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18/02/2011

Banco Popular sells its asset management affiliate to Allianz

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to sources familiar with the matter, Banco Popular is in the process of completing a sale of 60% of its asset management affiliate Popular Gestión to Allianz for about EUR100m. According to Expansión, the German insurer may also acquire Popular Gestión Privada, the asset management arm ou the private banking unit of the group, to replace Dexia, which would sell its 40% stake in the capital of the business.The agreement over Popular Gestión would specify that Popular will continue to distribute funds from Popular Gestión via its network; in addition, the bank would pledge to maintain a minimal level of investment in products from Popular Gestión.
18/02/2011

Funds represent half the volume of retail securities accounts

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to a study by the German private sector banking association (BdB) on the basis of statistics from the Bundesbank, as of the end of 2010 there were about 27 million holders of securities accounts in Germany, with a total of EUR783bn in assets. Of this total, shares in investment funds represented EUR387bn, compared with EUR224bn for bonds, and EUR172bn for equities.German banks administer a total of about EUR2trn in securities, also including securities accounts belonging to insurers, businesses, public authorities and various institutions.
18/02/2011

Deutsche Bank suspends subscriptions to an ETN

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that Deutsche Bank has frozen subscriptions with immediate effect to the ETN Power Shares DB Agriculture Souble Long, which earned 65% returns on one year, and reached assets of about USD146m. No motive for the move was given, but it may be due to the fact that the increase in assets and the number of contracts held ran a risk of exceeding the permitted limit.
18/02/2011

Frankfurt exchange will soon list 800 ETFs

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } With 12 new Luxembourg-registered ETFs from RBS, which were admitted to trading on the XTF segment of the Xetra platform from Deutsche Börse on 17 February, the number of products now listed now comes to 791.In addition to the four funds already announced, based on the Stoxx and Dax indices (see Newsmanagers of 17 February), RBS has launched eight more, four of which are based on FTSE indices, three on S&P indices, and one on the Topix.Commissions range from 0.30% to 0.65%.The twelve new products are the following: RBS Market Access EuroStoxx 50 Monthly Double Short Index ETF(LU0562665777), with a TER of 0,50%RBS Market Access EuroStoxx 50 Monthly Leverage Index ETF (LU0562665694) ; 0,30%RBS Market Access LevDAX X2 Monthly Index ETF (LU0562665348) ; 0,35%RBS Market Access Leveraged FTSE 100 Monthly Index ETF (LU0562666072) ; 0,50%RBS Market Access Leveraged FTSE MIB Monthly Index ETF (LU0562666239) : 0,60%RBS Market Access S&P 500 EUR Hedged Index ETF (LU0562681899) ; 0,30%RBS Market Access S&P GSCI Capped Component 35/20 2x Inverse Monthly Index ETF (LU0562665934) ; 0,65%RBS Market Access S&P GSCI Capped Component 35/20 2x Leverage Monthly Index ETF (LU0562665850) ; 0,65%RBS Market Access Short FTSE 100 Monthly Index ETF (LU0562666155) ; 0,60%RBS Market Access Short FTSE MIB Monthly Index ETF (LU0562666312) ; 0,60%RBS Market Access ShortDAX X2 Monthly Index ETF (LU0562665421) ; 0,60%RBS Market Access TOPIX EUR Hedged Index ETF (LU0562666403) ; 0,50%
18/02/2011

