Presque une multiplication par deux. Quelque 32% des gestionnaires de fonds envisagent d’externaliser des fonctions de back office au cours des douze prochains mois, selon une enquête que vient de réaliser le fournisseur de services au secteur des fonds Kneip auprès de 130 sociétés dans le monde entier. L’an dernier, seulement 18% des gestionnaires avaient évoqué une telle possibilité.Parmi les fonctions identifiées susceptibles d'être externalisées figurent notamment des fonctions liées à la réglementation Ucits et au DICI (document d’information clé pour l’investisseur ou KIID en anglais). Environ 17% des candidats à l’externalisation ont indiqué qu’ils entendaient recourir à des prestataires externes pour leur production de DICI. En outre, 22% et 16% respectivement ont précisé qu’ils externaliseraient la diffusion et le traitement de leurs DICI.

Depuis le 1er novembre, six nouveaux fonds de droit néerlandais de BNP Paribas Fund II N.V., BNP Paribas Fund III N.V., and BNP Paribas OBAM N.V. ont été admis à la négociation sur Fund Service de NYSE Euronext.Il s’agit de:BNP EUR OBL FONDS P (NL0010261475) chargé à 0,57 %, qui réplique le Ctitigroup WGBI EMU (RI),BNP GL PROP SEC FD P (NL0010261483) sur le FTSE EPRA NAREIT Global (NR) (Dutch tax rate) chargé à 0,87 % BNP HIGH INC PR FD P (NL0010261491) sur le FTSE EPRA NAREIT Global Dividend + (hedged in EUR) (NR) BNP GL HIGH IN EQ P (NL0010261509) sur le S&P High Income Equity World (hedged in EUR) (NR) et BNP AS PAC HI INC P (NL0010261517) sur le S&P High Income Equity Asia Pacific (hedged in EUR) (NR), tous trois également chargés à 0,87 %ainsi que du BNP OBAM P (NL0010261525) sur le MSCI World (RI), dont le TFE est de 0,60 %.Au total Euronext Funds Service cote désormais 192 fonds.

La société de gestion SwissLife AM qui concourt au sein des mandats d’amLeague s’est impliquée dans la mise en place de portefeuilles investissables à destination des investisseurs institutionnels. Le fonds de Swiss Life AM qui se réfère à une stratégie dite SL amLeague actions euro TOP3 construite suivant une approche systématique et exploitant les données de la plateforme amLeague, sélectionne chaque mois trois asset-managers dont la gestion a été retenue et agrégée en fonction des résultats d’un algorithme. Une pondération fixe est attribuée à chacune des trois sociétés retenues : 4/9 pour la mieux considérée, 3/9 pour la suivante et 2/9 pour la dernière. Pour ce mois de novembre, les trois sociétés de gestion retenues sont respectivement Alliance Bernstein, Mandarine Gestion et Federal Finance Investissements.Le mois dernier, Allianz GI, Dexia AM et Ecofi Investissements avaient été retenues, permettant à l’indice de progresser de 0,38 %.

Au 30 septembre, les fonds d’investissement du Banesto affichaient des actifs de 4.222 millions d’euros, soit 9,9 % de moins qu’un an plus tôt, rapporte Funds People. Cette diminution s’explique par le fait que les clients “ont préféré d’autres formes d’épargne”, notamment les dépôts bancaires, dont le volume s’est accru de 0,1 % à 45.540 millions d’euros. Le ratio fonds d’investissement/dépôts ressort à 9,27 %, ce qui est l’un des taux les plus bas du secteur.Quant à l’encours des fonds de pension, il a diminué en un an de 0,5 % à 1.223 millions d’euros.Au total, le Banesto a subi un plongeon de 83,2 % de son bénéfice net pour les neuf premiers mois de l’année, à 50,1 millions d’euros, après affectation de 804,7 millions d’euros aux provisions pour couvrir les risques immobiliers. Les 682,5 millions d’euros de plus-values ont permis de couvrir une bonne partie des provisions.

