Following Fibanc in early June, Cajastur has announced that it will liquidate its fund of hedge funds Liberta Multiestrategia, which had assets of EUR3m as of the end of March, and which was launched in September 2007. The fund was a feeder for a hedge fund from ICR Institutional Investment Management.

Credit Suisse has applied to the CNMV for a license to sell an “active and flexible” fund of funds with assets invested predominantly in equities. The CS Global Fondos Gestión Activa will invest 30% to 75% of its assets in equities funds, and will not be allowed to acquire shares in bond assets rated below BB- by S&P, Funds People reports. Maximal exposure to currency risks will by 30%, and the management team will be able to invest up to 10% in alternative assets (hedge funds, real estate, etc). Management fees will be 1.5%.

According to statistics from EPFR Global, emerging markets equities funds posted net subscriptions in second quarter of Usd26.5bn, of which USD972m were in the week to 1 July, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Investors were impressed by the size and liely impact of Chinese stimulus initiatives and by the fact that conjuncture in industrialised countries did not have as large a negative impact as expected. The MSCI emerging markets index gained 34% in April-June.

On Friday, Credit Suisse announced that it is extending its Xmtch range of ETFs listed in Switzerland, whose assets currently total CHF6.76bn. The Xmtch range, launched by Credit Suisse in 2001, includes a series of Swiss indexes. With the launch of 16 new ETFs, Credit Suisse is diversifying the range, which now includes a complete selection of elements to construct a portfolio with exposure to government bonds with a wide range of maturities and a focus on Europe and the United States. The range inclues a fund based on 1-3 year Swiss governement bonds, and funds based on the MSCI UK Large Cap and its United States and Japanese equivalents. In the area of European government bonds, ETF products replicate the iBoxx EUR Govt 1-3, 3-7, 7-10 and Inflation Linked, and the equivalent indexes in the iBoxx USD series. Lastly, four “satellite” products are based on the MSCI Small Cap EMU, UK, USA and Japan indexes.

Frédéric Leroux, right-hand man to Edouard Carmignac, estimates that the financial crisis has strengthened his convictions in favour of emerging markets and commodities, Citywire reports. The Carmignac Patrimoine fund, which he manages with Carmignac, now has over EUR10bn in assets.

F&C Asset Management has become a completely independent publicly traded management firm, for the first time in its 140-year history, following Friends Provident’s distribution of its 52% stake to shareholders, the Financial Times reports. While F&C had been considered an acquisition target when Friends was seeking to sell off its stake, the British management firm now finds itself in a position to acquire others. Alain Grisay, CEO, says F&C could act fast if it finds rare gems. The executive estimates that 15 European banks are no longer considering asset management a strategic activity.

On Thursday, Standard & Poor’s placed the long-term counterparty rating of BBB-, and short-term rating of A-3 for F&C Asset Management under watch with negative implications. The move also applies to its BB rating for subordinate debt. The measure is a result of a deterioration in debt servicing parameters, with EBITDA likely to fall below three and a half times the volume of debt.

Emily Porter, a portfolio manager at the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), says that the pension fund decided in 2007 to invest up to 20% of its GBP23bn portfolio in alternative assets, and that it is planning to select 25 hedge funds within the next two years at most, Professional Pensions reports. The goal will be to generate performance 500 basis points higher than the Libor, with volatility 50% that the equities markets. USS is planning to rely on the services of risk aggregators.

A general shareholders’ meeting at Marks & Spencer (M&S) on Wednesday will be lively, the Sunday Times reports. Management at the retail group is refusing to consider a resolution proposed by the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), which would call for the recruitment of an independent president by 2010, to limit the powers of the firm’s CEO, Sir Stuart Rose, who is currently both president and CEO.

