerland, the majority of respondents estimate that a joint euro-bond issue from euro zone member countries would make it possible to reduce the size of the sovereign debt crisis (55%), strengthen financial stability in the euro zone (52%), and facilitate the transmission of monetary policy in the euro zone (56%).As to the structure of the euro-bond issue, 64% of CFA Institute members claim that a joint and solidaristic guarantee from participating governments would be the most effective. 64% of members are in favour of the euro-bond issue being only a partial substitute for national bond issues: part of the financing needs for governments would thus be covered by these euro-bonds, while the remainder would be provided by national government bonds.The survey finds, however, that a moral hazard in certain member countries that may lack budgetary discipline, with limited involvement in the cost of financing, is an enormous source of concern to members of the CFA Institute.As a result, some elements appear to be essential preconditions for a euro-bond issue, including strengthened economic, financial and political integration of member states (which is considered essential by 86% of CFA Institute members), increased and intrusive surveillance of, and the elaboration and introduction of national fiscal policies (essential according to 88% of members), and lastly, limited access to euro-bonds for member states that do not comply with the governance framework of the euro zone (which is favoured by 90% of respondents).

With the DB Platinum Omega Fund (ISIN LU0712203206), Deutsche Bank is releasing a UCITS-compliant version of the long/short fund Omega Overseas Partners Fund, which will invest with a long bias in US large and small caps, but which may also adopt positions on bonds, commodities and currencies. The fund carries a management commission of 1.50%, and a performance commission of 20% with high watermark.

La Mutuelle Générale Environnement et Territoires (MGET) est passée d’un modèle de gestion interne des actifs en tenant compte des différentes strates de passifs, à une gestion discrétionnaire externe sous mandat pour la quasi totalité des encours (170 millions d’euros). La MGET conserve la gestion de sa trésorerie courante et a délégué la gestion de ses fonds propres et de ses engagements réglementés à EGAMO. La gestion de trésorerie est réalisée grâce à des OPCVM monétaires mais aussi avec l’utilisation de comptes sur livret et papiers bancaires. La MGET a confié à EGAMO une politique financière à respecter avec des bornes mini et maxi par classe d’actifs. Il appartient à EGAMO de respecter ces bornes et d’assumer la tactique en fonction des conditions de marché. Le fait d’avoir une société de gestion dédiée offre plusieurs avantages à la MGET, notamment la possibilité de percevoir des rétrocessions sur les frais de gestion et d’avoir accès à des conditions préférentielles aux marchés obligataires. De plus, dans le cadre de l'étude QIS5, les fonds propres de la MGET étaient largement suffisant pour couvrir le SCR et autorisaient même à prendre un peu plus de risque marché et particulièrement actions pour pouvoir booster les rendements. Actuellement la proportion d’actions est d’environ 5%, dont l’essentiel est investi en parts ou actions de sociétés partenaires de la MGET comme la CNP ou la Banque Fédérale Mutualiste (pour le non coté). Outre une ligne importante d’actions en direct, la MGET a recours aux OPCVM ouverts.

« Bâle III reste au c??ur des préoccupations du Crédit Agricole Nord Midi Pyrénées » affirme une source proche des décisions financières de la caisse régionale. La stratégie financière de la structure a été mutualisée avec la caisse régionale de Toulouse et l’allocation d’actifs est revue ce mois-ci pour harmoniser les placements et faciliter la gestion. Les problématiques des caisses régionales sont très distinctes de celles de la maison-mère. Avec les spécificités de gestion de la caisse de Toulouse, il faut s’attendre à des modifications de placement confirme notre source, rappelant au passage le souci de protéger les 5 millions de provisions et les 750 millions d’euros de fonds propres détenus par la caisse début 2011. Au cours de l’année 2011, la priorité avait été de diminuer la part des actifs les plus risqués. En 2012, l’exposition aux obligations limitées au simple A devrait passer de 70 % à 60 %, la caisse régionale privilégiant les deux fonds dédiés gérés par Amundi et Baltard Finance et Patrimoine. La caisse régionale se concentre aussi sur les mécanismes de soutien de la maison-mère, le Crédit agricole S.A., qui met actuellement en place de nouveaux montages financiers destinés à remplacer les avances en fonds propres et à respecter le ratio de solvabilité exigé par Bâle III.

L’exclusion normative consiste à éliminer des investissements les entreprises les plus controversées pour violation de normes sociales ou environnementales internationales. Afin d'évaluer le degré d’avancement de ces pratiques Novethic a analysé les dispositions prises par un panel d’une trentaine d’investisseurs français et nord-européens, elles se développent progressivement en France, mais concernent un nombre très limité d’entreprises... Lire la suite: cliquez ici

Dans son discours sur l’état de l’Union prononcé cette nuit, le président américain a appelé à un montant de taxe minimum de 30% sur les revenus excédant un million de dollars par an. Parallèlement, il a indiqué qu’il comptait envoyer au Congrès une proposition «qui donnera à chaque propriétaire responsable la chance d’économiser 3.000 dollars par an sur ses créances hypothécaires, en les refinançant à des taux historiquement bas». Une proposition qui sera financée par les banques.

«Au moins à court terme, il y a un risque que de nouveaux entrants viennent en offrant des notes plus élevées ou des prix plus bas », redoute Verena Ross, directeur exécutif de l’Autorité européenne des marchés (Esma), en réaction au projet de libéralisation du secteur présente en novembre. Finance Watch a fait de son côté des propositions, souhaitant notamment que toutes les références externes à des notes de crédit soient systématiquement supprimées des règlements ou directives existants.

A l’occasion de la mise à jour de son code de gouvernement, l’Association française de la gestion financière souhaite que les administrateurs informent préalablement le conseil avant d’accepter d’autres mandats (5 maximum), les dirigeants mandataires sociaux devant même lui demander une autorisation préalable (2 mandats extérieurs maximum). Les administrateurs doivent également inscrire leur action «dans le respect des règles déontologiques» et diffuser ces principes. Pour l’AFG, le recours aux censeurs doit être «exceptionnel» et «faire l’objet de justifications précises à l’égard des actionnaires». Par ailleurs, l’Association souhaite la publication in extenso du rapport spécial des commissaires aux comptes sur les conventions réglementées dans le rapport annuel. Un sujet sur lequel le groupe de travail de l’AMF sur les AG devrait prochainement se prononcer. Enfin, l’AFG encourage les émetteurs à proposer à leurs actionnaires le vote électronique.

L’économie japonaise a enregistré en 2011 son premier déficit du commerce extérieur depuis 1980 de 2.490 milliards de yens (24,5 milliards d’euros), selon le ministre du commerce. Les exportations ont chuté de 8% sur le mois de décembre. Le yen chutait de 0,4% contre dollar à 77,96 suite à l’annonce.

La banque centrale a baissé hier le ratio des réserves de trésorerie de 6% à 5,5% et ouvert la porte à une baisse future des taux directeurs

Président des Trustees de la Fondation IFRS depuis le début de l'année, Michel Prada dévoile à L'Agefi ses priorités

Les professionnels regrettent le manque de liquidité de certains titres et appellent à accroître la transparence des produits

Le pays a émis 4,75 milliards de livres à 50 ans hier. La Banque d'Angleterre doit décider en février si elle étend son programme de rachats de Gilts