L’autorité des marchés financiers en Australie, la Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), a accepté un règlement à l’amiable avec BNP Paribas dans le cadre d’une potentielle tentative de manipulation d’un taux interbancaire local, en l’occurrence le Australian Bank Bill Swap Rate (BBSW). Dans un communiqué, l’ASIC annonce que la banque française a convenu de verser volontairement 1 million de dollars australiens en faveur de projets d’éducation financière dans le pays. En novembre 2012, BNP Paribas a en effet signalé au régulateur australien avoir découvert des comportements de certains traders basés à Singapour qui, entre 2007 et 2010, auraient tentés d’influencer les soumissions de taux sur cet indice de swap BBSW. A la demande de l’ASIC, BNP Paribas a alors engagé un expert indépendant qui a conclu que ces agissements n’avaient pas eu d’impact «significatif» sur le marché. Les enquêtes de l’ASIC concernant les processus de soumission du BBSW sont toujours en cours.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Luxembourg-based asset management firm Sparinvest has decided to merge its European equity fund Small Cap Value, launched in October 2011, in order to realise economies of scale, Citywire reports, adding that the firm took the decision to close the fund in December 2013. The remaining assets in the fund have been moved to the Sparinvest European Value Fund vehicle, managed by Jens Moestrip Rasmussen and Per Kronborg Jensen. According to Lipper data, the Sparinvest European Small Cap Value Fund had USD700,000 in assets at closing on 12 December. The vehicle reached a peak of USD3.94m in February 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } John Duffield has recruited his former colleague Mark Skinner as adviser to develop the retail activities of Brompton Asset Management, Investment Week reports. Skinner was the former director of retail sales and marketing at New Star before the collapse of the firm, then led by Duffield. The firm was then taken over by Henderson.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Établissement de Retraite Additionnelle de la Fonction Publique (ERAFP) has updated the guidelines of its voting policy for general shareholders’ meetings. In 2014, “the voting policy of the Établissement now explicitly covers environmental and social challenges,” says the ERAFP. There is also “detailed and exhaustive” publication of extra-financial reporting, and the addition of a principle to analyse resolutions of an environmental or social character. Concerning aspects related to governance, the ERAFP has decided to align its recommendations to increase the number of women on board with those of the European Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, who is seeking 30% women by 2015 and 40% in 2020, with a 25% stage in 2014. It also includes a new reference to define the maximal socially acceptable pay levels, corresponding to 50 times the median salary at the business. Lastly, the Établissement will continue to “promote the notion of responsible dividends,” putting the evolution of dividends into perspective with the self-financing capacity of the business and the evolution of pay scales.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of 2013, assets at Moneta Asset Management totalled EUR2bn, which represents a doubling of assets in one year. Net subscriptions totalled EUR617m. In detail, Moneta Multi Caps attracted EUR544m in subscriptions, and Moneta Long Short EUR73m. The Moneta Micro Entreprises fund, a French small cap equity fund, has been closed to subscriptions since 2009. In 2014, Moneta AM has no plans to add to its product range. Recruitment for the team active in the middle office is planned during the year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The years resemble one another as they pass, to the great satisfaction fo the heads of J.P. Morgan in France. As in 2012, J.P. Morgan Asset Management in France last year made net inflows of USD1.2bn, Karine Szenberg, CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset Management France, announced on 28 January, at its tenth annual congress. Assets under management as of the end of December 2013 totalled USD6.4bn. “Inflows were evenly distributed between institutional and retail, which more or less corresponds to our assets, with 55% instutional, and 45% retail, meaning mostly private banks, networks, and funds of funds,” Szenberg tells Newsmangers. “More than 80% of inflows went to emerging market debt and its various components (sovereign debt denominated in local currencies and corporate debt), as well as flexible bond management, convertibles, US equities and European equities,” says Szenberg. Nonetheless, traditional bond management represents 20% of assets under management, with equities accounting for slightly over 51%, nearly 10% in convertibles, and the remainder in the alternative category, with long/short equity, real estate assets and a strategy dedicated to mezzanine debt reserved for institutionals, managed by Highbridge Principal Strategies. In 2014, J.P. Morgan AM will continue to push for diversification. “We will continue on the path of diversification: bonds with emerging market debt, high yield, private credit and flexible bond strategies, as well as investment solutions serving retail clients, for example, with multi-asset class strategies with a return theme, all assisted by the Market Insight Programme led by Vincent Juvyns,” Szenberg explains. Szenberg adds that after two years of strong activity in France, the question of new areas for growth is coming up. “We are considering our future development in France, particularly in retail,” says Szenberg. Currently, J.P. Morgan Asset Management France has 17 staff, since the arrival fo Murielle Didier in November last year as senior salesperson for the multi-manager and distributor client segment.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jupiter Asset Management, which has been selling its funds in Northern Europe since 2007, has opened an office in Stockholm, Fondbranschen reports. Meanwhile, the British asset management firm has recruited Christoffer Kjellberg Ek as head of sales for Northern Europe. Ek, who will begin on 3 February, joins from JP Morgan Asset Management (Nordic). He will report to Kevin Scott, head of EMEA client coverage (outside the United Kingdom).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Itau Asset Management, the asset management firm specialised in Latin America affiliated to the Itau Unibanco group, has recruited Ken Casey as head of its British office in London, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by eFinancial News. Casey had previously been senior director of the Itau Asset Management office in Dubai, according to his LinkedIn profile. He will replace Griffith Williams, former head of the institutional activity in Europe, who has left the firm.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The UK asset management firm F&C on Tuesday morning announced that it had agreed an offer of acquisition by the Canadian firm BMO Asset Management (Europe), 100% owned by the Bank of Montreal, for a total of GBP708m. The previous day, the London-based firm had confirmed that talks were in progress (see Newsmanagers of 28 January 2014). Under the terms of the acquisition, each shareholder will receive 120 pence in cash per share. Additionally, a dividend of 2 pence per share will be paid. The price of 122 pence represents a premium of 30.5% over the F&C share price as of 24 January, a statement says. Yesterday, shares rose over 120 pence. The acquisition will allow BMO, whose asset management activity has a total of GBP80bn as of 31 December, to double its assets under management. F&C, which also published annual results on Tuesday morning, has assets of GBP82bn as of the end of 2013, down from GBP95bn recorded one year earlier, after net outflows of nearly GBP19bn over the year. F&C will represent the centerpiece of European activities for BMO Global Asset Management, the statement says. The British firm will use the distribution platforms of the Canadian group in North America and Asia, while the latter firm will be able to sell its products in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. For the moment, BMO Global Asset Management owns several multidisciplinary management centres in Canada and the United States, and a few specialist boutiques in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } State Street is accelerating its expansion in Chinese territory. The US group has announced that it is opening a new office in Shanghai, which will aim to offer services and solutions in the area of alternative investments. The objective is to assist hedge fund clients with their development strategy in China. For State Street, this will mean accelerating the growth of its Alternative Investment Solutions (AID) activity in China, particularly in private equity and real estate. The State Street team based in Shanghai will report directly to Eric Chow, head of management of client relationships for the activities of AIS in Asia-Pacific. AIS offers a wide range of services to more than 750 clients, largely institutional investors and hedge fund managers, private equity funds and real estate funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Zhu Changhong, the man who managed USD3.8trn in currency reserves in China, has resigned, the Wall Street Journal reports. Changhong, who had previously worked at Pimco, was recruited about four years ago. The reasons for his departure remain unclear, but sources familiar with his work indicate that he had difficulty with the culture of secrecy at the Chinese government agency.

