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14/09/2009

The Hartford reorganizes distribution

The Hartford Financial Services Group has announced the creation of a new structure, Hartford Life Distributors (HLD), which will handle sales and distribution for its investment and retirement products. This will result in a centralisation of internal and external sales units, marketing and support teams, and groups for strategic client assistance and the development of mutual funds, 401 (K) products and university savings programs (529). These activities represented USD25bn in deposits in the 12 months to 30 June, and currently employ a sales force of 240 focused on these areas. HLD will be headed by Kevin Connor, executive vice president, who was previously head of marketing, client assistance and development for investment and retirement products.
14/09/2009

Nils Bolmstrand takes over as head of SIG

Skandia Investment Group (SIG, about GBP50bn in assets) on Friday announced the appointment of Nils Bomstrand, who was previously head of products, distribution and international relations with managers, as VEO, effective immediately. The appointment follows the resignation of Jamie McLeod, who founded Skandia Investment Management seven years ago. SIG was created in October 2007.
14/09/2009

SEC proposals for money market fund rules draw lively criticism

The US Chamber of Commerce and 20 businesses have denounced plans by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to limit the categories of debt instruments which may be bought by money market funds, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a letter to the market regulator, companies including Avon Products and Disney express their opposition to a proposal that money market funds should purchase only the best-rated shares. “In many cases, the reduced financial flexibility and the increased cost of capital may have a negative impact on investors in these firms, which may have an impact on the consumer,” the letter claims.
14/09/2009

10 ETFs which have yet to be invented

The ETF Database website suggests a list of ten ETF funds which do not yet exist, and which would be interesting to launch. These include products focused on Poland, Egypt and Ireland, funds specialised in corporate bonds but focused on sectors or duration, and an alternative ETF based on inflation-indexed bonds. The others are an active ETF which replicates the management of Bill Gross (Pimco), an “ultra risk, ultra-aggressive” fund, a fund focused on currencies other than the US dollar, funds focused on the automotive sector and a long-term leveraged product.
14/09/2009

Lyxor hedge fund index up less than others

The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index has posted a monthly advance of 0.94% and growth of 4.21% since the beginning of the year. These results are considerably lower than those of the HFR, Hennessee or Barclay indexes, with the difference that these results include those of the Lyxor (Société Générale group) platform and the performance of “investable” funds. In the first eight months of the year, emerging markets and long-term CTAs have posted losses of 6.93% and 7.72%, respectively, with the largest net loss for dedicated short bias strategies, at -21.71%. The best results, however, have been for long/short equity (22.25%) and credit arbitrage (34.7%).
14/09/2009

Auditing of accounts: EU proposes cooperation agreements with Canada, Japan and Switzerland

The European Commission on 11 September unveiled a draft resolution which, recognizing the adequation of the relevant authorities in member countries in compliance with the directive related to legal review of accounts, would allow member states to exchange audit documents with Canada, Japan, and Switzerland. The adequation clause grants the ability for authorities of a country outside the European Union to meet requirements set out by article 47 of the directive on legal control of accounts, and then to conclude reciprocal agreements over the operational details with supervisory audit organisations in member states for an exchange, between qualified authorities, of audit documents or other pertinent documents, so long as they preserve the confidentiality of all documents of this type which the non-EU government authority would receive from EU member states.
14/09/2009

Catella launches a "healthcare" real estate fund

Catella Real Estate is launching the first open-ended real estate fund in Germany to be specialised in properties in the health sector (clinics, medical centres, retirement homes, offices and logistics for the health sector). The Focus HealthCare (FHC) fund will invest in Germany as its first priority, and its objective is to achieve EUR1bn by the end of 2014, with investments in properties valued at EUR5m-EUR30m. The performance objective for the fund is 5-6% per year. Minimal subscription is set at EUR20,000, and redemptions are limited to EUR50,000 per day, until the 5th month. Management commissions are 1.25%, and the withdrawal penalty is 1%. The first three investments have been made in Northern Germany, Bavaria, and Austria, for an amount totalling EUR53m.
14/09/2009

