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07/11/2011

Resignation from the board of directors at Hyposwiss Private Bank

Hans Bodmer has resigned from the board of directors at Hyposwiss Private Bank, effective immediately. The decision was personal, so as to allow Bodmer to engage in efforts to demonstrate that the allegations against him are unfounded, without damaging the reputation of Hyposwiss Private Bank. “Both the allegations against Hans Bodmer widely reported in the media, and the scandal implicating the Russian firm Norilsk Nickel, relate to a time when Bodmer was not a director at Hyposwiss Private Bank. As to the charges filed in this case, the Attorney-General of the Swiss Federation has not seen fit to open a criminal investigation, as he found the accusations filed to be unfounded,” a statement says. The Cantonal Bank of Saint-Gall confirms that no charges remain, either against the Cantonal Bank of Saint-Gall, or against Hyposwiss Private Bank.
07/11/2011

Deutsche Bank launches four synthetic ETFs

Deutsche Bank has launched four new synthetic ETF funds that comply with UCITS requirements on the Singapore stock exchange. The ETFs are based on the MSCI Pakistan Investable Market Index, the MSCI Bangladesh Investable Market Index, the MSCI Singapore Investable Market Index and the MSCI Asia Ex Japan Index. For the first time, the new range includes ETFs focused on Pakistan and Bangladesh, Deutsche Bank says in a statement. “In the vast majority of cases, and in all emerging countries, synthetic replication is the best method for constructing an ETF without significant tracking error. In 2008, we launched an ETF focused on another frontier market, Vietnam. This ETF is now the largest ETF in the world dedicated to a single frontier market, with assets under management of over USD250m. We have the same ambitions for the Pakistan and Bangladesh ETFs,” says the head of the Deutsche Bank ETF platform in Asia, Marco Montanari. The new range strengthens the dominant position of Deutsche Bank on the ETF market in Singapore. Deutsche Bank now offers 47 ETFs on the Singapore stock exchange, and controls a market share of slightly over 32%.
07/11/2011

Deutsche Börse lists eight more ETFs from UBS

Since 4 November, the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform lists 886 products. UBS ETF Sicav has listed four new Luxembourg-registered products twice each – twice, because each product is being made available in retail (A) and institutional (I) share classes, with different ISIN codes.The new products include three (six) funds based on MSCI indices (EMU Small Cap, Europe Infrastructure and Japan Infrastructure), and the first product to invest in rare-earth minerals, replicating the STOXX Global Rare Earth index. This index includes only companies which earn at least 30% of their operating revenues from the extraction, transformation and transportation of rare-earth minerals.The total expense ratio (TER) for the funds ranges from 0.45% to 0.60% for A-class shares, and 0.28% to 0.43% for I-class shares.Click here for the list of new ETFs with their ISIN codes and TER.
07/11/2011

Winds of change are blowing for ETF indices

Since the beginning of 2010, the benchmark indices have been changed for 77 ETFs in the United States, according to IndexUniverse. And in 44 cases, the changes were substantial in terms of composition or weighting, the Wall Street Journal reports.Often, changes result in an initial reduction in management commissions, as was the case, for example, when State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) replaced the cap-size weighted KBW indices for five of its ETFs with equally-weighted S&P indices. The change required SSgA to sell off shares in major banks from its SPDR S&P Bank ETF, which meant a substantial change for the fund. In response, Invesco launched four PowerShares ETFs using the KBW financial sector indices dropped by SSgA, and offered 3 free months, after which it will charge a commission of 0.35% - the same as for the State Street funds.Similarly, Russell Investments cut fees for 13 volatility, beta and momentum ETFs because several competitors, including Direxion, launched similar products.These fee reductions simply show that ETF managers are prepared to make sacrifices in price in order to retain investors, or to incite them to try something new, when competing ETFs or indices appear.
07/11/2011

Profits down by one quarter at Berkshire Hathaway

In third quarter 2011, Berkshire Hathaway, the portfolio management firm controlled by Warren Buffett, has seen a contraction in its net profits to nearly USD2.28bn, from USD2.99bn in the corresponding period of 2010. This decline of 24% is due to a loss of USD1.59bn, compared with USD95m, from the derivatives portfolio, a phenomenon which the firm considers insignificant.Most importantly, says the company, operating profits increased to USD3.81bn, from USD2.79bn.In the first nine months of the year, net profits fell to USD7.21bn, from USD8.58bn, while operating profits increased to USD8.11bn, from USD8.08bn.
07/11/2011

