Selon Das Investment, Berenberg Bank a prévu de liquider son fonds Grèce, le Hellas Olympia, dont l’encours est à présent tombé à 3,23 millions d’euros, le 30 mars 2010. Ce fonds lancé le 23 mars 1998 avait atteint jusqu'à 80 millions d’euros sous gestion. Il a accusé une perte de 60 % en 2008. Les souscripteurs auront la possibilité de transférer leur capital sans frais sur le fonds Balkan-Baltikum ou de récupérer la valeur de leurs parts en numéraire.

Selon les professionnels, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemein Zeitung, on peut s’attendre que 10 à 15 % des quelque 5.900 fonds recensés à fin mai par l’association BVI du secteur soient retirés du marché cette année.

DekaBank a l’intention de fusionner au 1er octobre ses fonds Deka-Immoblienfonds et Deka-Immobilien Europa, rapporte la Börsen-Zeitung. De même le gestionnaire des caisses d'épargne compte fusionner les fonds immobiliers offerts au public Westinvest 1 et Westinvest Interselect.

Nommé récemment directeur général d'EFG Asset Management France et directeur des investissements d'EFG Gestion Privée, David Kalfon revient sur l'état des marchés actions et la gestion de l'OPCVM maison, Cipango Maxima.

La gamme Casam ETF prend une nouvelle dimension avec le lancement de 17 nouveaux produits sur Euronext Paris, indiquent Casam, CA Cheuvreux et Nyse Euronext dans un communiqué. Ces derniers comprennent une famille de produits obligataires, emprunts d’Etat et « corporates, une famille de produits actions, « leveragés » et « short » ainsi qu’une famille de produits actions monde. La gamme Casam ETF compte désormais 53 produits.9 nouveaux ETF obligataires Une série de produits sur emprunts d’État de la zone euro offre aux investisseurs un large éventail de maturités allant de 3 mois à 15 ans. Ces ETF répliquent les indices EuroMTS Eurozone Government Broad à la hausse comme à la baisse et permettent de choisir un positionnement sur la courbe des taux de la zone euro. CASAM ETF EURO INFLATION complète cette nouvelle famille et offre une possibilité pour se protéger contre le risque inflationniste. Enfin, CASAM ETF EURO CORPORATES répond à un intérêt croissant pour les obligations « corporates » de la zone euro. Il offre aux investisseurs une exposition diversifiée dans un contexte de marché très volatile. 5 produits de stratégie CASAM ETF propose une nouvelle famille d’ETF à effet de levier permettant de répliquer deux fois la performance quotidienne de 4 indices européens et américains (hors coût de financement du levier). Ces produits peuvent permettre de tirer parti efficacement d’un rebond sur les marchés actions. Pour répondre à un éventuel besoin de couverture, CASAM ETF lance également CASAM ETF SHORT DOW JONES EURO STOXX 50. 3 ETF mondiaux dont 2 innovations Trois produits indexés sur MSCI World, MSCI World ex EMU et MSCI World ex Europe diversifient la couverture géographique de la gamme en permettant de s’exposer aux marchés actions internationaux. CASAM ETF MSCI World ex EMU et CASAM ETF MSCI World ex Europe sont des produits inédits, qui peuvent être particulièrement utiles aux investisseurs de la zone Euro et Europe qui souhaiteraient s’exposer en une seule transaction au reste du monde. Les frais de gestion annuels (TTC max.) sont de 0,14% pour les ETF obligataires sur emprunts d’Etat et de 0,16% pour les deux autres ETF obligataires. Pour les ETF à effet de levier, les frais de gestion sont de 0,30% pour Casam ETF Leveraged Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 et Casam ETF Leveraged CAC 40, et de 0,35% pou Casam ETF Leveraged MSCI USA et Casam Leveraged MSCI Europe. Du côté des ETF mondiaux, les frais de gestion sont de respectivement 0,38% pour Casam ETF MSCI World et de 0,35% pour Casam ETF MSCI Morld Ex EMU et Casam ETF MSCI World Ex Europe.

