Le fonds de LBO PAI Partners ayant décidé de se retirer des négociations lundi, les créanciers de Monier (ex-Lafarge Roofing) ont pu trouver un accord qu’ils présenteront jeudi à la direction du groupe, rapporte L’Agefi.

Edmond de Rothschild Financial Services et Edmond de Rothschild Multi Management annoncent ce mercredi matin le rapprochement de leurs équipes et savoir faire dans un pôle unique, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers.Le rapprochement sera juridiquement opérationnel à compter du début du mois de juillet, sous réserve des autorisations et des demandes d’agrément en cours, notamment auprès de l’Autorité des Marchés Financiers. Ce nouveau pôle regroupera près de 110 professionnels et affichera des encours de plus de 9 milliards d’euros pour le compte de clients privés et institutionnels, précise le communiqué. Guillaume Poli deviendra président du comité exécutif de Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers, et Olivier Neau, sera nommé vice-président, en charge des activités de gestion. Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers sera la marque commerciale de l’ensemble constitué par EdRIM Solutions, entreprise d’investissement en charge notamment de l’activité de structuration et de la commercialisation de la gamme commune, et sa filiale de gestion d’actifs, EdRIM Gestion. «Avec ce rapprochement, La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild renforcera la force de frappe de son offre de gestion d’actifs autour de deux pôles complémentaires et performants : Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, spécialiste de la gestion actions s’appuie sur un savoir-faire reconnu en matière d’analyse des valeurs et de sélection de titres ; Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers réunira l’ensemble des expertises permettant de diversifier et limiter le risque d’un portefeuille», déclare Michel Cicurel, président du directoire de La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild.

Selon Les Echos, la Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations et les trois autres fondateurs, ses homologues italien (la Casa Depositi e Prestiti) et allemand (KfW), et la Banque européenne d’investissement (BEI), ont signé une charte affirmant leur identité commune. Une nouvelle étape devrait être franchie le 22 juin lors de la conférence du Club des investisseurs de long terme que plusieurs fonds devraient rallier, en particulier le fonds souverain du Koweït, la Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), celui du Qatar, la Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), le fonds d’Abu Dhabi, Mubadala, la Banque publique russe de développement, la Caisse des Dépôts et de Gestion du Maroc et la Caisse des Dépôts du Québec.

