P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The CEO of ING Bank België, Wim Roelant, has been appointed as CEO of ING Investment Management for Belgium, Fondsnieuws reports, adding that Roelant will report to Ivar Roeleven, head of investment funds Europe.Meanwhile, ING IM has announced the appointment of Didier Devreese as director of sales and marketing for Belgium. He had already been senior business development manager.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Hedge funds are continuing to attract increasing numbers of institutional investors, according to the findings of a Credit Suisse survey of allocation by 185 professionals to the world of hedge funds. 88% say they want to increase their exposure to hedge funds in the second half of 2013. The most popular alternative strategies with all respondents are long/short equity – fundamental (57% of respondents), event-driven (47%) and global macro (39%). Respondents in the United States prefer long/short equity – fundamental (58%), event-driven (48%) and global macro (22%). 50% of Asian institutionals prefer long/short equity – trading, followed by long/short equity – fundamental strategies (40%) an global macro (40%). Investors in countries of Europe, the Middle East and Africa choose long/short equity – fundamental (57%), global macro (52%) and event-driven (47%). The strategies likely to be least successful in the next few months are those which invest in commodities and emerging market credit markets.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the week ending on 24 July, investors remained convinced by US growth and showed more confidence in the fact that the European economy is finally out of the mend, EPFR Global reports.Retail subscriptions to US equity funds were at their highest levels since third quarter 2009, while US high yield bond funds posted their second-higest inflows since statistics began. European equity funds show their highest inflows since mid-December.Overall, EPFR Global states, bond funds attracted USD4.36bn, while equity funds absorbed USD8bn. That more than compensates for net outflows of USD12bn from money market funds (including 90% for US money market funds).
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Chinese website cajin.com and the Australian Financial Standard on 26 July reported that State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) is investing USD50bn in a joint venture with Zhongrong International Trust Co Ltd (ZRT). The joint venture, SSgA Fund Managmeent, which is 51% controlled by ZRT and 49% by SSgA, will be located in Beijing, and will manage local investment funds for retail investors, high net worth retail clients and institutional investors.The Chinese securities commission (CSRC) has issued a license to the new firm, and appointed Gui Songlei as chairman of the board, Wang Yao as inspector general and Li Xuesong as general manager. Li will be responsible for the day-to-day management of SSgA Fund Management, which has 50 employees.The website caijin.com states that ZRT has assets of about CNY300bn, or USD48.8bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Citywire reports that Nikko Asset Management has recruited Winson Fong (formerly of Lion Global) as head of China strategies and head of the Greater China equities team, as well as James Alexander (formerly of AllianceBernstein) as deputy head of fixed income for Australia at the affiliate Tyndall Asset Management, where he reports to Roger Bridges, head of fixed income.In Singapore, Nikko AM has recruited Shavaz Rai (formerly of Alchemy Investment Management) as investment director responsible for local currencies, Asian fixed income and credit strategies. The group has also recruited Wee Tan Sing (formerly of GIC) as investment risk manager.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A survey undertaken in June of 165 European institutional investors by Aquila Capital has found that 54% of professionals surveyed think that the famous “great rotation,” the massive migration from investments from bonds to equities, will not take place. One third of institutional investors are planning to maintain their current allocation to bonds, and 29% are planning to increase it.According to Oldrik Verloop, director of Aquila Capital, institutional investors are planning to maintain their exposure to bonds, even in a difficult environment. Two thirds of respondents consider the current context challenging to very challenging, while three fifths estimate that it is difficult to very difficult to generate positive results at this stage in the interest rate cycle. The primary challenges cited are the potential for an increase in interest rates, the low interest rate environment, and the means to obtain adequate diversification as well as solvency risks and the danger of inflation. Nearly three quarters of respondents estimate that it would be difficult or very difficult to make predictions about the evolution of interest rates over the next three years. This clearly incites a search for replacement solutions, and 44% of institutionals surveyed say they are planning to adopt risk parity strategies for their bond allocations.