Recherche
S'abonner
Connexion
Asset Management
Accueil Asset Management Actualités
29/02/2012
Fonds

Fidelity lance un fonds global high yield

Fidelity Worldwide Investment renforce son offre obligataire avec le lancement en mars du Fidelity Global High Yield, un fonds constitué d’un portefeuille non contraint de 150 titres, pour l’essentiel du crédit noté «BB» ou «B», avec une option pour des titres notés «CCC».Le fonds, domicilié au Royaume-Uni, sera géré par Ian Spreadbury et Peter Khan.
Fonds
29/02/2012

Nomination chez Barclays Wealth

Philippe Hofer est nommé Managing Director et Market Head pour l’Afrique Offshore au sein de la division International Private Bank, Europe, Moyen-Orient et Afrique (IPB EMEA) de Barclays Wealth, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. Basé à Genève, il sera rattaché à Nomkhita Nqweni, market manager, Afrique, et Patrick Ramsey, directeur de Barclays Wealth en Suisse. Philippe Hofer dirigeait précédemment des équipes sur les marchés émergents chez UBS, où il a passé 23 ans, notamment en tant que Market Head pour l’Afrique et la Turquie.
29/02/2012

Progression de 8% du bénéfice de Swiss Life en 2011

Swiss Life a annoncé le 29 février avoir dégagé en 2011 un bénéfice net de 606 millions de francs, contre 560 millions l’année précédente. Corrigé des effets exceptionnels et des écarts de conversion, le bénéfice d’exploitation s’est inscrit à 793 millions de francs, ce qui représente une hausse importante par rapport à 2010 (751 millions de francs). La contribution du secteur Investment Management au résultat du groupe est en hausse de 26%, à 130 millions de francs. Le prestataire de services financiers AWD confirme le succès de sa réorientation avec un bénéfice opérationnel corrigé de 54 millions d’euros (contre 49 millions d’euros l’année précédente) et une progression de sa marge EBIT à 9,7% ( 9% en 2010). Son résultat opérationnel est toutefois grevé par des réserves pour litiges d’un montant de 47 millions d’euros, ce qui débouche sur un EBIT de 7 millions d’euros au total.Le chiffre d’affaires d’AWD affiche une hausse de 3%, à 561 millions d’euros. Les actifs gérés par Investment Management se sont élevés à 134,3 milliards de francs, soit une progression de 10%. Ces actifs sont en partie gérés pour compte de tiers : ils progressent de 4,3 milliards de francs. Cette croissance est notamment due à une acquisition en France (Viveris Reim) et au lancement d’un nouveau groupe de placement de la Fondation de placement Swiss Life.
29/02/2012
Fonds

Le Santander lance les premiers fonds de fonds au Mexique

La nouvelle gamme de Fondos Elite lancée au Mexique par Santander Asset Management comprend pour l’instant les trois premiers fonds de fonds de la maison, en architecture ouverte, rapporte Funds People. Ces produits multistratégies profilés (prudent, conservateur et dynamique) sont distribués en exclusivité par la division banque privée du Santander et les fonds dans les portefeuilles seront sélectionnés par les spécialistes du Santander basés à Londres, Madrid et Mexico.Il s’agit d’une première au Mexique dans la mesure où les grands gestionnaires internationaux ont toujours rencontré d’importantes difficultés pour commercialiser leurs fonds au Mexique parce que le régulateur local n’autorise pas la cotation de fonds étrangers, ce qui protège les produits locaux. La seule possibilité consiste à créer un fonds nourricier qui investit la totalité de son encours dans un fonds-maître étranger.
Fonds
29/02/2012
Fonds

