La banque en ligne BinckBank et ThinkCapital, société de gestion de trackers néerlandaise, ont annoncé mardi 16 novembre avoir signé un accord par lequel BinckBank acquiert une part de 60 % du capital de ThinkCapital. Dans la pratique, BinckBank renforcera son réseau de distribution et ThinkCapital se chargera du développement de produits, la société ciblant également le marché institutionnel, précise un communiqué.

Par l’intermédiaire de sa filiale de gestion d’actifs Ges. Fibanc, Banca Mediolanum vient de lancer deux nouveaux fonds de droit espagnol, rapporte Funds People.Il s’agit d’un fonds de fonds corrodonné de performance absolue, le Mediolanum Alpha Plus et d’un produit obligataire émergent, le Mediolanum Mercados Emergentes, qui est le résultat de la fusion des fonds Fibanc Latinoamérica et Fibanc Eurobond Hihg Yield.Dans les deux cas l’objectif est de générer une surperformance par rapport aux marchés obligataires traditionnels, mais avec une volatilité plus faible.

Le capital investisseur indien Access Asia va lancer un nouveau fonds de private equity ciblant les petites et moyennes entreprises en Inde avant la fin de l’année, rapporte Asian Investor. Le fonds doté de 150 millions de dollars vise des opérations comprises entre 8 et 12 millions de dollars. Les deux fondateurs d’Access Asia, Nilesh Mehta et Sangeera Modi, estiment qu’il existe un marché de niche intéressant en Inde, avec de fortes sous-valorisations et un «deal flow» plus important. Access Asia se concentrera sur quelques secteurs que ses fondateurs et associés connaissent bien, entre autres les sciences de la vie, les services d’infrastructures, les médias et les technologies de l’information. Access Asia a déjà reçu des engagements «soft» pour un montant de 30 millions de dollars et espère réaliser un premier closing avant la fin de l’année.

Selon Citywire, la banque britannique Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) et la société de gestion alternative basée aux Etats-Unis Kenmar Group ont noué un partenariat pour lancer ce qu’elles présentent comme le premier fonds de fonds de matières premières au format Ucits III. Le fonds est intégré dans la sicav de RBS domiciliée au Luxembourg Market Access III.Le Market Access III Kenmar Liquid Commodity Index fund se propose d’assurer aux investisseurs la performance d’un portefeuille diversifié de gérants de matières premières assortie d’une moindre volatilité à la baisse par rapport aux indices de matières premières long-only.

Stefan Krause, directeur financier de la Deutsche Bank, a indiqué à la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung que l'établissement a toujours l’intention de céder la BHF-Bank d’ici à la fin de cette année. Des pourparlers ont lieu avec plusieurs repreneurs potentiels. La Deutsche Bank souhaite vendre la filiale de Sal. Oppenheim d’un seul bloc.Selon les proches du dossier, seule la LGT serait disposée à payer un prix proche des 650 millions d’euros de la valeur comptable de la BHF. Parmi les autres candidats figurent Apollo, le groupe Hinduja et peut-être aussi KKR qui a un moment fait équipe avec la banque privée Lampe.