Pension funds have generated 6.8% per year since 1985

The association of Belgian pension institutions (ABIP or BVPI) reports that pension funds in the country have posted annual performance of 6.79% from 1985 until the end of second quarter 2009, which corresponds to 4.59% in real terms. On the basis of results published by 50 funds with total assets of EUR7.7bn, which represents 63% of the market, the weighted average performance of Belgian pension funds in first half was 4.21%. The average portfolio was 48% invested in bonds, 30% in equities, and 8% in real estate.
14/09/2009

High net worth clients take profits on equity markets

In second quarter, the Ibex index of the Spanish stock market gained 25.24%. And high net worth investors such as Alicia Koplowitz, Ram Bhavnani and the Del Pino family took the occasion to reduce the proportion of Spanish equities in the portfolios of their 20 Sicav funds, Cinco Días reports. As of the end of June, equities represent only EUR163.4m, 20% less than at the end of March, despite gains on equities markets between the beginning of April and the end of June. Money withdrawn from equities markets has been invested either in cash or in bonds.
14/09/2009

Second record in a row for ETF assets

Assets under management in ETFs in Europe increased by USD9.1bn in August, to USD192.1bn. This is their second consecutive all-time record according to Barclays Global Investors (BGI). Since the beginning of the year, assets have increased by 34.7%, and the number of funds on offer has increased by 18.8%, with 141 new ETFs, to a total of 751 products, listed 1,889 times on 19 stock markets. iShares (BGI) remains the largest actor by far in this market, with 158 ETFs and assets of USD76.32bn as of the end of August, which represents a market share of 39.7%. Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) is in second place, with 100 funds, assets of USD39.71bn, and a 20.7% market share, and then db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank), with 105 ETFs and assets of USD31.19bn, and a market share of 16.2%. BGI adds that, according to Lipper FMI, net inflows in first half to ETFs domiciled in Europe have totalled USD15.2bn.
14/09/2009

Analysts' portfolios outperform funds

Stock picks from brokers can help investors to outperform most funds, a GLG study relayed by the Financial Times finds. On the basis of a list of daily recommendations by European brokers over the past four years, the hedge fund firm shows that a portfolio which followed analysts’ tips and bought the shares in question over a three-months period would have outperformed funds by 75%.
14/09/2009

Harvard and Yale endowments show heavy losses

In the fiscal year ending 30 June, assets in the Harvard and Yale endowments fell respectively by USD36.9bn to USD26bn, and by USD22.9bn to USD16bn, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Harvard estimates losses on its financial market operations at 27%, and the endowment has decided to maintain a liquidity reserve of 2% of its assets in future, rather than borrowing to augment its securities portfolio. Other well-known university endowments are also showing heavy losses, including the endowments of Stanford, Princeton, and MIT.
14/09/2009

Larger pension funds have withstood the shocks of 2008 better

According to a survey by the consulting firm Watson Wyatt and the specialised journal Pensions & Investments of 300 major pension funds in 30 countries, published on 7 September, the 20 largest pension funds on the planet saw a decline in their assets of 4.1% to USD4.2bn in 2008, compared with a 13% decline, to USD10.4bn, for 300 pension institutions overall. Watson Wyatt suggests that “due to their size, the very large pension funds have an advantage in terms of governance and the decision-making process, which allows them to participate in new investment ideas,” Le Temps reports.
14/09/2009

Cosmen and CVC granted permission to conduct due diligence on National Express accounts

The board of National Express has authorised the Austrian Cosmen family and the private equity investor CVC Capital Partners to undertake due diligence on the books at the business, and the British merger and acquisition authority has extended the deadline for bids from Friday 11 September until 6:00 PM on 25 September, Cinco Días reports. In that time period, the consortium will be allowed to decide whether or not to maintain its bid of GBP5 per share for the firm. If the operation is successful, Cosmen and CVC are planning to sell off some of the assets of National Express to Stagecoach.
14/09/2009

