12/08/2013
Les taux européens amplifient leur détente estivale
L'écart entre les taux espagnols et allemands est tombé à son plus bas niveau annuel, signe des espoirs de reprise économique en zone euro
12/08/2013
Threadneedle veut se renforcer en Asie
Le gestionnaire d’actifs basé à Londres Threadneedle envisage d’installer une équipe de gestion en Asie, dans un premier temps spécialisée sur la classe d’actifs actions, rapporte Asian Investor.Threadneedle, qui a par ailleurs obtenu une licence de finance islamique en Malaisie, étudie la possibilité de développer une offre de produits conformes à la charia.Les actifs sous gestion de Threadneedle, qui s'élèvent à environ 86 milliards de livres, sont originaires à hauteur d’environ 10% de la région.
12/08/2013
Henderson GI a deux nouveaux responsables en Italie
Henderson Global Investors vient de nommer Sonia Ginelli en tant que nouveau general manager de la société de gestion italienne et Mario Pellò en tant que nouveau responsable du property en Italie, rapporte Fondionline.Ces nominations font suite au départ d’Alberto Albertazzi, qui occupait ces deux fonctions jusqu’au 1er août. Sonia Ginelli et Mario Pellò travaillent tous les deux chez Henderson depuis 2006.
12/08/2013
Bill Ackman et le fonds Perry Capital s'attaquent à JCPenney
Bill Ackman, du fonds Pershing Square Capital Management, a demandé le remplacement au plus tôt de Thomas Engibous, président du conseil d’administration de la chaîne de magasins JCPenney, rapporte les Echos. Bill Ackman a déjà un remplaçant en tête : Allen Questrom, ancien directeur général de JCPenney, disposé à reprendre du service. Le PDG actuel, Myron Ullman, ne convient pas non plus à Bill Ackman qui souhaite aussi le voir partir. Le fonds spéculatif Perry Capital, qui détient 7,3 % du capital, a manifesté vendredi son soutien à Bill Ackman, premier actionnaire. L'état-major de JCPenney a qualifié l’agitation de Bill Ackman de « trompeuse, inexacte et contre-productive », à un moment où la survie de l’entreprise est en jeu.
True Potential propose deux fonds de Goldman Sachs sur le marché britannique
La plateforme True Potential a passé un accord de distribution avec Goldman Sachs qui va lui permettre de proposer deux des stratégies multi-classes d’actifs au marché retail britannique, rapporte Fundweb.La plateforme aura l’exclusivité de la distribution des fonds Goldman Sachs Multi-Asset Dynamic Strategy Portfolio et GSQuartix Multi-Asset Dynamic Protection Strategy Portfolio auprès de ses conseillers et de leur clientèle.
12/08/2013
Départ d’une gérante de Neptune
Emma Mogford, gérante du fonds Neptune UK Higher Income de 2,2 millions de livres, a quitté la société, rapporte Investment Week. Son fonds sera repris par George Boyd-Bowman.
Phil Milburn ajuste la pondération du fonds Kames Strategic Bond
Le co-gérant du fonds Kames Strategic Bond, Phil Milburn, a réduit sa sous-pondération à long terme sur le risque de taux d’intérêt afin de tenir compte de l’ampleur de la récente sortie des investisseurs sur l’obligataire, rapporte Fundweb.Phil Milburn précise toutefois que son fonds, dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à un peu plus de 640 millions de livres, reste sous-pondéré sur le risque de duration et que ce positionnement l’a aidé à traverser la période d’aversion à l’obligataire.
12/08/2013
Bank J. Safra se renforce en Allemagne
La banque privée suisse Bank J. Safra (Deutschland) a annoncé le 9 août dans un communiqué qu’elle voulait se renforcer dans le sud de l’Allemagne avec l’ouverture d’un bureau à Stuttgart.Le nouveau bureau ouvrira ses portes le 1er octobre prochain avec une équipe dédiée sous la houlette de Artur J. Montanhas, qui travaille pour la banque depuis 2009. Il sera également responsable régional pour le Bade-Wurttemberg tandis que Werner Schenk devient directeur adjoint du bureau de Stuttgart.Corollaire de cette installation à Stuttgart, les activités du bureau de Nuremberg sont transférées à Stuttgart et Munich à compter du 30 septembre 2013, précise le communiqué.
Swan lance un fonds obligataire
La boutique suisse Swan Asset Management a lancé Swan SICAV SIF Bond Enhanced, un fonds obligataire mondial tout terrain, rapporte Citywire. Elle a aussi converti l’un de ses fonds basé aux îles Caïmans en une sicav, appelée Swan SICAV SIF Bond Fund. Il s’agit d’un fonds sans contrainte.
