Le groupe Tikehau qui affiche ses ambitions de dépasser le milliard d’euros d’encours en 2012, a annoncé avoir achevé le premier semestre avec plus de 600 millions d’euros d’actifs sous gestion, suite à une collecte de plus de 300 millions d’euros de collecte au cours des six premiers mois de l’année sur l’ensemble des produits proposés. Sur le seul segment des fonds communs de placement, Tikehau IM a collecté plus de 130 millions d’euros doublant ainsi les actifs sous gestion. Dans le détail, le fonds phare Tikehau Crédit Plus affiche ainsi un actif net de plus de 60 millions d’euros tandis que Tikehau Taux Variables, a également connu une hausse de sa collecte de plus de 30 millions d’euros. Enfin, le fonds Tikehau Subordonnées Financières, lancé en février dernier, a d’ores et déjà collecté près de 10 millions d’euros. A noter que plusieurs nouveaux fonds sont en cours de collecte sur la deuxième moitié de l’année, comme un fonds OPCI immobilier vert, destiné à investir dans de l’immobilier de bureaux durables (certifiés HQE et labellisés BBC) , un nouveau fonds de situations spéciales (TSS II) ainsi que le deuxième fonds de dette mezzanine (TMZ II).

Novethic a publié le 5 juillet, avec le soutien de l’Ademe, les résultats d’une enquête inédite sur les pratiques des principaux gestionnaires de fonds immobiliers en matière d’enjeux énergétiques, ainsi que ceux de la 5ème édition du Baromètre du reporting des promoteurs et foncières sur l’éco-performance des bâtiments. On retrouve les mêmes tendances pour ces trois catégories de professionnels : quelques acteurs ont fait de l’éco-performance des immeubles un axe stratégique, tandis que d’autres s’organisent progressivement pour anticiper le durcissement des règlementations environnementales. Enfin, il reste ceux qui ne se sont pas encore emparés du sujet.L’enquête montre que 68% des sociétés de gestion interrogées ne connaissent pas encore la performance énergétique réelle de leur patrimoine immobilier sous gestion. En effet, la mesure de la performance se résume pour l’essentiel au Diagnostic de Performance Energétique (DPE) rendu obligatoire, qui fait encore l’objet de discussions entre les professionnels. Il manque des outils efficaces de mesure de la performance pour ces acteurs qui n’ont pas d’accès directs aux consommations réelles des immeubles.Le manque de valorisation financière de la performance énergétique des bâtiments dans les loyers et les valeurs d’expertise est, selon 77% des répondants, le principal obstacle à l’intégration de critères d’éco-performance dans leur stratégie d’investissements immobiliers. De plus, les professionnels attendent des précisions règlementaires sur l’année de référence et le périmètre concerné pour déployer les mesures nécessaires à l’atteinte de l’objectif de réduction de 38% des consommations énergétiques du patrimoine existant d’ici 2020 fixé par le Grenelle.Pour la quasi-totalité du panel, la prévention des risques est le premier facteur de prise en compte de la performance énergétique, qu’ils concernent la non-conformité à la réglementation thermique ou la dévalorisation d’actifs devenus obsolescents.Il est intéressant de souligner que 67% des sociétés interrogées ont observé une demande d’investisseurs institutionnels désireux d’intégrer des critères d’éco-performance dans leur politique d’investissement immobilier. Cette demande n’a pourtant pas encore généré une offre équivalente de fonds sur la thématique de l’immobilier responsable. On en recense seulement 4 sur un marché qui compte plus de 200 fonds.Le Baromètre 2011 du reporting sur l'écono-peformance des bâtiments compare cette année la qualité de la communication de huit promoteurs et quinze foncières cotés sur les performances énergétiques et CO2 des actifs immobiliers qu’ils produisent ou détiennent avec une méthodologie renforcée. Si l’amélioration des pratiques de reporting est manifeste, les notes moyennes tant des promoteurs que des foncières n’atteignent pas les 50%. Les pratiques les plus avancées de quelques acteurs ne contrebalancent pas les contreperformances de ceux dont la communication sur l’éco-performance reste lacunaire.

