Après l'injection de 49,75 milliards d'euros de fonds à 6 mois, le surplus de liquidité dans le système bancaire avoisine les 133 milliards d'euros

La moitié des membres du camp de la chancelière se dit opposée au plan de sauvetage en Europe. Un risque pour la ratification de l'accord du 21 juillet

La Grèce va étendre les termes de son programme d'échange d’obligations afin d’inclure des titres de dette dont l'échéance arrive après 2020, afin d’atteindre son objectif d’une participation du secteur privé de 135 milliards d’euros, a déclaré le ministre grec des Finances. Selon une source bancaire, l’Union européenne et l’Institut de la finance internationale envisageraient d’inclure des obligations avec des maturités allant jusqu'à 2024.

Selon le premier classement annuel des family offices établi par Bloomberg, la première place en termes d’actifs sous gestion est occupée par HSBC Private Wealth Solutions, qui gère quelque 102 milliards de dollars d’actifs par le biais de 18 bureaux dans le monde. Le numéro deux est Bessemer Trust, à la tête de 44,5 milliards de dollars d’actifs. Sept des dix premiers fournisseurs de services de family offices sont contrôlés ou affiliés à de grandes banques, à l’instar d’UBS, de Wells Fargo ou encore de Sun Trust Banks.Les actifs sous gestion agrégés des cinquante premiers family offices ont progressé l’an dernier de 17% par rapport à 2009 pour s'établir à 477 milliards de dollars.

Jacqueline Lommen vient de rejoindre Robeco en tant que senior vice president responsable du développement des activités du groupe sur le marché européen des fonds de pension, selon le site IPE.Dans le cadre du développement de ces activités, Robeco a déposé une demande d’agrément auprès du régulateur néerlandais pour le lancement d’un véhicule de retraite transfrontière, le Premium Pension Institution (PPI), déjà disponible chez APG, ABN Amro et l’assureur Delta Lloyd. Jacqueline Lommen travaillait précédemment chez Aon Hewitt.

Au cours des douze prochains mois, les sociétés de gestion européennes devraient d’accroître leur force de frappe sur le front de la distribution, en renforçant notamment la commercialisation de leurs produits par le biais des banques privées, selon une enquête réalisée par le fournisseur luxembourgeois de services au secteur des fonds d’investissements Kneip en avril dernier auprès de 47 sociétés de gestion, administrateurs de fonds et promoteurs.L’enquête indique que 42,9% des participants envisagent d’accroître le recours au canal des banques privées, contre seulement 14% en 2010. Cette évolution pourrait traduire la volonté des sociétés de gestion de développer leurs activités auprès d’une clientèle haut de gamme. On notera également que 34,3% des participants veulent recourir davantage à la vente directe, une progression de 14% par rapport à l’année précédente, et que 31,4% souhaitent utiliser des canaux «propriétaires», à l’instar d’accords de distribution avec des établissements bancaires. Cette dernière solution a déjà connu une croissance de 26% au cours des douze derniers mois. Sans surprise, l’enquête indique également que 94% des participants estiment que c’est la directive Ucits IV qui aura le plus d’impact sur le secteur de la gestion d’actifs au cours des douze mois à venir, contre 83% en 2010. L’Europe reste la région d’investissement privilégiée pour 74,3% des participants. Un pourcentage toutefois en recul de 9% par rapport à l’année précédente. Les investisseurs marquent un intérêt croissant pour l’Amérique du Sud (Brésil, Chli) et l’Australie, précise l’enquête, en raison de croissance de ces marchés mais aussi de leur ouverture ces dernières années aux fonds étrangers.

Les sociétés de gestion chinoises cherchent de plus en plus à utiliser l’enveloppe Ucits comme moyen de distribuer leurs produits en Europe, selon le cabinet d’avocats luxembourgeois Arendt & Medernach, interrogé par Asian Investor. Plusieurs fonds coordonnés européens vont être lancés par de grandes sociétés de gestion chinoises, d’après Stéphane Karolczuk, responsable du bureau de Hong Kong d’Arendt & Medernach.

