Une première. L’association internationale de la gestion alternative (AIMA) vient de publier son premier rapport sur les activités caritatives des hedge funds.Ce document de 44 pages («Contributing to Communities») propose un examen détaillée de toutes les activités caritatives du secteur, qu’il s’agisse de campagnes organisées par des membres du secteur ou d’actions individuelles.

John Mathews, qui était directeur régional pour le Sud-Est des Etats-Unis, a été promu directeur du pôle private wealth management d’UBS pour les Amériques, rapporte Das Investment. Il sera donc responsable du suivi des relations avec les «super-riches» d’Amérique du Nord et du Sud.

L’UFF qui a publié ses résultats trimestriels hier a enregistré une hausse de son produit net bancaire de 3%. La collecte nette atteint 28 millions d’euros. L’assurance vie progresse de 2%, avec une part des investissements sur des unités de compte de 60%. En chiffres, l’assurance vie investie en unités de compte collecte en net 33 millions d’euros. En outre, l’UFF note un recul des rachats (-10%).Par ailleurs, les investissements en valeurs mobilières des particuliers se redressent (+3%) et ceux des entreprises ont bénéficié du succès d’un produit obligataire qui a généré une croissance de 27% de la collecte globale réalisée auprès des sociétés.La collecte du premier trimestre a généré 14,7 millions d’euros de commissions de placement, en baisse de 2% par rapport au premier trimestre 2012. Cependant, les commissions perçues sur les produits tels que les valeurs mobilières, l’assurance vie, les produits entreprises sont en hausse de 16 %.

Franklin Templeton Investments a annoncé le lancement du Templeton Asian Dividend Fund géré par Mark Mobius asisté de Tom Wu, rapporte Fundweb. Il s’agit d’un compartiment de la sicav luxembourgeoise Franklin Templeton Investment Funds (FTIF).L’équipe de gestion mettra en œuvre une approche sans contrainte avec un objectif de long terme en investissant dans des titres asiatiques offrant des dividendes élevés et des perspectives de croissance

Le spécialiste italien de la multigestion Kairos Partners s’apprête selon Citywire à lancer deux stratégies alternatives sous forme de fonds Ucits, l’un sur les obligations internationales, l’autre investie sur les actifs réels. Les deux produits doivent encore obtenir leur agrément. Selon Citywire, ce lancement est un premier pas vers la diversification de la Sicav de Kairos Partners, jusqu'à présent uniquement composée de compartiments investis en actions.

Entre janvier et mars, la collecte de nouveaux capitaux chez le spécialiste des services financiers Swissquote a chuté de 55,1% à 240,8 millions de francs suisses, selon un communiqué publié le 6 mai. Malgré cette baisse, les dépôts de la clientèle ont progressé de 7,4% au premier trimestre à 9,1 milliards de francs.Swissquote a par ailleurs maintenu ses objectifs de 1 mililard de francs suisses de nouveaux capitaux et d’une progression de 5% à 10% du nombre de clients pour 2013. les dépôts de la clientèle ont progressé de 7,4% au premier trimestre à 9,1 milliards de francs.Selon Swissquote, «les réticences et les incertitudes des investisseurs, très sensibles en 2012, se sont calmées au premier trimestre 2013", les revenus d’exploitation ayant progressé de 1,9% et le nombre de comptes de 1,4% sur un an. Au seul premier trimestre, le nombre de comptes a augmenté de 1,4% à 203.005.Le bénéfice net de Swissquote a reculé au premier trimestre 12,2% à 5,5 millions de francs suisses en raison d’une légère hausse des charges d’exploitation et d’une diminution du chiffre d’affaires.