The ratings agency Fitch has awarded a rating of AA- to BNP Paribas Securities Services. The rating reflects a high probability that BNP Paribas will receive support if required, given the integration of BNP Paribas Securities Services into the group, and the strategic importance of the unit to BNP Paribas. The rating has a stable outlook.

Following the departure of Frances Chang, who had been CEO for Greater China and South-East Asia, on 30 June, Robeco has appointed Tony Edwards as CEO of Robeco Asia-Pacific, from 1 September. He will be based in Hong Kong. Since October 2009, Edwards had been CEO of Neuberger Berman for Asia-Pacific ex Japan. His appointment at Robeco is pending permission from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).

According to the New York-based research agency Strategic Insight, North American and European investment funds last year invested about USD100bn in Asian equities, Asian Investor reports. Strategic Insight points out, however, that Asian mutual funds have made very limited investments in equities in the region, which is an illustration of the problems in the asset management sector in the region. In 2011, Strategic Insight adds, redemptions from emerging markets resulted in a zero level of inflows. Flows were 90% down on last year. However, the New York firm estimates that about USD1trn will be invested in Asian markets (including bonds) in the next ten years. It remains to be seen whether Western management firms will continue to dominate these markets, and if funds based in Asia will continue to avoid them. Asian represents only about 7% of about USD30trn in assets under management worldwide, while it accounts for 25% of global GNP, and 30% of global market capitalisation.

Cass Business School has announced that it has become the first British academic establishment to become an academic partner of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association. The partnership means that students at Cass will receive a training precisely in line with the professional criteria and practices of the alternative management sector (hedge funds, private equity, real estate, commodities, and structured products). This means a competitive advantage for Cass students aiming to make a career in this sector. Cass Business School, already a partner of the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute, has added another key to its chain with the partnership. The school awards an MSc (Master of Science) in Investment Management, including training in professional investment practices. “As an internationally recognised independent qualification, the CAIA designation is a safe bet in the area of alternative investments,” says Susan Roth, director of MSc programs at Cass.

The new IAS 19 standards published last month, which seek to clarify the financial conditions of companies with regards to their overall costs and risks related to pension regimes, may lead companies to revise their asset allocation strategies covering social engagements, and investors may be led to revise their estimates of the impact of risks related to pension regimes for the companies in question, according to Mercer. Mercer is pleased to observe that the emphasis is on questions of risk management, and points out that the new rules, which will come into force from 2013, may encourage companies to adjust the way in which they invest billions of dollars in coverage assets in their social engagements. Eric Morin, a senior consultant in the international activity at Mercer, says that “investments of coverage assets from pension schemes in equities will not mechanically lead to a rise in profits for companies, although the equities will generate higher returns over the long term, according to the consensus of analysts.” Mercer estimates that the phenomenon will accelerate a trend at many companies which are asking if taking risks with pension schemes creates value for shareholders. An asset allocation which depends less on equities and more on bonds tends to increase the stability of key performance indicators. “Overall, the accounting changes may encourage companies to adopt better risk management for their pension liabilities,” Morin continues.

Merchant House Group has launched the Russian Phoenix Ucits fund, which adopts long/short positions on Russian equities, Citywire reports. The fund, which was launched with USD40m in assets under management, replicates the Spectrum Russian Phoenix fund, a long/short strategy offered by Spectrum Partners Group. The fund, launched on the firm’s UCITS platform, offers weekly liquidity. It is available in US dollars, euros, and pounds Sterling, with a minimal investment of USD20,000, EUR20,000, or GBP20,000. The fund is the first in a series of five; the other four will be launched by October this year.

The Swedish private equity group EQT Partners, which is partly owned by the Wallenberg family, has successfully raised EUR3.5bn in less than six months, the Financial Times reports, a sign that investors are seeking to place their funds with the top performing managers. EQT Partners has achieved 83% of its objective of EUR4.25bn for its sixth fund.

Stoxx Limited on 5 July announced the launch of the iStoxx World Select index, a basket of indices which includes the Euro Stoxx 50, Stoxx USA 50, and Stoxx Japan 50, and which provides access to the world’s major markets in a single index. Within the basket of indices, exposure is distributed between the three underlying indices, which makes it possible to reduce the generally excessive influence of US companies in the weighted global indices by market capitalisation. The index is rebalanced on a quarterly basis, in March, June, September and December.