Fortress posts better-than-expected results

The US alternative management group Fortress Investment has reported pre-tax profits of USD43m in third quarter, compared with USD78m one year previously. The result represents a decline, but was well-received by the market, as the consensus was predicting a more mediocre figure. Assets under management have also held stable. They totalled USD43.6bn as of 30 September, compared with USD43.8bn as of 30 June. This very slight decline is a sign that the heavyweights in the sector are staying afloat, as investors continue to prefer them over smaller managers.
07/11/2011

Series of promotions at the top of Fidelity FI management

US-based Fidelity Asset Management on 4 November announced the appointment of new presidents for tis bond and money market groups, and the creation of two new management positions for institutional bonds and bond research. The four newly-promoted personnel will report to Charles S. Morrison, president of the fixed income division at Fidelity (USD729bn in assets as of the end of September).Robert P. Brown, president of money markets, has been appointed as president of the bond group, replacing Christopher Sullivan, who becomes head of institutional fixed income.Nancy D. Prior succeeds Robert P. Brown as president of money markets; she was previously managing director of credit research. David E. Hamlin, who has also been managing director of credit research, will now serve as head of research for fixed income.
07/11/2011

Appointments at Lyxor AM

Laurent Seyer, CEO of Lyxor AM, has announced in a letter dated 2 November that Stéphane Enguéhard has been promoted to managing director – head of Funds of Hedge Funds Development at the asset management firm. Enguéhard, who until 24 October had been managing director – Head of the Managed Account Platform, will now be repsonsible for promoting the range of funds from the asset management firm to a wider range of key international investors.Since 24 October, Enguéhard has been replaced by Lionel Paquin as managing director – head of the Managed Account Platform. Paquin had previously worked at Société Générale, where he had served as Chief Risk Officer since 2007. Paquin is also a member of the board of directors and the executive board at Lyxor.
07/11/2011

Rothschild WM Equitas gets a new head

Laurent Gagnebin, head of ultra-high net worth individuals at Investec Bank in Geneva, has been recruited to direct Rothschild Wealth Management Equitas SA in Geneva. He becomes head of the affiliate of the Zurich-based Rothschild Bank AG, replacing Manuel Marinez, who has left the company.
07/11/2011

Aberdeen cuts back mandates in Asia

Hugh Young, head of Asian equities at Aberdeen Asset Management, has announced that the British asset management firm has not ruled out launching new products in order to increase its USD70bn in Asian equities, but that it would like to continue th process it began a year ago to slow the proliferation of small mandates. The head of Asian equities has told Asian Investor that the firm has not ruled out launching a China fund, if Aberdeen received a second QFII quota, or a South Korea or Taiwan fund. The firm’s first QFII quota for USD200m was allcoated to several existing Aberdeen funds, with 70% for equities funds, and 30% for bonds (with USD50m for a separate short-duration renminbi mandate). Young also says that Aberdeen, whose Asian operations are based in Hong Kong, is planning to open an office in continental China, most likely in Shanghai, although the firm’s major institutional clients are based in Beijing.
07/11/2011

BofA Merrill Lynch launches a new index

BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research has announced the launch of a new “Dim Sum” index, which aims to monitor the performance of offshore Hong Kong bonds denominated in the Chinese currency. The index includes about half of all assets in debt denominated in the Chinese currency available in Hong Kong (CNH, offshore renminbi).
07/11/2011

Aberdeen launches a diversified growth fund

Aberdeen Asset Management has launched the Aberdeen Diversified Growth Fund and the Life Company feeder fund, the Aberdeen Life Diversified Growth Fund. Both funds have been seeded with GBP40 million from institutional investors and will be marketed to both the institutional and wholesale markets.The funds are designed to offer equity like returns with reduced volatility through dynamic asset allocation and investing in a wide spectrum of asset classes. Typically asset allocation will have a low weight to equities with a more diversified return stream involving different markets within the fixed income and alternatives arena including property.Unlike other Diversified Growth funds, Aberdeen’s portfolio will have a strategic tilt towards Asia and emerging debt and equity markets. The portfolio will be managed by Aberdeen’s 10-strong multi-asset team, led by Mike Turner, head of Global Strategy & Asset Allocation. The team will allocate funds to Aberdeen’s own investment teams and to external managers by utilising the work undertaken by the Group’s multi-manager team which focuses both on long-only and hedge fund strategies.Aberdeen’s multi-asset team currently oversee around GBP6 billion (as at 31 August 2011) in assets.
07/11/2011

