Recherche
S'abonner
Connexion
Asset Management
Accueil Asset Management Actualités
26/02/2010

21% increase in assets under management at Vontobel in 2009

The Swiss Vontobel group last year earned profits of CHF138.3m, a 22% increase compared with 2008. Assets under management at the group increased 21% to CHF75.2bn. These results were driven by market effects and performance totalling CHF6.6bn, by the acquisition of Commerzbank (Schweiz) for a total of CHF4.1bn, and by net inflows of CHF2.1bn. Taxable profits were down 58% to CHF21.2m for private banking activities, and down 59% to CHF31.5m for the asset management division. The board of directors will propose a dividend of CHF1.40 per share for the 2009 fiscal year, a 17% increase year on year.
26/02/2010

Former Madoff director arrested

Daniel Bonventre, a former director of operations for Bernard Madoff’s investment firm, has been arrested and charged with conspiracy and securites fraud. He is the sixth person to be criminally charged over the December 2008 case.
26/02/2010

Christian Eckert joins Union Investment Privatfonds

Christian Eckert has been appointed as a member of the managing board at Union Investment Privatfonds GmbH, effective 19 February. He will be responsible for management of bond funds, IT, and organization. Anja Mikus thus gives up responsibility for bond management, and will now concentrate on portfolio management strategy for the Union Investment group as a whole. Before joining the management firm of the German co-operative banks, Eckert was MD for development, management and product marketing at Cominvest Asset Management (which has since been absorbed by Allianz Global Investors), after previously serving as CEO and country head UK at ABN Amro.
26/02/2010

Net redemptions for funds in February

According to statistics from VDOS, assets in Spanish investment funds fell by USD485m in the first three weeks of February, due to net redemptions of USD736m which were only partly offset by USD250m in gains on portfolios, Expansión reports. The best performance since the beginning of the year was for the WM Mercados Globales fund (+12.2%), followed by three funds specialised in Latin America: Santander Acciones Latinoamericanas (+10.3%), Madrid Bolsa Latinoamericana (+9.46%), and Ahorro Corporación Iberoamericana (+8.95%).
26/02/2010

IOSCO publishes hedge fund reporting requirements

The technical committee of IOSCO (the International Organisation of Securities Commissions) on 25 February published its requirements for the information which hedge funds must supply to regulators to evaluate systemic risk. IOSCO proposes eleven categories of information that may be of interest to regulators, which include information on the size of businesses, performance, assets under management, exposures, and liquidity, among others. IOSCO recommends that the first collection of information by these standards take place in September 2010, in light of regulatory changes now underway.
26/02/2010

Hedge funds are not prepared to lower their fees

Just one in 10 hedge fund managers expects to see the fees they charge investors fall, according to a Credit Suisse survey. But two-thirds of respondents said that they were willing to bargain on fees if investors consented to longer lock-up periods, says the Financial Times.
26/02/2010

Nara Capital launches UCITS hedge fund indices

Nara Capital, a consultancy serving the hedge fund industry, on 23 February announced the launch of its range of indices, which will track the performance of hedge funds and funds of funds. The indices offered are the UCITS Alternative Index® Global, UCITS Alternative Index® Fund of Funds, UCITS Alternative Index® Long/Short Equity, UCITS Alternative Index® Equity Market Neutral, UCITS Alternative Index® Fixed Income, UCITS Alternative Index® CTA, UCITS Alternative Index® Macro, UCITS Alternative Index® Event Driven, UCITS Alternative Index® Commodities, UCITS Alternative Index® FX, UCITS Alternative Index® Multi-Strategy. Nara Capital has been tracking the progressive growth of UCITS III-compliant hedge funds for more than two years. Due to the growing interest of investors in more liquid alternative strategies, Nara has decided to make the performance of these indices available to the public. In February 2009, the UCITS Alternative Index included nearly 400 UCITS-compliant hedge funds and funds of hedge funds, which represented total assets of over EUR63bn.
26/02/2010

Markit reduces publication delay for free market data to 15 minutes

The data provider Markit Boat announced on 25 February that its market data will now be available free of charge 15 minutes after their publication on Markit Boat, compared with 2 hours currently. The change will take effect on 1 June. Markit Boat provides information on European over-the-counter equities market trades totalling an average of about EUR20bn per day.
26/02/2010

Investec closes a trust

Fund Strategy reports that Investec Asset Management has announced the closure of its Investec Capital Accumulator Trust (ICAT) fund, which was managed by Alastair Mundy, due to a lack of interest on the part of shareholders. The trust was launched in October 2005, with the objective of exploiting potential demand for preference equities with zero dividend. The net asset value of ICAT lost 12.5% in the three years to 22 February, while zero-dividend equities lost 49% in the same period.
26/02/2010

First State raises management fees for a fund which has been closed for seven years

