Début décembre, alors que la crise de la dette dans la zone euro continue de faire la une de la presse, les investisseurs ont confirmé leur préférence pour les fonds américains sur fond de signaux timides mais positifs sur l’évolution de l’environnement macroéconomique aux Etats-Unis. Durant la semaine au 7 décembre, les fonds dédiés aux actions américaines ont ainsi enregistré leur septième semaine de collecte nette sur les neuf dernières semaines et les fonds d’obligations américaines high yield ont réalisé une collecte nette de plus de 2 milliards de dollars, selon les données communiquées par EPFR Global.Globalement, les fonds d’actions ont subi une décollecte nette de 481 millions de dollars alors que les fonds obligataires affichent une collecte nette de 1,4 milliard de dollars. Les fonds monétaires ont drainé 36,4 milliards de dollars, enregistrant ainsi leur cinquième semaine consécutive de collecte. Une partie de ces flux serait lié à la liquidation par certains grands fonds monétaires américains de leurs avoirs dans les banques européennes. EPFR Global relève que les fonds d’actions mettant l’accent sur le dividende ont enregistré depuis le début de l’année une collecte nette de plus de 35 milliards de dollars. Les fonds d’actions dédiés aux marchés émergents accusent depuis le début de l’année une décollecte nette de quelque 36 milliards de dollars alors que les fonds d’actions dédiés aux pays développés affichent une collecte nette de 79,9 milliards de dollars contre 77,1 milliards de dollars pour la période correspondante de 2010.

Selon le dernier baromètre de Coller Capital, les investisseurs (limited partners, ou «LP») qui confient leurs liquidités aux gérants de fonds de private equity demeurent encore confiants pour 2012.D’après cette étude, menée en août et en septembre auprès de 107 investisseurs, 83% d’entre eux ont l’intention de maintenir ou d’accroître leur allocation à cette classe d’actifs en 2012, une proportion «similaire aux intentions exprimées les années passées», précise le baromètre. Parmi eux, 24% comptent augmenter leur exposition. En outre, 68% des LP nord-américains et 56% de leurs homologues européens estiment que l’année prochaine sera un bon, voire un excellent millésime.L'étude souligne néanmoins que les investisseurs vont poursuivre le sérieux écrémage qu’ils ont entamé il y a deux ans. Selon le baromètre, 93% des LP disent qu’ils refuseront des «re-ups» à plusieurs gérants dans les 18 mois qui viennent, c’est-à-dire de leur confier de l’argent lorsque ceux-ci viendront les solliciter pour les fonds de la génération suivante.

Guy d’Albrand, ex Société Générale et Newedge, a été nommé head of securities lending chez RBC Dexia Investor Services, qui a également présenté son nouveau business model mondial MPS (Market Products & Services). Le nouvel arrivant prendra ses fonctions à Londres en janvier 2012. Il sera subordonné à Susan Pike, global head, MPS.D’autre part, Morgan McDonnell, head of foreign exchange, prendra les nouvelles fonctions de head of global foreign exchange, cash & credit markets, Il coiffera le nouvel ensemble résultant de la fusion des équipes de gestion de produits et de développement du pôle forex et cash & investment finance (IF).Dans ce contexte, Susan Coleman, qui était head, cash & IF product management, devient head of cross-product initiatives, poste auquel elle sera responsable de la stratégie transversale (cross-product) de gestion du collatéral pour la division MPS.Fay Coroneos, qui était head of risk & investment analytics, devient head of MPS service delivery, l'équipe qui centralise toutes les fonctions de livraison.Enfin, Blair McPherson, actuellement head of portfolio solutions, a été nommé head of market product innovation.