In second quarter 2011, the number of initial public offerings worldwide rose 29% compared with the previous quarter, to 378 offerings, according to the quarterly barometer published by Ernst & Young. Capital raised has also increased 39% quarter on quarter, to USD64.6bn, a level not seen since second quarter 2007 (USD94.6bn). In the first six months of the year, there were 672 offerings, which raised USD111.1bn, an increase of 10% compared with first quarter 2010. On European markets, capital raised between April and the end of June 2011 were up 534% compared with the previous quarter, to USD17.7bn, largely, it is true, fur to the initial public offering of Glencore in London (USD10bn). The number of operations has also increased, though more modestly, by 76% quarter on quarter, to 95. The US stock markets in second quarter raised USD13.8bn, in 46 offerings. There were 28 operations on the NYSE, totalling USD9.9bn, an increase of 177% compared with second quarter 2010. But emerging markets continued to drive the market in second quarter, with 67% of total transactions, and 55% of total capital raised. BRIC markets registered 125 offerings, totalling USD24.8bn, 34.8% of the total raised in second quarter. Asian issuers, for their part, raised USD25.3bn, 39% of the total, in 173 operations. 79% of initial public offerings worldwide in second quarter were within their initial price range, compared with an average over ten years of 74.3%. Only 13% of IPOs went ahead below their initial price range, and 8% above. In other words, nearly 9 out of 10 offerings took place within or above their initial price range.

Alvaro Setién will be leaving the Spanish team at BlackRock, led by Armando Senra, to become director of institutional and retail sales for South America excluding Brazil, as the latter country is covered by the office based in Santiago, Chile. Setién will report both to Armando Senra as global head of Hispanic markets, and to Axel Christensen, CEO for Chile, Funds People reports.Ricardo Comín, who joined BlackRock Iberia two months ago, will succeed Setién as head of sales.Currently, BlackRock has assets of EUR5.1bn in Spain and Portugal. The group’s total assets in Iberia and Latin America total USD42bn, compared with USD35bn as of the end of 2010, while Mexico alone represents USD16bn.

The California pension fund CalSTRS has been through a difficult period on the Manhattan real estate market. But it has just made a comfortable gain from a sale of its 65% stake in the Equitable Building (120 Broadway) for UDS341m to UBS Realty Investors, the Wall Street Journal reports. The stake was bought for USD240m in 2004.

John Paulson’s fund will get back more than half a billion US dollars under a new agreement under the Lehman Brothers liquidation plan, the Financial Times reports. The settlement, which was approved by 30 financial groups, will allow Paulson & Co. to recuperate USD550m due to its acquisition of bonds at a steep discount (about 7.3 cents on the dollar) at the time the bank went bankrupt. According to the final agreement, holders of Lehman bonds will receive 21.1 cents for each dollar in face value, compared with an initial offer of 17.1 cents. This is a welcome gain for Paulson’s fund (USD38bn in assets under management), which has seen several setbacks in recent months.

On 21 June, the CNMV issued a sales license for Spain to DWS Investments (Spain) for the German-registered fund DWS Covered Bond (DE0008476532, EUR503.8m in assets as of the end of May), formerly known as DWS Select-Rent. The fund invests at least 70% of its assets in European covered mortgage bonds. The fund may also adopt an exposure of up to 30% to government or corporate bonds, while asset-backed securities (ABS) may represent up to 10%, and emerging markets bonds up to 15%. The team actively managed duration within a range from 0 to 6.5 years for a portfolio of 50-70 mortage bonds, Pfandbriefe and cédulas hipotecarias. Currently, duration comes to about 3 years, compared with a benchmark which stands at 4.2 years.

The Swiss group Lombard Odier is seeking to sign new partnerships with financial intermediaries in Japan, to double its assets under management in the country in five years to JPY200bn (CHF2bn), the news agency Bloomberg reports. The Geneva bank is already cooperating with four Japanese organisations, including Shizuoka Bank Ltd. and Yamaguchi Financial Group Inc, and has signed similar agreements with five other banks, Norbert Joue, chairman of the Tokyo office of Lombard Odier, explains.

