BlackRock a recruté Benson Durham, ancien conseiller du Fonds monétaire international (FMI) et directeur de la Réserve fédérale de New York, dans le but de renforcer les capacités de données de sa plateforme mondiale fixed income, rapporte Citywire Pro Buyer.Benson Durham a été nommé responsable mondial de l’analyse de données pour le fixed income, selon un mémo interne consulté par le site Internet.

Le groupe Credit Suisse a fermé son bureau de Johannesbourg. Le groupe bancaire met ainsi fin à sa seule présence physique en Afrique au sud du Sahara. Selon l’agence Reuters, le groupe avait une équipe d’une trentaine de collaborateurs dans la métropole sud-africaine. Credit Suisse indique toutefois vouloir continuer à offrir à ses clients ses services en gestion de fortune et en banque d’investissement. Les clients sud-africains concernés seront pris en charge à partir de Dubai, Londres et Zürich. Credit Suisse avait réouvert un bureau en Afrique du Sud en 2006, après avoir quitté le pays à l’époque du régime de l’apartheid.

Axa Investment Managers – Real Assets va acquérir auprès de Quadrant Estate Advisors l’une de ses activités aux Etats-Unis, comprenant une équipe de dette immobilière, et reprendre ainsi la gestion de 9,4 milliards de dollars (soit 8 milliards d’euros) de prêts hypothécaires commerciaux américains. Cela correspond à deux mandats de prêts immobiliers commerciaux.L’opération va permettre à Axa IM – Real Assets de porter son portefeuille de prêts à 20,5 milliards de dollars, soit environ 18 milliards d’euros, et sa plate-forme de dettes (dont le financement d’infrastructures) à environ 28 milliards de dollars (24 milliards d’euros). Dans le cadre de la transaction, 24 collaborateurs de Quadrant, dont 5 associés fondateurs (l’équipe « Lift-Out »), vont rejoindre Axa IM – Real Assets. Quadrant va continuer à gérer différentes stratégies immobilières commerciales aux Etats-Unis, au Royaume-Uni et en Irlande. Grâce à cette nouvelle équipe basée à Atlanta, Axa IM – Real Assets se renforce aux Etats-Unis où il a déjà investi plus de 1,1 milliard de dollars (plus de 900 millions d’euros) dans deux prêts immobiliers commerciaux depuis 2014.

Dans ses activités de banque privée, ABN Amro a vu les actifs de la clientèle diminuer de 5,4 milliards d’euros au troisième trimestre, passant de 200,9 milliards d’euros à 195,5 milliards d’euros à fin septembre. La collecte nette s’est élevée à 2 milliards d’euros au troisième trimestre, pour l’essentiel aux Pays-Bas, et l’impact positif des marchés a représenté 1,1 milliard d’euros mais, dans le même temps, la division banque privée a subi des désinvestissements de 8,5 milliards d’euros au total, dont 7,3 milliards d’euros au Luxembourg suite à la vente des activités de banque privée au Luxembourg et 1,2 milliard d’euros en France dans des activités de gestion d’actifs.Le résultat d’exploitation avant impôt du troisième trimestre ressort à 95 millions d’euros, en recul de 31% par rapport au deuxième trimestre 2018 , le bénéfice du trimestre s’inscrivant à 76 millions d’euros, en baisse de 27% d’un trimestre sur l’autre.Au niveau du groupe, le résultat d’exploitation progresse de 6% au troisième trimestre à 1,09 milliard d’euros, le bénéfice affichant une hausse de 5% d’un trimestre sur l’autre à 725 millions d’euros.

