La banque centrale australienne a annoncé le maintien de son principal taux directeur à 4,75%, une décision attendue compte tenu de la mollesse de la conjoncture et des incertitudes sur les perspectives économiques. La Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) a annoncé sa décision à l’issue de sa réunion mensuelle de politique monétaire.

Notre stratégie financière est assez conservatrice. Nous souhaitons d’abord qu’en haut de cycle l’entreprise n’ait pas de dette. Au 31 mars 2011, les fonds propres sont de 4.1 milliards d’euros pour 1.3 milliards de dette nette. Cette approche peut paraître très prudente mais nos métiers ont comme particularité que la plupart des contrats sont en partie financés par les clients. Nous leur fournissons des équipements et des services, et ils trouvent le financement. Bien que nous soyons dans l’industrie lourde, notre intensité capitalistique est faible par rapport à notre chiffre d’affaires. Par ailleurs, nous tenons à disposer d’un matelas de liquidités, quitte à payer un certain coût de portage, puisque le cash dont nous disposons grâce à nos emprunts obligataires est à un taux faible mais supérieur au taux sans risque auquel nos liquidités sont rémunérées. Mais c’est précisément grâce à notre niveau de liquidité que Moody’s a amélioré notre notation en nous retirant notre outlook négatif pour le passer à stable. Source: Option Finance

«Notre stratégie est aujourd’hui fondée sur une approche Solvency 2 et à partir de la SCR de marché qui constitue pour nous une limite à ne pas dépasser, nous cherchons à optimiser notre portefeuille», explique Daniel Fruchart, directeur financier du groupe Macif. En réalité les configurations de la mutuelle sont relativement stables car son portefeuille est déjà très purifié. La Macif a, en effet, déjà moins d’actions que l’ensemble de la profession. Ainsi, au niveau groupe, le portefeuille est composé d’obligations entre 75 et 80%, d’actions entre 7 à 8%, d’immobilier entre 4 à 5% et les titres de participations représentent, enfin, 10 à 13%. «Nous constatons aujourd’hui que le SCR au niveau du groupe Macif est inférieur aux besoins de marges de Solvency 1 et nous ferons, en fait, dans le cadre de Solvency 2 mieux que dans Solvency 1», poursuit Daniel Fruchart. Le groupe constate cependant, un certain alourdissement en matière d’assurance dommage, par contre sa filiale assurance vie a un profil de risques extrêmement réduit. «La mise en place de Solvency 2 ne bouleversera pas notre allocation d’actifs car notre profil était déjà très prudent», souligne Daniel Fruchart. Pourtant, le groupe entend bien ne pas se limiter aux coûts en fonds propres des actifs mais compte aussi sur leur rentabilité. Ainsi, chaque classe d’actifs possède une espérance de rentabilité et un chargement en fonds propres. Le groupe entend optimiser l’espérance de rentabilité du portefeuille par rapport au coût global en fonds propres. «Cela ne conduit pas nécessairement à arbitrer au détriment des actifs qui sont le plus chargés, conclut Daniel Fruchart. Nous pouvons être amenés à conserver des actions aux espérances de rentabilité très élevées malgré un chargement en fonds propres à priori pénalisant».

Le gestionnaire allemand Gothaer Asset Management, filiale de l’assureur Gothaer, gère 25 milliards d’euros. Selon la Börsen-Zeitung, il a l’intention de proposer désormais aux particuliers ses six fonds offerts au public qui étaient jusqu'à présent distribués par le réseau d’agents itinérants de Gothaer dans le cadre de contrats en unités de compte. Ce projet d'élargissement concerne en particulier les trois fonds multi-classes d’actifs lancés il y a trois ans et qui ont drainé 90 millions d’euros. Ils peuvent investir en actions, en obligations, en matières premières et en immobilier.

Internationale Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH (HSBC INKA) a annoncé le 4 juillet que, depuis le 1er juillet, elle accepte à nouveau les souscriptions et rachats de parts du fonds HSBC Trinkaus Genüsse International (code Isin : DE0009756569) qui avait été fermé le 30 septembre 2008 à cause de l’assèchement des liquidités provoqué par la faillite de Lehman Brothers.Ce produit géré par Kerstin Terhardt chez HSBC Global Asset Management (Deutschland) GmbH investissait principalement en bons de jouissance. Depuis lors, le portefeuille a été redéployé et placé en obligations hybrides d’entreprises ainsi qu’en subordonnées bancaires de type «tier 1".Selon Inka, la valeur liquidative indicative au 30 juin ressortait à 64,23 euros, soit à un niveau supérieur aux 63,43 euros du 26 septembre 2008, juste avant le gel des souscriptions/rachats.

