The closed fund management firm MPC Capital, which has recently completed a capital increase to pay off creditors, has announced that it will be introducing the product sheet format which has been recommended by the federal ministry of food, agriculture and consumer protection since July 2009. The informational document provides a brief and comprehensible presentation of the main characteristics of the product, which will allow investors to compare it with other products. The first product sheet will accompany the new closed real estate fund MPC Holland 71, which is in a subscription phase. MPC Capital is apparently the first German promoter of closed funds to adopt a product sheet formula. Meanwhile, MPC has announced that it will publish short reports on the activity of various funds of the range.

The US-based investment bank Morgan Stanley has created a securities lending service for ETF funds which will make it possible to open short positions on 51 funds from the major European asset management firms, Funds People reports. This is a first on the European market, although this type of possibility has existed in the United States for some time. The initiative originates with the cooperation of Morgan Stanley with the British platform Source.

DekaBank (German savings banks) has announced the launch on 22 April of the Deka-RentSpezial Plus 2, a bond fund maturing on 31 March 2017 which will aim for returns which will be based on the Euribor 12-month inter-bank lending rate from the second year onwards, with a floor of 2.25%. The fund is therefore aimed primarily at investors who are seeking to profit from a rise in Euro zone interest rates, and those for whom a regular income flow is important. For the first year, the fund will pay returns of 3%. The fund is available in capitalisation and distribution versions. The German-registered fund will be invested primarily in corporate bonds from 25 issuers in various sectors who already have a well-established reputation on the market. If one of the issuers no longer meets the solvency standards of the manager, it will be replaced with another issuer of adequate standing.Characteristics Name: Deka-RentSpezial Plus 2 ISIN: DE000DK2CCW4 (distribution shares) DE000DK2CCX2 (capitalisation shares) Front-end fee: 1.75 % Management commission: 0.35 % Other fees: 0.12 % Initial value per share: EUR100

Expansión reports that Société Générale has informed clients that it is shutting down its custodial activities in Spain, which were operated by Euro-VL. The closure will take place in fourth quarter 2010. The firm’s withdrawal from the Spanish market is due to a decline in assets under custody and Euro-VL’s limited penetration into the local market.

In first quarter, net profits at BBVA have risen 0.2`% to EUR1.24bn, of which EUR284m, compared with EUR236m, come from the Wholesale Banking & Asset Management division. The cost/income ratio has held stable at 40%. In asset management, the Spanish group states that earnings increased 23.9% in January-March 2009, to EUR41m. As of 31 March, assets were down slightly, by 1.8%, compared with their levels twelve months earlier, at EUR49.3bn, of which EUR31.9bn were in investment funds, and EUR17.4bn in Spanish pension funds (+9.8%).

The iPath Vstoxx Short-Term Futures Total Return ETN, recently launched by Barclays Bank on the Xetra electronic platform from Deutsche Börse, is the first product to allow investors to participate in the evolution of volatility on the European equities markets, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. The iPath product range now includes 9 ETN funds based on commodities and 3 products based on volatility indices. The ETN segment of Deutsche Börse lists 14 ETN funds based on volatility, currency and equities indices.

A survey by the VuV association of independent wealth managers in Germany (52 members out of 191 responded) has found that professionals are currently recommending that their clients invest in equities funds (87%) and directly in equities (85% for large caps, 79% for small caps). 79% also recommend that they invest in commodities, while 69% recommend corporate bonds. But 58% advise against hedge funds, which lost much of their credibility during the crisis, says Günter T. Schlösser, chairman of the board at VuV, while 58% recommend avoiding investment in money market funds, and 48% are disinclined to recommend investment in private equity. In geographical terms, respondents to the survey prefer Asia ex Japan (92%) and the BRIC countries (85%).

The most recent edition of the newsletter of the German sustainable investment forum (Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen, or FNG) states that new members have signed up to the association. They include the asset management firms Aquila Capital, HSBC Global Asset Management (Deutschland), LGT Capital Management, and Union Investment Institutional.

