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30/06/2009

JPMorgan closes fund managed by former Citi chiefs

JPMorgan Chase is closing a private equity fund with more than USD600m in assets, Brysam Global Partners, managed by former executives of Citigroup Robert Willumstad and Marjorie Magner, the Financial Times reports. The closure of the fund, launched in 2007 with money from JPMorgan and its founders, does not mark the end of the career of the two executives.
30/06/2009

Sal. Oppenheim (France) offers a reactive fund

The product range from Sal. Oppenheim (France) now includes the Multi Invest OP, a reactive fund of funds which was granted a license by the French market regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, at the end of April 2009. The management process for the fund, created in 1999, was modified in 2003. Since then, the product has been a reactive fund of funds, whose allocation may vary from a 100% money market portfolio to a portfolio invested 100% in equities. Despite having the composition of a diversified portfolio, the objective of the fund is to outperform the MSCI World index on a five-year horizon. Allocation is determined by a quantitative model which analyses a number of factors, primary among them the behaviour of the markets, including intra-day volatility, based on a multi-asset class approach (geographical and sectoral). 60 different asset classes are analysed. When the model recommends investment, the allocation procedure is to select the most attractive asset classes, up to a maximum of ten, and then to invest with equal weighting in each of these asset classes, with each of them limited to 10% in order to diversify the portfolio. Characteristics (R-class shares) Name of fund: Multi Invest OP ISIN Code: LU0103598305 Subscription commissions: 5.25% maximum Management fees: Set: 1.80% Variable: 15% on annual performance exceeding 8% Value of one share: EUR42.77 (as of 31/05/09) Minimal subscription: none
30/06/2009

Harewood AM launches an UCITS III fund

Harewood Asset Management, a management firm owned 100% by BNP Paribas, is launching the Harewood Quant’ Guru Europe Equity fund, an international equities FCP fund compliant with UCITS III and eligible for PEA. The fund is available to all types of investors (institutional and retail). The FCP fund is exposed to the BNP Paribas GURU Equity Europe Long Total Return strategy index. “The strategy is inspired by the approach developed and long used by the best managers, the ‘financial gurus,’ who have shown an ability to stand out consistently in terms of performance over several decades. The rigorous approach is based on fundamental analysis of companies,” a press statement explains. “The strategy used by the fund concentrates on three essential questions, which must be asked of all investments: 1) Is the business profitable? 2) Are its outlooks favourable? And 3) Is it attractively priced?” the statement continues. The portfolio for the strategy is reviewed on a monthly basis and is composed of an average of 120 European businesses. In highly volatile markets, often characterized by periods of decline, the strategy may reduce its exposure to equities to preserve value. Characteristics Name of fund: Harewood Quant’ Guru Europe EquityISIN Code: FR0010730077 (A-class, institutional shares) Subscription commission: 3% maximum Management fees (as a percentage of net assets): 1% maximumValue of one share: EUR1,000Minimal subscription: 250 shares
30/06/2009

Blackstone raises USD4.3bn

La Tribune reports that the US private equity firm Blackstone has raised USD4.3bn for the Real Estate Partners Europe III fund, which will invest in European real estate.
30/06/2009

MEAG launches a fund aimed at charities

On 24 June, MEAG Munich Ergo Asset Mangement launched the MEAG FairReturn fund, aimed primarily at charities. The product is a diversified absolute return fund investing primarily in Europe, which is managed with a sustainable development (ESG) approach. Minimal subscription is set at EUR10,000. The portfolio is largely composed of bonds, complemented by equities and derivatives. The strategy has already been in use since 2002 on behalf of Munich Re, and fund find generated returns of over 3% in 2008. MEAG is the management firm for Munich Re and the primary insurer Ergo. In this capacity it manages about EUR187bn in assets.
30/06/2009

Real estate funds have positive momentum

In the first five months of the year, the 46 open-ended real estate funds have posted net subscriptions of EUR2.28bn, of which EUR697.5m were in May. By comparison, open-ended securities funds attracted only EUR690.4m in investment in the same period. Total assets in real estate funds as of 31 May totalled EUR87.36bn. Of the 17 major asset management firms, which offer a total of 39 RE funds, only four have seen net redemptions, among them DEGI (Aberdeen group), with EUR280m, and RREEF (Deutsche Bank) with EUR256.8m. However, Commerz Real (Commerzbank) and Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE, co-operative banks) have posted net subscriptions, of EUR442.4m and EUR889.3m, respectively.
30/06/2009

