Recherche
S'abonner
Connexion
Asset Management
Accueil Asset Management Actualités
23/09/2009

Changes ahead in capital of Atlas

Funds People relays reports in Negocio that the managing partners of Atlas Capital Gestión, León Benelbas, Pablo Cervera and Moisés Israel, are currently negotiating a sale of their 31% stake in the affiliate of Daiwa Securities, the former Atlas Capital Close Brothers. It remains to be seen whether Julius Baer, currently a minority shareholder, will retain its stake or not.
23/09/2009

La Caixa takes over management of Gas Natural and Fenosa pension funds

Vidacaixa, an affilaite of La Caixa, will become the manager of the pension funds of Gas Natural (EUR56m and 3,300 members) and Unión Fenosa (EUR295m and 3,912 members), Expansión reports. Previously, the funds were managed by BBVA and Santander, respectively. The Catalunian savings bank will become the depositary for the two funds. The transfer will take place with the agreement of the unions, which are strongly represented on the supervisory baords of both funds [Fenosa has been merged into Gas Natural -ed]. The managers concerned in the reorganisation are the three largest managers of pension funds in Spain. In this area, BBVA manages EUR6.55bn, with a market share of 23.22%, while La Caixa manages EUR4.62bn or 16.13%. Santander, which has a highly selective policy, has EUR1.07bn in assets and a market share of 3.73%.
23/09/2009

Fidelity completes rationalisation of multi-management product range

Investment Week reports that Fidelity is in the process of concluding a rationalisation of its multi-management product range, with the closure of the FundsNetwork PortfolioManager line of products. The group will retain the PortfolioManager Balanced fund, which will be renamed MultiManager Balanced. Fidelity is also planning to merge the MM Distribution fund (GBP29m) into the MM Income (GBP124m). Fidelity had previously announced that it would be closing its entire offshore multi-manager product range by the end of 2009, and that it would be reducing the number of onshore funds from five to three.
23/09/2009

Absolute Return Partners launches an energy fund

In response to growing demand on the part of investors for uncorrelated and liquid alternative management products, Absolute Return Partners (ARP) will launch an energy fund entitled NEAS Power Fund on 1 October. The fund will trade futures, forwards and options on carbon emissions certificates and complex energy commodities (carbon, gas, and petrol). More than 95% of the shares traded will be listed on the two main Europeanenergy trading markets, Nordpool and EEX. NE Capital Management, an affiliate of the Danish energy specialist firm Nordjysk Elhandel (NEAS), will be responsible, as sub-investment manager, for the day-to-day management of the portfolio.
23/09/2009

Campbell Soup signs up to UN Global Compact

The United States group Campbell Soup announced on 21 September that it has signed up to the United Nations Global Compact, reinforcing its commitment to social and environmental responsibility at businesses.
23/09/2009

Natixis: Sébastien Clerc appointed head of management for outside clients

Sébastien Clerc has been appointed head of management for outside clients at the Natixis financing and investment bank. Since 2005 he had been global head of project financing. Axel Richer has also joined the management for outside clients team, and will be in charge of management of debt funds. He previously served as deputy head of project financing.
23/09/2009

Société Générale announces Ambition plan

According to the Financial Times, Société Générale is planning to launch a program next year entitled SG Ambition 2015. The five-year plan will involve significant cost and risk controls, and will privilege private banking activities to the detriment of trading. The plan also aims to reduce errors and unauthorised risk-taking in market activities before they occur, and to turn thepage on the Kerviel scandal.
23/09/2009

A female head for French family office association

Josée Sulzer has been elected as president of the AFFO (Association Française du Family Office), an independent association founded in 1901 which includes both single and multi-family family offices, as well as professional partners of the family office professions. Sulzer succeeds Bernard Camblain, who becomes honorary president of the association. Sulzer, who joined the Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault (GIMD), the holding company for the Groupe Dassault, the Dassault family business, in 1994, serves as director of financial affairs and participations, and is also a member of the board at Immobilière Dassault, the group’s publicly-traded real estate firm. She also has several mandates from various asset management and realty management firms. The AFFO, founded in 2001, aims to work on current and future issues in the professionalisation of the family office profession through dedicated commissions, according to a statement.
23/09/2009