Since 15 December 2010, Joanna Shatney has been manager of the US Equity Alpha sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Schroder ISF, which has recently received a sales license for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The fund has a concentrated portfolio of 20-35 positions, dedicated to US equities with a market capitalisation of over USD1bn. There is no benchmark index, and in many ways it is a best ideas fund from the Schroders US equities team, which currently manages USD2.18bn in assets (as of 31 May). Since its launch, the fund shows performance, also as of 31 May, of 12.16%, 4.02 percentage points higher than the S&P 500 composite index. Characteristics Name: Schroder ISF US Equity AlphaISIN code: LU0562796101Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 1.50%Minimal subscription: EUR1,000

The German asset management firm Deka Immobilien on 5 July announced that it has acquired the “Vienne Rocher” construction project in Paris for a maximal price of EUR330m. The completion of construction of the 31,800 square metre structure in the 8th district of Paris is slated for the end of 2013, and two thirds of its area have already been leased to “a well-known French business.” The developer of the complex, which carries a Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQE) label, is Nexity. An LEED certification will also be applied for.The property will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienEuropa.Meanwhile, Hochtief Projektenwicklung has sold the office property Lindely Carree (23,000 square metres in Hamburg) to Deka Immobilien for an undisclosed amount. The property will be added to the portfolio of the WestInvest ImmoValue fund, an open-ended real estate fund aimed exclusively at institutional investors.

As planned (see Newsmanagers of 1 July) the Finance Innovation competitiveness group on 5 July unveiled the first seed money fund for the Paris market, entitled Emergence. The incubation fund will bring together the top managers in the Paris market, to contribute seed money to young asset management firms based in France, or which are hoping to set up offices there, in order to accelerate their development in the first years of existence.Emergence will provide EUR25m to EUR50m to each management firm selected over a three year period; the partnership will last 7 to 10 years.The objective for Emergence is to offer investors a way to participate in the performance of incubated funds (without buying a stake in the capital of the firms), and a participation in future revenues from the asset management firms.Emergence will take the form of a contractual SICAV with sub-funds, which will allow for various investment themes (absolute return, long-only, SRI, corporate bonds, etc.), with appropriate managers contracted to manage them, one per sub-fund, says Alain Leclair, a member of the board of directors at Finance Innovation and honorary president of the French asset management association AFG.The first sub-fund of Emergence will be an absolute return product launched in September (while the second one is expected be launched in early 2012), with NewAlpha AM (an affiliate of OFI) as its contracted manager, due to its recognised experience in this area (incubation for third parties, profit sharing with funds, and OPCVM mutual fund products). About 30 initial incubation targets have been identified. At this stage, the level of capital aimed at for the first sub-fund is EUR150m to EUR250m. According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, commitments already total EUR150m.

The German firm Commerz Real has announced, without disclosing the purchase price, that it has acquired the third building in the Edison Park Center (12,000 square metres), located in the Sesto San Giovanni office district of Milan, from Nexity. The property will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund hausInvest, 6% of whose assets are invested in Italy.Commerz Real states that it has already concluded in the past transactions with Nexity in Madrid, Brussels and Milan.

The China Development Bank (CDB) is increasingly active internationally, the Financial Times reports. With its USD10bn investment fund, it is buying up stakes in private equity and hedge funds. It is now looking to Asian small and mid-sized businesses, the British newspaper reports.

Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) has recruited two key employees as additions to its sales team in Europe, with the goal of developing its activities by forging closer ties to clients.Frédéric Cruzel has been appointed as head of sales for France at LOIM, based in Paris, and Donato Savatteri as head of sales in Italy, in a new office based in Milan, pending the approval of the relevant authorities. Cruzel, 49, was previously deputy director of sales for France at Amundi Asset Management. The most recent position occupied by Savatteri was that of head of sales at Franklin Templeton Investments in Italy.Both will report to Marius Wuergler, head of European sales. Géraud Dambrine will now focus on strategic clients of the management firm in Europe, and will remain as CEO of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie Gestion France S.A.Cruzel will have the assistance in his new role of Patrick Lajoinie, who plays a strategic role in the development of LOIM’s activities in France. Savatteri will work with Alessandro Fonzi, who plays a determining role in the development of LOIM’s strategically important activities in Italy, and is based in the firm’s London offices.As of the end of March, LOIM, the institutional management unit of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, whose headquarters are in Geneva, managed over EUR28bn for its clients.

