In 2009, Banque Sarasin (Rabobank group) earned net profits of GBP51.5m, compared with CHF106.8m the previous year, following a one-time write-down of CHF70.2m for depreciation of its 40% stake in NZB Holding “due to a policy of precaution.” In adjusted terms, net profits increased 6% to CHF121.7m. Assets under management rose by CHF24bn last year to a total of CHF93.7bn, compared with CHF69.7bn. Of this total, net subscriptions represented CHF12.5bn (on an objective of CHF7bn), while market and currency effects corresponded to nearly CHF11.9bn. Joachim H. Straehle, CEO of Banque Sarasin & Cie SA, estimates that assets under management may reach CHF100bn in first half. The group has a target of CHF150bn by 2015. Assets invested according to sustainable criteria totalled CHF11.9bn, compared with CHF6bn in 2008. This increase is due both to the decision to manage mandates from private clients in Switzerland with a sustainable approach and by the acquisition of new mandates and subscriptions to sustainable fund shares from Sarasin. The annual statement says that the firm “has planned to develop its business on Asian growth markets in the next 18 months: the Hong Kong office has recently obtained a banking licence, and will become the first foreign arm of Banque Sarasin. The Avaloq IT system, which has been in successful use in Switzerland since July 2003, will be introduced at the Hong Kong and Singapore locations.”

Since 12 February, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Mangement (EDRAM) has been intensely active setting up shop in Spain. The French management firm has already registered nine of its funds with the CNMV, Funds People reports. They are the Saint-Honoré Signatures, Global Convertibles and Vie-Santé, and then last Friday, the Asie Rendement, Commosphère Word, Ecosphère Europe and the LCF funds Croissance Globale, Monde Flexible and Patrimoine Flexible. EDRAM’s policy will clearly be to register all of its products, including about 35 funds, in Spain.

DWS Investments (Spain) on 26 February registered the Spanish hedge fund Arcano Credit Fund as an FIL product with the CNMV. The product has monthly liquidity, and will invest in two sub-funds of hte Luxembourg affiliate of Arcano, the Arcano Onshore Opportunities and Arcano Offshore Opportunities, funds which invest in loans to businesses to fund leveraged buyout (LBO) operations. Assets in the DWS fund will be 70% invested in the Arcano Onshore product, which focuses on the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and Italy, and 30% in the Arcano Offshore, which is focused on western Europe outside Italy. Credit which is included in the portfolio will have an average of four years to maturity. DWS is planning a lock-up period of 33 months, a three-month advance notice policy for redemptions, and a minimal subscription of EUR150,000.

Assets under management at the management affiliate of the Bellevue group as of 31 December totalled CHF5.5bn, virtually unchanged from the previous year. The group has said in a statement that its efforts to enrich its product range did not have the full desired effect due to a persistent aversion to risk on the part of clients. The affiliate reduced its losses to CHF1.4m for 2009, from a negative bottom line of CHF6.1m the previous year.

The Catella MAX fund, launched by Catella Real Estate AG KAG (an affiliate of the Swedish Catella group), will be the first German-registered open-ended real estate fund to be focused exclusively on a single city or region. The city will be Munich and its adjacent Landkreise or districts. The product will have a highly diversified sectoral portfolio, which will include a high proportion of residential properties, and will be aimed at retail as well as smaller institutional investors.

The Geneva-based management firm Bedrock Group has launched a fund of hedge funds, Bedrock Brazil, which will be wholly dedicated to Brazil, Hedge Week reports. The vehicle is a multi-strategy fund of hedge funds (macro, equity long/short bias, equity long only and multi strategy), which will offer investors low-cost access to the major Brazilian funds, which are largely closed to new investors. The fund will be advised by Bedrock Advisors, in partnership with the Brazilian firm JGP.

Sigbjørn Johnsen, Norwegian finance minister, has announced that the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), formerly known as the Oil Fund, has signed up to two new directives for responsible investment. The ethical standards defined in 2004 are now replaced by two sets of directives, one of which is based on exclusionary criteria and the observation of businesses, while the other involves responsible management and the exercise of shareholder rights by Norges Bank. The minister points out that in some cases, it may be more useful to put a firm under surveillance rather than to exclude it, particularly if there is still uncertainty about how the situation will evolve. The GPFG will closely monitor businesses which are placed on the watch list to ensure that they take measures to remedy the situation before a final decision on exclusion is taken. The finance minister has also signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).

