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02/11/2009

Two former Stark managers found their own firm

Two Hong Kong-based managers from Stark Investment, one of the largest hedge funds in Asia, are founding their own firm, Orchard Capital Partners, the Wall Street Journal reports. Teall Edds and Stu Wilson will invest in debt and private equity operations, an area which Stark is pulling out of in Asia. However, the two managers will retain ties with Stark, through the launch of an equities fund in which the latter business will invest about EUR1bn.
02/11/2009

EQT buys two cable operators

The EQT V Fund from the Swedish firm EQT (Wallenberg family) has acquired 100% of the Bulgarian cable operator Eurocom, and 70% of its competitor CableTel, for EUR200m. The vendors are the private equity investor Warburg Pincus and Gene Phillips, respectively. Ron Finley will remain as a minority shareholder with a 30% stake in CableTel. The two businesses will eventually be merged, to form the largest cable operator in Bulgaria and Macedonia. Investments in networks are planned as well as in new digital television, high definition television, and telephony services.
02/11/2009

Several emerging countries planning to offer diaspora bonds

Les Echos reports that several emerging countries, following the lead of India and Israel, are planning to issue diaspora bonds, or bond issues aimed at their citizens residing abroad. The Philippines and Jamaica, which have significant diaspora populations in high-income countries, are well-positioned to hold successful issues.
02/11/2009

Net subscriptions in October

Following net subscriptions of EUR282m in August and net redemptions of EUR1.56bn in September, funds on sale in Spain have posted net redemptions of EUR800m in October, which represents the best results observed since April 2006, Expansión reports, citing Ahorro Corporación. The strongest subscriptions were to money market funds, diversified funds with the majority of their assets in bonds, and equities funds, which attracted EUR1.2bn. Meanwhile, diversified funds with the majority of their assets in equities and short term bonds saw the heaviest net outflows.
02/11/2009

UBS GAM is not up for sale

John Fraser, chairman of UBS Global Asset Management (GAM), has confirmed to the Financial Times that the bank’s fund management arm is not up for sale. The statement comes as the FT reveals that the Swiss bank last year held discussions with BlackRock over the possible sale of UBS GAM.
02/11/2009

Positive results for Swiss alternative investment firm Altin

The Swiss alternative investment firm Altin has earned positive returns of 11.16% this year, based on estimated performance of its net inventory value (VNI) in the year to 28 October, AGEFI Switzerland reports. Its portfolio is actively managed. Only about 16% of funds controlled by Altin carry one form or another of restriction on redemptions, 4% less than in the previous quarter (20%). This relatively low percentage does not affect Altin’s business as a fixed-capital investment firm (or in other words, a closed fund), as in this capacity it does not face redemption demands. The market value of the business, traded on the London and Swiss stock markets, currently comes to nearly USD240m.
02/11/2009

Commerzbank attacks ETF and certificate markets

Since the beginning of October, Commerzbank has been offering both ETFs and structured participation products in Switzerland. Structured equities and commodities markets are coordinated by Dominique Böhler, while products for institutional investors are under the leadership of Frédéric Arnold. “We are going to avoid leveraged products in order to concentrate on ETFs, under the name ComStage, along with certificates and optimisation products,” Böhler tells Le Temps.
02/11/2009

Losses in K1 scandal may run as high as EUR1bn

German authorities are investigating K1 Group, a hedge fund which managed about USD1bn as of the beginning of this year. It is accused of defrauding several major banks. Barclays, Jp Morgan Chase, BNP Paribas and Société Générale are affected. Barclays stands to lose as much as USD220m in the case, while BNP Paribas could lose USD60m, Le Temps reports.
02/11/2009

Carmignac attracted a net total of more than EUR350m in Europe in October

Edouard Carmignac insisted at a press conference on Thursday in Madrid that redemptions from the management firm in Spain were only a storm in a teacup, Funds People reports. As of the end of September, the Spanish market represented 6% of overall assets at Carmignac Gestion. Since then, EUR450m have flowed out of its funds, one quarter of total assets under management in Spain, and about 2% of assets under management at the firm. In October, however, Carmignac Gestion drew EUR350m in net subscriptions, and in the last week of the month, it saw net inflows in Spain. Responding to critical observations that rapidly increasing assets under management could pose problems of capacity for the funds, Carmignac stated that over the past two years, he has been formatting the firm in a way that will make it able to manage EUR50bn by the end of 2012, a goal which initially surprised his own team, but which the business now looks likely to achieve.
02/11/2009

