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08/10/2012

IOSCO publishes guidelines for improved information on oil prices

The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on 5 October published its final report on principles to promote improved information on oil prices. The recommendations include promoting better valuation of oil prices in derivative contracts subject to IOSCO supervision.
08/10/2012

Bonds popular with investors in third quarter

Equity funds have seen a rebound in their popularity in mid-September, but for third quarter overall, bond funds have been most popular with investors. According to the most recent statistics from EPFR Global, bond funds have posted a net inflow of USD130.78bn, compared with USD96.55bn in the first nine months of 2011. High yield bond funds finished third quarter with net inflows of USD30.4bn. Inflows over nine months total USD64.14bn, following redemptions of a net total of USD3.69bn in the first nine months of 2011. Municipal bond funds, for their part, attracted USD13.47bn, bringing the total over nine months to USD40.7bn, compared with a net outflow of USD26.12bn. For equities, third quarter finished with net outflows from developed countries of USD14.65bn, bringing redemptions over nine months to USD71.5bn, compared with -USD62.02bn Between January and September 2011. US equity funds underwent net outflows of USD8.82bn in third quarter, so that over nine months, outflows total USD33.73bn. Redemptions totalled a net USD53.59bn in the first nine months of 2011. However, emerging market equities posted net inflows in third quarer of USD4.49bn, so that over nine months, net subscriptions total USD18.06bn. The first nine months of 2011 brought outflows of USD37.72bn.
08/10/2012

DekaBank passes capital requirement test

The central asset management firm for the German savings banks, DekaBank, has announced that it has passed a test set for it by the European Banking Authority (EBA), with a Core Tier-1 owners’ equity ratio of 11.7% as of 30 June, up from 11% six months earlier. The minimum was set at 9% by the EU Council.The evaluation was undertaken jointly by the EBA, BaFin and the Bundesbank.
08/10/2012

Morgan Stanley to sell commodities to QIA

The Gulf Times reports that Morgan Stanley is continuing and amplifying its negotiations with the sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to sell most of its commodities unit to the fund. The sale would allow the US firm to comply with the Volcker rule limiting proprietary trading.
08/10/2012

Fitch cuts rating for Groupama

The financial ratings agency Fitch on 5 October announced that it has lowered its financial solidity rating for Groupama, and for two of its affiliates, Groupama GAN Vie and Gan Assurances, by two notches, bringing the French insurer’s rating into the speculative grade. Fitch says in a statement that the financial solidity of Groupama and its two affiliates is now rated BB+, compared with BBB previously, and that it has a negative outlook. At the same time, it also lowered its ratings of three hybrid debt instruments issued by the French insurer, which remain on a watch with negative outlook. The ratings cut for Groupama comes after the insurer decided not to pay a coupon on its super-subordinated undetermined duration shares (TSSDI) to mature on 22 October. The total amount of the coupon was EUR63m, Fitch says. “The decision not to pay a coupon on hybrid debt risks negatively affecting the reputation of the group and may create fears that the group is facing new financial challenges,” Fitch explains. The ratings agency also expresses concerns about the financial flexibility of Gorupama, whose access to financing markets may become more complicated. Groupama, which was asked last year by the French prudential control authority (ACP) to strengthen its financial solvency, which had been depleted by the euro zone debt crisis, has in the past year undertaken a vast restructuring plan, and several sales of assets. Groupama was dragged down by depreciations related to its exposure to Greece and to the falling financial markets, and finished the year 2011 with a net loss of EUR1.81bn. The group reduced its losses to EUR87m in first half.
08/10/2012

Further increase in coverage rate for pension funds in September

The average coverage rate for the liabilities of US corporate pension funds increased in September by 1.8 percentage points, to a total of 75%, according to estimates released by BNY Mellon. This improvement, the second consecutive monthly increase, is due to the good performance of the US stock markets and markets elsewhere in the world. Assets in pension funds increased by 1.7% in September, while liabilities for their part fell by 0.7%. The discount rate increased by six basis points, to 3.78% for business rated Aa.
08/10/2012

First State offers A shares to institutionals

First State Investments is offering institutional investors a Dublin-domiciled fund, which invests solely in A-class equities, AsianInvestor reports. The A equity portfolio is highly concentrated, with only 20 holdings. It is primarily aimed at long-term investors, including US charities, sovereign funds, and Australian pension funds.
08/10/2012

