As of the end of December, assets in Spanish investment funds totalled approximately EUR169.9bn, EUR6.9bn less than twelve months previously, which represents a decrease of only 3.7%, while net redemptions last year totalled EUR15.2bn, 8.6% less than in 2008, according to Ahorro Corporación. Most of the decrease in assets under management is due to maturing guaranteed funds totalling EUR9.4bn, equivalent to 17.3% of assets in such funds as of the end of 2008. All categories of funds saw positive returns last year (equities products gained as much as 38%), except for real estate funds, which saw average losses of 8.6%. Ahorro Corporación says two asset management firms stood out in particular: Caixa de Pensions and BBVA, which gained 2.72 and 2.23 percentage points of market share, respectively, between the end of July 2007 and the end of December 2009, at 8.1% and 19.4%. Meanwhile, Santander, whose assets fell EUR32.9bn in the period under review, to EUR31.2bn, saw a decline in its market share of 5.86 points, to 18.4%.
According to provisional statistics from the Inverco association of asset management firms, assets in securities funds on sale in Spain as of the end of December had fallen to EUR163.05bn, their lowest levels since a total equivalent to EUR162.32bn at the end of 1997, Cinco Días reports. Last year saw net redemptions of EUR11.68bn, compared with EUR58bn in 2008 and EUR20.43bn in 2007. The peak came at the end of December 2006, at EUR254.32bn. In the past ten years, assets in Spanish funds have undergone total net redemptions of EUR53.35bn, while assets under management fell EUR42.47bn.
The main challenge for asset managers in the coming decade is understanding, managing and communicating risk, according to a survey of senior industry figures carried out by FTfm
Insight Investment has announced the appointment of Adam Mossakowski as a credit fund manager within its fixed income team. He joins Insight from F&C where he was responsible for a range of institutional and retail funds. At Insight, Adam’s focus will be on UK portfolios and he will report to Peter Bentley, head of UK credit.
Penghua and Changsheng last week became the seventh and eighth Chinese management firms to be issued QDII quotas in 2009 (for USD800m and USD700m respectively) by the Chinese currency office (SAFE), shortly after China Universal and Guangfa were issued licenses, for USD1bn each. In total, the new QDII quotas issued in 2009 came to USD6bn, putting the program’s total scale at USD35.07bn. Z-Ben Advisors reports that most funds issued under the QDII program will be released with foreign sub-advisors: China Universal may continue to rely on the services of Capital Group, while Changsheng may continue to work with Goldman Sachs, and Penghua will collaborate with its shareholder, Eurizon.
Hans Dalborg, président de Nordea, a déclaré au quotidien suédois Dagens Nyheter qu’il n’envisageait pas pour l’heure de fusion de grande ampleur, rapporte l’Agefi. L’intéressé dément ainsi les rumeurs évoquant un rapprochement avec Swedbank.
A compter du 15 janvier 2010, les fonds de la Société Générale dont le nom commence par SGAM changeront. Leurs souscripteurs seront informés par courrier de cette modification - qui n’entraine pas de révision du code Isin.Ce changement s’inscrit naturellement dans le cadre d’Amundi AM, la société de gestion commune au Crédit Agricole et à la société Générale dont le lancement officiel a été réalisée le 31 décembre 2009. Dans le détail, les fonds distribués par la banque au logo rouge et noir vont voir leur appellation adopter une structure identique : le préfixe SG suivi de la classe d’actifs en question et enfin le thème d’investissement ou les spécificités de l’OPCVM (le style de gestion suivi, etc).
Selon Citywire, le réseau de conseillers Sesame qui a finalisé le rachat de Bankhall et Premier Mortgage Service (PMS) en octobre dernier pour créer Sesame Bankhall Group - dont Ivan Martin est le président exécutif - nourrit d’importantes ambitions pour Bankhall en 2010. Stephen Young, le directeur d’exploitation du groupe élargi, a en effet l’intention de faire de l'établissement un concurrent sérieux sur le marché, en investissant des sommes importantes et en menant une stratégie de plate-forme, précise Citywire.
