La division ETF de la Deutsche Bank, db x-trackers, a annoncé le 12 janvier un encours de 36,3 milliards d’euros pour fin décembre, ce qui représenterait un gonflement de 38 %. Si l’on se fonde toutefois sur le montant annoncé voici douze mois (lire notre article du 19 janvier 2010), la hausse a été de 36,9 % par rapport aux 27 milliards d’euros annoncés à l'époque. Sur cet accroissement de 9,8 milliards d’euros, les souscriptions nettes ont représenté 7,1 milliards d’euros sur un total de européen de 35,3 milliards d’euros (pour les ETF et les ETC), si l’on en croit Thorsten Michalik, directeur de db x-trackers.Pour 2011, le gestionnaire allemand compte élargir sa gamme, qui comporte actuellement 174 ETF, notamment dans les domaines obligataire et du crédit, des produits couverts du taux de change et des ETF répliquant un portefeuille de plusieurs indices différents.

Le Handelsblatt constate que quelques-uns des plus gros gestionnaires d’actifs allemands allègent leur gamme de fonds monétaires après des remboursements massifs liés à une perte de confiance des investisseurs ainsi qu'à la baisse des performances. Depuis 2008, l’encours des fonds monétaires allemands a chuté de 54 milliards d’euros.Allianz Global Investors (AGI) a l’intention d'élaguer cette année 30 de ses quelques 330 fonds offerts au public, principalement des fonds monétaires, indique une porte-parole. Union Investment a annoncé pour sa part la fusion d’un fonds monétaire de 106 millions d’euros avec un fonds similaire tandis qu’un autre produit va être absorbé par un fonds monétaire en dollars.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Deutsche Börse is entering a cooperation in the area of trading of shares in investment funds with its Luxembourg affiliate Clearstream. The Börsen-Zeitung has learned that the order routing platform for funds listed on Clearstream, Vestima, will be connected to the Xetra electronic trading platform. The operators will gain a way to make trades with the market makers for funds on Xetra, namely Baader, Equinet and Close Brothers Seydler.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2010, net subscriptions to ETF and ETP products in Europe totalled USD50.2bn, compared with USD56.8bn in 2009, while ETFs listed in Europe grew by USD45.7bn, of which USD13.3bn went to iShares (BlackRock), USD8bn to db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank), and USD6.8bn to Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale).BlackRock says assets in European ETFs at the end of the year totalled USD284bn, compared with USD226.9bn, an increase of 25.2%, compared with an increase of 29.5% in the number of ETFs, to 1,071 funds (listed 3,699 times). The number of providers increased to 39 from 34. Also, 543 of these ETFs have assets of under USD50m, and 171 have assets of under USD10m.As of the end of December, the top three providers had a combined market share of 71.1%, compared with 75% one year earlier (see Newsmanagers of 14 January 2010). iShares continues to be the leader, with 181 ETFs and USD101.8bn in assets, corresponding to 35.8% of the market (compared with 38.4% one year earlier). Lyxor remains in second place, with 154 products and EUR52.4bn (18.4% of the market, compared with 20.4%), and db x-trackers ranks third, with 152 ETFs and USD47.9bn, a market share of 16.9%, compared with 16.6%.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the relatively near future, the Austrian management firm Raiffeisen Capital Management (RCM) is expected to receive a sales license in France for a new bond fund specialised in government bonds, which aims to be “intelligent.” Though RCM has not emphasized new bond products in France for about two years, this new fund may well correspond to the needs of the moment, in a time of crisis for govies, particularly in the Euro zone.The new Austrian-registered product is based on a in-house index developed by Raiffeisen Research. As Philippe Leroy, country head for France, explained Newsmanagers on 12 January at the OFI conference, the fund is designed to do without two constraints: the benchmark, and the ratings agencies. The index is defined on the basis of 20 country-by-country fundamental statistics. If weights each one on the basis of this information, so as not to pay a premium to the less well-behaved countries, the governments who borrow most and thus gain weight in traditional indices. In addition, the index takes into account all countries of the world, and not only the traditionally best-rated.On the basis of this index, RCM then undertakes active management to optimise results.RCM has assets in France of about EUR300m. Growth is expected to accelerate with the addition of retail product marketing, which began two and a half years ago, and which is beginning to gain “nice” levels of assets.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Of 1,650 funds licensed for sale in Italy which have been in existence for at least 10 years, more than one third (590) have finished the decade 2000-2010 in negative territory, Plus24 finds. At the bottom of the rankings is the JPMorgan US Technologie USD, which has lost 76.8% in euros. The funds which have earned positive returns are largely money market and bond funds, followed by commodities equities and emerging markets. Plus24 also notes that in this 10-year period, funds on sale in Italy saw net outflows of EUR182bn, which led to a decline in managed accounts to EUR450bn.

