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02/09/2013

Stephan Keiser leaves Vontobel for EFG Bank

Stephan Keiser, head of private banking international since 2006 at Vontobel, where he had been head of Latin American markets, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Italy, will in January 2014 become head of private banking in Zurich at EFG Bank, the largest Swiss affiliate of EFG International. He will report to John Williamson, CEO of the group and CEO of EFG Bank.In his new role, Keiser will be responsible for overseeing the development of ETF Bank not only in Zurich but also in Latin America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
02/09/2013

Microsoft admits activist investor onto its board

Before the long Labor Day weekend, Microsoft announced that it will be nominating a representative from ValueAct Capital Management as a director of the firm. This will be the first time that Microsoft has appointed a director that is not hand-picked.ValueAct, which considers itself a management-friendly activist investor, controls 0.80% of capital in Microsoft, which at current share prices is worth USD2.2bn; the asset management firm is said to have played a key role in the announced departure of Steve Ballmer from his position as CEO of Microsoft.It is expected that the CEO of Value Act, Mason Morfit, will hold regular meetings with a restricted number of Microsoft directors and managers. He may be elected as a director at the Microsoft general shareholders’ meeting in November.
02/09/2013

RHJI to become known as Kleinwort Benson Group

The most recent phase of a strategic transformation project at RHJ International (RHJI), which is becoming a specialist financial services firm after having served as a diversified holding company to manage a portfolio of industrial assets, will result in a change in the name of the firm to Kleinwort Benson Group, the firm has announced. It now expects a decision by BaFin by the end of Septembder concerning its planned acquisition of BHF Bank from Deutsche Bank.The activities of the business bank will be transferred into a new legal entity, in which RHJI will hold a 19% stake. The new entity will continue to operate under the name Kleinwort Benson Advisors LLC (KBA).Overall, in first half, consolidated losses groupwide totalled EUR52.1m, but operating losses for basic activity segments (financial services and holding) fell to EUR21.8m, compared with EUR22.2m in first half 2012.The semiannual report states that AUM at Kleinwort Benson Investors (KBI) were up 10%, to EUR4bn, and that assets managed by Kleinwort Benson Wealth Management increased 5% to GBP5.4bn (EUR6.3bn).
02/09/2013

Europe: JPMorgan, BlackRock and Franklin lead rankings

In July 2013, European asset management firms posted inflows totalling EUR26.76bn in net subscriptions, after net redemptions of EUR35bn in June, while equity funds posted the strongest net inflows, with EUR10.2bn, and bond funds have their weakest inflows since May 2012, with EUR5.5bn, Morningstar reports.In the first seven months of the year, net subscriptions totalled EUR207.1bn, of which EUR72.09bn were for bond funds, EUR67.78bn for allocation funds, and EUR39.43bn for equity funds.In the January-July period, JPMorgan has posted the strongest net subscriptions, with EUR16.14bn, followed by BlackRock (EUR14.35bn) and Franklin Templeton (EUR12.65bn). In fourth place is Pimco, with EUR9.15bn, followed by DWS, with EUR5.73bn.In July, the title goes to BlackRock with net subscriptions of EUR2.17bn, followed by JPMorgan (EUR1.67bn) and DWS (EUR858m). Only three major firms posted net redemptions in the month under review: Pimco, with EUR1.35bn, BNP Paribas (EUR849m) and UBS (EUR337m).
02/09/2013

UBS GAM wants to develop ETF activities in Asia

UBS Global Asset Management (UBS GAM) has recruited Sammy Yip as head of ETF sales in Asia, a newly-created position, Asian Investor reports. Yip, who previously worked at Lippo Investment Management and SSgA, will be based in Hong Kong. UBS GAM has not yet listed any ETFs in Hong Kong or Singapore. Yip will thus initially be respnsible for sales of ETFs listed elsewhere in the world in Hong Kong and Singapore. ETFs from UBS have assets of USD13.1bn, listed in Australia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Korea, through a joint venture with UBS Hana Asset Management.
02/09/2013

UBS launches wealth management training programme

UBS Wealth Management has launched its first wealth management training programme for senior client advisers active in the region, The Asset reports. 22 senior advisers in Hong Kong and Singapore became the first to take the two-year training programme, which relies on experts from such big names as Harvard, Columbia, Princeton and the University of Zurich.
02/09/2013

