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13/12/2011

Positive end to the year for hedge funds

Hedge funds are expected to finish the year 2011 on a positive note. The Globe Op Capital Movement Index of hedge funds for December 2011 shows 141.01 points, 1.55 points more than in November. Growth is due to gains of 3.41% in assets under administration for clients of GlobeOP for subscriptions, and an increase in 1.86% in redemptions. In the past twelve months, the index has gained 14.40 points.
13/12/2011

UMR Corem preparing a cross-border Belgian pension financing organism

Charles Vacquier, CEO, has told IPE that the French firm UMR Corem is planning to create a Belgian-registered pension financing organism (OFP) by the end of first half 2012, which would be a cross-border entity for defined contributions. The product could be operational by 1 July next year.IPE says the plans represent a victory for the Belgian retirement sector, which for years has been seeking to attract foreign actors for cross-border activities, at a time when France has not yet brought itself into compliance with the 2003 professional retirement institutions (IORP) directive, which requires that second-pillar support entities such as UMR Corem comply with Solvency II regulations.The OFP entity, which will have initial capital of EUR3m, and will be managed in Nantes, will sign an agreement with UMR which would allow the firm to transfer second-pillar pension assets to it.UMR Corem will also seek external clients for the OFP fund, initially from firms located in the euro zone.
13/12/2011

Legg Mason launches Brandywine fund in United Kingdom

Legg Mason Asset Management has launched its Brandywine Global Opportunistic Fixed Income fund, with USD34bn in assets, in the UK, Investment Week reports. The fund had originally been launched in June 2010 to a limited number of investors for a trial period. It has now been added to the Irish range LMGF.
13/12/2011

Axa announces results of “Shareplan 2011”

More than 26,000 people at AXA, representing more than 23% of staff concerned, have signed up for “Shareplan 2011,” the 2011 employee shareholding plan, announced by the insurer on 23 August.Total subscriptions come to over EUR332m, corresponding to the issue of nearly 37 million new shares, subscribed to at a price of EUR8.43 per share for the traditional offering, and EUR9.10 for leveraged shares. The new shares are eligible for dividends from 1 January 2011, a statement says.At the conclusion of this year’s campaign, employees at AXA control about 7.4% of its capital and 8% of voting rights.
13/12/2011

CalPERS renews real estate consulting contract

The Californian pension fund CalPERS on 12 December announced that it has renewed its real estate consulting contract with the Pension Consulting Alliance (PCA), whose mandate was expiring. As of 30 September 2011, the value of the real estate portfolio of CalPERS totalled USd19.1bn, up 26% compared with the first nine months of the previous year.
13/12/2011

Asian mutual fund assets still on the rise

Assets in Asian mutual funds have fallen 3% for Asia ex Japan in first half 2011, to USD1trn, due to mediocre market performance and net outflows in the two largest markets, China and Korea, according to an annual report from Cerulli on distribution trends in Asia (“Asian Distribution Dynamics 2011.”) Assets under management fell by 7.9% in China and 6.6% in Korea, while the other markets in Asia ex Japan had growth of greater or lesser amounts. Cerulli estimates that assets may increase to USD1.1trn by the end of the year.The research agency finds that the fundamental trend is headed upwards. In the past four years, to 2010, assets in funds in the region, including China, Korea, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, have posted average annual growth of 13.9%. Assets in Chinese funds have showsn the highest growth, at 29.4%, followed by India (17.6%). According to Cerulli, the trend is likely to continue until 2015 at a more modest annual pace of 11.2%, meaning that assets under management will total about USD1.8trn by 2015.
13/12/2011

BlackRock, Rogge and Mellon to manage Chilean pension fund assets

With the assistance of the consultant Strategic Investment Solutions and the finance ministry, the central bank of Chile has selected BlackRock and Rogge Global Partners to manage the assets of the corporate bond allocation from the nation’s pension reserve fund, while Mellon Capital Management and BlackRock have been granted the equities mandate, Funds People reports.The Fund managers USD4.49bn in assets, of which 20% will be invested in corporate bonds, and 15% in international equities.The transfer of assets will take place in the period from 1 March 2012 to 28 February 2013.
13/12/2011

Morningstar modernises classification of FI funds

Morningstar will now apply a new sectoral classification system to the fixed income fund universe, with six “super-sectors” (Government, Municipal, Corporate, Securitized, Cash & Equivalents and Derivatives), up from four categories previously, with 17 primary sectors (up from 13), which in turn are subdivided into 72 secondary sectors. The system used previously had consisted of two “tiers.”The objective with the change is to provide a more detailed picture of the strategy and investments of each fund. The new system will also take into account international bond funds and emerging markets.
13/12/2011

