The Finles/IEX index of Dutch hedge funds as of 1 June stood at 110.94, a decline of 1.29% in May, compared with losses of 3.04% for the Deutsche Bank hedge fund index, and 2.84% for the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index. Since the beginning of the year, the index has gained 0.25%, while the other two indices have lost 0.46% and 0.51%, respectively. As of 1 July, with the integration of the Tethys-Alpheus Fund, the Finles/IEX Hollandse Hedgefund 25 index included 24 funds, five of which are weighted at 7.04% each (IdB Real Estate Equity Fund, Pelargos Japan Fund, Saemor Europe Alpha Fund,Pelargos Asia Fund and Kempen Absolute Return Credit Fund).

On the fourth anniversary of the introduction of ETF funds to Spain, the Spanish ETF market currently has 32 products listed, of which 24 are from Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale), and 8 are from BBVA, Funds People reports. BlackRock, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have all announced that they are planning to list ETF funds in Spain, now that the fund regulations allow them to be in Sicav format. BlackRock had already registered iShares ETFs before the new regulations were passed, and its CEO for the Iberian peninsula, Armando Senra, has announced that other ETFs will be registered with the CNMV. Engracia Borque, head of db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) for Spain, says that 100 ETFs from the brand are already registered with the CNMV, and that many of them will be offered for trading by the end of summer on the Madrid stock exchange. Credit Suisse Asset Management has also officially announced that it is planning to list other ETF funds in Spain, after registering its first Sicav with 29 sub-funds (see Newsmanagers of 29 June).

Funds People reports that at a meeting on the fourth anniversary of the introduction of ETFs to the Spanish market, José María Bermejo, director for “entities” at the CNMV, says that innovations in the area of exchange-traded funds raise questions about the gradually increasing sophistication of the indices the funds replicate, as well as the appearance of actively-managed ETFs. He says that the transparency of the products needs to be increased, and the opportunities these products provide need to be better evaluated, both in terms of the indices the funds replicate and the procedures used to replicate them.

The market value of the portfolio of the Singapore sovereign fund Temasek rose by SGD186bn as of 31 March 2010, Temasek says in its annual report, published on 8 July, which represents an increase of SGD56bn year on year. Total returns for the shareholder in annual terms weighted since the creation of Temasek total 17%. For the year to the endof March, returns total 42%. Temasek remains preponderantly invested in Asia. This year, nearly 80% of the underlying exposure of the portfolio was in Asia, including Singapore. As of 31 March 2010, exposure to Singapore was 32%, compared with 46% for the rest of Asia ex Japan, while the OECD and other countries represent 22%. Temasek says that it will continue to prioritise the Asian region, where growth is expected to continue at a high level in the next few years.

The confidence of Spanish management professionals in the country’s economy is falling. According to statistics from the CNMV, funds reduced their exposure to Spanish debt (public and private) by EUR3.4bn in January-March, to EUR71.9bn, Expansión reports. In addition, they sold off equities, deposits and derivatives for EUR2.35bn. They thus reduced their exposure to Spain by nearly EUR6bn, part of which can be explained as a result of net redemptions from funds of EUR3.5bn in January-March, which may have continued or accelerated in second quarter.

As of the end of June, assets under management at Man Group fell to USD38.5bn, from USD39.4bn three months earlier. Of this total, the group announced Thursday, assets held for retail clients were up to USD27.1bn, from USD26.8bn, due to the performance of the affiliate AHL, and despite negative currency effects of USD0.7bn, and net redemptions of USD0.6bn. Institutional assets were down to USD11.4bn from USD12.6bn as of the end of March, due partly to USD0.1bn in net outflows, and USD0.4bn in negative currency effects. However, Man Group announces that as of the end of June it has a surplus of regulatory capital of about USD1.5bn, and available liquidity of USD5.4bn. Finally, the British hedge fund management firm says that the acquisition process at GLG Partners is proceeding within the established timetable.