Liontrust va lancer une version offshore, domiciliée en Irlande, de son unit trust Special Situations en début de mois prochain, rapporte Investment Week. Ce fonds d’actions britanniques est géré par Julian Fosh et Anthony Cross. Il a réuni 550 millions de livres. Avec la version offshore, Liontrust compte répondre à la demande des investisseurs étrangers.

Hermes Fund Managers vient de lancer le fonds Emerging Asia Ucits, investi principalement en actions d’entreprises de Chine, Corée, Taïwan et Inde. Le produit est géré par Jonathan Pines, qui dirige la stratégie Asie émergente depuis son lancement le 31 décembre 2009. Cette stratégie, indexée sur le MSCI Asie hors Japon, repose sur une sélection de titres décotés. Elle a dégagé 15 % par an depuis son lancement.Le produit sera accessible aux gérants discrétionnaires, aux sélectionneurs de fonds multigérants et aux gérants de fortune au Royaume-Uni. Le ticket d’entrée minimum est de 1.000 livres et les frais de gestion annuels ressortent à 1 %.

Martin Gilbert, le directeur général d’Aberdeen Asset Management, a appelé à une séparation complète de la banque de détail et de la banque d’investissement et à une introduction du levier ajusté au risque dans le secteur, rapporte Financial News. Ces remarques ont été faites à l’occasion d’un discours prononcé mercredi soir à l’Imperial College Business School.

JP Morgan, BNP Paribas et State Street sont les administrateurs de fonds les plus appréciés outre-Manche, selon la neuvième enquête annuelle publiée par FundServices.net et GlobalCustody.net et réalisée par R&M Surveys («2012 Fund Accounting & Administrative Survey») auprès de gestionnaires de fonds basés au Royaume-Uni.D’une année sur l’autre, JP Morgan a ravi la première place à BNP Paribas alors que State Street, qui occupait le sixième rang l’an dernier, a réalisé un gain significatif. Viennent ensuite Northern Trust et BNY Mellon qui maintiennent leurs positions de l’année précédente. Concernant BNP Paribas, l’enquête souligne notamment la qualité du personnel et sa capacité à fournir des indicateurs de performance clés et à respecter ses engagements (Service Level Agreements). Parmi les points à améliorer, l’enquête évoque notamment le reporting de la mesure de la performance.

Les actifs sous gestion du pôle gestion de fortune de RBS ont diminué de 1,1 milliard de livres au troisième trimestre, a indiqué le groupe britannique à l’occasion de la publication de ses résultats trimestriels.La décollecte du trimestre, qui s’est élevée à 1,5 milliard de livres, n’a été que partiellement compensée par un effet marché positif de 0,4 milliard de livres. Le groupe bancaire a par ailleurs fait état d’une perte nette de 1,384 milliard de livres, soit plus de 1,7 milliard d’euros, contre un bénéfice net de 1,226 milliard un an plus tôt.

Lyxor a abaissé les frais sur encours (TFE) de sept ETF à compter du 22 octobre, rapporte Bluerating. Les produits concernés sont les suivants : Lyxor ETF EURO STOXX 50, Lyxor ETF Japan, Lyxor ETF MSCI AC Asia-Pacific Ex Japan, Lyxor ETF MSCI Emerging Markets, Lyxor ETF MSCI EMU, Lyxor ETF MSCI Europe et Lyxor ETF MSCI USA.

Generali Assicurazioni est devenu la première société de gestion en Italie en termes d’encours avec plus de 310 milliards d’euros, dépassant Intesa Sanpaolo (220 milliards), rapporte Milano Finanza. C’est le résultat de la réorganisation du groupe d’assurances qui a conduit à l’intégration des fonds gérés en France et en Allemagne.

