Recherche
S'abonner
Connexion
Asset Management
Accueil Asset Management Actualités
31/05/2011

FRR returns on performance assets total 2.6% as of 31 March 2011

The French national pension fund, the Fonds de réserve pour les retraites (FRR), on 30 May announced that returns on its performance assets, whose long-term objective is annualised performance of 6%, totalled 2.6% between 13 December 2010, when the new strategic allocation went into place, and 31 March 2011. On that date, annualised performance for the FRR’s portfolio after all fees totalled 3%.The new strategic allocation for the FRR is the result of legislative changes which now define the necessary passive liquidity level for the fund, following reforms to retirement laws, giving the FRR two precise objectives: secure payment of the FRR”s liabilities, on the one hand, and to seek added returns by 2024, on the other.With this in mind, the liability-driven investment allocation put into use involves a full coverage for liabilities by assets which are suited to this purpose (a coverage portfolio), and the dynamic management of a performance-oriented portfolio.As of 31 March 2011, the financing ratio, which measures the degree of safety of the fund’s liability payments (the proportion of the market value of net assets and the current value of liabilities) was 143%. The total net asset value stood at EUR37.4bn on that date, and the current value of liabilities was EUR26.1bn.As of 31 March 2011, the coverage allocation represented 59.1% of total assets, while the performance allocation accounted for 40.7%.
31/05/2011

Alan Landau launches a series of funds dedicated to diamonds

Asian Investor reports that Alan Landau, former president of Marco Polo Pure Asset Management, is launching a new business, Novel Asset Management, which will develop expertise in trading rare diamonds, in partnership with a diamond specialist, Novel Collection, which is present in all the major diamond centres in the world (New York, Anvers, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv). The new structure, Novel Asset Management, is hoping to raise about USD20m for its first fund, Novel Diamond Fund, which has already received commitments for USD10m. The objective is to launch a fund every six months, to have three to four funds in two years’ time. The objective for inflows is USD20m for the first two funds, and USD50m for the second two. The new vehicles will be aimed primarily at family offices and high net worth private clients.
31/05/2011

Veritas to launch a new ETF fund soon

On 1 July, the Frankfurt-based firm Veritas Investment Trust is planning to launch a new ETF fund, Emerging Markets plus Money, the CEO and CIO of the firm, Markus Kaiser, has announced. The product will involve active management of market risk, with allocation to emerging markets equities funds which may vary from 100% in rising periods, and 0% if the markets fall steeply. The firm has also announced three departures: Marc Sattler, junior fund manager, who is leaving the firm on 30 June, and the managers Thorsten Winkler and Klaudius Sobczyck on 31 December.
31/05/2011

DEGI International sells a property at nearly its market value

Aberdeen Immobilien KAG has announced that it has managed to resell the Alder Castle office property in Noble Street in London to an institutional investor. The office building, with 8,620 square metres of area, was purchased in November 2003 for the DEGI International fund, whose redemptions have been frozen since November 2010, and whose assets as of the end of April totalled EUR1.59bn.The sale was made at GBP60m, against market value at the latest valuation of GBP60.9m. The transaction increases liquidity in the fund by 200 basis points. Aberdeen is planning to reopen the fund to redemptions on 16 November 2011 (see Newsmanagers of 8 November 2010), and in order to do that, it will have to sell several more properties from those remaining in the portfolio.Aberdeen states that the occupancy rate for properties in the DEGI International portfolio now stands at 96.1%.
31/05/2011

Pioneer preparing an emerging markets high yield fund

Until 6 June, Pioneer Investments Germany is offering the Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fonds 2016 (ISIN: LU0551346850), which matures on 30 December 2016, Das Investment reports.The UCITS-compliant fund, denominated in euros, will invest up to 75% of its assets in high yield corporate bonds from emerging markets, while the remaining 25% will be invested in investment-grade corporate bonds.Minimal subscription will be EUR1,000.
31/05/2011

