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02/06/2009

Banca Fideuram serait à vendre

Selon Il Messaggero, Intesa Sanpaolo envisagerait de vendre Banca Fideuram, son pôle de banque privée et de conseillers financiers. Santander et BNP Paribas pourraient s’y intéresser, ajoute le journal italien.
02/06/2009

Caja España launches a guaranteed fund based on gold

Caja España Fondos has launched a guaranteed fund to allow investors to profit from the rising price of gold, entitled Fondespaña Oro Garantizado. The NAV of the fund is guaranteed between 25 June, the end of the sales period, and 20 December 2013. The product offers a maximal participation of 70% in appreciation on the London Gold Market Fixing Limited PM Fix Price / USD Index, Funds People reports. Returns will be limited to 12.543%.If, during the life of the product, any of the daily measurements of the price of gold is more than 70% above the price on 25 June, Caja España guarantees a return of 108% of the initial NAV of the investment, rather than the complement which would otherwise be paid out to the investor.
02/06/2009

European Commission to revise UCITS directive

Les Echos reports that the European commissioner for the single market, Charlie McCreevy, announced at the end of last week that he would be opening a consultation at the end of June to clarify and enlarge the obligations depository banks are subject to. Should assets disappear due to a case of fraud, the depository in charge of custody of the assets may not claim to be exempt from the responsibility to reimburse the assets, except if it can be demonstrated that the causes of the loss are external. In other words, the depository must demonstrate that it has made all necessary verifications upstream, particularly when the assets are outsourced to another depository. The objective of the legislative changes is to codify the lessons of the Madoff affair.
02/06/2009

Henderson GI launches a London office property fund

Henderson Global Investors is launching the Henderson Central London Office Fund II, a closed absolute return fund with a 7-year horizon, “constructed to take advantage of the cycle in the central London office real estate market and emerging opportunities in this market,” the fund management firm says in a statement.The fund, which is not licensed by the French market regulator, Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), is aimed at British and international institutional investors. It aims for an annual ROI of 12%.Henderson is seeking to raise up to GBP200m for a first closing at the end of 2009, and is planning to eventually raise up to GBP500m.The Henderson Central London Office Fund II will be managed by Clive Castle and Nick Deacon.
02/06/2009

Funds merged at Griffin

Griffin Capital Management has decided to merge its European Hedge fund, which was not open to retail investors, with the Griffin European Opportunities. The two funds suffered heavily from the financial crisis, and now represent a total of no more than EUR50m, Das Investment reports. The fund merger follows the resignation of Harald Wengust, who was director of western European fund management activities. The new European Opportunities fund will be managed by Markus Resny, who was previously the manager of the hedge fund.
02/06/2009

Putnam opens an Amsterdam office

Putnam Investments has opened a sales office in Amsterdam, a few months after closing its office in Italy, Financial News reports on 28 May.
02/06/2009

0.30% fees for new ComStage ETF

With the ComStage ETF Commerzbank Commodity EW Index TR, the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform from Deutsche Börse has admitted its 451st product to trading (see Newsmanagers of 29 May).The Luxembourg-registered product replicates the Commerzbank Commodity EW Index TR index, which includes 16 equally weighted liquid commodities (at 6.25% each); these include industrial metals, precious metals, soft commodities, and energy. Management commission is set at 0.30%.
02/06/2009

Threadneedle closes acquisition of World Express from StanChart

On Monday, Threadneedle announced that it had successfully completed the acqusition of World Express Funds, announced nearly four months ago (see Newsmanagers of 4 February). The vendor of the Luxembourg Sicav platform is Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart), which itself acquired the platform as part of its acquisition of the activities of American Express Bank.Assets in the Sicav as of 30 April totalled USD2.38bn. At the time the deal was announced, it was stated that as of the end of December, assets under management in World Express funds totalled USD2.7bn as of the end of December.Threadneedle views the operation as an opportunity to strengthen its presence in European and Asian markets, while StanChart says that it does not have any activities of this type, but that the World Express funds could quickly provide synergies and other benefits for a fund management firm. Threadneedle also becomes a strategic partner and preferred provider of services to StanChart funds.
02/06/2009

SEB ImmoInvest reopens to redemptions

SEB Asset Management has announced that a suspension imposed on redemptions of shares in the open-ended real estate fund SEB ImmoInvest was lifted on 29 May. The reopening means the fund has respected its pledge to reopen within 9 months of the suspension.Since the redemption freeze at the end of October, the liquidity of the fund has improved thanks to net subscriptions of more than EUR180m. In total, including flexible lines of short-term credit, the fund has liquidity of about EUR1.1bn.The SEB ImmoInvest fund earned returns in the period to 31 March of 5%, and the manager will pay out a dividend on 19 June of EUR2.10 per share.SEB Am will also create a special category of shares in the fund for legal entities, to comply with forthcoming legislation.
02/06/2009

