Le Fonds monétaire a révisé une nouvelle fois ses prévisions de croissance mondiale. Il lance un appel du pied à Berlin

Le rebond de mardi ne dissipe pas la thèse d'un nouveau cycle pour le métal jaune

Bertrand Jounin, directeur de la gestion d’actifs d’Apicil à la rédaction de www.institinvest.com : « En 2013, nous nous attendons à une volatilité renforcée sur les taux. Pour nous adapter et saisir des opportunités dans les obligations corporate, nous sommes prêts à faire un peu de trading sur la poche obligataire. De plus, avec l’aide de son gérant actions maison, l’institution a pour objectif d’augmenter ses investissements en actions en direct afin de réduire le coût de la gestion. Aujourd’hui, près de la moitié de l’investissement d’Apicil en actions est déjà réalisé en direct, principalement en Europe. « Nous privilégions actuellement les entreprises fortement exposées à l’international ». Apicil a également l’intention de s’intéresser aux financements directs (dans les obligations privées, dans le co-financement bancaire, etc.), notamment de PME mais aussi dans le secteur immobilier. L’institution a déjà participé en 2012 à un fonds de titrisation d’emprunts immobiliers mis au point par Groupama AM. Néanmoins, ce type d’investissement reste nouveau pour l’institution, c’est la raison pour laquelle APICIL compte « avancer avec prudence » dans ce domaine.

L’Organisation internationale des superviseurs de marché (Iosco) a publié mardi une consultation sur la réforme des indices financiers de référence. Iosco avait entamé ce processus en janvier. Sa consultation fixe une série de principes pour l'élaboration des benchmarks financiers.

La banque privée de JPMorgan vient de publier les résultats d’une étude menée au premier trimestre auprès de 1.000 clients privés de la catégorie «ultra high net worth» dans 8 pays d’Europe (Grande-Bretagne, France, Italie, Suisse, Allemagne, Espagne, Irlande, Grèce). Interrogés sur le fait de savoir quelle classe d’actifs va selon eux afficher les meilleures performances dans les douze prochains mois, ils sont 60% à citer les actions, et seulement 3% les activités de taux («fixed income»). Ils estiment que la classe obligataire ne pourra pas répliquer la performance de l’an dernier. 45% d’entre eux considèrent le manque de croissancecomme le principal risque qui pèse sur l’année 2013. Le risque politique n’est cité que par 23% des clients de la banque, et l’inflation n’inquiète que 5% d’entre eux.

Emergence et NewAlpha Asset Management viennent de signer un troisième partenariat d’incubation avec la société Keyquant, société de gestion française basée à Paris. Emergence investit 30 millions d’euros dans le fonds Keytrends Ucits. Ce nouveau partenariat permet à cette jeune société de gestion de lancer un fonds Ucits et d’atteindre un encours global de l’ordre de 100 millions d’euros.

Il table sur une hausse de l'activité de 3,3% dans le monde cette année, soit 0,2 point de moins qu'attendu en janvier. La France connaîtrait une contraction de 0,1% du PIB cette année, au lieu de +0,3% espéré.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to estimates by Morningstar, US ETFs posted net inflows of USD16.9bn in March, bringing total net subscriptions for first quarter to USD53.1bn. Net inflows topped USD50bn for the fourth consecutive quarter.In March, the largest net subscriptions were to US ETFs, with USD11.2bn, which did not damage bond funds, which had inflows of USD4.8bn. Outflows were concentrated on commodity and international equity ETFs, with net redemptions of USD4.1bn for diversified ETFs specialised in emerging markets.The heaviest net sales in March were for Vanguard (USD3.837bn), iShares (USD2.835bn), PowerShares (USD2.216bn), and State Street Global Advisors (SSgA, USD2.014bn).In first quarter, Vanguard also takes first place, with net subscriptions of USD19.701bn, followed by iShares (USD17.592bn). However, SSgA shows net outflows of US6.425bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 1 January 2013, of the 8,339 investment funds from EU countries on sale in Germany, 67% were domiciled in Luxembourg, and 17% in Ireland, the German BVI association of asset management firms reports. The other main two countries of origin were Austria and France, with 5% each.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the first two months of the year, German open-ended funds attracted EUR10.9669bn (including EUR4.571bn in February), compared with EUR2.7972bn in the corresponding period of last year, of which EUR1.0428bn were in February 2012, according to statistics from the German BVI association of asset management firms. Institutional funds (Spezialfonds), for their part, posted inflows of EUR14.5113bn in January-February, compared with EUR10.2942bn last year, while mandates outside funds posted net inflows of EUR3.0434bn, compared with EUR2.6804bn.In the first two months of the year, only guaranteed funds and money market funds, among open-ended products, show net outflows, of EUR740.7m and EUR758.3m, respectively. The heaviest inflows were from diversified funds (EUR5.5677bn compared with EUR1.1586bn), followed by bond funds (EUR2.7218bn compared with EUR1.7918bn). Allianz Global Investors (AGI) remains a leader for net subscriptions in January-February 2013, with EUR1.4063bn, followed by Union Investment (co-operative banks) with EUR1.1506bn, and the Deutsche Bank group (including DWS and db x-trackers) with EUR962m. Among the major firms, only Deka shows losses, with net redemptions of EUR296.9m. Franklin Templeton stands out with net inflows of EUR513.6m.In ETFs, db x-trackers attracted EUR482.6m, and BlackRock (iShares) EUR406.7m, while ComStage (Commerzbank) took only EUR6.8m.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The German firm DWS Investment (Deutsche Bank group) has announced that on 8 April it received a sales license from BaFin for the DWS Select Bonds Plus 2018 (LU0827855239), DWS Convertibles (DE000DWS1U74) and DWS Invest Euro High Yield Corporates (LU0813334322) funds in Germany.The second and third funds have also been approved for sale in Austria, Switzerland, France and Spain.In addition, the DWS Convertibles fund has also been registered in Singapore.