Lancé le 15 novembre 2011, le fonds de droit français EdR Millésima 2016 a été enregistré le 25 novembre par la CNMV pour la vente en Espagne. Ce fonds à échéance (31 octobre 2016) s’appuie sur des stratégies de portage en obligations senior industrielles et financières. Les titres à haut rendement ne peuvent excéder 35 % du portefeuille. Enfin, la souscription est ouverte jusqu’au 29 février 2012 (lire Newsmanagers du 14 novembre), la commercialisation étant assurée par Allfunds Bank et Banco Inversis.

Le conseil de surveillance de Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS) a décidé vendredi la vente des activités civiles du chantier naval Blohm+Voss au capital-investisseur britannique Star Capital, selon les informations de la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. La transaction porterait sur un montant à deux chiffres en millions d’euros.Les activités cédées, construction, réparation et mécanique, emploient 1.500 personnes et réalisent un chiffre d’affaires de 500 millions d’euros.

Géré par Thomas Gerhardt, le nouveau patron de l'équipe marchés émergents, et David Gaud, gérant actions asiatiques, le fonds Asia Leaders d’Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM) est désormais distribuable en Allemagne. Ce produit a été lancé le 26 octobre (lire Newsmanagers du 14 novembre).Au 31 octobre, EDRAM affichait un encours de 13,1 milliards d’euros contre 14 milliards fin 2010.

Global X Funds annonce le lancement d’un ETF sur la Grèce, selon lui le premier de ce genre. Coté sur le New York Stock Exchange, le Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF permet de s’exposer à l’indice FTSE/ATHEX 20 Capped composé des 20 plus importantes valeurs de la Bourse d’Athènes. Après un pic à 220 milliards de dollars, la capitalisation totale du Athens Stock Exchange a plongé de près de 90 % à 28 milliards en novembre 2011.

According to the most recent survey from Coller Capital, limited partners (LP) who have invested their assets with private equity funds remain confident for 2012.According to the study, undertaken in August and September, which covered 107 investors, 83% are planning to maintain or increase their allocation to the asset class in 2012, a percentage “similar to the intentions expressed in past years.” 24% of respondents are planning to increase their exposure. 68% of North American LPs and 56% of their European counterparts estimate that next year will be a good or excellent year.The study also finds that investors are planning to continue the skimming that they began two years ago. The study finds that 93% of LPs say they will refuse several managers «re-ups» in the next 18 months, meaning that they will not pledge them money for subsequent generations of a fund when requested.

The HFR composite weighted index of hedge funds in November has posted a loss of 0.92%, bringing losses since the beginning of the year to more than 4%, while the BarclayHedge index, which covers 1,034 funds that have submitted results as of 9 December, shows losses of 0.94%, and losses of 4.59% in the first eleven months of the year. The BarclayHedge index of (104) UCITS-compliant hedge funds lost 1.64% last month, and 8.20% in the first eleven months of the year.For hedge funds overall, only three strategies out of 17 show gains in November: 0.32% for equity market neutral; 0.07% for health/biotech, and 0.57% for merger arbitrage.In the first eleven months of the year, the heaviest losses have been for emerging markets, at 11.37%, followed by equity long bias (-8.56%). The two best-performing strategies were fixed income arbitrage, at 3.94%, and equity short bias (+3.40%).Among UCITS-compliant hedge funds, the heaviest losses in January-November were for the 12 emerging markets products, with 15.33%, and for 13 equity long bias funds, at 11.76%.

Of USD26.67bn in net inflows in January-November to European ETP products (ETF, ETC, and ETN), iShares (BlackRock) has accounted for EUR17.8bn, or two thirds. With EUR104.6bn in assets as of 30 November, the asset management firm has a market share of 33.9%, or 1.7 percentage points more than at the end of 2010.According to the most recent issue of the «ETF Landscape» newsletter from BlackRock, the second-best in terms of net subscriptions in the first eleven months of the year has been UBS Global Asset Management, with USD4.8bn in subscriptions, and assets as of the end of November of USD13.8bn. It is followed by Amundi ETF (USD2.6bn in net subscriptions and USD8.5bn in assets), Source Markets (USD2.5bn and USD7.6bn), and Credit Suisse Asset Management (USD2.3bn and USD16.2bn).db x-trackers/db ETC (Deutsche Bank) had net outflows of USD1.1bn in November, limiting net subscriptions in the first eleven months of the yar to USD1.8bn. Its assets totalled USD44.8bn as of 30 November, and its market share has fallen by one point since the beginning of 3011, to 14.5%. Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale), with USD36.6bn as of the end of November, has seen a contraction of USD15.8bn in its assets under management from January-November, of which USD8.4bn were due to net redemptions. Its market share has fallen 4.7 percentage points, to 11.9%.