David Fishwick, head of the macro investment business at M&G and co-manager of the M&G Macro Episode Fund, has been appointed to the newly-created position of head of retail investment management, while George Tsinonis, who will continue to manage the M&G Global Dynamic Allocation Fund, will take over immediately as manager of the M&G Cautious Multi-Asset Fund and the M&G Managed Fund. The reorganisation follows the departure with immediate effect of David Jane, head of equities and manager of the M&G Cautious Multi-Asset Fund. He may subsequently find another position within the Prudential group. Meanwhile, Ed Rosengarten, chief executive of equities, has decided to leave M&G, where he will remain until September, to provide a smooth transition.

Four partners from Hexam Capital Partners, including Bryan Collings, are taking over 65% of the firm, 50% of which was previously controlled by Ignis, which will no longer provide distribution of Hexam products, Investment Week reports. Operational support activities will be outsourced to external providers appointed by Hexam. Fund Strategy reports that the transfer of GBP600m by Ignis will take place in the next 9 to 14 months. Ignis will retain a 35% stake in Hexam.

HFMWeek reports that Natixis will soon launch a new UCITS III platform. The bank has reformatted an existing platform, Sixtina, which hosted 30 managed accounts, to make it a suitable platform for newcits. The new version of Sixtina may attract as much as EUR350m to EUR500m in its first year of operation. Natixis may then launch a fund of hedge funds in UCITS III format, the weekly news magazine reports. Natixis will launch newcits via its Luxembourg Sicav. The platform is aimed at institutional clients, and among the products it is developing are long/short, CTA and event-driven strategies.

According to the most recent statistics from the Moody’s ratings agency, default rates for European speculative category issuers totalled 5.8% in second quarter, compared with 7.3% in first quarter. In second quarter 2009, the rate was 7.4%. Moody’s estimates that the trend will continue in the next few months, with default rates likely to fall to 1.4% by the end of the year. Worldwide, the default rate has fallen to 6.1%, from 10% in first quarter, and 11.1% one year earlier. It is expected to fall to 2.4% by the end of the year, and 1.8% in second quarter 2011, Moody’s estimates. In total, 26 corporate issuers rated by Moody’s have defaulted since the beginning of the year, 9 of them in second quarter. Last year, the number of defaults was 90 in first quarter and 85 in second quarter.

Elliott Farney has been selected by the fund of fund specialist T. Bailey to manage a new prudent multi-asset class fund which will be launched at the end of the month, and which will be aimed at defensive investors. The T. Bailey Defensive Cautious Managed Fund will aim to outperform the average for funds in this sector, with lower volatility, says the manager, who has been deputy manager of the T. Bailey Growth Fund, the T. Bailey Equity Income Fund, and the T. Bailey Cautious Managed Fund since January 2009. The new product will be the second fund from T. Bailey to be listed on the cautious managed sector of the IMA, with the difference from the T. Bailey Cautious Managed Fund that the maximal allocation to equities is limited to 25%, rather than 50%.

According to financial industry sources, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports, Deutsche Bank is planning to begin the process of selling BHF-Bank by the end of this month. Information will be revealed in the next few days as to who the potential buyers are; they are expected to include LGT Bank, UBS, Julius Bär and HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt.

As of 1 September, Hugues Colmant will take up his new role as CEO of Cortal Consors for Germany. At the same time, he will become deputy head and a member of the executive board at BNP Paribas Personal Investors. Since 2007, he has been COO of the investment solutions arm of BNP Paribas. Alongside deputy CEO Kai Friedrich, Colmant is half of the managing board of Cortal Consors Germany. He replaces Vincent Lecomte, who has been appointed COO of BNP Paribas Wealth Management.

The Swiss asset management firm Partners Group, with its partner Corestate, has invested EUR230m in two portfolios of residential properties in Germany, representing 4,150 housing units. Partners Group says that it was able to acquire the properties due to the fallout from the financial crisis. The details of the acquisition were negotiated individually with vendors, with attractive long-term financing conditions.

The British asset management firm Schroders announced on Thursday that its wholly-owned affiliate NewFinance Capital (NFC) will adopt the name of Schroders NewFinance Capital. The firm, acquired by Schroders in 2006, is a specialist in fund of hedge fund management, and manages about USD3bn as of 30 June 2010, of which EUR700m are in Germany (EUR600m in funds of hedge funds, and EUR100m for retail clients). Schroders and Schroders NewFinance Capital together operate a UCITS-compliant hedge fund platform, the Schroder GAIA (Global Alternative Investor Access) Sicav.

