P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The alternative asset management firm Ares Management on 31 March submitted an application for a forthcoming initial public offering, the news agency Reuters reports. This would be the first IPO for an alternative managemnet firm since the arrival of the Carlyle group on the market, two years ago.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The investment boutique Meriten Investment Management, which belongs to the BNY Mellon group, has obtained its AIFM license from BaFin, Fondsprofessionell reports. “An important step” in the growth strategy of the firm, and a “strong signal” to clients about the desire to adapt to new regulatory challenges, Werner Taiber, spokesman for the board at Meriten IM, says. Assets under management at Meriten as of the end of 2013 totalled more than EUR23bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Charles Stanley is continuing its geographical expansion. The British asset management firm on 1 April announced that it is opening a new office in Cardiff, the 34th entity of the group. The British branch is led by Andrew Stansfield, director of the Cardiff office, supported by Gail de’Claire and Richard Disley for investment management. The team also includes Gary Power, head of charity development.

It has been a challenging beginning to the year for Aberdeen Asset Management. The Scottish asset management firm on 1 April reported outflows of GBP3.9bn “accross all asset classes” after the first two months of the 2014 fiscal year. In March alone, Aberdeen estimates its net outflows at GBP200m.As a result, its assets under management are down sharply, to GBP186.5bn as of 28 February, compared with GBP193.76bn as of the end of 2013, down 4%. Aberdeen explains that this negative perofrmance is partly due to the “continued weakness of emerging markets.”In such a context, the asset management firm has announced plans to implement additional measures to reduce costs, some of them tied in with the integration of Scottish Widows Investment Partners (SWIP), an acquisition fully finalised on 31 March, bringing assets under management by the new group to GBP324.5bn as of the end of February 2014. “Conditions on merging markets remain difficult, and we have therefore identified and implemented cost saving measures beyond the expected synergies as part of the acquisition of SWIP,” says Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen AM, without disclosing any figures.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) is recruiting for its team dedicated to coverage for institutional clients in Asia-Pacific, with the appointment of two senior management figures, Asia Asset Management reports. Ken Tam has joined the German asset management firm, from JPMorgan Asset Management, to serve in the newly-created position of head of institutional clients in the «global client group» division for Asia-Pacific ex Japan. His mission will be to promote products and services from DeAWM to institutional clients throughout the region. Meanwhile, Rajan Raju has been appointed as head of intermediaries in the «global client group» team for Asia-Pacific (ex Japan). Raju has been present in the Deutsche Bank group since 2010, and is responsible for setting up sales and distribution strategies to intermediaries throughout the region.

Threadneedle Investments on April 1 announced that it has entered into a promotion and referral agreement with South African investment manager Stanlib to introduce its clients globally to the latter’s Africa strategies. Stanlib will similarly offer African investors access to Threadneedle’s capabilities. The South African fund manager, which manages over USD45 billion for retail and institutional clients, specialises in South African and African investments across all major asset classes including property.The agreement follows the announcement in August 2012, that Stanlib had selected Threadneedle to manage in excess of USD800 million in Global and Emerging Market equity and Global Balanced portfolios as part of its offshore investment range. Today, Threadneedle manages in excess of USD1 billion on behalf of Stanlib.Strategies that Threadneedle will introduce include: Africa ex South Africa Equity, a strategy focusing on investment in Africa’s frontier markets, Global Emerging Market Property and Direct Property investment opportunities. The two partners do not hide that they want to tap the African market. “Collectively, Africa’s economy is around USD2.0 trillion and is expected to reach USD2.6 trillion by 2020,» observes Dylan Evans, head of International Business Development at Stanlib. “The outlook for 2014 is promising, with Africa’s GDP growth expected to grow by around 5.5% in 2014.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Julius Baer is adding to its teams in Southern Europe. The Swiss asset management firm has appointed Carolina Martinez-Caro as its new head for the Iberian market, and also as a member of the board of directors for the Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Martinez-Caro replaces Rafael Zimenez de Embun, who has recently left his job to continue his career outside the firm. Martinez-Caro has 20 years of experience in the industry. She joined Julius Baer in 2013, at the same time as the Madrid-based team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as part of the integration in to the international wealth management division of the US bank, where she had served as head of high net worth clients.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Rathbone Brothers (Rathbones) is making a double play on the British asset management market. The British firm specialised in wealth management on 1 April announced that it has made two acquisitions totalling over GBP57m. Rathbones has spent GBP43.1m to acquire the activity dedicated to private clients and charities at Jupiter Asset Management. The operation will be carried out by Rathbone Investment Management, which will welcome 2 professionals to its team, and which is led by Andrew Clark, head of private clients at Jupiter AM. On 14 March 2014, the private client activity at Jupiter totalled GBP2.1bn in funds under management. Meanwhile, Rathbones has spent GBP14.3m to acquire from Deutsche Bank Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) a part of the wealth management and private client management activities of in London from Tilney Investment Management. The operation is also completed via Rathbone Investment Management, which is preparing to welcome a team composed of 5 professionals from Tilney, led by Jeremy Newman, who is joining Rathbones. As of 21 February 2014, the private client activity at Tilney in London has about GBP700m in assets under management. Through the double acquisition, Rathbones increases its assets under management by 12.7%, to GBP24.8bn on a pro-forma basis, compared with GBP22bn as of the end of December 2013, the wealth management firm has announced in a statement. These transactions are financed via a capital increase of GBP24m, placing 1.343 million new shares with existing institutional investors, at a price of 1.814 pence per share. Rathbones does not appear to want to stop halfway. “We are expecting to see other opportunities for acquisitions in the short or mid-term on private client segment,” says Philip Howell, CEO of Rathbones. “The capital increase will now give us the flexibility to continue to take advantage of similar opportunities which may arise on the market.”