Tanja Engel, qui était depuis sept ans chez American Express, en dernier lieu comme directrice des questions fiscales à Francfort, vient d'être nommée COO de Schroder Investment Management en Allemagne. Elle est surbordonnée directement à Achim Küssner, directeur général de Schroders Allemagne. Elle sera responsable des secteurs conformité, juridique, informatique, planification et contrôle de gestion.

Selon Funds People, Javier Nuñez, a quitté le poste d’administrateur délégué de BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) en Espagne (3,06 milliards d’euros d’encours) qu’il occupait depuis 2009 et la fusion avec Fortis. Il est remplacé par le directeur général administratif Manuel Méndez. Felipe Guirado reste directeur des ventes aux distributeurs et Sol Hurtado de Mendoza, directrice des ventes institutionnelles.

Le britannique Aspect Capital, qui a obtenu l’agrément d’exploitation de la CNMV le 3 mars, a reçu le 30 juin du régulateur espagnol l’agrément de commercialisation en Espagne de sa sicav coordonnée de droit irlandais Aspect UCITS. Dans le détail, dix classes de parts (cinq retail et cinq institutionnelles) respectivement en francs suisses, en euros, en livres, en couronnes suédoises et en dollars américains sont concernées. Il s’agit de la version conforme à la directive OPCVM III du produit phare d’Aspect, Aspect Diversifed Programme.Le produit initial repose sur une stratégie quantitative de managed futures et la version coordonnée offre une liquidité journalière. L’exposition à la stratégie d’origine s’effectue au travers d’un swap fourni par newedge Group sur l’indice Aspect Diversified Trends, précise Funds People.

Le fonds immobilier danois Aberdeen Property Fund Denmark P/S a annoncé le 4 juillet avoir acheté au 1er juillet un portefeuille d’immeubles commerciaux de 90 millions d’euros auprès du fonds de pension de TDC. La moitié du prix est versée en numéraire et l’autre moitié en parts du fonds Aberdeen.Le portefeuille se compose de 22 actifs, principalement des immeubles de bureaux, et vient s’ajouter aux 490.000 mètres carrés déjà gérés par Aberdeen. Le prix d’achat correspond à un rendement direct net de 7,4 % sur le long terme.Lorsque la transaction aura été bouclée, l’Aberdeen Property Fund Denmark affichera un encours de 855 millions d’euros.

La société de gestion Eden Financial, déjà très active en banque privée, a annoncé le 4 juillet le recrutement de deux anciens gérants de Gartmore, Dan Roberts et Leigh Himsworth, dans le cadre de son projet de développement de l’offre dans ses activités de gestion d’actifs. Tous deux prennent leurs fonctions début juillet.Leigh Himsworth doit gérer le CF Eden UK Select Opportunities Fund qui doit être lancé prochainement. Dan Roberts aura en charge un fonds de revenu dédié aux actions internationales dont le lancement est programmé un peu plus tard dans l’année.

La société de gestion britannique Brooks Macdonald, spécialisée dans les mandats, vient de lancer une activité de fonds offerts au public pilotée par l’ancien directeur des ventes et du marketing de Swip (Scottish Widows Investment Partnership), Simon Wombwell, qui rassemble des fonds issus des acquisitions de Lawrence House en septembre 2009 et de Braedmer Group en juillet 2010, rapporte Money Marketing.Cette activité, Brooks Macdonald Funds, comprend trois fonds de fonds issus de Lawrence House et quatre fonds spécialisés, dont trois fonds issus du groupe Braemer, et a reçu le feu vert de la FSA en avril dernier. Au 31 mars 2011, les actifs sous gestion dans les mandats s'élevaient à 2,80 milliards de livres.

