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14/02/2012

Hedge funds profit from banking sector rally

Several hedge funds have made money on the rally in the European banking sector in the past few weeks, and are betting that the trend will continue, due to the cash by central banks, the Financial Times reports. On average, long/short hedge funds have posted returns of 3.8% in January, and have made 1.6% in February, Hedge Fund Research reports. Among the big winners are Toscafund, the European fund from Crispin Odey, and the British flagship fund from Lansdowne Partners.
14/02/2012

Soccer bites into market activity, ECB finds

In a working paper, the European Central Bank has analysed the impact of rebroadcasts of World Cup (FIFA) soccer matches from South Africa on market activity in 15 countries. When the matches involve the national teams of the countries concerned, the number of stock market transactions falls by 45%, and trading volumes fall by 55%. In the event of a goal being scored, the number of trades falls a further 5%. During the match, newsflow has 20% lower importance than between matches.
14/02/2012

Union appoints executive at an affiliate

Bernard Kraus, who since 2008 has been a managing board member at Union Investment Institutional GmbH, has also been appointed from 1 February, as a member of the managing board at Union Investment Institutional Property GmbH, another affiliate of the Union Investment group (German co-operative banks). He will be responsible for securities transactions as a part of complex real estate solutions.In a statement, Union also announces that its affiliate Institutional Property released three new products in 2011 which have attracted about EUR900m in investment commitments. Currently, the firm has begun placement of three other institutional real estate funds, which are expected to total EUR700m.
14/02/2012

Berenberg profits down 9% in 2011

At EUR56.1m, profits at Hamburg’s Berenberg Bank last year fell 8.9% compared with the EUR61.5m of 2010. However, due to the financial environment, the management of the firm has said it is satisfied with the result, as personnel also increased 14% to 1,100.ROE was down to 40.1% compared with 45.3%, and the cost-income ratio deteriorated slightly to 76$ from 74%.Assets under management as of the end of December totalled EUR26bn, EUR0.5bn more than at the end of 2010.
14/02/2012

Fidelity Germany bears full brunt of falling markets

As of 31 December 2011, assets at Fidelity in Germany were down by EUR5.4bn, or 18.7%, from their levels at the end of 2010, at EUR23.5bn, of which EUR11bn, compared with EUR12.3bn, were in asset management (and EUR2.6bn, compared with EUR2.5bn, in institutional assets), and EUR12.5bn, compared with EUR16.6bn, under administration for the fund platform Frankfurter Fondsbank (FFB).The group has posted net outflows in 2011 of EUR23m, compared with net subscriptions of EUR527m in 2010, proof that falling assets are nearly exclusively due to market effects. However, assets under management have fallen by EUR132m, compared with net subscriptions of EUR162m the previous year, while net inflows to FFB were down to EUR109m, compared with EUR465m.Fidelity Germany states that it has posted net subscriptions in the past four years of EUR435m for its Asia and emerging markets funds, while in Germany this category of products has seen net outflows of EUR4.3bn. The market share for Fidelity in this niche increased last year by 9 percentage points to 39.4%.
14/02/2012

Universal acquires SEB Master KAG

Effective from 1 January, for an undisclosed amount, the Frankfurt-based firm Universal-Investment has acquired the German activities of SEB Master KAG, an affiliate of SEB Asset Management specialised in the launch and management of hedge funds. The transaction will initially increase assets at Universal by EUR110m, while other mandates are also expected in the coming weeks.The acquisition allows Universal to add an asset class to its range, as in September it received a license from BaFin to launch and manage hedge funds.Universal is already active in the area of hedge funds in Luxembourg, where it manages nearly EUR2bn in alternative strategies.
14/02/2012

Fidelity launches a systematic asset allocation service

From 15 February, Fidelity Germany is launching a new portfolio management solution, Strategische Anlage Mondellierung (SAM), initially for employees at a major Dax company, and then for IFAs and finally for retail clients. It is a systematic portfolio allocation system, with regular quality controls. SAM offers a three-stage analysis of client needs and construction of profiled portfolios corresponding to the risk profile, age, and objectives of the subscriber. The portfolio is then managed over the long term, with ongoing adjustment of risk levels.
14/02/2012

