Standard Life Investments a annoncé le 28 juin la nomination de Séverine Laffineur en qualité de gérante du portefeuille européen. Séverine Laffineur, qui travaillait précédemment chez LaSalle Investment Management à Paris, rejoindra le bureau parisien de standard Life Investments le 18 juillet prochain.Séverine Laffineur sera responsable de l’origination et des acquisitions dans l’immobilier européen ainsi que de l’asset management des investissements existants. Les actifs immobiliers de Standard Life Investments s'élèvent à 11,4 milliards d’euros.

Le groupe JP Morgan a annoncé le 27 juin qu’il avait été sélectionné par Pimco pour distribuer cinq des ETF de Pimco enregistrés aux Etats-Unis sur la Bourse mexicaine.Les cinq ETF concernés sont PIMCO 1-5 Year U.S. TIPS Index Fund (STPZ), PIMCO Broad U.S. TIPS Index Fund (TIPZ), PIMCO 15+ Year U.S. TIPS Index Fund (LTPZ), PIMCO 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index Fund (TUZ) et PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Fund (CORP).

Lisa O’Connor qui était associate director, UK institutional Sales chez Russell Investments, a été recrutée comme European head of consultant relations par Axa IM, dans l'équipe de désormais cinq personnes que dirige Tim Gardener, global head of consultant relations. Ce dernier a d’ailleurs précisé que l'équipe est désormais au complet, avec une organisation par grandes régions : Amérique du Nord, Europe et Asie.Lisa O’Connor aura pour mission de développer et d’entretenir les relations avec les consultants dans toute l’Europe.

Alors qu’elle est confrontée au défi majeur des retraites, l’industrie européenne de la gestion d’actifs manque cruellement d’efficience, a estimé en substance James Broderick, CEO de J.P. Morgan Asset Management Europe, à l’occasion de la première séance plénière du Fund Forum International qui se tient jusqu’à jeudi à Monaco. Pour lui, il y a trop de sociétés de gestion et trop de fonds en Europe. «Nous devons trouver un moyen de réduire le nombre de sociétés de gestion et de fonds», a-t-il martelé.L’une des solutions pourrait être, selon Jamie Broderick, une réglementation qui obligerait les sociétés de gestion à procéder à un audit de leurs fonds lorsqu’ils ne respectent plus certains critères en termes de taille, de rentabilité et de performance. Aujourd’hui, les obstacles à la réduction du nombre de fonds sont principalement d’ordre fiscal, a rappelé Elizabeth Corley, CEO d’Allianz Global Advisors Europe. Elle note également que la plupart des petits fonds sont gérés par des maisons de taille modeste. Enfin, dernier frein, les fusions de fonds doivent faire l’objet de consultations. Concernant la concentration des sociétés de gestion elles mêmes, le processus est ralenti par le fait que le secteur est peu consommateur de fonds propres. «Ainsi, le coût pour une banque ou un assureur de garder une société de gestion est très faible», explique Elizabeth Corley. En outre, le prix payé pour une société de gestion est faible car le marché évalue les actifs et non la société en tant que telle. «A moins que vous n’y soyez obligés, vous n’êtes pas incités à vendre», indique Elizabeth Corley. A cela s’ajoutent également les pressions politiques dans certains pays qui souhaitent conserver des champions nationaux. Interrogé à ce sujet par Newsmanagers, Martin Gilbert, CEO d’Aberdeen Asset Management, pense lui aussi que l’offre de fonds est trop abondante, alors que seule une infime partie draine des souscriptions. Quant à savoir si les sociétés de gestion sont trop nombreuses, il estime qu’en tout cas il y en a beaucoup qui sont mal gérées, car elles ont des marges d’exploitation trop faibles...

Le groupe américain Invesco a annoncé le 27 juin le recrutement de Fredrick Cygnaeus en qualité de responsable de la distribution de gros (wholesale) dans les pays nordiques.Fredrick Cygnaeus, qui sera basé dans la nouvelle implantation d’Invesco à Stockholm, prendra ses fonctions le 16 août prochain. Avant de rejoindre Invesco, Fredrick Cygnaeus a travaillé pendant neuf ans chez Fidelity en tant que responsable des clientèles retail et institutionnelle pour la région nordique.