iShares moves ETFs inherited from Indexchange over to physical replication

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } From 24 March, the 18 Geramn-registered sectoral ETFs from iShares based on the sectors of the Stoxx Europe 600, which were launched in 2006 by Indexchange (EUR350m in assets), are moving over from synthetic replication to physical replication, BlackRock has announced. At this time, the “swap” suffix will be replaced by the Roman numeral I.One week later, the funds will be merged into the corresponding ETFs already using physical replication (EUR1.5bn in assets).As of 31 May, the physical replication sectoral ETFs will be transferred to a German-registered Sicav (Investment AG), and converted into sub-funds of the new structure, with new ISIN codes. This will facilitate their registration and sale outside Germany.The operation follows iShares’ philosophy of using physical replication as a first priority, and not relying on synthetic replication except for asset classes which are difficult to access.These synthetic replication funds were launched before the legislative changes of mid-January 2011, which made physical replicated funds compliant with UCITS III.However, four sectoral ETFs from iShares based on the Euro Stoxx index will not be affected by the merger, while the iShares Stoxx Europe 600 Real Estate (DE), which was compliant with the European directive from the time of its launch, will be transferred to Investment AG at the end of May, with the other 18 sectoral funds.
18/02/2011

Average assets in Spanish funds as of the end of 2010 down to EUR56m

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to statistics from the Inverco association of asset management firms, average assets in 2,489 funds registered in Spain totalled EUR56m, compared with EUR63m as of the end of 2009, and EUR82m as of the end of 2007.Total assets of EUR138.08bn represented 16.3% of GDP as of the end of 2010, compared with 26.6% in 2007, and 31.7% in 2000.Assets in funds and total assets as a percentage of GDP as of the end of December were at their lowest levels since 1990, when they totalled EUR28bn and 2.2%, respectively.
18/02/2011

SEC investigates municipal bond funds

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether some funds have overestimated the value of certain high-risk municipal bonds which are rarely traded, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The enquiry is part of an investigation into potential municipal bond market abuse.
18/02/2011

Madoff: Lawyers and consultants will pocket USD1.3bn

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The army of lawyers and consultants at work on recovering the money involved in Bernard Madoff’s USD19.6bn fraud will posket more than USD1.3bn in commissions, the Financial Times reports, citing new figures detailing the cost of liquidating the Ponzi scheme. The largest check will go to Baker Hostetler, the law firm where Irving Picard, the legally-appointed trustee, is a partner. He will receive USD603m for his work between 2011 and 2014, on top of a payment of USD128m already received.
18/02/2011

Barclays WM France launches an Asian equities fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Barclays Wealth Managers France has launched the Barclays Equity Asia fund, a sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav, investing in Asian equities. The new fund is advised by Philip Niem, head of discretionary management at Barclays Wealth Asia, based in Hong Kong, and his team. Niem manages USD300m in assets with the same method used for the new fund. The objective for Barclays Equity Asia is to invest in businesses expected to profit from economic growth in China, India, and other surrounding Asian countries (excluding Japan), and to outperform its benchmark index (90% MSCI AC Asia ex Japan 10% cash) by 5% per year. Allocation by country is determined on the basis of the size of the economy, the balance of payments, growth in corporate profits and price/earnings ratio for the market. Niem will then select sectors which he estimates will outperform national GDP growth. Within these sectors, the head of discretionary management will select 40 businesses. Currently, Niem favours the banking sector in India, the consumer sector in China, and commodities. The Barclays Equity Asia fund, which has recently received a sales license from the AMF, now has total assets of USD30m. It will be sold via the Barclays Wealth network, as well as to funds of funds and institutional investors.
18/02/2011

Fidelity Investments extends its product range with iShares ETFs

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The online broker Fidelity Investments has celebrated the first anniversary of its partnership with BlackRock in ETFs, and increased the number of iShares ETFs available for free trading from 25 to 30.The five ETFs available to investors for free are the iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond Fund (HYG), iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index Fund (DVY), iShares Dow Jones International Select Dividend Fund (IDV), iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate Index Fund (IYR) and iShares MSCI ACWI ex US Index Fund (ACWX).
18/02/2011

Allfunds Bank adds to fund IT platform

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } From 21 February, on the basis of information provided by asset management firms connected to its platform, Allfunds Bank will offer its institutional clients access to a more robust range of data on funds, including their allocation by sector, by asset class, by geographical region, and by currency, as well as the largest underlying positions, FondiOnline reports. This new functionality will allow access not only to information for a given moment in the life of a particular fund, but to all information on all funds at any time in the past year.
18/02/2011