Selon Les Echos, le résultat des institutions de prévoyance a reculé de 46 %, à 720 millions d’euros, et leurs plus-values latentes ont fondu. D’où un taux de couverture de la marge de solvabilité réglementaire confortable, mais qui a sensiblement diminué entre 2007 et 2008, passant de 520 % à 450 %. La situation est donc loin d'être dramatique. Mais la nécessité de piloter à long terme, couplée à la préparation de Solvabilité II, justifie que l’on ne touche pas aux réserves, plaide le Centre technique des institutions de prévoyance. Avec les nouvelles normes prudentielles, prévues pour 2012, la couverture de la marge réglementaire sera «divisée par deux».

Pascal Voisin, directeur général de Natixis Asset Management a annoncé mardi soir que la collecte du premier semestre a dépassé les 12 milliards d’euros, notamment en produits monétaires, et que la société de gestion a gagné un point et demi de part de marché depuis décembre 2007.

Putnam Investments a annoncé que Charles E. «Ed» Haldeman Jr. avait démissionné de son poste de président de Putnam Investment Management, président de Putnam Funds, et membre du conseil des administrateurs de Putnam Funds, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. Robert L. Reynolds, president et directeur général, lui succédera en tant que président de Putnam Funds. Le poste de président de Putnam Investment Management ne sera pas pourvu.

Columbia Management, l’activité de gestion d’actifs de Bank of America, ne suscite qu’un intérêt tiède depuis que BlackRock, donné favori pour le rachat, a choisi de payer 13,5 milliards de dollars pour Barclays Global Investors, rapporte le Financial Times, citant des personnes proches du dossier. BofA espère lever au moins 3 milliards de dollars avec la vente de Columbia Management ; or les offres se sont limitées jusqu’à présent à 2 milliards de dollars. Dans ce contexte, la banque US pourrait vendre les activités de fonds monétaires séparément. Parmi les sociétés de gestion citées par le FT comme pouvait être intéressées figurent Federated Investors, Invesco, Oppenheimer ou Franklin Templeton

La participation de 79,9 % détenue par l'État fédéral au capital d’AIG pourrait rester permanente, a déclaré hier son directeur général, Edward Liddy, rapporte la Tribune. Pour autant, AIG a, toujours selon lui, la capacité de rembourser les fonds publics dont l’entreprise a bénéficié.

Selon l’agence Reuters cité par la Tribune, la banque suisse UBS bloque dès aujourd’hui l’accès aux comptes gérés en Suisse de ses clients américains et remplit ainsi une des exigences du département américain de la Justice et du gendarme de la SEC.

Sir Allen Stanford will remain in prison until he is brought to trial for an alleged USD7bn fraud, the Financial Times reports. The Texan billionaire has been behind bars since 18 June. The trial is scheduled to begin on 25 August, but lawyers are saying it may be postponed until next year.

The British management firm Eddington Capital Management has unveiled two funds of hedge funds, Triple Alpha and Macro Opportunities (USD150m in total) to investors in Barcelona and Andorra, after a stop in Madrid, Funds People reports. The capital in Eddington CM is held by the management, while Caledonia Investments holds a 50% stake. The Triple Alpha Fund, launched in September 2003, is invested in 15-20 hedge fund, and has annual performance of 10%, with volatility of 9.52%, and a performance objective of 15-20%. The Macro Opportunities, launched in July 2007, invests in 8-12 funds, and earned 24.86% in 2008, and has brought in 15.57% in annualised terms, with volatility of 15.9% (as of the end of May).

On Tuesday, an extraordinary general meeting of Julius Baer Holding approved a split between private banking and asset management activities to create two totally independent entities, which will be listed separately on the Swiss SIX stock exchange. Julius Baer Group Ltd. will focus on private banking, while GAM Holding Ltd. will concentrate on asset management. The transaction will be concluded during third quarter, pending the necessary permission from the regulatory authorities.

