Après les fonds Multi-Asset Strategy et Strategic Bond, Newscape Capital Group vient de lancer le Newscape Dynamic Rates and Currency Fund. Ce produit coordonné est confié à Philippe Bonnefoy, chairman & CIO. L’objectif est une performance de 12-15 % annuels avec une volatilité annualisée ex ante de l’ordre de 10 %.Le portefeuille sera investi en monnaies et taux des pays de l’OCDE. Il affichera une liquidité quotidienne et sera disponible en parts libellées en euros, livres, francs suisses et dollars.Le fonds sera géré en utilisant un processus analytique détaillé fondé sur des modèles quantitatifs exclusifs pour identifier les possibilités d’investissement offrant la plus forte probabilité de générer des rendements élevés ajustés du risque.CaractéristiquesDénomination : Newscape Dynamic Rates & Currency fundCodes Isin :Class B Acc CHF: IE00B87DYY93Class B Acc EUR: IE00B5WCFL43Class B Acc GBP: IE00B7VKGW14Class B Acc USD: IE00B3W1MJ42Droit d’entrée : 5 % maximumCommission de gestion : 1,75 %Commission de performance : 20 % de la surperformance par rapport au taux butoir (Libor 3 mois, USD) avec high watermark.
Dans la perspective de l’introduction de la réglementation RDR au Royaume-Uni, BNY Mellon propose aux assemblées générales extraordinaires convoquées pour le 21 décembre la fusion d’un certain nombre des fonds de sa filiale Insight (187 milliards de livres d’encours au 30 septembre). Si ces fusions sont entérinées, elles prendront effet le 9 février 2013.Dans le détail, les fonds Investment Diversified High Income, Insight Investment Wealth Builder Balanced et Insight Investment Diversified Dynamic Return seront fusionnés pour créer le Insight Global Multi-Strategy fund, qui sera géré par Steve Waddington.Ce dernier sera également gérant du nouveau Insight Global Absolute Return fund qui absorbera le Insight Investment Diversified Target Return fund.Le Insight Investment Monthly Income Bond fund sera intégré au nouveau Insight Strategic Bond fund géré par Adam Mossakowski assisté de Peter Bentley tandis que le Insight Investment Sterling Corporate Bond fund sera repris dans le nouveau Insight Inflation-Linked Corporate Bond fund géré par David Hooker et Adam Mossakowski..Enfin, Tim Rees sera le gérant des nouveaux Insight Equity Income Booster Fund et Insight Equity Income fund qui reprendront respectivement les Insight Investment UK Equity Income Booster fund et le Insight Investment Monthly Income fund pour le premier, les Insight Investment UK Dynamic Managed fund et Insight Investment Equity High Income fund pour le second.BNY Mellon précise par ailleurs que, pour le Absolute Insight (NURS), l’authorised corporate director (ACD) changera, passant de Insight Investment Funds Management Limited à BNY Mellon Fund Managers Limited, qui est aussi l’ACD de la gamme BNY Mellon Investment Funds.
Crispin Odey, le créateur d’Odey Asset Management, et Pierre Lagrange, le co-fondateur de GLG, viennent tous deux d’entrer dans le gotha des gérants de hedge funds les plus fortunés, selon le classement établi par le Sunday Times et couvrant la place de Londres, soit quelque 650 hedge funds pour des actifs gérés de 250 milliards de livres.Avec une fortune estimée à 455 millions de livres, Crispin Odey et son épouse arrivent en septième position dans la Sunday Times Rich List des cinquante gérants les plus riches. Pierre Lagrange occupe pour sa part la 41ème position avec une fortune estimée à 120 millions de livres. Alan Howard (Brevan Howard) occupe la tête du classement avec une fortuné évaluée à 1,4 milliard de livres, devant David Harding (Winton Capital Management) avec 900 millions de livres et Alexander Knaster (Pamplona Capital Management) avec 885 millions de livres.
Selon les informations d’Investment Week, Henderson Global Investors (63 milliards de livres d’encours) se préparerait à annoncer une nouvelle charrette de suppressions d’emplois d’ici à la fin de l’année. Le gestionnaire britannique prévoirait aussi de fermer ou de fusionner un certain nombre de fonds ne faisant pas partie de son offre «cœur» en raison de l’entrée en vigueur de la réglementation RDR. L’accent sera mis en revanche sur les fonds à gestion active, notamment ceux de performance absolue.