Le 1.028ème ETF coté sur le segment XTF de la plate-forme électronique Xetra est, depuis le 3 mai, le db X-trackers II Australian Dollar Cash UCITS ETF, un produit de droit luxembourgeois qui est le premier à ouvrir l’accès au marché monétaire en dollars australiens, indique la Deutsche Börse. Il réplique un indice calculé par la Deutsche Bank, maison-mère de db x-trackers au travers du pôle Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM).CaractéristiquesDénomination : db X-trackers II Australian Dollar Cash UCITS ETFCode Isin : LU0482518031Indice de référence : Deutsche Bank Australia Overnight Money Market TRITaux de frais sur encours : 0,20 %

L’allemand Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) a annoncé le 6 mai qu’il diminue le taux de frais sur encours (TFE ou TER en anglais) sur les parts institutionnelle (IIC) et retail (RIC) de son fonds luxembourgeois DB Platinum IV European Top STARS à respectivement 0,76 % contre 1,16 % et à 1,5 % contre 1,8 %. Cette démarche vise selon le communiqué "à rendre l’acquisition des parts de ce fonds plus attrayante pour les investisseurs». Cela posé, selon fondsweb.de, le fonds en question, lancé le 5 octobre 2007, n’afficherait que 4,76 millions d’euros d’encours (fin janvier)…Actuellement (à fin mars), le portefeuille du European Top STARS se compose de 53 lignes capipondérées. Un quart du portefeuille est repondéré chaque semaine.

La nouvelle équipe multiclasses d’actifs recrutée en août 2012 auprès de Deutsche Asset Management et qui se compose d’Adrian Daniel, Frank Schwarz et Patrick Vogel (lire Newsmanagers du 30 août 2012), est chargée de gérer le premier fonds multiclasses d’actifs et de performance absolue de MainFirst Asset Management. Le gestionnaire francfortois a en effet lancé le 30 avril un produit de droit luxembourgeois, le MainFirst AR Multi Asset Fonds, qui vise une performance annuelle supérieure à 5 % et qui est disponible en trois classes de parts.Une des particularités du fonds tient à ce que le processus d’investissement ne se fonde pas sur une structure prédifinie, top-down, du portefeuille : l'équipe de gestion mise sur des tendances prometteuses sur le long terme, comme l’importance croissante de l’agriculture, la reprise du marché américain du résidentiel ou la propagation de l’internet mobile. D’un autre côté, les gérants renoncent à investir dans des segments qui manquent de perspectives positives, comme actuellement les assurances, les services aux collectivités ou le commerce de détail.L'équipe de gestion peut investir en obligations d’Etats et d’entreprises, en actions, y compris émergentes, en devises et en matières premières. Actuellement, le premier portefeuille cible se compose de 42 % d’actions, de 29 % d’obligations d’Etats notées en moyenne A, de 25 % d’obligations d’entreprises (en moyenne BBB) et de 3 % de cash.Pour couvrir ses positions, le fonds peut utiliser des contrats à terme ou des devises. En cas de besoin, la poche de liquidités peut être augmenté et, dans un cas extrême, une classe d’actifs peut être entièrement laissée de côté.Adrian Daniel, le gérant principal, souligne que la limitation des pertes a clairement la priorité sur la performance.CaractéristiquesDénomination : MainFirst AR Multi Asset FondsCodes Isin :Classe de parts A (souscription minimale : 2.500 euros) : LU0864714000 (capitalisation)Classe de parts C (500.000 euros) : LU0864714935 (capitalisation)Classe de parts D (500.000 euros) : LU0864715312 (distribution)Commissions de gestion :1,2 % (parts A)0,8 % (parts C et D)Commission de performance :15 % de la surperformance par rapport au taux butoir de 5 %, avec high watermark.

Le 6 mai, Robeco Allemagne a annoncé avoir l’obtenu en mars l’agrément de la BaFin pour la commercialisation en Allemagne du fonds de dette souveraine émergente en monnaies locales Robeco Emerging Lux-o-rente Local Currency D EUR. Ce un produit de droit luxembourgeois lancé aux Pays-Bas le 12 décembre 2012 est désormais commercialisé en Allemagne.La stratégie de gestion mise en œuvre par l'équipe de Maurice Meijers se fonde sur un modèle quantitatif utilisé depuis 1994 pour le Robeco Lux-o-rente. Le modèle vise à prévoir l'évolution des taux sur les différents marchés obligataires.L’ajustement de la duration s’effectue au moyen de swaps de taux et de futures sur les marchés obligataires les plus liquides parmi les pays émergents (Brésil, Pologne, Mexique, Corée du Sud, Malaisie et Afrique du Sud). Cela permet de corriger la duration de +/- 3 ans. L’indice de référence, le JP Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Index, affiche actuellement duration d’environ 5 ans.CaractéristiquesDénomination : Robeco Emerging Lux-o-rente Local Currency D EURCode Isin : LU0862488169Droit d’entrée : 3 % maximumCommission de gestion (retail) : 1,20 %Frais de garde (0,12 %)

