Le difficile accès au financement, la croissance des salaires, et la hausse des ventes à crédit pèseront sur la santé des sociétés à court terme

L'opération, de 5 milliards d'euros, a attiré 8 milliards d'euros d'ordres. Le Japon a acquis pour 1,1 milliard de titres

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NewAlpha Asset Management et Woori Absolute Partners ont décidé de s’allier en vue de lancer prochainement un fonds d’incubation spécialisé sur la zone Asie Pacifique. Ce véhicule d’investissement sera enregistré à Singapour et investira dans les fonds offerts par les jeunes gérants asiatiques jugés les plus prometteurs.

Selon une proposition de la SEC, les courtiers dépositaires des fonds devraient bientôt subir un examen annuel par un cabinet d’audit assermenté afin de s’assurer qu’ils respectent les règles de protection du consommateur. Cette mesure vise à améliorer la supervision d’un secteur secoué par l’affaire Madoff.

Effets secondaires.

Le Fonds européen de stabilité financière (FESF) procède mercredi à une émission obligataire dont le produit servira à financer l’aide promise au Portugal. Le livre d’ordres de l’emprunt du FESF à 10 ans dépasse les 6 milliards d’euros, avec une mise à prix autour d’un spread de 17 pdb au-dessus de la courbe des swaps. Il avait annoncé vouloir ne lever que cinq milliards d’euros. L’FESF avait annoncé vendredi qu’il réaliserait dans les prochaines semaines deux émissions obligataires afin de financer le programme d’aide au Portugal. La première émission d’obligations aura une durée de dix ans. Une deuxième émission d’obligations, pour un total de 3 milliards d’euros et d’une durée de cinq ans, devrait suivre. Les chefs de file de l'émission sont Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank et HSBC.

Le nombre de bénéficiaires des allocations chômage au Royaume-Uni a enregistré en mai sa plus forte hausse en près de deux ans, a annoncé l’Office national de la statistique mercredi. Le nombre de sans-emploi a bondi de 19.600 en mai, soit plus du double de ce qu’attendaient les analystes (+7.000). Cette progression est la plus forte observée depuis juillet 2009.

La collecte nette des fonds Ucits s’est élevée au mois d’avril à 21,4 milliards d’euros, à comparer à une décollecte de 9,4 milliards d’euros en mars, selon les statistiques publiées par l’association européenne de la gestion d’actifs (Efama). Sur les quatre premiers mois de l’année, la collecte nette s'élève à 51,1 milliards d’euros.La reprise de la collecte est due pour l’essentiel au retour des investisseurs sur les fonds actions qui ont drainé 8,2 milliards d’euros en avril alors qu’ils avaient subi une décollecte de 10,8 milliards en mars. Les fonds Ucits Long terme (c’est-à-dire hors fonds monétaires) ont enregistré une collecte nette de 21,4 milliards d’euros après une décollecte nette de 3,4 milliards d’euros un mois plus tôt, la collecte depuis le début de l’année s'établissant à 60,2 milliards d’euros. Les fonds diversifiés se sont distingués avec une collecte nette de 10,5 milliards d’euros en avril, la plus élevée depuis avril 2010, contre 6,6 milliards d’euros le mois précédent. Sur quatre mois, la collecte nette s’inscrit à 30,2 milliards d’euros. Les fonds obligataires ont encore terminé dans le rouge en avril, avec une décollecte de 0,7 milliard d’euros contre 0,3 milliard en mars. Du côté des fonds non coordonnés, la collecte nette s’est élevée à 8,3 milliards d’euros en avril contre 7,3 milliards un mois plus tôt, grâce pour l’essentiel à une collecte nette de 7,8 milliards d’euros sur les fonds dédiés contre 6,6 milliards en mars.

Le fournisseur de logiciels et de services pour le secteur de la gestion d’actifs et des hedge funds PerTrac souhaite se développer auprès des family offices. «L’Europe et l’Asie sont pour nous deux zones de croissance prioritaires. En Europe, nous voulons notamment développer nos activitiés auprès des family offices», a déclaré le 14 juin à NewsManagers Lisa Corvese, managing director responsable depuis le mois dernier de la stratégie internationale, de passage à Paris. PerTrac, qui a déjà développé de nombreux partenariats, souhaite poursuivre dans cette voie au cours des prochaines années, l’accent dans l’immédiat étant mis sur le développement d’outils de gestion des données, notamment pour les véhicules Ucits. Par ailleurs, PerTrac envisage de fournir des données trimestrielles sur les développements au sein du secteur des hedge funds sur une bas trimestrielle, et ce dès l’automne prochain. Selon Lisa Corvese, le regain d’intérêt des investisseurs pour les hedge funds observé l’an dernier (cf. NewsManagers du 27 avril 2011) devrait se renforcer cette année. «Au cours des deux prochaines années, cette tendance devrait se confirmer et les hedge funds devraient devenir «mainstream"", estime Lisa Corvese qui voit une forte impulsion du côté de la clientèle haut de gamme (UHNW). Les investisseurs institutionnels comme les fonds de pension s’intéressent aussi de plus en plus à la gestion alternative mais sont contraints par leurs règles internes qu’ils mettront un peu de temps à faire évoluer. Cela dit, les plates-formes de managed accounts offrent de ce point de vue un bon compromis tant en termes de transparence et de surveillance des risques qu’en termes de coûts.