Les actifs sous gestion d’Aberdeen ont progressé de 10% durant l’exercice clos le 30 septembre pour s'établir à 187,2 milliards de livres contre 169,9 milliards de livres à la fin septembre 2011, selon un communiqué publié le 26 novembre. Le bénéfice avant impôts s’est établi à 347,8 millions de livres, en hausse de 15% d’une année sur l’autre.La collecte brute de l’exercice s’est élevée à 36 milliards de livres, dont 36% en Europe continentale et 23% au Royaume-Uni, contre 43 milliards de livres l’année précédente, mais l’exercice s’est terminée à l'équilibre en net alors qu’il avait donné lieu à une décollecte nette de 1,7 milliard de livres durant l’année au 30 septembre 2011.
BlackRock a fermé le BSF Emerging Markets Extension, un compartiment de sa sicav luxembourgeoise BlackRock Strategic Fund (BSF), seulement 9 mois après son lancement. La société de gestion justifie la fermeture par un manque d’intérêt de la part des investisseurs. Depuis son lancement, le produit n’a jamais dépassé les 50 millions de dollars d’encours, note Fundweb. Lancé au même moment que le BSF Emerging Markets Extension, le BlackRock Asia Extension fund ne devrait pas subir le même sort, indique l’article.
Les fonds de pension américains affichent des situations financières très disparates, selon une étude publiée le 26 novembre par Morningstar.Le Wisconsin dispose du fonds de pension le plus solide, avec un taux de couverture de 99,8% alors que l’engagement par résident est de 23 dollars. L’Illinois affiche les plus mauvaises statistiques, avec un taux de couverture de seulement 43,4% et un engagement de 6.505 dollars par résident. Seulement sept Etats ont un taux de couverture de 90% ou plus alors que 21 Etats affichent des taux de couverture inférieurs à 70%.
Avec le Unifond Bolsa Garantizado 2016-I, Unicaja vient de lancer un fonds garanti au 25 janvier 2016 qui promet en outre 100 % de la hausse de l’indice espagnol Ibex 35 ou bien un coupon de 18 % si un jour donné l’Ibex atteint ou franchit la barre des 150 % de la valeur initiale, rapporte Expansión.La souscription miniale est de 300 euros.
Filiale de gestion d’actifs de GBM Grupo Bursátil Mexicano, GBM AM (4,3 milliards d’euros d’encours) vient d’enregistrer pour la première fois des fonds d’investissement en Espagne, rapporte Funds People. La distribution sera assurée dans ce pays par Inversis Banco.Le produit emblématique de la gamme est la sicav coordonnée Mexican Fund lancée en décembre 2011 qui investit principalement en actions et en obligations de sociétés mexicaines aux bilans solides. Ce fonds a gagné 19,17 % depuis son lancement .
Through platforms launched by brokers, investors can now avoid lock-up periods for hedge funds, Financial Times Fund Management reports. These markets allow investors to either sell shares in hedge funds directly, or sell the returns on their investments in hedge funds via derivative contracts. FT fm cites Tullett Prebon and Wake2o among the platforms that allow this.
The Geneva-based firm Pictet last week opened a representative office in Tel Aviv with two members, and has founded a wealth management affiliate in Israel, Pictet Wealth Management Israel Ltd., to serve local clients, as Israeli clients had previously been served from Switzerland.Pictet has also applied for a license as a foreign financial services provider, to be allowed to serve certain Israeli clients directly from Geneva.The Swiss group has had a commercial partnership since 2010 with Itay Strum Plenum for institutional clients and fund distribution.
Scott Kalb, chief investment officer and deputy CEO of the Korean sovereign fund, is primarily interested in large, well-established hedge funds. In an interview with Opalesque TV, Kalb claims that hedge fund firms of a considerable size are better equipped to provide the services sovereign funds demand. “Some think that small hedge fund managers are more agile and can earn better returns, but I think that in the hedge fund universe, it is not just about returns. Returns are a requirement of their own, and that’s the reason you go into hedge funds, but alongside that, there are a lot of points to consider, including the quality of the platform, the teams, infrastructure. To invest in a hedge fund manager, you have to have a solid team you can trust in front of you,” Kalb explains. The head of the Korean fund also estimates that larger hedge funds will have more means to meet the long-term objectives of a sovereign fund, over several decades.
The private equity fund dedicated to financial services BlackFin Capital Partners on 26 November announced that it has acquired a minority stake in the Cirus group, alongside management and employees, and is also continuing to manage the UI Gestion fund, which it began to manage in 2008. The Cyrus group, founded in 1989, is the French leader in independent wealth management advising, with assets of EUR1.7bn in financial assets from 2,300 families. The Cyrus Group, structured around its three complementary operational units (wealth management, real estate, and asset management), and its eight local offices (Paris, Lyon, Dijon, Bourdeaux, Caen, Lille, Reims, Nantes), offers its clients wealth management advising as well as financial and real estate investment solutions to meet their needs.
