P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In total, 87% of 1000 Germans who have at least EUR10,000 in investments who participated in the Schroders Global Investment Trends 2013 survey are planning to make investments this year equal to or higher than those in 2012, and 66% feel that Angela Merkel will be re-elected as chancellor after legislative elections in late September. Among these, 66% feel that the re-election will be positive for the Dax and Euro Stoxx 50.Only 17% of Germans surveyed feel that the SPD candidate, Peer Steinbrück, will be elected chancellor, and only 7% think that if he is elected, it will have a positive impact on the Dax and Euro Stoxx 50.The survey also finds that 76% of German investors are planning to take positions this year on equities, which may be a surprising percentage, since Germans are thought to be reticent about equities, and a higher percentage of them than the global average (68%) are preferring this asset class.However, confidence does not rule out caution: 52% of Germans are betting on lower-risk investments, although they are less profitable, while 33% prefer a moderate risk, and less than 16% are prepared to run higher risk in order to achieve higher returns.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The German-Luxembourg private bank Sal. Oppenheim, an affiliate of Deutsche Bank since first quarter 2010, on 28 May announced up to 330 job cuts by the end of 2014, in order to improve its profitability and in order to concentrat on wealth management activities.The management and the business committee have reached an agreement concerning the deployment of a restructuring which will remove some redundant positions at Sal. Oppenheim and Deutsche Bank, the bank says in a statement. The layoffs will primarily affect the IT and order processing departments, the statement says.Sal. Oppenheim hopes to reduce its cost base. “These measures are necessary to allow us to ensure the long-term profitability of our asset management firm in the area of wealth management,” says Wolfgang Leoni, head of the bank, in a statement.The bank, which has a total of 870 employees, about 700 of them in Germany, is planning to concentrate on wealth management for private clients and seelcted institutional clients, and has also announced a regional reorganisation of its activities.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The State Street investor confidence index for May 2013 rose 1.8 points to 94.8 from April’s revised reading of 93.0.“The primary driver behind this gain was a shift in risk appetite among European institutions with the European ICI rising 5.6 points to 93.3 from the revised April reading of 87.7,” State Street notes.Confidence also increased slightly among Asian institutions with the Asian ICI index ticking up to 86.0 from April’s reading of 85.2. However, after April’s sizable increase, confidence among North American investors consolidated somewhat, and the North America ICI declined by 2.2 points to finish at 102.5 for the month.“Institutional investors continued to augment their allocations to risky assets this month, albeit at a slower pace than we observed in either the first quarter, or the last weeks of April,” State Street concludes, noting that institutional investors have allocated more towards emerging markets since the middle of April.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Towers Watson is planning to enter the fund of hedge funds business, a sector which it has been critical of in the past, Financial News reports, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The consultant will target small institutional investors for whom direct investment in hedge funds may be difficult.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Open-ended funds on sale in Italy in April recorded net inflows of EUR5.4bn, the same level as in March, the Italian asset management association Assogestioni reports. Since the beginning of the year, they have earned a total of EUR19.3bn. Inflows in April were driven by bond funds (EUR3bn) and flexible funds (EUR2.8bn). Balanced funds also attracted EUR985m. However, the other categories of funds show gains. Equity funds have seen outflows of EUR68m. Since the beginning of the year, bond and flexible funds have also boosted equities. As of the end of April, assets in funds totalled EUR516.9bn. With the addition of closed funds and mandated management, the asset management industry in Italy has posted net subscriptions of EUR6.9bn in April, and EUR27.1bn in the first four months of the year. Total assets are EUR1.256trn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Open-ended funds on sale in Italy in April posted net subscriptionns of EUR5.4bn, the same level as in March, the Italian asset management association Assogestioni reports. Since the beginning of the year, they have earned a total of EUR19.3bn. Inflows in April were driven by bond funds (EUR3bn) and flexible funds (EUR2.8bn). Diversified funds also attracted EUR985m. However, the other categories of funds show gains. Equity funds have seen outflows of EUR68m. Since the beginning of the year, bond and flexible funds have also boosted equities. As of the end of April, assets in funds totalled EUR516.9bn. With the addition of closed funds and mandated management, the asset management sector has posted net subscriptions of EUR6.9bn in April, and EUR27.1bn in the first four months of the year. Total assets are EUR1.256trn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds is planning to raise USD1bn to USD3bn for a new global real estate fund, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The directors of the affiliate of the bank have entered negotiations with pension funds and other prospects. They are hoping especially that China Investment Corp, the Chinese sovereign wealth fund which controls 6.4% of Morgan Stanley, will be a key investor.