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18/02/2010

Carmen Ortiz leaves Popular Gestión in the hands of Miguel Colombás

Carmen Ortiz, who has been appointed director of investor and shareholder relations and Banco Popular, is leaving his position as CEO of Popular Gestión (EUR6.7bn in assets, 64 funds). He will be replaced by Miguel Colombás, who was previously deputy CEO and CIO of the asset management firm.
18/02/2010

Hedge funds did not torpedo Santander and BBVA

According to documents obtained by the CNMV, hedge funds did not short shares in Santander and BBVA during the recent market tensions, despite the increased risk associated with Spanish government debt, Cinco Días reports. Short positions on these banks either held stable or were reduced: for example, they represent only 2.69% of capital in Banco Popular, compared with 7.29% at the height of the crisis in March 2009. Securities lending does not appear to reveal high levels of speculation either. For Santander, shares lent decreased between 5 January and 17 February to 767 million shares (9% of capital), from 1.8 billion. For BBVA, the volume of securities lent in the same period remained at a level equivalent to about 17% of capital.
18/02/2010

Asset management revenues at Axa down 25%

Revenues from asset management at Axa were down nearly 25% last year to EUR3.07bn, largely due to a lower level of assets under management (-18%), and an unfavourable evolution of the product mix (which contained a lesser proportion of equities). Assets under management were up EUR29bn compared with 31 December 2008, at EUR845bn. Net inflows were EUR71bn lower, largely due to the institutional client segment, due to the more limited performance of AllianceBernstein investments in 2008, and of some management expertise at AXA IM in 2009. However, positive developments on the markets resulted in gains of EUR108bn due to financial recovery. Assets under management as of 31 December last year totalled EUR346bn, compared with EUR33`1bn one year earlier at AllianceBernstein and EUR499bn, compared with EUR485bn at Axa IM. Assets invested by AXA totalled EUR590bn, of which EUR403bn were general assets invested in a diversified portfolio composed largely of bonds (81%), real estate (5%), cash (5%) and publicly traded equities (4%). Net results for the part of the group in 2009 totalled EUR3.6bn, compared with EUR0.9bn in 2008, on revenues down 3% at EUR90.1bn.
18/02/2010

Net outflows from asset management in 2009 at Société Générale

The asset management arm of Société Générale saw net outflows of EUR18.3bn in 2009 (of which EUR11.4bn in Q4 ’09), “due to the combined effects of falling financial markets and workforce reorganizations at the end of the year,” the bank said in a statement on Thursday morning presenting its annual results. After market effects are taken into account (+EUR25.2bn, of which +EUR5.9bn were in Q4 ’09), along with currency effects (-EUR2.3bn, with +EUR1.3bn in Q4 ’09), and the impact of sales (-EUR5.9bn, including SGAM UK, for –EUR4.7bn), assets under management in the professional area remained stable compared with the end of 2008, at EUR268.8bn as of the end of 2009. These assets included EUR170bn transferred to Amundi, the joint venture founded with Crédit Agricole, in which Société Générale controls 25%; EUR13bn transferred to Lyxor Asset Management in first quarter 2010, and EUR70bn managed by TCW, the US asset management affiliate of the bank. For the year, earnings for the professional area totalled EUR765m, a strong increase (+84.9%, +80.0% in ongoing figures) compared with 2008 revenues, which included large write-downs and losses related to the crisis. Gross operating profits returned above the break-even point (+EUR4m) after losses in 2008 (-EUR367m). Net profits for the part of the group totalled EUR1m.
18/02/2010

DWS rationalises its product range

DWS Investments will no longer offer its locally-registered funds in Austria. The last six funds on sale as of 31 December 2009 have either been transferred to other management firms, or liquidated. The open-ended fund management firm from Deutsche Bank has long had a significant concentration of its product range in the Luxembourg Sicav DWS Invest. French and Italian-registered funds, among others, have already been transferred to this Sicav. DWS is of the opinion that local management is ultimately too costly, and that centralisation of most of its management in Frankfurt is a less onerous and more practical alternative.
18/02/2010

