Klaus Regling estime à deux jours le délai d'intervention sur le marché secondaire. Le MES a déjà investi 4 milliards sur les marchés

Même si elles ont peu de choix pour noter leurs opérations, elles continuent de lever de l'argent sur les marchés

D’après les spécialistes des collectivités, l’agence de notation s’est désengagée de ce marché. Cela n’a pas empêché les collectivités de réaliser des émissions obligataires, mais ce retrait complique les transactions, notamment pour attirer les investisseurs internationaux.

Le Comité de politique monétaire a maintenu le dispositif de soutien à l'économie américaine dévoilé il y a six semaines

Les économistes espèrent un retour de la croissance avant mi-2013

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Les économistes espèrent un retour de la croissance avant mi-2013

Contrastant avec l'échec de Popolare, UBI Banca et UniCredit viennent d'émettre respectivement de la dette senior non sécurisée et subordonnée

Thomas Joyce, le PDG du courtier américain récemment sauvé en urgence (par notamment Blackstone et General Atlantic) après des erreurs de trading, est sollicité par divers nouveaux employeurs. Il aurait ainsi eu des discussions préliminaires depuis deux semaines pour assurer la direction du courtier en ligne E*Trade. Le contrat du dirigeant expire en fin d’année.

As of 30 September, total assets at 3,866 Luxembourg funds came to EUR2.314448trn, compared with EUR2.295399trn one month earlier, and EUR2.296717trn as of the end of August, according to statistics from the CSSF. Assets under management in specialised investment funds (SIF) represented EUR10.715bn.

Dans le cadre de sa politique d'élargissement de son univers d’investissement et en conformité avec les cinq valeurs de sa charte ISR, l’Etablissement de retraite additionnelle de la fonction publique (ERAFP) vient d’attribuer 2 mandats actifs et 4 mandats stand-by de gestion financière. L’ERAFP a lancé en février 2012 un appel d’offres restreint, composé de deux lots, dont l’objet est l’attribution de mandats d’obligations convertibles sur la zone Europe, avec la possibilité d’investir jusqu'à 20% hors d’Europe, et sur la zone Monde. A l’issue de la procédure de sélection, l’ERAFP a décidé d’attribuer le lot n°1, Obligations convertibles de la zone Europe - gestion ISR non benchmarkée, à la société Schelcher Prince Gestion. Acropole AM et Natixis Asset Management sont les gérants suppléants. Le lot n°2, Obligations convertibles de la zone Monde - gestion ISR non benchmarkée a lui été attribué à la société Lombard Odier Gestion. BNP Paribas Asset Management et Fisch Asset Management sont les gérants suppléants. Pour l’ensemble des lots, la composition du portefeuille décidée par l’entreprise d’investissement sélectionnée devra être conforme au dispositif ISR de l’ERAFP. Pour cela l’entreprise d’investissement devra analyser chaque obligation convertible de son portefeuille et de l’indice utilisé comme univers pour l’application du principe de best in class au regard du dispositif ISR de l’ERAFP par ses propres moyens et/ou en s’appuyant sur des ressources externes. Les montants investis estimés à un horizon de trois ans sont de l’ordre de 80 millions d’euros sur la zone Europe et 130 millions d’euros sur la zone Monde. La durée initiale du marché est de quatre ans avec la possibilité pour l’ERAFP de reconduire le marché pour deux périodes successives de deux ans chacune.

The Swedish asset management firm GustaviaDavegårdh Fonder is changing its name to Gustavia Fonder, the Swedish website Fondbranschen reports. The reason for the change is that Björn Davegårdh is no longer active at the business.

The British firm Schroders has recruited Alan Young as head of institutional sales in Hong Kong, Asian Investor reports. Young is a specialist in the Asian market, who previously worked at State Street Global Advisors as head of northern Asia.

Morgan Stanley on 24 October announced the launch of a new fund as part of its FundLogic Alternatives range. In partnership with Equinox Fund Management, the MS QTI UCITS Fund is the first fund in a series of four CTA strategies that comply with UCITS format. Equinox is a multi-management firm based in the United States, specialised in the construction of portfolios constructed from CTA programmes. Its nominal assets under management total over USD2bn. The systematic strategy offered by Morgan Stanley was designed by Quest Parntners, a CTA management firm based in New York.

