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27/03/2012

Barclays s'allie avec Allfunds sur le segment "Premier"

Avec «Barclays Gestión de Carteras Premier», Barclays Espagne lance un nouveau service de gestion discrétionnaire à base de parts de fonds, rapporte Funds People. Ce produit destiné aux clients qui disposent d’une épargne financière d’au moins 50.000 euros, le segment dit «Premier», sera distribué par la plate-forme Allfunds Bank, avec laquelle Barclays a signé un partenariat qui lui permettra de vendre les meilleurs fonds de sa sélection choisi dans les gammes Barclays Wealth, JPMorgan AM, BlackRock et Franklin Templeton.
27/03/2012

Ongoing disagreements and delays will limit the impact of Solvency 2

The Solvency 2 directive still represents “a positive force for change in the insurance sector,” analysts at Morgan Stanley claim in a study published on 23 March (“Solvency 2: The Long and Winding Road,” by Morgan Stanley/Oliver Wyman).However, the lack of political consensus or agreement within the profession mean that the bill is in danger of losing its relevance, and arriving in a final form far from the original vision of its designers. Morgan Stanley does not expect the directive to be applied before 1 January 2014, or even 2015, and in light of concerns on the part of politicians and professionals, the regulator will need to allow for long transitional periods. With this in mind, there are reasons to be concerned that there will be significant divergences between countries in the application of the rules, while heavyweights in the sector will have lost the advantages originally planned.This is thus more an evolution than a revolution, and the initial hopes that Solvency 2 would become an international point of reference for regulation of the insurance sector appears more distant than ever.
27/03/2012

Mario Draghi calls on banks to pay less in dividends and bonuses

The chairman of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, yesterday defened the German banking associations’ measures, resolved at the end of 2011, including subsidized credits for euro zone banks, Les Echos reports. Draghi welcomed the new budget treaty now in the ratification process, and the efforts on the part of Italy and Spain, but warned that guard should not be let down. Banks, he says, should take advantage of the current favourable environment to increase their resistance to shocks, by holding on to their profits instead of handing them out as bonuses and dividends.
27/03/2012

North America fund from MainFirst coming on 18 April

The German asset management firm MainFirst Asset Management has announced that its first fund investing outside Europe, MainFirst North America Fund, will be launched on 18 April (see Newsmanagers of 15 March), Fonds Professionell reports. The portfolio of 150 to 200 US and Canadian shares will be constructed on the basis of a computer-based model along with several objective criteria; it will generally invest 90% to 100% of its assets. The objective is to outperform the benchmark index, MSCI North America, but 400 to 500 basis points.
27/03/2012

NAV of Morgan Stanley P2 Value falls further

The German asset management firm Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investment GmbH at the end of this week confirmed that it has sold a 56.95% stake which the open-ended real estate fund P2 Value (DE000A0F6G89) held in the firm which owns the Trianon tower in Frankfurt to an affiliate of Madison International Realty (see Newsmanagers of 27 February). The transaction was made at a price “nearly” corresponding to the most recent expert valuation of EUR408m, which means a further loss of about 72 cents to the fund’s net asset value, to EUR21.23 per share. The sale of the stake in Trianon, after loans are paid off, would bring about EUR92m in liquidity into the fund, which in July will be required to make its fourth half-yearly distribution before it is liquidated (on 30 September 2013). As of 24 March, assets in the P2 Value fund totalled EUR622.42m.
27/03/2012

Volume of unit-linked Riester contracts up 12.7% in 2011

As of 31 December, assets in Riester unit-linked, subsidised retirement savings plans totalled over EUR8.31bn, an increase of 12.7%, or about EUR1bn, compared with their levels twelve months earlier.The German BVI association of asset management firms states that these statistics come from the German ministry of labour and social affairs, which states that the number of Riester policies in the form of shares in investment funds has increased by about 4.9% in one year, to over 2.95 million policies, which represents about 19.2% of all Riester policies.By comparison, the number of Riester policies managed by insurers last year increased by 4.8% to 10.9 million.
27/03/2012

Good start to the year for Aberdeen

Aberdeen has recorded net new business inflows of GBP1.4 billion in the two first months of the year. Continued net inflows to higher margin products are going to add GBP20 million in annual revenues. Assets under management at 29 February 2012 totalled GBP184.4 billion, a 6% increase on 31 December 2011.
27/03/2012