Le fonds de pension public norvégien, l’un des plus gros fonds souverains au monde, a profité du rebond des Bourses mondiales au troisième trimestre et continué à réduire son exposition à une Europe en crise, a annoncé le 2 novembre la banque centrale norvégienne chargée de sa gestion.Au cours du trimestre écoulé, le fonds investi en actions et obligations internationales a enregistré un rendement de 4,7%, ce qui a porté son encours à 3.723 milliards de couronnes, soit environ 507,1 milliards d’euros. Le rendement des investissements en actions s’est élevé à 6,5%, atteignant même 9% sur le Vieux Continent où le fonds norvégien est un investisseur de premier ordre. Le rendement de l’allocation obligataire s’inscrit en revanche à seulement 2,2%. A la fin du troisième trimestre, le fonds était investi à 60,3% en actions, à 39,4% en obligations et à 0,3% en immobilier. Le portefeuille immobilier a dégagé un rendement de 2,7%. Après des transactions avec Generali au troisième trimestre, le fonds a depuis la fin du trimestre investi au Royaume-Uni avec British Land et en Allemagne avec AXA France. Au cours du trimestre écoulé, le fonds a continué son rééquilibrage annoncé, en réduisant la part de ses investissements en Europe --surtout dans les obligations d’Etat des pays du sud-- pour renforcer sa présence sur le continent américain et surtout en Asie. D’ailleurs, il a confié un mandat de 300 millions de dollars à la société de gestion coréenne Truston AMC pour investir dans des actions locales, selon AsianInvestor. Le fonds a notamment réduit ses avoirs dans les dettes souveraines française et espagnole. Il a par ailleurs augmenté ses investissements dans les obligations d’Etat américaines et japonaises et accru ses actifs dans les obligations d’Etat libellées en devises des économies émergentes comme la Corée du Sud, le Mexique et la Russie, précise-t-il. Actions et obligations confondues, le fonds norvégien, alimenté par les énormes recettes pétrolières du pays, détient aujourd’hui 47,8% de ses investissements en Europe, 37,8% en Amérique et 14,4% en Asie-Pacifique. A terme, pour mieux refléter la répartition géographique de l'économie réelle, l’objectif est de faire passer ces parts à respectivement 41%, 40% et 19%.

The European energy, climate change and infrastructure investment fund Marguerite on 31 October announced the acquisition of a 49.99% stake in wind farms in Poland from an Austrian-based firm, RP Global Group, which retains a majority stake in the project, and which provides the operational management of the farms. The transaction is the first investment by Marguerite in the Polish market. The fund has already invested in four projects in Belgium, France and Spain. The Marguerite fund was created in 2010 by the major European national financial institutions, with the European Investment Bank (IEB) and the European Commission, to invest in new infrastructure projects and projects to extend infrastructure in the transport, energy and renewable energy sectors in the 27countries of the European Union.

In the second half of October, money market funds saw outflows of over USD40bn, of which USD28bn were in the week to 31 October, according to estimates by EPFR Global. But investors have remained on the tips of their toes due to several factors: mixed quarterly results, hurricane Sandy and the approaching US elections. As a result, bond funds have posted inflows of only USD5bn, modest in comparison to the inflows observed in previous weeks. European and emerging market bond funds continued to attract more than USD1bn in subscriptions each in the final days of October. Equity funds took inflows of USD2.8bn, with demand remaining strong for emerging market equities, as Chinese equity funds attracted USD600m.

Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management, has called for a complete separation of retail and investment banking, and an introduction of risk-adjusted leverage in the sector, Financial News reports. The comments were made in a speech given Wednesday evening at the Imperial College Business School.

JP Morgan, BNP Paribas and State Street are the best-liked fund administrators in the UK, according to the ninth annual survey published by FundServices.net and GlobalCustody.net, and undertaken by R&M Surveys (“2012 Fund Accounting & Administrative Survey,”) covering fund managers based in the UK.Year on year, JP Morgan has taken the top spot from BNP Paribas, while State Street, which took sixth place last year, made significant gains. It is followed by Northern Trust and BNY Mellon, which hold onto their positions from last year.For BNP Paribas, the survey highlights the quality of personnel and its ability to provide key performance indicators and to respect its Service Level Agreements. The survey finds that reporting and performance measurement are among the points in need of improvement.