Rendement nul pour les fonds de pension suisses en 2011

Le rendement moyen des placements des caisses de pension suisses a été de 0% en 2011, selon les estimations publiés par l’Association suisse des institutions de prévoyance (Asip) sur la base d’un échantillon de 60 caisses représentant un patrimoine global de 187 milliards de francs suisses. La stabilité du deuxième pilier est toutefois assurée, estime l’association, grâce à une stratégie de placement axée sur le long terme et largement diversifiée.Après un premier semestre 2011 durant lequel les performances des institutions de prévoyance ont été soumises à de fortes pressions, le deuxième semestre s’est avéré, lui aussi, particulièrement difficile, ainsi que le montre l’actuelle comparaison de performance proposée par l’ASIP. Le rendement moyen du portefeuille global s’établit à -0.2% pour les douze derniers mois et à +0.1% au deuxième semestre 2011. Cette performance proche de 0% est due aux grandes incertitudes ayant affecté les marchés durant cette période.En 2011, les rendements les plus élevés ont été atteints par les catégories de mandats «Immobilier suisse» (5.5% Immobilier direct, 5.8% Immobilier indirect) et «Obligations» (4.8% Suisse, 2.7% en monnaies étrangères). En revanche, les autres placements (Suisse, monde, Europe, Asie-Pacifique, pays émergents), qui sont investis avant tout en actions, ont enregistré une performance insatisfaisante en franc suisse. Toutefois, le fléchissement de la croissance économique et financière a été quelque peu amorti par les placements à intérêt fixe qui constituent encore une part non négligeable de l’allocation médiane de la fortune des caisses de pension en 2011. Quant aux obligations, elles représentaient en moyenne 43.2% des placements à la fin de 2011.
Fonds
29/02/2012

Un nouveau directeur général pour Metzler AM Japon

Hiroto Makino, qui travaillait depuis 2001 chez T&D Asset Management, a été nommé managing director de Metzler Asset Management (Japan) à Tokyo. Il prendra ce poste le 1er mars 2012 en remplacement de Mitsuyuki Kobayashi, qui devient chairman et reste consultants pour les projets immobiliers et de corporate finance.La filiale japonaise de l’allemand B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG travaille pour des fonds de pension et des clients institutionnels locaux. Elle coopère également avec des sociétés de gestion locales, ce qui permet de proposer à la clientèle à des investissements en direct au Japon et en Asie.
29/02/2012

UBS recrute sur le segment UHNW européen

Eva Lindholm devient responsable des clients ultra high net worth (UHNW) en Europe d’UBS, à compter du 1er mai, rapporte WealthBriefing. L’ancienne responsable du corporate banking EMEA de J. P. Morgan sera basée à Londres. Eva Lindholm collaborera avec Josef Stadler, global head du UHNW, et Jakob Stott, responsable du wealth management pour l’Europe, deux autres anciens de J. P. Morgan. Durant ses six premiers mois à UBS, Eva Lindholm partagera la responsabilité du segment UHNW et de l’activité de family office globale avec Philip Higson, qui se concentrera ensuite sur les plus importants family offices clients d’UBS.
29/02/2012
Fonds

Bestinver facilite l'accès à six de ses fonds

Le conseil d’administration de Bestinver Gestión a décidé d’abaisser considérablement le plancher des souscriptions minimales additionnelles pour six de ses fonds, rapporte Funds People. Le montant diminue à 1.000 euros contre 3.000 pour les fonds Bestinver Bolsa, Bestinfond, Bestinver Mixto, Bestinver Mixto Internacional et Bestinvest Internacional. Il revient à 3.000 euros contre 6.000 pour les Bestinver Renta.
Fonds
29/02/2012

Le patron de iShares AsPac est muté à la stratégie chez BlackRock

Nick Good va rester basé à Hong-Kong et continuera d’exercer ses fonctions de Asia-Pacific head of iShares jusqu'à ce qu’un successeur lui soit trouvé, mais il vient d'être nommé au poste nouvellement créé de head of strategy and business development for Asia-Pacific chez BlackRock, rapporte Asian Investor.
29/02/2012

NEIF fund, advised by BNP Paribas, acquires a property in Hamburg

The Next Estate Income Fund (NEIF) has acquired an office property measuring nearly 16,000 square metres in Hamburg, which represents an investment volume of about EUR45bn. The property, which carries a DNGB Silver label (a German label standing for High Environmental Quality) is located in Hamburg City South, very near the city centre. It has excellent transport links, particularly for public transport. “This is a significant acquisition for the international professional area at BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management in Germany, a market on which we are already present and where we are hoping to develop. Forthcoming acquisitions will follow in 2012 with the major target markets being Munich, Berlin, and Brussels,” says David Aubin, CEO for Investment Management at BNP Paribas Real Estate, in a statement.
29/02/2012

