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25/08/2010

Pictet offers new “green” product

Philippe de Weck, who is already manager of the Pictet Clean Energy fund, will be appointed as manager of the Environmental Megatrend Selection fund (see Newsmanagers of 29 July). The product will take advantage of the pooling scheme offered by Luxembourg law to invest in four “green” in-house funds: Water (EUR2.32bn), Clean Energy (EUR484m), Timber (EUR84m) and Agriculture (EUR122m). It will have 200 to 240 positions overall. The themes are the same as those of the fund which is already much more actively managed (60 positions) by Arnaud Bisschop (manager of the Pictet Water fund for the past 19 months), on behalf of Union Financière de France, and entitled UFF Capital Planète (see Newsmanagers of 27 July).
25/08/2010

FSA hits ZFS with record fine

The British Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced on 24 August that it has levelled a record fine of GBP2.27m against Zurich Insurance plc, an affiliate of Zurich Financial Services Group (ZFS), for losing data on 46,000 clients. It is the largest fine ever from the FSA for lost data.
25/08/2010

RBC Dexia Investor Services appoints a head of funds

RBC Dexia Investor Services has appointed David Dibben as head of global fund products. Based in London and reporting to Rob Wright, global head, product & client segments, he will be responsible for the strategic direction, planning and continued overall success of RBC Dexia’s Fund Products business. Prior to this role, David Dibben was most recently with HSBC Global Asset Management in London as chief operating officer of their global fund ranges where he oversaw the significant growth of their Luxembourg- and Dublin-domiciled funds. He has also held senior management roles with M&G (Prudential), Henderson Global Investors and Norwich Union, and provided consultancy services to a number of major players in the investment industry.
25/08/2010

Jupiter posts net subscriptions in first half

In first half 2010, Jupiter, which made its initial public offering on 21 June, posted net subscriptions of GBP814m, due to inflows to its mutual funds (GBP873m). At the same time last year, the management firm had inflows of GBP917m. For the half, assets are up 2% to GBP19.8bn, compared with GBP19.5bn as of the end of 2009, and GBP15.5bn as of the end of June 2009. Earnings totalled GBP11.7bn, up 40% year on year, due to an increase of GBP29m in net management fees. Pre-tax profits totalled GBP14.6m, compared with a loss of GBP6.5m in the corresponding period of 2009. EBITDA is up 64%, to GBP59.1m.
25/08/2010

Hyposwiss launches its first advertising campaign

Agefi Switzerland reports that the private bank Hyposwiss yesterday kicked off its first advertising campaign, which appears to mock UBS’ slogan “You & Us.” Its message, “It will never be about you and us. It will always be about your money,” the newspaper suggests, may be interpreted as a frontal attack on UBS and on its former advertising slogan. “It could be read that way, but it is not an attack on UBS,” says Declan McAdams, CEO of Hyposwiss, in Geneva. “This campaign is the result of a deep analysis of our clients and our partners internally,” he says. “We want to stand out from the major banks, and our objective is to foreground what is important for clients directly and simply. It is time to insist a little more on management of the client’s money, and less on the relationship aspect.”
25/08/2010

Profits at GAM up 36% in first half

GAM Holding SA on 24 August announced an increase of 36% in its profits for first half, to CHF106.3m, from CHF78.1m one year earlier on a pro forma basis. Last year’s results are given on a pro forma basis and corrected for the IPO of the firm’s US affiliate Artio, its takeover of Augustus Asset Managers, and other one-time elements. The group has posted a net inflow of CHF5.6bn, compared with outflows of CHF1.6bn one year earlier. Inflows of new money totalled CHF3.6bn for the GAM division, compared with -CHF5bn previously, and CHF7.4bn for Swiss & Global, compared with CHF3.7bn previously. Assets under management totalled CHF116.6bn as of the end of June, up 11% year on year, and up 3% compared with the end of December 2009. GAM has also announced the launch of a new share buyback program, which will extend to up to 10% of capital in two years. The program fulfils GAM’s intentions in terms of dividends, as the group is planning to give back 50% of profits to shareholders in the form of dividends, says Johannes de Gier, chairman of the board of directors and CEO, cited in a statement.
25/08/2010

Jim Davey becomes head of mutual funds at The Hartford

Jim Davey, Vice President and director of corporate retirement plans-Investment products division at The Hartford, has been appointed head of the mutual funds business for the United States and Canada. He will also be responsible for 529 savings plan activities. He will report to David Levenson, who was appointed head of wealth management in July, Mutual Fund Wire reports.
25/08/2010

