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29/02/2012

Nomination chez Barclays Wealth

Philippe Hofer est nommé Managing Director et Market Head pour l’Afrique Offshore au sein de la division International Private Bank, Europe, Moyen-Orient et Afrique (IPB EMEA) de Barclays Wealth, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. Basé à Genève, il sera rattaché à Nomkhita Nqweni, market manager, Afrique, et Patrick Ramsey, directeur de Barclays Wealth en Suisse. Philippe Hofer dirigeait précédemment des équipes sur les marchés émergents chez UBS, où il a passé 23 ans, notamment en tant que Market Head pour l’Afrique et la Turquie.
29/02/2012
Fonds

Fidelity lance un fonds global high yield

Fidelity Worldwide Investment renforce son offre obligataire avec le lancement en mars du Fidelity Global High Yield, un fonds constitué d’un portefeuille non contraint de 150 titres, pour l’essentiel du crédit noté «BB» ou «B», avec une option pour des titres notés «CCC».Le fonds, domicilié au Royaume-Uni, sera géré par Ian Spreadbury et Peter Khan.
Fonds
29/02/2012

Inflows in UK, Switzerland and Sweden in 2011

The United Kingdom, Switzerland and Sweden were the three markets that attracted the strongest net inflows in Europe in 2011, with nearly EUR46bn, EUR17bn and EUR8bn, respectively, according to estimates by Lipper, which has recently published its latest annual study of the European fund market.Overall, only eight countries out of 32 posted inflows last year, while the market overall saw outflows of EUR70.5bn. After the top three come Norway, Romania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Russia.France, however, is at the bottom of the rankings, with net outflows of nearly EUR65bn, after Italy (-EUR34.2bn), Germany (-EUR22bn) and Spain (-EUR6bn).In terms of products, the two equity funds which sold best in 2011 were ETFs based on Germany: the iShares DAX with EUR8.4bn, and the DB X-Trackers DJ Dax, with EUR4bn.In bonds, the best-sellers are managed by Franklin Templeton: the Templeton Global Total Return (EUR5.8bn) and the Templeton Global Bond (EUR4.8bn). Pimco comes next, with two global bond funds. In 2011, the 25 best-selling funds accounted for 33% of total inflows.
29/02/2012

Favourite asset management firms of funds of funds

In 2011, BlackRock, JP Morgan and Schroders were the favourite asset management firms of funds of funds, with 1,277, 1,047 and 1,028 clients of this type investing with them, respectively, according to Lipper, which analysed 2,000 third-party type funds of funds domiciled in Europe. In terms of assets, that represents EUR4.3bn, EUR3.4bn and EUR2.3bn. But only one fund from the three asset management firms places in the top ten best-selling products to this population in 2011: the BlackRock GF World Gold Fund, with 120 investors and EUR172m.The most popular fund for funds of funds in 2011 was the Templeton Global Bond fund, with 157 clients and EUR588m, followed by the M&G Global Basics (157 clients and EUR215.6m), and the Alken Fund – European Equities (155 clients and EUR407.3m).Two French firms place in the rankings of the top 10 favourite companies of funds of funds in 2011: Amundi, in seventh place, with 7661 fund of fund clients and EUR2bn in assets, and BNP Paribas, just behind with 705 clients and EUR2.4bn. But none of their funds placed in the top 10 products.Overall, in 2011, inflows from external funds of funds totalled EUR7.8bn in Europe, while the market saw outflows of about EUR70bn.France was the largest market in terms of assets in external funds of funds, according to Lipper, with EUR66.2bn, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany.
29/02/2012

Bestinver facilitates access to six of its funds

The board of directors at Bestinver Gestión has decided to considerably lower the minimum threshold for additional subscriptions to six of its funds, Funds People reports. The level has been reduced from EUR3,000 to EUR1,000 for the Bestinver Bolsa, Bestinfond, Bestinver Mixto, Bestinver Mixto Internacional, and Bestinvest International. The level has been lowered from EUR6,000 to EUR3,000 for the Bestinver Renta.
29/02/2012

