Le gestionnaire d’actifs Old Mutual Global Investors (GI) a nommé Susana Garcia au poste de responsable des relations avec ses clients en Europe du Sud, à savoir l’Espagne, l’Italie et le Portugal, révèle Funds People. Basée à Londres, elle sera cependant amenée à voyager fréquemment dans ces trois pays. Précédemment, Susana Garcia a travaillé pendant trois ans chez Skandia. Auparavant, elle officiait chez American Express Funds, une entité acquise par Standard Chartered Bank.Sa mission consistera à renforcer les relations existantes d’Old Mutual GI avec ses clients implantés en Europe du Sud et développer de nouvelles relations et promouvoir la vente de fonds sur ces trois marchés. En Espagne, le gestionnaire d’actifs s’est fixé comme objectif de figurer dans le Top 10 des plus grandes structures de gestion d’actifs.
Gregor Hirt, qui dirige les activités de gestion multi-classes d’actifs de Schroders en Europe continentale, devrait quitter la société de gestion en mars prochain, révèle Citywire.Depuis sept ans et demi chez Schroders, Gregor Hirt souhaite poursuivre d’autres opportunités. Il abandonne du même coup ses responsabilités au sein de l'équipe MAPS (Multi-Asset and Porfolio Solutions) et passe la main sur deux fonds diversifiés, le Schroder ISF Global Conservative et le Schroder ISF Global Dynamic Balanced. Urs Duss deviendra gérant principal du premier fonds, avec en second Daniel Caderas. Il assumera également la responsabilité sur le second fonds, avec Ugo Montrucchio, arrivé de BlackRock en octobre dernier.
Henderson vient de recruter Rob MacQueen en provenance de M&G Real Estate, au poste de gérant senior pour son fond UK Property, qui affiche 1,3 milliard de livres d’encours, dévoile FTAdviser. Il travaillera avec les deux co-gérants, Marcus Langlands Pearse et Ainslie McLennan. Chez M&G Real Estate, Rob MacQueen gérait environ 750 millions de livres d’actifs immobiliers.Ce recrutement témoigne de l’ambition de Henderson sur le terrain de l’immobilier, le gestionnaire d’actifs souhaitant accélérer la croissance de son fonds UK Property en 2014. L’an dernier, ce véhicule a investi plus de 400 millions de livres dans des acquisitions, rappelle le site d’information. Le UK Property Fund a gagné 6,1 % en 2013 et 32,6 % sur cinq ans en date du 21 janvier, selon FE Analytics. Au total, l’activité «property» de Henderson gère quelque 12,7 milliards de livres d’actifs.
Baillie Gifford va supprimer la semaine prochaine les frais d’entrée de 2 % appliqués à son fonds Emerging Markets Growth, rapporte Investment Week. Ces frais, mis en place en 2011, étaient destinés à dissuader les investisseurs à rentrer dans le fonds après qu’il ait atteint 1 milliard de livres d’encours. Depuis, le fonds a vu ses encours chuter à 476 millions de livres.
Même si l’annonce de Mohamed El-Erian de quitter Pimco est apparue soudaine, la décision remonte à plusieurs mois, relate le Financial Times, citant des personnes proches du dossier. Des relations grincheuses avec Bill Gross ainsi que les longues journées et les exigences requises pour gérer la société ont convaincu le directeur général et co-directeur des investissements de Pimco qu’il était temps de partir. Mohamed El-Erian a déclaré à ses collègues qu’il aspirait à un meilleur équilibre de vie et voulait écrire un livre sur l’interaction entre les marchés et la banque centrale moderne. Sa décision ne serait pas liée à la performance des fonds.
Paul Loridant est renouvelé pour trois ans comme médiateur auprès de la Fédération Bancaire Française (FBF). Il occupe cette fonction depuis le 1er février 2012.Depuis décembre 2002, dans le cadre de la loi MURCEF, la FBF met à la disposition des adhérents qui le souhaitent, un service de médiation. Environ 120 établissements utilisent aujourd’hui ce service.Selon la loi, la médiation offre au client particulier un recours amiable et gratuit, en cas de litige persistant avec sa banque. Elle intervient, le plus souvent, après épuisement des premiers niveaux de recours, l’agence d’abord, puis le service «Relations clientèle» de l’entreprise bancaire.Paul Loridant était cadre de direction à la Banque de France jusqu’en 2012. Il était également conseiller du Gouverneur, Christian Noyer, pour les relations territoriales et depuis 2008 Secrétaire Général de l’Observatoire de la Microfinance.