12/08/2013
Le suisse NZZ et Crealogix lancent la plateforme Personal Finance Qontis
Le quotidien suisse NZZ fonde, en collaboration avec son partenaire technologique Crealogix et une équipe de direction, une coentreprise pour le développement d’une plateforme de gestion des finances personnelles baptisée Qontis. Cette plateforme doit être lancée l’automne prochain, ont indiqué les deux entreprises le 9 août dans un communiqué.Elles permettront aux utilisateurs de gérer leurs finances privées avec le même niveau de sécurité que l’e-banking. Des plateformes similaires existent déjà dans l’espace anglo-saxon et nordique.Le magazine en ligne Qontis a déjà été lancé, consacré aux thèmes de la planification, de l'épargne et des dépenses
12/08/2013
iShares nomme un nouveau patron pour l’Europe en remplacement de Joe Linhares
BlackRock a nommé un nouveau patron pour son activité ETF logée dans iShares, rapporte le Financial Times. Ainsi, Rachel Lord, responsable mondial des dérivés actions chez Citi, va devenir responsable d’iShares pour la zone Europe, Moyen-Orient et Afrique. Elle succède à Joe Linhares, qui retournera aux Etats-Unis fin 2013, après un mandat de trois ans.
Les investisseurs européens sortent des fonds obligataires en juin
Les fonds obligataires commercialisés en Europe ont accusé en juin des rachats nets de 28 milliards d’euros alors que le secteur dans son ensemble voyait sortir 70,4 milliards d’euros, montrent les dernières statistiques de Lipper. La décollecte a surtout concerné les fonds de dette émergente (-5,4 milliards d’euros), les fonds obligataires mondiaux à haut rendement (-4,8 milliards d’euros) et les fonds d’obligations d’entreprises américaines à haut rendement (-4,6 milliards d’euros).En revanche, les fonds obligataires euros court terme (+1,6 milliard d’euros), les fonds obligataires flexibles (+1,5 milliard d’euros) et les fonds obligataires « specialty » (+1 milliard d’euros) ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes.Malgré les sorties de juin, les fonds obligataires restent la catégorie de fonds ayant le plus collecté depuis le début de l’année avec 81 milliards d’euros, tandis que l’ensemble du secteur affiche un solde positif de 109,6 milliards d’euros.En juin, ce sont les fonds d’allocation d’actifs qui ont été les plus populaires auprès des investisseurs, avec des souscriptions nettes de 4,4 milliards d’euros.Lipper note que les marchés européens ont connu des évolutions différentes en juin. Ainsi, la France et l’Allemagne ont été en décollecte, avec pas moins de 28,1 milliards d’euros et 2,7 milliards d’euros respectivement. A contrario, l’Espagne, l’Italie et la Grèce ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes (1,6 milliard, 0,6 milliard et 0,3 milliard d’euros).Enfin, BlackRock a été la société qui a vendu le plus de fonds hors monétaire en juin, avec des souscriptions nettes de 1,7 milliard d’euros, devant Banco Popolare Società Cooperativa (+0,8 milliard) et Standard Life (+0,7 milliard d’euros).
12/08/2013
iShares appoints a new head for Europe, replacing Joe Linhares
BlackRock has appointed a new head for its ETF activities at iShares, the Financial Times reports. Rachel Lord, global head of corporate equity derivatives at Citi, will become head of iShares for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. She succeeds Linhares, who will return to the United States at the end of 2013, after a three-year term.
12/08/2013
Bill Ackman and Perry Capital fund attack JCPenney
Bill Ackman of the fund Pershing Square Capital Management has called for Thomas Engibous, chairman of the board at the retail chain JCPenney, to be replaced as soon as possible, Les Echos reports. Ackman already has a replacement in mind: Allen Questrom, former CEO of JCPenney, who would be willing to return to the role. The current chairman and CEO, Myron Ullman, is not to the liking of Ackman either, who would like to see him go. The speculative fund Perry Capital, which controls 7.3% of capital, on Friday announced that it plans to support Ackman, the largest shareholder in the business. The management at JCPenney has called Ackman’s agitation “misleading, inaccurate and counterproductive,” at a time when the survival of the business is at stake.
12/08/2013
True Potential offers two Goldman Sachs funds on the British market
The True Potential platform has signed a distribution agreement with Goldman Sachs, which will allow it to offer two of its multi-asset class strategies on the British retail market, Fundweb reports. The platform will be exclusively responsible for distribution of the Goldman Sachs Multi-Asset Dynamic Strategy Portfolio and GSQuartix Multi-Asset Dynamic Protection Strategy Portfolio funds to advisers and their clients.
