BNY Mellon Investment Management a confié à Michael Jasper le rôle de directeur de l’activité institutionnelle aux Pays-Bas, rapporte Bluerating. Il sera basé à Amsterdam et travaillera sous la responsabilité d’Adrian Gordon, responsable des institutionnels pour la région Europe, Moyen-Orient et Afrique. Auparavant, Michael Jasper officiait chez ING Investment Management où il était depuis 2008 responsable du développement de l’activité institutionnelle et de la gestion des relations avec les clients.

Jeudi 6 mars, à l’occasion de la publication de ses résultats annuels, le groupe espagnol Banca March a fait état d’un bénéfice de 57,8 millions d’euros en 2013, après une perte de 141,8 millions d’euros en 2012. L’établissement financier a, en particulier, connu une bonne dynamique commerciale dans son activité de banque privée et patrimonial avec une croissance de 22,8 % de son chiffre d’affaires pour atteindre 10,4 milliards d’euros. Sa filiale de gestion, March Gestion a enregistré, pour sa part, une progression de 80 % de ses actifs sous gestion pour ressortir à 4 milliards d’euros fin 2013. A horizon 2016, Banca March entend désormais doubler son activité de banque privée et, pour y parvenir, elle souhaite disposer d’un total de 40 bureaux spécialisés, d’une nouvelle plate-forme informatique et mettre en place un plan de recrutement de nouveaux talents.

Cerberus Capital Management va racheter la chaîne de supermarchés Safeway dans une transaction valorisée à environ 9,2 milliards de dollars, rapporte l’agence Bloomberg.

Jean-Marie Catala, directeur du développement chez Groupama AM, a été nommé président de la commission Commercialisation de l’AFG jeudi 6 mars, selon un tweet diffusé sur le site de l’association.

Le fonds d’investissement américain KKR a créé une division spécialisée dans l'énergie, dont la mission sera d’investir dans le marché en plein boom du pétrole et du gaz de schiste en Amérique du nord.Ce fonds est doté de 2 milliards de dollars que KKR a réussi à lever auprès de fonds de pension, de fonds souverains, des compagnies d’assurance, des banques et des investisseurs individuels, précise un communiqué.Baptisé EIGF, ce nouveau fonds a déjà investi 350 millions de dollars dans huit projets, explique KKR. A fin décembre 2013, KKR gérait 94,3 milliards de dollars d’actifs, dont 8,7 milliards de dollars consacrés à l'énergie et aux infrastructures.

Après des années où la déontologie et la réduction des coûts ont tenu le haut du pavé, les banques américaines cherchent de nouveaux relais de croissance. Selon une étude publiée par Fidelity Institutional («Fidelity Bank Wealth Management Study»), les banques veulent notamment développer leurs activités de gestion de fortune. Plus de la moitié des responsables interrogés dans le cadre de cette étude espèrent augmenter les revenus de la gestion de fortune de 25% durant les cinq prochaines années.Plus de 40% des cadres bancaires précisent que la gestion de fortune est déjà devenue ces dernières années un moteur de croissance. Un tiers des banques indiquent que les divisions dédiées à la gestion de fortune ont contribué en moyenne à hauteur de 28% aux revenus de leur établissement. Et, au cours des deux dernières années, la contribution de gestion de fortune s’est accrue de 40%.

La société de gestion A Plus Finance s’apprête à commercialiser le FCPR Transmission Partenaires dont l’objectif est de participer à des opérations de transmission de petites et moyennes entreprises valorisée moins de cinquante millions d’euros. Outre l’alignement des intérêts du repreneur et du financier, l ‘avantage du produit tient dans son allocation qui comprend une partie «equity» et une partie dette. De fait, le FCPR présente l’originalité de procurer un rendement tout en investissant dans des petites entreprises. Par ailleurs, il est éligible au PEA PME.L’objectif de la société de gestion est d’atteindre un premier closing d’une vingtaine de millions d’euros et de cibler un closing final de 35 millions d’euros au terme. La période de commercialisation est d’environ un an et demi. Caractéristiques : Code Isin : FR0011641000 (part A)/FR0011641018 (part I) Valeur de la part : 100 euros Montant minimum à la souscription : 5 000 (part A)/100 000 euros (part I) Eligible au PEA-PME Possibilité de co-investir dans le cadre des parts I dédiés aux family office, etc. Durée du fonds : remboursement à partir de la sixième année (7 ans maximum)

Jusqu’au 18 juillet 2014, Calao Finance, la société de gestion de capital investissement, commercialise un fonds professionnel de capital investissement (FPCI) " Wagon Rendement» dédié à la location de wagons spécialisés en Europe pour le transport des matières premières, sensibles ou dangereuses, nécessaires à l'économie : gaz, produits chimiques, pétrole, etc.En pratique, le Fonds investira dans Wagon Line, société d’exploitation dédiée au dispositif, qui procédera à l’acquisition de nouveaux wagons citernes spécialisés. La gestion opérationnelle (gestion des sillons ferroviaires, relation avec les chargeurs, etc.) est déléguée au groupe français Millet. Le fonds affiche une rentabilité basée sur le modèle de la location longue durée.Caractéristiques : Durée visée de 6 ans (cession du parc sur le marché secondaire) La souscription minimale : 30 000 euros minimum, Eligible au PEA classique et au PEA-PME.Accessible à tous les investisseurs, sous conditions, en passant par le mandat de gestion dédié.

