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23/09/2011

Permira achète la majorité dans Netafim à trois kibboutzim

Pour environ 870 millions de dollars, le capital-investisseur Permira achète 61 % de la société d’irrigation israélienne Netafim (3.000 salariés) en engageant environ 400 millions de dollars de fonds propres. En comptant les 200 millions de dollars de dette, netafim est valorisée à plus d’un milliard de dollars, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.La société a été fondée en 1965 par le kibboutz Hatzerim, qui conservera 30 % des parts après la transaction. Les autres vendeurs sont les kibboutzim Magal (qui reviendra à 6 % contre 23 %) et Yiftach (qui détenait 8 %).
23/09/2011

AllianzGI outsources middle office services

Allianz Global Investors has signed a global outsourcing agreement with Northern Trust to provide middle office services for RCM in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. Northern Trust will also supply settlement and accounting services. As a part of the contract, Northern Trust has taken on a team of 12 people from AllianzGI in Hong Kong, where since November last year, the US firm has been developing its administration services activities. The activities now employ 30 staff.
23/09/2011

JP Morgan plans to develop custody operations

JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services (WSS) is planning to develop its custody and clearance activities in Brazil and Russia, two key markets for the sub-custodian activities of JP Morgan, Hedge Week reports. For Russia, Katerina Sizova has joined JP Morgan as head of activities in Russia, and will deploy the group’s growth strategy. Sizova previously worked at Renaissance as head of operations. For the Brazilian market, JP Morgan has announced that it has integrated its custody activities.
23/09/2011

US funds reduce their exposure to European banks

The major US money market funds have cut their exposure to the European banking sector to their lowest level since 2006, the Financial Times reports. The 10 largest US money market funds have reduced their short-term lendings to European banks to only USD284.6bn as of the end of August, equivalent to 42.1% of their total assets, according to Fitch Ratings.
23/09/2011

ETFs: European investors preferred their home markets in August

According to statistics from the BlackRock Investment Institute reported by AGEFI, European ETFs posted outflows of USD1.8bn in August. This increased aversion to risk largely affected trackers focused on emerging markets equities, which lost as much as USD1.5bn, and ETFs focused on North American equities, which saw outflows of USD1.1bn. Investors appear to have concentrated on their home markets, and European equity ETFs saw inflows of over USD1bn.
23/09/2011

J.P. Morgan AM recruits a head of emerging markets currencies

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has recruited Nima Tayebi for its team specialised in emerging markets debt and currencies. He will be in charge of investment strategy for emerging markets currencies, and will report to Pierre-Yves Bareau, director of the emerging markets debt unit, and Jonathan Griggs, director of currencies strategy. Tayebi had previously been a portfolio manager at Polar Capital Partners. He also spent 9 years as a manager specialised in emerging market currencies and debt at Aberdeen Asset Management. He had previously spent two years at Millennium Global Investments, a boutique specialised in currencies, and held research and trading positions in currencies (sell side) at Salomon Brothers and Renaissance Capital in Moscow. The emerging market debt teams, led by Bareau, are spread over seven cities worldwide. Their assets under management have increased from USD7bn to USD17bn in the past two years.
23/09/2011

The Boston Company Asset Management reshuffles management

The Boston Company Asset Management, a management boutique affiliate of BNY Mellon Asset Management, has announced several changes to its management team. Bart Grenier, chief executive officer, will now also serve as chief investment officer. Joe Gennaco will become chairman in addition to his position as chief operating officer. John Truschel, currently chief investment officer, will direct a newly-created team as global head of investment strategy.
23/09/2011

DWS Investments adds to Paris team

DWS Investments has hired Amédée de Guillebon for its French sales team. De Guillebon will be in charge of fund sales and distribution activities via third-party distributors, including fund of fund managers, insurers, banks and distribution platforms. He will report to Philippe Goettmann, head of DWS Investments for France and Monaco. Before joining DWS Investments, De Guillebon, 36, was head of development at BNP Paribas Investment Partners. He began his career in asset management in 2002 at Fortis Investments in Brussels, as head of marketing.
23/09/2011