Azimut Libera Impresa Sgr, la société de gestion du groupe Azimut spécialisée dans le non coté et les placements alternatifs, adopte une nouvelle gouvernance et un plan stratégique, rapporte Bluerating. Ainsi, Marco Belletti est nommé administrateur délégué, tandis que Luigi Glarey devient responsable gouvernance d’entreprise. Luca Bocchi rejoint la société en tant que conseiller en charge du commercial, et Guido Bocchio est nommé responsable de la gestion des activités financières. Marco Belletti provient de Société Générale où il était responsable du Private & Investment Banking pour l’Italie.Une équipe de gestion dédiée sera créée au sein de la société de gestion et 18 fonds seront lancés sur les dix prochaines années avec un objectif de collecte de 4 milliards d’euros. Les produits seront commercialisés par le réseau de conseillers financiers et gérants de fortune d’Azimut.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs américain Goldman Sachs Asset Management a conclu un accord portant sur l’acquisition de la société Rocaton Investment Advisors afin d’élargir ses services de conseil et de gestion discrétionnaire à ses clients institutionnels, rapporte le site Pensions & Investments. Rocaton affiche plus de 600 milliards de dollars d’actifs conseillés à fin septembre 2018. A l’issue de la transaction, la société continuera d’opérer sous le nom de Rocaton, a précisé un porte-parole de Goldman Sachs AM. La transaction, dont le montant n’a pas été dévoilé, devrait être finalisée durant le premier semestre 2019. Rocaton offre des services de conseil et de gestion discrétionnaire à une large palette de clients institutionnels, incluant des compagnies d’assurance, des fonds de dotation, des fondations ou encore des fonds de retraite.

La société de gestion new-yorkaise BroadRiver Asset Management, spécialisée dans la gestion obligataire alternative, a annoncé le closing de son troisième fonds dédié à la longévité, BroadRiver III, avec des engagements de 876 millions de dollars. Les investisseurs comprennent un large éventail d’investisseurs institutionnels internationaux, dont des fonds de pension, des fonds de dotation, des fondations ainsi que des family offices. De nombreux investisseurs historiques ont repris des engagements dans ce fonds.BroadRiver, dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à 1,4 milliard de dollars, propose à ses clients une exposition à des actifs similaires aux obligations qui offrent des rendements intéressants ajustés du risque, une faible volatilité et une corrélation marginale aux marchés financiers.

L’américain Virtu Financial, coté au Nasdaq, a annoncé la signature d’un accord définitif en vue de l’acquisition d’ Investment Technology Group (ITG), qui a été approuvé à l’unanimité par le conseil d’administration d’ITG et de Virtu. Virtu a accepté d’acquérir ITG dans le cadre d’une transaction en espèces évaluée à 30,30 dollars par action ITG, soit un total de 1 milliard de dollars (870 millions d’euros) et une prime de 40% sur le cours moyen des 30 dernières séances. La transaction sera financéeà l’aide d’un prêt de 1,5 milliard de dollars de Jefferies et RBC, qui servira aussi à rembourser l’actuel «term loan» de 400 millions de Virtu."En plus d’améliorer l’expérience client», la transaction devrait procurer à Virtu, dans les deux ans suivant la finalisation de la transaction, des économies nettes sur les charges avant impôts d’environ 123 millions de dollars, en plus des synergies en capital de 125 millions de dollars. «Ces économies n’incluent aucune amélioration des revenus», précise Virtu. La clôture de la transaction est attendue au premier semestre 2019.Douglas A. Cifu, directeur général de Virtu Financial, restera directeur général de la société fusionnée. Joseph A. Molluso, directeur financier de Virtu, restera le directeur financier de la société fusionnée.

Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) a recruté Aymeric Forest, de Schroders, en tant que responsable mondial de l’investissement multi-classes d’actifs, pour succéder à Guy Stern, qui va partir à la retraite en 2019. L’activité « multi-asset » d’ASI représente 140 milliards de livres d’encours au 30 juin 2018. Elle comprend la gamme Global Absolute Return Strategies qui souffre ces derniers temps en termes de performance et de collecte.Aymeric Forest, qui était responsable des investissements multi-classes d’actifs de Schroders pour l’Europe, rejoindra la société de gestion écossaise en février 2019. Il travaillera alors pendant quelques temps aux côtés de Guy Stern afin d’assurer une transition en douceur pour les clients. En attendant, ce dernier reste à la tête de l’activité multi-asset.