Fundsmith releases a feeder fund in Luxembourg

The British asset management firm Fundsmith has launched a Luxembourg feeder fund in UCITS IV format. Fundsmith thus becomes the first British asset management firm to use the UCITS IV directive, which came into force on 1 July, the firm says in a statement. The Fundsmith Equity Fund Feeder provides access to the Fundsmith Equity Fund for investors who prefer to invest offshore or via a Sicav fund. The Fundsmith Equity Fund, which was launched in November 2010, has earned 12.1% since its launch, compared with 1.7% for the MSCI World index.
07/11/2011

Man Group recruits a Chinese businesswoman

Man Group has recruited Yifei Li, one of the most powerful businesswomen in China, to spearhead its development in China, the Financial Times reports. The former head of Chinese MTV will work with Pierre Lagrange, co-founder of GLG Partners, who has recently been appointed chairman of the firm for Asia, a newly-created position. An office may soon be opened in Beijing.
07/11/2011

Investors pull out of Europe

European and cross-border funds saw net outflows of EUR100bn in third quarter, while Asian long-term funds saw inflows of EUR18bn, according to data from Strategic Insight, Citywire reports. Strategic Insight observes that in the month of September alone, net outflows from European long-term funds totalled EUR46bn. In Asia, however, and particularly in Japan, investors continued to allocate capital to funds. Since the beginning of the year, net inflows totalled EUR68bn, or about EUR49bn.
07/11/2011

Pimco renews a USD1.3trn mandate for State Street

The Californian affiliate of Allianz General Investors (AGI), Pacific Investment Management Co. (Pimco), has renewed an outsourcing mandate to State Street Corporation for investment services activities on assets totalling USD1.3trn. Since 2000, State Street has been responsible for transaction processing, custody, accounting and valuation. In addition, it now will handle collateral management, derivative trading and IT development. More than 700 employees at State Street worldwide handle activities on behalf of Pimco. State Street states that it has about USD8trn in middle-office assets under administration worldwide.
07/11/2011

Interest in emerging markets equity funds rebounds

Short-term optimism last week due to efforts to contain the European debt crisis brought some relief for equity markets despite the overall gloom.Equity funds saw net inflows of USD4.9bn in the week ending on 2 November, according to estimates from EPFR Global. Emerging markets equity funds represented 70% of this total, for their highest inflows since April.Following on the two previous weeks, high yield funds continued to attract over USD2.75bn. Bond funds posted net inflows of USD1.6bn.However, money market funds saw net redemptions of over USD25bn, bringing outflows since the beginning of the year to over USD218bn, compared with USD518bn in the corresponding period of 2010.
07/11/2011

Rouvier Associés opens an office in Frankfurt

The French asset management firm Rouvier Associés is opening a branch office in Germany. The Frankfurt office will be directed by Patrick Linden, manager of Rouvier Associés in Germany, and former director at Standard & Poor’s Fund Services, Das Investment reports. The Paris office is planning to release UCITS IV-compliant funds in Germany, for which licenses have already been applied for from the German regulator, BaFin.
07/11/2011

Real estate funds suffer due to low interest rates

Currently, liquidity in German open-ended real estate funds is generating returns of only 0.65%, lower than the returns on real estate investments. In other words, liquidity holdings are reducing the performance of real estate funds, which are all suffering, regardless of the form in which they hold their liquidity, the Berlin-based ratings agency Scope reports.This is particularly true for funds such as UniImmo: Deutschland (Union Investment Real Estate) and the grundbesitz europa (RREEF, Deutsche Bank group), whose liquidity ratios stand at 37% and 31.5%. Legally, German funds are required to hold at least 5%, and at most 49% of their assets in liquid form.In a study, Scope reports that 52% of liquidity in the sector is invested in bank savings, 32% in shares in bond funds, 10% in shares in money market funds, and 6.5% directly in bonds.Strategies vary widely from one real estate fund to another. For example, the Axa Immoselect, Inter ImmoProfil, the two UBS products and the KanAm grundinvest and Spezial grundinvest park their liquidities nearly exclusively in bank savings accounts.For their part, the grundbesitz global and grundbesitz europa funds, as well as the Deka-ImmobilienGlobal fund invest about 40% of their liquidities in ‘live’ bonds.Lastly, two funds hold significant amounts in the form of money market instruments: the Deka-ImmobilienEuropa and SEB ImmoInvest.
07/11/2011