Skandia appoints a COO for continental Europe

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Skandia has announced the arrival of Robin Tetlow as chief operational officer for operations in continental Europe (France and Italy). Tetlow, who will be responsible for operations and administrative management of investments, will be based in Italy. A former independent consultant to industry actors in the financial services industry, Tetlow joined Skandia in January 2011.
18/02/2011

Alternative management firm founded in London

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Via Reinet Fund SCA, the investment firm Reinet will participate in the creation of a global alternative management and advising firm, in partnership with William T. Winters, former co-CEO of JP Morgan Investment Bank, and RIT Capital Partners plc, which is led by Lord Jacob Rothschild, Agefi Switzerland reports. The new firm will be known as Renshaw Bay. Winters will be president and CEO of the firm, while Lord Rothschild and Johann Rupert, who controls Reinet, will become directors of Renshaw Bay. Winters will initially own 50% of the new business, while the remainder will be shared between Reinet, which is listed in Luxembourg, and RIT, an investment firm listed in London. Renshaw Bay, which will be based in London, will work with “sophisticated” investors to develop their risk parameters, investments, and trading vehicles.
18/02/2011

Aegon AM launches its first multi-asset class fund aimed at retail investors

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 1 March, Aegon Asset Management will launch its first multi-asset class fund aimed specifically at retail clients, the Aegon Strategic Assets fund. It is an absolute return product, whose objective is to generate returns of 10% per year, regardless of market conditions.The fund will consist of “real” assets, and will invest primarily in equities and bonds, with a preference for long-only positions.The Strategic Asset fund will be managed jointly by William Dinning, head of investment strategy, and Sean Flanagan, who belongs to the multi-asset class management team.Minimal subscription is set at GBP500, and the front-end fee is 5.5%. Management commission will be 1.5%.
18/02/2011

Credit Suisse launches a USD2bn convertible bond issue

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Credit Suisse on 17 February announced the launch of a bond issue for USD2bn (CHF1.92bn), and follows a CHF6bn issue announced earlier this week.As in the case of the issue announced on 14 February, this operation comes as a result of the Swiss group’s desire to comply with stricter requirements under Basel III for owners’ equity levels at banks. “With this deal, we get a little bit closer,” the head of the group, Brady Dougen, says in a statement.The securities, contingent convertible bonds, or “coco bonds,” by the common terminology, will automatically be converted into equities if the Tier 1 ratio at the bank falls below the 7% threshold set by the Basel III legislation. The bank says Thursday’s operation allows it to satisfy 70% of the Basel III requirements with lending that may be triggered if the need arises.
18/02/2011

London moves to create more effective financial regulatory agencies

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mark Hoban, the minister in charge of financial matters at the office of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, on 17 February unveiled the new architecture of the UK financial regulatory authority to Parliament. The authority will include three regulators, which will replace the current FSA. They will have the power to bar financial products from the market, and to warn invetors against some intermediaries.
18/02/2011

Union Investment defends its fee policies

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Hans Joachim Reinke, chairman of the board, on 17 February announced that Union Investment is legally authorised to charge holders of shares in investment funds fees for consulting and analysis by external businesses, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The management firm is reacting to a warning addressed to it by the consumer defence organisation for the Northern Rhineland-Westphalia region.The consumer defence organisation also singled out two other management firms. It accuses Allianz Global Investors (AGI) of passing on the cost of the acquisition of new clients to investors. The third management firm challenged by the organisation is LBBW.The association is critical of the fact that asset management firms are passing to clients the cost of producing and distributing of half-yearly and annual reports and other publications.
18/02/2011

