C’est Generali Immobiliare Italia Sgr, la société de gestion immobilière du groupe d’assurance italien, qui gérera les biens immobiliers du fonds de pension d’UniCredit, rapporte Bluerating. Cela représente 500 millions d’euros.
Jörgen Hartmann abandonne la gestion du fonds DWS Europe Convergence Bonds, dont il était gérant principal, révèle Citywire. Le produit a été confié à Xueming Song, qui travaille chez DWS depuis 15 ans. Jörgen Hartmann reste chez DWS mais se concentrera sur les fonds institutionnels et les mandats, précise le site Internet.
Le fonds immobilier offert au public Morgan Stanley P2 Value* de l’allemand Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investment GmbH a vendu, encore à perte selon le Financial Times Deutschland, l’immeuble de bureaux Trianon de Francfort (qui abrite le siège du gestionnaire central des caisses d'épargne, la Dekabank).Cela signifie en d’autres termes que la valeur liquidative de la part va encore être diminuée alors qu’elle l’a de nouveau été, de 41 cents (à 21,98 euros) le 16 février suite à la révision à la baisse de l’estimation de trois actifs logistiques en Espagne (La Granada 1, II et III) et de l’immeuble de bureaux Flight Forum (11.500 mètres carrés) à Eindhoven.Le fonds* affiche encore un encours de 648,1 millions d’euros (23 février). Le 26 octobre 2010, le gestionnaire a décidé de liquider ce produit d’ici au 30 septembre 2013. En octobre 2010, le fonds pesait encore 852 millions et la valeur liquidative de la part se situait à 27,54 euros.(*) DE000A0F6G89
Le 17 février, en plus des produits obligataires garantis de Unnim et de Bankia (voir Newsmanagers des 23 et 24, la CNMV a donné son agrément au fonds obligataire à échéance Banca Civica Renta Fija 2014, qui offre un rendement annuel de 3,26 % au 3 octobre 2014, et au fonds diversifié Banif Inversión Global de Santander Asset Management.CaractéristiquesDénomination: Banca Civica Renta Fija 2014, FICode Isin : ES0115712012Commission de gestion : 0,8 % (parts A)0,6 % (parts B)Dénomination : Banif Inversion Global, FICode isin : ES011403306Commission de gestion 1,49 %Commission de performance : 9 %
La société de gestion britannique Baillie Gifford a indiqué qu’elle envisageait de fermer aux nouveaux investisseurs son fonds de 421 millions de livres dédié aux grandes entreprises des marchés émergents s’il attire 10 millions de livres au cours des douze prochains mois, rapporte Money Marketing.Baillie Gifford a déjà fermé un fonds de croissance marchés émergents en février 2011 lorsqu’il avait atteint la barre du milliard de livres.
La société de gestion écossaise Aberdeen a renommé son pôle stratégies alternatives en Aberdeen Solutions, annonce la société vendredi. Cette structure était précédemment connue sous le nom de Alternative Investment Strategies. Ce changement permet de mieux refléter la diversité des stratégies composant le pôle et de montrer que la société est capable de combiner différents outils d’investissement pour répondre aux besoins des investisseurs, explique un communiqué.Aberdeen Solutions, qui représente 30 milliards d’euros d’encours sous gestion sur un total de 208 milliards, couvre des stratégies multi classes d’actifs, de multigestion, passives, des fonds de hedge funds, des fonds de fonds private equity et des stratégies pan-alternatives.
En première ligne lors du débat sur les ETF et leurs modes de réplication, le président de Lyxor AM Alain Dubois se félicite des recommandations de l'Esma (1) publiées par la suite qui ont conduit à ramener le calme. Le dirigeant revient en détail sur les propositions concernant les ETF, sur les points positifs et sur ce qui pourrait encore être amélioré. Il s'exprime aussi sur la santé de sa maison et sur ses développements en matière de produits. Avec une conviction : le bel avenir des indices dits intelligents...
The Vanguard group finished the year 2011 with good momentum. It finished the fiscal year in top form in terms of inflows to two long-term mutual funds, and as a leader in inflows to ETF funds, according to Cerulli Associates. The Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund and Total Stock Market Index Fund earned respective net inflows of USD14.4bn and USD14.32bn, putting them ahead of the Templeton Global Bond Fund and the CoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund. The Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund has also posted inflows of USD8.2bn, for inflows about USD3bn higher than for the iShares MSCI EAFE Index ETF. The secret of Vanguard’s success is its unique model, managing ETFs and mutual funds and a good part of its bond assets internally. Actively-managed equity strategies are managed by external sub-advisers, including Wellington Management. Vanguard’s distribution capacities, its strong brand and its status as a low-cost provider have also contributed to the success of the group in 2011. Assets under management as of the end of December 2011 totalled about USD1.5trn, of which 62.6% are passively-managed assets, and 37.4% were actively managed. Assets under passive management attracted more than USD88bn in inflows in 2011.