CalPERS modifies structure of committees

The California pension fund CalPERS has announced a new structure for its committees, which are reduced in number to six from seven previously. The board of trustees will be studying the dissolution of a retirement committee in the next few days, which would reduce the number of committees to five. The most significant change concerns the planned merger of the Benefits and Programs Administration and Health Benefits committees, to form a single Pension and Health Benefits Committee. Two new committees are being created, one dedicated to financial and administrative questions, and one to auditing and compliance issues.
14/02/2012

Will the comeback be sustainable for stock-pickers?

The Wall Street Journal reports that 70% of stock-pickers outperformed the S&P 500 index in January, while less than a quarter of them did so for 2011 as a whole. A few weeks are not enough to identify a sustainable trend, but the markets have been more stable, and equities are less correlated, which works to the advantage of asset managers who focus on fundamentals at businesses rather than on market momentum or consensus.If these asset managers continue to outperform, which would justify the higher commissions they charge, many financial advisers are in danger of finding themselves on a back foot, having recommended tracker funds or ETFs to their clients. And most of these advisers recommend caution, as they suspect that the high returns will not last.
14/02/2012

Half-yearly results down sharply at Investcorp

The alternative asset management firm Investcorp, based in Dubai, has reported a decline in its net profits for the first half of its fiscal year to 30 June 2012, to USD5.25m, from USD56.23m in the corresponding half of the previous year. This development is largely due to poor results on investments in hedge funds. Assets under management totalled USD11.6bn as of the end of December, compared with USD11.8bn as of 30 June 2011. Over the next two years, the asset management firm is planning to invest more than USD440m in stakes in companies in Turkey and the gulf states via its Gulf Opportunities fund (USD1bn in assets), which is already 50% invested in four deals.
14/02/2012

Household financial assets down in 2011

Despite record savings rates, the level of financial savings expressed as a percentage of household disposable income was lower than 8% in 2011, well below the long-term average of 10% and 12% in the good years from 2005-2007, according to the Cahiers de l’Epargne-PAIR Conseil. The rate is expected to remain below 8% in 2012, as households continue to dip into their financial savings to pay off debts and to increase contributions to real estate transactions. Caught between limited inflows of new investments and falling valuations of financial assets in the wake of the financial crisis, the value of the financial assets of households is estimated to have lost value in 2011 (-0.9%), to a total of EUR3.892trn. At the same time, the non-financial wealth (the vast majority of which is real estate) has gained value (+6.8%), driven by the ongoing rise of values for older real estate properties. Overall, household wealth has seen its growth slow in 2011 to +4.2%, compared with +8.8% in 2010. It now totals EUR11.806trn as of the end of 2011, according to the Cahiers de l’Epargne.
14/02/2012

Credit Suisse remains sceptical of growth on ETF markets

In a survey published on Monday, Credit Suisse claims that the environment in which the European ETF sector is developing remains difficult due to economic uncertainties worldwide and the European debt crisis, Handelsblatt reports.However, the Swiss group, which claims a place as the fourth-largest ETF promoter in Europe, estimates that this year regulators will cause fewer difficulties for actors in this area. Proposals unveiled late in January by ESMA are considerably less strict than many experts had expected, which will partly dispel investors’ concerns.
14/02/2012

UCITS-compliant hedge funds gained 1.37% in January

As of the end of January, the Geneva-based firm Alix Capital counted about 750 UCITS-compliant funds with assets of about EUR118bn, and the UCITS Alternative Index Global has posted returns of 1.37% in Janyary, after gains of 0.35% in December. For 2011 as a whole, the index lost 3.64%. The UCITS Alternative Index Fund of Funds in January showed gains of 0.18%, compared with losses of 0.05% in December, and losses of 5.25% for last year as a whole.
14/02/2012

David Wright appointed secretary general of IOSCO

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on 13 February announced the appointment of David Wright as secretary general of the international organisation. Wright will begin in his new role in March 2012. Wright worked for over 30 years at the European Commission. He was senior advisor to the Commission during the financial crisis. He has very recently been a member of the Commission’s working group on Greece.
14/02/2012

