BNP Paribas Cardif, la filiale assurance vie et prévoyance du groupe BNP Paribas qui présentait jeudi 22 mars ses résultats 2011, a réalisé un chiffre d’affaires de 23,3 milliards d’euros, en repli de 8% par rapport à l’année précédente. L'établissement a enregistré une collecte nette Epargne de 2,4 milliards d’euros en 2011 ce qui porte les actifs gérés à 151 milliards d’euros, en hausse de 2% comparé à l’an passé au 31 décembre. Le chiffre d’affaires Epargne en France atteint 9,6 milliards d’euros en recul de 18% par rapport à 2010. 7 milliards sont totalisés au sein des réseaux BNP Paribas et Banque Privée et 1,5 milliard dans les réseaux Cardif et Assurance Epargne Pension (AEP). Dans le secteur de l’assurance-vie en France, BNP Paribas Cardif affiche une part de marché presque stable à 8,3%. La société fait également état d’une proportion élevée de contrats à unités de compte dans la collecte brute, à hauteur de 20% contre 19% en 2010 (avec une moyenne de 14% pour le marché). A l’international, le chiffre d’affaires Epargne est en baisse de 5% par rapport à 2010, et s’élève à 8,2 milliards d’euros, dont 2,8 milliards d’euros (+13%) en Italie et 1,8 milliard d’euros réalisé par l’entité Cardif Lux Vie au Luxembourg (-16%). La part en unités de compte est en forte hausse. Elle atteint 40% soit une progression de 7 points par rapport à 2010.Le canal « Retail Banking » a réalisé un chiffre d’affaires 2011 de 12,1 milliards d’euros (-12% par rapport à 2010), ce qui représente 52% du chiffre d’affaires global de BNP Paribas Cardif. 11,1 milliards d’euros sont issus des activités Epargne (-14%). Le canal « Partenariats » a dégagé un chiffre d’affaires 2011 de 6,6 milliards d’euros (+1% par rapport à 2010) dont 2,9 milliards sont issus des activités Epargne (-10%). Enfin, le canal « Digital&Brokers » qui regroupe les grands courtiers, les Conseillers en Gestion de Patrimoine Indépendants et l’activité sur Internet a enregistré un chiffre d’affaires 2011 de 4,6 milliards d’euros (-8% par rapport à 2010), dont 3,9 milliards d’euros des activités Epargne (-10%). 27% de la collecte en Epargne sont réalisées par le réseau en France des Conseillers en Gestion de Patrimoine Indépendants et courtiers.

Au bout de six ans de présence dans le pays, M&G Investments affiche un encours de 1,2 milliard d’euros en Espagne et peut se targuer d’avoir enregistré des souscriptions nettes en 2011, rapporte Funds People. Ignacio Rodríguez Añino, directeur des ventes pour l’Espagne et le Portugal, souligne que la maison britannique ambitionne de figurer parmi les cinq premiers gestionnaires internationaux en Espagne

Ancien joueur de basket de haut niveau passé par la banque privée d’UBS et en dernier lieu par le Banco Sabadell, Ferran Martínez Garriga a été recruté par Mirabaud comme directeur général de sa la nouvelle unité Mirabaud Sports, Art & Culture axée comme son nom l’indique sur la prestation de services personnalisés de banque privée à l’intention des professionnels du sport et de la culture.Ce public a en effet besoin de conseil en ce qui concerne la préservation et l’accroissement du patrimoine lorsque la carrière professionnelle prend fin au terme d’une période limitée et concentrée de son existence.

Asian Investor rapporte que Christof Kutscher, CEO pour l’Asie-Pacifique d’UBS Global Asset Management, l’une des figures du secteur de la gestion d’actifs en Asie, a présenté sa démission.Christof Kutscher avait rejoint UBS Global AM en 1995 pour prendre la direction de la zone Asie-Pacifique en 2004.

Les gérants de hedge funds asiatiques hors Japon ont surperformé en février leurs concurrents internationaux, selon les données communiquées par Eurekahedge. A l’origine de cette évolution, la performance moyenne de 14% enregistrée par les stratégies event driven.Les hedge funds asiatiques hors Japon ont réalisé le mois dernier une performance de 4,32%, soit près du double du gain enregistré par la concurrence européenne (2,2%), et nettement mieux que le rendement de 1,7% observé aux Etats-Unis. Sur deux mois, les hedge funds asiatiques affichent une performance de 8,79%, contre 5% pour leurs homologues européens et 4% pour les concurrents américains.La collecte nette des hedge funds asiatiques s’est inscrite à 300 millions de dollars en février, contre plus de 11 milliards de dollars pour le secteur au niveau mondial. Les actifs sous gestion pour la zone asiatique se sont ainsi inscrits à 111,5 milliards de dollars à fin février contre 1.750 milliards de dollars au niveau mondial.

