Recherche
S'abonner
Connexion
Asset Management
Accueil Asset Management Actualités
04/12/2013

Novethic launches Circle of Institutionals

Novethic on Wednesday launched the Circle of Institutionals, which is intended to unite investors “driven by a desire to identify and understand the environmental, social and government risks weighing on their investments in order to better control them,” according to the socially responsible investment research centre. The two founding members of the group are the Caisse des Dépôts, the parent company of Novethic, and AG2R La Mondiale. They have been joined by the French pension fund, the Fonds de réserve pour les retraites (FRR), and will soon also be joined by the ERAFP. Two other institutional players are also expected to appear soon, says Anne-Catherine Husson Traore, CEO of Novethic, at a conference organised by the centre. “We are expecting to have 10 members by the end of next year,” she says. The Circle will aim to hold a meeting every quarter on a theme chosen by its members and illuminated by several experts. These might include the carbon bubble, the percentage of women on boards of directors, palm oil, access to water, etc.
04/12/2013

Absolute return performance improves but remains dependent on volatility

Returns on absolute return funds have improved recently, as more than 70% of strategies have posted positive returns in 2012 and 2013, due to a more favourable environment, according to a study published by the financial ratings agency Fitch Ratings. Returns have shown less volatility but have still developed independently of market conditions, particularly volatility and correlation. Over the past three years, the agency says, short-term volatility strategies have performed better as volatility has declined. However, in the more long term, funds which deploy different strategies for low and high volatility environments have shown more stable long-term returns. The best-performing funds use short-term volatility strategies, for example, by exploiting relative value and carry trade to earn the best results when volatility is low, and directional strategies in periods of high volatility. Since the end of 2010, assets under management in absolute return strategies have more than doubled, to nearly EUR200bn, according to figures from Lipper, Fitch Ratings points out. Most absolute return funds use short-term volatility strategies, which have earned better results than long-term strategies since 2010. The drivers of carry performance and relative value have favoured higher returns than directional strategies in a context of declining market volatility, says Michael Arrive, senior director of the Fund and Asset Manager Rating team at Fitch.
04/12/2013

Idinvest Partners “rolls” its ambitious projections

In one year, assets at Idinvest Partners have risen from EUR3.3bn to EUR4bn, achieving the market plan announced at the end of 2012 (see Newsmanagers of 12 December 2012). On Tuesday, Christophe Bavière, chairman of the managing board, and Benoist Grossmann, managing partner, reaffirmed their objective of doubling assets under management in five years, but from this new base of EUR4bn. These assets are distributed with EUR2.9bn for financing of European companies (funds of funds, secondary transactions, owners’ equity, senior or mezzanine debt), and EUR1.1bn in financing for young and innovative companies (with the largest Parisian venture fund, focused on information technologies, cleantech and health).The press conference was an occasion for Idinvest Partners to announce that it had raised EUR65m, with Idinvest Private Value Europe, the first fiscal FCPR dedicated to lending to non-public SMEs, which was closed in September, and that it is launching a successor fund, Idinvest Private Value Europe II, whose inflow objectives are about EUR80-90m. The subscription period is open in principle until January 2015.
04/12/2013

Norwegian GPFG buys into a Crown Estate property

The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, Government Pension Fund – Global (GPFG, USD818bn), on 3 December announced that it has acquired a 25% stake in the Quadrant property (25,000 square metres) in Regent Street in London’s West End. The sale price was GBP97.5m.The remaining 75% of Quadrant 3 will continue to be held by the Crown Estate, which will also continue to manage the property.
04/12/2013

Equity funds in developed markets continue to post inflows

The enthusiasm for China was not enough to snap the current outflow streak for emerging markets equity funds, which now stands at five straight weeks, as investors continue to gravitate towards developed markets equity funds which have absorbed nearly USD350 billion year-to-date, according to EPFR.Hopes that China’s new leadership is committed to reforming the world’s second largest economy have translated into four straight weekly inflows with the latest hitting a 45 week high. YTD redemptions from emerging markets equity funds pushed past the USD20 billion mark in late November.Overall, investors committed USD13.04 billion to EPFR global-tracked equity funds during the week ending November 27 while bond funds took in USD1.24 billion and a net USD2.3 billion flowed out of money market funds.
04/12/2013