ETF assets increase less rapidly than expected in 2011

ETF assets are projected to have increased by less than 5% by the end of this year, rather than the previously expected 5-10%, due to the debt crises and controversy over synthetic replication products, Deutsche Bank reports. The bank states that increases in assets under management totalled only 3.5% in January-November, Handelsblatt reports.The slower pace of growth is noticeable particularly in Europe, where net subscriptions fell back to EUR17.6bn in the first eleven months of the year, compared with EUR30.6bn in the corresponding period of last year. In Asia, net subscriptions totalled USd18.7bn, compared with USD10.7bn.
13/12/2011

Two new ETNs from PowerShares

PowerShares has recently launched two new ETNs, Mutual Fund Wire reports. The funds, entitled PowerShares DB U.S. Inflation ETN and DB U.S. Deflation ETN, track the difference between inflation-linked Treasury bonds (TIPS) and Treasury bonds with the same durations.
13/12/2011

Axa IM releases Framlington Global High Income fund in Germany

On 12 December, Axa Investment Managers Germany announced that the UCITS-compliant fund AXA WF Framlington Global High Income (see Newsmanagers of 25 October) has received a sales license for Germany from BaFin. It has also been licensed for sale in Austria.The product aims for 1.5 to 2.5 times the return in dividends from the MSCI AC World index. Minimal subscription is set at EUR5m for institutional investors. There is no minimal investment for retail clients.
13/12/2011

DWS to liquidate a real estate FoF

The db Immoflex fund (DE000DWS0N90) will be liquidated on 16 November 2012, DWS (Deutsche Bank group) has announced, according to Das Investment. The fund, which suspended redemptions on 16 May, is invested in nine open-ended real estate funds, whose redemptions have been frozen, five of which are in the liquidation process.As of 30 November, liquidity in the fund was limited to 10.3%, which is insufficient for redemptions to be reopened.Fees of 0.9% per year have been lowered to 0.1%.
13/12/2011

FSA publishes report on RBS bankruptcy

The British Financial Services Authority (FSA) on 12 December published its report on the bankruptcy of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The report claims that the bankruptct may be explained as the result of six factors: the “significant” weakness of owners’ equity at the bank, as a result of management decisions and an inappropriate regulatory framework, excessive dependence on short-term financing, concerns about the quality of underlying assets of RBS, substantial losses in credit trading activities, the acquisition of ABN Amro, undertaken without the necessary precautions, and lastly, a general systemic crisis. The FSA also admits its own lack of rigour and errors of judgement in the case.
13/12/2011

Hans-Jürgen Gutenberger to leave Deka at the end of June

Hans-Jürgen Gutenberger has announced that he will be exercising a clause in his contract which allows him to set his own retirement date, and will be leaving his job on 30 June 2012 as a managing board member at Deka in charge of distribution via savings banks, marketing, and treasury. He will be celebrating his 60th birthday next year, and has been a member of the board at Deka since 1 January 2000.A successor to Gutenberger has not yet been appointed.
13/12/2011

Aquila Capital recruits for Nordics distribution

Oldrik Verloop, who had been head of marketing strategy for institutional clients in Benelux and Scandinavia at the Swiss firm Wegelin, has been recruited by Aquila Capital (EUR3.4bn in assets) as director of sales for Benelux and Scandinavia. He will be in charge of distribution activities in northern Europe, excluding Germany.
13/12/2011

Lyxor launches first double short ETF of Ibex 35

Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) on 12 December announced that it has admitted the first inverse ETF with leverage of 2 based on the Ibex 35 index to trading. The fund is the Lyxor ETF Ibex 35 Doble Inverso Diario, issued by Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale group). The product replicates the inverse of the daily evolution of the Ibex 35 index (2x), with dividends reinvested.The product is registered in France (FR0011042753) and charges fees of 0.40%. It becomes the 67th ETF listed in Madrid.
13/12/2011

Swedish investors turn to balanced funds

In November, balanced funds were the only category of funds to have recorded net inflows in Sweden. They have posted net inflows of SEK7.6bn, or EUR0.84bn, according to the most recent statistics from Fondbolagens Förening, the Swedish investment fund association. This comes despite the fact that the industry for funds on sale in Sweden has seen net outflows of SEK3.4bn (EUR0.37bn), driven by outflows of SEK9bn from equity funds (nearly EUR1bn). Since the beginning of the year, the balanced fund category has recorded inflows of SEK20.1bn, or EUR2.22bn, while the industry for funds on sale in Sweden has seen outflows of SEK7.7bn (EUR0.85bn). These outflows are entirely due to equity funds, which have seen redemption demands of SEK69.2bn, or EUR7.65bn. In addition to balanced funds, the other popular category since the beginning of 2011 has been money market funds, which have seen inflows of SEK34.8bn (EUR3.84bn). As of the end of November, assets in the sector totalled SEK1.782trn, or about EUR197bn, of which 52% remain in equity funds, Balanced funds, for their part, represent SEK380bn, or EUR42bn. Since the beginning of the year, assets have fallen by SEK182bn (EUR20bn).
13/12/2011

