Greece, India, China and Thailand are the countries in which pensoin reform is most urgent, according to the 2011 Allianz Global Investors survey of the health of pension systems in 44 countries. In Greece the need for reforms are most pressing, Allianz GI finds in a statement. Despite the reforms initiated as part of austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB), the legal retirement age in Greece remains among the lowest (even though it will soon be raised to 63), and replacement rates are too high. However, the largest challenge which the Greek retirement system is faced with is thee fact that the demographic dependence ratio (the ratio between the active population and the number of pensioners) remains considerably higher than the European average. Meanwhile, Autralia appears to be the best-prepared country, with a public regime based on limited distribution and a system of capitalisation via highly developed pensoin funds, followed by Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand and the Netherlands. The rise in public debt levels and the financial crisis have increased the need to reform pensions in many countries. The findings of the study were significantly affected this year by the rise in sovereign debt in the context of financial crisis, particularly in Greece and Ireland. In Ireland, following the financial crisis and the bank bailouts, sovereign debt levels have exploded in the past three years. Accdording to the study, France is another example of a country where improvements to the system obtained through pension reforms (highly controversial and difficult to make the population accept) were wiped out by a deterioration in public finances related to an increase in sovereign debt levels. The same is true in Spain. However, Norway and Finland have benefited from the relative strength of their public finances.

The UCITS Alternative Index Global gained 1.8% in October, but remains down 2.71% since the beginning of the year, according to data from the index provider Alix Capital. In the month under review, UCITS funds dedicated to emerging markets earned the best returns, while the Ucits Alternative Emerging Markets fund gained 6.12%. However, since the beginning of the year, this strategy has lost 6.2%' Event-driven equity strategies also earned good returns, with gains of 2.16% and 2.07%, respectively. Commodities, which earned a monthly gain of 0.75%, remain the only strategy in positive territory since the beginning of the year, with gains of 0.85%.

In the first nine months of 2011, the Austrian-German asset management firm C-Quadrat has posted net proficts of EUR2.52m, compared with EUR9.34m in the corresponding period of last year. However, management commission revenues increased to EUR33.04m, compared with EUR25.14mn, while performance commissions fell to EUR0.3m from EUR10.29m. As of 30 September, assets under management or administration totalled EUR2.82bn, comapred with EUR3.33bn at the end of December 2010.

John Paulson is preparing to sell USD580m in shares in Delphi Automotive at the firm’s initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reports. The manager holds a 22% stake in the firm via Paulson & Co. He will reduce his stake in the automotive group to 15%.

The French group Groupama has made informal contact with several investors, including foreign reinsurers, Les Echos reports. The investors may subscribe to hybrid securities with no voting rights issued by GroupamaSA. As counterparty, the securities would offer attractive remuneration. In this form, the operation would have the advantage of recapitalising the central organisation, without blunting the effectiveness of the regional banks, which have set Thierry Martel the task of maintaining the group’s independence above all else. Swiss Re, Munich Ré and the US firm Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company for the billionaire Warren Buffett, are some of the avenues that have been explored. Funds may also invest alongside an insurer. The investment under discussion would be about EUR200m for each investor. Meanwhile, the possibility of selling off assets has also been explored, but no decisions have been taken at this time. Groupama declined to comment to the newspaper yesterday.

State Street Global Advisors has announced the appointment of two new sales staff dedicated to ETFs in Paris. Olivier Paquier will now be head of sales for SPDR ETF in France, Spain and Portugal. He joined State Street from Amundi ETF, where he was a product specialist for four years. Eric Geffory, who began his career as head of ETF products at Invesco PowerShare, has been recruited as a salesman for SPDR ETF. State Street currently offers 29 SPDR ETF funds on various European stock markets, including Deutsche Börse, NYSE Euronext, London Stock Exchange, SIX Swiss Exchange and Borsa Italiana.

