The US asset management firm Eaton Vance Management has announced the launch of two UCITS funds investing in emerging markets and global equities, Citywire reports. Its affiliate, Parametric Portfolio Associates, will manage the two products, known as Eaton Vance International (Ireland) Parametric Emerging Markets Core and Eaton Vance International (Ireland) Parametric Global Equity.

The timetable to enact Basel III legislation remains unchanged, despite the euro zone debt crisis, the head of the financial stability board (FSB), Mark Carney, stated on 30 May. The new Basel III standards, passed in 2010, will gradually be enacted from 2013, and will be fully in force by 2019, the head said following a meeting in Hong Kong of the banking regulatory organism. “I would not call this timetable aggressive. It is a timetable established by consensus. It will not change,” the head, who is also governor of the Canadian central bank, told the press. Many US banks are said not yet to have fully applied Basel III standards, published in 2004, which have been rolled out in Europe. Some actors in the sector nonetheless claim that the rules adopted are too strict at a time when the world is facing a credit drought provoked by the debt crisis in Europe. “It is absolutely essential … that banks be correctly capitalised,” says Carney. Applying the measures “will contribute to financial stability and growth worldwide, including in Europe,” the head adds.

The Wall Street Journal cites the examples of P. Schoefeld Asset Management, Marathon Asset Management, Octavian Advisors and Strategic Value Partners, as signs that a growting number of US alternative management firms are “hopping the pond,“ i.e., crossing the Atlantic to invest or open offices in Europe at a time when high yield investments are becoming scarcer in the United States. Some hedge fund managers think that banks will be required to sell assets at fire sale prices, while others are looking for shares which have been driven too low, or corporate debt which will need to be restructured in times of crisis.

BNY Melllon has announced the recruitment of two people for its team dedicated to outsourcing. Paul Gately has been appointed as head of global outsourcing business. He will report to John Lehner, who has also recently been appointed.

According to Agefi, citing information from Reuters, Affiliated Managers Group, Federated Investors, New York Life Insurance and Permira are planning to make bids for Dexia AM. Macquarie is also reportedly in the process of evaluating the asset management firm. Dexia is hoping to sell off its asset management division, which as of the end of December had EUR78bn in assets, for about EUR750m.

The asset management group Nikko Asset Management has appointed Aoifinn Devill has head of the World Series Fund Platform, to direct and develop manager selection activities, first in Japan, and then in Europe and other parts of Asia, Hedge Week reports. Funds from the platform distributed under the Nikko AM brand name are currently sub-advised by more than 40 fund managers worldwide, including Pimco, Wellington, JP Morgan AM, Ashmore, Blue Bay and Franklin Templeton, and are distributed to retail and institutional investors throughout Asia. The platform currently has over USD29bn in products from third-party managers distributed in Japan, Australia and Singapore.

Foreign banks in Switzerland are surviving the crisis better than expected. Their cumulative net profits have increased 4%, to CHF2.04bn in 2011, the Association of foreign banks in Switzerland (ABES) reported on 30 May. Added value and personnel in the sector have both fallen by 1%. The number of businesses operating in Swiss territory fell last year, from 154 to 145 as of the end of December 2011. Foreign banks nonetheless employ about 20,000 people in Switzerland. The movement of consolidation means that there are now only 141 businesses as of the end of April 2012, which corresponds to about 45% of all banks in Switzerland. As last year, no new licenses were issued in 2011. This decline should nonetheless be viewed in perspective, due to the current economic and political turbulence, the Association notes. Assets under management have fallen 5% to CHF860bn, compared with CHF910bn one year previously. The largest foreign wealth manager is HSBC Private Bank (Suisse SA), followed yb Banque Sarasin & Cie SA, BSI SA, Crédit Agricole (Suisse) SA and Coutts Bank SA. The association also claims that Switzerland will soon be offering solutions to strengthen the attraction of the financial market. It defends withholding taxes, which “remain the only option, and which unite regularisation of wealth, future taxation, and protection of privacy.” In addition, “although self-declaration is considered an adequate proposal, Switzerland will offer it as an international standard at the OECD, and introduce it as such. Switzerland will call off plans to adopt more transparent standards which are not internationally recognized.”

Christopher Faddy, Asia head of distribution for the asset management unit at Barclays, has been recruited as head, asset management distribution, for Asia ex Japan (NJA distribution) by Credit Suisse in Hong Kong. He will be responsible for providing investment management services to sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors and third-party distributors.

Instead of merging with the asset management firm Unicaja, as had originally appeared planned, Liberbank Gestión will be merging with Ibercaja Gestión (EUR4.43bn in assets under management as of the end of April), which will create Spain’s sixth-largest asset management firm, with assets in funds of EUR5.33bn, Funds People reports, putting it ahead of Ahorro Corporación (EUR4.78bn). Currently, Ibercaja Gestión is the seventh-largest Spanish asset manager, while Liberbank Gestión is 24th. The top five are, in order, Santander AM (EUR20.3bn). BBVA AM (EUR19.45bn), InverCaixa (EUR14.9bn), and Popuylar Gestió (EUR6.19bn).

