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31/08/2009

Plus de cessions pour AIG

La préoccupation actuelle de Robert Benmosche, le nouveau patron d’AIG, n’est pas de payer vite ses dettes à l'État mais de valoriser au mieux les actifs à vendre indique la Tribune. Dans l’immédiat, les préparatifs pour l’introduction en Bourse d’AIA et d’Alico se poursuivent. Mais la vente d’autres activités comme l’intermédiation financière a été stoppée et Robert Benmosche a déclaré n’avoir pris aucune décision pour la gestion d’actifs.En ce qui concerne le profil du groupe, Robert Benmosche opte pour la diversification en assurance-vie et dommages alors que son prédécesseur avait annoncé un recentrage sur l’assurance dommages.Reste que les prétentions financières du patron d’AIG sont élevées - 7 millions de dollars par an (3 millions en cash et 4 millions en actions) plus un bonus de 3,5 millions - et doivent être validées par le «tsar» des rémunérations du gouvernement américain, Kenneth Feinberg. Le maintien de Robert Benmosche est donc pour l’heure encore en suspens, conclut la Tribune.
31/08/2009

Dominic Martellaro quitte Janus

Janus Capital Group a annoncé le départ de Dominic Martellaro, vice-président exécutif et managing director de Janus Global Advisors, à compter du 31 octobre. Pour assurer une transition en douceur, l’intéressé, qui supervise la distribution des produits de la société de gestion par le biais des intermédiaires financiers et les ventes internationales, restera consultant jusqu’en février 2010. Ses responsabilités seront réparties entre Robin Beery et Dan Charles. Robin Beery, vice-président exécutif et directruce du marketing, va reprendre les intermédiaires aux Etats-Unis, tout en continuant à assumer ses fonctions dans le marketing et la communication. Dan Charles, vice-président exécutif et managing director de l’activité institutionnelle US, va de son côté s’occuper de l’activité internationale.
31/08/2009

Nyse Euronext buys Nyfix

Nyse Euronext announced on 27 August that it has acquired Nyfix, a specialist in management systems and transactions, for a total price of USD144m. The stock market business offered to pay USD1.675 per ordinary share in Nyfix, a premium of 95% over its closing price on Wednesday on the Nasdaq. The transaction, already approved by general shareholders’ meetings at Nyse Euronext, Nyse Technologies, the wholly owned affiliate of Nyse Euronext which will make the transaction, and by Nyfix, must still be approved by shareholders in Nyfix and the authorities concerned. The transaction is expected to be concluded during fourth quarter 2009.
31/08/2009

Options market may conceal insider trading

Les Echos reports that a study by three researchers at the University of Zurich has found that there are unusual trading volumes on options markets ahead of mergers and acquisitiosn or publications of results. The researchers found 37 transactions in the United States whose characteristics may be associated with possible insider trading. In particular, they found trades ahead of 4 merger-acquisitions, 14 before announcements of results, and 13 ahead of the terrorist attacks in 2001.
31/08/2009

Morale is low in UK asset management sector

A study of 234 asset management professionals (managers, analysts, client service representatives) this July, undertaken by eFinancialCareers.fr, a website specialised in job offers and career management, has found that further layoffs for economic reasons are expected in the second half of 2009 in the UK, La Tribune reports. The most pessimistic respondents (61%) are employed at the asset management affiliates of banks or insurers, while only 27% of those working at mono- or multi-management firms are fearful that there will be a new wave of layoffs to come. On the subject of bonuses, 39% of businesses surveyed say they have bonus structures in place. The periods of evaluation for performance are longer (up to five years), and it is possible to receive bonuses even at times when the business is running a loss. Lastly, the exodus of hedge fund management talent due to taxation policies, and opposition to the European directive on alternative management, are issues that worry that management industry in the United Kingdom.
31/08/2009