Ron O’Hanley, qui dirigeait l’activité de gestion d’actifs de Fidelity Investments depuis 2010, quittera la société à la fin du mois de février, rapporte L’Agefi. Selon un courrier adressé aux associés, il devrait être remplacé en interne au cours des prochaines semaines. Le document précise que Ron O’Hanley souhaite passer plus de temps avec sa famille et collaborer avec des ONG.
Tarik Ben-Saud a été nommé responsable Asset Solutions d’Insight Investment, un poste nouvellement créé, rapporte IPE.com. L’intéressé a travaillé précédemment 15 ans chez BlackRock et Barclays Global Investors en tant que responsable du LDI et de la stratégie clients.
La société de capital investissement d’Europe du Nord EQT a bouclé son fonds EQT Mid Market avec 1,1 milliard d’euros, soit davantage que l’objectif de 1 milliard qui avait été fixé. 95 % des capitaux ont été apportés par des investisseurs déjà clients d’EQT. Le fonds se focalise sur des entreprises en Europe du Nord, en Chine et en Asie du Sud Est.
Investec Asset Management a recruté Marco Orsi en tant que directeur commercial pour l’Italie, agrandissant ainsi son équipe commerciale européenne, rapporte Investment Week. Marco Orsi travaillait précédemment pour Allianz Global Investors, où il était responsable de la distribution retail. Avant, il était chez BNP Paribas Asset Management.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Pictet Asset Management has launched the Pictet-Absolute Return Fixed Income fund, an unconstrained bond fund, managed by Andres Sanchez Balcazar, co-head of the unit specialised in global and regional equities, with the assistance of three managers. Investing both in developed and emerging markets, in all bond segments, without being subject to constraints related to a benchmark index, the fund aims to profit from opportunities offered by interest rates, differences in returns, and currencies. The fund aims for gross annual returns (excluding fees and commission) 3% to 4% higher than the returns earned by investments in cash, In line with the UCITS directive, it represents a sub-fund of the Luxembourg-registered Pictet Sicav. Its share classes are denominated in US dollars, euros and Swiss francs.
S&P Dow Jones Indices on January 22 announced the launch of the S&P GCC Composite Shariah Dividend Index which is designed to measure the performance of the highest yielding, Shariah-compliant stocks from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region that meet respective liquidity, dividend growth, and dividend sustainability criteria. The S&P GCC Composite Shariah Dividend Index universe is drawn from the S&P GCC Composite Shariah Index which offers investors a Shariah-compliant benchmark for the six GCC Arab states – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The S&P GCC Composite Shariah Dividend Index is comprised of the 30 highest yielding stocks from the eligible universe, subject to a minimum of two stocks per country. The Index constituents are weighted by their indicated annual dividend yield.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The pension fund for the British municipal authority of Avon has selected Unigestion to manage a EUR200m mandate in emerging markets. The mandate will track the emerging market equity strategy of Unigestion, based on active risk management. Michel Bernard, director in the instituitonal clients team at Unigestion in Lodnon, says that “this decision reflect the importance of institutional demand for strategies which offer exposure to emerging market equities, while limiting the impact of the volatility inherent in this market segment.”