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Azimut, the largest independent asset management firm in Italy, has announced that it is going to an acquire an initial stake of 51% in the asset management firm Augustum Opus SIM (AO), founded in April 2009, with total assets of slightly over EUR800m.Azimut is planning to increase its stake in the capital of AO to 100% within six years. The price of the remaining shares will depend on results, but will be likely to be in the vicinity of 10 times profits, or about EUR10m to EUR20m.AO, which is aimed at high net worth retail clients and also manages funds, will retain its autonomy in its contacts with clients as well as outsourced management of funds.In parallel with this operation, Azimut has declared net profits for first half of EUR78.3m, comapred with EUR79.1m in January-June 2012.As of the end of June, assets under management totalled EUR19bn, while assets under management and administration totalled EUR21.2bn. Net inflows in the first six months of the year totalled EUR1.5bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Chinese securities commission (CSRC) on 23 July published its timetable to examine a first series of funds classified as long/short, which means that it is planning to issue licenses to other products of this type, although it had been hostile to them in the past, Z-Ben Advisors reports.The first three products under examination for licensing are funds from Lombards China, Zhonghai and China Post, replicating the CSI 300 index and using futures on the index for short positions.According to local analysts, the two major concerns on the part of the regulator are related to the risk to which long/short funds expose investors, and the real risk management capacities of asset management firms.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of 2012, the assets of the sovereign fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) totalled CNY575bn, and its performance last year totalled 10.6%, compared with a loss of 4.6% in 2011, its new chairman, Ding Xuedong, announced at a presentation of results, which revealed that the proportion of assets managed externally in 2012 increased to 63.8% from 57% the previous year.According to Z-Ben Advisors, this increase in the proportion of management outsourced is probably due to offshore mandates awarded in May 2012, and to a redeployment of liquidity and deposits, whose proportion fell to 3.8% of assets from 11% the previous year.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The third “dividend growth” ETF from WisdomTree (USD31.6bn) was released on NADSAQ on 25 July. It is the WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Growth Fund (acronym DGRS), which aims to provide diversified exposure to US small caps which pay high dividends and offer growth outlooks.The fund charges fees of 0.48%.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Effective from 29 July 2013, fondsweb reports, the Odyssée (ISIN FR0010546960, FR0010546978, FR0010600197) and Ulysse (ISIN FR0010546903, FR0010546911, FR0010600247) funds will respectively become known as Tocqueville Odyssée and Tocqueville Ulysse.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 17 July, the MS Dalton Asia Pacific UCITS Fund (IE00B96W6S29), an Asian long/short equity fund, was founded as the 20th sub-fund of the FundLogic Alternatives platform of the Morgan Stanley investment bank.The new product, for which Longchamp Asset Management will be the exclusive distributor, employs the strategy of a fund from Dalton Investments (USD1.2bn) managed by James Rosenwald, founder of Dalton Investments, in a UCITS-compliant format.The maximal gross exposure will be 200%, and net long exposure will be up to 80%, with a limit of 70% for Japanese and Greater China equities, while net long positions on the remainder of Asia-Pacific are limited to 30%.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management in the Hong Kong fund industry have totalled a record HKD12.6trn, or USD1.6trn, as of the end of 2012, according to Asian Investor, citing statistics from the local SFC. Year on year, assets are up 40-%. The previous record was set in late 2010. 64.8% of assets under management come from foreign investors (not including Reit real estate funds). Asset management and financial advising firms were the largest contributors of asets, with HKD9.2trn, up 47.9% since the end of 2011.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to statistics from the Spanish securities commission (CNMV), assets in foreign funds on sale in Spain total EUR44.5bn, which represents a record market share of 21%, Funds People reports.Assets under management by foreign funds have increased by 17.1%, compared with USD37.99bn as of the end of December, and 39.8% compared with USD31.83bn as of the end of March 2012. As of the end of March 2009, the market share for foreign funds was only 7.4%.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The first real estate fund offered by BlackRock since its acquisition of the private equity investor MPGA already has GBP250m in assets: the UK Long Lease Property Fund will invest in properties which are leased for a long term, in order to generate regular income and protect against inflation, IPE reports.The product was designed for six pension funds, and has already invested GBP100m from seed capital, for an average duration of 20 years. It may make investments in “alternative” areas such as student residences, healthcare establishments, residential associations and land rental, as well as in more traditional properties such as supermarkets or offices.