L’hebdomadaire Agefi Actifs a procédé hier à la remise des prix des « Actifs du Patrimoine » au cours d’une cérémonie qui s’est tenue à Paris. Quinze récompenses ont été attribuées. Dans un premier temps, en partenariat avec la société Europerformance, il s’agissait de distinguer les fonds ayant bénéficié des souscriptions les plus fortes en distinguant, en matière de distribution, les réseaux des établissements spécialistes. Dans le premier cas, l’ «Actifs d’or » de la distribution dans la catégorie « fonds actions de plus d’un an » a été remis à Natixis Asset Management pour le fonds Natixis Actions US Value. L’ « Actifs d’or » de la distribution dans la catégorie des fonds diversifiés de plus d’un an a été attribué à la Mondiale pour son fonds La Mondiale Offensif. L’ « Actifs d’or » de la distribution dans la catégorie des fonds obligataires de plus d’un an a été décerné une nouvelle fois à Natixis Asset Management pour le fonds Natixis Souverains Euros 3-5. Enfin, l’ « actifs d’or » de la distribution pour les fonds de moins d’un an a été attribué à Groupama AM pour son fonds Groupama FP Dette Emergente.Dans la catégorie des établissements spécialistes, Lyxor AM a reçu l’ « Actifs d’or » de la distribution dans la catégorie des fonds actions de plus d’un an pour son fonds Lyxor ETF DJ Euro Stoxx 50 A. L’ « Actifs d’or » de la distribution pour la catégorie des fonds obligataires de plus d’un an est également revenu à Lyxor International AM pour son fonds Lyxor Euromts 1-3 y. L’ « Actifs d’or » de la distribution pour les fonds diversifiés de plus d’un an est allé à Carmignac Gestion pour son fonds CarmignacPatrimoine (A). Enfin, l’ « Actifs d’Or » de la distribution des fonds de moins d’un an a été attribué à la Française des Pacements pourle fonds LFP Oasis Obligataire 2013. Dans sa seconde partie, la cérémonie a été consacrée à la remise des prix des « Actifs de l’Innovation » attribués après une étude de cinquante neuf dossiers présentés. Dans la catégorie « Assurance vie », ces récompenses ont été décernées par un jury composé de la rédaction de l’Agefi Actifs et d’Olivier Eon, responsable éditorial et méthodes de test de la société Testépourvous. Le prix spécial du jury a été décerné à Dexia Epargne Pension pour son Pack Obsèques Familial .L’ « Actifs de bronze » de l’innovation est revenu au Centre Français du Patrimoine pour son contrat Prymatys.L’ « Actifs d’argent » de l’innovation a été attribué à l’assureur Allianz pour son contrat Allianz Retraite Invest4Life. Enfin, Axa a reçu l’ « Actifs d’or » de l’innovation pour son contrat Accumulator Retraite. En association avec la société Periclès Consulting, dans la catégorie « OPCVM », l’ « Actifs de bronze » de l’innovation a été remis à la Française des Placements pour son fonds Activinflation, », l’ « Actifs d’argent » de l’innovation» est allé à BNP PAM pour le fonds Parworld Emerging Step 80, et enfin, l’ « Actifs d’or » de l’innovation a été attribué à Harewood AM pour son fonds Harewood Covered US Equity

The fund of hedge funds Fibanc-Mediolanum Multiestrategia, launched in May 2008, will be closed by the Spanish unit of Italy based Mediolanum, according to Expansión. 80% of assets under management in the fund were invested in Optimal Global Strategy, which had invested part of its assets in Madoff.

As of the end of May, assets in 693 European ETFs totalled USD168.3bn, as 69 products were launched since the beginning of the year, a growth rate of 9.7%. According to a monthly study by iShares (Barclays Global Investors or BGI), assets under management grew by 18.1% in January-May, an increase three times faster than the MSCI Europe index in US dollars (6%). iShares remains by far the largest provider of these products, with 158 ETFs and assets of Usd65.87bn, a market share of 39.1%. Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) has 114 products and a market share of 21.5%, with USD36.25bn in assets under management. Db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) has 102 ETFs and assets of USD28.14bn, representing 16.7% of the market. The three largest firms thus account for 77.3% of total assets.

The analyst teams at the Skandia group have selected two new companies to provide management of two sub-funds of the Sicav Skandia Global Funds. The Skandia European Opportunities Fund will be managed by SVM Asset Management; it was previously managed by Thames River. “Founded in 1990, SVM is an entrepreneurial management firm based in Scotland. It is a genuinely independent boutique known for its expertise in European and UK equities management. SVM managed EUR530m as of the end of December 2008,” says Skandia. The Skandia Japanese Equity Fund will be moving from JP Morgan to FuNNeX Asset Management. “Founded in 2000, FuNNeX provides management by conviction, based on fundamental research. Like its director, Masaru Nishizawa, FuNNeX promotes strong values in all its investments. Assets at FuNNeX totalled USD927m at the end of December 2008.”

In May, the Lyxor Hedge Fund Index has posted gains fo 2.16%, which puts gains for the period from 31/12/2008 to 29/05/2009 at 2.13%. In the month under review, the alternative strategies which performed best were the L/S Credit Arbitrage Index (+11.30%), L/S Equity Long Bias (+10.25%) and CTAs Short Term Index (+5.14%). The thematic Lyxor Emerging Market index generated returns of +6.36% in May; it lost 4.93% in the first five months of the year. Of the fifteen strategies that make up the index, four posted losses in May, particularly the L/S Equity Short Bias, at -4.35%, the heaviest losses since the beginning of the year, putting it at -12.84% for the year.

