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22/02/2011

EDRAM mandate Sumitomo Mitsui AM

Comme dévoilé dans l’Agefi Hebdo du 17 au 23 février, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM) fait part aujourd’hui de sa décision de déléguer à Sumitomo Mitsui AM la gestion d’un fonds investi en actions japonaises. La société a délocalisé récemment tous ses spécialistes de l’Asie à Hong-Kong.
21/02/2011

Le yuan a touché un plus haut historique contre le dollar

Le yuan a terminé en hausse après avoir atteint en séance un plus haut sans précédent contre le dollar dans le sillage de la décision de la Banque populaire de Chine de relever le milieu de sa fourchette de fluctuation à un niveau historique pour le troisième jour consécutif. La devise chinoise a fini en hausse de 3,95% à 6,5668 yuans pour un dollar, après un record à 6,5724.
21/02/2011

Le pétrole brut gagne plus de 3 dollars

Vers midi, le brut américain pour livraison en mars prenait 3,86% à 89,53 dollars le baril, les troubles en Libye menaçant de perturber les exportations d’or noir. La production était stoppée sur le champ pétrolier de Nafoura en raison d’une grève du personnel, a rapporté la chaîne Al Djazira sans donner plus de détails.
21/02/2011

Le secteur privé de la zone euro dopé par l'activité manufacturière

L’activité du secteur privé de la zone euro a progressé plus que prévu en février, en particulier dans les usines, mais cette amélioration s’accompagne d’une hausse des prix, selon l’enquête Markit publiée lundi. L’indice PMI flash manufacturier s’est établi à 59,0 dans la zone euro, près de son plus haut niveau en 11 ans, contre 57,3 le mois précédent. Les analystes anticipaient un chiffre stable à 57,3. L’indice de la production a atteint 61,1 en février après 59,4 en janvier, soit son plus haut niveau depuis avril 2010. «Le secteur manufacturier a réellement le vent en poupe. En comparaison, les services restent encore en retrait, mais cela illustre simplement un superbe taux de croissance», note Chris Williamson, de l’institut Markit. En Allemagne, l’indice des services est ressorti en baisse à 59,5 contre 60,3 le mois précédent, mais la croissance du secteur manufacturier s’est encore accélérée pour atteindre 62,6, son plus haut niveau depuis la création de l’enquête, il y a 15 ans. En France a également poursuivi sa marche vers la reprise ce mois-ci, avec un indice PMI composite à 59,5 contre 56,9 le mois précédent, soit son plus haut niveau depuis août et son dix-neuvième mois consécutif au-dessus du seuil des 50. En janvier, l’inflation a accéléré plus fortement qu’attendu dans la zone euro, à 2,4% en première estimation, dépassant l’objectif dans le mandat de la BCE.
21/02/2011

1,097 milliard d'euros de BTAN supplémentaires servis post-adjudication

L’Agence France Trésor annonce qu’elle a servi 1,097 milliard d’euros de soumissions non compétitives (supplémentaires) à l’issue de son adjudication de BTAN du 17 février. Le montant total des BTAN émis dans le cadre de cette opération s'élève à 9,499 milliards ‘euros. Ce volume se répartit en 2,687 milliards d’euros de BTAN 3,75% janvier 2013, 2,076 milliards d’euros de BTAN 2,5% janvier 2014, et 4,736 milliards d’euros de BTAN 2,25% février 2016.
21/02/2011

La Buba met en garde contre un rachat d'obligations par le FESF

Utiliser le Fonds européen de stabilité financière (FESF) pour racheter des obligations de pays de la zone euro équivaudrait pour les gouvernements et les créanciers à se délester de leurs responsabilités, a déclaré la Bundesbank. Elle a également écarté l’idée d'émettre des obligations européennes conjointes, ou «eurobonds», ainsi que la possibilité que le FESF prête des fonds aux Etats à des taux avantageux pour qu’ils rachètent leur propre dette.
21/02/2011

"Nous finalisons les enregistrements de nos fonds en Italie et en Espagne"

Dans un entretien à Newsmanagers, Maroun Jalkh, directeur du développement, marketing et distribution de Neuflize Private Assets, filiale de la banque Neuflize OBC créée en 2002 par François Mouté, revient sur la fusion avec Fontenay Gestion. Il présente également les projets de la structure de gestion, dont 52 % des encours sont gérés pour des clients externes.
21/02/2011

