Le hedge fund Permian Investment Partners, qui a acquis une certaine notoriété depuis que son fondateur, Cara Goldenberg, a été invité à déjeuner par Warren Buffett, a dégagé une performance de 16,2% depuis le début de l’année, selon le site Valuewalk.Les actifs du fonds, qui investit principalement dans une stratégie long/short, s'élèvent à environ 200 millions de dollars. Parmi les principales positions longues de Permian figurent notamment Kroton, Atos SA et Merck.

La banque UBS a franchi à la hausse le seuil de 10% dans le capital de la société française CFAO, actuellement visée par une offre publique d’achat (OPA) de la maison de commerce japonaise Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC), selon l’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).Au 31 octobre 2012, la banque détenait 6.214.288 actions, soit 10,10% du capital et des droits de vote du spécialiste de la distribution automobile et pharmaceutique en Afrique et Outre-mer.Elle a précisé agir seule et non de concert avec toute autre partie, a relevé l’AMF dans un avis publié le 6 novembre. UBS «n’a pas l’intention de prendre le contrôle de CFAO, ni n’envisage de demander un ou plusieurs sièges (au conseil de surveillance ou au directoire) de CFAO», a poursuivi l’avis.La banque n’a pas non plus une stratégie planifiée à l'égard de l'émetteur (ni combinée avec de nouvelles acquisitions), car les acquisitions sont principalement dues à l’activité des clients et aux variables de marché», comme le prix de l’action, la volatilité et des informations relatives à CFAO.TTC avait annoncé fin août son intention de lancer une offre publique d’achat sur le solde du capital de CFAO, au prix unitaire de 37,50 euros, après avoir acquis fin juillet 29,8% du capital auprès du groupe de luxe PPR. Ce dernier, qui avait conservé un peu plus de 12%, s'était engagé à apporter ses titres à l’offre.

Le taux de couverture moyen des engagements des fonds de pension d’entreprise américains s’est replié en octobre de 1,4 point de pourcentage pour s'établir à 73,6%, selon des estimations communiquées par BNY Mellon.Durant le mois sous revue, le rally des marchés d’actions internationaux n’a pas permis de compenser le recul des marchés américains. Les actifs des fonds de pension ont ainsi diminué de 0,7% en octobre, les engagements augmentant pour leur part de 1,1%. Le taux d’actualisation a diminué de six points de base à 3,72% pour les entreprises notées Aa.

Au 30 septembre, GAMCO Investors affichait un encours record de plus de 36,94 milliards de dollars, soit 3,6 % de plus que les 35,7 milliards de fin juin et 17,9 % de plus que les 31,3 milliards enregistrés fin septembre 2011.Durant le troisième trimestre 2012, GAMCO a subi des remboursements nets de 356 millions de dollars contre des souscriptions nettes de 111 millions en avril-juin et de 899 millions pour la période correspondante de l’an dernier.Le bénéfice net de juillet-septembre 2012 s’est inscrit à 19 millions de dollars contre 15,1 millions au deuxième trimestre et 7,7 millions pour le troisième trimestre 2011. Sur les trois premiers mois de l’année, le bénéfice net ressort à 57,94 millions de dollars contre 45,99 millions pour janvier-septembre 2011.

La société foncière Affine spécialisée dans l’immobilier d’entreprise a annoncé en début de semaine qu’elle va émettre ce jour un emprunt obligataire de 5 millions d’euros qui doit être souscrit par le fonds Micado France 2018 géré par Portzamparc Gestion. Cette émission d’obligations s’intègre dans le projet Micado France 2018, fonds contractuel investi en obligations non notées initié par Accola, Investeam et Middlenext et permettant à des ETI françaises d’accéder au marché obligataire.Les obligations porteront intérêt au taux fixe de 5,80% et seront remboursables in fine le 2 octobre 2018. Elles seront cotées sur le marché NYSE Alternext, précise un communiqué. Le produit de cette émission contribuera au financement du plan de développement stratégique du groupe.

