Recherche
S'abonner
Connexion
Asset Management
Accueil Asset Management Actualités
27/08/2009

Grey Owl opens Opportunity Strategy to high net worth private clients

The asset management firm Grey Owl, founded in May 2009 by two former employees of Merrill Lynch (C. Eric Brugel and Jeffery S. Erber), has announced that after receiving more than EUR160m in subscriptions already, it will now be offering its “all-season” Opportunity Strategy to high net worth private clients. Minimal subscription will be set at USD250,000. The investment horizon will vary from a minimum of three to five years.Grey Owl is based in Falls Church, Virginia, and profiles itself as a firm which operates far from the “large, mismanaged investment management firms” of Wall Street, which it claims are oriented to product sales rather than to providing “best-in-class” investment advising.Brugel and Erber support a “back-to-basics” approach which aims to identify undervalued shares which offer a prospect of major capital gains. They aim to select 15 to 25 positions in equities, traditional funds, sectoral ETFs, and bond instruments.
27/08/2009

Terra Firma acquires Everpower Wind

The British private equity investor Terra Firma has acquired the American firm Everpower Wind Holdings Inc. from Good Energies (Brenninkmeijer group). The Börsen-Zeitung states that, according to unconfirmed reports, the sale price is said to have been USD350m.
27/08/2009

Crédit Agricole : net subscriptions for H1

For the first half of this year, the asset management operation at Credit Agricole, which is bound to take over Société Générale Asset Management, shows net subscriptions of EUR2.8bn. AUM thus rose to EUR473bn at June 30th from EUR457bn at end-December, but are down from EUR490bn yoy. The asset management, insurance and private banking division registered net inflows to the tune of EUR14.5bn for the first six months of this year, which helped AUM to reach EUR775.5bn by the end of June. Net profit after minority interests plummetted 26.3% yoy to EUR370m.
27/08/2009

Rabobank attracts EUR3bn in subscriptions in first half

Net subscriptions in first half to Robeco, Sarasin and Schretlen & Co have totalled EUR3bn, while assets under management and custody increased 6%, to a total of EUR195bn as of 30 June.The division nonetheless shows a net loss of EUR9m, compared with net profits of EUR131m in the corresponding period of 2008, excluding capital gains on the sale of Alex. This deterioration is due to a decline in ordinary and performance commissions.
27/08/2009

Rabobank results affected by toxic loans

Netherlands Rabobank has posted net profits of EUR1.3bn for first half 2009 (compared with EUR1.6bn in the first half of the previous year), La Tribune reports. Toxic loans will remain a considerable issdue in second half, the bank warns.
27/08/2009

AP1 posts first net outflows

As of the end of June, assets in the pension fund Första AP-fonden (AP1) totalled SEK181.4bn, which represents an increase of SEK9.8bn compared with 31 December, though net investment income totalled SEK11.5bn, a net performance of 6.7%, compared with losses of 8%. This difference is due to the fact that AP1 has seen net outflows for the first time, of SEK1.7bn, largely due to the retirement of employees of the “baby boom” generation.AP1 says in its half-yearly report that it has altered its asset management model, and now prefers an absolute returns formula to an active management policy. Before fees, performance of listed assets totalled 7.5%, while the alternative allocation lost 4.4% (or SEK400m), largely due to a depreciation of 6% in the value of real estate assets.
27/08/2009

Merrill Lynch bonuses: Judge accuses SEC of complacency

After accusing Bank of America directors of lying to their shareholders about USD3.6bn in bonuses awarded to Merrill Lynch executives, Judge Rakoff has now accused the SEC of complacency. The District Court of Manhattan judge has challenged the “amicable settlement” reached between the SEC and BoA, by which the bank paid a fine of USD33m. Rakoff argues that a more severe sanction needs to be imposed on the directors responsible rather than on shareholders.
27/08/2009

