P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Inverco association of Spanish asset management firms has reported a net inflow to securities funds of EUR1.195bn in February, the highest level posted since March 2006. The first two months have been positive to the tune of USD2.257bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Tobam, a quantitative management specialist which focuses on seeking ways to maximise diversification of investments, on Friday, 1 March announced that it is luanching a series of share classes in its Anti-Benchmark range which comply with the Retail Distribution Review in the United Kingdom, a statement says.Three new share classes in sterling are now available to UK retail investors, mostly with a minimal investment of one share (net asset value of GBP100):Tobam Anti-Benchmark UK Equity (R units ISIN: FR0011412618)Tobam Anti-Benchmark Emerging Markets Equity (R units ISIN: FR0011412634)Tobam Anti-Benchmark World Equity (R units ISIN: FR0011412626)The asset management firm has also reported net inflows of USD631m in 2012, down 14.84% compared with 2011 (USD741m). However, due to market appreciation, assets under management at Tobam rose 52% in 2012, compared with 44% in 2011. Since 31 January 2013, the asset mangement firm has over USD3bn in assets under management. 95% of this total comes from foreign investors.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The in the wake of two insurance firms buying stakes in its capital, the Swidish asset management boutique Tundra Fonder, founded in 2011, is planning to add to its fund range and to recruit new managers, Investment Europe reports. The asset management firm specialised in emerging markets has recently raised capital through the entry of the Finnish insurers Alandia-Bolagen and Ålands Ömsesidiga Försäkringsbolag in its capital, with a 9% stake each. Tundra Fonder is planning to increase its range of funds from three currently to seven, with the introduction of US dollar and euro-denominated versions of all sub-funds and strategies. By this summer, the firm is hoping to launch three new funds, including one fund dedicated to frontier markets, Frontier Opportunities, which may be made available in mid-March. A fourth fund ia planned for this autumn. At the end of its first full year of activity, Tundra Fonder as of the end of December had EUR46m in assets under management in three funds (pakistan, Russia and Agri & Food).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The head for the Asia-Pacific region at Pimco, Ki Myung Hong, has decided to leave his position from 28 February, Asian Investor reports.Until a successor for him can be found, his responsibilities will be taken over by the chief operating officer, Douglas Hodge, for the interim.Ki joined Pimco in July 2010.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 31 December, total assets at Fortress Investment Group came to USD53.43bn, up 4% over USD51.47bn as of the end of September, and up 22% compared with USD43.71bn one year previously. Assets in private equity increased by 14% to USD14.27bn, and the group has announced that total «dry powder» commitments totalled USD6.2bn as of the end of 2012, of which USD5bn are for newer vintage funds.Net profits by GAAP accounting standards for 2012 as a whole totalled USD219m, compared with losses of USD1.117bn the previous year.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A spokesperson for State Street has confirmed to Hedge Week that its affiliate SSARIS, specialised in alternative management, has liquidated the SSARIS Multi-Manager Japan Equity Fund, a fund of funds focused on Japanese equities, which had been managed primarily in New York by the CEO of SSARIS, Mark Rosenberg, and COO Jim Torneo. It appears that the liquidation is due to low asset levels, below USD10m. The fund has posted losses of 1.83% between its launch in 2005 and the end of June 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Swiss Mobiliar Asset Management Ltd., the asset management arm of one of the largest Swiss private insurance groups, Mobiliar Group, has retained Caceis (Switzerland) SA to administer its new Swiss real estate fund, MobiFonds Swiss Property, according to a statement released on 1 March by Caceis. The fund will invest in a Swiss high-end real estate portfolio, privileging the major economic centres and their suburbs. The product, launched on 15 March 2013, will be aimed exclusively at institutional investors.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Tim Yetman, a founding partner at the alternative asset management firm Olea Capital Partners, is joining Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) to create a global macro team in London, Investment Europe reports. He will report to CIO Jan Straatman.