Marc Coustet becomes head of distribution at Aliénor Capital

Aliénor Capital on 22 September announced the arrival of Marc Coustet as director of distribution. He will be in charge of relations with professional clients, and particularly with independent financial advisers. Coustet previously had commercial development responsibilities in the automotive industry, particularly at the European industrial vehicle manufacturer ICA International.
23/09/2009

European regulator: Mervyn King a favourite for number two post on board

Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, has emerged as the leading candidate to become deputy of a European board tracking the stability of financial institutions and coordinating risk supervision by national bank regulators, the Financial Times reports. The new body will be chaired by Jean-Claude Trichet.
23/09/2009

Recovery in upmarket real estate

L’Agefi Switzerland reports that professionals estimate that the international high end real estate market, which was paralyzed last year by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, is beginning to recover, thanks to vendors who have become more reasonable with their asking prices, and buyers tempted by the spectacular fall in prices. Fabienne Lenfant, director of the London office of the real estate firm Barnes, says the climate has become considerably warmer since April. “Transactions involving top quality properties have picked back up after six months of net downturn,” she says, as clients have been encouraged by prices that have fallen about 30% since their peaks in summer 2007, and the fall of the British pound (which is now worth only about EUR1.10, compared with EUR1.50 in mid-2007), which has brought in many foreign buyers.
23/09/2009

Allianz calls off plans for New York IPO

The German insurer Allianz announced on 22 September that it will be calling off plans for an initial public offering on the New York stock exchange. Allianz will also be withdrawing from the London, Paris and Milan stock exchanges, as well as the Swiss stock market, the firm says in a statement. The German group “has informed the New York Stock Exchange, the operator of the New York market, of its plans to voluntarily cancel listing of its American Depositary Shares (ADS) and bonds,” according to a statement. Allianz says it plans to concentrate “on the Frankfurt platform, which has stronger liquidity,” as in recent years, “a good deal less than 5% of transactions on Allianz shares have taken place on foreign markets, though about 70% of shares in the firm are held by foreign investors.”
23/09/2009

Risk management to integrate advances in behavioural finance

The recent financial turbulence has shown that the traditional economy does not have an appropriate awareness of the real life of the markets, and the potential impact of the markets on portfolios, according to a study by the Bank of New York Mellon and Investor Analytics. The study, entitled “Tomorrow’s Risk Management: How behavioural economics, cognitive studies and complexity science add up to more than their own sum,” suggests that the lessons of behavioural finance research show that humans develop a high aversion to risk when it creates potential to earn gains, though they develop an immoderate taste for risk when this causes losses. Not only the irrationality of the investor, but also the way in which these behaviours affect the decision-making process, must be taken into account. By integrating these elements, risk management may be completely transformed in the future, and may offer a much more relevant grid for the analysis of portfolio risks.
23/09/2009

French government announces puts Swiss banks in the clear

L’Agefi Switzerland reports that the French budget minister, Eric Woerth, on 22 September announced that Swiss banks with operations in France are not the source of a list of 300 French residents with accounts not declared to the French tax authorities, in a denial of previous reports in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, which claimed that France had obtained the names of the 3000 French taxpayers from the French affiliates of three Swiss banks, including Credit Suisse.
23/09/2009

French government signs tax agreement with Andorra

The French Budget minister, Eric Woerth, on 22 September singed an agreement to share taxation information with Andorra. ‘The signing of this agreement allows each of the parties involved to realise their ambition to deploy international principles of transparency and exchange of information,” according to a statement. The signature of the agreement between France and Andorra follows an internal Andorran move to comply with transparency principles in early September.
23/09/2009

EEX and Eurex launch new carbon emissions futures contracts

The European Energy Exchange (EEX) in Leipzig and Eurex (Deutsche Börse group) are planning to extend their range of futures contracts on European Emmission Allowance (EUA) and Certified Emissions Reduction (CER) carbon emissions rights, with maturity and delivery dates modified to better meet the requirements of market actors. Currently, EUX and CER futures mature on the last trading day of November, with delivery in the first trading day of December. In the future, there will be another maturity date in mid-December, which will bring the EEX/Eurex market into line with other CO2 markets.
23/09/2009

