Les décisions unilatérales de la Banque du Japon ou de la Fed retournent la devise à la hausse

Les dernières révisions des statistiques de croissance du PIB des principaux pays européens montrent que l’économie réelle a bien résisté

Selon S&P, fin juin 2010, le taux de défaut cumulé depuis 2007 ressort à seulement 0,65 % contre un taux de dégradation de 17,4 %

Les décisions unilatérales de la Banque du Japon ou de la Fed retournent la devise à la hausse

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Agefi reports, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the governments of France and Germany may join forces to block the introduction of a European passport for hedge fund management firms based outside the European Union. The French minister of the economy, Christine Lagarde, who has been opposed from the beginning to the idea of creating a single point of entry for all American or Asian management firms to the European market, is said to have finally lined up the support of Germany to block a compromise proposed by Didier Reynders, the Belgian finance minister. The Belgian text under discussion, dated Friday and obtained by Agefi, would have the current national provate placement regime on the one hand existing alongside the European passport on the other hand. After an extensible period of five years, the national regimes would be discontinued. But this system remains unsatisfactory for France, which says that the US Treasury has been exerting external pressure for several months. The European Parliament, for its part, may be tempted ot agree to a compromise to bring a conclusion to the discussions. It will vote on 18 October, the newspaper notes.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Norwegian central bank has filed suit against Citigroup for misstatements on its financial condition before the crisis, which resulted in heavy losses for the Norwegian sovereign fund, the Financial Times reports. Norges Bank claims to have lost USD835m because the US bank did not completely disclose the financial risks it was facing, including its investments in subprime.

RBC Wealth Management, part of Royal Bank of Canada, has announced that Michael Lagopoulos, formerly president and CEO of RBC Wealth Management’s international business, has been appointed deputy chairman, RBC Wealth Management, Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) - International. He will focus on developing RBC Wealth Management’s UHNW business by deepening existing relationships and acquiring new UHNW clients outside of Canada.Mr. Lagopoulos’ appointment comes as part of an organizational change by RBC Wealth Management to accelerate the growth of its international business, with a particular focus on serving emerging markets and UK clients in any of its key locations around the world. Mr. Lagopoulos will continue to sit on the boards of RBC Wealth Management’s main international subsidiaries and will also focus on international wealth management acquisitions and alliances. As part of this restructuring, RBC Wealth Management will move from three geographic businesses to four: Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Emerging Markets. The new structure will include three cross-border groups - Global Asset Management, Global Trust and Global Wealth Services - reflecting the business’s focus on continued international expansion of its core services. The new structure takes effect November 1, 2010.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asian Investor reports that MF Global has launched a CTA strategy in Taiwan, with the creation of a new vehicle, the MF Global Futures Trust, from which the first product is the MF Global Multi-Strategy Futures Trust Fund. The fund will invest in 110 markets and products, and will be offered to institutional and retail investors. MF Global is planning to subsequently launch a CTA product in continental China, where the firm is studying the possibilities of the new offering with two counterparties.

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fundstrategy reports that BNY Mellon Asset Management has launched a UCITS III-compliant international equities fund domiciled in Dublin, entitled BNY Mellon Global Equity Higher Income Fund. The fund, which will be managed by Newton Investment Mangaement, is in the process of being registered in several European countries. The strategy of the fund is inspired by that of the Newton Global Higher Income Fund, a British product launched in late 2005.

Rolf Stout will be retiring at the end of November from his position as CIO for OBAM strategy at BNP Paribas, Das Investment reports. Stout, who will become a member of the supervisory board on 1 July 2011, will be replaced in this position and as fund manager for the equities fund BNP Paribas L1 Obam Equity World by Peter Ranty, who is already senior portfolio manager, and who has been a part of the team since 2003.The portfolio managers, Roeland Tso, Edwin Simon and Nurit Konijnendijk, and investment specialist Lilli Charlotte Bialluch will retain their positions, and a recruitment is planned in the next few months.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The 704th ETF to be admitted to trading on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform, on 24 September, is the first “intelligent” ETF to be released by the Austrian-German management firm C-Quadrat (see Newsmanagers of 26 March and 16 April). The Luxembourg-registered fund C-QUADRAT IQ European Equity ETF replicates a strategy index, the C-Quadrat European Equity Index, which is calculated by Stoxx. The index is composed of futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 traded on the Eurex market, with an exposure set every morning at 8 AM. The fund may operate with no leverage or with leverage of 1.5 or as much as 2. The level of exposure is determined with a model based on past data indicators. Characteristics Name: C-QUADRAT IQ European Equity ETF ISIN: LU0531943461 TER: 0.70%