GBP4m incentive package to bring back Candover

Malcolm Fallen, the new CEO of Candover Investments, has been granted a GBP4m incentive package to bring about a recovery at the private equity firm, the Sunday Times reports. He was previously CEO of the telecommunications operator KCOM, and began in his new position last week. He will be in charge of negotiating a solution for Candover’s 2008 fund, which will probably be closed, having been unable to meet a EUR1bn pledge in March. The partners who pledged EUR2bn for the fund will probably be allowed not to fulfil their commitments without a penalty.
14/09/2009

Simon Ellis becomes retail director at LGIM

The former head of multi-management at Fidelity between 2006 and 2009 is joining Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) as managing director for retail activities, Investment Week reports.
14/09/2009

BlackRock to create a trading platform

BlackRock, which will soon become the world’s largest asset manager, with USD3,000bn under management after its acquisition of BGI, is preparing to create its own global trading platform, the Financial Times reveals, citing an internal memo. Minder Cheng has been appointed to oversee the platform. If some clients are selling a security and others are buying, BlackRock can cross these trades internally, without going through Wall Street. The service would be free of charge.
14/09/2009

Fund closures on the rise

As many as 250 funds disappeared in 2007 and 2008 in Spain. This year, as calm returns to the markets, the number of products on offer has increased a little bit, but the trend only turned around in June, Expansión reports. According to the most recent statistics from the Inverco association of management firms, 207 funds closed down between the end of May and the end of June, and the total number of funds fell to 2,746. In one month, as many funds were closed as in all of 2008. And this trend appears set to continue: according to Ahorro Corporación, the number of funds on sale fell to 2,702 in July, and rose back to 2,709 in August. The only category of products which has not been affected by this phenomenon is short-term bonds, a traditional refuge for Spanish investors in times of turbulence: the number of funds of this type has increased by 9.6% since the beginning of the year.
14/09/2009

Deutsche Bank hoping to take over all of Sal. Oppenheim by 2011

Deutsche Bank and Sal. Oppenheim on Sunday declined to comment on an article in Focus magazine which claims that the former firm is planning to acquire an initial stake of 45% in Sal. Oppenheim, and then to buy up the remainder of the private bank by 2011, Die Welt am Sonntag reports. Sal. Oppenheim is now valued at EUR1.5bn-EUR1.8bn, down from the EUR2bn it was recently valued at. Sal. Oppenheim is reportedly also in exclusive negotiations to sell its investment banking operations to the Italian firm Mediobanca. Focus reports that the division also interests Barclays and Macquarie.
11/09/2009
Fonds

SGAM lance un fonds "absolute research"

Société Générale Asset Management (SGAM) vient de lancer SGAM Invest Europe Absolute Research, un FCP diversifié de droit français, conforme aux normes UCITS III, «permettant aux investisseurs de bénéficier des opportunités des marchés actions en Europe tant en période haussière que baissière, avec une performance absolue décorrelée des marchés actions». Le fonds se compose d’une base monétaire jusqu’à 100 % du portefeuille, gérée de manière classique et d’un d’un swap de performance sur des paires d’actions européennes intra-sectorielles, avec une position acheteuse (long) sur les valeurs jugées attrayantes et une position vendeuse (short) sur celles présentant le moins de potentiel. L’exposition aux marchés des actions sera au maximum de 100 % de l’actif. Le fonds est géré par Eric Mijot, directeur adjoint des gestions actions et responsable de la recherche et de la stratégie actions de SGAM Paris. Il s’appuiera notamment sur les neuf analystes financiers de l'équipe couvrent chacun plusieurs secteurs.Caractéristiques de SGAM Invest Europe Absolute ResearchCode ISIN : FR0010771949 (tous souscripteurs) et FR0010772103 (investisseurs institutionnels)Minimum de souscriptions initiale : 100 euros (tous souscripteurs) et 1.000.000 euros (institutionnels)VL de lancement : 100 euros (tous souscripteurs) et 1.000 euros (institutionnels)Minimum de souscription ultérieure : néantCommission de souscription non acquise au FCP : 5 % maximumFrais de gestion max. : 2,40 TT max. (tous souscripteurs) et 1,20 TTC max. (institutionnels)Frais de gestion réels : 1 % (tous souscripteurs) et 0,5 % (institutionnels)Commission de surperformance : 20 % de la performance au-delà d’Eonia + 3 % (tous souscripteurs) et 20 % de la performance au-delà d’Eonia + 3 % (institutionnels)
Fonds
11/09/2009