La Deutsche Börse a admis à la négociation sur la plate-forme Xetra le 15 novembre le premier ETC de stratégie de DB ETC Index plc (Deutsche Bank). Ce produit de droit allemand (DE000A1E6XY8) est le db Mean Reversion Euro Hedged ETC ; il est chargé à 0,45 %.Cet ETC permet aux souscripteurs d’investir avec couverture du risque de change sur un panier de matières premières couvrant l’aluminium, l’or, le gazole, le maïs, le froment et le pétrole WTI, pondérés en fonction du principe de retour à la moyenne et en répliquant l’indice db Mean Reversion EUR Index. La pondération résulte principalement du prix moyen sur les 365 derniers jours par rapport à la moyenne des 5 dernières années. Cette pondération est actualisée dès que le prix moyen d’une matière première sur 12 mois s'éloigne significativement de sa moyenne sur 5 ans.Le segment des ETC de la Deutsche Börse compte à présent 179 produits et le volume de transactions mensuel se situe aux alentours de 550 millions d’euros.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Würzburg prosecutor has indicted Helmut Kiener, who has been jailed since October 2009, on 35 charges of serious fraud, falsification of documents, and tax evasion, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. He is accused of using his hedge funds, K1 Global and K1 Invest, to orchestrate a Ponzi scheme which cost EUR345m to 5,000 retail clients and banks, including Barclays Cap and BNP Paribas.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Foreign real estate is very fashionable with British investors, according to Aviva Investors, cited by Fundstrategy. 74% of respondents would like to increase their exposure to foreign real estate, and 60% would particularly like to strengthen their exposure to Asia Pacific real estate. Only 20% want to increase their exposure to British real estate, and even less fashionable is US real estate, with 11% planning to increase their investment.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Indian private equity investor Access Asia will launch a new private equity fund, targeting small and mid-sized businesses in India, by the end of the year, Asian Investor reports. The fund, with USD150m, will focus on deals measuring USD8m to USD12m. The two founders of Access Asia, Nilesh Mehta and Sangeera Modi, think that there is an attractive niche in India, with major undervaluations and a larger deal flow. Access Asia will focus on a few industries that its founders and partners know well, including life sciences, infrastructure services, media, and IT. Access Asia has already received soft pledges for USD30m, and is hoping for a first closing by the end of the year.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After receiving a license in July from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the US firm BNY Mellon and the Chinese Western Securities of Xi’an (CNY1bn in assets) on 15 November launched an asset management joint venture, BNY Mellon Western Fund Management Company. The official ceremony was held at the Shanghai World Financial Center. The joint venture is 51% controlled by Western Securities, and 49% by BNY Mellon. Initially, the firm will be limited to management of Chinese domestic assets in a range of funds aimed at retail clients. Distribution will be undertaken via the banking and brokerage sectors in China.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }a:link { } A&F Markets has announced the launch of the first centralised market for works of art, Art Exchange, which allows for investment in a new type of asset. “By allowing institutionals and retail investors to buy and sell shares in works of art on a stock market model, Art Exchange makes investment in art simple, attractive, fast, and liquid,” a statement says. “We believe we are answering a concrete need of all financial investors: to be able to invest simply, in an attractive asset which had previously escaped them,” says Pierre Naquin, founder of A&F Markets. “By bringing all the transparency and liquidity which was lacking in this market, we believe we have found a good formula which will allow more people to consider investment in art to be accessible and simple.” “The art market is very particular, and doesn’t depend much on the other major economic cycles. It offers a highly attractive ratio of security to gains (long term security, short-term volatility),” explains Caroline Matthews, CIO at A&F Markets. Art Exchange is starting up with 10 major works and the support of several partner galleries. Among the first works of art are an installation by Mike Kelley, another by Ansel Kieffer, an immense tapestry by Dubossarsky & Vinogradov, and a spectacular sculpture by Richard Texier. Via its order processing platform, available at www.aexchange.net, users may view the list of available works (all autheticated and certified), and their detailed descriptions, the financial track record of the works, the central order book, and facts about the works, the artists, and the art market. Buy and sell orders are processed daily (on business days) at 6 PM.

Despite the financial crisis, US investors’ appetite for socially responsible investment (SRI) has remained strong, The 2010 edition of the report by the Social Investment Forum (SIF) on trends in socially responsible investment in the United States (“Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States”), shows that SRI investment grew faster than the entire asset management sector between 2007 and 2009.Since 2005, SRI assets have increased by more than 34%, while the larger asset management universe has grown by only 3%. From the beginning of 2007 to the end of 2009, assets involved in responsible and sustainable investment increased by more than 13% to USD3.07trn, while at the same time, the asset management sector as a whole grew by less than 1%.The number of vehicles using ESG criteria has risen by 90% since the last study, undertaken by SIF in 2007, from 260 to 493. Meanwhile, assets which integrate ESG criteria exploded, from USD202bn previously to USD569bn. The report adds that according to estimates by Thomson Reuters Nelson, nearly one dollar out of every eight taken in hand by a management professional in the United States, or 12.2% of USD25.2trn in assets under management monitored by Thomson, is implicated in a sustainable and responsible investment strategy.According to the authors of the study, this trend is expected to further accelerate in the next few years, and it will be all the stronger, as growth in SRI is driven not only by institutional investors but also by private clients.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss private equity group Partners Group Holding SA on 16 November announced that it has opened an office in Seoul, Korea. An increase in the number of clients in the region has been complemented by two new mandates from the sovereign fund Korea Investment Corporation (KIC). The opening of a Seoul office, which allows direct access to Korean businesses, is also a sign of the strong engagement of the business in the Asia-Pacific region, a statement says. Partners Group is present in five countries in the region, with more than 100 professionals.

Threadneedle has appointed Raymundo Yu to the newly created position of Asia Pacific chairman. He was a member of the Merrill Lynch and Co. operating committee and was chairman, Asia Pacific region at Merrill Lynch from July 2000 to December 2008, where he was responsible for leading an integrated platform across businesses and geographies.. Threadneedle established a presence in Asia in 2008 and has offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.

