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12/02/2009

United Kingdom - No bonus for Lloyds CEO

Eric Daniels, CEO of Lloyds Banking Group, on Wednesday agreed not to receive his 2008 bonus of GBP2.3m, the Financial Times reports, even though Lloyds earned profits last year, excluding losses brought on by the merger with HBOS.
12/02/2009

France - UFG withstands market conditions thanks to diversification

?The fact of being multidispliplinary has made us able to hold out fairly well,? said Xavier Lépine, chairman of UFG, on Wednesday. The management firm may have seen net redemptions of EUR1.86bn from alternative management in 2008, bringing total assets in this area down from EUR3.54bn at the end of 2007 to EUR1.49bn at the end of 2008, but these outflows were partly compensated for by net subscriptions in all other professions: real estate (+EUR402m), securities (+EUR664m), private equity (+EUR28m), and insurance (+EUR163m). In total, UFG had net redemptions for the year of only EUR612m, and has seen a decline in its assets to EUR19.5bn, from EUR21bn at the end of 2007.In January of this year, although outflows have continued for alternative management (-EUR84bn), UFG has posted net subscriptions of EUR812m, largely in securities, which have brought assets back above the EUR20bn threshold.In 2009, UFG will enrich its product range with a new theme: socially responsible investment. The firm has acquired a majority stake in Sarasin AM, the French affiliate of the Swiss firm Sarasin, from which it will create a management firm, UFG Sarasin, which will start out with EUR500m in assets.As a part of this project, all equities management at UFG will be ?SRIzed,? in the words of Bertrand Fournier, chairman of the board at Sarasin AM. But SRI is also applicable to other asset classes managed by UFG. In real estate, the firm has recently launched an SRI OPCI fund (see article dedicated to the subject). SRI projects are also under consideration in private equity and alternative management.
12/02/2009

United Kingdom - Deutsche Bank launches CROCI Asia-Pacific fund

Deutsche Bank Fund Solutions has raised USD24m since its launch on 19 January, and is now releasing its new DB Platinum CROCI Asia Pacific Fund, aimed at institutionals, in Luxembourg and Singapore. The product is available in other European and Asian countries in the form of a private investment.The fund replicates the Deutsche Bank CROCI Asia Pacific Fund (CROCI is an abbreviation for Cash Return on Capital Invested), which aims to identify equities for which the valuations are the most attractive in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan. The portfolio includes 30 positions, from a universe of 150 shares with the largest floats.Deutsche Bank states that management commission for the institutional portion of the fund is 0.75%, and that the fund, in keeping with the UCITS III directive, offers daily net asset value reporting.
12/02/2009

United States - Madoff scandal will hurt scientific and medical research

According to experts in the world of philanthropy, the Madoff scandal will affect millions of people, since it will cost charities and endowments at medical and scientific research institutions in nearly all areas from diabetes to palliative care, the Wall Street Journal reports. The victims of the fraud include big names in philanthropy such as Mortimer Zuckerman, Leonard Feinstein and Carl Shapiro, and also... the Bernard L. And Ruth Madoff Foundation.
12/02/2009

Germany - Delta Index launches a German-language CFD platform

The Irish leveraged product broker Delta Index on Wednesday opened its German-language X-Deal platform for contracts for difference (CFD), on which it is possible to trade about 500 CFDs initially. Transaction costs for orders on X-Deal are 0.1% of the volume traded.Delta Index states that it has about 3,000 clients in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Hungary.
12/02/2009

United Kingdom - Arques acquires BSM from Aviva group

The German private equity firm Arques Industries has announced that it has acquired the British School of Motoring Ltd for an undisclosed amount from RAC plc, an affiliate of Aviva. The driving instruction network employs about 2,700 monitors and operates 100 service centres. It is the leader on the British market, with a market share of about 10%, and revenues of GBP34m in 2008. Arques states that, in keeping with its business model, it has acquired BSM without debt. For Aviva, the sale is a part of a move to concentrate on its core activities.
12/02/2009

Sweden - Losses of SEK48bn for AP1

The public pension fund Första AP-fonden (AP1) has announced losses for 2008 of SEK48bn (less than EUR4.6bn), or 21.9%, on its investments, bringing assets as of the end of December to less than SEK172bn, from SEK219bn.The fund is planning to reduce staff dedicated to active management, to focus on its core profession, strategic asset allocation. This will result in the loss of 20 jobs and a 25% reduction in annual operating costs after the reduction.
12/02/2009