Many star managers were interested in Citigroup at the end of 2009

Paulson & Co., the hedge fund management firm led by the billionaire John Paulson, in fourth quarter increased its stake in Citigroup, Bloomberg reports. At the same time, it sold shares in Bank of America Corp. In detail, Paulson bought 506.7 million shares in Citigroup in New York at the end of December, while his stake in Bank of America was reduced by 159.8 million shares to a total of 151 million shares. Paulson, who manages about USD32bn in assets in New York, began building up his stake in Citigroup in third quarter 2009. David Tepper, head of one of the best-performing hedge funds of last year, and the billionaire George Soros, are among the shareholders who increased their stakes in Citigroup in fourth quarter, Bloomberg reports.
18/02/2010

Threadneedle adds to UK equities management team

Chris Kinder, who managed long-only and long/short products at RWC Partners for the past seven years, is joining the UK Equity High Alpha team at Threadneedle as a fund manager. He will work in close collaboration with Mark Westwood on the UK Crescendo fund, as well as on the long-only high alpha range.
18/02/2010

BNP Paribas opens its Vol Edge fund to British investors

BNP Paribas has decided to open its Vol Edge fund to British investors. The fund, launched in 2007, is managed by the BNP Paribas affiliate Harewood Asset Management, Investment Week reports. The FCP fund offers coverage against volatility on equities markets, and protection against problems with correlation of other asset classes in falling markets. Harewood is targeting multi-management and high net worth private investors.
18/02/2010

ETFS Physical Palladium GH sets records for asset volume

ETF Securities (ETFS) announced on Wednesday that on 11 February, total assets in its physical Palladium ETC fund (under the acronym PHPT) has set an all-time record of 1.1 million ounces. This is four times the previous record set in the commodities boom in July 2008.
18/02/2010

Hedge fund compass out of whack

The major providers of hedge fund indices in January showed diverging trends, which is due to the differing components of their various indices. According to Credit Suisse/Tremont, hedge funds in January earned average returns of 0.17%, with peaks at 2.02% for FI arb and event-driven (1.42%), while emerging markets and long/short equity lost 0.76% and 1.50%. BarclayHedge, meanwhile, estimates that hedge funds overall lost 0.29%, with the top returns for equity short bias, with gains of 3.8%, followed by distressed securities (+2.64%), and as at Credit Suisse/Tremont, FI arb, which earned 1.89%. The emerging markets sub-index shows losses of 1.19%, while equity long bias is down 1.68%, and technologies are down 2.74%.
18/02/2010

Chinese sovereign fund invests in private equity

China Investment Corp, China’s sovereign wealth fund, has agreed to invest USD1.5bn in the private equity secondary market with Lexington Partners, Goldman Sachs and Pantheon Ventures. The firms have each agreed to manage USD500m for CIC through special accounts, which are to be kept separate from their main funds, according to people familiar with the agreements.
18/02/2010

Andrew Musters joins executive board at SAM

The global head of private equity at SAM and Robeco, Andrew Musters, has been appointed as a member of the executive board at SAM Sustainable Asset Management, an affiliate of Robeco. The appointment follows the complete integration of private equity activities into the area of clean tech at SAM, which resulted in a transfer of all personnel in the Rotterdam office to Zurich in July 2009 (see Newsmanagers of 4 June 2009). SAM says Musters has an excellent reputation among institutional clients for the development and launch of private equity funds of funds in the clean tech sector.
18/02/2010

Barclays in bid for independent managers' business

Agefi Switzerland reports that Barclays Wealth is cosying up to Swiss intermediaries. It has teamed up with Barclays Capital to offer an integrated solution aimed at trusts, family offices, and especially independent management firms. The British bank now offers custom structured products for its intermediary clients. The move is part of a larger desire on the part of the group to offer a service for every situation: “We will help businesses to create wealth, but we also want to offer them wealth management solutions, for example,” explains Clive Britton, director for Switzerland at Barclays Wealth Intermediaries in Geneva, who claims this may allow the bank to stand out from its competitors.
18/02/2010

TCW founder quits board of Société Générale

The American billionaire Robert Day, who is suspected of insider trading, has resigned and will be leaving his position on the board of directors of Société Générale, Reuters reports, confirming earlier reports in Les Echos. Day, who founded and then sold TCW, an asset management firm, to Société Générale, is named in a class action suit in the United States accusing him of insider trading related to the Kerviel scandal. He is also under investigation by the French financial authority, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).
18/02/2010