Wells Fargo Securities Ltd. has announced that it has been granted sales licenses in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom for the China Equity Fund, a sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav Wells Fargo (Lux) Worldwide Fund. The fund will be managed by Anthony Cragg, senior portfolio manager, who uses a stock-picking approach to select Chinese equities with solid fundamentals, good growth profiles, and attractive valuations. Wells Capital Management Inc will serve as sub-advisor for the fund, assisted by China Asset Management Co Ltd. The fund will be available in retail share classes denominated in US dollars and pounds sterling; institutional share classes will be available in dollars, pounds and Euros. The fund may retain up to one third of its assets in cash, and must invest at least two thirds of its portfolio in shares in Chinese companies, listed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai or Shenzhen, or on international markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Canada. The investment adviser will receive a commission limited to 1.95% for retail shares and 1.20% for institutional shares. TER may not exceed 2.25% for the former and 1.50% for the latter.

Das Investment reports that Berenberg Bank is planning to liquidate its Greece fund, Hellas Olympia, whose assets now measure less than EUR3.23m, on 30 March 2010. The fund, launched on 23 March 1998, had as much as EUR80m in assets under management at its peak. The fund lost 60% in 2008. Subscribers will be allowed to transfer their capital into the Balkan-Baltikum fund for no fee, or to recuperate the value of their shares in cash.

DekaBank is planning to merge its Deka-Immoblienfonds and Deka-Immobilien Europa funds from 1 October, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. The management firm for the German savings banks is also planning to merge its open-ended real estate funds Westinvest 1 and Westinvest Interselect.

According to professionals, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports, as many as 10% to 15% of the approximately 5,900 funds on the registers of the BVI association for the sector are expected to be withdrawn from the market this year.

Less than one third of officers of risk management at UK asset managers believe they are sufficiently involved in the development of new products, according to an Ernst & Young study cited by Financial Times Fund Management. They sometimes only become involved after a new product is launched. Independent management firms are worst in this area.

Richard Pease has invested GBP2m in his own New Star European Growth Fund (EUR81.7m in assets), and a further GBP2m in Henderson. This is a show of confidence by the manager in the potential of his fund and in the UK asset management firm he is a part of since its acquisition of New Star. The New Star European Growth fund invests in European companies with a low valuation and potential for growth. Pease said at a presentation in Paris that “given fears of inflation in the long term, it is more necessary than ever to be invested in shares in good companies with pricing power. And I think that now is the time to seize the opportunity to invest, since shares are attractively priced.” To take advantage of attractive valuations, Pease will launch a “Special Situations” fund in September based in the United Kingdom. The fund will have a class of shares in Euros and another in sterling, and perhaps a third class in US dollars. The management will be similar to that of the European Growth fund, but will be less constrained, and will have a midcap bias. Pease, who has already managed a special situations fund at Jupiter, is also planning to invest in the fund.

Putnam Investments has announced that Charles E. “Ed” Haldeman Jr. has resigned from his position as president of Putnam Investment Management, president of Putnam Funds, and member of the board of directors at Putnam Funds, the Wall Street Journal reports. Robert L. Reynolds, president and CEO, will succeed him as president of Putnam Funds. A successor to Haldeman as president of Putnam Investment Management has not been named.

Pascal Voisin, CEO of Natixis Asset Management, announced on Tuesday evening that inflows in first half exceeded EUR12bn, which largely went to money market products, and that the management firm has gained one and a half percentage points of market share.

According to the Reuters news agency, cited by La Tribune, the Swiss bank UBS has blocked access to managed accounts in Switzerland for US clients, starting today, to meet the demands of the US Justice Department and the SEC.

Columbia Management, the asset management activity from Bank of America, has sustained only limited interest since BlackRock, a favourite to acquire the firm, chose to pay USD13.5bn for Barclays Global Investors, the Financial Times reports, citing sources close to the case. BofA is hoping to raise at least USD3bn from the sale of Columbia Management, but offers thus far have been limited to USD2bn. In this environment, the US bank may sell off its money market fund activities separately. Among the management firms cited by the FT as potential suitors are Federated Investors, Invesco, Oppenheimer and Franklin Templeton.