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the twelve months to the end of June, the Yale University endowment has posted returns of 8.9%, compared with losses of 25% for the year to 30 June 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports. Assets in this period increased by USD400m, to a total of USD16.7bn. However, returns as of 30 June 2010 remain below the 13.3% average returns calculated by Wilshire Associates for the major endowments and pension funds, and the 11% returns reported by Harvard, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 18.9%. Losses for the year to the end of August 2009 were largely due to private equity investments.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } AsiaHedge reports that assets under management in Asian hedge funds increased only 3.9% in first half, to a total of USD137.75bn, compared with USD132.5bn as of the end of 2009. This development substantiates concerns which have been expressed about the development of alternative management activities in the region in a highly fragile economic environment. An aggravating factor is that Asian hedge funds have earned some of the worst returns of all hedge funds in first half, with losses of 0.17%.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In July, Spanish banks paid an average of 2.94% on new deposits, according to the Bank of Spain, compared with an average of 2.31% in the Euro zone, according to the ECB. Expansión reports that this means savings returns in Spain are 25% higher than in the rest of Europe. This phenomenon has been observable since the beginning of the crisis in mid-2007. It is due both to the closure of capital markets, which has prevented banks from issuing debt under normal conditions, and the atomisation of the Spanish financial sector. As the ways to finance were not available to banks, they were obliged to bring in deposits with seductive interest rates far higher than the official price of money. Commercial networks are highly developed, which has intensified competition: in Spain, there is one bank branch for every 1,000 inhabitants, compared with 0.6 in France, 0.5 in Germany, and 0.2 in the United Kingdom.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch on 23 September announced the launch of a unit specialised in over-the-counter derivatives clearance, known as the “Futures and Derivatives Clearing Services (GFCDS) group.”The bank is hoping to meet increasing demand for clearing services on OTC derivative markets due to new regulations.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The board of directors at Assogestioni, the Italian association of management professionals, has appointed Guido Giubergia as liaison with the corporate governance committee. Giubergia, who is already a member of the board of directors at the firm, is deputy director of the Ersel group and chairman of Ersel Asset Management SGR. The corporate governance committee at Assogestioni, founded in 1994, includes representatives from management firms belonging to the association, and aims to encourage and stimulate the spread of corporate governance culture through the study and promotion of good corporate governance practices for the development of transparent and efficient financial markets.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } fundstrategy reports that Morningstar is planning to discontinue ratings of short and leveraged ETFs within its ratings system. The head of ETFs at Morningstar, Scott Burns, announced at a conference in Chicago that short ETFs are better suited to the needs of traders than long-term investors.

French asset management firm (EUR13bn in AUM) is aiming to “strengthen ties with key markets, which are essential to its European development, and to set up solid and lasting partnerships with the parties it does business with.” For the new Brussels office, “we are planning to hire three to four people. They will all be local recruitments, in line with our usual policies, which we apply in all markets where we open commercial locations,” Philippe Couvrecelle, chairman of the board at EDRAM, explains. The Brussels team is led by Ludwig Caluwé, who was the head of distribution for Capital@Work, after having worked for Fortis. “We are beginning with the distribution segment in Brussels, and pension funds will come later. This is the result of the chronological structure of our recruitments,” says Couvrecelle. The chairman says the deployment comes as part of a larger development campaign in Europe. “We have decided to strengthen our presence in Spain, and will soon set up a head who will report to Eduardo Ruiz Moreno, head of Latin America and Spain. We are also planning to set up an entity in Germany in first quarter 2011, to continue this European expansion. … In terms of our plans in Germany, it will be a location in Frankfurt, with five people. We will initially target institutional clients.”

