Only three of the 34 major asset management firms with at least 25 funds on sale in the German market which are rated by Feri EuroRatings have managed to earn high ratings of A or B for over 50% of their funds in first quarter. The number one in the rankings, as in fourth quarter 2009, is Union Investment (see Newsmanagers of 4 February). The management firm for the German co-operative banks has 46 funds rated A or B out of 83, which is a percentage of 55.4% (compared with 62% in October-December). The second-place asset management firm remains Threadneedle, with 23 funds rated A or B out of 44, for a percentage of 52.3% (compared with 52% in fourth quarter 2009). Fidelity is in third place, with 25 A or B-rated funds out of 50, for 50%, compared with 46.5%. Pictet is next in the rankings, with 48%, followed by Universal-Investment (42.9%), BlackRock (40.8%), DWS, LGT Group and JPMorgan, with 40%, 40%, and 37.7%, respectively. In the category of asset management firms with 8 to 24 funds rated by Feri EuroRatings, Vitruvius remains the top provider with 88.9%, followed by StarCapital (87.5%). Third place in this class goes to M&G Investments (78.6%). Carmignac Gestion is sin sixth place, with 6 funds rated A or B out of 9, or 66.7%, followed by Baring AM with 64.3% (Baring was in third place in October-December, with 71.4%).
The first ETF in the Gulf region, launched one month ago (see Newsmanagers of 25 March), the NBAD OneShare Dow Jones UAE 25 ETF, had assets as of 26 April of 18 million United Arab Emirates dirhams (AED18.83m; AED100 = USD27.22). The product, launched by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), replicates the Dow Jones UAE 25 Total Return index, and is traded on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange (ADX). Initially, the heaviest exposures in the index are Etisalat, First Gulf Bank, Emaar Properties and NABD. When the weighting of shares is updated, a limit of 8% per line will be introduced.
Petercam Institutional Asset Mangaement on Tuesday obtained permission from the CNMV to register the sustainable government bond fund Petercam L Bonds Government Sustainable, which brings the number of products with a license for sale in Spain to 18. The full Luxembourg range from the Belgian management firm is now registered in Spain, also including corporate bonds, high yield, and government bonds, as well as real estate and core and satellite equities portfolios.
The German BVI association of management firms on Tuesday announced that Metzler Asset Management GmbH, an affiliate of Metzler seel. Sohn & C. Holding AG, with assets as of the end of 2009 of EUR5.1bn, has joined the association with immediate effect. The BVI association now has among its members 66 fully licensed capital investment companies, 13 asset management firms, and 6 holding companies, with assets under management of about EUR1.7trn.
In February, single hedge funds covered by Morningstar posted net subscriptions of over USD2.58bn, meaning that with redemptions in January taken into account, net outflows in the first four months of the year have totalled nearly USD1.03bn. The ratings agency reports that its Morningstar 1000 index of hedge funds in March posted returns of 2.77%, which puts the total at 1.63% for first quarter as a whole. Results got a boost from rising global equities indices in March. Though hedge funds remain cautious, they are beginning to get involved in equities markets once again, says John Rekenthaler, vice president of research. The best performance in March and for first quarter was for the distressed strategy, with 5.81% and 7.42%. However, the short bias strategy shows losses of 0.48% in march and 2.36% in January-March.
According to Greenwich Alternative Investments (GAI), the Greenwich Composite Investable Hedge Fund Index posted returns in March of 1.52%, which gives it gains in the first three months of the year of 1.59%. All strategies posted gains in March and in first quarter. In March, the best-performing strategy was investable futures, with 3.03%. In January-March, the largest gains were for event-driven strategies, with 5.61%, ahead of long/short credit (3.30%).
Peter Hargreaves is planning to retire from his position as CEO of Hargreaves Lansdown at the end of this year. He has announced that he making way for a younger successor in the position, Fund Strategy reports. Hargreaves, 63, founded the firm in 1981 with Stephen Lansdown. He will be replaced as CEO by Ian Gorham, starting in November. Gorham is currently chief operating officer. Hargreaves will remain as executive director of the firm.
