P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a 46-page memo to employees, the hedge fund management firm SAC Capital Advisors claims that its CEO, Steve A. Cohen, “did not even read” an email of August 2008 concnerning Dell, on which recent accusations on the part of the SEC (last Friday) are founded. The SEC claims that Cohen failed to take appropriate measures to prevent insider trading offences being committed. Lawyers for SAC Capital claim that the accusations by the SEC are baseless, and that Cohen receives more than 1,000 emails per day, the Wall Street Journal reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), exercising additional powers newly granted to it by Dodd-Frank legislation for the first time, has fined Panther Energy Trading LLC, a high-frequency trading operator, and its owner, Michael J. Coscia, USD1.4m, for disrupting the markets in 2011, by placing trades to incite other investors to sell and buy dutures contracts on corn, oil and other commodities at totally fictive prices («bogus price levels»), the Wall Street Journal reports. The CFTC is also requiring that Panther Energy reimburse USD1.4m in undue profits to the CFTC.The British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), for its part, has fined Michael J. Coscia USD903.176 for deliberate manipulation of commodity markets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland has announced that it has sold The Park, a complex of 12 office properties with a total of 116,000 square metres in Prague, to an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, for a total amount slightly below its most recent expert valuation.Four of the properties had belonged to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund DEGI Europa (DE0009807800), seven of them in the portfolio of DEGI International (DE0008007998), while the last one belonged to DEGI Global Business (DE000A0ETSR6). The transaction, the largest ever made on the Prague office real estate market, according to Aberdeen Germany, allows the DEGI funds, which are in the liquidation process, to procure cash.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Index Industry Association (“IIA”), the global organisation for index providers and the index industry, has launched a set of standards which define Best Practices for index providers globally. The IIA Best Practices are designed to ensure the highest quality and integrity of indices administered, maintained, or calculated by index providers. The IIA also announced today that CRSP, Research Affiliates LLC and STOXX have all joined the Association, bringing the total number of index providers represented by the IIA to 10, including many of the largest in the industry.

Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland annonce voir vendu à une filiale de Starwood Capital Group, pour un montant légèrement inférieur à la dernière valeur d’expertise le complexe The Park de douze immeubles de bureaux de 116.000 mètres carrés situé à Prague. Quatre des immeubles figuraient dans le portefeuille du fonds immobilier offert au public DEGI Europa (DE0009807800), sept dans celui du DEGI International (DE0008007998) et le dernier dans celui du DEGI Global Business (DE000A0ETSR6). Cette transaction, la plus importante jamais réalisée sur le marché pragois de l’immobilier de bureaux, selon Aberdeen Allemagne, permet aux fonds de DEGI, en liquidation, de se procurer du numéraire.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Investment Week, Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) is preparing to launch three short-duration bond funds. The three funds will each be manage by one of three managers specialised in this asset class: Paul Rayner, Craig Inches and Sajiv Vaid. The launch of the three funds will take place either in third quarter 2013, or at the latest in fourth quarter.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The private equity firm CVC Capital Partners on 22 July announced that it had raised EUR10.5bn for its most recent investment vehicle, more than the initially targeted EUR9bn. According to Agefi, EUR10.25bn in investments have already been cleared, and the remaining EUR250m have yet to be validated by the end of the quarter. CVC. Capital Partners VI becomes the largest European fund raised since the onset of the financial crisis, according to data from Preqin. Only the US firm Apollo did better in 2010, collecting USD16.2bn (EUR12.9bn).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a note distributed to some British media outlets, Schroders claims that it is disapopinted in the “Spot the Dog” rankings of the worst investment funds recently published by Bestinvest (see Newsmangers of 22 July). The manager objects that Bestinvest has included the Shroder QEP Global Active Value fund in its rankings without taking into consideration that the fund is primarily institutional, and that only GBP20m of its GBP3.2bn in assets are held by retail investors.In a response to Schroders from a spokesperson for Money Marketing, Bestinvest remarks that the fund in question is available on several retail platforms such as Cofunds and Fundsnetwork, and clearly has a retail share class. It is thus eligible for inclusion in the rankings.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Yerlan Syzdykov has been appointed as head of emerging market funds and leveraged financing at Pioneer Investments. He remains principal manager of the Emerging Market Debt fund. In his new role, Syzdykov replaces Greag Saichin, who has left the firm for AGI, Investment Europe reports. The new head will see his team enlarged, with the arrival in August of two new managers: Desmond English, from Commerzbank, and Ester Law, from Société Générale.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) is adding to its range with the creation of an area of expertise in global emerging market debt. To lead the new activity, Greg Saichin will join AllianzGI as head. Saichin had previously served as head of emerging market funds and leveraged financing at Pioneer Investments.AllianzGi believes in the strong potential of this new asset class. “In a context of long-term rebalancing of global growth to the detriment of OECD markets and in favour of emerging markets, emerging market debt is an increasingly important and attractive asset class for long-term investors. Higher growth rates in these countries will be sustained by increased levels of investment, which will be financed primarily with debt,” says Andreas Utermann, Co-Director and Global CEO at AllianzGI. As of 31 March 2013, assets under management at AllianzGI total EUR316bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } 58% of hedge fund managers surveyed by the agency Kneip (90 companies in London, Paris and Luxembourg) say they will need to recruit for their back office teams in order to meet the requirements of the AIFM directive which are weighing on the sector, Agefi reports. A majority of asset managers feel that the costs inherent in the directive or the reputation risks associated with being unable to comply with the regulations as essential reasons to add resources.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss UBS group on 22 July announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) concerning lawsuits filed primarily on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, related to residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in the years 2004 to 2007.The agreement, which has yet to be finalised, counts among the approximately CHF865m in one-time charges written down by the bank for second quarter, which cover both lawsuits and other impairments, of which CHF700m were for “corporate center-non-core & legacy portfolio,” and CHF100m for the wealth management unit, due to the tax agreement between Switzerland and the United States.This will not prevent UBS from posting pre-tax operating profits for second quarter of approximately CHF1.020bn, while net profits distributable as dividends will total approximately CHF690m.At an official presentation of results for April-June on 30 July, UBS is expected to report net subscriptions of CHF10.1bn for its asset management unit, and CHF2.7bn for the Wealth Management Americas division, while the global asset management unit posted net outflows of CHF2bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Cinco Días reports that BlackRock has declared to the CNMV that its stake in the capital of the Ferrovial company has passed the 3% threshold. The asset management firm purchased 22.03 million shares, representing 3.004% of capital, for a total of EUR283m. Southeastern Asset Management owns 4.8% of Ferrovial, which is controlled by the Del Pino family, which holds 44.9% of capital.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With retroactive effect to 1 January, ETFlab Investment GmbH, a wholly-own subsidiary of Deka Deutsche Girozentrale Deutsche Kommunalbank, has been absorbed by Deka Investment GmbH, which now becomes the sole Deka unit for active management of open-ended and institutional funds, Master-KAG mandates (fund administration and accounting) and for the development and management of index-based funds.ETFlab (EUR4.7bn as of end-May) thus officially comes under the authority of Oliver Behrens, a board member resopnsible for institutional clients, investments in securities and capital markets.Nothing will change for clients, except for the names of the manager and its products, which will all adopt the prefix “Deka.” Distribution will continue to be focused on institutional clients.ETFlab employees will all be transferred to Deka Investment, which will retain its Munich premises.Meanwhile, the firm has announced the release of the Deka DAX ex Financial 30 UCITS ETF (ISIN code: DE000 ETF L43 3) which replicates the 30 largest shares of the Dax and the Mdax, excluding financials. The TER is 0.30%.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The central asset management firm for the German co-operative banks, Union Investment, on 22 July reported record assets of EUR197.7bn as of 30 June, compared with a previous record of EUR191bn as of the end of 2012, and EUR180.8bn twelve months previously. Net subscriptions totalled EUR2.7bn for retail, comapred with EUR0.4bn in January-June 2012, and EUR1.1bn for all of last year, while institutional net inflows totalled EUR4bn, compared with EUR6.2bn in the corresponding period of 2012.For retail, Union is particularly proud of the success of its PrivatFonds range of multi-asset class products, which attracted a net EUR960m in first half, to a total of nearly EUR3bn. The asset management firm also signed up 134,000 net unit-linked savngs contracts in the period under review, with net inflows of EUR570m. Riester-type subsidized retirement savings accounts attracted a net EUR650m.However, newly-launched guaranteed funds attracted EUR400m, but profit-taking and the maturing of some funds resulted in a net outflow from this segment of EUR350m.For open-ended real estate funds, net inflows remained strong at EUR1.5bn.Lastly, Union reports that net subscriptions for its institutional unit (EUR4bn) particuarly concerned covered bonds, emerging market corporate bonds, and high-dividend equity strategies.The asset management firm also announced that in first half it signed up 22 institutional clients, of whom 20 are from outside the sphere of the co-operative companies.

