Effective from 3 December, Amundi Luxembourg SA has increased the management commission for two sub-funds of its Amundi Funds, Absolute Volatility Euro Equities (EUR2.93bn) and Absolute Volatility World Equities (EUR2.91bn) by 20 basis points. I-class shares now cost 0.70%, up from 0.50%, and A-class shares are 1.20%, up from 1%.

Sur le London Stock Exchange, iShares a lancé le 3 décembre quatre ETF de droit irlandais répliquant des indices de volatilité minimale.Il s’agit des iShares MSCI Europe Minimum Volatility fund (IE00B86MWN23, TFE de 0,25 %), iShares MSCI World Minimum Volatility fund (IE00B8FHGS14, 0,3 %), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility fund (IE00B8KGV557, 0,4 %) et iShares S&P 500 Minimum Volatility fund (IE00B6SPMN59, 0,20 %).L’objectif est de fournir aux investisseurs des produits affichant une volatilité réduite par rapport à ceux répliquant des indices capi-pondérés traditionnels.

Natixis cherche à lancer un fonds pour encourager les investisseurs institutionnels à participer au financement de projets d’infrastructures à ses côtés, selon Financial News. Cela porte à 4 le nombre de maisons du secteur de la gestion d’actifs et de l’assurance à envisager le lancement de tels fonds depuis juillet.

La société suédoise de services financiers Catella a étoffé sa participation dans la société de gestion IPM Informed Portfolio Management d’environ 5 % à 25 % par le biais d’une augmentation de capital réservée de 33 millions de couronnes suédoises.Dans le cadre du développement de sa gestion d’actifs, Catella avait en novembre 2011 acquis un peu plus de 5 % dans IPM Informed Portfolio Management, devenant le seul investisseur institutionnel de la structure.IPM, spécialisé dans la gestion systématique, gère environ 7 milliards de dollars pour le compte d’investisseurs institutionnels, fonds de pension, compagnies d’assurances et fondations. La société compte 43 employés et est basée à Stockholm.

iShares on 3 December launched four Irish-registered ETFs on the London Stock Exchange, which replicate minimum volatility indices. They are the iShares MSCI Europe Minimum Volatility fund (IE00B86MWN23, TER of 0.25%), iShares MSCI World Minimum Volatility fund (IE00B8FHGS14, 0.3%), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility fund (IE00B8KGV557, 0.4%) and iShares S&P 500 Minimum Volatility fund (IE00B6SPMN59, 0.20%). The objective is to provide investors with products that have lower volatility than funds which replicate traditional cap-size weighted indices.

The Frankfurt-based firm Mainfirst Asset Management (EUR2.8bn in institutional assets) has obtained sales licenses for Germany and Austria for its new Luxembourg-based fund MainFirst Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund Balanced, launched on 12 october, from BaFin and FMA. Since its creation, the product, the first bond fund from the German asset management firm, which exists in retail and institutional share classes denominated in US dollars, Swiss francs and euros, has already attracted USD50m. It is already registered for sale in France and Belgium. Licenses have already been applied for in the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands.The product is an emerging markets corporate bond fund (Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia) managed by a team from the Swiss firm Clariden Leu composed of Cornel Bruhin, Dorothea Fröhlich and Thomas Rutz (see Newsmanagers of 30 August and 1 October).The fund (85 positions in 35 countries) is currently 17.4% invested in Chinese bonds, 13.8% in Brazilian securities, and 8.4% in russian securities. The financial sector accounts for 24.7% of the portfolio, followed by consumer products (12.2%) and the industrial sector (10.9%). The average residual time to maturity is 7 years, and average rating is BB+CharacteristicsName: MainFirst Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund BalancedISIN Codes (for shares in euros)Retail A2: LU0816909369Institutional C2: LU0816920375Minimal subscriptionA2: EUR2,500C2: EUR50,000Management commission:A2: 1.5% C2: 0.8%