BlackRock doesn't want an ETF sector association

The world’s largest provider of ETF funds, BlackRock iShares, has rejected proposals to create a professional organisation to reppresent the ETF sector, the Financial Times reports. Lyxor and db x-trackers were pushing for the creation of such an association, in order to respond to concerns expressed recently by regulators. iShares has stated that it opposes such an initiative. Joe Linhares, head of iShares EMEA, says that the European financial management association, EFAMA, is best positioned to maintain dialogue with regulators. EFAMA already has a working group dedicated to ETFs, which is providing excellent recommendations, Linhares says.
31/05/2011

Mutuactivos launches a fund of subordinate bonds from financial sector establishments

On 24 May, the CNMV issued a license for the fund Mutuafondo Bonos Tier 1 Seguros, launched by Mutuactivos on 9 May. The bond product, denominated in euros, will invest at least 50% of its assets in subordinated debt (lower tier 2 and tier 1) from insurers. It may also invest up to 30% of its assets in the same type of securities, issued by banks and other financial institutions of OECD countries. The indicative recommended investment duration is 4 years, and the benchmark index selected is the Iboxx Euro Tier 1. Liquidity will be daily.CharacteristicsName: Mutuafondo Bonos Tier 1 SegurosISIN code: ES0165113004Minimal investment: EUR10Management commission: 0.6%Depository banking commission: 0.02% for Spanish assets0.04% for foreign assetsFront-end fee: 3% (from 18 June 2011 to 30 June 2015)Withdrawal penalty: 3% (from 18 June 2011 until 30 June 2015)
31/05/2011

Oddo AM planning to release a commodities convertibles fund in July

Muriel Blanchier, one of the three convertibles managers at Oddo Asset Management, says that the French management firm is planning to register the Oddo Commodities Convertibles fund for sale in Spain, as soon as the UCITS IV directive is transposed into Spanish law, which is expected to take place in July, Funds People reports.The product was launched in September 2008. Currently, allocation is neutral to precious metals (10% of assets), positive to energy (31%), particularly coal, and industrial metals (31%), particularly copper, zinc and steel.
31/05/2011

Deutsche Bank bets on wealth management

Wealth management activities at Deutsche Bank are expected to balance out in 2011 to contribute to a total pre-tax profit of EUR100m to EUR150m from 2014, Josef Ackermann announced last week at a general shareholders’ meeting of Deutsche Bank.Wealth management will benefit this year from the acquisition in 2010 of Sal Oppenheim, Ackermann says. In first quarter 2011, the PCAM (private clients and asset management) division earned pre-tax profits of EUR978m, compared with profits of EUR184m one year earlier.
31/05/2011

BlackRock owns over 3% of BMW

The auto-maker BMW on 30 May announced that BlackRock on 20 May notified it that it has increased its stake to 3.05%, which corresponds to 18,382,836 shares. The US asset management firm is at present the only institutional investor with a stake of over 3% in the German firm.
31/05/2011

DZ Bank rates all German publicly-traded companies for sustainable development

DZ Bank is now including in its publications all of the sustainable development ratings issued by DZ Bank Research for all of the 334 shares of the Dax, Mdax, SDax and TecDax indices. The ratings are intended to facilitate the choice of investments for institutional investors, asset managers, and co-operative banks.DZ Bank Research adds an analysis of economic outlooks to the study of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, and businesses whose shares are considered investable on the basis of financial and extra-financial criteria are designated in all DZ Bank Research publications with an appropriate quality label, Stefan Bielmeier, director of DZ Bank Research, says.The data on about 150 extra-financial criteria in ESG areas are provided by Sustainalytics, and then reworked by DZ Bank Research, which provides presentation and weighting of the data, and brings them into line with economic data. Ultimately, companies are divided between “sustainable” and “non-sustainable” groups, depending on sectoral and/or multi-disciplinary sustainability and/or exclusionary criteria.DZ Bank states that the sustainability ratings will be updated on a daily basis, as will the data.
31/05/2011

Pictet launches an online service aimed at independent financial advisers

On 1 June, Pictet Asset Management will be launching an interactive service in Spain at the website http://www.pictetfunds.es/. The free product is a sales tool which includes a portion where independent financial advisers can find market research, documents related to investment strategy, information about products of the Pictet Asset Management range, and a way to sign up online for events held by the asset management firm in Spain. The website will be in Castilian Spanish.Retail clients will have access to public information as well as all the necessary data concerning funds from the firm which are licensed for sale in the country.Pictet is also planning to launch an added service in September, with added-value content, but to which access will require a password issued by the asset management firm. Those pages would be reserved for professionals licensed by the CNMV.
31/05/2011

