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21/10/2013

Sycomore AM claims a place as a major conviction-based SRI manager

Sycomore AM has posted inflows of slightly over EUR200m since the beginning of the year, the asset management firm announced on 18 October at a press conference. Assets under management totalled about EUR1.8bn as of the end of September.The asset management firm, which has posted inflows of about EUR150m to the two Novethic branded equity and bond funds, has also announced that it is launching an annual SRI day, in order to promote the added value of extra-financial analysis. The conference, entitled ISR Way, aims to demonstrate the strategic development challenge for sustainable development at businesses.Extra-financial analysts at Sycomore stands out for its proprietary model, with 85 criteria, supplied uniquely with gross data from businesses and meetings with executives. Sycomore also stands out for its expertise in SMEs, which are often remote from SRI management.The chairman of Sycomore, Laurent Deltour, also announced in his second CSR report on the asset management firm that a company foundation is also in the works. “We have initiated the project for a Sycomore company foundation which will be set up by the end of the year,” Deltour says.
21/10/2013

Highland recruits a director of marketing

Highland Capital Management has recruited for its retail team with the appointment of a director of marketing. Ondina Purcell had previously been executive director at UBS Financial. The new recruit will be based in New York, and will report to Brad Ross, chairman of Highland Capital Management Fund Advisors.
21/10/2013

AWM business and profits at Morgan Stanley up in Q3

In the Wealth Management division of Morgan Stanley, assets under management which generate commissions rose 22% in third quarter compared with the previous year, to a total of USD652bn, according to a statement released on 18 October. Inflows totalled USD15bn.Pre-tax profits in the division totalled USD668m in third quarter, comapred with USD655m in second quarter 2013, and USD247m one year previously.Assets under management in the Investment Management division of Morgan Stanley as of the end of September totalled USD360bn, compared with USD331bn one year earlier. Net inflows totalled USD1.8bn.Pre-tax profits in the division totalled USD300m in third quarter, compared with USD160m in second quarter 2013, and USD198m one year previously.The group has reported net profits in third quarter of USD906m, or 45 cents per share, where they showed a loss of USD1.02bn, or 55 cents per share in third quarter 2012.
21/10/2013

quirin launches “the cheapest wealth management in Germany”

On 1 November, the Berlin-based quirin bank will launch the internet advising platform quirion, which it claims is “the most inexpensive wealth management offering on the German market,” as it will be available with an investment of EUR10,000 and a fee of 0.38% of the total invested. The management of the online portfolio will carry no commissions and no transaction fees.If, over and above that, the client wishes to receive personalised assistance from an expert, quirion advisers will be available at any time, rapidly and without complications, for a fee of at least EUR37.50.
21/10/2013

“The management of loan funds is a profitable activity but needs critical mass from the outset”

A decorrelated asset class, returns higher than traditional bonds, an absence of volatility, recurrent cash flows: the success of loan funds with institutional investors is undoubtedly due to these factors, and justifies the recent creation by La Banque Postale AM for its clients of an activity of this nature. At its helm, René Kassis discusses the characteristics of the infrastructure and real estate sub-funds he manages with Newsmanagers. He does not fail to mention that although the activity is profitable, it imposes needs for resources which are no less significant.
21/10/2013

AMF: EUR180,000 settlement for Hottinguer & Cie Gestion privée

The French financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), on Friday, 18 October published an agreement on its website concluded on 11 July 2013 with the company Hottinguer & Cie - Gestion Privée. The asset management firm has agreed to pay EUR180,000 following a control at the conclusion of which several charges were laid. Firstly, by allowing two significant investors in the Crystal Scav to directly or indirectly participate in the management decisions for the fund, the asset managemet firm did not act independently in the management of the mutual fund. It also did not establish or operationally maintain a mechanism to preserve the confidentiality of information concerning investment decisions. A second complaint concerns inadequate risk control mechanisms at the firm, with respect to mandated management, collective management and the implementation of valuation systems. As part of the agreement, the firm has agreed to disallow investors in a SICAV from being involved in the management decisions for the SICAV, and to this end, has set up a procedure to allow for adherence with the prohibition to be controlled, and concerning collective management, to control adherence with certain mutual fund regulations and statutes for funds which it manages independently of their depositories.
21/10/2013

iShares releases two short-term bond ETFs

In the United States, iShares on 17 October launched the short term bond ETFs iShares 0-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (ticker: SLQD) for investment-grade securities, and the iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (SHYG) for high yield bonds, on NYSE Arca.The funds are short-term and shorter duration versions of the bond funds iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) and iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG). They aim to allow for returns offered by corporate bonds to be captured while reducing exposure to rising interest rates.The SLQD fund replicates a Markit index including 1,183 issues, with an average duration og 2.56 years, and charges 0.15%, while the SHYG replicates a Markit index covering 354 securities, with an average duration of 2.2 years. The product has a total expense ratio of 0.50%.
21/10/2013