In a SEC filing (form N-1A), American Funds has announced plans to launch the American Funds Global Balanced Fund on 1 February 2011. As its name indicates, the product may invest worldwide in equities and bonds, with a significant portion of its assets placed in securities from issuers outside the United States, some of them in emerging countries.Normally, the portfolio will include at least 45% ordinary shares and other types of equities. It will focus on mid- to large caps, but not exclusively. At least 25% will be invested in bonds and other debt instruments, including money market instruments. These papers will be investment grade or an equivalent quality.Assets will be divided into several segments, each one managed by a dedicated advisor who will decide how to invest the allocation allotted to him or her.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Global Fixed Income team at Standish Mellon Asset Management has been retained by BNY Mellon Asset Management to manage a new global unconstrained bond fund, the BNY Mellon Evolution Global Strategic Bond Fund. The absolute return product may invest in all segments of fixed income, which offers considerable diversification, allows it to exploit several sources of performance, and brings much flexibility to adapt to a rapidly-changing environment. The fund will seek to generate performance over a complete market cycle by exploiting relative value potential and investment in a vast range of assets including government bonds from developed and emerging countries, inflation-linked bonds, investment grade corporate bonds, and derivatives. Active management of curation via derivatives will also be used to generate performance in periods of rising bond yields.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Following its acquisition of Morgan Stanley’s retail funds (including the Van Kampen Investments products) last year, Invesco will be lowering commissions on 57 of the funds, which will be merged with Morgan Stanley products, the Wall Street Journal reports. Phil Taylor, head of the North American affiliate of Invesco, says the move will allow subscribers to save USD78m in the next two years. Ryan Leggio, fund analyst at Morningstar, says that the cost reduction will be limited to 0.1% of commissions for the first year. The reduction, however, is larger than for some funds, such as the future Invesco Van Kampen Growth & Income Fund, which will charge 0.75%, compared with 1.50% for the current Invesco Fundamental Value Fund, which will be merged with the Invesco Large Cap Relative Value, whose management commission is 0.92%.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Dexia Asset Management on 16 November announced a new fund, bringing its product range to 24 funds. Dexia Global Alpha is based on a global macro investment process which seeks to exploit potential returns detected for several diversified asset classes (equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities), largely in Europe, North America, and Asia. The objective of the fund is to obtain substantial performance beyond the Eonia, with average volatility of about 6%, on a recommended investment horizon of 3 years. Dexia Global Alpha seeks to capture potential sources of returns in various asset classes and geographical regions. These returns correspond to the average performance over and above the risk-free rate for a given strategy. These premiums may come, for example, from dividends, reinvested profits, bond coupons, the return differential between currencies, etc. “Our management team has identified about 20 potential sources of returns which may be exploited via two types of strategies: long exposures, for example, to equities indices, government bonds from G20 countries, credit and commodities indices; and long and/or short arbitrage strategies based on a single asset class, in order to profit from macroeconomic, financial or market imbalances,” says Fabrice Cuchet, head of alternative management at Dexia AM. “Concretely, our fund is exposed to interest rate portage strategies, global currency portage strategies, premiums earned on the sale of options on equities indices, fixed income or currencies, and trend-tracking strategies, in order to profit from market excesses and behavioural bias,” says Charles-Henry de Courcel, manager of the fund. Major characteristics of the fund Benchmark index EONIA CapitaliséLegal format UCITS III de droit françaisDate of creation 09/11/2010Currency of valuation EURInvestment period 3 ansWeekly valuation (on Tuesdays) ISIN code Management feesC shares: FR0010931618 1.5% maximumI shares: FR0010931717 1.0% maximumN shares: FR0010931626 1.5% maximum

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Roger H. Harmann, CEO of Liechtenstein’s VP Bank, has set an objective for the private bank of earning net subscriptions each year representing 5% of assets (which were CHF28.4bn as of the end of June). He is also aiming to return to an operating ratio of 65% in the mid-term (compared with 66.5% in first half 2010), while investments will for some time maintain this indicator at a high level. VP Bank is planning to develop through organic growth in its two domestic markets, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, with the recruitment of advisers. Meanwhile, the firm is planning to strengthen its presence in Asia, by increasing the number of client advisers and private bankers in Singapore (where it has a banking affiliate) and Hong Kong (where VP Bank has a wealth management affiliate). The two sites will be placed under the responsibility of a new head of private banking for Asia-Pacific. The other foreign growth market is eastern Europe and Russia, regions which are primarily served from Zurich and Liechtenstein, where teams of advisers will be continually added to.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On the evening of 15 November, BlackRock announced that its secondary offer of nearly 58.74 million ordinary shares at USD163 each had been successfully completed. The operation included slightly less than 51.24 million shares on offer from Bank of America Corporation, including shares which were the subject of a direct offer from Mizuho Financial Group, and 7.5 million shares sold by the PNC Financial Services Group. Bank of America now no longer holds any ordinary shares in BlackRock, while the stakes held by PNC and Barclays Bank total 25.3% and 2.3%, respectively. The economic ownership controlled by the three businesses, out of a total of 191.1 million shares in circulation, come to 7.1%, 20.3%, and 19.7%, respectively.

