Macquarie Capital nomme Carsten Klante directeur de son activité ECM (Equity Capital Markets, introductions en Bourse) pour l’Allemagne et l’Autriche, rapporte Fondsprofessionell. L’intéressé occupait dernièrement la même fonction chez Sal. Oppenheim.
Selon les milieux financiers, rapporte le Handelsblatt, la société de gestion DWS (Deutsche Bank) négocierait avec State Street l’externalisation de sa comptabilité de fonds, ce qui affecterait jusqu'à 250 emplois. Actuellement, les activités concernées sont assurées par la division Global Technologie Operations (GTO) de la Deutsche Bank. DWS, Deutsche Bank et State Street ont refusé de commenter.
Dans le cadre d’un plan d’attribution de cinq années, rapporte l’Agefi, le directeur général de Credit Suisse, Brady Dougan, pourrait percevoir des titres valorisés aujourd’hui 71 millions de francs suisses (50 millions d’euros) et près de 400 cadres pourrait percevoir selon ce plan de motivation des bonus en titres pour un montant de plus de 3 milliards de francs. Credit Suisse a traversé la crise financière sans le soutien de la moindre aide publique, note également le quotidien.
Selon Les Echos, le gouvernement australien vient de mettre fin au monopole dont bénéficiait jusqu’ici sa Bourse nationale, l’ASX. L’opérateur alternatif Chi-X Australia pourra ainsi lancer sa plate-forme d'échanges à compter du quatrième trimestre 2010.
Crédit Aricole SA a annoncé mercredi 31 mars l’arrivée, le 1er juin 2010, de Hubert Reynier, quarante-sept ans, au poste de directeur adjoint au sein de la direction des risques du groupe Crédit Agricole S.A. Il sera placé sous la responsabilité de Francis Cantérini. Depuis 2009, Hubert Reynier était directeur adjoint «Finances, Stratégie et Développement Durable» à la Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC).
Standard & Poor’s a annoncé le 31 mars la révision en baisse de la note de crédit d’AXA de AA à AA- avec une perspective stable. L’agence de notation estime qu’il est peu probable que le groupe français parvienne dans les douze à vingt-quatre mois à restaurer sa rentabilité et ses performances opérationnelles aux niveaux requis pour conserver une note AA. S&P a également abaissé la note de contrepartie de la holding Axa de A+ à A.
Jefferies a annoncé le 31 mars la nomination de Cyril Paillard au poste de managing director de la distribution des produits MBS/ABS à Paris, où il aura en charge la clientèle institutionnelle en France et dans l’Europe du Nord.L’arrivée de Cyril Paillard marque une nouvelle étape dans le développement de la plate-forme internationale MBS/ABS qui compte désormais 90 professionnels aux Etats-Unis, à Londres, à Paris, à Tokyo et à Hong Kong.Cyril Paillard était précédemment chez RBS, où il était notamment responsable de la distribution des produits structurés dans la zone EMEA.
Selon Les Echos citant Challenges, la Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) ne participera finalement pas au tour de table initial du projet retraite entre CNP Assurances et Malakoff Médéric. Le groupe de protection sociale et l’assureur doivent créer une coentreprise, qui regroupera leurs activités de retraite supplémentaire. Le 24 mars, la direction de la CNP a indiqué, selon la section Force Ouvrière, que la CDC n’entrerait pas dans le capital de la joint-venture à sa création mais se réservait la possibilité de le faire plus tard.
Après le départ de Patrick Giry il y a quelques jours de Carmignac Gestion où il était entré en 2001 en tant que patron de la distribution en France avant d’occuper, à compter de 2007, le poste de directeur général de la filiale luxembourgeoise de la société de gestion et de patron des responsables pays, l’établissement de la place Vendôme est en phase active de recrutement. Le poste de Patrick Giry a cependant été scindé en deux, avec désormais un manager responsable de la partie sud de l’Europe - incluant la France, l’Espagne et l’Italie - et un co-manager responsable de la partie nord du vieux Continent – intégrant les pays du Benelux, l’Allemagne et la Suisse. Pour l’instant, le premier poste a été affecté au responsable Italie de la société de gestion, Davide Fregonese, mais le second reste à pourvoir. Eric Helderlé, directeur général de Carmignac Gestion a confirmé être à la recherche d’un cadre «parfaitement bilingue et doté d’une sérieuse expérience paneuropéenne». En termes de collecte, le poids de chacune des deux zones n’a pas été communiqué. Seule indication : le montant global en 2009 pour la société de gestion s’est élevé à 15 milliards d’euros.
Selon Citywire, Vincent Strauss devient co-gérant des fonds Comgest Monde et Growth World, en remplacement de Jean-François Canton qui a commencé à déléguer quelques responsabilités en anticipation de son départ à la retraite. Ce dernier va aussi abandonner ses responsabilités de directeur des actions mondiales mais va rester membre du conseil d’administration, ajoute Citywire.
