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18/02/2010

Many star managers were interested in Citigroup at the end of 2009

Paulson & Co., the hedge fund management firm led by the billionaire John Paulson, in fourth quarter increased its stake in Citigroup, Bloomberg reports. At the same time, it sold shares in Bank of America Corp. In detail, Paulson bought 506.7 million shares in Citigroup in New York at the end of December, while his stake in Bank of America was reduced by 159.8 million shares to a total of 151 million shares. Paulson, who manages about USD32bn in assets in New York, began building up his stake in Citigroup in third quarter 2009. David Tepper, head of one of the best-performing hedge funds of last year, and the billionaire George Soros, are among the shareholders who increased their stakes in Citigroup in fourth quarter, Bloomberg reports.
18/02/2010

Net outflows from asset management in 2009 at Société Générale

The asset management arm of Société Générale saw net outflows of EUR18.3bn in 2009 (of which EUR11.4bn in Q4 ’09), “due to the combined effects of falling financial markets and workforce reorganizations at the end of the year,” the bank said in a statement on Thursday morning presenting its annual results. After market effects are taken into account (+EUR25.2bn, of which +EUR5.9bn were in Q4 ’09), along with currency effects (-EUR2.3bn, with +EUR1.3bn in Q4 ’09), and the impact of sales (-EUR5.9bn, including SGAM UK, for –EUR4.7bn), assets under management in the professional area remained stable compared with the end of 2008, at EUR268.8bn as of the end of 2009. These assets included EUR170bn transferred to Amundi, the joint venture founded with Crédit Agricole, in which Société Générale controls 25%; EUR13bn transferred to Lyxor Asset Management in first quarter 2010, and EUR70bn managed by TCW, the US asset management affiliate of the bank. For the year, earnings for the professional area totalled EUR765m, a strong increase (+84.9%, +80.0% in ongoing figures) compared with 2008 revenues, which included large write-downs and losses related to the crisis. Gross operating profits returned above the break-even point (+EUR4m) after losses in 2008 (-EUR367m). Net profits for the part of the group totalled EUR1m.
18/02/2010

A new custody mandate for BNY Mellon

The two Dutch pension funds, Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor de Suikerverwerkende Industrie and Stichting Bedrijfspensioenfonds voor de Suikerwerk- & Chocoladeverwerkende Industrie (Bpf Koek & Snoep) have announced that they have awarded BNY Mellon Asset Servicing a custody mandate on assets of EUR1bn. BNY Mellon will also provide other services, including accounting, performance measurement, and reporting.
18/02/2010

Carmen Ortiz leaves Popular Gestión in the hands of Miguel Colombás

Carmen Ortiz, who has been appointed director of investor and shareholder relations and Banco Popular, is leaving his position as CEO of Popular Gestión (EUR6.7bn in assets, 64 funds). He will be replaced by Miguel Colombás, who was previously deputy CEO and CIO of the asset management firm.
18/02/2010

Hedge funds did not torpedo Santander and BBVA

According to documents obtained by the CNMV, hedge funds did not short shares in Santander and BBVA during the recent market tensions, despite the increased risk associated with Spanish government debt, Cinco Días reports. Short positions on these banks either held stable or were reduced: for example, they represent only 2.69% of capital in Banco Popular, compared with 7.29% at the height of the crisis in March 2009. Securities lending does not appear to reveal high levels of speculation either. For Santander, shares lent decreased between 5 January and 17 February to 767 million shares (9% of capital), from 1.8 billion. For BBVA, the volume of securities lent in the same period remained at a level equivalent to about 17% of capital.
18/02/2010

Chinese sovereign fund invests in private equity

China Investment Corp, China’s sovereign wealth fund, has agreed to invest USD1.5bn in the private equity secondary market with Lexington Partners, Goldman Sachs and Pantheon Ventures. The firms have each agreed to manage USD500m for CIC through special accounts, which are to be kept separate from their main funds, according to people familiar with the agreements.
18/02/2010

