Martin Currie envisage de compléter sa gamme de fonds Ucits III de performance absolue avec trois nouveaux véhicules.Les trois fonds, européen, japonais et global resources devraient être lancés le 29 septembre, selon Money Marketing. Les trois ont pour objectif de limiter le risque baissier en réduisant l’exposition au marché.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Hisayoshi Takahashi, who has left Azayawa Securities, has been appointed executive director and senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM). Along with Arthur Pollok, he will manage the new Luxembourg fund MS INVF Japanese Equity, whose portfolio of Japanese equities will include 50 to 70 positions (between 1% and 5% per position), selected from a universe of 950 businesses considered undervalued, with market capitalisation at the time of investment of over USD400m. The product is aimed at institutional investors.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Martin Currie is planning to add to its range of UCITS III absolute return funds with three new vehicles. The three funds – European, Japanese, and global resources – will be launched on 29 September, Money Marketing reports. They will aim to limit risks in falling markets by reducing market exposure.

According to fundstrategy, Lazard will launch at the end of September a growth-focused emerging markets fund – the Lazard Developing Markets fund. It will be managed by Kevin O’Hare and Peter Gillespie and will target companies with above average levels of growth, trading on realistic valuations.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } To meet demand from IFAs, Evercore Pan-Asset is adding to its range of PanDynamic profiled OEIC funds, which already include the Balanced and Growth funds. The new products, which use a dynamic asset allocation based on ETFs, will be the PanDynamic Defensive and PanDynamic aggressive, with management commissions of 0.9% for retail and 0.4% for institutional investors and IFAs. The defensive fund will invest 90% in bond assets and 10% in higher-risk assets (equities and real estate), while the aggressive product will invest up to 100% in high-risk assets. Minimal subscription will be GBP1,000 for retail investors.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } State Street Global Advisors has been selected by Pegaso, a complementary retirement fund for employees of public utility services, to manage a bond mandate worth over EUR60m, Bluerating reports. The mandate will be managed in London.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } ICFA reports that Ascalon Capital Managers, a specialist in the acquisition of management boutiques, has awarded a fund administration and custody mandate for funds on its Australian platform to HSBC Securities.

Skandia Investment Group’s (SIG) Global Asset Allocation Committee (GAAC) – whose views influence a number of SIG’s portfolios – has reduced its exposure to the US as the economy in the region shows further signs of slowing. In the meantime, the asset manager has upping Europe ex UK to less underweight as it expects growth to continue to surprise positively."We expect equities to rally over the next few months and slightly increased our exposure. We think that the risk of a ‘double dip recession’ is low and that after a period of softness this autumn, the US and global economy will pick up next year», says Skandia. The asset manager continues to prefer emerging markets, with a bias towards Asia Pacific and remains neutral on Japan.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Liontrust is revising its range of funds, with name changes, a merger of two British portfolios, and a restructuring of several funds into UCITS format. The First Large Cap fund, managed by Gary West and James Inglis-Jones, will merge with the First Growth fund, managed by Anthony Cross and Julian Fosh. The new vehicle resulting from the merger will be renamed UK Growth. In other planned modifications, the Intellectual Capital Trust becomes UK Smaller Companies, First Opportunities becomes Special Situations, Continental Europe becomes European Growth, and the First Income fund becomes the Income fund. The group is also proposing to structure funds in UCITS III format, which would result in an increase in total expense ratios. The series of changes will be submitted to a vote of shareholders at extraordinary general meetings to be held in September and October.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) will meet with the British Financial Services Authority (FSA) to discuss the problem of remunerations for hedge fund managers, IPE.com reports. Andrew Baker, chairman of the AIMA, is in favour of “appropriate and proportional” regulation.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } RAB Capital, one of the largest British hedge fund management firms, has issued a warning over future profits. The Financial Times reports that results are expected to be far below what was initially predicted by the firm’s management. The group will also be obliged to make one-time write-downs of GBP5.5m for restructuring. Cost reduction measures are planned, the newspaper adds. Some IT activities will be outsourced. The FT reports that RAB Capital will also be required to close down some funds, although the group says that changes to the product range will be “limited.”

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The executive board at Altira Advisory on 16 September welcomed Josef Pfannestill, who has been appointed head of relations with intermediaries and distribution partners (private banks, wealth management firms, and funds of funds). He joins Michael Rieder, CEO of Altira Group, and Oliver Brandt. Previously, Pfannenstill was a board member at versiko, where he was in charge of Ökoworld Lux, before becoming head of marketing at Fortis Investments for Germany, Austria and central and eastern Europe. At BNP Paribas Asset Management, he was previously head of distribution for Austria and the countries of central and eastern Europe.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Two years after acquiring a struggling Hypo Real Estate, Sal. Oppenheim, which has since itself been acquired by Deutsche Bank, has resold Collineo Asset Management GmbH (Collineo). The management firm, based in Dortmund (EUR6bn in assets) has been bought in a management buyout by its CEO, Dirk Bergander, and the other members of the board, Lincoln International reported on 16 September. No details of the acquisition price have been divulged.

