A la faveur d’une augmentation de capital portant sur 20 millions d’actions à 8,85 euros l’unité, la société allemande d’immobilier résidentiel Gagfah a levé en net 176 millions d’euros. Parallèlement, précise un communiqué boursier du 10 juillet, la participation du capital-investisseur et gérant alternatif Fortress Investment Group, qui a vendu 20 autres millions d’actions Gagfah, a diminué, revenant de 60,9 % à 48,8 %.

Filiale de la BHF-Bank, Frankfurt Trust vient d’agrémenter sa «stratégie alpha» (150 millions d’euros) d’un fonds offert au public destiné aux investisseurs institutionnels, le FT Alpha EMU. Ce produit est destiné à une clientèle qui reconnaît certe le potentiel offert par les actions, mais qui ne veulent pas courir le risque que comporte le marché des actions, a expliqué Gerhard Engler, responsable de la clientèle institutionnelle.Le portefeuille comportera au maximum 50 lignes sélectionnées par analyse multifactorielle quantiative parmi les près de 300 valeurs de l’EuroStoxx, a indiqué pour sa part le gérant du fonds, Marc Ospald.Le risque de marché est couvert au moyen de futures sur l’EuroStoxx, de sorte que ce fonds market neutral peut capturer la surperformance liée à la sélection de titres.CaractéristiquesDénomination: FT Alpha EMUCode Isin: DE000A1CUGQ3Souscription minimale: 1 million d’eurosDroit d’entrée: 3 % maximumCommission de gestion: 0,74 %Commission de banque dépositaire: 0,05 %

Avec le Rhein Asset Management (LUX) Fund - Ethik Quant Strategiefonds*, Alceda Fund Management lance un nouveau compartiment de l’Alceda UCITS Platform (AUP) qui est une version à dimension éthique du Rhein Asset Management (LUX) Fund - Equity Protect Fund. Ce produit a obtenu l’agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne et en Autriche.Rhein Asset Management, qui gère le fonds, exclut d’emblée les actions d’entreprises liées à l’avortement, l’alcool, l’énergie nucléaire, l’armement, le tabac, la pornographie, la recherche sur les embryons et les jeux de hasard. Le fonds est géré en fonction des principes chrétiens en matière sociale, écologique et économique. Le respect de ces normes est soumis au contrôle d’un comité d’éthique composé de deux religieux et d’un philosophe.Il s’agit d’un produit long/short qui est censé tirer parti de la volatilité sur les marché des actions et qui investit dans des valeurs de l’univers européen (Dax, EuroStoxx 50, MDax, TecDax). Les signaux sont générés de manière quantitative grâce à un algorithme utilisant l’effet de retour à la moyenne (mean reversion) pour identifier les surprises positives et négatives.* Code Isin : LU0903532330