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Gregor Hirt, head of multi-management activities at Schroders in continental Europe, is expected to leave the asset management firm in March next year, Citywire reports. For seven and a half years at Schroders, Hirt would like to continue other opportunities. He will at the same time be leaving his responsibilities at Multi-Asset Portfolio Solutions (MAPS) and will be taking over two diversified funds, the Schroder ISF Global Conservative and Schroder ISF Global Dynamic Balanced. Urs Duss will become principal manager of the first fund, seconded by Daniel Caderas. He will also be responsible for for the second fund, with Ugo Montrucchio, who arrived at BlackRock in October last year.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Tarik Ben-Saud has been appointed as head of Asset Solutions at Insight Investment, a newly-created position, IPE.com reports. Ben-Saud previously spent 15 years at BlackRock and Barclays Global Investors as head of LDI and client strategy.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Baillie Gifford will next week be discontinuing the 2% front-end fees applied to its Emerging Markets Growth fund, Investment Week reports. The fees, established in 2011, were intended to dissuade investors from returning to the fund once it reached GBP1bn in assets. Since then, the fund’s assets have fallen to GBP476m.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The number of new Sicav funds in Spain reached its peak in 2013 since the onset of the financial crisis in 2007, according to data released by the CNMV, the local regulator. Last year, 127 new Sicavs were registered by 22 Spanish asset management firms, 91 more than in 2012. This figure is still far off the level in 2007, when 157 new Sicavs were launched on the market. Bankinter Gestión de Activos was particularly active in this territory in 2013, with the registration of 31 new Sicavs, or 24% of all Sicavs registered on the Spanish market. BBVA AM is in second place, with 21 new Sicavs last year, followed by UBS Gestión, which launched 17 new Sicavs in 2013.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UBS Global Asset Management (GAM) has obtained an RQFII (Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors) license from the Chinese authorities, which are expected to allow it to invest in domestic securities markets in China, Asian Investor reports. UBS GAM joins the list of asset management firms which have gained this precious prize in the past month, with Ashmore, Guangzhou Secrities and Wing Lung AM. The website points out that UBS GAM was already the first firm to obtain a QFII license, in May 2003. The Swiss asset management firm has a solid presence in China, through its joint vebture UBS SDIC Asset Management, which received CNY800m (USD132m) as an RQFII quota in December 2012. Though present in continental China, UBS GAM now does not have a range of funds domiciled in Hong Kong, and Asian Investor suggests that it has no plans to create such a range at this time.
Lombard Odier on 22 January announced the appointment of Hugo Bänziger as managing partner. He is currently chairman of the board of directors at Eurex, and become the new managing partner of the Geneva-based firm. He has experience in risk management.Bänziger previously worked for 16 years at Deutsche Bank, where he was chief risk officer and a board member from 2006 to 2012. He will continue to teach at the University of Chicago and the National University of Singapore as a visiting professor, as well as at the London School of Economics. He is also chair of the International Committee of the Red Cross (CICR).“The very vast experience which Hugo Bänziger has, especially in the area of finance and risk management, will represent a significant advantage for our international expansion,” says Patrick Odier, senior managing partner at Lombard Odier, in a statement.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Investec Aviation Finance has completed the first closing of its fund dedicated to the aviation sector, Aquila Debt Fund, with USD250m. The fund has capacity of USD500m, and Investec is also investing in the new vehicle. The fund integrates the regulatory requirements of Solvency II, and offers a way to guarantee an investment grade rating for papers issued by the fund. Assets under management at Investec Aviation Finance total about USD3bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nitin Saigal, senior analyst at Bridger Management, and Dan Jacobs, analyst at the same firm, have joined forces to launch an alternative asset management firm, Kora Management, Hedge Fund Intelligence reports. The flagship fund from the new firm will take the form of a long/short equity strategy dedicated to emerging economies in Asia and Latin America. The firm is currently based on the premises of Bridger Management, which has about USD1.8bn in assets under management. Kora Management already has an analyst based in Sao Paulo.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Emergence SICAV and NewAlpha Asset Management on 22 January annoucned that they are signing a fourth incubation partnership with the firm Rcube Asset Management. With EUR30m from Emergency, the Rcube Global Macro UCITS fund will at its launch on 31 January 2014 have assets under management which will allow it to meet the requirements of institutional investors. The Rcube Global Macro UCITS fund, licensed by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), uses a global macro investment strategy for all asset classes excluding commodities, solely through liquid instruments. The investment process is based on both a quantitative and discretionary approach. The quantitative portion identifies factors that may explain assets considered, in order to model their future returns. Investment decisions are then taken on a discretionary basis. The Rcube company, founded in 2010, provides analysis and investment advising to sophisticated institutional investor clients, and North American and European hedge fund managers. At the request of many institutional clients, the founders, Cyril Castelli, Paul Buigues and Stéphane Alloiteau, in 2013 decided to transform Rcube into an asset management firm in order to implement the investment process for their own funds themselves.