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11/10/2013

Axiom AI sets on an integrated sales department

In order to strengthen its commercial policy, Axiom AI has announced the creation of its integrated Sales Department, to distribute its funds to client Independent Financial Adivisers, Family Offices, portfolio mangement companies and private banks, according to a statement released on 10 October. To this end, it is creating a team of experts, and appointing Bertrand Wojciechowski as Direcror, and Alexis Jarnoux as Head of Sales. Wojciechowski had previously been at Label Finance, a third-party marketer (TPM), in charge of sales and marketing development, from 2010 to 2013. He was responsbile for assisting independent asset management firms (Banque Transatlantique, Axiom-AI) to access the network of independent financial advisers (IFAs), banking-insurance platforms and mult-managers (private banking, family office, etc.) Jarnoux had previously been at Label Ifnance from February 2011 to August 2013, as representative in charge fo sale of funds form Transatlantique Gestion and Axiom AI to IFAs, family offices, portfolio management firms and private bankers.
11/10/2013

Legg Mason planning external growth in Asia

The US firm Legg Mason is planning to develop in Asia through external growth operations, Asian Investor reports. The head of Legg Mason, Joseph Sullivan, who recently completed the integration of Fauchier Partners into its affiliate Permal, is planning other transactions of this type in Asia, where in particular he hopes to increase the firm’s presence in China. Sullivan also says that he would not like to launch ETFs, except perhaps in the active ETF segment.
11/10/2013

French Riviera attracts ultra-high net worth individuals

According to the Candy GPS Report (see attachment), published on 10 October by Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM), Svills World Research and Candy & Candy, ultra-high net worth retail investors tend to choose the French Riviera as a priority for luxury homes. It is also in this region that five-bedroom villas are most expensive, with an average of USD28.5m. This type of property is worth USD24m in Monaco, and USD23m in Barbados.The CPS Report (for Global Prime Sector) finds that the increase in the number of ultra-high net worth individuals (UNHWI), which was 34% between 2009 and 2012, has driven up prices in luxury “enclaves,” and that a particuarly large number of Russian and Middle Eastern individuals are taking positions in this niche.
11/10/2013

S&P-DJ founds MOAN bond indices and sukuks

On 10 October, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the launch of the S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk Index, and its two sub-indices, S&P MENA Bond Index and S&P MENA Sukuk Index. The indices are subject to filtering for Sharia compliance. The main index includes a universe of bonds denominated in US dollars, to replicate the performance of bonds and Islamic fixed-income securities (sukuks) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), issued by companies based in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuweit, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
11/10/2013

Four PE investors in the running for Altamira

According to Expansión, there are only four candidates remaining to acquire the real estate affiliate of Santander, Altamira. The vendor has opened the data room to the private equity invetors Cerberus, Apollo, Centerbridge and Starwood.
11/10/2013

S&P Dow Jones Indices launches Islamic bond indices

The index provider S&P Dow Jones Indices on 10 Octoebr announced the launch of the S&P Mena Bond & Sukuk Index as ell as the two sub-indices, S&P Mena Bond Index and S&P Mena Sukuk Index. With the exception of the S&P Mena Bond Index, each index on offer is Sharia-compliant. The S&P Mena Bond & Sukuk Index covers a range of bonds which are denominated in US dollars, which aim to measure the performance of Islamic bonds (sukuks) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The index measures the performance of companies based in the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
11/10/2013

iShares signs an agreement with Italian post

iShares has signed a co-operation agreement with Poste Italiane to allow investors to purchaase iShares ETFs on the online platform BancoPosta, Bluerating reports. In addition, for 6 months, iShares ETFs listed in Milan may be traded without order receiving or sending commissions for acquisitions of at least EUR1,000. “Our agreement with Poste Italiane is strategic in the development of financial education and the promotion of knowledge of ETFs on the part of the retail public,” says Emanuele Mellingeri, head of iShares in Italy.
11/10/2013

