Senior managing director dans le groupe de private equity chez The Blackstone Group, Michael Chae a été nommé head of private equity pour l’Asie. Basé à Hong-Kong, ce spécialiste qui est entré chez Blackstone en 1997 sera également responsable de l’activité de marketing auprès des investisseurs en Asie-Pacifique. Il coordonnera aussi les relations du groupe avec les principaux clients de la région.Ben Jenkins restera responsable des transactions de private equity dans la région tandis qu’Antony Leung demeure chairman de Blackstone pour la Grande Chine tout en rejoignant le comité exécutif.
Dans le cadre d’une offre de cession réservée aux collaborateurs, 91 588 actions ont été acquises le 7 décembre 2010 par 73 collaborateurs du groupe ABC arbitrage, soit 100% des personnes éligibles au dispositif, indique la société le 14 décembre. Cette offre faisait partie de la première étape du programme d’intéressement capitalistique Horizon 2015.Ainsi, au 14 décembre 2010, le capital social s’établit désormais à 813 684,88 euros divisé en 50 855 305 actions d’une valeur nominale de 0,016 euro.L’actionnariat d’ABC arbitrage se répartit donc comme suit (en % du capital) :- ABC participation et gestion : 19,4 %- Aubépar : 13,8 %- Management (dirigeants opérationnels et responsables de départements du groupe) : 20,3 %- Public : 46,5 %- Autodétention : < 0,01%
La société de gestion bavaroise KGAL, contrôlée par la Commerzbank (45 %), BayernLB (30 %), Haspa Finanzholding (15 %) et Sal. Oppenheim (10 %) a annoncé le 14 décembre qu’après le départ à la retraite de Thomas Pick, qui a été pendant des années le responsable de l’immobilier à l’international, cette division va être redéployée et va élargir son champ d’activité au marché français de l’immobilier de bureau.Au 1er janvier, Guy Friedgen prendra la responsabilité de ce marché et la commercialisation du premier fonds immobilier France, PropertyClass Frankreich I débutera en janvier.KGAL gère 22,7 milliards d’euros (dont 10,7 milliards de fonds propres) pour le compte de particuliers haut de gamme et de family offices.
L’Agefi rapporte que Goldman Sachs s’est doté d’une nouvelle direction en France. A compter de janvier prochain, Philippe Altuzarra et Laurent Lellouche prendront la tête du bureau parisien, comme l’indiquait mardi 14 décembre le journal Les Echos. Ils remplaceront à ce poste Jean Raby, nommé à la direction de la banque d’affaires américaine à Moscou, à compter de la mi-janvier. Philippe Altuzarra couvrira les clients européens de Goldman Sachs et prendra la direction des activités de banque d’affaires. Laurent Lellouche, nommé associé, s’occupera des activités de marché.
Selon Les Echos, les deux sociétés d’investissement Axa Private Equity et Permira, qui avaient ferraillé pour la reprise de Go Voyages, se sont alliées en vue du rachat d’Opodo. En cas d'échec au second tour, prévu mi-janvier, les deux fonds envisagent de marier leurs participations dans le secteur.
Selon Asian Investor, Goldman Sachs Asset Management vient de signer un accord exclusif de partenariat avec la société de gestion malaisienne RHB Investment Management (RHB IM) qui prévoit le développement et la distribution de produits à destination du marché malaisien.Cet accord est le premier du genre sur le marché malaisien. RHB IM fait partie du groupe RHB, le quatrième groupe de services financiers de Malaisie, avec des actifs sous gestion de 12,3 milliards de dollars malaisiens au 31 octobre dernier (quelque 3 milliards d’euros).
Les 1.850 fonds ayant publié leurs résultats au 14 décembre ont affiché une performance de 0,61 % et enregistrent pour les onze premiers mois de l’année un gain moyen de 7,80 %, selon BarclayHedge.Une seule stratégie est dans le rouge pour janvier-novembre, l’equity short bias, avec une perte de 9,12 %. En revanche, trois catégories ont enregistré des performances supérieures à 10 % : l’arbitrage obligataire (10,38 %), le «distresses securities» (10,62 %) et l’arbitrage de convertibles (10,70 %).
Fidelity Investment Managers vient de recruter Federico Domenichini en tant que commercial (sales manager) pour renforcer l’équipe en charge des réseaux de conseillers et des banques privées, rapporte FondiOnline. Auparavant, il faisait partie de l’équipe commerciale de Schroders.
Le directeur des ventes du pôle de distribution américain de Natixis Global Associates, Ed Farrington, va désormais occuper la fonction de managing director des grands comptes de Natixis Global Associates UK, selon MutualFundWire.
Rexiter Capital Management, la société de gestion londonienne spécialisée sur les pays émergents et l’Asie, filiale de State Street Global Alliance, annonce la nomination de Christopher Vale au poste de chief executive officer. La nomination sera effective au premier janvier 2011. L’impétrant occupe actuellement le poste de chief investment officer pour l’Asie, fonction qu’il conservera en plus de sa nouvelle position. Il remplacera Kenneth King, chairman et fondateur de Rexiter Capital Management, qui a décidé de prendre sa retraite à la fin de l’année.