Management firms hoping to increase their presence in Asia will need to be aware of the challenges they face, the consulting firm Greenwich Associates says in a recently-published survey (“Global Asset Managers in Asia: Setting Realistic Expectations.”) Firstly, Greenwich Association says, a very low percentage of assets are outsourced to management firms in Asia, compared with the norm in Europe or the United States. As of the end of 2009, assets under management at Asian management firms totalled about USD5trn, compared with USD6trn in the United States. But the similarities end there, since the assets outsourced represent 80% of the total in the United States, and 47% in Europe, but 12% in Asia. Though there is a concentration of assets in key markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore, Asian firms are spread out through a large geographical region with large cultural, financial and regulatory disparities. Finally, many Asian firms are still young, and the largest are still under 10 years old, and are not used to calling in outside providers. Abhi Schroff, a consultant at Greenwich Associates, says there is often an enormous difference between the perception of directors at the helm of management firms, and the reality on the ground. “In Europe or the United States, the Asian market represents a growth opportunity which is often foregrounded in long-term strategy for the organisation. In the Asian office, however, the reality of activities are circumscribed by limited outlooks and daily operational challenges.”

Soon after leaving as MD at Sinopia, and the HSBC Group (see Newsmanagers of June 16th), Pierre Séquier has been appointed member of the managing board of Exane Asset Management.

Jin Yeong-Ho, the chief investment officer of the Korean fund Military Mutual Aid Association (MMAA), with assets under management of USD6.8bn, has declared the fund’s intention to make new strategic investments in green growth industries, Asian Investor reports. Currently, MMAA’s investments fall into three categories: construction and development, which represents 39.4% of total assets under management; financial investments, for 38.2%, and direct investments in equities (22.4%). The objective is to increase financial investments to 42% of the total, and to create a “green” allocation, which could represent up to 5% of total assets, while the proportion dedicated to construction and development would be decreased to 33%.

Société Générale Private Banking on 8 July announced that it has added to its teams dedicated to high net worth clients in Latin America, with the appointment of William Birkbeck, as deputy director of client services in Latin America. Birkbeck, based in Geneva, will report to Alberto Valenzuela, deputy CEO of Société Générale Private Banking (Switzerland) SA< and director of Latin American client services, and will assist Valenzuela in the international co-ordination of services dedicated to these clients. Due to his profound knowledge of the Latin American market, and his career in investment banking and finance, Birkbeck will aim to promote solutions will meet all the needs of high net worth entrepreneurial clients in Latin America. Birkbeck was previously director and head of the Americas and Asia group at Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking.

The Blackstone group on 8 July announced the appointment of Nicolas Hubert as Managing Director in charge of advising activities serving financial institutions. With 12 years of experience, Hubert comes as an addition to the team led by Jean-Michel Steg in Paris. Before joining Blackstone, Hubert was head of merger and acquisition advising activities for financial institutions in France at the Lazard bank in Paris, from 2003. The appointment is a part of a major development effort at Blackstone’s Paris office. The Paris office, opened in March 2009, and specialised in restructuring and merger and acquisition advising, now has 10 personnel.

Hedge Week reports that, according to a survey by Rothstein Kass, 82% of senior managers at hedge fund firms estimate that there will be more funds created this year than in 2009. However, less than 20% of the 381 managers surveyed estimate that more hedge funds will be opened than closed. Nearly three quarters of managers surveyed admit that 2010 will be another hard year, even though the environment is continuing to improve.

According to Hennessee Group, hedge funds lost an average of 1.35% in June, while according to Hedge Fund Research, they lost 0.81%. For first half, the Hennessee index is slightly positive, and the HFR index is slightly negative, while the S&P 500 lost 5% in June, and 6.7% in the first six months of the year, the Wall Street Journal notes. The Paulson Advantage and Paulson Advantage Plus funds lost 4.4% and nearly 7% in June, respectively, with losses of 5.8% and 8.7% in first half. The Clarium fund from Peter Thiel lost 7.7% last month, and 13.8% in January-June.