Morningstar Inc. on Wednesday declared net profits for first quarter of USD20.2m (USD0.40 per share), compared with USD25m, or USD0.51 per share in the corresponding period of 2009, on earnings of USD1128.3m (+9.9%). Operating profits fell 10.6% to USD30.9m. Morningstar states that, excluding acquisitions (for USD9.7m) and currency effects (+USD3.7m), earnings fell by 1.6%. Personnel at the business as of 31 March totalled 2,760 worldwide, compared with 2,600 three months earlier, and 2,370 one year previously. Operating margins fell to 24.1% in January-March, from 29.7% in the corresponding period of 2009, due to increased spending on sales and marketing and increased overall costs including bonuses and commissions paid.

For Q1-10, which is the second quarter of its fiscl year, Franklin Resources (Franklin Temleton Investments) posted net profits of USD356.7m, on earnings of USD1.41bn, compared with USD355.6m on earnings of USD1.38bn in October-December. In the corresponding quarter of 2009, net profits totalled USD110.8m, on earnings of USD912.3m. Operating profits fell to USD461.1m, from USD467m in the previous quarter. Operating profits fell to USD461.1m from USD467m the previous quarter, but compare with USD223.3m in January-March 2009. Total assets as of the end of March came to USD586.8bn, compared with USD553.5bn as of the end of December, and USD391.1bn twelve months previously. Assets in equities represented 45% of the total as of 31 March, compared with 36% for bonds, while the remaining 19% were in hybrid and other assets. Net inflows totalled USD17.4bn in first quarter 2010, compared with USD14.3bn in October-December, and net redemptions of Usd5.5bn in January-March 2009.

The British management firm F&C has acquired its competitor Thames River Capital. The sale, for an estimated GBP53.6m, or EUR62m, is expected to be completed in third quarter this year, and is a sign that the management firm has ambitions to become a multi-specialist business. An initial payment of GBP33.6m has already been made, and a further GBP20m will be paid if Thames River Capital achieves certain profit objectives in 2011 and 2012. F&C will finance the acquisition through a capital increase, as well as from cash reserves and credit.

The US investment fund Amerimar Enterprises has acquired the largest London hotel owned by NH Hoteles (NHH), the St Ermin’s hotel in Westminster (275 rooms), for GBP675m. The US asset management firm may now contract out the management of the hotel to Sheraton, Expansión reports.

Gerry Harvey, head of compliance at Gartmore, has left the firm, Money Marketing reports. In the interim, the position will be occupied by David Young. Gartmore states that the departure of Harvey is not due to the United States SEC’s investigation of Gartmore and the related suspension of Guillaume Rambourg, who was recently suspended for infractions of the firm’s internal procedures. Rambourg has also returned to work at Gartmore once again, but as an analyst, Citywire reports. He will very soon rejoin the management team, once the British FSA has granted permission.

JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services has won a contract to provide depository and related services for pan-European defined contribution retirement schemes advised by Hewitt Delegated Consulting Services. JP Morgan will provide depository services, transition management, accounting, performance measurement, FX, compliance, securities lending and fiduciary services to pension fund clients of Hewitt throughout Europe, of which three, representing more than EUR450m in assets under management, already use the services of JP Morgan.

Prudential Investments this Wednesday announced the launch of the Prudential Jennison Market Neutral fund, which will be managed by Jennison Associates. The fund will aim for regular returns both in rising and falling markets. The market neutral strategy of the fund will include both long and short positions. The long portion of the portfolio, managed by Spiros “Sig” Segalas, David Kiefer and John Mullman, includes positions on growth and value equities, small and midcaps selected on the basis of fundamental research by Jennison. The short portion of the portfolio is composed with the assistance of a quantitative tool and supervised by Mehdia Mahmud and Jason McManus.

JP Hambro Capital Management (JOHCM) has announced the launch of the JPHCM Emerging Markets fund, an Irish-registered OEIC fund. It is managed by two newly-recruited managers at the firm, Emery Brewer and Ivo Kovachev, who joined JOHCM from Driehaus Capital Management last month. Assets in the fund will be capped to USD1.5bn, the firm states. The two managers will construct a portfolio composed of 60 to 90 positions, with a maximal weight of 5% each. The businesses in the portfolio will be selected from the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) list. A maximum of 30% of the portfolio will be allocated to firms active in sectors outside this classification. Front-end fees will total 5%, and management fees 1.5%. A performance commission of 15% will also be applied.