A survey by the Financial Services Authority of wealth managers based in the United Kingdom has shown that about 80% of retail clients had been sold a product which was not suitable for them, the Financial Times reports. Many advisors recommended products which involved more risk than was appropriate to the client’s situation. Others had information about clients which was so incomplete or outdated that it was impossible to say whether the advice was appropriate.

As of the end of May, assets under management in ETFs worldwide totalled USD1.4466trn, 1.6% lower than at the end of April (USD1.4698trn), but 10.3% higher than at the end of December (USD1.3113trn). By comparison, assets as of the end of May 2010 totalled USD1.0441trn, according to statistics from BlackRock.The US asset management firm counted a total of 2,747 ETF funds as of the end of last month, listed 6,079 times on 49 stock markets, from 142 providers. Since the beginning of 2011, the number of ETF funds has increased by 11.7%, with 313 fund launches, 7 funds removed from trading, and 19 mergers. There are currently plans to launch 1,022 new ETF funds.The top three providers remain unchanged: iShares (BlackRock) remains the largest by far, with 470 ETF funds and USD628.5bn in assets, followed by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA, 134 products and USD203.4bn), and Vanguard (69 funds and Usd177.6bn). These three firms represent a market share of 69.8%, with 43.5% for iShares, 14.1% for SSgA, and 12.3% for Vanguard. The next two providers in the rankings are Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) and db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank), with respective market share of 3.8% and 3.6%, corresponding to USD54.5bn and USD52.6bn.

The Australian bank Macquarie and a branch of the China – Everbright financial group have created an investment fund with USD729m in assets, to profit from increasing strain in the financing of infrastructure projects in Greater China, the Financial Times reports. The Macquarie Everbright Greater China Infrastructure Fund will focus on about 150 infrastructure projects, and aims to be in pole position for potential sales of government holdings in those assets.

According to BlackRock, as of the end of May, assets in ETF funds domiciled in Europe were down by USD10bn, or 3%, in one month, to USD318.2bn, which remains 12% higher than their levels as of the end of December.In the first five months of the year, the number of ETF funds increased 7.6%, to 1.154 funds (listed 3,954 times), with 108 new funds launched, seven removed from trading, and 19 mergers.Net subscriptions in January-May totalled USD15.3bn, of which USD7.8bn went to iShares, and USD2.8bn to UBS Global Asset Management, with these two actors accounting for 75.2% of total net inflows. Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale), for its part, underwent the largest net outflows, totalling USD2.1bn, In the month of May alone, net subscriptions totalled USD2.2bn, with iShares posting net subscriptions of USD3.8bn, and Amundi ETF posting net subscriptions of USD0.4bn, while ETFlab Investment (Deka) underwent net outflows of USD1.5bn.In terms of assets, iShares remains the largest provider, with 167 ETF funds and USD115bn in assets (a market share of 36.1%). It is followed by Lyxor, with 161 products and assets of USD53.7bn (a market share of 16.9%), and db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank), whose product range includes 158 ETFs and assets of USD51.3bn, for a market share of 16.1%.

Stewart Cowley, head of fixed income at Old Mutual Asset Managers, is recommending avoiding the US dollar. At a conference organised by Expert Investor last week, Cowley claimed that it is time to start preparing for a fall in the value of the US currency, as the country is very far from having resolved its deficit problems. “The Fed looks like a leveraged hedge fund,” he says. However, although all eyes are currently on Greece, Cowley considers that the European restructuring plan is “credible.” Cowley had previously been avoiding the euro, but now he is gradually returning to the European currency. The head of fixed income at OMAM, who is also avoiding the Japanese yen, prefers commodity currencies, such as the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar, and the South African rand. Cowley also states that he is avoiding government bonds, leaning toward a negative duration, and preferring businesses with low gearing and unique product positioning.