Storebrand recruits a former Aberdeen AM manager

Storebrand has recruited Henrik Strömgren in Sweden as head for real estate, the Swedish website Fastighetssverige reports. The former Aberdeen Asset Management manager will construct and manage a portfolio of directly-held assets.
08/10/2012

FSA launches a consultation on commissions

In a quarterly consultation document released on 5 October, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is asking professionals their opinions of proposed changes to adviser charging rules to ensure advisers do not receive “kick-back” payments for referring clients to discretionary fund managers (DFMs) after the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) on 31 December.
08/10/2012

Absolute return funds: performances diverge more and more

The semiannual study by the Germam firm Lupus alpha of 233 European absolute return funds (EUR68.4bn in assets) finds that 72.53% of products analysed posted a positive result in the three years to 30 June, with average annual gains of 2.04%.More than half of funds show a positive Sharpe ratio, but the range of results has widened to +2.14%/-2.14%, compared with +0.53%/-0.63% in the three years to 30 June 2011.The distribution also widened for maximum drawdown, with a range from -0.31% to -43.17%.
08/10/2012

F&C releases a real estate long/short fund

F&C will on 18 October launch a pan-European publicly traded real estate long/short fund, the F&C Real Estate Equity Long Short, Investment Week reports. The product will be managed by Marcus Phayre-Mudge and Raymond Lahaut, and will replicate the strategy of the Cayman Islands fund Thames River Longstone in a UCITS-compliant vehicle.
08/10/2012

Dexia concludes sale of affiliate BIL after a EUR204m bailout

Dexia bank, which is in the midst of a vast dismantling plan, on 5 October announced that it has finalised the sale of its Luxembourg affiliate BIL for EUR730m to a Qatari fund, after a capital increase of EUR204m. The recapitalisation was intended to increase the hard owners’ equity ratio at BIL to 9%, “in line with the terms of the sale agreement,” the bank states, adding that the sale “will result in a total loss of EUR199m” for Dexia. The French-Belgian bank states, however, that this amount has already been integrated into its accounts in first half 2012. Dexia in April officialised the sale of BIL (Bank Internationale à Luxembourg) for EUR730m to Precision Capital, a firm owned by the Al Thani family of Qatar, and to the Luxembourg government. The amount of recapitalisation necessary to respect the agreement signed with the buyer was the figure that remained to be determined. “A potential adjustment will be made subsequently on the basis of closing accounts audited on 30 September,” Dexia adds. BIL is now 90% owned by Precision Capital, and 10% by the government of Luxembourg. As previously announced, the “legacy” asset portfolio of BIL has been transferred to Dexia Crédit Local. “Participations in affiliates excluded from the perimeter of the sale, Dexia Asset Management Luxembourg, RBC Dexia, Dexia LDG Banque, Popular Banca Privada and Parfipar, have also been taken over by the Dexia group or sold on the market. Dexia Crédit Local is now the shareholder of Dexia LDG Banque,” the bank states.
08/10/2012

Invesco concerned over BAE-EADS merger

Invesco Perpetual, the largest shareholder in BAE Systems with over 13% of capital, will on Monday publicly express its concerns about a planned merger of the defence group with EADS, the Financial Times reports. The asset management firm, which has retained the merger and acquisition boutique Ondra Partners to advise it, does not understand the strategic logic of the deal. The firm feels that BAE Systems could diversify without merging, and that the merger would challenge the unique and privileged position of the group on the US defence market.
08/10/2012

Two departures from Majedie AM

Simon Todd and Michael Nickson, co-managers of the Majedie Asset Global Focus fund, will be leaving Majedie Asset Management, Citywire reports. In this context, the firm will be reviewing the fund.
08/10/2012

“We are going to be more aggressive in continental Europe”

The Belgian firm Petercam considers itself a specialised investment boutique, which nonetheless has EUR13.1bn in assets. Inflows to institutional mandates were strong in third quarter, at the equivalent of 4% of institutional assets under management. The institutional asset management unit weighs in at EUR8.5bn, of which about EUR3bn come from the private banking arm of the group. The remainder is divided between institutional mandates and distribution of funds in continental Europe.
08/10/2012

