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25/02/2011

2010: A record-breaking year in every sense for asset management at Allianz

As of the end of 2010, total assets under management by the Allianz group totalled a record EUR1.518trn, compared with EUR1.2trn one year earlier. Assets under management for third parties, for their part, increased by 25.7%, to EUR1.518trn, compared with EUR926bn, a new record. And the third record was a total of EUR113bn in net subscriptions from third parties, beating a previous record of EUR84bn in 2009.Results also look good for the cost-come ratio, which improved to 58.7% in 2010 from 62% in 2009. Net revenue from commissions are up 37.2% to EUR4.9bn for last year, compared with EUR3.6bn in 2009, which is due to an increase in the proportion of high-margin products in the total activity mix. In addition, revenues from performance commissions increased significantly, to EUR514m from EUR421m.Operating profits from asset management rose 47% to EUR2.1bn from EUR1.4bn the previous year.Net profits for the Allianz group in 2010 increased 12% to EUR5.2bn, while operating profits were up 17% to EUR8.2bn.
25/02/2011

Deutsche Bank to sell its headquarters

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to sources familiar with the matter, Deutsche Bank is planning to sell the twin towers of its Frankfurt headquarters, which were renamed “Greentowers” after their complete eco-overhaul in the past three years, the Financial Times Deutschland reports. The sale will be handled by the asset management affiliate DWS, which will package the towers in a closed real estate fund for retail investors.The towers, which were “re-inaugurated” on Thursday evening, had been sold to an in-house fund for EUR272m in mid-2007, and the energy-efficient reconditioning cost about EUR200m. According to experts, the Greentowers are worth about EUR500m.
25/02/2011

KAS Bank launches service to help new funds

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } KAS Bank has announced the launch of Fund Desk, a platform to assist new funds in the Netherlands. The platform will assist managers to create and construct new products, particularly with advising on administrative, compliance or back-office questions.
25/02/2011

Barclays Wealth launches China Optimiser fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Barclays Wealth has opened subscriptions until 8 April for its new China Optimiser fund, which is designed on the same principle as the Emerging Markets Optimiser fund.The fund charges 3% for a six-year period, and at maturity guarantees the subscriber the initial capital invested, plus 65% of the performance of the benchmark index, the FTSE Xinhua 25.The exposure of the fund (limited to 150%) is adjusted daily as a function of volatility: when volatility is low, exposure is high, and vice versa. The counterparty is Barclays Bank.Minimal subscription is set at GBP5,100.
25/02/2011

Henderson registers Credit Alpha Fund in Switzerland

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Six weeks after receiving a sales license for Germany from BaFin (see Newsmanagers of 11 January), Henderson Global Investors has received permission to sell its British-registered, UCITS-compliant Henderson Credit Alpha Fund in Switzerland. The product is managed in London by Stephen Thariyan, and aims to achieve returns 500 basis points higher than the Libor 3-month.
25/02/2011

Net profits up 4% at Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The BCV group (Banque Cantonale Vaudoise) has reported net profits for 2010 of CHF313.2m, up 4% compared with the previous year. Assets under management as of the end of 2010 totalled CHF75.8bn, up 1%, largely due to forex rates. Net inflows totalle CHF758m. Inflows from private clients and SMBs totalled CHF1.3bn, but inflows form major businesses and institutionals wree down by CHF500m. The 4% increase in net profits “is all the more remarkable as it takes into account a payment of CHF34m to the Federal Contributions Administration (AFC) to settle litigation against the bank. Excluding the cost of this operation, net profits would have increased by 13%,” BCV comments. The board of directors of the BCV group will propose at the next general shareholders’ meeting to pay an ordinary dividend of CHF22 (up from CHF21), and to distribute CHF10 per share (unchanged) from the legal reserve of incoming capital. This payment will allow the group to pay CHF275m out to shareholders.
25/02/2011

