Banca Popolare di Milano S.c.a.r.l. (BPM) et BNP Paribas Securities Services ont annoncé lundi 19 avril 2010 la signature d’un accord portant sur la vente de l’activité de banque dépositaire de BPM à BNP Paribas Securities Services. Cette opération, qui ne faisait plus de mystère (lire Newsmanagers du 8 avril 2010), porte sur l’ensemble des services de banque dépositaire réalisés par BPM pour des fonds «long-only and alternative» et des fonds alternatifs de sociétés de gestion d’actifs appartenant au groupe BPM, ainsi que pour des clients externes, précise la banque dans un communiqué. Cette activité représente environ 20,3 milliards d’euros d’actifs, avec près de 19,1 milliards d’euros pour les seuls fonds «long-only» - le reste correspondant à des fonds immobiliers et à des fonds alternatifs. Le montant de la transaction s’élève à 55 millions d’euros qui permettra au groupe BPM de générer une plus-value de cession brute d’un même montant et un effet positif estimé à environ 7 points de base sur le ratio Core Tier 1 consolidé et le ratio capital total. Deux conditions sont néanmoins exigées pour que l’opération soit menée à bien. «Tout d’abord, Anima SGR S.p.A. - Ndlr : au sein du groupe BPM - doit remplir les règles de la Banque d’Italie concernant les modifications requises à apporter aux règlements des fonds gérés par la société qui découlent de la cession. Deuxièmement, des accords préliminaires déjà signés avec certains salariés de l’entité concernée doivent être présentés devant les syndicats», note la banque. La clôture de l’opération est prévue avant la fin du premier semestre 2010. Comme Jean-Marc Pasquet, responsable France de BP2S, l’a précisé il y a quelques jours, elle doit permettre à BNP Paribas Securities de voir sa part de marché passer de 7 % à 16 % dans les services aux fonds et asset managers en Italie.

Selon la presse belge, des cinq candidats qui avaient jusqu’au 9 avril pour proposer leurs offres fermes pour la reprise de KBL (lire Newsmanagers du 30/03/10) – délai qui a été prolongé - il ne resterait plus en lice que la banque brésilienne Safra, les sociétés italienne Exor et indienne Hinduja. En termes de montant et de développement de la société, les deux derniers établissements tiennent la corde, tandis que la banque brésilienne serait pénalisée par la nature de son offre, qui ne concerne qu’une partie de KBL et non pas la totalité. Cette dernière «short list» vient contredire les déclarations de la Tribune, fin mars, selon lesquelles, la banque brésilienne Safra et le groupe financier indien Hinduja avaient pris de l’avance dans l’opération. Interrogé par Newsmanagers sur la véracité de ces nouvelles informations, KBC s’est abstenue de tout commentaire.

AllianceBernstein a annoncé le lancement d’une Sicav luxembourgeoise qui se concentrera sur le marché des obligations d’entreprises à haut rendement dans la zone euro, rapporte Citywire. Le produit s’appelle Alliance Bernstein Euro High Yield fund.

According to Financial News Online, Philippe Lespinard, the head of absolute return strategies at Brevan Howard Asset Management, has left. A further three out of a team of five fund managers left in February.

Investment Week reports that HSBC Global Asset Management is planning to add two ETF funds to its passive management product range. The HSBC UK Gilt Index fund will replace the FTSE-A British Government Gilt All Stocks. It will be launched during the month of June, with a TER of 0.25%, and a minimal investment of GBP1,000, or GBP50 per month. HSBC is also considering a global bond ETF, but the product is not yet ready for release.