Institutional investors inclined to de-risk their portfolios

A survey of 100 institutional investors by Morningstar, in partnership with Forum GI, finds that the European crisis will lead 41% of respondents to reduce their allocation to high-risk assets in the next few years. Meanwhile, 65% are planning to “prefer yield management to asset management,” to seek regular income and make returns consistent, rather than maximising them.These attitudes are also resulting in a “palpable” mistrust of delegated management, with 51% of respondents preferring to hold live shares rather than hand out asset management mandates or invest in mutual funds.It is clear that for institutionals subject to Solvency II regulations, safer securities need to be preferred, with short maturities. When a buy & hold strategy is opted for, it is less necessary to turn to asset managers. And the fact of holding securities directly provides total transparency, which the French Prudential Control Authority (ACP) will in the end be requiring from each investor; in addition, direct investment is more in line with extra-financial engagement requirements.Pierre-Emmanuel Besnard, head of development at Morningstar Professional, states that these factors will cause the management style to evolve: active management with a low tracking error (27%) is now rivalled by passive, index-based management (28%) and high alpha management (27%).
29/02/2012

Kasina: gulf in asset management margins is widening

In fourth quarter 2011, operating margins for asset management firms in the United States fell to an average of 31.2%, compared with 32.2% in July to September, while the net margin increased to 23.1% compared with 20.1%, the consulting firm Kasina reports.Falling operating margins may be partly due to fundamental changes in investors’ asset allocations. Total flows now total over USD122bn, as investors have continued to pull out of equity products that charge high commissions and turn to lower-risk bond products. US equity funds have seen outflows of USD43.7bn in fourth quarter, while bond funds have posted inflows of USD41.1bn. Actively-managed funds have seen net redemptions of USD30bn, while index-based, passively-managed funds have seen net inflows of USD22.8bn.Kasina finds that asset management firms are facing increasing pressure from distributors on the price front. Major broker-dealers are increasing the prices for access to their platforms, due to the modest level of margins earned from distributors compared with asset management firms. Between 2009 and 2011, the spread between distributor and asset manager margins has consistently increased, and now totals 19%.
29/02/2012

ETF Securities offers four ETCs of Brent

On 28 February, ETF Securities added four ETCs to trading on the London Stock Exchange, which replicate DJ-UBS sub-indices of Brent crude oil. The ETFS Brent Crude and ETFS Forward Brent Crude funds charge 0.49%, while the ETFS Short Brent Crude (leverage of -1) and Leveraged Brent Crude (leverage of 2) carry a management commission of 0.98%. They are all registered in Jersey, and denominated in US dollars.
29/02/2012

Sal. Oppenheim recruits head of communications from Lups alpha

Five months after the departure of Dirk von Manikowsky as head of the office of the consultant Hering Schuppener in Düsseldorf, Sal. Oppenheim (Deutsche Bank group) has appointed Pia Kater as head of its press and external relations department, from 2 April. Kater had since 2005 been head of communications and marketing at the independent asset management firm Lupus alpha.The position has been filled in the interim by Markus Bohm, director of press and external relations for the asset management unit at Sal. Oppenheim.
29/02/2012

Head of iShares Asia Pacific transferred to strategy at BlackRock

Nick Good will continue to be based in Hong Kong, and will continue to serve as head of iShares for Asia-Pacific until a replacement is found, but he has been appointed to the newly-created position of head of strategy and business development for Asia-Pacific at BlackRock, Asian Investor reports.
29/02/2012

AGI and DWS retirement savings products popular

In the area of retirement savings, two providers of retirement savings products are widely popular with the majority of institutional investors and asset management firms. According to the most recent edition of the Kommalpha study, German specialist institutional investors (insurers, pension funds, etc.) and asset management firms surveyed by the agency rank Allianz Global Investors (AGI) and DWS/DB Advisors (Deutsche Bank group) as the best, with 67%/63% and 63%/61% favourable responses, respectively. In third place is Metzler Kag, popular with investors (33%), and Union Investment for asset management firms (44%). Fourth place goes to Fidelity (27%) for institutionals and Deka (30%) for asset managers. Union Investments is cited by 17% of institutional investors for retirement savings products, while Fidelity is chosen by 26% of asset management firms.
29/02/2012