Pour ses thèmes de travail 2011, la MNT a tenu compte de Solvency 2 car tous ses investissements sont impactés par la nouvelle règlementation. Catherine Devillard, directeur général adjoint - moyens finance & gestion, précise : « Nous allons procéder à une diminution du poste actions car il est désormais très chargé en termes de pénalité en fonds propres ». Pourtant si la mutuelle intègre la poche actions dans sa réflexion sur la nouvelle règlementation, elle admet cependant, différer la réduction de ce poste. « Hormis une ligne spécifique, nous avons conservé les actions que nous avions en portefeuille, poursuit Catherine Devillard. Nous faisons très attention au poids des actions dans nos investissements puisqu’ils sont choqués à des taux très élevés et nécessitent des fonds propres importants en face ». Compte tenu des marchés financiers tant obligataires qu’actions, la MNT est, à l’instar des autres mutuelles, un peu dans l’expectative car pour le moment, arbitrer sur les poches actions signifierait sortir en moins value. « Le poste OPCVM actions représente aujourd’hui 6% de notre portefeuille, analyse Catherine Devillard. Le reste est composé d’obligataires et de produits structurés indexés sur l’Eurostoxx qui représentent 15% de notre portefeuille mais qui sont, eux aussi, très consommateurs en fonds propres ». Pour la suite, la mutuelle va devoir arbitrer toute l’allocation d’actifs entre les actions, les obligations et les OPCVM en sachant que ces derniers ne rapportent plus rien. D’ailleurs Catherine Devillard conclut : « Certains acteurs nous proposent des produits qui ne sont pas indexés sur des actions car dans nos produits structurés nous n’avons pas que des actions et nous attendons des acteurs, un indicateur qui serait le plus fiable possible sur le SCR ». Quelques chiffres clés au 31 décembre 2010: Un excédent de 13,3 millions d’euros. Ses fonds propres s'élèvent à 215 millions d’euros et le taux de couverture de l’exigence de solvabilité est de 247%.

With a volume of USD220m as of 28 June, the Low Duration US High Yield Bond Fund (LU0602537069), a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Nordea 1, has received sales licenses for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. So far, it is the second fund whose management Nordea has outsourced to MacKay Shields, following the US High Yield Bond Fund (USD1.4bn as of the end of May), which was launched in 2008. As its name indicates, it is a fund which invests in US high yield bonds with short duration; it is managed by Dan Roberts, manager of the US High Yield Bond Fund. The product allows investors to reduce the sensitivity of a portfolio to an environment of rising interest rates and widening spreads. In addition, the management team may make limited use of short positions on Treasury futures, in order to manage duration. Average duration will be under 1 year, but may for short periods of time rise as far as 2 years at most.The fund will also be available in a share class hedged for currency risks (LU0602536764) aimed at institutional investors (minimal subscription EUR75,000).

The flagship fund Amundi Oblig Internationales [FR0010032573 (I-class shares) and FR0010156604 (P-class shares)] have received a sales license for Germany. The product, launched on 28 February 1980 and managed by Cédric Morisseau with a team of 25 people in the Global Bond & Currency Team based in London, has assets of over EUR1.5bn.Hubert Dänner, CEO of Amundi Germany, says that the first contacts with clients have been encouraging, in that many investors are seeking a bond fund which, like the Oblig Internationales, combines the advantages of active management and a wide variety of sources of performance. In addition, the fund has an attractive and very long-term track record.

According to financial industry sources, investors have been hesitant to acquire shares in the closed real estate fund DWS Access Deutsche Bank Türme, to which Deutsche Bank sold its freshly renovated twin tower headquarters in Frankfurt in March for EUR600m, Handelsblatt reports. Clients are not concerned that returns will be on the weak side, at only 5% per year, because the tenant is financially solid, the lease is very long-term and the properties are of high quality.

Abante Asesores has recently presented its new fund of high-performance managers, Smart-ISH (see Newsmanagers of 7 June). The management firm has now announced the names of the first 16 «artist’s» funds and Sicavs selected for the portfolio (which may include up to 20 positions).In decreasing order of weight, they are:- Belgravia Beta Sicav, by Carlos Cerezo- Bestinver Internacional, by Francisco García Paramés, Álvaro Guzmán and Fernando Bernad- Ibercaja Alpha, by Alberto Espelosín- Koala Capital Sicav, by Marc Garrigasait- Ángulo Verde Sicav, by Alejandro Muñoz and Guillermo Nieto- Elcano Inversiones Financieras, by JJ Fernández and Marc Batlle- Cartesio Y, by Juan Antonio Bertrán, Cayetano Cornet and Álvaro Martínez- Arenberg Asset Management Sicav, by Pablo González- Valor Absoluto Sicav, by Luis Bononato and Olivier Tinguely- Equilibria Investments, by Carlos Arenillas- BPA Fondo Ibérico Acciones, by Gonzalo Lardiés- Espinosa Partners, by Jaime Espinosa and Íñigo Espinosa - Gesconsult Renta Variable Flexible, by Alfonso de Gregorio- Mutuafondo Bolsa, by Ricardo Cañete- Solventis Eos Sicav, by Christian Torres- Toro Capital Sicav, by Javier Bohórquez and Jorge Cruz

Barclays Spain is offering the Pension Plus 2, a retirement savings plan from CNP Barclays Vida y Pensiones which guarantees initial capital and returns of 16% after five years, or 3.01% of TEG, until 19 July, Funds People reports. Subscriptions may be closed once assets reach EUR30m.