United States - Eaton Vance appoints Niall Michael Quinn as head of international development

Eaton Vance Corp (USD124.9bn in assets as of the end of December) has announced the appointment of Niall Michael Quinn as managing director of Eaton Vance Management International in Boston, where he will be in charge of development the American management firm’s activities abroad. He will report to Lisa Jones, head of institutional. Quinn was previously head of business development at Gartmore Investment Management Ltd in London.
12/02/2009

United States - Elizabeth Hughes Eginton joins Van Kampen

Van Kampen Investments (USD84bn in assets under management or administration) has announced that it has recruited Elizabeth Hughes Eginton as managing director, head of product and marketing. She will report to Jerry Miller, president and CEO, and will be in charge of direction and development of products and marketing. She will be leaving Legg Mason Capital Management, where she was senior cive president and director of corporate strategy, after serving as head of asset management at McKinsey & Company.
12/02/2009

Germany - Results down at DekaBank

For 2008, DekaBank has posted ?economic? profits (the sum of pre-tax IFRS and total valuation of financial instruments) of EUR167.9m, which represents a fall of 67.3% from 2007 results, and, despite net losses ?of an amount in the low hundreds of millions of Euros,? the asset management firm for the German savings banks is planning to pay out an unchanged dividend, totalling about EUR30m.Net subscriptions fell 84.4% to EUR1.94bn (for securities as well as real estate), while assets as of 31 December totalled EUR142.5bn, which represents a 13.8% decrease in one year. Gross inflows to open-ended funds fell to EUR48bn, from EUR49bn in 2007.
12/02/2009

United States - Putnam to lay off 10% of staff

Robert L. Reynolds, president and CEO, announced on Thursday that Putnam Investments (USD101bn in assets) will be laying off 260 employees, equivalent to about 10% of its personnel. The measure will primarily affect distribution and operational areas, but some sales staff will also be cut, Pensions & Investments reports. In addition, Putnam will be scaling down its distribution efforts outside the United States.
12/02/2009

World - Credit Suisse/Tremont index up 0.8% in January

According to preliminary estimates on the basis of 58% of assets in the sample, the Credit Suisse/Tremont hedge fund index is estimated to have earned performance of 0.80% in January. The two strategies that have posted the best results are convertible arbitrage (+7.43%) and global macro (+2.54%), while the heaviest losses were for multi-strategy funds (-1.59%) and long/short equity (-1.17%).
12/02/2009

Luxembourg - Regulator calls for liquidation of Herald (Lux)

The Luxembourg financial sector surveillance commission (CSSF) on 10 February decided to withdraw the Sicav Herald (Lux) from trading and to require its liquidation. The US Absolute Return Fund, a sub-fund of the Sicav, was exposed to Bernard Madoff.The verdict comes as a part of an effort ?to establish the responsibilities of various parties in relation to the Herald (Lux) and its depository bank, HSBC Securities Services (Luxembourg) S.A., and to better safeguard the rights of investors,? the regulator explains.
12/02/2009

United States - Fidelity appoints interim bond CIO

Following the retirement of Dwight Churchill, 55, Fidelity Investments has appointed Charles Morrison as its interim CIO for bonds, Handelsblatt reports. Morrison will also continue to serve as head of money market fund management.
12/02/2009

United Kingdom - FSA had concerns about HBOS as early as 2002

The Financial Times reports that the Financial Services Authority was concerned about risk management at HBOS as early as 2002, it emerged on Wednesday. At the same time, Sir James Crosby, former CEO of the bank, resigned from his position as vice-chairman of the FSA, in the wake of accusations that he ignored warnings about the rapid growth of HBOS.
12/02/2009

Spain - Assets and net outflows decrease in January

According to the Spanish Inverco association of management firms, total assets in funds at the end of January totalled EUR227.62bn, which is EUR1.19bn or 0.52% less than at the end of December. For securities funds, assets under management, at EUR165.39bn, were down by EUR2.24bn, or 1.3%, in one month, while net redemptions, at EUR1.81bn, were at their lowest levels since July 2007, with the exception of August 2008. In January, net subscriptions totalled EUR156m for long-term bond funds and EUR53m for emerging market bonds.Assets in Sicav funds, for their part, increased by EUR192m to a total of EUR26.97bn as of the end of the month, while assets in real estate funds fell by EUR152m or 2.1% to more than EUR7.25bn. Lastly, assets under management by foreign management firms are estimated by Inverco at EUR28bn at the end of January, or EUR1bn, (3.7%) more than at the end of the previous month.
12/02/2009