Nikko Asset Management has added three senior executives in its product and sales functions, as well as naming a global head of investment, as it bolsters itsglobal management structure.Takuya Koyama has been appointed global head of sales of the Tokyo-based asset manager and will be responsible for global institutional sales as well as international retail sales. Koyama previously held senior positions in international sales at Nomura Securities, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and Citicorp Securities Japan.Hideyuki Omokawa has been named head of strategic product innovation, and will oversee the development of products on a global basis, while also managing theinteraction between the sales and investment teams through a newly established office of the CIO. Omokawa was previously President of FGI Capital Partners, and before that held senior positions at Goldman Sachs Japan and Nikko Cordial Securities.Motonobu Hasegawa has been hired as global head of request for proposal (RFP), and will lead a team of specialists in Japan and in overseas offices. Hasegawapreviously led the RFP team at UBS Global Asset Management Japan, and also worked at Aberdeen Investment Management, Credit Suisse Asset Management and Pictet Asset Management Japan.In the investment management division, Yu-Ming Wang, who oversees the investment teams outside of Japan, has been named global head of investment to orchestrate the work of Nikko AM’s global investment team, which covers staff in 9 countries. Japan CIO Hiroki Tsujimura will continue to be responsible for investment management in the Tokyo office.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Pimco and Source on 28 January announced that a distributive share class in their ETF PIMCO AM Advantage Local Bond Index Source is now available in US follars on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: EMLI LN). The ETF thus far has USD213m in assets under management. The PIMCO EM Advantage Local Bond Index Source ETF offers exposure to sovereign debt from emerging countries via the PIMCO EM Advantage Local Currency Bond index, an index weighte by GDP, which allows exposure to 15 emerging markets. The ETF provides a means to gain exposure to key emerging markets which are not represented in traditional indies (for example, China and India). As of the end of December 2013, the effective returns on the index were 7.4% for a 3-year duration. “By providing exposure to emerging markets through several local currencies, this ETF offers investors an alternative to traditional exposure to emerging markets, with lower duration and volatility,” says Fabrizio Palmucci, director at Source. In 2013, the EM Advantage index outperformed the J.P. Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Index by 3.1%. Management fees for fhe fund domiciled in Ireland total 0.60% per year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } “We think that in 2014, about 10% of our assets under management may come from our business abroad,” says Pietro Guiliani, CEO of the Italian asset management firm Azimut Holding, in an interview with Plus 24, the weekly supplement of Il Sole – 24 Ore. Outside Europe, Brazil is the structure that gives the greatest satisfaction to the Swiss firm. Azimut is also present in Turkey and China.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Pioneer Investments has appointed Roger Yates as chairman of the board of directors, a statement from the firm has announced. Yates, who is already non-executive director, was the former CEO of Pioneer Investments before the appointment of Sandro Pierri to the role in July 2012. At the same time, the firm has appointed Robert Glauber, former chairman and CEO of NASD, as its fifth independent director. In total, the board of directors at Pioneer Investments has nine members.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss group Unigestion on 9 January this year received an AIFM, or alternative investment fund management, license from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) for its asset management firm based in France, Unigestion Asset Management (France) SA. The license will allow it to offer its client base of European institutional investors with access to hedge funds under the new regulatory framework. “We are certain that [this directive] will allow us to intensify our development in other member states of the European Union,” a statement from Gérard Pfauwadel, chairman of Unigestion Asset Management (France) SA, says.