Coutts has hired Sophie Chapuisat as executive director, head of products & services strategy and business management, Europe at Coutts, effective on April 1.In this new role, Sophie Chapuisat will be Geneva-based and report to Norman Villamin and Philipp Ackermann as Co-Heads of Products & Services Europe at Coutts. She will provide senior level strategic support focusing on the effective delivery of Products & Services in Europe.Sophie has 22 years’ financial services experience in Geneva and in New York. She joins Coutts from Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) S.A. where she was Head of the Global Intermediary (LPOA) Business.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Wells Fargo Asset Management is joining the Nordnet distribution platform on the Finnish market, on which 11 sub-funds from the Luxembourg Sicav Worldwide Fund UCITS will now be available to local investors, Investment Europe reports. Among the 11 funds concerned, there are 8 equity vehicles and 2 bond products. “The fund market in Finland is a dynamic industry, and it represents a significant part of our investment and our growth in Europe,” says Ludger Peters, managing director in charge of development for international activities at Wells Fargo AM.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Due to turbulence in Ukraine, funds from Michael Hasenstab, the star bond manager at Franklin Templeton, have seen outflows of USD5.5bn, Financial Times fund management reports. The manager holdd one third of international Ukrainian bonds denominated in US dollars. The Templeton Global Bond fund has seen redemptions of USD3.6bn since the beginning of the year, while Global Total Return has seen outflows of USD1.9bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian financial market authority (Consob) will this autumn launch a portal dedicated to financial education, Bluerating reports, relaying information from Giuseppe D’Agostino, deputy CEO at the regulator. In April, the authority will also launch a training cycle for consumer associations.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bank of America Merrill Lynch has teamed up with Sandell Investment Services, an asset management firm based in New York, to found an alternative UCITS fund, Citywire Global reports. The fund, Merrill Lynch Investment Solutions – Castlerigg Equity Event and Arbitrage UCITS Fund, is launched via the Sandell affiliate Castelrigg Master Investments. It reflects the strategy of a fund managed by the Sandell asset management arm. The fund is registered for sale in France.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The investment service provider SEI has launched a series of tax-efficient ETF strategies aimed at financial advisers facing growing demand for low-cost strategies. The new range includes five strategies with various risk levels, conservative, moderate, market growth, aggressive and equity, which provide a way to better manage the impact of taxation while maintaining the performance/risk characteristics of a given portfolio.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After laborious years, the hedge fund industry in South Korea appears to have taken off, as pension funds and other institutional investors diversify their allocation to alternative management. Assets under management in the sector may double by 2015 to a total of USD5bn, Asian Investor reports, stating that the country has about 24 hedge funds managed by 12 local asset management firms.

Bercy n’aura pas un mais deux patrons. A l’occasion du remaniement ministériel annoncé mercredi matin, Michel Sapin a été nommé ministre des finances et des comptes publics dans la nouvelle équipe dirigée par Manuel Valls, tandis qu’Arnaud Montebourg prendra le portefeuille de l'économie, du redressement productif et du numérique. Dans cette nouvelle configuration, Michel Sapin, ancien ministre du travail, cède ce dossier à François Rebsamen. Bernard Cazeneuve, qui avait pris le ministère du Budget après le séisme de l’affaire Cahuzac, succède à Manuel Valls au ministère de l’Intérieur. Des secrétaires d’Etat doivent encore être nommés.

Morningstar indique que le Total Return Fund du gestionnaire californien a subi en mars une collecte nette négative de 3,1 milliards de dollars. Il s’agit du onzième mois consécutif de retraits nets pour le plus important fonds obligataire au monde, dont les actifs s’élèvent à 232 milliards après 51 milliards de sorties nettes depuis le printemps dernier. En mars, le fonds vedette de Pimco a été devancé par 95% de ses pairs en termes de performance.

