p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNP Paribas earned net profits of EUR7.84bn (for a portion of the group) in 2010, up 34.5% from 2009, “due to its active role in the financing of the economy and the success fo the integration of Fortis, which gives the Group a new dimension,” the group announced in a statement published on 17 February. In 2010, the first complete year of its new, expanded perimeter, the Group earned net banking revenaues of EUR43.88bn, up 9.2% compared with 2009 (-0.1% with constant perimeter and exchange rates). For the year 2010 as a whole, net inflows for the Investment Solutions unit was negative to the tune of EUR3.3bn; good inflows for Insurance (+EUR8.4bn), private banking (+EUR3.2bn, despite a difficult environment) and Personal Investors (+EUR1.4bn) only partially offset outflows of EUR17.6bn from asset management, largely due to money market funds (-EUR12.7bn). Alongside positive performance and currency effects, these inflows allowed assets under management and advising to increase 7.5% compared with 31 December 2009, to EUR901bn.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2010, the asset management unit at Axa, composed of Alliance Bernstein and Axa IM, has seen net redemptions of EUR64bn. These outflows affected AllianceBernstein for EUR44bn, largely from the institutional segment (-EUR37bn), and largely from investments in equities, and from the retail segment (-EUR6bn). At Axa IM, EUR20bn in net outflows were largely from Axa Rosenberg (EUR29bn). However, due to positive market and currency effects, assets under management increased from EUR845bn as of the end of 2009 to EUR878bn as of the end of 2010 (EUR362bn for Alliance Bernstein, and EUR516bn for Axa IM). Revenues are up 5% to EUR3.328bn, largely due to higher average assets under management (up 3% compared with 2009).
Northern Trust has received approval from the Finansinspektionen (the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority) and the UK Financial Services Authority to offer asset management products and services to investors across the Nordic region, directly from its Stockholm office. This office opened in September 2009 to offer asset servicing products and services to its Nordic clients..This announcement shortly follows the news that Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI), the international asset management arm of Northern Trust, will be offering asset management solutions to clients across Benelux (Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg), from Northern Trust’s Amsterdam office. It further supports the asset manager’s continuing commitment to developing its business across Europe, Middle East and Africa.Northern Trust has also appointed Kristina Ilar as investment sales director for Northern Trust Global Investments. Based in Northern Trust’s Stockholm office, she will support NTGI’s business development opportunities across the Nordic region, offering asset management products and solutions to corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, charities, central banks and other eligible professional investors across the region.Kristina Ilar was previously director - client relationship management/business development with UBS Asset Management and executive director head of nordic institutional sales with Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) on 16 February announced the appointment of Stephan Repkow as CEO of Private Banking for the Geneva-based bank in the Asian region, based in Singapore. He will also supervise the development of private banking activities for the institution in the Asia-Pacific region, a strategic market which occupies a central place in UBP’s expansion plans, the bank says in a statement. The creation of a regional head for Private Banking in Singapore is a step in UBP’s Asian global strategy, along with additions to the regional strategies of its Asset Management division in Hong Kong. Before joining UBP, Repkow worked at Deutsche Asset Management, Citigroup Private Bank, and BNP Paribas.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research has launched the new Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Indices, Hedge Week reports. The range includes two main indices: the BofA Merrill Lynch Emerging Markets Corporate Plus Index (ticker EMCB) and the BofA Merrill Lynch US Emerging Markets Liquid Corporate Plus Index (ticker EMCL).
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Alexander Ciric, who joined Sal. Oppenheim in 1993, and most recently served as director of distribution to banks and insurers, has been transferred to Oppenheim Fonds Trust GmbH (OPFT) from 1 February 2011, as a member of the board of directors, in charge of distribution. He joins Amelie Harms and Marco Schmitz. Direction of sales to banks and insurers at OPFT has been entrusted to Thomas Laux.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Cornelia Keith, who was head of sales & relationship management, marketing & network management at BHF Asset Servicing (BNY Mellon group), was recruited as of 1 January as head of sales & account management outsourcing business for Germany at State Street Corporation.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Munich branch of Assénagon Asset Management SA (about EUR6bn in assets) on 20 January received a license from BaFin to create an affiliate, Assenagon Credit Management GmbH, which will include the credit unit, including credit and fixed income risk maangement, as well as relative value multi-asset class strategies.The creation of the affiliate will not affect shareholders in the two open-ended Luxembourg funds Assenagon Credit Basis and Assenagon Credit Basis II, from Assénagon Asset Management, which will continue to be managed by portfolio managers Joachen Felsenheimer and Wolfgang Klopfer, who are joining the new structure (the latter as chairman of the executive board).The objectives for Assenagon Credit Management are the management of open-ended funds and the administration of dedicated funds. The license for the firms as providers of financial services will allow the new business to operate financial portfolio management activities, investment advising, and intermediation.Assénagon also announced on 14 February that on 25 January it launched the open-ended UCITS-compliant fund Assenagon Alpha Volatility, a Luxembourg-registered product managed by René Reißhauer. The new product uses four market neutral volatility strategies to generate returns of 5-6%, after fees. Several institutionals have already invested EUR82m in the fund.CharacteristicsName: Assenagon Alpha VolatilityISIN Codes: I shares: LU0575255335 (minimal investment EUR50,000)P shares: LU0575268312Management commission: I shares: 0.8%P shares: 1.5%
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian independent management firm Azimut has signed an agreement with Banca Tercas, the largest banking group in the Abruzzo region, with 164 branches. The two Italian groups have signed a memorandum of understanding, by which Azimut will become the chief partner for the banking group for investment products, including funds and mandates. The first phase in the agreement will be the integration by March 2011 of the Luxembourg Sicav Tercas Lux from the eponymous group (about EUR75m in assets) into the Azimut AZFUNDI a fund with multiple sub-funds also registered in Luxembourg. Azimut Holding will acquire a 2% stake in the capital of Banca Caripe, which is controlled by Banca Tercas, for EUR5m. Banca Tercas and Banca Caripe will distribute AZFUNDI funds at their branches, which are primarily located in Abruzzo, the Marches, Latium, Molise and Emiglia-Romagna. The Banca Tercas group is an addition to the roughly 100 local banks with which Azimut, which is listed on the Milan stock exchange, already collaborates.