UniCreidt studying a potential Pioneer-Eurizon merger

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For the first time, the strategy committee at UniCredit on Thursday considered the possibility of an alliance between its affiliate Pioneer and Eurizon, the asset management unit of Intesa-Sanpaolo, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. The committee is reported to have tasked the management, led by CEO Federico Ghizzoni, to enumerate the potential advantages of a merger with the Intesa Sanpaolo affiliate. The Italian newspaper also reports that the sale process for Pioneer is entering its final phase, and that in early March, BofA-Merrill Lynch, which is advising UniCredit, is awaiting bids from the final three candidates to buy the business, Amundi, Natixis and Resolution.
18/02/2011

Soros invests in MAM Funds

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } George Soros has acquired a 3.5% stake in the management boutique MAM Funds, via his firm Quantum Partners, according to an announcement by the London Stock Exchange.
18/02/2011

Quantum (Soros) invests in MAM Funds

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a filing to the London Stock Exchange dated 16 February, MAM Funds announced that the hedge fund management firm Quantum Partners, the firm owned by George Soros, had acquired a 3.53% stake in its capital.MAM Funds is the commercial brand for Midas Capital Partners Limited and Milton Asset Management Limited.F&C, for its part, has increased its stake to 5.29%. Axa has increased its stake to 9.38%, while Lloyds Bank’s stake has fallen to 5.44%.
18/02/2011

Nader Purschaker leaves Metzler

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nader Purschaker, the head of alternative investments and quantitative strategies at Metzler Asset Management, has left the firm, Citywire reports. He was the architect of the model behind the strategy used to managed the Nordea 1 – Heracles Long/Short MI fund, launched in 2008 with Nordea.
18/02/2011

Record assets and pre-tax profits for Union Investment

In 2010, the central asset management firm for the German co-operative banks, Union Investment, posted pre-tax profits totalling a record EUR372m, compared with EUR204m in 2009, EUR143m in 2008, and EUR345m in 2007. In other words, the impact of the crisis was offset at last.Assets also set a new record, at EUR177.4bn as of the end of December, compared with EUR165.7bn one year previously. But net subscriptions fell of EUR8.7bn for 2010 as a whole, compared with EUR10.7bn in 2009, following net redemptions of EUR6.8bn in 2008, and net inflows of EUR12.2bn in 2007.Net inflows to institutional funds (Spezialfonds) totalled EUR6.15bn, while advising and wealth management activities totalled EUR3bn. However, mandate activities saw a net outflow sof EUR200m, and open-ended funds saw net redemptions of EUR250m, due to outflows of nearly EUR6bn from the UniOpti4 tax optimisation fund, following a change in the tax regime.Union posted the largest net inflow in its history from the institutional sector, at EUR11.32bn, compared with EUR8.3bn in 2009, and outflows of EUR3.61bn in 2008. In addition, Union retained its place as the top German asset management firm in the area of protected capital funds, with a market share of nearly 50% and net subscriptions of about EUR2.38bn.
18/02/2011

Net profits at comdirect up 5.3% in 2010

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Last year, comdirect bank posted net profits of EUR59.63bn, compared with EUR56.62bn in 2009, which corresponds to an increase of 5.32%. The number of clients increased by about 108,300, to about 1.56 million, while the number of securities accounts increased by 5.3% to a total of slightly under 740,000. In the B2C segment (comdirect), total assets increased 18.3% to EUR26.32bn, while B2B activities (ebase) grew by 21.6% to EUR16.2bn.
18/02/2011

La rotation sectorielle apporte peu

Le graphique ci-contre montre la variété des performances des secteurs européens, mesurée par la dispersion de leurs rentabilités trimestrielles.
18/02/2011

Le risque de sous-performance réapparaît

Les tableaux ci-contre présentent les meilleures et plus mauvaises performances en euros des fonds sur le marché des fonds actions américaines et le marché des fonds actions françaises au cours du mois de janvier 2011. Ces performances sont mises en perspective par le calcul de la volatilité et du ratio de Sharpe sur trois ans d’historique ainsi que du rendement depuis un an.

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