All fund categories registered net inflows in February, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)’s latest Investment Fund Industry Fact Sheet. UCITS continued to attract strong net inflows in February of EUR 44 billion, marking a slight reduction from the EUR 49 billion recorded in January. Long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) registered large net inflows amounting to EUR 41 billion, a modest decrease from January’s record net inflows of EUR 53 billion. Net sales of equity funds registered EUR 14 billion, compared to EUR 21 billion in January. Bond funds also recorded reduced net sales of EUR 13 billion, down from EUR 20 billion in January. Balanced fund net sales remained flat in February at EUR 11 billion. Money market funds experienced a turnaround in net sales in February to register net inflows of EUR 4 billion, compared to net outflows of EUR 5 billion recorded in January. Total non-UCITS recorded net sales of EUR 12 billion, down from EUR 17 billion in January. Special funds (funds reserved to institutional investors) recorded reduced net inflows amounting to EUR 9 billion, compared to EUR 15 billion in the previous month. Total assets of UCITS stood at EUR 6,547 billion at end February 2013, representing a 2.4 percent increase since end January 2013. Total assets of non-UCITS enjoyed an increase of 1.5 percent in January to stand at EUR 2,595 billion at month end. Overall, total net assets of the European investment fund industry stood at EUR 9,142 billion at end February 2013.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a peer review report examining whether EU securities supervisors correctly apply ESMA’s guidelines on money market funds (MMFs).The report found that more than two thirds of the 20 jurisdictions reviewed have implemented the ESMA guidelines on MMFs nationally as mandatory provisions, while a minority have used measures which do not have the force of law. However, the general supervisory and enforcement approaches relating to MMFs vary across Member States to a significant extent. The report covers the situation up to 30 June 2012, since that date a number of jurisdictions have taken steps to ensure that they are in compliance with the guidelines.According to the report, for 2012: 1,256 MMFs were located in the EEA, with 641 in France, 203 in Luxembourg, 102 in Ireland, 71 in Spain and 57 in Hungary.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Standard Life Investments has announced that it has registered three sub-funds of its Sicav in France, Belgium and Italy. They are the Global Absolute Returns Strategies Sicav (GARS), European Corporate Bond SICAV, and Global High Yield Bond SICAV. Other products will soon be available on the French market, the British asset management firm states. The registration brings the number of countries in which institutional and retail investors can access Standard Life Investments products to 14. The firm would like to place the emphasis on international development. “We registered funds in Switzerland last year, strengthened our German team, and now we have a dedicated real estate team in France,” says Jennifer Richards, co-head of European business.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Ashmore Investment Management has registered two funds, one of Turkish debt, and the other of Brazilian equities, in the form of a Sicav, Fundweb reports. The two funds are part of the Ashmore range dedicated to emerging markets, and are available to investors as funds registered in Luxembourg in a UCITS IV-compliant format.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UBS and BlackRock have confirmed rumours in financial circles to the Börsen-Zeitung that Dirk Klee, the head of BlackRock for Germany, is moving to UBS.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A rise in the number of ETFs domciled in Hong Kong has driven Northern Trust to offer fund administration services for locally-distributed products, Asian Investor reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Handelsblatt reports that, according to Bloomberg Paulson & Co is inviting potential clients to a presentation on 24 April of its new premium fund, a risk arbitrage product for investors seeking to reduce their income tax expenses. The program includes a quarter of an hour out of the 75-minute presentation dedicated to investors which could be either entirely exempt from taxes, or for which the tax bill would be deferred to a later date.Brad Alford, CEO of Alpha Capital, a fund of hedge fund manager, says Paulson is apparently more interested in ways to avoid paying income taxes than in generating revenues for his investors.Paulson and his employees will also benefit from the new fund, since they will control 60% of its assets.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mandarine Gestion is celebrating its fifth birthday. The French independent asset management firm, which now has EUR1.7bn in assets under management, is taking a new step in its development, integrating a new area of expertise to its range. After adding to its stock-picking management in December, with the arrial of Marie-Jeanne Missoffe and the launch of the Mandarine Europe Opportunités fund, Mandarine Gestion is now offering asset allocation management. As announced by Newsmanagers, Françoise Rochette, former head of the asset allocation unit at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EdRAM) has joined Mandarine Gestion. Her team had previously been contracted to manage the Mandarine Flex fund. She is joined by Ludovic Dufour, also formerly of the EdRAM asset allocation team. The new integrated range will allow Mandarine Gestion to attract different investors and meet the needs of those who would like risk control. Diversification of clients remains at the core of Mandarine Gestion’s development. The firm now has assets 50% from institutional and 50% from retail distribution, 20% of it via independent financial advisers. This diversification also applies geographically. “For two years, we have been accelerating our international development, especially in Germany, the United Kingdom and the peripheral French-speaking countries,” says Marc Renaud, chairman of Mandarine Gestion. The United Kingdom is now the largest foreign market for the boutique, largely thanks to major management mandates recently won from British institutions. 