Le Mécanisme européen de stabilité a débloqué vendredi 1,5 milliard d’euros en faveur de Chypre, à travers l'émission de titres qui serviront à recapitaliser les banques locales. Les fonds seront remboursables en deux tranches en 2029 et en 2030. L’Irlande, quant à elle, a reçu un prêt de 1 milliard d’euros à 21 ans de la part du Fonds européen de stabilité financière, dans le cadre du programme d’aide dont bénéficie le pays.
L’Italie se retrouve à nouveau au bord de la crise politique avec la nouvelle menace des amis de Silvio Berlusconi de quitter le gouvernement de coalition d’Enrico Letta. Mercredi soir, des élus du Peuple de la liberté (PDL, droite), membre de la coalition au pouvoir, ont fait savoir qu’ils retireraient leur soutien si une commission sénatoriale votait le 4 octobre le processus de déchéance du Cavaliere. Résultat, l’Italie a adjugé vendredi 6 milliards d’euros de dette à 5 et 10 ans avec des rendements en hausse sur le 10 ans. Le Trésor a par ailleurs démenti des rumeurs de dégradation de la note du souverain.
L’inflation a décéléré au rythme annuel de 1,4% en Allemagne en septembre, s'éloignant encore un peu plus de l’objectif fixé par la BCE - un petit peu moins de 2%.
Madrid a annoncé le gel de son projet de stockage souterrain de gaz au large des côtes catalanes, baptisé «Castor», après avoir enregistré plus de 220 mini-tremblements de terre dans la zone suite à des injections de gaz. Le projet Castor a donné lieu cet été à l'émission pour 1,4 milliard d’euros des premières obligations de projet sponsorisées par la Banque européenne d’investissement (BEI).
ING Investment Managers has seen the departure of Gus Robertson, who will be returning to South Africa for family reasons, and has consequently had to overhaul its emerging markets equity team, Citywire Global reports. Nathan Griffiths becomes principal manager of the ING Global Emerging Markets and ING (L) Invest Emerging Europe funds. Ivo Luiten will assist with the fund, while ING IM is in the process of recruiting a full-time co-manager for the Emerging Europe fund.
HSBC Global Asset Management will launch an ETF dedicated to Asia ex Japan with a total expense ratio of 0.6%, Investment Week reports. The HSBC MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan ETF will replicate the performance of the corresponding MSCI index, which includes mid- to large-sized businesses in developed and emerging Asia. The ETF, which is expected to be launched on Friday, will be domiciled in Ireland, and listed on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse. It will be registered in several European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Austria.
BrightScope, an independent provider of financial information and investment research, has published a list for the first time of the 20 ETFs that are most often included in the portfolios of 401(k) retirement plans and defined contribution pension funds.On the list below, the top three ETF promoters, iShares (BlackRock), Vanguard and SPD (State Street Global Advisors) account for 19 of the places on the list, with the only exception being a fund from iPath (Barclays).1. Vanguard Total Bond Market (ticker: BND)2. SPDR S&P 500 (SPY)3. iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM)4. Vanguard Total International Stock (VXUS)5. iShares Russell 1000 Value Index (IWD)6. iShares Core Total US Bond Market (AGG)7. iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index (IWF)8. Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Index (VIOO)9. iShares S&P 500 Index (IVV)10. Vanguard Small Cap Growth (VBK)11. iShares MSCI EAFE Index (EFA)12. Vanguard Value (VTV)13. iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond (LQD)14. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)15. Vanguard S&P 500 (VOO)16. iShares Russell Midcap Value Index (IWS)17. iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (TIP)18. Vanguard REIT Index (VNQ)19. iPath Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return (DJP)20. iShares S&P MidCap 400 Index (IJH)
In November, the Schroder GAIA (Global Alternative Investor Access EUR1.8bn in assets) platform will gain a sixth UCITS-compliant hedge fund, the Schroder GAIA Avoca Credit fund, from Avoca Capital Management LLP (EUR6bn), managed by Simon Thorp and James Sclater, who have been responsible for the strategy for 13 years. The UCITS-compliant Avoca Credit Absolute Return Fund will at that time be absorbed into the new Schroder GAIA Avoca Credit fund.The return objective is 7-10% per year, excluding fees. The fund, with no benchmark index, will focus on corporate and financial sector bonds from the entire world, including emerging markets. The long/short credit team at Avoca will use the same strategy as for the Avoca fund, whose net returns since 2002 have been 9.8% per year. In other words, the management team will invest in corporate bonds, CDS, credit indices, options on investment-grade indices and high yield, as well as sovereign debt.