La Tribune reports that for the third day running, Republican members of the US Senate gathered enough votes on Wednesday, 28 April to prevent the formal opening of debate on planned reforms to banking and financial regulations.

High net worth investors in the Denver region appear to have been victims of a Ponzi pyramid scheme similar to the Madoff scandal, which is reported to have been orchestrated by a little-known hedge fund manager, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Securities Commissioner of Colorado has been granted a court order to freeze the assets of Mueller Capital Management, whose head, Sean Mueller, is said to have defrauded more than 30 investors, including three who gave him more than USD20m each.

L’AFG a présenté hier, mercredi 29 avril, les résultats de son enquête sur l’exercice des droits de vote réalisés auprès de ses membres pour la huitième année consécutive. L’association a travaillé sur un échantillon d’une cinquantaine de sociétés de gestion (SGP), représentant près de 85% des actions gérées via des OPCVM ou des mandats. Dans la continuité des pratiques des deux années précédentes, a relevé l’AFG, un tiers des SGP de l’échantillon ont précisé que leurs votes concernent aussi bien les actions détenues via des OPCVM (actions, diversifiés…) qu’une partie de celles contenues dans les mandats.Parmi les principaux enseignements, on notera que la moitié des sociétés de gestion informe les émetteurs systématiquement ou au cas par cas sur leur politique générale de vote lors des rencontres avec les dirigeants des entreprises. En chiffres, cependant, leur participation à 7516 assemblées générales marque, à périmètre constant, une baisse de 11%, d’une année à l’autre. Cela dit, l’AFG attribue cette diminution à la baisse des marchés actions, qui a eu pour conséquence le passage de certains titres en deçà des seuils de vote définis par les SGP. Quant au nombre de votes par assemblée, il s'élève à près de 13 résolutions en moyenne, dans un contexte de hausse du nombre de résolutions présentées. Concernant le comportement des SGP aux assemblées, il ressort que les sociétés ont exprimé, en moyenne, au moins un vote « contre » à 61%, une proportion en hausse par rapport aux années précédentes (57% en 2008).. Ce sont les opérations en capital dilutives pour l’actionnaire en 2010 qui représentent le principal motif de vote « contre » aux assemblées (31%, contre 23% en 2008), suivies par les nominations des membres du conseil d’administration ou de surveillance (26% des votes « contre », en baisse de 3 points), note l’AFG.A noter également que les investisseurs institutionnels spécifient de plus en plus leurs consignes de vote, et expriment un intérêt accru sur l’exercice en assemblée des droits de vote par les SGP. Enfin, une satisfaction pour l’AFG : 85% des SGP de l’échantillon ont eu recours aux recommandations et aux alertes du programme de veille de l’AFG, un autre résultat s’affichant en hausse par rapport à 2008.L’enquête peut être consultée à partir de ce lien : http://www.afg.asso.fr/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=341&Itemid=82

BNP Paribas Retail Banking a annoncé la nomination de Yves Martrenchar, 53 ans, au poste de Chief Operating Officer (COO). Membre du Comité Exécutif de BNP Paribas Retail Banking, il conserve sa fonction de responsable de Distribution Marchés et Solutions et supervise également les missions Informatique Transverse, Plateformes Opérations et Processus, Ressources Humaines, Marque et Communication de Retail Banking, précise la banque dans un communiqué. Yves Martrenchar est entré dans le groupe en 1980. En 2003, il occupait le poste de responsable de BDDF Retail, avant de prendre la tête en 2009 de Distribution Marchés et Solutions pour BNP Paribas Retail Banking.