As of 31 May, total assets in 1,660 ETF funds listed 3,008 times on 42 stock markets worldwide represented USD775.20bn in total, compared with USD706.87bn one month earlier, an increase of 9.66%. In the first five months of the year, according to a monthly study by iShares (Barclays Global Investors, or BGI), assets rose 9%, while the MSCI World index in US dollars gained only 5.41%. The number of ETF funds launched since the beginning of 2009 totals 119, and there are currently plans to launch 767 more products of this type. The major issuers remain the same: iShares was the leader at the end of May with 382 ETFs and assets of Usd374.96bn, compared with 381 products and USD336.17bn, which represents a market share of 48.4%, up from 47.6% in April. State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) is in second place, with 104 ETF funds and USD115.29bn, a market share of 14.9% (compared with 15.6% the previous month), and Vanguard remains in third place, with 40 products (compared with 39) and assets under management of USD58.58bn, compared with USD51.04b, and a market share of 7.6% up from 7.2%.

Baring Asset Management Germany has announced the appointment of Marion Wolf as relationship manager. She joins the sales team based in Frankfurt, which now includes 15 people.

The issue of banking confidentiality in Switzerland will present difficulties for many small Swiss banks specialised in offshore private clients, L’Agefi predicts. The country thus appears to be an attractive hunting ground for French banks, particularly due to the fragmentation of the wealth management market. According to L’Agefi, the banks interested in Switzerland include CIC, via its local affiliate, the former Banque Cial, and SG Private Banking SA.

The head of distribution Americas at Credit Suisse Asset Management in New York, Michael Baldinger, will join the management firm SAM Sustainable Asset Management (Robeco group) on 1 July as head clients & distribution. In this position, he will be a member of the executive board. His mission, as at CSAM in New York, will be to develop the base of institutional and wholesale clients, who are increasingly interested in SRI strategies and sustainable development.

On Tuesday, the German management firm Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers announced that it had acquired 100% of the Swiss wealth management firm Dr. Höller Vermögensverwaltung AG, founded in 1982, which has become a specialist in ethical and ecological investment. Portfolio management for the new affiliate will remain in Zurich. Dr Höller Vermögensverwaltung invests in equities, bonds, and investment funds worldwide. Each business or issuer is subjected to an ethical analysis in the light of positive criteria as wellas exclusionary criteria (alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons). Concrete investment decisions are subject to the approval of an ethical committee composed of “interdisciplinary” experts in scientific and economic fields.

Jörg Ambrosius (State Street) and Dirk Werthmann (BHF Asset Servicing) have both told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that they are expecting to see a concentration in the next three to five years on the German depository banking market, which currently includes 60 establishments serving investment funds, with assets of about EUR1.2trn. Ambrosius says only five to eight providers will survive, and the smallest firms are the most vulnerable. For the moment, State Street is the largest actor in this market, with EUR260bn, followed by BHF Asset Servicing (EUR85bn), JP Morgan (EUR72bn), Caceis (EUR68.5bn) and BNP Paribas (EUR57.4bn), while BNY Mellon has less than EUR30bn. The major foreign firms, including State Street, JP Morgan, BNY Mellon, HSBC and BNP Paribas, will continue to gain market share. The smallest actors are the Landesbanken, and professionals are predicting that BayernLB and HSH Nordbank will be the first to sell their custody activities.

On 29 May, the institutional real estate fund management firm DEFO - Deutsche Fonds für Immobilienvermögen GmbH (EUR2.5bn in assets) changed its name to Union Investment Institutional Property GmbH, denoting the firm’s membership in the Union Investment group (German co-operative banks). The board of directors, composed of Martin Eberhardt and Wolfgang Kessler, is strengthened with the arrival of Ingo Hartlief, who becomes chairman of the board of directors. He will also remain a member of the board at Union’s other real estate affiliate, Union Investment Real Estate (open-ended funds), a position he has occupied since 2002.