The financial ratings agency Moody’s on 12 December confirmed that it will be reevaluating its sovereign debt ratings for euro zone and European Union countries, in first quarter 2012, due to the lack of decisive action at the European summit last week. The lack of measures to staibilize the markets in the short term is a sign that the euro zone, and the European Union more broadly, continues to run the risk of more shocks, and the cohesion of the euro zone continues to be in danger, the agency explains in a statement.

The Dutch pension fund ABP (EUR240bn in assets) has filed suit against the investment bank JP Morgan Chase over losses on MBS investments, IPE.com reports. According to a spokesman for the bank, the firm alleged to the fund that CDOs were less risky than they actually were.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Schroder Investment Management’s (Schroders) ‘M1' Asset Manager rating. The rating covers the company’s London-based investment activities with the exception of the alternative asset management business. Asset manager operations in the ‘M1' category demonstrate the lowest vulnerability to operational and investment management failure. According to the ratings agency, Schroders’ key strengths reside in its global, diversified, long-established franchise and a solid risk management framework. Disciplined, research-driven investment processes across asset classes and a robust operational infrastructure also differentiate Schroders from peers.

63 percent of pension executives now employ an LDI investment approach – more than triple that of 2007 (20 percent), according to a new survey by SEI*.In terms of asset allocation, long-duration bonds continue to be a popular strategy (74 percent in 2011), as bonds and liability values are similarly sensitive to interest rates. Short-duration cash management is also commonly used with 40 percent of respondents using it this year. Newer LDI products, such as emerging market debt (37 percent), continue to grow in popularity, but investments in interest-rate derivatives remained low again this year (26 percent).*The global poll was conducted by SEI’s Pension Management Research Panel and included 100 pension executives from the United States, Canada, Netherlands, and United Kingdom.

Guy d’Albrand, formerly of Société Générale and Newedge, has been appointed as head of securities lending at RBC Dexia Investor Services, which has also unveiled its new global Market Products & Services (MPS) business model. D’Albrand will begin in his new role in London in 2012. He will report to Susan Pike, global head, MPS.Meanwhile, Morgan McDonnell, head of foreign exchange, will assume the newly-created position of head of global foreign exchange, cash & credit markets. He will be in charge of the new grouping resulting from the merger of the product management and development teams of the forex and cash & investment finance (IF) unit.Susan Coleman, who had been head, cash & IF product management, becomes head of cross-product initiatives, a position in which she will be in charge of cross-product and collateral management strategy for the MPS division.Fay Coroneos, who had been head of risk & investment analytics, becomes head of MPS service delivery, the team which handles all delivery functions.Blair McPherson, currently head of portfolio solutions, has been appointed as head of market product innovation.

After insurers, pension funds are the largest investors in German institutional funds (Spezialfonds). Complementary retirement schemes, retirement funds and pension funds as of the end of October held nearly EUR138bn in assets of this type, the BVI association of asset management firms reports. Since 2004 (EUR49.4bn) these assets have nearly tripled.

The supervisory board at Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS) on Friday decided to sell the civil operations of the Blohm+Voss shipyards o the British private equity firm Star Capital, according to reports in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The sale is reported to have been for a double-digit amount in millions of euros.The activities sold include construction, repair and engineering, with 1,500 employees and a turrnover of EUR500m.