Liechtenstein sets out to win over clients

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Liechtenstein bankers’ association on 18 February unveiled its strategy for the principality’s financial centre for the coming years. “The Liechtenstein financial centre is known for its high capacity for innovation, its effectiveness, and its abilities in the area of wealth management. This puts it in a position to offer top quality custom products and services to demanding international clients,” the chairman of the association, Adolf E. Real, says in a statement.However, in a contect of increased competition, the financial centre has revised its strategy (“Roadmap 2015”) to focus on five core areas: innovation, shared common objectives, international collaboration, attractiveness, and reputation, and three major principles: quality, stability, and sustainable development. “Our objective is to be considered a stable and sustainable financial centre,” the association chairman says.Following the tax scandals in Germany in 2008, the association emphasizes that it has now deployed a zero tolerance policy to tax evasion. In addition to the potential for developing international regulation, the association is also planning to take advantage of the opportunity to innovate in socially responsible investment, microfinance, and philanthropy.
21/02/2011

Not all savings investors have the same level of protection in Europe

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Clients in the European asset management sector do not have the same levels of protection across Europe. “There is a European passport for funds, which allows them to be sold within the European Union, but the rules for their sale vary from one country to another, as do the rules which intermediaries have to respect, and the rules to practice advising activities vary as well,” says Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, CEO of Invesco Europe and president of Efama, in an interview with Il Sole – 24 Ore. He says the best-protected savings investors are in the Netherlands and the UK. However, de Franssu confirms that Invesco has ambitions to participate in the current wave of consolidation.
21/02/2011

Assets at merged management firms for savings banks fall steeply

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the twelve months to the end of January, assets under management by the Spanish savings banks, immersed in an ongoing merger process, fell by EUR3.02bn, or 10.4%, to a total of EUR26.1bn, Cinco Días reports. The contraction is less than the 14.7% decline observed for Spanish management firms as a whole, solely due to good results at Catalunya Caixa, where assets increased by 36.3% to EUR3.91bn. Without this contribution, the decline would have been 15.5%.The other winner out of the mergers is the management firm La Caixa, where assets increased by 10.5%, to EUR15.38bn, largely due to its flagship product Foncaixa Bienvenida, which got a boost from a 3% bonus on transfers.Cinco Días also observes that according to the Spanish association Inverco, assets under management by the various asset management firms of the Santander and BBVA groups fell by 14.6% and 28.7%, respectively, in the twelve months to the end of January.
21/02/2011

Skagen to open an office in Amsterdam

Michiel Krauss has been appointed managing director at Skagen Netherlands and assumed the position on 1st February 2011. He comes from Wilton Investment Services where he was also managing director. The Norwegian asset management company will also be opening an office in Amsterdam by the summer.It received approval to market its funds in the Netherlands in 2006 and currently has approximately 1 billion euro under management, predominantly from retail and HNW clients.The Amsterdam office will be Skagen’s eleventh office – in addition to the six in Norway, and offices in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Gothenburg and London. Local personnel in the Netherlands are currently being recruited. In the meantime the existing client facing team from the International department in Stavanger will support Michiel Krauss.Separately, Stavanger District Court has acquitted portfolio manager Kristian Falnes and ruled that he complied with the duty of confidentiality pursuant to the Norwegian Securities Trading Act § 3-4 regarding confidentiality and proper handling of information.
21/02/2011

Kempen CM plans international development

Netherlands-based asset management firm Kempen Capital Management (KCM) has built an international development team, which will be led by Hilko de Brouwer.“With the creation of this team, we at KCM confirm the increasing importance we assign to international institutional investors in our development plan,” the asset management firm says. The team, which will be based in Amsterdam, will focus its activities on markets outside Switzerland and the Netherlands, where KCM has local teams. “In the past two years, international institutional investors have shown a growing interest in KCM strategies in the areas of small caps, publicly-traded real estate, high quality investment grade credit, high yield equities and funds of hedge funds,” the structure says. However, international assets under management now total about EUR1bn, out of total assets under management of EUR18.2bn (compared with EUR13.4bn as of the end of 2009). The team will include Vuk Srdanovic, who joined KCM as head for France and Scandinavia. The Danish Srdanovic speaks Danish, French, German and English. He previously worked in the Scandinavia team at T. Rowe Price, from 2006 to 2009. The international development team at Kempen, which includes three members, will be expanded with the addition of one further person in 2011.
21/02/2011