According to a cooperation agreement signed with sole Berlin’s asset management firm, Landesbank Berlin Investment GmbH (LBB-Invest), the Frankfurt-based asset management firm Acatis Investment will become the advisor to the LBB-Invest VermögensManagement program, a unit-linked wealth management formula. The head of advising activities for LBB-Invest will be Hendrick Leber, CEO and founder of Acatis.The product will be made available in two variants: a prudent version, with at least 50% invested in bonds, and a dynamic version, for which the percentage invested in bonds may not fall below 30%.

The Bavarian wealth management firm Wilhelm von Finck AG (based in Grasbrunn) on 5 July announced that it is merging its activities with immediate effect with those of the Frankfurt-based Deutsche Family Office GmbH. The move allows the firms to construct an independent actor which remains within the orbit of, and the powerful support of, the Deutsche Bank group. The product range from the new entity will be aimed primarily at high net worth retail investors with an entrepreneurial background, and to charities in the German-speaking countries.The new group, which manages over EUR4bn in assets, will be lead by the heads of the two entities it is being created from: Stefan Freytag, chairman of the board at WvF, and Laus Kluder, CEO of Deutsche Family Office.

According to a survey of 44 fund managers, German asset management firms have become increasingly critical of IPOs, and 90% of them are planning to analyse businesses which turn to the open markets more critically than in the past, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports, adding that foreign institutional investors will pick up the slack.German asset managers recommend to candidates for IPOs that they go on “pre-IPO roadshows,” in order to spread the word to investors. Three quarters of respondents also recommend that businesses get an independent valuation before turning to banks to set up IPOs.Fund managers estimate that the new introductions should total at least EUR150m and 40% float.Four fifths of respondents thing that failures of IPOs in the past can be blamed on an unconvincing equity story. Managers are particularly sceptical of companies launched on the markets by private equity firms.

The US group Prudential Financial has announced that it has concluded the sale of its global commodities activities to Jefferies Group for USD419.5m. The sale, announced on 7 April this year, includes FCM, Prudential Bache Commodities LLC, Prudential Securities LLC, Bache Commodities Limited, and Bache Commodities (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Jasper Gilbey Mrics is joining the French office of Henderson Global Investors as a Fund Manager, an addition to the team at Henderson Property France, the firm announced in a statement on 5 July.He will be primarily in charge of strategy and management of the AUB French Logistics fund, launched in 2005, and dedicated to industrial and logistical real estate in the major French cities. He will make timely interventions in the real estate investment portions of some funds and the management of other real estate funds, and will also contribute to the development of Henderson Property in France.Gilbey, 30, was previously Director of Invista REIM France.

The Swiss private bank Wegelin on 5 July confirmed that it is going to part with its US clients as a result of new tax regulations in preparation in the United States, which it estimates will make it unprofitable to serve these clients, AGEFI Switzerland reports. “With the entry into force of the new rules, known as FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), in 2013, the question must be asked as to whether it is profitable to have US clients due to the considerable regulatory work involved,” Albena Björck, a board member at the firm, has told AFP. “If we can no longer conduct activities in a manner which is acceptable in terms of costs and revenues, we will need to part with them,” she adds, confirming reports that had appeared in the daily newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.

A year ago, the hedge fund management firm FrontPoint Partners had USD10bn in assets. Now, its assets have fallen to USD1.5bn, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the meanwhile, in November, there was an insider trading scandal related to a French doctor. The drop in assets shows that although FrontPoint was not itself charged with wrongdoing in the case, pension funds have absolutely no tolerance for insider trading. The flagship fund and nine other smaller funds have had to be liquidated.

In one of the first cases filed under the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, which forbids companies from engaging in retaliations against whistleblowers, the Wall Street Journal reports, Roseanne Ott, former manager of the Alger Health Sciences fund, has filed a lawsuit in New York against Fred Alger Management for authorising CEO Daniel Chung and other directors to make profits on their own behalf, in advance, on the same trades that the fund she managed was about to make (front-running). The directors had required that the manager declare her plans ahead of time, and passed them by other portfolio managers for approval before she was allowed to make the trades for the fund. The private trades damaged the performance of the fund, and profited the other portfolio managers, the case claims.