In its latest Responsible Investment Report 2009, F&C gives detailed information on its engagement activities in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues during 2009. During the year, the asset manager voted on almost 58,000 resolutions at 5,225 companies in 66 countries. This was almost double the number of votes cast in 2008, the result of a sharp rise in the number of clients that it now represents under its Responsible Engagement Overlay (reo®) service. This includes other institutional investors where F&C is not the portfolio manager. Alongside scrutiny of board oversight and pay, areas of particular focus included the expansion of oil and gas companies into areas of the world presenting ever greater political and environmental challenges; the role of companies in promoting public health; factory labour standards; and sustainability in the real estate sector. Over 2009, F&C voted in support of management recommendations 78% of the time, down from 81% in 2008. One of the reasons for this was a rise in F&C’s opposition to the remuneration proposals put forward by management, from 15% in 2008 to 25% in 2009. Proposals on capital structures were another area of controversy, as companies under pressure to rebuild battered balance sheets often overstretched basic good governance rules. Geographically, 2009 also saw a notable hardening of positions across several regions. For instance, in the UK, after years of productive company-shareholder dialogue, last year witnessed more confrontation. Pay plans in some of the UK’s largest companies were an area of great concern, with F&C voting against management 19% of time, compared to only 10% in 2008. The picture also worsened in Australia, where F&C’s opposition to remuneration plans rose from 21% to 27%, due to poor disclosure on pay deals.

The UK independent asset management firm Neptune Investment Management has seen an increase in its assets under management to over GBP5.6bn as of the end of March 2010, from a total of GBP5bn at the end of 2009. The Neptune Global Equity Fund, managed by Neptune founder Robin Geffen, which is now available to French investors, now has over GBP1bn in assets.

Hedge-fund manager Gerard Griffin is winding down his fund, Tisbury Capital Management, and joining GLG Partners LP, the London-based hedge-fund firm, says the Wall Street Journal. He will join GLG along with his partner and another employee in the coming weeks. They will run GLG’s European event-driven strategy.

According to the Belgian press, of the five contenders who had until 9 April to submit firm bids to take over KBL (see Newsmanagers of 30 March 2010), under an extended deadline, there now remain only three: the Brazilian bank Safra, the Italian company Exor and the Indian Hinduja. In terms of the acquisition price and development of the firm, the last two companies are in the lead, while the Brazilian bank was penalised by the nature of its offer, which is only for a part of KBL and not for all of the company. The short list contradicts reports in La Tribune at the end of March that the Brazilian bank Safra and the Indian financial group Hinduja were the leading contenders. KBC declined to comment when asked by Newsmanagers to confirm these new reports.

AllianceBernstein has announced the launch of a Luxembourg-based Sicav which will focus on the Euro high yield corporate bonds market, says Citywire. The product is called Alliance Bernstein Euro High Yield fund.

The city of Shanghai is preparing to facilitate access for Renminbi private equity funds to some non-Chinese investors, Agefi reports. Among the restrictions imposed on foreign investors, the newspaper points out that foreign institutionals hoping to achieve QFLP investor status will need to show a minimum of USD500m in capital of USD5bn in mandated assets under management.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced on 19 April that it is blocking a takeover bid for Axa Asia Pacific (AXA APH) by the National Australia Bank (NAB), but that it is approving a bid from AMP. Axa had announced on 30 March that it had concluded an agreement to acquire the 53% in the firm formerly held by the French group. In early November, AMP had reached an agreement with Axa on terms identical to those announced with NAB at the end of March, but at a lower price. The offer was initially refused by the board of directors, which led Axa and AMP to raise their bid. The antitrust authority estimates that a merger of NAB and AXA would have a negative impact on competition. A statement from the Commission says that it would result in “a substantial reduction in competition on the retail investment platform market for investors with complex investment needs.” The Commission claims that NAB is an important actor on the market, while AXA is planning to launch an innovative platform in the near future which would provide aggressive competition. The merger of the two firms would eliminate this “competitive tension” on the market, which would slow innovation. NAB says in a statement that it will examine the objections of the competition commission in detail, while AMP welcomes the ACCC’s decision. AXA, for its part, says that it will take a cue from the Australian antitrust authority’s decision, and adds in its statement that it has also taken note of the announcement by NAB that it will review the ACCC’s decision. According to the terms of the agreement, NAB has six weeks to respond to the ACCC’s concerns. AXA has also taken note of AMP’s announcement on the same day expressing its continued interest in a potential deal with AXA APH.