Inverco to launch an ad campaign to promote funds

Beginning at the end of this month, the Inverco association of managemnet firms is planning to launch a “media offensive” to highlight the advantages of investment funds and pension funds, Mariano Rabadán, president of Inverco, tells El País. He says the outflows from investment funds have now let up, and that subscriptions are rebounding strongly. As to pension funds, Rabadán “has the impression” that they developed nicely in second quarter in terms of the number of members and of performance.
30/06/2009

Degroof sells Netherlands affiliate

L’Echo reports that the Netherlands activities of the Belgian bank Degroof will be taken over by its management. “The announcement is part of a larger refocusing of the Degroof bank on the group’s strategic activities, in Belgiu, Luxembourg and in France,” says a spokesperson for Banque Degroof based in Brussels. The Degroof affiliate which previously operated in the Netherlands under the name Degroof Vermogensbeheer will change its name to becme Stroeve en Lemberger Vermogensbeheer, from the beginning of July 2009.
30/06/2009

UBS expresses its regrets

According to Romandie.com, the Swiss bank UBS has said in a statement reported by the German television news show “Eco” that it regrets that its behaviour exposed Switzerland to international criticism, and that the reputation of the group has suffered due to its infractions to German and United States law.
30/06/2009

Swiss wealth manager on trial in Spain

A Swiss independent financial advisor came before a judge in Madrid in late May on charges of money-laundering and tax evasion, Le Temps reports. The Swiss newspaper, which knows the name of the manager but has published only his initial, G., says he is accused of assisting the Spanish entrepreneur Francisco Correa to establish offshore financial circuits which several provincial Spanish directors were able to use to corrupt ends. The wealth management firm for which G. works has been present in Geneva for over 30 years, and manages between CHF1bn and CHF2bn, Le Temps reports.
30/06/2009

KBC transfers three funds to its Czech affiliate

As of 30 June, KBC Asset Management is transferring the management of the Central Europe, Eastern Europe et Turkey sub-funds of its Belgian Sicav KBC Equity Fund to KBC Group NV CSOB Asset Management, based in Prague; the investment objectives and management fees for the products will remain unchanged. The move arises from a desire to make better use of local expertise, as KBC AM has affiliates in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. Assets in central and eastern Europe total EUR14bn.
30/06/2009

Standard Life Investments offers funds on distribution network in Scandinavia

The Luxembourg Sicav fund from the management firm Standard Life Investments (SLI) is now available in Scandinavia via the investment fund market MFEX. According to SLI, MFEX is the largest independent fund market in Europe: 268 management firms from 15 countries offer funds for sale in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. The sub-funds in question already have licenses for retail sale in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The 18 sub-funds of the Standard Life Investments Sicav are already available via a number of major distributors throughout Europe, including Aktia in Finland, dwpbank and Fidelity FundsNetwork in Germany, Merrant in Sweden, and Nordea in the Scandinavian and Baltic coutnries.
30/06/2009

Passive management gaining popularity

In Germany, the passive management boom is not only apparent in the strong subscriptions to ETF funds. It can also be seen in subscriptions to institutional funds (Spezialfonds). Universal Investment reckons its assets in passively-managed Spezialfonds at nearly EUR8bn, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. State Street, for its part, manages about EUR12.4bn for German and Austrian institutional clients in passive mandates, which represent 65% of its assets in the region. DB Advisors, the institutional management specialist of the Deutsche Bank group, manages about EUR6.8bn in passive equities and bond mandates.
30/06/2009

Candover ends sale negotiations

La Tribune reports that the British fund Candover has ended discussions with potential buyers. A potential sale does not offer enough “certainty and value for shareholders,” the firm stated, according to the newspaper.
30/06/2009

BlackRock launches an inflation-linked bond fund

The Luxembourg Sicav BlackRock Global Funds (BGF) from BlackRock since 19 June now has an additional sub-fund. The BGF Global Inflation Linked Bond Fund is aimed at subscribers with a long-term horizon, and will invest primarily in inflation-linked bonds issued anywhere in the world. The new product will be co-managed by Brian Weinstein and Adam Bowman. The fund will be denominated in US dollars, but Euro-hedged shares will be available. The average duration of bonds in the portfolio will be over 7 years, and the benchmark is the Barclays Capital World Inflation-Linked Bond Index (US hedged). Currently, BlackRock manages USD15.2bn in assets (as of the end of March) in index-based bond portfolios on behalf of institutionals, of which USD9.7bn are in mandates.
30/06/2009