State Street Global Advisors on 4 July announced that new index-based funds for its SPDR ETF platform, specialised in equities and fixed-income products listed on Deutsche Börse are now available to French investors.The launch is a sign of SSgA’s desire to develop its ETF product activities in Europe, and these new products are additions to the existing range of SPDR funds, which have been admitted to trading on Euronext Paris.The new SPDR ETF funds include funds specialised in equities from emerging markets and global equities, which are the first European ETF funds to reproduce the indices of the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) and the MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index (ACWI IMI) as well as the first fund specialised in fixed-income products which provides investors with access to emerging market debt denominated in local currencies.The new SPDR Barclays Capital US Aggregate Bond ETF is a first on the European marke, and the SPDR Barclays Capital Sterling Aggregate Bond ETF is the first ETF fund in the world to provide access to the investment-grade bond market denominated in pounds Sterling, reproducing the Barclays Capital Sterling Aggregate Index.The new SPDR ETF funds are the following/Xetra symbol Fixed income products SPDR Barclays Capital Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF SYBMSPDR Barclays Capital Euro Aggregate Bond ETF SYBASPDR Barclays Capital Euro Government Bond ETF SYBCSPDR Barclays Capital Euro Corporate Bond ETF SYBBSPDR Barclays Capital US Aggregate Bond ETF SYBUSPDR Barclays Capital US Treasury Bond ETF SYBTSPDR Barclays Capital Sterling Aggregate Bond ETF SYBPGlobal equities Xetra symbolSPDR MSCI ACWI ETF SPYY SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI ETF SPYI Emerging markets equitiesSPDR MSCI Emerging MarketsSM ETF SPYMSPDR MSCI Emerging MarketsSM Small Cap ETF SPYXSPDR MSCI EMSM Asia ETF SPYASPDR MSCI EMSM Latin America ETF SPYLSPDR MSCI EMSM Europe ETF SPYB

BNP Paribas Securities Services (BNP Paribas) on 4 July announced the launch of the first master/feeder fund solution to comply with the UCITS IV directive. The solution, designed to assist asset management to reach more final investors more efficiently, also introduces the concept of the fee-free feeder fund, a revolution in fund distribution.Margaret Harwood-Jones, head of the asset management clients segment at BNP Paribas Securities Services says of the launch in a statement that “with the imminent entry into force of the UCITS IV directive, we are very pleased to be the first to offer this solution for master-feeder funds. Out integrated service takes into account all combinations of master and feeder funds, and is available in most European countries.”The BNP Paribas range is unique in that it includes fund administration services, global custody, depository and reporting, all of it available for free to some feeder funds. Through the BNP Paribas solution, managers get a global view of master funds with a consolidated view of each fund, while automated trading limits manual operations. The synchronisation fo operations, the single platform and the global operational model at BNP Paribas contribute to maximise investment opportunities for managers, and optimises the alignment of performances for master-feeder structures. In this way, final investors get easier access to their investments.

As Newsmanagers announced last week, Ossiam, the asset management firm of the Natixis GAM group specialised in strategy ETFs, on Monday 4 July released its first six equities ETFs for sale on NYSE Euronext in Paris. Five of the funds, sub-funds of the firm’s Luxembourg-registered Sicav, have been listed since 27 June for trading on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform from Deutsche Börse, while the French market is the exclusive outlet for the Ossiam ETF CAC 40 Equal Weight NR.The latter fund belongs to the range of equally weighted index-based funds with net dividends reinvested which attributes equal weight to each share at rebalancing, regardless fothe cap size of the companies, unlike the classic index, in which market capitalisation determines the weight of companies. In practice, at each quarterly rebalancing, all businesses weigh 2.5%. With the other funds of the equally-weighted index strategies, the principle is identical. For the Ossiam ETF EURO STOXX 50® Equal Weight NR, each share weighs 2%; for the Ossiam ETF STOXX® EUROPE 600 Equal weight NR, shares represent 0.1667% each at each rebalancing – quarterly in both cases.The other family includes ETFs which follow the Minimum Variance strategy. The objective is to offer investors average volatility of lower by more than 30% than the benchmark universe, which is a de facto limit on drawdowns. The non-discretionary quantitative approach of the management firm has led it to develop the strategy index iStoxx Europe Minimum Variance (dividends reinvested) on the basis of the Stoxx Europe 600 index, which represents a “dynamic sample of the 300 most liquid equities, weighted in such a way as to minimise the volatility of the portfolio». For Ossiam ETF US Minimum Variance NR, the benchmark index is based on a dynamic sample of the 250 most liquid equities of the S&P 500 index. The strategy index is adjusted each month on a fixed date, the third Friday of the month. Characteristics of the fundsOssiam ETF CAC 40 Equal Weight (LU0599612768, TER : 0.30%)Ossiam ETF STOXX® EUROPE 600 Equal weight NR (LU0599613147, TER (*) : 0.35%) Ossiam ETF EURO STOXX 50® Equal weight NR (LU0599613063, TER: 0.30%)Ossiam ETF Europe Minimum Variance NR (LU0599612842, TER : 0.65%)Ossiam ETF US Minimum Variance NR (parts en euros : LU0599612685, TER: 0.65%) Ossiam ETF US Minimum Variance NR (parts en dollars : LU0599612412, TER: 0.65%).All of the funds are eligible for life insurance and PEA investment, except the Ossiam ETF US Minimum Variance NR, which is not eligible for equities savings plans.TER stands for Total Expense Ratio.