Madoff: Irving Picard takes on BNP Paribas

Agefi reports that Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee to recover assets for the victims of Bernard Madoff, is seeking USD1bn from BNP Paribas. In a lawsuit files on Thursday, Picard explains that a Madoff “feeder fund” entitled Harley International transferred USD975.5m to BNP Piarbas Arbitrage SNC in 2008. Picard claims that US federal bankrupt law and New York state law authorise him to reclaim that amount, while BNP Paribas claims that the case is groundless, and says that it intends to defend itself strenuously.
07/11/2011

Stuttgart also to offer ETF trading from 8 AM

As Frankfurt has been doing for several months, the Stuttgart stock exchange will from this Monday open trading of ETF, ETN and ETC products from 8 AM, rather than 9 AM, Handelsblatt reports. Trading will continue to close at 8 PM.
07/11/2011

Nominations chez Lyxor AM

Laurent Seyer, le CEO de Lyxor AM, a annoncé, dans une lettre datée du 2 novembre, la promotion de Stéphane Enguehard a la fonction de managing director - head of Funds of Hedge Funds Development au sein de la société de gestion. La mission de Stéphane Enguéhard, qui était jusqu’au 24 octobre dernier managing director - Head of the Managed Account Platform (plate-forme de comptes gérés) consistera à promouvoir la gamme de fonds de la société auprès d’un grand nombre d’investisseurs clés internationaux.Depuis le 24 octobre, il a été remplacé par Lionel Paquin en tant que managing director - head of the Managed Account Platform. Jusque là, ce dernier était chief risk officer chez Lyxor et ce depuis 2007. Lionel Paquin est également membre du comité de gestion et du comité exécutif de Lyxor.
07/11/2011

Rothschild WM Equitas a un nouveau patron

Laurent Gagnebin, responsable de la clientèle très haut de gamme (UNHWI) chez Investec Bank à Genève, a été recruté pour diriger Rothschild Wealth Management Equitas SA à Genève.Il devient responsable de cette filiale de la zurichoise Rothschild Bank AG en remplacement de Manuel Marinez, qui quitte l’entreprise.
07/11/2011

Piguet Galland licencie un gérant

La banque Piguet Galland & Cie a licencié l’un de ses gérants, qui a effectué des transactions à terme sur l’or à l’insu de ses clients, a indiqué la banque le 4 novembre. Dans la foulée, le CEO de la banque, Christopher E. Preston, a démissionné. Lui succède pour assurer l’intérim Olivier Calloud, actuellement directeur opérationnel de l'établissement vaudois.Les montants en jeu - quelques millions de francs - n’auront pas d’incidence sur les résultats de Piguet Galland & Cie ni sur ceux sur de sa maison mère, la Banque cantonale vaudoise (BCV), assurent les deux instituts dans des communiqués distincts.
07/11/2011

Démission au conseil d'administration d'Hyposwiss Private Bank

Confronté à des soupçons de blanchiment d’argent selon la presse suisse, Hans Bodmer a démissionné avec effet immédiat du conseil d’administration de Hyposwiss Private Bank. «Il s’agit d’une décision personnelle qui a pour vocation de faciliter la démonstration du caractère infondé des allégations lancées contre lui, cela sans nuire à l’image de Hyposwiss Private Bank», note un communiqué de la banque qui ajoute : «tant les allégations portées contre Hans Bodmer et largement répercutées par les médias que la controverse impliquant la société russe Norilsk Nickel concernent une période où Hans Bodmer n’était pas administrateur de Hyposwiss Private Bank. S’agissant de la plainte déposée dans cette affaire, le Procureur général de la Confédération n’a pas jugé justifié d’ouvrir une enquête pénale, car il a considéré les accusations de cette plainte comme infondées."La Banque Cantonale de Saint-Gall confirme qu’aucune charge n’a été retenue, ni contre la Banque Cantonale de Saint-Gall, ni contre Hyposwiss Private Bank.
07/11/2011

Sal. Oppenheim renouera avec les bénéfices dès cette année

Dans une interview à Die Welt, Wilhelm von Haller, président du directoire, annonce que Sal. Oppenheim affichera un bénéfice net dès 2011, avec un an d’avance sur les prévisions. La banque privée sauvée il y a deux ans par la Deutsche Bank songe même déjà à de petites opérations de croissance externe.Wilhelm von Haller précise que, sur les deux dernières années, la banque n’a par solde pas perdu d’encours et qu’il n’existe aucun accord de distribution privilégié avec la Deutsche Bank.Il annonce aussi que Sal. Oppenheim va se focaliser à partir de 2012 sur le développement de sa clientèle institutionnelle à partir de Cologne et de Luxembourg. Dans tous les domaines (institutionnel, gestion de fortune et fonds d’investissement), la banque compte privilégier les stratégies de performance absolue.
07/11/2011
Fonds

