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10/11/2009

SAC Capital Advisors caught up in insider trading investigation

The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter, that SAC Capital Advisors, one of the largest hedge funds in the United States, is said to be caught up in the major investigation of insider trading on Wall Street now underway. Richard Choo Beng, a witness who is cooperating with investigators, is said to have agreed to provide information to prosecutors about a hedge fund he worked at from 1999 to 2004, which is said to be SAC.
10/11/2009

Buffett sells stakes in rival rail outfits

The Wall Street Journal reports that the director of Burlington Northern Santa Fe has announced that Berkshire Hathaway, the investment fund owned by Warren Buffett, is liquidating its positions in rival rail transport firms Norfolk Souther and Union Pacific. Berkshire is preparing to conclude its acquisition of Burlington Northern.
10/11/2009

UBS turns to Merrill veterans for wealth management

Robert McCann, the new head of wealth management for the United States at UBS, has assembled a team of former Merril Lynch executives to help him bring the unit back to profitability, the Wall Street Journal reports. He announced on Monday that four former Merrill colleagues, including Bob Mulholland and Brian Hull, would join him at UBS. John Brown and Paula Polito will follow.
10/11/2009

Hennessee Hedge Fund index down in October

The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index has fallen 0.50% in October, while the S&P 500 lost 1.98% in the same period, the Hennessee Group reports. Since the beginning of the year, the index now shows growth of 20.12%, compared with 14.72% for the S&P 500. The Hennessee Long/Short Equity Index lost 1.39% in October (+17.07% since the beginning of the year), while the Arbitrage/Event Driven index gained 0.81% (+24.45% since the beginning of the year). Global/Macro stagnated in October, with a loss of 0.12% (+21.15% for the year to the end of October).
10/11/2009

Allianz announces record assets

For third quarter 2009, the Allianz group has published a 143% increase in profits to EUR1.3bn, compared with EUR545m one year ago. The Financial Services division has posted a 22.5% increase in its assets, to EUR1.1bn, for operating profits of EUR332m in the quarter, nearly double their level one year ago. Assets under management for third parties in asset management activities rose by EUR65bn to a total of EUR878bn, a record, the group says, while assets under management for third parties increased by EUR175bn in the first nine months of the year. Bond products were the major driver of this growth, a statement says. Total assets, including tier 1 assets under management, totalled EUR1.175trn as of the end of September. The quarterly report also reveals that in third quarter, operating profits in asset management increased 97.8% compared with their levels in July-September 2008, to a total of EUR368m, compared with EUR246m in April-June, and EUR211m in January-March. Results for July-September include EUR15m in positive currency effects and EUR17m arising from the integration of Cominvest.
10/11/2009

DAB Bank to promote ETFs

In view of the growing interest of clients in ETF products, the private bank DAB Bank is launching a promotion. On its website, at www.dab-bank.de/etf, the bank has assembled a body of informational material about tracker funds. From 9 to 13 November, 60 ETF products from iShares will be available with no management fee, for investments of EUR500 or more, Fondsprofessionell reports.
10/11/2009

Frankfurt-Trust launches an infrastructure fund

Frankfurt-Trust is launching FT Global Infrastructure Diversified, a fund which bets on infrastructure mega-trends. The portfolio, managed by Birgit Ebner, combines shares in businesses active in the transport, procurement, recycling, and communication sectors. There is no geographical limitation on the fund’s investments. However, Frankurt Trust emphasizes that small and midcaps will play a significant role in the portfolio, Fondsprofessionell reports.
10/11/2009

Fitch downgrades Pioneer's AM rating

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Pioneer Investments’ Asset Manager rating to ‘M2' from ‘M2+'. The rating covers Pioneer’s Milan, Dublin, Munich and Boston operations, but excludes the alternative investments division. The downgrade primarily reflects the company’s weakened financial standing and the subsequent adjustment of its corporate strategy, which could adversely impact the organisation. Lower revenues in 2008 and the year to date have resulted from a significant decrease in assets under management, due to declining financial markets over the past 18 month but, more importantly, heavy redemptions recorded in 2008 and H109 (totalling EUR54.9bn excluding the alternative investment division). As a result, Pioneer has embarked on a «repositioning project» to align the cost base to the lower level of AuM and to stabilise asset flows. In Fitch’s view, Pioneer’s major strategic shift to grow organically (versus the previous acquisition-based global growth strategy) and ongoing challenges in the investment industry may increase the risk of a redesign of the company and its strategy, with impact on numerous areas, including staffing.
10/11/2009