Moody Aldrich and Wilshire launch a hedge fund platform

Hedgeweek reports that the Boston investment firm Moody Aldrich Partners has signed an agreement with Wilshire Funds Management, by which Wilshire will help Moody Aldrich to develop its new hedge fudn financing platform, MAP Harvest Fund. Wilshire will be resopnsible for operational due diligence, risk management, and annex services. MAP Harvest Fund will financially assist promising independent hedge funds, and assist them in the development of their key administrative functions and investment tools.
25/08/2010

Russell makes big inroads with specialised OpenWorld platform in Asia

Asian Investor reports that Russell Investments has a growing presence on the Asian high net worth client services market. Since first quarter 2010, Russell has been offering its dedicated fund platform OpenWorld to private banks in the region, as well as to family offices and high net worth private clients. The platform, launched on the European market in autumn 2008, offers 18 major investment strategies, each of them managed by a single manager. It currently manages USD450m worldwide.
25/08/2010

Threadneedle builds presence in Asia

The British management firm Threadneedle is scaling up its teams in South-East Asia and Taiwan, Asian Investor reports. The group is currently seeking a head of institutional clients for North Asia, and is planning to set up a research team in Singapore in early 2011. In the short term, Sandra Cheng, previously of Deutsche Bank, joins Threadneedle in September as head of institutions for South-East Asia. Sheila Tan, previously based in Hong Kong, will take over as head of activities in Taiwan, where Threadneedle is planning to develop its presence in the institutional client segment. Threadneedle is also in talks with various financial partners in South Korea. Threadneedle is also working to develop new products, including funds denominated in Chinese renminbi.
25/08/2010

Strategic Investments Group selects State Street

State Street Corporation has announced that it has been selected by the Strategic Investments Group (SIG) to provide investment and fund administration services to its new UCITS product, Strategic Active Trading Funds, launched last May, which has a total of USD250m in assets.
25/08/2010

Lyxor reported to have poached a top head from iShares

On Tuesday, due to the relevant authorized persons being on holiday, Lyxor Asset Management was not able to confirm to Newsmanagers reports in several British media sources that the asset manager has recruited Nizam Hamid, head of sales strategy at iShares Europe since November 2008. Hamid would take over responsibility for global ETF sales, which Dan Draper left behind to join Credit Suisse (see Newsmanagers of 9 February), and which were taken over for the interim by Isabelle Bourcier. Apparently, Bourcier will retain her role as global head of ETFs at Lyxor AM, as part of her responsibilities as head of marketing & sales for listed products at Société Générale.
25/08/2010

Gerald Saam leaves Threadneedle

Werner Kolitsch, head of Germany & Austria at Threadneedle, has told Fondsprofessionell that Gerald Saam is leaving the German affiliate of the British management firm, where he was director of institutional sales since last year, by mutual agreement. He joined Threadneedle in October 2007. Saam’s replacement will be appointed by the end of November at the latest.
25/08/2010

Limited outflows from UCITS funds in June

Long-term UCITS-compliant funds (excluding money market funds) finished the month of June with outflows again in Europe, though they were much less pronounced than in May, according to statistics from the European financial and asset management association (EFAMA). Outflows totalled EUR200m, compared with EUR8.4bn in May, largely due to a major increase in net outflows from equities funds, from EUR11bn in May to EUR2bn in June. UCITS funds overall posted a net outflow of EUR31bn in June, compared with EUR23bn in May. This development was due to an acceleration in outflows from money market funds, from EUR14bn in May to EUR31bn in June. Bond funds also saw net outflows, of EUR3bn in June, compared with EUR2bn in May. However, diversified funds attracted a net inflow of EUR3bn in June, and dedicated funds attracted a record EUR12bn. Non-UCITS funds, for their part, posted a net inflow of EUR13.2bn in June, compared with EUR3.5bn one month earlier.
25/08/2010

Chi-X Europe platform may sell all or part of its activities

The hedge fund market transaction platform Chi-X Europe announced on 24 August in a statement that it may sell off all or part of its activities, after being approached by a third party whose identity has not been revealed. Chi-X “confirms that it has received a request from a third party, which may or may not lead to an offer to acquire all or part of the business,” the group says in a statement. The potential acquirer’s “interest in Chi-X Europe is the result of our track record, which has made us a top European trading platform in the past three years, and our profit situation in 2010. We were not seeking a deal, and the option to maintain our independence would allow us to increase value for our shareholders,” Chi-X adds, without providing details. Chi-X Europe, which is currently owned, among others, by BNP Paribas “BNP.PA,” Société Générale, Citadel, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Fortis, GETCO Europe, Goldman Sachs, Instinet Holdings, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Optiver and UBS, last year represented a market share of 15.6% on the basis of data compiled by Thomson Reuters.
25/08/2010

