On 14 October, Fairouz Bouhmida joins the wholesale fund distribution unit at Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) in Zurich as vice president. She will be responsible for relationships with German- and Italian-speaking clients. She had previously been head of distribution in the German-speaking countries for the British boutique Alken AM, and will now report to Reto Eisenhut, director/head of third party retail clients for Switzerland and Liechtenstein, who in turn reports to Anton Commissaris, head of wholesale clients Swtizerland/EMEA.
The Bank of Italy has granted a license for Invimit, the asset management firm founded by the minister of the Economy to value and sell the real estate assets of the italian government, Bluerating reports, citing Reuters. Invimit, founded in May, is led by Vincenzo Fortunato, head of Giulio Tremonti’s office at the Treasury in Silvio Berlusconi’s government. The asset management firm will receive an initial allocation in 2013 equivalent to EUR800m.
Pramerica Life has signed two new distribution agreements in Italy with the Cassa di Risparmio di Cento and the Banca della Marca Credito Cooperativo, Bluerating reports, citing MF.
The budget impasse in the United States drove investors away from all US asset classes in the first few days of October. Retail outflows from Us equities reached levels not seen in nearly six months. Europe, Japan, and to a lesser extent China, profited from this development, but not to the extent of offsetting the massive redemptions observed in the United States.In the week to 9 October, equity funds overall posted a net outflow of USD6.45bn, according to statistics communicated by EPFR Global. European equity funds, however, continued to attract investors, while Japanese equity funds have posted a net inflow of over USD1bn for the third time in five weeks.Bond funds finished the week with redemptions of USD1.82bn. European bond funds attracted nearly USD800m, one third of which went to Spanish bond funds.Money market funds, for their part, saw outflows of USD23.3bn.
Following the resignation of Rob Gambi, who is expected to join a competitor, UBS Global Asset Management has promoted John Dugenske as head of fixed income. Dugenske was already head of North American fixed income.In his new role, Dugenske will report directly to the Australian John Fraser, chairman & CEO. He will continue to be based in Chicago.
Since 10 October, the NYSE Arca platform has been listing the PowerShares China Ashare Portfolio (ticker: CHNA), which Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLE claims is the first ETF to allow exposure to the Chinese A-class equity market, investing primarily in securities filtered from the SGX FTSE China A50 index. It is an actively-managed product, using a quantiative strategy. The portfolio may be invested in instruments other than futures on the SGX FTSE A50 index, such as ETFs of the largest companies in the A-class equity universe and directly in A-class shares in proportions allowed under Chinese law.The total expense ratio is estimated at 0.50%.
To meet demand from investors who are increasingly concerned about the risk of rising interest rates, State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has launched a very short-term bond ETF, in a niche in which net subsriptions have already reached USD9.4bn in the first nine months of the year, according to Morningstar.This time it is an actively-managed ETF, the SSgA Ultra Short Term Bond ETF (ticker: ULST), listed on the NYSE Arca platform since 10 October, which offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of bonds with ultra-short term durations. The product allows clients to earn additional returns without sacrificing liquidity, says James Ross, senior managing director and global head of SPDR ETFs at SSgA.The fund charges fees of 0.20%.
According to Fundweb, Newton Investment Management (BNY Mellon group) on 13 December decided to liquidate its equity fund Newton European Higher Income, launched on 30 January 2007, and managed by Rajesh Shant since March 2012. The British-registered product has only GBP25.6m in assets.
The Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii (HIERS), which has 112,000 members, has selected BNY Mellon Asset Servicing as its global custodian for its USD12.5bn in assets. The service will include global custody, securities lending, currencies, cash management and a vast range of risk solutions.
Fred Alger Management has recruited Jeanne Sdroulas as senior vice president and head of marketing. She previously worked at Stone Harbor Investment Partners, where she was global head of marketing. Fred Alger Management as of 30 September had USD19bn in assets under management.
One of the largest actors in alternative management, Brevan Howard, has posted disappointing results for its flagship fund, and has seen heavy losses from its portfolio dedicated to emerging markets, the news agency Reuters reports. The Brevan Howard Master Fund, whose assets under management total about USD28bn, is virtually unchanged since 2013 as of 4 October. It showed gains of 3.8% as of the end of June, but has been oriented downward since that date. Since its launch in 2003, the fund has never posted a single negative year. Another negative performance has been recorded for the hedge fund dedicated to emerging markets, which has about USD2.8bn in assets, and which has seen a decline of 12% in the year 2013 as of 4 October. The traditional hedge fund invested in emerging markets shows gains of 2.07% since the beginning of the year, according to Hedge Fund Research. The fund also shows variable returns. Last year, the fund gained 14%, but it lost 6% in 2011.