The heads of BNP Paribas remain vigilant in hopes of acquiring Pioneer, the management firm of the UniCredit group, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. Georges Chodron de Courcel, COO of BNP Paribas, admits: “we are interested. Now, it is up to UniCredit to decide whether to sell, and if so, how. If there is an auction, we will make a bid. But in general, in this case, we will not win, since we are not offering a high price. We need to remain within certain objectives which we have set for ourselves internally: in particular, if we acquire a new entity, we need to be sure that it will be profitable in three years, and that’s not easy.” But, he says, it is “unlikely that UniCredit will find someone prepared to pay for the whole thing in cash, particularly in these uncertain times with Basel III. On the other hand, we see other types of partnerships and alliances for Pioneer.”

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Responsible Investor reports that the founder and former chief executive of RiskMetrics, Ethan Berman, is about to leave the MSCI group, which recently acquired RiskMetrics. Berman was initially supposed to leave at the end of fourth quarter, but the rapid integration of the two firms has made it possible for Berman to move forward his departure date.

Axa IM announced on 24 September that it has created a cell dedicated to total return management, “in a market context which remains volatile, so as to meet the growing needs of clients for capital preservation and stable returns.” A team will be assembled in the next few weeks, which will report to Serge Pizem, currently head of management teams at Axa Framlingon in Paris.The team will initially take over the Optimal Income range from AXA Framlington, whose characteristics are similar to total return type products which will subsequently be developed, which will be based on all possible sources of financial performance creation, including stock-picking. To do this, it will rely on all the shared expertise at AXA IM, including research, product management and distribution. The new structure will include the teams led by Thibaud de Vitry, head of Investment Solutions expertise at AXA Investment Managers. Pizem will be leaving Axa Framlington, and Mark Beveridge, global head of the expertise area, will now directly manage the Paris teams.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The head of wealth management for Latin America at Credit Suisse, Christian Wiesendanger, will take over on 1 October as head of wealth management for Switzerland at UBS. On 24 September, UBS announced that Wiesendanger will report directly to Lukas Gähwiler, CEO of UBS Switzerland. Wiesendanger succeeds Stefan Bodmer, who after 23 years at UBS has decided to take his career in a new direction.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the past few months, Spanish private banks are giving their clients an opportunity to invest in a product which offers higher returns, and which is longer-term than traditional savings accounts: bank branches, Expansión reports. The average profitability of branches with good locations is 6%, according to CB Richard Ellis, with average prices ranging from EUR0.6m to EUR1m. The investments are often offered as sale & lease-back deals for 10 or 20 years. For branches with the best locations, returns may be slightly under 5%, but for the less good, it may be 7.5% to 8%. So far, institutions which have offered investments of this type include Banesto, Caja Madrid, Barclays, Banco Popular and Banco Guipuzcoano.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In line to succeed Stephen Green, group chairman of HSBC, Michael Geoghegan, the outgoing CEO of HSBC who has accepted a position as UK minister of commerce, will be handing off his mantle by the end of the year, Agefi reports. CFO Douglas Flint has been chosen to replace him as CEO from 3 December. The position he leaves vacant will be assumed by Iain Mackay, who previously served as CFO for the Asia-Pacific region, the newspaper states. Geoghegan will be replaced by the current head of investment banking at HSBC, Stuart Gulliver.

La société de gestion SPGP vient d’annoncer deux opérations de fusion-absorption de fonds qui auront lieu le 1er octobre 2010. La première entraine l’absorption de RP Sélection Europe et RP Sélection Internationale par RP Sélection France. La seconde concerne le fonds RP Sélection Alternext qui est intégré dans RP Sélection Mid Cap.A cette occasion, RP Sélection France passe en catégorie «diversifié» de façon à ce que le portefeuille puisse être couvert en cas de baisse prolongée du marché, précise un communiqué. Néanmoins, le fonds conserve son éligibilité au PEA. Quant au fonds RP Sélection Mid Cap, il est récemment passé en catégorie «diversifié» et est désormais éligible au PEA.Les deux opérations de fusion-absorption concernent des fonds aux concepts semblables, précise-t-on chez SPGP. Les processus de gestion sont identiques - stock-picking intégral portant majoritairement en actions françaises. En outre, les valeurs sont «toutes capitalisations» dans le premier cas et «petites et moyennes valeurs» dans le second.