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) vient de recruter Sonja Laud comme directrice adjointe des investissements (deputy CIO) et William Riley en tant que responsable des solutions. Sonja Laud vient de Fidelity International où elle était responsable des actions et où elle a fait partie de l’équipe de gestion des actions monde. Elle a également travaillé chez Barings, Schroders et DWS. William Riley arrive pour sa part en provenance de BlackRock, où il a occupé plusieurs postes, dont celui de responsable de la gestion de portefeuilles de solutions clients pour l’Europe, le Moyen-Orient et l’Afrique.William Riley travaillera sous la responsabilité de Sonja Laud, elle-même rattachée au CIO, Anton Eser.

Plusieurs gérants écossais redoutent qu’un éventuel échec de la fusion entre Standard Life et Aberdeen Asset Management ne déstabilise Edimbourg comme centre de gestion d’actifs, écrit Financial News. Plusieurs sociétés de gestion sont installées dans la capitale écossaise, comme Martin Currie, Baillie Gifford, Aubrey Capital et Murray Asset Management. « La fusion a un peu augmenté le risque de concentration à Edimbourg », commente Colin McLean, directeur général de SVM Asset Management.

Bridgewater Associates a lancé, via sa filiale chinoise à 100 % Bridgewater (China) Investment Management (BCIM), son premier produit d’investissement chinois local, Bridgewater All Weather China Private Fund No. 1. Ce fonds, accessible aux investisseurs qualifiés basés en Chine, est structuré de manière similaire au fonds Offshore All Weather China dédié aux investisseurs internationaux et lancé en avril 2018. La principale différence entre les deux produits réside dans le fait que le nouveau ne détient que des actifs financiers chinois domestiques, alors que la stratégie internationale peut investir aussi dans quelques actifs financiers étrangers. En juin, Bridgewater avait obtenu une licence de Private Securities Investment Fund Manager (PFM) auprès de l’Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), l’autorisant à concevoir et commercialiser des produits d’investissement locaux pour les investisseurs qualifiés dans le pays. La société américaine fondée par Ray Dalio gère des actifs pour des investisseurs institutionnels chinois depuis 1993. Elle a ensuite ouvert un premier bureau à Pékin en 2011. En 2016, elle a installé BCIM à Shanghai et nommé Wang Yan en tant que general manager. Bridgewater gère plus de 160 milliards de dollars.

La société de gestion allemande TBF Global Asset Management a décidé d’attribuer, à compter du 1er décembre, la dénomination TBF à l’ensemble de ses fonds commercialisés. Les dénominations «4Q» ou «Rockcap» seront ainsi remplacées par TBF. La société de gestion modifie également quelques dénominations pour mieux souligner l’orientation du fonds.Ces changements n’entraînent aucun impact sur la gestion des différents produits mais doivent permettre de mieux établir la marque TBF sur le marché. TBF gère environ 2 milliards d’euros dans des fonds spécialisés notamment sur les valeurs des secteurs de l’industrie, de l'énergie, de la technologie en Amérique du Nord, en Europe et en Asie.

Le gestionnaire d’actifs espagnol GVC Gaesco Gestion vient de recruter Santiago Vasquez en tant que responsable de l’activité des ventes institutionnelles au niveau international, rapporte Funds People. L’intéressé sera directement rattaché à Jaume Puig, directeur général et des investissements de la société de gestion. Cette arrivée témoigne de la volonté de GVC Gaesco Gestion d’accélérer son développement à l’international, en particulier sur les marchés européens et asiatiques. Santiago Vasquez compte plus de 10 ans d’expérience dans le secteur de la gestion. Au cours des six dernières années, il a occupé le poste de directeur associé et responsable du développement de l’activité en Europe chez Oceanwide Asset Management à Hong Kong.