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Wealth management worldwide continues to be dominated by the 20 largest groups, according to the findings of the latest annual Private Banking Benchmark by Scorpio Partnership.The study finds that the top 20 firms manage 76% of wealth management assets worldwide.UBS topped the rankings of the largest wealth management firms worldwide. In 2011, the Swiss bank had already risen from third to second place, and this year finds itself again on top of the top 20, particularly thanks to an increase in its assets of 9.7%, to USD1.705trn. It is followed by Bank of America, first last year, with assets under management of USD1.6735trn, up 5.9% in 2012. In third place is Wells Fargo, as in 2011, with USD1.4trn under management (+7.7%). These are followed by Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Canada, HSBC and Deutsche Bank. All of these retain their rankings from last year.BNP Paribas takes 9th place with EUR346.9bn, up 9.7%. However, Crédit Agricole, 19th in 2011, this year no longer features in the top 20 wealth management firms.For the first time since 2010, Santander is back in the top 20, in 20th place with EUR172.7bn in assets. These assets are up 66.2%., due to the integration of assets at Banesto and Banif.2012 would appear to be the comeback year for confidence in the wealth management industry. Last year, net subscriptions to the 200 companies of the index were up by an average of 23.7% in twelve months. Scorpio Partnership suggests that this is a “genuine turning point” for the wealth management industry, which in the years following the financial crisis struggled to post satisfactory inflows. In 2011, for example, the industry saw a decline of 27.9% in its net inflows.In 2012, assets under management were up 8.7% year on year, bringing total assets under management to USD18.5trn, compared with USD16.7trn in 2011. “Mega-managers” in the top 20 stand out with a higher than average increase in assets. Their assets rose by 10.9% in 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } After seven consecutive months of positive returns, the hedge funds monitored by Hedge Fund Research (HFR) in June posted their first losses of the year, with a decline of 1.31% for the HFRI Weighted Composite Index. For first half 2013, funds still show positive returns of 3.59%.Of the 27 strategies covered by the HFR sectoral indices, only four show gains in June, while only eight show losses for January-June, with the heaviest losses for short bias, with -9.96%, and Latin American emerging markets, with -5.43%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Comgest Gestion has promoted the analyst Laure Négiar to the position of co-manager for two of its funds, Citywire reports. They are the Comgest Growth World and Comgest Monde funds. Négiar joined Comgest in 2010. She will work with Vincent Strauss and Céline Piquemal-Prade, who have been co-managers of the fund since 2010.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The iShares Bond TM ETF range of the iShares brand on 10 July added four new products, Corporate Term ETFs which provide access to a diversified universe of investment grade securities, with a predefined maturity date, daily liquidity and transparency of price formation. These ETFs are aimed at investors who are worried about a rise in interest rates, as the sensitivity of the products to interest rates will decline as maturity approaches.The four new ETFs listed on NYSE Arca, with TERs of 0.10%, are the following: iSharesBond 2016 Corporate Term ETF (ticker on NYSEArca: IBDA) iSharesBond 2018 Corporate Term ETF (IBDB)iSharesBond 2020 Corporate Term ETF (IBDC)iSharesBond 2023 Corporate Term ETF (IBDD)

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } With the Rhein Asset Management (LUX) Fund - Ethik Quant Strategiefonds (ISIN code: LU0903532330), Alceda Fund Management is launching a new sub-fund of the Alceda UCITS Platform (AUP), which is an ethical version of the Rhein Asset Management (LUX) Fund - Equity Protect Fund. The product has been licensed for sale in Germany and Austria.Rhein Asset Management, which manages the fund, excludes all businesses related to abortion, alcohol, nuclear energy, weapons, tobacco, pornography, stem cell research and gambling. The fund is managed according to Christian value in matters of society, the environment and economics. Respect for these standards is subject to control by an ethical committee composed of two religious figures and a philosopher.The product is a long/short fund which aims to benefit from volatility on equity markets, and which invests in equities of the European universe (Dax, EuroStoxx 50, Mdax, TecDax). Indications are managed quantitatively using an algorithm based on mean reversion to identify positive and negative surprises.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Frankfurt Trust, an affiliate of BHF-Bank, has licensed its open-ended alpha strategy (EUR150m) aimed at institutional investors, the FT Alpha EMU, the product is aimed at clients who may see the potential in equity marktes, but who do not want to run the risks that equity markets involve, says Gerhard Engler, head of institutional clients. The portfolio will include a maximum of 50 positions, selected through multi-factorial quantitative analysis from the 300 shares of the EuroStoxx index, the manager of the fund, Marc Ospald, says. Market risk is covered through futures on EuroStoxx, so that the market neutral fund can capture outperformance related to stock-picking. Characteristics Name: FT Alpha EMU ISIN code: DE000A1CUGQ3 Minimal subscription: EUR1m Front-end fee: maximum 3% Management commission: 0.74% Depository banking commission: 0.05%