Strong growth in assets at Julius Baer

On Tuesday, the Julius Baer group announced that as of the end of October, assets under management for clients had risen 22% compared with the beginning of this year, to CHF234bn. Assets under management (AUM) incrased 17% to CHF150bn, excluding the acquisition of ING Bank (Switzerland), which will be concluded only in first quarter 2010. Performance improved for most asset classes, while currency effects were neutral overall. Net subscriptions evolved favourably in all regions, but at a slower pace than in first quarter. Julius Baer notes, however, that “the more tense regulatory environment in some European countries” led some clients to reallocate their assets. In addition, the Julius Baer group has begun a gradual withdrawal from the United States retail market.
10/11/2009

Lone Star cuts fees in bid to raise money

John Grayken, the head of real-estate private-equity group Lone Star Funds, wants to raise USD20 billion to distressed debt. To get the money, Mr. Grayken is cutting some of his fees by more than 50%.
10/11/2009

Helmut Kiener denied bail

The Würzburg public prosecutor’s office has refused to release Helmut Kiener, the founder of the hedge fund K1 Global Sub Trust, accused of defrauding Barclays and BNP Paribas of EUR280m, on bail, Handelsblatt reports. Kiener had offered to post a bail of EUR500,000, but the court found that he presented a risk of flight and of destruction of evidence. The public prosecutor has refused to grant Kiener diplomatic immunity, which he claimed as a representative of Guinea-Bissau.
10/11/2009

"Flat" October for hedge funds

On the basis of results published by 71% of funds in the sample, the Credit Suisse/Tremont hedge fund index appears to show growth of only 0.17% in October, compared with 3.04% in September. Since the beginning of the year, average performance thus comes to 15.16%. Of 14 strategies and sub-strategies, only three finished the month in negative territory: equity market neutral, with -0.53%, and long/short equity, with -1.18%, while the heaviest losses (-2.23%) were from managed futures. However, equity short bias showed gains of 5.53%. For the first ten months of the year, the strongest performance is for convertibles arbitrage (45.64%), while the heaviest losses (18.53%) are from equity short bias.
10/11/2009

SG Private Banking appoints staff in Middle East

To build its personnel in the Middle East, SG Private Banking, the wealth management arm of the Société Générale group, has announced the appointment of Eddy Abramo, CEO of SG Private Banking (Middle East), and Eric Lorentz, director in charge of Arab high net worth clients. Abramo, 37, will pursue the private bank’s growth strategy in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and will oversee the development of the range of products and services aimed at Arab and Indian high net worth clients, SG Private Banking states. Lorentz, 49, will be based in the United Arab Emirates, and will direct and coordinate marketing and sales activities aimed at Arab clients at SG Private Banking offices in Europe and the Middle East.
10/11/2009

SWIP appoints a director of fixed income

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has appointed Andrew Tunks as interim director of fixed income. He was most recently head of fixed income and global macro at Old Mutual. Dean Buckley, managing director of SWIP, said: «The newly created position of director of fixed income illustrates SWIP’s commitment to the fixed income sector. Over the coming weeks more than GBP20 billion fixed income assets will transfer from Insight to SWIP, bringing our fixed income assets under management to more than GBP65 billion».
10/11/2009

Former head of Lehman Brothers AM hired by Nemesis

Nemesis Asset Management has appointed Robert Sargent, former CEO and Business Head of Lehman Brothers Asset Management (Europe, Middle East & Africa), as the Head of Asset Management in the UK. He will be based in Nemesis Asset Management’s London offices and will report to Pier-Alberto Furno, CEO of the Group. Nemesis Asset Management together with Nemesis SAM have approximately USD400m in client assets under management. The firm, first established as a joint venture with Lehman in 2004 - when it was called Furno and Del Castaño Capital Partners (FCCP) - provides active equity investment services, principally to high net worth individuals and family offices. Immediately after Lehman Brothers’ collapse, Pier-Alberto Furno bought Lehmans’ share in the joint venture.
10/11/2009

