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09/08/2012

BofA Merrill Lynch recruits for Global Transactions Services activity

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has announced the recruitment of two senior heads, who will come as additions to the group’s Global Transactions Services activity. Bill Borden, previously of Citigroup, has been appointed as managing director, in charge of North America Product Solutions, while Dennis Sweeney, previously of General Electric, becomes managing director and head of Treasury Solutions. Both will join the firm in September and will be based in New York.
09/08/2012

Larry Fink quashes rumours of BlackRock departure

Larry Fink has sought to put to rest rumours that he may be leaving his position as CEO of BlackRock, the Financial Times reports. The media are suggesting that the director may be approached to become the next US Secretary of the Treasury if Barack Obama is re-elected as President in November. BlackRock has also announced a reshuffle of its activities into five specialised investment groups, and separated its unit responsible for clients into two parts. The iShares activity will be grouped with retail funds. All of these will be served by a single sales force. BlackRock has also created a group to manage strategic products, led by Rich Kushel.
09/08/2012

Axa IM accentuates shareholder engagement

Axa Investment Management has begun to unveil the names of businesses affected by its shareholder engagement policy, IPE.com reports. Votes by the asset management firm against proposals will also be retroactively disclosed.
09/08/2012

Janus manager leaves firm

John Eisinger, a specialist in US equities, has left Janus Capital, Investment Week reports. He had been manager of the Janus US All Cap Group fund since January 2008. He joined Janus in 2003 as an analyst.
09/08/2012

Lyxor withdraws five ETFs from Milan stock exchange

Lyxor International asset management has confirmed a decision to withdraw five ETFs from the Milan stock exchange, due to a lack of interest from investors, Investment Europe reports. The funds are the Lyxor ETF wise quantitative strategy, Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Automobiles and Parts Daily Short, Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Banks Daily Short, Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Basic Resources Daily Short and Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Daily Short. The withdrawal of the funds from trading will take place on 4 September. Some of the ETFs affected will also be withdrawn from Nyse Euronext Paris, Deutsche Boerse, NYSE Euronext Brussels and Six Swiss Exchange.
09/08/2012

Generali repudiates contract with AWD

The German financial services provider AWD, an affiliate of Swiss Life, is facing the defection of a partner, as Generali Switzerland has repudiated a contract it had signed associating with AWD until the end of this year, entitled «Neue Zürcher Zeitung» (NZZ). Generali Switzerland claims the collaboration is no longer in line with what was expected, and that activity volumes have been falling for several years, which, NZZ reports, is the grounds for the repudiation of the contract.
09/08/2012

German retail investors return to stock markets

As a result of the euro zone debt crisis, German retail investors are regaining some appetite for investment in equities. According to the Deutsche Aktien Institut (DAI), which represents businesses and institutionals active in the German capital markets, about 10.2 million investors were invested either directly or indirectly in equities in first half, which represents an increase of 1.9 million investors compared with the corresponding period of 2011, and of 1.5 million over the end of December 2011. Of this 10.2 million total, equivalent to 15.7% of the population, 2.9 million (4.5% of the population) are direct shareholders, while 5.3 million (8.1% of the population) are shareholders who hold shares in equity funds, and 2 million (3.1% of the population) are both direct and indirect shareholders.
09/08/2012

AMF publishes guidelines on fees, employee savings funds and private equity

The French financial market authority, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), on 8 August published several reference texts for the asset management sector, including a guide to fees, a guide for private equity investment funds, and a guide for employee savings funds. On the subject of kickbacks of subscription and redemption and management fees for funds of funds, the AMF observes that internationally, French regulations are in line with standard best practices defined by IOSCO in November 2004. “In the mid-term, the wider adoption of this standard in European law would clearly be the preferable solution, since it is already applied in some countries,” the AMF claims. The other two guides adopt a highly pedagogical tone, and lay out a series of recommendations. For example, the AMF observes that it is common practice for FCPR funds aimed at institutional investors to charge significantly reduced management fees when the process of liquidating the portfolio has been initiated. “The AMF recommends that asset management firms extend this practice to funds aimed at retail investors,” the guide on private equity mutual funds says.
09/08/2012

German tax authorities have reportedly bought other CDs of banking information

Several CDs containing banking information from Swiss firms are reported to have been bought up by the tax authorities of the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia, the German press reports. Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) claims there are two CDs, one of which concerns clients at the bank UBS, while the Süddeutsche Zeitung claims there are four CDs. The Bavarian newspaper cites an “expert connected with the case,” who says information on the CDs, concerning German citizens who have attempted to defraud German tax authorities with Swiss bank accounts, is “extremely interesting.” A source familiar with the matter tells FTD that the CD containing data stolen from UBS is “heavy,” as it contains evidence of the use of foundations to help German clients avoid taxes, and also includes “known names.” In addition to the data in the strict sense, the German authorities are also thought to have obtained internal training documents from UBS, which demonstrate that it actively helped its clients evade taxes.
09/08/2012