30% of assets are now managed for foreign clients. In Germany, inflow assets total over EUR100m in the past few weeks. The range from Mandarine Gestion currently includes 7 open-ended funds. In 2012, net inflows totalled EUR5m. The growth style has been particularly popular with investors, with net inflows of EUR85m, of which EUR34m were to Mandarine Opportunités. Since the beginning of this year net subscriptions have totalled EUR80m as of the end of March, with EUR120m for growth management, of which EUR29m were for Mandarine Opportunités.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Despite a reorganization of the group, which brought considerable turbulence with it, Aviva Investors France (AIF) “has been able to reorient itself without losing assets: 2012 was a good year, and the firm has redeployed in the direction of long-term assets,” Jean-François Boulier, chairman of the managing board, says, adding that assets as of the end of December totalled EUR90.6bn, compared with EUR79.7bn one year previously. And personnel have increased to 103 people from 101, with the recruitment of a specialist to develop investment in infrastructure.External assets are continuing to increase, to EUR4.71bn as of the end of 2012 (plus EUR291m in French assets in the Luxembourg Sicav), and EUR5.8bn as of February 2013, which represents an increase of 34% compared with December 2009, and 180% compared with December 2008, says Véronique Cherret, head of external development.Among the salient projects for AIF this year are developing infrastructure and real estate debt. The French management will also nurse a range of internal new funds which reflects its management opinions. The objective, says Boulier, is to stay a step ahead of customer demand and to build a track record.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Catherine Arnold, who has previously been head of research at Credit Suisse for the pharmaceuticals sector in the United States, has left the Swiss group, Finews reports, citing internal sources. She is reported to have joined the US asset management firm Wellington. Neither of the two firms had any comment on the reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Clive Snowdon has been appointed as group managing director at Moore Group, replacing Ian Moore, who becomes executive chairman. It is the first time a manager has been appointed since Moore Group was acquired by First Names Group.The new recruit had been head of hedge fund administration at Credit Suisse in Guernsey, and previous to that spent three years as COO of Gottex Fund Management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Paul Loss, head of investment operations at JPMorgan Asset Management, after serving as head of institutional client services, is joining Baring Asset Management in London with immediate effect as head of operations, and will report to John Burns, chief operating officer.Loss will be responsible for creating an “effective and efficient” platform for Barings, which must comply with the principles laid out by the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } From 16 April 2013, the Equity Greater China sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Amundi Funds is adopting the MSCI All Countries Golden Dragon index as its benchmark, instead of the Hang Seng. The new index will also be used as a basis to calculate performance commissions for IU, XU, MU, AU, AE, SU, RU, RHE and FU share classes.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Edmond de Rothschild group has announced the arrival of Konstantin Mettenheimer, who joins the firm as director of all of the group’s activities in Germany. These activities include asset management, private banking and consulting activities. Mettenheimer will be based in Frankfurt. After the deployment of its asset management activities in Germany in 2010, the group is now seeking to extend its presence on the German market, by developing its two strategic professions of asset management and private banking there, a statement says. Mettenheimer, 37, was senior partner at the consulting firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer from 2004 to 2010. As a partner at Freshfields, he advised family business and family offices in fiscal and wealth planning. Robert Hengster, who has assisted with Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management’s debut in Germany since 2010, will be leaving the group, a statement says.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jerry Golden, who had been associate vice president for government relations at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, has been recruited by Vanguard, where by the end of the month, he will be installed as director of the government relations office in Washington. He will report to Ann L. Combs, head of government relations.In his new role, Golden will be responsible for representing the asset management firm (USD2.150trn in assets in US mutual funds) on a vast range of reglatory and legal questions, including taxation, retirement and matters affecting financial services.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Following a change in pricing models by intermediaries after the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review, Artemis Investment Management has decided to scrap the front-end fees on its entire range of funds ; the initial charges previously were between 5% and 5.25%, Investment Week reports.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For several years, the German direct bank DAB Bank (UniCredit group) has been offering 50% discounts on front-end fees paid by clients to investment funds. It has now decided to increase that discount for investors placing large amounts.For a subscription of at least EUR10,000, the discount is now increased to 60%; from EUR25,000, it is 70%. For sums higher than EUR50,000, the front-end fee is reduced by 80%, and for those over EUR100,000, the discount is 90%.The new price grid applies only to investments of a single amount. It extends to very nearly all of the 9,000 funds in the catalogue, excepting those from DWS Investment GmbH and DWS Investment SA, and those from JPMorgan Asset Management, on which the discount of 50% continues to apply.