David Benamou vient d’être nommé président d’Axiom Alternative Investments, une société de gestion d’actifs spécialisée sur la dette hybride qu’il a rejointe en octobre 2011. Il a précédemment occupé le poste de responsable adjoint de l’activité «Structured Capital Finance» au sein du Groupe Société Générale de 2000 à 2011. Créée en 2006, Axiom Alternative Investments représente 300 millions d’euros d’actifs sous gestion. Disposant de 3 fonds ouverts au public (Axiom Obligataire, Axiom Premium et désormais Axiom 2013), Axiom Alternative Investments propose également des mandats de gestion.

David Benamou vient d’être nommé président d’Axiom Alternative Investments, une société de gestion d’actifs spécialisée sur la dette hybride qu’il a rejointe en octobre 2011. Il a précédemment occupé le poste de responsable adjoint de l’activité «Structured Capital Finance» au sein du Groupe Société Générale de 2000 à 2011.Créée en 2006, Axiom Alternative Investments représente 300 millions d’euros d’actifs sous gestion. Disposant de 3 fonds ouverts au public (Axiom Obligataire, Axiom Premium et désormais Axiom 2013), Axiom Alternative Investments propose également des mandats de gestion.

La présente consultation a pour objet la sélection d’un Prestataire de Services d’Investissements afin de créer et de gérer un ou plusieurs FCP contractuels dédiés à compartiments, afin d’y loger une partie des actifs financiers de certains de ses membres et de leurs affiliés. L’objet principal de la recherche d’un Prestataire de Services d’Investissements pour tenir la gestion d’un fonds dédié est de permettre un suivi des investissements et une production de reportings spécifiques par portefeuille, par membre et en consolidé. Un premier fonds comportant au moins deux compartiments est envisagé pour loger les actifs de la CCIP, et un second fonds pour la CCINCA. D’autres fonds pourront être créés au fil des besoins dans les mois et années à venir. Les fonds prendront la forme de FCP contractuels. Pour la CCIP, la création de plusieurs compartiments est envisagée pour y loger les différents portefeuilles (Trésorerie courante, Fonds Propre, Portefeuille dédié complémentaire retraite). La liste des actifs financiers susceptibles d'être traités est : produits structurés, actions en directes, fonds, obligations en directes, OPCI, FCPR ... Les prestations incluent dans la tarification devront comprendre les éléments suivants : création d’un FCP contractuel dédié (établissement du cahier des charges, rédaction du prospectus, présentation à l’agrément du produit à l’Autorité des Marchés Financiers, formalités administratives) ; valorisation mensuelle au minimum du FCP ; production de reportings détaillés ; gestion financière du FCP ; dépositaire du fonds ; production de documents réglementaires (rapports semestriels et annuels), relations avec les commissaires aux comptes et avec l’autorité de tutelle. Pour lire l’avis de marché: cliquez ici

The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) on 22 March published its first findings on the supervision of ratings agencies, including the results of its first on-side inspections, undertaken in December last year at the three major ratings agencies, Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investor Services and Standard & Poor’s. ESMA has already identified several areas for improvement, including transparency of ratings methodologies, the presentation of ratings information, control of IT systems, registration of internal decisions and processes, and resources dedicated to internal control functions and analytical activities. ESMA says the publication of the report represents “an important first step in the promotion of quality ratings.” The Authority has not determined whether the observations contained in the report represent infractions of regulations governing ratings agencies. But ESMA will follow up its remarks with risk reduction plans for each of the agencies by the end of first half.

U.S. prime money market fund (MMF) exposure trends to European banks continued to stabilize in February 2012, according to a Fitch Ratings report. Fitch believes a balance appears to be emerging after the relatively large reductions in allocations to eurozone banks during the second-half of 2011. Exposures to eurozone banks increased by 21%. MMF allocations to French, German and Dutch institutions accounted for this increase. Although MMF exposure to eurozone banks increased in each of the last two months, exposures remain more than 60% below end-May 2011 levels.

The French financial market authority (AMF) on 22 March announced the appointment of Philippe Guilllot as director in the Markets Directorate, effective from 19 March 2012. The Markets Directorate is a new entity created in 2011, to monitor and oversee the markets, infrastructure and market actors. With 40 employees, it is a part of the Asset Management and Markets Directorate, led by Arnaud Oseredczuk.