David Benmussa joins BlackRock

On 30 May, David Benmussa, who until recently was director of distribution to third parties for France and Monaco at Schroders Paris (since 2002), has joined the Paris staff of BlackRock, as head of commercial relations in France for iShares. He will report to Eric Wohleber, CEO of BlackRock for France.Following the recruitments of Gad Amar in September and David Disneur in early January, the sales team at BlackRock/iShares gains the addition of an experienced professional. Another recruitment may reinforce the addition in second half.
31/05/2011

Paul Myners joins activist fund Cevian

Lord Myners, the former Gartmore chairman who always pushed institutional investors to engage more with the boards of directors at companies, will be joining the largest activist fund in Europe, Cevian Capital, as UK chairman, the Financial Times reports. Lord Myners will help Cevian to identify investment targets, to work with the boards of directors at businesses, and to team up with other investors. Assets under management by the Swedish-based fund, which has been present in the UK since 2009, total about EUR3.5bn.
31/05/2011

Appointment at UBS

The UBS group has announced the appointment of Albert A. Momdijan as director of the Ultra High Net Worth Clients and Corporate Advisory business unit for the Middle East and Africa region. Momdijan, who will begin on 1 August 2011, will be based in Dubai. He previously worked for Crédit Agricole.
31/05/2011
Gestion d'actifs

Le rendement des actifs de performance du FRR a atteint 2,6% fin mars

La nouvelle allocation stratégique du Fonds a été adoptée lors la réunion de son Conseil de surveillance le 13 décembre 2010. Elle traduit les changements législatifs qui définissent désormais le passif du FRR à la suite de la réforme des retraites en assignant au FRR deux objectifs précis : permettre une sécurisation du paiement du passif du FRR, d’une part, rechercher un rendement supplémentaire à l’horizon 2024, d’autre part. Dans cette perspective, les modalités de gestion « sous contrainte de passif » (Liability driven investment) retenues reposent sur une large couverture du passif par des actifs destinés à cet effet (portefeuille de couverture) et sur la gestion dynamique d’un portefeuille de performance. La sécurité du paiement du passif est mesurée par le ratio de financement1. Au 31 mars 2011, ce ratio de financement s'élève à 143%. La valeur totale de l’actif net s'établit en effet à 37,4 Mds euros à cette même date et la valeur actuelle du passif à 26,1 Mds euros. Au 31 mars 2011, la poche de couverture représente 59,3% du total des actifs et la poche de performance 40,7%. Le rendement des actifs de performance, dont l’objectif à long terme est une performance annualisée de 6%, a atteint 2,62% entre le 13 décembre 2010 (date de référence de la nouvelle allocation stratégique) et le 31 mars 2011. A cette même date, la performance annualisée du portefeuille du FRR nette de tout frais s'élevait à 3%.
Gestion d'actifs
31/05/2011
Gestion d'actifs

Le groupe Nexans sécurise son cash

«Pour nous, le placement des actifs financiers s’inscrit dans une optique de liquidité sécuritaire et nous ne cherchons à en maximiser le rendement financier que sous le respect de cette contrainte importante», explique Virgile Bertola, vice président consolidation chez Nexans. Le groupe s’interdit ainsi la poche action et obligation et investit ses placements en priorité sur du monétaire. «Nous avons quelques instruments comme des dépôts à terme à neuf mois, d’autres instruments à 12 mois qui restent du monétaire avec des petites composantes optionnelles pour un rendement un peu poussé mais nous n’allons pas au-delàsauf exceptions très ponctuelles», poursuit Virgile Bertola. Le groupe peaufine ainsi une politique de sécurité car il n’est pas habitué à avoir du cash abondant et lorsque cela se produit c’est toujours à court terme, le temps de faire une acquisition ou de rembourser une dette. La logique de placement est ainsi sécuritaire. «Notre grille de placement impose que 80% de notre cash doit aller sur du monétaire pur et nous nous autorisons les 20% restants sur des placements un peu plus boosté mais qui gardent une composante monétaire très forte, souligne Virgile Bertola. Nous avons par exemple, un placement monétaire avec un CDS mais provenant d’une société comme le Crédit Agricole ou BNP Paribas, et on ne fait pas appel à des sociétés de gestion».
Gestion d'actifs
31/05/2011
Gestion d'actifs