Le fonds L Capital, géré par L Capital Management, filiale à 100 % de LVMH, a acquis 49,9 % du capital du fabricant de vêtements australien R.M. Williams, rapport l’Agefi Quotidien, édition de 14h. Le montant de la tranaction n’a pas été dévoilé.Entre 2001 et 2012, L Capital, fonds d’investissement créé en 2001 sous le parrainage de LVMH et Groupe Arnault,. a pris des participations auprès de 25 entreprises, dans les secteurs de la beauté et du bien-être, de l’équipement de la personne, de l’équipement de la maison et de la famille, et de la distribution spécialisée, avec un investissement compris entre 15 et 60 millions d’euros. Les sociétés ciblées réalisent des chiffres d’affaires annuels compris entre 30 et 400 millions d’euros.

La Française et OFI AM sont entrées en discussion exclusive pour étudier le rapprochement entre leurs deux filiales d’incubation, NExT AM et NewAlpha AM, ont annoncé lundi les deux sociétés de gestion. Plus précisément, NExT AM, la filiale à 100 % de La Française, devrait prendre une participation au sein de NewAlpha AM, détenue à 65 % par OFI AM et 35 % par ses salariés. La taille de la participation n’est pas encore connue, mais «nous serons un actionnaire significatif», affirme Nicolas Duban, président de NExT AM, interrogé par NewsManagers. C’est OFI AM qui devrait céder une partie de ses titres.L’objectif est de fusionner de manière opérationnelle les deux sociétés et de «créer le leader européen de l’incubation», selon la formule du communiqué de presse. La structure affichera environ 7 milliards d’euros d’actifs gérés par les sociétés incubées.Aujourd’hui, NExT AM représente la plus grosse partie de ces encours, avec 4 milliards d’euros. L’activité d’incubation de La Française, filialisée en 2012 mais active depuis 10 ans, couvre principalement la gestion «long only». Elle s’est distinguée pour ses prises de participation dans Métropole Gestion, Mandarine Gestion, Acropole… et détient aujourd’hui une vingtaine de participations dans des sociétés de gestion et de conseil.NewAlpha AM, de son côté, couvre la gestion alternative, avec environ 3,2 milliards de dollars pour 12 gérants en cours d’incubation. Spécialisée dans le fee sharing, elle dispose aussi d’un agrément de société de gestion, alors que NExT AM n’a qu’un statut de CIF. Cette complémentarité est l’une des forces et des motivations de ce rapprochement. L’autre est de capitaliser sur un effet taille afin de tenter de se positionner comme un acteur de taille français entièrement dédié à l’incubation à l’international. L’opération devrait être bouclée avant juillet.