First State has announced that it is increasing management fees from 1.50% to 1.75% for A-class shares in its Global Emerging Markets fund, while the commission on B-class shares will be raised to 1% from 0.85%, Investment Week reports. The fund, with GBP546m in assets, has been closed to new investors since 2003, and Gary Withers, managing director, EMEA, says the increase in fees is justified both by the performance of the fund (142.8% in the 5 years to 15 February, compared with 113.1% for the peer group), and by a desire to control the capacity of the fund.
26/02/2010

Schroders launches a "best ideas" global equities fund

Schroders has announced the launch of the Schroder Global Alpha Plus Fund (subject to FSA approval). It is a high conviction global equity fund of approximately 30 stocks comprising the best investment ideas from the fund’s joint managers - Virginie Maisonneuve, head of global equities, and Jonathan Armitage, head of US equities. “We take a fundamentally-driven, bottom-up approach to identifying attractively-valued, quality growth stocks with strong sustainable competitive advantage. This approach is supplemented by a thematic assessment, which focuses on climate change, demographics and the growing significance of emerging market countries in the world economy,» says Virginie Maisonneuve. The Fund aims to provide long-term outperformance of the MSCI World Total Return index. It opens to investors in May 2010.
26/02/2010

Carlyle launches an Renminbi fund with a Chinese conglomerate

The Carlyle group announced on 24 February that as part of a strategic partnership with the Chinese conglomerate Fosun, it has launched a fund denominated in Chinese Renminbi (RMB), which will initially have USD100m in assets. The two businesses are proposing to invest in high-growth companies, and to identify opportunities for co-investment worldwide, so long as the planned investments are related to China and its potential for growth. The two firms are already acquainted, as in September 2009 they invested together in the Chinese firm Guangdong Yashili Group.
26/02/2010

Significant reduction in losses at Blackstone

By GAAP accounting standards, the Blackstone Group has reported net losses of USD715.3m for 2009, compared with losses of USD1.16bn in 2008, on positive earnings of USD1.77bn, compared with a negative total of USD349.4m the previous year. Revenues from management and consulting commissions increased slightly, to USD1.4822bn, compared with USD1.4763bn, but 2008 was marked by unrealised losses on investments of USD606.4m, while these losses were limited last year to only USD3.7m.
26/02/2010

Profits and assets up at Fidelity

Fidelity Investments has posted an increase in its operating profits of 5.2% in 2009, to USD2.51bn, despite an 11% contraction in its revenues to USD11.48bn, In 2008, operating profits fell 18%. As of 31 December, assets under management were up by 21% year on year to USD1.5trn, while assets under administration were up 20% to USD3.2trn. Assets under management were down by 22% or USD351bn in 2008. Net subscriptions contracted by 43% to USD31.4bn, due to massive outflows from money market funds, but equities funds saw their first net inflows since 2004, totalling USD3.8bn.
26/02/2010

Eaton Vance profits double in Q1

For the quarter to the end of January, Eaton Vance has declared net profits of USD51.5m (37 cents per share), compared with USD25.3m, or 21 cents per share, in the corresponding period of 2008/2009. In the period under review, the management firm has posted net subscriptions of USD1.5bn, compared with USD500m the previous year. Assets as of 31 January totalled USD161.6bn.
26/02/2010

Korean public pension fund recruits a CIO

The Government Employees Pension Service of Korea (GEPS), the South Korean public pension fund, has recruited Kwon Jae-woan as chief investment officer, following the surprise resignation in January of Chung Kyung-soo, who served in this position at GEPS for less than one year, Asian Investor reports. Assets under management at GEPS currently total about USD8bn. GEPS invests most of its assets in bonds and equities, and less than 1% in alternative assets.
26/02/2010

TCW finalizes acquisition of MetWest

The asset management firm TCW, an affiliate of the Société Générale group, has announced the finalization of its acquisition of Metropolitan West Asset Management (MetWest), with the integration of 115 partners from the business. Since the announcement of MetWest’s acquisition by TCW (see Newsmanagers of 7/12/09), the management firm has seen nearly EUR1bn in inflows, a statement from Société Générale observes. As of 31 January 2010, total combined assets of MetWest and TCW came to over USD15bn.
26/02/2010

Evercore Partners acquires a division of Neuberger Berman

Most of the assets of the Private Funds Placement Group at Neuberger Berman have been acquired by the British management firm Evercore Partners, for an amount which will depend on results for the unit sold. Neuberger Berman will receive earnout payments which will provide them with an economic interest in the success of the group for a period of time. During the transitional period, the activities acquired by Evercore will operate under the name Evercore Private Funds Group, with eight people. The objective is to develop the Private Funds Placement Group in the United States, continental Europe, and the Middle East.
26/02/2010

Andorran banks waiting for doors of Spain to open

An agreement which would allow the major banks of Andorra, specialised in private banking, to enter the Spanish market will come into force on 1 January 2011, in the wake of the end of banking secrecy and the signature of a taxation agreement between Spain and Andorra, Expansión reports. The Principality of Andorra is no longer considered an offshore tax haven, meaning that local banks (Crèdit Andorrà, Andbanc, Banca Privada d’Andorra and Banca Mora) may hope for a positive end to their nogotiations. For the moment, the Bank of Spain has blocked an acquisition of BSI (the asset management affiliate of Generali in Spain) by Andbanc. But at the same time, Andorran parties are in talks to acquire Tressis and Banco Madrid as soon as possible.
26/02/2010