L’encours de convertibles de la société de gestion américaine Wellesley Investment Advisors, spécialiste du secteur, a dépassé la barre des 2 milliards de dollars. La société, dont la clientèle est constituée d’une clientèle haut de gamme, d’institutionnels et de fonds de pension, relève un regain d’intérêt croissant des investisseurs pour les convertibles dans un environnement de taux d’intérêt bas, de marchés boursiers qui ont atteint de nouveaux sommets et d’une recrudescence de la volatilité.

Avec un chiffre d’affaires net de 65,2 millions d’euros, en croissance de 6% par rapport à 2012, la ligne de métier Investment Management au sein de BNP Paribas Real Estate a collecté plus de 800 millions d’euros de « new cash » en 2013, selon un communiqué publié le 6 mars. . En fin d’année, elle gérait près de 18 milliards d’euros d’actifs en Europe, dont 74% pour le compte d’investisseurs institutionnels. Au total, cette ligne de métier compte plus de 100 000 clients. L’acquisition de iii-investments, en Allemagne l’a fait passer en 2013 de la 17ème à la 9ème place européenne.

Un nouveau fonds d’investissement dédié à la e-santé en Europe de l’Ouest a fait son apparition : Extens. Ce dernier investira des tickets de 1 à 7 millions d’euros dans une dizaine de PME réalisant des chiffres d’affaires supérieurs à 1 million d’euros. Le fonds s’intéressera notamment à l’activité des logiciels hospitaliers, l’informatisation des professionnels de santé et les solutions autour du patient connecté à domicile ou en mobilité, avec pour marché cible l’Europe de l’Ouest qui compte près de 1.000 sociétés, dont plus de 200 en France. Créé par Arnaud Houette, ancien président de Capsule Technologie, éditeur français de logiciel hospitalier, et Quentin Jacomet, partner chez Pegasus Development, le fonds prépare un premier closing et vise un objectif final de 50 millions d’euros. La souscription minimale est de 1 millions d’euros.

Amundi Patrimoine est sur une bonne dynamique. Commercialisé depuis mai 2013 dans les réseaux bancaires français partenaires d’Amundi, ce fonds dédié à la clientèle patrimoniale affiche aujourd’hui entre 1,1 milliard et 1,2 milliard d’euros d’encours, a annoncé le 6 mars la société de gestion lors d’une conférence de presse. Lors de son lancement, l’encours d’Amundi Patrimoine – officiellement créé en février 2012 – s’élevait modestement à 112 millions d’euros.Cette forte croissance des actifs sous gestion s’explique en partie par une collecte de 200 millions d’euros sur l’ensemble de l’exercice 2013. Toutefois, l’essentiel des encours provient de l’apport de certains véhicules phares des réseaux bancaires qui ont été fusionnés dans Amundi Patrimoine.