Frank Dornseifer joins the board of directors at BAI

The board of the German alternative investment association BAI has appointed Frank Dornseifer as a member of the board of directors, in charge of legal affairs and the policy department. Since 2007, he has been the legal director of BAI. In fact, Dornseifer is the first and only member of the board of directors. The board consists of five unpaid volunteer members. The “first president” of BAI is Achim Pütz. The association currently includes 125 members, including companies as well as individuals.
02/06/2009

Former Henderson head accepts responsibilities at F&C

F&C Asset Management has appointed Roger Yates, former CEO of Henderson, and Kieran Poynter of PricewaterhouseCooper, as non-executive directors, Citywire reports. Yates will join the remuneration board at F&C.
02/06/2009

Vanguard in bid for iShares

The Telegraph reports that Vanguard has submitted a bid of EUR5bn to acquire iShares, the ETF affiliate of Barclays. The British newspaper says Vanguard had no comment on the reports.
02/06/2009

GLG appoints Andrew Thatcher and Richard Philips to head British activities

Money Marketing reports that GLG Partners has announced the appointment of Andrew Thatcher and Richard Philips as heads of its UK activities. Thatcher becomes head of hedge fund distribution in the UK while Philips has been director of SGAM UK’s retail activities, recently acquired by the Société Générale group, since 1998.
02/06/2009

Hermes creates a lobbying group for hedge fund transparency

Hermes (GBP30bn), which manages the BT pension fund, has formed an action group to put pressure on hedge funds to share more information about the composition of their portfolios, and to push for higher liquidity in these funds and for commissions which only reward managers when they produce good performance, the Sunday Times reports. Hermes has also placed GBP900m with Hermes BPK Partners, led by Matteo Dante Perruccio, to invest in hedge funds.
02/06/2009

Castle Alternative Invest plans offering on LSE

Following a decision by a general shareholders’ meeting on 19 May, the Swiss fund of hedge fund management firm Castle Alternative Invest (located in Pfäffikon, Schwyz canton) has published a prospectus for a secondary public offering on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on 5 June 2009, of ordinary shares in the firm, which are already traded in Swiss francs and US dollars on the Swiss stock exchange (SIX). The shares will be traded in dollars; the objective of the share offering is to attract new investors and to bring the share price out of its current slump (they were trading at a markdown of 30.57% as of 15 May). Assets, which are invested in 35 hedge funds, totalled USD546m as of 15 May. The sponsor for the offering will be BRS Hoare Govett.The portfolio, composed as of 31 March of long/short equity funds (11.6%), event-driven (16%), relative value (19.3%), and CTA/macro (36.5%), is managed by LGT Swiss Life Non Traditional Advisors AG, a Liechtenstein firm controlled 56.3% by the Fondation LGT Group, and 43.7% by Swiss Life. The manager is advised by LGT Capital Partners Ltd, the alternative management affiliate of the Fondation LGT Group.As of 31 March, the fund shows annual performance over 5 years of 2.56%, compared with losses of 4.91% for the MSCI World in US dollars, with volatility of 6.28%, compared with 14.27% for the index. In the period from 1 January 1997 to 31 March 2009, annual net performance totals 6.6%, compared with 0.3% for the MSCI World.
02/06/2009

Henderson to play super-nanny

Das Investment reports that Henderson New Star has confirmed suggestions in Citywire and Money Marketing that it is planning to place Richard Pease, the star manager of the New Star European Growth fund, to manage the new Henderson European Special Situations Fund, which will be launched at the end of Summer. The product will invest in solid companies, largely midcaps, which are undervalued because they are experiencing temporary liquidity problems, or because they may be takeover targets.
02/06/2009

Guillaume Detrait joins Welton

The vice president of strategy and analytics at HSBC in California, Guillaume Detrait, is joining Welton Investment Corporation as managing director and chief risk officer. He will be based at Welton’s headquarters in Carmel, California, and will report directly to the CEO, Patrick Welton. Detrait has degrees from ESC Reims and other institutions.
02/06/2009

Ofi AM is now fully owned by Macif and Matmut

According to Agefi, mutual insurer Macif and Matmut, which are in the process of merging with Maif, have taken over the 40% interest of Ofi Asset Management which was held up to now by Ofi employees. The two insurers now hold 100% of the asset manager’s capital.Ofi has about EUR17bn under management.
02/06/2009

