Vendredi soir, le Santander a annoncé qu’il vend pour 1,05 milliard de dollars sa participation dans le Banco de Venezuela à la République bolivarienne du Venezuela et que la transaction devrait être bouclée début juillet.

Liontrust a annoncé qu’il compte lancer fin juin l’European Absolute Return Fund, un produit de droit britannique conforme à la directive OPCVM III qui utilisera la même stratégie que le hedge fund European Long/Short qui est lui aussi géré par Gary West et James Inglis-Jones. Le concept, selon Investment Week, consiste à être long sur les entreprises avec des cash flows élevés dont les gérants escomptent qu’il vont battre les attentes du marché et à vendre à découvert les sociétés affichant un potentiel de bénéfices limité. Dans tous les cas, la capitalisation doit être supérieure à un milliard d’euros.D’après Investment Week, l’exposition nette sera plafonnée à +/- 20 % et l’exposition brute à 180 %. La souscription minimale et la commission de gestion sont fixées à respectivement 1.000 livres et 5 % pendant que la commission de gestion se situe à 1,5 % et que la commission est de 20 % sur la surperformance par rapport au taux Libor à trois mois, avec effet de cliquet.

Sarasin & Partners lance les fonds Sarasin EquiSar Global Thematic Fund (Sterling Hedged) et Sarasin Global Equity Income Fund (Sterling Hedged) qui fournissent à l’investisseur britannique des parts couvertes en moyenne 90 % du risque de change par rapport au sterling. Ce sont les clones du EquiSar Global Thematic Fund et du Sarasin International Equity Income Fund

Sur les six derniers mois, le montant des primes versées par les hedge funds pour se prémunir contre le risque d’une faute de la part d’un de leurs collaborateurs a augmenté d’environ 20 %, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Ce genre d’assurance est fourni par des compagnies comme AIG, Allianz ou Brit Insurance.

Robert Bergamnn quitte les fonctions de gérant du FCP luxembourgeois Schroder European Logistics Fund (577,2 millions d’euros), tout en demeurant membre du comité de direction du fonds, pour se consacrer à d’autres tâches de gestion de fonds à Amsterdam.Il est remplacé en Allemagne par Buddy Roes, qui reprend la gestion des fonds logistiques et plus particulièrement celle du Schroder European Logistics Fund. Il sera subordonné à Neil Turner, le responsable des fonds immobiliers chez Schroder Property. Buddy Roes a été la cheville ouvrière du développement de la gestion d’actifs d’ING en Allemagne.

Un sondage auprès d’environ 600 entreprises du secteur financier en Allemagne (banques, assurances, courtiers en ligne, sociétés de portefeuille et sociétés immobilières) montre que le développement durable n’a aucune importance stratégique pour ces agents. Lorsque ce thème est utilisé, il sert le plus souvent d’argument commercial pour améliorer l’image de marque, révèle l'étude menée par Asset:Vision en collaboration avec les consultants True Assets et Carl-Ernst Müller Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement.Le développement et la commercialisation de produits de développement durable n’obtient qu’une note de 2,81 sur une échelle de 1 (aucune importance) à 5 (importance très élevée) et la mise en œuvre de procédés ne portant pas atteinte au climat n’obtient que la note 2,57 alors que la préservation de la base de clientèle obtient un 4,23 dans l'échelle des préoccupations, devant l’optimisation de la gestion du risque (4,17). L’analyse des réponses montre que le développement durable n’a pas une dimension stratégique pour les établissements financiers allemands. Comme le note Volker Weber, directeur général d’Asset:Vision, le débat qui agite l’industrie et la société n’a pas encore touché le secteur financier où les thèmes du développement durable ne sont pris en compte que sur le points où les acteurs sont obligés par le législateur ou le marché à se comporter de manière plus transparente.