DIC Asset acquires three properties

“In two deals with international investors,” DIC Asset has acquired a commercial property in Duisburg, the Marktforum (10,000 square metres, wholly leased) for EUR16m, and two core office properties, measuring 40,000 square metres, for EUR62m, one of which is in Karlsruhe, and the other in Leipzig. The latter two properties will be added to the portfolio of the institutional real estate fund DIC Office Balance I, in which DIC Asset controls a 20% stake.DIC Asset, which has been a part of the SDax index since June 2006, currently manages real estate assets of about EUR3.2bn, in 280 properties.
23/09/2011

CalPERS seeks investment partners for multi-asset class portfolio

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is seeking external strategic partners to manage a multi-asset class portfolio and provide insights and analytics on asset allocation and portfolio construction decisions. CalPERS expects to retain two or three firms to manage a total of up to USD2 billion in assets. The solicitation begins September 23, 2011, and ends on October 21, 2011.
23/09/2011

Spain's EDM sets sail for Latin American market

The independent Spanish management firm EDM (EUR1.2bn) is entering the Latin American market, starting with Mexico, Funds People reports. To this end, EDM has recruited María Diaz-Morera, who joins the firm from Goldman Sachs, and who will aim to seek out local retail clients and to sign fund distribution agreements with a Mexican establishment.
23/09/2011

British pension funds turn to emerging market debt

British pension funds are increasing their strategic allocations to emerging market debt, the ratings agency Moody’s says in a release on 22 September entitled “UK Pension Funds: Increased Allocations to Emerging Market Debt Enhance Portfolio Stability and Diversification.” This is a positive strategic development for the stability of long-term portfolios of the pension fund, Moody’s adds. There are two positive aspects. On the one hand, this diversification will limit volatility related to an exposure which is concentrated on a limited number of issuers. On the other hand, this development will make it possible to improve returns for the portfolio, due to the better growth outlooks in emerging markets than in developed countries. Moody’s adds that an investment in emerging market debt is not risk-free. Pension funds will need to comprehend the nature of these risks in order to establish a methodology for evaluating them. From the point of view of managers, this development also presents the advantage of greater stability of assets under management, which allows for a more effective deployment of capital than less predictable engagements. Moody’s also finds that in the past two decades, bond issues rated investment grade outperformed high yield issues in Latin America and Asia. And of course, the size of the markets in liquid and tradeable investment grade securities has also increased.
23/09/2011

Schroders bets on multi-asset class solutions

From the beginning of the year to the end of August, the Schroders group has brought in month after month of net subcriptions, says Nuno Teixera, deputy CEO and head of development for Schroders in France.In France, Philippe Lecomte, CEO, tells Newsmangers that net subscriptions since the beginning of the year have totalled about EUR490m, and that assets now total over EUR3bn.Among the strategies that have been best received by investors is multi-asset class, which represents EUR40bn in assets groupwide. In this area, the British asset management firm is planning to release a fund in France in the near future which is formatted specially for continental investors, which was launched in 2009, and which is more defensive than the products available in the UK. The fund, which is already available in other European countries, has barely EUR100m in assets, but the strategy, with its mandates, already has nearly EUR1bn. This type of fund is also attractive for the asset management firm, since investors in general tend to keep multi-asset class products longer than other funds in their portfolios.Also, due to the commercial success of emerging market funds (in equities as well as bonds) and of global quant, Schroders is hoping to launch a more regional quant product, focused on emerging markets.The French firm is also planning to announce the recruitment of two people in the near future, one for institutional and one for distribution.
23/09/2011

Aberdeen preparing to reopen redemptions from Degi International

The open-ended real estate fund Degi International (EUR1.58bn) has sold the office property Focus Foltrowa (33,644 square metres) in Warsaw for EUR117m. The sale price is higher than the price the property was acquired for in 2007, but lower than its EUR118m book value.However, the sale will allow Aberdeen to free up liquidity for the Degi International fund, whose closure to redemptions was extended for one year, until 16 November 2011 (see Newsmanagers of 8 November 2011). Liquidity in the fund currently totals 22%.
23/09/2011

AD-VANCED Dynamic AM releases its first fund of ETFs

The new German management firm AD-VANCED Dynamic Asset Management GmbH, founded by three veterans of Veritas (see Newsmanagers of 22 September 2011), has announced that it has received its first advising mandate for a total amount in the tens of millions of euros.Management of the dynamic asset allocation will be based on an exclusive process for analysis of the market and its indices, entitled “Indexpicking.” The process, which relies on investments in ETFs, is used for the first fund of ETFs from the firm, AD-VANEMICS (LU0665450838), which has recently received a sales license in Luxembourg. The new product is available in institutional and retail share classes. The initial subscription period will run from 10 October to 10 November 2011.
23/09/2011