British government may sell one third of RBS to Abu Dhabi

The British government is reportedly considering selling 10% to one third of the capital in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, according to the BBC, Les Echos reports. The British government acquired an 82% stake in the capital of the firm with an injectino of GBP45bn to bail out banking giant during the crisis, and has now been in talks for several months with the hopes of signing an agreement before Christmas. If a deal goes through at current share prices, it would mean a loss for British taxpayers, who bought in at GBP0.50 per share, compared with a share price of about half that now.
27/03/2012

Performance of multi-manager funds lacks consistency

Although the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) legislation is leading many independent financial advisers to outsource at least part of their investment decisions to multi-manager funds, the independent research agency Defaqto has warned against multi-manager funds, which have not delivered highly coherent or consistent results since 2008. According to Defaqto, only 25 multi-manager funds, out of a sample of 184 funds, have succeeded in maintaining a stable rating of 3, 4 or 5 out of 5 since June 2008. In other words, it is extremely difficult for a multi-manager fund to earn solid performance over the long term. Defaqto yesterday released a “Guide to Multi-Managers,” which lays out key points for advisors considering the choice of a multi-manager fund, including changes in the market in the past six months, an analysis of the coherence of multi-manager funds, an update on regulatory developments, and analysis of portfolio turnover. Currently, 26% of users of platforms outsource their investment decisions to a multi-manager. This trend is likely to accentuate as RDR legislation requires financial advisers to revise their development model by the end of the year.
27/03/2012

Former Merrill Lynch director joins Protean Investments

Bob Champney, a former managing director at Merrill Lynch, has joined the investment boutique Protean Investments, to assist the firm in the development of new profducts, including dynamic macro tracker funds, Fund Web reports. Champney was previously head of product development at Merrill Lynch.
27/03/2012

Barclays launches a volatility exposure strategy

The British asset management firm Barclays has launched an investment strategy which offers investors exposure to the Vix volatility index, Investment Week reports. The S&P 500 Dynamic Vix Futures Index Total Return Investment or Dynamic Vix offers exposure to volatility without use of traditional diversification investments such as gold and oil. Over the past year, simulations show that the Synamic Vix would have earned returns of 9.58%, compared with losses of 11.40% for the S&P 500 VIX.
27/03/2012

Kames cancels performance commission for an absolute return fund

Kames Capital has decided to cancel the performance commission for an absolute return fund, the ames UK equity absolute return fund, from 2 April until the end of the year, Money Marketing reports. The fund, whose assets under management total about GBP68m, will still charge a performance commission when it outperforms the Bank of England base rate. The current performance commission is 20%. After the suspension period, the performance commission will be 10%. The fund, launched in February 2010, has earned returns of 4.71% for the year to 29 February.
27/03/2012

Revisions to investment law considered to severe

“Global sales of investment funds should not be strangled by an EU corset,” Matthäus Den Otter, director of the Swiss Funds Association (SFA), wanred yesterday, Agefi Switzerland reports. The revisions to the law on investment funds (LPCC) proposed by the Swiss federal council includes too many measures which are discriminatory against the market, particularly sales of collective capital investment products in Switzerland, or from Switzerland. The SFA claims that the proposed regulations on fund sales go far beyond EU standards. It thus disadvantages Swiss wealth managers by applying global standards with a severity that exists nowhere else. Despite their positive points, he says, the proposals show too much zeal in many areas.
27/03/2012

FSA fines Coutts GBP8.8m

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Coutts & Company GBP8.75 million for failing to take reasonable care to establish and maintain effective anti-money laundering (AML) systems and controls relating to high risk customers, including Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs). The failings at Coutts were serious, systemic and were allowed to persist for almost three years. The FSA identified deficiencies in nearly three quarters of the PEP and high risk customer files reviewed.
27/03/2012

Ashmore hopes to grow in Asia

The British asset management firm Ashmore has recruited Kon Chee-Keat for the newly-created position of head of credit for Asia, Asian Investor reports. He will be based in Singapore. The creation of the new position appears to be a sign of a desire on the part of Ashmore to grow in Asia. The British firm has declined to comment on its development plans in the region. Assets under management at Ashmore as of the end of December 2011 totalled USD60.4bn, about one third of which come from the Asia-Pacific region. Kon previously worked at Lion Global Investors in Singapore, as head of fixed income.
27/03/2012