It may become illegal for asset management firms owned by US banks to manage money for European or Asian investors, according to one interpretation of the Volcker rule, Financial Times Fund Management reports. According to the current version of the bill, US mutual funds regulated by the Investment Company Act of 1940 are exempt from the Volcker rule, which means that asset management firms owned by banks may continue to offer these services without restrictions. But there are no exemptions for European UCITS funds or Japanese trusts.

Agefi relays reports by the news agency Reuters that China is planning to create another investment vehicle, which will aim to provide it with higher returns than its traditional investments. The vehicle will be controlled by the central bank, and will manage two funds, one of which will invest in the United States, and the other in Europe, with combined total assets of USD300bn. The new Chinese sovereign fund will have to outperform the CIC. Since its inception four years ago, the CIC fund has earned average annual returns of 6.4%.

“Our forecasting model is currently as bearish as it was at the start of autumn 2008, in spite of the optimism that spread through markets in October,” says Hans-Olov Bornemann, head of the quantitative team at the Swedish bank SEB and manager of SEB Asset Selection, a managed futures fund. “The problem in Europe is that it has been borrowing money for 30 years, and hasn’t been using that money to invest, but to spend. This problem applies to governments as well as to individuals,” says Bornemann in an interview with Newsmanagers. There is no easy fix to combat the perverse effects of this “addiction to consumption,” and whatever the solution is, it will be painful. According to the head of quantitative management at SEB, the only way to get out of the cycle is to confront reality and to attack the debts. The second major problem to sort out is the lack of competitiveness of some countries, such as Italy and Spain. The solution will need to involve considerable budgetary cutbacks and a clearing-out of the balance sheets of financial institutions, which will have an impact on demand and corporate profits, and means that we can look forward to several difficult years. But for Bornemann and his SEB Asset Selection fund, it’s not that important whether the markets are rising or falling when there is a clear underlying trend. His fund seeks to earn returns both long and short, via derivative instruments based on four asset classes (equities, bonds, currencies and commodities). SEB Asset Selection continues to be positioned for a negative equity market development, a positive bond market development, an appreciation of safe haven currencies such as the USD & JPY and a declining commodity market. SEB Asset Selection, launched in October 2006 by the quantitative management team at the Swedish bank, now represents assets of about EUR1.5bn.

Ahead Wealth Solutions AG has announced that it has become the first local asset management firm to have been issued a license under UCITS standards from the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority (FMA), concluding an application process of several months and a reorganisation to meet the requirements of the authority.Ahead may now create and administer investment funds in the 30 countries of the European Economic Area (EEA), where its previous license had limited it to Liechtenstein. In addition, compliance with the European directive allows the firm to sell its funds to retail investors in all EEA countries without seeking local licenses.As part of the move to European standards, the managing board at Ahead has been enlarged from two to four members, CEO Wolfgang Mayer says.

The French-registered fund EdR Millésima 2016, launched by Edmond de Rothschilid Investment Managers on 15 November 2011, was registered for sale in Spain by the CNMV on 25 November. The horizon fund (maturing on 31 October 2016) is based on carry trade strategies on senior industrial and financial sector bonds, with a maximum of 35% in high yield. Subscriptions are open until 29 February 2012. The fund will be available from Allfunds Bank and Banco Inversis.

In early December, at a time when the euro zone debt crisis continues to dominate headlines, investors have confirmed their preference for US funds, amidst timid but positive signs about the evolution of the macroeconomic environment in the United States. In the week to 7 December, funds dedicated to US equities posted their seventh week of net inflows in the past nine weeks, and US high yield bond funds posted net inflows of over USD2bn, according to statistics from EPFR Global. Overall, equity funds have seen net outflows of USD481m, while bond funds have posted net inflows of USD1.4bn. Money market funds have attracted USD36.4bn, for their fifth consecutive week of inflows. Some of these inflows are related to the liquidation of assets in European banks by some major US money market funds. EPFR Global finds that equity funds which emphasize dividends have posted net inflows of over USD35bn since the beginning of the year. Equity funds dedicated to emerging markets have seen net outflows since the beginning of the year of about USD36bn, while equity funds dedicated to developed countries have posted net inflows of USD79.9bn, compared with USD77.1bn in the corresponding period of 2010.