Tax evader sues LGT

A German citizen who admits to tax evasion is suing the LGT Bank in a Liechtenstein court in Vaduz, for EUR13m in damages and interest. According to Financial Times Deutschland, the plaintiff accuses the bank owned by the Liechtenstein royal family of failing to inform him of a case of data theft to which it fell victim, which led to the spectacular opening of investigations in 2008 of about 700 German tax fraudsters. The real estate sector entrepreneur reveals that he was not able to turn himself in to the German tax authorities under an amnesty program, and that he was sentenced to pay EUR7.5m in fines, and to two years in prison under a suspended sentence. The hearing will be held this Wednesday. If the plaintiff wins this case, many others may follow.
23/09/2009

CIC acquires 15% stake in Noble

The sovereign fund China Investment Corp (CIC) has acquired a stake of about 15% in Noble Group Ltd, a commodity trading group based in Hong Kong and listed in Singapore, which is planning to make new acquisitions in the agricultural sector with fresh capital, for about USD850m, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The operation will involve the issue of 438 million shares, and the acquisition of 135 million shares from the founder, Richard Elman. In 2008, Noble earned revenues of about USD36bn, which fell to USD13.3bn in the first half of 2009. In August, CIC announced that 87.4% of its assets of USD297.5bn were still held in the form of liquidity. The sovereign fund is reported to be in negotiations to acquire a stake in the American firm AES Corp., a builder of power stations.
23/09/2009

EasyETF launches another volley of ten funds on Xetra

BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) on Tuesday listed ten French-registered EasyETF funds covering European, Euro zone and United States businesses and the Euro money market on the XTF segment of the Xetra platform from Deutsche Börse. The XTF segment now lists 496 ETF products. The products added to the listings in Frankfurt include the EasyETF DJ STOXX 600 Double Short (0.60% fees), EURO STOXX 50 Double Short (0.50%), EURO STOXX 50 (A Share), with 0.25% fees, like the EURO STOXX 50 (B Share). The STOXX 50 Europe (A Share) and the STOXX 50 Europe (B Share) carry 0.30% management commissions.
23/09/2009

EFA and BCEE win administration mandate for first Islamic money market fund

The Bank of London and Middle east (BLME) has mandated European Fund Administration S.A. (EFA) and the Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat (BCEE) for administrative and depository banking services for the first European money market fund to comply with Sharia law, which has been launched in Luxembourg. The BLME Umbrella Fund Sicav-SIF, created with capital of more than USD50m, invested in a diversified portfolio of top quality Islamic money market products such as Murabahas (trading contracts), Sukuks (Islamic equivalents of bonds), and Ijaras (rental contracts for assets). In order to serve BLME and respond to the rapid growth of the Islamic finance market, EFA has adapted its accounting and transfer agency tools and has set up a special training program for its dedicated teams.
23/09/2009

Funds with disappointing performance in 2008 struggle to find subscribers

Some prominent mutual funds have made spectacular comebacks this year, says the Wall Street Journal. Fidelity Magellan, Legg Mason Value Trust and Dodge & Cox International Stock are among the funds beating the markets again. But investors aren’t following and many funds still are losing clients.
23/09/2009

Merrill Lynch to launch 12 retail hedge funds

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is to launch 12 more retail hedge funds, on top of the York Event-Driven Ucits Fund it announced yesterday. So reports Ignites Europe.Eric Personne, EMEA head of the fund solutions group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, says the bank’s target is to have around 15 funds and at least USD2bn in assets under management from its Ucits-compliant Luxembourg Sicav called Merrill Lynch Investment Solutions.
22/09/2009

"Nous avons ouvert le portefeuille à de nouveaux secteurs"

Outre ses fonctions dirigeantes chez Private Capital Management, Michael Feldman est le spécialiste produit du fonds Nordea 1 – North American Value Fund. Il revient en détail sur ses caractéristiques et nous donne également son sentiment sur l'évolution des marchés financiers...
22/09/2009

Impax AM recrute comme patron du commercial un ancien de New Star

John Mc Donald, qui était «head of alternative sales & marketing» chez New Star Asset Management, a rejoint Impax Asset Management comme «head of sales & marketing». C’est un poste nouvellement créé qui doit permettre de mieux coordonner la distribution des produits long only, des hedge funds et des produits de private equity de la gamme Impax (1,8 milliard de dollars d’encours).
22/09/2009
Fonds