A compter du 1 er août 2009, Carsten Werle, 37 ans, qui dirige actuellement le pôle «Financials» d’Oppenheim Research, prend la direction de la recherche actions et de la filiale indépendante de recherche du groupe Oppenheim. Carsten Werle prend la succession de Wilfgang Sawazki, 44 ans, qui va poursuivre d’autres intérêts. Carsten Werle aura en charge l’analyse actions pour l’Allemagne, la Suisse, l’Autriche, et la France. Oppenheim emploie quelques 65 personnes installées à Cologne, Francfort, Paris, Vienne et Zürich.

La banque privée Reuschel & Co, qui appartenait à la Dresdner Bank et qui va être revendue par la Commerzbank, affiche pour le premier trimestre un bénéfice net de 4,7 millions d’euros contre 3,3 millions et un bénéfice d’exploitation de 6 millions contre 0,7 millions.Les charges d’exploitation ont diminué de 2,6 % à 15 millions et la banque a pu reprendre 0,2 million d’euros sur ses provisions pour risques.

Le Parquet de Mannheim a fait procéder dans plusieurs Länder à des perquisitions au domicile privé d’investisseurs qui n’auraient pas déclaré leurs revenus du capital. Cette opération fait suite à des perquisitions dans les locaux de l’UBS à Francfort et à Stuttgart, précise la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Toutefois, jusqu'à présent, aucun élément n’est venu corroborer la thèse selon laquelle la banque aurait été complice d'évasion fiscale.

La Deutsche Bank a annoncé vendredi soir que le président de son directoire, Josef Ackermann, et le directeur du contrôle interne ont demandé à un cabinet d’avocats de réaliser une enquête indépendante sur d'éventuelles actions illégales du département de la sécurité. Les faits constatés semblent indiquer qu’il s’agit d’un nombre restreint d’irrégularités qui n’auraient pas affecté la clientèle. Selon les proches du dossier, un cercle restreint de personnes gravitant autour du groupe auraient été espionnées.

Dans un communiqué boursier publié vendredi, la Lufthansa annonce que la Commerzbank lui a notifié avoir liquidé au 18 mai la participation résiduelle qu’elle détenait dans son capital et qui représentait en dernier lieu 3,06 % de ce capital.

Sarasin & Partners is launching the Sarasin EquiSar Global Thematic Fund (Sterling Hedged) and Sarasin Global Equity Income Fund (Sterling Hedged) funds, which will offer British investors shares which are on average 90% hedged against currency risks in pounds Sterling. The funds are clones of the EquiSar Global Thematic Fund and the Sarasin International Equity Income Fund.

Liontrust has announced that at the end of June, it will launch the European Absolute Return Fund, a British-registered product that complies with the UCITS III directive, and which will use the same strategy as the European Long/Short hedge fund, also managed by Gary West and James Inglis-Jones. The concept is to be long on businesses with high cash flows which managers predict will beat market expectations, and short on companies with limited potential to earn profits. In all cases, market capitalisation will be over EUR1bn. Investment Week reports that net exposure will be limited to +/- 20%, and gross exposure will be limited to 180%. Minimal subscription and management commission are set at GBP1,000 and 5%, respectively, while management commission is set at 1.5%, and a commission of 20% will be charged on performance exceeding the Libor 3-month, with high watermark

On Friday afternoon, negotiations between Paternoster, which controls pension funds representing GBP2.7bn in assets, and Pension Corporation broke down due to a disagreement over price, the Sunday Times reports. The CEO of Paternoster, Mark Wood, is now in negotiations with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to acquire a suspension of the license, which would prevent Paternoster from taking on other members. However, there is reported to be no challenge to Paternoster’s ability to pay the pensions of its roughly 60,000 members.

Unigestion will launch three funds of funds in the next few months. Horizon Credit Hedge, a fund of hedge funds which will bring together “the best managers in the world of credit,” will be put on sale on 1 June 2009. Uni-Hedge Selection, a an ARIA III diversified fund of hedge funds aimed at the French market, will combine tactical trading, arbitrage, and equity hedge strategies. It will be launched on 1 July. Lastly, in third quarter 2009, Unigestion will launch Unigestion - Ethos Environmental Sustainability, whose portfolio will be concentrated on funds which invest in companies that are active in the environmental sector. “The fund will be exposed to the production, storage and distribution of alterantive energies, energy efficiency, reduction of pollution, water treatment, and recycling,” says Unigestion.