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to an official from the Department of Justice, the Wall Street Journal reports, the US government is planning to negotiate an agreement which would allow SAC Capital Advisors, which is facing criminal insider trading charges, to continue its operations.The idea is to avoid further prejudicing the hedge fund manager and third parties, in order not to provoke the havoc on the market that would ensue on an asset freeze, since SAC holds about USD51bn in securities, taking leverage into account. SAC has recently declared net assetsunder management of USD14bn as of 1 July. It is estimated that more than half of this belongs personally to Steve A. Cohen, the firm’s founder and CEO.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Citywire reports that HSBC Global Asset Management (HSBC GAM) has decided to liquidate its frontier market fund HSBC GIF CIVETS, which invests in Colombia Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa. The product attracted only USD25m, though it was launched in December 2011.However, the manager of the CIVETS fund, Douglas Helfer, will continue to manage the HSBC GIF Russia Equity fund and to advise the Europe/Middle East/Africa strategy team.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aviva Investors has announced the launch of the securitisation vehicle “European Secondary Infrastructure Credit SV.” the structure issues Participative Securities backed by a portfolio of infrastructure debt in Europe. Three institutional investors, including Aviva France, have subscribed to an initial issue of EUR425m.“The investment strategy is to acquire bank loans on the secondary market, which will be supplemented by selective investments on the primary market. The objective is to prefer operational infrastructure projects, which, historically, have a very low level of losses on debts,” a statement says.Characteristics Structure: Security issued by a Luxembourg Securitisation Company First closing: EUR425m Average duration: 7-12 years Investment period: 2.5 years Minimum investment: EUR10m
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) on 26 July announced that, according to a study it has carried out, and despite fears that Retail Distribution Review (RDR) regulations would have an impact on the price paid by clients for advising, 82% of financial advisers have not modified their fees since January, when the new rules came into effect, while 12% have increased, and 2% have reduced their fees.On average, financial advisers charge GBP156 per hour. By hourly rate band, 49% of professionals charge GBP101 to GBP150, and 15% charge GBP51 to GBP100 per hour. But 26% of advisers charge between GBP151 and GBP200 per hour, and 8% charge GBP201 to GBP250.
Directeur général d’ING Bank België, Wim Roelant a été nommé CEO d’ING Investment Management pour la Belgique, rapporte Fondnieuws, ajoutant que l’intéressé sera subordonné à à Ivar Roeleven, head of investment funds Europe.Parallèlement, ING IM a annoncé la nomination de Didier Devreese comme directeur des ventes et du marketing pour la Belgique. Il était déjà senior business development manager.
Citywire rapporte que HSBC Global Asset Management (HSBC GAM) a décidé de liquider son fonds de marchés frontières HSBC GIF CIVETS, investi en Colombie, Indonésie, Vietnam, Egypte, Turquie et Afrique du Sud. Ce produit n’a attiré que 25 millions de dollars alors qu’il a été lancé en décembre 2011.Cependant, le gérant du CIVETS, Douglas Helfer, continuera de gérer le fonds HSBC GIF Russia Equity et d’être conseiller de l’équipe stratégie Europe/Moyen-Orient/Afrique.
Aviva Investors a annoncé le lancement du véhicule de titrisation «European Secondary Infrastructure Credit SV». Cette structure émet des titres participatifs adossés à un portefeuille de dette infrastructure en Europe. Trois investisseurs institutionnels, dont Aviva France, souscrivent à l’émission initiale de 425 millions d’euros. «La stratégie d’investissement consiste à acquérir des prêts bancaires sur le marché secondaire, qui seront complétés par des investissements sélectifs sur le marché primaire. L’objectif est de privilégier les projets d’infrastructure opérationnels qui, historiquement, affichent un très faible niveau de pertes sur créances», explique un communiqué. Caractéristiques: Structure : Créance émise par une Société de Titrisation à Luxembourg Premier closing : 425 millions d’euros Durée moyenne : 7-12 ans Période d’investissement : 2,5 ans Investissement minimum : 10 millions d’euros
La France vient d’apporter son soutien à l’Argentine contre les fonds vautours devant la Cour suprême des Etats-Unis, dans l’affaire qui oppose Buenos Aires au fonds du milliardaire Paul Singer, Elliott (NML), qui réclame un paiement dû par le gouvernement de Cristina Kirchner. Pierre Moscovici a confirmé que la France a déposé un «brief d’amicus curiae» (« ami de la cour »), précise Les Echos.
