Fin 2008, pour la première fois, BBVA Gestión a dépassé Santander Asset Management en ce qui concerne l’encours des fonds d’investissement : 33.196 millions d’euros contre 32.947 millions, constate Cinco Días. Santander AM a subi une chute de 36 % de ses actifs sous gestion l’an dernier tandis que BBVA Gestión n’accusait qu’une baisse de 18 % dans un contexte où les encours du secteur ont chuté de 29,77 % et où les remboursements nets ont porté sur 57.646 millions d’euros, le plus mauvais résultat historique. Chez Santander AM, on reconnaît que la priorité a été donnée à la captation de dépôts plus qu'à la commercialisation des fonds, et que l’essentiel de l’argent sorti des fonds est resté dans le groupe. De plus, Santander AM affiche une proportion plus importante que ses concurrents de fonds d’actions, qui ont davantage souffert que les concurrents positionnés principalement sur d’autres classes d’actifs.

L'écart de rendement entre le bono espagnol et le bund à 10 ans a atteint mardi 99 points de base, son niveau le plus élevé depuis mai 1997, rapporte Cinco Días, indiquant que les experts n’excluent pas un élargissement de ce spread jusqu'à 140 points de base. Dans un autre article, le journal souligne que cette prime de risque par rapport à l’Allemagne va entraîner pour l’Etat espagnol un surcoût de 840 millions d’euros en intérêts sur son programme d'émissions de 2009.

Les sociétés de gestion d"actifs devraient publier des résultats très mauvais au quatrième trimestre, conséquence de la chute des actifs, des rachats et de la baisse des marges, selon des analystes cités par le Wall Street Journal. Les perspectives 2009 ne sont guère plus brillantes. Selon Matt Snowling, analyste chez Friedman Billings Ramsey, les gestionnaires qui devraient enregistrer les déclins annuels les plus importants de leurs résultats d"exploitation sont ceux qui historiquement affichent les plus gros leviers opérationnels : T. Rowe Price Group, Franklin Resources Inc. et Janus Capital Group.

La Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung rappelle que les gestionnaires de la majorité des douze fonds immobiliers offerts au public représentant 34 milliards d’euros (environ un tiers du marché) qui ont suspendu leurs remboursements pour trois mois fin octobre doivent préciser d’ici au 28 janvier s’ils rouvrent ou s’ils maintiennent le gel pour neuf mois supplémentaires.Seul KanAm s’est manifesté jusqu'à présent, indiquant qu’il attend pour le 15 janvier les résultats d’un sondage sur les prévisions de souscriptions et de rachats auprès de 5.000 distributeurs. Le dépouillement prendra une semaine. Parallèlement, le gestionnaire munichois a commandé pour le 25 janvier une actualisation de l’estimation de la totalité du portefeuille du grundinvest-fonds. Le ratio net de liquidités du grundinvest se situe à 7 % ou 320 millions d’euros, alors que la norme minimum est de 5 %.

Mardi, Deutsche Telekom a lancé un emprunt sur 8 ans avec un spread de 2,65 points sur les midswaps et de 3,4 points sur les bunds. Selon la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, cette rémunération, qui correspond à plus de 6 %, représente une prime de presque un point de pourcentage par rapport aux émissions précédentes de l’opérateur historique.

Selon La Tribune, Standard and Poor’s menace de dégrader la note de l’Espagne, du Portugal et de la Grèce. Une semaine après la Grèce, l"agence de notation a placé le AAA de l’Espagne sous surveillance avec implication négative. De son coté, la note de la dette à long terme du Portugal a été placée sous surveillance négative. «Concrètement, des abaissements de ratings ne devraient pas tarder», anticipe La Tribune.

Altedia Investment Consulting (AIC) indique avoir ajouté au quatrième trimestre 10 nouveaux fonds d’investissement responsable et durable (IRD) de 7 sociétés de gestion à sa base de données AIC Research. Les nouvelles sociétés de gestion analysées sont Sparinvest, Germes, Invesco Ltd et Aberdeen Asset Management.Le comité trimestriel de notation d’AIC a attribué des notes «aaa» ou «aa» à 59 % des fonds IRD et de notes «a» ou «b» aux 41 % restants. AIC recense et note plus de 300 fonds IRD du monde entier, proposés par 75 sociétés de gestion différentes et représentant plus de 28 milliards d"euros d"encours. Les fonds de type «Best In Class» représentent 61% de l'échantillon d’AIC Research. Les 39% restants sont composés de fonds thématiques (à majorité environnement) et de fonds de type solidaire.

