Selon fundstrategy qui cite l’agence de notation OBSR, les gérants du Fortis Turkey Fund, Eli Koen et Mathieu Nègre, ont quitté le groupe, désormais BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP). En avril dernier, Fortis Investments est passé dans le giron de BNPP IP.Les actifs sous gestion du fonds dédié à la Turquie et domicilié au Luxembourg s’élèvent à 114,5 millions d’euros. Lancé en avril 2005, le fonds affiche une performance de 4,4% sur trois ans alors que le benchmark a cédé 24% sur la même période. Plus de la moitié du fonds est investi dans les financières.

Le gestionnaire britannique Schroders a annoncé lundi qu'à compter du 1er août 2010 son fonds luxembourgeois d’obligations asiatiques Schroder ISF Asian Bond (LU0091253459 et LU0327381843 pour la part couverte du risque de change) a été rebaptisé Schroder ISF Asian Bond Absolute Return afin d’insister sur l’objectif de performance absolue de ce produit. Depuis 2001, le fonds a dégagé un résultat positif durant huit des neuf années de la période. Depuis le début de cette année, le Schroder ISF Asian Bond Absolute Return affiche une performance de 6,87 % en dollars et de 6,68 % pour la part «euro-hedged».La stratégie demeure inchangée. Le fonds, géré par How Phuang Goh a été lancé en 1998 et son encours se situait au 31 juillet à 1,5 milliard de dollars.

Aviva Investors doit annoncer très prochainement que Jean-François Boulier, président du directoire d’Aviva Investors France (AIF) devient responsable de la zone Europe hors Royaume-Uni, reprenant ainsi une partie des attributions d’Alain Dromer, le CEO d’Aviva Investors.Cette nomination, qui explicite une reconnaissance des résultats obtenus par AIF, confère à l’impétrant la responsabilité des marchés allemand, irlandais, italien, espagnol, luxembourgeois et polonais. Le nouvel ensemble confié à Jean-François Boulier pèse environ 100 milliards d’euros d’encours, dont 80 milliards pour la France, 10 milliards pour l’Irlande, où Aviva Investors n’a plus de «manufacture»), 4 milliards pour la Pologne et 5-6 milliards pour la sicav luxembourgeoise. Cela représente environ une centaine de personnes, qui viennent s’ajouter aux quatre-vingt dix basés à Paris.L'état-major du nouvel ensemble se met progressivement en place. En plus de Ted Potter (directeur général du développement commercial Europe, Londres), de Véronique Cherret, (responsable Europe et UK investisseurs institutionnels, Paris) et de Gabriele Miodini (director, responsable des établissements financiers - Europe, Milan), sans oublier Shawn Meadow (relations avec Aviva, Londres), il se compose déjà du patron de l’activité polonaise, Marek Przybylski, mais d’autres personnalités sont censées rejoindre l'équipe dirigeante pour prendre en charge les contacts avec les marchés financiers, la gestion du risque et les opérations.L’objectif fixé à Jean-François Boulier consiste d’une part à optimiser le service -et la performance- rendus à la maison-mère et d’autre part à réaliser des économies d'échelle tout en développant la clientèle externe.Un effort tout particulier sera porté sur l'éducation des réseaux et de la clientèle. La nouvelle équipe devra entre autres étudier si le système des «investment tutors» mis en place au Royaume-Uni est transposable en Europe continentale et adapter la formule de l’investment TV aux différents pays couverts par Aviva Investors.

Dans un communiqué boursier, la société néerlandaise Smartrac NV, cotée sur le segment TecDax en Allemagne, a annoncé lundi avoir reçu de One Equity Partners, capital-investisseur du groupe J.P. Morgan, une OPA sur la base de 20 euros en numéraire par action correspondant à une prime de 17 % sur le cours du 27 août et de 34 % par rapport au cours moyen des trois derniers mois. L’OPA valorise Smartrac à environ 297 millions d’euros. L’encours d’OEP est d’environ 8 milliards de dollars.Le directoire et le conseil de surveillance du fabricant de puces intelligents RFID conseillent aux actionnaires d’apporter leurs titres. OEP tient à ce que Manfred Rietzler reste CEO. Smartrac envisage ensuite une augmentation de capital de 10 % réservée à OEP, sur la base de 17,50 euros par titre, ce qui fera rentrer 25,9 millions d’euros dans les caisses. Le produit de cette opération sera affecté à la réduction des engagements liés à des acquisitions antérieures ainsi qu’au renforcement des réserves financières.