Le marché a pour objet la fourniture de services de gestion de portefeuilles (actions et obligations) pour compte du Fonds de compensation commun au régime général de pension (FDC) qui a créé à cet effet en 2007 une société d’investissement à capital variable-fonds d’investissement spécialisé (SICAV-FIS) à compartiments multiples. Le marché est divisé en 4 lots, chaque lot correspondant à un type de gestion (gestion passive ou gestion active) sur une classe d’actifs spécifique. Lot nº: 1 - Intitulé: Actions Global Small Cap - Indexé BlackRock Investment Managers (UK) Limited Le lot nº 1 porte sur la gestion passive d’un portefeuille d’actions investissant dans des actions et titres assimilés à des actions de sociétés à petite capitalisation des pays développés inclus dans l’indice de référence. Indice de référence: MSCI Daily TR Net Small Cap World USD (converti en EUR). Montant indicatif du mandat: EUR 140 millions Lot nº: 2 - Intitulé: Actions Global Small Cap - Actif Allianz Global Investors Europe GmbH (UK Branch) Le lot nº 2 porte sur la gestion active d’un portefeuille d’actions investissant dans des actions et titres assimilés à des actions de sociétés à petite capitalisation des pays développés inclus dans l’indice de référence. Indice de référence: MSCI Daily TR Net Small Cap World USD (converti en EUR). Montant indicatif du mandat: EUR 140 millions Lot nº: 3 - Intitulé: Obligations Emerging Markets (local currency) - Indexé UBS Global Asset Management (UK) Limited Le lot nº 3 porte sur la gestion passive d’un portefeuille d’obligations et titres assimilés à des obligations des marchés émergents inclus dans l’indice de référence. Indice de référence: JPMorgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Composite Unhedged USD (converti en EUR). Montant indicatif du mandat: EUR 140 millions Lot nº: 4 - Intitulé: Obligations Emerging Markets (local currency) - Actif Pictet Asset Management Limited Le lot nº 4 porte sur la gestion active d’un portefeuille d’obligations et titres assimilés à des obligations des marchés émergents inclus dans l’indice de référence. Indice de référence: JPMorgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Composite Unhedged USD (converti en EUR). Bloomberg Ticker: JGENVUUG Index Montant indicatif du mandat: EUR 140 millions Pour lire l’avis complet : cliquez ici

Les sociétés de gestion entrepreneuriales ne veulent pas être «les derniers pigeons oubliés». Tel est le cri lancé par les membres du groupe de réflexion New City Initiative au gouvernement qui n’a pas jugé bon de les inclure au menu de l’amendement pigeon. Le temps est venu de réparer cette «injustice» afin de pouvoir selon le think-tank «préserver les PME financières indépendantes et ainsi la compétitivité de la place parisienne».

La plate-forme de négociations de dérivés filiale de Deutsche Börse proposera à compter du 10 septembre des options sur les contrats à terme basés sur les Obligations assimilables du Trésor d’une maturité restante de 8,5 à 10,5 ans. Eurex indique répondre à une forte demande, plus de 48.000 de ces contrats ayant été échangés en moyenne par jour au premier semestre contre 7.500 l’an passé.