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) on Monday, 4 July announced that it has received a mandate in South Africa from the asset management division of Grindrod Bank Limited, Grindrod Asset Management, to provide custody and depository banking services for mutual funds.The mandate is a realisation of the SGSS strategy of adding to its cusoty range in South Africa, by setting up depository banking services for mutual fund managers as well as pension funds, a statement says. In the country, SGSS now offers local and international custody services, settlement and settlement/delivery (repos) for all asset classes, as well as securities lending and treasury services. The activities will be overseen by Hilda de Villiers, head of custody and depository banking for SGSS in South Africa.

Funds People reports that Javier Nuñez has left his position as CEO of BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) in Spain (EUR3.06bn in assets), a position he had held since 2009, when the firm merged with Fortis. He will be replaced by COO Manuel Méndez. Felipe Guirado will remain as director of sales to distributors, and Sol Hurtado de Mendoza remains as director of institutional sales.

The asset management firm Eden Financial on 4 July announced the recruitment of two former Gartmore managers, Dan Roberts and Leigh Himsworth, as part of its plans to develop its range of asset management activities. Both will begin in early July.Himsworth will manage the CF Eden UK Select Opportunities Fund, which is slated for launch in the near future. Roberts will be in charge of an income fund dedicated to international equities, whose launch is scheduled for slightly later in the year.

The British asset management firm Brooks Macdonald, a specialist in mandates, has launched an open-ended fund activity led by the former head of sales and marketing from SWIP (Scottish Widows Investment Partnership), Simon Wombwell, which offers funds acquired with Lawrence House in September 2009, and Braedmer Group in July 2010, Money Marketing reports.The activity, Brooks Macdonald Funds, includes three funds from Lawrence House and four specialised funds, three of which come from the Braemer group; it received clearance from the FSA in April this year.As of 31 March 2011, assets under management in mandates totalled GBP2.8bn.

Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM) from today, Tuesday, 5 July, has begun a process to harmonise the names of its funds. Initially, the funds will adopt the “Ednomd de Rotschild” prefix. Subsequently, the names will be simplified to the acronym “EdR.” The modifications to the names of funds in the range will have no effect on the technical characteristics of the funds.

Investment Europe reports that the Swiss branch of the international multi-family office Fleming Family & Partners (FF&P, GBP4bn in assets under management) has acquired the wealth management firm Gebhard, Corrodi & Partners (GCP, CHF1bn in assets). Urs Gebhard and Christoph Corrodi, two of the directors of GCP, have joined the board of FF&P (Switzerland). The seven employees of GCP are moving to the FF&P offices; the two firms are based in Zurich (Bahnhofstrasse for FF&P, and Zollikon for GCP). The transaction allows FF&P to more than double its assets in Switzerland.

Standard & Poor’s on 4 July announced the modification of outlooks for activities at the private bank and asset management firm of the Swiss Vontobel group from negative to stable. The ratings for Vontobel Holding (A/A-1) and Bank Vontobel (A+/A-1) have also been confirmed.

Between January and the end of June this year, assets under management in Chinese funds fell by CNY100bn (EUR10.67bn), to a total of CNY2.3trn (EUR245.43bn) as of 30 June.Z-Ben Advisors says the contraction is due to losses related to market effects, net redemptions, and a limited volume for funds launched in the period under review. The number of new funds however totalled 107, compared with 70 in the corresponding period of 2010.Equities funds in first half saw an average loss of 7.14%, while the CSI 300 market index lost only 2.69% in the same period.

Internationale Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH (HSBC INKA) on 4 July announced that since 1 July, it has once again opened subscriptions and redemptions for the HSBC Trinkaus Genüsse International fund (ISIN: DE0009756569), which had been closed on 30 September 2008, due to a shortage of liquidity due to the collapse of Lehman Brothers.The product, managed by Kerstin Terhardt at HSBC Global Asset Management (Deutschland) GmbH, had invested largely in dividend-right certificates (Genußscheine). Since then, the portfolio has been redeployed and invested in hybrid corporate bonds, and in tier 1 subordinate bank bonds.Inka reports that the indicative net asset value of the fund as of 30 June totalled EUR64.23, higher than the EUR63.43 recorded on 26 September 2008, just before redemptions and subscriptions were frozen.