The Asia Leaders fund from Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM), managed by Thomas Gerhardt, the new head of the emerging markets team, and David Gaud, Asian equity manager, is now available for sale in Germany. The product was launched on 26 October (see Newsmanagers of 14 November).As of 31 October, EDRAM had assets of EUR13.1bn, compared with EUR14bn as of the end of 2010.

Global X Funds has announced the launch of an ETF based on Greece, which it says is the first of its kind. The Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF fund, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, provides investors with exposure to the FTSE/ATHEX 20 Capped index, composed of the 20 largest caps on the Athens stock exchange. Total capitalisation of the Athens Stock Exchange has fallen off a peak of USD200bn by nearly 90%, to USD28bn as of November 2011.

Financière de l’Echiquier has announced the arrival of Bertrand Merveille as head of compliance and internal control (RCCI). Merveille, 31, had previously been director of the investment services providers division of the French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). At the AMF, where he began in 2003 as a mutual fund analyst, Merveille then took charge of portfolio management firms, and then become deputy head of the investment services providers division, and then director of the division, in 2009.

Invesco Real Estate has added to its team dedicated to Europe, in order to improve solutions and services to international clients interested in investing in Europe. Sébastien Daguenet joins the team as fund and product manager – France. In this newly-created position, he will be in charge of the develpopment and management of funds in France, with the goal of offering French clients investment solutions from Invesco Real Estate. Daguenet, 34, had worked at CNP Assurances since 2004, where he served as a real estate portfolio manager for three years, and then as responsible for investments in non-publicly traded real estate funds. Tom Emson, currently head of transactions in France and Belgium, joins the New York office of the firm from 2 January 2012, to provide his European experience to international clients of Invesco Real Estate seeking to diversify their real estate portfolios in Europe, a statement says. Stéphanie Bensimon, who had previously been at CarVal Investors, where she was a specialist in opportunistic and high added value operations, joins the Paris office of Invesco Real Estate, replacing Emson as director of transactions for France and Belgium.

On 1 December, the Spanish regulator CNMV registered the Convictions Premium fund from the French asset management firm Convictions AM, the fifteenth foreign asset management firm to enter the Spanish market since the beginning of this year.Patrick Serre, a member of the executive committee and head of investor relations, tells Newsmanagers that Convictions is not opening an office in Spain for the moment, but that it has signed a partnership with the Madrid company Selinca AV, and with Pablo Chiodi in Paris.The French asset management firm, about 17% of whose EUR800m in assets come from abroad, is planning to register its other two flexible funds (Europactive and ActivInflation) in Spain, when they have EUR100m in assets and an adequate track record.Convictions is methodically continuing its expansion beyond the borders of France. Its flagship fund has been registered in Italy (March), Switzerland (September) and Germany (October), and the manager has recruited an Italian and a German in Paris to serve the Italian and German-speaking markets. Serre is optimistic about the firm’s penetration abroad, as the Premium fund has a “strong” qualitative rating from Fitch, and a AA+ from the German ratings agency Telos.

The Hartford and Wellington are scaling up their collaboration. Recently, the US insurer announced that Wellington will now be the sole sub-advisor for its 77 funds. The agreement also concerns bond funds from The Hartford, for which the sub-advisor had previously been its own asset management affiliate, Hartford Investment Management Company.

U.S. Bancorp Fund Services has launched ETF-Fusion, which offers a variety of services aimed at ETF professionals. The DASH interface puts providers and distributors in touch, while the GENUIS database offers inventory and accounting services.