Perceptive Advisors, an investment management firm focused on the healthcare sector, has announced the final closing of Perceptive Credit Opportunities Fund II with $675 million in commitments. Fund II exceeded its target and was oversubscribed, reaching its hard cap. With the closing of Fund II, Perceptive manages approximately $1 billion of capital dedicated to private credit.Perceptive Credit Opportunities will continue its focused investment strategy in Fund II, which centers on providing customized, minimally-dilutive debt financing solutions to innovative healthcare companies. " Perceptive Credit Opportunities Fund partners with small and medium-sized companies to provide capital ranging from $10 - $100 million per investment.

@page { size: 8.27in 11.69in; margin: 0.79in }p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }Oddo BHF in October launched a global short duration bond fund, OddoBHF Global Credit Short Duration, which may be the first in a seriesof funds in the global bond segment. Oddo BHF has recruited threeanalysts for the occasion, two of whom are Chinese. The fund,launched on 22 October, already has EUR80m in assets undermanagement.The fund investsprimarily in corporate bonds denominated in euros. Priority will begiven to bonds maturing in less than five years, with one third fromthe Americas, one third from Europe, and one third from Asia. Thefund will include 70% issuers in developed countries, and 30%emerging market issuers. The fund is aiming for returns of 2.5% to3%,, 50 basis points more than the Credit Short Dutation Europeanhigh yield bond fund, whose assets under management total EUR1.8bn.

Bridgewater Associates has announced its wholly-owned subsidiary Bridgewater (China) Investment Management (BCIM) has launched its first onshore Chinese investment product, Bridgewater All Weather China Private Fund No. 1. This fund, which is available to qualified investors in mainland China, is structured similarly to Bridgewater’s Offshore All Weather China fund for international investors that launched in April 2018. This new onshore fund is similar to the offshore fund, with the main difference being the former only holds domestic Chinese financial assets, whereas the latter also holds some non-Chinese financial assets. The strategies are built on the same framework as Bridgewater’s pioneering risk parity strategy, All Weather.In June, following the launch of the firm’s offshore China strategy earlier in the year, Bridgewater was granted a Private Securities Investment Fund Manager (PFM) license from the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) allowing it to develop and market domestic investment products to qualified investors in the country. Bridgewater began managing money for Chinese institutional investors in the global markets in 1993. Since then, the firm has built an on-ground presence, opening its Beijing office nearly a decade ago in 2011. In 2016, the firm established operations for BCIM in Shanghai and appointed Wang Yan as general manager of BCIM, leading a small investment team.

@page { size: 8.27in 11.69in; margin: 0.79in }p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }Legal& General Investment Management (LGIM) has recruited Sonja Laudas deputy chief investment officer (deputy CIO), and William Riles ashead for solutions.Laudjoins from Fidelity International, where she had been head forequities, and belonged to the global equity management team. She hasalso worked at Barings, Schroders, and DWS.Rileyjoins from BlackRock, where he served in several positions, includinghead of client solution portfolio management for Europe, the MiddleEast and Africa. Riley will report to Laud, who will report to CIOAnton Eser.

Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) has hired Aymeric Forest as global head of Multi-Asset Investing. He will succeed Guy Stern who has decided to retire in 2019. Aymeric Forest will join in February 2019 to help lead the ongoing evolution of the Multi-Asset Investing franchise. He was previously Head of Multi-Asset Investments, Europe at Schroders. He will assume the role of Global Head of Multi Asset Investing and will work closely with Guy Stern. «There will be a phased and orderly handover period which will start in February 2019 to ensure a seamless transition for our clients», said ASI. Guy Stern continues to lead the Multi-Asset franchise, with his team, leadership and portfolio responsibilities unchanged until this transition period starts and there will be no change to the investment process as a result of this announcement. The team will remain focused as they have been on performance. ASI’s Multi-Asset Investing manages total assets of £140 billion (as at 30 June 2018).