According to the CNMV annual report, assets at Spanish asset management firms and investment funds as of the end of December totalled EUR132.369bn, 8% less than at the end fo 2010. Of the EUR11.256bn by which assets under management declined, EUR10.853trn were due to net redemptions, and EUR673m to losses on portfolios. Overall, 207 funds ceased operations, of which 204 were absorbed into other funds, As of the end of 2011, the profession had 2,341 funds, 88 less than one year previously. Average assets were down to EUR56m from EUR59m in 2010. Profits at the 114 Spanish asset management firms wree down by 6.5% last year, to EUR194m, compared with EUR207.5m, due to an 8% contraction in management commission revenues, at EUR1.61bn, partly offset by a 3.8% reduction in personnel costs to EUR188.26m.

Investec Asset Management has recruited Tom Nelson and Charles Whall to manage the global energy fund, Money Marketing reports. They will replace Mark Lacey and Honathan Waghorn, whose departure was announced last month, and who will be leaving the firm in July. Nelson previously worked at Guinness Asset Management, Whall at Newton. They will begin in their new roles in September in the former case, slightly later in the latter.

The German asset management firm SEB Asset Management (SEB AM) on 30 May announced the launch of the SEB Asia Pacific REIT Fund, a Luxembourg-registered FCP fund whose administration is provided by Universal-Investment-Luxembourg (an affiliate of the Frankfurt-based Universal-Investment), which will invest exclusively in real estate investment trusts (REIT) in the Asia-Pacific region. The product is compliant with UCITS IV, and is aimed at investors seeking high returns and regular distributions without “incalculable” risks. Management is provided by a team at offices in Frankfurt and Singapore, and led by Thomas Körfgen, head of real estate equities, and Julian Mittag, manager of REIT funds. Characteristics Name: SEB Asia Pacific REIT Fund ISIN codes: A share class: LU0753286219 C share class: LU0757781637 Minimal subscription: EUR5m (A share class) Distribution: February, May, August and November Management commission: 0.40% (A and C share classes)

The Austrian Partner Bank is now offering the Kopernikus-Index-Korb, a wealth management model based exclusively on physical replication ETFs, launched in Austria in May 2011 and which in 2011 only made a maximal loss of 15%, while remaining 100% invested, in Germany, Fondsprofessionell reports. In the first four months of 2012, the product has posted gains of 6.3%, after fees.

Since Wednesday, the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform (Deutsche Börse) lists a total of 981 funds, with the addition of seven Irish-registered ETF funds launched by UBS Global Asset Management. There are in fact three new products which replicate the MSCI USA, USA Value and World indices and which are each are available in I (instutional) and A (retail) share classes. The seventh product replicates the S&P 500. The ETFs have total expense ratios ranging from 0.23% to 0.45%.

According to VDOS Stochastics, relayed by Cotizalia, Spanish investment funds have seen a decline in their assets of EUR2.53bn in May, due to losses of EUR1.58bn and net redemptions of EUR956m.

An expected wave of mergers and acquisitions is not materialising as predicted, according to a report published on 30 May by the asset management firm RW Baird of M&A activities in Europe, the United States, Asia and worldwide. In the first four months of the year, the number of transactions worldwide was down a record 5.4% compared with its 2011 levels. In Europe, the number of transactions has fallen by as much as 22.9% in April to 706 deals, its lowest level since August 2009. The attraction of businesses for mergers and acquisitions, however, is on the increase. Despite an unstable economy in the second half of 2011 primarily affecting the banking sector and the euro zone, a study by Grant Thornton also published on 30 May (in the International Business Report) finds that interest of business heads in mergers and acquisitions has increased, and that they are now seen as an essential tool for growth to achieve set expansion goals. The global number of businesses with plans for a merger-acquisition operation has risen from 26% in 2010 to 34% in 2012. This percentage includes both domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. France is in line with this global statistic, as 34% of French businesses are planning such an operation in the next three years. Internationally, Canada (42%), Braxil (40%), and the United States (37%) are the countries where the highest number of heads are considering growing their activities through merger or acquisition by 2015. only 28% of businesses have such plans in Europe, and 25% in Asia-Pacific. This percentage is falling all the more rapidly in countries where the economy remains uncertain, such as Greece, Ireland and Spain, where only 16% of corporate heads are currently planning a merger in the near future. The International Business Report also finds that among businesses planning to grow via an acquisition, 33% are planning to do so outside their home country, compared with 28% in 2010 (global average). European businesses are most interested in making an international deal (44%) to enter new markets.