Assets under management in the wealth management unit of RBS fell by GBP1.1bn in third quarter, the British group has announced at the publication of its quarterly results. Quarterly outflows, which totalled GBP1.5bn, were only partially offset by a positive market effect of GBP0.4bn. The banking group has also reported a net loss of GBP1.384bn, or EUR1.7bn, compared with a net profit of GBP1.226bn one year earlier.

About 32% of fund managers are planning to outsource back office functions in the next twelve months, a level double last year, according to a study which has recently been undertaken by the fund sector service provier Kneip of 130 companies worldwide. Last year, only 18% of managers cited such a possibility.Among the functions which are liable to be outsourced are functions related to UCITS and KIID regulations. About 17% of candidates for outsourcing say they are planning to use external providers to produce Key Investor Information Documents (KIID). 22% and 16%, respectively, say they would be outsourcing distribution and treatment of KIID documents.

Syz & Co has overhauled its Oyster range of Luxembourg funds, Citywire reports. Several funds have been merged, closed or repositioned, according to a note obtained by the website. The changes will affect seven funds covering US equities, European equities, Latin American equities and emerging market equities.

The Norwegian Government Pension Fund - global (GPFG), one of the largest sovereign funds in the world, has profited from a rebound on the global stock markets in third quarter, and has continued to reduce its exposure to a crisis-hit Europe, the Norwegian central bank, responsible for its management, announced on 2 November.In the past quarter, the fund, which invests in international equities and bonds, has posted returns of 4.7%, which brings its assets to NOK3.723trn, or about EUR507.1bn.Returns on investments in equities totalled 6.5%, and as much as 9% on the European continent, where the Norwegian fund is a top investor. Returns on bond assets total only 2.2%, however. At the end of third quarter, the fund was 60.3% invested in equities, 39.4% in bonds, and 0.3% in real estate.The real estate portfolio has earned returns of 2.7%. After transactions with Generali in third quarter, the fund has invested in the United Kingdom aince the end of the quarter with British Land, and in Germany with AXA France.In the quarter under review, the fund has continued its announced rebalancing, reducing its proportion of investments in Europe, particularly of government bonds from southern European countries, to increase its presence in North America and particularly Asia.The fund has reduced its investment in French and Spanish government debt. It has also increased its investments in US and Japanese government bonds, and has increased its assets in government bonds denominated in emerging currencies in markets such as South Korea, Mexico, and Russia, it says.Accross equities and bonds combined, the Norwegisn fund, supplied by the country’s enormous oil revenues, now holds 47.8% of its investments in Europe, 37.8% in America, and 14.4% in Asia-Pacific. Eventually, in order to reflect the geographical distribution of the real economy, the objective is to increase this market share to 41%, 40% and 19%, respectively.

For third quarter 2012, Invesco Ltd has posted net profits of USD188.4m, compared with USD184.7m in April-June, and USD192.3m in the corresponding period of last year. Net profits in the first nine months of this year total USD518.4m, compared with USD527.4m in January-September 2011.Assets increased to USD683bn as of the end of September, from USD646.6bn at the end of June, and USD598.4bn one year previously. An increase of USD36.4bn in third quarter is USD11.7bn due to net subscriptions, compared with net outflows of USD8.3bn in April-June.

The sale by Société Générale of its asset management affiliate TCW to Carlyle, made official on 9 August, is moving ahead, Les Echos reports. The operation is expected to be completed in first quarter next year, but a lawsuit against TCW, filed in Los Angeles on 21 August before a Federal court by the institutional investor EIG Global Energy Partner, may delay the sale. EIG claims it has a right of veto which it acquired during the creation of a joint venture with TCW last year, and which specifies that any change of control concerning one of the co-shareholders in the joint venture cannot act without the agreement of the board of directors of the joint venture, on which EIG controls a majority of seats. A hearing is scheduled for this morning in Los Angeles.