Lundi matin, la Lufthansa annonçait dans un communiqué boursier que son ancien président du directoire (jusqu’à 2010), l’Autrichien Wolfgand Mayrhuber, retirait sa candidature à la présidence du conseil de surveillance pour l’assemblée générale de ce mardi, en raison de l’opposition «d’actionnaires influents» (il s’agirait d’Union investment, de Franklin Templeton et du cabinet Institutional Shareholder Services ou ISS), rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.Mais, finalement, lundi soir, Wolfgang Mayrhuber était de nouveau candidat après avoir apparemment accepté les conditions imposées par les actionnaires récalcitrants. Les deux premiers ont surtout critiqué les décisions stratégiques malheureuses prises par l’impétrant à l’époque (2002-2010) où il était président du directoire, et l’ISS lui reproche d’avoir accepté six mandats d’administrateur depuis qu’il a quitté la direction opérationnelle de la compagnie aérienne.

La banque directe Knab, qui appartient à l’assureur Aegon, compte lancer ce mois-ci aux Pays-Bas la plate-forme Gemakbeleggen (investir facilement) qui permet aux clients d’investir dans quelque 200 fonds d’investissements et ETF sélectionnés par trois spécialistes, Sven Bouman, Martine Hafkamp et Royce Tostrams, rapporte Fondsnieuws.Les investisseurs bénéficieront de ristournes sur les fonds intermédiés par Knab. Et les clients paieront ce service 0,5 % par an, plus un euro par ordre, mais les transactions seront gratuites.René Frijters, directeur-fondateur de Knab, précise que les clients recevront une alerte lorsqu’il faudra rebalancer les fonds pour que le portefeuille revienne en ligne avec leur profil de risque.Parmi les produits sélectionnés figurent des fonds de grandes maisons internationales comme BlackRock/iShares, BNP Paribas ou DWS, mais aussi de gestionnaires néerlandais comme Delta Lloyd, Kempen Capital management et ING Investment Management.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 6 May, Robeco Germany announced that in March it received a license from BaFin to release the fund of emerging market debt denominated in local currencies Robeco Emerging Lux-o-rente Local Currency D EUR. The Luxembourg-registered product, launched in the Netherlands on 12 December 2012, is now available in Germany.The management strategy deployed by the team led by Maurice Meijers is based on a quantitative model used since 1994 by the Robeco Lux-o-rente fund. The model aims to predict the evolution of interest rates on various bond markets.Adjustments of duration are carried out via interest rate swaps and futures on the most liquid bond markets in emerging countries (Brazil, Poland, Mexico, South Korea, Malaysia and South Africa). This allows to correct duration by +/- 3 years. The benchmark index, the JP Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Index, currently shows a duration of about 5 years.CharacteristicsName: Robeco Emerging Lux-o-rente Local Currency D EURISIN code: LU0862488169Front-end fee: maximum 3%Management commission (retail): 1.20%Service fee: 0.12%

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The 1,028th ETF to be listed on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform has since 3 May been the db X-trackers II Australian Dollar Cash UCITS ETF, a Luxembourg-registered product which becomes the first to offer access to the money markets in Australian dollars, Deutsche Börse has announced. It replicates an index calculated by Deutsche Bank, the parent company of db x-trackers, via the Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) unit.CharacteristicsName: db X-trackers II Australian Dollar Cash UCITS ETFISIN code: LU0482518031Benchmark index: Deutsche Bank Australia Overnight Money Market TRITotal expense ratio: 0.20%