Mercer scales up presence in Asia

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In order to increase its range of multi-management products for institutionals in Asia, Mercer is to appoint country heads for sales in South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan, Asian Investor reports.
21/02/2011

Smooth start to the year for hedge funds

The equity-oriented strategies all responded positively to the favourable conditions on the stock market and similarly registered a fifth consecutive month of gains, according to the Edhec-Risk Institute. The Equity Market Neutral strategy (+0.50%) managed a modest gain. Despite its smaller exposure to the stock market, the Event Driven strategy (+1.47%) outperformed the Long/Short Equity strategy (0.51%), which was hampered by a shrinking small- minus large-cap return differential (-2.22%).» «In January, sustained both by risky bonds and the increasing credit spread (+0.56%), the Convertible Arbitrage strategy (+1.90%) bettered its profits of December. Conversely, the CTA Global strategy (-0.73%) stumbled unexpectedly despite a sharp decline in the dollar and the rising trend of the commodity market. Overall, the Funds of Funds strategy (+0.16%) started 2011 on a very mild note.
21/02/2011

Edram to launch a Japan fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to reports in Agefi Weekly, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM) is soon to announce the launch of a fund managed by Sumitomo Mitsui AM, focused on equities in Japanese companies set to profit from growth on the Asian continent.
21/02/2011

TCW closes Small Cap Growth Fund to new investors

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 17 February, the TCW Group (Société Générale) announced that from 30 April 2011, its fund TCW Small Cap (TGSCX/TGSNX) will be closed to new subscribers, but not to retail investors who are already invested in the product, or to 401(k) savings plan holders. The fund now has USD1bn in assets, and TCW would like to limit its size in order to continue to manage the fund in the best interests of existing shareholders, says Charles Balisweiler, president & CEO of TCW Funds. Investors seeking similar exposure to growth small caps may consider the TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund, managed by Husam Nazer, or the TCW Growth Equities Fund, managed by Brendt Stallings.
21/02/2011

Caceis publishes a UCITS IV guide to management firms

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }a:link { } Caceis has published a brochure entitled “Making the most of UCITS IV: A flexible approach by Management Company profiles,” which describes opportunities for development and rationalisation that will be available to management firms in light of the UCITS IV directive from 1 July 2011.A segmentation of management firms according to various profiles is proposed, ranging from new entrants into the UCITS fund market to more experienced promoters. “For each profile, our experts analyse the strategy that the asset management firm may adopt in regard to opportunities offered by UCITS IV, and establish scenarios for the achievement of set objectives. They then list the challenges in terms of cross-border distribution and restructuring of organisations and products,” Caceis explains in a statement. The guide is available on the website http://www.caceis.com/.
21/02/2011

Affaire Madoff : 1818 Gestion condamnée à indemniser un client

Selon La Tribune, 1818 Gestion, filiale de Banque Privée 1818, elle-même détenue à 100 % par Natixis, a été condamnée dans un jugement prononcé le 4 février, la 6e chambre du tribunal de commerce de Paris à payer la somme de 100.377 euros à la SAS Groupe Someg avec intérêts au taux légal à compter du 10 juin 2009, date de l’assignation de la Someg contre les deux sociétés.En contrepartie, la Someg renonce à tous ses droits sur les 73.213 actions de Luxalpha au bénéfice de 1818 Gestion. La Tribune rappelle que le 8 février 2008, la société a confié à 1818 Gestion un mandat de gestion «prudente» d’un montant de 2,5 millions d’euros. «En investissant dans Luxalpha, 1818 Gestion n’a pas respecté les conditions du mandat de gestion», estiment Nicolas Lecoq Vallon et Hélène Feron-Poloni, associés au cabinet Lecoq Vallon et conseils de la Someg. «1818 Gestion a manqué à son devoir d’information claire et non trompeuse, de vigilance, de diligence et de compétence en investissant sur ce fonds».
21/02/2011

Euro zone: net subscriptions to non-money market mutual funds totalled EUR82bn in fourth quarter