Mercer awards "true" ESG label to 9% of strategies

Of the 5,175 ESG (environmental, social and governance) strategies analysed by Mercer, only 9% truly deserve the top ratings (ESG1 or ESG2) in this area, the consultant reports. It has been rating these strategies in all asset classes and all regions of the globe since 2008.As expected, 57% of strategies rated ESG1 are dedicated to ESG or sustainable development themes, while 72% are managed by signators to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI). Among the strategies rated ESG2 (the rating just below ESG1), 22% are labelled as ESG or sustainable development products, which means that 78% are mainstream products which incorporate ESG criteria into their investment process. PRI signatories account for 22% in this category.Mercer states that of the 5,175 strategies analysed, 57% involve publicly-traded equities, 20% bonds, and 23% real estate, private equity, hedge funds and other alternative asset classes. Private equity is the area in which the largest percentage of strategies with top ESG ratings are found, while hedge funds and bonds are the areas in which the percentage is lowest.
14/02/2012

Appetite for risk remains lively

Investors seeking returns are continuing to enter funds dedicated to emerging markets in the first few days of February. Emerging market bond funds also finished the week ending on 8 February with record inflows of USD2.14bn, while emerging market equity funds, for their part, have seen exceptional subscriptions of USD5.8bn, according to statistics from EPFR Global. Inflows since the beginning of the year have totalled USD3.8bn for emerging market bond funds, compared with USD2.7bn in the corresponding period of 2011, and USD17bn for emerging market equity funds, compared with net redemptions of USD11.4bn the previous year. Equity funds overall attracted USD9.83bn, while bond funds for their part have posted net inflows of over USD6bn. The other winners of the week are high yield bond funds, EMEA equity funds, European equity funds and municipal bond funds. Money market funds, for their part, have posted net inflows of USD11.2bn, with more than three quarters of this total going to European money market funds.
14/02/2012

Deborah Fuhr opens a consulting firm, looks for a job

Following her departure from BlackRock and her arrival at BofA Merrill Lynch, which was cut short, Deborah Fuhr is now in the process of opening a consulting firm in London in order to meet a need for information about the ETF sector worldwide, Asian Investor reports. But she is not concealing the fact that she remains open to any job offers, including in Asia. The creation of a consulting firm based in London meets a need to dissipate misunderstandings about ETFs, and to explain what these prodcuts really are, from the point of view that they are transparent and competitive products that create value.
14/02/2012

Baring AM recruits for multi-asset class team

Baring Asset Management has added to its multi-asset class team with the appointment of Alison Huang, who will be based in London, Citywire reports. She joins from TT International Investment Management, where she had been an equity analyst.
14/02/2012

Former TCI and Citadel managers found a hedge fund

Masroor Siddiqui, formerly of The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI), has teamed up with Bruce Emery, former head of European equities at Citadel, to launch a hedge fund entitled Naya Capital, Financial News reports. The new firm has already raised USD75m to USD100m from friends and family.
14/02/2012

Principal IM releases its latest recommendations

The asset management firm Principal Asset Management is inviting investors to prefer value funds rather than growth funds in the current low-growth environment. In its latest recommendations, Principal suggests that investors should pull out of the Neptune Income fund (GBP1bn in assets), due to its bias on global growth, Investment Week reports. The Neptune fund is now on a “grey list” by Principal, which lists funds whose styles are no longer in favour or which are at risk of collapsing. Principal also publishes a “white list” of winning funds and a “black list” of funds to avoid. There is only one new addition to the white list: the Fidelity MoneyBuilder Dividend, which focuses primarily on companies which are well-managed and generate cash flow, and which are likely to pay dividends to investors in times of stress. The White List Troy Trojan Income, Threadneedle UK Equity Income, Threadneedle UK Equity Alpha Income, Threadneedle UK Monthly Income, CF Walker Crips Equity Income, Invesco Perpetual High Income, Invesco Perpetual Income, RBS Equity Income, Artemis Income, St James’s Place UK High Income, Cazenove UK Equity Income, Aviva Investors UK Equity Income, Royal London UK Equity Income, Fidelity MoneyBuilder Dividend The Black List Lazard UK Income, Ignis UK Equity Income, Jupiter Income Trust, Old Mutual Equity, JPM UK Higher Income, Standard Life UK Equity High Inc, Marlborough UK Inc and GTH Trust, Henderson Global Care UK Income, AXA Framlington Monthly Income, Henderson Higher Income, AXA Framlington Equity Income, Scottish Widows UK Equity Income, GLG UK Income, SWIP UK Income (based on data as of 31 December 2011)
14/02/2012