Avec les changements réglementaires intervenus depuis le début de l’année, on s’attend que la cote des ETF sur le marché espagnol des fonds s’allonge de nombreuses référence, avec l’arrivée notamment des produits de BlackRock (avec iShares), de Credit Suisse et de db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank). Les premiers pourraient arriver dès le mois prochain, rapporte Cotizalia. Engracia Borque, responsable de db x-trackers, a d’ailleurs confirmé que les premiers produits du gestionnaire allemand seront disponibles en septembre, ou au pire en octobre. L’objectif est de capter de la clientèle retail.

Realia Patrimonio a vendu pour environ 145 millions d’euros l’immeuble de bureaux Avenida Diagonal 640 de Barcelone (28.400 mètres carrés) au gestionnaire Deka Immobilien (caisses d'épargne allemandes). Cet actif loué presque en totalité est affecté au portefeuille du fonds immobilier offert au public Deka-ImmobilienEuropa.

La société de gestion HQ Fonder précise dans un communiqué de presse que les clients investis dans les fonds HQ ne sont pas concernés par le retrait de la licence bancaire dont a fait l’objet HQ Bank ce week-end, ni par la mise en liquidation de la banque suédoise. Le gestionnaire souligne qu’il est entièrement détenu par Investment AB Öresund depuis juin 2010, date à laquelle il a été racheté à HQ AB, et que ses activités sont bien séparées de HQ Bank. «Il faut aussi noter que chaque fonds est une entité juridique distincte avec des actifs qui appartiennent aux porteurs de parts et qui sont placés auprès de SEB», indique le communiqué. HQ Fonder ajoute qu’elle et son propriétaire ont une situation financière solide.

In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, James Dilworth, CEO of Allianz Global Investors Deutschland (AGI) has confirmed that he is planning to reduce the number of funds in the range from 500 to 250 “or less.” He says that AGI is not planning to acquire any other German asset management firm, after absorbing cominvest, and that there are no plans to acquire an ETF manager: that is a profession which others know better how to do, and which is different from the core expertise at AGI, an active asset manager, he says. However, AGI needs to catch up in alternative management. Though there are a few attractive products at RCM and Pimco, it is a growth market, more than ETFs are. In these conditions, AGI should consider ways to collaborate more closely with alternative management firms.

In a statement, Carmignac Gestion announced on Monday, 30 August that it has added to its management team, with the arrival of Carlos Galvis and Antoine Colonna. Galvis is joining Carmignac Gestion as manager of the Carmignac-Cash Plus fund. He was previously director of Absolute Return funds at Amundi in London, after joining CAAM London in 2001 and successively becoming a macro strategist, manager of international bonds, and Senior Portfolio Manager for the range of VaR funds. Colonna joins the management firm as a financial analyst specialised in the discretionary consumer sector, particularly luxuries and cosmetics, a sector he has been following since 1992. Previously, Colonna served as Managing Director of equities research for the luxuries and non-durable consumer goods sectors at Bank of America – Merrill Lynch.

The Charles Schwab Corporation has announced an agreement to acquire Windward Investment Management for USD150 million in stock and cash. The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Headquartered in Boston, Windward Investment Management is an investment advisory firm that manages USD3.9 billion at July 31, 2010 in three broadly diversified investment portfolios comprised primarily of ETF securities. Its clients include investment advisors, non-profit organizations, endowments, retirement plans, and individuals.

The independent management firm Prigest, led by Christian Cambier, a figure in the collective management industry, which has EUR700m in assets under management but which is nearly exclusively aimed at private clients, is planning to accelerate its development by turning to institutional investor clients. To do this, it will be making a number of changes. Firstly, the management team, which as of the end of 2009, only included three managers, will be enlarged to manage a range of five funds. Matthieu Rolin, a former manager from Olympia Capital Management, joined the firm in May 2010. Major investments have also been made this month in portfolio and risk monitoring. “The structure of the whole thing is largely in place,” says Cécile Imbert, “but make no mistake: though we are industrialising risk management, asset management itself will continue to be based on pure stock-picking.” Management will be conducted in a more collegial manner. Opening the funds to other investors will not change the nature of the long-only management approach which has been the secret to the management firm’s success. The management firm is also adapting to profit from irrational movements on the markets, by adopting positions at advantageous times in order to make gains.

