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11/02/2014

Coupon funds boost Italian inflows by 60%

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2013, Italian funds posted net inflows of EUR18.7bn, their best year since 1999. This return to grace has been favoured by banks, which thanks to a radical change in sales policy, have started offering funds again, especially coupon funds. According to a study carried out by Plus24, out of EUR48.7bn which were attracted to funds, about EUR30bn went to coupon funds, or 61% of the total. The newspaper stated that this is a low estimate, as asset management firms did not all disclose their data. Among the most active companies in coupon funds are Eurizon (EUR10bn in inflows to coupon funds in 2013), Pioneer Investments (EUR5.5bn), Aletti Gestielle (EUR4.7bn), Anima (EUR4.1bn), and Arca (EUR1.5bn). Plus24 claims that the commercial success of coupon funds is largely due to the attractive returns that sales networks can immediately earn.
11/02/2014

Schroders launches a fund dedicates to emerging market equities

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Schroders has launched a fund dedicated to emerging market equities and particuarly to small caps, Citywire reports. The Schroder ISF Global Emerging Markets Smaller Companies fund, domiciled in Luxembourg, is currently in incubation and is aimed at institutional investors as a top priority.
11/02/2014

Aviva Investors liquidates a real estate fund

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aviva Investors will liquidate its Property Investment fund with GBP78.9m in assets, due to its size, which makes it economically unviable, FT Adviser states. The fund had reached GBP200m in early 2011. Weak performance and redemptions had led to the fall in assets.
11/02/2014

Growth of shadow banking is still far from offsetting the shrinkage in bank balance sheets

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Although many banks have made substantial progress in reducing the size of hteir balance sheets, they still have some way to go to meet the requirements of regulators and investors. At a time when an economic recovery is emerging in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, parallel or shadow banking is continuing to grow both in terms of volume and offerings. The agency Standard & Poor’s estimates, however, that the growth of shadow banking in western Europe could be slowed by some factors despite clear signs of a growing need for financing alternatives.
11/02/2014

IOSCO consults on code of conduct for ratings agencies

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The international organisation of securities commissions (IOSCO) on 10 February published a consultation document on the foundations of a code of conduct for ratings agencies, which proposes significant changes to the current code from the organisation. The code was revised in 2008, after the bursting of the financial bubble, to introduce terms to improve the quality of information as well as reflections on the resolution of conflicts of interest related to the role of ratings agencies with issuers in the creation of structured products.
11/02/2014

Moody's publishes a guide to issuers based in China

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The financial ratings agency Moody’s on 11 February published a guide, the first of its kind, to issuers based in China, including ratings. The document includes the main financial data as well as a summary of the risk profile for each issuer rated by the agency. The first edition includes 139 issuers, 116 Corporate and product & Infrastructure, 22 financial institutions, and China as a sovereign issuer.
11/02/2014

Italian real estate funds will have more time to sell their portfolios

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the next few days, the Italian minister of the economy and finance will approve a measure which will allow asset management firms to make one-time extensions to the maturity dates for publicy-traded real estate funds, Plus24 reports. The rule will allow subscribers in the fund to share their opinions. The measure is meant to allow asset management firms to breathe, especialy those whose funds will soon be maturing, and whose portfolios are still full of real estate properties. According to the draft document obtained by Plus24, asset management firms will have to modify the rules for their funds by 30 June 2014, to insert a way to make a one-time extension to the duration of the fund for a maximal period of two years, for the purposes of completing sales of investments.
11/02/2014

PwC expects mergers and acquisitions to continue in 2014

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After a stable period following the crisis, the number of merger and acquisition operations put into action by French groups rose in 2012 and 2013, with a slight increase in the size of the businesses acquired, and reduced interest on the part of buyers in emerging markets, according to a study by the auditing and consulting firm PwC, covering merger and acquisition operations by French industrial groups between 2009 and 2013. In 2014, PwC predicts a slight increase in these operations, with particular interst in acquisitions in developed countries (France, other countries of Europe, and the United States), and an increase in the average size of target businesses.
11/02/2014

Horizons widening for asset management

The asset management industry may be looking at a bright future. According to a study released by PwC, assets under management worldwide, which now total about USD63.9trn, may see stratospheric growth, to a total of USD101.7trn by 2020, an annual growth rate of nearly 6%.In other words, asset management firms are increasingly expected to occupy the foreground, as European banks alone are expected to see a deficit in owners’ equity of USD380bn in the next five years, PwC estimates.Global AUM growth will be driven by pension funds, HNWIs and sovereign wealth funds, according to PwC. In 2012, the AM industry managed 36.5% of assets held by pension funds, sovereign wealth funds (SWF), insurance companies, mass affluent and high-net-worth individuals (HNWI). PwC predicts that by 2020 the AM industry will manage USD101.7 trillion of clients’ assets, implicitly assuming the penetration rate to remain constant. However, given the AM industry is successful in penetrating these clients assets further, PwC believe that the AM industry would be able to increase their share of managed assets by 10% to a level of 46.5%, which would in turn represent a USD130 trillion in global AUM. Also, assets under management in the South America, Asia, Africa, Middle East economies are set to grow faster than in the developed world in the years leading up to 2020, creating new pools of assets that can potentially be tapped by the AM industry. However, the majority of assets will still be concentrated in the US and Europe.
11/02/2014