Le groupe français d'énergie GDF Suez a annoncé le 10 août, à l’occasion de la publication de ses résultats semestriels, avoir signé un protocole d’accord avec le fonds souverain chinois China Investment Corp (CIC) prévoyant l’investissement de 2,9 milliards d’euros, confirmant ainsi des informations divulguées ces derniers jours dans la presse financière.En vertu de l’accord adopté mardi soir par le conseil d’administration, CIC doit investir 2,3 milliards d’euros en échange de 30% de la branche d’exploration-production de GDF Suez, et prendre 10% dans une usine de liquéfaction à Trinité-et-Tobago contre 600 millions, indique le groupe français dans un communiqué.Le groupe a par ailleurs maintenu sous condition son objectif financier 2011 après des hausses de 8% de son chiffre d’affaires et de son bénéfice brut d’exploitation (Ebitda) au premier semestre.

Jacqueline Lommen a rejoint Robeco en provenance d’Aon Hewitt à Amsterdam pour prendre en charge l’expansion de la société sur le marché des fonds de pension en Europe, selon les informations d’IPE. Elle est nommée vice-président senior, en charge du développement des retraites européennes.

Baring Asset Management vient de nommer Faisal Ali en tant que gérant dans son équipe dette marchés émergents. Il sera placé sous la responsabilité de Thanasis Petronikolos, responsable de la dette marchés émergents.Faisal Ali vient d’Observatory Capital où il était gérant de portefeuilles dans l’équipe marchés émergents et pilotait le portefeuille crédit marchés émergents de la société. Avant, il était chez Credit Suisse.Son arrivée fait suite à la nomination de Thomas Kwan en tant que responsable de la dette asiatique en avril.

F&C Investments vient de recruter Tracy Fennell en tant que responsable du marketing. Elle rejoindra la société à l’automne, en provenance de Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) où elle occupe un poste similaire. Auparavant, elle était responsable marketing pour le Royaume-Uni, les pays nordiques, le Moyen-Orient et l’Australie chez Axa Investment Managers. Chez F&C, elle sera placée sous la responsabilité de Charlie Porter, responsable des fonds et des trusts, et sera chargée du marketing dans tout le groupe. L’une de ses premières priorités sera de conduire un audit de la marque F&C et de renforcer la présence du groupe sur Internet.

Thomas Smith a été nommé co-gérant du fonds Neptune Latin America (46,2 millions de livres), géré par Felix Wintle, rapporte Citywire. Le nouveau co-gérant a rejoint Neptune Investment Management en juillet 2009 en tant qu’analyste.

Several fund distribution platforms among the largest in the sector on 9 August announced plans to join forces to create the Fund Platform Group (FPG), a Luxembourg-registered association which will have international reach and focus. Among the founding members of the association are RBC-Dexia Investors Services, Fund Channel, Moventum, MFEX, Altrax, Swisscanto London and Société Générale Securities Services. The Kneip agency, an associate member, made the initiative possible by facilitating and encouraging efforts on the part of businesses to found the association. The founding members are all financial institutions which act as third-party fund distribution platforms, which meet a number of criteria which have been established for membership in the FPG. The association’s mission is to establish relations and encourage higher levels of understanding between all participants in fund distribution internationally, with three major objectives. In order to improve the effectiveness and fluidity of transactions, the association will first of all seek to develop professional standards of quality, on the basis of initiatives now underway, for contractualisation, exchange of information, processing of securities transactions (OST), and settlement and delivery of cash and securities. In response to the major changes taking place in the distribution and more generally asset management professions, the association will then seek to be the representative voice for its members to contribute to regulatory changes taking place, by explaining the unique needs of the profession and increasing awareness of the specific challenges faced by platforms. The association also plans to help to develop and promote best practices on the part of its members and actors in the profession more generally to serve investors. Edouard Bokuetenge, director of Distribution Support at RBC-DEXIA Investor Services and president of the FPG, says that “fund distribution platforms are essential participants in the changes underway in distribution of financial products worldwide. We created this association to serve as a catalyst and encourage advances, at a time when major developments are favouring the development of cross-border distribution on one hand, while making the operational context more complex on the other hand. We hope that a representative, strong and dynamic international association will be able to actively contribute to that process.”

Lawyers for Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of Galleon Group, who was convicted on insider trading charges, are seeking to obtain a prison sentence shorter than the 24 years sought by prosecutors for their client, the Financial Times reports. They @font-face { font-family: «Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: «Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } asked for leniency, citing his generosity and failing health. They are also critical of the way in which the gains Rajaratnam is said to have made from the insider trades have been calcultated. The government estimates that figure at USD63.8m, while his lawyers estimate it at USD36.3m. The sentence will be pronounced on 27 September.