Oddo & Cie announced on Tuesday morning that it is acquiring Banque d’Orsay from the German WestLB group. The German group has been seeking to sell off its French affiliate for several months, after obtaining government aid which carried this requirement from the European Commission as a condition. For Oddo, there are three reasons for the deal, Philippe Oddo explains in a statement: “our desire to strengthen our asset management and private banking operations, a range of high-quality products which are a good complement to our range, and lastly, the fact that the two businesses have clear cultural proximity which will facilitate the merger of the teams in the new ensemble. With this acquisition, the Oddo group may move on to further ambitions, in order to better serve clients.” Assets at Banque d’Orsay now represent only EUR2.5bn in assets under management, of which nearly EUR500m are in private banking, down from a peak of EUR15bn before the crisis in 2007. The assets will be added to EUR17bn in assets under management at Oddo & Cie. In terms of products, the range from the WestLB affiliate consists of 40 open-ended and dedicated funds, while Oddo & Cie has 120 investment products.

La Tribune reports that Banque Lazard on Friday announced details of a sale of 7.8% of its capital by current and former partners. Matthieu Pigasse has sold USD4.1m worth of shares. He had already sold USD10m of shares one year ago. Other Paris-based partners sold shares in the firm, including Alexandra Soto (USD2m), and Jean-Yves Helmer (USD2.7m). But it was largely former partners who sold shares, including Virginie Morgon (USD1.3m), Thomas Piquemal (USD4.1m), and Bertrand Badré (USD460,000). Erik Maris, former co-head of Lazard in France, also sold nearly USD5m in shares. The record goes to Georges Ralli, who sold nearly USD13m in shares, the newspaper adds.

Henderson Global Investors on 26 August announced its decision to extend the duration of its Central London Office Fund I, a vehicle investing in office properties. The life of the fund will be extended until December 2015, to take advantage of the renewed strength of the London office property market. The fund, launched in 2004, has GBP560m under management, and as of June this year, showed returns of 30.5%. Henderson points out that it recently raised GBP90m for its second Central London Office Fund.

fundstrategy reports, citing the ratings agency OBSR, that the managers of the Fortis Turkey Fund, Eli Koren and Mathieu Nègre, have left the group, which has now become BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP). In April this year, Fortis Investments was taken over by BNPP IP. Assets under management in the fund dedicated to Turkey, domiciled in Luxembourg, total EUR114.5m. The fund, launched in April 2005, has earned 4.4% in the past three years, while the benchmark has lost 24% in the same period. More than half of the fund is invested in the financial sector.

The British management firm Schroders on Monday announced that from 1 August 2010, its Luxembourg-registered Asian bond fund Schroder ISF Asian Bond Fund (LU0091253459 and LU0327381843 for the share class hedged for currency risks), has been renamed as Schroder ISF Asian Bond Absolute Return, to foreground the product’s absolute return performance objective. Since 2001, the fund has earned positive returns in nine years of the period. Since the beginning of this year, the Schroder ISF Asian Bond Absolute Return has posted returns of 6.87% in US dollars, and 6.68% for the Euro-hedged share class. The strategy of the fund remains unchanged. The fund, managed by How Phuang Goh, was launched in 1998, and its assets as of 31 July totalled USD1.5bn.

Aviva Investors will soon announce that Jean-François Boulier, chairman of the managing board at Aviva Investors France (AIF) is becoming head of the Europe ex United Kingdom region, inheriting part of the responsibilities of Alain Dromer, CEO of Aviva Investors. The appointment gives Boulier responsibility for the German, Irish, Italian, Spanish, Luxembourg and Polish markets. The new group of activities under Boulier’s control accounts for about EUR100bn in assets of which EUR80bn are in France, EUR10bn in Ireland, where Aviva Investors no longer produces investment products, EUR4bn in Poland, and EUR5-6bn in the Luxembourg Sicav. These activities employ about 100 people, in addition to the 90 based in Paris. The board of the new entity is gradually being established. In addition to Ted Potter (CEO for commercial development in Europe, based in London), Véronique Cherret, (head for Europe and UK institutional investors, Paris) and Gabriele Miodini (director, head of financial establishments – Europe, Milan), and Shawn Meadow (relations with Aviva, London), the board also includes the head of Polish activities, Marek Przybylski, but others are expected to join the management team to take responsibility for contacts with financial markets, risk management, and operations.

Several hedge fund management firms, including Aurelius Capital Management, Fir Tree, KingStreet Capital, Monarch Alternative Capital and Stonehill Capital Management, which hold more thant USD1bn shares in mortgage securities and other debts insured by Ambac Assurance, on Monday asked a State Court in Wisconsin to forbid Ambac Financial from continuing to earn cash dividends from its affiliate, at a time when creditors holding debts resold by Ambac Capital have not been wholly reimbursed, the Wall Street Journal reports. The hedge fund management firms also claim that USD230m in dividends paid by Ambac Assurance between 2008 and 2009 were “fraudulent” transfers, since they were made at a time when the financial situation of the credit insurer was rapidly deteriorating. They are seeking reimbursement of the dividends to all policy holders.