ProShares releases "noble" ETF

ProShares, based in Bethesda, Maryland, on 10 October announcd the launch of the S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF, whose ticker on NYSE Arca is NOBL. According to the ETF provider, the fund invests in equities in highly “select” companies of the S&P 500 which have increased their dividends over at least 25 consecutive years. It is based on the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, which was launched in 2005, and which has since then outperformed the S&P 500 with lower volatility.The index is equally weighted, and currently covers 54 firms. The fund charges 0.35%.
11/10/2013

Hedge fund FX Concepts shuts down

FX Concepts, a hedge fund specialised in currencies, has announced that it will be winding down in the face of an environment if no longer understands, Les Echos reports. It has lost about 10% this year, after holding stable in 2012. It lost 19% the previous year. The hedge fund, founded in 1981, had over USD13bn in assets under management before the 2007 crisis. Since that peak, its assets have fallen off due to repeated negative performance of the hedge fund, which was largely based on models, and which now has 10 employees, down from 60 at its peak. The coffers of the fund are virtually empty, with barely USD600m. The firm may be acquired by another fund or a more generalist hedge fund.
11/10/2013

Pictet recruits for Portugal and Brazil

Tiago Forte Vaz, vice president responsible for advising at Espiritu Santo Bank Advisors (an affiliate of Espiritu Santo Bank Miami), has been recruited by Pictet Asset Management, according to Funds People.He becomes head of commercial development for the private banking unit at Pictet for Portugal and Brazil. He will report to Gonzalo Rengifo, CEO of Pictet AM for the Iberian peninsula and Latin America.Among his missions, Forte will be responsible for developing asset management for institutional investors, pension funds, banking networks, private banks, family offices, insurers and platforms.He replaces Amancio Pérez, who has been appointed as head of commercial development at the private bank for Brazil.
11/10/2013

Fidelity to launch ETFs under its own brand

Handelsblatt cites reports in Bloomberg that Abigail Johnson, chairman of Fidelity, has now decided that Fidelity will launch its own ETFs and ETF funds, in cooperation with BlackRock.
11/10/2013

Integration of Roche-Brune into Primonial a success

In nine months, since Roche-Brune was taken over by Primonial as part of a transaction announced a year ago, assets at the equity management firm have increased from EUR50m to EUR120m. About EUR20m of this increase is due to market appreciation, while EUR50m correspond to net subscriptions, half of which have been attracted by the Primonial network, and membership in the group has also helped Roche-Brune to win over 25 new institutional clients, Bruno Fine, founding chairman of Roche-Brune AM, tells Newsmanagers.The integration into the multi-boutique family has been a success since in the area of asset management, Primonial has five recognized expertises: in asset allocation (Primonial AM), equities (Roche-Brune), fixed income, with AltaRocca AM, quantitative, with Quanto, and private equity with Roche Brune (through an alliance with Apicil). This has allowed the emergence of a kind of cluster with 12 talented fund managers, and the companies can draw support from the resources of the Primonial group in sales and support.
11/10/2013

Fewer SWFs are invested in alternative assets

In the past 12 months, sovereign funds have reduced their exposure to alternative asset classes, Preqin notes in a study released on 10 October. The percentage of funds which are invested in private equity has decreased from 57% in 2012 to 45% in 2013, while funds investing in hedge funds have decreased from 38% to 31%. This decline in the percentage of sovereign funds investing in alternative assets is due to a rise in the number of funds in the past few months, as the new ones do not yet allocate assets to private equity or hedge funds in their first years of existence, Preqin notes. The appetite of sovereign funds for real estate and infrastructure remain stable, with 54% of funds exposed to real estate, and 57% to infrastructure. Private real estate has particularly attracted sovereign funds from the Middle East and North Africa region (81% of funds exposed), North America (80%) and Asia (75%).
11/10/2013

Regulations may cost European asset managers USD500m p.a.