Investors have scaled back risk taking in the past month, reducing exposure to equities and commodities while upping allocations to cash and bonds, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for June, completed between June 3 and June 9 and covering 282 managers, with assets under management totalling USD828bn. Asset allocators have been adjusting portfolios in the face of falling world markets, significantly reducing their holdings in equities. The net percentage overweight equities fell to 27 percent from 41 percent in May, with Europe leading the way. The proportion of investors underweight eurozone equities rose to a net 15 percent from a net 1 percent. The proportion of investors overweight commodities fell to a net 6 percent from a net 12 percent. A net 18 percent of asset allocators are now overweight cash. This represents the highest cash overweight level since June 2010 and a sharp move upwards from last month’s reading of a net 6 percent. Bonds, unloved throughout much of the past two years, have enjoyed a recovery during the past two months. A net 35 percent of asset allocators are underweight bonds, compared with a net 58 percent in April and 44 percent in May. Behind the shifts in allocations are concerns about sovereign debt funding in Europe, which investors have named as the biggest tail risk in this month’s survey. Investors have also lowered expectations of strong growth in global profits, but broad sentiment towards the global economy has stabilized. While economic optimism is down, investors are not pessimistic enough to be calling for a third round of quantitative easing (QE3). Investors are struggling to form a clear and consistent view towards emerging markets. While optimism towards emerging market equities as a whole is on the up, concerns over the direction of China’s economy continue to grow. Allocation to emerging market equities fell in June, with a net 23 percent of asset allocators overweight the region, down from a net 29 percent in May. Looking ahead, however, emerging markets could become the preferred destination for investment once again.

Henderson Global Investors has announced that some of its funds have recently acquired 0.4 million shares in Liontrust Asset Management, putting the management firm’s total stake in its competitor at just above 3.92 million shares, or 11.1% of capital.

The Luxembourg investment fund association (ALFI) has claimed in a statement released on 14 June that the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in the version passed by the US government in March 2010, which is set to come into force on 1 January 2013, may drive European management firms into a long and costly series of adaptations, whose costs would be paid by clients (experts estimate a cose of USD40 per investor), at a time when US investors are hardly invested in European funds at all. Charles Muller, deputy director of ALFI, says that the association does not oppose FATCA, but that some concessions and a longer transition period should be allowed, while retaining the objective of the bill, namely to combat tax evasion in the United States. The law affects all funds which invest in the US market: providers of financial services, investment funds, management firms and foreign banks are required in their annual reports to declare US taxpayers’ earnings to the US authorities, or to pay the US tax authorities a withholding tax of 30% on gross revenues, dividends and interest.

The New York management firm Neuberger Berman Group has announced the launch of the Neuberger Berman Global Allocation Fund, which uses macroeconomic top-down and stock-picking, bottom-up approaches in the areas of equities, bonds, and currencies, among others. The strategy is already available in the form of mandates, and weighs in at USD1.9bn.The new asset allocation fund is managed by Wai Lee, CIO of the Quantitative Investment Group at Neuberger Berman, and three other portfolio managers from the Quantitative Investment Group: Bobby Pornrojnangkool, Alex Da Silva, and Ping Zhou.The fund is available in three share classes. The institutional share class (NGLIX) charges 1.29%, while A-class shares (NGLAX) carry a front-end fee of 5.75%, and a management commission of 1.65%. C-class shares (NGLCX) carry no front-end fee, but management commission is 2.40%.

Inflows to UCITS funds in April totalled EUR21.4bn, compared with outflows of EUR9.4bn in March, according to statistics from the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA). In the first four months of the year, net inflows totalled EUR51.1bn.The rebound in inflows is largely due to investors returning to equities funds, which attracted EUR8.2bn in April, compared with outflow sof EUR10.8bn in March.UCITS long term funds (meaning all products excluding money markets) posted net inflows of EUR21.4bn, following net outflows fo EUR3.4bn, while inflows since the beginning of the year totalled EUR60.2bn.Diversified funds stood out with net outflows of EUR10.5bn in April, their highest level since April 2010, compared with EUR6.6bn the previous months. In the past four months, inflows total EUR30.2bn.Bond funds finished the month of April in the red, with outflows of EUR0.7bn, compared with EUR0.3bn in March.For non-UCITS-compliant funds, net inflows came to EUR8.3bn in April, compared with EUR7.3bn one month earlier, largely due to net inflows of EUR7.8bn to dedicated funds, compared with EUR6.6bn in March.

The Swiss management firm Lombard Odier is in the process of adding to its sales staff serving institutional clients in Asia, at a time when it is also planning to construct a team of experts in long/short equities, credit and currencies, and to recruit a regional chief investment officer, Asian Investor reports. The group, which in March appointed Vincent Duhamel as its first head for Asia, has about USD158bn in assets under management, of which USD7bn (4.4%) are from Asian clients. Lombard Odier is seeking to double its Asian assets under management in the next five years.

The Spanish asset management boutique Abante Asesores has announced the launch of a UCITS III-compliant absolute return global macro fund, Citywire reports. The Maral Macro FI fund will be managed by the new manager recruited by the firm, Juan Manuel Mazo.