58% des gestionnaires alternatifs interrogés par le cabinet Kneip (90 sociétés à Londres, Paris et Luxembourg) indiquent devoir renforcer leurs équipes de back-office afin de faire face aux défis de la directive européenne pesant sur le secteur. Une majorité des gestionnaires considèrent les coûts inhérents à cette directive ou le risque de réputation à ne pas pouvoir s’y conformer comme les sujets essentiels du projet.

Les autorités de régulation britanniques et américaines ont infligé des amendes représentant un total de près de six millions de dollars à la société de courtage Panther et à son propriétaire Michael Coscia pour manipulation des marchés de matières premières. Les régulateurs punissent ainsi pour la première fois une pratique de trading à haute fréquence.

La banque suisse a indiqué que le coût d’intégration d’IWM, activité de gestion de fortune internationale de Merrill Lynch, devrait avoisiner 455 millions de francs (370 millions d’euros) et non pas 400 millions comme estimé précédemment. Julius Baer n’en a pas moins publié un bénéfice net ajusté en hausse de 26% au premier semestre, grâce à un niveau relevé d’activité de sa clientèle.

Le fonds activiste a annoncé hier avoir conclu un accord pour revendre à Yahoo les deux tiers de sa participation au prix de 29,11 dollars par action, soit le cours de clôture du portail internet vendredi. L’accord précise que trois administrateurs nommés par Third Point, dont son patron Daniel Loeb, démissionneront du conseil. Le fonds conservera environ 20 millions d’actions ordinaires, soit moins de 2% du capital.

Le gouvernement envisage de demander une ligne de crédit de précaution pour pouvoir bénéficier éventuellement de l'aide de la BCE

Le Président a annoncé que la coalition de centre-droit resterait au pouvoir jusqu'en 2015

Le Président a annoncé que la coalition de centre-droit resterait au pouvoir jusqu'en 2015

BlackRock, l’un des principaux actionnaires du groupe de boissons non alcoolisées PepsiCo, a dit qu’il s’opposait à ce que ce dernier rachète Mondelez International, comme l’a suggéré Nelson Peltz, rapporte l’Agefi. Le patron de Trian Fund Management évoque une opération à 62 milliards de dollars.

AEW Europe SGP, vient d’acheter pour le compte d’un de ses clients institutionnels via l’OPCI NAMI Investment, le centre Marques Avenue situé en centre ville de Romans-sur-Isère. Ce centre développe aujourd’hui une surface de 17.000m² et comprend 72 boutiques.

La Deutsche Bank a sollicité de la SEC l’agrément de commercialisation pour des ETF long/short et 130/30. Elle a demandé aussi l’autorisation de créer ses propres indices pour les fonds long/short ainsi que d’utiliser la structure de fonds maîtres/nourriciers, rapporte IndexUniverse.Actuellement, la Deutsche Bank gère en direct douze ETF de la marque db x-trackers dont l’encours se monte à 421 millions de dollars.

Le gestionnaire coréen Korean Investment Management (KIM) s’apprête à lancer un premier ETF synthétique en Corée du Sud, en collaboration avec db X-trackers (Deutsche Bank), indique Asian Investor. Des sources s’attendent à ce que le produit soit lancé avant la fin de l’année.

The Wall Street Journal rapporte que David Cote, CEO d’Honeywell International, et Ellen Futter, présidente de l’american Museum of Natural History, ont présenté leur démission d’administrateurs de JPMorgan dont ils faisaient partie depuis respectivement 5 et 16 ans.Ces deux personnalités, qui siégeaient au comité des risques, n’avaient obtenu leur reconduction lors de l’Assemblée générale de mai qu’avec des scores de 59 % et 53 %, à la suite de l’affaire de la «baleine de Londres» qui a coûté plus de 6 milliards de dollars à la banque. C’est, selon le journal, la dernière vaguelette de cette affaire.Le président du comité des risques, James Crown, n’a obtenu que 57 % des suffrages, mais compte rester en place. Il devrait être remplacé à terme par l’un des nouveaux membres du comité qui vont faire leur entrée à la place de David Cote et Ellen Futter.