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of December 2010, assets in shares in non-money market mutual funds in the Euro zone totalled EUR223bn more than they had three months previously, in September 2010, according to statistics from the European Central Bank (ECB). This increase is largely due to an increase in the value of shares. Assets totalled EUR5.738trn as of December 2010, compared with EUR5.515bn as of the end of September. In the same period, assets in shares in money market mutual funds in the Euro zone declined, to EUR1.107trn from EUR1.138trn. Net subscriptions to non-money market mutual funds in the Euro zone totalled EUR82bn in fourth quarter 2010, while net outflows from shares in money market mutual fund shares totalled EUR35bn. In terms of investment ventilation strategies, the annual pace of growth in shares issued by “bond” funds totalled 9.2% in December 2010, and net subscriptions totalled EUR13bn in fourth quarter. For “equities” funds, the annual growth rate totalled 3.2%, and net subscriptions totalled EUR29bn. For “mixed” funds, the corresponding figures were 6.3% and EUR26bn, respectively.
21/02/2011

Ernesto Bertarelli out to become a heavyweight in wealth management

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Agefi Switzerland reports, citing Le Matin Dimanche, that the former head of the pharmaceutical group Serono, and winner of the America’s Cup, Ernesto Bertarelli, is now seeking to beconme a global leader in wealth management, via a fund founded in London. The Sunday newspaper reports that “the recent creation from Ernesto Bertarelli” is none other than a financial company, entitled Northill Capital, founded in London on 18 November. Northill Capital is “the strong arm with which he is planning to ‘conquer a global empire in the area of private and institutional asset management.'”
21/02/2011

SAM takes over responsibilities from Robeco

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Dutch asset management firm Robeco between 15 January and 18 February transferred four of its funds to its Swiss SRI affiliate SAM Sustainable Asset Management.On 15 January 2011, Robeco Agribusiness Equities and Robeco European Equities changed names to become known as SAM Sustainable Agribusiness Equities and SAM Sustainable European Equities. Their ISIN codes remain LU0374106754 and LU0187077218, respectively. The managers are Martin Jochum for the former, and Kai Fachinger for the latter.Meanwhile, the Robeco European MidCap Equities and Robeco European Stars funds have been merged into the SAM Sustainable European Equities.On 18 February 2011, three funds – Robeco Euro Bonds, Robeco Global Bonds and Robeco Euro Medium Term Bonds were merged into the Robeco All Strategy Euro Bonds (LU0085135894), managed by Chris van der Oord.Also on 18 February, the Robeco Global Equities was absorbed by the Robeco Global Stars Equities (LU0387754996), which is now managed by Corné Aben and Jan Keuppens.
21/02/2011

Outflows from emerging markets equities funds continue

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For the week to 16 February, transfers of capital from emerging markets equities funds towards developed markets equities funds continued, according to statistics from EPFR Global. Equities funds posted inflows of USD8.39bn, while bond funds saw inflows of USD1.16bn. Money market funds, however, saw outflows of USD3.73bn.Outflows from emerging markets equities funds totalled USD5.45bn, while inflows to developed markets equities funds were at their highest levels in 30 months, with the result that since the beginning of the year, equities funds (United States, Europe, Japan and international) have attracted more than USD4.7bn, of which USD29bn have gone to US equities funds. In the corresponding periods of 2009 and 2010, EPFR Global observed outflows of USD28bn and USD17bn, respectively.
21/02/2011

Frankfurt exchange lists six more iShares ETFs

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 18 February, the Deutsche Börse admitted several more funds from iShares (BlackRock), all German-registered, for trading on the XTF segment of tis Xetra electonric platform. The additions bring the total number of ETFs listed in Frankfurt to 797.The funds iShares MSCI Japan Monthly EUR Hedged (DE000A1H53P0), iShares MSCI World Monthly EUR Hedged (DE000A1H53Q8) and iShares S&P 500 Monthly EUR Hedged (DE000A1H53N5) are physical replication products, hedged for currency risks, with total management commissions of 0.64%, 0.55% and 0.45%, respectively.iShares has also launched two synthetic replication funds, the iShares MSCI Russia Capped Swap (DE000A1H53L9) , with fees of 0.74%, and the iShares S&P CNX Nifty India Swap (DE000A1H53K1), with management commission of 0.85%.The iShares MSCI USA (DE000A1H53M7), a physical replication fund, charges 0.40%. BlackRock has also launched these six funds on the Vienna stock exchange, with the addition of a seventh Irish-registered product dedicated to Poland, the iShares MSCI Poland (IE00B4M7GH52), a physical replication fund with management commission of 0.74%.
21/02/2011