In its monthly survey, the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) has found that in June, the proportion of investors’ assets dedicated to equities was 50%, up from 41% in spring. But, Le Temps reports, this is an increase for lack of a better alternative. Money market investments are returning virtually nothing, commodities have become overpriced again, and bonds are too difficult to access due to a market overcrowded by institutional investors, or they involve too much risk, the newspaper analyzes.

The European Commission on 3 July launched a large public consultation on the function of the depository for UCITS funds. The consultation will occupy a significant place in the choice and definition of measures the European Union is to take to remedy the insufficiencies observed in the UCITS depository sector, and to improve the level of protection for investors in UCITS funds. “The Madoff affair has shown that the terms of the UCITS directive have been interpreted in widely divergent ways, which created inequalities in the protection afforded to small investors. The proposed directive for alternative investment fund managers recently presented by the Commission increases the obligations for depositories and their responsibilities. Regulations which aim to protect small investors could not be allowed to be any less strict than they are for professional investors. This is why requirements for UCITS funds need to be harmonised and strengthened,” explains Commissioner McCreevy in a statement. The consultation will aim to collect opinions and information on the obligations of depositories, their area of responsibility, organizational requirements and admissibility and monitoring criteria. In the area of responsibility, particularly when a depository does not satisfy its responsibilities or becomes insolvent, the Commission will make an effort to determine what risks are likely to emerge. It considers that the burden of proof should rest with the depositor. It is also proposing to impose new requirements when a sub-depository network is used for asset custodial services. Participants are invited to submit contributions until 15 September. Information about the consultation is available at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/investment/depositary_fr.htm

Bank of America (BofA), after its acquisition of Marrill Lynch, has overtaken UBS as the largest private bank in the world, the Financial Times reports. Scorpio Partnership reports that the US firm has USD1.5trn in assets, just ahead of the Swiss bank, whose assets fell to USD1.9trn in 2007 and USD1.5trn last year. Thanks to its merger with Wachovia, Wells Fargo (USD1trn) has also entered the top 10 largest private banks in the world, as has Goldman Sachs. Scorpio reports that private banks manage USD14.5trn (-16.7% compared with 2007), and their profits have fallen by an average of 32.9%, while their cost-income ratio last year deteriorated to 72.4% from 63.7%.

Bernard Madoff, prisoner 1727-054, has engaged the services of Herb Hoelter, a specialist consultant at the National Centre for Institutions and Alternatives, to help him to find the best prison possible to serve his 150-year prison sentence in, the Times reports. Among the illustrious clients of Hoelter are the former president of Sotheby’s, Alfred Taubman, and the financiers Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky.

The investment bank of the Royal Bank of Canada group is made a series of recruitments in Europe, Hedge Week reports. Carmine Meoli has been appointed head of sales for private bakning, while Arif Hussein and Peter Drewienkiewicz joins RBC Capital Markets as part of the sales and trading team. Meoli was previously at ABM Amro and Deutsche Bank, while Hussein and Drewienkiewicz were previously at UBS.

The European Commission has issued a statement on the security of derivatives markets and simultaneously launched a consultation on the subject, which will conclude with a public hearing on 25 September. Depending on the results of the consultation, the Commission will draw operational conclusions, and will then propose appropriate measures, including legislation if necessary, by the end of the year to increase transparency and financial security. The statement, which points out the considerable diversity of OTC derivative markets, mentions some tools which may be used to maintain financial stability, including, among others, standardisation which may reduce operational risks, databases which increase transparency, and operational efficiency. On this last point, the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) has launched a feasibility study on the possibility of creating data center locations in the European Union. Another potential measure is compensation by central counterparties (CCPs). The industry has agreed to set up a central compensation service for CDS by 31 July. If CCPs do not honour their commitments, the Commission says that it will consider other measures to push for centralised compensation. The Commission has also published two working documents. The first of these analyses OTC derivatives markets, while the second is a consultation instrument which includes a detailed questionnaire to be returned by 31 July.