Irish asset management industry on the offensive

The Irish finance ministry has granted approval in principle to proposals by the asset management industry which would facilitate access to Irish funds for US investors, while reducing administrative costs. Without endangering the structures of existing firms, the Irish fund sector estimates that the creation of a structure especially dedicated to investment funds, and consequently not constrained by the rules which apply to other types of companies, would favour foreign asset managers, including US firms.
27/03/2012

Threadneedle launches a fund in Italy

Threadneedle has launched the US Contrarian Core Equities Fund in Italy, Bluerating reports. The Luxembourg-registered fund is managed by Guy W. Pop, managing director and portfolio manager at Columbia Management.
27/03/2012

Azimut hopes to increase foreign assets to EUR2.7bn

The Italian asset management firm Azimut is planning to reach EUR2.7bn in assets under management outside Italy by 2014, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. Currently, counting the firm’s assets in Monaco, Switzerland and Turkey, “foreign” assets are slightly under EUR1bn. Azimut is also reportedly interested in Brazil. In Italy, Azimut would like to increase its market share, currently 3.3%. In order to achieve that, the firm is planning to make acquisitions and may have EUR240m to EUR250m to spend, the Italian newspaper calculates. Assets under management at Azimut totalled EUR17.67bn last year; it is planning to increase this to EUR27bn by 2014.
27/03/2012

InverCaixa + Banca Civica Gestión = EUR17.5bn

The acquisition of Banca Civica by La Caixa will result in a merger of Invercaixa (EUR15.5bn in assets as of the end of February) with Banca Civica Gestión de Activos (EUR2.05bn), Funds People reports. Of this total of EUR17.5bn, guaranteed funds investing primarily in bonds represent a volume of EUR9.76bn, and bond funds represent nearly EUR3.75bn.
27/03/2012

Barclays teams up with Allfunds in the Premier segment

With “Barclays Gestión de Carteras Premier,” Barclays Spain is launching a new discretionary, unit-linked wealth management service, Funds People reoprts. The product, aimed at clients with financial savings of at least EUR50,000, the so-called “Premier” segment, will be available from the Allfunds Bank platform, with which Barclays has signed a partnership to sell the best funds from the ranges of Barclays Wealth, JPMorgan AM, BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.
27/03/2012

Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild recruits a manager from La Caixa

The Spanish branch of Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild Europe has recruited Jaime O’Donnell to manage high net worth clients from its Madrid office, Funds People reports. O’Donnell had most recently been at La Caixa Banca Privada, after spending 5 years at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management Group and working at Franklin Templeton Investments in California.
27/03/2012

Espirito Santo recruits bankers from Deutsche Bank

José Ignacio Ruiz-Garna, Fernando Coscollar, Diego Martínez and Daniel Alonso, private bankers from Deutsche Bank in Spain, have joined Banco Espirito Santo, which is recruiting for its own retail and private banking division in the country, Funds People reports.Banco Espirito Santo has 115 wealth management banking advisers (for clients with EUR25,000 to EUR1m) and private banking advisers (for those with over EUR1m). Its affiliate Espirito Santo Gestión manages 83 Sicavs and 48 funds with EUR1.5bn in assets.
27/03/2012

Van Eck preparing an ETF of non-financial preferential shares

On 13 March, Van Eck applied to the SEC for a sales license for the Market Vectors Preferred Securities ex-Financial ETF fund, for which the index provider and fee levels have not yet been determined.The ETF is focused on preferential US equities in all sectors except the financial sector, which may invest in any preferential type shares, including convertible shares, depositary preferred securities, and perpetual subordinated debt, as well as REITs. The objective will be a correlation of at least 95% with the benchmark index.The fund will be listed on the NYSE Arca platform. It does not yet have an acronym.
27/03/2012

ERAFP steps up its initiative on management pay scales

The French public employees’ additional retirement fund (ERAFP) is planning to bring its full weight to bear in the debate over the governance of publicly-traded businesses. Its board of directors has unanimously approved guidelines which would have some impact in the area of shareholder engagement. The French public pension fund, which currently manages EUR12bn in assets, would like to see boards of directors include 50% independent directors, that these directors not be allowed to serve for more than three terms, and that the position of chairman of the board of directors be separated from the position of CEO. In terms of pay, a director would not be allowed to get paid more than 100 times the minimum wage. Major publicly-traded businesses would no longer be allowed to hand out stock options, which would be allowed only for startups. Finally, the ERAFP claims that golden farewells and golden parachutes are not compatible with the principles of long-term investment it aims to promote.
27/03/2012