Miles Geldard leaves RWC Partners

Miles Geldard, a specialist in convertibles, has left RWC Partners, which he joined in 2006, to launch his own convertible activities, Citywire reports. Geldard, who was previously at JP Morgan Asset Management, managed funds including the RWC Global Convertibles fund (EUR1.3bn), which, since its launch in January 2006, has posted returns of 9.8% (Lipper data), compared with 2% for the UBS Global Focus Convertible index. RWC has also recently launched a distressed convertibles fund managed by Geldard and Lee Manzi. The two funds will now be co-managed by Manzi and Grant Webster.
10/11/2009

Ignis AM and Axial IM merge

Ignis Asset Management and Axial Investment Management, both owned by the insurer Pearl Group, have merged, and will now conduct their activities under the single brand name Ignis. The group represents a total of GBP71bn in assets. A statement says that the merger will make it possible to add to the fixed income team at Ignis, and that a high alpha product is under study. Funds of hedge funds, which are currently managed exclusively for Pearl Group clients, may also be opened to institutionals.
10/11/2009

Several candidates to acquire RBS asset management

Royal Bank of Scotland is reported to have received several offers for its asset management activities, which have total assets of about GBP30bn. According to the Times, BlackRock, Neuberger Berman and Aberdeen Asset Management, which has recently acquired Nationwide Funds, are said to be interested. The names of Schroders and Henderson have also borne mention. According to the newspaper, the asset management unit of RBS is valued at between GBP250m and GBP300m.
10/11/2009

K1 founder accuses banks of "witch hunt"

Helmut Kiener, the founder of the hedge fund K1, facing charges of fraud, claims that Barclays and other investors are leading a “witch hunt” against him to detract attention from their own mistakes, the Financial Times reports. In a written appeal for release from prison, obtained by the Financial Times, Keiner’s lawyer claims that his client is guilty of poor investment decisions at worst.
10/11/2009

Commodities markets prey to speculation

The prices of natural resources are continuing to rise or remain at high levels as industrial conjuncture begins to recover, the newspaper Les Echos observes. Investors in search of diversification are generating significant speculative demand for these resources. Professor Nouriel Roubini recently estimated that prices in the commodities sector rose too far, too fast. “Fundamentals are improving, and we are entering a global recovery” phase, he claimed, which would justify a rise in the price of oil from USD30 to USD50, but not more. The extra USD30 in the current price of USD80 is solely due to demand fed by speculation, he says.
10/11/2009

Skandia lance une offre de gestion pilotée

Destinée aux conseillers en gestion de patrimoine indépendants et à leurs clients, la nouvelle offre de gestion pilotée de Skandia, Skandia Perspectives, est une option accessible à la souscription ou en cours de contrat à partir de 30.000 euros. Elle permet de diversifier ses investissements en les répartissant sur le fonds en euros ACMN Sélection Rendement pour une part maximale de 50% et sur une orientation de gestion proposée par l’un des gérants partenaires, permettant ainsi selon Skandia de bénéficier du savoir-faire en allocation d’actifs des sociétés de gestion, parmi lesquelles Generali Investments, DNCA Finance, Primonial FundQuest, CPR Asset Management et OFI Asset Management.
10/11/2009

Perial distribue la SCPI Scellier Domivalor 4

Perial Placements a annoncé le 9 novembre qu’il s’est associé à Immovalor, la filiale du groupe Allianz, pour distribuer une SCPI Scellier, Domivalor 4. La SCPI Domivalor 4 investit dans un patrimoine diversifié afin de limiter les risques de vacance locative et de marché. «En sélectionnant Domivalor 4, nous permettons à nos partenaires privilégiés d’accéder au savoir-faire d’Immovalor en matière de SCPI fiscales. Appliquer le dispositif Scellier à une SCPI permet de bénéficier des avantages fiscaux de ce dispositif et de profiter des avantages des SCPI. » souligne Alexandre Claudet, Directeur Général Délégué de Perial Placements.
10/11/2009