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Canadian fund management firm Cordiant Capital Inc, a specialist in emerging markets, has completed the first closing for its fund Cordiant Emerging Loan Fund IV (CELF IV), with USD250m. CELF IV will award senior and subordinate loans at variable interest rates denominated in US dollars to businesses and projects in emerging markets, especially in Africa. FOR these specific transactions, CELF IV will act in partnership with international financial institutions and major commercial banks. The previous fund, Cordiant Emerging Loan Fund III LP, with a total of USD460m, has finished its investment phase, and is now managing redemptions to lenders. Assets under management at Cordiant total about USD2.5bn.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Assets under management by UCITS-compliant hedge funds as of the end of first quarter 2013 totalled EUR96.1bn, compared with EUR82.4bn as of the end of December 2012, according to the most recent statistics from MondoAlternative. Of this total, EUR93.4bn are managed by single managers, and EUR2.7bn by funds of funds. With 19 new funds released on the market and 22 liquidations, the number of funds as of the end of March totalled 499, compared with 502 as of the end of December 2012.In the quarter under review, inflows for single managers totalled EUR7.3bn, while inflows to funds of funds represented EUR24bn. Hedge fund boutiques, which manage 18.5% of assets, had inflows of EUR256m in first quarter, compared with EUR643m for 2012 as a whole, while global asset managers attracted EUR7bn in assets, compared with EUR6.8bn in the year 2012.The global UCITS hedge fund index gained 1.44% in first quarter, while the fund of fund index, for its part, gained 2.18%. The best-performing strategy in the quarter was Long/Short Equity, with gains of 3.82%, followed by Relative Value (+1.79%), managed futures (+1.75%), and GTAA, for Global Tactical Asset Allocation (1.61%).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } On Monday morning, Lufthansa announced in a stock exchange release that the former chairman of its managing board (until 2010), the Austrian Wolfgang Mayrhuber, would be withdrawing his candidacy for the chair of the supervisory board at a general shareholders’ meeting on Tuesday, due to opposition from “influential shareholders” (being Union Investment, Franklin Templeton and the consultancy Institutional Shareholder Services, or ISS), the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. However, on Monday evening, Mayrhuber had ultimately once again become a candidate, after apparently accepting the conditions imposed by the recalcitrant shareholders. The first two had criticized the unfortunate strategic decisions taken by Mayrhuber at the time (2002-2010), when he was chairman of the managing board, while ISS faulted him for accepting six appointments as a director since quitting the operational management of the airline.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } As of 31 March 2013, assets under management at Natixis totalled EUR613bn (EUR287bn in the United States and EUR321bn in Europe), compared with a level of EUR591bn as of 31 December 2012, due to a net inflow of EUR3.1bn, currency and other effects of +EUR7.7bn, and a positive market effect of +EUR10.8bn, according to a statement released on 6 May.Net banking proceeds for asset management were up 1% compared with first quarter 2012, to EUR415m, supported by activities in the United States, while the context is more difficult in Europe. Net inflows excluding money market products totalled EUR4.5bn in Q1 2013, driven by highly dynamic activity in the retail segment in the United States, and in the institutional segment in Asia and the Middle East. In the United States, inflows were particularly dynamic at Loomis (+USD3.4bn, largely to bond products) and Harris Associates (+USD1.8bn, largely to equity products).