The asset management sector in Europe may be facing total costs of EUR300m to EUR500m, or EUR220m to EUR360m per year, in the next three years, to meet new regulatory requirements, according to a study by BNY Mellon, in association with Ernst & Young.These additional costs will in the next three to five years result in a “conservative” increase of 3% in operating costs and a 2% increase in total expense ratio (TER), on the basis of a stabilisation of profits at their current levels.The study, entitled “The Impending Profitability Challenge for European fund Managers,” emphasizes the growing pressure on asset management firms which are facing rising costs of compliance and investors who are demanding ever less costly products.
11/10/2013

British government plans to compensate whistleblowers

The British authorities are planning to offer financial incentives to whistleblowers, Les Echos reports. The Home Office revealed that it is considering the move as it launches the National Crome Agency (NCA) this month. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), for its part, will launch a consultation in 2014. Under the Dodd-Frank law passed after the crisis, the US legislator has extended the practice, which is common in North America: it claims that some whistleblowers may get 10% to 30% of the sums recuperated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
11/10/2013

Swedish fund assets set a new record

As of the end of September, assets in funds on sale in Sweden totalled SEK2.324trn (EUR263bn), a level not previously recorded. Of this total, 55% are invested in equity funds. This comes after net inflows of SEK1.3bn (EUR0.15bn) in September. Inflows were driven by diversified and equity funds, which posted SEK4bn (EUR0.45bn) and SEK1.3bn (EUR0.15bn) in inflows, respectively.
11/10/2013

Change of managers at Fidelity

Teera Chanpongsang from Fidelity will be leaving the management of the OEIC Emerging Asia fund on 1 November, in order to take over the OEIC South-East Asia fund (GBP2.1bn), Investment Week reports. The OEIC Emerging Asia fund will now be managed by Dhananjay Phadnis, who manages the Fidelity Funds Indonesia and has been working at the firm since 2004.
11/10/2013

Skandia merges two US funds

Skandia will merge the Old Mutual US Large Cap Value fund, managed by Epoch, with Old Mutual Dividend, Fondbranschen reports. The firm will offer the Skandia USA fund, managed by Goldman Sachs, to investors instead.
11/10/2013

Low inflows in August to European funds

The European funds industry amassed net inflows of EUR3.5bn for August, which is lower than inflows for July (+EUR33.6bn), according to Lipper.Money market EUR was by far the most popular asset class for August (+EUR10.2bn of net inflows), followed by equities Europe (+EUR3.4bn) and asset allocation funds (+EUR3.2bn), as well as bond EUR shortterm funds (+EUR1.8bn). The shift toward money market and short-duration products in euros may indicate an increasing risk aversion of European investors, comments Lipper.Bond funds faced net outflows of EUR6.3bn. Nevertheless, this asset class remained the best selling asset class for 2013 year to date, with estimated net inflows of EUR91.2bn, out of EUR157.7bn.DeAWM was the best selling group of long-term funds for August, with net sales of EUR1.2bn, ahead of JP Morgan (+EUR0.8bn) and BlackRock (+EUR0.8bn).
11/10/2013

Citadel may close two funds

Citadel Investment Group, the hedge fund firm from Ken Griffin, is planning to close its two flagship funds to new investors, Financial News reports.
11/10/2013

FlexShares launches infrastructure equities ETF

After the announcement by Stoxx of the launch of a new global infrastructure sector equity index (see Newsmanagers of 10 October), FlexShares ETF, an affiliate of Northern Trust, officially announced the launch of the FlexShares Stoxx Global Broad Infrastructure Index Fund, which replicates the Stoxx Global Broad Infrastructure Index. The product, whose acronym is NFRA, will be listed on the NYSE Arca platform, and has a total expense ratio of 0.47%. It was founded on 10 August 2013.
11/10/2013

AXA IM offers new liability-driven investment solutions in UK

AXA Investment Managers on 10 October announced the launch of a range of pooled funds to meet the specific needs of pension funds, to cover their liabilities. The range of funds, which comes as an addition to the range of liability-driven investment (LDI) solutions, comes in three formulas (nominal, real and inflation only), each of which includes five offers with different maturities, in order to offer pension funds coverage solutions adapted to sensitivity and maturity. Programmes may hedge their sensitivity to interest rates and inflation in an approved, segregated manner, and liabilities may be covered with issues ranging from 10 to 50 years.
11/10/2013