Reshuffle in asset management at Barclays

Barclays will concentrate its pan-European analysis for bond and money market funds in Madrid, while Paris will focus on European equities, Expansión reports. The British bank has EUR20bn in assets under management in Spain, France, and Portugal. Each country will continue to manage its own funds, but the pan-European centres will provide investment ideas for managers. The reshuffle will give the Spanish affiliate (EUR4.5bn in assets) more weight within the European structure. It will have a team of 6 people, equivalent to 12% of total personnel, and a local asset management affiliate. This will include the recruitment of a commercial director and an analyst specialised on rate curves. A position for a head of credit and corporate bonds will be filled through an internal transfer.
02/06/2009

Banca Fideuram reportedly up for sale

Il Messaggero reports that Intesa Sanpaolo is planning to sell Banca Fideuram, its private banking and financial advising unit. Santander and BNP Paribas are rumoured to be interested in the acquisition, the Italian newspaper adds.
02/06/2009

Naissance de Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

La joint venture de gestion de fortune de Morgan Stanley et Smith Barney (groupe Citigroup) a débuté ses activités lundi, rapporte le Financial Times. Appelée Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, l’entité affiche 6,8 millions de clients, 14 milliards de dollars de revenus prévus et 18.500 conseillers.
02/06/2009

Guillaume Detrait rejoint Welton

Vice president of strategy and analytics chez HSBC en Californie, Guillaume Detrait rejoint Welton Investment Corporation comme managing director et chief risk officer. Il sera basé au siege de Welton, à Carmel (Californie) et «reportera» directement au CEO, Patrick Welton. L’intéressé est entre autres diplomé de l’ESC Reims.
02/06/2009

KKR accuse une forte perte

Le capital-investisseur Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) a accusé pour 2008 sa première perte depuis cinq ans à cause de la crise du crédit, indique la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Cette perte s’est située à 1,2 milliard de dollars avant impôt, contre un bénéfice de 815 millions pour 2007.KKR estime que cinq des dix plus grandes sociétés de son portefeuille cotent actuellement en-dessous du prix auquel il les a achetées. Le capital-investisseur dispose encore de 15,2 milliards de liquidités à investir.
02/06/2009

Citi et Merrill se renforcent dans le prime brokerage

Citigroup et Bank of America Merrill Lynch renforcent leurs équipes qui fournissent des services aux hedge funds, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. Citigroup a ainsi ajouté 18 personnes à son pôle de prime brokerage, à 295 collaborateurs, tandis que Bank of America Merrill Lynch prévoit de recruter 40 personnes dans son activité de financement, incluant le prime brokerage.
02/06/2009

Hedge fund managers throwing in the towel

Expansión reports that ten asset management firms, 19% of all firms with authorization to launch hedge funds in Spain, have called off their plans. Among the firms which have done so are Ibercaja, Fortis, Caixa Catalunya, Credit Suisse and M&B Capital Advisers Gestión. Meanwhile, at least seven other asset management firms have begun procedures to liquidate their Spanish hedge funds, including BBVA, Santander, UBS, Bankinter, and Nmás1. As of the end of April, assets in Spanish hedge funds were down 30% on one year, to slightly over EUR1bn.Meanwhile, the CNMV has announced that more than half of hedge funds were not in compliance with regulations which require them to have at least 25 subscribers. They have one year to comply.
02/06/2009

Fund assets up slightly in May

As of 31 May, assets under management in securities funds on sale in Spain totalled nearly EUR162.11bn, EUR32m or 0.02% more than at the end of April, the Inverco association of asset management firms reports. This is the second consecutive increase in assets, after 23 consecutive months of decline.However, the sector has nonetheless undergone net redemptions of nearly EUR1.19bn, three times more than the initial estimates for April. Inverco points out that in the first five months of the year, net redemptions fell by nearly EUR7.18bn, compared with EUR22.89bn in the corresponding period of 2008.None of the 12 largest asset management firms as measured by AUM volumes has posted net subscriptions in May. The heaviest outflows were at Santander Gestión de Activos, with EUR310m, and Gesmadrid, with EUR227.92m.
02/06/2009

Preference share issues draw assets away from funds

According to Ahorro Corporación, an avalanche of preferential share issued in May led to the heaviest net redemptions of the year for Spanish funds, totalling EUR2.3bn, Expansión reports. With these new outflows, subscribers withdrew more than EUR8bn in the first five months of 2009, 5% of total assets in the sector, neutralizing the effects of the rising stock market, which has attracted new investors and increased assets under management.

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