p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has announced the opening of an office dedicated to bond management in New York, on 4 April. The US office will allow SWIP to locally manage ranges of products specialised in US bonds. Neil Murray, global head of credit at the management firm, will be head of the team. He will be joined by Giulio Ponte, an analyst specialised in high yield, who is currently a member of the European high yield team in Edinburgh.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Keren Finance on Wednesday, 9 February announced the arrival of Bruno Bernstein as a member of its management team. He will serve as equities manager, and will be in charge of monitoring and management of European equities. Bernstein was previously at CCF Securities and subsequently HSBC.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For fourth quarter 2010, the Credit Suisse Group has reported an adjusted net profit of CHF1bn, and a net inflow of CHF13.9bn. For the year as a whole, net profits totalled CHF5bn, and net inflows came to CHF69bn. The Private Banking unit in fourth quarter earned pre-tax profits of CHF834m, on net inflows of CHF9.6bn. For the year as a whole, pre-tax profits totalled CHF3.4bn, while net earnings came to CHF11.6bn, and net inflows came to CHF54.6bn. The Asset Management unit posted pre-tax profits in fourth quarter of CHF180m, and a net inflow of CHF4.5bn, of which CHF3.6bn went to alternative investments, largely in real estate, ETFs, and credit strategies. For the year as a whole, pre-tax profits totalled CHF503m, while net earnings came to CHF2.3bn, and net inflows to CHF20.6bn. Total assets under management by the group totalled CHF125.3bn as of the end of fourth quarter 2010, which is stable compared with the end of third quarter and up CHF24bn (2%) since the end of fourth quarter 2009.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Pioneer Fund, the third-oldest fund in the United States, has set a new record, Cinco Días reports. From its launch on 13 February 1928 until 31 December 2010, the actively-managed product specialised in large caps has earned returns of 1,073,300%, an unrivalled result according to Morningstar and Lipper. Annualised returns come out to 11.89%. As of 31 December, the fund, which has had four managers since its inception, had assets of USD7bn. Over the past ten years, annual performance was limited to 1.88%.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Union Financière de France (UFF) has recently halted sales of its high yield fund maturing in 2018, which promises minimal returns of 7%, at EUR120m. Meanwhile, the bank, which sells 60 FCPs from 20 open architecture providers (“we work with everybody, but not with just anybody,” says Nicolas Schimel, CEO), a few weeks ago started to offer the UFF REFflex fund, managed by Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers (EDRIM), for sale.This is an “anti-crisis investment,” a diversified fund “whose goal is to seek to earn returns particularly in periods of crisis, when traditional asset classes (equities and bonds) tend to suffer,” UFF announced at a presentation of its 2010 results on 9 February (see Newsmanagers of 9 February).REFflex is an asset allocation fund, whose management is based on “dymamic, flexible and systematic” allocation in safe-heaven assets. To this end, EDRIM and UFF chose seven refuge asset classes: real estate (trackers), gold (funds), long-term Euro zone interest rates (buying and/or selling of Bund futures), European inflation-linked government bonds (trackers), and dollar and euro money markets.Based on these, EDRIM has constructed a quantitative and systematic model to select the best assets at the best times, with monthly revision. Each month, the portfolio will be invested equally (50/50) in the two refuge asset classes which earned the best returns the previous month, to provide time to ensure that there is genuine momentum.CharacteristicsName: UFF REFflexISIN: FR0010962621Management fees:C shares: 2.25%V shares (minimal subscription of EUR300,000): 1.75%Performance commission: 20% of performance exceeding annual returns of 7.5%
H2O Asset Management, a London-based entrepreneurial venture created by Bruno Crastes, CEO, and Vincent Chailley, CIO, is launching a range of “global macro” UCIT funds: H2O Patrimoine, H2O Multibonds, H2O Adagio, H2O Moderato. The range provides institutional, corporate and private investors with access to global macro type strategies within UCIT funds. H2O Patrimoine is a flexible diversified management, with a three-year goal of maximizing performance beyond its reference indicator while promoting wealth growth. H2O Multibonds is a multi-currency global bond management with a three-year goal of outperforming the JPM Government Bond Index Broad by 2% per year (Part I). Finally, H2O Adagio and H2O Moderato rely on a non-benchmarked management with an annualized performance goal over 1 year and 2 years: capitalized Eonia rate +1% per year and capitalized Eonia + 2% per year (parts I), while maintaining the lowest possible correlation with markets.With a team of thirteen professionals, including six asset managers and one analyst, H2O Asset Management has formed a partnership with Natixis Asset Management and leverages the support of its sales teams in France and of its support functions, such as middle office, IS, reporting, risks, etc. For international distribution, it relies on the teams of Natixis Global Associates. H2O Asset Management manages today close to EUR522 million of assets (02/02/2011). It is expecting another EUR500m.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Tikehau Investment Management, a management firm specialised in credit markets, announced on Wednesday, 9 February, that it has launched Tikehau Subordonnées Financières (TSF), a fund dedicated to investment in subordinated bank debt and insurance from top Euopean insurance issuers. With an average minimal rating of BB+, the fund aims to deliver gross annual returns of 7% to 8%. Characteristics ISIN: FR0010985549 (C shares) / FR0010985556 (D shares) Liquidity: daily Subscription amount: EUR1,000 Institutional shares/Retail shares: yes/yes