NBIM makes additions to executive structure

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the affiliate of the Bank of Norway which manages the Government Pension Fund - Global (formerly known as the Petroleum Fund), announced on Friday that it is adding to its executive board, which will continue to be chaired by Yngve Slyngstad, who was appointed as CEO in January, and by Stephen A. Hirsch, deputy CEO. Bengt O. Erne, who has been an employee of NBIM for 13 years, has been promoted to chief investment officer (CIO), while Trond Grande, who has been head of risk management since 2007, becomes chief risk officer. Age Bekker becomes chief operating officer. Jessica Irschick, who was previously chief of staff at UBS in London, becomes chief treasurer, while Mark Clemens, global chief administrative officer at Citigroup, becomes chief administrative officer. Dag Dyrdal, for his part, becomes chief strategic relations officer. Slyngstad points out that the international dimensions of the board at NBIM is coherent with the fact that the portfolio includes investments in more than 8,000 businesses. The staff of 230 people is composed of 20 nationalities, and the management firm has offices in Oslo, London, New York and Shanghai, which requires the firm to recruit managers with wide international experience.
31/08/2009

Europe continues to be unpopular with investors

Investors are continuing to avoid Europe. According to the most recent statistics from the British management association IMA, for funds domiciled in the United Kingdom, the continental European management sector has seen outflows of EUR36.6m, the largest outflows observed in the month under review. However, interest in corporate bonds remains high, with inflows in July of GBP466.6m, following GBP533.3m in June. “Corporate bonds are continuing to attract investors, but more recently, equity fund creations have also increase, and are now at nearly the same level as bond funds,” says Jane Lowe, director of markets at the association, in a statement. Net sales of funds domiciled in the United Kingdom totalled GBP2.3bn last month (of which GBP829m were in bond funds, and GBP711m in equities funds) light compared with the previous month (GBP2.5bn), but strongly up compared with July 2008, which saw total net outflows of GBP552.8m. Assets under management totalled GBP412.6bn in July, compared with GBP389bn the previous month, and GBP415.1bn one year previously. For funds domiciled abroad, the month saw net sales of GBP280m, compared with GBP44.2m the previous month, and outflows of GBP91.3m in July 2008. Assets in these funds totalled GBP21.1bn in July of this year, up 6% compared with the previous month.
31/08/2009

Eurazeo dans le rouge au premier semestre

Selon les Echos, le holding d’investissement coté Eurazeo a enregistré des pertes de près de 121 millions d’euros au premier semestre, à comparer à un gain de 241,7 millions sur les six premiers mois de 2008. L’absence de plus-values a pesé sur les comptes ainsi que la détérioration de la situation de certaines participations, Europcar, Rexel et Accor, pénalisées par les effets de la crise. La société revendique des ressources mobilisables de 1,8 milliard d’euros à fin août. Le Crédit Agricole s’est légèrement renforcé au capital de la société, passant de 16,6% à 18%.
31/08/2009

Foresight creates a second solar fund

Foresight Group, which has already invested 85% of its Solar Fund (EUR35m), has announced that it is launching the Solar Fund 2, which will invest in solar energy projects with a total output of 250 megawatts at most. The first investments will be located in Spain.
31/08/2009

Investors return to emerging equity funds

After net withdrawals last year, European investors have surged back into emerging equity funds. During the first half of the year, net sales have risen to a record EUR15bn, according to statistics from Lipper FMI. Investors primarily chose broadly based emerging equity funds, which attracted nearly EUR6.4bn, and Greater China funds (EUR4.9bn). The other most popular regions were Latin America, BRIC, and India. However, investors were more ambivalent about Central and Eastern Europe funds, which have seen net outflows. But Russian and Polish equity funds attracted positive sales. Asset management groups which have gained most from this year’s recovering appetite have been JPMorgan, Barclays, Société Générale, Fidelity and Schroders, with market share for the half by inflows ranging from 8.5% for the first to 5.1% for the latter. Lipper FIM observes that Barclays and SG have benefited from flows into their ETFs, with iShares MSCI Emerging Markets and Lyxor ETF China Enterprise featuring among the top 25 selling funds. But the products most in demand were the Fidelity - China focus Fund, the JPMF - Emerging Markets Equity, and the JPMF - China Fund. In total, 590 emerging markets equities funds are on sale in Europe (of which 47 were launched this year). By assets, the largest management firms in emerging equities are JPMorgan, Fidelity, HSBC, Deutsche/DWS and Schroders.
31/08/2009

QIA enters capital of Volkswagen

In a regulated market statement, Volkswagen announced on Friday that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has acquired 6.78% of ordinary capital in the firm. The sovereign fund holds options on 17% of ordinary shares in the auto maker, which it acquired from Porsche.
31/08/2009