A survey by TNS Emnid on behalf of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), which asked a representative sample of Germans about their perceptions of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) funds, found that only 5.6% of respondents had already invested in a BRIC fund, while 93.5% remained undecided. To complete the picture, 30% of respondents said BRIC funds would generate returns of less than 5%, while 25% expected returns of 6% to 10%, and 6% predicted returns of over 20%. In reality, in the past five years, BRIC funds have earned cumulative net returns, on the basis of the MSCI index, of 134.74%. The two most important factors preventing investors from investing in BRIC countries, the survey finds, are a relative lack of knowledge of these markets (65.1%) and fears of a stock market crash (59.6%), which is a more considerable factor than political instability (51.9%).p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 1 October, Jupiter Asset Management will launch two sub-funds of its Luxembourg Sicav Jupiter Global Fund, one of convertibles, and one multi-asset class, which will be managed by Miles Geldard and Lee Manzi, both specialists recruited from RWC Partners three months ago (see Newsmanagers of 7 June). The two UCITS-compliant funds, the Jupiter Global Convertibles Fund and the Jupiter Strategic Total Return Fund, have been granted sales licenses from the CSSF and have been registered by the FSA. The convertibles fund will carry a management commission of 1.7% for retail and 0.9% for institutional investors, while the Strategic Total Return fund will charge 1.25% for retail and 0.75% for institutional shares, plus a commission of 10% with high watermark on performance exceeding the benchmark (Euribor 1 month for shares in Euros).

Le graphique ci-contre montre l’évolution du coefficient de corrélation moyen pour plusieurs catégories d’actifs.

Le graphique ci-contre montre l’évolution du coefficient de corrélation moyen pour plusieurs catégories d’actifs. Nous représentons ainsi la corrélation moyenne entre les rendements respectivement : des 18 principaux secteurs mondiaux, des 4 principaux styles du MSCI World et de 5 indices régionaux (dont les émergents). La corrélation entre les performances du MSCI World et des obligations gouvernementales est également présentée. Lorsque cet indicateur vaut 100% (son maximum), tous les secteurs (ou régions ou styles) sont parfaitement positivement corrélés entre eux.

Les tableaux ci-contre présentent les meilleures et pires performances des fonds sur le marché des fonds actions américaines et le marché des fonds actions françaises au cours du mois d’août 2010. 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.

La Chine stabilise ses achats en juillet. Les flux sortants seraient eux liés aux ventes par les hedge funds

On 15 September, Feri Finance Group announced that it has recruited Wilfried Hoffmann as director of the activities fo Feri Family Trust (which manages the assets of 250 families) for southern Germany. Hoffmann has spent more than six years as head of Merck Finck Treuhand. Merck Finck & Co was acquired in May by the Indien Hinduja group when the latter bought KBL European Private Bankers.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } IC Immobilien Holoding (EUR5bn in assets under management) has acquired PropertyOne (EUR2.8bn), financing the acquisition through a capital increase via an injection of capital. The merged entity will become a new firm, IC PropertyOne Asset und Real Estate Management GmbH, with assets of EUR7.8bn, according to a statement to the market dated 15 September. The business will have total staff of about 7,000, and the total area of properties will add up to about 3.7 million square metres, including about 700 properties. Shareholders in PropertyOne will control about 7% of the new entity, including a 4.8% stake for the US private equity investor Cerberus. The objective of IC Immobilien is to reach EUR10bn in assets under management by the end of 2011.