The French-registered FCP fund CPR Silver Age, launched on 22 December 2009, now has EUR80m in assets, and has posted EUR28m in inflows since the beginning of this year. The EUR100m threshold appears likely to be passed by the end of this year, and CPR Asset Management (Amundi group) received a license from BaFin early in October to sell the fund in Germany, while a license application has also been submitted to the Swiss agency Finma. Sweden is also on the hit list, and CPR has not ruled out creating a Luxembourg-registered clone of the product, to reach a broader client base (also see Newsmanagers of 4 October).The basic idea is to use the secular trend of an ageing population to create a portfolio of 50 securities likely to see long-term growth exceeding that of the economy and European markets. Since launch, as of 15 October, the fund shows returns of 29.9% (22.3% since the beginning of the year), compared with 16.9% (13.3%) for the MSCI Europe index in euros, with dividends reinvested, which is a commercial landmark. The managers, Vafa Ahmadi (director of thematic equity management) and Clément Maclou, have constructed a highly active conviction-based portfolio of about 50 holdings, which differs considerably from this index. This results in significant overweight positions in stocks corresponding to the seven relevant macro-sectors (financial savings, dependency, health equipment, leisure & lifestyle, health products, pharmaceuticals, and security). Though it is not an SRI fund, the managers have incorporated an ethical dimension in their selection of stocks, with the assistance of Vigeo and Amundi ISR. The fund is also advised by a 9-member committee of experts led by Gilles Duthil, chairman of the Silverlife institute, a think tank specialised on the economy of ageing populations.At launch, the fund was primarily of interest to institutional investors, mutual insurers and employee savings structures. Now, it appears to be pertinent to private bankers, multi-managers and asset allocators.

The Blackstone group is preparing to launch a fund which will acquire stakes in hedge fund management firms on the secondary market, as traditional actors such as banks are now pulling out due to sometimes disappointing returns from the sector and regulations, the Reuters agency reports.The activities of Blackstone related to hedge funds have assets under management of USD46.2bn.The size of the new fund, which has not been closed, may reach as much as USD2bn to USD3bn, it is said. Few actors are intervening in this niche activity. One of the largest actors is Neuberger Berman, with its Dyal fund.

Kevin Scherer, a former portfolio manager at Citadel, is planning to launch a hedge fund dedicated to commercial and residential mortgage debt and ABS the news agency Bloomberg reports. The new vehicle, entitled Continuum Investment Management, will be launched in January 2013 by Scherer, with the assistance o three former colleagues from Citadel. It will aim for assets of USD250m.

BNY Mellon in March launched the BNY Mellon Absolute Return Bond Fund, a UCITS IV-compliant version of the absolute return bond fund managed by its boutique Insight Investments (USD280bn in assets under management). The product, managed by Peter Bentley, head of global and British credit, is now on sale in France. The BNY Mellon Absolute Return Bond Fund, which is based on a strategy developed by Insight Investment since 2006, invests both in long and short positions on government bonds, corporate and investment grade debt, corporate high yield debt, ABS, emerging market debt, cash, and money market instruments. The fund, which currently has USD125m in assets, aims to outperform the Euribor 3-month money market index by 3% per year. Risk controlling, a real demand of institutional investors, is an integral part of the fund. Portfolio risks are evaluated with the assistance of a VaR system. The management team defined a “risk unit” framework on the basis of an in-house model, in order to allocate risk within the portfolio. Characteristics ISIN code: IE00B706BP88 Minimum investment: EUR5m Annual management fees: 0.50% Maximum front-end fees: 5% Performance commission: 10%

The recent arrival of Guillaume Jonchères at Banque Leonardo is accompanied by the arrival of Jacques Loussert. Loussert had been manager of the Sarbacan Fund at Sarbacan Capital Limited, with whom the former chairman of Cogefi Gestion had worked when the two asset management firms were integrated into Cogefi. The Imago fund, whose creation at Banque Leonardo Newsmanagers announced a few days ago, will be an exact copy of the Sarbacan fund.The long/short fund, investing in European stocks, can claim a track record since 2006, with annual performance of 5.18%, slightly under the equity markets, but with volatility of less than 5. It will be likely to be attractive to private clients of Banque Leonardo, as it is eligible for equity or life insurance savings plans. According to its managers, the fund aims to position itself between funds in euros with steeply falling returns, and funds exposed to equity markets.

The German asset management firm Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) has acquired the Euro Plaza 4 office building (48,500 square metres), located in the centre of Vienna, from the Austrian firm Klapsch Immobilien, for about EUR150m.The property will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Deutschland.Open-ended real estate funds from UIRE have now invested EUR400m in the Austrian capital.

Open-ended funds in Italy posted net subscriptions in September of EUR1.4bn, according to the most recent statistics from Assogestioni, the Italian association of management professionals. These inflows, entirely to foreign-registered funds, were driven by bond funds, with EUR1.8bn, and balanced funds, with EUR1.3bn. However, equity funds saw outflows of EUR378m, and money market funds, EUR1.1bn. With the addition of closed funds, collective management posted net inflows of EUR1.6bn in September. However, mandated management saw outflows of EUR1bn, of which EUR904m were to institutionals. In terms of players, Banco Popolare ranks first, with net subscriptions of EUR573m, followed by Invesco (EUR301m) and Ubi Banca (EUR268m). At the bottom of the rankings, however, are Generali (-EUR492m), BNP Paribas (-EUR239m) and Credit Suisse (-EUR190m). As of the end of September, open-ended funds on sale in Italy had assets of EUR494bn, while the entire Italian asset management sector (including closed funds and mandates) had EUR990bn.