Le gouverneur de la Banque de France, Christian Noyer, a souhaité le 3 décembre que la plus grosse part des échanges en euros soit accomplie dans la zone euro elle-même plutôt qu'à la City de Londres, rapporte l’AFP. Christian Noyer, qui est aussi membre du conseil des gouverneurs de la Banque centrale européenne (BCE), a jugé que les Etats-Unis constituaient de ce point de vue un exemple à suivre pour la zone euro.New York reste le principal centre pour le dollar américain. Les autorités américaines ne sont pas opposées au fait que le dollar soit échangé à Londres, mais elles font très attention à ce que l’essentiel des transactions ne soit pas réalisé en dehors des Etats-Unis. Nous sommes pareils, a expliqué M. Noyer à la presse française en marge du forum financier Paris Europlace à Tokyo.D’après le gouverneur, il n’est pas logique que le centre financier le plus actif pour gérer notre monnaie ou fournir des services au sein de notre union économique soit basé à l'étranger, a-t-il ajouté en référence à la City de Londres. Dans un entretien au Financial Times publié le même jour, Christian Noyer avait déjà souligné que l’essentiel des affaires en euros devrait être fait au sein de la zone euro, jugeant que cela était lié à la nécessité pour la BCE d’assurer la surveillance de sa propre monnaie.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has approved the co-operation arrangements between the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA and the EU securities regulators for the supervision of alternative investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity and real estate funds. ESMA has negotiated the agreement with FINMA on behalf of all 27 EU national competent authorities for securities markets regulation. The co-operation arrangements include the exchange of information, cross-border on-site visits and mutual assistance in the enforcement of the respective supervisory laws. This co-operation will apply to Swiss alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) that manage or market alternative investment funds (AIFs) in the EU and to EU AIFMs that manage or market AIFs in Switzerland. The agreement also covers co-operation in the cross-border supervision of depositaries and AIFMs’ delegates. The agreement will take the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the EU securities supervisors and FINMA. The key elements of the EU-Swiss cooperation agreement are: EU and Swiss supervisors will be able to supervise fund managers that operate on a cross-border basis in the EU and Switzerland; The co-operation between the authorities includes the exchange of information, cross- border on-site visits and assistance in the enforcement of the respective laws (i.e. the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes of 23 June 2006); EU authorities will be able to share relevant information received from FINMA with other EU authorities, ESMA and the European Systemic Risk Board, provided appropriate safeguards apply; The existence of co-operation arrangements between the EU and non-EU authorities is a precondition of the AIFMD for allowing managers from third countries to access EU markets or perform fund management by delegation from EU managers; and The EU-Swiss co-operation arrangements are applicable from 21 July 2013 and enable cross-border management and marketing to professional investors of alternative investment funds.

The decision by UBS in July 2008 to no longer offer cross-border operations with US clients has had a silver lining for at least one happy company. The Swiss private bank Pictet has seen inflows since mid-2008 of about CHF735m from former US clients of UBS, according to the website finews, which cites an article in SonntagsBlick. Only the Julius Baer bank has taken on more assets from US clients, finews reports.Funds which used to be at Pictet have been integrated into the portfolios of Pictet North American Advisors (PNAA), says finews. Assets under management at PNAA total about CHF3.3bn.

The real estate fund Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Global (CS REF Global) has acquired its first property in North America. Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Global, launched last year, is purchased a commercial property in Houston, Texas, which is wholly leased, for a total of about CHF35.5m, Credit Suisse announced in a statement on 3 December. After its acquisitions in Europe and Asia Pacific, the portfolio of the real estate fund Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Global now consists of six properties. It is now coherently pursuing its investment strategy. As of 31 October 2012, CS REF Global had an investment volume totalling about CHF309.6m. Other acquisitions are being examined in Europe and South America, a statement says. CS REF Global is, according to Credit Suisse, the first Swiss real estate fund that makes diversified investments in foreign real estate and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The fund is therefore not only open to institutional investors, but also provides private investors with access to this type of investment.