@page { size: 8.27in 11.69in; margin: 0.79in }p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }AzimutLibera Impresa Sgr, the asset mangement firm of the Azimut groupspecialised in private equity and alternative investments, isadopting new governance and a strategic plan, Bluerating reports.Marco Belletti is appointed as deputy director, while Luigi Glareybecomes head of corporate governance. Luca Bocchi joins the firm asadviser responsible for sales, and Guido Bocchio is appointed as headof financial activity management.Bellettijoins from SociétéGénérale, where he had been head of private and investment bankingfor Italy. A dedicated management team will be created at the assetmanagement firm, and 18 funds will be launched in the next few years,with an inflow objective of EUR4bn. Products will be sold by thenetwork of financial advisers and wealth managers at Azimut.

@page { size: 8.27in 11.69in; margin: 0.79in }p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }TheSpanish asset management firm GVC Gaesco Gestion has recruitedSantiago Vasquez as head of its institutional sales activityinternationally, Funds People reports. Vasquez will report directlyto Jaume Puig, CEO and CIO at the asset management firm. The arrivalof Vasquez is a sign of a desire on the part of GVC Gaesco Gestion toaccelerate its international development, particularly for theEuropean and Asian markets. Vasquez has over 10 years of experiencein the asset management sector. Over the past six years, he hasserved as deputy director and director of development for activitiesin Europe at Oceanwide Asset Management in Hong Kong.

UBS has been advised by the United States Department of Justice («DOJ») that the DOJ intends to file a civil complaint as early as November 8, 2018 related to UBS’s issuance, underwriting and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities («RMBS») more than a decade ago. UBS anticipates that the complaint will seek unspecified monetary civil penalties under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act («FIRREA») regarding RMBS transactions that date back to 2006 and 2007.The DOJ’s claims are not supported by the facts or the law. UBS will contest any such complaint vigorously in the interest of its shareholders. UBS is confident in its legal position and has been fully prepared for some time to defend itself in court.UBS was not a significant originator of U.S. residential mortgages and suffered massive losses on its investments in U.S. mortgage-related assets when the U.S. housing market collapsed. This fact alone negates any inference that UBS engaged in an intentional fraud.UBS fulfilled its disclosure obligations to RMBS investors and believes that FIRREA limits any penalty that the DOJ may seek to obtain to losses incurred by federally insured financial institutions, which were a fraction of the overall losses on RMBS certificates sold by UBS.

Wendel SA is exploring ways to shore up the finances of Cromology, a paint company that’s suffered from a slowdown in the French construction industry, according to Bloomberg. The Paris-based buyout firm has hired Rothschild & Co. to review Cromology’s debt structure and negotiate a deal with lenders. Lenders have appointed Houlihan Lokey Inc. to run an independent review of the paintmaker.The company had 250.5 million euros of net debt at the end of June 2018, according to Wendel’s financial report for the first half. Wendel injected 25 million euros of cash into the business in March, it said. The loans are quoted at about 85 cents on the euro, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Virtu Financial announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Investment Technology Group (ITG), which has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of ITG and Virtu. Virtu has agreed to acquire ITG, a provider of agency execution services and trading analytics, in a cash transaction valued at USD30.30 per ITG share. The transaction is expected to close during the 1st half of 2019 after receipt of ITG shareholder approval and all required regulatory approvals.In addition to enhanced client experience, the transaction is expected to provide a significant amount of additional scale and financial benefits to Virtu. Within two years of the completion of the transaction, Virtu expects to realize approximately $123 million of net pre-tax expense savings, in addition to $125 million of capital synergies. These savings do not include any revenue enhancements that Virtu anticipates will result from the transaction.Virtu intends to fund the all-cash transaction with new gross borrowings of $1.5 billion. Virtu intends to repay the $400 million aggregate principal amount outstanding under its existing term loan. Virtu has received committed financing from Jefferies and Royal Bank of Canada for up to $1.5 billion of debt financing for the transaction.