At the end of third quarter, net profits at comdirect bank (Commerzbank group) were down 6.3% compared with January-September 2011, to a total of EUR53.93m.Assets under administration as of 30 September totalled EUR47.91bn, compared with EUR39.40bn one year earlier, while assets on the B2B platform (ebase) totalled EUR20.62bn, compared with EUR15.20bn.

A survey for the most recent edition of the CDP Global Water Report of 185 mid-sized businesses finds that this year, 53% of firms surveyed, compared with 38% in 2011, suffered a negative impact due to problems related to water (drought, flooding, increase in compliance costs, regulatory uncertainty, and poor water quality). Now, 68% of respondents, up from 59%, estimate that water represents a substantial risk to their activities, while 71%, compared with 63% see a commercial opportunity in responsible water strategy. However, 29% of respondents are still unable to wholly perceive the risks to their activities related to water. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the Government Pension Fund – Global (GPFG, former Norwegian Oil Fund), estimates that companies need to provide more information on the way in which they manage risks related to water.

Adam Smears, head of investment research at Skandia, has left the firm to pursue other opportunities, Investment Week reports. He had been working at the firm since 2003. Old Mutual Global Investors has also announced that Anthony Gillham has been appointed as the sole manager of the Skandia Strategic Bond fund.

Ten Carmignac Gestion funds are now available via the UK Novia platform. These funds are made accessible to IFAs for the first time via a UK wrap platform. Carmignac Gestion recently registered these RDR-ready sterling share classes which are now on the Novia platform:•Carmignac Investissement I GBP acc•Carmignac Investissement D GBP inc •Carmignac Grande Europe I GBP acc•Carmignac Grande Europe D GBP inc •Carmignac Emergents I GBP acc•Carmignac Emergents D GBP inc •Carmignac Emerging Discovery I GBP acc •Carmignac Commodities I GBP acc •Carmignac Patrimoine I GBP acc•Carmignac Patrimoine D GBP inc •Carmignac Emerging Patrimoine I GBP acc•Carmignac Emerging Patrimoine D GBP inc •Carmignac Market Neutral I GBP acc •Carmignac Global Bond I GBP acc•Carmignac Global Bond D GBP inc •Carmignac Cash Plus I GBP acc

The head of strategic alliances at Aviva Investors, Malcolm Mackenzie, will be leaving the firm as part of a reconstruction of the sales team, Fund Web reports. A head of sales, Nick Hendy, will also be leaving. Earlier this year, Aviva Investors announced that it is laying off 160 employees worldwide, including the closure of the European, emerging markets, international and IRS equities desks.

Nicola Muirhead, a former manager at Neptune Investment Management, has joined River and Mercantile Asset Management as an analyst in the gloal equity division led by Alex Stanić. At Neptune, which she joined in 2008, she was an analyst specialised in the mining sector and a manager. Among others, she managed the UK Alpha fund, which was closed due to a lack of assets. Muirhead will be the fifth member of the team founded n 2009, following the recruitment of Stanić and Alex O’Reilly from Newton. R&M has GBP2.7bn in assets under management.

Old Mutual Global Investors, born of the merger of Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK), or OMAM, and Skandia Investment Group (SIG), with assets of GBP13bn as of 30 September, has unveiled its growth strategy, which is based on “active expansion” of its direct asset management capacities.The new entity will rely on the distribution capacities of Old Mutual Wealth, its parent company, which is a specialist in wealth management solutions, while strongly developing its third-party distribution via IFAs, wealth managers, and banks, via strengthened relationships with platforms in the United Kingdom and internationally.The core driver of growth will be investment in areas an asset classes in which new product ranges can be envisioned, whie extending existing areas of expertise. To extend its range, Old Mutual GI has “significantly invested” in scaling up its capacities in product development.The new logo has been adopted, and the new brand will be gradually rolled out throughout 2013, starting in first quarter.Meanwhile, the asset management firm, whose activities are divided into four units (equities, fixed income, alternative and multi-management) has unveiled the composition of its top management:– Julian Ide, Chief Executive Officer– James Millard, Director of Investments– Ashton Bradbury, Head of Equities– Stewart Cowley , Head of Fixed Income– Paul Simpson, Head of Alternatives– John Ventre, Head of Multi-Manager– Paul Nathan, Chief Operating Officer– Mitchell Dean, Chief Financial Officer– Warren Tonkinson, Head of Distribution– Celeste Dias-Brennan, Head of Product– Marcus Bolitho, Head of Marketing– Karen Barnett, Head of Human Resources

Assets under management at Rathbone Brothers (“Rathbones”) as of the end of September totalled GBP17.4bn, up 9.5% compared with the end of December 2011, according to statistics released on 24 October. Operating profits rose 6.7% in the first nine months of the year, to GBP116m. Rathbones states, however, that net inflows slowed to 5.5% over nine months, compared with 8.2% last year.

The wealth management firm Quilter has confirmed to FundWeb that it is about to acquire Cheviot Asset Management.The private equity group Bridgepoint, which acquired Quilter earlier this year, will facilitate the merger of the two entities specialised in wealth management, with assets under management of about GBP12bn.The sale price is said to be less than GBP100m.