Recherche
S'abonner
Connexion
Asset Management
Accueil Asset Management Actualités
26/08/2009

Aviva Investors launches an absolute return fund

Citywire reveals that Aviva Investors has launched a UK-focused absolute return Ucits III fund. The Aviva Investors UK Absolute Return fund is managed by Julius Lipner, who joined the firm from alternatives investment boutique Magnetar.
26/08/2009

ING selects six contenders to acquire its private bank

ING Groep has selected at least 6 financial institutions to enter the second round of bidding for its private banking assets in Switzerland and Asia, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Among them are Credit Suisse, DBS, Julius Baer, Standard Chartered and Bank of Australia, the newspaper reports.
26/08/2009

Hedge funds increase exposure to financial sector

In second quarter, hedge funds increased their ownership in financial stocks by 55% to USD70bn, compared with the previous quarter, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing a study by Goldman Sachs published on Monday (“Hedge Fund Trend Monitor.”) Funds now account for 3.7% of the sector’s market capitalisation, a level never before observed. Among the funds’ favorites are major banks such as Bank of America or JP Morgan Chase.
26/08/2009

Pension funds confront shortfalls in advising

La volatilité des marchés au cours des douze derniers mois a incité les fonds de pension à remettre en question leurs processus de gestion et le niveau de responsabilité du modèle traditionnel de conseil en investissement, selon le dernier sondage SEI Global Quick Poll réalisé auprès de responsables de fonds de pension britanniques américains et canadiens.La plupart des fonds de pension ont recours à un conseil extérieur pour avoir des recommandations en matière de gérants tout en laissant aux trustees les décisions sur le choix effectif de ces gérants. Le sondage suggère que la volatilité des marchés a mis à rude épreuve la validité de ce modèle, notamment outre-Manche. Plus de 50% des responsables britanniques ( 58%), et un peu plus d’un tiers d’entre eux au niveau mondial (34%) estiment que l’accroissement du risque d’investissement a débouché sur une remise en question du modèle de conseil. Un quart des britanniques et 23% au niveau mondial ont dû insister auprès de leur conseil pour obtenir des recommandations pendant les périodes de turbulences.On observe aussi une évolution sur la problématique des ressources. Plus des trois quarts des participants britanniques et plus de 50% d’entre eux au niveau mondial indiquent que leurs fonds de pension manifestent un intérêt accru pour la gestion des risques et une approche par objectifs de la gestion des fonds de pension.Le sondage indique aussi que les thèmes d’investissement alternatifs les plus en vogue sont l’immobilier (46%) , suivi de près par les hedge funds (43%). Près d’un tiers des participants britanniques précisent qu’ils envisagent d’autres solutions alternatives, comme le bois de construction ou l'énergie.
26/08/2009

A new electricity fund

The WMP Electricity Value Chain Equity Fund, launched on 13 July by the Zurich-based management firm WM Partners, is a fund which provides investors with exposure to the electricity sector and to primary energies (uranium, natural gas, coal). Currently in the launch phase, the fund’s assets total CHF22m. For the moment, its largest position is on Alpiq (2.9%), born of the merger between EOS and Atel, Le Temps reports.
26/08/2009

Thames River Capital recruits a former Fidelity manager

Thames River Capital has announced the appointment of Trygve Tøraasen as manager of its European equities team. He will be in charge of the Thames River European Fund, which he will co-manage with Carlos Moreno. Tøraasen was previously a manager at Fidelity Investments of the FMR Europe Fund and the European Dynamic Growth Fund.
26/08/2009

Calyon réclame 1,6 milliard de dollars à IKB

Selon Les Echos, la banque d’investissement Calyon réclame à IKB plus de 1,675 milliard de dollars (1,17 milliard d’euros) de dommages et intérêts. La filiale du Crédit Agricole a déposé une plainte devant la Haute Cour de justice de Londres, reprochant à IKB de lui avoir fourni des informations trompeuses. L'établissement de Düsseldorf a indiqué qu’il passait actuellement en revue les charges contre lui, avant de réagir à cette plainte. Cette action en justice est liée à une procédure antérieure, celle du rehausseur de crédit FGIC contre IKB et Calyon.
26/08/2009

Profits down at EFG International

In first half, EFG International has posted net profits of CHF20m, a 54% decrease compared with second half 2008 and of 89% compared with the same period of last year. These results were dragged down by a one-time charge of CHF33m, of which CHF18.8m were for an accelerated amortization of intangibles at C.M. Advisors, the fund of hedge fund activity acquired in 2008. As of the end of June, assets totalled CHF80.4bn, 7% more than at the end of December (CHF75.4bn), and 17% less than as of 30 June 2008. Net inflows in January-June totalled CHF2.2bn, as institutional hedge fund clients withdrew CHF2.5bn and retail investors brought in CHF4.7bn. In second half 2008, EFG International saw net outflows of CHF0.8bn, compared with net inflows of CHF14bn in first half of that year. The number of customer relationship officers (CRO) at the firm fell at the end of June to 674, despite 75 new recruitments.
26/08/2009