Syz & Co a annoncé le lancement de Oyster Global High Dividend, un nouveau compartiment de sa sicav luxembourgeoise Ucits IV Oyster investie dans les actions à haut dividende dans le monde entier. Piloté par Roberto Magnatantini de SYZ Asset Management, le compartiment combine analyse quantitative et fondamentale, avec un accent particulier sur la croissance des dividendes. «A l’heure où le rendement du dividende est souvent plus élevé que les taux obligataires, ce type de stratégie présente un intérêt grandissant», souligne Syz&Co. Oyster Global High Dividend est pour le moment limité uniquement à une clientèle institutionnelle, mais devrait prochainement être enregistré dans plusieurs pays en Europe et en Asie pour devenir accessible au public, précise le communiqué.CaractéristiquesUSD : LU0821216339, commission de gestion 1,50%EUR : LU0821216685, commission de gestion 1,50%CHF : LU0821216768, commission de gestion 1,50%USD D : LU0821216412, commission de gestion 1,50%Classes institutionnellesI USD : LU0821216842, commission de gestion 0,75%I USD D : LU0821217063, commission de gestion 0,75%I EUR : LU0821217147, commission de gestion 0,75%I CHF : LU0821217220, commission de gestion 0,75%

Tony Williams, jusqu'à présent président et COO d’Artio Global Investors, filiale américaine de Julius Baer, a été nommé CEO de la société. Il remplace à ce poste Richard Pell, qui se concentrera dorénavant exclusivement à la direction de la gestion. La présidence du directoire sera assurée par Francis Ledwidge, directeur de la société.

L’ancien responsable de l’obligataire asiatique de First State Investments, Murray Collis, va rejoindre Standish Mellon Asset Management, a appris AsianInvestor. Il pourrait avoir comme mission d'élaborer une offre asiatique pour le spécialiste américain de l’obligataire.

Syz & Co has announced the launch of Oyster Global High Dividend, a new sub-fund of its UCITS IV-compliant Luxembourg Sicav Oyster, investing in equities that pay a high dividend worldwide. The sub-fund will be managed by Roberto Magnatantini at SYZ Asset Management, and combined quantitative and fundamental analysis, with a particular emphasis on growth in dividends. “At a time when returns from dividends are often higher than bond returns, this type of strategy is increasingly attractive,” Syz&Co points out. For the moment, Oyster Global High Dividend is limited solely to institutional clients, but may soon be registered in several countries in Europe and Asia to become available to the public, a statement says. CharacteristicsUSD : LU0821216339, management commission 1.50%EUR : LU0821216685, management commission 1.50%CHF : LU0821216768, management commission 1.50%USD D : LU0821216412, management commission 1.50% Institutional share classes I USD : LU0821216842, management commission 0.75%I USD D : LU0821217063, management commission 0.75%I EUR : LU0821217147, management commission 0.75%I CHF : LU0821217220, management commission 0.75%

