Tandis que Citywire se prépare à lancer une nouvelle base de données et un site Web dédié aux produits, le site britannique s’est intéressé aux «OPCVM III-compliant " aussi dénommés «Newcits». Dans ce cadre, Citywire s’est focalisé sur les stratégies les plus performantes de l’an dernier. Sur plus de 200 fonds «Newcits» représentant un actif de plus de 35 milliards de dollars, Citywire a créé un univers de ces fonds pour réaliser un examen plus approfondi. Parmi les 54 fonds les plus performants de l’univers Newcits qui utilisent des stratégies long short equity sur les marchés développés, 31 d’entre eux affichent un track record d’un an et 20 de trois ans. Après les avoir étudiés dans leur monnaie locale afin de mieux refléter le marché, il ressort que le fonds le plus performant en 2009 - CF Octopus Partner (Absolute Return) de la société de gestion britannique Octopus - a enregistré un gain de 42,14% devant Moneta Long / Short de Moneta (+39,15 %) piloté par Patrice Courty avec l’aide de Stéphane Cuau et Antoine Peyronnet. Enfin, en troisième place, Henderson HF Pan European Alpha, dirigé par Paul Casson, a progressé de 34,78%.
Selon Asian Investor, la Deutsche Bank a conclu un accord de coopération avec Rakuten Securities pour que ce dernier distribue au Japon six ETF db x-trackers cotés à Hong-Kong. Il s’agit des ETF sur le Vietnam, la Chine, l’Inde, la Corée, Taiwan et les Etats-Unis. Au Japon, les ETF négociés aux Etats-Unis sont soumis à un prélèvement à la source sur les dividendes, ce qui n’est pas le cas pour ceux traités à Hong-Kong.
L’irlandais Skillsoft (e-learning et solutions de «performance support») a annoncé vendredi avoir accepté une offre d’acquisition de 1,1 milliard de dollars émanant de Berkshire Partners, Advent International Corp et Bain Capital Partners. La transaction s’effectuera sur la base de 10,80 dollars par action ou ADS, ce qui représente une prime de 26 % sur le cours de clôture moyen des ADS de Skillsoft sur l’année au 11 février. A l’unanimité, le board a recommandé aux actionnaires d’accepter cette offre.
Bank Sarasin & Co a revendu sa filiale de Lugano, Sarasin Colombo Gestioni Patrimoniali SA, à la famille Colombo, pour un montant non dévoilé. Cette société avait été acquise en 2007 pour renforcer la présence de l'établissement suisse sur le marché italien. «La situation de marché et les développements réglementaires de ces derniers mois en Italie ont poussé la direction de Bank Sarasin à saisir de nouvelles opportunités en Italie», indique un communiqué. «Durant ce processus, la famille Colombo a approché la Bank Sarasin et fait une offre pour racheter Sarasin Colombo Gestioni Patrimoniali. Les deux parties continueront leur coopération dans les années à venir».
«Dans les cinq prochaines années, nous voulons doubler nos encours sous gestion (aujourd’hui à 16 milliards d’euros) et nous rapprocher de l’objectif des 30 milliards d’euros d’ici à 2015", a déclaré Pietro Giuliani, président de la société de gestion italienne Azimut, rapporte Il Sole – 24 Ore. Pour y parvenir, il n’exclut pas des alliances et des acquisitions. Azimut a été créée en 1989, cotée en Bourse en juillet 2004 ; aujourd’hui elle est détenue à hauteur de 25,7 % par ses gérants et salariés. Par ailleurs, l’étranger représente désormais 10 % de ses encours.