Regensburg-based Lacuna has received a sales license for Germany, Luxembourg and Austria for its Lacuna – Adamant Global Healthcare, a Luxembourg-registered, UCITS-compliant fund which replciates a Swiss product launched in October 2011, managed by the Zurich-based Adamant Biomedical Investments AG.The product is a healthcare sector equity fund which covers all areas from biotechnologies and generics to medical equipment, traditional pharmaceuticals, and services. The portfolio includes four equally-weighted regions (25% each): Western Europe, North America, emerging markets, and Japan/Australia, with a potential for 10% over- or underweight for each allocation depending on the evolution of the markets.The strategy, launched in 2007, has generated average annual returns of 11.22% in US dollars, compared with a loss of 0.4% for the MSCI World.CharacteristicsName: Lacuna – Adamant Global HealthcareISIN code: LU0385207252Minimal subscription: EUR100,000Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 1.20%Performance commission: 15% of performance exceeding a hurdle rate of 1%, with high watermark

The implementation of Solvency II is continuing to raise a variety of questions for insurers. The new rules, now postponed to the distant future (perhaps to 2015, or 2016; cf. Newsmanagers of 3 December 2012), result in a significant reallocation of insurers’ portfolios, say Mathilde Sauvé and Mathieu L’Hoir, analysts and authors of the study “Investment Essentials,” published by Axa IM (attached). Reallocation is expected to total about EUR500bn, says Axa IM. This reallocation has already had an impact. The prices of European equities are still 33% below their levels before the crisis, Axa IM points out. The study suggests that 25% of the difference between current prices and their pre-crisis levels is due to significant negative flows due to reallocations related to Solvency II. Solvency II will continue to play a significant role in the deermination of asset prices, and will penalise total profitability of equities by one quarter, with 60 basis-point spreads. “On the equity side, our results suggest that Solvency II is still expected to take about 2% off total equity return,” the study finds. With other factors such as low interest rates and Basel III, Solvency II is one cause of “a structural rebalancing of the market in favour of debt securities,” the authors of the study say. Axa IM has also noted several reallocation trends at insurers. These are expected to have a greater appetite for sovereign debt, as this is not subject to capital gains tax. Investment grade credit represents the default choice of aset “due to its low volatility and the low solvency capital required. Short-term credit is preferred to long-term, leading to a distortion of the spread curve on the corporate bond market. Insurers are also expected to show less interest in unhedged equities. Diversification is becoming more important, as it reduces capital requirements and economic volatility. Insurers are expected to make more frequent use of derivatives to manage risk dynamically. Lastly, Axa IM has observed a will to reduce hedgeing of long-term passive asset due to changes at the long end of the interest rate curve.

Natixis cherche à lancer un fonds pour encourager les investisseurs institutionnels à participer au financement de projets d’infrastructures à ses côtés, selon Financial News. Cela porte à 4 le nombre de maisons du secteur de la gestion d’actifs et de l’assurance à envisager le lancement de tels fonds depuis juillet.

After a year of stagnant asset levels, La Française AM is expecting to post strong growth in its assets under management in 2012, to over EUR37bn, from EUR34.77bn at the end of December 2011, Patrick Rivière, CEO of La Française AM, announced at a press conference on 3 December.For securities, inflows are expected to total about EUR1.5bn, while the real estate unit is expected to post growth of about 10%, with subscriptions totalling approximately a net EUR800m, of which EUR400m are in SCPI.Marc Bertrand, CEO of La Française Real Estate Managers (La Française REM), says that the business model for the real estate unit is in line with the development plan, which is to move from French to international markets and from retail to institutional investors. Institutional investors represent a growing part of international inflows. La Française REM targets major institutional clients (pension funds, sovereign funds) which segment by country.The real estate unit is a pillar of La Française AM which is expected to grow further in 2013, with new offerings. From the beginning of the new year, La Française AM is expected to offer real estate debt funds. These are expected to bring in inflows for the year of EUR300m to EUR400m.Another ongoing project which is expected to bear fruit in January or February 2013 is mortgage funds. The firm has already received clearance from the ANF, which has yet to license the products. But the outlooks there too appear interesting, with the priority on the primary debt market, but incursions into the secondary market also allowed.In addition to these projects, 2013 appears to be a favourable year for La Française REM, which is hoping for results similar to the past year, with returns totalling 5% to 5.30%, depending on the support.