“In retail in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, BlackRock has posted net inflows since the beginning of the year of over USD2bn, and assets total about USD140bn,” Alex Hoctor-Duncan, head of retail for Europe, Africa & the Middle East at BlackRock, has told Newsmanagers during a visit to Paris.When asked about the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review at the beginning of 2013 in the United Kingdom, the head of retail distribution at BlackRock claims that “RDR will introduce a dislocation in the distribution chain. The British regulator intended with this regulation to require high-quality advising alongside high transparency of commissions. We will know what the real outcome is at the end of 2013. At any rate, BlackRock is ready for RDR, and we always respect regulations. We have share classes that comply with RDR, and we have already informed our clients about this.”However, personally Hoctor-Duncan is concerned that “with this new regime, British savings investors will ultimately stop savings. Do they know where to go to get advice? We have a role to play to make sure that savings investors meet ‘good’ advisers. Our clients are on a long-term adventure, and they need to be able to build up retirement income using the services of a specialist they trust to do that.”
European money market funds are reallocating their portfolios towards longer-dated assets issued by highly-rated supranationals, government agencies, sovereigns and corporates, while maintaining high overnight liquidity, Fitch Ratings says in its newly-published sector update. However, MMFs’ strong demand for such assets is still far from being satisfied given limited short-term market supply. The average portfolio allocation to quasi-sovereigns reached 10% at end-October, versus less than 2% before August 2011, the most largely held entities being Erste Abwicklungsanstalt, FMS Wertmanagement, KfW, CDC, CADES, ACOSS, the European Investment Bank and the European Financial Stability Facility / European Stability Mechanism. Money market funds still retain a large exposure to the banking sector (77%), albeit slightly reduced from a year before (82%).
With the Unifond Bolsa Garantizado 2016-I, Unicaja has launched a guaranteed fund maturing on 25 January 2016, which also guarantees 100% of gains on the Spanish Ibex 35 index, or a coupon of 18% if on any day the Ibex reaches or exceeds 150% of its initial value, Expansión reports.Minimal subscription is EUR300.
GBM AM (EUR4.3bn in assets), the asset management affiliate of GBM Grupo Bursátil Mexicano, has for the first time registered investment funds in Spain, Funds People reports. Distribution will be provided in the country by Inversis Banco.The emblematic product of the range is the UCITS-compliant Sicav Mexican Fund, launched in December 2011, which invests primarily in equities and bonds from Mexiccan businesses with solid balance sheets. The fund has gained 19.17% since its launch.
Since 26 November, Euronext Amsterdam has admitted a further ETF from ThinkCapital ETFs NV, bringing the number of funds of this type listed on the European markets of NYSE Euronext to 588.CharacteristicsName: TciAATISIN code: NL0010273801Benchmark index: iBoxx Gov AAA-AA 1-5 IndexTER: 0.15%
The CNMV on 23 November granted a sales license for the latest fund from Banco Popular Gestión, Eurovalor Ahorro Garantizado VII, a bond product created on 8 November, which will mature on 21 March 2016.On that date, redemption will be 111.06% of the initial net asset value as of 1 February 2013, for A shares (institutional), an annual return of 3.40%, and 110.6% for B shares, or 3.10% per year.CharacteristicsName: Eurovalur Ahorro Garantizado VIIA shares:Minimal subscription: EUR60,000Front-end fee: 5%Early withdrawal penalty: 5%Management commission: 1.02%B shares:Minimal subscription: EUR600Front-end fee: 5%Early withdrawal penalty: 5%Management commission: 1.32%
db-X funds, Deutsche Bank’s structured funds division, has launched a fund that gives investors US dividend-focused exposure using its proprietary CROCI® stock selection methodology, according to a press released published on November 26. The DB Platinum CROCI® US Dividends Fund provides returns linked to the CROCI® US Dividends-Net Return Index, which aims to identify shares in the S&P 500 with above-average and sustainable dividend yields. The launch comes on the back of the launch of the DB Platinum CROCI® Global Dividends fund, which has amassed USD85m in assets in less than three months.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the US hedge fund management firm Paulson & Co has increased its stake in the Spanish blood derivatives specialist Grifols by 1.3 percentage points to 4% of capital, Cotizalia reports. Its exposure to the business now totals USD390m.
BlackRock has closed the BSF Emerging Markets Extension, a sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav BlackRock Strategic Fund (BSF), only 9 months after its launch. The asset management firm explains that the closure is due to a lack of interest on the part of investors. Since its launch, the product has never had over USD50m in assets, Fundweb notes. The BSF Emerging Markets Extension, BlackRock Asia Extension fund are not expexcted to meet with the same fate, the article adds.
