Selon L’Agefi suisse, Hedgegate, l’organisation de la ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) qui suit les fonds de hedge funds (FoHF) enregistrés en Suisse, vient de publier des données pour mai 2009 qui s’avèrent positives pour l’industrie. Pour la première fois depuis la crise financière, les estimations de Hedgegate présentent un afflux net de capital de 168 millions de dollars pendant le mois de mai, le premier solde positif depuis juin 2008. Ce, comparé à une perte nette de fonds de 10 milliards de dollars entre janvier et fin avril 2009. Depuis avril 2008, les FoHF suisses ont subi un exode de fonds d’une valeur de 24 milliards de dollars, ce qui représente une baisse de 53% des actifs sous gestion pour l’industrie.

Nordea Investment Funds indique que le compartiment North American Growth Fund de sa Sicav luxembourgeoise a atteint au 1er juillet les 160 millions de dollars d’encours pour le premier anniversaire de la délégation de gestion à l’américain Aletheia Research & Management Inc. Il était de 93,6 millions au 22 mai (lire notre article du 27 mai).Depuis le début de l’année, la performance est ressortie à 27,66 % contre 11,53 % pour le Russell 1000 Growth. Sur un an, le fonds perd 20,02 % contre 24,50 % pour l’indice.

La société Southeastern Asset Management a annoncé à l’AMF détenir 6,02% du capital d’Accor et 5,13% des droits de vote, rapporte La Tribune. La société se présente comme «conseil en investissements», mais ne précise pas pour le compte de qui elle agit. Ces derniers jours, le fonds d’investissement Colony s’est aussi renforcé dans le capital d’Accor.

Kas Bank NV achète pour un montant non divulgué la Deutsche Postbank Privat Investment KAG (PPI), filiale de la Deutsche Postbank spécialiste de l’administration de fonds offerts au public. Le transfert interviendra fin juillet. Les quelque 20 salariés de PPI à Bonn seront repris par la Postbank.Albert Röell, chairman du managing board de Kas Bank souligne que cette opération permet à son établissement de poursuivre son expansion en Europe et sur le marché institutionnel en Allemagne. Depuis juillet 2008, la filiale KAS Investment Servicing GmbH à Wiesbaden propose aux caisses de retraite et aux compagnies d’assurances des services d’administration de fonds. De son côté, la Postbank estime que cette transaction lui permet de se concentrer sur la gestion de fonds et la distribution.

Selon le projet obtenu par la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, le capital-investisseur RHJ propose 175 millions d’euros de fonds propres à la signature et 100 millions supplémentaires d’ici à 2012 pour 50,1 % d’Opel, GM conservant 39,9 % et les salariés obtenant les 10 % restants en contrepartie d'économies de 250-300 millions annuels sur les salaires. Il serait aussi question de supprimer 3.900 des 25.000 emplois en Allemagne. Pour sa part l’austro-canadien Magna ne propose que 100 millions d’euros de fonds propres, agrémentés d’un prêt non rémunéré de 400 millions d’euros.

L’indice de la confiance des conseillers clientèle en Allemagne calculé par TNS Infratest (350 conseillers clientèle de banques, de caisses d'épargne et de banques populaires) a gagné 8,1 points au deuxième trimestre pour ressortir à 96 points, indique Robeco Deutschland. Concernant les perspectives de vente de parts de fonds d’actions durant les six prochains mois, les conseillers sont bien plus optimistes qu’au trimestre précédent. 49 %, soit 19 % de plus qu’au premier trimestre, s’attendent à une hausse des rendements sur ces produits.

AmpegaGerling a annoncé jeudi le lancement de deux fonds d’ETF de droit allemand, Gerling Portfolio Multi ETF Strategie et Geling Portfolio Global ETF Aktien qui développent une approche de gestion de fortune. Le premier investit dans des ETF répartis sur les classes d’actifs actions, obligations et alternatif tandis que le second, spécialiste des actions, repose sur le principe de la variance minimale.Ces fonds ont en fait été lancés respectivement le 21 janvier 2000 et le 24 janvier 2001, mais ont été réorientés pour n’investir qu’en ETF le 1er mai 2009. Ils affichaient fin mai des encours respectifs de 5,45 millions et 6,66 millions d’euros.En rétropolation (backtesting), le Mutli ETF Strategy a affiché une performance de 6 % annuels entre janvier 1994 et décembre 2008 ; il n’a accusé aucune perte sur une période de 5 ans. Quant au Global ETF Aktien, il signe pour la période janvier 2000 à décembre 2008 une surperformance relative de 43 % sur MSCI monde.Caractéristiques Dénomination Gerling Portfolio Multi ETF Strategie Gerling Portfolio Global ETF Aktien Code ISIN DE000A0NGJ69 DE0009847350 Droit d’entrée 3,0 % 3,0 % Commission de gestion 1,0 % 1,0 %