EFG AM recruits a head of equities

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss equity specialist Urs Beck has joined EFG Asset Management to oversee the launch of a fund dedicated to the Swiss market, Citywire reports. Urs Beck previously worked at the Cantonal Bank of Zurich, where he was responsible for Swiss equities in institutional and retail mandates.
11/02/2014

Ofi AM adds to its convertibles team

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stanislas Grenet, in charge of the credit arbitrage activity at Ofi Asset Management, is joining the convertible bond team at the asset management firm Ofi AM, led by Nancy Scribot–Blanchet et Olivier Ravey. Grenet will continue his credit arbitrage management activity. He reinforces the new team for the creation and management of synthetic convertibles. Grenet joined ADI Alternative Investments in 2006 as a manager-analyst for convertibles, and was later taken over by the Ofi group.
11/02/2014

Inflows for Barings in France despite emerging markets

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Despite its significant exposure to emerging markets, Barings in France has managed to finish the year 203 with net inflows of EUR80m, Benoît du Mesnil du Buisson, chairman of Baring Asset Management France, tells Newsmanagers. Assets under management as of the end of December 2013 totalled slightly over EUR1bn, compared with EUR900m as of the end of 2012. Groupwide, assets under management remained stable at about EUR44bn.
11/02/2014

Two hedge funds face off over Argentine debt

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As Argentine is facing a seond default in 13 years, two US hedge funds are playing a central role but on opposing sides in effort to help the country through its current crisis, the Wall Street Journal relates. The two firms, Gramercy Funds Management and Elliott Management, have hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. But they have adopted contrary tactics in their attempts to get their money back. Gramercy, which has USD3.9bnin assets, is advising Argentine behind the curtain on how to restore their reputation with the international community and regain access to the markets. Gamercy is facing off against Elliott, which has been fighting Argentina for years.
11/02/2014

Algebris seeking new distribution agreements in Italy

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Algebris Investments wants to continue to grow through new sales agreements, Alessandro Alsagna, COO of the structure, which has EUR1.5bn in assets, explains to Bluerating. “In partnership with a fund with only one strategy, we have in the past few years reached the point of managing various managed accounts and six funds, three of which are in UCITS format,” the director says. To sell this range, “We have in all eight agreements with distribution networks.”
11/02/2014

Kairos Partners recruits a veteran of Franklin Templeton

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian asset management firm Kairos Partners, in which Julius Baer owns a stake, has recruitd Amir Kuhdari as head of sales. Kuhdari has worked for the past seven years at Franklin Templeton Italia, where he was sales manager and head of retail.
11/02/2014

Pimco teams up with GWM in Italian real estate

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Pimco has signed a joint venture with GWM, a financial company controlled by the Italian Diaz Pallavicini and Rovati families, in order to invest in shopping centres and sales points in Italy and Europe, Plus24, the money supplement of Il Sole – 24 Ore, reports. The partnership will have about EUR1bn, due to a contribution of EUR500m from the two partners (70% Pimco and 30% GWM), while the rest will come from financing. GWM will manage the investments. The first investment has already been made for EUR130m: the Da Vinci shopping centre located in the vicinity of one of the Rome airports. It is the largest shopping cente in Italy, with an area of 56,000 square metres.
11/02/2014

Myra launches a multi-asset class fund of funds

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The investment boutique Myra Capital is proposing to launch a new multi-asset fund of funds to offer a more diversified approach to the market, Citywire reports. The Mura Solidus Global fund will be domiciled in Luxembourg, and may be launched in early March, after obtaining regulatory clearance. The absolute return strategy will invest as a priority in actively-managed funds and ETFs.
11/02/2014

DeAWM launches a low-cost ETF range

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) is launching the “Core ETF” range, which will have a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.09% per year, or 9 basis points. The low-cost range includes ETFs which are already part of the offerings from the asset management firm, but which will have their fees reduced. This includes the X-trackers FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (DR), whose TER will be cut from 0.30% to 0.09% per year, and the db X-trackers DAX® UCITS ETF (DR), whose TER will be lowered from 0.15% to 0.09% per year. The 9 bp range will be complemented by the db X-trackers Eurostoxx 50 (DR), which will soon (during 1st quarter 2014) be converted to physical replication and will be complemented by another ETF of the MSCI USA index. “With this range of low-cost ETFs, we are seeking both to improve our range of current investors, and to extend our base of investors. With low TER, liquidity, transparency and visibility, this new range will interest a wide range of investors,” says Reinhard Bellet, head of DeAW Passive Asset Management, in a statement. With this initiative, DeAWM is entering the price war on the ETF market, which already involves Vangaurd, BlackRock and Lyxor.
11/02/2014