The French asset management firm Diamant Bleu, which is 15% controlled by La Française AM and has over EUR150m in assets under management, has acquired its rival Orchidée Finance, which has assets of EUR12m. The transaction price has not been disclosed, but Hugues Le Maire, CEO and co-fonder of Diamant Bleu Gestion, has told Newsmanagers that it represents “a reasonable valuation at the bottom of the cycle.” The operation, which took the form of a universal transmission of assets, allows Orchidée Finance, which was considerably smaller than critical size, to join a larger firm, and to hope to attract more investors to its fund, Orchidée I Long/Short, which will be retained. For Diamant Bleu Gestion, the acquisition is an opportunity to strengthen its offerings in equities, “an asset class which will become important for investors,” Le Maire anticipates. In addition to the fund, the firm has gained two managers: Daniel Larrouturou, who founded the firm in 2008, and Arnaud Sauvage. As part of the operation, Larrouturou will also take a 5% stake in Diamant Bleu Gestion, and this stake may increase with time.

La Banque Postale Asset Management vient de publier son produit rapport dédié au développement responsable. La Banque Postale AM se dit «de longue date convaincue de la contribution de l’Investissement Socialement Responsable (ISR) au développement de bonnes pratiques car il incite les entreprises à mettre le développement durable au coeur de leur stratégie».Au 31 décembre 2011, La Banque Postale Asset Management gère 1,226 milliard d’euros d’encours sur la gamme ISR (1,261 milliard d’euros en 2010), ce qui représente 4,1% de ses encours OPCVM (hors mandats assurance vie). La Banque Postale AM souligne que le montant des encours ISR est un des sept indicateurs que La Banque Postale a fait certifier pour l’année 2011 par un commissaire aux comptes.

At a press conference to lay out its investment strategy, Thierry Deheuvels, deputy CEO, in charge of investment at Oddo Asset Management, claimed that an “anticyclone has hit the markets,” calming instability. However, the markets remain far undervalued, and 2013 may hold some positive surproses. However, he observes, there has been a reduction in correlations and a normalisation of risk premiums. In this environment, as some appetite for risk returns, allocation and selection create real added value. For bonds, Alain Krief, head of fixed income and convertibles, recommends taking advantage of dislocation in government bond rates and the effects of credit curves on the investment grade category, and low default rates and an increase in growth, by taking a position on high yield and emerging market debt. Lastly, he recommends increasing sensitivity to equity markets via convertibles. Lastly, Mirela Agache, head of diversified management and multi-management, estimates in her core scenario that it is an opportune time to prefer high-risk assets (European equities, credit) as well as currencies, debt and emerging market equities.

In a long article dedicated to Réal Desrochers, a Canadian who is respsonsible for the private equity investments of the pension fund CalPERS (USD241bn), the Wall Street Journal points out that the veteran of Saudi Arabian Investment Co and CalSTRS has often managed to get prices for his employer less than the usual 1% management commission and lower than the traditional 15% to 20% performance commissions.It doesn’t always work: although Cerberus Capital Management, for example, agreed to give a discount off of its management commission, Leonard Green & Partners and Area Management recently told Desrochers that they would not be offering him a discount. And CalPERS has agreed to pay standard commissions for the new fund from Advent International.