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Amaïka Asset Management, an asset management firm founded in 2011 by David Kalfon and Christophe Berger, two former employees of EFG Asset Management, has announced that it has taken over management of the Résilience diversified fund (ISIN code: FR0011101914). The fund, launched in November 2011 at the initiative of the investment advising firm Fundesys, has assets of EUR5m, and had previously been managed by Invesco AM. The French-registered OPCVM fund complies with UCITS IV standards, and is exposed in a discretionary manner to equity, bond, commodity and money markets, via a selection of funds. Investments are made without geographical or sectoral constraint. Exposure to equity markets will remain between 20% and 80% of assets in the portfolio. In practice, management of the fund is also based on the recommendations of Fundesys.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Oddo Asset Management is scaling up its presence in Belgium and Luxembourg, opening four sub-funds of its Luxembourg Sicav, Oddo Funds, based on asset classes with strong potential and for which the firm has recognised expertise, for sale there. high yield bonds, via the sub-fund: Oddo Bonds High Yield Europe European midcap equities, via the feeder funds: Oddo Equity Europe Avenir (master fund: Oddo Avenir Europe) Oddo Equity Euro Avenir (master fund: Oddo Avenir Euro) Convertible funds, via the feeder fund: Oddo Convertible Bonds Euro (master fund: Oddo Convertibles Taux) Shares in euros as well as in US dollars (USD) and Swiss francs (CHF) have been created. Shares in USD and CHF are hedged for currency risks against the euro. Laurent Zouari, who has been a salesperson since 2012 in the international team led by Bertrand Levavasseur, has been appointed as country manager for Belgium and Luxembourg.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In April, Franklin Templeton recorded net inflows in Italy of EUR1.056bn, putting it in the top 3 asset management firms for inflows last month, after Generali and Intesa, which had a home field advantage, according to figures from Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset managers. The US asset management firm had already stood out in previous months, with inflows of EUR1.041bn in March, EUR786.3m in February, and EUR720.9m in January. As of the end of March, Franklin Temlpeton had EUR27.4bn in assets under management in Italy, according to the most recent available statistics. The asset management firm has also recently opened three offices in Italy, in Rome, Florence, and Padua. These local offices come in addition to the one in Milan.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Biljana Pehrsson has been appointed as CEO of Kungsleden, a Swedish realty firm, Realtid.se reports. She had previously worked at East Capital, where she had been head of real estate and vice-CEO of East Capital Private Equity.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a filing with the CNMV on 27 May, Santander announced that,» in connection with news that has recently appeared in the press», it is considering the possibility of allowing investors to acquire a stake in its asset management division.The Spanish group states that no final agreement of this nature has been reached with third-party investors. Santander states that it will notify the market at an appropriate time once an agreement has been reached.According to Expansión, an agreement is already said to have been reached with Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic, whose stake in Santander Asset Management would be “significant, but less than 50%.”In Spain, Santander had EUR22.08bn in assets under management in investment funds as of the end of April.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The European securities markets authority (ESMA) has launched an investigation in Luxembourg following claims that the Luxembourg Commission de surveillance du secteur financier (CSSF) did not correctly help investors in a bond fund managed by Petercam, the Financial Times reports. The move comes despite the fact that the Luxembourg regulator has admitted that the fund infringed local fund regulations. Investors in the Petercam L Bonds Eur Medium fund lost 26.67% in 2008, while the Morningstar Global bond-Euro biased index gained 0.33% in the same period.
L’OCDE n’anticipe plus dans ses perspectives de printemps qu’une hausse du produit intérieur brut (PIB) global de 3,1% en 2013 et de 4% en 2014, soit respectivement 0,3 et 0,2 point de moins que dans ses prévisions de l’automne dernier. Toutefois, les Etats-Unis mèneraient la reprise des autres économies avancées avec un PIB en hausse de 1,9% cette année puis, en 2014, de 2,8%, le chiffre le plus élevé depuis 2005. L’organisation n’escompte plus qu’une hausse de 7,8% en 2013 du PIB chinois contre 8,5%. La zone euro connaîtrait en 2013 une contraction de son économie revue à 0,6% contre 0,1% précédemment, avant de renouer avec une croissance de 1,1% l’an prochain. L’OCDE se dit préoccupée par le risque de voir les Européens tentés de baisser la garde après des années d’austérité alors qu’ils ne sont pas encore tirés d’affaires. A noter que l'économie française connaîtra une légère récession en 2013 et ne devrait se redresser que lentement en 2014, avec pour conséquence un taux de chômage qui progresserait à 10,7% cette année puis de 11,1% en moyenne en 2014, avec un pic à 11,5% à la fin de l’an prochain. Le taux d’inflation demeurerait autour de 1% en 2014.
Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds, la filiale d’investissements immobiliers de la banque américaine, prévoit de lever entre 1 et 3 milliards de dollars pour son nouveau fonds immobilier mondial, indique le journal citant des sources proches. Les dirigeants de Morgan Stanley auraient ainsi entamé des discussions avec des investisseurs potentiels, tels que des fonds de retraite, et espèrent même que le fonds souverain China Investment Corp (CIC) devienne un investisseur de référence de ce fonds. D’ailleurs, CIC détient une participation de 6,4% dans Morgan Stanley. Les fonds de retraite se montraient néanmoins réticents à ce type de fonds.
Norges Bank Investment Management, le fonds souverain norvégien, est désormais selon le quotidien le deuxième actionnaire au capital de VTB derrière l’Etat russe. A l’occasion de la cession de titres par ce dernier (de 75 à 61% du capital), le fonds norvégien a acquis une part de 3,74% pour 700 millions de dollars. Des fonds souverains du Qatar et d’Azerbaïdjan ont consacré chacun 500 millions à l’opération.
Dans son rapport budgétaire sur les 27 pays membres de l’Union qui sera publié aujourd’hui, la Commission européenne prévoit d’accorder des concessions sur l’objectif de réduction des déficits budgétaires à 3% pour la France, l’Espagne, les Pays-Bas et l’Italie, selon le journal. Une concession qui serait néanmoins conditionnée à une réforme en profondeur du marché du travail.
Les autorités chinoises devraient reprendre dès le mois d’août le processus d’introduction en Bourse, le régulateur souhaitant passer en revue les comptes de sociétés du premier semestre avant de leur accorder le droit d’entrer en Bourse, indique le 21st Century Business Herald. Les autorités devraient également annoncé une série de mesures pour encadrer les IPO avant leur reprise.
L’Autorité européenne des marchés financiers aurait lancé une enquête suite à des plaintes provenant d’un groupe d’investisseurs qui estiment que la Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) luxembourgeoise ne leur aurait pas apporté le soutien nécessaire face à un fonds obligataire détenu par le courtier belge Petercam qui aurait violé les règles locales d’investissement, indique le journal.
L'excès de cash dans le système bancaire s'approche du seuil des 200 milliards auquel le taux Eonia est très sensible. Ce qui équivaudrait à un resserrement
L’excédent de liquidité dans le système bancaire reflue rapidement vers le seuil des 200 milliards d’euros à partir duquel le taux Eonia pourrait remonter.
L’enquête mensuelle du Conference Board montre un indice de confiance du consommateur américain à 76,2 en mai contre 69 en avril, dépassant les prévisions des économistes. L’indicateur remonte ainsi à son plus haut niveau depuis février 2008 malgré un contexte défavorable de restrictions budgétaires.
Moody’s indique que les émissions d’obligations libellées en yuan sur le marché offshore (dim sum) ont été tirées à la hausse par le marché immobilier au mois de mai pour atteindre un milliard de dollars. «La hausse des émissions en renminbi a été en partie due à une forte demande provoquée par des anticipations d’appréciation du renminbi», explique Franco Leung, analyste chez Moody’s.
Selon Bloomberg, la société de capital investissement britannique pourrait céder une part de 35% de son capital à Tikehau Group. Le montant de l’opération pourrait atteindre 30 millions d’euros. Duke Street espère lancer un nouveau fonds cette année et utilisera le produit de la cession à cette fin après avoir renoncé à un fonds de 850 millions de dollars en février 2012.
La justice américaine accuse Liberty Reserve, un système de paiement en ligne recourant à une monnaie virtuelle, d’avoir organisé un vaste réseau de blanchiment. Les fonds incriminés s’élèveraient à 6 milliards de dollars. Le ministère public qui a procédé à l’arrestation de cinq individus, dont le fondateur Arthur Budovsky, évoque une «banque de choix pour la pègre».