In a statement, the board of directors of Natixis Private Equity announced on Tuesday, 27 April that it has appointed Nicolas Homassel, 47, as CEO of Natixis Private Equity. He replaces Jean Duhau de Berenx, who is taking his retirement. François Baubeau has also resigned from his position as deputy CEO. Homassel, who will retain his reponsibilities as executive director of strategy at Natixis, will aim to assist in the evolution of activities at Natixis Private Equity, and particularly its reorientation towards management for third parties. In 2002, Homassel, who has spent his entire career at Natixis, was appointed as head of growth operations at Natexis Banques Populaires. He later became director of strategy for the institution.
Lazard is doing much better, Les Echos reports. In the first three months of the year, activities overall rose 67%, while revenues from advising (EUR269m) were up 65%, and revenues from mergers and acquisitions (+53%) and restructuring (+64%) were up by nearly as much. Commissions from portfolio management activities, meanwhile, were up 78%.
The Chinese regulatory authority CSRC has granted licenses to two new fund management firms, according to the China Securities Journal (which is controlled by the Chinese government). Market Watch reports that they are a joint venture of the Bank of New York Mellon and the Chinese broker Western Securities, and an affiliate of Zheshang Securities Co. Of the 60 existing fund management firms in China, 33 are joint ventures between Chinese and foreign firms.
The British Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) is increasing its investment in private equity, through the acquisition of a USD135m stake in the Neuberger Secondary Opportunities Fund II from Lehman Brothers Estate. With this acquisition, USS becomes the largest investor in the fund, which has Usd1.77bn in assets, raised in July 2008.
SEI has published an online investment guide (The Global Asset Management Product Guide), which sets out the key regulatory points for various investment vehicles. The guide is aimed at managers who are making an effort to respond to increasingly strong demand on the part of investors to diversify the types of funds in their allocations. Among the products explained are, among others, US mutual funds, ETFs, UCITS funds, closed funds, and British-registered OEIC funds.
The Swiss management firm Lombard Odier is expected to receive a license from the CNMV in the near future to launch activities of a fund and Sicav management affiliate in Spain, Expansión reports. The affiliate will have Claudio Ortea as chief investment officer, assisted by Paula Caruana, who will manage portfolios and Sicavs, after 10 years at BBVA Asset Management.
The Market Data & Analytics division of Deutsche Börse on Tuesday announced two new products, the EnBSol Historical Data Eurex and the EnBSol Historical Data Xetra. These are series of gross historical data by millisecond on the evolution of orders on the Eurex and Xetra electronic trading platforms. The data, which will be available back to 1 January 2010, is intended to allow market operators to develop new algorithms and to optimise strategies. They will be available in the original Enhanced Broadcast Solution (EnBSol) format for each platform.
On Tuesday, comdirect bank (Commerzbank group) announced pre-tax profits for first quarter up 19% to EUR21.2m, while net profits have increased 23% to EUR15.7m (they were a mere EUR7.1m in October-December). Total assets under administration as of the end of March totalled EUR37.56m, which represents an increase of 6% compared with the end of December, half of which is due to market effects, and half to net subscriptions. For B2C activities, assets are up 6% to EUR23.5bn, while for the B2C division (eBase), assets are up 5% to EUR14.1bn.
Capital Group, the largest shareholder in Prudential, is considering dismantling the insurance giant. It has approached three British insurers, including Clive Cowdery’s Resolution and Aviva, to evaluate their potential interest in an acquisition of Pru, Investment Week reports. If potential candidates for the acquisition come forward, Prudential will call off plans to buy the Asian activities of AIG, the article adds.