Fund managers capture savings for the first time in 15 months

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Expansión reports on the basis of statistics from VDOS that fund managers in February managed to bring in the first net subscriptions in 15 months, totalling EUR186m, bringing them out of the slump that set in with the “deposits war” between financial institutions.Management firms took the occasion to beef up distribution of guaranteed funds with dominant exposure to bonds, which offer total annual returns of 2% to 4% over 3-4 years.The fund management firm which profited most from the situation was Invercaixa (La Caixa), which attracted EUR839m for Foncaixa Estabilidad, after previously capturing EUR1bn in 2010 for the Foncaixa Bienvenida.The other two asset management firms with the largest inflows in February are Bestinver (Acciona) and Mutuactivos (Mutua Madrileña).
25/02/2011

Assets under management hold stable at RBS

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) increased last year by 5%, to GBP30.7bn, largely due to an improvement in market conditions. The British group has reported a net loss for the part of the group down by two thirds in 2010, to GBP1.125bn, compared with GBP3.6bn in 2009.
25/02/2011

BlackRock forms a partnership in British real estate

Workspace Group is to launch a GBP100m joint venture with BlackRock to buy high-yielding property in areas of the market ignored by many real estate investors, the Financial Times writes. Workspace buys then turns former industrial and office buildings into modern premises dedicated to small-to-medium-sized businesses.
25/02/2011

Strong growth in inflows in 2010 for St James's Place

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Net inflows for the British St James’s Place last year totalle GBP3bn, up 30% compared with the previous year, the management firm has announced in a statement. Assets under management increased 26% to GBP27bn. The firm, which reported pre-tax profits of GBP84.2m, up 69% compared with 2009, is proposing a dividend of 6 pence, up 33% from the previous year.
25/02/2011

Natixis AM sets new management priorities

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The new organization for management at Natixis AM, unveiled in September 2010, has declared its ambitions for 2011 and beyond. The director of fixed income management, Ibrahim Kobar, says that he would like to develop the credit unit in the next few years, one of the five areas of the new fixed income management architecture, alongside money market management, euro bond management, international bond management, and insurance management. With assets under management of EUR6-7bn, the credit unit is still far behind euro bonds (about EUR20bn in assets), money markets (EUR55bn), and the historic insurance management unit (EUR150-170bn). The development of the credit unit, whose staff was increased last year, and now includes 12 analysts, includes development of new products, such as a high yield fund, launched in November 2010, and a credit arbitrage product. In terms of equities, the director of the unit, Emmanuel Bourdeix, says that he is seeking to develop the sattelite portion of the new tripartite architecture (core, thematic and insurance). Out of assets of about EUR80bn, the core portion represents about 45%, while the insurance portion also accounts for about 45%, and the satellite portion only 10%. The idea is to have a much stronger presence internationally, particularly in emerging markets. With this in mind, two Europe equities analysts have decided to develop an expertise in Asia and Latin America, and Bourdeix is planning to recruit specialists to round out the team.
25/02/2011

Strong growth in profits at KKR in 2010

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US group KKR earned net profits last year of USD2.1bn, up 9.5% compared with the previous year. A key result in this good result was the fact that KKR’s investment portfolio increased 33% in value over the year. Assets under management increased by 16.8% last year to USD31bn as of 31 December 2010, compared with USD52.2bn one year earlier.
25/02/2011

T. Rowe Price appoints a director of distribution

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } T. Rowe Price has announced the appointment of Scott B. David as director of distribution. He will be responsible for commercial relations with third-party distributors (including financial advisers) in the United States. He will begin in this position on 2 May this year. David was most recently president of Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services.
25/02/2011

Strong growth in profits at KKR in 2010

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US group KKR earned net profits last year of USD2.1bn, up 9.5% compared with the previous year. A key result in this good result was the fact that KKR’s investment portfolio increased 33% in value over the year. Assets under management increased by 16.8% last year to USD31bn as of 31 December 2010, compared with USD52.2bn one year earlier.
25/02/2011