Carlyle launches an Asia fund

Carlyle Group announced on Tuesday that it has raised USD1.04bn for a new fund, Carlyle Asia Growth Partners IV, which will aim to invest in fast-growing Asian companies, the Wall Street Journal reports.
30/06/2009

Impact of Madoff larger than official estimates

According to official figures, the fraud perpetrated by Bernard Madoff would appear to have claimed few victims in Italy, Il Sole - 24 Ore reports. An investigation by Consob (the Italian securities commission) of asset management finds that the exposure of funds, private portfolios and insurance policies to the Ponzi plan totals only EUR187m. But the Italian newspaper estimates that the impact of Madoff in Italy is far higher, since many Italians had invested in Switzerland or other countries.
30/06/2009

Mitsubishi UFJ to launch a specialised ETF

According to the Nikkei news agency, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co is planning to launch a new ETF on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in mid-July, which will replicate the evolution of the share prices of 26 companies of the Mitsubishi group, including Tokio Marine Holdings and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The management commission will be about 0.50%.
30/06/2009

Madoff receives maximum prison sentence

Les Echos reports that the New York broker Bernard Madoff, aged 61, was sentenced yesterday to a 150-year prison term for setting up the largest Ponzi scheme of all time. His defense lawyer, Ira Sorkin, yesterday pledged that his client would cooperate with authorities. The fraud has so far caused USD13.2bn in losses for 1,341 clients. But the impact of the fraud, valued at USD65bn, may be much larger.
30/06/2009

Stanford denied bail

US federal prosecutors are opposed to grant Sir Allen Stanford freedom on bail ahead of his trial for fraud, on the grounds that there is a risk the disgraced financier would flee, the Financial Times reports. Sir Allen has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges against him.
30/06/2009

State Street Bank & Trust receives Wells notice from SEC

State Street Corp has announced that its affiliate State Bank and Trust on 25 June received a Wells notice from the SEC concerning possible violations of securities legislation in relation to its disclosure policy and management of certain bond strategies in and before 2007. According to Pensions & Investments, staff at the SEC has requested permission from the Commissioners to file a civil suit.
29/06/2009

Gestion de fortune : KPMG prédit le grand ménage en Suisse

Selon Le Temps, une étude publiée le 26 juin par KPMG estime que la gestion de fortune suisse «se trouve à l’aube de grandes mutations». Selon le cabinet de conseil, la Suisse «a jeté par-dessus bord un postulat essentiel» en abandonnant la distinction entre fraude et soustraction fiscales. Il ajoute que le différend fiscal avec les Etats-Unis, dans l’affaire UBS, ainsi qu’avec plusieurs membres de l’Union européenne «va conduire à une refonte massive du cadre réglementaire». Là-dessus, une pression «alarmante» et «sans précédent sur les coûts ne fait qu’accentuer la tendance». Un tel chamboulement du contexte réglementaire, économique et politique ne peut pas rester sans conséquence pour un pays comme la Suisse, qui abrite environ un tiers des 11 000milliards de dollars gérés «offshore» (en dehors du pays de résidence du client), poursuivent les auteurs de l’étude annuelle «Hungry for more» réalisée par le cabinet de conseil. Les gestionnaires de fortune seront donc contraints de créer de nouveaux modèles d’entreprise, «novateurs et crédibles». Vu l’"extrême fragmentation» du secteur, «une forte consolidation» se dessine par ailleurs.
29/06/2009

Gestion de fortune : KPMG prédit le grand ménage en Suisse

Selon Le Temps, une étude publiée le 26 juin par KPMG estime que la gestion de fortune suisse «se trouve à l’aube de grandes mutations». Selon le cabinet de conseil, la Suisse «a jeté par-dessus bord un postulat essentiel» en abandonnant la distinction entre fraude et soustraction fiscales. Il ajoute que le différend fiscal avec les Etats-Unis, dans l’affaire UBS, ainsi qu’avec plusieurs membres de l’Union européenne «va conduire à une refonte massive du cadre réglementaire». Là-dessus, une pression «alarmante» et «sans précédent sur les coûts ne fait qu’accentuer la tendance». Un tel chamboulement du contexte réglementaire, économique et politique ne peut pas rester sans conséquence pour un pays comme la Suisse, qui abrite environ un tiers des 11 000 milliards de dollars gérés «offshore» (en dehors du pays de résidence du client), poursuivent les auteurs de l’étude annuelle «Hungry for more» réalisée par le cabinet d econseil. Les gestionnaires de fortune seront donc contraints de créer de nouveaux modèles d’entreprise, «novateurs et crédibles». Vu l’«extrême fragmentation» du secteur, «une forte consolidation» se dessine par ailleurs.
29/06/2009