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Investec Asset Management has recruited Marco Orsi as Italian sales director, extending its European sales team, Investment Week reports. Orsi prevoiusly worked for Allianz Global Investors, where he was responsible for retail distribution. Before that, he was at BNP Paribas Asset Management.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Three fund managers will be leaving Union Investment, Citywire Global reports. They are Robert Girth and Inga Haubelt, equity managers, and Ralf Boeckel, bond manager. As a result, Gunther Kramert will take over the UniSector: HighTech fund, while Frank Thormann will manage the UniNordamerka fund. Lastly, the UniInstutional Short Term Credit fund will be taken over by Marc Hellingrath.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Union Investment has acquired an office complex with more than 19,000 square metres in the old town of Munich, on Maximilianstrasse, according to a statement from the asset management firm. The office complex was acquires from an international asset manager, whose identity has not been divulged. The price of the transaction has not been stated.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Companies which are well-managed have outperformed those which were not well-managed by an average of 30 basis points per month since the beginning of 2009, according to a study by Hermes Fund Managers cited by IPE.com. More precisely, businesses with the lowest governance ratings tended to underperform on average, rather than the inverse. Geir Lode, head of quantitative equities at Hermes, comments: “our results show that it is poor governance which has led to underperformance, rather than good governance which has led to outperformance.”
Ronald P. O’Hanley, Fidelity Investments’ head of asset management, is stepping down after less than four years in the role, according to L’Agefi. Fidelity plans to replace O’Hanley with an internal successor, according to a note to employees. O’Hanley said he plans to spend more time with his family and nonprofit organizations.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Old Mutual Global Investors (GI) has appointed Susana Garcia has head of relationships with its clients in Southern Europe, including Spain, Italy and Portugal, Funds People reports. She will be based in London, and will travel frequently between these countries. Previously, Garcia worked for three years at Skandia. She previously officiated at American Express Funds, an entity acquired by Standard Chartered Bank. Her mission will be to strengthen existing relationships between Old Mutual GI and its clients located in Southern Europe, and to develop new relationships to promote the sale of funds in these three markets. In Spain, the asset management firm has set the objective of featuring in the Top 10 largest asset management firms.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Real estate values may begin to stabilise this year in the euro zone, although a recovery is still far off, particularly in Spain and the Netherlands, Standard & Poor’s estimates in its most recent quarterly bulletin on the European real estate market. Standard & Poor’s predicts more modest prices than last year in Spain in 2014 (-2%), and in Italy (-1%), price increases in Ireland (+3.5%) and Portugal (+0.5%), and no growth in the Netherlands (0%). More significant price evolutions are in the United Kingdom (+5%) and Germany (+4%), due to the better economic performance of these countries. In France, the economic downturn in the past five years has only very slightly imprved the availability ratio for the market. Standard & Poor’s predicts a price correlation in 2014 of -3%, followed by a stabilization (+2.0%) in 2015. A structural deficit in supply is expected to continue on the market to a certain extent, despite a gradual increase in interest rates.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The European Commission on 22 January called on the European Union to double its reduction of CO2 emissions from 20% to 40% by 2030, to continue its action to combat global warming, but this may prove difficult, as European governments have decided to protect the competitiveness of their industries, and fear an increase in electricity prices. The objective of reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gases will be binding, and will be carried out exclusively with measures taken nationally by states and their industries. There is a binding 27% objective for renewable energies in the European Union in the Union energy budget, and an indicative objective of 25% energy reduction, which will need to be finalised in autumn. The position of the Commission leaves states free to decide if they wish to exploit their shale gas reserves. It also strengthens emissions quotas, which are the main financial instrument of climate policy in the Union, by constructing a permanent reserve mechanism in 2021 representing 12% of certificates in circulation at this time.