Jacqueline Lommen has joined Robeco from Aon Hewitt in Amsterdam to take charge of the management firm’s expansion in the European pension fund market, according to reports in IPE. Lommen has been appointed as senior vice president, in charge of development on the European pension market.

At a time when investors’ concerns are focusing on the United States’ rising debts, the Fed released a statement which drove the value of the US dollar into a nosedive, which will have the consequence of accelerating growth in the United States, and lowering returns on government bonds, calming concerns about the rising costs of financing the country’s debt, Agefi reports. The US Federal Reserve, as expected, maintained the Federal prime interest rate at between 0% and 0.25%, but for the first time surprised the markets with a pledge to maintain interest rates at an exceptionally low level until mid-2013. This is a sign that the Fed is planning to keep its interest rates at a near-zero level for at least 5 years. This is a paradoxical situation for a country which had been hoping to avoid a Japanese scenario at all costs, the newspaper notes.

The Hedge Fund Standards Board (HFSB), an association based in the United Kingdom which includes the major European hedge funds, has published a consultation document to widen the organisation’s international audience. The association, founded in 2008 to promote a high-level body of standards and practices in Europe, and based in London, where most actors in the hedge fund sector are located, was largely inspired by British regulations. Now that the major European actors have joined the association, which has 60 members, the association’s goal is to adapt its corpus of rules in order to attract American and Asian actors, the Board says in a statement. According to Dame Amelia Fawcett, chairwoman of the HFSB, “the standards are very widely accepted in the European market, and the major hegde fund managers in the United Kingdom and continental Europe are signatories to them. Investors would now like to see a wider adoption of these standards by managers in American and Asian markets.” In addition to the internationalisation of standards, the consultation is also an occasion to propose several amendments which would draw lessons from the financial crisis of 2007-2008, in areas such as risk management and transparency. The consultation is open until 28 October this year.

According to the first annual rankings of family offices by Bloomberg, HSBC Private Wealth Solutions takes first place for assets under management, with USD102bn in assets at their 18 offices worldwide. In second place is Bessemer Trust, with USD44.5bn in assets. Seven out of the ten largest providers of family office services are controlled by or affiliated with major banks, such as UBS, Wells Fargo and Sun Trust Banks. Combined assets under management at the top 50 family offices rose by 17% last year compared with 2009, to a total of USD477bn.

The index provider S&P Indices on 9 August announced the launch of the S&P Systematic Global Macro Index (SGMI), which aims to reflect the movements of liquid global futures contracts covering the global macro strategies universe as well as managed futures and CTAs. The index includes the six most-traded sectors on the markets: commodities, energy, fixed income, currencies, short-term interest rates, and equities indices.

The turbulence which has been drying up financial markets in the past few days has led European pension funds to adopt a wait-and-see attitude, according to the website IPE. Several Netherlands pension funds have decided not to make any changes to their investment policy, and in the short term to strictly adhere to their long-term strategy. In other words, even though changes are not ruled out, European pension funds, which have also drawn lessons from the financial crisis of 2007-2008 by improving their liquidity risk management, do not want to allow their long-term strategy to be dictated by short-term volatility on the financial markets.

Jacqueline Lommen vient de rejoindre Robeco en tant que senior vice president responsable du développement des activités du groupe sur le marché européen des fonds de pension, selon le site IPE.Dans le cadre du développement de ces activités, Robeco a déposé une demande d’agrément auprès du régulateur néerlandais pour le lancement d’un véhicule de retraite transfrontière, le Premium Pension Institution (PPI), déjà disponible chez APG, ABN Amro et l’assureur Delta Lloyd. Jacqueline Lommen travaillait précédemment chez Aon Hewitt.