BNP Paribas Securities Services has announced that it has won a mandate to product key investor information documents (KIID) from Axa Private Management Paris.

After six years of being present in the country, M&G Investments has EUR1.2bn in assets in Spain, and can claim to have posted net inflows in 2011, Funds People reports. Ignacio Rodríguez Añino, director of sales for Spain and Portugal, says that the British firm is hoping to become one of the five largest international asset management firms in Spain.

Ferran Martínez Garriga, a former professional basketball player who has recently moved from the UBS private bank to Banco Sabadell, has been hired by Mirabaud as CEO of its new business unit in Spain Mirabaud Sports, Art & Culture unit, which provides personalised private banking for professionals in sports and culture. The decision to set up a new business unit specialised in meeting the needs of professionals in sports and culture is predicated on the unique characteristics of this group, whose earnings potential is restricted to a short period of time.Mirabaud estimates that the Spanish market for professionals in sport and culture is worth nearly EUR 3.9 billion a year, with professional athletes representing 54% and professionals and companies related to art, culture and show business in general accounting for the remaining 46%.

The CEO of the Asset Management division of the Credit Suisse group, Robert S. Shafir, was the best-paid member of management in 2011, at CHF8.5m, according to the group’s annual report, published on 23 March. The CEO of Credit Suisse, Brady Dougan, has seen a reduction of his salary by half, from CHF12.8m to CHF5.8m. Overall, the 13 members of the management at Credit Suisse received CHF70.2, which represents a reduction of more than half compared with the CHF160.3m the management team was paid in 2010, when it included 16 people.

The US group Morgan Stanley has decided to move the management of all private management in Asia to Switzerland, following the integration of locations in Hong Kong and Singapore as branches of its Swiss bank, Agefi Switzerland reports. The Swiss bank from Morgan Stanley now has CHF41.5bn in assets under management, of which Asia represents nearly 80%. The Hong Kong and Singapore branches now represent a majority of its employees (69%). The enlarged unit will now be led by the Belgian Chris Van Aeken, who has previously been head of banking operations and international products at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. With this reorganisation, the Banque Morgan Stanley becomes the fifth-largest foreign bank in Switzerland.

Asian hedge fund managers outside Japan in February outperformed their international rivals, according to statistics from Eurekahedge. The cause of this development was an average performance of 14% for event-driven strategies. Asia ex Japan hedge funds last month earned returns of 4.32%, nearly double the gains for the European competition (2.2%), and far better than the 1.7% performance observed in the United States. In a two-month period, Asian hedge funds have posted returns of 8.79%, compared with 5% for their European counterparts and 4% for their US rivals. Net inflows to Asian hedge funds totalled USD300m in February, compared with over USD11bn for the sector worldwide. Assets under management in the Asian region totalled USD111.5bn at the end of February, compared with USD1.75trn worldwide.

The Chinese regulator, the CSRC, has authorised Pacific Securities to create an asset management firm in China, Z-Ben Advisors reports. Z-Ben Advisors says that at the end of 2011, assets under management by brokerage firms totalled CNY138bn, while mutual funds represented a volume of CNY2trn.

NYSE Euronext Paris on 22 March announced that it has admitted the Ossiam EM Minivar E fund to trading. The Luxembourg-registered ETF becomes the 596th fund listed in Paris, where the ETF segment includes 694 products, including secondary listings.CharacteristicsName: Ossiam EM Minivar EISIN code: LU0705291903Benchmark index: Ossiam Emerging Markets Minimum VarianceTER: 0.75%

The Fed on 22 March announced that it would not be able to apply tougher banking reforms within the declared timetable, Les Echos reports. The transposition of Basel III prudential standards, which require banks to increase their owners’ equity levels, initially slated for first quarter 2012, has been postponed indefinitely. And the deadline for publication of the Volcker rule, which forbids banks from making speculatory trades with their own capital, initially slated for 21 July this year, will not be met. Meanwhile, several European banks are seeking to circumvent the US regulations by modifying the legal status of their affiliates.

The French financial market authority (AMF) has sentenced Société Générale and BNP Paribas to pay fines of EUR500,000 each for failure to comply with a requirement to respond to surveys related to their acquisitions of corporate bonds, in a decision published on the AMF website on 22 March.The asset management firm Allianz Global Investors France, meanwhile, has been fined EUR150,000 for the use of insider information by one of its employees, who has been personally fined EUR10,000. At two bond issues in January 2009, one by Schneider Electric and the other by Saint-Gobain, the two banks failed to fulfil their obligations when a survey was undertaken of investors to evaluate their interest in the operations. The financial establishments are required to request permission in advance from individuals who they are planning to ask for confidential information they would like to acquire.