Deutsche Bank in exclusive talks with Guggenheim Partners

Deutsche Bank on 28 February announced that it has entered exclusive negotiations with the financial services firm Guggenheim Partners over a potential sale of its asset management activities. The activities, which are the subject of a strategic review, include mutual funds in North America (DWS Americas), and the international asset management units dedicated to institutional investors (DB Advisors), for insurers (Deutsche Insurance Asset Management) and alternative investments (RREEF).In other words, the negotiations do not include the activities of DWS in Germany, Europe, or Asia, an essential part of the product offerings from Deutsche Bank to private clients in these markets.Guggenheim Partners, whose headquarters are in both New York and Chicago, is a financial services group which has developed expertise in asset management serving institutional clients, particularly serving insurers and retirement planning entities. Its assets under management total over USD125bn.In 2010, Guggenheim Partners acquired LBBW Securities, the broker-dealer affiliate of the German Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW). More recently, Guggenheim sold its Canadian affiliate Claymore, dedicated to ETFs.
29/02/2012

Goldman Sachs executive under investigation

David Loeb, managing director of Goldman Sachs Group, is the subject of a criminal investigation by the US federal authorities, who are seeking to determine whether he transmitted insider information about IT sector shares to hedge fund manager clients of the bank, the Wall Street Journal reports.
29/02/2012

Insider trading investigation extended to pharmaceutical stocks

A US investigation into insider trading on Wall Street has been extended to shares in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, the Financial Times reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. The FBI and the attorney general’s office in Manhattan are investigating transactions by hedge funds in both sectors, in connection with approvals of new medicines and acquisitions or mergers of businesses. On Monday, the FBI identified 300 people concerned in the investigation.
29/02/2012

SEC investigates Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs

After Citigroup and Bank of America, which have been under investigation since earlier this month, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs have announced that they have been sent Wells notices by the SEC, stating that they are suspected of providing misleading information to investors in order to sell them sub-prime backed securities, the Financial Times reports.
29/02/2012

HSBC releases a frontier markets fund to retail investors

The Frontier Markets Fund, a sub-fund of the Luxembourg-registered Sicav HSBC GIF, is now available in Germany to retail investors (see Newsmanagers of 1 December 2011). The portfolio includes 70 to 90 positions, of which 50% are African and Middle Eastern firms, 40% are Asian and Latin American, and 10% are European. About 50% of the fund is invested in the financial sector.CharacteristicsName: HSBC GIF Frontier Markets FundISIN code: LU0666199749Front-end fee: 5.54%Management commission: 2.15%
29/02/2012

Commerzbank launches 8 ETCs based on WTI and cocoa

Since Monday, 16 new ETC products from Commerzbank have been available for trading on the Xetra electronic platform from Deutsche Börse, which now lists 251 instruments of this type. The new products, all registered in Germany, are ETCs based on WTI oil and cocoa, in long and short versions, plus, for each type of instrument, versions with leverage of 2, 3 and 4. Management commissions vary from 0.40% to 0.75%.
29/02/2012

New CEO for Metzler AM Japan

Hiroto Makino, who since 2001 had worked at T&D Asset Management, has been appointed as managing director of Metzler Asset Management (Japan), in Tokyo. He will begin in the position on 1 March 2012, and replaces Mitsuyuki Kobayashi, who becomes chairment, and remains a consultant for real estate and corporate finance projects. The Japanese affiliate of the German firm B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG works for local pension funds and institutional clients. It also cooperates with local asset management firms, which allows it to offer clients direct investments in Japan and Asia.
29/02/2012