Stoxx Ltd on 28 June announced that it has issued Barclays Capital an exclusive license for the new Euro Stoxx 50 Volatility-Balanced index. The index provides a risk-adjusted picture of the performance of the Euro Stoxx 50 index, replicating a portfolio which combines the Euro Stoxx 50 and volatility of equities represented by the Vstoxx Short-Term Futures Index (an index of futures traded on Eurex).The Euro Stoxx 50 Volatility-Balanced Index dynamically adapts the allocations to equities and volatility depending on the prevailing market environment, increasing exposure to volatility in periods of instability, and inversely, reducing it in times of rising markets and stability. Ambient volatility is measured by comparing short-term market expectations for volatility with present volatility.

Few groups have not dedicated a part of their time in presentations at general shareholders’ meetings this year to the subject of sustainable development and CSR, according to the AGM 2011 survey by DLA Piper and Capitalcom. Year after year, sustainable development is occupying an increasingly large place in addresses by directors, who, as in 2010, dedicated an average of 7 minutes to the topic, nearly twice as much time as in 2009, and in discussions with shareholders, with a total of 10% of questions asked. Most of the time, the subject was in connection with strategy presentations. A growing number of businesses are presenting extra-financial indicators and quantitative objectives at their general shareholders’ meetings.In 2011, businesses continued their pedagogical efforts in their presentations on governance, with a large number of groups making an effort to raise the awareness of their shareholders about the composition and functioning of their boards, and to show them a summary of their efforts.What is surprising is that again this year, even in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, risk management was largely absent from directors’ speeches at general shareholders’ meetings. Businesses which dared to present a map of their risks, or to lay out their procedures to anticipate and manage risks remain a minority. However, directors did not hesitate to speak on topics which are often considered sensitive, such as changes to growth rates in Europe and newer economies.

To settle legal proceedings, the board of Bank of America (BoA) is reported to have voted on 28 June to approve a settlement with 22 investors, including BlackRock, MetLife and the Fed of New York, who hold mortgage securitisations sold by the bank initially for USD105bn, before the residential real estate crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. BoA is reported to have agreed to pay USD8.5bn to these “high profile” investors. BoA will be presenting its second quarter results this Wednesday.The deal may well encourage mutual fund managers, insurers and investment partnerships to seek similar arrangements with major banks in the US, on the grounds that billions of dollars in securitisations purchased before the collapse of the real estate markets did not fulfil the promises of the vendors, or that they were badly managed.

The German firm Medion AG, which the Chinese company Lenovo is seeking to acquire for EUR629m, or EUR13 per share, announced on Tuesday that the hedge fund management firm Elliott Asset Management now controls 6.04% of its capital, Handelsblatt reports.

On 30 November 2011, Reinhard Kruse will be retiring from his position as a member of the board of directors at Talanx Immobilien Management GmbH, formerly AmpegaGerling Immobilien Management GmbH. He will be replaced by Thomas Fiebig, who joined the firm on 1 June, and who will be responsible for real estate investments. Fiebig was previously director of acquisitions and sales of real estate properties in Germany for ING Real Estate Investment Management GmbH.

The US group Invesco announced on 27 June that it has recruited Fredrick Cygnaeus as head of wholesale distribution for Scandinavia. Cygnaeus, who will be based in Invesco’s new offices in Stockholm, will begin on 16 August this year. Before joining Invesco, Cygnaeus spent nine years at Fidelity as head of retail and institutional clients for Scandinavia.