ABN Amro wants to finish winding down by the end of the year

Les Echos reports that the Dutch banking group ABN Amro lost EUR2.656bn in first half, largely from the activities it sold to RBS, compared with profits of EUR2.9bn one year previously. The dismantling of ABN Amro has still not been completed. The group is hoping to complete the process by the end of this year, but the operation is still dependent on selling off assets, particularly the sale of Holland Bank to Deutsche Bank, for which the Netherlands government will need to resolve some details to comply with European Union requirements.
27/08/2009

Asset management at Dexia triples net profits in Q2, to EUR6m

Dexia on Wednesday evening announced that net profit at its asset management division in April-June totalled EUR6m, compared with EUR2m in first quarter. In second quarter 2008, it totalled EUR24m. For first half as a whole, this EUR8m corresponds to a 79.8% decrease compared with the EUR41m in January-June of last year.Revenues for asset management contracted in April-June by 37% compared with second quarter 2008, and are up 17% compared with January-March 2009, and assets have increased in Q2 by EUR4bn, or 5%, largely due to positive market effects.Dexia states that “net inflows have been satisfactory for institutional funds, but retail funds are still showing outgoing volumes, though these are less considerable in size.”
27/08/2009

Liechtenstein and Luxembourg ratify double taxation agreement

Liechtenstein on 26 August signed a double taxation agreement with Luxembourg, the fourth such agreement since the principality decided to comply with OECD standards in cooperation with the tax authorities of other countries. With the ratification of this agreement, the principality “continues to meaningfully deploy international cooperation in matters of taxation,” the principality’s prime minister, Klaus Tschütscher, says in a statement.
27/08/2009

Hermes speaks out against German brain drain danger

The British management firm Hermes on Wednesday sent a letter to the presidents of the 80 largest German companies (the businesses included in the Dax and MDax indexes) to tell them that in their opinion, a rule that forbids board members from becoming members of the supervisory board for two years after they leave their jobs runs the risk of costing the companies precious experience and expertise, the Financial Times reports. The rule is included in a new law on remuneration which came into force this month, and has also come in for criticism from the largest asset management firm in the country, DWS (Deutsche Bank group).
27/08/2009

AWD posts losses

In first half, sales at AWD (Swiss Life group) contracted by 20% to EUR258.3m. The German financial services provider has posted negative earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR10.3m, compared with profits of EUR27.2m, while net losses totalled EUR8.9m, compared with profits of EUR20m. Due to the continuing financial crisis, AWD has announced that it will be accelerating its “Milestone” cost reduction program, with a resizing of the holding company at the top, and an optimization of back-office functions for German companies of the group. Following the abandonment of several sponsorship programs, AWD is now planning to reduce its spending on marketing and administrative functions, which could generate savings of EUR7m in 2009. In 2010, the volume of savings aimed for it EUR17.5m.
27/08/2009

New money market instruments for British insurers

After an extensive consultation, the association of British insurers (ABI) has decided to create a new investment sector within the money markets, entitled “Deposit & Treasury.” The constraints for the new category for available instruments and their maturities will be stricter than those for the current sector, which will nonetheless continue to exist, the association says in a statement. The new category, which will be available from 1 November, will respond to investors’ desire to have a sector in the wake of the crisis in which capital preservation will be the main priority. “This initiative is good news for consumers. It will make life easier for investors seeking stability in a volatile context. No sector can cover all risks, but this new segment will consist only of the simplest available funds,” says Maggie Craig, director of life and savings at the association. Among the instruments to be made available in the new category will be time deposits, deposit certificates, and British government bonds. All instruments will be denominated in pounds sterling, and will have a maximal time to maturity of 12 months.
27/08/2009

Net subscriptions total EUR16.5bn in first half

Initially, the BVI association had estimated net subscriptions to German asset management firms in first half at EUR3.7bn. This applies only to funds on sale in Germany. With the addition of funds on sale abroad and mandates, net inflows for the asset management sector totalled EUR16.5bn, the association states.As of the end of June, total assets thus increased by nearly EUR52bn in six months, to a total of EUR1.5664trn. Two thirds of this growth is due to positive market effects.
27/08/2009