Italy exempts pension funds from FTT

The Italian government has exempted pension and sovereign funds from paying the financial transaction tax (FTT), which will be introduced on 16 October, IPE.com reports. The Minister of the Economy, Fabrizio Saccomanni, has announced that sovereign funds will not have to pay tax on investments they make in government debt, while pension funds are exempt from tax on the entities or organisations in which they traditionally invest. He added that the purchase of shares or any operations related to ethical funds, or the management of ethical or socially responsible portfolios would not be exempt from the tax.
02/09/2013

Warburg Invest offers diversified sustainable fund

With the assistance of Rheinishce Portfolio Management, which is responsible for managing its portfolio, and the Munich-based extra-financial ratings agency oekom reseach, for the sustainable development aspect, Warburg Invest has released a diversified fund for sale which invests in equities in German companies which are well-rated for their environmental, social and governance performance, in German inflation-linked bonds and gold, to be entitled Transparente Invest.The portfolio will be constructed on the bases of risk parity. Equities will be selected according to their inclusion in the sustainable development index DAXglobal Sarasin Sustainability Germany. The fund was launched on 18 February, and is aimed primarily at “defensive” investors.CharacteristicsName: Transparente InvestISIN code: DE000A1JUVV7Front-end fee: 0%Management commission: 0.75%Depository banking commission: 0.05%Minimal subscription: EUR1,000
02/09/2013

Eaton Vance creates second forex fund

After the Diversified Currency Income Fund (aconym EAIIX), launched in 2007 (USD800m as of 31 July), Eaton Vance Management has announced the launch of the Eaton Vance Currency Income Advantage Fund (ECIAX), a fund which invests in currencies which are likely to appreciate against the dollar.The new product aims for higher returns and performance than the first fund, with “commensurately” higher risk. Issuers are selected according to whether they are based in countries where the policy mix and economic environment are likely to ensure long-term growth, and thus to attract foreign investors.The ECIAX is managed by a team led by Eric Stein, vice president and co-director of the global income group at Eaton Vance, along with Michael Cirami, his alter ego, and John Bauer, vice president of Eaton Vance and director of global portfolio analysis.As of the end of July, the Boston-based Eaton Vance group, of which Eaton Vance is an affiliate, had assets of USD268.8bn.
02/09/2013

Union Investment invests in Austin, Texas

A fund from DRA Advisors LLY has sold the office buildings Research Park III and IV (33,000 square metres), in Austin, Texas, to the German firm Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE), for USD103m.The property, leased in its entirety on long-term leases, to tenants including Visa USA and Charles Schwab, will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate portfolio UniImmo: Europa, which had already acquired the 555 Mission Street building in San Francisco in June 2012, for USD446.5m.Currently, Union Investment is invested in eight buildings in the United States, and logistical sites, for a total of EUR1.4bn. Martin Brühl, director of international investment management at UIRE, has said that more acquisitions are in preparation in the United States in growing cities, with a focus on core assets in a middle price range.
02/09/2013

Allianz GI supprime 150 emplois

Allianz Global Investors a réduit ses effectifs de 150 personnes après avoir lancé une réorganisation stratégique, rapporte le Financial Times funds management. Cela ramène les effectifs à 1.650 employés. La maison allemande a indiqué avoir externalisé plusieurs postes dans l’informatique, le middle et le back-office.
02/09/2013

Assets at Jyske down in first half

The interim report from Investeringsforeningen Jyske Invest International, published on Friday, reveals that the 32 sub-funds which make up the fund as of the end of June had assets of DKK6.915bn, compared with DKK7.130bn as of the end of December. This decline of 3% is due to DKK161m in net outflows (compared with DKK74m in the corresponding period of 2012), largely for high yield equity and bond funds, a capital loss of DKK46m, and a negative currency effect of DKK8m. The report states that operating revenues have thus been unsatisfactory throughout first half 2013.Equity funds generated average returns of 1.86%, while bond funds lost 3.80%, and strategy funds posted returns which varied from -2.96% to +8.86%. Strategy funds and developed country bond funds posted net subscriptions.As of the end of June, assets in strategy funds were up to 41% of the total AUM, compared with 38.8% six months previously, while bond funds from developed countries were up to 13.1%, compared with 12.8%. The proportion for equity funds was down to 21% from 22.9%, while high yield bond funds were down by one point to 24.9%.
02/09/2013