Fund distribution through private banks, direct sales and proprietary channels (such as distribution agreements with banks) is set to increase significantly during the next 12 months, according to a research by the Luxembourg-based Kneip, a provider of services to the investment fund sector, undertaken in April this year, and covering 47 asset management firms, fund administrators, and providers. The survey finds that 42.9% of respondents are planning to increase to use private banks more, compared with only 14% in 2010. This development may be a result of a desire on the part of asset management firms to develop their activities serving high net worth clients. The study also finds that 34.3% of respondents would like to focus more on direct sales, a 14% increase over the level last year, and that 31.4% would like to use “proprietary” channels, such as distribution agreements with banking establishments. This latter solution has seen a 26% increase in the past 12 months. Unsurprisingly, the survey also finds that 94% of respondents cited that UCITS IV would have the most impact on the fund management industry in the next 12 months, up from 83% from last year. Europe remains the preferred investment region for 74.3% of respondents. This percentage is 9% lower, however, than the previous year. Investors are showing a growing interest in South America (Brazil, Chile) and Australia, the survey says, due to market growth as well as the opening of these markets to foreign funds in recent years.

In first half 2011, the performance of credit funds was relatively unchanged, although there was some difference in the level fo volatility among flows, according to a sectoral update by the Fitch Ratings agency (“Sector Update – Credit Asset Management.”) Positive outlooks for businesses are beginning to be dampened due to sovereign debt problems and an expected slowdown in global economic growth as a result, says Manuel Arrive, senior director at Fitch in the Fund and Asset Manager Rating Group, who adds that overall, corporate balance sheets remain solid. In this environment, the performance of funds continues to be largely determined by macroeconomic factors, and therefore largely similar. High yield bonds are seeing good inflows since the beginning of the year, although there has been increased volatility since May this year, suggesting that investors are fleeing towards higher quality assets, largely in the euro zone.

Goldman Sachs Group has announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission is undertaking an investigation to determine whether it has violated anti-corruption laws. According to reports in the Wall Street Journal, the regulator is examining the bank’s relations with the Libyan sovereign fund, the Libyan Investment Authority. In 2008, Goldman made options trades for the fund, but they suffered losses of more than USD1 billion. The SEC is now looking into a commission of USD50m which the bank agreed to pay in order to help the fund make back its losses. Although the sum was never paid, Goldman may still be accused of an infraction of the corruption law.

The investment committee of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) will hold a workshop on Monday, August 15, to examine how best to integrate environmental, social and governance issues into the pension fund’s investment process in order to enhance risk managementThe committee also will hear the key findings of a study on the integration of ESG at other financial institutions. Among other things, the study, commissioned by CalPERS and conducted by Mercer Consulting, offers an overview of international developments in ESG.

Thomas Smith has been appointed as co-manager of the Neptune Latin America fund (GBP26m), managed by Felix Wintle, Citywire reports. The new co-manager joined Neptune Investment Management in July 2009 as an analyst.

F&C Investments has recruited Tracy Fennell as group head of marketing. She is set to join F&C in the autumn from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) where she is currently head of Marketing. Prior to this, she was head of marketing for the UK, Nordics, Middle East and Australia at AXA Investment Managers.At F&C Tracy Fennell will report to Charlie Porter, head of funds and investment trusts, and will be responsible for marketing activity across all areas of the group including the institutional business, funds and investment trusts and corporate brand building. Her initial priorities will include a comprehensive brand audit and a project to enhance the group’s online presence.

Baring Asset Management has appointed Faisal Ali as investment manager in its emerging markets debt team. He reports to Thanasis Petronikolos, head of emerging market debt.Faisal Ali joins Barings from Observatory Capital, where he was a portfolio manager in the emergingmarkets team, running the firm’s emerging market credit portfolio. Prior to this, he was with Credit Suisse in the emerging markets trading team in London and fixed income research team in Singapore.Faisal Ali will further strengthen Barings’ emerging market debt team, following the appointment of Thomas Kwan as head of Asian debt in April.

Le fonds de pension Amonis (1.3 milliards d’euros d’actifs) qui représente les médecins, dentistes et pharmaciens belges conduit actuellement une étude ALM avec l’ambition d’obtenir des résultats rapidement, dans quelques semaines. D’autre part, le fonds est en train de remplacer son gérant actions américaines, Axa Rosenberg Investment Management, par William Blair & Co . Si le fonds de pension ne va plus travailler avec Axa Rosenberg, c’est à cause de changements dans la structure de la compagnie. L’allocation stratégique d’actifs est actuellement la suivante : 40% en obligations, 5% en immobilier, 55% en actions et alternatifs.