The Global State Street Investor Confidence Index (ICI) rose to 114.4 in January, up 18.6 points from December’s revised reading of 95.8. The reading was the largest in over four years and was driven by a sharp increase in North American sentiment from 92.1 to 113.6 along with increases in both European and Asian sentiment. European sentiment rose to 112.6 from December’s revised reading of 107.5. Sentiment in Asia rose to 103.5 from 97.7.“Policy uncertainty was reduced in the US and confidence was boosted by optimism over the Fed’s policy of forward guidance, which may help anchor low interest rates going forward,” commented Jessica Donohue, senior managing director and head of research and advisory services, State Street Global Exchange. “In Europe, stronger economic fundamentals and looser monetary policy led to improved sentiment,” added professor Ken Froot. “Easier financing conditions for peripheral European sovereigns and speculation for more unconventional measures by the ECB, given below target inflation, has led to broader optimism among institutional investors.”

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The traditional annual State of the Union address was an occasion for Barack Obama to call for the creation of a new retirement savings account supported by the government, and to reassert his support for major real estate financing reforms. The President stated that he had asked the Treasury to create a retirement savings vehicle known as MyRA. Obama did not offer details of the new savings instrument, however. US President Obama also promised to overcome the obstacle of a divided Congress. He warned that he would act on his own initiative as needed to reduce inequality in the United States.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Top US officials are facing off to determine whether the asset management industry poses risks to the financial sector, and whether it therefore needs to be subject to stricter surveillance, the Wall Street Journal reports. Representatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who currently regulates asset management firms, are confronting a powerful but little-known office of the Treasury department which is seeking to lay the foundations for supervision of companies such as Fidelity Investments and BlackRock by the Federal Reserve. The regulatory battle, described by sources close to the situation, may complicate efforts by the US government to control non-banking companies which regulators feel may pose risks to the financial system.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Comgest has announced to subscribers in the Comgest Panda fund, a Luxembourg product, that the product has been absorbed into the Irish-registered fund Comgest Growth Asia ex Japan, a sub-fund of the Irish Sicav Comgest Growth. Shareholders have received an even exchange of their shares. “The merger is effective from 10 January,” the French asset management firm says, confirming information that has appeared in the English language press to Newsmanagers. Comgest Panda, managed by Chakara Sisowath and David Raper, had slightly over EUR100m in assets when these were transferred to the Comgest Growth Asia ex Japan, managed by the same two managers. The ensemble is expected to have a total of about EUR150m in assets. The integration of Comgest Panda comes as part of a strategy of “rationalisation of the product range,” according to the asset management firm. This will help to make commercialisation of the fund easier internationally. “Our Irish Sicav is largely used by Northern European, British and American investors, who are more comfortable with the format than with Luxembourg-registered funds,” explains Vincent Strauss, chairman of Comgest. “This is also the case for our Canadian clients, who are growing strongly,” he adds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lyxor Asset Management has launched the Lyxor UCITS ETF EUROSTOXX BANKS on NYSE Euronext Paris. The ETF offers exposure to the major euro zone banks, selected from among the components of the EURO STOXX index in line with the ICB classification. It is the only UCITS product in Europe which replicates the Euro Stoxx Banks index, a statement says. Characteristics: Commissions: 0.30% ISIN code: FR001164647