Les banques commencent à vendre leurs agences aux particuliers

Depuis le début de la crise des subprime, les banques espagnoles ont commencé à pratiquer le sale-and lease-back avec des sociétés immobilières et des investisseurs institutionnels. Mais, à présent, constate Expansión, les financières s’adressent à leurs clients de banque privée, aux family offices et aux particuliers très haut de gamme. L’un des premiers établissements à se lancer sur ce nouveau créneau a été Caixa Catalunya, qui a tiré en début d’année 110 millions d’euros de la vente de quelques succursales. Le Banco Pastor a annoncé son intention de vendre puis de louer 160 de ses 650 agences en Espagne. Le BBVA, le Sabadell (au travers de sa banque privée Banco Urquijo) et le Banco Popular se sont également engagés sur cette voie.
11/09/2009
Fonds

Les fonds les plus conservateurs sont en tête des souscriptions

Selon les statistiques de VDOS Stochastics, ce sont les fonds les plus conservateurs, en Espagne, qui ont attiré le plus de souscriptions nettes depuis le début de l’année, rapporte Cinco Días. Ainsi la catégorie des fonds d’obligations européennes long terme est celle qui a le plus collecté, avec plus de 2,34 milliards d’euros, devant celle des obligataires garantis (1,49 milliard). La Caixa et Ibercaja sont les leaders pour les rentrées nettes, avec respectivement 2,42 milliards et 455 millions.Le fonds le plus populaire a été le Santander Rendimiento FI B, un obligataire qui a réussi à drainer plus de 2,75 milliards d’euros, devant le Foncaixa Garantía Renta Fija (un obligataire également) avec 994 millions.
Fonds
11/09/2009

Trois anciens de Merrill créent Neila Capital Partners

José Velasco, ancien senior vice president de Merrill Lynch, Miguel Miguel Ángel Vaquero et Víctor Carmona, deux autres anciens cadres supérieurs de la banque privée de Merrill Lynch, ont lancé à Madrid la société de gestion d’actifs indépendante Neila Capital Partners, qui a obtenu son agrément de la CNMV. La quatrième dirigeante de la nouvelle entité est Lola Vallejo, précédemment chez Alonso L. Iñarra y Asociados.Neila Capital Partners compte gérer des fonds d’investissement, des Sicav (pour les particuliers haut de gamme), assurer la gestion de mandats discrétionnaires et offrir des services de gestion de fortune. Nordkapp détient 20 % du capital et coopérera avec Neila dans les domaines de l’administration et de la conservation.
11/09/2009

Barclays Wealth continue de se renforcer

Après l’embauche d’Iñigo Calderón, ex Deutsche Bank (lire notre article du 4 septembre), comme patron de la division banque privée et gestion de fortune, Barclays Wealth Managers España a recruté chez Fortis Pablo Martinez Alberola comme directeur des ventes, rapporte Funds People. Il s’agit d’un poste nouvellement créé et la mission du nouvel arrivant sera de coordonner l’action commerciale de manière à placer en Espagne aussi bien les fonds gérés dans le pays que ceux de droit irlandais et luxembourgeois.

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