Amafi wants to change rules for market surveys

Following sanctions levelled by the AMF against the major French banks, Crédit Agricole, Natixis, BNP Paribas and Société Générale, the French financial markets association (Amafi) would like to submit a code of conduct to the French financial market authority for market surveys, Les Echos reports. The newspaper says that the code would, in theory, need to be examined by the College of the AMF within 15 days, and would be accompanied by proposed modifications to the AMF’s general rules in relation to market surveyes. The market authority says that it participated in the association’s considerations, but had no further comment.
27/03/2012

Cayman Islands push back deadline for registration of master funds to 21 May

The government of the Cayman Islands has announced that it will be delaying the deadline for registration of master funds by 60 days, until 21 May 2012, Hedgeweek reports. The change is due to a disagreement between the government and the monetary authority of the Cayman Islands (CIMA) over whether master funds are required to register if they have only one regulated feeder fund. The government has announced that it will soon be issuing a clarification on this point.
27/03/2012

Deutsche Bank agrees to pay USD32.5m for high-risk loans

Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay USD32.5m to settle class-action lawsuits by investors who accuse the firm of having misled them before the crisis when it sold them shares backed by high-risk mortgage debts. In documents submitted to the New York Eastern District court, lawyers for investors and the bank proposed an amicable settlement which has yet to be approved by the judge, Leonard Wexler.The suit was brought in summer 2008 by a series of institutional investors, largely pension funds, who claims that Deutsche Bank sold them securities backed by real estate loans on the basis of “misleading representations which omitted important elements” about the quality of the credit.
27/03/2012

Schroders France CEO departs

Philippe Lecomte, CEO of Schroders France, will be leaving the asset management firm. He will soon be starting in a new position at another firm, in late April or early May. According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, the new firm may be La Française AM, where he would be responsible for inernational activities. Lecomte joined Schroders in 2003.At the British group, Nuno Teixeira, currently deputy CEO and head of development for all Schroders clients in France for the past year, will replace him. Teixeira will officially take over as head of teams based in Paris in April. According to John Toriano, head of institutional operations at Schroders worldwide, to whom the head of Schroders France reports, Teixeira, who contributed to the development of institutional clients in France, will now continue to grow the activities of Schroders in France, both aimed at institutional and intermediated clients. “For the past three years, the dynamic has clearly been on the side of institutionals,” the new president of Schroders France tells Newsmanagers, “but we have a clear ambition to continue to develop the two institutional and retail units.”Teixeira arrived at Schroders France in 2003, nine months before Lecomte. Before joining Schroders France, Teixeira served as deputy CEO and head of the multi-management team at Invesco Gestion (France), where he began in 1997.
27/03/2012

Rothschild & Cie Gestion and Koris sign partnership for risk management

Rothschild & Cie Gestion announced on Tuesday, 27 March, that it has signed a marketing and sales cooperation agreement with the financial investment advising firm Koris International to set up investment solutions and distribution based on dynamic risk budget controlling techniques. The techniques are conceived and developed by Koris International. For its part, Rothschild & Cie Gestion provides the financial management of the range of multi-manager, multi-asset class range, allowing the two firms to “deploy dynamic risk control management techniques as part of specific solutions adapted to the needs of investors,” the asset management firm says. These offerings will be a part of Rothschild Investment Solutions, recently created following the acquisition of Héritage AM (see Newsmanagers of 2 February 2012), which concentrates on alternative and long-only management. This is done “on the basis of open architecture, which gives us access to classic management funds as well as ETFs and hedge funds.” Then “once the selection is made, Koris will provide the equivalent of an intellectual service, by acting to dynamically control risk budgets,” says Jean-René Giraud, CEO of Koris International. The product range will be composed of funds, potentially “seeded” funds, and also mandates. The two partners will jointly provide sales of these solutions to private banking and institutional clients in France. At Rothschild & Cie Gestion, Laurent Levenq, formerly of Héritage AM, will be in charge of commercial and client development.
27/03/2012

Hedge funds wind down short positions

According to the International Strategy & Investment Group (ISI), in the past five months, hedge funds trading on the S&P 500 have accepted defeat and have sold off short positions at their highest pace since 2010, Expansión reports. The indicator, which measures the percentage of long contracts held by funds, came out at 48.6, compared with 42 in November 2011; this is the largest increase since April 2010.The index is constituted on the basis of information provided by 36 hedge funds, whose assets total USD89bn. If the index is at 50, that means long and short bets are balanced out.

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