BNP Paribas vient de nommer Stéphanie Sfakianos, responsable de Sustainable Capital Markets. Basée à Londres, elle aura pour mission de conseiller ses clients et répondre à l’intérêt croissant pour les actifs durables de Fixed Income, indique un communiqué qui précise que les marchés de la dette générant un bénéfice social ou environnemental suscitent un intérêt croissant. Ainsi, d’après l’organisation Climate Bonds Initiative, l’encours des obligations liées au climat se montait à 346 milliards de dollars en 2013, contre 174 milliards de dollars environ en 2012. Avant de rejoindre BNP Paribas en 2002 en tant que Head of Liability Management, Stéphanie Sfakianos a occupé plusieurs fonctions dans les activités de Fixed Income pour Deutsche Bank et HSBC.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After Ireland (see Newsmanagers of 4 March 2014), Luxembourg has become the next country to see a rise in applications for AIFM (Alternative Investment Fund Manager) licenses. Citing figures from the local regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), the Luxembourg investment fund association (ALFI) reports that it has received 110 applications, 31 of which have been approved, Funds Europe reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The recovery at Aviva Investors “is likely to take some time,” the parent company of the British asset management firm has announced at a presentation of its annual results. In 2013, activities saw net redemptions of GBP5bn, and assets totalled GBP241bn. In its annual results, Aviva announced that it has discovered evidence of «improper» allocation of trades in fixed income securities by two former employees before 2013. There is a total adverse impact on operating profit from this activity of GBP132m. “Measures to improve controls have been put in place,” Aviva says.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2013, Schroders posted net inflows of GBP7.9bn, down slightly compared with 2012, when inflows totalled GBP9.4bn. However, the British asset management firm has posted record revenues, profits and assets. Its net revenues totalled GBP1.4bn, up 24%, and its pre-tax profits and one-time elements total GBP507.8m, up 41%. Its assets came out to EUR262.9bn, compared with EUR212bn as of the end of 2012. In asset management alone, Schroders posted net inflows of GBP9.4bn, compared with GBP9.7bn in 2012, of which GBP4.6bn are from institutional investors.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After a year in which deontology and cost reduction were at the top of the priority lists, US banks are seeking new areas for growth. According to a study by Fidelity Institutional entitled “Fidelity Bank Wealth Management Study,” banks want to develop their wealth management activities. More than half of heads surveyed as part of the study hope to increase income in wealth management by 25% in the next five years. More than 40% of banking managers say that wealth management has already become a driver of growth in recent years. One third of banks say that their divisions dedicated to wealth management have contributed an average of 28% to revenues at their firms. In the past to years, the contribution of wealth management came to 40%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With net earnings of EUR65.2m, up 6% compared with 2012, the Investment Management profession at BNP Paribas Real Estate brought in EUR800m in new cash in 2013, according to a statement released on 6 March. At the end of the year, it had nearly EUR18bn in assets in Europe, of which 74% were on behalf of institutional investors. Overall, this profession has over 100,000 clients. The acquisition of iii-investments in Germany took it from 17th to 9th place in Europe in 2013.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Convertible assets at the US asset management firm Wellesley Investment Advisors, a specialist in the sector, have topped USD2bn. The firm, whose clients include high net worth private clients, institutionals and pension funds, has seen growing interest in convertibles on the part of investors, in an environment of low interest rates, stock markets reaching new peaks, and rising volatility.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } SCOR Global Life, an affiliate of Scor SE, Swiss Re and Munich Re on 6 March announced that they have concluded a life expectancy policy with the British insurer Aviva. The extended life expectancy risks for these affiliates is transferred to the Aviva retirement regime under the reinsurance contract. The associated liabilities represent GBP5bn, making it the largest longevity swap ever concluded to date on the international market by a retirement regime. The transactions will take effect from 1 January 2014. For Scor, this is the fourth longevity swap signed in the United Kingdom, confirming the solidity of the commercial fund and the large expertise of the group in this growing market. The success in the United Kingdom in extending innoative longevity risk reinsurance solutions by SCOR in the Netherlands in December 2013 follows the path already blazed by SCOR Global Life in the implementation of the OptimalDynamics strategic plan. SCOR plans to double its longevity business volume within four months while maintaining a level of profitability in line with the objectives defined in OptimalDynamics, with a ROE 1000 basis points above the risk-free rate. For its part, Swiss Re has been present in the longevity market since 2007, with several operations in partnership with insurers and pension funds in the private and public sectors. The most recent are longevity contracts signed in 2012 with LV=Employee Pension Scheme for a total of USD1.3bn, and with Akzo Nobel (CPS) Pension Scheme for USD2.2bn. According to Paolo Martin, CEO of SCOR Global Life, “this important longevity transaction is fully in line with the appetite for risk of SCOR and the strategy employed by the Gruop in terms of longevity, and respects the profitability criteria of the Group. It comes only a few months after the signature of the transaction concluded with Aegon in the Netherlands, demonstrating the solid competence of SCOR Global Life in the global longevity market. SCOR is an important actor in this market; we plan to establish new partnerships in order to offer longevity solutions in the months and years to come.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Invesco Perpetual on 6 March confirmed that effective immediately, it has appointed Mark Barnett as head of management for the Invesco Perpetual High Income and Invesco Perpetual Income funds, replacing Neil Woodford. Woodford, who will remain in the position until 29 April, is expected to leave the firm to join Oakley Capital, where he will form a new investment boutique. The change will occur in continuity as Barnett has been working in close collaboration since 15 October 2013 with Woodford, current manager of the funds concerned, to ensure a smooth transition. Barnett, who joined Invesco Perpetual in 1996, began his career in management at Mercury Asset Management in 1992.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNY Mellon Investment Management has granted Michael Jasper the role of director of institutional activities in the Netherlands, Bluerating reports. He will be based in Amsterdam, and will report to Adrian Gordon, head of institutionals for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Jasper had previously served at ING Investment Management, where since 2008 he had been head of development for institutional activities and management of client relationships.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, has said that the rapid take up of technology in developing countries was endangering jobs to such an extent that it was becoming the “black swan of the times,” Financial News reports. The director was speaking on Wednesday at the annual conference of the National Association of Pension Funds in the United Kingdom. Fink added that he expects the term “emerging markets” to cease to have much relevance for investors, as the region is so heterogeneous.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } It is the end of an era at Henderson Global Investors (Henderson GI). After 17 years at the asset mangement firm, Patrick Sumner, head of global property equities since 2004, will be retiring this June.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Inflows to ETPs worldwide totalled USD27.2bn in February, according to initial estimates from BlackRock. Inflows to bonds in particular totalled USD19.6bn, a monthly record, due to outlooks of continued low interest rates and inflation at continuing highly moderate levels. Inflows to Treasury bonds represented USD11.4bn, with the corporate debt and investment grade segments bringing in USD3.6bn, and high yield USD1.4bn. Short maturity funds brought in USD7.4bn. In equities, inflows totalled USD5.8bn, with investors continuing to prefer exposure to developed markets outside the United States. Japanese equity funds attracted USD4.1bn, while pan-European funds drew in USD2.8bn. However, US funds finished the month with outflows of USD0.2bn, and funds dedicated to emerging markets had net outflows totalling USD4.5bn.