Le luxembourgeois Assenagon Asset Management a indiqué avoir reçu de la BaFin l’agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne d’un fonds en euros conforme à la directive OPCVM III géré sur un modèle quantitatif par Dorian Ruffini (head of quantitative structuring) et qui propose un effet de cliquet à 80 % de chaque nouveau plus haut. Le portefeuille de ce fonds ouvert tant aux particuliers qu’aux institutionnels sera investi en indices sectoriels du DJ Stoxx 600 total return, l’objectif étant de surperformer grâce à une gestion active et à la détection de signaux de changement de tendance. La stratégie consistera également à passer d’ETF sectoriels actions à des ETF obligataires en cas de forte augmentation de la volatilité des marchés d’actions. D’autre part, le gérant pourra basculer jusqu'à 100 % en monétaire si le plancher des 80 % du plus haut s’approche.La rétropolation sur dix ans a montré selon Assenagon que cette stratégie aurait fourni un rendement supérieur à celui du DJ Stoxx 600 TR avec une volatilité correspondant à la moitié de ce benchmark. Et le niveau de protection n’aurait jamais été touché.Caractéristiques Dénomination : Assenagon Trend Sektor 80 ISIN : LU0475770987 (part P particuliers) LU0475769898 (part I institutionnelle) Prix d'émission : 50 euros (part P) 1.000 euros (part I) Droit d’entrée : 3 % (part P) Commission de gestion : 1,3 % (part P) 0,5 % (part I) Taxe d’abonnement : 0,05 (part P) 0,01 % (part I)
Aberdeen Immobilien KAG (anciennement DEGI) a annoncé vendredi qu’en raison de conditions de marché toujours difficile le gel des remboursements de parts du fonds immobilier offert au public DEGI International va être prolongé de neuf mois dans un premiers temps jusqu’au 16 novembre 2010.Pendant cette période, l'équipe de gestion s’efforcera de dégager des liquidités supplémentaires. Ce fonds d’environ 1,97 milliard d’euros d’encours (fin décembre) actuellement avait été fermé aux rachats fin octobre 2008 jusqu'à fin janvier 2009.Le 17 novembre (lire notre article du 18 novembre 2009), les remboursements avaient à nouveau été suspendus pour ce fonds ainsi que pour le DEGI Europa.
La banque privée Berenberg a annoncé l’embauche au 1er février de Markus Bunse comme patron de la distribution des fonds offerts au public auprès des banques, des gérants de fonds de fonds, des gestionnaires de fortune et des réseaux de courtiers.En dernier lieu, l’intéressé était responsable de la distribution et du marketing au comité directeur de Fiduka Depotverwaltung.
Bank Sarasin & Co. Ltd has agreed to sell its subsidiary, Sarasin Colombo Gestioni Patrimoniali SA, domiciled in Lugano, back to the Colombo family. In 2007 Bank Sarasin completed the acquisition of Colombo Gestioni Patrimoniali SA to strengthen its market position in the Italian market. The market situation and regulatory developments over the recent months in Italy have prompted the executive management of Bank Sarasin to pursue new business opportunities in Italy. During this process, the Colombo family has approached Bank Sarasin and made an offer to buy back Sarasin Colombo Gestioni Patrimoniali SA. Both parties wish to continue their cooperation in the years to come. They have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
“In the next five years, we would like to double our assets under management (currently EUR16bn), in order to approach our objective of EUR30bn by 2015,” says Pietro Giulani, president of the Italian asset management firm Azimut, Il Sole - 24 Ore reports. To achieve this, the firm has not ruled out alliances and acquisitions. Azimut was founded in 1989, and held its IPO in July 2004; it is now 25.4% owned by its managers and employees. Foreign investors account for 10% of assets under management.
Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) has announced the forthcoming launch in early April of a series of five indices which may serve as the underlying indices for financial products such as certificates or ETF funds. The five indices use the Ibex 35 as their basis, with variations. These include the Ibex 35 con Dividendos Netos index, on the one hand, and on the other hand, short and/or double or triple leveraged indices such as the Ibex 35 Doble Inverso, Ibex 35 Triple Inverso, Ibex 35 Doble Apalancado and Ibex 35 Triple Apalancado. BME states that it has begun a candidate selection process for licenses to launch ETFs based on the new indices.
The Sunday Times reports that the ING UK Real Estate Income Trust is offering 65 pence in equity or 62 pence in cash per share for the REIT Rugby Estates. This represents a substantial premium over the closing price for the REIT of 49 ½ pence per share on Friday, and values Rugby Estates at GBP29m.
DB Climate Change Advisors, the unit specialised in climate change within the asset management arm of Deutsche Bank, and the Nasdaq OMX on 11 February announced the launch of an index dedicated to clean technologies, the DB Nasdaq OMX Clean Tech Index. The index offers a real-time representation of the clean tech sector, with exposure to clean technologies, energy efficiency, transportation, waste management, and water. The index includes 119 firms selected from a universe of about 4,000 businesses, each with a market capitalisation of at least USD250m.
