The British hedge fund management firm Lewis Chester and its Pentagon Capital Management company have been fined a total of USD92.8m by a court finding in favour of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused the firms of market abuse, the Financial Times reports. This is the largest fine ever imposed by the US regulator on a foreign firm. Lewis Chester and Pentagon are accused of profiting from late trading.
The Swiss Sarasin group has recruited Timon Tam Hang, from China Construction Bank, as head of investment consulting for North Asia. Sarasin has also recruited five relationship managers for Greater China, including three from Clariden Leu, one from UBS and one from Deutsche Bank PWM. Other recruitments are planned in the next few weeks. Sarasin is hoping to compensate for the loss of a team of eight client representatives who moved to Julius Baer.
Standard Life Investments announced on April 3 that it has registered its SICAV range of funds in Switzerland. This allows Swiss investors to access the GARS SICAV (Global Absolute Return Strategies), European Corporate Bond SICAV, Global Inflation-Linked Bond SICAV, Global High Yield Bond SICAV and other Standard Life Investments funds.The new registration widens the Standard Life Investments distribution footprint in the European markets. Standard Life Investments’ SICAV funds already have public distribution status in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, the UK and Spain. It also distributed in Hong Kong. Toby Rockingham, investment director for Europe, said:"In recent months we have seen growing interest in Switzerland for multi-asset investment solutions, as volatility is of increasing concern. (...)». «Much of our SICAV range, which demonstrates expertise across equities, bonds and real estate, should appeal to Swiss retail and institutional investors, intermediaries and platform providers alike (…)», he adds.
Lazard Asset Management has released the Lazard Global Fixed Income Portfolio. The fund, dedicated to retail and institutional investors, is managed by Yvette Klevan and Jared Daniels. The portfolio of the product is invested in global bonds, with cautious exposure to currencies.
With the International High Yield Bond ETF (acronym IHY), Market Vectors ETF Trust (Van Eck) claims to have launched the first ETF available in the United States to be focused on international (non-US) high yield bonds. The fund aims to replicate the performance of the BofA Merrill Lynch Global Ex-US Issuers High Yield Constrained Index (HXUS) as nearly as possible before fees. The index covers bonds which are not in the investment grade, issued by businesses domiciled outside the United States. But these bonds may be denominated in major currencies (euros, US dollars, Canadian dollars and pounds Sterling). As of 27 March, the index included 1,008 issues from 546 companies in 69 countries (33% of this emerging market debt).In addition to delivering a yield to worst of 8.3%, these securities performed 1.2 percentage points better than those of US high yield bonds in the BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Master II index.The new fund, which is the 46th ETF of the Market Vectors brand, has a TER capped to 0.40% until at least 1 September 2013.
On 3 April, iShares (BlackRock) launched the iShares Emerging Markets High Yield Bond Fund ETF (acronym: EMHY) and the iShares Global ex USD High Yield Corporate Bond Fund (HYXU) on BATS. These funds will be followed on 5 April by the iShares Global High Yield Corporate Bond Fund (GHYG) and iShares Morningstar Multi-Asset Income Index Fund (IYLD).The first three products are high yield funds, while the last is an ETF of iShares ETFs.The iShares Emerging Markets High Yield Bond Fund charges 0.65%, while the iShares Global ex USD High Yield Corporate Bond Fund has a TER of 0.55%.
The additional retirement institution for public sector employees (ERAFP) has announced the appointment by decree of the president of the Republic of France, as declared in the official journal of 22 March 2012, of Philippe Soubirous as vice president of the ERAFP, which he has directed since 2009.Soubirous, also the federal secretary of the general workers union FGF FO, in charge of retirement issues for public employees, has a degree in public law from the University of Paris XI.Soubirous is a specialist in public pensions, sits on the retirement steering council, and is a member of the board of directors at Préfon (national retirement planning entity for public employees, where he served as vice president and president from 2008-2011).
Agefi reports that the private equity firm Carlyle (USD147bn in assets under management) may float 10% of its capital at its upcoming initial public offering, a regulatory document submitted yesterday indicates. Carlyle has been announcing that the IPO will run to USD100m.
The French financial market authority (AMF) on 3 April announced that Parvus Asset Management has acquired a 16.58% stake in the capital and voting rights of Havas.Parvus Asset Management states, however, that it has no plans to take full control of Havas. The firm no longer works in collaboration with other actors, and is not planning to seek a seat on the board of directors of Havas.