Asset inflows and strong developed-market equity returns helped long-term fund assets reach nearly USD23 trillion, up more than USD3 trillion from 2012, according to an an annual report released by Morningstar on 6 March.Although 2013 inflows of USD976 billion are only slightly higher than the previous record set in 2009, their composition is vastly different. Investors have rotated out of fixed-income investments, which garnered the majority of inflows over the last five years, and into equities.Equity funds enjoyed inflows of USD567 billion globally and an organic growth rate of 6%, the fastest since Morningstar began tracking worldwide flow data in 2007. Allocation funds had a strong year with inflows of USD220 billion, driven by double-digit growth in Europe and among cross-border funds.Among equity funds, passive funds continued to gain share in most regions in 2013. This shift has been driven largely by the increasing awareness among investors of the role of cost in investment outcomes. Another growth factor is the adoption of ETFs among advisors in the United States, although ETFs in Europe are having a tougher time making such inroads.Vanguard dominated worldwide flows again in 2013, as it did in 2012. The firm took in USD143 billion and now manages USD2.3 trillion in long-term mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) assets. On the other side of the spectrum, PIMCO, the beneficiary of the long bond bull market, saw outflows of USD29 billion for the year as investors’ fear of rising interest rates prompted a long-anticipated exodus from bond funds. 88% of PIMCO’s mutual fund and ETF assets globally resided in fixed-income products at year end.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The index of European investor sentiment by Invesco reflects a persistent appetite for high-risk asses. 55% of the 100 fund selectors surveyed, encouraged by confidence in the economy, were planning to increase their allocation to European equities in the next 12 months. 54% were planning to invest more in emerging markets, and 34% in the Asia-Pacific region. Bonds are the asset class which investors wish to reduce the most. About 28% are planning to reduce their investments in US Treasury bonds, compared with 21% in the prevoius survey, followed by euro zone government bonds (23%) and US corporate bonds (17%). The survey also finds that 46% of respondents have a favourable opinion of the global economy. “This percentage is lower than the 55% in June 2013, but far higher than the level 18 months ago, when only 17% were confident in the economic environment,” Invesco says.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lloyd George Management (LGM), an affiliate of BMO Global Asset Management, has appointed Thomas Vester as chief investment officer, Asia Asset Management reports. His mission will be to strengthen and co-ordinate investment processes and selection criteria for securities for BMO Global Asset Management across the LGM strategies in Asia and emerging markets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Falcon Investment Advisors, a family office based in Dubai, will be adding to its Singapore teams in order to offer its services to several families. The first step in its development was taken with the recruitment of Mark Prendiville, former director of institutional clients at Julius Baer Singapore. He is specialised in the generation of alpha, Asian Investor states.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The major international banks are approaching their objectives under requirements for tier 1 equity under Basel III, the most recent report by the Basel Committee, released on 6 March, says. In six months, the sums that the major internationally active banks still need to raise to meet their owners’ equity objective of 7% has been reduced by half, according to the report. As of 30 June 2013, the major international banks still needed to raise EUR57.5bn, compared with EUR115bn six months earlier. This total includes surcharges applicable to banks considered to big to fail, which are required to have an additional owners’ equity cushion of 2.5%. To put these sums in perspective, the Basel Committee emphasizes that the sum of profits after taxes, but before distribution of dividends to shareholders, was EUR456bn for the banks studied overall. These figures are based on data collected from a sample of 102 major internationally active banks, the Basel Committee says, on the basis of its regular monitoring of this area.