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31/08/2010

Bloomberg passe des accords avec des dark pools

Selon Les Echos, le spécialiste du courtage Bloomberg Tradebook vient d’annoncer des accords avec des «dark pools» pour davantage de transparence et de visibilité lors de l’exécution. Bloomberg Tradebook va notamment indiquer aux opérateurs où leurs ordres sont faits, en temps réel. Parallèlement, il a mis en place un outil d’analyse.
31/08/2010

L'association VuV compte désormais 200 adhérents

L’association allemande VuV des gestionnaires de fortune indépendants a annoncé lundi qu’en août elle a enregistré son deux centième adhérents. Depuis le début de l’année, 20 gestionnaires de fortune ont ainsi rejoint le VuV qui représente désormais plus d’un sur deux des gestionnaires de portefeuille financier indépendant agréé en Allemagne.
31/08/2010

La Banque cantonale de Zurich se développe dans la gestion indicielle

La Banque cantonale de Zurich (BCZ) a annoncé le 30 août le renforcement de son équipe de gestion d’actifs et la mise en place d’un groupe de 18 spécialistes chargés de gérer des portefeuilles axés sur des indices. La banque entend ainsi étendre son offre de produits liés aux indices et aux ETF tant pour les particuliers que les institutionnels. La BCZ souhaite ainsi «conquérir de nouvelles parts de marché ces prochaines années et s’imposer comme un leader en Suisse», indique la banque dans un communiqué. Dans un premier temps, la banque lancera un éventail de fonds suisses pour investisseurs institutionnels en actions, obligations et placements immobiliers. Dans une deuxième phase, la BCZ proposera de nouveaux produits ETF. Les actifs sous gestion de la banque s’élèvent actuellement à 36 milliards de francs suisses.
31/08/2010

Cantonal Bank of Zurich develops index-based management

The Cantonal Bank of Zurich (BCZ) on 30 August announced that it has added to its asset management team with the establishment of a group of 18 specialists to manage portfolios based on indices. The bank is also planning to extend its range of products related to indices and ETFs both for retail and institutional investors. The BCZ is hoping to “conquer new market share in the next few years, and to make itself a leader in Switzerland,” the bank says in a statement. Initially, the bank will launch a range of Swiss funds for institutional investors in equities, bonds, and real estate. In a second phase, the BCZ will offer new ETF products.
31/08/2010

Large-scale pyramid scheme in Benin

More than 130,000 investors have fallen victim to a Ponzi-type pyramid scheme in Benin, Fondsprofessionell reports, citing tagesschau.de. The investors were duped by the management firm ICC Services, which promised them extraordinarily high returns. The total losses are estimated at over EUR106m, a considerable sum for African investors, many of whom are now ruined.
31/08/2010

Allianz Global Investors interested in alternative management

In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, James Dilworth, CEO of Allianz Global Investors Deutschland (AGI) has confirmed that he is planning to reduce the number of funds in the range from 500 to 250 “or less.” He says that AGI is not planning to acquire any other German asset management firm, after absorbing cominvest, and that there are no plans to acquire an ETF manager: that is a profession which others know better how to do, and which is different from the core expertise at AGI, an active asset manager, he says. However, AGI needs to catch up in alternative management. Though there are a few attractive products at RCM and Pimco, it is a growth market, more than ETFs are. In these conditions, AGI should consider ways to collaborate more closely with alternative management firms.
31/08/2010

HSBC Global AM adds to Singapore staff

HSBC Global Asset Management has announced the transfer of Sten Ankacrona from Stockholm to Singapore, where he will take responsibility for sovereign funds and supra-national organisations in the Asia-Pacific region, Asian Investor reports. Ankacrona replaces Wayne Shum, who will be taking similar responsibilities in Hong Kong. The head of HSBC Global AM in Hong Kong, Rudolf Apenbrink, says that the group, which has sizeable staff in Hong Kong, would also like to grow in Singapore as a centre of expertise for South-East Asia. Ankacrona reports to Patrick Tse, CEO in Singapore, Julie Koo, head of institutional activities for Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong, and Synthia Sweeney Barnes, global head of sovereign funds and supra-national organisations, in London.
31/08/2010

HQ Fonder seeks to distance itself from HQ Bank

The asset management firm HQ Fonder has said in a press release that clients investing in HQ funds will not be affected by the cancellation of the banking license for HQ Bank over the weekend, nor by the fact that the Swedish bank has been placed in liquidation. The management firm emphasizes that it has been wholly owned by Investment AB Öresund since June 2010, when it was acquired from HQ AB, and that its activities are entirely distinct from HQ Bank. “It should also be noted that each fund is a distinct legal entity with assets which belong to the shareholders, and which are placed with SEB,” the statement says. HQ Fonder adds that both it and its parent are in solid financial condition.
31/08/2010