Legg Mason registers Western Asset Macro Opportunties fund in Spain

Funds People reports that the CNMV has issued a sales license for Spain to the Legg Mason Western Asset Macro Opportunities fund, which deploys a global macro and liquid alternative strategy, and aims for maximal returns with a total volatility of 5% to 10%. It is managed by Kenneth Leech and Prashant Chanran. The fund, with daily liquidity, charges a management commission of 1% for the “premier” share class, and 1.5% for the A share class.
04/12/2013

Mirae Asset appoints hires head of MENA distribution

Mirae Asset Global Investments Group is recruiting for its distribution teams dedicated to the Middle East and North Africa regions, Funds Europe reports. The firm has appointed Jad Shams to the newly-created position of head of sales for these two markets. Shams, who had previously been director of Natixis Global Asset Management in Dubai, will be based in London, and will oversee the development of sales of the Luxembourg Sicav Mirae Asset Global Discovery Fund in the Middle East. Mirae Asset has EUR44.3bn in assets under management.
04/12/2013

Henderson Germany recruits from UBS Global AM

Dirk Bradtmüller, who since 2007 had been director at UBS Global Asset Managment, responsible for relationships with banks and fund of fund managers, has been recruited as senior sales director in the distribution team at Henderson Global Investors for Germany, Fonds Professionell reports. He will be responsible for large banking clients, private banks, multi-managers and institutional investors.At UBS Global AM, Bradtmüller will be replaced by Alexander Werani, who had been sales director at ING Investment Managemet in Frankfurt, with responsibility for the wholesale distribution channel in Germany.
04/12/2013

Swiss Life pulls out of MLP completely

The German financial services provider MLP has announced in a market statement on 3 December that Swiss Life has notified it that on 27 November, it sold the remaining 9.9% stake which it held in its capital. At current prices, that represents a sale of over EUR50m.These securities were the remaining 27% stake in MLP which Swiss Life had inherited in the portfolio of AWD, a rival of MLP acquired by Swiss Life, which has since become known as Swiss Life Select.MLP has also announced that, also on 27 November, Fidelity, via FMR LLC, has increased its stake to 7.10% of capital, compared with less than 5% previously.
04/12/2013

BBVA catching up on InverCaixa

On the basis of statistics from the Inverco association of Spanish asset management firms, BBVA AM in November posted an increase of EUR600m in its assets, to EUR21.369bn, as net subscriptions represented EUR560m, Expansión reports. This is visibly related to a campaign to win over clients from other asset management firms, by offering a 2% discount on transfers and successful launches of several products.As a result, assets under management by BBVA AM as of 30 November were EUR460m higher than those at InverCaixa, compared with only EUR141m one month earlier.This does not concern Santander AM, which took back the top spot from BBVA AM in April, and whose assets have increased by EUR790m in November, to over EUR24bn.In the top rankings, Sabadell has pushed Bankinter out of seventh place, by a minimal margin of EUR5m.
04/12/2013

Allianz GI recruits former exec of Cazenove

Allianz Global Investors has recruited Daniel Lee as head of sales, Fund Web reports. Lee previously worked at Cazenove Capital Management as head of discretionary sales for the United Kingdom. Lee, based in London, reports to the head of sales for the United Kingdom, Fraser Blain.
04/12/2013

Still too few female investors

In the United Kingdom, retail investments aimed at women are far fewer in number than the masculine version. The number of female investors totalled about 5.8 million, compared with 8.4 million men, according to a study by Duncan Lawrie Private Bank. This populaion of female investors is not yet seeking to blaze its own path. A majority of them (54%) take the advice of a financial adviser to manage their investments, while for men, only 36% of them use financial advisers. Among those who have no investment portfolio, nearly one woman in five (17%) say that the mere thought of investing is too worrisome and that they don’t want to lose money, while 18% say that they do now have enough conficende in their knowledge and understanding of investment to get started. The study finds, however, that as women become increasingly present in professional life and their income rises, the number of female investors is expected to increase, and the gap will close with the male investor population.
04/12/2013