Jupiter Asset Management has announced the promotions of Alastair Gunn and Rhys Petheram, who become co-managers of the Jupiter Distribution Fund, alongside Anthony Nutt and John Hamilton. Gunn has been working at Jupiter since 2007, while Petheram has been there since 2006. the Jupiter Distribution Fund, which has assets under management of GBP261m, and which is at least 60% invested in fixed income (with the remainder in equities), earned returns of 16.22% in the past year, compared with 15.60% for the IMA “Cautious Managed” sector.

Alan Roberts and Neil Mather, the liquidators of the hedge fund management firm Carlyle Capital Corp (CCC), which went bankrupt in March 2008 due to unfortunate investments in the mortgage-backed bond markets, is suing the private equity investor Carlyle Group as well as the former directors of CCC in Guernsey, New York, Washington and Delaware, for breaches of fiduciary duty, recklessness and negligence. The Wall Street Journal reports that the liquidators are hoping to make back more than USD1bn against capital losses at CCC. Carlyle Group claims that the suit is unfounded. CCC was founded in 2006 and was launched on the stock markets with USD880m provided by clients. To optimise its gains, CCC borrowed USD22bn. The firm went bankrupt in March 2008, with a default on USD16.6bn in debt.

Malgré le flou entourant certaines hypothèses des régulateurs, les valeurs bancaires ont bien réagi

BNY Mellon Asset Management a annoncé mercredi que la China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) a autorisé BNY Mellon et Western Securities à créer une société conjointe de gestion de fonds en Chine, BNY Mellon Western Fund Management Company Limited. Cette coentreprise sera contrôlée à 49 % par BNY Mellon et à 51 % par Western Securities.BNY Mellon FM commencera par gérer des valeurs mobilières chinoises «domestiques» dans plusieurs fonds destinés aux particuliers. Ultérieurement, elle développera de nouveaux produits en s’appuyant sur l’expertise du groupe BNY Mellon. La distribution sera focalisée sur les réseaux bancaires et de courtage en Chine.Le CEO de la nouvelle firme est Bin Hu.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management a annoncé le 7 juillet sa décision de faire évoluer son organisation en rassemblant l’ensemble des acteurs de la gestion privée au sein d’un même métier, Wealth Management, sous la responsabilité de Jacques d’Estais qui conserve ses fonctions de responsable du pôle Investment Solutions.Il a été ainsi décidé de créer une gouvernance regroupée, afin d’accentuer la transversalité entre les zones et les fonctions supports :- 5 zones géographiques sont définies : Asie Pacifique, Marchés Domestiques Euro et Nouveaux Marchés Domestiques, Europe Internationale (incluant Moyen-Orient et Amérique Latine) et Luxembourg. Elles sont confiées respectivement à Mignonne Cheng, Marie-Claire Capobianco pour l’ensemble des marchés domestiques, Pascal Boris et Patrice Crochet.- 3 fonctions transversales viendront appuyer le développement de ces zones : Produits & Services, sous la responsabilité d’Olivier Maugarny. Un pôle d’expertise UHNWI (Ultra High Net Worth Individuals) est constitué ; son organisation sera précisée ultérieurement. Enfin, un ensemble COO regroupant les fonctions du métier sera confié à Vincent Lecomte.Mignonne Cheng, Marie-Claire Capobianco, Pascal Boris, Patrice Crochet, Olivier Maugarny et Vincent Lecomte seront, au côté de Jacques d’Estais, membres du Comité Exécutif de BNP Paribas Wealth Management.