Andrew Musters joins executive board at SAM

The global head of private equity at SAM and Robeco, Andrew Musters, has been appointed as a member of the executive board at SAM Sustainable Asset Management, an affiliate of Robeco. The appointment follows the complete integration of private equity activities into the area of clean tech at SAM, which resulted in a transfer of all personnel in the Rotterdam office to Zurich in July 2009 (see Newsmanagers of 4 June 2009). SAM says Musters has an excellent reputation among institutional clients for the development and launch of private equity funds of funds in the clean tech sector.
18/02/2010

Barclays in bid for independent managers' business

Agefi Switzerland reports that Barclays Wealth is cosying up to Swiss intermediaries. It has teamed up with Barclays Capital to offer an integrated solution aimed at trusts, family offices, and especially independent management firms. The British bank now offers custom structured products for its intermediary clients. The move is part of a larger desire on the part of the group to offer a service for every situation: “We will help businesses to create wealth, but we also want to offer them wealth management solutions, for example,” explains Clive Britton, director for Switzerland at Barclays Wealth Intermediaries in Geneva, who claims this may allow the bank to stand out from its competitors.
18/02/2010

TCW founder quits board of Société Générale

The American billionaire Robert Day, who is suspected of insider trading, has resigned and will be leaving his position on the board of directors of Société Générale, Reuters reports, confirming earlier reports in Les Echos. Day, who founded and then sold TCW, an asset management firm, to Société Générale, is named in a class action suit in the United States accusing him of insider trading related to the Kerviel scandal. He is also under investigation by the French financial authority, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).
18/02/2010

Soros doubles investment in a gold ETF

The fund which manages the assets of the billionaire George Soros more than doubled its position on the SPDR Gold Trust, a physical gold ETF fund, in fourth quarter 2009. Bloomberg reports that Soros Fund Management acquired 3.728 million shares for USD421m. As of 31 December, the investment, the fund’s largest position, was valued at USd663m. The Chinese sovereign fund China Investment Fund has also acquired 1.45 million shares, for a total of USD155.6m. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust have increased by 2.2% since the beginning of the year, following a 24% increase in 2009. As of yesterday, the fund’s holdings in gold totalled 1,109.42 metric tons. The institutional investor Paulson & Co held the largest position in the fund as of 31 December last year, with 31 million shares, representing an 8.65% stake in the fund.
18/02/2010

State Street selected by iShares

The largest ETF provider in the world, iShares, has selected State Street as its cusdotian and fund administrator for a record USD370bn, or about EUR269bn, in assets, efinancialnews reports. The mandate was previously held by Bank of Ireland Securities Services. State Street will take over in June of this year.
18/02/2010

Managers shorting the Euro

Many investors are adopting a negative view of the future of the Euro, and have reduced their positions on CDS from Greece and Spain in favour of debt from the UK and Japan, or other countries not engulfed in the developments now grabbing headlines, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tigris (USD2bn), which is predicting a fall for the Euro, is betting on gold, estimating that it will gain if problems related to Greek and other government debt become more severe. Starting from the hypothesis that the United States will pull out of its financial difficulties more rapidly than Europe, BlackRock began shorting the Euro late last year, according to a source familiar with the matter. Among the other management firms which have recently bet against the Euro are Paulson & Co and Moore Capital Management, who declined to comment.
18/02/2010

Hedge fund compass out of whack

The major providers of hedge fund indices in January showed diverging trends, which is due to the differing components of their various indices. According to Credit Suisse/Tremont, hedge funds in January earned average returns of 0.17%, with peaks at 2.02% for FI arb and event-driven (1.42%), while emerging markets and long/short equity lost 0.76% and 1.50%. BarclayHedge, meanwhile, estimates that hedge funds overall lost 0.29%, with the top returns for equity short bias, with gains of 3.8%, followed by distressed securities (+2.64%), and as at Credit Suisse/Tremont, FI arb, which earned 1.89%. The emerging markets sub-index shows losses of 1.19%, while equity long bias is down 1.68%, and technologies are down 2.74%.
18/02/2010

BNP Paribas opens its Vol Edge fund to British investors

BNP Paribas has decided to open its Vol Edge fund to British investors. The fund, launched in 2007, is managed by the BNP Paribas affiliate Harewood Asset Management, Investment Week reports. The FCP fund offers coverage against volatility on equities markets, and protection against problems with correlation of other asset classes in falling markets. Harewood is targeting multi-management and high net worth private investors.
18/02/2010