Expansión reports that Lazard Frères Gestion has launched the Objectif Recovery Eurozone fund, which invests in businesses with over EUR100m in capitalisation, and which have the highest potential for revalutation in the event of a recovery in the euro zone. As of 30 August, it was 27% invested in 13 Spanish equities, such as Atresmedia and Iberdrola. Among the other positions are Unicredito, Enel and Peugeot.
Neuberger Berman has mandated Jon Jonsson to manage a global absolute return bond fund, Neuberger Berman Global Bond Absolute Return, Citywire Global reports. Jonsson, who joined the firm in London from JP Morgan at the end of August, will manage the new fund with Andy Johnson. The fund will have seed capital of USD42m.
On 26 September, the J. Safra Sarasin Bank announced the appointment of Pierin Menzli as director of its sustainable analysis department. He will begin on 1 November 2013. Menzli is co-founder of Contrast Capital and the former head of the analysis department at SAM Sustainable Asset Management AG.He will be joined by Philipp Mettler, a specialist in sustainable development previously responsible for financial analysis at ALNUA Investment Managers, and a senior equity analyst at SAM Sustainable Asset Management AG.Sarasin has also announced that it has signed a long-term contract with Contrast Capital, an invesment adviser specialised in sustainable investment solutions. According to a statement, “the objective with these appointments and this strategic mandate is to consolidate its dominant position in investment banking in the sustainable area and to develop key competences, while raising its investment philosophy to a higher level in order to satisfy the ever-more exacting requirements of clients.”
The Canadian asset management firm BMO Global Asset Management is in the process of recruiting a team to manage a fund platform domiciled in Hong Kong, with the objective of selling the funds in China once the project has received permission to sell open-ended mutual funds, Asian Investor reports. The products available for the platform may be ETFs, it is said. BMO already offers 60 ETFs listed on the Toronto stock exchange, totalling about USD11.5bn. BMO is also planning to add to its distribution capacities in Asia.
Nordea has launched two actively-managed ETFs on the Stockholm and Helsinki stock exchanges: Nordea Global Emerging Market Equities UCITS ETF and Nordea Stable Equities UCITS ETF, realtid.se reports. They are the first actively-managed ETFs from these countries, according to the Swedish newspaper.
Investable wealth of the world’s HNWIs rebounded in 2012, growing by 10% to reach a record high ofUSD$46.2 trillion after declining 1.7%in 2011, according to the new World Wealth Report 2013 from Cap Gemini and RBC Wealth Management. One million individuals joined the global HNWI population, which reached 12 million, reflecting an increase of 9.2%.
All regions experienced strong growth in HNWI population and wealth except Latin America, which led growth in 2011 but faltered in 2012 due to slow GDP growth and challenged equity markets.
Asset allocation trends followed the preservation tr
The US asset management firm Eaton Vance has signed a co-operation agreement with the Korean firm Daishin Secuities, which will help it to sell its products on the local market, particularly its floating interest rate loan strategies, Asian Investor reports.
The hedge fund from Steve Cohen, SAC Capital Advisors, whose assets under maangement total about USD14bn, has from the beginning of the year to 20 September posted returns of about 13%, the news agency Reuters reports. Despite its legal troubles, Cohen has done considerably better than the average hedge fund, which posts growth of only 4% for the year to the end of August, whle the S&P index is up by about 15%.