Gamax creates an institutional share class for two funds

The Luxembourg-based asset management firm Gamax (Mediolanum group) on 28 February announced the launch of institutional share classes for its Gamax Funds Maxi-Fonds Asien International (LU0743995689) and Gamax Funds Junior (LU0743996067), which are managed by DJE Kapital.The share classes, available with a minimum investment of EUR1m, carry a management fee of 0.9%, rather than the 1.5% charged for retail shares. There are no front-end fees, placement fees, or sale fees.Gamax, which is distributed by max.xs financial services in Germany, says that it has created a special website dedicated to those clients who have invested more than EUR500,000 in these products. The complementary service, Premium Investors Club, offers reports on the funds and alerts by SMS, email, or telephone if the portfolio is modified. It also provides access to the international Gamax community blog and an information service relaying the Gamax Twitter feed.
29/02/2012

UBS recruits for European UHNW segment

Eva Lindholm has been appointed as head of ultra-high net worth clients (UHNW) in Europe at UBS, from 1 May, WealthBriefing reports. The former head of corporate banking EMEA at J.P. Morgan will be based in London. Lindholm will work with Josef Stadler, global head of UHNW, and Jakob Stott, head of wealth management for Europe, two other veterans of J.P. Morgan. In her first six months at UBS, Lindholm will share responsibility for the UHNW segment and global family office activities with Philip Higson, who will then concentrate on the larger family office clients of UBS.
29/02/2012

Profits up 8% at Swiss Life in 2011

Swiss Life on 29 February announced that it earned profits in 2011 of CHF606m, compared with CHF560m the previous year. Operating profits corrected for one-time elements and unrealised exchange loss totalled CHF793m, which represents a significant increase compared with 2010 (CHF751m). The contribution of the Investment Management sector to the group’s results is up 26% go CHF130m. AWD confirms the success of its reorientation, with corrected operating profits of EUR54m (compared with EUR49m the previous year), and an increase in its EBIT maring to 9.7% (9% in 2010). Operating profits are still weighed down by reserves for ongoing legal actions totalling EUR47m, which results in a total EBIT of EUR7m. Earnings at AWD are up 3%, to EUR561m. Assets managed by Investment Management total CHF134.3bn, up 10%. These assets are partly managed for third parties: they are up by CHF4.3bn. This growth is largely due to an acquisition in France and the launch of a new foundation investment group at Swiss Life.
29/02/2012

Swiss pension funds earned 0% returns in 2011

The average returns of Swiss pension funds was 0% in 2011, according to estimates published by the Swiss association of retirement planning institutions (ASIP), on the basis of a sample of 60 pension funds with overall assets of CHF187bn. The stability of the second pillar is still assured, the association estimates, due to a widely diversified investment strategy focused on the long term. After a first half in 2011 during which the performance of retirement planning institutions was under strong pressure, second half also proved particularly difficult, as the current performance comparison from ASIP reveals. The average returns on the overall portfolio is -0.2% over the past twelve months, and +0.1% in second half 2011. This performance of near 0% is due to major uncertainty which affected the market in this period.
29/02/2012

Santander launches first fund of funds in Mexico

The new range of Fondos Elite launched in Mexico by Santander Asset Management so far includes the first three funds of funds from the asset management firm, based on open architecture, Funds People reports. The multi-strategy profiled products (prudent, conservative and dynamic) are available exclusively from the private banking division of Santander, and funds in the portfolios are selected by Santander specialists based in London, Madrid and Mexico.This is a first in Mexico, where the major international asset management firms have all met with significant difficulties in selling their funds, as the local regulator does not allow listing of foreign funds, which protects local products. The only way is to create a local feeder fund which invests all of its assets in a foreign master fund.
29/02/2012

New CEO for Metzler AM Japan

Hiroto Makino, who since 2001 had worked at T&D Asset Management, has been appointed as managing director of Metzler Asset Management (Japan), in Tokyo. He will begin in the position on 1 March 2012, and replaces Mitsuyuki Kobayashi, who becomes chairment, and remains a consultant for real estate and corporate finance projects. The Japanese affiliate of the German firm B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG works for local pension funds and institutional clients. It also cooperates with local asset management firms, which allows it to offer clients direct investments in Japan and Asia.
29/02/2012