At a time when retirements are presenting a major challenge, the European asset management industry is cruelly inefficient, James Broderick, CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset Management Europe, has said at the first plenary session of the Fund Forum International, being held this Tuesday to Thursday in Monaco. Broderick claims that there are too many management firms and too many funds in Europe. “We need to find a way to reduce the number of management firms and funds,” he opined.One of the solutions, says Broderick, may be to introduce regulations which would require management firms to undertake an audit of their funds when they fail to respect certain criteria for size, profitability and performance.Currently, the obstacles to a reduction in the number of funds are largely fiscal, says Elizabeth Corley, CEO of Allianz Global Advisors Europe. She also points out that most small funds are managed by small management firms. Another factor holding back mergers of these funds is that funds must approve such moves in shareholder votes.Concerning concentration of management firms themselves, the process is being held back by the fact that the sector does not require much in the way of owners’ equity. “Thus, the cost for a bank or insurer of retaining a management firm is very low,” explains Corley. The price paid for a management firm is low, as the market values the assets and not the firm in and of itself. “The less you are obliged to do it, the less you will be inclined to sell,” Corley says. In addition to that, there are political pressures in some countries which want to retain their national champions.When asked about this issue by Newsmanagers, Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management, responds that the funds now on offer are too abundant, while only a small portion of the funds on sale attract subscriptions. As to whether there are too many management firms, Gilbert responds that there are many firms which are poorly managed, at any rate, as they have very low operating margins.

Lisa O’Connor, who had been associate director, UK institutional sales at Russell Investments, has been recruited as European head of consultant relations for Axa IM, in the team which now includes five people led by Tim Gardener, global head of consultant relations. Gardener says that the team is now complete, and is organised by global regions: North America, Europe, and Asia. O’Connor will aim to develop and maintain relations with consultants throughout Europe.

UBS on 27 June announced that it has listed the new MSCI Agriculture SF swap-based ETFs in Swiss francs, euros and US dollars, and the MSCI Emerging Markets swap-based ETF in US dollars, on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The objective of the MSCI Agriculture SF swap-based ETF is to reproduce the performance of the UBS Bloomberg CMCI Agriculture Total Return index. The fund synthetically replicates the performance of the index by investing in a swap. UBS says that all of the fund’s exposure to swap counterparties are 105% covered with collateral which is eligible for OPCVM mutual funds. The objective of the MSCI Emerging Markets swap-based ETF is to reproduce the absolute net performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets index.

The JP Morgan group on 27 June announced that it has been selected by Pimco to distribute five ETFs from Pimco, which are registered in the United States, on the Mexican stock exchange. The five ETFs concerned are the PIMCO 1-5 Year U.S. TIPS Index Fund (STPZ), PIMCO Broad U.S. TIPS Index Fund (TIPZ), PIMCO 15+ Year U.S. TIPS Index Fund (LTPZ), PIMCO 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index Fund (TUZ) and PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Fund (CORP).

The current second in command at Credit Suisse Geneva will be joining UBS on 1 July this year, Agefi Switzerland reports. Jean-François Demierre has been appointed as head of the Private Wealth Management (PWM) segment and the Executives & Entrepreneurs (E&E) desk. He will thus be leaving his position as assistant to the head of the onshore private banking entity of Credit Suisse in Geneva, where he has been for over seven years, and his position as head of the centre of expertise including real estate financing and Wealth Planning activities.

Aberdeen Asset Management, which not long ago was highly active on the mergers and acquisitions markets, is calmer now in that area. That is not expected to change in the next few months, Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management, has told Newsmanagers at the Fund Forum International, being held from Tuesday to Thursday this week in Monaco. “We are doing very well at growing organically,” he explains, adding that he does not feel the need to make new acquisitions. “In addition, the prices are now very high, and banks are not selling anything off anymore.”In the United States, where an acquisition had been planned not long ago, Gilbert estimates that Aberdeen AM needs to build its fund distribution activities. He feels that the products are good, but warns against poor management of some of them, particularly synthetic ETFs, which may do damage to the UCITS brand.Gilbert, who was one of the founders of Aberdeen, which now manages GBP181bn in assets, says that the key to success for management firms is to ensure comfortable operating margins and to be able to retain talent. In order to retain good managers, being independent, as his firm is, is manifestly an advantage, as it means that employees can be offered a stake in the firm’s capital.

The two groups Humanis and Novalis Taitbout on 28 June announced that they have taken a “decisive step” to move forward with their plans to merge. In line with an agreement dating from July 2009, a merger agreement, unanimously approved by the two associations at general assemblies and each of their member institutions, has been sent to the Agirc Arrco and CTIP federations, meaning that consultations with representatives of employees of the two groups may now begin.The move comes as part of an ongoing cooperation project between the groups, which have known one another and worked together for some time, including the creation of ALCARA (the Agirc Arrco Factory Retirement scheme), joint projects in the area of social action, deployment of the Pléi@de personal insurance IT system, and development of international insurance activities via the Welcare company.The two partners say that they are planning to join forces to build one of the top groups in social protection.The merger plans arise from the firms’ will to found a new group on the basis of their joint mutualist model. While respecting the requirements of the market, the group will aim to satisfy clients (businesses, active and retired employees) in the best service of their interests, while also valuing employees. There is a strong and federative social contract for the 6,516 employees throughout France.Decision-making powers have unanimously decided that due to its symbolism, the name HUYMANIS will be the one used for the future group. As a name, HUMANIS carries the message of engagement, to “place the human being at the core of our strategy,” of the group as a whole.