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The 6th “annual review” by the European Asset and Fund Management Association (EFAMA) at the end of 2012 found that total assets under professional management in Europe totalled EUR15.4trn, 108% of GDP, compared with EUR13.8trn one year previously. As of the end of 2010, assets totalled EUR14.0trn.Europe is the world’s second-largest market for asset management, with 31% of total assets.Discretionary mandates as of the end of last year represented EUR7.3trn, or 53% of total assets, while assets in investment funds accounted for the remaining EUR6.5trn.Bonds and equities as of the end of 2011 remained the preferred asset classes for managers, with 46% and 21% of total assets, respectively.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } After EUR52.5bn in April, long-term funds in Europe posted further net subscriptions of EUR33bn in May, bringing the total in the first five months of the year to EUR200.7bn, according to Lipper. European funds, for their part, posted inflows of EUR26.9bn in May, which represents a decline of nearly half compared with the previous month.Bonds remained the strongest collectors, with EUR19.7bn in May, compared with EUR35.7bn in April, for a total of EUR109.7bn in January-May. The total for equity funds is modest, with net inflows of EUR2.1bn in May, while cross-border net subscriptions to equity funds totalled EUR5.6bn.The three firms which posted the strongest net inflows in May were JPMorgan (EUR3.4bn), Franklin Templeton (EUR3.2bn) and BlackRock (EUR2.7bn).