Depuis jeudi, Union Investment (banques populaires) commercialise en Allemagne le fonds luxembourgeois UniEuroRenta Corporates 40 (2014), un fonds à horizon qui investira principalement en obligations d’entreprises et dont l'échéance est fixée au 31 octobre 2014. Au moins 51 % du portefeuille seront investis en obligations d’entreprises européennes, sachant que le nombre de lignes est plafonné à 40 émissions investment grade et qu’aucun titre ne peut représenter plus de 5 % de l’encours. L'équipe de gestion est autorisée à placer au maximum 10 % du fonds dans des emprunts d’Etat ou des emprunts émis avec la garantie de l’Etat.Les obligations seront en principe conservées jusqu'à échéance, sauf en cas de détérioration, où le gérant est habilité à sous-pondérer les titres concernés.Il est prévu une pénalité de 1 % acquise au fonds en cas de sortie prématurée. Caractéristiques Dénomination UniEuroRenta Corporates 40 (2014) Code ISIN LU0420444829 Commissions de souscription Frais de sortie (avant l'échéance) 3 % 1 % Frais de gestion 0,60 % Commission de banque dépositaire 0,05 % Souscription minimale 1 part

Stanard Life Investments (SLI) a nommé Michael Geier investment director pour l’Allemagne et l’Autriche dans son European Business Development Team. Il sera chargé de développer les relations avec la clientèle de particuliers et les grands investisseurs dans ces deux pays. De 2006 à 2008, l’impétrant a dirigé l’activité fonds offerts au public d’ABN Amro Deutschland pour l’Allemagne, le Luxembourg, l’Autriche et la Suisse, après avoir dirigé pendant six ans la distribution de Mellon Global Investments en Allemagne et au Luxembourg.Michael Geier sera basé à Francfort et subordonné à Phil Barker, head of European business development.

JPMorgan Chase a dégagé au deuxième trimestre un résultat net de 352 millions de dollars, en recul de 11% par rapport au deuxième trimestre 2008, en raison notamment d’une augmentation des provisions pour pertes sur crédits. On observe toutefois que par rapport au premier trimestre de l’année, le résultat trimestriel marque un gain de 128 millions de dollars ou 57%, en raison entre autres d’une hausse des commissions et de l’amélioration des conditions de marchés. Le bénéfice net trimestriel du groupe ressort à 2,72 milliards de dollars contre deux milliards un an auparavant. Toutefois le bénéfice par action recule à 28 cents contre 53 cents, conséquence d’une augmentation du flottant.Le produit net de la gestion d’actifs s’est inscrit à 1,98 milliards de dollars, en recul de 4% d’une année sur l’autre. Le produit net en Private Bank marque un recul de 10% à 640 millions de dollars. Le produit net du pôle institutionnel s’est accru de 3% à 487 millions de dollars alors que pour le pôle retail, le produit net accuse un repli de 16% à 411 millions de dollars. Le produit des activités de Private Wealth Management s’est lui replié de 6% à 334 millions de dollars.Les actifs sous gestion se sont établis à 1.200 milliards de dollars, en recul de 1% d’une année sur l’autre. Durant le trimestre sous revue, la collecte nette s’est élevée à 3 milliards de dollars et à 125 milliards de dollars sur la période de douze mois au 30 juin 2009. Le ROE s’est établi à 20% au deuxième trimestre contre 13% un trimestre plus tôt et 31% un an plus tôt.

