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20/08/2012

RBC Investor Services makes a recruitment

RBC Investor Services on 20 August announced the appointment of Kevin Hogan as director, Client Operations for Australia. In his new role, Hogan, who previously worked at Macquarie Investment Management, will be in charge of all client operations (custody, fund administration and all associated services).
20/08/2012

HSBC GAM launches an Indian bond fund

HSBC Global Asset Management has announced the launch of a UCITS format Indian bond fund, which will give British retail investors investors access to the Indian market for the first time. The new fund, HSBC GIF India Fixed Income fund, will be integrated into the Luxembourg-registered Global Investment Fund (GIF) range from HSBC. It will invest in government and corporate bonds denominated in Indian rupees, but may also invest in bonds denominated in other currencies closely tied to India. The minimal investment is USD5,000, and management fees have been set at 1.1% per year. HSBC claims that the Indian market is underdeveloped considering the growth the Indian economy has undergone, but adds that it has potential to develop considerably in the next decade. However, the Indian bond market has earned returns averaging 7.5% per year since 2000.
20/08/2012

Obama also has support among hedge funds

US president Barack Obama also has the support of influential figures in the world of finance, Financial News reports, citing the blog OpenSecrets.org. Among his financial donors are Jon Corzine, former head of MF Global, Marc Lasry, founder of the hedge fund Avenue Capital, and Mark Gallogly, co-founder and principal manager of the hedge fund Centerbridge Partners.
20/08/2012

SEC puts off rules on hedge fund advertising

The Securities and Exchange Commission is postponing regulations which would allow hedge funds to more broadly solicit investors, the Wall Street Journal reports. The decision is a victory for those who claim that excessively rapid changes to the advertising rules could increase fraud. The chairwoman of the SEC, Mary Shapiro, had planned to pass the rules this Wednesday, but on Thursday announced that she intended to hear comments on the new rules before finalising them.
20/08/2012

Outflows from hedge funds in June

According to a monthly survey by TrimTabs and BarclayHedge, hedge funds worldwide in June saw net redemptions of USD4.9bn, representing 0.3% of their assets, following net subscriptions of USD1.1bn in May. The 3,012 funds concerned as of 30 June posted assets of USD1.710bn, compared with USD1.730bn as of 31 May (-1.3%). This figure is 29.5% lower than the peak of USD2.4trn recorded at the end of June 2008.The BarclayHedge hedge fund index, meanwhile, on the basis of results released by 1,797 funds as of 17 August, gained 0.80% in July, compared with 0.66% in June. In the first seven months of the year, the index is up 3.13%. Of the 17 sub-indices, only the 51 equity funds of the Asia-Pacific region show losses last month (-0.24%). In January-July, the only strategy that shows losses is equity short bias (-7.33%). The strongest gains in the period were 6.06% for 27 convertible arbitrage funds.
20/08/2012

Sunny month in July for hedge funds

The 13 hedge fund strategies regularly monitored by the Edhec Risk Institute in July have posted positive results, with the best result for CTA Global (+3.05%) and global macro (+1.51%). Since the beginning of this year, 12 strategies show gains, including convertible arbitrage (+6%) and fixed income arbitrage (+5.1%). while short selling showed losses of 7.4%.No strategy shows excess returns as compared to risk: all Sharpe ratios are lower than 1. Only distressed securities comes near with 0.96, while short-selling and funds of funds have negative Sharpe ratios of 0.26 and 0.11. The BarclayHedge hedge fund index, meanwhile, on the basis of results released by 1,797 funds as of 17 August, gained 0.80% in July, compared with 0.66% in June. In the first seven months of the year, the index is up 3.13%. Of the 17 sub-indices, only the 51 equity funds of the Asia-Pacific region show losses last month (-0.24%). In January-July, the only strategy that shows losses is equity short bias (-7.33%). The strongest gains in the period were 6.06% for 27 convertible arbitrage funds. According to a monthly survey by TrimTabs and BarclayHedge, hedge funds worldwide in June saw net redemptions of USD4.9bn, representing 0.3% of their assets, following net subscriptions of USD1.1bn in May. The 3,012 funds concerned as of 30 June posted assets of USD1.710bn, compared with USD1.730bn as of 31 May (-1.3%). This figure is 29.5% lower than the peak of USD2.4trn recorded at the end of June 2008.
20/08/2012

New team dedicated to ETFs in Asia at iShares

iShares is setting up a new team in Asia-Pacific specialised in ETFs, which will help clients and distributors to better understand the technical aspects of ETFs (product liquidity, construction of indices, and comparisons between products), Asian Investor reports. The new head of iShares for Asia-Pacific, Jane Leung, who began in the role last month, claims that the recent introduction of ETFs dedicated to A-class shares under RQFII (qualified foreign institutional investors in RMB) quotas are not expected to reduce the popularity of its FTSE A50 China ETF. Assets under management in the FTSE A50 China ETF s of 30 June totalled USD5.73bn. It is the largest A-class equity ETF in the world by asset volume.
20/08/2012