Palatine Asset Management, l’entité de gestion d’actifs de la Banque Palatine - banque des entreprises et du patrimoine du Groupe BPCE - en collaboration avec C&M Finances, société de gestion indépendante – ont annoncé le 7 juillet le lancement du FCP Export Europe Palatine, le premier fonds commun de placement de droit français exclusivement consacré aux sociétés européennes exportatrices.L’objectif est de profiter des performances des entreprises européennes en zone euro et exposées aux marchés dont les monnaies se sont réévaluées. Les sociétés composant ce fonds sont exportatrices aux Etats-Unis, au Japon, en Chine et dans les principaux marchés émergents. Au cours du premier semestre 2010, les devises de ces pays (dollar, yen, Yuan, roupie indienne, réal brésilien et peso mexicain…) se sont réévaluées en moyenne de 15%. Actuellement, l’exposition des groupes cotés européens sur les seuls pays émergents, en très forte croissance économique, est de 25%. Les sociétés composant Export Europe Palatine profitent donc à plein du niveau attractif de l’euro. Ce FCP Export Europe Palatine se concentre actuellement sur les valeurs industrielles et les biens de consommation et exclut des secteurs entiers : financières, bancaires, assurances, télécoms, pétrole et gaz...caractéristiques :Code Isin : FR0010915181Droits d’entrée : 2.00% maxFrais de gestion : 1.20% TTC max + 10% surperformance au delà de l’indice coupons réinvestis +3%

Acropole Asset Management a annoncé le 7 juillet le lancement de son premier fonds thématique Acropole Euro Converti’i dont l’objectif est de participer à la hausse des marchés actions sans prendre le risque d’une remontée des taux. Acropole propose en outre un fonds à rendement Acropole Mix Income. Acropole Euro Convert’i et Acropole Mix Income seront respectivement lancés les 8 et 13 juillet 2010.La stratégie adoptée pour Acropole Euro Convert’i consiste à construire un portefeuille d’obligations convertibles européennes, privilégiant les valeurs et secteurs particulièrement corrélés à l’inflation, avec au lancement, une couverture du risque de taux (sensibilité entre 0 et 2)Dans le cadre de sa gestion de conviction, Acropole Asset Management retient ainsi les thèmes suivants : minerais, matières premières, agriculture, actifs réels/immobilier et pricing power.Pour réaliser cette stratégie, le processus d’investissement est principalement basé sur l’appréciation de 3 paramètres : - analyses conjuguées top down et bottom up du gisement des obligations convertibles et des sous-jacents (130 noms suivis)- analyse crédit sur les recommandations de Cheyne Capital associées au rating interne d’Acropole AM - analyse des paramètres techniques des obligations convertibles (volatilité, convexité, gestion du delta, concentration des risques). Sur le thème du rendement et dans la continuité d’Acropole Convertible Optimum et d’Acropole 2012 lancés en février 2009, Acropole Asset Management propose par ailleurs Acropole Mix Income, fonds d’obligations convertibles et privées High Yield, dont le taux de rendement actuariel est aujourd’hui de l’ordre de 10% (taux brut et en l’absence de tout défaut). La stratégie adoptée par Acropole Mix Income consiste à construire un portefeuille d’obligations convertibles et d’obligations privées High Yield. Pour réaliser cette stratégie, le processus d’investissement s’appuie sur : - la sélection des obligations convertibles et corporate High Yield grâce à une analyse fondamentale sur les zones européenne, Etats-Unis et Asie l’utilisation de filtres crédit, liquidité et valorisation, la revue de la concentration des risques avec le suivi des limites géographique, émetteur, secteur et % d’investissement. En complément de l’analyse crédit de son actionnaire Cheyne Capital avec lequel elle possède un partenariat exclusif, Acropole Asset Management a également développé un modèle de rating interne de crédit qui permet d’attribuer une note à toutes les obligations convertibles qui ne disposent pas d’un rating d’agence de notation soit plus de 40% du gisement mondial.