Jupiter is expanding its continental Europe sales team in Munich, Germany, to facilitate the company’s continued sales drive in the German, Swiss and Austrian markets. The office, managed by Martina Guenzl, sales director, Europe, will soon be joined by Daniel Blum, sales manager, Europe, who has worked for Jupiter since September 2005, and a dedicated sales support assistant.The local office has been expanded to address the growing demand for Jupiter’s funds from professional buyers including private banks, fund of funds, family offices and wealth managers, says a press release.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a statement published on 15 September, Banque Sarasin announced that it is planning to exploit the current favourable prevailing conditions on the Swiss capital market with a mid-term bond issue, in order to “diversify financing strategy.” Banque Sarasin has mandated UBS to manage the issue.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Banque Sarasin announced on 15 September that it has added to its range of offerings for high net worth private clients, with the launch of the Private Solutions brand, which provides global wealth management advising and sophisticated solutions for the needs of non-bankable assets such as real estate properties, participations in private companies, intellectual property and lifestyle assets. The range is aimed to respond first and foremost to fundamental neets in relation to non-bankable assets, such as generating liquidity, improving returns, and reducing risk. Bankable assets, i.e. cash, securities, and precious metals, generally represent only a fraction of the total wealth of European high net worth clients. Most of the assets are located outside the world of banking, and are in principle declared in the country of domicile of the owner of the assets at book value. Real estate properties, stakes in private companies, intellectual property and lifestyle assets are a part of this largely unexploited and attractive realm of assets, the bank says in a statement.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For the second consecutive month, Pacific Investment Management Co (Pimco, Allianz group) has reduced its allocation to US government debt, as returns on Treasuries has fallen to historic all-time lows, the Wall Street Journal reports. US public debt in the portfolio of the Pimco Total Return Fund (USD247.9bn), managed by Bill Gross, were down to 36% as of the end of August, compared with 54% in July, and 63% in June, while mortgage-backed securities (MBS) totalled 21%, compared with 18% in July and 16% in June.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The global transaction services unit at Citi is now offering a range of support services in relation to regulatory requirements and compliance issues for hedge funds and private equity funds, Hedgeweek reports. Similar services already exist for investment advisers and mutual funds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } CamGestion, an affiliate of BNP Paribas which changed its name slightly over one year ago, is planning to develop abroad, particularly in Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Benelux. The wealth management specialist of the BNP Paribas Investment Partners group has seen inflows of about EUR500m since the beginning of the year, following EUR2.6bn in inflows in 2009. Assets as of 31 March totalled EUR12.6bn.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The European Commission on 15 September unveiled proposed regulations to improve the security and transparency of over-the-counter (OTC) derivative markets. Under the proposed regulations, the EU would require information on over-the-counter derivative contracts to be disclosed to central reference points, and that they be made available to surveillance authorities. Other information would also be made available to all market participants. The Commission is also proposing that normalised over-the-counter derivative contracts should be handled by centralised clearing-houses, which would have the effect of reducing counterparty credit risks, or the danger that the other party might default on a contract. The proposals by the Commission, which are in line with engagements by the EU and the G20 and the approach adopted by the United States, will now be examined by the European Parliament and member states. Once passed, the regulations would come into force in the second half of 2012. While welcoming the Commission’s proposals, the professional associations have expressed some reservations. The European asset management association (EFAMA) says that all participants should benefit from the new regulations, which will also protect users of the markets, including buy-side investors. The European banking federation (EBF), for its part, says that the Commission has perhaps gone a step too far in its enthusiasm for regulation, for example, with the clearing-house requirements. The Commission has also passed proposed regulations for short-selling and some aspects of credit default swaps (CDS). The bill will impose more transparency, reduce risks, and create a harmonised framework which will allow coordinated action throughout Europe. The new regulations grant national and European regulators clear authority to act when necessary in a coordinated manner to improve the functioning of the internal market. The proposal has been handed over to the European Parliament to be passed, and would come into force on 1 July 2012.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nevin Shapiro, the former owner and CEO of Capital Investments USA, has pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money-laundering, over charges that he orchestrated a USD880m Ponzi scheme related to his grocery wholesale business, the Wall Street Journal reports. Shapiro admits that the fraud damaged 50 investors, who lost a total of USD50m to USD100m. A verdict in the case will be delivered on 4 January.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 15 September, the Austrian management firm Raiffeisen Capital Management (RCM) launched its new Luxembourg Sicav container for several sub-funds which are clones of Austrian-registered funds: Raiffeisen Emerging European Equities, Raiffeisen Russian Equities, Raiffeisen Emerging Markets Equities and Raiffeisen Emerging Markets Local Bonds. The products will initially be registered in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Singapore, the main countries where RCM products are sold. Registration in other countries is planned. Aside from the Russian Equities fund, which is denominated in US dollars, all other funds are denominated in Euros. Shares in pounds Sterling, US dollars and Euros are planned for a later date. For retail investors, minimal subscription is set at EUR2,500. Management commission is 1.75% for equities funds, and 1% for bond products. The choice of a Sicav wrapper for the fund is due to the fact that about three quarters of cross-border sales are of products in this legal format. The Luxembourg Sicav vehicle will allow the firm to improve its access to major opportunities in Europe and Asia and to develop international distribution. RCM states that its assets increased by EUR1.6bn, or 6% in the first eight months of the year, to EUR28.5bn as of the end of August. Including advisory mandates, the total comes to EUR30.7bn. Profits are slightly superior to expectations.