Mardi, Citigroup a annoncé que Morgan Stanley va lui payer 2,7 milliards de dollars en numéraire pour sa participation dans Smith Barney, qui entre dans une joint venture. Cette transaction va générer aussi environ 10 milliards de dollars de plus-values avant impôt pour Citigroup, indique The Wall Street Journal.Selon les proches du dossier, Citigroup aurait l’intention de réduire son activité d’un tiers en vendant ses filiales de crédit à la consommation Primerica Financial Services et CitiFinancial ainsi sa division cartes de crédit. D’autre part, le groupe prévoirait de réduire son activité de négoce en compte propre. Citigroup, qui a refusé de commenter, se concentrerait sur la clientèle d’entreprises et de particuliers haut de gamme.

Le Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, une agence fédérale qui assure les retraites privées, s"est identifiée comme créancier dans la liquidation de la société de Bernard Madoff, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. Cela laisse penser qu"il se prépare à des faillites de sociétés dans le sillage de la fraude Madoff.

Selon le Wall Street Journal, les régulateurs en charge de l"enquête sur la fraude présumée de Bernard Madoff s"intéressent de plus en plus près à Robert Jaffe, un dirigeant de Cohmad Securities qui a aidé le gérant à recruter des investisseurs, depuis qu"il refuse de témoigner. Cohmad est aussi une petite maison de courtage dans laquelle Bernard Madoff détient une participation et qui opère dans le même bureau que celui des activités de négoce d"actions de Madoff.

GoldenTree Asset Management, un hedge fund crédit, propose aux investisseurs qui veulent sortir des titres au lieu de liquidités, rapporte le Financial Times. Cela suscite la colère de ceux qui, dans de nombreux cas, manquent de moyens pour se défaire de tels instruments.

Avec effet au 12 janvier 2009, le pôle gestion d’actifs de la Commerzbank, cominvest [cominvest Asset Management GmbH, cominvest Asset Management S.A. (Luxembourg), cominvest Vertriebs AG (anciennement MK AG) und MK Luxinvest S.A], est passé sous le contrôle d’Allianz Global Investors (AGI) Deutschland GmbH. Le nouveau groupe pèse plus de 300 milliards d’euros d’encours, ce qui en fait le nouveau numéro un sur le marché allemand.Oliver Clasen, membre du comité de direction d’AGI KAG, conserve ses fonctions et entre dans le comité de direction de cominvest Asset Management comme responsable de la clientèle institutionnelle. Wolfgang Pütz, membre du comité de direction d’AGI Deutschland, conserve lui aussi ses fonctions et intègre la direction de cominvest Asset Management pour concevoir et mettre en ?uvre les mesures d’intégration. De son côté, Matthias Glas, membre du comité de direction de cominvest Asset Management fait son entrée dans le comité de direction d’AGI KAG où il dirigera la distribution par les banques et les intermédiaires financiers.

La société de gestion d’Erste Bank et des caisses d'épargne autrichiennes, Erste Sparinvest, a affiché fin décembre un encours de 23 milliards d’euros, contre 30,8 milliards d’euros et sa part de marché à diminué #légèrement# à 18,3 % contre 18,47 % un an plus tôt. Sur ce total, les fonds offerts au public représentaient en fin d’année dernière un volume de 14,2 milliards d’eurs d’euros contre 19 milliards tandis que les fonds institutionnels pesaient 8,8 millairds contre 11,2 milliards. En ce qui concerne les fonds offerts au public, la part de marché d’Erste Sparinvest s’est accrue de 2,1 points, à 24,5 %.

The management firm for Erste Bank and the Austrian savings banks, Erste Sparinvest, posted assets at the end of December of EUR23bn, compared with EUR30.8bn at the end of the previous year, and its market share has declined ?slightly? to 18.3%, from 18.47% one year earlier. Of this total, open-ended funds represented a total volume at the end of last year of EUR14.2bn, compared with EUR19bn, while institutional funds had EUR8.8bn, compared with EUR11.2bn. Erste Sparinvest’s market share in the open-ended funds market rose 2.1 points to 24.5%.