World - Firms with a sustainable development bias outperform others

According to a study by A.T.Kearney entitled ?Green Winners: The Performance of Sustainability-focused Companies in the Financial Crisis,? which surveys 99 of the largest firms considered ?sustainable? by dint of featuring on the Dow Jones Sustainability or the Sustain Focus List from Goldman Sachs, share prices in this category outperformed their sectoral averages by an average of 15% in 16 out of 18 industrial sectors, in the period from May to November 2008. In terms of market capitalisation, this outperformance corresponds to an average of USD650m per firm.
12/02/2009

United Kingdom - Standard Life reimburses clients of a fund

Standard Life will spend GBP100m to reimburse investors in the Pension Sterling Fund, a money market fund which was supposed to be a safe investment but which in fact lost money through investments in exotic products, the Financial Times reports. In one day, the fund lost 4.8%, as Standard Life revised its valuations of asset-backed securities (ABS) which constituted half of its portfolio.
12/02/2009

Suède - Le fonds AP1 accuse une perte de SEK 48 milliards

le fonds de pension public Första AP-fonden (AP1) indique avoir réalisé pour 2008 une perte de 48 milliards de couronnes (moins de 4,6 milliards d’euros) ou de 21,9 % sur ses investissements, son encours à fin décembre ressortant à un peu moins de 172 milliards de couronnes contre 219 milliards.Le fonds a l’intention de réduire l’effectif dédié à la gestion active pour se focaliser sur son c?ur de métier, l’allocation d’actifs stratégique. Cela se traduira par la suppression de 20 emplois et par une diminution de 25 % par an des charges d’exploitation une fois cette réorganisation parachevée.
12/02/2009

Royaume-Uni - La FSA avait des craintes sur HBOS depuis 2002

La Financial Services Authority s'était inquiétée de la gestion du risque de HBOS dès 2002 a-t-on appris mercredi, rapporte le Financial Times. Dans le même temps, Sir James Crosby, ancien directeur général de la banque, a démissionné de son poste de vice-président de la FSA après avoir été accusé d’ignorer les alertes concernant la croissance rapide de HBOS.
12/02/2009

Luxembourg - Le régulateur demande la liquidation de Herald (Lux)

La Commission luxembourgeoise de surveillance du secteur financier (CSSF) a décidé, le 10 février, de retirer de la liste et de demander la liquidation judiciaire de la Sicav Herald (Lux), dont le compartiment US Absolute Return Fund est exposé à Bernard Madoff.Cela s’inscrit «dans le cadre de l"établissement des responsabilités des différents partis en relation avec Herald (Lux) et sa banque dépositaire HSBC Securities Services (Luxembourg) S.A. et afin de sauvegarder au mieux les droits des investisseurs», explique le régulateur.
12/02/2009

Allemagne - HRE, le tonneau des Danaïdes

L’Etat allemand fournit une garantie supplémentaire de 10 milliards d’euros à Hypo Real Estate (HRE), ce qui porte le total les aides publiques au géant du crédit immobilier à plus de 100 milliards d’euros, indique la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
12/02/2009

Espagne - Baisse de l?encours et sorties nettes en janvier

Selon l"association espagnole Inverco des sociétés de gestion, l"encours total des fonds se situait fin janvier à 227,62 milliards d"euros, soit 1,19 milliard ou 0,52 % de moins que fin décembre. Pour les fonds de valeurs mobilières, les actifs sous gestion, à 165,39 milliards, affichaient une baisse de 2,24 milliards ou de 1,3 % en un mois, tandis que les remboursement nets de 1,81 milliard atteignaient leur niveau le plus bas depuis juillet 2007, à l"exception d"août 2008. On a noté en janvier des souscriptions nettes de 156 millions pour les fonds obligataires à long terme et de 53 millions pour les obligataires émergents.L"encours des Sicav s"est accru pour sa part de 192 millions pour atteindre 26,97 milliards en fin de mois, tandis que celui des fonds immobiliers baissait de 152 millions ou de 2,1 % à plus de 7,25 milliards d"euros. Enfin, les actifs des sociétés de gestion étrangères sont estimés par Inverco à 28 milliards d"euros pour fin janvier, soit 1 milliard ou 3,7 % de plus qu"un mois auparavant.
12/02/2009