UBS MTF granted go-ahead in London

Agefi Switzerland reports that UBS on 24 August announced that it has received approval from the British financial market regulator, the FSA to launch its own European equities trading platform, UBS MTF, whose creation was announced in March. The bank adds that it is planning to launch the alternative equities market by the end of the year. It will be based in London.
24/08/2010

HSBC veut la part de Old Mutual dans le sud-africain Nedbank

Selon L’Agefi suisse, la banque britannique HSBC a annoncé le 23 août être en discussions exclusives avec l’assureur Old Mutual sur le rachat d’une part majoritaire de Nedbank, la quatrième plus grosse banque d’Afrique du Sud par les actifs. Old Mutual a confirmé cette information.Les discussions portent sur un rachat de ses propres 52% de Nedbank, que l’assureur détient depuis 1986, et HSBC pourrait faire aux actionnaires de Nedbank une offre portant jusqu'à 70% du capital de la banque. Le montant de l'éventuelle transaction n’a pas été communiqué. Nedbank avait une capitalisation de 9,25 milliards de dollars vendredi soir.
24/08/2010

Banca March met sur pied un réseau de banquiers indépendants

Selon Expansión relayé par Funds People, Banca March a déjà investi 2 millions d’euros dans une plate-forme technologique qui doit servir de support à un réseau de banquiers indépendants qui justifient d’au moins 15 ans d’expérience et peuvent lui apporter chacun un portefeuille de clientèle représentant un encours de 40 millions d’euros. D’ores et déjà une vingtaine de banquiers, dont des anciens de Fortis, d’UBS, de Banif et de Deutsche Bank auraient adhéré au projet.
24/08/2010

Le contentieux entre Arques et Siemens en voie de solution

Le capital-investisseur Arques Industrie a indiqué lundi dans un communiqué boursier que les négociations avec plusieurs repreneurs potentiels sur la cession de Gigaset (téléphones sans fil) ont atteint un stade avancé et que Siemens, qui détient encore 19,8 % de cette société, est disposé à accompagner cette transaction «de manière constructive». Cela pourrait également laisser présager une solution prochaine des contentieux entre Arques et Siemens, et notamment de la procédure arbitrale engagée par Siemens. D’après la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, le repreneur le plus probable serait Novero (accessoires pour téléphones portables et équipements mains-libres).Arques a par ailleurs annoncé que son chiffre d’affaires du premier semestre est tombé à 524,6 millions d’euros contre 2,36 milliards suite à l'élagage du portefeuille, mais que l’ebitda a été positif à hauteur de 38,2 millions contre un solde négatif de 16 millions pour la période correspondante de l’an dernier. Compte tenu de charges exceptionnelles sur les activités abandonnées, Arques affiche une perte nette de 8,1 millions d’euros contre 117 millions pour janvier-juin 2009, mais les activités conservées ont généré un bénéfice net de 1,9 million.
24/08/2010
Fonds

Deka Immobilien investit à Paris et à Londres

L’allemand Deka Immobilien annonce avoir acquis pour environ 75 millions d’euros le complexe de trois immeubles Opéra Gramont (8.000 mètres carrés) à Paris pour le compte de son fonds immobilier offert au public WestInvest ImmoValue destiné aux investisseurs institutionnels. Le vendeur est le groupe REIS qui fait partie du Santander Real Estate Advisory Program. L’unique locataire est Coty Inc.D’autre part, Deka a acheté pour 97,1 millions de livres l’immeuble de bureaux 14 Pier Walk (18.400 mètres carrés), loué en totalité pour 20 ans à Transport for London. Cet actif est également affecté au fonds WestInvest ImmoValue.
Fonds
24/08/2010

Bâloise: Martin Kampik nommé directeur pour l'Autriche et l'Europe de Est

Bâloise Holding AG a annoncé le 23 août la nomination de Martin Kampik comme directeur régional pour l’Autriche et l’Europe de L’Est. Martin Kampik revient au siège du groupe dès le 1er septembre 2010, après avoir exercé une responsabilité en Croatie depuis début 2009, où il s’est occupé de la réorganisation, de l’intégration opérationnelle ainsi que du repositionnement des unités du groupe, indique la Bâloise dans un communiqué.Martin Kampik sera chargé de l’expansion et de la coordination des activités du groupe en Autriche et en Europe de l’Est. Il succède à Wolfgang Prasser, qui rejoint la direction de la Bâloise Suisse où il reprendra la direction du management des produits de la clientèle privée.
24/08/2010