Fitch Ratings is revising the language in its Ratings Definitions pages to incorporate two changes to Ratings Definitions. The first removes the term ‘Shadow Ratings’. Fitch will no longer assign Shadow Ratings. It will assign Ratings, Assessments or Credit Opinions. Credit Opinions may be assigned when a Rating or Opinion is requested but Fitch is unable to assign a Rating under its normal ratings process because one or more characteristics of the definition of a full rating is omitted. For example, the information available or considered by Fitch may be below the level required to support a rating. Credit Opinions can be notch specific and denoted with an asterisk or category specific and denoted by the suffix '(cat)’.The second change adds an ‘RD’, Restricted Default, definition to National scale short- and long-term Issuer Default Ratings. National scale ratings are an opinion of creditworthiness relative to the set of issuers and issues within a single country. They are most commonly used in emerging market countries with sub- or low investment grade sovereign ratings on the global scale. Since credit ratings can be expressed across the full range of the scale, greater differentiation within a local market is possible with a national scale as compared to the global scale, where ratings tend to bunch around the often low sovereign rating.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jorge Villon has joined the alternative management firm Polygon Investment Partners as chief executive officer and a partner at the firm, Hedgeweek reports. The founders and partners at Polygon, Reade Griffith and Paddy Dear, will continue to be primarily focused on the management of investments and strategic initiatives.

Threadneedle has announced that Matthew Cobon has joined its Developed Government and Currency team led by Quentin Fitzsimmons. He comes from Aberdeen Asset Management / Deutsche Asset Management where he was Global Head of Currency Fund Management, with responsibility for managing investments in global currency markets and providing key macro insight into the wider fixed income investments since 2001. This recruitment reflects head of fixed income, Jim Cielinski’s vision to broaden out Threadneedle’s global fixed income capability. Threadneedle’s fixed income team of 39 currently manages over GBP21bn in assets.

Bandes Investment Partners, L.P. in the U.S., and Sparinvest Group in Denmark have entered an agreement to manage jointly new global fixed-income value products focusing on corporate bonds across the rating spectrum. The alliance, which has an indefinite term, does not call for either firm to invest capital in the other.Brandes plans to offer global fixed-income products in North America, using Sparinvest as a sub-advisor for non-North American corporate bonds (specifically European, Japanese and Emerging Market bonds). Sparinvest plans to offer global fixed-income products in Europe using Brandes as a sub-advisor for North American corporate bonds. It is envisaged that the first jointly-managed products will be introduced in the first quarter of 2011, with Sparinvest launching a fund product in Europe, and Brandes seeding a pooled fund in the United States.The two firms’ value bond teams have complementary strengths in the corporate credit asset class, and between them cover the two regions that comprise the substantial majority of the world’s non-governmental debt. Brandes is a leader in value investing in the U.S., where corporate bonds are a well-supported and mature asset class. Sparinvest has pioneered its value bond strategy in Europe, and is recognized for the performance of its High Yield Value Bonds fund during a period of rapid growth in the credit markets. Brandes was founded in 1974 by Charles Brandes who is a disciple of value pioneer Benjamin Graham.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to the most recent Hedge Fund Monitor from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, hedge funds are becoming prudent, and have reduced their exposure to equities to 25%, compared with a historical average of 35% to 40%, Cotizalia reports. In theory, this should be a sign that stock markets are about to fall, as they did in November. Meanwhile, hedge funds are betting on agricultural commodities, particularly corn and soy, as well as oil and copper. Their short positions are concentrated on the euro and ten-year government debt.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to reports in La Tribune, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM) has created a position for a head of management, CIO. The position will be occupied by Philippe Uzan, previously head of research and global allocation. The creation of the position is a sign of the asset management firm’s desire to better lead and coordinate teams, the newspaper says.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The product range from Janus Capital International Ltd in Spain now includes 25 funds, Expansión reports. The US management firm has released three equities funds (Janus US Fund, Perkins Global Value Fund, and Janus Emerging Markets Fund) and two bond funds (Janus Global Investment Grade Bond Fund and Janus High-Yield Fund) for sale in Spain. Like the other 20 products registered in Spain, the products are sub-funds of the Irish Sicav Janus Capital Funds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } CIAM, a French alternative management firm specialised in merger arbitrage, announced on Wednesday, 12 January, that it has created a Luxembourg-registered fund specialised in the merger and acquition arbitrage segment. The fund will invest in financial markets in Europe and the United States and Canada, targeting listedcompanies which are the subject of takeover offers, between the time when the deal is announced and the finalisation of the deal, a statement says. The investment process is a contrarian type, based on fundamental analysis of transactions and active trading. Companies are required to have capitalisation of over USD500m, in order to ensure adequate liquidity. Liquidity will be monthly, and without gates or lock-ups. The performance objective is set in the 10% to 15% annual range. CIAM has also created a humanitarian charity, independent of the management firm, to which it pays 25% of its performance commissions.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 12 January, Amundi ETF announced the launch of the Amundi ETF Green Tech Living Planet fund on NYSE Euronext Paris, in collaboration with WWF International and its affiliate, Living Planet Fund Management Company S.A., and CA Cheuvreux.The new French-registered fund (FR0010949479) aims to replicate the performance of the Living Planet Green Tech Europe fund, net return, denominated in euros. TER is 0.45%.The methodology of the index, created through a partnership between Amundi ETF, Living Planet Fund Management Co. S.A. and the SRI research teams at CA Cheuvreux, is based on the principles of identifying domains of activity that meet the definition of “green tech,” with the use of a filter to exclude sectors such as arms, fossil fuels and gambling, among others, to take into account liquidity criteria (minimal capitalisation of EUR100m, and average daily trading volume of EUR2m for the past six months), and weighting of shares on the basis of the percentage of their earnings related to green tech (at least 20%).