Macquarie Capital has appointed Carsten Klante as head of its ECM (Equity Capital Markets) activities, which specialise in IPOs, for Germany and Austria, Fondsprofessionell reports. Klante previously held the same position at Sal. Oppenheim.
Handelsblatt reports that, according to rumours in financial circles, the management firm DWS (Deutsche Bank) is in talks with State Street to outsource its fund accounting, which would affect about 250 jobs. Currently, the activities concerned are provided by the Global Technology Operations (GTO) division of Deutsche Bank. DWS, Deutsche Bank and State Street all declined to comment.
State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) on Tuesday announced that it has signed an agreement with Nuveen Investments, by the terms of which Nuveen will become sub-adviser to five municipal bond ETFs. Nuveen Asset Management will be responsible for management of assets under the supervision of SSgA Funds Management and the board of trustees for each fund, with total assets of nearly USD2bn. The agreement comes into effect on 1 April 2010. It covers the SPDR Barclays Capital Municipal Bond ETF (acronym TFI), Capital California Municipal Bond ETF (CXA); Capital New York Municipal Bond ETF (INY), Capital Short Term Municipal Bond ETF (SHM), and SPDR S&P VRDO Municipal Bond ETF (VRD). To ensure a smooth transition, Tim Ryan, lead portfolio manager for ETFs at SPDR, specialised in municipal bonds, will join Nuveen Asset Management as senior vice president.
On Wednesday, Universal Investment announced that it will be releasing a specialist currencies fund, with the objective of generating annual returns of 10%, with volatility of about 8%. The German-registered product (DE000A0YJF34), Premium Currencies UI, was launched on 15 February, and replicates the strategy which has been used since 2004 by the Zurich-based Prem1um Currency Advisors (CHF1bn in assets) and its CIO, Guiseppe Manieri. The strategy’s track record since 2004 shows a correlation of -0.16 with the S&P 500, - 0.12 with the HFRX Global HF Index, and -0.38 with the Barclay Currency index. The fund bets on the evolution of bilateral parity between the most liquid currencies of the G10, and may use long and short positions. The process uses chart-based technical analysis, trend monitoring and statistical resources, and a quantitative and discretionary trading method. Front-end fee and management commission are set at 5% and 0.35%, respectively, while advising commission is set at 2%, and performance commission is 20%, with high watermark.
Hedge Week reports that the British management firm RWC Partners has been granted permission to distribute its RWC US Absolute Alpha fund, which complies with the UCITS III directive, in Germany. The fund is a long/short US equity strategy, led by Mike Corcell, which was launched in October 2009, and has about USD350m in assets.
The sustainable equities index Natur-Aktien-Index (NAI), which includes 30 “sustainable” international equities, has seen performance of 477% since its launch on 1 April 1997. In this period, it has outperformed classic indices such as the Dax or Dow Jones, as well as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), the Financial-Times-Index (FTSE4Good) and the Öko-Dax. Currently, the Nai index includes the following businesses: Aixtron, Bio-Treat Technology, Boiron, BWT, Natura Cosmeticos, East Japan Railway Company, Ecolab Energy Conversion Devices (ECD), Gaiam, Höganäs, Insituform, Interface, Kadant, Kurita Water Industries, Mayr-Melnhof, Molina Healthcare, Ormat Technologies, Ricoh, Shimano, Solar Millennium, Solarworld, Starbucks, Steelcase, Steico, Svenska Cellulosa, Tomra Systems, Triodos Groenfonds, United Natural Foods, Vestas Wind and Westpac.
Inflows to funds in February totalled GBP1.9bn, the highest level ever recorded in the month of February, following a January which was also exceptional, according to statistics published on 31 March by the British investment management association (IMA) Assets under management in funds domiciled in the United Kingdom as of the end of February totalled a record GBP484.7bn, up 3% from January, and 42% up on february 2009. This development is related to growth in inflows as well as to positive market effects. Equities were the most popular asset class, with total sales of GBP703m, a 23% increase over January. February 2009 saw a net outflow from equities of GBP28m.
George Gosden, who spent eight years as a director in the international team at Insight Investment, has joined the Asian Equity desk at Threadneedle. He will be deputy head of the Asia ex Japan team, and will report to Vanessa Donegan, head of Asian Equities. Gosden will be in charge of management of pan-Asian institutional mandates; he will also be the technology specialist for the Asia ex Japan region.
In a private conference call held on Wednesday for investors, Roger Guy, the co-head of hedge fund operations at UK asset manager Gartmore, has hit out at the company’s “excessive” internal compliance rules which he blames for the suspension of his Partner Guillaume Rambourg this week, says the Financial TImes. The latter is alleged to have requested the company’s dealers place trades with particular brokers – prohibited by Gartmore’s regulations concerning best practice.“I didn’t agree with the rule when it was introduced,” Roger Guy said.
Veritas Asset Management has recruited Neil Cooper as a senior analyst for its international team. Cooper previously worked at Insight Investment, where he was an analyst covering the international financial sector.