Alain Zeitouni, former head of multi-management at Barclays Wealth Management in France, who moved to Russell Investments in October, will not be replaced, a spokesperson for the firm has announced. The French team will now report directly to Jaime Arguello, who is director of multi-management and fund selection at Barclays Wealth in London. Overall, between Paris and London, the multi-management team includes 11 people, and manages about 25% of the total assets of Barclays Wealth IM, which total EUR38bn. In Paris, assets were about EUR500m as of the end of June. The London-based team manages a range of funds and mandates which will soon be launched on the French market.

The coverage rate for US pension funds gained 4.7 percentage points in October, to return to 74.8%, according to BNY Mellon Asset Management. This development is largely due to the good performance of the equity markets and the stability of liabilities. BNY Mellon AM reports, nonetheless, that since the beginning of the year, the coverage rate has fallen by 10.3 percentage points.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will soon propose sweeping reforms of money market funds, the Financial Times reports. The regulator is focusing on two options. One would require money market funds to hold capital as buffer against losses. The other would require that funds shift to a floating measure of their net asset value, the newspaper reports.

Investors in the UK may be facing multiple price scales when RDR regulations come into effect, Investment Week reports. At a time when actors are working on various pricing models, differences are emerging between providers and platforms about the best ways to respond to investors’ requirements. It would appear, however, that a trend is emerging in favour of a mobile pricing structure, which would make it possible to charge a premium for high alpha products. Many experts predict that prices will rise at any rate. Total expense ratios may rise from about 1.5% to 2%.

The British asset management firm Royal London Asset Management on 7 November announced the launch of an international government bond fund aimed at institutional clients. The Royal London International Government Bond Fund will invest primarily in government bonds in currencies other than pounds Sterling. It may also invest in investment grade credit, while exposure to foreign currencies is hedged in Sterling. British bonds and money markets are allowed for up to 10% of assets. The fund will be managed by the government bond specialist George Henderson, who is already manager of the Royal London Global Bond Pooled Pension Fund and the Royal London Global Index Linked Fund. The fund aims for gross outperformance of 1.05% per year against the benchmark index, JP Morgan Traded World ex UK Government Bond. Minimal investment is set at GBP100,000, while each additional tranche invested may be no less than GBP50,000. As of the end of September, assets under management at Royal London AM totalled GBP44.2bn.

As the first step towards creating a fortified emerging markets hub in London, Pioneer Investments has announced the appointment of two senior investment professionals with extensive experience in emerging markets. The first of further hires that will be announced, Sean Taylor joins as head of global emerging markets equity and Fabiana Fedeli joins as senior portfolio manager, Asia equity. Sean Taylor, who will head the global emerging market equity team has over 18 years of experience managing emerging market equity funds and has worked in Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Previously, he was investment director at GAM, responsible for managing global emerging and frontier markets funds. Prior to GAM, he was head of global equity at Societe Generale Asset Management UK, where he also headed up the emerging market desk.Fabiana Fedeli, who will play a key role on the Asia equity team, joins from Occam Asset Management LLP, where she was partner and fund manager, co-managing Asia ex- Japan fund. She will report to Angelo Corbetta, Head of Asia Equity, Pioneer Investments. Pioneer Investments currently manages around EUR7 bln assets in this asset class. Over the coming months, the asset management company will continue to recruit talented and experienced individuals and develop new strategies, further boosting its emerging market capabilities. Mauro Ratto, formerly head of investments Europe and Asia, will now dedicate himself fully to leading this new franchise in London as head of emerging markets, responsible for both equity and bond strategies.

In the seven countries that the German firm Feri maintains rankings of asset management firms with more than 25 funds rated that have the highest percentage of funds rated A or B as of 30 September, Threadneedle leads in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Austria, with respective scores of 57.4%, 61.7%, 63.2%, 69%, and 46.7% (see attached table). Fidelity is in second place in three countries: France (51.9%), Italy (57.8%), and Austria (45.5%). Among the management firms with 8 to 24 funds rated, the winner is Janus Group, which does well in virtually all countries. Janus is: first in Sweden (81.3%) and Italy (84.6%), second in the United Kingdom (76.5%) after Royal London (87.5%) and in Austria, after Banque de Luxembourg (73.3%), third in Switzerland (70.6%), after JO Hambro (75%) and Baldifor (73.3%) and in France (64.7%), after Carmignac Gestion (70%) and Financière de l’Echiquier (69.2%), fourth in Germany (70.6%), after First State (87.5%), dje (76.9%), and JO Hambro (75%). Carmignac Gestion, first in France (70%), is in second place in Italy (77.8%), fifth in Germany (66.7%), and sixth in Switzerland (62.5%).