Morgan Stanley, which is already the clearing broker for the first effective transactions issued by BlackRock, has been selected by the asset management firm as one of its primary clearing brokers for transactions on over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives. The Dodd-Frank law required businesses like BlackRock to clear their derivatives for many of their funds within 12 to 18 months, and complying with the legislation in advance gives the firm a competitive advantage.Morgan Stanley and BlackRock say they have cooperated with the various professionals and regulators to develop a market structure which takes into account the interests of all market operators.Morgan Stanley already offers OTC derivative clearing services for credit default swaps at ICE Clear Credit and CME Group, and for interest rate swaps at LCH SwapClear and CME Group.
Barclays Corporate has recruited Richard Garritt as director in charge of relations with fund clients and asset managers, Hedgeweek reports. His team is based in New York.
A growing number of retail investors are leaving traditional mutual funds behind in favour of other products such as ETFs, according to the 2012 Investor Brandscape(R) annual study by Cogent Research, covering a sample of 4,000 high net worth investors. This development favours market consolidation. The study finds that only 71% of investors with at least USD100,000 to invest have mutual funds in their portfolios, compared with USD75% in 2010. The percentage of assets investors have placed in mutual funds now comes to only 26% of total assets invested as of the end of 2011, compared with 33% in 2010. A corollary of this development is that the number of fund providers contacted by investors came out to 1.56 compared with 1.9 previously. The study finds that only four fund providers, Schwab/Laudus Funds, JP Morgan Funds, ING Funds and Fidelity Adsvisor Funds, have managed to increase their market penetration and to improve their ratio of primary clients.
The board of directors at BlackRock has approved a 9% increase in the quarterly dividend on ordinary shares to USD1.50 per share, payable on 23 March, to shareholders registered on 7 March.Meanwhile, the board of directors has voted to extend its share buyback program, approved in July 2010, to a maximum of 5 million ordinary shares. The program still had 3.6 million shares in remaining capacity as of 31 December 2011.
Nearly 80% of financial advisers in the United States use alternative strategies, according to a study by Cogent Research, Financial Advisor reports. The study finds that managers at major brokerage firms are the largest users of alternative products (84%), followed by independent broker-dealers (78%) and advisers employed at banks (75%). Advisers dedicate an average of 11% of their assets under management to alternative asset classes. About 45% of participants in the study say they are “light” users of alternative products (between 1% and 5% of assets under management), but 15% describe themselves as “heavy” users of alternative vehicles, with an allocation of at least 15% to these products.
Joyce Koh has joined Nikko Asset Management Asia as head of marketing for the South-East Asia region, Investment Europe reports. Koh had previously worked at Fidelity in Singapore, where she worked in marketing.
The Scandianvian financial services group Catella has recorded net inflows in 2011 of SEK794m, compared with SEK273m in 2010. Pre-tax profits totalled SEK21m, down slightly compared with SEK25m in 2010. In asset management, Catella states that it founded a wealth management affiliate in Sweden last year. Meanwhile, a review of Swedish fund activities was launched, in order to renovate the fund product range and working methods. In Germany, several real estate funds have been launched. Catella has also acquired a minority stake in Informed Portfolio Management.
The second examining chamber of the Paris court of appeals has asked Renaud Van Ruymbecke, the investigating judge in charge of the criminal case related to the Madoff affair, ro concentrate on the roles and responsibilities of UBS, the asset management firm and depository bank for Luxalpha, the Luxembourg-registered Sicav which channelled assets from most of the French victims of the pyramid scheme orchestrated by the fraudster Bernard Madoff, Les Echos reports. The order, issued a week ago at the initiative of the prosecutor’s office and some civil parties who had appealed verdicts by the investigating judge, who had declined to enforce legal requests, asks clear questions about the penal responsibility of UBS for the Sicav fund. The examining chamber is seeking to determine “whether UBS had the means to anticipate fraudulent behaviour by Mr. Madoff and BMIS [his brokerage firm – ed].” The financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), will be consulted by the investigating judge.
Alain Dubois, chairman of Lyxor AM, in the frontlines on the debate over ETFs and their modes of replication, gives a detailed analysis of the proposals of the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) for ETF regulations, and discusses what could still be improved. Dubois also talks about the good health of his own asset management firm and about product developments. He is focused on a single conviction: a bright future awaits intelligent indices.
The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) on 24 February published its final recommendations on automated trading, which largely concern high frequency trading (HFT). There will be a two-month transitional period, at the conclusion of which national supervisors will announce if they will comply with the recommendations, or else explain why they are opting not to bring themselves into line with the new rules. The recommendations published on 24 February will come into force on 1 May.
Generali Immobiliare Italia Sgr, the real estate asset management firm from the Italian insurer, will manage the real estate assets of the UniCredit pension fund, Bluerating reports. The assets total EUR500m.
The British asset management firm Baillie Gifford has announced that it is planning to close its GBP421m fund dedicated to emerging market large caps to new investors if it tops GBP10m in the next twelve months, Money Marketing reports. Baillie Gifford has already closed an emerging markets gorwth fund in 2011, when it passed GBP1bn in assets.