Deka Immobilien invests EUR145m in Barcelona

Realia Patrimonio has sold the office propety Avenida Diagonal 640 in Barcelona (28,400 square metres) for about EUR145m to the management firm Deka Immobilien (German savings banks). The property, which is nearly wholly leased, will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienEuropa.
31/08/2010

Spanish ETF market expected to grow in September

Due to regulatory changes that have come into effect since the beginning of this year, it is expected that the number of ETFs listed on the Spanish market will grow significantly, with the addition of products from BlackRock (iShares), Credit Suisse, and db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank). The first products may arrive within the next month, Cotizalia reports. Engracia Borque, head of db x-trackers, has confirmed that the first products from the German asset manager will be available in September, or at the worst, in October. The objective is to capture retail clients.
31/08/2010

Charles Schwab acquires Windward IM

The Charles Schwab Corporation has announced an agreement to acquire Windward Investment Management for USD150 million in stock and cash. The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Headquartered in Boston, Windward Investment Management is an investment advisory firm that manages USD3.9 billion at July 31, 2010 in three broadly diversified investment portfolios comprised primarily of ETF securities. Its clients include investment advisors, non-profit organizations, endowments, retirement plans, and individuals.
31/08/2010

Prigest seeks closer ties with institutional investors

The independent management firm Prigest, led by Christian Cambier, a figure in the collective management industry, which has EUR700m in assets under management but which is nearly exclusively aimed at private clients, is planning to accelerate its development by turning to institutional investor clients. To do this, it will be making a number of changes. Firstly, the management team, which as of the end of 2009, only included three managers, will be enlarged to manage a range of five funds. Matthieu Rolin, a former manager from Olympia Capital Management, joined the firm in May 2010. Major investments have also been made this month in portfolio and risk monitoring. “The structure of the whole thing is largely in place,” says Cécile Imbert, “but make no mistake: though we are industrialising risk management, asset management itself will continue to be based on pure stock-picking.” Management will be conducted in a more collegial manner. Opening the funds to other investors will not change the nature of the long-only management approach which has been the secret to the management firm’s success. The management firm is also adapting to profit from irrational movements on the markets, by adopting positions at advantageous times in order to make gains.
31/08/2010

Carmignac Gestion adds to staff

In a statement, Carmignac Gestion announced on Monday, 30 August that it has added to its management team, with the arrival of Carlos Galvis and Antoine Colonna. Galvis is joining Carmignac Gestion as manager of the Carmignac-Cash Plus fund. He was previously director of Absolute Return funds at Amundi in London, after joining CAAM London in 2001 and successively becoming a macro strategist, manager of international bonds, and Senior Portfolio Manager for the range of VaR funds. Colonna joins the management firm as a financial analyst specialised in the discretionary consumer sector, particularly luxuries and cosmetics, a sector he has been following since 1992. Previously, Colonna served as Managing Director of equities research for the luxuries and non-durable consumer goods sectors at Bank of America – Merrill Lynch.
31/08/2010

Oddo & Cie acquires Banque d'Orsay

Oddo & Cie announced on Tuesday morning that it is acquiring Banque d’Orsay from the German WestLB group. The German group has been seeking to sell off its French affiliate for several months, after obtaining government aid which carried this requirement from the European Commission as a condition. For Oddo, there are three reasons for the deal, Philippe Oddo explains in a statement: “our desire to strengthen our asset management and private banking operations, a range of high-quality products which are a good complement to our range, and lastly, the fact that the two businesses have clear cultural proximity which will facilitate the merger of the teams in the new ensemble. With this acquisition, the Oddo group may move on to further ambitions, in order to better serve clients.” Assets at Banque d’Orsay now represent only EUR2.5bn in assets under management, of which nearly EUR500m are in private banking, down from a peak of EUR15bn before the crisis in 2007. The assets will be added to EUR17bn in assets under management at Oddo & Cie. In terms of products, the range from the WestLB affiliate consists of 40 open-ended and dedicated funds, while Oddo & Cie has 120 investment products.
31/08/2010