NML Capital seizes the Argentine Navy school ship Libertad

To execute judgements handed down by British and US courts, the hedge fund manager NML Capital, an affiliate of Elliot Capital Management, has waited for the Argentinian Navy’s Libertad school sailing ship to dock at a Nigerian port, as Nigeria has agreed to execute the decisions of the British and US courts, FT.com Alphaville reports.Elliott Capital is one of a few creditors to Argentina who did not agree to a restructuring of Argentinian debt in 2005 on a basis of a 30% recovery.
08/10/2012

UK pension fund deficit down

Pension funds of FTSE 350 companies have seen their cumulative deficit reduced by one third in September, from GBP63bn to GBP42bn, partly due to proposals by the United Kingdom government statistical bureau to change the way it calculates inflation, the Financial Times reports. This is the largest decline in two years.
05/10/2012

Le chômage américain au plus bas depuis quatre ans

Le taux de chômage a chuté de manière inattendue en septembre aux Etats-Unis, à son plus bas niveau depuis presque quatre ans, malgré des créations d’emploi conformes aux attentes, a annoncé vendredi le département du Travail. Elément clé de l'élection présidentielle du 6 novembre, le taux de chômage a reculé de 0,3 point pour retomber à 7,8% le mois dernier, son niveau de janvier 2009, peu après l'élection de Barack Obama. Cette chute spectaculaire n’est pas tant due aux 114.000 créations d’emplois non agricoles du mois de septembre, bien que celles-ci aient été très légèrement supérieures au consensus (113.000), qu'à la révision à la hausse des chiffres précédents. Cette annonce a permis de nourrir la hausse des indices boursiers vendredi.
Chercheur d'emploi consultant une offre dans l'Illinois en septembre 2012. Photo: Tim Boyle/Bloomberg
05/10/2012

Groupama fait payer ses porteurs obligataires

Groupama a décidé de ne pas procéder au paiement des intérêts dus au titre des TSS 2007 lors de la prochaine date de paiement d’intérêt, soit le 22 octobre 2012. Conformément à l’article 3(h) des Modalités, le non versement des intérêts ne constituera pas un cas de défaut et l’intérêt non versé le 22 octobre prochain sera perdu et ne sera plus exigible.
05/10/2012

L'AFT adjugera entre 5,6 à 7 milliards de BTF lundi

L’Agence France Trésor a annoncé l’adjudication, le lundi 8 octobre, d’un montant global compris entre 5,6 et 7,0 milliards d’euros de bons du Trésor (BTF). Cette opération portera sur des montants compris entre 3,4 et 3,8 milliards d’euros de bons à 12 semaines qui arriveront à échéance le 3 janvier 2013, entre 1,1 et 1,6 milliard d’euros de bons à 23 semaines à échéance du 21/03/2013, et entre 1,1 et 1,6 milliard d’euros de bons à 49 semaines à échéance du 19 septembre 2013.
05/10/2012

Fort recul de l’immobilier de bureaux francilien

Le volume de ventes et de locations de bureaux en Ile-de-France a enregistré pour les neuf premiers mois de 2012 une chute de 19% par rapport à la même période de 2011, selon une étude réalisée par IPD pour Immostat publiée vendredi. Sur l’ensemble de l’année 2012, les volumes de transactions de bureaux franciliens devraient s'établir entre 2 et 2,2 millions de m2, contre 2,45 millions l’année dernière. Le montant provisoire des investissements sur le marché francilien de l’immobilier d’entreprise, qui représente près des trois quarts du total français, s’est lui élevé à 7,3 milliards d’euros, soit une hausse de 17% par rapport à la même période 2011.
Immobilier professionnel vacant à Paris. Photo: PHB/Agefi
05/10/2012

La BCE laisse la main aux politiques

La banque centrale a laissé son taux à 0,75%. Son président a souligné que c’est l’action des gouvernements qui déclenchera le programme d’achat de dette.
05/10/2012

«Solvabilité 2» bien pris en main par les sociétés de gestion

Selon un baromètre semestriel sur l’impact de Solvabilité 2 sur les sociétés de gestion, établi par l’AFG en collaboration avec Kurt Salmon, trois quarts des sociétés interrogées jugent que leur projet est bien avancé et en ligne avec leur planning prévisionnel. La mise en place ou le développement d’outils de calcul de SCR devrait notamment être réalisé pour fin 2012 pour 76% des sociétés de gestion ayant répondu.

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