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Legg Mason Global Asset Management is launching the Legg Mason Western Asset Macro Opportunities Bond Fund, a toal return bond fund managed by its affiliate Western Asset. The managers, Kenneth Leeth, chief investment officer at Western Asset, and Prashant Chandran, are preferring three themes: credit, the evolution of interest rates, and volatility conditions. They will seek to exploit movements in the market and opportunities to create value through active management of bond assets, futures, options and other derivative products, a statement says. The fund, created as part of an opportunistic strategy initiated in 2000, has already attracted USD200m in subscriptions.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Neuberger Berman has been selected by SEI to manage a USD200m mandate for its emerging market debt fund, SGMF Emerging Markets Debt. Neuberger Berman, which replaces Ashmore Investment Management in the management of this mandate, joins Investec and Stone Harbor Investment Partners in the management of the fund, with each firm managing a portion of the vehicle.

Le commissaire européen aux services financiers Michel Barnier a publié mercredi sa proposition de règlement sur les structures bancaires en Europe, qui n’a cependant aucune chance d'être adoptée en co-décision avant la fin de la législature au printemps 2014. Le texte préconise l’interdiction de la négociation pour compte propre sur instruments financiers et sur matières premières. Il dote aussi les autorités nationales «du pouvoir, voire dans certains cas de l’obligation, d’imposer le transfert d’autres activités de négociation à haut risque (telles que la tenue de marché, les produits dérivés complexes et les opérations de titrisation complexes)», qui seraient filialisées.

L’Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) indique avoir adopté une position précisant que dans le cadre d’une opération d’achat/vente de Bitcoins contre une monnaie ayant cours légal, l’activité d’intermédiation consistant à recevoir des fonds de l’acheteur de Bitcoins pour les transférer au vendeur de Bitcoins relève de la fourniture de services de paiement. L’exercice de cette activité à titre habituel implique donc de disposer d’un agrément de prestataire de services de paiement délivré par l’ACPR.

La société de gestion qui annonce 5,2 milliards d’euros d’actifs sous gestion lance une gamme de produits à performance absolue. Pour accompagner le développement de l’offre de solutions de gestion, Meeschaert AM a recruté Sophie Elkrief, qui occupait depuis 2009 la fonction de responsable adjointe de la gestion alternative chez Dexia AM. Nommée directrice des solutions d’investissement, elle siègera également au directoire.

Zhu Changhong, le responsable des investissements de Safe (State Administration of Foreign Exchange), l’agence chargée de gérer les 3.800 milliards de dollars de réserves de change de la Chine, quitte son poste, selon China Business News. Cet ancien de Pimco, très discret, avait rejoint la Safe en 2009. Il retournerait dans le secteur privé. Sous sa direction, la Safe a réduit la part de son allocation en dollar.

Le groupe Unigestion, qui gère 10,9 milliards d’euros, a annoncé avoir obtenu le 9 janvier 2014 l’agrément AIFM de l’Autorité des marchés financiers pour sa société de gestion basée en France. Celle-ci fait désormais partie des premières sociétés de gestion à disposer de cet agrément.

Les prix de l’immobilier aux Etats-Unis ont enregistré en novembre une hausse de 0,9% sur un mois, contre un consensus de 0,8% et une augmentation (révisée) de 1,1% en octobre, selon l’enquête mensuelle S&P/Case-Shiller. Celle-ci mesure l'évolution des prix dans les grandes métropoles américaines. Sur un an, les prix immobiliers ont augmenté de 13,7%, progression la plus marquée depuis février 2006.

Les ministres européens des Finances ont ouvert une procédure pour déficit excessif contre la Croatie, appuyant une recommandation de la Commission européenne qui demande au pays de ramener le déficit à 2,7% en 2016 contre 4,6% attendus cette année. La Croatie a rejoint l’Union en juillet 2013 et enregistre un déficit public de plus de 5% depuis 2009. Le pays pourrait connaître en 2014 sa sixième année de récession.