The Chilean bank Corpbanca SA on 30 May bought a 51% stake in Banco Santander Colombia SA and Santander Investment Trust Colombia, for USD624m, Investment Europe reports. The remaining shares and the Colombian affiliates of Santander will be acquired by 30 June. The total transaction price totals USD1.23bn, which Corpbanca will finance with a capital increase of USD650m.Cinco Días reports that the sale will generate capital gains for Santander of EUR615m.

The British arm of the Old Mutual Asset Managers group has appointed Steven Brown as head of distribution to advisers, with priority given to strategic partners on the UK wholesale market, with an eye to the introduction of RDR regulations on 1 January 2013. Brown previously worked at RBS Global Banking & Markets. He will begin on 1 June.

The Börsen-Zeitung has obtained a copy of proposed legislation to govern high frequency trading, which the German federal finance ministry has completed much earlier than expected. The proposals would require high-frequency traders to register with BaFin, and would subject them to banking and securities laws. In addition, BaFin would have the power to demand information including details of algorithmic trades and the systems used as well as their strategies, parameters and trading limits. The proposals could be passed by the Cabinet and put before Parliament for a first debate even before the summer break.

The four major Greek banks, currently in the process of being recapitalised, will have to unveil restructuring plans in the next three months, including layoffs or closures of branches, the Hellenic financial stability fund announced on 30 May. The Greek national bank, the largest bank in the country, Alpha Bank, Eurobank and the Bank of Piraeus will have to lay out restructuring plans within three months, Anastasios Gagalis, vice-president of the Hellenic financial stability fund, said at a press conference. The chairman of the Fund, Panayiotis Thomopoulos, has confirmed that some job losses will be a part of this phenomenon. The requirement to restructure came on Monday as the four banks received EUR18bn from the European financial stability fund (EFSF) to recapitalise them, as provided for in the second phase of the support plan agreed in March by Greece and its creditors, the EU and the IMF. The amounts are part of an allocation of EUR25bn paid by the EFSF to the Hellenic Financial Stability fund to recapitalise Greek banks following losses of about EUR28bn, caused by a debt restructuring operation in March. Overall, the money handed out to Greek banks under the second phase of the support plan total EUR50bn.

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch UCITS-compliant fund platform has admitted another alternative management firm, The Rohatyn Group. The group has launched the MLIS TRG Global Emerging Markets UCITS Fund, which invests in equities as well as bonds in local currencies from emerging markets, using directional strategies, relative value and pair trades.CharacteristicsName: MLIS TRG Global Emerging Markets UCITS FundISIN code: LU0717846496Management commission: 2% (currently 1%)Performance commission: 20% with high watermark (currently 10%)Minimal subscription: EUR1m

Selon nos informations, le FRR vient de terminer la phase des candidatures pour l’appel d’offres marché public portant sur le renouvellement des mandats « Actions Europe ISR » constitués en 2006 et arrivés à échéance en décembre 2011. Le FRR a retenu 10 candidats pour le lot 1 (mandats de fonds collectifs thématiques pour 150 millions d’euros) et 6 candidats pour le lot 2 (mandats de gestion active Actions Europe, nouvelle croissance durable pour 200 millions d’euros). La prochaine étape consistera à envoyer les documents d’offres (questionnaires) aux candidats, vraisemblablement début juillet, ce qui permettra ensuite de réduire le nombre de sociétés de gestion à rencontrer dans le cadre d’une due diligence.

Le groupe de private equity compte lever 6 milliards de dollars pour son nouveau fonds Bain Capital Fund XI, dont le lancement est attendu d’ici la fin juin. Le précédent fonds a atteint 10,7 milliards de dollars. L’environnement reste difficile pour le monde du private equity, avec 23 fonds ayant levé 18,5 milliards de dollars au premier trimestre, selon les données de Preqin.

Affiliated Managers Group, Federated Investors, New York Life Insurance et Permira envisagent de déposer une offre sur Dexia AM, selon Reuters. Macquarie est également en train d'évaluer le gestionnaire d’actifs. Dexia espère céder sa division de gestions d’actifs, qui gérait à fin décembre 78 milliards d’euros d’encours, pour environ 750 millions.

Le volume détenu par les établissements espagnols a nettement reculé en avril, à un moment où les non-résidents s'allègent aussi

Elle vend sa participation de 37% dans Rockefeller Financial Services à RIT Capital Partners, entité de la branche britannique des Rothschild

Nous ne nous prononçons pas sur la probabilité de sortie de la Grèce, mais sur les conséquences d’un tel événement, en particulier la réaction de la BCE

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Le gouverneur de la Banque d’Espagne vient de remettre sa démission au chef du gouvernement. Il quittera son poste plus tôt que prévu

Elle met notamment l'accent sur la réduction des dépenses de sécurité sociale et des collectivités