Rob Gambi, global head of bonds at UBS Global Asset Management, is leaving the firm after seven years, Investment Week reports. He will be replaced by John Dugenske, previously head of bonds for North America.
The asset management group La Française AM would like to develop its activities serving investors in Latin America and Asia. The target destinations are Miami, Chile, Peru and Colombia, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore, Citywire reports. As part of this strategy, the asset management firm is promoting three funds domiciled in Luxembourg: an Asian value small and midcaps fund, a Chinese value small and midcaps fund, and a global bond fund. The CEO of La Française, Philippe Lecomte, says that development in Latin America will be steered by the Spanish office, with Augusto Martin, head for the Iberian peninsula, and Gerardo Duplat, head of international distribution for Spain. The two will concentrate on high net worth clients in Miami and Chilean, Peruvian and Colombian pension funds.
Two weeks ago, Dirk Toedte has joined Paris-based Alma Capital as head of development for Germany and Austria. Toedte, who left his position as head of distribution at Amundi Germany after the merger, in early 2011 joined Allianz Global Investors to develop and manage the Product & Chennel Service Europe department.
Asset management activities at the JP Morgan group in third quarters brought net profits of USD476m, up 7% compared with third quarter 2012, but doen compared with second quarter 2013 (USD500m). Income from private banking was up 9% to USD1.5bn, while retail was up 36% to USD722m, but the institutional unit was down 2% to USD553m. Assets under management increased 12%, or USD139bn, year on year to a total of USD1.5trn, due to inflows and market effects. Assets under administration, for their part, were up 9% or USD56bn to USD706bn. The JP Morgan group nonetheless finished the quarter with net losses of USD880m due to significant legal expenses, though it earned profits of USD5.7bn in third quarter 2012. Legal costs in the quarter before taxes totalled USD7.2bn.
The wealth management, brokerage and retirement unit at Wells Fargo in third quarter earned net profits of USD450m, up by USD16m or 4% compared with second quarter 2013, and USD112m or 33% compared with third quarter 2012. The assets of wealth management of clients increased by 5%, to USD209bn, while assets in institutional retirement plans are up 11% to USD288bn. Assets in individual retirement accounts (IRA), for their part, were up 10%, to USD326bn.
As of 30 September, Invesco, Franklin Templeton, Legg Mason and AllianceBernstein posted total assets of USD2.6912trn, which represents an increase of USD71.2bn, or 2.71%, in one month.The largest increases, at USD25.8bn and USD25.4bn, to USD745.5bn and USD844.9bn, respectively, were registered by Invesco and Franklin Templeton, For their part, Legg Mason and AllianceBernstein saw increases in their assets under management of USD11bn to USD656bn, and USD9bn, to USD445bn.
According to a statement from Pimco, the allocation of the largest bond fund in the world, the Total Return fund, managed by Bill Gross (about USD250bn), has been retouched, Handelsblatt reports. Real estate represented only 35% in September, compared with 36% in August, while bonds from developed countries other than the United States have been increased to 4% of the portfolio from 2%. However, allocation to US government bonds has remained unchanged.
Analysts and traders at French brokers have been transferred to London, and recruitments are being made often abroad recently, in the City and elsewhere, Les Echos reports. This phenomenon has not yet spread to all French players, but several examples are striking. Exane BNP Paribas is undoubtedly the most emblematic example of this trend. The broker has developed considerably in London in recent years: the Paris office is home to only 30% of the 115 employees in equity reseach (cash equity), commpared with 605 of 105 in 2007. However, 65% of analysts are in the City. The distribution is globally the same for stock market order execution (including sales). Acording to several market sources, Société Générale also has a strong presence in the United Kingdom. Equity analysts are also said to predominate there, according to information conveyed by Thomson Reuters, but the bank does not wish to offer any details about its research personnel.