Hedge funds post gains in July

The Barclay index of hedge funds has posted further gains in July. The 2,303 funds of the index which had reported results as of 26 July had earned an average of 3.04% last month, which brings average gains for the first seven months of the year to 14.31%. Only equity short bias shows a loss (of 10.88%) in January-July, but this includes only 11 products. The strongest results were for convertibles arbitrage (35.60%, for 36 funds), and emerging markets (27.66%, for 356 funds).
27/08/2009

NYSE Euronext and LSE look to India

L’Agefi reports that the two stock market operators NYSE Euronext and the London Stock Echange may each acquire 55 of the new Indian stock market MCX. The founders of the MCX-SX market will be required to reduce their stakes by the 15th of September to comply with regulations.
27/08/2009

European management industry reganing confidence

Les Echos reports that estimates by Lipper Feri finds that the European management industry started the summer on a good note, with EUR4bn in inflows in June to bond funds, and EUR7bn to equities funds. In first half, products invested in debt (excluding junk bonds) from European companies posted subscriptions of EUR19bn, while those invested in equities took on EUR30bn. Carmignac has posted the largest inflows in Europe, with EUR2.1bn in June, and EUR7.5bn in first half.
27/08/2009

Net redemptions at a two-year high

According to estimates by the Inverco association of asset management firms, assets un securities funds as of the end of July totalled EUR161.37bn, which represents an increase of more than EUR1.26bn or 0.8% since the end of June, and the largest increase in 27 months. Meanwhile, net redemptions have totalled EUR196m, the smallest amount since April 2007.In the first seven months of the year, net outflows contracted to slightly over EUR9.2bn, while they were as much as EUR35.12bn in the corresponding period of 2008.
27/08/2009

D'une reprise en U à une reprise en W

Le Président de la Banque centrale européenne (BCE) a aiguisé l’intérêt pour l’actualisation trimestrielle des prévisions de croissance de la BCE. Donnant rendez-vous la semaine prochaine pour le concret, Jean-Claude Trichet déclarait le mois dernier certes toujours s’attendre à une reprise en 2010 (une séquence de hausses trimestrielles du produit intérieur brut, PIB), mais laissait sous-entendre que celle-ci pourrait s’observer plus tôt que prévu, avant même le milieu de l’année prochaine.
26/08/2009

BNY Mellon va augmenter son effectif d'un tiers

Actuellement, BNY Mellon compte environ 150 collaborateurs à Hong-Kong, où se trouve la direction de ses activités pour l’Asie-Pacifique (16 bureaux dans 12 pays de la région). Le groupe américain a l’intention de recruter 50 personnes supplémentaires dans la Zone économique spéciale chinoise d’ici à fin 2010 afin de renforcer sa gestion d’actifs ainsi que ses activités de services dans les domaines des valeurs mobilières et de la trésorerie. Des locaux supplémentaires ont été loués au 14ème étage du Three Pacific Place, ce qui permettra de regrouper sur un même plateau les personnels de la gestion d’actifs.
26/08/2009
Fonds

Les fonds de mandats intéressent davantage

L’affaire Madoff a enrayé la belle croissance des fonds de fonds, en mettant en cause la «due diligence», la transparence et la liquidité de ces produits, observe le Financial Times Fund Management. Dans ce contexte, certains professionnels de la gestion d’actifs pensent que les investisseurs et les gestionnaires d’actifs vont s’intéresser davantage aux fonds de mandats. C’est le cas de Joanna Munro, CEO de la multigestion de HSBC Global Asset Management, qui estime que ces véhicules sont notamment plus contrôlables. Quoi qu’il en soit, pour l’instant, les chiffres de Lipper FMI ne montrent pas qu’il y a eu un transfert d’actifs des fonds de fonds vers les fonds de mandats.
Fonds
26/08/2009

Thames River Capital recrute un ancien gérant de Fidelity

Thames River Capital annonce la nomination de Trygve Tøraasen en tant que gérant dans son équipe d’actions européennes. Il sera en charge du fonds Thames River European Fund, qu’il cogérera avec Carlos Moreno.Trygve Tøraasen était auparavant gérant chez Fidelity Investments du FMR Europe Fund et du European Dynamic Growth Fund.
26/08/2009