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on July 10th published a Discussion Paper dealing with the implementation of the CRA3 Regulation, which entered into force on 20 June 2013.The Regulation, which complements the existing regulatory framework for credit rating agencies (CRAs), requires ESMA to draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on:- disclosure requirements on structured finance instruments (SFIs); -the European Rating Platform (ERP); and- the periodic reporting on fees charged by CRAs. ESMA is seeking views from all interested parties in order to assist in its preparation of the draft RTS to be published for consultation in early 2014. ESMA must submit the draft RTS to the European Commission by 21 June 2014.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Led by the Wittenberg-Zentrum für global Ethik, the chairmen of the boards of the five largest banks in Germany, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, DZ Bank, HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt and HypoVereinsbank) on 10 July signed a manifesto on the ethical basis for pay scales for managers.The five-page document primarily seeks to make pay systems “transparent,” and to exclude improper incentives. The principles are intended to take into account, in addition to economic figures, the ethical dimension in the evaluation and determination of management pay scales. This means, among other things, that the satisfaction of employees and clients are significant factors in measuring the variable portion of pay scales. In addition, each firm pledges to set limits to management pay scales according to their results for each fiscal year, and to explain the motives for the decision.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The departure of Philippe Joly from Société Privée de Gestion de Patrimoine (SPGP) on 30 June, revealed by the press yesterday, has been confirmed to Newsmanagers by the asset management firm. The European and global equity manager, who stayed 9 years at SPGP after a stint at Crédit Agricole, joined Olympia Capital Management, with two funds he had been responsible for: Sélection Action Rendement and Sélection Actions Rendement International.According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, the departure of the two funds with the manager is not surprising insofar as the possibility had been provided for contractually. Regardless, SPGP will not miss the assets in the funds. Sélection Actions Rendement, founded in 2004, had its moment of glory in 2007 when its assets under management totalled EUR630m. The departure of institutional investors with significant positions on the portfolio have caused outflows form the funds, which now has EUR18m.Meanwhile, Sélection Actions Rendement International, founded three years ago to offer investments in the promising regions that are the United States and Asia did not convince investors. Assets in the fund, also managed by Joly, total EUR4m.The departure of July is not expected to be followed by the recruitment of a replacement. In the same way, the “hole’ in the product range will not be filled immediately. However, SPGP is planning to continue the gradual Europeanisation of its two funds, Sélection Action Midcaps ans Sélection Actions France, which are currently managed by Roger Polani, head of collective management, while Sélection RP Carte Blanche will accentuate its international profile.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } According to IndexUniverse, Vanguard (about USD2.2trn in assets) in June saw net outflows of about USD100m. They are the first outflows since December 1994. USD9.7bn of these redemptions are due to bond funds, and USD400m to redemptions from balanced funds, which were nearly entirely compensated for by a net inflow of USD4.8bn to equity funds, and USD5.2bn to money market funds.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Private banking and wealth management professionals are under increasingly significant regulatory pressure, which is influencing their profit margins, according to the findings of a report by the auditing and consulting firm PwC, “Navigating to Tomorrow: serving clients and creating value,” a survey taking in 200 institutions in over 50 countries. The pressure is triggered by “increasingly strict and onerous” regulatory requirement, as well as “an unequal rate of growth in various geographical regions, the loss of certain commissions, and a reduced level of activity,” PwC says. In terms of risk management, respondents say that in two years, quantifying risks (+28%) and concentrating on the final value delivered to participants (+25%) will be the two criteria whose importance will increase most. The cost of applying regulations will continue to increase. Respondents predict that the cost of compliance with regulations will represent 7% of their annual earnings in the next two years, compared with 5% currently.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Cabestan Capital fund, managed by Edmond de Rotschild Investment Partners (EdRIP), will buy a stake in the capital of the MBO holding company Volta Expansion, and will participate in a reorganisation of the shareholder structure of DufyElec, a general electrical repair company specialised primarily in the reconditioning and electrical maintenance of social housing in the Paris region. It is the 6th investment by Cabestan Capital, which had called in 29% of its pledges a little over a year and a half ago, after its closing. The operation, structured by EdRIP, consisted of a management buyout (MBO) to allow the management of DufyElec, Yves Merlhe (chairman and CEO) and Thierry Vacquer (CEO), to once again become majority shareholders in the MB holding company Volta Expansion. At that time, the majority fund managed by Actem Partners (Naxicap), which entered the capital of the firm at its first LBO in 2004, is selling its entire stake. The sale mandate was executed by Loncoln International. Financing for the MBO holding company Volta Expansion has been supplemented by senior debt arranged by Crédit Agricole Ile de France, Caisse d’Epargne, and BNP Paribas.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 10 July, the Netherlands-based ING announced that it has sold its investment management activity in South Korea to the Autralian Macquarie Group, in a transaction which is not expected to have a significant impact on results for the ING group. The operation, whose sale price has not been disclosed, is expected to be completed during fourth quarter 2013. The aactivity sold by ING as of 31 Mrach 2013 represented assets of KRW25bn, or EUR17bn, managed primarily for local institutional clients, including ING Life Korea.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Through a capital increase through the issue of 20 million shares at EUR8.85 each, the German residential real estate company Gagfah has raised a net total of EUR176m. Meanwhile, according to a market statement on 10 July, the stake of the private equity and alternative investor Fortress Investment Group, which for its part sold another 20 million Gagfah shares, has fallen from 60.9% to 48.8%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) on several US market regulators have sentenced the New York brokerage firm Newedge USA LLC to pay a fine of USD9.5bn for being unable to stop online trades of clients who were seeking to manipluate US markets for four years, the Wall Street Journal reports. The firm is accused of laxism in its controls.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } As predicted, commissioners of the Securities and Excchange Commission on Wednesday voted four to one to discontinue a prohibition on advertising shares in hedge funds and other businesses which issue private stock. The change will officially take effect 60 days after the publication of the Federal Register, The Wall Street Journal reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Although net inflows to Swedish funds have fallen to SEK1.8bn, from SEK9.1bn in May, net subscriptions in January-June totalled SEK48.3bn, the highest half-yearly total since 1997.In terms of flows, net outflows from equity funds (SEK7.7bn) and bond funds (SEK0.7bn) in June were more than offset by SEK2.5bn in net inflows to balanced funds, and SEK7.6bn into money market funds In first half, net subscriptions totalled SEK29.2bn for diversified funds, SEK17.5bn for money market funds, and SEK13.8bn for equity funds, though bond funds have seen net outflows of SEK11.8bn.The Swedish investment fund association, Fondbolagens Förening, states that assets as of 30 June totalled SEK2.225trn (or EUR256.4bn), down compared with EUR2.289trn as of the end of May.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } For the first time, the Swiss firm Stoxx Limited has sold the license for its Europe 50 index to serve as an underlying to an ETF in China: the license has been acquired by ICBC Credit Suisse, and the contract was signed in Beijing on 11 July. There are currently six ETFs in the world using the Stoxx Europe 50 as a benchmark.