As part of a process to develop regulations governing ratings agencies, the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) has been mandated by the European Commission to evaluate regulatory regimes in effect in Canada, Japan and the United States, and solutions to consider if there are manifest disparities with European regulations to govern ratings agencies, recently passed by the European Parliament and the European Commission. The terms of the regulations will be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities by the end of September, to come into effect 20 days later, in mid-October. The CESR will publish its findings by 15 February 2010.

Oswald Grübel, CEO of the Swiss banking giant UBS, has decided not to sell the firm’s brokerage and wealth management activities in the United States, which consist primarily of its affiliate Paine Webber, the American brokerage and wealth management firm acquired barely eight years ago for about USD10.8bn. To stimulate its brokerage activities, UBS is seeking a new head for US activities, the Financial Times reports.

L’Agefi Switzerland reports that Brian Singer, former head of the Global Investment Solutions division of UBS, who managed USD200bn in assets before his departure from the Swiss bank in 2007, has founded Singer Partners. To launch his firm, he is reforming a team which worked together for a decade. It promises to deliver a transparent, liquid and consistent asset management approach, which will rely on “Global Opportunity” strategy, inherited from Brinson Partners. Winger is also president of the “Free to Choose” think tank, inspired by the thought of Milton Friedman.

La Tribune reports that Northern Rock, the British bank nationalised last year, will be split into two entities: one which will include branches and current accounts, and one which will contain loans and toxic assets, in preparation for a sale of the healthy portion of the group. Downing Street’s effort to sell the nationalised bank have been controversial. The current economic situation renders these efforts more vexed. On the one hand, the bank is being encouraged to refund the government aid it has received as soon as possible, but it is also being encouraged to increase lending to households in order to restart the ecnomy. The government must also be flexible with those financial firms which are not able to repay their debts. The result is that the bank’s capital reserves have fallen below the minimum level, and the government may be required to reach into its pockets once again.

An increase in taxes on incomes over EUR175,000 per year from 40% to 50% in April 2010 will affect only 1% of British taxpayers, La Tribune reports. But City financial sector employees will be the first to be affected. The newspaper cites David Butler, founder of Kinetic Partners, who estimates that 25% of hedge fund managers in the United Kingdom may leave for other countries as a result of the change. Those who earn over EUR116,000 will lose a small tax deduction previously available to all taxpayers. The tax increase, announced two months ago, La Tribune reports, is one of a series of changes to UK policies to high net worth persons who have been resident in the country for two years or more. One of the great attractions of the City had long been “non-domiciled” tax status. For those with this status, only income earned in the United Kingdom was taxable there, and not income earned elsewhere. Gordon Brown’s government changed this disposition in 2008. Now, “non-doms” choose either to pay a fixed sum of EUR35,000, or to pay tax on all their income. Despite these less favourable conditions, few financial sector workers have chosen to move to other countries, the newspaper observes. And even with the added consequences of the hedge fund directive - which is far from being passed by the British government - for the moment, London remains a top location for managers.

The four-star hotel Radisson Blu (16,892 square metres, 196 rooms and suites) in Cracow has been sold for about EUR32m to Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) for the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Europa. This is UIRE’s first investment in the hotel sector in central Europe. The hotel portfolio includes 21 locations in Europe, with a total of 6,350 rooms. The Krakow hotel is also UIRE’s second investment in Poland, following the acquisition of the 3 Stawy shopping centre in Katowice by the UniImmo: Global fund in October.