Galleon founder's court date set for October

Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam will go to trial Oct. 25 on criminal insider-trading charges. U.S. judge Richard J. Holwell said he would prefer the criminal trial be heard before a separate civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and scheduled for Aug. 2. But given the size and complexity of the case, he agreed that the criminal case should be heard in the autumn.
18/02/2010

Soros doubles investment in a gold ETF

The fund which manages the assets of the billionaire George Soros more than doubled its position on the SPDR Gold Trust, a physical gold ETF fund, in fourth quarter 2009. Bloomberg reports that Soros Fund Management acquired 3.728 million shares for USD421m. As of 31 December, the investment, the fund’s largest position, was valued at USd663m. The Chinese sovereign fund China Investment Fund has also acquired 1.45 million shares, for a total of USD155.6m. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust have increased by 2.2% since the beginning of the year, following a 24% increase in 2009. As of yesterday, the fund’s holdings in gold totalled 1,109.42 metric tons. The institutional investor Paulson & Co held the largest position in the fund as of 31 December last year, with 31 million shares, representing an 8.65% stake in the fund.
18/02/2010

State Street selected by iShares

The largest ETF provider in the world, iShares, has selected State Street as its cusdotian and fund administrator for a record USD370bn, or about EUR269bn, in assets, efinancialnews reports. The mandate was previously held by Bank of Ireland Securities Services. State Street will take over in June of this year.
18/02/2010

Managers shorting the Euro

Many investors are adopting a negative view of the future of the Euro, and have reduced their positions on CDS from Greece and Spain in favour of debt from the UK and Japan, or other countries not engulfed in the developments now grabbing headlines, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tigris (USD2bn), which is predicting a fall for the Euro, is betting on gold, estimating that it will gain if problems related to Greek and other government debt become more severe. Starting from the hypothesis that the United States will pull out of its financial difficulties more rapidly than Europe, BlackRock began shorting the Euro late last year, according to a source familiar with the matter. Among the other management firms which have recently bet against the Euro are Paulson & Co and Moore Capital Management, who declined to comment.
17/02/2010

Le sélectionneur de fonds Daniel Zeska rejoint Innovest

Le sélectionneur de fonds autrichien Daniel Zeska quitte l'équipe de fonds de fonds de Volksbank Invest pour rejoindre Innovest Kapitalanlage AG, indique Citywire. Il a été nommé senior investment manager et intègre l'équipe d’allocation d’actifs de la société de gestion autrichienne spécialisée dans les fonds de fonds à destination des investisseurs institutionnels. Les encours d’Innovest totalisent 5 milliards d’euros.
17/02/2010
Fonds

Macquarie distribue trois fonds en Autriche

Le groupe Macquarie a obtenu l’agrément de commercialisation en Autriche des trois compartiments de sa sicav luxembourgeoise Macquarie Funds Solutions qu’il distribue depuis peu en Allemagne (lire notre dépêche du 3 février). Il s’agit des Macquarie Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund, Macquarie Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund et Macquarie and Rogers China Agriculture Fund, a indiqué Heribert Geistler, country manager de Macquarie Funds Group pour l’Autriche. Ces fonds sont conformes à la directive OPCVM III.La clientèle visée est celle des gérants de fonds de fonds ainsi que des investisseurs institutionnels. La distribution auprès des particuliers sera confiée à des partenaires.Macquarie gère déjà environ 200 millions d’euros pour le compte de clients autrichiens, dans les domaines du private equity et des infrastructures.
Fonds
17/02/2010
Fonds

Edram a réalisé une collecte nette de 1,8 milliard en 2009

Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, dont les encours sous gestion ont fait un bond de plus de 50% l’an dernier à 11,9 milliards d’euros, a réalisé une collecte nette de 1,8 milliard d’euros. Parmi les principaux fonds actions France/Europe, Tricolore Rendement, qui affiche un encours de 3,1 milliards d’euros, a enregistré une décollecte de 100 millions mais Europe Rendement (un peu plus de 900 millions d’euros d’encours) a drainé quelque 120 millions d’euros. Saint-Honoré Europe Synergie, qui pèse environ 500 millions d’euros, enregistre depuis septembre dernier 200 millions d’euros d’entrées.Edram affirme par ailleurs être devenue l’an dernier le numéro un français sur les fonds d’obligations convertibles avec plus de 1,3 milliard d’euros sous gestion, enregistrant ainsi un triplement de l’encours en un an (NewsManagers du 15/01/2010).
Fonds
17/02/2010