@page { size: 8.27in 11.69in; margin: 0.79in }p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }BanqueRichelieu France on 7 November announced the arrival of seven newemployees as part of its teams in Paris and Strasbourg, following theopening of new local offices, including a director of privateclients, two private bankers, one quality client services officer,one middle office securities senior officer, one marketing andcommunications project manager, and one assistant private banker.StephanSchillinger, 36, joins Banque Richeliey France as director of privateclients (Strasbourg). Schillinger holds a Master’s degree in CESBwealth management from CFPB Paris, and worked for four years at theCM-CIC group as wealth management associate director in Strasbourg,before serving for four years as vice president of Crédit Suisse inBasel.LouisDebeaurain, 32, has been appointed as private banker in Paris.Debeaurain holds a law degree from Paris X Nanterre, a Master 1degree in business law from the Faculté Libre de Droit d’Economieet de Gestion de Paris, and a Master 2 degree in wealth managementfrom IAE Grenoble. He began his career at LCL in Paris as a branchprivate adviser, and then became a private banker at LCL BanquePrivée.FethiBelhaïd-Abdi, 47, is appointed as a private banker in Paris.Belhaïd-Abdi holds a Master’s degree in economic sciences with thecurrency/finance option from Paris XII, and is a graduate of theInstitut Technique de Banque (CFPB) et en Gestion de Patrimoine atAUREP Clermont-Ferrand. He began his career at BRED-Banque Populaireas a client adviser, and then as account manager for internationaltransfer services. He then joined Société Générale asCorrespondent Banking Dept - Relationship Manager in the office ofthe director of international flows. He then serves as head ofproduct steering and the migrant market in the office of the directorof affiliates outside France, and then served successively as wealthmanagement adviser for international clients, private banker fornon-resident clients (Africa/Middle East) at the international deskof Société Générale Private Banking Paris.CharlotteDenais, 24, is appointed as quality client services officer (Paris).Denais, with a degree in applied economics and a Master’s degree inwealth management and private banking from the Université Paris -Dauphine, has served in an initial internship at Christie’s inLondon, and joined the teams at Banque Richelieu France in QualityClient Service as part of a placement, and was then recruited as aQuality Client Service Officer.NathalieFeuvrier, 52, is appointed as middle office securities senior officer(Paris). Feuvrier, a graduate of BP Banque, has served in a varietyof roles in the banking industry (Ferri S.A, Banque du Phénix stockmarket company, Banque Française d’Investissement, Banque SanPaolo, and others), before joining Crédit Suisse in Paris as part ofthe operations department in the Middle Office.AudeDelmas-Begue, 23, is appointed as marketing and communication projectmanager (Paris). Delmas-Begue holds a Bachelor’s degree in digitalcommunication from ISCG Paris, and a Master 2 degree in digitalstrategy management (in progress) at ISCG Paris, and has served aspart of the teams at Banque Richelieu France as part of a trainingplacement as event assistant, marketing and communication assistant,and communication marketing project head.LaetitiaPiccarreta, 40, is appointed as assistant private banker in Paris.Piccarreta, who holds a degree in graphic design from the EcoleEstienne / Greta CDMA in Paris, served in a variety of positions inthe publishing, automotive, graphic design and advertisingindustries, before joining Banque UBS France, where she served forfour years, in the positions of client support advisory for privateand professional clients in Strasbourg, and then for FinancialIntermediaries – FIM in Paris.