OppenheimerFunds settles six class-action lawsuits

The New York-based asset management firm Oppenheimer Funds Inc (OFI) has announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with lawyers representing the plaintiffs in six class-action lawsuits concerning the performance of the Rochester National Municipals, Oppenheimer AMT-Free Municipals, Oppenheimer Rochester Fund Municipals, Oppenheimer Rochester AMT-Free New York Municipal Fund, Oppenheimer New Jersey Municipal Fund et Oppenheimer Pennsylvania Municipal Fund at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.OppenheimerFunds has agreed to pay USD89.5m, which will be distributed to the plaintiffs. The cases had been filed in Colorado Federal court.OppenheimerFunds states that the agreement does not include a class-action lawsuit related to the performance of the Oppenheimer California Municipal Fund, also in 2008, as it maintains that that claim is baseless.
02/09/2013

JP Morgan merges 17 funds

JP Morgan will merge nine sub-funds as part of a reshuffle of its range of European funds, Citywire global reveals, with a list of the products concerned. Eight other funds, whose names are not yet known, will be merged in the next two months.
02/09/2013

Schroders adds to strategic solutions team

Rosalind Mann, who has spent the past five years as an investment consultant at Towers Watson, has joined the UK strategic solutions team at Schroders, which has six members and is led by Mark Humphreys.
02/09/2013

St James's Place launches women's initiative

The wealth management firm St James’s Place has announced the launch of an initiative to promote women at its academy, an entity which offers professionals with strong potential a means to train in financial advising and to work with St James’s.
02/09/2013

European Commission wants to disallow external ratings use by money market funds

After several delays, the European Commission has decided to unveil its “roadmap” for regulation of the shadow banking sector on Wednesday. The initiative at present includes only one piece of legislation, concerning money market funds whose rists are underestimated in the opinion of the Commission. They will in the future be required to have a “liquidity cushion” equal to 3% of the net value of assets, according to a draft which is still subject to modifications. Managers will also be required to “cease to base themselves on external credit ratings,” which would provide a false promise of stability in the immediate sale value of securities, and instead develop an internal ratings system, the newspaper says. The European Commission is also focusing on the various forms of “credit financing transactions,” ranging from repo to securities lending, which have been developed since 2008 as collateral requirements have become more systematic.
02/09/2013

Philippines market gradually opening

After expanding by more than 40% in 2012, growth momentum in the Philippines’ retail fund industry continued into 2013, according to Cerulli. By the end of June, assets under management (AUM) in unit investment trust funds (UITFs) had reached PHP385 billion (US$8.9 billion), while AUM of mutual funds had breached PHP200 billion for the first time. Cerulli Associates believes that the Philippine retail fund industry is still in its infancy and remains restricted, not helped by bouts of regulatory inertia. However, there have been some positive leads. For instance, the Philippine Stock Exchange is now accepting listing applications for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) following approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission on the final component of ETF guidelines, paving the way for their longawaited debut. In the UITF segment, feeder funds and funds of funds (FoFs) received the green light from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in September last year. On the institutional side, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is currently considering relocating assets abroad. Also, although the Social Security System (SSS) has always been managing its assets-which are 100% local-in-house, moving toward foreign investment is necessary due to limited market capitalization in the Philippines. As such, advisory services will be needed, and mandates are likely to be handed out to foreign managers.
02/09/2013

GLG liquidates EM fund

The British investment firm GLG Partners has liquidated a fund dedicated to emerging market equities, only nine months after its launch, Citywire reports. The management of the Dublin-based fund, GLG Global Emerging Markets Equity fund, was no longer profitable. Assets under management totalled only USD14m at the closure of the fund on 30 July this year. Since its launch in November 2012, the fund lost 10.5%, compared with a loss of 4.96% for the benchmark index, the MSCI EM TR USD.
02/09/2013

M&G to launch global corporate bond fund

M&G will launch a Global Corporate Bond fund for Ben Lord next week, Investment Week has learned. The manager is already responsible for a series of bond funds, including the Short Dated Corporate Bond fund. With the new fund, Lord will aim to invest in corporate bonds worldwide, with a less marked bias for British corporate bonds than with other portfolios from the group.
02/09/2013

Partnership between ETF Securities and the Royal Mint

The British ETC provider ETF Securities has announced that it has signed a partnership with the Royal Mint, by which retail shareholders in Gold Bullion Securities (GBS) listed in London will be allowed to exchange their shares for sovereigns or Brittania coins, the most popular gold coins in the United Kingdom.ETF Securities claims to be the first ETP provider to offer such an option, which is made possible due to the physical gold backing of GBS, which was launched in 2004, and which currently has assets of USD4.6bn.
02/09/2013