UBS recruits for European UHNW segment

Eva Lindholm has been appointed as head of ultra-high net worth clients (UHNW) in Europe at UBS, from 1 May, WealthBriefing reports. The former head of corporate banking EMEA at J.P. Morgan will be based in London. Lindholm will work with Josef Stadler, global head of UHNW, and Jakob Stott, head of wealth management for Europe, two other veterans of J.P. Morgan. In her first six months at UBS, Lindholm will share responsibility for the UHNW segment and global family office activities with Philip Higson, who will then concentrate on the larger family office clients of UBS.
29/02/2012

Profits up 8% at Swiss Life in 2011

Swiss Life on 29 February announced that it earned profits in 2011 of CHF606m, compared with CHF560m the previous year. Operating profits corrected for one-time elements and unrealised exchange loss totalled CHF793m, which represents a significant increase compared with 2010 (CHF751m). The contribution of the Investment Management sector to the group’s results is up 26% go CHF130m. AWD confirms the success of its reorientation, with corrected operating profits of EUR54m (compared with EUR49m the previous year), and an increase in its EBIT maring to 9.7% (9% in 2010). Operating profits are still weighed down by reserves for ongoing legal actions totalling EUR47m, which results in a total EBIT of EUR7m. Earnings at AWD are up 3%, to EUR561m. Assets managed by Investment Management total CHF134.3bn, up 10%. These assets are partly managed for third parties: they are up by CHF4.3bn. This growth is largely due to an acquisition in France and the launch of a new foundation investment group at Swiss Life.
29/02/2012

Swiss pension funds earned 0% returns in 2011

The average returns of Swiss pension funds was 0% in 2011, according to estimates published by the Swiss association of retirement planning institutions (ASIP), on the basis of a sample of 60 pension funds with overall assets of CHF187bn. The stability of the second pillar is still assured, the association estimates, due to a widely diversified investment strategy focused on the long term. After a first half in 2011 during which the performance of retirement planning institutions was under strong pressure, second half also proved particularly difficult, as the current performance comparison from ASIP reveals. The average returns on the overall portfolio is -0.2% over the past twelve months, and +0.1% in second half 2011. This performance of near 0% is due to major uncertainty which affected the market in this period.
29/02/2012

Santander launches first fund of funds in Mexico

The new range of Fondos Elite launched in Mexico by Santander Asset Management so far includes the first three funds of funds from the asset management firm, based on open architecture, Funds People reports. The multi-strategy profiled products (prudent, conservative and dynamic) are available exclusively from the private banking division of Santander, and funds in the portfolios are selected by Santander specialists based in London, Madrid and Mexico.This is a first in Mexico, where the major international asset management firms have all met with significant difficulties in selling their funds, as the local regulator does not allow listing of foreign funds, which protects local products. The only way is to create a local feeder fund which invests all of its assets in a foreign master fund.
29/02/2012

Fidelity launches a global high yield fund

Fidelity Worldwide Investment is scaling up its bond product range with the launch of the Fidelity Global High Yield fund in March. The fund is based on an unconstrained portfolio of 150 positions, largely in credit rated “BB” or “B.” The fund, domiciled in the United Kingdom, will be managed by Ian Spreadbury and Peter Khan.
29/02/2012

Gamax creates an institutional share class for two funds

The Luxembourg-based asset management firm Gamax (Mediolanum group) on 28 February announced the launch of institutional share classes for its Gamax Funds Maxi-Fonds Asien International (LU0743995689) and Gamax Funds Junior (LU0743996067), which are managed by DJE Kapital.The share classes, available with a minimum investment of EUR1m, carry a management fee of 0.9%, rather than the 1.5% charged for retail shares. There are no front-end fees, placement fees, or sale fees.Gamax, which is distributed by max.xs financial services in Germany, says that it has created a special website dedicated to those clients who have invested more than EUR500,000 in these products. The complementary service, Premium Investors Club, offers reports on the funds and alerts by SMS, email, or telephone if the portfolio is modified. It also provides access to the international Gamax community blog and an information service relaying the Gamax Twitter feed.
29/02/2012