The SEC has created an enforcement unit with 60 attorneys led by Rob Kaplan and Bruce Karpati to investigate the use of side pockets by private equity funds, hedge funds and other asset managers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some funds examined by the SEC may have provided an inaccurate evaluation of their assets in side pocketseven as they continued to charge commissions on these inflated valuations. The new enforcement unit will also seek to establish to what extent managers are honest when they invest their own money in their funds.
According to a survey by Institutional Real Estate and Kingsley Associates, pension funds and other major institutional investors are planning to invest USD34bn in real estate, nearly twice as much as the total in 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports. About one third of this amount will go to safe investments in commercial real estate. Roughly USD8bn would be invested in debt, overseas deals and other kinds of real-estate transactions. Another USD13bn would go to riskier private-equity deals such as land and distressed properties. Only 3.5% of the total would be invested in REITs.
Henderson Global Investor will offer subscribers and shareholders a series of five fund mergers and eight name changes in May, following the integration of the Henderson and New Star product ranges to form a single platform since 6 April 2010. In the UK equities product range, the Henderson Growth & Income Fund will be absorbed into the Henderson Higher Income Fund, but will continue to be managed by Graham Kitchen and Andy Jones, while the Henderson UK Growth Fund, managed by Trevor Green, will be merged into the Henderson UK Alpha Fund, managed by Stephen Peak. Lastly, the Henderson UK Extra Income Fund, managd by Job Curtis, will be absorbed into the Henderson Managed Distribution Fund, though it will have more “sophisticated” elements which will continue to be managed by John Pattullo, Jenna Barnard and Trevor Green.
The State Street Investor Confidence Index has fallen in the month of April. It is down 7.7 points, to 99.7 from a corrected level of 107.4 in March. Investors appear to be the most pessimistic in North America. The regional index for the continent is down 6.7 points to 103.7, from a corrected level of 110.4 points the previous month. In Asia, investo confidence has fallen 6.5 points, from a corrected level of 100.7 to 94.2. Only European institutions are showing rising levels of confidence, with the regional index up slightly, by 1.2 points, from a corrected level of 94.7 to 95.9 points.
Amundi ETF a annoncé lundi 26 avril la cotation de 14 ETF cotés sur SIX Swiss Exchange dont sept sont inédits en Suisse. La cotation de ces 14 ETF sur SIX Swiss Exchange s’est effectuée en deux étapes. Le 13 avril 2010, dix ETF ont été cotés composés de cinq ETF actions, dont quatre régionaux et un pays émergent, dont un produit inédit en Europe – Amundi ETF MSCI Europe Ex Switzerland. A cela s’ajoutent deux ETF obligataires dont l’un réplique l’évolution d’un indice d’emprunts d’Etat de la zone euro toutes maturités confondues, alors que le deuxième permet une exposition à environ 40 obligations d’entreprises offrant une bonne liquidité et une note de crédit supérieure ou égale à BBB- selon l’agence de notation S&P. Deux ETF à effet de levier ont également été proposés, dont 1 inédit sur SIX Swiss Exchange, et 1 ETF short. «Ces ETF permettent aux investisseurs de doubler leurs positions ou au contraire se couvrir au quotidien sur des marchés spécifiques», précise la société de gestion. L’indice pris en référence est le Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50. Enfin, la dernière livraison qui est cotée sur SIX Swiss Exchange à compter du 27 avril 2010 comprend quatre ETF matières premières inédits permettant de s’exposer aux principaux segments de matières premières (agricoles, métaux précieux ou industriels, énergie…) dans un cadre réglementé UCITS III. «La sélection des produits disponibles sera élargie dans les semaines à venir avec plusieurs autres cotations sur SIX Swiss Exchange», annonce Amundi ETF.