Mirabaud granted license for global convertibles fund

Mirabaud Asset Management has received a license in Luxembourg to launch its global convertible bond fund, Citywire Global reports. It will then be released in Europe. The firm had announced the creation of such a fund when it recruited Nicolas Cremieux, a former Dexia manager. The fund had previously been in incubation.
02/09/2013

Les hedge funds devraient mieux planifier leur succession

Les fondateurs de hedge funds ont du mal à planifier leur succession, analyse le Financial Times dans un long article sur le sujet. D’ailleurs, la plupart d’entre eux ont décidé que cela était tellement compliqué qu’ils ont remboursé leurs investisseurs lorsqu’ils sont partis à la retraite ou utilisé leur argent pour financer d’autres sociétés. La raison est simple, pour l’auteur de l’article : les vedettes des hedge funds ont tendance à être des entrepreneurs avec des egos et des opinions non-conformistes. Cela n’en fait pas des mentors naturels ou des personnes susceptibles de partager le pouvoir. La question de la succession est pourtant importante car un tiers des encours du secteur des hedge funds sont gérés par des dirigeants fondateurs qui vont avoir 60 ans dans les 10 prochaines années, selon un sondage de Deloitte.Certains hedge funds, comme Highbridge Capital, montrent la voie. Glenn Dubin, qui a créé la structure il y a 23 ans, a récemment cédé le contrôle de son « bébé » à un ancien banquier de Goldman Sachs.
02/09/2013
Fonds

Mirabaud obtient l’agrément pour son fonds de convertibles mondiales

Mirabaud Asset Management a reçu l’agrément au Luxembourg pour le lancement de son fonds d’obligations convertibles mondiales, rapporte Citywire Global. Il sera ensuite déployé en Europe. La société avait annoncé la création d’un tel fonds lors du recrutement de Nicolas Cremieux, un ancien gérant de Dexia. Jusqu’ici, le fonds était en incubation.
Fonds
02/09/2013

Baisse d’encours pour Jyske au premier semestre

Le rapport intérimaire de Investeringsforeningen Jyske Invest International publié vendredi fait ressortir que les 32 compartiment composant le fonds affichaient fin juin un encours de 6.915 millions de couronnes danoises contre 7.130 millions fin décembre. Cette diminution de 3 % s’explique par 161 millions de sorties nettes (contre 74 millions pour la période correspondante de 2012) notamment pour les fonds d’actions et d’obligations à haut rendement, par une moins-value de 46 millions et par un effet de change négatif de 8 millions. De la sorte, précise le rapport, les revenus d’exploitation ont été insatisfaisants tout au long du premier semestre 2013.Les fonds d’actions ont généré une performance moyenne de 1,86 % pendant que les fonds obligataires ont perdu 3,80 % et que les fonds de stratégie affichaient des performances échelonnées entre – 296 % et + 8,86 %. Les fonds de stratégie et ceux d’obligations des pays développés ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes.A fin juin, l’encours des fonds de stratégie avait augmenté à 41 % du total contre 38,8 % six mois plus tôt tandis que celui des fonds d’obligations des pays dévoloppés avait augmenté à 13,1 % contre 12,8 %. La part des fonds d’actions a diminué à 21 % contre 22,9 % et celle des fonds d’obligations à haut rendement a diminué d’un point, à 24,9 %.
02/09/2013

Les conseillers financiers italiens collectent en juillet

En juillet, les réseaux de conseillers financiers en Italie ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 1,3 milliard d’euros, selon les statistiques d’Assoreti. Les produits de gestion d’actifs ont engrangé en net plus de 1,7 milliard d’euros, soit une hausse de 29 % par rapport à juin. 64,8 % de cette collecte a été réalisée par le biais de la distribution directe de parts d’OPCVM, avec des souscriptions nettes supérieures à 1,1 milliard d’euros.
02/09/2013
Fonds