The German management firm Hauck & Aufhäuser Asset Management GmbH (HAAM GmbH) is entering the French market. It has obtained a license from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) to sell its H&A Lux Equities Value Invest fund, a European equities fund managed with a value approach by Nils Bartram and Gerold Granzeueur, in France.For its distribution, the management firm will rely on Investeam, a French third party marketing firm specialised in marketing funds in Europe and North America, with which it has signed an exclusive agreement. Institutional investors, IFAs and private clients will be targeted.Hauck & Aufhäuser Asset Management GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers, which si one of the last German private banks in which a majority stake remains in private hands. The entity manages assets of EUR2.9bn, in the form of institutional mandates and funds under its own brand and funds outsourced to the management firm by third parties. It is specialised particularly in asset management and European bonds.The firm’s entry into the French market is a first move into the international sphere for the manager. The partnership with Investeam will allow it to enter France without investing too much, and is limited to a single fund for the moment, but may eventually be extended to include other products, such as bond funds.Investeam says this represents the first fruits of its campaign to develop its presence in Germany, where the firm is building its newly-founded activities. A structure is being created under the leadership of Jan Schulemann. In addition to exporting German management to other countries, the entity is also planning to import products from French or other international companies to Germany. Investeam is also present in Canada, and in France it recently introduced the Canadian management firm DundeeWealth, at the end of last year.

In the wake of the Madoff scandal, funds which regularly earn higher than average returns will be regarded with suspicion by investors, Ignites Europe predicts on 13 January. This will lead to increased controls. ?If you serve the public, you have to accept public control. Otherwise, events like the Madoff case will destroy confidence,? says Don Phillips, managing director of Morningstar, in an interview with the online news source.

Hedge Week reports that the recruitment of five currencies specialists from Fortis (see yesterday’s edition of Newsmanagers) reveals a desire on the part of Henderson Global Investors (HGI) to launch a currencies hedge fund aimed at institutional clients in the near future, once the team in question has developed a quantitative model.

Altedia Investment Consulting (AID) has announced that in fourth quarter, it added ten new sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) funds from 7 management firms to its AIC Research database. The new additions to the list of management firms analysed are Sparinvest, Germes, Invesco Ltd and Aberdeen Asset Management.The quarterly ratings committee at AIC will award ratings of ?aaa? or ?aa? to 59% of the SRI funds in the database, and an ?a? or ?b? rating to the remaining 41%.AIC maintains information and ratings for 300 SRI funds worldwide, available from 75 different management firms, and representing assets of EUR28bn. ?Best In Class? type funds represent 61% of the AIC Research sample. The remaining 39% consists of thematic funds (largely based on environmental themes) and solidaristic funds.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that managers of most of the 12 open-ended real estate funds representing EUR34bn (about one third of the market) which suspended redemptions for three months at the end of October will have to announce by 28 January whether they will reopen or maintain the freeze for a further nine months. Only KanAm has made an announcement so far; the firm says it will wait until January 15 for the results of a survey of projections from 5,000 distributors of expected subscription and redemption levels. Meanwhile, the Munich-based management firm has ordered an update to estimates of the total value of the portfolio of the grundinvest-fonds as of 25 January. The net liquidity ratio for the grundinvest is 7%, or EUR320m; the usual minimum is 5%.

Erste Sparinvest announced on Tuesday that it will be launching a wealth management fund on 2 March, entitled Espa Portfolio Target 7, which will aim to preserve capital invested in it. The fund will limit the risk of loss to 10%, and will aim for a performance over 7 years of about 8% per year. It is an Austrian-registered diversified discretionary fund, which may invest up to 80% in equities, but for which the allocation to equities may also be reduced to 0% if necessary. The ?absolute performance? type fund is an addition to other products in the range whose assets currently total about EUR400m. The diversified funds of the Espa range bring total assets under management in this category to about EUR650m, of which EUR400m are in Espa Portfolio funds. Front-end fee is 3.5%, and management commission is a maximum of 1.2%.