James Millard leaves Skandia

The head of the investment solutions team at Skandia, James Millard, has left the firm, as the management of the Select range has been integrated into Old Mutual Global Invetors. Millard became head of investment solutions in December 2012, Fund Web reports.The management of the Select range will now be provided by John Ventre and his multi-asset class team. The Select range has been renamed as WealthSelect, and is expected to be launched during first quarter 2014.
04/12/2013

Lancement de la fondation PeoplesFinancials

Michael Heijmeijer, CEO de cfinancials.com, et Markus Ferber, député européen responsable du risque produits pour l’Union européenne, ont annoncé le 3 décembre le lancement officiel de leur fondation PeoplesFinancials, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. Cette fondation a pour but d’améliorer le rapport de force entre le secteur financier et le grand public en faveur de ces derniers, et ce en les outillant pour comprendre et gérer les risques des produits financiers.
04/12/2013

Les bons de souscription d'actions seront exclus du PEA

Un amendement au projet de loi de finances rectificative, déposé par le rapporteur de la commission des finances Christian Eckert et adopté, restreint le champ du plan d'épargne en actions (PEA). Il exclut à compter du 1er janvier 2014 le placement sur un PEA de «titres à fort effet de levier potentiel (bons et droits de souscription d’actions, actions de préférence)», «à l’exclusion toutefois des titres de cette nature déjà régulièrement placés sur un PEA», précise l’exposé des motifs.
04/12/2013

Le gouvernement dévoile sa réforme des FIP FCPI

Le gouvernement a présenté aujourd’hui un amendement à l’article 8 du projet de loi de finances rectificative afin de réformer les FIP et FCPI. Les quotas d’innovation et de proximité sont augmentés de 60% à 70%. Le dispositif prévoit aussi d’allonger de 8 mois à 14 mois la période de souscription des parts et de 24 mois à 30 mois la période d’investissement par les fonds des sommes collectées. «Afin d’inciter les fonds à exploiter la possibilité de fonds multi-millésimes et de fonds mixtes ISF-IR pour atteindre une taille critique, cet amendement prévoit enfin de pouvoir refuser l’agrément AMF aux projets de fonds présentés par des sociétés de gestion ayant échoué plusieurs années de suite à constituer des fonds de taille jugée critique», ajoute l’exposé des motifs.
Le ministère des Finances vu depuis la BnF. Photo: PHB
04/12/2013

Le fonds souverain norvégien poursuit ses investissements à Londres

Le Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global vient d’acquérir pour 97,5 millions de livres (118 millions d’euros) une participation de 25% dans l’immeuble Quadrant 3, situé sur Regent Street à Londres. Le vendeur, The Crown Estate, conserve une participation de 75%. Cette transaction renforce le partenariat entre le fonds norvégien et le gestionnaire des actifs de la Couronne.
04/12/2013

Moscou abaisse encore ses prévisions de croissance

La Russie, confrontée à une stagnation des investissements et de la consommation des ménages, a de nouveau réduit ses prévisions de croissance, tablant désormais sur une hausse du PIB limitée à 1,4% cette année. Cette nouvelle prévision, malgré un cours du brut qui reste stable autour de 100 dollars le baril, se compare à un objectif précédent de 1,8% qui lui-même avait été revu en baisse.
04/12/2013

Le yuan prend du poids dans le commerce international

Le renminbi chinois a dépassé l’euro pour devenir la deuxième monnaie de référence dans les lettres de crédit et de recouvrement au mois d’octobre, avec une part de marché qui est montée à 8,66%, selon Swift. Le poids de l’euro a été réduit de 7,87% en janvier 2012 (contre 1,89% pour le yuan) à 6,64% en octobre 2013, alors que le dollar reste prépondérant avec un poids de 81,08%. L’utilisation du yuan dans le système global de paiements reste cependant marginale, avec un poids de 0,84%.
04/12/2013