ETFS Physical Palladium GH sets records for asset volume

ETF Securities (ETFS) announced on Wednesday that on 11 February, total assets in its physical Palladium ETC fund (under the acronym PHPT) has set an all-time record of 1.1 million ounces. This is four times the previous record set in the commodities boom in July 2008.
18/02/2010

Galleon founder's court date set for October

Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam will go to trial Oct. 25 on criminal insider-trading charges. U.S. judge Richard J. Holwell said he would prefer the criminal trial be heard before a separate civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and scheduled for Aug. 2. But given the size and complexity of the case, he agreed that the criminal case should be heard in the autumn.
18/02/2010

Korean sovereign fund wants to move into alternative management

The Korean sovereign fund Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), which manages about USd30bn in assets, is planning to extend its investments into alternative management, Asian Investor reports. The Korean minister of Finance and Strategy, who has already contributed USD13bn to the fund, may this year make a further commitment of USD5bn. The new assets in the fund would be invested in alternative asset classes, including private equity, real estate, hedge funds, and commodities. The largest allocations would be for private equity. Exposure to alternative management could eventually be in the range of 15% to 20%.
18/02/2010

EGA launches its fifth ETF

Emerging Global Shares Trust (EGA) on Wednesday announced the launch of the China Infrastructure Index ETF (which is traded under the acronym CHXX on NYSE), which the asset management firm says is the first product of its type dedicated to the Chinese infrastructure sector. The portfolio is invested in the 30 largest publicly-traded firms in the country, and the fund aims to replicate the evolution of the INDXX China Infrastructure index. Fees total a net 0.85%. As of 1 February, the five most highly represented sub-sectors were real estate development management (22.73%), metals and mining companies (15.22%), construction and engineering (14.93%), electrical equipment (11.70%), and construction materials (9.37%). The fund is managed by Alps Advisors, and sub-advised by EGA. The portfolio manager is Richard Kang, CIO of EGA. This is the fifth ETF from EGA, following the Emerging Markets Metals & Mining (EMT), Emerging Markets Energy Fund EEO), Emerging Markets Financials (EFN) and Emerging Markets Titans Composite (EEG) funds. EGA is planning to launch at least five more emerging markets ETFs by the end of this year, of which two will be focused on infrastructure in Brazil and India, and three will invest in midcaps (Brazil, China, and India).
18/02/2010

Axa Immoselect redemptions to remain frozen

Axa Investment Managers Deutschland has announced that it will be extending for nine months the freeze on redemptions from its open-ended real estate fund Axa Immoselect (EUR2.84bn). Redemptions were initially suspended for three months, to 17 February 2010 (see Newsmanagers 20 November 2009). Achim Gräfen, manager of the fund and CEO of Axa Investment Managers Deutschland, says that the decision is due to a lack of adequate liquidity to meet redemption demands already received. The Immoselect fund has already been closed to redemptions from 28 October 2008 to 28 August 2009 (see Newsmanagers of 30 December 2008 and 28 August 2009).
18/02/2010

Threadneedle adds to UK equities management team

Chris Kinder, who managed long-only and long/short products at RWC Partners for the past seven years, is joining the UK Equity High Alpha team at Threadneedle as a fund manager. He will work in close collaboration with Mark Westwood on the UK Crescendo fund, as well as on the long-only high alpha range.
18/02/2010

Intelectia launches a cat-bond fund

The Spanish alternative management firm Intelectia Capital is to launch Intelectia Blue, a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Newcits from Adepa AM, which will be specialised in cat-bonds and will aim for performance of 15-20% with volatility of 5-8%, Citywire reports. The fund complies with the UCITS III directive and may also go short.
18/02/2010