AllianceBernstein loses 48 accounts

The US asset manager AllianceBernstein lost 48 accounts in the U.K. and Ireland in the first six months of this year, says the Wall Street Journal. They consisted of 17 accounts in the manager’s value strategies worth GBP1.7 billion of assets, and 31 accounts in its blend strategies worth GBP1.3 billion, according to a source familiar with the company.
02/11/2009

Fund industry lost 2.5% of its assets in third quarter

At the end of third quarter 2009, the Chinese fund industry had total assets under management of CNY2.3trn, according to figures from the independent consulting firm Z-Ben Advisors, based in Shanghai. That’s 2.5% less than at the end of the previous quarter. The decline is due to falling Chinese equities markets, which lost 6% of their value in third quarter, and redemptions from bond funds. In terms of performance, QDII funds stood out in third quarter, with gains of 10.6%, compared with losses of 5.1% for the CSI 300 index. In terms of results for the various market actors, Z-Ben Advisors notes that China AMC remains number one. Bank of Communications Schroders has entered the top 10 management firms in terms of assets. New China (formerly New Century), for its part, has surprised the market, advancing from CNY1.2bn to CNY5.4bn under management since the beginning of the year.
02/11/2009

Court hearings over fund fees

Court proceedings begin on Monday in the United States which will have major ramifications for the mutual fund industry. In the case Jones v. Harris Associates, subscribers claim that Harris, an asset management firm based in Chicago with assets under management of about USD50bn, overcharged them on retail funds it runs under the brand name Oakmark, largely because it charged less to its institutional clients, the Financial Times reports. If the courts find in favour of subscribers, fees may be set to fall in the sector.
02/11/2009

Criminal charges against six suspects in Galleon insider trading scandal

In addition to a civil case filed against them by the SEC, the six persons at the centre of an insider trading scandal at Galleon have been charged with criminal offences by the US Attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, the Times reports. In addition to Raj Rajaratnam, the Attorney has filed charges against Robert Moffat, a senior executive at IBM, Raji Goel, managing director of the treasury at Intel Capital, Anil Kumar, a director at McKinsey, and Danielle Chiesi and Mark Kurkland, at the New York hedge fund New Castle Funds.
02/11/2009

Recognized Madoff losses total USD21.2bn

According to the legally appointed liquidator Irving Picard, the total amount of identified losses related to the Madoff scandal now total USD21.2bn, affecting more than 2,300 investors, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The amounts recovered represent USD1.5bn, and the Securities Investors Protection Corp. (SIPC) has reimbursed USD534m to victims.
02/11/2009

Natixis AM receives M1 rating for CDO management

Fitch Ratings has today assigned Natixis Asset Management (NAM) an ‘M1' rating for its management of investment-grade corporate collateralised debt obligations (CDOs). Fitch has simultaneously withdrawn NAM’s ‘CAM1-' CDO asset manager rating for IG corporate CDOs. The rating action follows the implementation of Fitch’s 27 July 2009 criteria for rating credit asset managers.
02/11/2009

Number of management firms showing annual losses rises sharply

In 2008, which was by all accounts an annus horribilis for the financial markets, the number of French management firms with negative results for the year virtually doubled, from 78 in 2007 to 137 in 2008, the French financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) remarks in its report on management for third parties in 2008. Negative results are now a reality for 26.3% of the firms analysed by the regulator. Total operating losses for these firms totalled nearly EUR212m, a rise of 84% compared with 2007. More fragile entrepreneurial management firms represent the majority of firms showing a loss (62%). But their losses remain limited, and total only 27% of total losses of EUR212m. The remainder of the losses (EUR145m) is from portfolio management firms owned by credit establishments. Overall, operating results for portfolio management firms have fallen 34.5% between 2007 and 2008, to EUR2.2bn, though they had risen 13.2% in 2007. Operating margins stand at 18%, 6 points lower than in 2007.
02/11/2009