NEIF fund, advised by BNP Paribas, acquires a property in Hamburg

The Next Estate Income Fund (NEIF) has acquired an office property measuring nearly 16,000 square metres in Hamburg, which represents an investment volume of about EUR45bn. The property, which carries a DNGB Silver label (a German label standing for High Environmental Quality) is located in Hamburg City South, very near the city centre. It has excellent transport links, particularly for public transport. “This is a significant acquisition for the international professional area at BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management in Germany, a market on which we are already present and where we are hoping to develop. Forthcoming acquisitions will follow in 2012 with the major target markets being Munich, Berlin, and Brussels,” says David Aubin, CEO for Investment Management at BNP Paribas Real Estate, in a statement.
29/02/2012

European funds attracted EUR13bn in January

According to Morningstar, long-term funds domiciled in Europe in January attracted a net total of EUR13bn, of which EUR7bn went to bond funds. Investors showed a predilection for EUR high yield and corporate bond funds, and for high yield funds in US dollars, Investment Europe reports.Equity funds attracted over EUR3bn, their largest inflows since May 2011, while index-based funds attracted EUR1.2bn.
29/02/2012

RBC Dexia IS recruits a new head of strategy

RBC Dexia Investor Services on 28 February announced the recruitment of Paul Stillabower as head of strategy, in charge of deploying the group’s growth strategy. Stillabower, who had previously been at HSBC Securities Services, replacex Alex Muto, who will take up a new position as head of Enterprise Transformation, responsible for the integration of new acquisitions and transformation programmes announced by the business.
29/02/2012

Lyxor AM and Ikos launch a UCITS-compliant futures strategy

Lyxor Asset Management has announced its partnership with Ikos to launch the second alternative manager on its Lyxor Dimension UCITS Platform. The Lyxor / Ikos Futures Strategy Index Fund offers access to a diversified managed futures strategywhich applies a systematic quantitative global macro approach to trade highly liquid listed futures. Ikos will be the second alternative strategy on the platform - after Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK) -and Lyxor plans to launch more alternative UCITS funds in the coming months.ISIN Code = IE00B7FN3698
29/02/2012

Hedge fund assets may top USD2.1trn by the end of 2012

Institutional investors remain sympathetic to hedge funds, whose assets under management may reach USD2.13trn by the end of the year, according to a study by Credit Suisse of more than 600 institutionals with over USD1trn in assets. According to institutional investors, their hedge fund portfolios may post returns of 8.6% in 2012, compared with 11% last year. In light of this performance and inflows, assets in the sector are expected to increase by about 12%, or about USD200bn in additional assets. The favourite strategies of investors are global macro (more than 25%), long/short equity (19%) and emerging markets (18%). Among the concerns expressed by institutionals are the high level of correlation between long/short and equity indices, and the excessive correlations between hedge funds, followed by sovereign default risks and counterparty risks. Interestingly, the mediocre results last year, which saw average losses of 5% for hedge funds, according to Hedge Fund Research, did not affect the confidence of institutional investors, with only 5% of respondents predicting that the sector would finish 2012 with losses.
29/02/2012

Noticeable fall in institutional investor morale in February

The global investor confidence index by State Street Global Markets for February came out to 86.5 points, compared with 92.6 in January, with the largest declines in North America, where confidence is down 9.5 points, to 80.5, its lowest level in three years.However, the confidence of European investors has improved, with the regional index up 4 points, to 95.2 in February. In Asia, the confidence of investors has held relatively stable, with the index down slightly to 96.3 from a corrected level of 96.6.Ken Froot, one of the «authors» of the index, explains that in February, institutional investors reduced their allocations to equities. As this asset class has generated returns in the past three months, they have tended to act as “purveyors of liquidity” to the market, as they rebalance their portfolios to these higher valuations.At the same time, the specialist continues, there has been a pro-cyclic bias in reallocations: “institutional investors are tending to retain or increase their positions in growth sectors such as industrial sector equities and shares related to discretionary consumer spending, to the detriment of sectors such as consumer staples, health, and telecoms.”

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