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The private equity investors Apollo Global Management in January-March 2013 posted a net profit of USD249m, more than double the total registered in the corresponding period of last year, on earnings which increased by 69% to UD1.31bn due to sales of stakes and an increase in revenues from management commissions, the Wall Street Journal reports.Leon Black, CEO, says that Apollo was a net vendor of assets, and is now harvesting profits on a buoyant market from past investments.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } In first quarter 2013, Amundi posted inflows of EUR11.1bn, making it the number 1 for inflows in Europe, Crédit Agricole announced on 7 May at the publication of its quarterly results. These very good returns allowed it to strengthen its market share, particularly in France, where they gained 2 percentage points compared with 31 December 2011, and now total 26.7% as of 31 March 2013.This strong level of inflows has been driven by institutional clients (+EUR10.7bn) and corporates (+EUR2.8bn). It concerns all asset classes, except for structured products. However, outflows are continuing from networks, with -EUR2.4bn for the quarter. Market and currency effects, for their part, total EUR7.7bn for the quarter, bringing assets under management to EUR746.2bn as of the end of March 2013. They are up 2.6% compared with 31 December 2012, and 8.3% year on year. Lastly, Amundi is continuing its strategy of strengthening its international presence, with offices opening in Taiwan and Sweden.Amundi maintained its profits at a high level in first quarter. Its net profits total EUR108m, while net profits for the part of the group total EUR79m. Net profits for the part of the group in first quarter 2013 are up by EUR6m compared with the first quarter of the previous year, not counting the sale of Hamilton Lane in first quarter 2012.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } In a world first, the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) has published its first report on the charitable activities of hedge funds. The 44-page document («Contributing to Communities») provides a detailed examination of all charitable activities by the sector, including campaigns organised by members of the sector and individual actions.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } John Matthews, who had been regional director for the Southeastern United States, has been promoted to director of the private wealth management unit at UBS for the Americas, Das Investment reports. He will be responsible for managing relationships with “super-rich” clients in North and South America.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The ETF specialist Christian Magoon is launching a new firm dedicated to the ETF universe, YieldShares, which will concentrate on the development and sales of funds with a marked orientation to income, a market niche which he feels is under-exploited, IndexUniverse reports. His first ETF, which is in the registration process, is the YieldShares High Income ETF, a fund which will invest in about 30 closed funds specialised in equities.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Axa yesterday released its quarterly results, reporting earnings up 3% to EUR28.9bn. Earnings from asset management, for their part, increased by 8% both at Axa IM and AllianceBernstein, largely due to an increase in management commissions related to an increase in assets under management at AXA IM and AllianceBernstein, as well as an increase in distribution commissions at AllianceBernstein.Net inflows totalled EUR8.4bn. In detail, it is distributed between EUR6.5bn at AXA IM and EUR1.9bn at AllianceBernstein, both of them primarily supported by bond products for institutional and retail investors, as well as by alternative products at AllianceBernstein, a statement says.Assets under management are up 2% compared with 31 December 2012. In addition to net inflows of EUR8.4bn, the favourable evolution of financial markets and a positive net currency effect contributed to this increase.The life insurance, savings and retirement unit saw its earnings increase by 4%, Net inflows have increased by EUR1.4bn to EUR3.5bn. Inflows to unit-linked policies have doubled to EUR1.4bn, and outflows have continued from general Savings funds, to -EUR1.6bn, Axa notes.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } A vast majority of investors are betting on an increase in market returns in 2013, according to a global survey by Franklin Templeton of investor sentiment. In emerging markets, 66% anticipate an improvement in their local stock market, compared with 58% in developed countries. But this optimism has not driven investors to take more risk. 57% of respondents are planning to continue a more prudent investment strategy this year, the survey notes. Leading the cautious investors are young investors aged 25 to 34. They massively indicate that equities are not essential to meet their long-term investment objectives. “Compared with the other age groups surveyed, they are also the least likely to think that equities will outperform other asset classes, and the most likely to be cautious in 2013,” says Franklin Templeton. However, this age group also has the largest amount of asets currently invested abroad (on average 38%), and who appear most likely to invest abroad in the future. This trend can also be observed among investors generally, as 66% feel that better opportunities in terms of equities and bonds may be found outside their local market in 2013. In geographical terms, the majority of investors (28%) feel that Asian equity markets present the best opportunities in terms of returns. Although they are not yet ready to invest most of their assets abroad in 2013, investors are planning to place nearly 40% in foreign markets in the next 10 years, equally divided between developed and emerging markets. In France, three quarters of local investors are planning to invest in France in the next 12 months, compared with one quarter in other parts of Europe and Asia. Although they have the sentiment that opportunities for returns are better abroad, nearly half (46%) plan to invest only in France.