La société française Trescal, leader de la métrologie en Europe, change d’actionnaires, avec l’arrivée en tant qu’actionnaires majoritaires de 3i et TCR Capital aux côtés de l'équipe de management dirigée par Olivier Durieu. Les deux investisseurs succèdent à Astorg qui avait racheté Trescal en 2007 à Air Liquide. Trescal a depuis réalisé huit acquisitions dans cinq pays et vu son chiffre d’affaires augmenter de 70 millions d’euros en 2007 à près de 110 millions en 2010.Avec 3i et TCR Capital, Trescal souhaite engager une nouvelle étape de son développement, souligne un communiqué publié le 24 septembre, avec l’objectif de consolider le développement en Europe, accompagner les clients à l’international, où Trescal pourra s’appuyer sur le réseau de 3i, et saisir de façon sélective les opportunités de croissance externe sur un marché en consolidation.

Le cabinet de conseil bfinance, qui accompagne les grands groupes industriels et les investisseurs institutionnels dans les relations bancaires et la sélection de gérants, a annoncé le 24 septembre la nomination de Stanislas d’Audiffret en tant que senior associate, responsable du pôle Financements.Depuis 2007, Stanislas d’Audiffret était associate director au département Loan Syndications de Natixis à Paris au sein duquel il a réalisé et participé à de nombreux crédits syndiqués (refinancements, financements d’acquisitions, LBO…).

Axa IM a annoncé le 24 septembre la création d’une cellule dédiée à la gestion total return «dans un contexte de marché encore volatil, et afin de répondre aux exigences croissantes des clients en termes de préservation du capital et de rendement stable». Une équipe sera ainsi constituée au cours des semaines à venir et placée sous la responsabilité de Serge Pizem, aujourd’hui responsable des équipes de gestion d’AXA Framlington à Paris. L’équipe reprendra en premier lieu la gamme Optimal Income d’AXA Framlington, dont les caractéristiques sont proches du type de produits total return qui seront développés par la suite et qui seront basés sur toutes les sources possibles de création de performance financière, notamment la sélection des titres. Elle bénéficiera pour ce faire de l’ensemble des compétences partagées d’AXA IM, notamment la recherche, le product management ou la distribution, sur lesquelles elle s’appuiera. La nouvelle structure intègre les équipes de Thibaud de Vitry, responsable de l’expertise Investment Solutions d’AXA Investment Managers.Serge Pizem va ainsi quitter Axa Framlington et Mark Beveridge, responsable global de cette expertise, gérera désormais en direct les équipes parisiennes."Avec le lancement de cette initiative, souligne Dominique Carrel-Billiard, CEO d’Axa IM cité dans le communiqué, nous entendons poursuivre la construction d’un ensemble cohérent et complet d’expertises que nous mettons à la disposition de nos clients. La taille et l’organisation d’Axa IM permettent cet enrichissement de notre modèle et devraient favoriser le décollage rapide de cette activité. Le développement de nos compétences en total return augmentera notre capacité à fournir les solutions d’investissements que réclament nos clients. Les qualités d’entrepreneur dont Serge Pizem a fait preuve au cours de son parcours au sein d’Axa IM seront un atout pour développer cette activité, dont nous souhaitons faire un important moteur de croissance pour l’entreprise à moyen terme ».

Les dirigeants de BNP Paribas restent vigilants sur la vente de Pioneer, la société de gestion du groupe UniCredit, rapporte Il Sole – 24 Ore. Georges Chodron de Courcel, COO de BNP Paribas, a reconnu : «nous sommes intéressés. Maintenant, c’est à UniCredit de décider s’il vend et, le cas échéant, comment. S’il y a une vente aux enchères, nous présenterons une offre. Mais en général, dans ce cas, nous ne gagnons pas, car nous ne proposons pas de prix élevés. Nous devons respecter certains objectifs que nous nous sommes fixés en interne : en particulier, si nous acquérons une nouvelle entité, nous devons être sûrs qu’elle sera rentable sous trois ans. Ce n’est pas facile». Mais il estime «improbable qu’UniCredit trouve quelqu’un prêt à payer tout en cash, surtout dans cette phase d’incertitude, avec Bâle III. Nous, au contraire, nous pensons à d’autres types d’alliances et de partenariats pour Pioneer».