Warrenn Buffett’s group Berkshire Hathaway has announced the acquisition of the mail-order toy distributor Oriental Trading from KKR and a group of investors. According to sources familiar with the matter cited by the Wall Street Journal, the sale is estimated to have cost about USD500m.Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway has reported a 72% increase in its net profits in third quarter 2012, to USD3.92bn, due to gains on investments and an improvement in the derivatives portfolio.Operating profits, the variable on which Buffett focuses, has contracted by 11% to USD3.4bn. This decline is due to base effects, as reinsurance activities in July-September 2011 underwent a major upward revision in their reserves.

After opening an office in Hong Kong (see Newsmanagers of 2 November 2012), led by Michael Chang, Natixis Global Asset Management is expected to open another office in South Korea, Asian Investor reports. The office will be located in Seoul, and will open in December. It will be led by the Japanese Jung Tai-Hwan, who had previously served institutional clients from Japan.

The Swedish firm SEB has opened a hedge fund for private clients, which had previously been reserved for institutional investors, the SEB Dynamic Manager Alpha fund, Privata Affärer reports. The fund invests in other equity funds, but protects itself from market risk by selling the benchmark indices of the various funds. The product, launched in 2005, has not had a negative year of results so far.

More than 85% of alternative managers are unprepared for regulatory changes in Europe, according to a survey by PwC, FundWeb reports. The study funds that fund managers have not yet launched programmes to implement the AIFM directive. This is a genuine subject for concern, says PwC, in that the AIFM directive will come into effect in July 2013, in an environment in which investors are increasingly attentive to the alternative option, in light of chronically weak returns.

Generali Assecurazioni has become the largest asset management firm in Italy in terms of assets, with over EUR310bn, putting it ahead of Intesa Sanpaolo (EUR220bn), Milano Finanza reports. This is the result of a reorganization of the insurance group, which has resulted in the integration of funds managed in France and Germany.

Jean-Baptiste Coiffet is a specialist in organisational missions, integration and project management, and is responsible for Asset Management & Fund Securities at the consulting firm Equinox Consulting. With Newsmanagers, he discusses the services offered by his business to asset managers in order to help them to confront an environment in which operational efficiency is becoming a key challenge.

As of 30 September, investment funds from Banesto posted assets of EUR4.222bn, 9.9% less than one year earlier, Funds People reports. This decline is due to the fact that clients “preferred other types of savings,” including bank savings accounts, whose volume increased by 0.1% to EUR45.540bn. The ratio of investment funds/savings stands at 9.27%, which is one of the lowest ratios in the industry.Assets in pension funds have fallen 0.5% in one year, to EUR1.223bn.Overall. Banesto has seen an 83.2% fall in its net profits in the first nine months of the year, to EUR50.1m, after EUR804.7m in provisions to cover real estate risks. The EUR682.5m in capital gains have offset a large part of those provisions.

Hermes Fund Managers, managing nearly GBP25 billion of assets on behalf of its clients, has announced the launch of its Emerging Asia UCITS fund. The fund, which invests in Asia excluding Japan, has a focus on China, Korea, Taiwan and India. The fund is managed by Jonathan Pines, who has led the Emerging Asia strategy since its inception on 31 December 2009. The Hermes Emerging Asia strategy is a contrarian, value-biased, high conviction strategy with an emphasis on stock selection. It is benchmarked against the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index. Since inception the strategy has returned an annualised 15%, beating its benchmark by an annualised 10%. The Emerging Asia UCITS Fund will be available to discretionary managers, multi-manager fund selectors and wealth managers in the UK. The fund is available at an annual management charge of 1%, with a minimum investment of GBP1,000.