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2010, funds on sale in Sweden posted net subscriptions of SEK85.8bn, or about EUR9.7bn, according to the most recent statistics from the Swedish investment fund association (Fondbolagens Förening). More than half of net inflows were to equities funds (SEK46.9bn), where the most popular categories were Swedish equities funds (SEK13.3bn) and global equities funds (SEK14.2bn). Balanced funds and bond funds, for their part, showed inflows of SEK37.1bn and SEK23.2bn, respectively. However, money market funds saw outflows of SEK15.8bn, and hedge funds had outflows of SEK5.2bn. As of the end of 2010, assets in Swedish funds totalled SEK1.964trn (EUR222bn), of which SEK1.19trn were in equities funds (EUR134.5bn).

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the Swiss bank Gonet & Cie have risen 40%, with 30% more employees and twice as many managers, Agefi Switzerland reports. After a year of strong growth in 2010, Gonet & Cie is continuing its expansion with a service dedicated to independent managers (currently 5% to 10% of assets under management), and an enlargement of the product range, along with a move to new offices. Another strategic area of development announced for first half is a philanthropic services platform.“This is the concretisation of a growth strategy set out in 2008, which will allow us to reach a comfortable size for our future development,” explains Nicolas Gonet, one of the three partners, the scope of whose responsibilities are not defined. The bank provides no information about volumes of assets under management. It currently employes 60 people, 15 of whom are managers.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swisscanto group announced on 12 January that it has created two positions in analysis and research. A chief economist, M. Thomas Liebi will take over responsibility for macroeconomic analysis at Swisscanto. Marion Swoboda becomes head of sustainable development research, strengthening Swisscanto’s leading position in sustainable investment.“The addition of the new positions for eminently qualified specialists will allow Swisscanto to increase its influence in the area of research. The knowledge acquired will be immediately applied to asset management and the development of retirement planning products, particularly in the area of sustainable development,” Swisscanto adds.Piebi, previously at a pension fund, will begin on 1 April, while Swoboda, previously at SAM, will begin on 1 May 2011.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The ETF division of Deutsche Bank, db x-trackers, on 12 January announced that it has assets of EUR36.3bn as of the end of December, an increase of 38%. Based on the amount announced twelve months ago (see Newsmanagers of 19 January 2010), the increase was 36.9%, from EUR27bn at the time. Of this increase of EUR9.8bn, net subscriptions represented EUR7.1bn, out of a European total of EUR35.3bn (for ETFs and ETCs), says Thorsten Michalik, head of db x-trackers.For 2011, the German fund management firm is planning to enlarge its product range, which currently includes 174 ETFs, largely in the areas of bonds and credit, products which are hedged for currency risks, and ETFs replicating a portfolio of several different indices.