Pour certains, le gérant star est un risque

La saga Gartmore a montré les dangers pour une société de gestion d'être trop dépendante d’un ou deux gérants star, analyse le Financial Times Fund Management. Pour Amin Rajan, directeur général de Create Research, essayer d’attirer des encours sur la base du talent comporte de gros risques. Car lorsque le gérant s’en va, l’argent part, ce qui provoque un tremblement de terre pour la société et les investisseurs. L’introduction de co-gérants est la seule façon de diluer la culture du gérant star, estime Mark Dampier, responsable de la recherche de Hargreaves Landsdown. La formation de successeurs à l’avance est aussi une manière de réduire le risque lié à un départ. Quoi qu’il en soit, selon les experts interrogés par le FT FM, seule une minorité de gérants vedette est vraiment talentueuse.
24/08/2010
Fonds

Nomura lance un fonds Ucits III

Nomura vient d’annoncer le lancement d’un nouveau fonds Ucits III sur sa plate-forme de Dublin Enovara, le HFRq Ucits III Fund. Hedge Fund Research, avec son indice HFRq, est sponsor de l’indice du fonds, tandis que Quantitative Equity Strategies (QES) intervient en tant que conseiller. Hedge Fund Research Asset Management vient compléter le dispositif.En termes de stratégie, le fonds va utiliser une méthodologie algorithmique mise au point par QES pour prendre des positions long/short dans des contrats de futures jusqu’à concurrence de 54 contrats séparés pour générer du rendement absolu, HFR étant responsable de la sélection et de la gestion de ces contrats.
Fonds
24/08/2010

La Deutsche Bank lance son dark pool à Hong Kong

Selon Asian Investor, la Deutsche Bank a lancé 23 août son dark pool international basé à Hong Kong et dénommé Deutsche Bank Automated Trading System (DBATS). Ce lancement fait suite à plusieurs mois d’expérimentation en interne qui ont notamment permis d’observer une réduction des coûts d’exécution des transactions
24/08/2010

Départ du patron du LSE de LCH.Clearnet

Selon l’Agefi, Xavier Rolet, le directeur général du London Stock Exchange, a démissionné du conseil d’administration de LCH.Clearnet. Cette décision relance l’idée que l’opérateur boursier pourrait mettre sur pied son propre service de compensation, note le quotidien.
24/08/2010

FMR (Fidelity) lance un emprunt de 250 millions de dollars

FMR LLC, la maison-mère de Fidelity, a notifié le 16 août à la SEC (form D) le projet de lancement d’un emprunt de 250 millions de dollars. A la date de la déclaration, 766 investisseurs avaient déjà souscrit pour plus de 68,2 millions de dollars. La souscription minimale est fixée à 25.000 dollars. Le formulaire ne précise pas la destination des montants collectés.
24/08/2010

Columbia élague sa gamme

Columbia Management, dont l’acquisition par Ameriprise Financial (327 milliards de dollars d’encours fin juin) a été bouclée en mai, a annoncé qu’elle propose la fusion de 62 fonds dans le cadre de son intégration avec RiverSource Investments, autre filiale d’Ameriprise (groupe qui possède également le britannique Threadneedle). Si ces fusions destinées à muscler la gamme de fonds institutionnels et retail sont validées par les conseils d’administration puis par les actionnaires, elles pourraient être bouclées dans le courant du premier semestre 2011.Cette concentration n’entraînera pas de nouvelles suppressions d’emplois, celles qui ont été effectuées jusqu’au 30 avril s’avérant suffisantes.
24/08/2010
Fonds

Les obligations sont-elles surachetées ?

Le volume des capitaux prenant la direction des fonds obligataires est sur le point de dépasser le montant des liquidités qui inondèrent les fonds d’actions lors de la bulle Internet.Selon les données compilées par Bloomberg et Investment Company Institute, citées par L’Echo, les investisseurs auraient, au cours des deux dernières années (à fin juin), injecté 480,2 milliards de dollars dans les fonds axés sur la dette. Entre 1999 et 2000, les fonds d’actions avaient récolté 496,9 milliards de USD.L’histoire risque-t-elle de se répéter ? Tobias Levkovitch, le stratégiste actions US de Citigroup, le pense. Si l’affaiblissement de la reprise économique fait le jeu des emprunts publics et privés, les rendements offerts ne couvrent plus le risque encouru.
Fonds

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