New EasyETF in Paris

NYSE Euronext on 18 December announced that it is admitting the ETF Volatility Arbitrage US (EVAUS), from EasyETF, to trading on the Paris exchange. The fund replicates the BNP Volatility Arbitrage US ER index, and charges 0.70%.
21/10/2013

Vanguard extends access to low cost Admiral shares

In order to open access to low-cost Admiral shares in index-based funds more broadly to retail investors, advisers and institutional investors, Vanguard on 16 Octoebr announced that it will be opening that class of shares to retail investors in eight funds, by converting Signal shares reserved for institutional investors and advisers. Additionally, the Valley Forge-based manager is removing a minimal subscription requirement of USD10,000 for Admiral shares in 24 index-based funds, as well as 17 index-based funds whose Signal shares have been conerted into Admiral shares.83 funds from Vanguard, including 49 tracker funds, are now available in Admiral shares, some of which charge only 0.05%, which also directly competes with the company’s own ETFs. The asset management firm is also planning to gradually phase out Signal shares which had been created before 2006.Bill McNabb, CEO, says that overall, Admiral shares represent over USD700bn in assets, nearly one third of total Vanguard assets, which total USD3.4trn (including USD300bn in ETFs).Vanguard is also planning to issue Admiral shares in December for the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund (USD20bn), with a commission of 0.10%.The asset management firm has lastly announced that transaction fees will be lowered for three of its funds (see attached table).
21/10/2013

Nobel foundation may have to call for donations

The performance of the investments of the Nobel foundation fell from 8.6% per year in the 1990s to 1.1% since 2000, which appears to be due to alternative investments, which as of the end of 2012 represented about 33% of assets totalling SEK3.1bn, according to figures from Bloomberg relayed by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.Since then, the unit Nobel prize has been reduced to SEK8bn from SEK10bn, and the amount spent on the official banquet in honour of the laureates has been reduced. The Foundation is now considering seeking donations in the next few years, but a decision has not yet been taken.
21/10/2013

Appetite for real estate at exceptional levels in Sweden

The real estate debt index (CREDI) offered by the Swedish firm Catella in thid quarter rose 4.4 point t a record 69.3. In other words, the trend remains very positively oriented for the next few months. During the summer, real estate activities on the Swedish market showed good growth, led by an improvement in the financial environment.
21/10/2013

State Street develops fund administration activities in Asia

The alternative investment solutions (AIS) division of State Street Global Services will open an office in Shanghai next month, following the recruitment of Eric Chow, who will lead development of fund administration activities as head of customer relationship management at AIS< Asian Investor reports. Chow, who joined the firm last month, will oversee the Shanghai office from Hong Kong, and will develop the product range at AIS in China and northern Asia.
21/10/2013

Good performance for TCI in 2013

The activist hedge fund TCI, created by Christopher Hohn, has been one of the best-performing hedge funds in 2013. According to Institutional Investor, the flagship fund from the firm, The Children’s Investment Master Fund, has posted returns of 8.81% in September. This makes for a return in the first nine months of the year of 32.48%. TCI has beaten its record set in 2012, when the fund posted returns of 30%.
21/10/2013

Assets in UK funds of funds up 9% this year

From the beginning of the year to the end of August, assets under management in funds of funds in the United Kingdom gained about 9%, to about GBP83bn, according to statistics released by the British investment management association (IMA). In the past 10 years, assets under management have risen by over 600%, according to estimates from Money Marketing. Demand has accelerated over the years, with the only decline in assets at the time of the financial crisis, between 2007 and 2008. In 2003, funds of funds barely accounted for 5% of assets. According to the most recent available statistics as of the end of August, assets in funds now represent over 11% of the total.
21/10/2013

Reassured, investors return to US equities

In the week to 16 October, equity funds worldwide monitored by EPFR Global posted net subscriptions of USD17.2bn, of which more than USD10bn went to US equity funds, as the Congress of the largest economy in the world reached an agreement to postpone questions over the Federal budget and debt ceiling, putting them off until first quarter 2014.The last-minute agreement did not have an immediate effect on the exodus which has continued to penalise US money market funds or the acceleration of flows in the direction of funds focused on Europe and China. Money market funds have undergone a considerable outflow of USD69.7bn, while bond funds have seen net outflows of USD3.25bn.However, the quest for markets which have less political drama has led to funds flowing towards Japanese, Chinese and European equiies, as net subscriptions in the two latter categories reached their highest levels in 36 and 111 weeks, respectively.
21/10/2013