Les acteurs des marchés de dérivés ont jusqu'à fin août pour se prononcer sur la réforme

Le repli amorcé à 3.400 points est un mouvement technique avant une remontée jusqu’à la zone des 3.880-3.935 points

Dans un environnement moins agité, les économistes ne prévoient pas non plus d’évolution significative des taux à court terme

Les gestions modifient à la marge leurs portefeuilles et continuent à privilégier légèrement les obligations face aux actions

Les gérants prévoient une hausse de 15 à 16 % sur les Places occidentales à horizon un an, et de 8 % au second semestre 2009

La tendance au resserrement des spreads pourrait marquer une pause, à en croire les gestionnaires, qui toutefois surpondèrent toujours la classe d’actifs

Federal Finance, la société de gestion du Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, lance Digiteo 2, un nouveau fonds à capital garanti d’une durée de 6 ans et 17 jours dont la performance est calculée en fonction de l'évolution du DJ Euro Stoxx 50.Le 30 septembre 2015, à l'échéance, deux cas de figure se présentent : si l’indice de référence est resté stable ou a progressé par rapport à son niveau initial – quelle que soit l’importance de la hausse en question -, le souscripteur bénéficie d’un rendement, fixé à 36 %, soit un taux de rendement actuariel annualisé de 5,22 %. En revanche, si l'évolution de l’indice est négative, le souscripteur récupère 100 % du capital net investi (hors frais de souscription). Caractéristiques Code ISIN : FR0010768044 Période de souscription : du 2 juillet 2009 au 14 septembre 2009 Date d'échéance 30 septembre 2015 Commissions de souscription : 2 % (dans la période de commercialisation prévue) Frais de gestion : 2 %/an Valeur de la part : 100 euros (parts décimalisables) Montant minimum à la souscription : 45 euros

L’Association française de la gestion financière (AFG), l’Association française des investisseurs institutionnels (AF2I), la Fédération française des sociétés d’assurances (FFSA), la Fédération bancaire française (FBF) et Paris Europlace, ont signé jeudi soir, lors des rencontres financières internationales Paris Europlace, une Charte de l’investissement responsable (ISR). Les représentants des investisseurs institutionnels, gérants d’actifs et entreprises bancaires et financières se sont ainsi engagés sur trois grands principes : développer l’ISR ; développer l’information extra-financière des entreprises et favoriser le dialogue entre émetteurs et investisseurs ; et favoriser la finance de long terme. Plus concrètement, dans le cadre du premier principe, les associations signataires représentatives des investisseurs «incitent leurs membres à indiquer les modalités de prise en compte des critères ESG (environnement, social & gouvernance) dans leurs stratégies de placement et en rendre compte publiquement chaque année. Elles développent leur soutien à la recherche universitaire dans le domaine de la finance durable». Quant aux associations représentatives des banques, établissements financiers et sociétés d’assurance, «elles incitent leurs membres à proposer et distribuer à leurs clients une offre de produits ISR répondant à leurs attentes». S’agissant du développement de l’information extra-financière des entreprises, l’objectif est notamment «de mettre en place, au plan européen, une plateforme «partagée» de reporting régulier en matière de critères environnement, social et gouvernance (ESG), avec des indicateurs pertinents et adaptés à chaque secteur d’activité, définis au niveau européen». Enfin, sur l'épargne longue, les signataires s’engagent à approfondir la réflexion sur l’adaptation des normes comptables et à mieux prendre en compte le long terme dans la rémunération des professionnels des marchés.

Selon Les Echos, Barclays Capital vient de recruter Philippe Deneux en tant que responsable pour l’activité de conseil en fusions & acquisitions en France. Transfuge de Calyon et de Credit Suisse, ce banquier d’affaires de quarante-cinq ans prend ses fonctions la semaine prochaine. Avec l’acquisition de Lehman aux Etats-Unis, la banque britannique souhaite en effet développer des activités de banque d’affaires, et être présente dans les métiers actions, notamment sur les marchés primaires, alors qu’elle était traditionnellement positionnée dans l’obligataire uniquement. En France, l'équipe comptera une dizaine de banquiers, dont 3 ou 4 recrutements externes, sur un total de 20 personnes dédiées aux différents métiers de «corporate finance» pilotés par Jean-Jacques de Balasy : émissions obligataires, et hybrides, gestion du risque, fusions-acquisitions et marchés primaires actions. Une équipe spécialisée primaire actions est en cours de recrutement.