Au premier trimestre 2011, Blacksquare Capital va lancer un nouveau fonds diversifié de performance absolue, le the IFSL Blacksquare Diversified Absolute Return fund, pour compléter son offre dans le domaine de l’absolute return où il a déjà le Multi-Manager Absolute Return fund, rapporte Fund Strategy.Ce fonds sera géré par Richard Sherwin. L’objectif est de générer une surperformance de 8 à 12 points de pourcentage par rapport taux monétaire avec une volatilité ex-ante inférieure à 8 %. La souscription minimale est fixée à 1.000 livres.
Philippe Broadhead, qui a été ces huit dernières années responsable des ventes institutionnelles pour le Royaume-Uni, mais aussi responsable de la distribution de hedge funds et responsable des investissements multi-gérants chez Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), a été recruté par le suisse Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) comme responsable des ventes pour le Royaume-Uni au sein de la division gestion d’actifs.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienEuropa on 14 December announced the largest real estate deal of the year in Frankfurt. It is a long-term lease for more than 40,000 square metres of office space in the “Poseidon” complex to the direct bank ING DiBa. ING DiBa is planning to transfer its 1,500 employees into the space from its headquarters beginning in 2013.Before the arrival of the new tenant, the three buildings of the Poseidon complex will be renovated. Heating and air conditioning will be brought up to LEED standards, and the facade of the building will get a facelift.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss-based asset management firm Greiff capital management has been advisor since December 2009 to the Greiff Elite UI fund, a diversified, defensive product which is the retail version of the Nibur Defensiv, available in Switzerland since 2007. The German-registered version of this product has now been made available in Germany with the assistance of Universal-Investment. The fund invests often in flexible management (equities, bonds, cash) and selects elite managers.In order to be selected for the fund, managers must undergo an exacting quantitative analysis, including an individual interview covering the investment and risk management process, as well as stock-picking, tactical asset allocation and long-term policy. Since December 2009, the fund has generated returns of 6.14% (as of 2 December 2010), with volatility of 3.1%.CharacteristicsName: Greiff Elite UIBenchmark currency: EURISIN code: DE000A0M6DK0Front-end fee: maximum 5%Management commission: currently a maximum of 1.55%
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The director of sales for the US distribution arm of Natixis Global Associates, Ed Farrington, will now become managing director for major accounts at Natixis Global Associates UK, according to MutualFundWire.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Rexiter Capital management, the London management firm specialised in emerging markets and Asia, an affiliate of State Street Global Alliance, has announced the appointment of Christopher Vale as chief executive officer. The appointment will take effect from I January 2011. Vale currently serves as chief investment officer for Asia, a position which he will retain in addition to his new position. He replaces Kenneth King, chairman and founder of Rexiter Capital Management, who has decided to retire at the end of this year.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The co-chief investment officer at Pimco, Bill Gross, has dedicated USD4.4m of his own money to five municipal bond funds managed by the group in the expectation of a rally on the bond markets, Investment World reports on the basis of information obtained by Bloomberg. SEC figures indicate that Gross, who manages the largest bond fund on the planet, the Pimco Total Return fund, with current assets of about USD250bn, has more than doubled his investments in these closed bond funds.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asian Investor reports that Goldman Sachs Asset Management has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with the Malaysian management firm RHB Investment Management (RHB IM), covering development and distribution of products for the Malaysian market. The agreement is the first of its kind on the Malaysian market. RHB IM belongs to the RHB group, the fourth-largest financial services group in Malaysia, with assets under management of MYR12.3bn as of 31 October (about EUR3bn).
Almost two-thirds of institutional investors intend to increase allocations to alternative assets in the next 12 to 24 months, according to a research conducted by Bank of America with Quinnipiac university and the Connecticut Hedge Fund Association and cited by the Financial Times. Fewer than a quarter of the 107 US and international investors polled, representing about USD2,100bn in assets under management, said they would increase portfolio exposures to fixed income or equities.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The 1,850 funds which had published their results as of 14 December show returns of 0.61%, and average gains in the first eleven months of the year of 7.80%, according to BarclayHedge.Only one strategy shows losses for January-November: equity short bias, with losses of 9.12%. However, three categories show returns of over 10%: fixed income arbitrage (10.38%), distressed securities (10.62%), and convertibles arbitrage (10.70%).
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the wake of fears that clients would leave Switzerland and that regulatory costs would make the industry less competitive, independent management firms have now switched into an aggressive mode to adapt to the new regulatory environment, Agefi Switzerland reports. According to a BCV study which surveyed 500 French-speaking Swiss independent managers in Spring this year, nearly two thirds of respondents are determined to grow their activities, particularly by recruiting and diversifying the geographical origin of their clients. These two objectives may be met simultaneously, explains Bernhard Rytz, head of external managers at BCV: “Independent managers want to diversify their risks, and the simplest way to do this is to recruit partners who already have clients, rather than to attempt an assault on new markets without necessarily being able to rely on personal networks.”