On 17 February, in addition to guaranteed products from Unnim and Bankia (see Newsmanagers of 23 and 24 February), the CNMV also issued licenses to the maturity bond fund Banca Civica Renta Fija 2014, which offers annual returns of 3.26% on 3 October 2014, and to the diversified fund Banif Inversión Global from Santander Asset Management.CharacteristicsName: Banca Civica Renta Fija 2014, FIISIN code: ES0115712012Management commission: 0.8% (A share class)0.6% (B share class)Name: Banif Inversion Global, FIISIN code: ES011403306Management commission: 1.49%Performance commission: 9%
Bellevue Group has reported a loss of CHF64.7m for the 2011 fiscal year, after profits of CHF1.52m in 2010, according to a statement published on 27 February. The asset management unit, Bellevue Asset Management, finished the year with a net loss of CHF31.5m.Assets under management at the group as of the end of December totalled CHF3.2bn, compared with CHF4.1bn one year earlier. Net outflows totalled CHF330m.The group has also announced the appointment of Urs Baumann as CEO of Bellevue Group, effective from 1 March, replacing Martin Bisang, also a co-founder of the firm.
On Friday, the Japanese regulator ordered the asset management firm AIJ Investment Advisors Co., which had lost most of the JPY183bn (USD2.3bn) in pension assets entrusted to it, to cease its operations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Since 2009, the Rating & Investment Information Inc agency had been issuing warnings about “unnaturally stable returns” at AIJ in a falling market.
The Japanese financial regulatory will investigate the 263 asset management firms in the country, after one of them, AIJ Investment Advisors, revealed that it had lost JPY200bn (about USD2.5bn) in assets entrusted to it. The asset management firm admitted that it could not explain to investors what had happened to their money. The regulator has ordered AIJ, which managed the pension assets of over 100 businesses, to cease its activities for a month, while the country’s surveillance commission continued its investigation of the structure.
The private equity investor RHJ, BlackRock and Deutsche Bank had no comment on reports that, on the one hand, RHJ had not yet either officially or unofficially sought permission from BaFin to acquire BHF-Bank from Deutsche bank, and on the other hand, that BlackRock has agreed to help RHJ finance the acquisition, Handelsblatt reports.The transaction would be worth about EUR500m. BaFin requires about two months to determine whether the buyer has the financial resources to conclude the operation, before it eventually gives its approval.
Western Asset Management (Legg Mason) and AllianceBernstein are reducing the exposure of their bond funds to emerging markets (USD39bn for the former, USD19bn for the latter). Pimco was a step ahead of them in January, doing the same for its Total Return Fund (USD250.5bn), whose emerging market debt allocation was reduced to 9% from 10%, the Wall Street Journal reports. They estimate that the euro zone crisis will last years, weigh down global growth, and ruin investors’ appetite for higher-risk assets such as emerging market debt.However, Michael Hasenstab has bought South Korean, Malaysian and Australian government bonds for his Templeton Global Bond Fund (USD59.6bn), and the securities join Polish government bonds as the four largest positions for the fund.In 2009-2011, net subscriptions to emerging market bond funds totalled USD29bn, of which USD12.5bn were last year, according to Morningstar. Year to date, EM debt funds earned 6.5%.
Jörgen Hartmann will no longer manage the DWS Europe Convergence Bonds fund, on which he had been principal manager, Citywire reports. The product has been entrusted to Xueming Song, who has been working at DWS for 15 years. Hartmann will remain at DWS, but will concentrate on institutional funds and mandates, the website reports.
The open-ended real estate fund Morgan Stanley P2 Value (DE000A0F6G89) from the German asset management firm Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investment GmbH has sold the Trianon office property in Frankfurt (home to the headquarters of the central asset management firm for the German savings banks, DekaBank), for a loss, Financial Times Deutschland reports.This means, in other words, that the net asset value of shares in the fund will be further reduced, on the heels of another recent reduction of 41 cents (to EUR21.68) as of 16 February, following a downward revision to the estimated value of three logistical properties in Spain (La Granada I, II and III), and the Flight Forum office property (11,500 square metres) in Eindhoven. The fund still has assets of EUR648.1m as of 23 February. On 26 October 2010, the asset management firm decided to liquidate the product by 30 September 2013, the fund still had assets of EUR852m, and the net asset value per share was EUR27.54.
Aberdeen Asset Management has changed the name of its Alternative Investment Strategies business to Aberdeen Solutions.The new name «better reflects the component strategies within the business, but also importantly emphasises the Group’s capability in combining these investment tools into meeting client needs whether expressed as relative, absolute or real return, or a liability driven outcome», according to a press release. Within Aberdeen Solutions, the Group currently manages around EUR30 billion (out of a total of EUR208bn) in a range of pooled fund and segregated mandates falling within the following strategies - multi-asset, multi-manager, passive, fund of hedge funds, fund of private equity funds and pan-alternatives - to a variety of benchmarks and objectives.
The asset management firm RiverNorth, based in Chicago, is planning to close the RiverNorth/DoubleLine Strategic Income Fund, whose assets have far outstripped USD800m, with USD887m as of 24 February, on 30 March. The fund reached its limit in the space of 14 months. “This is a remarkable result, particularly in the current market environment,” the chief investment officer at RiverNorth, Patrick Galley, says in a statement.