Baptiste Janiaud, trésorier de Veolia Environnement dans un article paru dans Option Finance numéro 1193 : Sur quels supports placez-vous votre trésorerie? Nous disposons d’environ 4 milliards d’euros de trésorerie, que nous plaçons quasiment pour moitié dans des OPCVM monétaires. L’autre moitié se répartit entre les certificats de dépôts bancaires, à hauteur de 45%, et le solde entre des billets de trésorerie ainsi que des commercial papers étrangers. Cette dernière allocation, conçue comme un outil de diversification, est purement opportuniste. Sa part évolue donc en fonction des entreprises émettrices et des rendements offerts, pour des maturités allant de un à trois mois. Dans un contexte de taux bas, avez-vous modifié votre allocation afin de maximiser le rendement offert? Notre allocation n’a pas changé significativement au cours des derniers mois. Certes, les rendement offerts par les OPCVM monétaires ont diminué de plusieurs dizaines de points de base (pb). Mais cette tendance est avant tout liée à la baisse du taux de référence interbancaire, l’Eonia, qui est passé, depuis janvier, de 0.40% à 0.10 % environ. En effet, les spreads sont, quant à eux, restés stables, quand ils n’ont pas légèrement progressé. Certains OPCVM nous offrent ainsi des rendements à Eonia + 60pb, voire au-delà. Cette situation s’explique notamment par le fait que les gérants ont investi sur des titres de plus longue maturité, afin de bénéficier de taux plus élevés. En outre, ils ont diversifié leurs investissements en sélectionnant des profils dont la qualité de crédit se révèle légèrement inférieure pour obtenir du rendement. Au final, nous nous contentons des rémunérations actuelles, d’autant que nous nous appuyons sur un nombre limité d’OPCVM très liquides - cinq à six fonds, dont l’encours dépasse 5 milliards d’euros - , ce qui nous permet d’en sortir dès que nous le souhaitons. En raison de la concurrence bancaire pour attirer les dépôts, les placements bancaires sont-ils aujourd’hui plus intéressants que les OPCVM? La rémunération des dépôts bancaires est très hétérogène parmi les établissements européen. L'écart de rendement offert peut ainsi varier d’Eonia + 64 pb, soit une différence de 70 pb ! En moyenne, les OPCVM restent néanmoins plus avantageux. Au premier semestre, le rendement moyen de nos différents placements a atteint environ 1 %. Nous continuons toutefois à déposer des liquidités sur des comptes à terme ainsi qu'à souscrire à des certificats de dépôt car cette pratique s’inscrit dans le cadre de notre relation globale avec nos banques historiques. Mais, comme pour les OPCVM, nous choisissons des supports qui nous permettent de récupérer l’argent placé dès que nous le voulons.

The German energy market EEX, and its French counterpart Powernext, which are already co-shareholders in the European electricity trading market Epex-Spot, on 6 November announced that they are joining forces to create a pan-European natural gas market, based on a joint IT platform. In detail, EEX and Powernext will remain two distinct gas markets, and will not create a joint affiliate, a joint statement says, but the two groups will both offer their products on a joint Trayport platform, using the same technology used by Powernext since 2004. According to the two groups, the project will be completed in first quarter 2013, pending the necessary regulatory approval.

BlackRock has topped rankings of the 500 largest asset management firms worldwide undertaken by Towers Watson (as of 31 December 2011). Allianz, State Street Global, Vanguard and Fidelity follow it. The top French firm is BNP Paribas, in eighth place, followed by Amundi (12th) and Natixis (15th). Investment Europe has published the full list on its website.

Since October, Andreas Zöllner has become a member of the management at the Munich-based independent asset management firm Eyb & Wallwitz, along with partners Georg, count of Wallwitz, and Ernst Konrad. He will additionally be responsible for the management of funds and institutional mandates.Previously, Zöllner had spent 11 years as manager of institutional funds for pension funds and foundations at Hauck & Aufhäuser Asset Management.

Oddo Asset Management, Alliance Bernstein and Aberdeen Asset Managment have each recently announced the launch of a fund of fund on the Banca Generali platform, Investment Europe reports. The products are now available via the Luxembourg Sicav BG Selection, launched by the Italian firm in 2008. Piermario Motta, CEO of Banca Generali, says that the Sicav is an easy means for an international brand to reach the Italian market. BG Selection has attracted over EUR5bn since its launch. It now includes 46 sub-funds managed by 26 asset management firms, and that number is set to increase. Motta may launch a sub-fund with a small caps specialist.

Last month, the flagship bond fund from Bill Gross, the Pimco Total Return Fund, attracted over USD2.4bn in net subscriptions, beating out the DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund managed by Jeff Gundlach, which attracted USD1.9bn, Mutual Fund Wire reports.US mutual bond funds have posted net inflows of USD238.27bn in the first ten months of the year, while equity mutual funds have seen net outflows of USD82.97bn, according to statistics published by Reuters.