Philip Michaelsen has joined the European Insurance Solutions Group at J.P. Morgan Asset Management as head of strategic insurance sales EMEA.In this newly created position he will report to Dirk Popielas, head of European Insurance Solutions Group, and will work with him to develop the group’s Europe-wide initiative to grow a substantial, and ultimately market-leading, business managing the balance sheet assets of European insurance companies. Philip Michaelsen, who will be based in London, has moved to his new role from Deutsche Bank where he was responsible for insurance asset management new business development across UK, Europe and Scandinavia. Previously he worked at UBS Investment Bank in fixed income sales.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management Switzerland (GSAM), Marius Wergler, has been recruited by Lombard Odier Investment Managers as head of European sales, from 9 May 2011. He will report to Hubert Keller, managing partner at Lombard Odier, and will be in charge of commercial strategy and the deployment of this strategy for institutional investors and distributors throughout Europe.Keller will be a member of the executive board, and will oversee local teams based in London, Zurich, Geneva, Frankfurt, Paris, and Amsterdam.Wuergler arrives at his new employer along with Pascal Imhof, who was deputy head of the institutional business at GSAM Switzerland, and will now report directly to Keller at Lombard Odier.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Luxembourg platform Merrill Lynch Investment Solutions has increased the number of funds it has registered in Spain to 11. The CNMV has granted sales licenses for seven Newcits funds, which come as additions to the Marshall Wace Market Neutral TOPS, York Event-Driven UCITS, GLG European Opportunity UCITS, and CCI Healthcare Long-Short UCITS.The new funds are the York Asian Event-driven UCITS, Zweig-Dimenna US Long-Short Equity UCITs, Boyer Allan Asian Long/Short, Theorema European Equity Long-Short UCITS, Graham Capital systematic Macro UCITS, AQR Global Relative Value UCITS and Och-Ziff, European Mutli-Strategy UCITS.Minimal subscription is set at USD1,000.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stoxx Limited announced on 16 February that it has granted licenses to RBS Global Banking & Markets for the use of the Euro Stoxx 50 Monthly Leverage, Euro Stoxx 50 Monthly Double Short, LevDAX x2 (monthly) and ShortDAX x2 (montly) indices. The products will serve as underlying for four ETF funds launched on the XTF Segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform from Deutsche Börse.The funds are the RBS MARKET ACCESS Euro Stoxx 50(r) Monthly Leverage Index ETF, RBS MARKET ACCESS Euro Stoxx 50(r) Monthly Double Short Index ETF, RBS MARKET ACCESS LevDAX(r) X2 Monthly Index ETF, RBS MARKET ACCESS ShortDAX(r) X2 Monthly Index ETF, which have been listed since Wednesday.The four indices are calculated in euros.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 15 February, HSBC Global Asset Management (Deutschland) announced the launch of a product for retirement savings, the emerging markets fund HSBC Global Emerging Markets protect 80 dynamic, for which protection is provided by the bank HSBC France. The benchmark index for this product, which is intended to be integrated into policies from insurers, is the MSCI Emerging Markets. TER will be 1.65%.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On the basis of results as of 16 February from a sample of 2,018 hedge funds, the average performance for products of this type in January totalled 0.57%. The largest gains were for 29 convertibles arbitrage funds, at 2.03%.Only three strategies showed losses: the 122 global macro funds lost 0.62%, while the 311 emerging markets funds lost 0.60%, and the 3 equity short bias funds lost 0.57%.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } DoubleLine Funds Trust (USD8bn), the firm founded by Jeffrey Gundlach after he was dismissed from TCW (Société Générale), on 15 February launched the mutual fund DoubleLine Multi-Asset Growth Fund. The multi-asset class fund (bonds, equities, traded real estate and commodities) is available in two share classes: an A share class (DMLAX), with a front-end fee of 4.25% and a minimal subscription of USD2,000, and a “no-load” I share class (DMLIX), with a minimal subscription of USD100,000. Management commission is 1.45% for A shares, and 1.20% for I shares.The fund will use active management of asset classes, market sectors, and various specific investments. Gundlach is the lead portfolio manager, and will be assisted for the product by Bonnie Baha, of the Global Developed Credit team, Samuel Garza, for asset allocation, Luz Padilla, for emerging market debt, and Jeffrey Sherman for commodities.