Total assets in Luxembourg funds as of 30 September came to EUR2.032077trn, compared with EUR2.085941trn as of 31 August 2011, a decline of 2.58% in one month. Over twelve months, net asset volumes have fallen by 2.48%. The negative variation in the month of September, which totalled EUR53.864bn, is the result of EUR42.521bn of negative market effects, and EUR11.43bn (-0.54%) of outflows. All equity markets show losses, with funds investing in eastern Europe and Latin America seeing the most unfavourable negative market effects (-11.82% and -11.31%, respectively), and outflows (-2.12% and -2.79%). There is one exception: The OPC category of Japanese equities gained 3.10% due to appreciation of the Japanese currency against the euro of more than 6%. This category also saw a net inflow of 0.64%. For bond funds, products investing internationally saw a negative market effect of 1.22% and outflows of 0.38%. However, bond funds denominated in US dollars saw positive market effects of 3.08% and net inflows of 1.55%.

L'émission du groupe de placement Immeubles commerciaux Suisse de la Fondation de placement Swiss Life a pu être clôturée avec succès, le 25 octobre. Le portefeuille d’immeubles commerciaux suisses d’excellente qualité a suscité un très grand intérêt chez les investisseurs. Des institutions de prévoyance des secteurs tant privés que publics ont effectué des promesses d’investissement pour un volume d’environ 890 millions de francs suisses (720 millions d’euros), allant ainsi clairement au-delà du volume de la première émission qui était de 500 millions de francs suisses (400 millions d’euros). Si cette très forte demande a conduit à des réductions sur certaines des attributions, tous les investisseurs ont cependant pu acquérir des parts de fonds. Grâce à ce groupe de placement, la Fondation de placement Swiss Life poursuit sa croissance. Depuis le début de l’année, elle a doublé ses actifs sous gestion, les faisant passer de 1,2 à 2,4 milliards de francs suisses (1 à 2 milliards d’euros). Elle suit actuellement environ 500 clients institutionnels. Stephan Thaler, gérant de la Fondation de placement Swiss Life: «Ce nouveau groupe de placement nous a permis de compléter de manière idéale notre offre pour les institutions de prévoyance autonomes et semi-autonomes. L’excellente qualité des immeubles, la focalisation géographique sur les endroits les plus dynamiques économiquement ainsi que le savoir-faire réputé de nos spécialistes en immobilier ont convaincu les investisseurs. Nous aspirons à améliorer encore la qualité du groupe de placement sur le long terme par des apports en nature et des acquisitions choisies sur le marché de l’immobilier.»