Michael Myrtetus et Douglas Borthwick, deux anciens traders de Morgan Stanley, viennent de créer une boutique de gestion alternative, Cinneas Foreign Exchange, spécialisée dans le négoce des devises, selon Hedge Week."Nous pensons qu’un portefeuille diversifié géré activement peut s’adapter et se développer au gré des changements de marché. Notre approche mêle les analyses économique, fondamentale et technique pour identifier les opportunités de trading, avec l’objectif de produire des rendements non corrélés», explique Douglas Borthwick. L’investissement minimum a été fixé à 5.000 dollars sans période de lock-up. Les commissions de surperformance s'élèvent à 20% des bénéfices avec effet de cliquet et les frais de gestion ont été fixés à 2% sur une base mensuelle.

Selon The Wall Street Journal, l’américain KKR, allié au fonds souverain de Singapour (GSI) et à la banque d’investissement chinoise China International Corp, serait sur le point d’acquérir une participation minoritaire d’environ 30 % dans la société de leasing financier International Far Eastern Leasing Co, qui est contrôlée par le groupe nationalisé Sinochem Group. L’investissement pour KKR serait de 150-200 millions de dollars.

L’Echo reports that the OECD on Thursday removed Belgium from its “grey list” of tax havens. The Belgian finance minister, Didier Reynders, has signed the twelfth convention for exchange of tax information between Belgium and other countries. Belgium has signed information-sharing protocols with Luxembourg and Singapore, and a double-taxation agreement with the Isle of Man.

AmpegaGerling on Thursday announced the launch of two German-registered funds of ETFs, Gerling Portfolio Multi ETF Strategie and Gerling Portfolio Global ETF Aktien, which combine investments in ETFs with a wealth management approach. The former fund invests in ETFs in all equities, bond and alternative asset classes, while the latter fund is specialised in equities, and is based on the principle of minimal variance.The funds were in fact launched on 21 January 2000 and 24 January 2001, but were since reoriented to invest only in ETF funds, on 1 May 2009. As of the end of May, the funds had respective assets of EUR5.45m and EUR6.66m.Backtesting reveals that the Multi ETF Strategy would have earned 6% annual performance between January 1994 and December 2008; it shows no losses in the past 5 years. The Global ETF Aktien would have earned 43% outperformance between January 2000 and December 2008, compared with the MSCI World index. Characteristics Name Gerling Portfolio Multi ETF Strategie Gerling Portfolio Global ETF Aktien ISIN code DE000A0NGJ69 DE0009847350 Front-end fee 3.00% 3.00% Management commission 1.00% 1.00%

Since Thursday, Union Investment (German co-operative banks) has been offering the Luxembourg-registered fund UniEuroRenta Corporates 40 (2014) for sale in Germany. The product is a target-date fund which invests primarily in corporate bonds whose maturities are set at 31 October 2014. At least 51% of the portfolio will be invested in European corporate bonds, while the number of positions is limited to 40 investment grade issues, and no single position may represent more than 5% of total assets. The management team is authorised to place up to 10% of the fund in government bonds or bond issues with government guarantees. Bonds will ideally be retained until maturity, except in case of deterioration, when the manager will be allowed to underweight the bonds in question. A 1% penalty will be charged for early withdrawal from the fund. Characteristics Name UniEuroRenta Corporates 40 (2014) ISIN Code LU0420444829 Front-end fee 3.00% Management fee 0.60% Depository banking commission 0.05% Minimal subscription 1 share

For an undisclosed amount, Kas Bank NV has purchased Deutsche Postbank Privat Investment KAG (PPI), an affiliate of Deutsche Postbank specialised in the administration of open-ended funds. The transfer will take place at the end of July. The approximately 20 employees of PPI in Bonn will become part of Postbank. Albert Röell, chairman of the managing board at Kas Bank, says the operation will allow his firm to continue its expansion in Europe on the institutional market in Germany. Since July 2008, the affiliate KAS Investment Servicing GmbH in Wiesbaden has offered fund administration services to pension funds and insurance companies. Postbank, for its part, says the transaction will allow it to concentrate on the management and distribution of funds.

Standard Life Investments (SLI) has appointed Michael Geier investment director for Germany and Austria in its European Business Development Team. He will be in charge of developing relations with retail clients and large investors in the two countries. From 2006 to 2008, Geier directed open-ended fund activities at ABN Amro Deutschland for Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, and Switzerland, after six years as director of distribution at Mellon Global Investments for Germany and Luxembourg. Geier will be based in Frankfurt, and will report to Phil Barker, head of European business development.