Hedge funds have little time for Facebook

At the end of a catastrophic week for Facebook, quarterly figures released by hedge funds suggest that many more of them had bet against against than for Facebook. Rumours are rife on the markets that hedge funds were not required to disclose their short positions, the news agency Reuters reports. Only a few actors in alternative management are said to have bet against the firm founded by Mark Zuckerberg, including George Soros, Steve Cohen (SAC Capital Advisors) and John Thaler (JAT Capital Management). On Thursday evening, Facebook fell below USD20bn, a decline of nearly 50% from its value at its IPO of USD38 per share.
20/08/2012

Thanks to UBS, Frankfurt nears 1,000 listed ETFs

With the institutional (I) and retail (A) share classes in its newly-listed equity fund replicating the MSCI Brazil index, UBS Global Asset Management has given the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform its 998th and 999th listed ETFs. They are Luxembourg-registered products, which track an index that includes 78 Brazilian mid- and large caps, which collectively represent 84% of the floating capital on the Sao Paulo stock exchange. As for the other ETFs from UBS Global AM, the market maker is Commerzbank.Characteristics:Name: UBS (Irl) ETF plc – MSCI Brazil (USD) I-disISIN code: IE00B7VZ2C84TER: 0.43%Name: UBS (Irl) ETF plc – MSCI Brazil (USD) A-disISIN code: IE00B6SBCY47TER: 0.60%
20/08/2012

Euro zone mutual fund issues hold stable

Assets in shares issued in 2012 my non-money market mutual funds in the euro zone have remained virtually unchanged compared with those recorded one quarter previusly in March 2012, according to statistics released by the European Central Bak. These results are due to net issues, which were offset by a decline in the value of shares. Assets in shares issued by non-money market mutual funds in the euro zone increased slightly, to EUR6.065trn in June 2012, compared with EUR6.064trn in March 2012. In the same period, assets in shares issued by money market mutual funds in the euro zone increasedc from EUR957bn to EUR969bn. Net subscriptions to shares in non-money market mutual funds in the euro zone totalled EUR36bn in second quarter 2012, while net subscriptions to money market mutual funds were negative by EUR5bn. In terms of ventilation by investment strategy, the annual pace of share issues by bond funds came out to 47% in June 2012, while net subscriptions totalled EUR54bn in second quarter 2012. For equity funds, the figure was -3.3%, and net subscriptions were -EUR15bn in the same period. For mixed funds, the rate of growth was -1.4%, and net subscriptions were -EUR8bn.
20/08/2012

Varengold names a chairman for its board

The supervisory board at the German investment bank Varengold Wertpapierhandelsbank, a specialist in asset management (managed futures) and brokerage, has appointed one of its founders and a member of its managing board, yasin Sebastian Qureshi, as its chairman.The managing board remains unchanged in its overall composition, with Steffen Fix, who created a quantitative trading technique, and Mohammad-Hans Dalmatschi (managed futures), who joined the board on 6 March. The three men are founders of Varengold, a stock-exchange filing says.Meanwhile, Willi Müller is stepping down as chairman of the supervisory board, a position which will now be occupied by Hans J. M. Manteuffel. Müller remains a member of the supervisory board, along with Peter Andree.
20/08/2012

Price war in ETF market

Since February, Vanguard has been aggressively lowering its TER rates for its ETFs, which has allowed it to gain market share on the US market. The Börsen-Zeitung reports that that the market is now expecting the leader, iShares, to be obliged to lower its prices in retaliation. Smaller producers are withdrawing some of their ETFs from the market, when they do not completely liquidate the activity (as Scottrade is doing with its MocusShares line, or as Russell is considering doing). This will be a cause for concern for European providers too, as Vanguard arrived in May in London with five products.
20/08/2012

BlackRock boosts exposure to Spanish and Italian bonds

The chief investment for fixed income and fundamental portfolios at BlackRock, Rick Rieder, has told the Wall Street Journal that BlackRock has bought up Spanish and Italian short-term government bonds in recent weeks. These assets nonetheless represent only a very modest portion of bond assets at BlackRock, which total about USD620bn. The decision to return to peripheral euro zone debt is related to efforts on the part of European political leaders to manage the euro zone crisis, which are considered more credible than in the past.
20/08/2012

Rothschild to launch a fund to finance SMEs

The business bank Rothschild will be launching a fund in September dedicated to financing European SMEs, Agefi reports, citing statements form a director of the bank on Friday. The fund, with EUR400m to EUR500m in assets, will specialise in high yield and mezzanine debt.
20/08/2012

Russell launches new strategies

Russell Investments on 15 August announced the launch of two new funds, the Russell Multi-Strategy Alternative Fund and the Russell U.S. Strategic Equity Fund, as well as an update to the US equity allocaiton for several portfolios. Among the changes introduced are modifications to strategies, currencies and benchmark indices for the Russell U.S. Growth Fund and the Russell U.S. Quantitative Equity Fund. The two funds become the Russell U.S. Defensive Equity Fund and the Russell U.S. Dynamic Equity Fund, respectively.
20/08/2012