Sweden’s Catella is increasing its stake in IPM Informed Portfolio Management AB from approximately 5 per cent to 25 per cent through an SEK 33 million new issue private placement. The new issue is conditional on an approved ownership assessment.As part of the development of Catella’s asset management, in November 2011 Catella acquired a shareholding of just over 5 per cent in IPM Informed Portfolio Management. Catella thereby became the sole institutional shareholder in IPM. IPM is a provider of systematic investment services within discretionary management and fund management. The company is a specialist within Systematic Global Macro-management and Systematic Equity portfolio management, among other things, within fundamental indexation. IPM manages assets valued at approximately USD 7 billion on behalf of major institutional investors, pension funds, insurance companies, and foundations. The company has 43 employees and its head office is located in Stockholm.

Renaissance Asset Managers will be launching a Global Emerging Market Yield fund for its new recruit, Michael Kollo, formerly of Fidelity, Investment Week reports. It will also be managed by Plan Monovski, chief investment officer. The fund will invest in businesses from emerging markets which pay dividends.

Avec effet au 3 décembre, Amundi Luxembourg SA a majoré de 20 points de base la commission de gestion de deux des compartiments d’Amundi Funds, Absolute Volatility Euro Equities (2,93 milliards d’euros) et Volatility World Equities (2,91 milliards).Les parts I sont maintenant chargées à 0,70 % contre 0,50 % et les parts A à 1,20 % contre 1 %.

Le francfortois Mainfirst Asset Management (2,8 milliards d’euros d’encours institutionnels) vient d’obtenir de la BaFin et de la FMA l’agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne et en Autriche de son nouveau fonds luxembourgeois MainFirst Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund Balanced lancé le 12 octobre. Depuis sa création, ce produit, le premier fonds obligataire du gestionnaire allemand, qui existe en parts retail et institutionnelles libellées en dollars, en francs suisses et en euros, a déjà drainé 50 millions de dollars. Il est déjà enregistré pour la vente en France et en Belgique. Des agréments ont déjà été sollicités en outre pour le Royaume-Uni, l’Italie et les Pays-Bas.Il s’agit d’un fonds d’obligations d’entreprises des pays émergents (Amérique latine, Europe de l’Est, Afrique et Asie) géré par une équipe en provenance du suisse Clariden Leu composée de Cornel Bruhin, Dorothea Fröhlich et Thomas Rutz (lire Newsmanagers du 30 août et du 1er octobre).Actuellement, le fonds (85 lignes de 35 pays) est investi à 17,4 % en obligations chinoises, à 13,8 % en titres brésilien et à 8,4 % en valeurs russes. Les financières pèsent 24,7 % du portefeuille, les biens de consommation 12,2 % et les industrielles 10,9 %. L'échéance résiduelle moyenne est de 7 ans et la notation moyenne se situe à BB+.CaractéristiquesDénomination : MainFirst Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund BalancedCodes Isin (parts en euros) :Retail A2 : LU0816909369Institutionnels C2 : LU0816920375Souscription minimaleA2 : 2.500 eurosC2 : 500.000 eurosCommission de gestion :A2 : 1,2 %C2 : 0,8 %

Pour le mois de décembre, les trois sociétés de gestion composant le fonds de Swiss Life AM qui se réfère à une stratégie dite SL amLeague actions euro TOP3, sont Dexia AM, AllianceBernstein et Mandarine Gestion. Une pondération fixe est attribuée à chacune des trois sociétés retenues : 4/9 pour la première, 3/9 pour la deuxième et 2/9 pour la dernière. Le mois dernier, Alliance Bernstein, Mandarine Gestion et Federal Finance avaient été sélectionnés permettant à l’indice de progresser de 2,58 %.