Les fonds immobiliers pâtissent du bas niveau des taux d'intérêt

Actuellement, les liquidités entretenues par les fonds immobiliers allemands offerts au public génèrent un rendement de seulement 0,65 %, donc inférieur à celui des placements immobiliers. En d’autres termes, les liquidités réduisent la performance des fonds immobiliers qui souffrent tous, quelle que soit la forme sous laquelle ils détiennent ces liquidités, souligne l’agence de notation berlinoise Scope.C’est particulièrement le cas pour des fonds comme le UniImmo: Deutschland (Union Investment Real Estate) et le grundbesitz europa (RREEF, groupe Deutsche Bank) dont le taux de liquidités s'élève à respectivement 37 % et 31,5 %. Légalement, les fonds allemands doivent détenir au minimum 5 % et au maximum 49 % de liquidités.Dans une étude, Scope rapporte que 52 % des liquidités du secteur sont investies en dépôts bancaires, 32 % en parts de fonds obligataires, 10 % en parts de fonds monétaires et 6,5 % en obligations détenues en direct.Les stratégies diffèrent beaucoup d’un fonds immobilier à l’autre. Par exemple, l’Axa Immoselect, l’Inter ImmoProfil, les deux produits UBS ainsi que les KanAm grundinvest et Spezial grundinvest placent leurs liquidités presque exclusivement en dépôts bancaires.Par ailleurs, les fonds UniImmo: Deutschland, UniImmo: Europa, UniImmo: Global et HANSAimmobilia placent leurs liquidités presque en totalité dans des parts de fonds obligataires, essentiellement émis par la société de gestion de leur groupe.De leur côté, le grundbesitz global et le grundbesitz europa ainsi que le Deka-ImmobilienGlobal investissent environ 40 % de leurs liquidités en obligations «vives».Enfin, deux fonds détiennent d’importants montants sous forme d’instruments monétaires, le Deka-ImmobilienEuropa et le SEB ImmoInvest.
Fonds
07/11/2011

Rouvier Associés s'implante à Francfort

Le français Rouvier Associés ouvre une succursale en Allemagne. La direction du bureau de Francfort est confiée selon Das Investment à Patrick Linden, gérant de Rouvier Associés en Allemagne et ancien directeur chez Standard & Poor’s Fund Services.La maison parisienne a l’intention de distribuer en Allemagne des fonds conformes à la directive OPCVM IV pour lesquels un agrément a déjà été demandé au régulateur allemand, la BaFin.
07/11/2011
Fonds

Deutsche Börse cote huit ETF supplémentaires d'UBS

Depuis le 4 novembre, la cote du segment XTF de la plate-forme de négociation électronique Xetra compte 886 références. En effet, UBS ETF Sicav a fait admettre à la négociation deux fois quatre nouveaux produits luxembourgeois, deux fois, parce que le même produit, avec des codes Isin différents, est proposé en parts retail (A) et institutionnelles (I).Il s’agit de trois (six) fonds sur des indices MSCI (EMU Small Cap, Europe Infrastructure et Japan Infrastructure) ainsi que du premier produit investi sur les terres rares et répliquant l’indice STOXX Global Rare Earth. N’entrent dans ce dernier indice que des sociétés réalisant au moins 30 % de leurs recettes d’exploitation à partir de l’extraction, de la transformation ou du transport des terres rares.Les taux de frais sur encours s'échelonnenet entre 0,45 % et 0,60 % pour les parts A et entre entre 0,28 et 0,43 % pour les parts I.Cliquer ici pour voir la liste des nouveaux ETF avec leur code Isin et leur TFE.
Fonds
07/11/2011
Fonds

Les investisseurs en private equity réclament une modification des frais

Les grands investisseurs, et notamment les fonds souverains, font pression auprès des fonds de private equity pour qu’ils modifient leur structure de frais, selon le Financial Times. Les sociétés de capital investissement facturent habituellement des commissions de gestion annuelles de 1,5-2 % sur les engagements totaux du fonds plus 20 % sur les bénéfices.
Fonds

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