AlphaValue lance un service d'analyse financière dédié aux particuliers

Le bureau d’analyse financière indépendant AlphaValue a annoncé le 9 novembre le lancement d’un service d’analyse financière accessible aux investisseurs individuels en Europe.Initialement conçue pour une clientèle d’investisseurs professionnels (gérants de fonds, hedge funds, directions financières, directions fusions-acquisitions…), l’offre d’analyse a été adaptée aux besoins spécifiques des investisseurs individuels et est diffusée, exclusivement par abonnement, via le site internet http://www.alphavalue.com/.AlphaValue souligne que la novation du service consiste à aller au-delà de l’approche classique de l’analyse fondamentale de sociétés considérées individuellement, pour permettre des comparaisons multi-critères et inter-entreprises dans un environnement européen.
10/11/2009
Fonds

Le FCP Montbleu Etoiles va recevoir le label diversum

Le fonds commun de placement Montbleu Etoiles va recevoir le 12 novembre prochain le label diversum qui atteste qu’une part significative (25 % au moins de l’actif net) du fonds est investie en titres d’entreprises ayant un impact favorable sur l’environnement culturel. Montbleu Finance fait partie des premières sociétés de gestion de portefeuille indépendantes à être récompensées par le label diversum dédié aux placements financiers.
Fonds
10/11/2009

Fitch dégrade la note AM de Pioneer

Fitch Ratings a dégradé la note Asset Manager de Pioneer Investments de M2+ à M2, couvrant les activités de la société de gestion du groupe UniCredit à Milan, Dublin, Munich et Boston, mais exclut la gestion alternative.Cette baisse reflète principalement l’affaiblissement de la situation financière de la société et les ajustements qui s’en sont suivis en termes de stratégie, lesquels pourraient avoir un impact sur son organisation. L’agence de notation rappelle que Pioneer a vu ses encours sous gestion baisser fortement en 2008 et 2009, à 157,6 milliards d’euros à fin juin, en raison de la chute des marchés et de lourds rachats, notamment en Italie et en Allemagne. Les sorties ont totalisé 54,9 milliards d’euros en 2008 et au premier semestre 2009.Résultat, la société de gestion s’est lancée dans un «repositionnement» afin d’aligner ses coûts au niveau plus faible des encours et de stabiliser les flux. Pour Fitch, la décision de Pioneer de croître de manière organique, alors que précédemment elle avait une stratégie d’acquisitions, et les défis du secteur de la gestion d’actifs, pourraient accroître le risque d’une redéfinition de la société et de sa stratégie, ce qui aura un impact sur de nombreux domaines, y compris le personnel.
10/11/2009

Stockholm vend des pharmacies à des capital-investisseurs

466 pharmacies de la chaîne Apoteket sur un total de 946 ont été vendues par l’Etat suédois pour 6 milliards de couronnes (578 millions d’euros) à un consortium composé des capital-investisseurs suédois Altor, Segulah et Investor ainsi qu’à une co-entreprise du grossiste en pharmacie finlandais Oriala et de la coopérative suédoise KF, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Apoteket a réalisé en 2008 un bénéfice net de 90 millions d’euros pour un CA de 4 milliards.
10/11/2009

T. Rowe Price Group se renforce en Inde

Selon Bloomberg, T. Rowe Price Group, qui gère 366,2 milliards de dollars d’actifs (242,2 milliards d’euros), vient de prendre une participation de 26 % dans UTI Asset Management, la plus ancienne société de gestion indienne, qui dispose de 768,5 milliards de roupies d’actifs (10,06 milliards d’euros). Depuis cinq ans, le montant des actifs sous gestion au sein des fonds indiens a été multiplié par cinq.
10/11/2009

SG Private Banking se renforce au Moyen-Orient

Afin de renforcer son dispositif au Moyen-Orient, SG Private Banking, la ligne métier de gestion de fortune du groupe Société Générale, vient d’annoncer la nomination d’Eddy Abramo, directeur général de SG Private Banking (Middle East), et d’Eric Lorentz, directeur en charge de la clientèle fortunée arabe.Eddy Abramo, 37 ans, poursuivra la stratégie de croissance de la banque privée à Bahreïn, Abu Dhabi et Dubaï, précise SG Private Banking, et supervisera notamment le développement de l’offre de produits et de services destinée aux particuliers fortunés arabes et indiens. Basé aux Emirats Arabes Unis, Eric Lorentz, 49 ans, dirigera et coordonnera les activités marketing et commerciales à destination de la clientèle arabe des bureaux de SG Private Banking en Europe et au Moyen Orient.

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