Selon les Echos, le changement de gouvernance d’AXA annoncé début octobre sera entériné aujourd’hui, jeudi 29 avril. Sauf vote contraire des actionnaires réunis cet après-midi pour l’assemblée générale annuelle, la structure duale à conseil de surveillance et directoire sera abandonnée au profit d’une structure unitaire à conseil d’administration (voir Newsmanagers du 18 février 2010).

Avec le Deka-RentSpezial Plus 2, DekaBank (caisses d'épargne allemandes) annonce avoir lancé le 22 avril un fonds obligataire à échéance au 31 mars 2017 qui vise une performance s’orientant à partir de la deuxième année en fonction du taux interbancaire Euribor à 12 mois, avec un minimum de 2,25 %. Il est donc destiné prioritairement aux investisseurs qui veulent profiter de la hausse des taux d’intérêt dans la zone euro et pour lesquels un flux de revenus régulier est important. Pour la première année, il est prévu une rémunération de 3 %. Le fonds existe en parts de capitalisation et de distribution.Le fonds, de droit allemand sera investi principalement dans des obligations d’entreprise de 25 émetteurs de différents secteurs et qui ont déjà une réputation bien établie sur le marché. Si l’une de ces sociétés devait ne plus correspondre aux normes de solvabilité du gérant, elle serait remplacée par une autre de standing adéquat.Caractéristiques Dénomination : Deka-RentSpezial Plus 2ISIN : DE000DK2CCW4 (part distribution) / DE000DK2CCX2 (part capitalisation)Droit d’entrée : 1,75 %Commission de gestion : 0,35 % Autres frais forfaitaires : 0,12 %Prix initial de la part : 100 euros

La dernière livraison de la lettre du Forum allemand de l’investissement durable (Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen ou FNG) précise que de nouveaux adhérents ont pu être recrutés. Parmi eux figurent les sociétés de gestion Aquila Capital, HSBC Global Asset Management (Deutschland), LGT Capital Management et Union Investment Institutional.

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Une résolution de la crise grecque semble un préalable avant de prendre des positions vendeuses

Perspectives de ventes forcées et appels de marge alimentent la défiance des marchés

Perspectives de ventes forcées et appels de marge alimentent la défiance des marchés

L’hystérie collective a de nouveau frappé les marchés financiers. Le coût de refinancement à deux ans de la dette grecque a bondi de 1.500 points de base sur les sept derniers jours. Un quart de cette dette devant arriver à maturité d’ici deux ans, la charge d’intérêt explose et conduit les agences à abaisser la notation, en «junk» désormais chez S&P. Si les autres agences suivent, elles risquent de déclencher un sell-off général puisque les banques européennes ne pourront plus se refinancer avec les papiers grecs auprès de la BCE et la plupart des fonds et assureurs ne peuvent pas conserver de titres non «investment grade» dans leur portefeuille. Encore faudra-t-il trouver un acheteur…

The SRI management firm Ökoworld Lux has announced the recruitment on 1 April of Felix Schnella as its third portfolio manager, and Benjamin Saveur as director of distribution in its representative office in Hilden, near Düsseldorf. Schnella was previously an equities manager specialised in sustainable development and active management at Allianz Global Investors. He joins Alexander Fund and Frank Frey, the other two portfolio managers at the firm, in Luxembourg. He will be in charge of managing the SRI funds Ökovision Classic, Europe, Garant 20, Klima and Water For Life. Saveur joins the firm from Pictet & Cie (Europe) SA, where he was sales manager for all retail activities in Frankfurt. At Ökoworld, he will be in charge of the regions of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland; he will be primarily responsible for developing sales of the eight funds of the Ökoworld range to wealth managers, strategic banking partners and IFA networks.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index has fallen in the month of April. It is down 7.7 points, to 99.7 from a corrected level of 107.4 in March. Investors appear to be the most pessimistic in North America. The regional index for the continent is down 6.7 points to 103.7, from a corrected level of 110.4 points the previous month. In Asia, investo confidence has fallen 6.5 points, from a corrected level of 100.7 to 94.2. Only European institutions are showing rising levels of confidence, with the regional index up slightly, by 1.2 points, from a corrected level of 94.7 to 95.9 points.