The middle market private equity investor Bowmark Capital has sold Data Explorers, a provider of global data on securities lending founded in 2002, to the financial information agency Markit, the latter has announced.The sale price has not been disclosed.Data Explorers databases cover USD12trn in shares in securities lending programmes by more than 20,000 institutional funds.Combining the Data Explorers data with the products and services of Markit will open the way to new offerings which will allow clients to optimise their use of collateral. In addition, Markit is planning to develop products for participants on equity markets in the areas of ETFs, dividend forecasting and quantitative research.
The investor confidence index calculated by John Hancock Financial Services has risen 21 points in first quarter, falling an incrase of 15 points in fourth quarter 2011, for the largest increase since the launch of the index at the start of 2011.More than half of investors are optimistic about equities (56%) and diversified funds (54%). However, opinion is divided on bonds and negative on short-term products.
Handelsblatt reports that, according to several sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters, Guggenheim Partners and Deutsche Bank are new very close to an agreement to sell all asset management activities (excluding DWS in Europe and Asia) from Deutsche Bank to Guggenheim for an estimated total nearer to EUR1.5bn than to EUR2bn.The legal terms of the separation need to be ironed out, and financing needs to be finalised for the acquisition of the unit, with EUR400bn in assets. It appears that Deutsche Bank will agree to make payments to the buyer if revenues are not as high as expected.Kevin Parker, head of the division, who will be leaving Deutsche Bank in June, has had a determining role in the negotiations, and is hoping to be kept on by Guggenheim after the acquisition.
DekaBank, which has recently been decapitated as the chairman of its board, Franz S. Waas, was dismissed on 2 April, has posted an “economic profit” (pre-tax profit by IFRS accounting standards, plus the results of a valuation of financial instruments) in free-fall in 2011, down 58.6% to EUR383.1m, and net redemptions of EUR5.861bn, compared with net subscriptions of EUR908m, Oliver Behrens, interim chairman of the board, has announced.Real estate funds had net subscriptions of EUR965m (and EUR650m in first quarter 2012), while securities funds saw net outflows of EUR6.8bn, compared with EUR793m in 2010.The central asset management firm for the German savings bank is planning to react to these outflows from its open-ended funds firstly by accelerating its Vermögenskonzept structured products programme, which has already attracted EUR870m in assets since 2007, and secondly by extending its custom product ranges, with the help of the savings banks network, which now controls all of the capital in Deka, previously 50% owned by the Landesbanken.
The US firm BlackRock has recruited a team of seven managers from BNP Paribas Investment Partners, specialised in emerging market debt, Money Marketing reports. The chief investment officer for emerging market bonds at BNP Paribas IP, Sergio Trigo Paz, will become director of the team dedicated to emerging market debt at BlackRock in London. The other members of the team are Raphael Marechal, Chris Kelly, Laurent Develay, Michel Aubenas, Jane Yu and Ernesto Bettoni. They will all begin in their new positions this summer. Paz had been manager of GBP3.8bn in emerging market assets at BNP Paribas IP. The emerging markets team at BlackRock currently manages about GBP2.6bn in its Luxembourg-domiciled emerging market bond funds.
The CEO of the British asset management firm Aberdeen Asset Management, Martin Gilbert, reportedly wants Katherine Garrett-Cox, manager of the Alliance Trust, whose assets under management of GBP2.1bn, being dropped in favour of Aberdeen, Investment Week reports, citing information in the Telegraph newspaper.Aberdeen cites its track record in management of trusts, and adds that putting the trust in the hands of Aberdeen would also be a good occasion to reduce its total expense ratio, currently 0.98%.
The asset management firm for Danish pension funds PKA has founded a firm dedicated to investment in private equity, infrastructure, forestry and agriculture, the firm has announced in a statement. Over three years, the new affiliate, entitled PKA Alternative Investment Partners, will aim to invest DKK12bn, or about EUR1.6bn. The new business is created as of 1 April. Among its partners are Jens Henrik Staugaard Johansen, Anders Dalhoff and portfolio manager Christian Drews-Olesen. As of the end of 2012, the firm will have 5 to 6 employees.
The royal Bank of Canada (RBC) on Tuesday, 3 April signed an agreement with Dexia to acquire Dexia’s 50% stake in RBC Dexia Investor Services (RBC Dexia IS), the firm has announced in a statement. The transaction, which is expected to be completed by mid-2012, is pending regulatory approval.
The overall net assets in collective investment organisms (OPC) and specialised investment funds (SIF) totalled EUR2.203259trn, up from EUR2.157081trn, as of 31 January 2012, an increase of 2.14% in one month, according to statistics from the Financial Sector Surveillance Commission (CSSF). Over the past twelve months, the volume of net assets has fallen 0.23%.The Luxembourg OPC sector posted a positive balance of inflows in the month of February, totalling EUR46.078bn. This increase is due to the favourable impact of financial markets for EUR32.974trn (+1.53%), and positive net issues totalling EUR13.104bn (+0.61%).