Les coûts de financement à trois ans de l’Italie ont très légèrement reculé lors d’une nouvelle émission, deux jours après l’abaissement de la note souveraine attribuée à Rome par Standard & Poor’s. Les investisseurs ont souscrit pour 3,39 milliards d’euros de titres arrivant à échéance le 15 mai 2016 à un rendement de 2,33%, le plus bas depuis mai. Lors d’une adjudication comparable le mois dernier, le Trésor avait consenti un rendement de 2,38%. Rome a également placé pour 1,46 milliard d’euros d’obligations à 30 ans à un rendement de 5,19% et pour 1,5 milliard de titres à taux variable à cinq ans.

La chute du yen et le changement de cap de la Fed ont permis à la Banque du Japon de conserver son programme de rachats d’actifs ainsi que sa politique monétaire intacts à l’issue de la réunion mensuelle de son comité de politique monétaire. «L'économie japonaise commence à se reprendre», a indiqué le communiqué publié par le comité qui a pris sa décision à l’unanimité de ses neuf membres.

Pour aider les professionnels à se conformer aux règles applicables en matière de rémunérations et avantages perçus, l’AMF précise ses attentes et les pratiques qu’elle juge conformes dans une position-recommandation. Ce document traite des procédures internes d’identification et de classification des rémunérations, de l’information des clients sur ces avantages et rémunérations perçus, de l’amélioration de la qualité du service au client et la capacité à agir au mieux des intérêts de celui-ci.

Le fabricant de vestes prévoit de s’introduire à la Bourse de Milan en décembre prochain, une opération qui devrait valoriser l’enseigne à environ 2 milliards d’euros, ont déclaré à Reuters des sources proches du dossier. Cette introduction interviendra deux ans après une première tentative avortée du fait de l’instabilité des marchés financiers. Trois sources ont précisé que le dirigeant de la marque, Remo Ruffini, n’entendait toutefois pas réduire sa participation, actuellement de 32%. La société devrait mettre en Bourse environ 30% de son capital. Certains actionnaires actuels, comme les fonds Eurazeo ou Carlyle, pourraient par ailleurs profiter de cette occasion pour prendre leurs bénéfices. Moncler, fondé en 1952, a dégagé l’an dernier un chiffre d’affaires de 624 millions d’euros et un Ebitda de 170 millions. Ses ventes s'élevaient à 45 millions en 2003.

Le régulateur américain a approuvé la levée d’une interdiction de publicité sur les placements de titres privés, ce qui devrait permettre aux fonds alternatifs et de private equity d’atteindre de nouveaux investisseurs via la télévision et l’internet. Cette proposition devrait toutefois susciter une intense controverse auprès des groupes de consommateurs.

Des députés de gauche et de l’opposition font 22 propositions pour lutter en France et en Europe contre l’optimisation fiscale «agressive» utilisée par certaines entreprises, en particulier dans le secteur du numérique, pour réduire leurs impôts. Au niveau national, ils proposent notamment de renforcer la procédure d’abus de droits, de durcir les conditions de déductibilité des charges logées dans des Etats à fiscalité privilégiée, ainsi que les possibilités de transaction avec les paradis fiscaux.

La Chambre des Députés du Luxembourg a adopté la loi transposant la directive européenne sur les gestionnaires de fonds d’investissement alternatifs (Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive, AIFMD) en droit luxembourgeois. La création d’un passeport européen pour les gestionnaires de fonds d’investissement alternatifs qui souhaitent accéder à l’ensemble du marché européen constitue l’une des mesures phares de cette directive.