VMZ launches a flexible fund with Universal

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Cologne-based wealth management firm V.M.Z. Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft Dr. Markus C. Zschaber mbH is advisor to the new flexible equities fund World Market Fund, whose launch has been announced by Universal-Investment.Management of the fund will follow the evolution of the “Welt-Index” designed by Markus Zschaber, involving the monthly combination of an index of conjunctural data and another index of market outlooks. This tool will allow the management team to identify and evaluate cyclical changes taking place in the global economy early on, and to integrate these data into the investment process.The portfolio of the new fund is constructed on the basis of both top-down and bottom-up analysis. In case of extreme situations on international equities markets, exposure to equities markets may be wholly hedged, and half of assets may be invested in money market investments and equities.CharacteristicsName: World Market FundISIN: DE000A1CS5F8Front-end fee: Maximum 5%Management commission: Currently 1.90%Performance commission: 10% of absolute returns, with high watermark
21/02/2011

Israeli market is a core growth area for Swiss private banking

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Agefi Switzerland reports that the Israeli market holds a certain attraction for Swiss management banks in the areas of private management and institutional clients. Most of the major Swiss banks have offices or a private or institutional wealth management operations in Israel. The remarkable growth of the Israeli economy and the precarious situation for the country have created a class of high net worth investors seeking international wealth management.
21/02/2011

“Carmignac is not Madoff”

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } “It is true, we have had negative short-term performance since the beginning of the year, at a time when markets were rising,” admits Didier Saint-Georges, who for more than 20 years has been one of the closest advisors to Edouard Carmignac, in an interview with Il Sole – 24 Ore. “Maybe the fact hat we are losing money is the proof that Carmignac is not Madoff, as some ill-intentioned voices are insinuating,” he continues. “We are losing money because we made big bets on Chinese and Indian businesses, which since the beginning of the year have been losing value. And because we avoid European banks, to which others are returning, and which are therefore bouncing back … We go against the grain. We will see in the future that we were right,” he explains to the Italian newspaper, which dedicates two articles to the management firm headquartered on Place Vendôme in Paris.
21/02/2011

Two affiliates of BNY Mellon AM join forces on emerging markets

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Standish Mellon Asset Management Company (USD78bn in assets, of which USD8.5bn are in emerging markets debt), and The Boston Company Asset Management, or TBCAM (USD39bn in assets, of which USD10.5bn are in emerging markets equities), have announced the creation of a common strategy, entitled Total Emerging Markets. The two boutiques, which are both affiliates of BNY Mellon Asset Management, are planning to offer actively-managed, diversified portfolios of bonds, equities and currencies of emerging markets.Within this project, Standish Mellon AM will handle selection of bonds and currencies, while TBCAM will be responsible for selection of equities. This will allow for the firms to offer absolute return products which are better adapted to risk than traditional funds, benchmarked against the MSCI Emerging Markets index. The extension of the investment universe to bonds and currencies will allow for greater geographical diversification, where bonds and equities allocations only partially take into account emerging markets.The Total Emerging Markets strategy will use an integrated platform to control risk. For each type of asset, selection will be based on the well-defined investment process at the corresponding boutique.
21/02/2011

Launch of a hedge fund focused on insurance risk

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Securis, a hedge fund management firm specialised in insurance risk, founded by two former bankers from Morgan Stanley, will this week launch a public call for investment in a closed-ended version of its main fund, in a bid to raise up to GBP200m, the Financial Times reports. The fund, which bets on the risk of extreme natural disasters, risk of decease, and lengthening life expectancies, already has assets of USD834m.
21/02/2011

Fidelity China Speciali Situations raises GBP166m

On 18 February the Board of Fidelity China Special Situations PLC announced that the C Share Offer has raised its maximum figure of GBP166.25 million. Subsequently there will be no scale back on the Offer for Subscription and all investors will receive the number of shares that they applied for. The Open Offer was not subject to scale back.

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