The “stable value” operation from Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) in the United States, with assets under administration of USD21.6bn as of 30 June, has been acquired by Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) for an undisclosed total.The stable value activity is a special fixed income niche, which is used for 401(k) type retirement savings plans. GSAM in July announced plans to set up a collective trust for stable value.The stable value funds are capital preservation instruments which invest in diversified and high quality bond portfolios protected from the volatility of interest rates by way of wrap contracts with banks and insurers.
Paul Nobile, chief marketing officer at Eaton Vance, has been appointed as chief marketing officer of the investment management unit at BNY Mellon. He will be based in New York, and will report to PeterPaul Pardi, global head of distribution, and R. Jeep Bryant, executive vice president for marketing & corporate affairs.From 1997 to 2009, Nobile worked for Barclays Global Investors in San Francisco, most recently as managing director and head of brand marketing for the iShares ETF brand.
reconcept GmbH, a promoter of closed funds which invest in renewable energies, has selected Caceis in Germany as its depository, according to a statement released on 26 September. Since the beginning of July 2013, Caceis has been the depository controller for actively-managed funds from the firm which invest in wind energy. With the introduction of the AIFM directive and the German Kapitalanlagegesetzbuch, Caceis has extended the perimeter of the services it offers to reconcept and helped it to adhere to the deadline to comply with legislation. Caceis has EUR2.5vn in assets under custody, and EUR1.25bn in assets under administration.
The cost of settling the multiple lawsuits opposing the bank JPMorgan Chase and US regulators may total USD11bn, several English-language newspapers estimate, citing sources close to the negotiations. The payment of such a fine, by far the largest ever paid by a business in the United States, would allow the New York bank to settle several civil and criminal charges. According to the Financial Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan may be fined USD7bn in case, and required to modify the terms of poorly-designed real estate loans subscribed to by troubled families to the tune of USD4bn. The US attorney general, eric Holder, refused to make an initial offer to JP Morgan of USD3bn, according to the Wall Street Journal, and the talks still remain highly uncertain, without a guarantee of success. The bank is primarily hoping to avoid a criminal case, which would complicate talks, and has been highly reticent to admit that its behaviour may have been at fault in the various cases. In addition to the attorney general, the talks involve the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the New York state prosecutor, as the bank is based in that state. JPMorgan, which has long appeared to be the US bank that best overcame the sub-prime crisis, has already paid USD5.3bn in penalties to settle various lawsuits related to its real estate credit sales policies, the Financial Times reports.
Paul Konigsberg, who was the accountant for Bernard Madoff for a long time, was indicted on Thursday for keeping false books, which allowed Madoff to cover up his fraud for decades, the Wall Street Journal reports. Konigsberg pleaded not guilty.
Of 9,928 funds launched n Germany from 1 January 2000 until the end of 2012, 14.7% did not make it to their third birthday, 21.8% were closed in four years, and 28.7% had to be liquidated without being able to complete their fith year. The main reason for these high attrition rates calculated by the Berlin-based ratings agency Scope is inadequate performance.The newly-created funds only very rarely offer results higher than those of already existing products, which is often due to a lack of genuine innovation in the concepts, and also to a high level of cost compared with the limited volume of assets in the new funds.The categories of funds most severely affected by liquidations are money markets and equities, with attrition rates of 38.1% and 29.8% after five years, respectively.
FinanceCom Asset Management has launched the FCOM Africa fund, managed under an outsourcing mndate to RMA Capital, a local player whose assets under managemen total USD5bn. The French-registered, UCITS IV fund is invested in shares in African companies and international businesses which operate primarily in Africa, and which cover a large part of the continent (Nigeria, Souuth Africa, Morocco, Kenya, Ghana, etc.). “With initial assets of EUR20m, the fund is expected to soon see its assets increase due to the rising interest of investors in this geographical region,” according to FinanceCom.