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Turgot Asset Management has announced the launch of Turgot Multigest International, a new fund aimed primarily at IFAs. It is an international equities funds, which will invest in 20 of “the best funds from Europe and the rest of the world,” the management firm says in a statement. The objective for Turgot Multigest International, managed by Arnaud de Champvallier, chief investment officer, and Waldemar Brun-Themin, is to outperform a composite index compsed 40% of the Eurostoxx 50, 35% of the CAC40, and 25% of the MSCI World index. The portfolio is exposed 75% to 100% to international equities markets, and to international bond markets for 0% to 25%, largely via OPCVM funds. In order to add dynamism to performance, the manager may expose the portfolio to emerging markets for up to 40%, and to small cap equities for up to 30%. Characteristics ISIN code: FR0010979989 Legal format: French-registered FCP Management fees: maximum TER of 2.3920% The FCP is pledged to invest only in OPCVM Funds whose real costs do not exceed the following limits: Management fees: TER of 3% of assets Front-end fee: 1.5% Exit fee: 1.5%
Global X Funds, a New York fund manager, will on Thursday launch the world’s first exchange-traded fund focused on the Asean region, according to the Financial Times. The ETF, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, will be based on the FTSE Asean 40 index, which tracks the largest companies in the five biggest Asean markets – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
On 14 February 2011 Robeco launched the Emerging Conservative Equities. The fund gives the opportunity to invest in emerging markets – but with less risk. The new fund is a result of research into the volatility effect conducted by Pim van Vliet en David Blitz from the Quantative Equities team. The research showed that low risk doesn’t need to lead to lower returns. Due to the low risk investment objective the fund invests in different stocks than traditional emerging market funds. This increases the possibility to diversify.Fund managers of the new fund are Pim van Vliet and Arlette van Ditshuizen. Pim van Vliet and Arlette van Ditshuizen also manage the Robeco Global Conservative Equity fund and the Robeco European Conservative Equities fund.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The timing of IPIC’s acquisition of the remainder of Cepsa from Total for EUR3.97bn was not accidental, Cinco Días claims. The Abu Dhabi sovereign fund was careful to kick off the operation a few days before the introduction of the Spanish sustainable economy law (Ley de Economía Sostenible), which would have made the process of gaining permission from the national Energy Commission tougher. Before the law came into force, the IPIC was not required to apply for permission from the energy regulator or the Spanish ministry of industry. As the takeover operation took place within the European community, it is subject only to approval from the European Commission, and not the Spanish antitrust commission, nor the antitrust authorities in the US or Canadia, two countries in which the IPIC already has activities.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The long-awaited moment for Italian management firms has come: from 1 July, the tax regime for Italian-registered funds will be harmonised with those of funds in other European countries, Bluerating reports. Subscribers to foreign-registered funds will be taxed on the proceeds when they sell their shares, where subscribers to Italian funds had previously been the only ones required to pay a tax calculated on the basis of the value of the shares, which was a disadvantage to these funds.
Plusieurs grandes villes du Royaume-Uni prévoient d’augmenter jusqu’à 400% certaines taxes liées à la collecte des ordures ménagères, au stationnement ou aux services funéraires afin de compenser la baisse des dotations gouvernementales, selon une étude réalisée par le quotidien britannique.
Le Japon devrait réclamer le soutien des pays du G20 lors de la réunion des ministres des finances qui se tiendra cette semaine, afin de développer l’utilisation des swaps de devises dans la région asiatique afin d’éviter une éventuelle crise financière, rapporte le journal qui fait échos à des propos similaires tenus par la Corée du Sud. Le Japon compte s’appuyer sur le «Chiang Mai Initiative» qui prévoit pour les nations d’Asie du sud-est de convertir leur monnaie dans le cas où la région ferait face à une crise du crédit. Cette initiative pourrait néanmoins se heurter au fait qu’elle risque d’amoindrir le rôle du Fonds Monétaire International.
Dans son rapport d’inflation publié hier, la Banque d’Angleterre voit l’inflation s'établir entre 4% et 5% à moyen terme pour revenir autour de 1,7% début 2013. Des prévisions qui suggèrent que l’autorité monétaire n’est pas encore prête à s’embarquer dans un cycle de hausse de taux.