Former UBS executive wanted in the United States arrested

According to Le Temps, the former head of wealth management at UBS, Raoul Weil, who is subject to an international arrest warrant, has been arrested by the Italian police in Bologna. From 2002 to 2007 he oversaw the foreign department at UBS, which has about 20,000 US clients. The US courts accuse him of organizing tax fraud totalling USD20bn, and is seeking his extradition.
21/10/2013

J.P. Morgan to sell funds in China

J. P. Morgan has obtained authorisation from the Chinese authorities to sell local funds in China, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bank will begin by offering a money market fund denominated in renminbi to Chinese institutionals and businesses.
21/10/2013

T. Rowe Price recruits from Invesco

Rolf Hans Elsener, who had been director of the customer service management team at Invesco Asset Management (Switzerland), in early October joined the team at T. Rowe Price in Zurich as relationship manager, finews.ch reports.
21/10/2013

Sabbatical for a First State manager

Glen Finegan, an emerging market manager at First State, will be taking a one-year sabbatical leave, Citywire Global reports. He is the principal manager of the Worldwide Equity fund, with EUR44m, and co-manager of the First State Global Emerging Markets Leaders.
21/10/2013

Assets up at Brooks Macdonald

As of 30 September, assets in Brooks Macdonald discretionary funds total GBP5.37bn, comarped with GBP5.1bn as of the end of June, Money Marketing reports. GBP102m of this increase is due to market effects, and GBP170m to net subscriptions.Meanwhile, advisory assets increased to GBP354m, from GBP348m, while assets in property management at Braemar Estates are up 2.9%, to slightly over GBP1bn. Third party funds under administration total over GBP140m, compared with GBP120m.
21/10/2013

Fund managers are now medically monitored

Die Welt reports that 32 managers at GLG Partners are now subject to a physiological examination every day (heart rate, breathing rate, information on physical shape, hormonal secretions, stress levels). This has been implemented with Essential Software from Essentia Analytics. The objective is to avoid bad investments, as a coach monitors data for each employee and explains to them how not to make mistakes.It takes nearly one year to learn all the parameters which can reveal the personality and emotiveness of the manager. This allows for each trigger factor for decisions by the manager to be identified individually.Analysis by Essentia is now required for new recruits. Promotions are reserved for those who accept to undergo Essentia surveillance. The system will gradually be extended to all fund managers at GLG Partners.Claire Flynn-Levy, founder and CEO of Essentia Analytics, says that the firm is currently in talks with a major US asset managemet firm, as several asset management firms are also planning to adopt the software in 2014.
21/10/2013

BlackRock teams up with four ETF custodians

BNY Mellon, State Street, JP Morgan and HSBC have joined an initiative set up by iShares, the ETF activity from BlackRock, to facilitate the purchase of ETFs by pension funds, Financial News has learned. This may increase use of ETFs by institutional investors in the United Kingdom.
21/10/2013

Aletti Gestielle granted a European passport

The Italian asset management firm Aletti Gestielli, an affiliate of the Banco Popolare group, has been issued a license by the Luxembourg financial services commission to manage the Luxembourg-registered Gestielle Investment Sicav, with a European passport issued under the UCITS IV directive. Aletti Gestielle replaced Dexia Asset Management, which had previously been the asset management firm for the Sicav.
21/10/2013

Alma Capital offers equity fund outsourced to DoubleLine

The Luxembourg-registered UCITS IV Sicav Alma Capital Investment Funds (an affiliate of the French firm Alma Capital) on Friday was issued a license by the CSSF for a second sub-fund outsourced to the US firm DoubleLine. After the AlmaDoubleLine Core Plus Bond, the firm is now creating an equity fund, Alma DoubleLIne US Small Cap Growth Equity Fund, which will be managed by a new affiliate of DoubleLine Group (USD57bn), founded by Jeffrey Gundlach, entitled DoubleLine Euqity LP, founded in January 2013 by Husam Nazer and Brendt Stallings. The new fund is a clone of the DoubleLine Small Cap Growth Equity fund, launched on 1 April 2013, which has since then far outperformed its benchmark.The portfolio, which is focused on US growth small caps, will as a general rule include 60 to 80 positions, and will use the Russell 2000 Growth index as its benchmark. The ex-ante turnover rate will be 50% to 80% per year, and the average market capitalisation of the fund totals USD1.98bn, compared with USD1.83bn for the benchmark.The objective is to select growth shares whose postential for free cash flow (FCF) in the next 3 to 5 years has not been integrated into its stock price. The management team is convinced that market prices follow distributable FCF over a 3- to 5-year investment horizon.Management commissions are set at 1.25% for institutional shares (I) available from EUR/USD/GBP250,000, and 1.75% for retail shares (R) available with a minimal initial subscriptino of EUR/USD/GBP1,000.
21/10/2013