La gestion d’actifs de BNP Paribas collecte pour moitié sur du monétaire

Sur l’ensemble de l’année 2009, les métiers d’Investment Solutions de BNP Paribas, hors intégration de Fortis, ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 25,5 milliards d’euros, dont 14,4 milliards d’euros pour la gestion d’actifs, sachant que ce montant a été réalisé pour moitié en actifs monétaires. Conjuguée à l’effet de performance positif lié à la hausse des indices boursiers, cette collecte permet aux encours sous gestion du pôle de progresser de 17 % par rapport au 31 décembre 2008 pour atteindre 588 milliards d’euros. Ils retrouvent ainsi leur niveau de fin 2007. A noter que Fortis Investments, qui fait désormais partie de BNP Paribas, voit ses encours sur un an reculer de 170 milliards d’euros à 161 milliards. Côté banque privée, ils passent de 43 milliards à 44 milliards d’euros. Le produit net bancaire d’Investment Solutions, à 4.768 millions d’euros, recule par rapport à celui de 2008 (-3,4%), «le fort rebond des actifs sous gestion ayant permis de compenser la baisse des marges dans la gestion d’actifs, le renforcement des réserves du fonds général dans l’assurance, ainsi que la baisse du volume des transactions et la contraction de la marge d’intérêt sur encaisses dans le métier Titres», précise BNP Paribas dans son communiqué diffusé mercredi matin.Le résultat avant impôt ressort à 1 290 millions d’euros, en retrait de 1,5 % par rapport à celui de 2008, après prise en compte d’un tiers des résultats de la banque privée en France et en Italie.
17/02/2010

Nomination chez Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking

Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking a annoncé mardi 16 février la nomination de Mario Cortesi au poste de responsable des marchés primaires, financements et couvertures pour l’Italie. Il travaillera à Milan sous la responsabilité de Jean-Luc Parer, directeur global finance, ses adjoints Jean-François Mazaud, Pierre Palmieri et David Coxon ainsi que Giovanni Ortolani, responsable pays banque de financement et d’investissement pour l’Italie.Avant de rejoindre Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking, Mario Cortesi a exercé différentes fonctions au sein de la banque d’investissement à Londres chez Morgan Stanley et Citigroup dans les activités de marchés de capitaux et financements structurés, précise le communiqué de SGCIB.
17/02/2010
Fonds

HSBC lance son fonds MENA en Italie

Selon Bluerating, HSBC lance en Italie son fonds Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord, HSBC GIF Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Le compartiment, qui fait partie de la Sicav luxembourgeoise HSBC Global Investment Funds, est géré par Andrea Nannini.
Fonds
17/02/2010
Fonds

Morgan Stanley rétrocède le portefeuille "Pegasus" à la RBS

On vient seulement d’apprendre que, fin 2009, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) a rétrocédé à la Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) le portefeuille Pegasus dont cette banque avait co-financé l’acquisition pour 2,1 milliards d’euros en mai 2007 auprès d’Union Investment Real Estate, indique la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Le Pegasus comporte 29 actifs, dont l’immeuble de bureaux Frankfurter Welle qui vaudrait à lui seul 703 millions d’euros. A l'époque de la transaction, les prix de l’immobilier étaient en fait au plus haut et MSREF comptait sur une poursuite de la hausse des loyers et des prix.Avant la crise, MSREF a acheté pour 10 milliards d’euros d’actifs immobiliers en Allemagne. Le patron des achats, James Lapsuhner, quittera l’entreprise fin mars.
Fonds
17/02/2010
Fonds

Le DEGI Global Business risque la liquidation

Hartmut Leser, directeur général d’Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland, a indiqué au Handelsblatt que s’il ne parvient pas à convaincre les nombreux investisseurs institutionnels du fonds immobilier DEGI Global Business qu’il est possible d’escompter des performances maintenant que la valeur des actifs a été révisée à la baisse de 21,6 %, le fonds sera liquidé et l’argent rendu aux clients. Tous les investisseurs devraient avoir pu être contactés d’ici à fin mars (lire notre article du 11 février).
Fonds

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