Les plus touchées par la crise en 2009 vont être contraintes de renoncer à leur indépendance, selon une étude de l'AFG

According to statistics from Inverco, the Spanish association of management firms, the local market as of the end of March had 2,556 funds, with average assets of EUR6.5m, with 369 funds (14.4%) whose assets were under EUR5m, and 64 funds (2.5%) with even less than EUR1m in them. However, Funds People notes, there are 19 funds with more than EUR1bn each in them, of which the largest, the BBVA Ahorro C/P, has EUR3.83bn. Of these top funds, ten are money market or short-term bond funds, while three are real estate funds, of which the largest, the Santander Banif Inmobiliario (EUR2.63bn) has been closed to redemptions for several months. By management firm, BBVA and Santander are tied in the lead, with seven products in the 19 with EUR1bn or more in assets. The other five are Popular Gestión, Bankinter, Ibercaja Fondos, Invercaixa and BancSabadell.

In the wake of an error identified in the risk management process in connection with stock-picking for a fund from Axa Rosenberg, Thomas Mead, head of research at the management firm, will resign at some time this year, providing the firm time to find a successor for him. Barr Rosenberg, chairman and director of research, has decided to retire within 30 days. Axa Rosenberg has also engaged the services of independent experts to evaluate whether the anomaly detected in the quantitative model had an impact on stock-picking or on the performance of the fund. The management firm has informed affected investors by letter and telephone.

Amundi, the asset management firm born of the merger of Crédit Agricole Asset Management and Société Générale Asset Management, is preparing a voluntary redundancy plan for its employees. The plan, which was presented to the two shareholding banks last week, projects a reduction of a net 260 positions in the size of the workforce at Amundi. Of this total, 180 jobs would be lost in France. But due to possible reassignments, Amundi estimates that the total number of voluntary departures in France will total no more than 135. The voluntary redundancy plan, which has yet to be negotiated with representatives of employees, and which will therefore not be put in place for several months, would affect support positions, as well as asset management in areas. It comes as part of synergies announced at the time of the merger in January 2009, which were confirmed to be worth EUR120m. Most of the savings will not come from layoffs, but through synergies in IT.

According to Ignites Europe, Amundi is to begin a voluntary redundancy program that will affect 350 staff worldwide. Employees were told about the plan via an internal email.

The Global Wealth and Investment Management division of BofA Merrill Lynch has reported net profits for first quarter of USD497m, compared with USD479m in the first three months of 2009. As of 31 March 2010, assets under management totalled USD750.7bn, compared with USD697.3bn one year earlier. Client assets, which in addition to assets under management also include assets under custody and brokerage assets, totalled USD2.1832trn, compared with USD1.9874trn one year earlier.

The proportion of investors’ total private equity commitments going to emerging markets will double to 11-15 per cent in two years, says a survey of 151 institutions produced by the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA) with Coller Capital and cited by the Financial Times.

In first quarter 2010, the volume of merger and acquisition operations in the asset management sector fell to USD210bn, from USD1.1trn (including the CAAM-SGAM merger) one year earlier, in 25 announced transactions, down from 38 previously, according to statistics from Jefferies. By value, the deals announced in the period under review totalled USD1.9bn, compared with USD354m in first quarter 2009. More than 50% of operations in the quarter involved acquisitions of alternative management firms, compared with only 25% one year earlier. Among others, these included the acquisition of Pantheon ventures by Affiliated Managers, the acquisition of Northgate Capital by Religare Enterprise, and that of the Investment Strategies fund of funds division of RBS Asset Management by Aberdeen Asset Management. Cross-border deals represented 24% of total transactions in the quarter, compared with only 11% the previous year. Selloffs are on the decline, representing 44% of deals in first quarter, compared with 50% one year earlier and 56% for 2009 as a whole.