Joachim Faber (60), member of the board of management of Allianz SE, responsible for the Asset Management business, has informed the supervisory board of Allianz SE of his intention to retire on December 31, 2011. Marna Whittington (63) will step down from her position as chief operating officer of Allianz Global Investors on March 31, 2011, in order to focus on her role as chief executive officer of Allianz Global Investors Capital and on the development of the AllianzGI business in the USA. Jay Ralph (51), member of the board of management of Allianz SE, responsible for NAFTA markets will also assume the role of chief operating officer of Allianz Global Investors and become member of the board of management on April 1, 2011. He will succeed Joachim Faber, responsible for the Asset Management business on the board of management of Allianz SE, on January 1, 2012.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Handelsblatt reports that some of the largest German asset management firms are cutting back their money market fund ranges following massive redemptions related to loss of investor confidence and falling returns. Since 2008, assets in German money market funds have fallen EUR54bn.Allianz Global Investors (AGI) is planning to cut 30 of its roughly 330 open-ended funds this year, many of them money market funds, a spokesperson says. Union Investment has announced that it is merging a EUR106m money market fund with a similar fund, while another product will be absorbed into a US dollar money market fund.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of December, assets in ETFs worldwide totalled USD1.3113trn, compared with USD1.0361trn one year earlier. This increase of 26.6%, calculated by Deborah Fuhr at BlackRock, directly reflects the 26.6% increase in the number of ETFs, with 593 new products created and 77 removed from trading. In 2009, the number of ETFs increased by 21.9%, In total, as of the end of December there were 2,459 ETFs listed 5,554 times, from 136 providers, listed on 46 stock exchanges. One year earlier, there were 1,943 products listed 3,827 times, from 108 issuers, on 41 stock markets.There are currently plans to release 1,097 new ETFs. BlackRock also states that 31 new providers arrived on the market with their first ETFs in 2010, while three withdrew from this activity, and 40 others are planning to launch their first ETFs soon.The rankings remain unchanged: iShares remains the global leaders, with 473 ETFs, USD578.6bn in assets, and a market share of 44.1%. It is followed by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), with 113 products and USD190.7bn in assets, for 14.5% of the market. Vanguard is in third place, with 65 ETFs, USD148.5bn in assets, and market share of 11.3%.Net subscriptions last year for all providers in the areas of ETFs and ETPs, however, fell, to USD169.4bn from USD176.3bn in 2009.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } At his presentation at the OFI conference on 12 January, Peter J. Tanous, president of the US asset management firm Lepercq Lynx Investment Advisory, announced the forthcoming launch of a Luxembourg-registered commodities fund in conjunction with OFI.“The fund will not invest in just any commodity,” says the manager. “We will select the ones which show both strong demand and falling supply. In addition, they will need to have the characteristics of being difficult to substitute for. It will thus be a fund that invests in oil, gold, water, and timber,” says Tanous.

Threadneedle vient de recruter Matthew Cobon, ancien responsable mondial des devises d’Aberdeen Asset Management, en tant que gérant obligataire. Il intègre l'équipe «Developed Government and Currency» de la société de gestion britannique dirigée par Quentin Fitzsimmons. Ce recrutement vise à renforcer les capacités de Threadneedle en matière de «fixed income», qui gère actuellement plus de 21 milliards de livres d’actifs.

Jorge Villon vient de rejoindre la société de gestion alternative Polygon Investment Partners en qualité de chief executive officer et associé de la société, rapporte Hedgeweek. Les fondateurs et associés de Polygon, Reade Griffith et Paddy Dear, continueront de s’intéresser en priorité à la gestion des investissements et aux initiatives stratégiques.