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Absolute Alpha Fund, a long/short multi-manager equities fund of funds, is the first mutual fund from the management firm 361° Capital. The objective is to generate returns with low volatility and a low correlation with US and international equities markets. It will offer subscribers access to highly outperforming funds, combined with an overlay of risk management techniques to protect the portfolio against falls on the equity markets. The Absolute Alpha Fund is available in A (AAFAX) shares for IFAs, with a front-end fee of 5.75%, and in institutional I (AAFIX) shares, for which the minimal subscription is set at USD1m.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } José Luis Ezcurra, previously representative of the hedge fund Harcourt Investments, an affiliate of Vontobel, for the Iberian peninsula and Latin America, has been appointed as director of sales for Vontobel AM in the same regions, Funds People reports. Ezcurra will report to José M. Olabarrieta, CEO of Vontobel AM for Spain, and will continue to sell Harcourt products alongside Vontobel products in Spain, Portugal, Andora, Chile, Peru and Colombia.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The alternative management group Man on 9 February announced the launch of Man IP 200 GLG Ltd, a product which for the first time offers investors access to a combination of managed futures strategies from AHL and discretionary strategies from GLG. The vehicle is the latest in the IP 220 range, launched in 1996. Man IP 220 GLG Ltd will invest both in the AHL Diversified Programme, which aims to make gains on price movements and market trends, and the GLG Global Opportunitey Portfolio, an international multi-strategy portfolio. Man says in a statement that the two vehicles have excellent long-term performance track records, and low correlation. AHL is a specialist in quantitative management, with assets under management of USD22.6bn as of 31 December 2010. Assets under management at GLG totalled USD25bn as of the end of December 2010.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Between 2007 and the present, assets in German wealth funds have increased from EUR2.5bn to EUR26bn. For this reason, the German association of independent wealth management firms (VuV) is calling for a definition of these products, so that they can be placed in the same specific category by ratings agencies and the BVI association of management firms. At present, they are considered diversified funds. A working group at VuV has established four criteria to determine whether or not a fund falls into the wealth fund category: the fund should be invested in several asset classes, must have a portfolio fund investment, must aim for risk-adjusted returns, and must be managed without conflicts of interest.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to an annual report from the Spanish Inverco association of asset management firms, assets in Spanish funds fell 15.4% in 2010, while foreign funds on sale in the country gained 49.1%. Spanish funds saw net outflows of EUR23.89bn, while foreign funds posted net subscriptions of EUR0.5bn. Inverco does not foresee a reversal in this trend this year: competition from savings accounts will let up, but that from foreign management firms will not.Inverco predicts that Spanish funds may grow by 5.6% this year, despite an 18.3% decline for real estate funds and thanks to a 6.7% increase for securities funds (+EUR5.7bn). Overall, Spanish funds may attract EUR9bn, while foreign funds will manage to attract EUR7bn – but that represents an increase in assets of 14.6%.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In January, more than 30 hedge funds were created worldwide, according to Eurekahedge, confirming the dynamism of 2010. Assets under management in the sector totalled over USD1.67trn. In terms of performance, the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund index increased by only 0.01%.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Pimco has announced the appointment of four managing directors. Mike Amey becomes managing director of the London office, in charge of portfolios in pounds Sterling. Robert Mead was appointed as managing director fo the Sydney office, in addition to his roles as head of portfolio management for Australia and head of Asia-Pacific credit portfolio management. James Moore, for his part, has been promoted to managing director of the Newport Beach office, and director of the global liability driven investments team. Marc P. Seidner has been appointed as managing director at the same office, and portfolio manager.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The IFRS Foundation, the organisation which oversees the IASB, on 9 February announced the appointment of Dick Sluimers as trustee at the foundation, with a mandate beginning immediately and expiring on 31 December 2013. Sluimers is chief executive officer at the Dutch APG group, a provider of asset management services and fund administration for pension funds. The APG group manages about 30% of collective retirement programs in the Netherlands, with assets under management of about EUR280bn.