ABN Amro organizes multi-management

The Luxembourg Sicav ABN Amro Mutli-Manager Funds now includes 45 subfunds, which are primarily funds of mandates and funds of funds selected by AAAdvisors, an affiliate based in Paris and Amsterdam, and managed by the French firm Neuflize OBC Investissements, Fonds Nieuws reports.The funds concerned, some of which (formerly from Fortis and ABN Amro AM) are still officially run by BNP Paribas, include equity and bond, absolute return, diversified, target date and profiled products for insurance policies.
11/10/2013

Azimut completes acquisition of Legan in Brazil

The Italian asset management firm Azimut has completed its acquisition of 50% of the Brazilian Legan Administração de Recursos via AZ Brazil Holdings, a Brazilian-registered holding company founded by AZ International Holdings, to acquire strategic stakes in the region. Legan is an asset management firm specialised in low-volatility strategies, which as of 4 October had the equivalent of EUR172m in assets under management, 19% more than as of 6 September, the date that the agreement was announced. The operation will include an acquisition from the founding partners, for about EUR3.3m, and subscription to a capital increase for a value of about EUR2.3m, in order to finance the business plan. The agreement also lays out purchase and sale options, and an engagement as part of the sale by the management of Legan to work with Azimut to make the activity prosper in Brazil over the long term. With the acquisition, the Italian Azimut becomes more international. The independent firm is already present in Luxembourg, Ireland, China, Monaco, Switzerland, Turkey and Taiwan.
11/10/2013

Record increase in assets for SWFs

Assets under management by sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) worldwide increased by EUR750bn in the past 12 months, from USD4.620trn to USD5.380trn, according to statistics from Preqin. This annual increase is the largest ever retorded by the data provider since 2007, the year in which the first study on the subject was published. The reasons for this significant growth in assets is partly the creation of new SWFs in the past few months, and partly an injection of fresh capital into existing funds, Preqin notes. Since 2008, 15 new SWFs have been created, of which 8 were in the past two years alone.In detail, Asian SWFs have seen the strongest growth in their assets since 2012, at 19%, compared with growth of 6% for thier Middle Eastern counterparts.Worldwide, the largest SWF remains the Norwegian Government Pension Fund – Global, with USD775.2bn in assets, up by USD185bn since 2012.
11/10/2013

L'AFT adjugera de la dette indexée le 17 octobre

L’Agence France Trésor annonce vendredi l’adjudication, le jeudi 17 octobre, d’un montant compris entre 6,0 et 7,0 milliards d’euros d’obligations assimilables du Trésor (OAT) de maturité moyenne (ex-BTAN). Elle adjugera le même jour entre 1,0 et 1,5 milliard d’euros d’obligations indexées sur l’inflation française (OATi) et sur l’inflation de la zone euro (OATei), une opération qui portera sur les lignes OATi 2,10% juillet 2023, OATei 1,85% juillet 2027 et OATei 1,80% juillet 2040.
11/10/2013

La Grèce révise en hausse son déficit 2012

Le déficit budgétaire de la Grèce a finalement représenté 6,2% du produit intérieur brut en 2012, une proportion supérieure aux 6% estimés initialement, a annoncé vendredi l’agence statistique du pays, Elstat. Ce taux ne prend pas en compte l’aide publique apportée au banques à la suite de la restructuration de la dette grecque. Malgré cette révision à la hausse, le déficit reste inférieur aux 6,6% visés l’année dernière par le gouvernement.
11/10/2013

Commerzbank vend ses premières covered bonds

Commerzbank, qui a placé jeudi 500 millions d’euros de covered bonds inaugurales à 7 ans, a vendu 59% des titres auprès d’investisseurs domestiques. Deutsche Bank, Natixis et UniCredit ont dirigé l’opération aux côtés de la deuxième banque allemande.
11/10/2013

Le PIB chinois tient l'objectif officiel

Le Premier ministre chinois Li Keqiang a déclaré que la croissance du PIB du pays devrait être supérieure à 7,5% sur les 9 premiers mois de l’année. Pékin doit publier vendredi 18 octobre les chiffres de son économie au troisième trimestre. Les analystes anticipent un PIB en hausse de 7,8% en rythme annuel.

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