Démission du CEO de la VP Bank

Lors de la présentation des résultats semestriels, la VP Bank a annoncé qu’en raison de divergences quant à l’orientation stratégique du groupe, Adolf E. Real est convenu avec le conseil d’administration de quitter au 30 septembre le poste de CEO qu’il occupait depuis onze ans. L’intérim sera assuré par Fredy Vogt, directeur financier (CFO).
26/08/2009

Baisse du bénéfice de la VP Bank

Pour le premier semestre, la VP Bank fait état d’un bénéfice net de 26,9 millions de francs suisses contre 41 millions, ce qui est imputé à un environnement de marché difficile et volatil.L’encours à fin juin a progressé à 28,9 milliards de francs contre 28,5 milliards : si l’effet de marché s’est traduit par une augmentation de 1,4 milliard de francs, les retraits nets ont porté sur 1 milliard. Toutefois, les montants sous conservation se sont accrus pour janvier-juin de 4,4 milliards de francs pour atteindre 11 milliards.
26/08/2009
Fonds

Les fonds suédois AP2 et AP4 en hausse

Le fonds de pension suédois AP2 a affiché un rendement de 6,4 % au premier semestre de cette année, grâce à sa forte exposition aux actions. Le fonds de 182,5 milliards de couronnes suédoises est investi à hauteur de 34 % dans des actions étrangères et 18 % en actions suédoises. Par ailleurs, le fonds de pension AP4, pesant 175,7 milliards de couronnes, a de son côté enregistré un rendement de 7,9 % sur les six premiers mois de l’année.
Fonds
26/08/2009
Fonds

98 % des Suédois investissent dans des fonds

98 % des Suédois (âgés entre 18 et 74 ans) épargnent dans des fonds, indique l’association suédoise des fonds d’investissement (Fondbolagens Förening) dans une étude publiée récemment à l’occasion de son trentième anniversaire. En excluant les fonds dédiés à la retraite, 74 % de la population suédoise souscrivent à un fonds.Le marché suédois des fonds d’investissement représente 4.000 fonds et un encours de 1.200 milliards de couronnes suédoises (soit près de 120 milliards d’euros). A la faveur de la crise, la part des fonds de taux a augmenté de 14 % à 32 % entre 2000 et 2008, tandis que celle des fonds actions a chuté de 67 % à 46 %. Les hedge funds représentent 5 % des actifs totaux. Contrairement aux autres pays, les épargnants suédois peuvent aussi investir de petites sommes dans ce type de fonds.
Fonds
26/08/2009

Temasek s'intéresse toujours aux financières

Malgré ses expériences malheureuses, notamment avec Merrill Lynch et Barclays, Temasek Holdings continue de s’intéresser aux financières, en particulier asiatiques, a indiqué mardi la CEO du fonds souverain singapourien, Ho Ching. La Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung rapporte que Temasek envisage des investissements dans les domaines des infrastructures et des matières premières. A moyen terme, le fonds prévoit de regrouper ses participations dans les infrastructures et de les ouvrir aux particuliers au travers de fonds qui seraient cotés à Singapour.Suppiah Dhanabalan, président du conseil d’administration, a précisé pour sa part que Temasek compte à présent renforcer le contrôle qu’il exerce sur les entreprises dans lesquelles il détient une participation, afin de s’assurer de leur discipline financière et de leur bonne gouvernance.
26/08/2009
Fonds

APG affecte 150 millions d'euros aux énergies renouvelables

Le Global Top-down Strategies Fund (3,5 milliards d’euros d’encours) a investi 150 millions d’euros depuis fin mai dans 40 entreprises du secteur des énergies renouvelables, dont Areva, Westas Wind Systems et ABB, rapporte Responsible Investor. Le fonds est géré par cinq personnes, dont Frank Smudde, pour le compte d’APG Asset Management, filiale du fonds de pension ABP des fonctionnaires néerlandais (180 milliards d’euros).
Fonds

Sujets d'actualité

Tous les sujets