Since15 June, the Luxembourg Sicav Schroders ISF has a new sub-fund, theStrategic Credit, which si nearly identical to the SISF GlobalCorporate Credit, but with a duration and interest rate risks nearlycompletely eliminated, and durations ranging from zero to a maximumof three months, instead of 3 to 3.5 years. In a few months, the fundwill absorb the SISF Global Corporate Bond Duration Hedged, saysAchim Küssner, CEO of Schroder Investment Management for Germany,Austria and Benelux. The new product, which may invest up to 20% ofits assets in government bonds and 20% in high yield or convertiblebonds, will use the BBA Libor as its benchmark. Currency risks willbe hedged. However, the managers, Wesley Sparks and Jamie Stuttard,will not be permitted to invest in ABS.Schrodersstates that the ISF Euro Corporate Bond sub-fund (EUR2.5bn) will soonalso be available in a version with interest rate and duration risksminimised.CharacteristicsName:Schroder ISF Strategic Credit ISIN code LU0227788626Front-end fee Class A 5%Management commissionClass A 1%Minimal subscriptionEUR1,000

La Tribune reports that Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Competition, yesterday warned that the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, which are 70% and 43% state-owned, respectively, will be required to sell off some of their assets. Government aid runs a risk of distorting competition, as Lloyds controls a significant part of the retail banking market, and RBS dominates the British business banking market. The newspaper also reports that RBS has announced a major restructuring plan in the past few months. Lloyds has also stated that it is prepared to sell off non-strategic assets. The moves may not solve the competition problems for the latter firm, which accounts for 30% of real estate lending in the country.

ETF Securities (ETFS) on Tuesday announced that it has listed four double-leveraged (2x) and double-inverse (-2x) ETF funds on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam, based on the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 and the CAC 40. The funds are the ETFS Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 Double Short (2x) Fund, ETFS Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 Leveraged (2x) Fund, ETFS CAC 40 2x Short Fund, and ETFS CAC 40 2x Long Fund (see Newsmanagers of 23 June). The products are addition to the range of 13 ETFs from ETFS already listed in Amsterdam since September 2008.

Omega Capital, a Sicav which channels investments from Alicia Koplovitz, which invested EUR808m in Omega Asset Management in the United Kingdom and Omega Gestión de Inversiones in Spain, will launch a fund of funsd on 1 July managed in the United Kingdom. Turaco will be open to qualified investors, and minimal subscription is set at EUR250,000. The performance objective is 8-10% per year, with 5-6% volatility, Expansión reports. The second fund will be a Spanish hedge fund, Alphaville, whose prospectus is currently being reviewed by the CNMV. It will be available to qualified investors, and minimal subscription will be EUR50,000. The performance objective will be 8-12% per year, with volatility not to exceed 10%.

“Future profits for banks will not come from consumers, or from loans, but from the flexibility some institutions will have to restructure, to reduce costs, and to manage their capital more aggressively and effectively,” Guy de Blonay, manager at Henderson Global Investors (formerly New Star), specialised in the financial industry, commented at a meeting in Paris. With this in mind, the manager has modified the allocation for his fund, the New Star Global Financials Fund, which is now once again 100% invested, while in March it was 40% invested in bonds. This return to the equities market is also related to the manager’s desire to profit from rebounding share prices, a return of inflation and from restructuring. After avoiding UK banks for a long time, de Blonay now has 15% of his fund invested in them, particularly in Barclays and Lloyds. US banks are also making a comeback in the manager’s portfolio, after 4 years of exile, and now account for 10% of assets. The manager mentions JPMorgan, which he thinks will be one of the leaders in the new economy, and Bank of America. Emerging markets, particularly China and Brazil, are also a favourite theme for de Blonay, and represent 15% of the portfolio. He says Chinese banks will fully profit from capital freed up by the government for infrastructure projects. He is betting on Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) the largest commercial bank in the country. The manager is beginning to return to Russia also. However, he has reduced his exopsure to European banks, which, he says, will continue to experience difficulties. Although de Blonay estimates that there is potential for the financial industry to rebound, he does not think we will be able to return to the situation we saw 5-10 years ago.

La Tribune reports that shareholders in the Swiss bank Julius Baer on Tuesday, 30 June approved a separation of the private banking and asset management activities into two distinct entities listed on the Swiss stock exchange.