Salesperson leaves Old Mutual

Simon Cowan, one of the regional sales managers at Old Mutual Asset Managers, will be leaving the firm, Fundweb.co.uk reports. He is one of 30 employees to be leaving the firm as part of its merger with Skandia Investment Group.
09/08/2012

F&C veteran joins Axa IM

Stewart McAndiw, former head of sales at F&C, will be joining Axa Investment Managers in October, the French asset management firm has confirmed to Fundweb. McAndie will be in charge of relationships with global financial institutions in the United Kingdom, and will report to the head of sales for the United Kingdom, Rob Bailey. In this position he replaces James Wallace, who is moving to the United States.
09/08/2012

Schroders to sell a low volatility equity strategy in Germany and Austria

The British firm Schroders on 7 August announced that it has received approval to distribute a total return fund (ISIN code LU0748063764 A, EUR) in Germany and Austria. The fund is a low-volatility strategy dedicated to European equities, which offers investors a way to participate in low valuations on European equity markets while minimising risks related to current market volatility. The Schroder ISF European Total Return fund, launched in March this year, shows annualised volatility of 13.6%, compared with volatility of 20% for the MSCI Europe index. “Over the long term, European equities represent an attractive investment opportunity due to the low valuations related to problems in the euro zone,” manager Nicholette MacDonald-Brown says in a statement.
09/08/2012

Libor: United States signs deal with former UBS employees

US prosecutors have agreed to an amnesty for several former employees of the Swiss bank UBS in exchange for their cooperation with an investigation into manipulation of the interest rates used to determine Libor, the Wall Street Journal reports. The agreement including a guarantee of indulgence from investigators was offered to two former employees who had served in relatively low positions at UBS, the financial newspaper reports. Only a few of the employees affected by the investigation still work at UBS, as the bank has laid off or dismissed about 20 traders and directors following a four-year internal investigation, a source familiar with the matter cited by the Wall Street Journal says.
09/08/2012

Shanghai stock exchange eases ETF rules

The Shanghai stock exchange will now allow multiple ETF managers to replicate the same index, which will boost the growth of the market, AsianInvestor reports. ETF providers had previously had exclusive rights to indices. Shanghai and Shenzhen have 43 ETFs, representing assets of about USD19bn as of the end of June, the website notes.
09/08/2012

Diamond ETFs soon to be created?

GemShares, a financial firm based in Chicago, is seeking a patent in the United States to allow it to turn diamonds into publicly-traded shares, the Wall Street Journal reports. The firm has created an index which could be used for an ETF. The problem with diamonds is that their price depends on the carat, the colour, the clarity and the cut of the stone, but also on the appreciation of those who buy and sell them.
09/08/2012

First State plans to launch other emerging market debt funds

First State Investments is planning to extend its range of emerging market debt funds with a fund denominated in local currency, and another fund investing in corporate bonds, FundWeb reports. First State has an emerging market debt team with four members, led by Helene Williamson.
09/08/2012

Tough second quarter for Castle Alternative Invest

Castle Alternative Invest (CAI), a Swiss firm specialised in investments in hedge funds, is predicting profits excluding minority stakes of USD4.2m for first half, and of USD2.1m after minority stakes. In first half 2011, the firm posted a loss, after minority stakes, of USD5.4m, it says in a statement released on 7 August. However, in light of profits before minority stakes of USD12.5m, and of USD6.86m after minority stakes in first quarter, this means that in second quarter the firm had losses of about USD8.3m before minority stakes and of about USD4.8m after minority stakes. Detailed quarterly figures will be released on 20 August, after market closing time, CAI says in a statement.
09/08/2012

Institutional outflows of EUR900m from ING IM in second quarter

At a publication of its quarterly results, the Netherlands-based ING group on 8 August announced institutional outflows of EUR0.9bn in second quarter. Due to positive market effects of EUR0.5bn and a positive currency effect of EUR1.5bn, assets under management for institutional clients finished the quarter at EUR82.8bn, comapred with EUR81.8bn as of the end of March 2012. In retail, assets under management are down EUR72.2bn as of the end of June, a decline of EUR300m in the quarter, due to outflows of EUR0.8bn, combined with a negative market effect of EUR1.7bn and a positive forex effect of EUR2.2bn. Proprietary assets under management on the general account, for their part, have posted net inflows of EUR2.2bn, due to a positive market effect of EUR2.5bn and a positive forex effect of EUR4.2bn. Assets under management as of the end of June totalled EUR138.2bn, compared with EUR129.4bn three months earlier. Total assets under management as of the end of June totalled EUR293.2bn, compared with EUR293.2bn previously. The group has reported profits in second quarter down 22.3% in annual terms, to EUR1.17bn, Pre-tax profits for the banking unit are down 13.1%, to EUR995m, while the insurance unit, which includes asset management, is down 51.5% to EUR229m.
09/08/2012