The private bank Reuschel & Co, which was owned by Dresdner Bank and will be resold by Commerzbank, has posted net profits for first quarter of EUR4.7m, compared with EUR3.3m, and net operating profits of EUR6m, compared with EUR0.7m. Operating expenses haver been reduced by 2.6% to EUR15m, and the bank has been able to reduce its risk provisions by EUR0.2m.

Robert Bergmann will be leaving his job as manager of the Luxembourg-registered FCP Schroder European Logistics Fund (EUR577.2m), but will remain as a member of the board of directors at the fund, and will dedicate himself to responsibilities other than fund management in Amsterdam. He will be replaced in Germany by Buddy Roes, who will take over management of logistical funds, and particularly the Schroder European Logistics Fund. He will report to Neil Turner, head of real estate funds at Schroder Property. Roes spearheaded the development of asset management at ING in Germany.

The Austrian management firm Sparinvest (EUR23.2bn in assets) on Friday announced that its local affiliate Banka Sparkasse has been athorised to sell 21 Espa funds in Slovenia. The Slovenian fund market at the end of 2008 represented assets totalling about EUR1.6bn. Banka Sparkasse, whose headquarters are located in Ljubljana, employs 225 people and operates 9 locations.

In the past six months, premiums paid by hedge funds to insure themselves against the risk of employee errors has increased by about 20%, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. This type of insurance is provided by companies such as AIG, Allianz, and Brit Insurance.

Expansión reports that the publicly traded management firm SVG, the largest subscriber to funds from the private equity Permira, has written down the book value of its investments in Dinosol (SuperSol supermarkets) to GBP20.42m, from GBP24.18m in 2007, and of its investment in the clothing retailer Cortefiel (which has been reduced to zero). However, an investment in Telepizza has been revised upward to more than GBP19.15m in 2008, from GBP18.8m.

Cinco Días reports that Carmignac Patrimoine stands out for its exposure to equities of under 50%, which, says Frédéric Leroux (who manages coverage) makes it a highly appropriate fund for investment of retirement savings. The objective is to generate consistent and regular returns over the long term, which the fund has achieved, with 10% annual performance since its launch about 20 years ago. Leroux confirms that between October and March, net exposure to equities was zero; in early March, allocation to this asset class was slightly over 40% and was then reduced. But this has allowed the fund to profit largely from the current rally.

La Tribune reports that the German investment and realty firm Union Investment Real Estate, which owns the Marriott hotel in Paris and the TFI building in Boulogne, is planning to invest EUR250m to EUR500m in France this year, of the EUR1.5bn to EUR2bn which it is planning to spend worldwide. Union Investment Real Estate has EUR13.9bn in real estate assets under management in 24 countries.

Currently, according to Morningstar, assets in 62 quantitative/active ETF funds total USD2.67bn, the Wall Street Journal reports. Among the products are five Invesco PowerShares products with about USD21.1m in assets under management, including one bond fund, one real estate fund, and three equities products. On 4 May, Grail Advisors launched the Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value ETF (GVT). In general, the Wall Street Journal observes, actively-managed ETFs have not attracted subscriptions as rapidly as some had hoped, but this has not affected their enthusiasm for launching non-tracker ETF products.

After changes in the management of DWS, observers in the banking sector are expecting more changes to come in asset and wealth management at Deutsche Bank, where Kevin Parker’s power seems to be growing, Handelsblatt reports. Deutsche Bank denies the rumours, but they nonetheless persist: some predict that private wealth management (PWM) will be divided between asset management and retail banking, while others predict that active management will be divided between retail banking and PWM.

Fidelity Investments has appointed Jacques Perold as chief operating officer of asset management, the Wall Street Journal reports. Perold, who also joins the board of directors, will report to Michael Wiles, head of asset management. Previously, he was head of an institutional management firm spun off from Fidelity.

Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management (GBP96.3bn in assets as of the end of March) is preparing to acquire Delaware Group (USD120bn in assets, 1,000 employees) from Lincoln Financial Corp, the Sunday Times reports. The sale will bring in up to Usd450m for the US-based management firm. Among the other potential buyers are the private equity investors Advent International and Hellman & Friedman, and the management firm American Century Investments.

The alternative management firm AQR Capital Management, led by Clifford Asness, in January launched the mutual fund AQR Diversified Arbitrage Fund, whose TER will be limited to 1.75%. AQR, which has been hit by the crisis and poor returns for its products, is planning to launch a new range of mutual funds which will use momentum hedge fund strategies created by Asness when he was a graduate student in finance at the University of Chicago, the Wall Street Journal reports. The difference is largely that mutual funds will not charge a 20% commission on performance. AQR is not the only management firm to be moving towards products with slimmer margins: the fund of hedge fund manager Permal launched its first mutual fund in April.

Shawn Modifi, head of high net worth clients for the Middle East at Citigroup Private Banking, is joining GWM SA, a Geneva-based family office, as president, Il Sole - 24 Ore reports. The entity manages EUR2bn in assets for 30 multi-millionaire families in Europe and the Middle East. GWM SA is currently planning to extend its services to other high net worth families.

Newsmanagers: How have emerging markets been performing since the beginning of the year?Aham: For the past few years, emerging markets have got investors used to double-digit growth, produced by structural reforms and major savings in developing economies. However, 2008 was a truly disappointing year, as emerging markets were contaminated by trouble on developed markets.. Now, we are expecting the situation to calm down, as there has been a burst of nearly 30% since the beginning of the year, on average. This is the asset class which has performed best since the beginning of 2009. Newsmanagers: What are the most significant advantages of emerging markets today? Aham: The fundamentals on emerging markets continue to be very solid overall. Significant effort has been put into taxation and interest rates, which have remained at historically low levels. But the major attraction of emerging markets currently resides in their potential for growth, particularly compared with growth outlooks for 2009 for GDP in the Euro zone and the United States. Most emerging countries will continue to be able to stimulate their economies through tax incentives, as is the case in China. These countries know that they will need to become less dependent on consumption in developed countries, and they are making a particular effort in the area of domestic comsumption to generate significant growth rates. These moves will contribute to the confidence of investors in the solidity of growth in these countries. Newsmanagers: Which emerging markets look most attractive to you? Aham: First of all, there are India and China, of course, where activities not related to exports are occupying a larger place in the economies. But they are not the only ones! Latin America is also showing unparalleled advantages, particularly thanks to strengthening inter-regional trade between the various countries on the continent. In Russia, calm has returned after several very difficult months. With oil at USD60 per barrel, the country can perform honourably. What our investors are looking for, particularly institutionals, is an asset allocation adapted to their situation. But we are also there to make them understand that there is a new world order. 10% of market capitalisation is now on the stock markets of emerging markets, but institutionals’ exposure to these regions is still far lower than that. With financial volatility declining, institutionals will have to make a decision now, in order not to miss the boat when the economy rebounds. There will necessarily be a reallocation to emerging markets. There is also considerable interest in frontier markets, composed of countries which have been under-invested in the past. Two major high-potential regions stand out: the countries of the Gulf, such as Qatar or Abu Dhabi, driven by oil, on the one hand, and countries of Africa, Central America, and Asia, on the other.

In light of the currency difficulties recently encountered in traditional asset classes, La Tribune reports, interest in currency markets has recently risen. Low transaction costs, the diversity of market actors and the applicable strategies offer a wide range of investment opportunities. In addition to this, there is very low correlation between currencies and with other asset classes. Hence their attractiveness as a means to diversify portfolios. Despite these qualities, the newspaper adds, there are currently only 50 US management firms specialised in this asset class. Some studies by consulting firms reveal that institutional investors have only limited interest in this area. According to the most recent European Asset Allocation Survey from Mercer, 5% of British pension funds invest 5% of their assets in currencies - 50% more than one year ago. For the rest of Europe, the proportion allocated by 1% of investors totals 2%.