Records in 2011 for funds of funds and tracker funds

Annual statistics from the Investment Management Association (IMA) published on 13 February reveal that assets in funds of funds last year reached their highest proportion of assets under management by British funds, with 10.5% and GBP60.2bn, compared with 9.6% and GBP56.4bn one year previously. Funds of funds attracted a net total of GBP5.210bn in 2011, following GBP6.485bn in 2010.Tracker funds in 2011 posted record net subscriptions of GBP1.924bn, compared with GBP1.744bn the previous year, as their assets as of 31 December totalled GBP39bn, compared with GBP38.3bn.The IMA also reports that net inflows to ethical funds have fallen to GBP201m from GBP297m, while assets under management in these funds fell to GBP6.7bn from GBP6.9bn.
14/02/2012

Cioffi and Tannin (Bear Stearns) to pay USD1.05m

The two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin will ultimately pay a total of USD1.05m to settle civils suits against them, the Wall Street Journal reports (see Newsmanagers of 10 February).The two men, who are also accused of lying about the health of their funds at the outbreak of the subprime crisis, will also be barred from professional practice in the securities industry for three and two years, respectively.The implosion of the funds cost investors USD1.6bn.
14/02/2012

Ban on short-selling lifted

A rule forbidding all net short positions or increases of such positions in the capital of a set list of French financial sector companies ended on Saturday, 11 February 2012, the French financial regulator, the Autorité de marchés financiers (AMF), announced on 13 February.As a result, a ban on short-selling shares in the capital of, or providing access to the capital of the following credit and insurance sector businesses is lifted: April Group, Axa, BNP Paribas, CIC, CNP Assurances, Crédit Agricole, Euler Hermès, Natixis, Scor and Société Générale.The AMF points out that since February 2011, there has been a requirement in place that net short positions on equities be declared, and that, in line with French regulations, all investors must be in a position to deliver a J+3 declaration on the shares sold.
14/02/2012

ETFs on linkers benefit from inflationary fears

US investors have made profits in investing in inflation-linked bonds (or ‘linkers’) such as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), which have gained 111% over 10 years, compared with 73% for normal bonds, and 33% for equities (S&P 500), the Börsen-Zeitung reports. Some ETFs based on linkers have also benefited from fears of a rise in inflation. For example, the German-registered fund iShares Barclays Capital Dollar TIPS has posted average annualised gains since its launch in December 2006 of 7.5%. Since inception in June 2007, the db x-trackers iBoxx Global Inflation Linked Index Hedged has gained 40%.
14/02/2012

Irish-registered funds top EUR1trn

Total assets under management in Irish-registered funds as of the end of December totalled EUR1.008trn, a record. Since the end of 2009, these assets have increased by 40%, Hedgeween notes. At the end of 2009, they totalled EUR711bn.
14/02/2012

EFAMA calls for revision of Volcker rule

The proposed Volcker rule, in its current form, represents an inadapted extra-territorial application of US legislation, the European financial and asset management association (EFAMA) claims in response to a consultation launched by the US authorities for this newly-proposed legislation.The legislation proposed would significantly exacerbate the negative impact of the Volcker rules on the asset management sector in Europe, without tangibly advancing the objectives of the legislation, EFAMA explains in a statement published on 13 February.The primary concern of EFAMA is related to the highly varied treatment of US mutual funds, on the one hand, and UCITS and other regulated investment funds available to European investors, on the other.“Our members are particularly concerned by the extra-territorial impact of the Volcker legislation on the structure of the asset management sector in Europe. If these problems are not resolved, the rules may lead to a costly and large-scale restructuring of the sector, which has nothing to do with the objectives of the Volcker Rule. It is simply not permissible that the Volcker rule should have a more marked impact in Europe than in the United States,” the director general of EFAMA, Peter de Proft, states.
14/02/2012