Swiss management firms will have to either specialise or merge

Agefi Switzerland reports that increased regulatory pressure in the areas of compliance and management pay scales will transform the terrain in asset management in the next five years. A survey undertaken by Ernst & Young in late 2009 in Switzerland and Liechtenstein reveals that specialists in the sector are opting for specialization in a part of the value chain or on niche products to continue their growth in the future. At the same time, the increased necessity of critical size will result in an increased number of partnerships and mergers between producers and distributors, the auditing agency predicts. The development of presence in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America will be virtually inevitable, while hedge funds, private equity and money markets will see lower inflows for their funds in the next five years, as assets move towards equities, commodities and real estate.
17/02/2010

Skandia réduit les coûts de sa plate-forme

Skandia a présenté le 15 février le modèle commercial de sa plate-forme d’investissement à destination des conseillers financiers, Skandia Investment Solutions. Le groupe souligne que pour être viable, une plate-forme doit maintenir ses coûts et ses marges bénéficiaires à 0,5% par an de l’encours des fonds sous gestion. Dans cette perspective, Skandia a mis en place un plan de transition qui débouchera sur une réduction des coûts d’exploitation d’environ 20% d’ici à la fin 2010. Sur l’ensemble de l’année, quelque 150 postes devraient être supprimés.Skandia souligne qu’il a déjà développé un certain nombre de caractéristiques indispensables pour intéresser et fidéliser les conseillers financiers, en proposant une plate-forme offrant un large choix d’investissements, des outils de back-up dédiés et des coûts limités pour les conseillers et leurs clients. Restait à mettre place un business model susceptible d’intégrer Skandia dans la catégorie des plates-formes à marges limitées.C’est désormais chose faite, estime Nick Poyntz-Wright, directeur général chez Skandia, qui espère ainsi maintenir le leadership de Skandia dans l’univers des plates-formes d’investissement.
17/02/2010

Le président et le directeur général de Barclays refusent leurs rémunérations variables

Pour la deuxième année consécutive, les deux dirigeants de Barclays annoncent ne pas vouloir toucher leurs bonus, rapporte Le Temps. Le président Bob Diamond et le directeur général John Varley «ont informé le conseil d’administration de leur vœu de renoncer» à leurs rémunérations variables. Selon le quotidien suisse, cette décision tranche avec l’attitude de la plupart des autres grandes banquiers. Pratiquement aucun de ces derniers n’a accepté de renoncer à la part variable de leurs rémunérations pour 2009.
17/02/2010

Guggenheim Partners achète Security Benefit

Pour 400 millions de dollars Guggenheim Partners (100 milliards de dollars) achète Security Benefit Corp qui coiffe quatre divisions dont les gestionnaires Security Global Investors et Rydex, qui affichent environ 22 milliards de dollars d’encours.
17/02/2010

JPMorgan double le nombre de ses clients dans les matières premières

En acquérant RBS Sempra, joint-venture entre Royal Bank of Scotland et Sempra Energy pour 1,7 milliard de dollars, JP Morgan reprend les actifs dans l’or et les métaux au niveau international (hors Etats-Unis), ainsi que dans le gaz et l'électricité en Europe, rapporte la Tribune. Elle double ainsi le nombre de ses clients dans ce secteur. Les actifs acquis rejoindront la division Global Commodities, dirigée par Blythe Masters.Devant les risques planant sur les activités de trading pour compte propre des banques aux Etats-Unis - que l’administration Obama souhaite interdire aux banques commerciales - JP Morgan n’a en revanche pas souhaité acheter l’ensemble la société, contrairement à ce qu’elle avait envisagé au départ, ajoute le quotidien.
17/02/2010
Fonds

Les gérants perdent l'argent des clients mais empochent des millions

Le fonds Tetragon Financial Group, coté à Amsterdam, distribue à ses gérants des dizaines voire des centaines de millions de dollars, alors qu’il a accusé des pertes colossales, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. Lancé au printemps 2007, le fonds a vite accumulé 1,5 milliard de dollars et constitué un portefeuille de prêts bancaires. Puis il a perdu environ les deux tiers de sa valeur au pire de 2009. Mais maintenant la valeur de ses actifs remonte. Et le fonds empoche un quart des «gains» enregistrés chaque trimestre, alors qu’il ne fait que regagner les 767 millions de dollars perdues l’année passée, commente le WSJ.
Fonds

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