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18/04/2012

BlackFin Capital Partners acquires 100% of Italy's Chiarezza

The private equity fund dedicated to financial services BlackFin Capital Partners on 17 April announced that it has acquired 100% of capital in the insurance product comparison firm Chiarezza, launched by Admiral Gorup Plc in Italy in February 2010. Chiarezza offers a free service at http://www.chirezza.it, which allows web surfers to compare a wide range of insurance products on the basis of their price and characteristics, and to complete subscriptions online or by telephone. Chiarezza works with a wide range of direct insurers, and operates on the model of brokers paid for subscriptions and insurance policy renewals. “This transaction represents BlackFun’s fifth investment, and illustrates the fund’s capacity to undertake proprietary operations in high-growth segments in the financial sector in Europe,” BlackFin says in a statement.
18/04/2012

Wealth management: Universal banks win market share

Although traditional private banks still control a majority of the market, universal banks have strengthened their positions in wealth management since the crisis in 2008, Les Echos reports.According to a survey by Eurogroup Consulting, the number of wealth management clients of major banking networks increased 19% between 2008 and 2011, while growth was limited to 4% for traditional establishments. Similarly, assets under management in this activity segment have increased by 39% at universal banks and 17% at pure private banks.“The major universal banks are now more engaged in this profitable profession, which is also advantageous in the new environment created by Basel III,” says Cécile Huntzinger, a director at Eurogroup Consulting and co-author of the study. But traditional private banks still have nearly four times more clients than the wealth management arms of generalists.
18/04/2012

Buffett to remain at Berkshire despite cancer

The billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Tuesday announced that he has prostate cancer, and that he will continue to manage Berkshire Hathaway during his treatment, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a letter to shareholders, the manager, 81, explains that he has stage 1 prostate cancer, an early and treatable form of the illness. He will begin two months of daily radiation treatment in mid-July.
18/04/2012

Bank of America plans to sell asset management division outside US

The US bank Bank of America (BofA) is planning to sell its international asset management unit, in the hopes of generating USD3bn in cash, Agefi Switzerland reports, relaying reports from AFP. A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment. The international asset management and investment division has seen a 22% declint in its net profits in fourth quarter 2011 compared with the same period in 2010, on unchanged earnings of USD4.2bn.
18/04/2012

Oddo AM makes first entry into China

Oddo Asset Management will work with the Chinese firm Guosen Securities, which on Monday signed an agreement protocol with Oddo & Cie for asset management and business banking. This is the first partnership in China for the French asset management firm. To begin with, Guosen will advise Oddo AM on the launch of a renminbi bond fund to be managed and distributed by the French firm in France and other countries where the asset manager is present. For its part, Oddo AM will advise its Chinese partner on the launch of a global luxury and lifestyle themed fund, which will invest in global shares connected with the luxuries sector, managed and distributed in continental China by Guosen Securities. The partnership may be extended in the future to include private management, a spokesperson for Oddo AM tells Newsmanagers. However, there are no plans for acquisition of any stakes or the creation of a joint venture. In the area of business banking, Oddo Corproate Finance and Guosen will advise French firms which are planning IPOs on Chinese markets, as well as Chinese firms seeking access to European equity markets. Guosen Securities, 70% owned by the Shenzhen provincial government, is one of the five largest stock market companies in China, according to a press statement. With 12,000 employees, it is active in brokerage, business banking and asset management. As of the end of 2010, Guosen earned net profits of RMB3.1bn (about EUR310m), and has owners’ equity totalling about RMB15bn (about EUR1.5bn).
18/04/2012

Joël Séché's term as chairman of Saur is no longer justified, says FSI

Joël Séché's term as head of Saur will no longer be justified beyond its end on 27 May, the strategic investment fund (FSI), which controls 38% of capital in the third largest French water treatment business, announced in a statement on 17 April. The statement comes at a time when Séché Environnement, also chaired by Séché, and which controls one third of capital in Saur, declared late last year that it plans to exercise an option to buy FSI’s stake in order to take control of the business. “The FSI now observes that there is a complete stalemate between the management of the business and its chairman. All parties know that this situation is severely damaging the development of the business,” the Fund writes in a statement. “Mr. Séché has been appointed executive chairman of the firm ahead of the exercise of the buy option he had been granted. His term and the period in which he will be able to exercise this option will end on 27 May 2012. Beyond that date, in the absence of an exercise of the option giving control of the company to Mr. Séché, his term as chairman will not be justified,” the FSI adds.
18/04/2012