L’association Finansol a pour mission d’assurer la promotion d’une autre finance. Avec succès : l’encours de l'épargne solidaire s'élève à 3,1 milliards d’euros au début 2011. Lors de la Semaine de la finance solidaire organisée par l’association du 3 au 10 novembre 2011, soixante-dix manifestations - débats, conférences, salons, etc. - se tiennent partout en France. Entre autres initiatives, Finansol et Le Monde remettront les Grands Prix de la finance solidaire à quatre entreprises ou associations ayant développé des projets remarquables par leur utilité sociale (insertion par l’emploi, logement social, etc.). Le choix pour investir Comment prendre part à cette autre finance ? Les produits qui permettent d’investir dans l'économie solidaire sont peu ou prou identiques à ceux de l'économie classique : livrets d'épargne, FCP (fonds communs de placement), épargne salariale, etc. Ces placements présentent des caractéristiques variables en termes de solidarité, de performance financière et de fiscalité. Parmi eux, le FCP Crédit Agricole Solidarité Habitat et Humanisme proposé par Amundi, filiale de gestion d’actifs du Crédit Agricole, se démarque. Solidarité et partage «Il s’agit d’un placement de partage, c’est-à-dire que la moitié des revenus générés par le fonds est reversée à Habitat et Humanisme *, association qui ??uvre en faveur du logement des plus démunis », explique Isabelle Coquelle-Ricq, responsable de l’investissement socialement responsable (ISR) à Amundi. En plus d'être un fonds de partage, ce FCP est aussi solidaire, puisque 10 % des actifs sont investis dans des titres d’entreprises qui privilégient l’insertion et le développement local. En outre, les 90 % restant, qui sont répartis selon un profil prudent - 75% obligations, 15 % actions -, respectent les critères de l’ISR. Trois caractéristiques que l’on retrouve rarement dans un seul et même fonds d’investissement. Habitat et Humanisme bénéficie également du mécénat du Crédit Agricole dans le cadre de son programme Solidarité Logement. source: creditagricole.info / novembre 2011

Le gouvernement limite à 6 milliards la rédution de l'impôt sur le revenu, en dépit du violent trou d'air conjoncturel

L’immobilier est touché par la hausse du taux de TVA, la suppression du Scellier et le recentrage du «prêt à taux zéro +»

Alors que l’eurozone attend des gages d’Athènes et de Rome, elle avance sur la démultiplication de sa capacité d’intervention sur le marché des souverains

Olli Rehn a adressé un «questionnaire» à Silvio Berlusconi concernant la crédibilité de son plan budgétaire et attend une réponse «cette semaine»

Le Fonds a émis au bénéfice de l'Irlande 3 milliards d’euros d’obligations à dix ans au taux mid-swap plus 104 points de base

Le programme de rachat, qui doit commencer ce mois-ci, ciblera plus de titres que celui lancé en 2009

Pour tenir ses engagements de rigueur, il veut récupérer 18,6 milliards d’euros d'ici 2013

Les achats en hausse de la BCE n'ont pas réussi à calmer le stress sur la dette souveraine italienne

Pour tenir ses engagements de rigueur, il veut récupérer 18,6 milliards d’euros d'ici 2013

Le quotidien croit savoir que l’autorité britannique des marchés, la Financial Services Authority, pourrait annoncer aujourd’hui une sanction majeure, de l’ordre de six millions de livres, à l’encontre de Coutts & Co. La branche de banque privée de Royal Bank of Scotland est accusée de n’avoir pas respecté les intérêts de ses clients dans le cadre de la vente de produits d’épargne liés à l’assureur américain AIG.

Les responsables de la BNS ont été obligés de durcir le ton pour faire refluer le franc suisse au-dessus de sa borne haute de 1,24 contre euro

Selon le responsable de l’institut de recherche du ministère du commerce chinois, Huo Jianguo, cité par l’agence, les exportations pourraient connaître une croissance de 18% sur l’année en cours. Huo Jianguo prévient néanmoins que ce niveau ne permettrait pas au niveau de l’excédent commercial en 2011 de dépasser celui de l’année précédente.

L’AMF a approuvé les modifications apportées aux règles de marché de BlueNext intégrant une nouvelle catégorie de participants aux enchères de quotas: les offrants non-membres. Ces participants devront avoir signé un formulaire d’adhésion et avoir été admis par BlueNext à proposer à l’achat ou à la vente des produits.

Le courtier américain a publié deux nouveaux communiqués vendredi et lundi mettant à jour son exposition aux dettes souveraines de pays européens en difficulté afin de rassurer les marchés. Au 4 novembre, son exposition nette totale aux GIPSI était courte de 9 millions de dollars. Après la réduction lundi de 49,5% de son exposition brute via la cession de 1,1 milliard de dollars de positions longues et de 1,1 milliard de positions courtes, son exposition nette était longue de 59 millions. Jefferies précise que ses couvertures n’incluent ni CDS, ni dérivés ni autres produits «exotiques». L’action a gagné 1,4% en clôture à New York.