Fortis Haitong's QFII quota doubled

Fortis Haitong (BNP Paribas IP group) on Wednesday announced that it has received permission from the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) for an added USD1bn on its QFII (Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor) quota. The initial quota granted to Fortis Bank on 29 September 2004 was for USD500m. Z-Ben Advisors reports that Fortis Haitong has received permission to increase its QDII (Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor) quota to USD1bn, though the asset management firm does not state whether the added quota will be used for existing QDII funds or QDII mandates which it is in the process of developing.
26/02/2010

Gold still has potential for growth

In an interview with Les Echos, the president and CEO of Barrick Gold, Aaron Regent, says that teh price of gold still has potential to rise, as the exposure of central banks to the US dollar is considered excessive and in need of rebalancing. “The sovereign debt crisis is an added incitement to diversify assets, and in so doing to invest sustainably in gold,” says Regent.
26/02/2010

"AAA fonctionnera en tant que département autonome au sein de Neuflize OBC Investissements"

En fin d'année dernière, Neuflize OBC, filiale française du groupe ABN Amro, a annoncé la réorganisation de ses activités de gestion d'actifs, et notamment la fusion entre Asset Allocation Advisors (AAA) et Noam. L'entité qui verra le jour à l'issue de ce rapprochement, et qui inclura aussi les mandats de Neuflize OBC, sera dirigée par Stéphane Corsaletti, actuellement président du directoire de AAA et de Noam. Dans un entretien à Newsmanagers, il explique les raisons de cette réorganisation et les projets de sa "nouvelle" maison.
26/02/2010

Le fonds de pension de la fonction publique coréenne recrute un CIO

Le Government Employees Pension Service of Korea (GEPS), le fonds de pension sud-coréen de la fonction publique, vient de de recruter Kwon Jae-woan en tant que responsable de l’investissement ou Chief investment officer à la suite de la démission surprise en janvier dernier de Chung Kyung-soo, qui n’aura occupé ses fonctions que moins d’un an au sein du GEPS, selon Asian Investor. Les actifs sous gestion de GEPS s'élèvent actuellement à quelque 8 milliards de dollars. GEPS investit pour l’essentiel dans l’obligataire et dans les actions et moins de 1% dans l’alternatif.
26/02/2010

Les banques européennes se ruent sur les CDS

Selon le Wall Street Journal, certaines banques européennes dont UBS, Credit Suisse, Société Générale, BNP Paribas et Deutsche Bank figurent parmi les plus gros acheteurs de contrats CDS (credit default swaps) de la Grèce depuis le début de l’année.Selon L’Echo, les banques françaises sont exposées à hauteur de 75,4 milliards de dollars à la dette grecque.
26/02/2010

Nara Capital lance des indices alternatifs Ucits

Le prestataire de services de conseil pour l’industrie alternative Nara Capital a annoncé le 23 février le lancement de sa série d’indices qui suivent la performance des hedge funds et des fonds de fonds. Les différents indices calculés sont UCITS Alternative Index® Global, UCITS Alternative Index® Fund of Funds, UCITS Alternative Index® Long/Short Equity, UCITS Alternative Index® Equity Market Neutral, UCITS Alternative Index® Fixed Income, UCITS Alternative Index® CTA, UCITS Alternative Index® Macro, UCITS Alternative Index® Event Driven, UCITS Alternative Index® Commodities, UCITS Alternative Index® FX, UCITS Alternative Index® Multi-Strategy Nara Capital suit depuis plus de deux ans la montée progressive des hedge funds conformes à la directive OPCVM III. Compte tenu de l’intérêt croissant pour les stratégies alternatives liquides, Nara a décidé de diffuser la performance de ces indices. En février 2009, le Ucits Alternative Index comprenait près de 400 hedge funds et fonds de hedge funds conformes à la directive OPCVM qui représentaient un montant total d’actifs de plus de 63 milliards d’euros.
26/02/2010

Markit réduit à 15 minutes le délai de publication de ses données

Le fournisseur de données Markit Boat a indiqué le 25 février que ses données de marché seront désormais disponibles gratuitement quinze minutes après leur publication sur Markit Boat, contre deux heures actuellement.La modification prendra effet le 1er juin prochain.Markit Boat fournit notamment des informations sur les marchés actions européens de gré à gré, pour un montant moyen d’environ 20 milliards d’euros.
26/02/2010

Un nouveau plan stratégique à l’étude chez AXA

Selon Les Echos, le deuxième assureur européen, qui a renoncé aux objectifs chiffrés d’Ambition 2012 il y a un peu plus d’un an, planche désormais sur un nouveau plan stratégique. Ce projet, qui pourrait être opérationnel à la fin de l’année, devrait consacrer une large place au renforcement sur les pays émergents.

Sujets d'actualité

Tous les sujets