The major Wall Street establishments, such as Merrill Lynch Investment Management (before its merger with BlackRock) and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, expressed doubts about Bernard Madoff behind closed doors, the Financial Times reports. In some cases, they advised their clients not to invest in Madoff, but they were hesitant to share their concerns with regulators.

Investment funds have seen net redemptions of EUR320bn in 2008, the Financial Times reports, citing statistics from Emerging Portfolio Funds Research, which tracks inflows and outflows for funds worldwide. This is a record both in dollar terms and in terms of percentage of AUM. However, redemptions appear to have stabilised, and the trend even seems to have reversed in the last week of the year.

Investment funds have seen net redemptions of EUR320bn in 2008, the Financial Times reports, citing statistics from Emerging Portfolio Funds Research, which tracks inflows and outflows for funds worldwide. This is a record both in dollar and percentage terms. However, redemptions appear to have stabilised, and the trend even seems to have reversed in the last week of the year.

Aberdeen Asset Management, an originally Scottish management firm with GBP111bn in assets under management, announced on Wednesday, 31 December that it is acquiring part of the asset management activities of Credit Suisse, representing GBP40bn in assets. In exchange, the British management firm will issue a maximum of 240 million new ordinary shares, equivalent to 24.97% of its capital, to the Swiss firm. This amount may be lowered, if the annual revenues of the acquired activities (CHF220m) decline by 30 June, when the operation will be completed. For the moment, as of 30 December, they total GBP250m, slightly over 0.6% of total assets at Credit Suisse.The transaction will include the traditional asset management activities of Credit Suisse in Europe, Asia, and Asia-Pacific, which represent GBP8.1bn in equities, GBP15.8bn in bonds, GBP16bn in money markets, and GBP200m in multiple asset classes. Half of this total is managed in funds, while the other half is in mandates.In France, Credit Suisse Asset Management is affected, but only long-only management, which totals about EUR2.5bn. Alternative management will remain with Credit Suisse. According to one source close to the acquisition deal, «this will make Aberdeen able to sell its funds in France; they are not currently licensed in the country.» The Scottish management firm has few activities in France at present. In other countries, Aberdeen will strengthen its presence with the acquisition, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan; in these countries offices will be merged. «That will give us increased access to the Credit Suisse distribution network and the Credit Suisse private bank,» the source states.At the conclusion of the deal, the activities concerned will operate under the Aberdeen name.Credit Suisse states that the operation will allow it to concentrate on alternative management, asset allocation, and its Swiss activities, «where we have strong performance and critical mass.»

In December, securities funds on sale in Spain posted estimated net redemptions of about EUR2.37bn, according to the Inverco association of management firms. This brings total net redemptions last year to EUR69.53bn, on assets which contracted by EUR71.9bn, or 30% in one year, to EUR167.94bn. December was the eighteenth consecutive month of declining assets under management and net redemptions. In 2007, assets in funds declined by 5.7%, or EUR14.48bn, and net redemptions represented EUR19.41bn.Of the top 30 managers by asset volume, only Caixa Catalunya Gestión and UBS Gestión posted net redemptions in December (totalling EUR98.2m and EUR31.56m, respectively). The heaviest net outflows were from Santander Gestión de Activos, at EUR879m. As of 31 December, BBVA Gestión, with assets of EUR32.96bn, nearly caught up with Santander (EUR32.98bn). The number three manager is far behind the leaders: Invercaixa Gestión has only EUR11.59bn in assets.

In January-November 2008, open-ended funds on sale in Germany showed net redemptions of EUR31.34bn, according to the BVI association. But the three largest ETF providers managed to post significant levels of net subscriptions, particularly db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank), with nearly EUR10.89bn in subscriptions. BGI (iShares) and ETFlab (Deka) have posted subscriptions of EUR2.99bn and EUR2.53bn, respectively, while cominvest (which has become a division of Allianz rather than Commerzbank) is the only major management firm to post net inflows (EUR3.41bn).The other major management firms show net redemptions, led by Allianz Global Investors (AGI), with EUR8.99bn in outflows, then DWS (EUR7.51bn), Pioneer (EUR5.76bn), Deka (EUR4.91bn), and Union Investment (EUR3.72bn).

The Wall Street Journal reports that Bernard Madoff has provided US Federal authorities with a list of his personal assets as well as those of his companies, but investigators appear to be far from determining where all the money swallowed up by the fraud has gone. They believe Madoff had at least one bank account in an offshore haven.Several investors are wondering, meanwhile, whether they will be required to return sums which they were paid by Madoff, particularly investors who received payments in the last 90 days preceding the bankruptcy of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

Agefi reports that merger deals such as the sale of SGAM UK to the alternative management firm GLG Partners, or the sale of a part of the traditional asset management activities of Credit Suisse to Aberdeen Asset Management, are signs that the asset management industry is entering an era of consolidation.In the future, the online news agency predicts that ?a merger between Lyxor and SGAM AI? may be on the cards.

Achim Gräfen will remain as manager of the real estate fund Immoselect, though he has also been appointed a member of the board of directors at Axa Investment Managers Germany, Handelsblatt reports. He will be responsible for retail and institutional real estate funds.