A fin décembre, l’encours des ETF dans le monde se situait à 1.311,3 milliards de dollars contre 1.036,1 milliards un an plus tôt. Cette hausse de 26,6 % calculée par Deborah Fuhr chez BlackRock reflète exactement celle de 26,6 % affichée par le nombre d’ETF, avec 593 nouveaux produits et 77 radiés. En 2009, le nombre d’ETF s'était accru de 21,9 %. Au total, on recensait fin décembre 2.459 ETF cotés 5.554 fois et lancé par 136 promoteurs sur 46 Bourses. Un an plus tôt, le nombre d’ETF était de 1.943 avec 3.8327 cotations, 108 émetteurs et 41 Bourses.Actuellement, il existe des projets de lancement de 1.097 ETF. BlackRock précise aussi que 31 nouveaux promoteurs sont arrivés sur le marché avec leur premier ETF en 2010 tandis que trois se sont retirées de cette activité et que 40 autres prévoient de lancer prochainement un premier ETF.Le palmarès demeure inchangé : iShares reste le numéro un mondial avec 473 ETF, 578,6 milliards de dollars d’encours et une part de marché de 44,1 %. Il devance State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) avec 113 produits et 190,7 milliards de dollars ou 14,5 % du marché. Enfin, Vanguard se classe troisième avec 65 ETF, 148,5 milliards de dollars d’actifs et 11,3 % de part de marché.Les souscriptions nettes enregistrées l’an dernier par l’ensemble des opérateurs dans les domaines des ETF et ETP ont toutefois diminué, se situant à 169,4 milliards de dollars contre 176,3 milliards en 2009.

Les sociétés de gestion américaine Brandes Investment Partners et danoise Sparinvest viennent de conclure un accord portant sur la gestion conjointe de nouveaux produits obligataires «value» centrés sur les obligations d’entreprises, toutes notes de crédit confondues. Cette alliance, non limitée dans le temps, n’impose aucune prise de participation mutuelle entre les deux sociétés, précise un communiqué.Avec cet accord, Brandes entend offrir des produits obligataires en Amérique du Nord, en faisant appel aux conseils de Sparinvest pour les obligations d’entreprises non américaines (c’est-à-dire européennes, japonaises et celles des marchés émergents). De son côté, Sparinvest compte proposer des produits obligataires en Europe en faisant appel aux conseils de Brandes pour les obligations d’entreprises nord-américaines. Les premiers produits à gestion conjointe devraient être lancés au cours du premier trimestre 2011 sous la forme d’un fonds en Europe pour Sparinvest et d’un organisme de placement collectif aux États-Unis pour Brandes. En matière de gestion des obligations d’entreprises, les équipes dédiées aux obligations «value» des deux sociétés possèdent des atouts complémentaires et couvrent les deux régions qui comprennent la vaste majorité de la dette non gouvernementale mondiale. Brandes est un leader de l’investissement «value» aux États-Unis, où les obligations d’entreprises sont une catégorie d’actifs mature et bien soutenue, précise un communiqué de presse. «Sparinvest a fait figure de pionnière en Europe lorsqu’elle y a lancé sa stratégie obligataire «value» et jouit d’une réputation solide grâce à la performance réalisée par son fonds «High Yield Value Bonds» pendant une période de croissance rapide des marchés du crédit», indique Sparinvest. Brandes a pour sa part été créée en 1974 par Charles Brandes, un disciple de Benjamin Graham, considéré comme le père de l’investissement «value».

«Goldman Sachs est la première de la classe en termes de fourniture de liquidité aujourd’hui, mais elle est potentiellement celle qui a le plus à perdre de la nouvelle réglementation», estime JPMorgan Securities, selon l’Agefi. Le courtier, qui était auparavant à «surpondérer» sur Goldman Sachs, a abaissé sa recommandation à «neutre».

Morgan Stanley Investment Managament a annoncé que son premier fonds de dette mezzanine avait été clôturé avec 956 millions de dollars de capitaux de la part d’investisseurs, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. A cette date, le fonds, Morgan Stanley Credit Partners, a investi plus de 160 millions de dollars dans cinq sociétés et a un objectif d’investissement de 20 à 50 millions de dollars.

La Deutsche Börse se lance dans une coopération dans le domaine du négoce des parts de fonds d’investissement avec sa filiale luxembourgeoise Clearstream. La Börsen-Zeitung a en effet appris que la plate-forme de routage des ordres concernant les fonds chez Clearstream, Vestima, sera raccordée à la plate-forme électronique de négociation Xetra. Les opérateurs obtiennent de ce fait la possibilité d’opérer des transactions avec les teneurs de marchés de fonds sur Xetra que sont Baader, Equinet et Close Brothers Seydler.