According to reports in Le Monde, Carmignac Gestion is under investigation by the French financial prosecutor (Parquet national financier, PNF) as part of a case which has been open for 16 months, for “tax fraud” and “fiscal money laundering,” following a complaint from the tax administration. When approached by Le Monde, the PNF did not wish to comment. The PNF investigation primarily concerns the type of remuneration for certain members of management, via financial structures that involve Luxembourg, where the company has an affiliate. The French tax authorities contest the choice of this business to pay salary in the form of dividends, in a country with advantageous tax policies, rather than as salary, in order to reduce tax burden. This practice is widespread at asset management companies, which tend to pay their senior management in the form of free equities, not only for tax reasons, but also to give them an interest in the performance of the business, the newspaper writes.The newspaper notes that a contradictory debate has arisen between the French and Luxembourg tax administrations concerning this financial engineering and its implications, with sources saying the French tax authorities disagree with the analysis of the Luxembourg tax authorities. A lawyer for Carmignac Gestion, unwilling to state the amount sought, does say that it is “a marginal percentage of tax paid by the business,” and adds that “the interests of clients are not affected in any way.” This lawyer for Carmignac states that all investigations opened for tax fraud are automatically also opened for money-laundering.To date, 12 hearings have already been held with managers or former managers at the asset management firm, the newspaper adds, but no charges have been brought, and no hearings with directors or senior management at the Carmignac group have been held. The subject is considered sensitive, due to the size of the company within the European asset management industry, and the potential financial consequences.When contacted by NewsManagers, the Carmignac asset management firm says that it “absolutely contests the recovery and its classification as penal, and has filed a counter-suit, and is also paying the amount sought in order to prevent interest charges. The points raised to support the complaint point to a technical and complex fiscal debate concerning the qualification of intra-group dividends, with the questions related to the tax regime for the parent-affiliate relationship. It is important to point out that this debate deals with facts which are in the in the past, and that the risk is now alleviated. At no time were the interests of our clients or our partners concerned: the dispute with the tax administration concerns only the Company, and none of the Funds in any way.”

@page { size: 8.27in 11.69in; margin: 0.79in }p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }AEWCiloger on 7 November announced that it has acquired the Tour Prisma,located at La Défense in Paris, on behalf of several of its retailfunds, SCPIand OPCI vehicles, from Invesco Real Estate. The officebuilding, with an area of about 23,000 square metres on 22 floors, iswholly leased to four tenants.Thetower holds the HQE environmental certifications as a tertiaryoperations building with the grade"Excellent,and a theBREEAM in-Use certificationwith the grade «VeryGood.”

AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets and Quadrant Real Estate Advisors announce they have reached an agreement whereby AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets will acquire from Quadrant Real Estate Advisors one of its U.S. lines of business including a real estate debt team and assume the management of $9.4 billion (c. €8 billion) in U.S. commercial mortgage loans.The transaction, which is under contract and is pending regulatory approval, will position AXA IM - Real Assets bring its loan portfolio to $20.5 billion (c. €18 billion), and its total debt platform including infrastructure finance to c. $28 billion (c. €24 billion). As part of the transaction, 24 members of Quadrant, including five of the founding partners (the “Lift-Out Team”), will join AXA IM - Real Assets. Quadrant will continue to manage various commercial real estate debt strategies in the U.S., Great Britain, and Ireland.The Atlanta based Lift-Out Team will bring deep market expertise and a 20-year track record in the U.S commercial real estate debt market, complementing the existing AXA IM - Real Assets’ team which has a 13-year leading position in the European commercial real estate debt market. This combination will provide AXA IM - Real Assets the capacity to offer investment solutions to clients through different debt products and across many jurisdictions and a strong foundation for continued growth in the U.S., where it has invested more than $1.1 billion (over €900 million) 2 in commercial real estate loans since 2014. The transaction forms part of AXA IM - Real Assets’ ongoing strategy to expand internationally, and particularly in the U.S.

La parole à... Ana Boata, économiste Europe chez Euler Hermes

... C’est le montant des adjudications de titres publics que le Trésor américain va émettre au quatrième trimestre de l’année. Pour l’essentiel, ce seront des titres à court et à moyen terme (2, 3 et 5 ans). Sur l’ensemble de l’année, l’Etat fédéral aura levé 1.340 milliards, soit un niveau record depuis 2010. Le déficit budgétaire va dépasser 4 % du PIB en 2018 et doit se diriger vers le seuil des 5 % l’an prochain.