Standard & Poor’s on 31 March announced that it has revised its credit rating for AXA down from AA to AA-, with a stable outlook. The ratings agency says it is unlikely that the French group will succeed in the next 12 to 24 months in restoring its profitability and operational performance to the levels required to retain a AA rating. S&P also lowered its counterparty rating for the Axa holding company from A+ to A.
Jeffries on 31 March announced the appointment of Cyril Paillard as managing director of distribution for MBS/ABS products in Paris, where he will be in charge of institutional clients in France and Northern Europe. Paillard’s arrival marks a new stage in the development of the MBS/ABS international platform, which now includes 90 professionals in the United States, London, Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Paillard was previously at RBS, where he was in charge of distribution for structured products in the EMEA region.
The alternative management firm AM Investment Partners and BAM Capital on 30 March announced an agreement in principle for a merger “between equals” bringing the two firms together. The new firm, which will be known as AM Investment Partners, will be led by the co-founders of BAM Capital, Ross Berman and Hal Mintz, as well as the co-founders of AM Investment Partners, Mark Friedman and Adam Stern. Assets under management at the new firm will total about USD600m.
Crédit Agricole Assurances on 31 March announced that it has decided to sign the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI). The firm becomes the first banking-insurance business to sign the PRI, Crédit Agricole says in a statement, making the step a sign of genuine progress in the consideration of extra-financial criteria in analysis and investment decisions. By joining the PRI, Crédit Agricole Assurances joins other entities of the Crédit Agricole which have already signed the PRI (Amundi, Chevreux, Crédit Agricole Private Equity), and confirms the desire of Crédit Agricole to bring its investment decisions into harmony with the needs of society.
Ivy Asset Management, which BNY Mellon Asset Management is closing, is under investigation for advice it allegedly gave related to investing with Bernard Madoff, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by the Wall Street Journal.
Vincent Strauss is stepping in as co-manager of Comgest’s Monde and Growth World funds, replacing Jean-François Canton who has begun delegating his responsibilities in anticipation of his forthcoming retirement, says Citywire. The latter will also be relinquishing his responsibility as the firm’s head of global equities but will remain on the company’s board of members.
Hedge Week reports that the financial services firm Fund.com has acquired Weston Capital Management, a firm specialised in developing and distributing hedge funds. Weston Capital, which is based in Florida, and also has offices in New York and London, has three activities: the origination and distribution of funds of funds, the origination and distribution of single-manager hedge funds, and raising capital to launch new hedge funds. Weston has recently entered into an alliance with Harcourt for manager research and fund financing. Harcourt, which is controlled by the Swiss firm Vontobel, is a hedge fund management firm (USD4.5bn in assets under management) which advises institutional investors on hedge fund investment opportunities.
Following the departure a few days ago of Patrick Giry from Carmignac Gestion, where he began in 2001 as head of distribution for France, and subsequently served from 2007 as CEO for the Luxembourg unit of the asset management firm and country head for Luxembourg, Carmignac is now in an active recruitment phase. Giry’s responsibilities have been divided into two positions, one for a director for southern Europe, including France, Spain, and Italy, and one for a co-manager in charge of northern Europe, which includes Benelux, Germany, and Switzerland. For the moment, the first of these positions has been entrusted to the asset management firm’s head for Italy, Davide Fregonese, but the second position has not yet been assigned. Eric Helderlé, CEO of Carmignac Gestion, confirms that the firm is seeking an applicant who is “perfectly bilingual, with serious pan-European experience.” In terms of inflows, the volume represented by each of the two zones has not been disclosed. The only sign is that the overall total for 2009 at the asset manager was EUR15bn.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US teachers’ pension fund TIAA-CREF has decided to increase commissions for its ten Life Funds, which invest in variable annuities, which aim to guarantee subscribers a supplement to their pension benefits, from 1 May. The price hikes range from 3 basis points (for the Stock Index Fund) to 44 basis points (for the Small-Cap Equity Fund). The increase in charges, which is the third such increase in five years is reported to have been motivated by an increase in regulatory burden as well as increased competition on the market for new management talent.
The investor confidence index calculated by State Street Global Markets posted an increase in March of 5.4 points, to 108 points, compared with a corrected level of 102.6 for February. Institutional investors in Asia were the foremost cause of this movement, as the regional index gained 4.1 points to 100.8, compared with a corrected level of 96.7 points the previous month. Changes were more moderate elsewhere: investor confidence in North America increased slightly, from 110.1 (corrected level) to 110.4, while in Europe, confidence remains slightly lower, with the regional index down slightly, from 99.8 (corrected level) to 97.3 points in March. In addition to this significant increase in the confidence of institutional investors, “it is interesting to note that we are beginning to observe some divergence between the confidence of investors and consumers in the United States, as consumers are becoming less confident and investors are gaining confidence,” says Paul O’Connell, one of the two creators of the index. “It remains to be seen whether consumer sentiment will change this month, but in the meanwhile, institutional investors have been persistent in their acquisitions on many markets and in many sectors, with the exception of the economies on the periphery of Europe, and some specific sectors such as health.”