Sberbank victim of a massive fraud

Les Echos reports that the largest bank in Russia, Sberbank, has been the victim of a USD180m fraud, exceeding its quarterly results in size (USD160m in second quarter). The announcement of the fraud, which has been known of by the management of the public establishment since March, comes at a time when Dmitri Medvedev, the Russian president, has initiated a program to combat corruption in public institutions.
26/08/2009

Profits down for VP Bank

For first half, VP Bank has reported net profits of CHF26.9m, compared with CHF41m, due to a difficult and volatile market environment.Assets under management as of the end of June rose to CHF28.9bn, from CHF28.5bn; though positive market effects brought an increase of CHF1.4bn, net redemptions totalled CHF1bn. However, assets under custody increased in January-June by CHF4.4bn to a total of CHF11bn.
26/08/2009

CEO of VP Bank resigns

At a presentation of results for first half, VP Bank has announced that due to divergences over the group’s strategic orientation, Adolf E. Real has agreed with the board of directors to leave his job as CEO as of 30 September. He has served in the position for eleven years. Fredy Vogt, CFO, will serve as interim CEO.
26/08/2009

Veritas adds to distribution unit

Veritas Asset Management has appointed Farouk Abillama as senior sales manager; he will aim to develop the group’s client base and strengthen ties with traditional investors such as funds of hedge funds, endowments, and family offices. Abbilama was previously at Dresdner Kleinwort, where he was vice president and raised capital in the Middle East and Europe for hedge funds based in the United States or Europe.
26/08/2009

Thomson Reuters to leave London Stock Ecxhange

Les Echos reports that the financial information group born of the merger of Thomson and Reuters yesterday received the necessary legal permission to withdraw its shares from trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the NASDAQ. From 10 September, shares in Thomson Reuters will be traded only on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in the United States, and on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) in Canada.
26/08/2009

Skandia International offers new investment tools

Skandia International has announced the launch of a range of portfolio and fund planning instruments, provided by Morningstar, on onshore platforms. The tools will be available through the extranets of Royal Skandia and Skandia Ireland, and will aim to assist advisors in making judicious investment decisions in the shortest time possible.
26/08/2009

Investor confidence index from State Street shows another increase

The investor confidence index published by the research division of State Street Global Markets gained 3.5 points in the month of August, to a total of 122.9 points. This is its eighth consecutive monthly rise. Institutional investors continue to be the most confident class of economic actors, State Street says. However, the pace at which the index is rising has slowed, with the 3.5 point gains the smallest observed since March. Regional indexes even show a decline in confidence for investors in North America for the first time in five months. However, European institutional investors’ appetite for risk has increased, by 4.3 points for the regional index, to 109.2, compared with 104.9 the previous month.
26/08/2009

Shareholders in Reserve Fund will receive 99 cents per share

Reserve Primary Fund and its independent trustees filed a court brief on Friday, supporting the distribution of the fund’s remaining assets as soon as possible, the Wall Street Journal reports. The document states that subscribers may receive slightly more than expected: USD0.9875 per share, and perhaps as much as 99 cents.
26/08/2009

APG invests EUR150m in renewable energies

The Global Top-Down Strategies Fund (EUR3.5bn in assets) has invested EUR150m since the end of May in 40 businesses in the renewable energies sector, including Areva, Westas Wind Systems, and ABB, Responsible Investor reports. The fund is managed by five people, including Frank Smudde, on behalf of APG Asset Management, an affiliate of the ABP pension fund for civil servants in the Netherlands (EUR180bn in assets).
26/08/2009

Managers of managers may interest investors more in new environment

The Madoff scandal has halted the growth of funds of funds, provoking questions about the due diligence, transparency, and liquidity of these products, Financial Times Fund Management observes. In this environment, some asset management professionals think that investors and asset managers will take more interest in managers of managers. One of them is Joanna Munro, CEO of multi-management at HSBC Global Asset Management, who estimates that these vehicles are easier to control. For the moment, at any rate, data from Lipper FMI do not show any transfer of assets form funds of funds to managers of managers.
26/08/2009

DWS launches a StepInvest version of its BRIC Plus fund

From Monday, DWS Investments has opened subscriptions to the Luxembourg-registered fund DWS StepInvest BRIC Plus, which will start out with a money market portfolio. In twelve stages, from September 2009, the management team, led by Thomas Gerhardt, will gradually increase the proportion of BRIC equities (Brazil, Russia, India and China) to achieve the same composition as the DWS Invest BRIC Plus portfolio by the end of August 2010. Characteristics Name DWS StepInvest BRIC Plus ISIN code LU0418702907 Front-end fee 5% maximum Charges 0.90%
26/08/2009