En février, la hausse des encours de crédits aux sociétés non financières a atteint + 0,5 % en rythme annuel, après + 0,3% en janvier, selon les statistiques de la Banque de France. La croissance des crédits à l’investissement s’accélère légèrement (+ 2,6 % en février, après + 2,3 %). En revanche, la contraction des crédits de trésorerie s’accentue (-4,7 %, après -4,5 %).

Reuters croit savoir qu’Industrial and Commercial Bank of China envisage de déposer une offre sur le gestionnaire d’actifs Pioneer Investments, propriété de la banque italienne UniCredit. Les actifs sous gestion de Pioneer s’élevaient à fin 2013 à 174 milliards d’euros. UniCredit n’a pas souhaité commenter le mois dernier des rumeurs lui prêtant le souhait de vendre ou de coter sa filiale de gestion. ICBC a démenti l’information.

Michel Sapin est nommé ministre des finances et des comptes publics et Arnaud Montebourg ministre de l'économie, du redressement productif et du numérique

La croissance du secteur manufacturier américain s’est accélérée en mars pour le deuxième mois consécutif grâce à une reprise de la production, malgré un ralentissement des créations d’emplois, montre l’enquête de l’institut ISM publiée lundi. L’indice est ressorti à 53,7 contre 53,2 en février et 54,0 attendu par les économistes interrogés par Reuters. Il reste inférieur à son pic de 57 atteint en novembre dernier, avant l'épisode de grand froid qui a perturbé l’activité outre-Atlantique.

A la suite du protocole d’acquisition signé le 20 décembre 2013 avec les actionnaires de la société, Nexity a finalisé hier l’acquisition du capital d’Oralia, 5e groupe d’administration de biens en France. Fort d’un réseau de 25 agences et de 635 collaborateurs, Oralia gère un portefeuille de plus de 165.000 lots dont environ 31 000 en gestion locative à fin 2013. Hervé Denize, directeur général délégué de Nexity, prend à compter de ce jour la présidence d’Oralia.

TIAA Henderson Real Estate a annoncé mardi son lancement officiel. Issue de l’union de TIAA-CREF (60% du capital) et de Henderson Global Investors (40%), la société gère plus de 16,4 milliards d’euros d’actifs détenus via une cinquantaine de fonds et véhicules dédiés et se consacre uniquement à la gestion d’actifs immobiliers. Cette nouvelle plate-forme rassemble les activités immobilières de TIAA-CREF en Europe et celles de Henderson Global Investors en Europe et en Asie-Pacifique.

Quelque 3,5 milliards d’euros ont été investis en France au premier trimestre 2014, soit une hausse de 13% par rapport à la même période en 2013 dans la moyenne des volumes investis au cours d’un premier trimestre depuis 10 ans, indique Cushman & Wakefield. Le conseil en immobilier relève cependant que cette hausse «s’accompagne d’une très nette diminution du nombre total de transactions», à 53 contre 112 il y a un an. Les opérations d’une valeur inférieure à 50 millions d’euros ont été rares (36 contre 88 au premier trimestre 2013), la hausse des volumes investis étant principalement liée à la signature de grandes transactions, avec 10 opérations supérieures à 100 millions totalisant 2,5 milliards d’euros. Surtout, l’acquisition par le fonds américain Lone Star de l’ensemble Cœur Défense pour 1,3 milliard, comptabilisée sur le trimestre, représente ainsi à elle seule 36% des montants investis.

Le gouvernement allemand et les syndicats ont annoncé hier soir s'être mis d’accord sur une hausse de 3% des salaires pour 2,1 millions d’agents du secteur public cette année et de 2,4% en 2015, ce qui alourdira le budget fédéral de 2,55 milliards d’euros en 2014 et de 2 milliards d’euros supplémentaires l’an prochain.

Le président Barack Obama a annoncé hier soir que 7,1 millions d’Américains avaient souscrit l’assurance-maladie prévue par la réforme de santé qu’il a fait adopter sous son premier mandat. Il a estimé que, même si sa loi de réforme de la santé n’est pas parfaite, ses adversaires devaient cesser leurs efforts pour obtenir son abrogation.

La filiale de gestion du Crédit Agricole achète l'activité obligataire de KAF Fund Management. Elle devient le premier acteur étranger en Malaisie

Une enquête du Boston Consulting Group montre qu'un nombre croissant d'investisseurs considèrent que le niveau de valorisation a atteint un point haut

Ils estiment que le Comité de Bâle ne tient pas assez compte des bonnes performances de beaucoup de classes d'actifs et est parfois incohérent

Dans un rapport publié mardi, un groupe d’experts mandaté par la Commission apprécie les mérites respectifs d’une émission commune et d’un fonds de rédemption