AMF investigates derivatives

Les Echos reports that the AMF has opened “several investigations” into potential insider trading on CFD markets. CFDs are speculative products which may be assimilated into publicly traded derivative products. In addition to their relatively recent date of invention - CFDs were developed in France about one and a half years ago - the difficulty in overseeing these instruments, and more generally of monitoring traded derivative products resides in the fact that there is no obligatory reporting of transactions on CFD markets in many countries, including France. The regulator’s attention to CFDs is a part of a larger project to increase oversight of non-public derivatives markets.
31/08/2009

Cerberus appoints new head for Bawag

On Friday, David Roberts, 46, announced that he will be resigning for health reasons (cardiac illness) from his position as CEO of Bawag. He will be replaced by the British Byron Haynes, who has been CFO of the Austrian bank for the past year. He also represents the majority shareholder, the private equity investor Cerberus, Die Presse reports. Before leaving his hob, Roberts negotiated a series of governmental assistance measures. The Federal government will subscribe for EUR550m shares without voting rights (which willl pay 9.3% per year) and will provide a guarantee for EUR400m. Cerberus has been required to agree that the Govenrment will be able to transform its preferential shares into ordinary Bawag shares if the firm shows losses in each of the next two years.
31/08/2009

Investors flee Cerberus

According to inside sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, investors have recently withdrawn USD5.5bn, or 71% of assets in hedge funds from the private equity investor Cerberus. These redemptions are reportedly due partly to discontent over the poor performance of funds, and partly to the need of liquidity on the part of subscribers.
31/08/2009

84 banks have been shut down in the United States

The US regulatory authorities on Friday closed down the California-based bank Affinity, which had USD1bn in assets and USD922m in deposits, La Tribune reports. This is the 84th bank closure this year.
31/08/2009

Dominic Martellaro leaves Janus

Janus Capital Group has announced that Dominic Martellaro, executive vice president and managing director of Janus Global Advisors, will step down from his position effective October 31, 2009. To help ensure smooth succession and continuity in service to clients, Martellaro will remain as a consultant until February 2010. Martellaro, who oversees distribution of the firm’s products sold through financial intermediaries and international sales through subsidiary Janus Capital International Limited, will transition his responsibilities to fellow distribution executives Robin Beery and Dan Charles. Robin Beery, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, will assume responsibility for Janus’ US intermediary business. Dan Charles, executive vice president and managing director of Janus’ US institutional business, will assume responsibility for Janus Capital Group International, the firm’s non-US distribution channel.
31/08/2009

IMA welcomes Lord Turner's proposals

The chairman of the British management association IMA, Richard Saunders, has welcomed the proposals of Lord Turner for improved regulatory framework for financial activities. “Lord Turner has very correctly identified the need for banks to do a better job of managing risks and to maintain higher levels of owners’ equity when they engage in higher-risk activities,” said the chairman of the association. “We welcome the debate. However, taxes on transactions also carry risk that, as for stamp taxes, the savings investor will ultimately pay the price. In the debate to come, this factor must also be taken into account,” Richard Saunders continues.
31/08/2009

Islamic banks show good results

With USD580bn from USD350bn total assets at the 100 biggest Islamic banks worldwide have grown 66% yoy in 2008, despite the global financial crisis, La Tribune reports, citing an article by The Asian Banker from Friday.
31/08/2009

Bellevue group adds to asset management activities

The portfolio management team at Bellevue Asset Mangement (CHF2.6bn in assets under mangement) has added to its teams, for a total of 24 specialists, up from 16 previously. The Swiss boutique, which is specialised in health sector securities, strengthened its staff in emerging markets in particular. Recruitments made it possible to increase the range of products on offer from Bellevue Asset Management, as the range gains a venture capital product, a hedge fund, and five Luxembourg-registered equities funds compliant with the UCITS III directive, all sub-funds of the Sicav Bellevue Funds (Lux). This platform will allow Bellevue Group to extend its client base throughout Europe. It includes the stock-picking product BB Selection, two emerging markets funds (BB Silk Road Opportunities and BB African Opportunities, a Luxembourg version of the BB Biotech fund (whose assets total CHF1.5bn), and a niche product entitled BB Entrepreneur Europe. From September, a Luxembourg version of the BB Medtech will also be available. As of 30 June, assets under management at Bellevue Group totalled CHF5.57bn, compared with CHF5.43bn as of the end of December. Net inflows in first half totalled CHF95m.
31/08/2009