Le capital-investisseur KKR & Co a accusé pour avril-juin une chute de 90 % en glissement annuel de son bénéfice net, à 15,1 millions de dollars, mais son bénéfice en numéraire a atteint avec 162 millions de dollars son niveau le plus élevé depuis l’introduction en Bourse, rapporte The Wall Street Journal. Le «bénéfice net économique», qui prend en compte les plus- et moins-values latentes, a plongé de 74 %, à 144,4 millions de dollars.Le marché des grosses transactions reste peu actif, de sorte que les sociétés de private equity ont plus de difficulté à récolter des bénéfices surdimensionnés lorsqu’ils revendent leurs investissements. De plus, l’évolution des marchés financiers a malmené la valeur des placements qui se trouve dans les livres des capital-investisseurs.
Roger M. Stein, president de Moody’s Research Labs (MRL), a été recruté par State Street Corporation comme chief analytics officer pour son pôle State Street Global Exchange. Ce pôle regroupe les activités de State Street dans les domaines de la recherche, du conseil, de l’analyse et de la compensation de dérivés ainsi que les services Currenex et Global Link.Le nouvel arrivant aura la responsabilité de tous les aspects des nouveaux produits et devra aussi apporter son aide aux activités de vente. Basé à New York, Roger Stein sera subordonné à Jeff Conway, executive vice president & head of State Street Global Exchange.
Avec effet au 29 juillet 2013, rapporte fondsweb, les fonds Odyssée (ISIN FR0010546960, FR0010546978, FR0010600197) et Ulysse (ISIN FR0010546903, FR0010546911, FR0010600247) prennent les noms de respectivement Tocqueville Odyssée et Tocqueville Ulysse.
Le troisième ETF «dividend growth» de WisdomTree (31,6 milliards de dollars) a été lancé sur le Nasdaq le 25 juillet. Il s’agit du WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Growth Fund (acronyme : DGRS), qui est destiné à fournir une exposition diversifiée aux petites capitalisations américaines servant des dividendes et offrant des perspectives de croissance.Ce fonds est chargé à 0,48 %.
Citywire rapporte que Nikko Asset Management a recruté Winson Fong (ex Lion Global) comme head of China strategies et responsable de l’équipe actions Greater China, ainsi que James Alexander (ex AllianceBernstein) comme deputy head of fixed income en Australie de la filiale Tyndall Asset Management, sous les ordres de Roger Bridges, head of fixed income.A Singapour, Nikko AM a par ailleurs recruté Shivaz Rai (ex Alchemy Investment Management) come investment director responsable des monnaies locales/ taux asiatiques et stratégies crédit Asie. Le groupe a également embauché Wee Tian Sing (ex GIC) comme investment risk manager.
Stewart Edgar a quitté son poste de directeur de l’activité Asie pacifique de BNP Paribas Investment Partners, rapporte Asian Investor. Il a été replacé par son adjoint Vincent Camerlynck. Selon un porte parole interrogé par le quotidien, Stewart Edgar a démissionné afin de poursuivre de nouvelles opportunités. Asian Investor précise ne pas savoir ce que sont ses nouveaux projets.
Miguel Ángel Luna Mansilla, responsable depuis 2010 du pôle banque privée du Banco Popular, a été nommé directeur de la «banque des clients» dont dépendent la direction et la gestion commerciale du Popular, la banque multicanaux et le marketing, rapporte Funds People.Il est remplacé à la tête de Popular Banca Privada par Carmen Ortiz Castaño, directrice des relations avec les actionnaires.