Hedge fund assets may top USD2.1trn by the end of 2012

Institutional investors remain sympathetic to hedge funds, whose assets under management may reach USD2.13trn by the end of the year, according to a study by Credit Suisse of more than 600 institutionals with over USD1trn in assets. According to institutional investors, their hedge fund portfolios may post returns of 8.6% in 2012, compared with 11% last year. In light of this performance and inflows, assets in the sector are expected to increase by about 12%, or about USD200bn in additional assets. The favourite strategies of investors are global macro (more than 25%), long/short equity (19%) and emerging markets (18%). Among the concerns expressed by institutionals are the high level of correlation between long/short and equity indices, and the excessive correlations between hedge funds, followed by sovereign default risks and counterparty risks. Interestingly, the mediocre results last year, which saw average losses of 5% for hedge funds, according to Hedge Fund Research, did not affect the confidence of institutional investors, with only 5% of respondents predicting that the sector would finish 2012 with losses.
29/02/2012

Noticeable fall in institutional investor morale in February

The global investor confidence index by State Street Global Markets for February came out to 86.5 points, compared with 92.6 in January, with the largest declines in North America, where confidence is down 9.5 points, to 80.5, its lowest level in three years.However, the confidence of European investors has improved, with the regional index up 4 points, to 95.2 in February. In Asia, the confidence of investors has held relatively stable, with the index down slightly to 96.3 from a corrected level of 96.6.Ken Froot, one of the «authors» of the index, explains that in February, institutional investors reduced their allocations to equities. As this asset class has generated returns in the past three months, they have tended to act as “purveyors of liquidity” to the market, as they rebalance their portfolios to these higher valuations.At the same time, the specialist continues, there has been a pro-cyclic bias in reallocations: “institutional investors are tending to retain or increase their positions in growth sectors such as industrial sector equities and shares related to discretionary consumer spending, to the detriment of sectors such as consumer staples, health, and telecoms.”
29/02/2012

RepRisk extends access to reputation database

The ESG business intelligence agency RepRisk on 28 February announced that its database of over 20,000 reports on the reputation of publicly-traded and private businesses worldwide is now available on the Webshop page on its website.The studies of these firms provide information about environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks related to controversial activities for which businesses may have met with criticism in publicly available sources (think tanks, universities, NGOs, the media, governments, communities).As CEO Philipp Aeby points out, clients of RepRisk had previously been banking and financial institutions, asset management firms, and pension funds. Now, the ESG database will also be available to multinational companies, NGOs, small and mid-sized businesses, consultants, and retail clients.
29/02/2012

Nearly USD70bn in inflows to Asian funds in 2011

Mutual funds based in Asia and Japan posted net inflows of USD69.4bn in 2011, in line with a trend observed in the United States, while Europe saw significant redemptions, according to statistics from Strategic Insight relayed by Asian Investor. Worldwide, net inflows totalled USD200bn, five times less than the USD1trn in net subscriptions observed in each of the previous two years. Worldwide, inflows have been concentrated in recent years on fixed income products, but equities are expected to return to the foreground this year, Strategic Insight predicts. Currently, equities represent slightly over 42% of a total of USD30trn in assets.
29/02/2012

Ray Dalio is now the world's best hedge fund manager

Ray Dalio has dethroned George Soros as the best hedge fund manager in the world, after Bridgewater Pure Alpha made investors USD13.8bn last year, the Financial Times reports, citing rankings by LCH Investments. The fund is also the largest in the world, with USD72bn in assets.
29/02/2012

RBC Dexia IS recruits a new head of strategy

RBC Dexia Investor Services on 28 February announced the recruitment of Paul Stillabower as head of strategy, in charge of deploying the group’s growth strategy. Stillabower, who had previously been at HSBC Securities Services, replacex Alex Muto, who will take up a new position as head of Enterprise Transformation, responsible for the integration of new acquisitions and transformation programmes announced by the business.
29/02/2012