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } “Say on pay” may not have been the panacaea one had thought it to be. The principle was established in 15 countries of the European Union, with various formulations. And it merited simplicity: all remuneration to directors and holders of elected positions, including both set and variable pay, subject to a shareholder vote.In France, the Assemblée Nationale has released a report on the mission to gather information on transparency and governance at major businesses, which includes 20 proposals to set up more responsible governance for long-term strategies, including a French proposal for say on pay.Does “say on pay” need to be introduced for French businesses? Frédéric Palomino, a researcher in economics at the Edhec Business School, says the answer is not beyond doubt. “Say on pay” is a deliberate failure. In a position paper entitled “Remuneration of corporate management: What can we expect from say on pay?” Palomino reviews the various models which have already been established internationally for several years, for which the number of observations is wide, but the conclusions that can be drawn about the effectiveness of say on pay is based on anecdotal observations.The various empirical studies undertaken in countries where the principle has been established show that the measure does not modify pay scales. In the case of the United Kingdom, where a vote on compensation, which is genuinely non-binding, has been in place for a decade, a Feri and Maber study (2012) finds that the establishment of say on pay did not influence the rate of growth of pay scales. Say on pay resulted in a larger disparity between management pay scales, but did not have an influence on the average level.Say on pay is generally received with scpeticism by actors. The only positive aspect of say on pay appears to be corrections for extreme situations at businesses at which returns are poor and pay is abnormally high.As a result, it is legitimate to ask questions about regulations which lead to additional administrative cost for all businesses, at a time when it will only allow for some extreme cases to be corrected.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Wolfgang Leoni, CIO since 2007, will on 1 April become chairman of the managing board at Sal. Oppenheim. According to a release from the Cologne-based private bank, he will be replacing Wilhelm von Haller, who is returning to “an important position” at Deutsche Bank which ordered him to the private bank when the latter was bailed out in 2009.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the South African Old Mutual group last year rose 3% to GBP262.2bn, according to a statement released on 1 March. Net inflows, which totalled GBP5bn, and a positive market effect of GBP26.9bn, were partly offset by a reduction in assets under management of GBP27bn due to th sale of companies affiliated to USAM, and the sale of Old Mutual Wealth activities in Finland. In the United Kingdom, net inflows to the Old Mutual Wealth platofrm totalled GP2.2bn, meaning that assets under management as of the end of 2012 totalled GBP22.6bn. In the United States, assets under management finished the year at GBP128.4bn, up 14% compared with the end of 2011. Net inflows totalled GBP0.9bn, while the 2011 fiscal year ended with outflows of GBP3bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS) has decided to file lawsuits against two of its former managers and Deutsche Bank and Nomura International for their role in complex financial operations which plunged the group into turmoil in January.The lawsuits for liability, filed in a Florence civil court, names the German and Japanese banks, former chairman of the bank Giuseppe Mussari and former CEO Antonio Vigni, BMPS announced in a statement on 1 March.The bank will seek damages and interest for the prejudice caused by the group as part of financial operations begun in 2008 and 2009, which the new heads of BMPS claimed only to have discovered last autumn, and which triggered a scandal in Italy.The bank has since indicated that these transactions could cost it up to EUR730m, which comes on top of a situation where the institution has already been made fragile by the economic crisis, and has borrowed USD4bn from the Italian government.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Brazilian asset management firm Bradesco (BRAM) is planning to launch a fund dedicated to Latin American equities by the end of 2013, Citywire reports.The Luxembourg-domiciled fund comes as an addition to the Bradesco Sicav range, which now has five UCITS funds.The initiative comes as part of a desire on the part of the Brazilian firm to increase its presence in Europe, and in major worldwide markets.