Depuis sa cotation le 14 décembre, Gartmore n’a jamais évolué au-dessus de son prix d’introduction de 220 pence par action qui marque une révision de 25% à la baisse par rapport au prix moyen que le gestionnaire de fonds britannique pouvait espérer, rapporte l’Agefi. Les actionnaires existants ont dû également diviser par deux les revenus liés à la cession partielle de leurs titres. Le demi-échec de l’IPO constitue aussi un rappel à l’ordre pour la valorisation des gérants d’actifs. A 676 millions, Gartmore se paye 3,1% de ses encours, qui atteignaient 21,8 milliards à fin septembre. Les banquiers justifiaient ce statut par le profil d’encours, très tourné vers les actions, et constitué à 17% d’une poche hedge funds. Mais les investisseurs ont fait un autre calcul, note le quotidien: racheté 550 millions de livres en 2006, Gartmore affichait à l'époque des encours supérieurs de 12%, à 24,4 milliards d’encours. Outre une marge d’Ebitda qui n’a cessé de se dégrader depuis, les perspectives des marchés actions, dont dépend l’activité de Gartmore, restent floues. Et continuent d’inciter à la prudence.
Swan Capital Management a su tourner la page de la multigestion alternative au milieu des années 2000 pour se recentrer sur des produits bien adaptés par les temps qui courent : les fonds de gestion flexibles. La société n'a pas pour autant renoncé à la multigestion comme l'a expliqué à Newsmanagers Christophe François, le directeur général de la société de gestion, qui projette de consacrer dans l'un de ses prochains fonds une place variable mais importante à la gestion alternative...
Financial News rapporte que Bill Miller, le gérant star du fonds Legg Mason Value Trust doit battre son indice de référence - le S&P 500 - en 2009, pour la première fois depuis 2006. Si les investisseurs se montrent soulagés, Financial News rappelle néanmoins que le fonds en question est encore loin de retrouver le niveau record qui était le sien.Bill Miller a battu le S&P 500 pendant quinze années successives tandis que son fonds est passé de 750 millions de dollars en 1991 à plus de 20 milliards de dollars en 2006.
Analysts at Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s have announced to Reuters in separate talks that the financial rating of Japan may be downgraded if the island nation does not succeed in consolidating its finances. S&P has rated Japanese sovereign debt “AA,” while Moody’s this May raised its rating of domestic Japanese debt from “Aa3” to “Aa2”, but downgraded its rating of Japanese debt in foreign currencies from “AAA” to “Aa2.” Bond markets are concerned about the potential for an increase in Japanese debt levels, which may climb to 200% of GNP, at a time when the falling popularity of the government which has been in power since September has increased doubts about its ability to take tough economic measures. Tom Byrne, an analyst at Moody’s, says that the evolution of the Japanese sovereign rating will largely depend on efforts by the Tokyo government to consolidate financing in the mid-term and to reduce a budget deficit which may exceed 10% of GNP in 2009 and 2010, according to the IMF Byrne explains that if markets continue to finance deficits at relatively low nominal interest rates next year, investors may “to some extent” demand a risk premium for financing this debt.
The board of trustees of CalPERS in Mid-December resolved to toughen its code of governance. At its most recent meeting, members of the board granted the chairman authority to sanction members of the board for their conduct. They may be required to attend annual training sessions which will inform them of all their responsibilities, particularly in relation to investors in the fund. “By strengthening our governance policy, we are seeking to ensure that our board members respect the strictest standards. The new recommendations help us to maintain perspective on the most important thing: the quality of our investments,” says a statement released on 29 December by the chairman of the board of trustees of CalPERS, Rob Feckner. Among the measures approved by the board of directors are a requirement that members of the board provide the chief investment officer of CalPERS with all available information regarding existing or potential investments. The new ethical code also requires members of the board to abstain, in their relations with any CalPERS personnel, from recommending any actions relative to investments outside of a meeting of the board or of its committees. The ethical code and rules regarding conflicts of interest will be incorporated into the governance rules of CalPERS to create a single document of reference on the subject.