EDHEC claims Solvency II penalises hedge funds too much

In his study “Solvency II : A unique opportunity for hedge fund strategies,” published in January, Mathieu Vaissié, research associate at the Edhec-Rick Institute and a senior portfolio manager at Lyxor Asset Management, claims on the basis of a sample of 14 Lyxor hedge fund strategy indices, that it would have been enough to cover 21.86% of investment risks with tier 1 equity over a period of 5 1/2 years (from the beginning of 2006 to mid-2011). That is 55% lower than the 49% ratio that Solvency II regulations require insurers to maintain for investments in hedge funds, and even a lower ratio than the 39% required for investments in equities.Edhec is now of the opinion that a regulatory rate of 25% for investments in hedge funds would be adequate.
14/02/2012

HSBC Trinkaus IM tops EUR10bn in assets

The distributor-branded fund administration provider HSBC Trinkaus Investment Managers has for the first time topped EUR10bn in assets under management or administration, Fondsprofessionell reports. Its German affiliate HSBC INKA (EUR150bn in assets) currently administers 57 funds.
14/02/2012
Gestion d'actifs

La Caisse d'Epargne d'Auvergne et du Limousin limite ses investissements à l'achat de titres d'Etat

Dans l’attente de Bâle III, la Caisse d'Épargne d’Auvergne et du Limousin limite ses investissements à l’achat de titres d’Etat. En raison des exigences réglementaires et des directives du groupe BPCE, le rendement des encours de la caisse régionale a été légèrement inférieur aux prévisions des gérants. « Afin de se préparer aux nouvelles réglementations, BPCE a fortement réduit l’autonomie des caisses régionales ces derniers temps » nous explique une source proche de la direction financière. La Caisse d'Épargne Auvergne Limousin travaille donc exclusivement avec Opal, mais de façon limitée : « nous sommes outillés pour gérer la majorité de nos encours et avons peu recours à Opal ». Néanmoins, la caisse régionale ne s’empêche pas les collaborations avec des partenaires externes (uniquement ceux figurant sur une liste établie par le groupe BPCE), ces derniers étant utilisés principalement pour les besoins en conseil des gérants et sur l’ALM.
Gestion d'actifs
14/02/2012
Gestion d'actifs

EDF va renforcer la part des actifs américains et la dette émergente durant la première partie de l'année

Bernard Descreux, Directeur de la Division Gestion d’Actifs, Direction Financement & Investissement d’EDF à l’occasion de la conférence Bilan 2011 et perspectives 2012 pour l’industrie de la gestion en Europe: Nous sommes un gérant total return, diversifié dans la mesure où notre benchmark est constitué d’indices actions et obligations. La performance sur l’année 2011 a été plus ou moins égale à 0%. Nous sommes revenus sur des gestions passives pour minimiser le risque d'écart de suivi dans les cas où l’on pensait que le processus de gestion serait moins résistant dans un contexte de marché chaotique. Nous sommes aujourd’hui dans un environnement de marché où les liquidités sont abondantes, en raison notamment des interventions des banques centrales. Il est opportun de revenir à l’achat sur des classes d’actifs qui ont été délaissées. Par exemple sur les actions, malgré la persistance de tensions sur la zone euro, il ne faut pas hésiter à moyenner à la baisse lorsque l’on observe des points d’entrée vraiment intéressant. Il faut faire confiance aux gérants qui font réellement de la gestion active, c’est à dire qui honorent leurs promesses. Nous renforçons la part des actifs américains, dans la première partie de l’année, de même que les obligations émergentes. Dans une deuxième partie d’année, nous étudierons un retour sur les actifs libellés en euro et sur les actions émergentes.
Gestion d'actifs

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