The private equity investor Warburg Pincus has announced that it will invest USD230m in a stake of about 23% in Primerica Inc, a life insurance and mutual fund distribution affiliate of Citigroup, the Wall Street Journal reports. Warburg Pincus has also obtained an option to invest a further USD100m at the price of the IPO. Citigroup is planning to retain a 50% stake in Primerica.

As a complement to its climate change fund (SISF Global Cimate Change Equity) and a fund focused on increasing demand for energy in emerging countries (SISF Global Energy), Schroders is planning to launch the Global Wealth Dynamics fund, which will focus on demographic change, in the next few months, Funds People reports. Gavin Marriot, international equities manager, will concentrate on businesses which respond to the needs of developing countries, such as the Mexican firm Homex, or which are in a position to profit from the new demographic configurations taking shape there. In the area of health, the manager prefers technologies which aim to identify and prevent illness, which will boost the growth of emerging countries, to investments in businesses in developed countries.

Many of the world’s biggest hedge funds have become increasingly concerned about fierce criticism by European politicians that their country bets have heightened the crisis of confidence in some markets, says the Financial Times. Brevan Howard – Europe’s largest hedge fund – said that it currently had no net short position against Greek debt. Paulson & Co has also closed out its positions against Greece.However, an estimated USD12.1bn of short positions are outstanding against the euro, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Société Générale Private Banking Hambros (SGPB Hambros) on 2 March announced the recruitment of two senior private bankers, Rebecca Constable and Andrew Wimble, who will be based in the new Newbury regional office, and will provide wealth management services to high net worth clients. QAGPB Hambros will continue its policy of regional development in the United Kingdom, following the opening last year of offices in Manchester and Yorkshire. Constable and Wimble were previously at Kleinwort Benson.

Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP is continuing to recruit from Morgan Stanley. According to Bloomberg, the mortgage trader Ahsim Khan is expected to join the London-based hedge fund giant next month. Since September of last year, Brevan Howard has recruited at least four people from the US bank.

Franki Chung, who was deputy head of Asian equities at Baring Asset Management, was recruited on 25 February as chief investment officer (CIO) at the Hong Kong office of the German firm MEAG Munich Ergo, which manages USD1.1bn in assets and has ten employees in total. Chung replaces John Koh, who has left the firm.

BNY Mellon Asset Management has announced that Maurice Wren, group head of investment solutions, died on Saturday. He suffered a stroke in the office last week.

The Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en Yvelines (UVSQ) and the Ecole Européenne d’Intelligence Economique (EEIE) on 2 March announced that they have merged to create a new professional Master’s qualification in economic intelligence and sustainable development. The double diploma will be launched in September 2010.

Funds People reports that Merrill Lynch Wealth Management is about to register a fund management firm in Spain. The objective will be to make the management entity responsible for management of mandates obtained by the private banking division, an activity which is currently provided by the group’s banking subsidiary. The move is part of a strategic initiative at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management begun in 2007. The firm is seeking to increase its presence in Spain by offering an all-in-one service which combines management and consulting, adaptation to the profile of the client and their inheritance planning needs.

Between the end of 2008 and the end of February 2010, foreign asset management firms have increased their share of the Spanish market by 2.3%, to 15.8%, according to the Inverco association. Assets at these firms now total EUR30bn, down from about EUR50bn at the end of 2007, but in 2009 these firms saw net subscriptions of EUR2.54bn, while Spanish management firms suffered net redemptions of EUR11.64bn. JPM remains by far the largest foreign asset management firm in Spain, with EUR4.81bn, in assets, even after the merger of CAAM and SGAM, which puts Amundi in second place, with EUR3.28bn. BNP Paribas and Schroders are neck-and-neck with EUR2.77bn each, while Pioneer (UniCredit) has EUR1.51bn.

Roberto Lampl, senior investment manager at ING Investment Management, has been recruited by Baring Asset Mangement as head of Latin America equity (a newly-created position) from 1 March. He will be based in London, and will report to Tim Scholefield, head of equities. Currently (as of 31 January), Barings has assets of GBP11.6bn on emerging markets, of which GBP1.1bn are in Latin American equities. With his team, Lampl with be in charge of managing Latin American allocations for all segregated and pooled products from the British group, including the Baring Latin America Fund (USD836m).