The board at CalPERS will vote at a meeting next week on a proposed allocation that would increase the target exposure to private equity from 10% to 14% of total investment. The equities allocation would be reduced from 56% to 49%, while the bond allocation would be raised from 19% to 20%. Real estate would be kept at 10%, but for the first time, cash, which has traditionally been at zero, could be set at 2%. CalPERS reviews its investment objectives every three years. The current programme expires in December 2010. CalPERS has planned a more complete evaluation of its allocation policies in fall, before setting its objectives for the next three years.

GLG is planning to recruit the two founding partners of Pendragon Capital (Kaveh Sheibani and Julian Harvey Wood) and launch several funds this year, according to an article in Hedge Funds Review. Among the planned funds to be launched are GLG Atlas Value and Recovery Fund and GLG Convertible Basis Opportunities Fund.

Investment Week reports that Bramdean Alternatives informed the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday that the mysterious potential buyer from whom it received a bid in April may in fact be Petersfield Asset Management, which is owned by Nicola Horlick, herself CEO of Bramdean and manager of an alternative portfolio. The bid is reported to have been submitted on 17 March.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 3 June announced the creation of a consulting committee of investors to provide a stronger representation to the regulator of the viewpoints of the investor community. The committee could advise the SEC about developments on the financial markets that could concern investors, and may also propose analyses and recommendations on regulatory issues. “I am happy to hear their point of view on issues such as new products, trading strategies, commission structures and the effectiveness of information requirements, among other things,” says the chairwoman of the SEC, Mary Shapiro. The committee will be co-chaired by Richard Hisey, president of AARP Financial Inc and AARP Funds, and Hye-Won Choi, senior vice president and director of corporate governance at TIAA-CREF.

Debra Ryan, the girlfriend of the hedge fund manager Samuel Israel III, was sentenced to three years of probation on Tuesday, after admitting to having helped her boyfriend to flee last summer shortly before he was to be jailed, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ryan pleaded guilty to the charges. Samuel Israel III, the former CEO of Bayou Management, orchestrated a USD400m fraud.

Barack Obama will unveil next week new rules for the financial services industry, according to Timothy Geithner, secretary to the US Treasury. This plan will seek to improve consumer and investor protection.

Mark Mobius, an emerging markets specialist at Franklin Templeton, is hoping to invest in Iraq next year, after he will convince a depository bank to set up shop there, Citywire reports. Among the other new markets that interest Mobius are Nigeria, Kenya, Iran, and Syria.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) announced on Tuesday, on the occasion of its 225thanniversary, that it has become one of the first major US banks to receive permission to buy back the preferential shares it sold to the United States government in October as part of TARP (the Troubled Asset Relief Program). Robert P. Kelly, chairman and CEO, announced that, to pay back the USD3bn it took on through TARP, BNY Mellon has already raised USD2.9bn, of which USD1.5bn is in the form of non-guaranteed 5- and 10-year senior debt, while USD1.4bn comes from a capital increase in ordinary shares.

Edmond de Rothschild Financial Services et Edmond de Rothschild Multi Management announced on Wednesday morning that they will be merging their teams to form a single unit, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers. The merged entity will be legally operational from the beginning of July, pending authorisation and license applications still in process, most of them from the French market regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF). The new unit will include nearly 110 professionals, and will have assets of over EUR9bn, managed on behalf of private and institutional clients, according to a statement. Guillaume Poli will become chairman of the executive board at Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers, while Olivier Neau will become vice-chairman, in charge of management activities. Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers will be the commercial brand for the merged entity including EdRIM Solutions, an investment business active in restructuring and sales of the common brand, and its asset management affiliate, EdRIM Gestion. “With this merger, La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild strengthens its presence in asset management and focuses it on two complementary, high-performance units: Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, a specialist in equities management with renowned expertise in share analysis and stock-picking; Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers will combine all expertise which allows investors to diversify and limit risk in a portfolio,” says Michel Cicurel, chairman of the board at La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild.