In its most recent quarterly study of the European credit markets, Fitch reports that according to European investors, banks are expected to continue to issue hybrid debt this year, despite volatility which has affected these instruments since the onset of the financial crisis. Nearly two thirds of investors surveyed agree with this assessment, but 55% of respondents estimate that the volume of issues will be modest, whiel only 9% expect significant amounts. “It may well be asked whether regulators will permit an increase in these issues at a time when new regulations are under preparation,” says Gerry Ratcliffe, Group Credit Officer for European banks at Fitch. On the other hand, new products may also play a role, such as “cocos” contingent convertibles), but it is still too soon to evaluate investors’ appetite for instruments of this type. Hybrid debt issues totalled EUR60.2bn in 2009, a slight decrease compared with the previous year (EUR61.8bn).
As of the end of January, total assets in ETFs worldwide were down 5% in one month, to a total of USD984bn (EUR725bn), according to statistics from BlackRock. At the end of the period, BlackRock counted a total of 2,053 ETFs listed 3,928 times on 14 stock markets, from 113 issuers. The number of ETF funds on the market increased 5.4%, with the launch of 106 products, while the number of ETFs on sale in Europe (896) exceeds the number of products available in the United States (791). BlackRock reports that 820 new funds are now in preparation. The three largest ETF providers remain the same as in previous months. iShares (BlackRock) remains well ahead, with 434 products and assets of USD470bn, corresponding to a market share of 47.8%. State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has 107 ETFs, with assets under management of USD139.1bn, representing 14.1% of the market, and Vanguard is in third place, with 47 funds, USD92.2bn, and 9.4% market share.
The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index lost 0.42% in January. For the month, the best-performing alternative strategies are: /S Credit Arbitrage Index (+2.10%); /S Equity Short Bias Index (+1.55%), and /S Equity Market Neutral Index (+1.51%). At the other end of the spectrum, the worst returns were for the following strategies: CTAs Long Term Index (-3.12%); CTAs Short Term Index (-1.93%); Global Macro Index (-1.27%), and L/S Equity Long Bias Index (0.65%). “Lyxor hedge indices” are investible hedge fund indices. Their returns are calculated on the basis of performance and assets in funds.
The Berenberg private bank has announced the recruitment of Markus Bunse as head of distribution for open-ended funds to banks, funds of funds, wealth managers and brokerage networks, effective 1 February. Bunse was most recently head of distribution and marketing and a member of the board at Fiduka Depotverwaltung.
The British management firm Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) has launched a fund which protects investors against the risk of inflation, the Royal London Global Index Linked Fund, which will be managed by George Henderson. The portfolio will be invested primarily in inflation-linked global bond indices (with 30 to 60 positions), but may also contain up to 30% traditional government and corporate bonds. Caracteristics of the fund Structure: OEICSize of fund at launch: GBP10mFront-end fee: A class: 4%; B class: 0%Management commission: A class: 0.70%; B class: 0.30%.Minimal investment: A class: GBP1,000; B class: GBP1mValuation: daily
Asian Investor reports that Deutsche Bank has signed a cooperation agreement with Rakuten Securities, by which the latter will provide distribution of six ETF tracker funds listed in Hong Kong. The ETFs cover Vietnam, China, India, Korea, Taiwan and the United States. In Japan, ETFs traded in the United States are subject to a withholding tax on dividends, which is not the case for funds traded in Hong Kong.
As of the end of January, assets under management in European ETF funds were down USD5.6bn, or 4% in one month, to a total of USD217.9bn, according to BlackRock. On this date, there were 896 products listed 2,468 times on 18 stock markets, while 67 new ETFs were launched in the first month of 2010. Among the 34 ETF issuers active on the market, three stand out with a total combined market share of 74.4%. These are iShares (BlackRock), with 172 products and USD82.5bn in assets, which is equivalent to a market share of 37.9%, Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale), in second place with 20.1% market share for 127 ETFs and USD43.8bn, and db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) with USD35.8bn in 118 ETFs, for a market share of 16.4%.
Agefi Switzerland reports that several hedge funds have recently arrived in Geneva, either completely relocating their activities there, or opening branch offices in the city. A Greek hedge fund has set up shop in Geneva in the past few weeks and is actively seeking office space. Managers for the USD3bn fund have decided to leave London, nd did not want to move back to Greece, due to the circumstances there at present. Other structures of a similar size are in similar straits. The situation is slightly different for the two British giants whose arrival in Geneva has been expected for several months: Blue Crest and Blue Howard are both reported to have leased office space in Geneva. In both cases, the move will not involve a complete relocation of London activities, but merely an opening of Swiss branch offices.