Sarasin & Partners on 4 July announced that they have moved the domicile to Dublin for their range of funds domiciled in Guernsey (about Usd1bn in assets), from 1 July 2011, to allow investors to take advantage of all the flexibility offered by the UCITS IV directive.As a part of the move, the characteristics of the funds have been modified, including, for example, a reduction in administrative fees, set at at least 0.065%. Former name New name Sarasin CI EquiSar Sterling Global Thematic Fund Sarasin IE EquiSar – Global Thematic (GBP) Sarasin CI EquiSar Dollar Global Thematic Fund Sarasin IE EquiSar – Global Thematic (USD) Sarasin CI GlobalSar - Dynamic (GBP) Sarasin IE GlobalSar – Dynamic (GBP) Sarasin CI GlobalSar - Dynamic (USD) Sarasin IE GlobalSar – Dynamic (USD) Sarasin CI GlobalSar - Income (GBP) Sarasin IE GlobalSar – Income (GBP) Sarasin CI GlobalSar – Cautious (GBP) Sarasin IE GlobalSar – Cautious (GBP) Sarasin CI GlobalSar – Cautious (USD) Sarasin IE GlobalSar – Cautious (USD) Sarasin CI Real Estate Equity (GBP) Sarasin IE Real Estate Equity – Global (GBP) Sarasin CI Sustainable Equity - Real Estate Global (USD) Sarasin IE Sustainable Equity - Real Estate Global (USD) Sales of these funds will soon be authorised for the United Kingdom, South Africa, Jersey and Guernsey, Sarasin & Partners has announced, adding that the Sarasin group will remain present in Guernsey.

La Banque Postale on 4 July announced the appointment of Pierre-Manuel Srocynski as CEO and a member of the board at La Banque Postale Asset Management.Srocyznski replaces Anne-Laure Bourn, who on 1 June 2011 was appointed as chief operating officer at La Banque Postale.Since 1 January 2006, Srocyznski was chief financial operations officer at La Banque Postale, and from 16 November 2009 he was chairman of the board of directors at Tocqueville Finance.

BNP Paribas Banque Privée this Tuesday, 5 July, is officially opening its wealth management office in Marseille, Les Echos reports. Following Bordeaux and Lille, the new location is part of a larger strategy of reorganising the wealth management network in France, with proximity as a level to win over new clients. Local offices will also be opened by the end of the year in Toulouse and Lyon.

Until recently, Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) had been the custodian for mutual funds from Pioneer Investments (UniCredit group). Since June, Mutual Fund Wire states, BBH is also in charge of fund accounting, and the transition has already begun; it is slated for completion by the end of first quarter 2012. About half of the 41 employees in fund accounting services at Pioneer in Boston will be moved to similar positions at BBH.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the inflation team at Pimco (Allianz Global Investors), led by Mihir Worah, has earned capital gains of about USD50m, through an investment in TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) through first half, particularly as of the most recent auction on 23 June. Morgan Stanley, however, has seen major losses due to short-selling its TIPS, although the initial bet on the securities by Edward Glenn Hadden, head of the fixed income division, reportedly has made money.

The British asset management firm Aspect Capital, which received an operating license from the CNMV on 3 March, on 30 June obtained a sales license for Spain from the Spanish regulator for its Irish-registered, UCITS-compliant Sicav Aspect UCITS, which initially includes ten share classes (five retail and five institutional), in Swiss francs, euros, pounds sterling, Swedish kroner and US dollars. The product is a UCITS III-compliant version of Aspect’s flagship product, Aspect Diversified Programme.The initial product is based on a quantitative managed futures strategy, and the UCITS-compliant version offers daily liquidity. Exposure to the original strategy is conducted through a swap provided by Newedge group, on the basis of the Aspect Diversified Trends index, Funds People reports.

Assets under management in European open-ended investment funds (excluding funds of funds), which totalled USD3.01trn as of the end of 2001, have since increased yb 81%, to total USD5.45trn as of the end of first quarter 2011. Of this total, 43% of assets are managed in funds which were launched in the first nine years, and thus represent 97% of growth in the sector, according to a Lipper study which compares the level of sales and new products with the level of sales for products launched in the previous years (“New product launches shed light on distribution in the fund industry.”)In other words, the study says, innovation and product development have played a crucial rolei n the evolution of the European asset management sector. The United Kingdom, where distribution is dominated by independent financial advisers, was the best-performing market in Europe in 2010. But it is also a market which has seen a strong percentage of inflows to funds launched in previous years (81% in 2010). There is not necessarily a causal relationship between the distribution channel and the preference for newer funds, as in the Scandinavian countries, particularly Sweden, investors also give priority to funds with a longer track record.However, in the major European markets, where inhouse distribution channels dominate (France, Germany, Spain and Italy), inflows from funds launched in previous years totalled over 45% in 2010. In Germany, inflows went to new funds most of all, while funds launched in previous years saw net redemptions.