Fondsdepotbank, a joint venture of Xchanging and Allianz Global Investors (AGI), announced on Friday that Veritas Investment Trust, a former affiliate of Société Générale, has contracted it from 15 August 2010 to provide transaction settlement for approximately 100,000 client accounts. Veritas products, including the fund of funds A2A and the ETF Dachfonds, are distributed by about 280 partners on the German and Austrian markets. In January, Fondsdepotbank already took over management of transactions for shares in investment funds for SEB Bank and SEB Asset Management. With these partners, Fundsdepotbank was already handling 1.5 million accounts and EUR30bn in assets under administration. The migration of the new accounts will take place gradually until 31 December this year, as MEAG, the management firm for Munich Re, has also decided to transfer 151,000 accounts to Fondsdepotbank.

The Securities and Exchange Commission suspected Texas financier R. Allen Stanford of running a Ponzi scheme as early as 1997 but took more than a decade to pursue him seriously, according to a report by the SEC’s inspector general cited by the Wall Street Journal. The report says SEC examiners concluded four times between 1997 and 2004 that Mr. Stanford’s businesses were fraudulent, but each time decided not to go further.

Mandarine Gestion is planning to launch a solidaristic FCPR fund (private equity), in order to take advantage of the expected rise in popularity of solidaristic FCPE products (savings plans for employees). Since the beginning of this year, companies which offer employee savings plans to their staff have been required to include a solidaristic FCPE fund in their offerings. These products are required to invest 5% to 10% of their assets in shares in “solidaristic” non-publicly traded businesses, which may be done either directly, or through investment in solidaristic FCPR funds - and there lies the opportunity which Mandarine Gestion is hoping to exploit, by offering employee savings management firms a way to manage that allocation through their solidaristic FCPR product. The fund will be managed by Patrick Savadoux, a specialist in SRI who “has a rare and intimate knowledge of the solidaristic fabric of the market,” says Marc Renaud, founder of Mandarine Gestion. Renaud adds that the planned launch of the FCPR is not a sign of rupture in Mandarine’s strategy, but rather a continuity, as “the management firm is now acting on a desire to apply its expertise in financial analysis and the selection of businesses to solidaristic investment.”

Pimco, a world-renowned specialist in bond strategies, has finally decided to invest in the equities markets. Pimco has announced the launch of the Pimco Eqs Pathfinder Fund, a fund which will invest in businesses worldwide. The fund will be actively managed by Anne Gudefin and Charles Lahr, both of whom are executive vice presidents and portfolio managers; they joined Pimco in January 2010 and December 2009, respectively. The fund’s strategy is to identify undervalued equities and investment opportunities in terms of distressed debt. Neel Kashkari, who joined Pimco in May 2009 as managing director in charge of new investment initiatives in equities and other areas, says in an interview published on the Pimco website that it was time to develop the group’s equities platform, which is seen as a provider of global investment solutions rather than a simple distributor of investment products.

Nathaniel Rothschild, former co-president of Atticus Capital, is seeking to raise GBP750 million for an investment vehicle aimed at making an acquisition in the mining sector, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Rothschild plans personally to invest GBP150 million in the vehicle, called Vallar, which would be listed on the London Stock Exchange, these people said.

Fondsdepotbank, filiale commune de Xchanging et d’Allianz Global Investors (AGI), a annoncé vendredi que Veritas Investment Trust, ancienne filiale de la Société Générale, lui confie à partir du 15 août 2010 les quelque 100.000 comptes de ses clients aux fins de règlement des transactions.Les produits Veritas, notamment les fonds de fonds A2A et ETF Dachfonds, sont distribués sur les marchés allemand et autrichien par environ 280 partenaires.En janvier, la Fondsdepotbank avait déjà pris en charge la gestion des transactions sur les parts de fonds d’investissement pour le compte de SEB Bank et de SEB Asset Management. Avec ces partenaires, la Fondsdepotbank traitait déjà 1,5 million de comptes et 30 milliards d’euros sous administration. Cela posé, la migration de ces comptes s’effectuera progressivement jusqu’au 31 décembre de cette année. MEAG, la société de gestion de Munich Ré, a elle aussi décidé de transférer 151.000 comptes à la Fondsdepotbank.