The Cantonal Bank of Zurich (BCZ) on 30 August announced that it has added to its asset management team with the establishment of a group of 18 specialists to manage portfolios based on indices. The bank is also planning to extend its range of products related to indices and ETFs both for retail and institutional investors. The BCZ is hoping to “conquer new market share in the next few years, and to make itself a leader in Switzerland,” the bank says in a statement. Initially, the bank will launch a range of Swiss funds for institutional investors in equities, bonds, and real estate. In a second phase, the BCZ will offer new ETF products.

More than 130,000 investors have fallen victim to a Ponzi-type pyramid scheme in Benin, Fondsprofessionell reports, citing tagesschau.de. The investors were duped by the management firm ICC Services, which promised them extraordinarily high returns. The total losses are estimated at over EUR106m, a considerable sum for African investors, many of whom are now ruined.

Realia Patrimonio has sold the office propety Avenida Diagonal 640 in Barcelona (28,400 square metres) for about EUR145m to the management firm Deka Immobilien (German savings banks). The property, which is nearly wholly leased, will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienEuropa.

Due to regulatory changes that have come into effect since the beginning of this year, it is expected that the number of ETFs listed on the Spanish market will grow significantly, with the addition of products from BlackRock (iShares), Credit Suisse, and db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank). The first products may arrive within the next month, Cotizalia reports. Engracia Borque, head of db x-trackers, has confirmed that the first products from the German asset manager will be available in September, or at the worst, in October. The objective is to capture retail clients.

HSBC Global Asset Management has announced the transfer of Sten Ankacrona from Stockholm to Singapore, where he will take responsibility for sovereign funds and supra-national organisations in the Asia-Pacific region, Asian Investor reports. Ankacrona replaces Wayne Shum, who will be taking similar responsibilities in Hong Kong. The head of HSBC Global AM in Hong Kong, Rudolf Apenbrink, says that the group, which has sizeable staff in Hong Kong, would also like to grow in Singapore as a centre of expertise for South-East Asia. Ankacrona reports to Patrick Tse, CEO in Singapore, Julie Koo, head of institutional activities for Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong, and Synthia Sweeney Barnes, global head of sovereign funds and supra-national organisations, in London.

The asset management firm HQ Fonder has said in a press release that clients investing in HQ funds will not be affected by the cancellation of the banking license for HQ Bank over the weekend, nor by the fact that the Swedish bank has been placed in liquidation. The management firm emphasizes that it has been wholly owned by Investment AB Öresund since June 2010, when it was acquired from HQ AB, and that its activities are entirely distinct from HQ Bank. “It should also be noted that each fund is a distinct legal entity with assets which belong to the shareholders, and which are placed with SEB,” the statement says. HQ Fonder adds that both it and its parent are in solid financial condition.

According to reports in Financial News, Phelim Bolger, the head of UK institutional business at Union Bancaire Privée, has left the firm, less than one year after starting in the position. He is reportedly moving to HSBC Alternative Investments.

Les Echos reports that clients of several Swiss banks have received letters in the past few weeks from their banks explaining that part of their funds have been locked in their accounts due to the Madoff affair. Many investors had invested money with Fairfield Sentry, a giant fund with more than USD7bn in assets, whose capital was largely from European clients. The fund, which was placed with Bernard Madoff, went bankrupt when the fraud operated by the New York investment tycoon was discovered. The authorities are now seeking those who made undue profits from the US broker. Since April, Fairfield has been filing suits in turn against hundreds of firms, 50 of which are in Switzerland. As most investors are protected by banking secrecy laws, Fairfield is filing suit against the banks instead.

La Tribune reports that the Chinese Everbright Bank may raise as much as CNY21.7bn (USD3.2bn) in its forthcoming IPO in Shanghai, according to a notification to the market authorities. The firm, which is the 11th-largest bank in China, has been planning its initial public offering since 2008, the newspaper adds.

Selon la Tribune, la banque chinoise Everbright Bank pourrait lever jusqu'à 21,7 milliards de yuans (3,2 milliards de dollars) à l’occasion de sa prochaine introduction en Bourse à Shanghai, d’après la note remise aux autorités de marchés. L'établissement qui figure au onzième rang des plus grandes banques chinoises, envisage de s’introduire en Bourse depuis juin 2008, note le quotidien.

Les pôles de gestion des banques ont vu leurs comptes se redresser au premier semestre. La course à la taille se poursuit

Les entreprises enregistrent leur mois le plus faible en matière d'émissions depuis 2001. Quelques émissions financières ont animé le marché