Standard Life Investments on 28 June announced that it has appointed Séverine Laffineur as European portfolio manager. Laffineur, who previously worked at LaSalle Investment Management in Paris, will join the Paris office of Standard Life Investments on 18 July. Laffineur will be responsible for instigating acquisitions in European real estate as well as asset management for existing investments. Real estate assets at Standard Life Investments total EUR11.4bn.

At a presentation of its “quarterly outlooks” for Q3 on 28 June, Groupama Asset Management took a generally calm attitude in the face of many ambient uncertainties worldwide and on the markets. In the words of Philippe-Henri Burlisson, director of fundamental management, “we shouldn’t expect the same bad news twice.”Ultimately, explains Antoine de Salins, CIO, “we have picked up a few more equities, and we have 5% cash.” Compared with the Management and Strategy newsletter published the same day on the management firm’s website, it appears that the model portfolio has developed a little more in favour of equities, which are decidedly inexpensive at present, with an exposure of 52% in a balanced allocation, while the percentage was limited to 43%, down from 47%, for fixed income (while money market instruments continue to represent 5%).Specialists at Groupama are “selectively” positive about equities, and neutral on credit. Overall, they remain prudent, as they have been since the beginning of this year, which has brought the consensus gradually into line with the outlooks laid out by the team based in Paris in rue de Miromesnil.

La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild announced on Tuesday, 28 June that it has added to its financial management with the recruitment of Cynthia Tobiano as director of finance and development. Tobiano “will aim to assist the group with its growth policy, particularly internationally,” a statement says, adding that she will begin in her new role after a transitional period in conjunction with the current director, Jean-Louis Chemarin, who is retiring. Tobiano, 34, has spent her carrer thus far at Goldman Sachs in London and Paris in investment banking. She was previously a partner in Paris, before becoming vice president of the mergers and acquisitions team in Paris and London.

In the wake of the financial crisis, a growing number of institutional investors, especially pension funds and sovereign funds, are investing directly in hedge funds, according to an international survey undertaken by Citi Prime Finance, covering a sample of 60 major investors, representing over USD1.7trn in assets, and hedge fund managers with USD186bn in assets under management (“Global Pension and Sovereign Wealth Fund Investment in Hedge Funds: The Growth and Impact of Direct Investing,” June 2011). This development may be working to the disadvantage of traditional funds of funds. Contrary to the received idea that funds allocated directly go mostly to the major hedge fund managers, the survey finds that smaller hedge funds, with total assets of USD1bn to USD5bn, saw the most net growth in 2010. Hedge funds in this range are the favourites of allocators; the range may go as low as USD500m in developed countries, and USD250m in emerging markets. However, hedge funds with assets of USD250m to USD500m pose problems of size for direct allocators, who often have legal or discretionary limitations, and whose allocations may not exceed 10% to 25% of the total assets in a hedge fund. In terms of the size problem, there are also a growing number of obstacles to overcome in order to serve the institutional market. Being selected for a list by a consultant is no longer as easy, as consultants tend to favour larger managers, with assets under management of over USD5bn.

Following a brief but spectacular rise in May, to 104.3 from 97.3 in the previous two months, the global institutional investor confidence index from State Street Global Markets fell to 99.2 in June. The sharpest decline was in North American institutional investor morale, which fell to 100.4 from 106.2 in May. Asian investors also showed less appetite for risk, with the index down to 93.2 from 96.9.State Street expresses surprise, however, at the 8.5 pt rise in the index for Europe, to 87.9. Cumulatively since March, the European index has risen 21 points, but from a very low starting point. “At 87.9 points, the index still shows aversion to risk, and sales of equities are continuing, but European institutions have slowed the pace of their equities selloffs, perhaps recognizing the fact that recent price movements have created more attractive valuations in some sectors,” says Paul O’Connell, one of the designers of the State Street index.

Since the beginning of this year, assets under administration by BNY Mellon Fund Servicing (Ireland) Ltd have increased 8%, and the increase since 1 January 2010 is 50.16%, for a total of over USD500bn. The increase is largely due to increasing demand on the part of investors for ETFs and money market funds, the group says, but it is of course also related to the acquisition of PNC Global Investment Servicing in July 2010, which allowed the firm to double its assets under administration in hedge funds in Europe.