12/08/2013
Phil Milburn adjusts weighting of the Kames Strategic Bond fund
The co-manager of the Kames Strategic Bond fund, Phil Milburn, has reduced his long-term underweight position on interest rate risk, in order to take into account the scale of the recent exodus of investors from bonds, Fundweb reports. Milburn states, however, that his fund, whose assets under management total slightly over USD640m, remains underweight on duration risk, and that this position helped it to get through a period of aversion to bonds.
12/08/2013
Threadneedle to build presence in Asia
The London-based asset management firm Threadneedle is planning to set up an asset management team in Asia, which will initially specialise in the equity asset class, Asian Investor reports. Threadneedle, which has also received an Islamic finance license for Malaysia, is studying the possibility of creating a range of Sharia-compliant funds. About 10% of assets under management at Threadneedle, which total about GBP86bn, originate from the region.
12/08/2013
French regulator fines a financial firm for inaccurate communications about CFD
The Sanctions Commission of the AMF has fined a financial sector firm EUR30,000, in a case related to the sale of CFDs aimed at retail investors in 2009-2010. The EMF has not revealed the identity of the firm, but the AFP, which cites a source familiar with the matter, suggests that it may be Saxo Bank France. After a control of the firm, the AMF brought two major complaints, which focused on the release of sales documents for CFDs in late 2009 and early 2010. It accuses the firm of “failing its obligation to provide accurate, clear and non-misleading information in its promotional communications on the subject of CFDs.” It also accuses the firm of “failing to correctly identify certain commercial supports as relevant to communications of a promotional character.” The AMF notes that it has taken into account the fact that the firm quickly adopted corrective measures “before the end of control and following it.”
12/08/2013
“Whale of London” may not face charges
The “Whale of London,” the name attributed to a trader responsible for a trading loss of USD6.2bn at JPMorgan Chase in 2012, may escape charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Les Echos reports. The French broker, Bruno Iksil, took disproportionate risks on CDS. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal report that he is ultimately expected to avoid criminal charges. JPMorgan Chase is reportedly nearing an agreement with the US and British regulatory authorities. A transaction may be announced in autumn, and the SEC is expected to file a civil suit. The reason for this development is that the French trader, who sought to alert his supervisors of the dangers inherent in his positions on several occasions, has been cooperating with authorities. The SEC would also like JPMorgan Chase to admit to “fault” as part of any out-of-court settlement, although the heads of the bank would not personally be held responsible.
12/08/2013
Sponsors of money market funds now support floating share price
Several major money market fund management firms, including J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, are now supporting plans by the SEC to ask the riskiest money market funds held by institutional investors to abandon their constant net asset value of USD1 per share, and adopt a floating share price, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the face of determination from the SEC, promoters of money market funds prefer this solution to the alternatives, particularly since only 35% of the sector would be affected.
12/08/2013
Swiss Life settles a lawsuit for EUR11.1m
Swiss Life Select, an affiliate of Swiss Life, and the Austrian consumer protection organisation Verein für Konsumenteninformation VKI, have settled a lawsuit out of court, according to a statement released on 12 August by the insurer Swiss Life. The insurer will pay EUR11.1m to settle the case. The affiliate Swiss Life Select, successor to the financial advisng specialist AWD, has settled a series of class actions as part of mediation approved by the Vienna court. The affiliate will pay damages of EUR11.1m to investors who suffered losses from AWD financial products. After deduction of costs associated with the legal proceedings. VKI will receive EUR7m, which it will pay out to investors who suffered losses.
12/08/2013
Swan launches a bond fund
The Swiss boutique Swan Asset Management has launched the SIF Bond Enhanced SICAV, an all-terrain global bond fund, Citywire reports. It has also converted one of its funds based in the Cayman Islands into a Sicav entitled Swan SICAV SIF Bond Fund. It is an unconstrained fund.
12/08/2013
Comgest reinforces its management team
Comgest has promoted Galina Besedina to strengthen the management team for its GEM Promising Companies fund, Citywire reports. Besedina, an analyst at the firm since January 2008, is assuming responsibility for portfolio management for the first time. She will work alongside Jean-Louis Scandella.
12/08/2013
Soros divests from Pershing Square
Soros Fund Management decided to exit form Pershing Square Capital Management, the fund by William Ackman, due to disappointing returns, according to the Reuters agency, citing a source close to the case. Pershing is expected to redeem funds to Soros, totalling uner USD250m, by the beginning of 2014. Pershing Square lost 2.2% in July, but has continued to deliver returns of 3.8% since the beginning of the year. The decision comes at a time when Soros and William Ackman have been locked in a merciless battle for several months over the case of Herbalife, a firm of which Soros is the chairman.