Slight decline in assets under management at Goldman Sachs in first quarter

Assets under management by the Investment Management unit at Goldman Sachs were down by USD4bn in first quarter, to USD824bn. The quarter under review saw a net outflow of USD26bn. This development was partially offset by positive market effects totalling USD22bn. Profits for the unit totalled USD1.18bn in first quarter, down 7% compared with fourth quarter, and 8% compared with first quarter 2011. The group has reported net profits for first quarter of USD2.08bn, more than double the corresponding period of last year.
18/04/2012

Félix Sánchez replaces Sergio Míguez at Bansabadell Inversión

Following the departure of Sergio Míguez, CIO for absolute return products, who is joining Lazard (see Newsmanagers of 16 April), the position of director of hedge funds at BanSabadell Inversión has now been handed to Félix Sánchez, who had been a hedge fund manager since 2005, Funds People reports. In his new position, Sánchez will report directly to José Antonio Pérez Roger, chief investment officer.For the moment, Bansabadell Inversión manages only EUR41m in hedge funds, but its alternative assets total EUR1.07bn, including funds of hedge funds, commodities, one real estate fund and absolute return quant funds.
18/04/2012

Abu Dhabi gets 2 seats on the board at UniCredit

The Aabar sovereign fund from Abu Dhabi, which controls 6.5% of capital in the Italian UniCredit bank, has entered the board of directors at the firm with two seats, replacing Libyans, the newspaper Corriere della Sera reports. The Aabar fund, the largest shareholder in the firm with 6.5%, is nominating its chairman Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi, adding that the chairman of Ferrari, Luca Cordero de Montezemolo, will also join the board as a representative of the fund. Libya will no longer have membership on the board, the newspaper reports, three weeks ahead of the general shareholders’ meeting on 11 May, which will elect the new board of directors. Libya did not participate in the most recent EUR7.5bn capital increase at UniCredit, which was completed in January, and marked a rise in the stake held by the Aabar fund.
18/04/2012

UCITS continued to experience strong net inflows in February

A long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) by the European Central Bank has strengthened investor confidence, which has resulted in positive net inflows in February to all fund categories in Europe. UCITS continued to experience strong net inflows in February amounting to EUR 19 billion, albeit down from EUR 25 billion recorded in January, according to statistics from the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA). Net sales of long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) remained steady in February registering net inflows of EUR 18 billion, compared to EUR 19 billion in January. Bond funds recorded net inflows of EUR 9 billion in February, down from EUR 13 billion in January, while net sales of equity funds registered net inflows of EUR 4 billion, the same level as in January. Balanced funds also enjoyed net inflows of EUR 1 billion during the month, compared to EUR 2 billion in January. Total non-UCITS recorded a jump in net sales in February to register net inflows of EUR 16 billion, up from EUR 7 billion in January. Special funds (funds reserved to institutional investors) recorded an increase in net inflows in February of EUR 16 billion, compared to EUR 7 billion in January. Total assets of UCITS increased 1.9 percent in February to stand at EUR 5,821 billion at end February. Total assets of non-UCITS enjoyed an increase of 1.7 percent in February to EUR 2,268 billion at month end.
18/04/2012

UBS prepared to cooperate with French authorities if required

The Swiss bank UBS, which is subject to a preliminary investigation in France (see Newsmanagers of 16 April), on 17 April announced that it is prepared to fully cooperate with the French aurthorities if required. The French affiliate of UBS “has become aware of the information recently reported in the press in relation to a preliminary investigation which has reportedly been opened against it,” the bank says in a statement. “If the opening of the investigation is confirmed, UBS (France) will fully cooperate with the authorities in charge,” the bank says.
18/04/2012

ICI and US CoC file lawsuit against CFTC

The Investment Company Institute (ICI) and the US Chamber of Commerce (US CoC) have filed a lawsuit in the US District Court of Columbia against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), because the Commission is planning to require some mutual funds and ETFs to register as “commodity-pool operators,” in addition to their registrations with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the Wall Street Journal reports. This would affect all funds which practice commodity-based strategies.The ICI and US CoC claim that the funds are already adequately regulated, and that the new regulations would affect about 500 products. The planned rules would cancel a rule from 2003 by which registered investment advisors were expressly excluded from the list of commodity pool operators.
18/04/2012

