P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Union Investment is adding to its range of products. The German asset management firm announced on 6 February that it is launching a convertible bond fund which will target sustainable investments, solely for institutional investors. The fund, UniInstitutional Global Convertibles Sustainable, managed by Sven Hölzer, will be domiciled in Luxembourg, and will target businesses which respect sustainable development criteria, such as those of the international labour organisation, and which do not infringe human rights. Its investment universe includes international convertibles as well as derivatives, money market instruments and fixed or variable rate papers.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Unlike the past two years, the first month of 2014 will be marked by massive redemptions related to concerns on emerging markets. ETPs dedicated to emerging markets have seen outflows never before seen in a single month, totalling USD10bn. The month of January finished with global outflows of USD9.7bn, largely related to redemptions from equity strategies, totalling USD10.8bn, according to initial estimates from BlackRock. Equities on developed markets outside the United States, however, have sustained lively interest, in the wake of a trend observed in the second half of 2013. Pan-European equities posted inflows of USD4bn, their best result since 2011. Equities from developed markets (global and global ex-US) represented USD3.7bn, while exposure to Japanese equities represented a further USD4bn. Outflows from US equities, which totalled USD12bn, have largely affected large caps, with redemptions totalling USD15.9bn, partly offset by subscriptions to sectoral strategies totalling USD2.9bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock will liquidate its trust dedicated to energy, the Black New Energy trust, Money Marketing reports. Shareholders may be reimbursed in cash, but may also transfer their assets on 19 December this year to the BGF Energy fund, whose assets under management total USD1.4bn. The listing of shares will be suspended on 14 February, and redemptions will come on 17 February.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Baring Asset Management will close its Baring China Growth fund, with assets totalling GBP1.9bn. The fund will be closed after six years in existence due to its small size. William Fong, manager of the fund, will continue to manage Baring China Select.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «FreeSans"; font-size: 12pt; } Matthew Martoma, a former portfolio manager at SAC Capital, has been found guilty of insider trading by a jury in New York, the Financial Times reports, adding that it represents one of the largest victories of the US authorities against Wall Street corruption. The case, which lasted three weeks, demonstrated that certain doctors were sharing information on confidential clinical trials with hedge fund traders in exchange for thousands of dollars in fees. The charges were conspiracy and market fraud (two counts). For each one, Martoma can be sentenced 20 years in prison.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US asset management firm AllianceBernstein has decided to rename its AllianceBernstein Greater China fund to AllianceBernstein China Opportunity Portfolio, Citywire reveals. The name change, effective since January, marks a desire on the part of the company to change its investment strategy for Chinese equities, which will now seek to concentrate more on the market overall than on specific domains. In the future, the vehicle will invest at least 80% of its total assets in businesses which are domiciled in and operate in China or Hong Kong. As of the end of December, the fund was primarily invested in Hong Kong (38%), China (31%), Singapore (10%) and Taiwan (9.8%), with 31 positions, nearly half of which were on financial institutions.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Amundi EtF is offering a new exposure on NYSE Euronext Paris aimed at investors seeking to position themselves on the segment of small cap companies on the US equity market. Amundi ETF Russell 2000 UCITS ETF (ISIN code: EUR shares: FR0011636190; USD shares: FR0011636208) aims to replicate as closely as possible the evolution in both rising and falling markets of the Russell 2000 Net Total Return index, composed of the 2000 smallest caps, representing the last 10% of the US market, a statement released on 6 February states. The ETF offers diversified exposure to the domestic US economy, and is offered with a TER of only 0.35%, the least costly exposure to this market available. In a context of US economic growth, investors will have several solutions in the Amundi ETF range, depending on their expectations and preferences in terms of cap size, sectoral exposure, and hedging for currency risks. According to Valérie Baudson, head of the ETF and tracker profession at Amundi, “this launch once again illustrates our desire to launch products at competitive prices, and offers our clients another allocation brick in the US equity range.”