Belgique - Perte de 2,48 milliards pour KBC

KBC a fait état jeudi matin d’une perte nette de 2,48 milliards d’euros pour 2008 contre un bénéfice net de 3,28 milliards pour 2007. Corrigé de l’impact direct de la crise et d’autres facteurs exceptionnels, le bénéfice net sous-jacent se contracte de 28 % à 2,27 milliards d’euros. Pour le T4, les comptes sont dans le rouge de 2,62 milliards contre un bénéfice net de 708 millions ; hors exceptionnels, le bénéfice s’est situé à 176 millions contre 834 millions.
12/02/2009

Etats-Unis - IPO : ça repart

Selon l’Agefi, Mead Johnson a réussi mardi la première introduction en Bourse outre-Atlantique depuis trois mois et quatre autres IPO sont attendues cette semaine, pour un montant total de près de 1,2 milliard de dollars. "(?) plus que les IPO, les émissions secondaires ou les obligations convertibles devraient assurer le gros de l’activité primaire actions au premier semestre», indique le quotidien numérique.
12/02/2009

Etats-Unis - General Electric abaisse le seuil pour la convocation d'une AGE

General Electric Co proposera à l’assemblée générale du 22 avril un abaissement à 25 % contre 40 % du capital du seuil à partir duquel les investisseurs seront habilités à exiger la convocation d’une assemblée générale extraordinaire, rapporte The Wall Street Journal. C’est une contre-proposition face à une initiative de deux activistes, John Chevedden et William Steiner, qui réclamaient un abaissement de cette limite à 10 %. Des projets de résolution de ce même ordre ont été recensées jusqu'à présent dans 62 entreprises cette année, indique RiskMetrics Corp.
12/02/2009

Etats-Unis - Le scandale Madoff pénalise la recherche scientifique et médicale

Selon les experts de l’univers philanthropique, le scandale Madoff va toucher au bout du compte des millions de personnes parce qu’il affecte des associations caritatives et des fondations qui dotaient les institutions de recherche médicale et scientifique qui couvrent un peu tous les domaines depuis le diabète jusqu’aux soins palliatifs, rapporte The Wall Street Journal. Parmi les victimes de l’escroquerie figurent des grands noms des affaires et de la philanthropie comme Mortimer Zuckerman, Leonard Feinstein ou Carl Shapiro, mais aussi? la Bernard L. and Ruth Madoff Foundation.
12/02/2009

France - Natixis pourrait retirer Caceis de la vente

#Le Crédit Agricole a une chance historique de prendre le contrôle de Caceis pour un prix modeste. S’ils ne proposent pas une offre d’ici à la fin du mois, Natixis retirera le dossier de la vente», peut-on lire dans les colonnes de la Tribune qui cite une source proche du dossier. Initialement, la banque verte devait prendre le contrôle de Caceis à hauteur de 55 %, le solde étant racheté par un fonds d’investissement, probablement TPG, précise le quotidien.
12/02/2009

France - LFP courtise les "professionnels du patrimoine"

Face à la montée en puissance des CGP et des plates-formes, les «professionnels du patrimoine», au sein de la gestion privée, La Française des Placements (LFP) a structuré une équipe commerciale comprenant déjà trois spécialistes (Emmanuel d’Ythurbide, Stéphane Petit et Percilia Antunes) et à laquelle elle vient de donner un responsable en la personne de David Edmond. L’impétrant a été de 2000 à 2008 responsable des partenariats chez Les Assurances Saint-Honoré Patrimoine (Groupe LCF Rothschild).LFP dispose désormais d’une gamme de fonds spécifique pour les professionnels du patrimoine, avec des produits dont le lancement s’est échelonné (parts P) entre le 10 janvier 2001 (LFP Obligations Latitude) et le 5 septembre 2008 (LFP Activinflation). Elle comporte également les fonds Convictions Premium LFP, LFP Avantages Compétitifs et LFP Allocation ainsi qu’une gamme de fonds à échéances. Le gestionnaire précise qu’un plan d"action a été mis en place qui prévoit un renforcement des partenariats avec les plateformes et une forte présence aux côtés des cabinets de gestion de patrimoine, en allant à leur rencontre directement et au cours de réunions à Paris et en province.
12/02/2009

Irlande - L'état perfuse Allied Irish bank et Bank of Ireland

Selon La Tribune, après les 2 milliards d’euros perçus en décembre, Allied Irish bank et Bank of Ireland vont à nouveau recevoir 3,5 milliards chacune sous forme de capitaux Tier 1 de la part du gouvernement irlandais. En échange de cette aide, les banques se sont notamment engagées à réduire d’au moins un tiers la rémunération des dirigeants, précise le quotidien.

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