Participants at a round table organised by Handelsblatt say that most fund managers feel that the financial crisis, which has triggered a larger economic crisis, will cost the management sector dearly in the first part of the year. A decline of 30% in profits will make it necessary to reduce costs and lay off employees, according to Stefan Jaecklin, a partner at the consulting firm Oliver Wyman. He predicts that the range of funds on sale will contract. Assets in approximately 6,000 open-ended funds have declined by 20% to EUR580bn, although institutional funds (Spezialfonds) have total assets of EUR650bn. After a year of massive redemptions in 2008, the mood is optimistic or at least wait-and-see in 2009. Products which present limited risk will be likely to be popular.

According to preliminary indications from major management firms, subscriptions have remained relatively stable in December compared with their levels in November, Handelsblatt reports. Volumes continue to be limited. Several promoters report satisfactory inflows to equities funds, though the volumes remain very modest.

In a statement published on 2 January, the Luxembourg financial sector surveillance commission (CSSF) addresses the Madoff scandal. Having defined the extent of the exposure of Luxembourg management firms and financial establishments to the Madoff fraud at the end of December, the regulator this time only goes so far as to point out the responsibilities of depositary banks in Luxembourg, where the Luxalpha Sicav is domiciled.?The CSSF would like to stress that the Luxembourg law applicable to Luxembourg based depositary banks in their role of safe-keepers of investment funds’ assets reflects faithfully the provisions of the European Council Directive 85/611/CEE on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities,? the statement says.?Thus, when a fund’s assets are deposited by the depository bank with a third party, these deposits are under the monitoring and supervisory responsibility of the depositary bank, implying that the latter must know at all times in which manner the assets are invested and where and how these assets are available. This responsibility is not affected by the fact that the depositary has entrusted to a third party all or part of the assets in its safe-keeping.?The regulator ?wishes to note that during the ongoing investigations in the Madoff case, the Commission does not limit its analysis to the depositary banks concerned but verifies that all the other parties involved with the funds concerned have acted with the diligence imposed by Luxembourg law.?

After a difficult year in 2008, 2009 will be a live-or-die year for REITs, and may even mark their return to grace, the Wall Street Journal suggests on 31 December. The newspaper predicts that the survivors will be vehicles that have a lot of liquidity, few projects in the works, and low levels of debt. These REITs may be able to take advantage of the crisis to acquire properties at low cost.

According to statistics from the German BVI association of management firms, assets in open-ended securities funds as of the end of November totalled EUR494.62bn, which is EUR154.83bn, or 23.84%, lower than one year previously. Net outflows in November, however, are limited to only EUR1.71bn, compared with EUR40.66bn in October.In January-November 2008, total net redemptions from funds totalled EUR12.98bn; institutional funds posted net subscriptions of EUR18.59bn, while open-ended funds showed net outflows of EUR31.57bn, of which EUR234m came from real estate funds, and EUR31.34bn from securities funds. The heaviest redemptions were from money market funds (EUR14.85bn) and bond funds (EUR25.13bn), while redemptions from equities funds were limited to EUR5.25bn. However, guaranteed funds and funds of funds attracted EUR5.82bn and EUR8.21bn, respectively.

The activist efforts of fund managers were more visible in December, the Wall Street Journal observes on 31 December. This trend is a result of the financial crisis in some respect. Management professionals, who are seeing declining performance for their funds, are taking out their anger on corporate management.

James Simons, head of Renaissance Technologies (USD25bn) has announced that subscribers to Renaissance Institutional Futures (USD3bn in assets) will not be charged a 1% management commission in 2009, following losses of 12% for the fund in 2008, even if the hedge fund performs well this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. In addition, the fund will have to compensate for its losses before it will be allowed to charge performance commissions.

La défiance envers les valeurs financières et technologiques est compensée par l’espoir d’une résistance plus grande des secteurs peu cycliques

La majorité des membres du «Panel Agefi Taux» table sur des taux en zone euro et outre-Manche respectivement à 1,5% et 1% d'ici à six mois

24% des membres sont positifs en termes de perspectives de spread et 18% sont à «surpondérer», contre 6% en décembre dans les deux cas

Le spread taux Libor 3 mois-taux directeurs a été divisé par deux aux Etats-Unis et outre-Manche, et par trois en Europe depuis octobre

Le «Panel Actions» espère une hausse de 13,8% de l'EuroStoxx 50 sur un an, mais reste prudent

Aberdeen Asset Management a annoncé le 31 décembre avoir conclu l’acquisition de la branche de gestion d’actifs de Credit Suisse dans le cadre d’une transaction toute en actions à l’issue de laquelle la banque suisse détiendra 25% du gérant britannique.

Le nombre de valeurs moyennes introduites sur la cote à Paris a chuté de moitié par rapport à 2007

BNP Paribas juge nécessaire de maintenir les pratiques adoptées en 2008 comme les «mini-adjudications»

Les autorités renflouent la filiale GMAC, qui reste essentielle au financement des ventes du constructeur américain

Le fonds d'investissement, qui détenait 51% de la société, a dû accepter une forte dilution en échange de l'intervention des autorités

Le gazier russe, dont l'endettement net atteint vingt milliards d'euros, a contracté en novembre un emprunt auprès de la Société Générale

Le contexte de crise a pesé dans les négociations. La rentrée pourrait être chaude dans certains établissements

Le classement 2008 de «L'Agefi» récompense les parties prenantes du dossier GDF-Suez

Le gouvernement et la BoJ songeraient, selon un quotidien nippon, à consacrer près de 80 milliards d’euros à la relance du secteur