In fourth quarter 2009, Putnam Investments, now a part of the Canadian insurance group Great-West Lifeco, has cut its net losses to CAD35m, compared with CAD1.1bn in the last three months of 2008. As of 31 December 2009, assets under management at Putnam totalled CAD114.9bn, compared with CAD113.5bn as of the end of September, and CAD105.6bn at the end of 2008.
Asian Investor reports that Schroders Singapore has selected HSBC Securities Services as its sole provider of custody and fund administration services. The mandate was previously shared between HSBC and OCBC Trustee. Schroders will continue to rely on UBC Dexia for transfer agency services.
Assets under management at AllianceBernstein totalled USD480bn as of 31 January 2010, a 3.2% decline from the end of December 2009, according to preliminary estimates. The decline of about USD16bn is largely due to the negative perforamnce of equities investments and slight outflows.
EFG Asset Management France announced on Friday, 12 February, that Eve Nogues has joined the firm in the position of head of external distribution and prescriber relations. Since 2006, Nogues has served as head of sales to IFAs at VP Finance (Bance di Leonardo group). According to a statement from the asset management firm, the recruitment will among other things allow the firm to provide wider distribution of its wealth management OPCVM funds.
Russell Investments yesterday announced that it has completed the rebalancing of a pension fund, the MainePERS (Maine Public Employees Retirement System), with USD3.7bn in assets. The objective of the operation is to overhaul beta exposure to most assets of the program. In second half 2009, Russell Investments provided transitions for public pension funds in North America totalling over USD86bn in assets.
OFI Asset Management announced on Friday, 12 February, that it has appointed Nicolas Gomart and Christophe Lepitre to the board of directors at the asset management firm. Gomart, 45, will serve as deputy CEO in charge of alternative management and alternative multi-management activities, and of coordination and organization of development projects for the group. Lepitre, 46, has been appointed as deputy CEO of OFI Asset Management, a member of the executive board, in charge of supervision of risk controls, operations, and IT systems for the group.They both come from ADI, a company bought by OFI.
Investors are selling out of “junk” bonds at the fastest rate since September 2005, in the latest indication that concerns over sovereign debt are spreading to other credit markets, says the Financial Times. In the week that ended on Wednesday, nearly USD1bn was withdrawn from US funds that hold high-yield corporate bonds, according to Lipper FMI. It is the largest outflow in almost four and a half years.
The Luxembourg-based management firm Assenagon Asset Mangement has announced that it has received a license from BaFin to offer a fund for sale in Germany which complies with the UCITS III directive, managed following a quantitative model by Rodian Ruffini, head of quantitative structuring, which offers a watermark at 80% of its peak level. The portfolio of the fund, which is open to retail and institutional investors, will be invested in sectoral indices of the DJ Stoxx 600 total return index. The objective is to achieve outperformance through active management and the detection of signs of a change in market trends. The strategy will also move assets from sectoral equities ETF funds to bond ETFs in the event of a significant increase in volatility on equities markets. The manager may also move up to 100% of assets to money markets if the 80% of peak level is appraching. Assenagon reports that ten-year backtesting reveals that the strategy would have earned returns higher than the DJ Stoxx 600 TR index, with volatility corresponding to half that of the benchmark, and that the protection level would never have been reached. Characteristics Name: Assenagon Trend Sektor 80 ISIN: LU0475770987 (P class for retail investors) LU0475769898 (I class for institutional investors) Issue price: EUR50 (P class) EUR1,000 (I class) Front-end fee: 3% (P shares) Management commission: 1.3% (P class) 0.5% (I class) Subscription tax: 0.05% (P class) 0.01% (I class)
Aberdeen Immobilien KAG (formerly known as DEGI) announced on Friday that due to market conditions which remain difficult, a freeze on redemptions of shares in its open-ended fund DEGI International will be extended, initially for a further nine months, until 16 November 2010. During this period, the management team will continue its efforts to free up more liquidity. The fund, with about EUR1.97bn in assets (as of the end of December) was closed to redemptions at the end of October 2008, until the end of January 2009. On 17 November (see Newsmanagers of 18 November 2009), redemptions were again suspended for this fund and for the DEGI Europa fund.