Last month, exchange-traded products (ETPs) attracted USD9.5bn in net subscriptions, of which USD4.2bn were for products listed in Europe, according to estimates by the BlackRock Investment Institute. In the first ten months of the year, net inflows totalled USD192.3bn (of which USD23.9bn were in Europe), which is higher than the total of USD173.4bn posted for all of 2011; in January-October last year, net subscriptions totalled USD157.7bn.In the first ten months of the year, the strongest net subscriptions were for the Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets and the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond with USD11.48bn nd USD6.73bn, respectively, while the two strongest net outflows were from the iShares MSCI EAFE and Barclays 1-3 year Treasury Bond, with USD2.71bn and USD2.55bn, respectively.Total assets in global ETPs as of the end of October came to USD1.8267trn, of which USD1.2823bn were in the United States, and USD348.3bn in Europe.

The Swiss group UBS has appointed Oscar Balcon as head of the wealth management unit in India, the website finews reports. Balcon, who has been working for UBS for 28 years, will move from Singapore to Mumbai, where he will be responsible for the development of wealth management activities for the Indian market. The product range, which already includes equities, funds and cash products, will be extended to include credit.

Assets under management at Royal London Asset Management have increased 17% in the first nine months of the year to a total of GBP46.6bn, according to an interim report published on 6 November by the asset management firm. Net inflows, however, fell 28% to GBP156.8m.

Fidelity has appointed Pat Shea as head of its FundsNetwork platform, Investment Week reports. He succeeds Hugh Mullan, who had temporarily managed the platform since the departure of David White in June. Shea has been working at Fidelity for 26 years.

The Centre for Econmics and Business Research (CEBR) has published a study which claims the London financial sector will lose 13,000 jobs in 2013. The CEBR estimates that the number of jobs will fall to 237,000 next year, and 236,000 in 2014, which corresponds to 1993 evels. The situation aggravated severely, as six months ago, the study says, projections were predicting that the financial sector would have 256,000 jobs in 2013.In detail, the decline reflects a collapse in several sectors of activity during this year. Equity market activities, for example, lost 20% in value year on year. After very strong gains last year, international orders, for their part, fell off by more than 50%, and sovereign issues have seen a decline of 33%. Merger and acquisition activities in the United Kingdom also fell by one third in 2012, the study finds, adding that internationally, the decline is even steeper. Even the once-important derivatives sector has lost nearly one fifth. The only exceptions the CEBR observes are private equity and mergers and acquisitions in the IT sector are keeping up.Lastly, the CEBR projection models indicate that the situation will stabilise in 2013-2014 at best, and that a slight increase will follow.

The Swiss asset management firm Bellevue Asset Management has announced the appointment of Heiko Ulmer as head of distribution in Germany. Bellevue is planning to meet increasing demand for investment products in the areas of “Health/biotechnologies, Africa and Entrepreneur,” the firm, a part of Bellevue Group, says in a statement published on 6 November. Ulmer previously worked for JP Morgan and UBS.

Credit Suisse is tightening its ties with Qatar Holding, one of the largest shareholders in the second-largest Swiss banking group. The two partners are founding Adventicum Capital Management, a joint venture active in institutional management. The firm will be based in Doha, and will commence its activities in early 2013. The new firm plans to offer institutional clients investment opportunities in the Middle East, Turkey and other new markets. Adventicum Capital Management is planning to open a second location outside the region during 2013, Credit Suisse announced on 6 November. The new firm will have a license from the Qatar Financial Centre. The creation of Adventicum represents a major step in the growth of Doha as a financial centre for the region, says Ahmad Al-Sayed, head of Qatar Holding, cited in the statement. With its expertise in institutional management and its experience in emerging markets, Credit Suisse represents the ideal partner, Al-Sayed continues. Adventicum will be led by Aladdin Hangari, director of Credit Suisse Qatar, and Martin Keller, head of the Asset Management activities of Credit Suisse in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The average coverage rate for liabilities of US corporate pension funds fell in October by 1.4 percentage points, to a total of 73.6%, according to estimates by BNY Mellon. In the month under review, a rally on international equity markets did not offset a decline in the US markets. Assets in pension funds fell by 0.7% in October, while liabilities, for their part, increased by 1.1%. The discount rate fell by six basis points to 3.72%, for business with an Aa rating.