Ezra Sun va gérer un fonds Chine L/S pour Veritas

Veritas Asset Management annonce pour début octobre le lancement d’un fonds acheteur/vendeur (long/short) focalisé sur la Chine et conforme à la directive OPCVM III. Ce Veritas China confié au gérant vedette Ezra Sun, qui est responsable des stratégies Asie de Veritas, est censé générer une performance annuelle de 15-20 % sur le long terme. La capacité du nouveau produit est plafonnée à 500 millions de dollars. L’objectif sera de limiter la volatilité à la moitié de celle du marché des actions chinois en fonction de l’indice SMCI Zhong Hua.
Fonds
22/09/2009

Ignis AM recrute encore un ancien de New Star

Ignis Asset Management qui affiche un encours de 74 milliards d’euros vient de recruter Rob Page en tant que directeur marketing. Il rejoindra la société de gestion britannique début 2010 et aura notamment pour mission de developer la marque Ignis AM. Rob Page vient de Liontrust, où il était responsable de la promotion des fonds aux investisseurs professionnels et aux conseillers au Royaume-Uni et en Europe. Mais surtout, jusqu’au début de 2008, il s’occupait du marketing chez New Star. C’est la onzième personne de New Star - racheté par Henderson - qui rejoint Ignis AM. La société de gestion, qui détient notamment les boutiques Argonaut et Hexam, procède à de nombreux recrutements actuellement. Elle a récemment intégré l’ancienne équipe commerciale européenne de New Star, composée de 5 personnes, pour piloter son développement en Europe continentale. Cette équipe s’est tout dernièrement étoffée via le recrutement de 4 personnes supplémentaires.
22/09/2009
Fonds

Kadhafi retire 5 milliards de dollars de Genève

Les tensions politiques entre la Suisse et la Libye commencent à coûter cher à Genève. Mouammar Khadafi ferme la succursale locale du fonds souverain Libyan Investment Authority, rapporte le Tages-Anzeiger de Zurich, relayant le magazine professionnel Private Banking. LAP Swiss gérait depuis 2006 une partie du Libyan African Portfolio (40 milliards de dollars). Tripoli retire ainsi 5 milliards de dollars. LAP Swiss détient des participations dans plusieurs pays africains, dans l’hôtellerie, la finance, la communication, la production de pétrole et de gaz ainsi que dans le transport aérien. Déjà en 2008, d’après les statistiques de la BNS, les avoirs libyens auprès de banques suisses ont été réduits de 628 millions de francs, à 5,12 milliards.
Fonds
22/09/2009
Fonds

Credit Suisse lance un compartiment mixte en fonds indiciels

Selon L’Agefi suisse, le compartiment CSF Mixta-LPP Index 45, qui sera lancé le 1er octobre, propose une allocation d’actifs complète réalisée exclusivement avec des instruments passifs. Nommé d’après sa part en actions de référence (45%), il investit dans six catégories d’actifs différentes: actions suisses (18%), étrangères (27%), obligations suisses (25%), en monnaies étrangères (10%), indexées sur inflation (15%), immobilier suisse (5%). L’investissement dans des fonds répliquant passivement la performance de l’indice de référence réduit fortement les frais de gestion, qui se montent à 0,78%.
Fonds
22/09/2009

Sarasin boucle son augmentation de capital

Mardi, la Banque Sarasin a annoncé qu'à l’expiration du délai d’exercice des options cash ou titres (COTO) le 15 septembre, 99,9 % de ces droits ont été exercés par les actionnaires, dont l’actionnaire majoritaire Rabobank, pour souscrire de nouvelles actions nominatives. Au 16 septembre, le capital se montait à plus de 22,01 millions de francs. Le 7 juillet 2009, un COTO A ou un COTO B a été attribué à chaque ancienne action nominative A ou B de la Banque Sarasin. Depuis le 16 septembre 2009, Rabobank détient via IPB Holding B.V. la totalité des 56 571 428 actions nominatives A et 17 660 881 actions nominatives B, ce qui correspond à 68,6% des droits de vote et à une participation de 46,1% au capital de la Banque Sarasin & Cie SA.

Sujets d'actualité

Tous les sujets