Fund of hedge fund assets down 30%

Assets in funds of hedge funds fell to USD530bn as of the end of June 2009, from a peak of USD825bn. Between September 2008 and June 2009, the decline in assets totalled about USD200bn, which represents a decrease of about 30%, according to the Telegraph, citing a study by the Hedge Fund Journal and Newedge Prime Brokerage of the 50 largest funds of funds. This is a major crisis for the sector, whose assets increased by an average of more than 20% per year between 2000 and 2008. Most funds have lost an average of 25% to 30% of their assets, but some have seen even more major decreases. Among the latter, the Alternative Investments division of HSBC has seen a decline of 51.9% in its assets, to USD22.3bn. Only two providers of funds of funds have posted gains: Blackstone, whose funds have gained 25%, to USD25bn, and Grosvenor Capital Management, which has gained 1% to USD21bn.
25/08/2009

L’horizon se dégage pour Natixis

Selon Les Echos, l’organe central du groupe BPCE devrait apporter sa garantie à Natixis, absorbant les éventuelles pertes de la structure de cantonnement. L’Etat ne devrait donc pas intervenir.
25/08/2009

Le comité exécutif de PAI s'européanise

PAI se réorganise. En plus de la désignation de Lionel Zinsou comme président de la société et directeur du comité exécutif, trois associés européens sont nommés à ce comité : Ricardo de Serdio (Espagne), Raffaele Vitale (Italie) et Mirko Meyer-Schönherr (Allemagne), ainsi que Frédéric Stévenin, associé en charge des biens de consommation. «Et le retour d’Amaury de Sèze, ancien président emblématique de PAI devenu depuis président du conseil d’administration de Carrefour, se discute actuellement pour prendre la tête du conseil de surveillance à partir de la fin d’année», ajoute L’Agefi.
25/08/2009

The Hartford réorganise sa gestion

Keith Sloane, senior vice president de Hartford Mutual Funds, a indiqué que cette filiale de The Hartford a enregistré des souscriptions nettes au deuxième trimestre et que les encours sont remontés à 40,7 milliards de dollars fin juillet contre 28,7 milliards à la fin du premier trimestre (ils étaient à 50 milliards à la fin du troisième trimestre 2008), rapporte The Wall Street Journal. Hartford Mutual Funds a subi des remboursements nets au quatrième trimestre 2008 et au premier trimestre 2009, mais les souscriptions ont gonflé de 37 % au deuxième trimestre 2009 par rapport au premier.La focalisation de The Hartford sur la gestion de fortune s’est traduite par la centralisation des filiales de mutual funds, d'épargne retraite et de variable annuities dans une nouvelle division de l’investissement et des retraites. L’objectif est atteindre les 100 milliards de dollars d’actifs sous gestion.
25/08/2009

Lehman : Citadel veut récupérer des actifs

Citadel Investment Group a porté plainte pour récupérer 470,5 millions de dollars qui représentent en partie des contrats de dérivés liés à Lehman Brothers Holdings avant sa faillite, rapporte le Wall Street Journal.
25/08/2009
Fonds

Le fonds de pension de New York se lance dans les investissements "verts"

Le New York State Common Retirement Fund (110 milliards de dollars) a sélectionné les indices FTSE Environmental Technology 50 et HSBC Global Climate Change comme référence pour un programme d’investissements indiciels gérés en interne et affectés aux technologies propres ainsi qu’aux solutions au changement climatique, rapporte Responsible Investor. Cette enveloppe fait partie du Green Strategic Investment Program (GSIP) annoncé en 2008 et qui porte au total sur 500 millions de dollars, dont 200 millions ont été confiés en avril à Generation Investment Management.
Fonds
25/08/2009
Fonds

Les fonds nordiques battent des records

Six des 10 meilleurs fonds domiciliés en Suède, depuis le début de l’année au 19 août, sont investis sur les marchés nordiques et ont enregistré des performances supérieures à 55 %, rapporte Citywire. Le «rally» nordique relance la question de savoir si les pays nordiques, malgré leur taille relativement petite, méritent une allocation distincte de celle de l’Europe du point de vue du sélectionneur de fonds.
Fonds
25/08/2009
Fonds

First State élargit sa gamme de fonds spécialisés

First State Investments vient d’annoncer la commercialisation de son fonds First State Latin America Fund auprès des investisseurs français. En matière de gestion, ce fonds qui sera piloté par les spécialistes des marchés émergents Jonathan Asante et Millar Mathieson, avec la collaboration d’Alan Nesbit, s’intéresse à des sociétés offrant un solide potentiel de croissance, axées sur la consommation. Le fonds ciblera des opportunités d’investissement dans des pays comme le Brésil, le Chili, la Colombie, le Mexique et le Pérou. Cependant, la portée géographique du portefeuille peut s’étendre à d’autres régions voisines si les gérants le jugent nécessaire.
Fonds
25/08/2009

Standard Life recrute un ancien de BlackRock

Standard Life Investments vient de renforcer son équipe taux (fixed income) avec la nomination d’Andrew Fraser en tant que directeur des investissements (investment director) spécialisé dans la banque. Il travaillait précédemment chez BlackRock, en tant que directeur dans le département analyse crédit européen.Au sein de l'équipe taux, Andrew Fraser sera placé sous la responsabilité de Craig MacDonald, directeur de l’Investment Grade – obligations d’entreprises. Il sera chargé d’analyser le secteur bancaire européen et britannique.

Sujets d'actualité

Tous les sujets