The earliest initial estimates had already suggested that 2009 would be a very strong year for the management firm M&G. Inflows last year are estimated to have totalled EUR15bn, a 296% increase year on year. For retail activities, net sales totalled EUR8.3bn, a new record, and 259% higher than the previous year. Activities were particularly dynamic on the British market, with net inflows of EUR6.7bn. Bond funds accounted for the lion’s share of inflows throughout the year. For institutional products, net sales totalled EUR6.7bn, a 354% increase year on year, including a fixed income mandate totalling EUR4.4bn. Gross sales also set a new record, at EUR27.7bn, of which EUR15.1bn were for retail products. M&G points out in a statement that the exceptional performance observed last year will not be reproducible in 2010. Inflows are expected to return to their previous usual levels. For 2009 overall, assets under management are up 23% to EUR193bn, thanks to exceptional inflows but also to positive market effects. Assets for external clients totalled EUR77.8bn as of the end of 2009, 40% of total assets. Operating profits totalled EUR197m, 22% down year on year. But excluding exceptional elements, underlying profits are up 14% to EUR202m.

Le comité des régulateurs européens prône une déclaration dès le franchissement du seuil de 0,2 %

Les gestions de la banque verte et de Natixis creusent l’écart avec leurs rivales en termes d'encours et de collecte

Selon Fitch, ces décisions sont bénéfiques aux détenteurs de titres de dette Windermere XII, aux autres créanciers subordonnés et CMBS français

Après une contraction de 16,75 % en un an à 15,9 milliards de dollars fin 2008, l’encours des ETF répliquant des indices chinois a plus que doublé l’an dernier pour atteindre au 31 décembre 2009 un total de 32,3 milliards de dollars répartis sur 53 produits de 28 émetteurs et cotés sur 21 Bourses dans le monde. Selon Deborah Fuhr (BlackRock), les Etats-Unis pesaient à eux seuls 12,47 milliards de dollars avec 21 ETF, tandis que Hong-Kong représentait un encours de 9,97 milliards de dollars pour 12 ETF et qu’en Chine les huit ETF locaux affichaient 5,87 milliards d’actifs sous gestion.Concernant les souscriptions nettes, elles ont représenté 3,1 milliards de dollars l’an dernier pour les ETF domiciliés aux Etats-Unis et en Europe, ce à quoi il faut ajouter 3,7 milliards de dollars de rentrées nettes correspondant à des fonds marchés émergents répliquant des indices comme par exemple le MSCI Emerging Markets où le marché chinois représente 18,3 % du total.iShares est le numéro un sur le segment des ETF Chine, avec 11 produits et un encours de 18 milliards de dollars, ce qui représente une part de marché de 55 %. Le numéro deux, loin derrière, est China Asset Management, avec seulement deux fonds et 3,8 milliards de dollars, soit 11,7 % du marché. Ces deux acteurs concentrent donc à eux seul les deux tiers du marché. Hang Seng Investment Management et E Fund Management arrivent respectivement troisième et quatrième avec des encours de 2,2 milliards et 1,3 milliard de dollars ou des parts de marchés respectives de 6,7 % et 4,1 %.

Anthony Bolton va investir personnellement 2,5 millions de livres dans le nouveau Fidelity China Special Situations, indique Citywire. Fidelity International va mettre 15 millions de livres dans le fonds. Le groupe espère lever un total de 650 millions de livres.

Actuellement, les remboursements sont gelés pour six fonds immobiliers offerts au public représentant 9,2 milliards d’euros d’encours, constate le Handelsblatt. Ce sont des produits d’Aberdeen (DEGI), Axa IM, Morgan Stanley, TMW et KanAm. Et ces gestionnaires se montrent très avares de renseignements quant à l’avenir, alors que seuls les fonds dont les remboursements sont suspendus ont le droit de revendre des actifs à des prix inférieurs à ceux fixés par les experts indépendants.