Permira acquires majority of Netafim from three kibbutzim

The private equity investor Permira has acquired 61% of the Israeli irrigation firm Netafim (3,000 employees) for USD870m, of which it provided USD400m from its own capital. Counting its USD200m in debt, Netafim is valued at over USD1bn, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.The firm was founded in 1965 by the kibbutz Hatzerim, which will retain a 30% stake after the transaction. The other vendors are the kibbutzim Magal (whose stake is reduced to 6% from 23%) and Yiftach (which controls 8%).
23/09/2011

Cowen launches a managed futures fund

The US group Cowen has launched the Ramius Trading Strategies Managed Futures Fund, which offers investors access to a portfolio of managed futures dedicated to institutional clients, and which offers transparent information about the evolution of positions, along with an improved risk analysis framework. Assets under management in the fund, launched on 13 September this year, total USD230m.
23/09/2011

CalPERS invests USD100m in a Canadian hedge fund

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has invested USD100 million in seed money with Breton Hill Capital, a Toronto-based global macro hedge fund with investments in equities, commodity and financial futures, and currencies.The investment, part of the CalPERS Absolute Return Strategies program, is CalPERS first seed investment with a hedge fund manager. The pension fund also has approximately USD500 million invested with customized funds of hedge funds focusing on emerging managers.CalPERS launched its Absolute Return Strategies program in April 2002 and had USD5.3 billion invested in it as of June 30, 2011.
23/09/2011

Madoff: Judge demands further information from trustee

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland on Thursday dismissed portions of a USD198m lawsuit filed by court-appointed trustee Irving Picard in the Madoff case, The Wall Street Journal reports. The judge said parts of the complaint are «opaque» and lack detail about some of the transactions by some relatives of Bernard Madoff who all had been working at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.But he said the flaws were largely «correctable,» and gave Picard 45 days to amend his lawsuit
23/09/2011

IMA critical of ESMA proposals for UCITS-compliant ETFs

The UK’s Investment Management Association (IMA) has published its response to ESMA’s paper on guidelines for UCITS Exchange-Traded Funds and Structured UCITS. It questioned ESMA’s rationale for singling out certain types of UCITS products while excluding others, such as non-UCITS Exchange-Traded products."UCITS are already subject to detailed regulation. Regulatory intervention should happen only where there is a clear market failure, but we see no evidence of this», comments Julie Patterson, director at the IMA. «Regulators are concerned about ‘complexity’ in retail products. But complexity does not necessarily equate to risk. Sophisticated investment strategies often mean less risk for investors in terms of the expected return», she adds.
23/09/2011

Asian brokers need to stand out from the crowd

For Asian brokers, two objectives appear particularly important in the current market context: standing out from the crowd in order to attract clients, and automating their operations.Those are the findings of a survey of the industry commissioned by BNP Paribas Securities Services and SWIFT, undertaken in April and May 2011. More than 75% of respondents consider outsourcing an adequate solution to manage the complecity and cost of post-trade processes.The survey also finds that brokers in the region feel the need to privilege activities which generate revenues for the firms themselves, such as third-party clearing.
23/09/2011

Global ETF assets down in August

As of the end of August, global ETF and ETP assets totalled USD1.575trn, according to BlackRock. This represented a decrease of USD68bn, despite USD1.6bn in net subscriptions, due to falling markets and negative currency effects totalling USD70bn. This is the third month of 2011, following May and June, when assets have fallen compared with the previous month.However, over 12 months, assets under management have increased 32%, or USD378bn, of which USD93bn have been since the beginning of this year: net subscriptions in the first eight months of the year totalled USD106bn, but falling markets and currency effects took a toll of USD13bn.As of 31 August, assets for the leading brand, iShares, totalled USD602bn, USD6bn more than at the end of December. Assets under management at State Street Global Advisors have increased by USD22bn, to USD272bn, while assets at Vanguard were up USD17bn, to USD166bn.
23/09/2011