Le gestionnaire allemand Lacuna, de Ratisbonne, a obtenu l’agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne, Luxembourg et Autriche pour son Lacuna - Adamant Global Healthcare, un fonds coordonné de droit luxembourgeois qui réplique un produit helvétique lancé en octobre 2011 et qui est géré par le zurichois Adamant Biomedical Investments AG.Il s’agit d’un fonds d’actions du secteur de la santé qui couvre tous les domaines depuis la biotechnologie et les génériques jusqu’aux équipements médicaux en passant par la pharmacie classique et les services. Le portefeuille couvre quatre régions a priori équipondérées (25 % chacune) : Europe occidentale, Amérique du Nord, pays émergents et Japon/Australie, avec une possibilité de sur ou sous-pondération de 10 points en fonction de l'évolution des marchés.Cette stratégie lancée en 2007 a généré une performance annuelle moyenne de 11,22 % en dollars contre une perte de 0,4 % pour le MSCI World.CaractéristiquesDénomination : Lacuna - Adamant Global HealthcareCode Isin : LU0385207252Souscription minimale : 100.000 eurosDroit d’entrée : 5 %Commission de gestion : 1,20 %Commission de performance : 15 % de la surperformance par rapport à un taux butoir de 1 %, avec high watermark.

Les encours des ETF à l’échelle mondiale pourraient être multipliés par dix par rapport à leur niveau actuel de 1.800 milliards de dollars, estime Mark Wiedman, responsable mondial d’iShares, dans une interview au Financial Times Fund Management. Il souligne que les ETF sont de plus en plus utilisés à la place des dérivés, des titres individuels et des fonds traditionnels. Deux récentes acquisitions d’ETF iShares par des assureurs français et japonais illustrent ce point.Mark Wiedman indique par ailleurs que l’ambition d’iShares est d’être « numéro un » pour les souscriptions nettes, la croissance des revenus et la part des actifs dans chaque région du monde.

Un nombre record de 187 hedge funds quantitatifs ou algorithmiques a été lancé cette année, représentant 12 % de toutes les créations de hedge funds, soit un autre record, indique Preqin, dont l’historique des données remonte à 2000. L’un des facteurs derrière la croissance des stratégies quantitatives est la vague d’anciens traders pour compte propre de banques d’investissement prêts à lancer leurs hedge funds, analyse le Financial Times Fund Management.

Selon L’Agefi, le fonds d’investissement Carlyle chercherait à lever trois milliards d’euros pour son prochain véhicule de quatrième génération dédié à des opérations à effet de levier sur le Vieux continent. Carlyle cible des sociétés européennes dont la valorisation dépasse les 200 millions d’euros.

Renaissance Asset Managers va lancer un fonds Global Emerging Market Yield pour sa nouvelle recrue, Michael Kollo, un ancien de Fidelity, rapporte Investment Week. Il sera aussi géré par Plan Monovski, le directeur des investissements. Le fonds sera investi dans des entreprises des marchés émergents versant des dividendes.

Dexia est entré en négociations exclusives avec la société d’investissement de Hong Kong, GCS capital, en vue de la cession de sa filiale de gestion d’actifs, Dexia Asset Management (Dexia AM), dernier actif opérationnel encore à céder dans le cadre de son plan de restructuration.En cas de finalisation des négociations, GCS capital prévoit de conserver l’empreinte régionale actuelle de Dexia AM, avec quatre grandes implantations à Bruxelles, Paris, Luxembourg et Sydney (Australie), selon un communiqué publié le 4 décembre. Les actifs sous gestion de Dexia AM s’inscrivaient à 78 milliards d’euros à fin 2011.Si toutes les cessions prévues dans le cadre du plan de restructuration, mis en place en octobre 2011, n’ont pas encore été finalisées, Dexia AM restait la seule entité opérationnelle du groupe à ne pas avoir trouvé preneur.Avant Dexia AM, Dexia avait ainsi déjà engagé la cession de Dexia banque belgique (DBB devenue depuis Belfius), de la filiale turque DenizBank, de Dexia municipal agency (filiale française de refinancement des prêts aux collectivités), de la filiale Banque internationale à Luxembourg (BIL) et de sa participation dans RBC Dexia investor services (gestion de titres).