Cerberus has reached only one third of its fundraising objective for its fifth fund

In an environment in which fundraising is proving especially difficult, Cerberus Capital Partners (Cerberus) may encounter some difficulty in reaching its final objective for its next vehicle. The US investment firm, which had been aiming for USD3.75bn (EUR2.9bn) for its fifth-generation fund, has raised USD1.1bn since the launch of the process one year ago, according to a letter sent yesterday to investors in the firm, reported by Bloomberg and relayed by Agefi.
18/04/2012

Non-financial risks: Professionals want more transparency, information and governance

The major causes of rising non-financial risks are increased complexity of operations (a cause considered significant by 77% of respondents), followed by reduced capacity on the part of some providers to guarantee deposited assets (59%), unclear or inadequate regulations (57%) and lastly, a total lack of responsibility on the part of asset management firms in relation to restitution of assets (53%), according to an Edhec-Risk survey. The study, entitled “Shedding Light on Non-Financial Risks – a European Survey,” was undertaken as part of the second year of work by the research chair in “Risks and regulation of the fund industry in Europe,” created in partnership with Caceis.The study clearly finds that regulatory priorities need to address themes to which the regulator has paid limited attention in its recent work, particularly the MiFID directive. The priorities cited are transparency, information and governance, in relation to regulation of non-financial risks, followed by financial responsibility in the industry. On this latter point, the fact must be underscored that non-financial risks are largely the result of decisions by the asset management firm.
18/04/2012

UBS offers a logistical real estate fund to institutionals

The new UBS D German Logistics Property Fund 2 from UBS Germany aims for annual returns to 7%. The product, aimed at institutional investors, will focus on rental logistical real estate in Germany, and will have the status of a German institutional fund (Spezialfonds). The asset management firm is aiming for assets of EUR300m.CharacteristicsName: UBS (D) German Logistics Property Fund 2ISIN code: DE000A0DJ3L2Minimal subscription: EUR2.5m
18/04/2012

AllianzGI obliged to close a real estate FoF

On Wednesday, 18 April, Allianz Global Investors announced that it will be suspending redemptions of shares in the real estate fund of funds Allianz Flexi Immo (A and C share classes, ISIN codes DE0009797332 and DE0009797340,) until further notice. The move follows a wave of closures of open-ended real estate funds in Germany. Redemptions of over EUR200m since the beginning of 2011 wiped out most of the assets in the Flexi immo fund which could be liquidated at short notice, and the fund is now no longer invested in anything other than real estate funds whose redemptions are susptended or holdings which cannot be mobilised in the short term.The fund, launched on 16 September 2008, currently has assets of EUR170m.
18/04/2012

Federated Investors acquires Prime Rate Capital Management

The US firm Federated Investors has finalised its acquisition of Prime Rate Capital Management LLP (PRCM), a British asset management firm specialised in liquidity and fixed income products serving institutionals. Federated acquired the firm from Matrix Group Limited. The US firm managed USD369.7bn as of the end of 2011.
18/04/2012

LV= offers new funds

The retirementspecialist LV= has announced that it has added seven funds to itslist of funds available to independent financial advisers and theirclients.The funds include threeFidelity and four Threadneedle products.Fidelity MultiAsset Allocator Balanced Fidelity MultiAsset Allocator Defensive Fidelity MultiAsset Allocator Growth ThreadneedleGlobal Equity Income Threadneedle UKEquity Income ThreadneedleEuropean Select Threadneedle Defensive Equity & Bond
18/04/2012

Pioneer Investments recruits 5 emerging market analysts

Pioneer Investments has hired five investment professionals for its new London based Emerging Markets hub.Reporting to Marco Mencini, head of equity and emerging markets research, the new team includes: Sebastian Barry Taylor, consumer analyst & team leader; Ji Young Park, consumer analyst; Richard Clode, technical analyst global emerging markets and Caroline Galligan, financial analyst. Oleksiy Soroka, senior credit analyst reports to Garrett Walsh, head of credit research Europe & Asia.Mauro Ratto, head of emerging markets, said: «we plan to expand our franchise with further hires in the coming months (...)».
18/04/2012
Gestion d'actifs

CNP Assurances prône des discussions plus ouvertes sur les frais de gestion dans le capital investissement