Aberdeen Asset Management has recruited Marloes Martis to further strengthen its marketing and business in the Benelux region. As Marketing Manager Benelux, based in the Group’s Luxembourg office, Martis will be responsible for further building Aberdeen’s marketing activities in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.Prior to joining Aberdeen, Marloes Martis worked for Internaxx a subsidiary of TD bank responsible for the European Marketing.
La Caisse d’assurance mutuelle des entreprises industrielles (Cameic) délègue l’intégralité de sa gestion financière, soit 12 millions d’euros d’encours. Bruno Périssé, directeur du développement de la Cameic dans Option Finance numéro 1167: Nous avons une politique de buy and hold sur l’obligataire. Nous conservons ainsi l’essentiel de nos titres jusqu'à leur échéance et quand ils arrivent à maturité, nos gestionnaires nous proposent alors de nouvelles opportunités d’investissement. Ils investissent en direct ou à travers des OPCVM dans des produits obligataires (51%), du monétaire (17%, et des actions (13%). Nous détenons aussi en direct 19% d’immobilier, un investissement qui correspond à notre siège social. La poche obligataire évolue peu chaque année car nous conservons chaque ligne jusqu'à l'échéance. Néanmoins, la part des obligations souveraines ou assimilées (obligations de la BEI et de la Cades) a été considérablement réduite pour n’atteindre aujourd’hui que 10%. A partir de 2009 et de 2010, nous avons en effet privilégié les obligations corporates notées investment grade car elles offraient des rendements plus élevés que les emprunts d’Etats. En dépit de la crise souveraine, nous possédons encore quelques titres espagnols et italiens car ils - continuent à nous procurer un rendement satisfaisant. En outre, nous ne pouvons pas nous séparer de tous nos emprunts d’Etat car ce sont des instruments plus simples à comptabiliser dans nos comptes et peu consommateur de fonds propres dans le cadre de Solvabilité II aujourd’hui.
Le groupe américain de restauration rapide va faire son retour sur la Bourse de New York d’ici deux à trois mois. Il avait été racheté il y a dix-huit mois seulement par 3G Capital Management, qui s’empresse de réaliser une plus-value sur la base d’une valeur d’entreprise déjà doublée. L’opération dévoilée cette nuit valorise en effet Burger King à 8 milliards de dollars. Justice Holdings, coquille vide (ou Special purpose acquisition company, Spac) vouée à ce type d’opérations et cotée depuis l’an dernier à Londres (cette cotation cessera avec l’introduction du nouvel ensemble à New York), versera 1,4 milliard pour une part de 29% au capital, 3G Capital Management conservant le solde dans le cadre d’un investissement de long terme.Tout cela «semble un peu rapide» selon un analyste cité par Bloomberg. Justice Holdings estime que le bénéfice de Burger King en 2012 pourrait doubler par rapport à 2010.
La société de private equity a décidé de racheter l’opérateur du réseau de fibres néerlandais à Reggeborg, un véhicule d’investissement de la famille Wessels. Ce dernier continuera de détenir une participation minoritaire dans Eurofiber. Le réseau se déroule sur plus de 12.000 kilomètres et connecte plus de 4.500 points uniques.
Parvus Asset Management a acquis 16,58% du capital de Havas, devenant ainsi son deuxième actionnaire derrière Vincent Bolloré, le président du sixième groupe publicitaire mondial, selon un avis publié par l’AMF. Cette irruption de Parvus, qui n’a pas l’intention de prendre le contrôle du groupe ou d’agir de concert avec un tiers, intervient une dizaine de jours après que Havas a annoncé un projet de racheter 12% de son capital.
La société de private equity, qui dispose d’environ 147 milliards de dollars d’actifs sous gestion, pourrait céder une participation de 10% à l’occasion de sa prochaine entrée en Bourse, indique un document réglementaire enregistré hier. Carlyle évoque une IPO d’un montant de 100 millions de dollars mais ce montant ne reflète pas nécessairement la taille définitive de l’opération.
Réunis en assemblée générale, les actionnaires de la chambre de compensation ont approuvé le projet d’acquisition d’une entrée majoritaire du London Stock Exchange (LSE) dans le capital. La finalisation de la transaction est attendue d’ici le quatrième trimestre de 2012 sous réserve des autorisations réglementaires.