Partners at Lazard make good on share sales

La Tribune reports that Banque Lazard on Friday announced details of a sale of 7.8% of its capital by current and former partners. Matthieu Pigasse has sold USD4.1m worth of shares. He had already sold USD10m of shares one year ago. Other Paris-based partners sold shares in the firm, including Alexandra Soto (USD2m), and Jean-Yves Helmer (USD2.7m). But it was largely former partners who sold shares, including Virginie Morgon (USD1.3m), Thomas Piquemal (USD4.1m), and Bertrand Badré (USD460,000). Erik Maris, former co-head of Lazard in France, also sold nearly USD5m in shares. The record goes to Georges Ralli, who sold nearly USD13m in shares, the newspaper adds.
31/08/2010

Hedge funds sue Ambac Assurance

Several hedge fund management firms, including Aurelius Capital Management, Fir Tree, KingStreet Capital, Monarch Alternative Capital and Stonehill Capital Management, which hold more thant USD1bn shares in mortgage securities and other debts insured by Ambac Assurance, on Monday asked a State Court in Wisconsin to forbid Ambac Financial from continuing to earn cash dividends from its affiliate, at a time when creditors holding debts resold by Ambac Capital have not been wholly reimbursed, the Wall Street Journal reports. The hedge fund management firms also claim that USD230m in dividends paid by Ambac Assurance between 2008 and 2009 were “fraudulent” transfers, since they were made at a time when the financial situation of the credit insurer was rapidly deteriorating. They are seeking reimbursement of the dividends to all policy holders.
31/08/2010

Jean-François Boulier: soon to be at the helm of EUR100bn

Aviva Investors will soon announce that Jean-François Boulier, chairman of the managing board at Aviva Investors France (AIF) is becoming head of the Europe ex United Kingdom region, inheriting part of the responsibilities of Alain Dromer, CEO of Aviva Investors. The appointment gives Boulier responsibility for the German, Irish, Italian, Spanish, Luxembourg and Polish markets. The new group of activities under Boulier’s control accounts for about EUR100bn in assets of which EUR80bn are in France, EUR10bn in Ireland, where Aviva Investors no longer produces investment products, EUR4bn in Poland, and EUR5-6bn in the Luxembourg Sicav. These activities employ about 100 people, in addition to the 90 based in Paris. The board of the new entity is gradually being established. In addition to Ted Potter (CEO for commercial development in Europe, based in London), Véronique Cherret, (head for Europe and UK institutional investors, Paris) and Gabriele Miodini (director, head of financial establishments – Europe, Milan), and Shawn Meadow (relations with Aviva, London), the board also includes the head of Polish activities, Marek Przybylski, but others are expected to join the management team to take responsibility for contacts with financial markets, risk management, and operations.
31/08/2010

Fortis Turkey Fund loses its managers

fundstrategy reports, citing the ratings agency OBSR, that the managers of the Fortis Turkey Fund, Eli Koren and Mathieu Nègre, have left the group, which has now become BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP). In April this year, Fortis Investments was taken over by BNPP IP. Assets under management in the fund dedicated to Turkey, domiciled in Luxembourg, total EUR114.5m. The fund, launched in April 2005, has earned 4.4% in the past three years, while the benchmark has lost 24% in the same period. More than half of the fund is invested in the financial sector.
31/08/2010

Schroders renames its Asian bond fund

The British management firm Schroders on Monday announced that from 1 August 2010, its Luxembourg-registered Asian bond fund Schroder ISF Asian Bond Fund (LU0091253459 and LU0327381843 for the share class hedged for currency risks), has been renamed as Schroder ISF Asian Bond Absolute Return, to foreground the product’s absolute return performance objective. Since 2001, the fund has earned positive returns in nine years of the period. Since the beginning of this year, the Schroder ISF Asian Bond Absolute Return has posted returns of 6.87% in US dollars, and 6.68% for the Euro-hedged share class. The strategy of the fund remains unchanged. The fund, managed by How Phuang Goh, was launched in 1998, and its assets as of 31 July totalled USD1.5bn.
31/08/2010

Clients of several Swiss banks caught up in Madoff affair

Les Echos reports that clients of several Swiss banks have received letters in the past few weeks from their banks explaining that part of their funds have been locked in their accounts due to the Madoff affair. Many investors had invested money with Fairfield Sentry, a giant fund with more than USD7bn in assets, whose capital was largely from European clients. The fund, which was placed with Bernard Madoff, went bankrupt when the fraud operated by the New York investment tycoon was discovered. The authorities are now seeking those who made undue profits from the US broker. Since April, Fairfield has been filing suits in turn against hundreds of firms, 50 of which are in Switzerland. As most investors are protected by banking secrecy laws, Fairfield is filing suit against the banks instead.
31/08/2010