Union Investment investit au Texas

Un fonds de DRA Advisors LLC a vendu pour 103 millions de dollars à l’allemand Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) l’ensemble d’immobilier de bureaux Resarch Park III et IV (33.000 mètres carrés) situé à Austin (Texas).Cet actif, entièrement loué sur des baux de long terme, notamment à Visa USA et Charles Schwab, est versé au portefeuille du fonds immobilier offert au public UniImmo: Europa, qui avait déjà acheté pour 446,5 millions de dollars l’immeuble de bureaux 555 Mission Street à San Francisco en juin 2012.Actuellement, Union Investment est investi aux Etats-Unis dans huit immeubles de bureaux et sites logistiques d’un volume de 1,4 milliard d’euros. Martin Brühl, directeur de la gestion des investissements à l’international d’UIRE, a indiqué que de nouvelles acquisitions sont en préparation aux Etats-Unis dans des villes en expansion, avec une focalisation sur les actifs «core» dans une gamme de prix intermédiaire.
Fonds
02/09/2013
Fonds

Federal Finance étoffe sa gamme de FCPI et FIP

Federal Finance vient d’annoncer le lancement du FCPI Pluriel Valeurs n°3 et du FIP Pluriel Ouest n°5 basés sur la combinaison des expertises de trois équipes de gestion. La gestion des poches sous quota - l’investissement en entreprises innovantes ou régionales - représentant 60% minimum du portefeuille, est déléguée à des sociétés de gestion partenaires. Pour chaque fonds, le nombre de sociétés investies est en moyenne de 20 à 30 lignes, indique un communiqué.Les poches hors quota - représentant les 40 % restants des portefeuilles - sont gérées directement par Federal Finance qui investit sur différentes classes d’actifs (monétaire, actions européennes et internationales y compris émergents, obligations souveraines et corporate, immobilier coté, matières premières dont or, énergie et agriculture, devises,...). En pratique, le FCPI Pluriel Valeur n°3 soutient la croissance d’entreprises françaises innovantes. La gestion de la poche sous quota est confiée à Amiral Gestion et à Inocap. De son côté, le FIP Pluriel Ouest n°5 soutient les PME régionales de Bretagne, Pays de la Loire, Centre et Ile de France. La gestion de la poche sous quota est déléguée à OTC Extend et à UI Gestion.Caractéristiques : FCPI Pluriel Valeur n°3 Code ISIN (Part A) : FR0011541291 Minimum de souscription (Part A) 5 partsValeur d’origine de la Part A : 100 eurosDurée de blocage : 5 ans et 8 mois minimumFIP Pluriel Ouest n°5Code ISIN (Part A) : FR0011541275 Minimum de souscription (Part A) 5 partsValeur d’origine de la Part A : 100 eurosDurée de blocage : 8 ans minimum
Fonds
02/09/2013
Fonds

Eaton Vance crée un second fonds devises

Après le Diversified Currency Income Fund (acronyme EAIIX) lancé en 2007 (800 millions de dollars au 31 juillet), Eaton Vance Management annonce le lancement du Eaton Vance Currency Income Advantage Fund (ECIAX), un fonds investissant en devises susceptibles de s’apprécier contre dollar.Ce nouveau produit vise un rendement et une performance plus élevés que le premier fonds, avec un risque «raisonnablement» (commensurately) supérieur. Les émetteurs sont choisis en fonction de l’appartenance à des pays où le policy mix et l’environnement économique devraient assurer une croissance de long terme, attirant ainsi des investissements étrangers.L’ECIAX est géré par une équipe que dirige Eric Stein, vice president et co-director du global cinome group d’Eaton Vance, Michael Cirami, son alter ego et John Bauer vice president d’Eaton Vance et director of global portfolio analysis.A fin juillet, le groupe bostonien Eaton Vance, dont Eaton Vance Management est une des filiales, affichait un encours de 268,8 milliards de dollars.
Fonds
02/09/2013

Microsoft ouvre son board à un investisseur activiste

A la veille du long week-end du Labor Day, Microsoft a annoncé qu’il va proposer la nomination d’un représentant de ValueAct Capital Management comme administrateur. Ce sera la première fois que Microsoft nommera un administrateur qu’il n’a pas choisi. ValueAct, qui se considère comme un actionnaire activiste proche des managements, détient 0,80 % du capital de Microsoft, ce qui représente aux cours actuels quelque 2,2 milliards de dollars ; le gestionnaire aurait joué un rôle déterminant dans le départ annoncé de Steve Ballmer de son poste de CEO de Microsoft.Il est prévu que le CEO de Value Act, Mason Morfit, ait des entretiens réguliers avec un nombre restreint d’administrateurs et de managers de Microsoft. Il pourrait être élu administrateur dès l’assemblée générale de Microsoft en novembre.

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