The Baring Frontier Markets Fund, launched on 24 April, now has assets of USD24bn, and the British asset management firm is beginning to actively promote the Irish-registered UCITS fund on the European continent. The Baring Asian Frontier Markets fund, for its part, already has USD500m in assets.Michael Levy, principal manager of the new fund, pointed out on Friday in Paris that although frontier markets are a little more “expensive” than emerging markets in terms of price/earnings (11.2% compared with 9.5% P/E) and price to book value (P/B of 2.2 compared with 1.3) in 2014, they are far more profitable in terms of dividend returns (5.5%, compared with 3.3%) and returns on owner’s equity (ROE), at 20.1% compared with 13.3%.Additionally, the portfolio of 55 positions includes a lot of shares that are not in the MSCI Frontier Markets TNR index, which is considered too narrow, and Levy points out that 70% of performance comes from the stock-picking.CharacteristicsName: Baring Frontier Markets FundISIN code: IE00B8BVS817 (A shares)Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 2%Minimal initial subscription: USD5,000
The association of British insurers (ABI) will make improvements to its recommendations for unit-linked accounts, following an enquiry by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which found “specific” shortfalls at certain insurers concerning monitoring of policies, Investment Week reports. The FCA did not detect signs of systemic risks which threaten the entire sector, but the anomalies identified may disadvantage investors in these policies.
A l'occasion de la semaine de l'ISR, Jean-Pascal Gond analyse l'évolution des pratiques en matière de développement durable et de responsabilité sociale de l'entreprise. Le choc de la crise financière a suscité une dynamique bienvenue qui s'est toutefois enlisée au fil des années. Les problèmes qui freinent l'essor de l'ISR et de la RSE sont de mieux en mieux identifiés, notamment en France.
L’assureur-crédit Coface a assorti sa note A2 pour les Etats-Unis d’une surveillance positive, à l’occasion de sa révision des risques pays, malgré la paralysie budgétaire. «Notre scenario principal à ce stade est que cette impasse devrait être évitée in extremis, si bien que la consommation privée et l’investissement resteraient robustes, malgré d’éventuelles nouvelles coupes budgétaires», estime Coface. En revanche, l’assureur crédit a placé sous surveillance négative la note de deux autres pays, le Brésil et la Thaïlande, tous deux notés A3, en raison de problèmes structurels pour le premier et de l’endettement des ménages pour le second.
La Grèce prévoit de combler partiellement un déficit de financement l’an prochain via la reconduction volontaire (roll-over) d’environ 4,5 milliards d’euros d’obligations arrivant à échéance en mars prochain que le gouvernement a émises pour soutenir ses banques, a indiqué le ministère grec des Finances. Le déficit de financement est estimé par la Commission européenne à 3,8 milliards d’euros pour 2014, tandis que le FMI le voit à 4,4 milliards d’euros.
Le taux d’inflation annuel en Chine a atteint en septembre son plus haut niveau en sept mois, à 3,1%, les mauvaises conditions météorologiques ayant entraîné à la hausse les prix des denrées alimentaires. Les prix alimentaires ont augmenté de 1,5% en septembre par rapport à août, en raison de sécheresses et d’inondations dans plusieurs régions.
Le prix Nobel d'économie a été attribué aux américains Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen et Robert Shiller. «Les lauréats ont posé les bases de la compréhension actuelle des prix des actifs. Celle-ci repose en partie sur les fluctuations du risque et les attitudes envers le risque, et en partie sur les biais comportementaux et les frictions des marchés», souligne l’Académie royale des Sciences de Suède.
Dans un rapport sur les finances publiques locales diffusé ce lundi, la Cour des compte émet plusieurs recommandations pour faciliter l’accès au crédit des collectivités locales. Elle propose entre autres d’adapter les exigences en matière d’information et de données des états financiers sur la dette, en les modulant selon le seuil démographique des collectivités et des établissements publics locaux concernés et en simplifiant ou en aménageant les états qui peuvent l’être eu égard à la nature des emprunts concernés. Cet effort passerait également par la mise en place de statistiques globales au niveau national, notamment en termes de maturité et d’exposition au risque de taux.
Le département américain de la Justice a ouvert une enquête préliminaire sur des soupçons de manipulation du marché des changes concernant en premier lieu le franc suisse mais il laisse l’initiative à l’Europe en la matière, a appris Reuters vendredi de source proche du dossier.
Les Etats-Unis devraient ravir l’an prochain à la Russie la place de premier producteur mondial de pétrole grâce à l’exploitation des schistes bitumineux, selon l’Agence internationale de l'énergie (AIE). La croissance de la production américaine va faire progresser en moyenne celle des Etats non-membres de l’Opep de 1,7 million de barils par jour en 2014, ce qui est sans précédent depuis les années 70.
Le taux de chômage au Canada a chuté de manière inattendue au mois de septembre pour tomber à 6,9%, soit son plus faible niveau depuis décembre 2008, après un niveau de 7,1% le mois précédent. Le nombre des créations d’emplois a néanmoins ralenti à 11.900 en septembre, après 59.200 en août.