Jon Corzine plans to launch a hedge fund

Jon Corzine, the former head of MF Global, is planning to launch a hedge fund to engage his passion for trading, MarketWatch reports, citing the New York Times. “If Corzine can show a few years of decent returns he just may be able to salvage his ability to walk into a Wall Street cocktail party without people looking away and snickering,” the website quips.
20/08/2012

2012 bonuses lower than expected on Wall Street

Variable pay for employees of investment banks and asset management firms are expected to increase less than expected in the month of May, according to statistics compiled by the New York research form Johnson Partners, Les Echos reports. Overall, bonuses are expected to vary from stable to “moderate” growth of no more than 20% in the bast case, and not 25% as previously estimated. According to projections by Johnson Partners, the professions of consulting, equity primary and debt will be the worst-hit, with increases of no more than 5% to bonuses, and potential declines of up to -10%. Bonuses in the asset management profession, for their part, will range from stable to 10% growth.
20/08/2012

Jean-Pierre Salles (Aviva Investors France) retires

Citywire reports that Jean-Pierre Salles has retired from Aviva Investors France. Paul Gagey has taken over management of the Aviva Oblig International, Aviva Interoblig and Aviva Convertibles funds while Alban Tourra will take over Aviva Signatures Europe, and Jean-François Chambon takes charge of the Aviva Japon and Aviva Investors Japon funds. Management of the UFF Diversifié fund will be shared by Paul Gagey and Françoise Labbé.
20/08/2012

Seven new iShares ETFs listed in Zurich

SIX Swiss Exchange has announced that it has admitted seven new ETFs from iShares (BlackRock group) to trading. They are Irish-registered physical replication funds for which the market maker is Susquehanna; TERs range from 0.20% to 0.65%. ETF ISIN code TER iShares Barclays Capital Emerging Markets Local Govt Bond IE00B5M4WH52 0.50% iShares Barclays Capital Euro Corporate Bond ex-Financials IE00B4L5ZG21 0.20% iShares Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend IE00B652H904 0.65% iShares Markit iBoxx $ High Yield Capped Bond IE00B4PY7Y77 0.50% iShares MSCI Japan Monthly EUR Hedged IE00B42Z5J44 0.64% iShares MSCI World Monthly EUR Hedged IE00B441G979 0.55% iShares S&P500 Monthly EUR Hedged IE00B3ZW0K18 0.45%
20/08/2012

Swiss banks to emphasize asset management

As offshore business from tax dodgers dries up, Swiss banks are seeking areas for growth in investment funds and institutional clients, Handelsblatt reports. These areas are less profitable than other areas of banking activity, but also less risky. Trade bodies and political leaders have seen the writing on the wall and are now planning an offensive: they are planning to seek to prevent excessive regulation in a misguided effort to protect investors. Switzerland is also benefiting from the fact that London no longer has as much support from the British government as in the past.
20/08/2012

Strong increase in net inflows at Rothschild Bank Zurich

The private bank Rothschild Bank Zurich has posted a net inflows in the 2011/2012 fiscal year ending on 31 March of CHF971m, up 36% year on year, the website finews reports. Its assets under management increased over the past year by 4%, to a total of CHF13.3bn. Unlike most of its rivals, the Zurich-based bank has recruited staff in the past fiscal year, with a 13% increase in its personnel in Switzerland alone to 452. This policy of recruitment and investment in IT has dragged down profits, which fell 41% in the past fiscal year, to CHF19.6m.
20/08/2012

Mercer recruits in Asia

The regional director of Russell Investments in charge of structured investment solutions, Edmund Teo, has recently been recruited by the consulting firm Mercer as an addition to the 17-member team based in Singapore specialised in wealth management in Asia. Teo will report to Cara Williams, global head of wealth management in London, Investment Europe states. Teo will be assisted by Pierre DeGagne, who had previously been in charge of fund selection at Standard Chartered Bank.
20/08/2012

Ignis Advisers recruits a head for credit strategies

The alternative management division fo Ignis Asset Management, Ignis Advisers, has recruited Ingrid Neitsch as head of credit strategies, FundWeb reports. She will join the firm at the beginning of September, and will be responsible for hedge fund and private equity investments in credit markets, as Ignis Advisers is planning to launch a credit strategy fund in fourth quarter. Neitsch joins the firm from the institutional fund management firm Financial Risk Management (FRM), which has recently been acquired by Man Group, where she had been sector head in charge of credit and manager of the FRM Long-Short Credit Fund.
20/08/2012

Emir ne pourra être appliqué avant l’été 2013

Le règlement européen sur les dérivés de gré à gré (OTC) est entré en vigueur le 16 août mais la définition par l’Esma des standards techniques (dérivés éligibles à la compensation, conditions de reporting à des bases de données), qui ont fait l’objet d’une consultation jusqu’au 5 août, n’interviendra pas avant juillet prochain selon l’AMF.
20/08/2012

Les marchés obligataires sont à la peine

Pénalisé par le récent rally boursier dans l’espoir d’une intervention de la BCE, le marché obligataire mondial affiche à la mi-août sa moins bonne performance mensuelle depuis 2010. Mais la tendance reste fragile face à des incertitudes encore nombreuses.

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