On 12 January 2009, the asset management arm of Commerzbank, cominvest [cominvest Asset Management GmbH, cominvest Asset Management S.A. (Luxembourg), cominvest Vertriebs AG (formerly MK AG) and MK Luxinvest S.A] were transferred into the control of Allianz Global Investors (AGI) Deutschland GmbH. The new group weighs more than EUR300bn in assets, which makes it the new number one presence in the German market.Oliver Clasen, a board member at AGI KAG, will retain his position and will join the board of cominvest Asset Management as head of institutional clients. Wolfgang Pütz, a member of the board of directors at AGI Deutschland, will also retain his functions, and will join the board of cominvest Asset Management to oversee and develop measures to facilitate the merger. Matthias Glas, a member of the board at cominvest Asset Management, will join the board at AGI KAG, where he will be director of distribution via banks and financial intermediaries.

Asset management firms are expected to publish very poor results for fourth quarter, due to the falling value of assets, redemptions, and falling margins, according to analysts cited by the Wall Street Journal. Outlooks for 2009 are equally bleak. Matt Snowling, an analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey, says managers who are expected to announce the largest annual declines in their operating profits are those who historically have had the largest operational leverage: T. Rowe Price Group, Franklin Resources Inc. and Janus Group.

According to Bridgepoint, the value of transactions involving private equity firms in Europe plunged last year by 61% to EUR73bn, and the number of operations fell 30% to 572, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The decline has affected all the major countries on the European continent, excepting Italy. In Germany, Bridgepoint counted 85 operations, compared with 112 the previous year, with a total value of EUR11.5bn (-62%).

GoldenTree Asset Management, a credit hedge fund, is offering investors who want to leave the fund shares instead of cash, the Financial Times reports. The offer has been met angrily by investors who in many cases lack the means to sell these instruments.

Fabio Galli, president of Assogestioni (the Italian association of management professionals) has commented to Il Sole - 24 Ore on the proposed new European UCITS directive. ?We can only welcome this directive, which aims to make the cross-border fund market more efficient, and which will facilitate the concentration of products as well as management firms. But for the moment, there are two problems: on the one hand, there will be technical delays before the directive is transposed into national law; on the other hand, as long as Italy has a different tax policy than other countries, the merger between analogous European products cannot be done.?

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, a federal agency which ensures private pensions, has identified itself as a creditor in the liquidation of Bernard Madoff’s company, the Wall Street Journal reports. The announcement raises the prospect that the agency is preparing to handle bankruptcies of companies in the wake of the Madoff fraud.

Il Sole - 24 Ore reports that Alessandro Profumo, deputy director of UniCredit, travelled to Abu Dhabi last week, where he met with representatives of the sovereign fund Aabar Investment Company, the investment arm of the royal family. The visit is probably related to the Italian bank’s need to rebuild a stable core of institutional investors, the Italian newspaper comments.

The Wall Street Journal reports that regulators in charge of the investigation of the presumed fraud of Bernard Madoff are looking increasingly closely at Robert Jaffe, a director of Chomad Securities, who helped the manager to recruit investors, since he has refused to testify. Cohmad is also a small brokerage firm in which Madoff owns a stake, and which operates out of the same office in which Madoff’s equities trading operations were based.

Massachusetts regulators have filed a suit against the management of the money market fund Reserve Primary Fund, accusing the fund of lying to investors to avoid massive outflows, the Wall Street Journal reports. They also accuse the fund of favouring some important clients of the fund.

At the end of 2008, for the first time, BBVA Gestión has overtaken Santander Asset Management in total assets in investment funds: it has EUR33.196bn, compared with EUR32.947 for its competitor, Cinco Días reports. Santander AM saw a 36% fall in its assets under management last year, while assets at BBVA Gestión were down by only 18%, in an environment in which assets in the sector were down 29.77%, and net redemptions totalled EUR57.646bn, the worst results ever observed. At Santander AM, representatives admit that priority was given to maintaining capital in deposits, rather than to marketing funds, and most of the money leaving funds remained within the group. In addition, Santander AM has a larger proportion of its assets under management in equities funds, which have suffered more than competitors which are largely oriented to other asset classes.