According to The Wall Street Journal, E*Trade Financial Corp. is working on a deal with its largest shareholder, hedge-fund firm Citadel Investment Group, to shore up its financial position.

Ignites Europe reports that Pimco will enter the European ETF market, after launching its first ETF in the United States last week. The asset manager has started negotiations with possible service providers to set up an ETF platform in Europe, probably in Dublin.

Since the beginning of the year, emerging markets have earned significant gains. But is the trend sustainable? Mark Mobius, manager and specialist in emerging markets at Franklin Templeton, says that investors should retain an awareness that volatility is still present on emerging markets, and that it will persist for some time to come. “We should take advantage of the next downturns in these markets to buy shares at reasonable prices in light of their valuation and their long-term outlooks for profit growth. We continue to identify potential rises on markets such as China, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, turkey and South Africa,” he continues.

Mark Mobius, a specialist in emerging markets at Franklin Templeton, has recently celebrated the 40thanniversary of his career investing in these markets. To confront the current economic situation, which is characterized by volatility that continues to affect emerging financial markets, Mobius says it is very important “that investors keep several fundamental principles in mind.” Among these principles, Mobius cites diversification. The best move, he says, is to invest in diversified investment funds. In terms of geographical exposure, he says, “no country has a monopoly on good opportunities,” and for that reason, an international viewpoint must be maintained. The third virtue of a wise investor in these markets is patience. “Don’t wait for immediate gains: the best investors are the ones who adopt a long-term perspective,” the manager says. Lastly, Mobius recommends that investors place their money only in things that they genuinely understand.

Jacques d’Estais, head of the Investment Solutions unit at BNP Paribas, the interim occupant of the position left vacant by the decease of Gilles Glicenstein (director and CEO of BNP Paribas Investment Partners) has now constructed a team which will take over the operational direction of Fortis Investments, according to sources close to the firm. There are reportedly still some legal issues which prevent the two entities from making public statements on the subject. The CEO, Richard Wohanka, has left the board (along with Stéphane Monier, head of fixed income management), and the chairmanship of the executive board for the interim ab imo pectore will be given to Guy de Froment, vice chairman, BNP Paribas Investment Partners, who will be in charge of the transition, assisted by Philippe Marchessaux and Pascal Biville as deputy CEOs of BNPP IP. The executive team will also include Vincent Camerlynck, Christian Dargnat and Charlotte Dennery (all of whom join from the BNP Paribas group), while the former Fortis Investments team will be represented by Niolas Faller (global head of distribution partners) and William De Vijlder (global CIO).

Products that combine socially responsible investment and Islamic finance are beginning to appear. Novethic looks at the connections between the two approaches and their possible convergence in a paper published in May, entitled “Islamic Finance and SRI: possible convergence?” SRI and islamic finance have several points in common. With their source in religions, “they rely on extra-financial parameters and are considered by the financial centres in London and Paris to be attractive areas of development,” says Novethic. The agency analyses the two approaches in more detail and finds that “though these types of ‘finance’ are united by an overall outlook which is favourable to social well-being and respect for human rights and the environment, Islamic finance is a more normative system which includes both financial and extra-financial directives,” which, says Novethic, “converge more closely with ethical finance and wealth sharing.” Novethic concludes that the two approaches are not contradictory in their aims, and could therefore be “not only compatible, but also complementary.” The agency then calls on actors in the financial industry, research centres, ratings agencies, NGOs and regulators to favour combinations of these approaches. “This would allow for a joint development of these approaches, which would encourage more ethical, responsible and transparent practices, and to find new clients, particularly for SRI in countries where it is absent today.”