Hartmut Leser, membre du directoire et responsable de la distribution d’Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland AG (Aberdeen Deutschland), a été promu directeur pour l’Allemagne d’Aberdeen ainsi que président du directoire d’Aberdeen Deutschland. Dans ce dernier poste, il remplace Patrick Walker, qui dirige l’activité European Business Development d’Aberdeen Asset Management et qui va désormais pouvoir retourner à Londres, maintenant que l’intégration de Degi est parachevée.Michael Determann secondera Hartmut Leser en tant que président du comité exécutif d’Aberdeen Immobilien KAG (ex DEGI). Ce comité exécutif se composera donc d’Hartmut Leser et de Fabian Klingler, ainsi que de Roger Welz. Fabian Klingler sera responsable de la gestion de fonds et de la gestion d’actifs.D’autre part, Nico Tates, qui dirige la gestion des fonds immobiliers pour l’Europe continentale, devient membre du conseil de surveillance d’Aberdeen KAG et assumera les fonctions d’international transaction manager tout en assurant la coordination de la gestion de fonds immobiliers entre Francfort et les autres sites du groupe Aberdeen.Ces nominations ont été annoncées en même temps que la démission «pour convenance personnelle» de Bärbel Schomberg, présidente du comité exécutif d’Aberdeen Immobilien KAG. Elle était par ailleurs head of Continental Europe d’Aberdeen Property Investors. C’est également pour convenance personnelle que Malcolm démissionne de son poste d’international transaction manager.Ces deux départs interviennent moins d’un mois après l’annonce que le portefeuille du fonds immobilier DEGI Global Business a été déprécié de 21,6 % (lire notre dépêche du 9 février et notre article du 11 février). Sans oublier que les remboursements des fonds DEGI Europa et DEGI International sont toujours suspendus...

Le processus de concentration des gammes de fonds sur le marché espagnol se poursuit. Le record établi voici trois mois par Ahorro Corporación avec 12 fonds fusionnés en une seule fois (lire notre dépêche du 25 novembre) a été battu par Invercaixa qui a intégré 18 fonds diversifiés à majorité d’actions dans le Foncaixa 90 Cesta Mixta 75RV tandis que dix fonds diversifiés à majorité obligataires dans le Foncaixa 88 Cesta Mixta 25 RV, selon un avis notifié à la CNMV.Parallèlement, le Banesto (groupe Santander) a fusionné ses fonds obligataire court terme et Especial Renta Fija, pandant que Barclays fusionnait son fonds trésorerie avec celui spécialiste de l’obligataire court terme et le Barclays Gobiernos Europa Liquidez. Enfin, Credit Suisse a fusionné ses fonds Summa et Sigma.

Selon les statistiques de l’association Inverco des sociétés de gestion, l’encours des fonds de valeurs mobilières espagnols a diminué en février de 1,1 % à 159,98 milliards d’euros (le niveau le plus bas depuis juin 1997), suite à des sorties nettes de presque 1,8 milliards d’euros, les plus fortes depuis juin 2009, qui sont venues s’ajouter à celles de 485 millions constatées pour janvier.D’après Ahorro Corporación, les fonds les plus conservateurs, les monétaires et les obligataires court terme, ont subi des remboursements nets de respectivement 600 millions et 1,6 milliard d’euros.Les plus fortes sorties nettes ont été accusées par BBVA Asset Management (596 millions d’euros), Santander Asset Management (287 millions) et InverCaixa (177 millions).

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) vient de renforcer son équipe nordique avec les recrutements de Mårten Bäck et de Philip Mikkelsen. La société de gestion peut désormais compter sur six personnes pour couvrir les pays nordiques.Basé à Stockholm, Mårten Bäck était précédemment responsable de la recherche des gérants pour SEB Wealth Management. Il sera chargé, chez GSAM, de bâtir des relations avec les principaux distributeurs d’Europe du Nord. Philip Mikkelsen vient de Danske Bank où il était responsable des institutions nordiques, un rôle qu’il occupera désormais chez GSAM. Sheila Patel, co-responsable de GSAM pour l’Europe, indique dans un communiqué que les pays nordiques sont prioritaires pour la société de gestion. Ces recrutements semblent s’inscrivent dans une stratégie d’expansion en Europe, si l’on en croit un article de Financial News Online du 1er mars, qui indique que GSAM a plus que doublé la taille de son équipe de distribution en Europe ces six derniers mois, à 70 collaborateurs. En France, des recrutements sont également prévus.

Avec des souscriptions de 20,8 milliards d’euros au quatrième trimestre, le secteur italien de la gestion d’actifs a terminé 2009 sur une collecte nette de plus de 35 milliards d’euros, rapporte Assogestioni, l’association italienne des professionnels de la gestion. A fin 2009, les encours sous gestion de l’ensemble du secteur atteignent 950 milliards d’euros, dont 82 % gérés par des groupes italiens. Les fonds ouverts finissent l’année avec un encours de 438 milliards d’euros, grâce à des entrées nettes de 6,4 milliards. Assogestioni souligne à cet égard que les encours des fonds de droit étranger sont désormais supérieurs à ceux de droit italien : 52 % pour les premiers avec 226 milliards d’euros et 48 % pour les seconds avec 212 milliards.