French groups Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and Primonial have released a joint statement announcing that they have entered exclusive negotiations regarding a recomposition of the shareholder structure of Primonial. The plans would result in a minority stake by Crédit Mutuel Arkéa in Primonial and the opening of the capital to an investment fund, a statement released on 6 February said.Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and the Primonial group already collaborate via a partnership that unites Suravenir, the life insurance affiliate of Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, and the group, to sell the Sérénipierre policy. That policy collected over EUR400m in new inflows in 2013.Primonial was created in 2010 by Patrick Petitjean, who died in July 2013, with the management and Nexicap Partners. As of the end of December, it managed more than EUR7bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The head economist at Russell Investments, Mike Dueker, has been found dead in what appears to be a suicide, Business Insider reports. He is understood to have jumped from a ramp near the Tacoma Narrows bridge in Washington state in the United States. Dueker, 50, had worked at Russell for five years.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asset management at the US insurer Prudential Financial is continuing to grow. After its fourth quarter, assets under management totalled USD869.9bn, up 5% compared with fourth quarter. In the last three months of the past year, this activity has posted net subscriptions from institutionals and retail clients, excluding money markets, of USD6.8bn, “the 20th consecutive quarter of positive net inflows,” the company says in a statement of its results. In fourth quarter 2013, asset management earned operating profits of USD209bn, up by nearly 13% compared with USD185bn in fourth quarter 2012. For 2013 overall, operating profits total USD723bn, compared with USD584bn in 2012, up by 23.8% in one year.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); }P.western { font-family: «Times New Roman»,serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: «Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: «FreeSans"; font-size: 12pt; } The Swiss group Vontobel last year posted record net inflows of CHF9.1bn, according to a statement released on 7 February. Assets under management as of the end of December totalled CHF163.1bn, up 9% year on year. Consolidated profits for the 2013 fiscal year totalled CHF122.3m, stable compared with the previous year. Asset Management and Private Banking contributed 74% of profits. These results were, however, affected by one-time costs of about CHF20.7m largely related to the payment of withholding tax in the United Kingdom concerning its participation in the US tax programme. The board of directors will propose to a general shareholders’ meeting of Vontobel Holding AG to raise the dividend by 8%, to CHF1.30.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss financial sector service provider Solutions Providers on 6 February announced its arrival on the US market, with the opening of an office in New York. Konrad Niggli, currently a partner at Solution Providers Switzerland, will be responsible for the development of activities in the United States.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lennart Benson, who was head of sales for the Northern European region at Natixis Global Asset Management, has let the firm, Fondbranschen reports. Benson had worked at Natixis since October 2010.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Hermes has decided to accelerate its development in Asia. The firm has transferred Jakob Nilsson to Singapore as head of development for Hermes in the region, Asian Investor reports. Nilsson joined Hermes in September 2012 as head of development for the Scandinavian countries. Hermes, whose assets under management total about USD42bn, would also like to sign distribution agreements in Taiwan, and is planning to develop in the Japanese market. Currently, assets under management coming from clients represent slightly over USD1bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Azimut in January 2014 recorded net inflows of EUR701m, of which more than EUR400m went to the Luxembourg sub-funds AZ Fund 1 and AZ Fund Multi Asset, Bluerating reports. Pietro Giuliani, deputy director of the firm, says that it is the best monthly inflow ever recorded at Azimut.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Poste Italiane, the Italian postal service, will be able to launch its own network of financial advisers, Bluerating reports. Employees of Poste will now be able to approach clients directly to offer them funds and insurance policies.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Pictet & Cie has recruited two people in Verona, near Venice, from Banca Aletti. They are Andrea Constantini and Laura Polato.
The pace of rationalization through closures of poor funds or via merger into stronger vehicles needs speeding up, according to The Cerulli Edge-Global Edition.Across Europe, Cerulli has identified 122 funds (excluding money market funds), controlling assets worth EUR42 billion that have been consistently «atrocious performers».A further 1,440 funds, with AUM of EUR24 billion, are undersized and unloved, launched between three to five years ago but still having failed to attract assets of more than EUR50 million. Looking at the longer-term picture, poor performance and low AUM overlap considerably.Fund fees are falling in Europe and this is putting pressure on profitability. Thus Cerulli would expect managers to pay particular attention to the viability of subscale funds.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Laurent Misonne, who had previously been head of western Europe at SEB Asset Management, has been appointed as head of international sales. He succeeds Moritz Wendt, who six months ago became head of the institutional client department at SEB Wealth Management At the same time, Laurent Farcy-Briant, who had been head of sales for France and French-speaking Switzerland at SEB AM, has been promoted to head of sales for the French-speaking countries, including France, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Richard Skelt at the end of January left Fidelity Worldwide Investment after 23 years at the firm, Fund Web reports. He had been a strategist for the multi-asset class team at Fidelity Solutions. He had co-managed 10 funds, representing assets of USD6.4bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The financial ratings agency Standard & Poor’s on 6 February announed a call for comments on proposed modifications to the ratings methodology for hybrid banking securities. Standard & Poor’s points out that these proposals concern exclusively hybrid shares issued by financial establishments. The method for ratings for banks is no longer covered by this consultation, and ratings for banks themselves are therefore not concerned. Hybrid shares issued by businesses will also fall outside the field of this consultation.
L’Autorité européenne des marchés financiers a publié le 7 février une opinion sur les pratiques que doivent mettre en oeuvre les sociétés d’investissement lors de la vente de produits complexes. L’Esma «s’inquiète du fait que le respect, par ces sociétés, des pratiques de vente de la directive MIF soit en-deça des standards attendus». Le gendarme européen des marchés a publié en parallèle une mise en garde aux investisseurs.
La banque centrale ukrainienne a fait passer le taux de change officile de sa devise, le hryvnia, de 7,993 à 8,708 pour un dollar. Le pays a également mis en place des mesures partielles de contrôle des changes, qualifiées de temporaires. Le climat d’insurrection qui règne en Ukraine a provoqué une dépréciation de 7,4% de la devise depuis le 1er janvier. Le déficit courant de l’Ukraine ne cesse de se creuser tandis que les réserves de change de la banque centrale ont fondu à environ 20 milliards de dollars.
Axiom AI, spécialiste de la dette subordonnée bancaire, annonce l’ouverture d’une succursale à Londres visant à approcher la clientèle institutionnelle britannique ainsi que les IFA’s (conseillers en gestion de patrimoine indépendants) au Royaume-Uni. Axiom AI affiche 520 millions d’euros d’encours à ce jour et compte atteindre le milliard d’encours à horizon 2 ans, en accélérant son développement à l’international et en lançant de nouveaux produits.
Euronext va admettre à la négociation sur son marché des fonds ouverts d’ici au deuxième trimestre 2014. Le service, qui existe déjà aux Pays-Bas, doit permettre à des investisseurs, notamment étrangers, de miser plus facilement sur des fonds français. Sa création est rendue possible par un décret publié voici quelques jours.
La réunion de la BCE s’est soldée hier par un statu quo renvoyant les investisseurs à la publication début mars de ses projections d’inflation à horizon 2016.