Apollo aime le jeu

Apollo Global Management aurait selon le quotidien noué un accord pour l’acquisition pour 240 millions de dollars d’American Gaming Systems, spécialiste de la fabrication des machines à sous à Las Vegas. La taille relativement modeste de l’opération est révélatrice selon le quotidien de la prudence d’Apollo.
04/12/2013
Gestion d'actifs

Apicil accompagne le lancement d'un fonds de fonds actions ISR

Le lancement du fonds Cedrus Sustainable Equities a été accompagné par le Groupe de retraite et de prévoyance APICIL qui a investi 10 millions d’euros. Ce fonds est un FIA, réservé à 20 porteurs au plus, s’adresse aux investisseurs institutionnels professionnels souhaitant investir de manière durable sur les actions. Cedrus AM est spécialisé sur la gestion active de portefeuilles de fonds durables. Au total, plus de 350 M€ d’actifs sont gérés et conseillés par les équipes de Cedrus AM. Type : fonds de fonds responsable et durable Classe AMF : actions internationales Indice de référence : 70% Eurostoxx 50, 30% MSCI World en Euro
Gestion d'actifs
04/12/2013
Gestion d'actifs

Le Fonds de Prévoyance du Groupe BfB et des sociétés affiliées pourrait stopper ses investissements dans les hedge funds

Le Fonds de Prévoyance du Groupe BfB et des sociétés affiliées va revoir en 2014 sa poche hedge funds, qui représente 5% du portefeuille. Aucun consultant n’a été engagé. « Nous avons toujours 5% de hedge fuds dans notre portefeuille, explique Michel Grangier, administrateur du Fonds de pension. La question est de savoir si nous allons la supprimer. Nous prendrons une décision au printemps, en juin. » L’institution travaille essentiellement avec la Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, notamment en ce qui concerne les hedge funds. Le gérant est investit dans le fonds de fonds Gottex Fund Manager. « Les gestionnaires nous ont expliqué que les hedge funds n’allaient pas si mal. Ils nous ont montré que même si nous n’avons pas performé, nous avons moins perdu que si nous avions eu cela en actions, poursuit Michel Grangier. Maintenant, les actions ont bien récupéré, alors que ce n’est pas le cas des hedge funds. » Michel Grangier a précisé d’autre part que le fonds a décidé de ne pas adhérer à un régime de retraite multi-employeur. Cette option avait été évoquée il y a deux ans. Le Fonds de Prévoyance du Groupe BfB et des sociétés affiliées a pour principal gestionnaire d’actifs La Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, et l’institution investit dans des fonds de biens immobiliers La Foncière par, entre autres, Investissements Fonciers et Fonds Immobilier Romand (FIR).
Gestion d'actifs
03/12/2013

La Russie abaisse encore ses prévisions de croissance

La Russie, confrontée à une stagnation des investissements et de la consommation des ménages, a de nouveau réduit ses prévisions de croissance mardi, tablant désormais sur une hausse du produit intérieur brut limitée à 1,4% cette année. Cette nouvelle prévision, malgré un cours du brut qui reste stable autour de 100 dollars le baril, se compare à un objectif précédent de 1,8% qui lui-même avait été revu en baisse.
03/12/2013

Andy Pomfret quitte Rathbones

Le directeur général de Rathbones Brothers, Andy Pomfret, devrait quitter ses fonctions le 28 février 2014, rapporte Fundweb. Andy Pomfret, qui a rejoint la firme en 1999 et qui occupe la direction générale depuis 2004, sera remplacé par le directeur général Philip Howell.Philip Howell, qui intègre le board de Rathbones avec effet immédiat, prendra ses fonctions le 1er mars 2014. Philip Howell avait rejoint Rathbones le 4 mars dernier. Il était précédemment chief executive de William De Broe.

Sujets d'actualité

Tous les sujets