Au premier trimestre 2010, le volume des opérations de fusion/acquisition dans le secteur de la gestion d’actifs a chuté à 210 milliards de dollars contre 1.100 milliards de dollars (dont il est vrai la fusion CAAM-SGAM) un an plus tôt, selon les données communiquées par Jefferies, pour 25 transactions annoncées contre 38 précédemment. En valeur, les transactions de la période sous revue ont totalisé 1,9 milliard de dollars contre 354 millions au premier trimestre 2009.Plus de 50% des opérations du trimestre ont concerné des acquisitions de sociétés de gestion alternative, contre seulement 25% un an plus tôt. On peut citer entre autres l’acquisition de Pantheon Ventures par Affiliated Managers, celle de Northgate Capital par Religare Enterprise, ou encore celle de la division fonds de fonds Investment Strategies de RBS Asset Management par Aberdeen Asset Management Les transactions transfrontalières ont représenté 24% du total des transactions du trimestre contre seulement 11% l’année précédente. Les cessions sont sur le déclin, avec un pourcentage de 44% au premier trimestre, contre 50% un an plus tôt et 56% pour l’ensemble de 2009.

Spécialiste mondialement reconnu des stratégies obligataires, Pimco a finalement décidé d’investir la sphère des actions. Pimco vient d’annoncer le lancement du Pimco Eqs Pathfinder Fund, un fonds qui investira dans des sociétés du monde entier.Le fonds sera géré activement par Anne Gudefin et Charles Lahr, tous deux executive vice presidents et gérants de portefeuille qui ont rejoint Pimco en janvier 2010 et décembre 2009 respectivement.La stratégie du fonds est d’identifier des titres sous-évaluées ainsi que des opportunités d’investissement en termes de distressed debt.Neel Kashkari, qui a rejoint Pimco en mai 2009 en tant que managing director responsable des nouvelles initiatives d’investissement entre autres dans le domaine des actions, souligne dans un entretien sur le site internet de Pimco qu’il était temps de développer la plate-forme actions du groupe, perçu comme un fournisseur de solutions d’investissement globales plutôt que comme simple distributeur de produits d’investissement.

Selon Les Echos, Matthieu Pigasse, âgé de quarante et un ans, qui codirigeait la banque avec Erik Maris depuis l’automne dernier, a été nommé seul directeur général délégué de Lazard Frères à Paris. La banque met en avant la nécessité de simplifier l’organisation.

L’ORSE (Observatoire de la Responsabilité Sociétale des Entreprises) publie sur son site internet une étude sur l’importance donnée par les entreprises du CAC 40 aux achats responsables dans leur communication externe.Il ressort de cette étude, qui a porté sur les documents annuels 2008 publiés par les entreprises du CAC 40 et leurs sites internet, les conclusions suivantes : la quasi totalité des entreprises du CAC 40 rend compte de sa politique en terme de responsabilité sociale. L’étude met notamment en avant les stratégies développées par les entreprises et les moyens de mise en œuvre (organisation de la fonction achat, outils de sensibilisation des fournisseurs, partenariats avec les ONG pour les démarches d’audit, évaluation des fournisseurs sur la base de critères RSE, indicateurs chiffrés de mesure de la performance achats, chartes et codes de conduite publiés par les entreprises). L’intégralité de l'étude est consultable à l’adresse suivante : http://www.orse.org/site2/maj/phototheque/photos/actualite/_benchmark_CAC40.pdf