Neptune has announced the appointment in October of Piers Harrison as deputy finance director and head of operational risk. He joins from Matterley Asset Management, a division of Charles Stanley & Co Ltd. He co-founded Matterley, a value-focused investment management boutique, in August 2008, which then joined Charles Stanley in August 2009.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The ratings agency Fitch Ratings on 16 November announced the publication of the second part of its pedagogical guide to money market management, entitled “European Money Market Funds: A Primer for Investors, Part 2.” Where the first part was more descriptive, the second half deals with more technical questions, including underlying assets, the redemption problematic, risk and liquidity reduction factors, and credit.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Via its asset management affiliate Ges. Fibanc, Banca Mediolanum has launched two new Spanish-registered funds, Funds People reports. They are an absolute return UCITS-compliant fund, the Mediolanum Alpha Plus, and an emerging market bond product, the Mediolanum Mercados Emergentes, the result of a merger of the Fibanc Latinoamérica and Fibanc Eurobond Hihg Yield funds. In both cases, the objective is to outperform traditional bond markets, but with lower volatility.

Anthony Bolton expects to step down from the Fidelity China Special Situations fund, the investment trust he launched last April, no earlier than 2013, says the Financial Times. The fund had a rise in net asset value per share of 7.7 per cent from April 19 to September 30.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The second round of quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve, known as QE2, has brought back investors’ appetite for risk, according to the most recent survey by BofA Merrill Lynch, undertaken between 5 and 11 November, covering a sample of 218 fund managers with USD634bn in assets. Investors have returned to higher-risk assets, including equities and commodities. A net total of 35% of investors are expecting the global economy to get stronger in the next 12 months, compared with only 15% one year earlier. Another positive factor is that 41% of them are anticipating an increase of at least 10% in corporate profits in the same period. The result is that 41% of managers are overweight in equities, compared with 27% in October. Investment strategies have also returned to a normal level of risk-taking, where two months before, 33% of investors said they had a below-normal level of risk. Although quantitative easing may have cleared up global outlooks, except in China and Europe, the survey finds concerns about inflation and early signs of an imminent market correction. The number of managers overweight in cash have reached their lowest level in seven years. “It is possible that the end-of-year rally has already happened, and investors are now vulnerable to event-linked risks such as a worsening of the government debt crisis in Europe or a change in the US dollar exchange rate,” says Michael Hartnett, chief strategist for internaional equities at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The online bank BinckBank and ThinkCapital, a Dutch tracker management firm, on Tuesday, 16 November announced that they have signed an agreement by which BinckBank will acquire a 60% stake in the capital of ThinkCapital. In practice, BinckBank will enlarge its distribution network, and ThinkCapital will focus on product development, and also target the institutional market, a statement says.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Deutsche Börse on 15 November admitted the first strategy ETC from DB ETC Index Plc (Deutsche Bank) to trading on its Xetra platform. The German-registered product (DE000A1E6XY8) is the db Mean Reversion Euro Hedged ETC; it charges fees of 0.45%.The ETC allows subscribers to invest, with hedging for currency risks, in a basket of commodities including aluminium, gold, diesel, corn, wheat and WTI oil, weighted on the basis of a return to baseline principle, and replicating the db Mean Reversion EUR Index. The weighting is largely based on the average price over the past 365 days, compared with the average over the past 5 years. The weighting is updated whenever the average price of a commodity over the past 365 days is significantly different from its average over 5 years. The ETC segment of the Deutsche Börse now inlcudes 179 products, and monthly trading volumes total about EUR550m.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stefan Krause, CFO of Deutsche Bank, has told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the firm is still planning to sell BHF-Bank by the end of this year. Talks have been held with several potential buyers. Deutsche Bank would like to sell the Sal. Oppenheim affiliate as a whole in a single transaction. According to sources familiar with the matter, only LGT is said to be inclined to pay a price close to EUR650m, the book value of BHF. Among the other candidates are Apollo, the Hinduja group and perhaps also KKR, which at one time had teamed up with the Lampe private bank.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Plus24, the money supplement of Il Sole – 24 Ore, reports that a growing number of women in Italy are taking household financial decisions in hand. A study by Assogestioni, the Italian association of management professionals, also finds that between 2002 and 2008, the number of women who signed up to funds increased from 40.1% of the total to 42.5%. And assets owned by women have increased 3.2% in 6 years.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Citywire reports that the British bank Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and the US-based hedge fund management firm Kenmar Group have formed a partnership to launch what they say is the first UCITS III-compliant commodities fund of funds. The fund belongs to the RBS Luxembourg-domiciled Sicav Market Access III. The Market Access III Kenmar Liquid Commodity Index fund offers investors returns on a diversified portfolio of commodities managers, with a lower level of volatility than long-only commodities indices.