Alquity Africa arrives on Generali platform

The emerging market specialist Alquity has launched the Alquity Africa fund on the Generali International investment platform, Citywire Global reports. The fund, dimiciled in Luxembourg, was first launched in the United Kingdom in June 2010, and is already registered for sale in Hong Kong and Singapore.
21/10/2013
Fonds

Alma Capital propose un fonds d’actions délégué à DoubleLine

La sicav luxembourgeoise OPCVM IV Alma Capital Investment Funds (filiale du français Alma Capital) a obtenu vendredi l’agrément de la CSSF pour un second compartiment délégué à l’américain DoubleLine. Après l’Alma DoubleLine Core Plus Bond, donc un produit obligataire, il s’agit à présent d’un fonds d’actions, l’Alma DoubleLine US Small Cap Growth Equity Fund, confié à une nouvelle filiale du DoubleLine Group (57 milliards de dollars) fondé par Jeffrey Gundlach, en l’occurrence DoubleLine Equity LP, créée en janvier 2013 par Husam Nazer et Brendt Stallings. Le nouveau fonds est un clone du DoubleLine Small Cap Growth Equity, lancé le 1er avril 2013 et qui a depuis lors très largement surperformé son benchmark.Le portefeuille, focalisé sur les petites capitalisations de croissance américaines, comprendra en règle générale entre 60 et 80 lignes et utilisera le Russell 2000 Growth comme indice de référence. Le taux de rotation ex ante devrait se situer entre 50 et 80 % par an et la capitalisation boursière moyenne des titres du fonds se situe à 1,98 milliard de dollars contre 1,83 milliard pour le benchmark.L’objectif consiste à sélectionner des valeurs de croissance dont le potentiel de flux de trésorerie disponible (FTD, ou free cash flow, FCF) sur les 3 à 5 prochaines années n’est pas intégré dans le cours boursier. En effet, l’équipe de gestion est convaincue que les cours boursiers suivent le FTD distribuable sur un horizon d’investissement de 3 à 5 ans.Les commissions de gestion sont fixées à 1,25 % pour les parts institutionnelles (I) accessibles à partir de 250.000 euros/dollars/livres et à 1,75 % pour les parts retail (R) avec une souscription minimale initiale de 1.000 euros/dollars/livres.
Fonds
21/10/2013
Fonds

Alquity Africa arrive sur la plate-forme Generali

Le spécialiste des marchés émergents Alquity a lancé son fonds Afrique Alquity Africa sur la plate-forme d’investissement Generali International, rapporte Citywire Global. Le fonds domicilié au Luxembourg a été d’abord lancé au Royaume-Uni en juin 2010 et il est déjà enregistré à la commercialisation à Hong Kong et Singapour.
Fonds
21/10/2013

Aletti Gestielle obtient le passeport européen

La société de gestion italienne Aletti Gestielle, filiale du groupe Banco Popolare, a obtenu auprès de la Commission luxembourgeoise de Surveillance du Secteur Financier l’agrément pour gérer la Sicav de droit luxembourgeois Gestielle Investment Sicav, grâce au passeport européen prévu par la directive Ucits IV.Ainsi, Aletti Gestielle remplace Dexia Asset Management, qui était jusqu’ici la société de gestion de la Sicav.
21/10/2013

"La gestion de fonds de dette est une activité rentable mais il faut une taille critique dès le départ"

Une classe d'actifs décorrélante, des rendements supérieurs à ceux de l'obligataire traditionnel, une absence de volatilité, des cash-flow récurrents... Le succès des fonds de dette auprès des investisseurs institutionnels s'explique sans doute ainsi. Et justifie que La Banque Postale AM ait récemment créé pour ses clients une activité de cette nature. A sa tête, René Kassis revient pour Newsmanagers sur les caractéristiques des compartiments infrastructures et immobiliers qu'il gère. Non sans rappeler que si cette activité est rentable, elle n'en impose pas moins des moyens importants...
21/10/2013

T. Rowe Price recrute chez Invesco AM

Rolf Hans Elsener, qui dirigeait l'équipe client service management d’Invesco Asset Management (Suisse), a rejoint début octobre l'équipe de T. Rowe Price à Zurich en tant que relationship manager, rapporte finews.ch.

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