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nicole Sivel, co-head of Neuberger Berman Alternative Investment Management, and previously co-director of the due diligence team at Lehman Brothers Alternative Investment Management from 2007 to 2009, has been recruited by Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) in New York as senior head of the operational due diligence team, in charge of existing or planned hedge fund investments. She will report to Brynn Coursey-Hogean, head of operational due diligence.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Several US management firms have published figures in the past few days about the evolution of their assets under management in November. As of 30 November, assets at Invesco totalled USD611.1bn, compared with USD621.2bn as of the end of October, while assets at Franklin Templeton totalled USD642.3bn, compared with USD644.3bn, and Legg Mason had assets of USD667.7bn, compared with USD676.6bn. Assets under management at AllianceBernstein, for their part, fell to USD485bn from USD499bn.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Bavarian asset and wealth management firm KGAL, which is controlled by Commerzbank (45%), BayernLB (30%), Haspa Finanzholding (15%) and Sal. Oppenheim (10%), on 14 December announced that, following the retirement of Thomas Pick, who for years was the head of international real estate, the division will be redeployed and will extend its activities to the French office real estate market.From 1 January, Guy Friedgen will take over as head for this market, and sales of the first French real estate fund, PropertyClass Frankreich I, will begin in January.KGAL manages EUR22.7bn (including EUR10.7bn of owners’ equity) on behalf of high net worth private clients and family offices.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } At the inauguration of its Bielefeld office, a spokesperson for Sal. Oppenheim announced that the bank will report a loss for 2010, but that it will return to profitability in 2011, and will settle into sustainable profitability in 2012, the Börsen-Zeitung reports.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In first quarter 2011, Blacksquare Capital will launch a new diversified absolute return fund, the IFSL Blackquare Diversified Absolute Return fund, as an addition to its range in the area of absolute return, where it already offers the Multi-Manager Absolute Return fund, Fund Strategy reports.The fund will be managed by Richard Sherwin. The objective is to generate returns 8 to 12 percentage points higher than cash, with ex-ante volatility of less than 8%. Minimal subscription is set at GBP1,000.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } IPE.com reports that Adrian Wipf has been appointed head of asset management at the Swiss pension fund BVK, for public employees of the canton of Zurich. He replaces Daniel Gloor, who was fired after being arrested on suspicion of corruption in June. Previously, Wipf worked at Swisscanto Asset Management.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In first quarter 2011, the alternative multi-management arm of Pictet (Pictet Alternative Investment, or PAI) will extend its operations into real estate. The selection of funds will be extended to private real estate, but publicly-traded real estate products will not be neglected. One person has already been recruited for the new activity, Nicolas Campiche, CEO of PAI, announced on 14 December. Long/short funds, UCITS hedge funds and other single manager products are in the domain of Pictet Asset Management.As of the end of September, assets at PAI totalled USD10.4bn, of which USD8.2bn are for hedge funds, and USD2.12bn for private equity. These two units attracted USD340m and USD120m, respectively, in nnet new money in the first nine months of this year.Currently, PAI is 35% invested in global macro and CTA funds, which are the most liquid, as volatility remains high. The multi-manager is also overweight (18%, compared with a neutral position of 14%) on long/short, largely fundamental managers. Despite disappointments in 2010, due to the lack of merger and acquisition operations, PAI is 14% invested in event-driven. Distressed represents 9%, and emerging markets are underweight at 6% compared with a neutral position of 8%, although this theme is also an element of global macro.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jean Laurent-Bellue is joining Edmond de Rothschild Holding in Geneva, the management firm of the Edmond de Rothschild group, to take over as group secretary general (a newly created position) from 1 January 2011, a statement published on 14 December announces.Laurent-Bellue joined La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild in 2004 in Paris, and until November 2009 directed corporate finance activities. He then became a member of the board at the Compagnie Financière Saint-Honoré, the Paris holding company for the Edmond de Rothschild group.“Under the authority of the Baron and Baroness Benhamin de Rothschild, he will assist the board of directors and the executive board of the holding company in their primary missions,” the statement says.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BEA Union Investment Management, a joint venture of the Bank of East Asia and Union Asset Management, has acquired an 11% stake in the Chinese fund management firm Golden Eagle (KRW4.5bn in assets) from Sichuan Southern Hope Industries, for an undisclosed amount.Sichuan Southern Hope has sold the entirety of its stake in BEA Union, equivalent to 20%. The remaining 9% have been sold to Guangzhou Securities, whose stake in the firm increases to 49%. Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Midea control 20% each in Golden Eagle, Z-Ben Advisors reports, estimating that the sale price for an 11% stake in Golden Eagle would have been about CNY28m, or 5.6% of assets, based on our calculations.