Head resigns at UBP

According to reports in Financial News, Phelim Bolger, the head of UK institutional business at Union Bancaire Privée, has left the firm, less than one year after starting in the position. He is reportedly moving to HSBC Alternative Investments.
31/08/2010

Henderson Global Investors extends Central London Office Fund I

Henderson Global Investors on 26 August announced its decision to extend the duration of its Central London Office Fund I, a vehicle investing in office properties. The life of the fund will be extended until December 2015, to take advantage of the renewed strength of the London office property market. The fund, launched in 2004, has GBP560m under management, and as of June this year, showed returns of 30.5%. Henderson points out that it recently raised GBP90m for its second Central London Office Fund.
30/08/2010

Intesa ne s’intéresse pas à Pioneer

A l’occasion de la présentation des résultats d’Intesa Sanpaolo, le CEO Corrado Passera a confirmé la stratégie d’autonomie d’Eurizon, la filiale de gestion d’actifs, et a nié tout intérêt pour Pioneer, rapporte Il Sole – 24 Ore. «Ces dernières années, dans la gestion d’actifs, nous avons envisagé différentes possibilités. Nous avons aussi étudié d’éventuelles acquisitions», a déclaré Corrado Passera, ajoutant qu’ensuite il a été décidé de poursuivre avec le profil actuel : «nous avons une société de gestion d’actifs de taille moyenne dans laquelle nous investissons et pour laquelle nous voyons un potentiel de croissance». Par ailleurs, Intesa Sanpaolo a confirmé sa volonté d’introduire en Bourse Banca Fideuram dans les prochains trimestres, sachant qu’il n’y a pas urgence. Cela dépendra des conditions de marché.
30/08/2010

ING annonce la cession de ses activités immobilières au Canada

Le bancassureur néerlandais ING a annoncé selon L’Echo la vente de sa participation de 50% dans le portefeuille d’actifs immobiliers industriels canadiens Summit à une joint-venture canadienne pour environ 2 milliards de dollars canadiens. «Cette transaction correspond à l’objectif que s’est fixé ING de réduire son exposition à l’industrie de l’immobilier», a déclaré le directeur exécutif du groupe, Jan Hommen.
30/08/2010
Fonds

Hausse de l'encours des fonds luxembourgeois en juillet

La CSSF a communiqué vendredi 27 août le patrimoine global net des organismes de placement collectif et des fonds d’investissement spécialisés au 31 juillet 2010. Ce dernier s’est élevé à 2.019,223 milliards d’euros, soit une augmentation de 0,43 % sur un mois (2.010,637 milliards d’euros au 30 juin 2010) et une hausse de 18,36 % sur les douze derniers mois. En chiffres, l’industrie des OPC luxembourgeois a enregistré au mois de juillet une variation positive se chiffrant à 8,586 milliards d’euros grâce à des souscriptions nettes de 8,907 milliards d’euros - soit une hausse de 0,44 % - et en dépit d’une variation négative due à un effet marché (-0,321 milliards) - soit une baisse de 0,01%.A noter que le nombre d’organismes de placement collectif (OPC) et de fonds d’investissement spécialisés (FIS) pris en considération est de 3 582. Le mois précédent, il était de 3.550.
Fonds
30/08/2010

BCZ: Bruno Meier nommé directeur suppléant

La Banque Cantonale de Zurich (BCZ, Zürcher Kantonalbank) a annoncé le 26 août la nomination de Bruno Meier en qualité de directeur suppléant du CEO Martin Scholl. Bruno Meier, par ailleurs chief risk officer depuis avril 2008, succèdera à compter du 1er janvier 2011 à Charles Stettler, responsable de la clientèle entreprise, qui prend sa retraite à la fin 2010.
30/08/2010

UBS suspend ses activités en Palestine

Selon L’Agefi suisse, UBS n’opère plus de transactions avec les territoires palestiniens. La banque l’a fait savoir à l’une de ses clientes qui voulait verser une cotisation à Urgence Palestine-Vaud. Selon elle, la décision de ne plus traiter avec la Palestine remonte à septembre 2008. L’information, révélée par «La Liberté», a été confirmée samedi par l'établissement. «La décision de limiter les versements à destination de certains pays comme les territoires palestiniens découle soit de sanctions internationales soit d’une évaluation propre de la banque», a expliqué Serge Steiner, porte-parole d’UBS.
30/08/2010

Commerzbank veut retrouver son indépendance

Selon L’Echo qui cite des informations du Handelsblatt, la deuxième plus importante banque privée en Allemagne, Commerzbank, devrait lever cet automne au moins cinq milliards d’euros pour racheter à l’Etat allemand les 25% que ce dernier détient encore dans son capital.

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