At the AGM of Inverco, the Spanish association of management firms, on 14 June, Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Ahorro Corporación and Fermín Alvarez of Fonditel Pension, were elected as chairman of the group of collective investment organisms and chairman of the pension fund group, respectively, replacing Carlos Pérez Parada (Barclays Wealth Managers España) and David Carrasco (BBVA Pensiones).The AGM also voted to modify the rules relating to associate members joining the association. An initial list of 25 members in this category has been approved, which includes, among others, Accenture, BNP Paribas Securities, Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), Deloitte, KPMG, Garrigues, Linklaters, Moody’s, Morningstar, PwC, S&P and VDOS Stochastics.

Bank Julius Baer, which aims to make Asia its second home market, has announced that it continues to strengthen its Investment Solutions Group (ISG) in Asia with the appointments of Mark Matthews as head research, Asia and Dr Lee Boon Keng as sole head investment solutions group, Singapore. Reporting to Dr Lee, Mark, who is a specialist with more than 18 years experience in financial and investment sector, will be based in Singapore with a regional mandate.

The wealth of the 611,000 Italian families with assets of over EUR500,000 as of 2010 totalled EUR896bn, according to Il Sole – 24 Ore. The percentage of these portfolios invested in equities is only 11.3%, compared with a European average of 14%. These high net worth investors place most of their assets in bonds, at 48%, more than double the European average. A growing number of investors are placing their assets with private bankers. The sector manages 47% of assets, a 6.8% increase over 2010.

PerTrac, a provider of software and services for the asset management and hedge fund sectors, is seeking to develop its presence serving family offices. “Europe and Asia are two priority growth areas for us. In Europe, we would like to develop our activities serving family offices in particular,” Lisa Corvese, managing director in charge of international strategy sunce last month, told Newsmanagers on 14 June on a visit to Paris.PerTrac, which has already developed a number of partnerships, would like to continue that course in the coming years, with the immediate emphasis on the development of data management tools, particularly for UCITS vehicles. PerTrac is also planning to provide quarterly data on developments in the hedge fund sector on a quarterly basis, starting this autumn.Corvese says that renewed interest in hedge funds on the part of investors starting last year (see Newsmanagers of 27 April 2011) will continue this year. “In the next two years, that trend will continue, and hedge funds will become mainstream,” Corvese says, predicting that there will be a major boom in ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients.Institutional investors such as pension funds are also showing an increasing interest in alternative management, but are limited by internal rules, which little time will be invested in developing. However, managed accounts platforms offer a good compromise from this point of view, in terms of transparency and risk surveillance as well as cost.

The British asset management firm Schroders is releasing a Luxembourg-registered fund of equities from commodities companies, the Schroder ISF Global Resources Equity, which aims to bring together the best ideas from specialists at the firm worldwide in a portfolio with only 35 to 55 positions, for sale in Germany and Austria. The management of the product will be undertaken by the Australian Sam Catalano, with the assistance of John Coyle and Matthew Franklin. The benchmark index is composite, composed 35% of the MSCI AC World Energy, and 65% of the MSCI AC World Materials. Schroders is offering a class of shares denominated in US dollars, and one on euros hedged for currency risks.CharacteristicsName: Schroder ISF Global Resources EquityISIN code: LU0507597176 (A share class in US dollars)Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 1.5%Minimal subscription: EUR1,000

The British asset management firm M&G Investments is planning to merge two income funds dedicated to UK equities, the M&G Income Fund, with assets under management of slightly over GBP200m, and the M&G Dividend fund (GBP521m).Pending the approval of shareholders, the smaller of the two funds will be merged into the larger one in mid-August.Alex Odd, who has managed the two funds since July 2010, applies the same investment approach to the two vehicles. Hence the idea of merging the two portfolios, whose structures have recently become increasingly similar.

Fund Strategy reports that Henderson is to merge three Gartmore multi-manager funds on August 12, 201. The Gartmore Active Fund will be merged into the Henderson Active Fund, while the Balanced fund will be merged into the Henderson Managed Fund, and the Multi-Manager Cautious Fund will be merged into the Multi-Manager Income and Growth Fund.

The alternative management firm Polar Capital has reported an increase of 11% in its assets under management in the past two months, to USD4.3bn, the news agency Reuters reports. Polar Capital had already reported a 53% increase in its assets under management as of 31 March 2011, at USD3.87bn.Though long-only funds have posted net subscriptions for the year to 31 March of USD950m, for a total of USD3.1bn, hedge funds have posted an outflow of USD229m for the year to 31 March, to USD771m, and this trend is continuing, Polar Capital admits, though it says it would like to increase the weight of this unit, which currently represents about 15% of total assets.