London would like to see women hold 25% of seats on boards at top FTSE companies

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Les Echos reports that a report commissioned by the British government recommends that the 100 companies of the FTSE index should have women occupying one quarter of the seats on their boards of directors by 2015. Quotas may be introduced if management fails to respect certain objectives. Currently, only five businesses of the FTSE 100, including Pearson, Burberry and Imperial Tobacco, have women as CEOs. Only one out of eight directors at FTSE 100 companies is a woman.
25/02/2011

Crédit Agricole submits its bid for Pioneer

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The CEO of Crédit Agricole announced at a press conference on Thursday that the firm has made an offer to the Italian UniCredit bank to acquire its asset management affiliate Pioneer, Reuters reports.
25/02/2011

Chinese government investors look to Japan

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Chinese government investors last year more than doubled their investments in major Japanese companies, to more than CNY1.6trn (USD19.4bn), the Wall Street Journal reports, citing consulting firms and sources familiar with the matter. Stakes in Japanese companies are acquired via investment vehicles with obscure names registered in Australia. Between April and September, a shareholder by the name SSBT OD05 Omnibus Account Treaty Clients appeared as one of the top 10 shareholders in several Japanese companies. Behind this name are the sovereign fund CIC and SAFE, which manages China’s currency reserves.
25/02/2011

State Street Global Services reshuffles Asian activities

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asian Investor reports that State Street Global Services (SSGS) has reorganized its activities in Asia, with the construction of dedicated teams for Southern and Northern Asia, and plans to increase resources for the latter division. SSGS has also recruited a head of sales for South Asia, Jason Yip, who moved from Hong Kong to Singapore at the end of 2010 to take up the newly-created position.
25/02/2011

Vincent Duhamel joins Lombard Odier as head of development for Asia

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lombard Odier on 24 February announced the appointment of Vincent Duhamel as head of development for private and institutional management activities for Lombard Odier in Asia. He will be a partner with limited responsibilities, and will be based in Hong Kong. He will be assisted by Bartvan Leemput, who will continue to be head fo private client teams for the region. Duhamel will report to Anne-Marie de Weck, managing partner at Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, in charge of private management activities, and Hubert Keller, managing partner at Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, in charge of institutional activities. Duhamel joined Lombard Odier after a stint as head of SAIL Advisors, the investment affiliate of one of the largest family offices in Asia. He was previously head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management for the Asia ex Japan region, based in Hong Kong, in charge of asset management activities and institutional mandates.
25/02/2011

Fidelity reports an increase in average assets in 401(k) plans

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Fidelity Investments has announced that average assets in 401(k) retirement plans in the United States have set a new record. As of the end of 2010, they come to USD71,500, a level not seen in 10 years. For plans which have been in existence for more than 10 years, average assets have increased to USD183,100 as of the end of 2010, compared with USD59,100 at the end of 2000.
25/02/2011
Fonds

Henderson enregistre son Credit Alpha Fund en Suisse

Six semaines après l’agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne obtenu de la BaFin (lire notre article du 11 janvier), Henderson Global Investors a reçu l’autorisation de distribuer son fonds coordonné de droit britannique Henderson Credit Alpha Fund en Suisse. Ce produit, géré à Londres par Stephen Thariyan, a pour objectif une performance supérieure de 500 points de base au Libor 3 mois.
Fonds
25/02/2011

Progression de 4% en 2010 du bénéfice net de la Banque cantonale vaudoise

Le groupe BCV (Banque Cantonale Vaudoise) a fait état pour l’exercice 2010 d’un bénéfice net de 313,2 millions de francs suisses, en progression de 4% par rapport à l’année précédente.Les actifs sous gestion s’inscrivaient fin 2010 à 75,8 milliards de francs suisses, en repli de 1% en raison notamment des taux de change. La collecte nette s’est élevée à 758 millions de francs suisses. La collecte auprès de la clientèle privée et des PME a totalisé 1,3 milliard de francs suisses mais la collecte auprès des grandes entreprises et des institutionnels a reculé de 500 millions de francs suisses.La hausse de 4% du bénéfice net «est d’autant plus remarquable qu’elle prend en compte le versement des 34 mio CHF à l’Administration fédérale des contributions (AFC) au titre de règlement définitif du litige qui l’opposait à la banque. Hors effet lié à cette opération, le bénéfice net aurait augmenté de 13%», commente la BCV.Le conseil d’administration du groupe BCV proposera à la prochaine assemblée générale de verser un dividende ordinaire de 22 francs suisses (contre 21 francs) et de distribuer un montant de 10 francs par action (inchangé) par prélèvement sur la réserve légale issue d’apports de capital. Ce versement permettra au groupe de distribuer 275 millions de francs suisses à ses actionnaires.
25/02/2011
Fonds