HSBC releases a frontier markets fund to retail investors

The Frontier Markets Fund, a sub-fund of the Luxembourg-registered Sicav HSBC GIF, is now available in Germany to retail investors (see Newsmanagers of 1 December 2011). The portfolio includes 70 to 90 positions, of which 50% are African and Middle Eastern firms, 40% are Asian and Latin American, and 10% are European. About 50% of the fund is invested in the financial sector.CharacteristicsName: HSBC GIF Frontier Markets FundISIN code: LU0666199749Front-end fee: 5.54%Management commission: 2.15%
29/02/2012

Commerzbank launches 8 ETCs based on WTI and cocoa

Since Monday, 16 new ETC products from Commerzbank have been available for trading on the Xetra electronic platform from Deutsche Börse, which now lists 251 instruments of this type. The new products, all registered in Germany, are ETCs based on WTI oil and cocoa, in long and short versions, plus, for each type of instrument, versions with leverage of 2, 3 and 4. Management commissions vary from 0.40% to 0.75%.
29/02/2012

Goldman Sachs executive under investigation

David Loeb, managing director of Goldman Sachs Group, is the subject of a criminal investigation by the US federal authorities, who are seeking to determine whether he transmitted insider information about IT sector shares to hedge fund manager clients of the bank, the Wall Street Journal reports.
29/02/2012

Insider trading investigation extended to pharmaceutical stocks

A US investigation into insider trading on Wall Street has been extended to shares in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, the Financial Times reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. The FBI and the attorney general’s office in Manhattan are investigating transactions by hedge funds in both sectors, in connection with approvals of new medicines and acquisitions or mergers of businesses. On Monday, the FBI identified 300 people concerned in the investigation.
29/02/2012

SEC investigates Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs

After Citigroup and Bank of America, which have been under investigation since earlier this month, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs have announced that they have been sent Wells notices by the SEC, stating that they are suspected of providing misleading information to investors in order to sell them sub-prime backed securities, the Financial Times reports.
29/02/2012

Nicola Horlick goes into private equity

An emblematic figure in the asset management industry in the UK, Nicola Horlick, has started up a new activity which aims to facilitate access to private equity for high net worth clients. Rockpool Investments, which Horlick is launching with two former heads from 3i, Gary Robins and Matt Taylor, will aim to take advantage of recent regulatory changes which aim to encourage investment in SMBs. Horlick, who is co-head of the new firm, will also continue to serve as chair of Bramdean Asset Management, a firm which she also founded. Horlick was in the news in 1997, when she successfully went head to head with her former employer, Deutsche Bank, which had suspended her from her position as managing director at Morgan Grenfell Asset Management on the grounds that she wanted to join a rival company with her entire team.
29/02/2012

Lyxor AM and Ikos launch a UCITS-compliant futures strategy

Lyxor Asset Management has announced its partnership with Ikos to launch the second alternative manager on its Lyxor Dimension UCITS Platform. The Lyxor / Ikos Futures Strategy Index Fund offers access to a diversified managed futures strategywhich applies a systematic quantitative global macro approach to trade highly liquid listed futures. Ikos will be the second alternative strategy on the platform - after Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK) -and Lyxor plans to launch more alternative UCITS funds in the coming months.ISIN Code = IE00B7FN3698
29/02/2012

Institutional investors inclined to de-risk their portfolios

A survey of 100 institutional investors by Morningstar, in partnership with Forum GI, finds that the European crisis will lead 41% of respondents to reduce their allocation to high-risk assets in the next few years. Meanwhile, 65% are planning to “prefer yield management to asset management,” to seek regular income and make returns consistent, rather than maximising them.These attitudes are also resulting in a “palpable” mistrust of delegated management, with 51% of respondents preferring to hold live shares rather than hand out asset management mandates or invest in mutual funds.It is clear that for institutionals subject to Solvency II regulations, safer securities need to be preferred, with short maturities. When a buy & hold strategy is opted for, it is less necessary to turn to asset managers. And the fact of holding securities directly provides total transparency, which the French Prudential Control Authority (ACP) will in the end be requiring from each investor; in addition, direct investment is more in line with extra-financial engagement requirements.Pierre-Emmanuel Besnard, head of development at Morningstar Professional, states that these factors will cause the management style to evolve: active management with a low tracking error (27%) is now rivalled by passive, index-based management (28%) and high alpha management (27%).

Sujets d'actualité

Tous les sujets