US pension funds are in highly disparate financial situations, according to a study published by Morningstar on 26 November. Wisconsin has the most solid pension fund, with a coverage rate of 99.8%, while liability per resident is USD23. Illinois has one of the worst statistics, with a coverage rate of only 43.4%, and a liability of USD6,505 per resident. Only seven states have a coverage rate of 90% or more, while 21 states have coverage rates below 70%.
As of the end of October, market effects represented a gain of 12% for US equity funds, and of 8% for bond funds, bringing total assets up USD1trn since the beginning of the year, Strategic Insight estimates.With the addition of net subscriptions, which are expected to total USD400bn for the year, 2012 is expected to be a very good year for the mutual fund sector, just behind 2009, when assets under management increased by USD2trn.
The Singapore sovereign fund, Investment Corproation Pte. Ltd. (GIC), has increased the stake it holds in the Swiss firm Straumann to 14%, from 4% previously. Thomas Straumann, the major shareholder and vice-chairman of the dental implants group, sold the 10% stake in question to the Singapore fund, After the sale, the stake held by Straumann falls from 27% to 17%, according to a statement released on 26 November. Straumann, who has agreed to retain the remaining 17% stake in the dental implant business “for one year,” sold the stake due to financial difficulties, which have obliged him to reorganise his investments. The firm “remains his central investment,” and Straumann, cited in the statement, still wants to be “a major shareholder oriented to the future and to the long-term development of the firm.” The vice president says that he “remains absolutely convinced of he prospects of long-term success for Straumann.”
State Street Global Advisors Asia is awaiting permission from regulators to create a joint venture which will provide fund management to Chinese high net worth clients, Financial News has learned.
Assénagon Credit Management, a new affiliate of Assénagon Asset Management founded on 20 January (see Newsmanagers of 7 February), a credit specialist with EUR1.9bn in assets, is changing its name with immediate effect, to become Xaia Investment. The partnership ended in June, by common agreement.The three MDs of the firm, Ulrich von Altenstadt, Jochen Felsenheimer and Wolfgang Klopfer, will remain as heads of the business, in which they are now the full owners. They will retain the nine employees of the business.The three open-ended funds will change names from 1 January 2013, with the prefix Xaia replacing Assénagon, but the funds will continue to be administered by Universal-Investment. The new names will be Xaia Credit Basis (ISIN LU0418282348), Xaia Credit Basis II (LU0462885483) and Xaia Credit Debt Capital (LU0644385733).In the future, Xaia will focus on a cross-asset management approach, and develop market neutral products.
The French asset management firm OFI Asset Management has formed a partnership with the European third party marketer Accelerando Associates to distribute its funds to institutional investors in Germany and other German-speaking countries. Initially, the French asset management firm will sell two of its funds in the German-speaking countries: OFI Risk Arbitrages and OFI Risk Arb Absolu, UCITS-compliant products whose assets under management are over EUR300m. They are expected to receive sales licenses for Germany in first quarter 2013. Other management themes, such as inflation and convertible bonds, are expected to be highlighted as part of the partnership, a press statement says. The project is part of an international development strategy at OFI AM which was announced by its CEO, Gérard Bourret, in May.
Adam Smears (ex head of research at Old Mutual Global Investors) and Kevin Dockrell (ex Towers Watson) are joining Russell Investments in London. Smears will be the head of a nine-member bond management team in London, New York, Toronto, Seattle and Sydney.
Ahead of the introduction of RDR regulations in the United Kingdom, BNY Mellon is proposing to merge several funds of its Insight range (GBP187bn in assets as of 30 September) at the extraordinary general shareholders’ meetings for the products on 21 December. If the mergers are approved, they will be effective from 9 February 2013.The Investment Diversified High Income, Insight Investment Wealth Builder Balanced and Insight Investment Diversified Dynamic Return funds will be merged to create the Insight Global Multi-Strategy fund, which will be managed by Steve Waddington. Waddington will also be manager of the new Insight Global Absolute Return fund, which will absorb the Insight Investment Diversified Target Return fund.The Insight Investment Monthly Income Bond fund will be merged into the new Insight Strategic Bond fund, managed by Adam Mossakowski, with the assistance of Peter Bentley, while the Insight Invetsment Sterling Corporate Bond Fund will be merged into the new Insight Inflation-Linked Corporate Bond Fund, managed by David Hooker and Adam Mossakowski.Tim Rees will be manager of the new Insight Equity Income Booster Fund and Insight Equity Income fund, which will receive the Insight Investment UK Equity Income Booster fund and Insight Investment Monthly Income fund, for the former, and the Insight Investment UK Dynamic Managed fund and Insight Investment Equity High Income fund, for the latter.BNY Mellon also states that, for Absolute Insight (NURS), the authorised corporate director (ACD) will change, from Insight Investment Funds Management Limited to BNY Mellon Fund Managers Limited, which is also the ACD for the BNY Mellon Investment Funds range.