Deutsche A&WM launches a China ETF in Milan

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management and Harvest Global Investments are launching a physical replication ETF on the Milan stock exchange based on the CSI300 index, composed of Chinese A-class equities. The db x-trackers CSI00 Index UCITS ETF (DR) is, according to its promoter, the first ETF compliant with UCITS in Italy to offer investors direct access to the Chinese equity market.
11/02/2014

Pension fund Etera selects State Street for fund administration

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Finnish pension fund Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company (Etera) has awarded a mandate to State Street to provide a range of solutions for pension funds. The mandate for services from State Street on more than EUR5.6bn in assets under management will include securities custody, fund accounting, securities lending, derivative product compensation, collateral management, routing of UCITS orders, and dailyrisk monitoring services. “Institutional investors need access to data in real time to optimise their investment decisions. That helps to explain why nearly 90% of them are planning to invest in order management and execution systems in the next three years”, says Paola Bergamaschi, head of solutions dedicated to pension funds for the EMEA region at State Street.
11/02/2014

Church of England increases its exposure to alternative investments

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The investment unit of the Church of England, Church Commissioners, is increasing its allocation of assets to alternative investments to 33%, Financial News reports. One quarter of the portfolio of GBP4bn is now invested in alternatives.
11/02/2014

Canadian pension fund starts up an internal hedge fund

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CAD175bn in assets) is launching an in-house hedge fund at its London office, Financial News reports. To do that, the Canadian pension fund has recruited Dureka Carrasquille from Tranberg Capital. Alain Carrier, head of Europe at CPPIB, says that the fund wants to recruit a team of five professionals to construct a long/short portfolio to target Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
11/02/2014

KIC creates a research centre

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Korean sovereign fund, Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), will create a research centre with 20 people to assist with its macro and microeconomic analysis process, Asian Investor reports. The new head of the pension fund, Ahn Hank Hong-Chul, says he take inspiration from major sovereign funds such as NBIM in Norway and GIC in Singapore, which have put research at the core of their investment processes. Assets under management at KIC total about USD72bn.
11/02/2014

Duke Street sells Marlin Financial Group to Cabot Credit Management

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Duke Street, a British private equity firm majority owned by the French asset management boutique Tikehau, has announced that it has signed an agreement to sell its stake in Marlin Financial Group, one of the leaders in debt repurchasing in the United Kingdom, to Cabot Credit Management Limited. The transaction values Marlin at about GBP295m, a statement says.
11/02/2014

Neil Woodford unveils new firm

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Neil Woodford, the star manager who left Invesco to join an entrepreneurial project at Oakley Capital, will manage assets under his own name, Fundweb reveals. Woodford Investment Management was founded on 15 January. The firm is located in offices in Oakley, which Woodford will join on 1 May.
11/02/2014

Coutts hires a new chief investment officer

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British private bank Coutts has announced the recruitment of Arne Hassel as its new chief investment officer from April 2014, Money Marketing reports. Hassel, who previously worked ass co-head of multi-asset class allocation for the Universities Superannuation Scheme in London, succeeds Gayle Schumacher, who has been appointed as managing director in charge of development projects, alongside the head of products, services and marketing, Ian Ewart.
11/02/2014

Fidelity launches tracker funds

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Fidelity Worldwide Investments wants to add to tis range of passively-managed funds aimed at independent financial advisers, with the launch in March this year of strategies based on Europe ex UK, Japan, emerging markets and the Pacific ex Japan region. The Us group already offers passeive strategies for the US, the world and the United States. The funds will be available to independent advisers and a few wealth managers on the Fidelity FundsNetwork platform. The funds charge 0.16% for Europe ex-UK, 0.27% for emerging markets, 0.15% for Japan and 0.2% for the Pacific ex-Japan region. The tracker funds are managed by Geode Capital Management, an institutional asset managemnent firm created by Fidelity Investments.
11/02/2014

AMP Capital appoints a new head of fixed income

Simon Warner has been appointed as head of fixed income for AMP Capital, effective immediately. He replaces Mark Beardow, who was announced as chief investment officer of specialist investment teams in December 2013.Simon Warner has held the role of AMP Capital’s Head of Macro Markets within the fixed income team for the past seven years, Prior to joining AMP Capital in March 2007, he held a range of investment roles with JPMorgan Chase in London, Sydney and Singapore. The fixed income team has 30 dedicated investment professionals based in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Chicago.
11/02/2014

Hedge fund Fenician recruits a CEO

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The London-based hedge funds Fenician Capital has recruited Andrew Crane of Investcorp as its CEO, Financial News reports. Crane had previously worked for VHC Partners and Fielity Investments.
11/02/2014

Source recruits a director of intermediaries in the United Kingdom

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The ETP provider Source has recruited Dominic Clabby as director of intermediaries in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Fund Web reports. He will cover platforms, intermediaries and independent financial advisers. Clabby was previously at Axa Elecate.

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