Gestion de fortune : KPMG prédit le grand ménage en Suisse

Selon Le Temps, une étude publiée le 26 juin par KPMG estime que la gestion de fortune suisse «se trouve à l’aube de grandes mutations». Pour le cabinet de conseil, la Suisse «a jeté par-dessus bord un postulat essentiel» en abandonnant la distinction entre fraude et soustraction fiscales. Il ajoute que le différend fiscal avec les Etats-Unis, dans l’affaire UBS, ainsi qu’avec plusieurs membres de l’Union européenne «va conduire à une refonte massive du cadre réglementaire». Là-dessus, une pression «alarmante» et «sans précédent sur les coûts ne fait qu’accentuer la tendance». Un tel chamboulement du contexte réglementaire, économique et politique ne peut pas rester sans conséquence pour un pays comme la Suisse, qui abrite environ un tiers des 11.000 milliards de dollars gérés «offshore» (en dehors du pays de résidence du client), poursuivent les auteurs de l’étude annuelle «Hungry for more» réalisée par le cabinet de conseil. Les gestionnaires de fortune seront donc contraints de créer de nouveaux modèles d’entreprise, «novateurs et crédibles». Vu l’"extrême fragmentation» du secteur, «une forte consolidation» se dessine par ailleurs.
29/06/2009

La scission de Julius Baer entérinée mardi en AGE

Selon L’Agefi suisse, l’assemblée générale extraordinaire des actionnaires de Julius Baer Holding se prononcera le 30 juin sur la scission en deux groupes autonomes, bien capitalisés et cotés sur le marché suisse des actions, l’un actif dans le private banking, Julius Baer Group, et l’autre dans l’asset management, GAM Holding (composé de GAM, Artio Global Investors et Julius Baer Asset Management). Si tout se passe bien, Julius Baer Group et GAM Holding (anciennement Julius Baer Holding) deviendront cotées à partir de septembre prochain sur le marché SIX Swiss Exchange. Ces deux groupes seront indépendants en termes de leadership, de stratégie, de gestion financière et d’organisation, tout en ayant leur propre équipe de management.
29/06/2009

Gestion privée: les clients ne veulent plus être enfermés dans un profil type

Selon L’Agefi suisse, le métier de chargé de clientèle dans la gestion privée (CRM) s’est passablement étoffé, avec la sophistication des produits financiers et, plus récemment, l’évolution des demandes de clients traumatisés par le recul des marchés de l’an dernier. Les clients se contentent moins facilement d’un mandat de gestion qui se limite à la définition d’un profil de risque. Autre changement dans l’attitude des clients: ils souhaitent une transparence totale dans les prix (commissions de gestion) et dans les produits. Au niveau des grands patrimoines, une autre tendance se dessine, la volonté de prendre les choses en mains, à travers le private equity, l’immobilier ou la détention en ligne directe d’actifs.
29/06/2009

Nouvelle implantation suisse pour Sarasin & Cie

La Banque Sarasin & Cie SA a ouvert, le 26 juin, une succursale à Berne. Cette dernière constitue le cinquième site suisse de l'établissement après Bâle, Genève, Lugano et Zurich.
29/06/2009
Fonds

Le fonds de pension de Telefónica envisage une scission

Dans sa dernière lettre aux adhérents, le fonds de pension des salariés de Telefónica (3,08 milliards d’euros d’encours) annonce qu’il étudie la possibilité de se scinder en deux poches de profils différents adaptés à l'âge des adhérents, rapporte Expansión. Le fonds compte 42.758 adhérents, dont 13.976 pré-retraités et 14.896 bénéficiaires déjà retraités, catégorie qui est la plus sinistrée par les pertes subies depuis le début de la crise. Le fonds accusait en effet à fin mars une perte de 25,37 % sur un an et de 1,62 % depuis le début de l’année.
Fonds

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