As of 31 March, Bankinter became the seventh-largest Spanish management firm, overtaking Sabadell. As of 30 June, Bankinter had assets of EUR5.33bn, compared with EUR5.19bn for Sabadell, Funds People reports. Popular began the year in sixth place, only EUR1m behind Gesmadrid, and during first half it overtook its competitor, and now claims a lead of EUR35m, with EUR7.59bn, compared with EUR7.56bn. It is catching up with Ahorro Corporación, whose assets stand at EUR7.78bn. Ibercaja, in tenth place as of the beginning of the year, is in ninth place at the end of June, with assets EUR3m higher than those of Barclays, both of which have EUR4.31bn overall.At the top of the rankings, BBVA is increasing its lead, with EUR32.62bn, compared with EUR28.46bn for Santander. The market share for the leader has increased to 20.37%, compared with 19.80%, while the market share for the number two in the rankings has fallen to 17.77% from 19.65%.

Van der Moolen Holding on Friday announced it is expecting a EUR7-8 millions operative loss for the second quarter. Because of the disappointing results, Richard den Drijver has decided, in the interest of the company, to step down as chairman of the Executive Board of Van der Moolen. After his resignation Mr. Den Drijver will however remain involved with the company as an advisor.The Supervisory Board shall for the foreseeable future act as Executive Board of Van der Moolen. Their focus will be to secure financing in the short-term, to return to the core activities and to continue to reduce costs, the company said in a statement.

The newest ETF from x-trackers, which replicates the S&P US Carbon Efficient index, listed on the London Stock Exchange (see Newsmanagers of 15 July), carries a management commission of 0.50%. The product, registered in Luxembourg (LU0411076002), is based on an index which has a tracking error of 1.1% compared with the S&P 500, and which does not include the 100 companies of the S&P 500 that have the highest CO2 emissions relative to the size of the business. Db x-trackers also states that the benchmark index reproduces at least 50% of each sector of the S&P 500 index, and that the ETF invests in at least 375 companies of the S&P 500.

Les Echos reports that a Deloitte study has found that businesses of the FTSE 100 will need a combined total of GBP300bn to cover deficits at their pension funds. This is more than double the GBP130bn shortfall observed at the beginning of the year. The trustees who supervise these pension funds have asked businesses to pay enormous amounts to cover losses on investments.

Stefan Keitel, already global CIO for the multi asset class solutions segment, has been appointed CIO and chairman of the investment committee for the private banking division of Credit Suisse. The appointment, announced on Thursday, is effective immediately. “Stefan Keitel will provide investment opinions and guidelines for short, mid, and long-term asset allocation for all client segments,” says a statement.Keitel will report to Vayloyan, head of private banking investment services and products, and will continue to report to Daniel Brupbacher, head of asset management multi asset class solutions.Keitel has worked at Credit Suisse since 2001. In 2004, he was appointed CIO for Credit Suisse business in Germany, and in 2008 he became CIO for all divisions in central Europe. From 2006 to 2009, Keitel was manager of Credit Suisse Asset Management Kapitalanlagegesellschaft GmbH and head of MACS in Germany.

HFM Week reports that the Partners II fund from the US-based fund of hedge fund management firm and incubator Weston Capital Management has provided the seed capital to start up Sagil Capital, a fund management firm based in London which employs arbitrage, relative value and directional strategies for long/short funds specialised in Latin America. The founders of Sagil Capital are Adrian Landgrebe, Bradford Jones and Mark Hendricks, all three of whom are former partners at Rand Merchant Bank.

Invesco has announced the appointment of Bernhard Langer as Chief Investment Officer at Invesco Global Quantitative Equity. He will be responsible for quantitative management worldwide for the entire equities product range. This is a first for Invesco, which previously has never included such a position within the group. Langer has been at Invesco since 1994, first as a portfolio manager, then as chief investment officer for European and non-American quantitative management products. 50 experts at Invesco Global Quantitative Equity manage more than USD32bn in assets for institutional investors and private clients.

Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) has selected BNY Mellon Asset Servicing as provider of administration, accounting, custody and transfer agency services for its range of Xmtch ETF products, which replicate broad equities and bond indexes (see Newsmamagers of 6 July). The products will initially be traded on the Swiss stock exchange (SIX) and several cross listings are planned for other markets in Europe in the near future.

Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (Edram) is launching Saint-Honoré Global Convertibles, an international convertible bond fund whose objective is to profit from potential recovery on the equities markets, with lower volatility. The management of the fund is independent of benchmark indexes. The fund will invest at least 50% of its net assets in investment-grade issued, and will have a high level of geographical diversification.Management of the fund will concentrate on mixed convertible bonds, with a total target delta of 20% to 60% for the fund. Exposure to emerging markets will represent a maximum of 40% of net assets. Saint-Honoré Global Convertibles will also have a systematic currency hedging policy, and at least 80% of its portfolio will be hedged. Characteristics:Fund name: Saint-Honoré Global ConvertiblesISIN code:A share class: FR0010773036E share class: FR0010782367I share class: FR0010782391 R share class: FR0010782417 Front-end fees: 3% maximum Management fees:- Fixed:A share class: 1.40% max TTCE share class: 2.00% max TTCI share class: 0.85% max TTCR share class: 0.95% max TTC- Variable: A, I and E share classes: 15% of performance exceeding the benchmark indexMinimum initial subscription: EUR500,000 for I and R share classesOne share for A and E share classes

Sir David Walker was appointed by the British government this February to revise the country’s corporate governance regulations in the wake of the financial crisis, particularly in the banking sector. In his recommendations, presented on 16 July, Walker proposes substantial modifications to the functioning of boards of directors, with a strengthened role for non-executive directors in the processes of risk control and of determining pay scales. “These proposals aim to improve the professionalism and diligence of boards of directors in banking, by strengthening the importance of challenge on the board. If this means that boards will function in a less collegial manner than in the past, this will be a modest price to pay for improved governance,” Walker says in a statement. Among the 39 recommendations set out in the report is the idea of giving more power to risk committees; the chairmanship of this committee should be assigned to a non-executive. The committee would be in charge of examining and, if necessary, blocking, major transactions planned by the firm. The prerogatives of the remunerations committee could also be enlarged: the committee could consider all remunerations at a business and also oversee pay scales for operational directors who are not board members. Bonuses paid to operational directors at the top of the pay scale would be required to include a “significant” variable component. Non-executive members of the board, whose powers would be extended, would also spend more time at work: Walker suggests that their work time should be increased by as much as 50%. the report also proposes that management firms should be more concretely involved in businesses they invest in, and that in particular, they should divulge their voting policies under a “comply or explain” principle. The publication of the report marks the beginning of a consultation period which will extend until 1 October. Walker, who hopes to be able to present his final report in November 2009, suggests that the recommendations be integrated into the “Combined Code on corporate Governance,” which is currently under revision.

The creators of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have published two documents to favour the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into the private equity investment process. The documents were composed by a consulting committee composed of major institutional investors, funds of funds and private equity firms. On the basis of a series of case studies (including Actis, Blue Wolf Capital Management, Doughty Hanson, KKR, Permira and Robeco), the authors demonstrate how improved management of ESG questions make it possible to earn higher returns.

Les Echos reports that Citi and Bank of America have signed secret agreements with their regulator, by which they agree to correct certain weaknesses in their governance or risk management, or else face penalties. The pacts, which the English-language financial media has begun to report, were kept secret in order not to set back financial institutions in their restructuring efforts. If the banks do not succeed in keeping their promises to the authorities, they may face financial penalties, or as an ultimate sanction, they may face cease and desist orders which would put an end to their activities.

Michael Myrtetus and Douglas Borthwich, two former Morgan Stanley traders, have founded an alternative management boutique, entitled Cinneas Foreign Exchange, specialised in currency trading, according to Hedge Week. “We think an actively-managed diversified portfolio may be adapted and developed as the market changes. Our approach combines economic, fundamental and technical analysis to identify trading opportunities, with the objective of producing non-correlated returns,” Borthwick explains. Minimal investment is set at USD5,000, with no lock-up period. Commissions on outperformance are set at 20% of profits with high watermark, and management fees are 2% on a monthly basis.