Hans Dalborg, chairman of Nordea, has told the Swedish newsapaper Dagens Nyheter that he does not foresee a large-scale merger for the present, Agefi reports. Dalborg also denies rumours that a merger with Swedbank was under discussion.
Simon Webber, manager of the Schroder Global Climate Change fund, estimates that equities in the clean energies sector will gain value in 2010, despite the disappointing results at the Copenhagen summit. Governments will continue to massively invest in the sector, particularly in countries such as Brazil, China, India, Korea, Australia, the United States, and also in Europe.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the proportion of the US dollar in currency reserves worldwide fell in third quarter to 61.85% from 62.82% in the previous quarter, and 65% in first quarter 2009. The proportion of the Euro in international reserves meanwhile rose to 27.75% from 27.42% one quarter earlier, and the presence of pounds Sterling rose to 4.34% from 4.30%.
German wealth managers are comparatively more optimistic about 2010. According to a survey in December by DAB Bank of 50 independent managers, 39% of respondents predict that the Dax will reach at least 6,500 points by the end of December 2010. Managers are particularly positive about emerging markets. Of BRIC countries, 37% prefer China, while 33% predict that Brazil will be the ones to perform best, 21% pick India, and 9% Russia.
The legal administrators of Lehman Brothers International Europe (LBIE) announced in a statement on 29 December that the Claim Resolution Agreement (CRA) between LBIE and its clients is de facto in force after an agreement by over 90% of the clients concerned. By the conditions of the agreement, administrators at PricewaterhouseCoopers estimate that reimbursements of approximately USD11bn may now begin on the date set by the High Court, 19 March 2010. On 15 September 2008, the day that Lehman Brothers collapsed, LBIE held about USD32bn of assets for its clients, including a large number of hedge funds. Since that date, USD13.3bn have been reimbursed.
Financial News reports that Bill Miller, the star manager of the Legg Mason Value Trust fund, will beat his benchmark index, the S&P 500, in 2009, for the first time since 2006. Though investors have expressed relief at these outlooks, Financial News points out that the fund in question is nonetheless far from returning to its previous record condition. Miller beat the S&P 500 for fifteen years running, while the fund has gone from USD750m in 1991 to over USD20bn in 2006.
From 15 January 2010, funds from Société Générale whose names begin with SGAM will change these prefixes. Subscribers will be informed of the modification, which will not affect ISIN codes,Société Générale said in a message. The changes are part of moves to prepare for the creation of Amundi AM, a joint management firm for Crédit Agricole and Société Générale, which will be officially launched on 31 December 2009. In detail, funds on sale from the bank with the red and black logo will see a uniform structure introduced for their names: the SG prefix will be followed by the asset class in question and then the investment theme or special characteristics of the mutual fund (management style, etc).
Since its initial public offering on 14 December, Gartmore has never seen a share price above its initial offering price of 220 pence per share, which was already a 25% lower offer than the average price the British management firm was hoping for, Agefi reports. Existing shareholders have also had to halve their proceeds from a partial sale of their shares. The comparative failure of the IPO also sends a message for the valuation of asset management firms. At GBP676m, Gartmore is valued at 3.1% of its total assets under management, which totalled GBP21.8bn as of teh end of September. Bankers justify this level as a result of their asset profile, which is oriented considerably to equities, and 17% represented by hedge funds. But investors have calculated differently, the newspaper reports: at GBP550m when it was sold in 2006, Gartmore had 12% higher assets at the time of the sale, at GBP24.4bn. In addition to an EBITDA which has steadily deteriorated since outlooks for equities markets, on which Gartmore’s activities depend, have been unsteady, and are continuing to be a cause for caution.
Prêtons-nous ce mois-ci à un petit exercice d’actualité: que se passerait-il si les banques centrales décidaient de reprendre la totalité des liquidités injectées depuis le début de la crise? Laissons parler les modèles…