Le groupe Lagardère optimise le niveau de tirage de la dette

«Chez nous, c’est la règle d’or: notre trésorier ne peut placer nos liquidités que dans des Sicav monétaires même si elles ne rapportent que 0,5% ou du 0,8%», prévient Michel Ruguet, directeur des comptabilités du groupe Lagardère. Ainsi, la devise du groupe en matière d’investissement est de ne prendre aucun risque avec la trésorerie. Par conséquent, les placements actions, obligations et même Sicav dynamique y sont prohibés. «Dans un schéma idéal, nos placements devraient être à zéro», poursuit Michel Ruguet. Le groupe a en effet des dettes remboursables in fine et d’autres qu’il utilise par tirage c’est-à-dire que chaque mois, ce tirage est calibré en fonction des prévisions de consommation de cash. «Dans un monde parfait, on calibre les tirages sur les crédits bancaires de façon à avoir le moins de placements possible», explique le directeur des comptabilités. Cette gestion de la trésorerie n’est pas un virage prit en raison de la crise mais date de 1994. «Nous ne sommes pas une banque et la stratégie du groupe n’est pas de faire des produits financiers, termine Michel Ruguet. De plus, nous avons des covenants bancaires avec des ratios sur capitaux propres et la dette est prise pour la dette brute».
Gestion d'actifs
31/05/2011
Gestion d'actifs

La nouvelle norme IFRS 9 constitue une ouverture pour le Groupe Auchan

«Cette nouvelle norme constitue une ouverture», admet d’emblée, Sébastien Tranzeat, président de la commission normes comptables internationale de l’AFTE et directeur du contrôle financier du groupe Auchan. «IFRS9 permet une avancée au niveau de la liberté de traduire plus facilement par les états financiers, les modes de gestion des entreprises sur les opérations de couverture, de taux de change et de matière première», commenteSébastien Tranzeat. «En raison de l’IFRS 39, les entreprises ont été davantage vers des produits moins structurés mais IFRS 9 va laisser un peu plus de liberté en termes d’analyse des risques, observe Sébastien Tranzeat. D’ailleurs, les banques également concernées par cette ouverture, devraient s’engouffrer dans le desserrement des contraintes et proposer des produits d’investissements». «Je ne suis pas sûr que l’approche des entreprises sera modifiée par rapport à la nouvelle norme car les entreprises ont toujours le soucis de la couvertureet ne vont jamais vers des produits à caractère très spéculatifs ».
Gestion d'actifs
31/05/2011

Moody’s alerte sur la dette japonaise

L’agence de notation a annoncé ce matin qu’elle pourrait abaisser la note de la dette à long terme du Japon de Aa2 dans les trois mois, citant l’endettement massif aggravé par le séisme. «La faible perspective de croissance et une réponse politique inadaptée pourraient rendre plus difficile à atteindre l’objectif de réduction du déficit», a expliqué l’agence. A 226% du PIB en 2010, la dette nipponne dépasse déjà «de loin celle des autres pays développés». Bien que le pays n’encourt aucun problème de financement à court ou moyen terme, Moody’s souligne que ce problème budgétaire pourrait favoriser «des tensions» sur les obligations d’Etat. Et la facture du séisme pourrait atteindre l'équivalent de 2% du PIB, sans compter les conséquences de l’accident nucléaire de Fukushima. La production industrielle au Japon est pourtant légèrement remontée de 1% en avril, stoppant sa chute vertigineuse du mois précédent causée par le séisme.
31/05/2011

L'AMF pointe du doigt les risques pour 2011

En plus du trading à haute fréquence, des divergences transatlantiques en matière de réglementation, ou de la complexité de certains produits pour les épargnants, l’Autorité des marchés financiers s’inquiète du poids grandissant en Europe des fonds monétaires à valeur liquidative constante.

Sujets d'actualité

Tous les sujets