Lombard Odier IM recruits ING CIO

On Monday, Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM, CHF33.7bn in assets as of the end of September) announced that it has recruited Jan Straatman as chief investment officer (CIO). It is a newly-created position.Straatman will be based in London, will begin in his new role on 1 March 2012, and will report to Hubert Keller, managing partner at Lombard Odier and co-head of LOIM with Thierry Lombard.For two years, Straatman had been CEO and CIO of Pearl Group in London; from 2001 to 2006 he was CIO for capital markets at the Dutch pension fund ABP Investments.Mark Weber, currently a member of the managing committee at ING IM United States, will replace Straatman as CIO of ING, and will take on responsibility for Europe and Asia.
13/12/2011

LDE acquires FTSE International from Pearson

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Monday announced that it has signed an agreement with the Pearson group to acquire its 50% stake in FTSE International. The transaction, which is valued at GBP450m (EUR527m), will be completed in first quarter 2012, and will make LSE the sole proprietor of the index provider, in which it had already controlled the other half.
13/12/2011

Friends Life recruits from LV=AM

The insurance firm Friends Life has recruited the bond specialist team from LV=Asset Management, to direct strategies for this asset class, at a new entity dedicated to asset management, Friends Life Investments, which will be launched next year, Investment Week reports. Michael Wright, previously head of bonds at LV=AM, becomes director for fixed income. In this role, he will be in charge of asset allocation and direct management of government bond strategies. John Hampton will continue to handle the corporate bond portfolios as head of credit. He will oversee all institutional corporate portfolios, under the direction of Wright. Purna Bhudia and Nigel Bradshaw, who had previously worked with Hampton, will continue in their roles at Friends Life Investments as corporate bond fund managers.
13/12/2011

Vanguard lists funds on Standard Life platform

Standard Life has added 12 of Vanguard’s core index funds to its pensions platform. The new funds will be available to both retail and corporate clients.The funds, which include both bond and equity index funds, will be available on the platform from 16 December 2011, with the exception of the SL Vanguard US Equity Pension Fund which will become available from the end of January 2012.Tom Rampulla, managing director at Vanguard UK comments: «Standard Life will be the first defined contribution (DC) platform in the UK to offer Vanguard funds».
13/12/2011
Gestion d'actifs

Le GIE AGIRC-ARRCO porte de l'intérêt pour les ETF principalement pour les fonds tactiques

Lors d’un débat organisé par Ossiam, Philippe Goubeault (Directeur financier du GIE Agirc-Arrco) a été interrogé sur l’usage des ETF en tant qu’investisseur institutionnel. Ce sont des véhicules que la réglementation de l’Agirc-Arrco permet d’utiliser tant que les actifs sous jacents sont éligibles. Les ETF représentent, pour l’institution, un intérêt dans les fonds tactiques mais le poids de ces véhicules est tout de même faible dans son portefeuille. L’institution en possède 10% (2/3 sont des OPCVM de droits étrangers et 1/3 de droit Français).
Gestion d'actifs
13/12/2011

Stricter regulations on the way for Australian hedge funds

The Australian market authority (ASIC) will publish recommendations for hedge fund regulations in early 2012, Investor Daily reports. Following the publication of a consultation document in February this year, Australian hedge funds in the international investment management association (AIMA) entered into dialogue with ASIC, and agreed that there is a need to introduce some rules to better assist investors who would like to invest in alternative strategies. Issues of low liquidity and complex strategy need to be treated with much more precision in the informational documents, to ensure that investors fully understand what they are in for, and what problems they run a danger of encountering if there is trouble on the markets. Hedge funds based in Australia have about AUD50bn in assets under management.
13/12/2011

Pioneer offers a multi-asset class fund

With the new Multi Asset Real Return sub-fund from Pioneer Funds, Pioneer on 17 November created a European mirror of a US product, with USD227.2m in assets, managed by the same team, including Michele Garau assisted by Kenneth Taubes, head of investment management US, and Howard Weis as associate portfolio manager, Citywire reports. Conviction-based bets are hedged with small exposures to asset classes with low correlation.
13/12/2011
Fonds