Axa IM bets on stocks exposed to emerging markets

Despite the recent falls on the Chinese market, emerging markets have posted spectacular growth of 52% since their previous lows. It may be time to ask whether it is time to “catch the Emerging Express,” as Axa IM states in a recent commentary. The scale of the performance on these markets may “become problematic,” the management firm estimates, noting that valuations are high on these markets. “The historic tracking errors for the MSCI GEM compared with the MSCI Europe and World indexes are at their lowest long-term average levels since 1995. As a result, emerging markets may be considered expensive compared to developed markets.” However, these shares “are appreciating at exceptional rates as investors seek increasingly high-risk investments in a context of global recovery,” the management firm notes in a commentary. To play emerging markets, AXA IM bets on European shares with high exposure to emerging markets, a “good compromise to profit from economic recovery while retaining a defensive profile (a lower exposure to commodities),” the management firm says.
31/08/2009

Merkel and Sarkozy seek to regulate bonuses

Les Echos reports that French president Sarkozy and German chancellor Merkel will meet this afternoon in Berlin to harmonise their positions ahead of the G20 conference in Pittsburgh at the end of the month. They will both call for stricter regulation of the international financial system, and will put pressure on their partners to limite variable pay scales in the banking sector. The German government supports the French proposal for an international initiative to oversee pay scales in the banking sector and the Chancellor has called it “infuriating that, at some banks, nearly everyhing is the same as before.”
31/08/2009

Subsidiaries demand USD100bn from Lehman

Lehamn Brothers’ European subsidiaries plan to demand up to USD100bn from their former holding company in the coming weeks, the Financial Times reports. the filings have been repared by PwC and should be sent before Septembre 22nd, which is the deadline the US bankruptcy court has set.
31/08/2009

Inflows to Luxembourg-registered funds in July

In July, Luxembourg-registered collective investment organisms and specialised investment funds posted net subscriptions of EUR22.48bn, according to the most recent statistics from the financial sector supervisory commission (CSSF). With positive market effects of EUR52.326bn, net assets for the sector rose by 4.58% for the month, to EUR1.706trn. However, in the past twelve months, net assets are down 10.04%/ The number of collective investment organisms monitored is 3,438, compared with 3,435 the previous month, the CSSF reports. 2,063 entities have adopted a structure with multiple sub-funds, which represents 10,789 sub-funds. With the addition of the 1,375 traditionally-strucured funds, the total number of funds on the market is 12,164.
31/08/2009

Jupiter recruits a CFO

Jupiter Investment Management Holdings has appointed Philip Johnson to the newly-created role of Chief Financial Officer - a board-level position created to reflect the growth of Jupiter’s business. Philip Johnson will join Jupiter in October from Marshall Wace LLP, where he worked as Finance Director. He also worked at M&G.
31/08/2009

Wages rise at BlueCrest

Wages and salaries at BlueCrest rose from GBP17.5m in 2007 to GBP32m in 2008, while the number of employees rose only marginally to 260, up from 224 the year previously, says the Financial Times. 2008 was a successful year for most of the company’s hedge funds.
31/08/2009

Qatar and China bail out Canary Wharf

On Friday, a historic agreement was signed to inject GBP800m into Songbird, the firm that owns Canary Wharf, The Sunday Times reports. The sovereign funds Qatar Holding (which already is a shareholder in the firm) and China Investment Corporation (CIC) will buy stakes of nearly 30% and 19% in the capital fo the firm, respectively. Simon Glick will control 27%, and Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) will hold about 10%. In addition, Qatar Holding and CIC will subscribe for GBP275m in non-convertible preferential shares without voting rights.
31/08/2009

Jupiter creates a position for CFO

Michael Johnson, currently finance director at Marshall Wace LLP, has been appointed to the newly-created position of CFO at Jupiter Investment Management Holdings, fondsprofessionell reports. He will join his new employer in October.The CEO of Jupiter Asset Management, Edward Bonham Carter, says the creation of the position for a CFO on the board was rendered necessary by developing international and institutional activities, though the British retail market remains primary for the business.

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