Macquarie predicts improvement in results

For the first half of its fiscal year to 31 March, net profits at Macquarie fell 21% due to one-time charges of AUD414m, but the group is expecting a strong increase in its results in October-March, so large that its net profits for the fiscal year as a whole may wind up positive by 10%, or AUD480m (EUR294.34m), the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. However, Macquarie is still facing some unrealized capital losses totalling AUD335m, the difference between the book value and the market value of its funds.
02/11/2009

BNP Paribas IP to launch an incubator fund

Agefi Hebdo reports on 29 October that BNP Paribas Investment Partners is planning to launch a fund in early 2010 which will be completely dedicated to financing young asset management firms. The vehicle will be open to institutional investors. Since the launch of the incubation activities at BNP Paribas IP in 2006, as much as EUR150m have been invested, the magazine adds.
02/11/2009

F&C AM increases assets under management despite redemptions

In the three months to 30 September, F&C Asset Management has seen an increase in its assets under management of 12.3% to GBP99.2bn, though it underwent net redemptions of GBP382m in the period. The increase it due to the positive evolution of the markets and favourable movements in currency rates. At a press conference to announce the quarterly results, Alain Grisay, CEO of F&C, announced that his main objective remains organic growth, though he continues to see opportunities for targeted acquisitions. The management firm is also planning to launch new LDI products.
02/11/2009

Nicola Horlick in talks with Aberdeen

According to reports in the Times, Nicola Horlick, head of Bramdean Asset Management, has entered negotiations with Aberdeen Asset Management to sell the rival business its most precious asset, the management of Bramdean Alternatives. It seems that Aberdeen is interested in acquiring only this mandate, and not the entirety of Bramdean AM.
02/11/2009

Fitch wathdraws Asset Manager rating for KBC AM

Fitch Ratings has today withdrawn the ‘M2' asset manager rating assigned to KBC Asset Management (KBC AM), for its asset management activities in Brussels and Luxembourg, due to a lack of sufficient information to maintain the rating. The agency will no longer provide ratings or analytical coverage of KBC AM.
02/11/2009

More fund mergers to come at Henderson New Star

Money Marketing reports that the director of retail development at Henderson New Star, Stewart Cazier, has announced that the management firm is planning to close or merge up to 10 funds in 2010. In the wake of the acquisition of New Star, there are some redundancies in the retail product range, says Cazier.
30/10/2009

Standardisation des coupons de CDS en Asie

L’Association internationale des swaps et dérivés (ISDA) a annoncé le 29 octobre une modification de la convention de négoce sur les CDS au Japon et en Asie hors Japon. Ces modifications incluent la standardisation des coupons dans les transactions de CDS.Il sera ainsi possible de négocier des CDS sur le Japon avec des coupons standardisés de 25 pmoints de base, 100 bp et 500 bp.Des modifications similaires ont déjà été mises en œuvre en Amérique du Nord (avril), en Europe (juin), en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande, sur les marchés émergents au Moyen Orient et en Amérique latine.
30/10/2009

Edouard Carmignac tire à boulets rouges sur Santander et le BBVA

Fondateur de Carmignac Gestion et gérant lui-même, Edouard Carmignac a critiqué durement le Santander et le BBVA, rapporte Expansión. Il a stigmatisé leur attitude comme «préhistorique» parce que les deux grandes banques espagnoles ont retiré récemment ses fonds de la liste des produits qu’elles proposent à leur clientèle. Selon lui, ces deux établissements vendent à présent leurs fonds-maison bien qu’ils offrent une rentabilité moindre pour les souscripteurs.Le journal indique que depuis que Quality, la plate-forme de fonds tiers du BBVA, a publié un rapport voici quelques semaines qui donnait à entendre que Carmignac pourrait rencontrer quelques problèmes du fait de la forte augmentation de son encours, le gestionnaire français a subi des remboursements pour 450 millions d’euros sur les 1,8 milliard d’encours en Espagne. Edouard Carmignac a assuré que cela n’a pas pénalisé les autres porteurs de ses fonds et les deux banques espagnoles ont préféré ne pas faire de commentaires.

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