ETF: iShares continues to gain market share in Europe

The monthly rankings of ETF/ETP providers in Europe by BlackRock has found that iShares (BlackRock) remains the leader for assets, with USD110.7bn, followed by db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) with USD50.6bn, and Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) with USD43.9bn.The top two have posted respective increases in their assets of USD8.9bn and USD1.6bn, while the third has seen a decline of USD8.5bn.In terms of market share, iShares has gained 0.3 points since the beginning of the year (to 33%), while db x-trackers and Lyxor have lost 0.6% and 3.7%, respectively, to 15% and 13%.
23/09/2011
Gestion d'actifs

Les caisses régionales apporteront 500 millions d'euros à Groupama en novembre

Les investissements en actions représentent 15% du portefeuille de Groupama, contre 5 à 7% chez les grands assureurs. Le groupe détient ainsi 4,22% de la Société générale, titres entrés à 56 euros et qui valent aujourd’hui 15,60 euros, et 5,63% de Veolia, à un coût d’acquisition de 28 euros (9,70 euros aujourd’hui). Nous ne faisons pas du trading sur ces titres, s’insurge Jean Azéma. Ce sont des investissements à long terme et nous ne comptons pas les vendre demain. Cap sur la rentabilité des métiers, la baisse des coûts et la consolidation du bilan. En novembre, les caisses régionales apporteront 500 millions à Groupama SA. Nous leur avons versé 700 millions d’euros depuis 2004, et elles sont excédentaires en fonds propres, plaide Jean Azéma. C’est une simple réallocation des capitaux à l’intérieur du groupe. Il s’agit aussi d’une recapitalisation par les caisses régionales de la société anonyme - une première à Groupama. D’après un analyste, il manque aujourd’hui 2 milliards d’euros de fonds propres pour financer la stratégie et satisfaire aux exigences réglementaires. La réglementation des assureurs va se durcir et pénaliser ceux fortement investis en actions.
Gestion d'actifs
23/09/2011

Le fondateur d’Axa Rosenberg puni

Barr Rosenberg, le fondateur de la société de gestion quantitative Axa Rosenberg, a accepté une amende de 2,5 millions de dollars et une exclusion à vie de l’industrie des titres pour mettre fin aux poursuites de la SEC. Une faille dans les modèles de gestion, cachée pendant plusieurs mois, a forcé Axa IM à verser 25 millions à la SEC et 217 millions à ses clients lésés.
23/09/2011

La collecte d'assurance-vie poursuit sa baisse

Les cotisations des Français à des produits d’assurance-vie ont encore baissé en août, portant à 12% leur recul depuis le début de l’année, a indiqué hier la Fédération française des sociétés d’assurances (FFSA). Le mois dernier, le montant des cotisations collectées à diminué de 11%. La collecte nette s'établit à 21 milliards d’euros à fin août, soit moitié moins qu'à la même période en 2010.
23/09/2011

Morgan Stanley monte au capital d’Orco

Spécialisé dans l’immobilier commercial en Europe de l’Est,Orco Property Group voit la banque américaine monter dans son capital à hauteur de 19,2%. Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing a échangé ses actions dans plusieurs filiales du groupe contre des titres de la maison mère, une opération annoncée en août.
23/09/2011

KIC hésitant pour se renforcer dans BoA

Le fonds souverain sud-coréen a démenti une information de l’agence Yonhap selon laquelle il avait décidé de réinvestir en actions Bank of America les dividendes issus de son investissement actuel. KIC a indiqué qu’il devait observer attentivement «l’économie mondiale et les marchés financiers» avant de prendre une décision. Le fonds a en outre fait part de son souhait d’acquérir des actifs en yuans à moyen terme.
23/09/2011

La valorisation d’Alibaba atteint 32 milliards de dollars

Trois sociétés de capital investissement ont annoncé leur souhait d’acquérir des titres de la maison mère du site de commerce en ligne chinois, Alibaba Group (détenu notamment à hauteur de 30% par le groupe technologique japonais Softbank). Yunfeng Capital (cofondé par le président d’Alibaba, Jack Ma), Silver Lake et DST Global, entendent plus précisément racheter des titres aux salariés actionnaires ou aux détenteurs d’options. Selon le site AllThingsD, le groupe de private equity percevrait une part tout juste inférieure à 5% du capital si l’offre est totalement souscrite. L’offre donnerait au site chinois une valorisation de quelque 32 milliards de dollars. Dans le communiqué, Jack Ma n’a pas manqué de se féliciter du fait que «cette liquidité permettra à nos salariés de concentrer leurs efforts sur le développement de notre groupe et de continuer à créer de la valeur».

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