L'Eonia s'est tendu à 0,68 % mardi, contre 0,34 % lundi, les banques n’ayant demandé à la BCE que 156,7 milliards d'euros à 1 mois sur 213,7 milliards échus
Mary Ma, associée de TPG, quitte selon le quotidien la société de private equity américaine. Elle s’apprêterait à lancer son propre fonds en collaboration avec Louis Chueng, qui doit quitter le mois prochain la présidence de l’assureur chinois Ping An. Mary Ma était avant son arrivée chez TPG en 2007 directrice financière du fabricant informatique Lenovo.
Les actionnaires de Yoplait ont confirmé avoir reçu neuf «marques d’intérêt» pour la reprise des 50% du capital détenus par PAI dans le numéro deux mondial des produits laitiers frais.«Sodiaal et PAI décideront dans les prochains jours des candidats qui seront invités à poursuivre le processus dans le cadre d’un deuxième tour», ont indiqué les deux actionnaires, qui précisent que le prix proposé ne sera pas le seul critère retenu. Ce matin, le China Securities Journal cite un cadre anonyme du chinois Bright Food démentant l’hypothèse d’une offre formulée par son groupe.
Axel Weber, le président de la Bundesbank, ne sera pas candidat à la succession de Jean-Claude Trichet à la présidence de la Banque centrale européenne, selon des sources citées par Reuters. Il aurait également fait savoir qu’il n'était pas intéressé par un second mandat à la tête de la banque centrale allemande. Axel Weber honorera ses rendez-vous prévus à court terme, précise-t-on. Le ministère allemand des Finances s’est refusé à tout commentaire.
La demande pour la nouvelle OAT française indexée sur l’inflation de la zone euro, l’OATei juillet 2027, dépasse 4 milliards d’euros. On estime que le prix sera fixé très probablement pour offrir un rendement de 21 points de base au-dessus de l’OATei 2022, soit dans le bas de la fourchette indicative.
Le semencier Vilmorin a indiqué mercredi que la hausse des cours des matières premières avait eu un effet positif sur ses ventes aux agriculteurs, ces derniers étant plus enclins à augmenter leurs investissements. Le chiffre d’affaires consolidé du groupe français au premier semestre 2010-2011 a atteint 364,8 millions d’euros, en progression de 9,7% à données comparables par rapport à la même période l’année dernière.
Le London Stock Exchange a confirmé le rachat de l’opérateur boursier canadien TMX Group, propriétaire de la Bourse de Toronto. Le nouvel ensemble sera une place importante de cotation des valeurs minières, mais risque toutefois de susciter une opposition politique au Canada. La transaction, qui valorise TMX à 3,2 milliards de dollars sur la base du cours de clôture mardi (2,34 milliards d’euros), a été approuvée à l’unanimité par les deux conseils d’administration. Les actionnaires de TMX recevront 2,9963 actions pour chaque action TMX. Les actionnaires du LSE détiendront 55% du nouvel ensemble. Le groupe issu de la fusion, dont la capitalisation boursière serait de 4,3 milliards de livres (plus de 5 milliards d’euros), sera coté sur les deux places boursières. Le groupe sera dirigé par l’actuel directeur général du LSE, le Français Xavier Rolet, et la direction financière sera confiée à Michael Ptasznik, actuellement à ce poste chez TMX.