The Börsen-Zeitung reports that the open-ended real estate fund KanAm grundinvest, which is in the process of liquidation, has succeeded in selling the former headquarters of Deutsche Bank in London to an Asian sovereign wealth fund. The sale took place above the purchase price, but the market value of the asset was not disclosed.The DEGI International fund from Aberdeen, meanwhile, a fund which is also in the process of liquidation, has sold a property in Canada to a local institutional investor, at a price below its most recent expert valuation.

Following the recent launch of the CTA MS QTI UCITS Fund from Quest Partners (IE00B89MRY57, see Newsmanagers of 30 October), the FundLogic Alternatives platform from Morgan Stanley has accepted a global macro UCITS-compliant hedge fund from SLJ Macro Partners, the MS SLJ Macro UCITS Fund (IE00B7YD6N88), which applies the same strategy as the SLJ Macro Offshore Fund.While the MS QTI charges 1%, the SLJ Macro has a TER of 1.50%, and carries a performance commission of 20% with high watermark.

It has been a delicate period for active management in October. In the euro zone, only four asset management firms out of 18 did better than the market benchmark, the Eurostoxx Net Return, while in Europe, half of portfolios were outperformed by the Stoxx 600 net Return index. And the situation has not really changed within the Global Equities mandate, as eight firms out of 15 have done better than the Stoxx 600 NR – but with negative results.In detail, the month of October favoured value management. In the euro zone, Alliance Bernstein has gained 3.40%, followed by Mandarine Getion (+2.35%) and Somangest (+2.06%). Within the Europe mandate, the situation is similar. Value management is leading the pack. In addition to Dexia AM (+1.86%), in the top places are Bestinver (+1.56%), Alliance Bernstein (+1.52%) and Mandarine gestion (+1.43%). These portfolios are comfortably outperforming the index (+0.78%). In the Global Euqities mandate, the situation is slightly different: the best-performing portfolios are struggling to remain in positive territory. Petercm (-0.07%) is head of Swiss Life AM (-0.08%) and Alliance Bernstein (-0.32%). Value management has limited the damage, while the Stoxx 180 Net Return has lost 1.30%.

The British Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on 6 November opened a consultation which opens the way for infrastructure investments to double for pension funds of local councils. Investment in infrastructure, currently limited to 15%, may increase to 30%, according to proposals by the DCLG. According to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, the modification to the limit could allow for as much as GBP22bn to be injected into job-creating infrastructure projects.

The former head of Asian bonds at First State Investments, Murray Collis, will join Standish Mellon Asset Management, AsianInvestor has learned. He may be responsible for establishing an Asian product range for the American bond specialist firm.

Glenn Carlson will resign from his position as CEO of Brandes Investment Partners on 1 February, according to a letter sent to clients and obtained by MFWire. He will be replaced by Brent Woods, managing director of investments. Glenn Carlson will remain at Brandes as a senior partner and member of the investment supervisory board.

Greg Johnson, chairman and CEO of Franklin Resources, is in acquisition mode, Financial Times Fund Management reports. The goal is to strengthen the alternative management activity of the group, better known by the name Franklin Templeton Investments. Despite recent alternative acquisitions, Greg Johnson says that he would like to “have a more significant presence” at a time when he feels that institutional and retail demand for alternative management is increasing. The director would like to acquire a private equity firm in particular.