12/08/2013
ING Financial Partners launches a wealth management platform
ING US, via its broker-dealer ING Financial Partners, is launching a wealth management platform aimed at financial advisers and their clients. The new platform is expected to be operational in fourth quarter 2013 to the 1,500 advisers of the ING Financial Partners network.
12/08/2013
European investors pull out of bond funds in June
Bond funds for sale in Europe showed net outflows of EUR28bn for June, according to Lipper. At the same time, the European funds industry faced net outflows of EUR70.4bn.Sectors such as Bonds Emerging Markets (-EUR5.4bn), Bonds Global High Yield (-EUR4.8bn), and Bonds USD Corp. High Yield (-EUR4.6bn) were among the five sectors with the highest net outflows. Meanwhile Bonds EUR Short-Term (+EUR1.6bn), Bonds Flexible (+EUR1.5bn), and Bonds Speciality (+EUR1.bn) posted net inflows above EUR1bn.As the most popular asset class for European investors, bond funds still led the table for the year-to-date period, with net inflows of EUR81bn. Total inflows for the year-to-date period is at EUR109.6bn.As in May, asset allocation funds were by far the most popular for June (+EUR4.4bn net).In terms of fund flows the single fund markets showed a mixed picture, notes Lipper. While core European markets such as France (-EUR28.1bn) and Germany (-EUR2.7bn) posted net outflows, peripheral markets such as Spain (+EUR1.6bn), Italy (+EUR0.6bn), and Greece (+EUR0.3bn) stated net inflows.Finally, BlackRock was the best selling group for long-term funds for June, with net sales of EUR1.7bn, ahead of Banco Popolare Società Cooperativa (+EUR0.8bn) and Standard Life (+EUR0.7bn).
12/08/2013
Alliance Trust Investment finalises transfer of a fund to the Caceis UCITS platform
The final phase in the process of transfering the invstment team and the Sustainable Future range of funds from Aviva Investors to Alliance Trust Investments has been completed. Since 26 July 2013, the Sustianable Future Pan-European Equity fund, which had previously been a part of the Aviva Investors Sicav, has joined Luxexcellence, according to a statement from Caceis. The fund, now known as the Luxcellence - Alliance Trust Sustainable Future Pan-European Equity Fund, is a sub-fund of the Luxcellence Sicav, the UCITS platform from the Caceis group. Alliance Trust Investments thus becomes one of the foremost asset management firms on the sustainable and socially responsible investment (SRI) market, with a portfolio consisting of one Sicav and seven British-registered open-ended investment companies (OEIC) with total assets of GBP1.37bn, or EUR1.58bn. The fund has outperformed its benchmark index by 5.85% as of the end of June 2013, and its cumulative performance comes to 43.82% as of the end of May 2013.
12/08/2013
Charles Schwab IM launches 6 new ETFs
Charles Schwab Investment Management (CSIM) will this week launch six ETF Schwab Fundamental Index ETFs in the United States, which track Russell Fundamental indices. The new products come in addition to the 15 proprietary CSIM ETFs. Ttey will be available on the Schwab ETF OneSource platform. Schwab has USD12bn in assets under mangement in ETFs as of 30 June 2013, and over USD167bn in assets under custody in ETFs present on the platform. The funds are as follows: Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETFSchwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company Index ETFSchwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company Index ETFSchwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETFSchwab Fundamental International Small Company Index ETFSchwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Large Company Index ETF
12/08/2013
Bank J. Safra builds presence in Germany
The Swiss private bank Bank J. Safra (Deutschland) on 9 August announced in a statement that it is planning to build a presence in the south of Germany, opening an office in Stuttgart. The new office will open on 1 October this year, with a dedicated team led by Arthur J. Montanhas, who has been working for the bank since 2009. He will also be regional head for Baden-Wurttemberg, while Werner Shenk becomes deputy director of the Stuttgart office. As a corollary to the opening of this Stuttgart office, activities in Nuremberg will be transferred to Stuttgart and Munich from 30 September 2013, a statement says.
12/08/2013
Slight decline in the default rate for speculative grade corporate issues
The default rate for corporate issues rated speculative grade totalled 2.9% in the month of July, up slightly compared with the previous month (2.8%), the financial ratings agency Moody’s reports. In Europe, the default rate remained stable at 3.4%, while it had remained at 2.8% in the United States, compared with 2.9% the previous month. As of the end of July 2012, the default rate stood at 3.4%, both in Europe and the United States. Since the beginning of the year, the number of issuers rated by Moody’s which defaulted totalled 43, of which 24 were in the United States, 13 in Europe and the remainder in Latin America.