Forte croissance des résultats de KKR en 2010

Le groupe américain KKR a dégagé l’an dernier un bénéfice net de 2,1 milliards de dollars, en progression de 9,5% par rapport à l’année précédente. Elément clé de ce résultat, le portefeuille d’investissements de KKR s’est apprécié de 33% sur l’ensemble de l’année.Les actifs sous gestion se sont accrus de 16,8% l’an dernier à 61 milliards de dollars au 31 décembre 2010, contre 52,2 milliards un an plus tôt.
Fonds
25/02/2011
Fonds

Fidelity constate une hausse de l'encours moyen des plans 401(k)

Fidelity Investments indique que l’encours moyen détenu dans les plans de retraite 401(k) aux Etats-Unis a atteint un niveau record. Il se situe à fin 2010 à 71.500 dollars, du jamais vu en 10 ans. Pour les plans existant depuis plus de dix ans, l’encours moyen est passé de 183.100 dollars à fin 2010, contre 59.100 dollars fin 2000.
Fonds
25/02/2011

T.Rowe Price recrute un directeur de la distribution

T.Rowe Price a annoncé la nomination de Scott B. David au poste de directeur de la distribution. Il sera responsable des relations commerciales avec les distributeurs tiers (conseillers financiers notamment) aux Etats-Unis. Il débutera à ce poste le 2 mai de cette année. Scott B. David était dernièrement président de Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services.
25/02/2011
Fonds

Barclays Wealth lance le China Optimiser

Depuis le 7 février et jusqu’au 8 avril au plus tard, Barclays Wealth a ouvert la souscription de son nouveau fonds China Optimiser qui est conçu sur le même principe que l’Emerging Markets Optimiser.Il s’agit d’un fonds chargé à 3 % d’une durée de six ans qui garantit à échéance au moins le remboursement du capital investi plus 65 % de la performance de l’indice de référence, le FTSE Xinhua 25.L’exposition du fonds (plafonnée à 150 %) est ajustée quotidiennement en fonction de la volatilité : lorsque cette dernière est faible, l’exposition est élevée et inversement. La contrepartie est Barclays Bank.La souscription minimale est fixée à 5.100 livres.
Fonds
25/02/2011

BlackRock noue un partenariat dans l’immobilier britannique

La société immobilière londonienne Workspace Group va établir une joint venture de 100 millions de livres avec BlackRock pour acquérir des biens immobiliers à haut rendement dans des domaines du marché ignorés par de nombreux investisseurs en immobilier, rapporte le Financial Times.Workspace est une société qui rachète d’anciens bâtiments industriels et bureaux pour les transformer en des espaces modernes pour les entreprises de tailles petite ou moyenne.
25/02/2011

Stabilité des actifs sous gestion de RBS

Les actifs sous gestion de Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) se sont accrus l’an dernier de 5% à 30,7 milliards de livres, grâce pour l’essentiel à l’amélioration des conditions de marché. Le groupe britannique a fait état une perte nette part du groupe divisée par trois en 2010 à 1,125 milliard de livres contre 3,6 milliards en 2009.
25/02/2011

Le prix du pétrole est à un seuil critique

Les violences en Libye hier ont porté le cours du Brent et du brut à un record respectif de 119,8 et 103,4 dollars. Aux yeux du marché, un baril durablement élevé pèserait sur la consommation dans les pays développés et exacerberait les pressions salariales chez les émergents.

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