Nordea va distribuer les fonds de Deutsche UFG en Russie

Les bureaux de Nordea Bank à Moscou, Saint Pétersbourg et d’autres villes russes, ont commencé à commercialiser des fonds de Deutsche UFG Capital Management en Russie, selon Investment Europe. La société de gestion allemande est la première dont les produits seront distribués par la banque scandinave en Russie.
09/08/2012

Belize cherche à restructurer sa dette

Le pays d’Amérique centrale cherche à repousser le paiement de 544 millions de dollars. La banque centrale du pays dit disposer de trois scénarios dont elle compte discuter avec ses créanciers, dont la réduction des taux d’intérêts de 8,5% à 2%, en contrepartie d’un allongement de la maturité de 2029 à 2062. Le rendement de l’obligation concernée a augmenté de 5,22 points à 20,03% depuis un an.
09/08/2012

Bercy nomme une mission sur le prix des carburants

Une mission de l’IGF (Inspection générale des finances) et du Conseil général des mines va se pencher sur la formation et la transparence des prix des carburants, a annoncé hier soir le ministre de l’Economie et des Finances, Pierre Moscovici. Mardi, il avait indiqué que le gouvernement n’excluait pas un blocage temporaire des prix des carburants s’ils continuaient à augmenter.
09/08/2012

Le CME envisage de concurrencer le LME sur l’aluminium

Le Chicago Mercantile Exchange, l’opérateur de marché à terme américain, aurait sondé l’intérêt des opérateurs de marché ces dernières semaines concernant l’éventuel lancement de contrats sur l’aluminium qui viendraient concurrencer ceux du London Metal Exchange, qui domine depuis plus de 30 ans ce marché de quelque 80 milliards de dollars, selon Reuters.
09/08/2012

Hausse de l’inflation brésilienne

L’inflation brésilienne a progressé à 5,2% au mois de juillet après 4,92% en juin, mais reste dans la fourchette de cible de 2,5% à 6,5% de la banque centrale. Près de la moitié de la hausse mensuelle de 0,43% est imputable aux prix alimentaires. Les marchés anticipent des baisses de taux directeurs, à 8%, de 75 pb d’ici à la fin de l’année pour relancer la croissance, estimée à seulement 2% en 2012.
09/08/2012

Compromis sur la TVA au Japon

Le Premier ministre japonais, Yoshihiko Noda, est arrivé hier à un compromis de dernière minute avec les dirigeants de l’opposition pour sauver son projet phare de doublement de la TVA à 10% d’ici à 2015 et son projet de réforme de la Sécurité sociale, en échange de la promesse d'élections anticipées «une fois que ces réformes seront validées, (...) dans un avenir proche».
09/08/2012

Recul des stocks de brut aux Etats-Unis

Les stocks américains de pétrole brut ont reculé de 3,73 millions à 369,86 millions de barils la semaine dernière, selon l’EIA. Un chiffre plus fort que prévu, le consensus tablant sur un recul de seulement 0,3 million de barils. Idem pour les stocks d’essence qui ont reculé de 1,8 million de barils à 206,07 millions, contre une hausse de 1,1 million de barils prévue par le consensus.
09/08/2012

Bonne surprise pour la productivité américaine

La productivité du secteur non agricole aux Etats-Unis a progressé à un taux annuel de 1,6% entre avril et juin, contre une hausse de 1,3% prévue par le consensus. La production a augmenté de 2% au deuxième trimestre, mais les heures travaillées de seulement 0,4%. Le coût unitaire du travail a progressé de 1,7%, contre une hausse de 0,6% anticipée par le consensus.
09/08/2012

L’Allemagne conserve son rang

Fitch a confirmé hier le AAA accordé à la dette souveraine allemande et sa perspective stable, soulignant la forte résistance de son économie et son «track record» robuste au cours des deux dernières années en dépit du ralentissement économique mondial et de la crise de la zone euro. Et de mettre la forte croissance et le déclin du chômage au profit des réformes structurelles passées. Le Trésor allemand a placé hier 3,4 milliards d’euros de dette à 10 ans lors d’une adjudication qui a suscité une demande solide, les investisseurs continuant de voir dans le papier allemand un placement refuge sur fond de crise de la zone euro, même si le pays espérait initialement lever jusqu'à 4 milliards d’euros. Le rendement moyen a légèrement progressé à 1,42%, contre 1,31% le mois dernier, mais la demande a été plus forte avec un ratio de couverture de 1,8 fois l’offre, contre 1,5 fois le 11 juillet.

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