Rothschild & Cie Gestion a annoncé, mardi 7 juillet, l’ouverture d’une succursale en Suisse basée à Zurich avec pour objectif de développer la clientèle locale institutionnelle et d’accélèrer son développement à l’international. Interrogé par Newsmanagers, Jean-Louis Laurens, associé-gérant, président du directoire, a, dans un premier temps, donné les raisons de ce développement hors de l’Hexagone. «Lorsque je suis arrivé le 1er septembre 2009, j’ai été frappé de voir qu’en dépit de la qualité de notre gestion, celle-ci n'était pas exportée. Or, il faut bien reconnaitre que, désormais, la présence de prestataires de services financiers comme CACEIS ou l’expérience réussie de certains de nos concurrents de qualité ont facilité l’exportation de fonds de droit français.» Le moment semblait donc venu pour Jean-Louis Laurens de mettre en avant la qualité de la gestion de la maison, et ce d’autant qu’il s’agit d’une gestion de conviction dont l’associé-gérant souligne les atouts. «A l’heure où la part des ETF augmente, une gestion de conviction réactive avec des paris réfléchis a clairement des points à marquer, que ce soit dans le cadre d’une gestion cœur ou satellite, ou dans une allocation d’actifs à risques, à la place de trackers…" Outre la «fenêtre» dont profite la gestion de conviction, Jean-Louis Laurens a aussi relevé que le développement de l’architecture ouverte est devenu inéluctable et qu’elle est déjà la règle absolue dans des pays comme les Pays-Bas et l’Allemagne. «A ce titre, a-t-il insisté, elle profite aux établissements disposant d’une marque reconnue.» C’est en partie pour cette raison que la société de gestion justifie son installation à Zurich. Mais pas seulement. «Nous misons clairement sur la zone germanophone, explique Jean-Louis Laurens et la Suisse s’est imposée à nous car en étant en dehors de la communauté européenne, nous devions y créer une entité et faire agréer nos fonds. A cela, il faut également ajouter que le bureau suisse sera dirigé par Konstantin Nikiteas récemment nommé directeur Europe du Nord – de nationalité suisse également - et que Jean-Louis Laurens apprécie pour l’avoir déjà recruté lorsqu’il exerçait ses fonctions chez Axa IM. L’intéressé prendra en charge la stratégie de développement commercial et la distribution des fonds. Il y coordonnera également, en liaison avec Paris, le déploiement commercial en Allemagne et en Autriche. Reste à savoir avec quels fonds Rothschild & Cie Gestion compte, pour débuter, séduire l’Europe… «Le choix s’est porté sur une gamme ramassée de huit fonds que l’Autorité fédérale de surveillance des marchés financiers (FINMA) vient d’agréer et qui couvrent l’ensemble des classes d’actifs actions, obligations et diversifiés réactifs, sous la responsabilité de Didier Bouvignies, associé gérant, et directeur de la gestion, explique Jean-Louis Laurens (voir ci-dessous). Quant aux objectifs chiffrés de ce développement à l’international, le responsable de la société de gestion a pour ambition, à une échéance de quatre à cinq ans, de faire en sorte que le tiers des actifs sous gestion provienne de l'étranger. Ce qui, si l’on table sur un encours global de la société de gestion de 30 à 40 milliards d’euros d’encours, correspond à environ 10 à 15 milliards. «A cet horizon 2014-2015, conclut Jean-Louis Laurens, nous misons sur une Europe germanophone représentant 6 à 7 milliards d’euros. Entre temps, Rothschild & Cie Gestion aura sans doute poursuivi son développement hors de nos frontières, la société de gestion réfléchissant actuellement à prendre également pied en Italie dès l’année prochaine. Liste des fonds agrées en Suisse :Fonds actions•ELAN EURO VALEURS - FR0010187898 (class C) / FR0010207099 (class F) - Gestion de conviction - Zone Euro•ELAN SELECTION EUROPE - FR0010784835 - Gestion de conviction – Europe•MULTI SELECTION BIENS REELS - FR0010035592 (class C) / FR0010563064 (class F) – Fonds de fonds thématique – Biens Réels (Immobilier, Energie, matières premières, etc…) - InternationalFonds obligataires•ELAN 2013 - FR0010697482 (class C) / FR0010702902 (class D) - Gestion obligataire à échéance, crédit “Investment Grade” /Zone Euro•R OBLIGATIONS PRIVEES - FR0007008750 (class C) / FR0010134437 (class D) / FR0010807107 (class F)- Gestion obligataire crédit “Investment Grade”/Zone Euro•ELAN CONVERTIBLES EUROPE - FR0007009139 - Gestion obligations convertibles, Europe Fonds diversifiés•ELAN CLUB - FR000010541557 (class C) / FR0010523191 (class D) / FR0010537423 (class F) - Gestion diversifiée d’allocation flexible (exposition actions comprise entre 20% et 80%)•R VALOR - FR0000298762 (class C) / FR0000298911 (class D) / FR0010599118 (class F) - Gestion diversifiée d’allocation flexible (exposition actions comprise entre 0% et 100%)