La Chine pourrait décider de relever le montant de l’acompte exigé pour l’achat d’une deuxième maison ainsi que le taux d’intérêt sur les prêts d’immobiliers contractés à cet effet afin de contenir les prix dans les villes où ils augmentent trop, a dit ce week-end le Conseil des affaires de l’Etat. En février, le prix moyen des maisons dans les 100 plus grandes villes du pays ont augmenté pour le neuvième mois de suite, à un rythme toutefois un peu moins marqué que lors des mois précédents.

Le consultant Wilshire estime que le déficit de financement de 109 fonds de pension publics aux Etats-Unis a bondi de 20% l’an passé à 834,2 milliards de dollars, après deux ans de repli. Le rapport souligne l’exposition en hausse, en quête de rendement, aux classes d’actifs alternatives comme l’immobilier, le private equity ou les matières premières.

Le conglomérat de Warren Buffett a fait état d’un bénéfice de 4,56 milliards de dollars au quatrième trimestre, soit 2,76 dollars par action de classe A, contre un bénéfice de 3,05 milliards (1,85 dollars) un an auparavant. Un bénéfice exceptionnel de 1,4 milliard a été comptabilisé sur des dérivés. La valeur comptable de fin d’année a augmenté de 14% par action.

Renoncer trop tôt aux mesures énergiques de relance pourrait mettre en péril la fragile reprise de la croissance, selon le président de la Réserve fédérale américaine. «Une augmentation prématurée des taux risquerait fort de court-circuiter la reprise, ce qui pourrait se traduire de façon ironique par une prolongation de la faiblesse des taux à long terme», a-t-il précisé.

Le fonds de capital investissement Warburg Pincus a choisi JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Merrill Lynch et Citigroup comme chefs de file de l’introduction en Bourse de Bausch & Lomb, selon deux sources relayées par Reuters. L’IPO pourrait valoriser le spécialiste des traitements oculaires de 9 à 10 milliards de dollars. Warburg Pincus continue toutefois d'étudier une cession éventuelle.

Sur renvoi de la Cour de Cassation, la Cour d’appel de Versailles a rendu jeudi dernier deux arrêts dans l’affaire Cœur Défense qui reconnaissent les droits du Fonds commun de titrisation. L’immeuble de bureaux a été acquis en 2007 pour 2,1 milliards d’euros par la société Hold, dont la maison-mère Dame Luxembourg est elle-même contrôlée par des fonds initialement affiliés à Lehman Brothers. Hold, qui a titrisé un prêt hypothécaire de 1,6 milliard d’euros, s’est placée en procédure de sauvegarde en novembre 2008. Au terme de plus de quatre ans de procédures, la Cour d’appel a confirmé un jugement d’octobre 2009 reconnaissant que les cessions Dailly de créances futures de loyers, dont le fonds commun de titrisation (Euro Titrisation) était titulaire, étaient pleinement valables et opposables à la procédure de sauvegarde, explique Gide Loyrette Nouel, conseil d’Euro Titrisation. Elle a par ailleurs annulé un jugement de septembre 2009 et arrêté de nouvelles modalités du plan de sauvegarde.

Les gestions n’ont modifié qu’à la marge leur portefeuille, consacrant toujours la moitié de leurs investissements à la classe actions

Les gérants s'attendent à des performances plus modérées pour les obligations d'entreprise en 2013. Ils gardent plus de cash en portefeuille

Les «loan funds», ces fonds de prêts à effet de levier, ont enregistré des entrées de capitaux record ces dernières semaines aux Etats-Unis

Le «séquestre», ces coupes budgétaires automatiques entrées en vigueur le 1er mars, pourraient amputer la croissance de 0,5 point en 2013

Après le léger recul de l’indice au mois de février, les gestions font preuve de plus de prudence. L’EuroStoxx devrait rebondir de 12,5% en un an

Le collège de l’Autorité des marchés financiers a selon le quotidien transmis à Bercy il y a dix jours une série de propositions dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre de mesures protectrices pour les sociétés françaises. Un seuil de caducité de 50% serait introduit. L’AMF propose afin de récompenser l’épargne de long terme d’augmenter l’assiette et le taux de bonification du dividende majoré.

Voilà qui « pourrait passer pour un symbole de la mondialisation croissante», selon le quotidien, qui croit savoir que l’établissement de la Place de la Concorde, propriété d’un membre de la famille royale saoudienne, pourrait être exploité à partir du printemps 2015 par l’opérateur américain Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, lui-même contrôlé par un conglomérat de Hong Kong, New World Group. Ce dernier serait entré en négociations exclusives pour reprendre la gestion après deux années de fermeture pour rénovation complète. Sofitel, l’enseigne de luxe d’Accor, aurait ainsi été écartée «dans la dernière ligne droite», un «coup dur» pour le groupe français.

Les électeurs ont approuvé hier à 67,9% l'intiative populaire visant à encadrer plus strictement les pratiques salariales des sociétés cotées

Des identifiants uniques permettraient de rendre les prêts plus liquides et de faciliter le refinancement auprès de la banque centrale

Pour parvenir à une inflation à 2%, le futur gouverneur Haruhiko Kuroda juge naturel d’acheter des obligations d’Etat à maturité plus longue

Consultés par voie d’initiative populaire, les électeurs ont largement approuvé hier des mesures encadrant plus strictement les pratiques salariales des sociétés cotées. Selon ce texte, qui doit être transcrit dans la loi, les actionnaires voteront désormais l’enveloppe globale des rémunérations.