Ralentissement de la décollecte en Europe

Les fonds coordonnés ont continué d’enregistrer des rachats au mois d’octobre, liés à la décollecte des fonds Ucits à long terme et des fonds monétaires. Le mois s’est terminé sur une décollecte nette de 30 milliards d’euros contre 49 milliards d’euros en septembre, selon les statistiques communiquées par l’Association européenne de la gestion financière (Efama).Un ralentissement de la décollecte que l’on retrouve sur à peu près toutes les classes d’actifs. Les fonds Ucits à long terme, c’est-à-dire hors fonds monétaires, ont ainsi enregistré en octobre une décollecte de 19 milliards d’euros contre 37 milliards d’euros en septembre et 55 milliards d’euros en août. Même tendance sur les fonds d’actions avec une décollecte divisée par deux en octobre à 8 milliards d’euros contre 17 milliards d’euros en septembre (et 27 milliards en août). Les fonds obligataires ont terminé le mois sous revue sur une décollecte nette de 5 milliards d’euros contre 12 milliards d’euros en septembre. Les fonds diversifiés ont subi une décollecte de 5 milliards d’euros contre 10 milliards d’euros précédemment. Les fonds monétaires ont pour leur part subi une décollecte nette de 10 milliards d’euros, contre 12 milliards en septembre, les banques continuant de faire concurrence aux fonds monétaires pour attirer les investisseurs sur les comptes de dépôts. Les actifs totaux des fonds coordonnés s'établissait fin octobre à 5.487 milliards d’euros, en progression de 2,2% grâce au rebond des marchés. Du côté des fonds non coordonnés, la hausse atteint 1% à 2.130 milliards d’euros.
Fonds
13/12/2011

GE Capital Real Estate lance Gateway et vise l'immobilier de bureaux

GE Capital Real Estate a levé 400 millions d’euros auprès d’investisseurs tiers, rapporte L’Agefi, pour constituer un nouveau véhicule baptisé «Gateway» destiné à investir dans l’immobilier de bureaux à Londres, Paris, Berlin, Hambourg, Francfort, et Munich.La taille totale de la base d’actifs devrait atteindre un milliard d’euros avec une période d’investissement de deux ans, pouvant être prolongée d’une année, précise le quotidien.
13/12/2011

BlackRock, Rogge et Mellon géreront le fonds de réserve chilien

Avec l’aide du consultant Strategic Investment Solutions et du ministère des Finances, la Banque centrale du Chili a sélectionné BlackRock et Rogge Global Partners pour gérer les actifs du Fonds de réserve pour les retraites en obligations d’entreprises tandis que Mellon Capital Management et BlackRock obtiennent le mandat actions, rapporte Funds People.Le Fonds gère 4,49 milliards de dollars dont 20 % seront investis en obligations d’entreprises et 15 % en actions internationales.Le transfert des actifs aura lieu durant la période allant du 1er mars 2012 au 28 février 2013.
13/12/2011
Fonds

Credit Suisse retarde la reprise des rachats du CS Euroreal

Le fonds immobilier offert au public CS Euroreal* (6,2 milliards d’euros d’encours fin octobre) ne reprendra pas ses remboursements avant le 31 décembre 2011, comme l’a longtemps laissé entendre Credit Suisse Asset Management Immobilien : à présent, le gestionnaire vise une réouverture du guichet des rachats avant la date butoir des deux ans de gel des remboursements (18 mai 2012), bien que la liquidité soit remontée à 25 % de l’encours, avec 1,25 milliard d’euros au 9 décembre, précise le «Market Update» de décembre 2011.CSAM souligne qu’en raison de la liquidation de fonds immobiliers par deux concurrents et des incertitudes liées à la crise de la dette en zone euro, il a opté pour une gestion conservatrice et souhaite se constituer un matelas de liquidités supplémentaire. Des pourparlers sont en cours au sujet de la cession d’immeubles pour un total de 850 millions d’euros.* code Isin : DE0009805002
Fonds
13/12/2011

Aquila Capital renforce sa distribution nordique

Oldrik Verloop, qui était responsable de la stratégie marketing auprès des institutionnels du suisse Wegelin pour le Benelux et la Scandinavie, a été recruté par Aquila Capital (3,4 milliards d’euros d’encours) comme director sales Benelux & Scandinavia. Il sera donc chargé des activités de distribution dans Nord de l’Europe, hors Allemagne.
13/12/2011
Fonds

Pioneer propose un fonds multi-classes d'actifs

Avec le nouveau compartiment Multi Asset Real Return de Pioneer Funds, Pioneer a créé le 17 novembre un produit miroir européen de son fonds américain de 227,2 millions de dollars géré par la même équipe, à savoir Michele Garau assisté de Kenneth Taubes, head of investment management US, et Howard Weis comme associate portfolio manager, indique Citywire.Les paris de forte conviction seront couverts par de petites expositions à des classes d’actifs à faible corrélation.
Fonds

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