Portfolio management firms are increasingly involved in the exercise of their voting rights. This trend looks set to continue, according to an AFG survey undertaken in early 2012, about the participation of its members in general shareholders’ meetings in 2011. Participation by asset management firms in general shareholders’ meetings has continued to increase. Over 60% of asset management firms have increased the number of general shareholders’ meetings they participated in, up 20% compared with 2010. This increase is largely due to the increasing number of participations in general shareholders’ meetings by foreign firms (+26% on average). The study also highlights an intensification of the dialogue between businesses and asset management firms. At the initiative of asset management firms and the AFG, and at the initiative of businesses, this trend has continued and is rapidly spreading to businesses throughout the European Union, and gradually to businesses outside the European Union as well. A growing number of businesses inform asset management firms of their planned resolutions. Another finding of the study is that votes against resolutions are not a rarity. Asset management firms have voted against at least one resolution at at 80% of French general shareholders’ meetings, and at 55% of foreign general shareholders’ meetings. This difference is probably due to a disparity in shareholder rights within the European Union, as French shareholders’ rights are more protected than elsewhere. For businesses of all nationalities combined, a total of 18% of all votes were votes against resolutions. In France, operations to dilute capital were the leading cause for opposition to resolutions (32%), followed by appointments of members of the board of directors (22%). Within and outside the European Union, the appointment of board members is the largely predominant subject (with 36% and 44%, respectively). In the other countries of the European Union, access to votes is still restricted by regulatory and technical obstacles despite the “shareholder rights” directive. These difficulties are intensified by restrictive practices at some businesses and custodians or sub-custodians, the study finds. Private asset management firms are increasingly asked by their institutional clients about the exercise of their voting rights and their voting policies.

The former manager of FrontPoint Partners, Steve Eisman, who gained fame for betting against sub-prime mortgage debt, has raised USD22.9bn for his new hedge fund, Emrys Onshore Fund, which has been available since 1 March, Bloomberg reports. In 2010, Eisman managed more than USD1bn at FrontPoint, before leaving the firm last year.

As part of its efforts to determine the causes of the “flash crash” of May 2010, the SEC is now investigating the ties that may exist between high-frequency trading operators and electronic stock market firms such as BATS and Direct Edge Holdings, the Wall Street Journal reports.The regulator is investigating Getco and Treadebot Systems, which had invested in BATS, and other operators that had invested in Direct Edge.The SEC is seeking to determine whether there was collusion to limit competition or manipulate markets, a source familiar with the matter says.

Henderson Global Investors has announced the departure of Neil Rogan, its global head of equities, who has resigned to spend more time with his family, Citywire reports. He joined Henderson in April 2011, after its acquisition of Gartmore. He will be replaced by Matthew Beesley, who joins the firm from Trinity Asset Management.

The British Life and Longevity Markets Association (LLMA) has announced the launch of several longevity indices. The indices will be a global reference for the transfer of longevity and mortality risks to investors and other counterparties. The four indices offered by the association include England, Wales, the Netherlands and the United States.

Aviva Investors has parted with John Botham as part of a restructuring of its European equities desk, Investment Week reports.The fund previously managed by Botham, Aviva Investors European Equity fund, with assets under mamagement of GBP152m, will now be managed by Mark Denham, a member of the desk since 2003.Two other managers from the European equities desk have been dismissed: Rita Dhut and Philip Parker.

The Swiss firm Lombard Odier has signed a partnership with the Australian wealth management firm JBWere, Investment Europe reports. In Asia-Pacific, the Geneva-based firm had already been present in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore.

The British asset management firm ACPI Investment Managers will launch a bond fund dedicated to Indian government bonds and corporate bonds supported by the Indian government, Investment Europe reports. The ACPI India Fixed Income Ucits fund may hope for a tripple appreciation of high yield, liquidity and currency, says Madilean Coen, head of international distribution for the wealth management unit. Indian government bonds currently offer returns of nearly 8.5%. The long-only fund, which offers daily liquidity and is available on the Skandia platform, charges an annual management commission of 1.5%.

The London-based CTA specialist, Sequent Capital, has announced the launch of a managed futures programme on the dbSelect platform from Deutsche Bank. The programme in question, Sequent CTA – Fundamental Diversified (V12), uses trading systems which are based on pricing factors and fundamental factors for each of 50 macro instruments in the four sectors it covers: currencies, bonds, equity indices, and commodities.