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Between January and March, inflows of new capital to the financial services specialist Swissquote fell 55.1%, to CHF240.8m, according to a statement released on 6 May. Despite this decline, client deposits rose 7.4% in first quarter, to CHF9.1bn. Swissquote has also maintained its objectives of CHF1bn in new capital, and an increase of 5% to 10% in its number of clients in 2013. Client deposits rose 7.4% in first quarter, to CHF9.1bn. According to Swissquote, “reticence and uncertainty on the part of investors, who were highly sensitive in 2012, calmed in first quarter 2013,” as operating revenues rose 1.9%, and the number of accounts rose 1.4% year on year. In first quarter alone, the number of accounts increased by 1.4% to 203,005. Net profits at Swissquote were down 12.2% in first quarter, to CHF5.5bn, due to a slight increase in operating costs and a decline in revenues.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Citywire reports that the Italian multi-management specialist Kairos Partners is preparing to launch two alternative strategies in the form of UCITS funds, one based on international bonds, and the other investing in real assets. Licenses for the two products are still pending. According to Citywire, the launch is a first step towards diversification for the Sicav from Kairos Partners, which had previously been composed solely of sub-funds investing in equities.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Franklin Templeton Investments has announced the launch of the Templeton Asian Dividend Fund, managed by Mark Mobius, with Tom Wu as co-manager, Fundweb reports. It is a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Franklin Templeton Investment Funds (FTIF).The management team will use an unconstrained approach, with a long-term objective of investing in Asian securities which pay high dividends and have growth outlooks.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The new multi-asset class team recruited in August 2012 from Deutsche Asset Management, composed of Adrian Daniel, Frank Schwarz and Patrick Vogel (see Newsmanagers of 30 August 2012), has been made responsible for managing the first multi-asset class and absolute return fund from MainFirst Asset Mangement. The Frankfurt-based asset management firm on 30 April launched a Luxembourg-registered product, the MainFirst AR Multi Asset Fonds, which aims for annual returns of over 5%, and which is available in three share classes.One of the unique characteristics of the fund is that the investment process is not based on a predefined top-down structure of the portfolio: the management team bets on promising trends over the long term, such as the growing importance of agriculture, recovery in the US residential real estate market or the spread of mobile internet. However, the managers will not invest in segments which lack positive outlooks, such as insurance, utilities and retail commerce, currently.The management team may invest in government and corporate bonds, equities, including emerging markets, currencies, and commodities. Currently, the first target portfolio is composed of 42% equities, 29% government bonds rated at least A, 25% corporate bonds (average rating BBB) and 3% cash.To hedge its positions, the fund may use futures contracts or currencies. In case of need, the cash allocation may be increased, and, in extreme cases, an asset class may be reduced entirely to 0%.Adrian Daniel, the lead manager, points out that limiting losses has a clear priority over performance.CharacteristicsName: MainFirst AR Multi Asset FondsISIN codes:A share class (minimal subscription: EUR2,500): LU0864714000 (capitalisation)C share class (EUR500,000): LU0864714935 (capitalisation)D share class (EUR500,000): LU0864715312 (distribution)Management commissions:1.2% (A shares)0.8% (C and D shares)Performance fee:15% of performance exceeding a hurdle rate of 5%, with high watermark

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The German firm Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) on 6 May announced that it is reducing the total expense ratio (TER) for institutional (IIC) and retail (RIC) share classes in its Luxembourg fund DB Platinum IV European Top STARS Fund to 0.76%, compared with 1.16%, and 1.5%, compared with 0.8%, respectively.A statement says the move aims to “make the acquisition of shares in these funds more attractive for investors.” However, according to fondsweb.de, the fund in question, launched on 5 October 2007, had only EUR4.76m in assets (as of the end of January).Currently (as of the end of March), the portfolio of the European Top STARS fund is composed of 53 equally-weighted positions. The weighting of one quarter of the portfolio is adjusted each week.