Invitée par l’AFIC à s’exprimer sur l’investissement en non coté, Hélène Falchier, responsable des investissements Private Equity chez CNP assurances, insiste sur l’importance, dans le processus de sélection, de pouvoir discuter ouvertement des frais auprès des sociétés de gestion, qui doivent être en adéquation avec la qualité du fonds : « ce signe d’ouverture est très important pour nous, investisseur de long terme, car s’il s’agit d’un sujet tabou qui présage de difficultés dans les discussions à venir sur un engagement de 10 ans. Il faudrait revoir les incentives, les frais de gestion, le partage de la plus-value. » Au sein de l’assurance, nous sommes très attachés à l’investissement dans les PME françaises, même si nous disposons aussi d’encours sur le non coté en Europe. Cela étant, CNP Assurances possède en majorité ses actifs en France. Pour la sélection des fonds, Hélène Falchier explique sa philosophie: « Nous sommes très attachés aux termes et conditions des fonds dans lesquels nous sommes investisseurs. Nous avons déterminé un questionnaire pour chaque nouvel investissement, inspiré de celui de la Caisse des dépôts. »
Gestion d'actifs
18/04/2012

Warren Buffett souffre d'un cancer de la prostate

L’homme d’affaires américain a annoncé dans un communiqué qu’il souffrait d’un cancer de la prostate. Il indique devoir subir à partir de la mi-juillet un traitement par radiothérapie d’une durée de deux mois qui ne devrait pas l’empêcher de travailler au quotidien.
18/04/2012

Bruxelles avalise deux accords fiscaux suisses

La Commission européenne a approuvé deux accords fiscaux signés par la Suisse avec l’Allemagne et la Grande-Bretagne. Les accords sont «entièrement conformes avec le droit européen», a déclaré le commissaire chargé de la fiscalité Algirdas Semeta. Le texte de l’accord fiscal entre la Suisse et l’Autriche est en revanche toujours en cours d’analyse.
18/04/2012

Barack Obama veut s’en prendre à la spéculation sur le pétrole

Le président américain a proposé de nouvelles mesures pour lutter contre la manipulation des prix sur le marché du pétrole. Il a notamment appelé le législateur à relever les sanctions civiles et pénales s’appliquant aux personnes et aux sociétés impliquées dans de telles pratiques. Il a également plaidé pour un renforcement des moyens financiers de l’agence chargée de faire respecter l’ordre sur le marché.
18/04/2012

Exor prendra des parts dans la holding de Rothschild

Holding de la famille Agnelli, Exor prendra une participation dans la holding Paris Orléans de Rothschild à l’occasion d’une consolidation des opérations de la famille française à partir du 4 juin, selon des informations de presse. Le Figaro a précisé hier que la société dirigée par John Elkann devrait racheter une partie des actions de Paris Orléans dévolues au conglomérat de Hong Kong Jardine Matheson.
18/04/2012

Carlyle songe à vendre Metaldyne

Le groupe de capital investissement cherche à se séparer de l'équipementier automobile et compte retirer un milliard de dollars dans cette vente, a rapporté Reuters de sources proches du dossier. Une vente à ce prix serait un réel succès pour Carlyle, près de trois ans après le placement de Metaldyne sous la protection du chapitre 11 de la loi sur les faillites. Bank of America Merrill Lynch aurait été mandatée pour conduire l’opération.
18/04/2012

BlackFin Capital Partners reprend le comparateur Chiarezza

Le fonds de private equity dédié aux services financiers a fait part de l’acquisition de la totalité du capital du comparateur de produits d’assurance Chiarezza, lancé par le groupe Admiral Group en Italie en février 2010. Cette opération doit permettre d’accroître les investissements marketing, d’offrir de nouveaux services aux internautes et d’élargir le panel d’assureurs. Cette transaction constitue le cinquième investissement de BlackFin.
18/04/2012

L'Italie reporte d'un an l'équilibre de ses comptes publics

Rome va retarder d’un an le retour à l'équilibre de ses comptes publics actuellement prévu en 2013, selon un projet de texte qui sera soumis aujourd’hui au conseil des ministres. Le projet de document sur la programmation des finances publiques que s’est procuré Reuters revoit l’objectif de déficit pour 2012 en légère hausse à 1,7% du PIB contre 1,6% précédemment, tandis qu’il est porté à 0,5% pour 2013 contre 0,1% précédemment.

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