Aviva Investors a annoncé aujourd’hui la nomination de Ted Potter au poste de directeur général du développement commercial Europe. Il s’agit d’une création de poste, précise la société de gestion. Ted Potter prendra ses nouvelles fonctions en juin et sera basé au siège de Aviva Investors à Londres. Il sera rattaché à Erich Gerth, directeur exécutif et directeur général Monde du développement commercial, et sera responsable des équipes de développement commercial en Europe. Véronique Cherret, Responsable Clientèle Institutionnelle Europe, et Gabriele Miodini, Responsable Institutions Financières, lui seront rattachés. Auparavant, Ted Potter travaillait pour Pinebridge Investments - anciennement AIG Investments - où il dirigeait les activités de développement commercial du groupe en Europe. Il a également exercé la fonction de directeur des opérations chez Bedford Oak Advisors, société partenaire en gestion alternative, et a passé six ans chez Goldman Sachs Asset Management à New York, où il a occupé différents postes de responsable liés au développement commercial.
Le groupe de gestion alternative Marshall Wace a sélectionné State Street pour la fourniture de services d’investissement pour son nouvel ETF equity neutral, MW Tops Global Alpha.Selon Marshall Wace, cet ETF est le premier ETF en Europe géré par un spécialiste de la gestion alternative.
Le Crown Managed Futures Ucits Fund lancé le 4 mai sera le premier fonds de hedge funds conforme à la directive OPCVM III de LGT Capital Partners (18 milliards de dollars d’encours. Ce produit de droit irlandais réplique le fonds Crown Managed Futures (670 millions de dollars), rapporte Hedge Funds Review.La souscription minimale pour ce produit investissant dans des hedge funds actifs dans les domaines des matières premières, des actions, des obligations et des devises sera de 10.000 dollars, euros ou livres. L’exposition s’effectuera au travers d’un indice de 15 comptes gérés.D’après Hedge Week, le fonds Crown Managed Futures, lancé en 2000, affiche une performance annuelle moyenne de 10,5 % contre une perte de 2,1 % pour son indice de référence, le MSCI World.LGT CP facturera une commission de gestion de 1,5 % et une commission de performance de 7,5 %. Ce produit à liquidité hebdomadaire sera également assorti d’une commission de swap/structuration de 0,7 %. Les parts seront disponibles en dollars, en euros et en livres.
BNP Paribas Securities Services a annoncé lundi 26 avril avoir été choisi par le Groupe AXA pour être la banque conservatrice/dépositaire de plusieurs entités et territoires où AXA est présent. Dans le détail, le contrat d’une durée de cinq ans, valable pour la France, la Suisse, l’Allemagne, le Luxembourg, l’Espagne et l’Italie, prévoit «un partenariat complet en matière d’asset servicing concernant des activités d’assurances, immobilières, de capital-investissement et de gestion des placements du Groupe AXA», précise le communiqué de BNP Paribas Securities Services. L'établissement va assurer à AXA une gamme complète de services, dont des services de conservation internationale, de dépositaire d’OPCVM, de gestion des opérations sur titres, d’agent de transfert et de distribution. L’accord porte sur plus de 250 milliards d’euros d’actifs, répartis sur plus de mille fonds, portefeuilles et mandats.
M&G a annoncé, lundi 26 avril, le lancement de M&G Global Dynamic Allocation Fund, un fonds géré de manière flexible, investissant dans différerentes classes d’actifs (actions, les obligations d’Etat, obligations d’entreprise, convertibles, matières premières, investissements alternatifs, monétaire,...).L’objectif pour le gérant est de générer de la performance tout au long du cycle économique grâce à une approche libre visant à identifier les classes d’actifs sous-évaluées. Caractéristiques : Code Isin : GB00B56H1S45 Droits d’entrée : 4% maximum Montant de souscription initiale : 1 000€ Frais de gestion : 1.75% Montant de la part : 10.80 € (au 23/04/2010)
Pour son fonds sectoriel WestInvest TargetSelect Logistics, Deka Immobilien a acheté le Daimler Plant Consolidation Center (PCC, 102.000 mètres carrés) de Brême. L’investissement représente 34 millions d’euros. Le WestInvest TargetSelect Logistics est un fonds immobilier offert au public mais réservé aux investisseurs institutionnels.