Suite au rachat de Grail Investors, finalisé vendredi 20 mai, qui lance Columbia Management sur le marché des ETF gérés activement, la société de gestion américaine change le nom de la gamme d’ETF, rapporte Mutual Fund Wire. Ancien nom Nouveau nom Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value ETF Columbia Concentrated Large Cap Value Strategy Fund. RP Growth ETF Columbia Growth Equity Strategy Fund RP Focused Large Cap Growth ETF Columbia Large-Cap Growth Equity Strategy Fund Grail McDonnell Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF Columbia Intermediate Municipal Bond Strategy Fund Grail McDonnell Core Taxable Bond ETF Columbia Core Bond Strategy Fund

Pour les gérants Raymond Sagayam et Kazik Swiderski, récemment recrutés chez Swiss Re Asset Management, Pictet devrait lancer prochainement le fonds coordonné Total Return-Kosmos, un produit de performance absolue pour lequel l’agrément de commercialisation a été sollicité, mais non encore obtenu, de la CSSF luxembourgeoise.Ce fonds à liquidité journalière devrait mettre en œuvre une stratégie long/short sur la valeur relative des spreads de crédit ; il s’intégrera dans la gamme gérée par Pictet Alternative Investments comprenant le Corto Europe, le Mandarin et le Callisto (lire notre article du 11 mars).

Financial Times Fund Management reports that HSBC Global Asset Management has launched the first CIVETS fund, covering Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa. The fund will invest in 40 to 60 publicly-traded businesses in these countries, in the consumer, financial, telecoms and energy sectors.

D’après Citywire, Cyrille Urfer a quitté son poste de directeur des investissements pour les actions et l’obligataire à l’Abu Dhabi Investment Council. Il était arrivé en 2008, en provenance de la société de gestion LODH.

Ignis Asset Management renforce sa présence en Italie, où la société de gestion britannique est présente depuis 2009, avec l’arrivée de Riccardo Villa en tant que «sales support». Le nouveau venu vient de Sydema, société spécialisée dans les logiciels pour le crédit et la gestion d’actifs, où il était sales manager. Il sera placé, chez Ignis AM, sous la responsabilité d’Arcangelo Barletta, directeur régional pour l’Italie et le Tessin.Ignis AM vient en outre d’obtenir l’autorisation à la distribution auprès des particuliers en Italie pour cinq de ses douze fonds de droit irlandais (déjà autorisés pour les institutionnels) : Ignis International Argonaut Pan European Alpha, Ignis International Argonaut Pan European Dividend Income, Ignis International Global Equity, Ignis International Emerging Markets Select Value et Ignis International Asia Pacific. Actuellement, les fonds de la société britannique sont disponibles via la plate-forme d’Allfunds Bank.

La banque d’investissement Goldman Sachs étoffe son équipe d’Asset Management en Suisse. Dans cette perspective, Alain Barthel a été nommé directeur de Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) Suisse, a indiqué le 24 mai la banque dans un communiqué. Alain Barthel travaillait précédemment pour Morgan Stanley où il était à la tête du service de gestion de portefeuilles et en charge de l'établissement d’un département des ventes locales suisses. Il prendra ses nouvelles fonctions en juin et sera basé à Zurich.Pascal Mischler, qui avait rejoint Goldman Sachs en 2010, a été nommé à la tête du département Third Party Distribution de Goldman Sachs Asset Management en Suisse. Pascal Mischler sera basé à Genève.

Le marché suisse des hedge funds se stabilise. Le premier trimestre 2011 s’est traduit par une légère augmentation des souscriptions dans le fonds suisse (+3%), note Le Temps. L’industrie suisse des fonds de hedge funds détient une part de marché de 30%, avec 200 milliards de dollars.Le quotidien constate qu’on assiste à une forte institutionnalisation de ce marché. En Suisse, la part des investisseurs privés est tombée depuis l’an 2000 de 54% à 24%.

La Banque Julius Bär annonce le 25 mai l’inauguration officielle de sa nouvelle succursale d’Ascona, qui est en fait opérationnelle depuis le 18 avril et dont la direction est confiée depuis le 1er mai à Andreas Zwikirsch. Cette implantation offre toute la gamme des services de banque privée dans une région très touristique du Tessin, sur les rives du Lac Majeur. En cas de besoin, l'équipe locale pourra compter sur l’assistance de l’agence de Lugano.D’autre part, l’Agefi Suisse annonce que Julius Baer renforce sa succursale à Saint-Gall. Le groupe bancaire veut renforcer sa présence à long terme dans la région, notamment avec la venue de nouveaux collaborateurs. Dès le 1er septembre 2011, Rolf Brunner, Raphael Capol et Daniel Zürcher vont renforcer l'équipe de la banque en place à Saint-Gall. La nouvelle équipe va intensifier ses efforts de développement dans le private banking en Suisse orientale.

Selon le Financial Times Fund Management, HSBC Global Asset Management vient de lancer le premier fonds «Civets» couvrant la Colombie, l’Indonésie, le Vietnam, l’Egypte, la Turquie et l’Afrique du Sud. Le fonds sera investi sur 40 à 60 entreprises cotées dans ces pays dans les secteurs des biens de consommation, des financières, des télécommunications et de l’énergie.

Currently, CITIC Securities owns 100% of the largest fund management firm in China, China AMC (CNY224bn in assets), in contravention of local law, which forbids ownership of a stake of over 50%. Since January 2010, China AMC has been barred from launching new funds, as its shareholder structure was not in compliance with legislation.Z-Ben Advisors reports on 25 May that CITIC Securities has now received permission to sell 51% of its affiliate, for which it is asking CNY7.56bn. However, it is possible that the sale will be made in several lots (up to five), due to the high price that CITIC Securities is seeking.On the basis of assets under management as of the end of March, the asking price represents 6.61% of asset volumes; on the basis of 2010 profits, it corresponds to a ratio of 14.82 times profits, which may appear high, but should be considered in the context of expected high growth, as China AMC is extremely well positioned in the sector.

Pictet will soon be launching the UCITS-compliant fund Total Return-Kosmos for the managers Raymond Sagayam and Kazik Swiderski, who have recently been hired from Swiss Re Asset Management. The fund is an absolute return product, for which a sales license has been applied for, but not yet received, from Luxembourg’s CSSF.The fund, which will offer daily liquidity, will deploy a long/short strategy on the basis of relative value of credit spreads; it will join the product range managed by Pictet Alternative Investments, which includes Corto Europe, Mandarin and Callisto (see Newsmanagers of 11 March).

UCITS funds enjoyed net inflows of EUR 30 billion in the first quarter of 2011, up from net inflows of EUR 26 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to statistics published by the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA). Long-term UCITS, i.e. UCITS excluding money market funds, recorded net inflows of EUR 39 billion, compared to EUR 67 billion in the last quarter. The drop of inflows from one quarter to the next is largely due to a sharp reduction in net inflows to equity funds, to EUR5bn from EUR39bn in fourth quarter 2010. Net inflows to bond funds rose from EUR1bn in fourth quarter 2010 to EUR7bn in first quarter 2011, while inflows to diversified funds came in at EUR20bn in first quarter, compared with EUR5bn in fourth quarter 2010. Money market funds continued to suffer from net outflows of EUR 9 billion, albeit at a lower level than the net outflows of EUR 41 billion recorded in the previous quarter. Total net assets of UCITS decreased by 0.9 percent in the first quarter to stand at EUR 5,949 billion at end March 2011. Net assets of money market funds decreased 2.6 percent during the quarter, followed by equity funds dropping by 1.5 percent and bond funds by 0.4 percent. Balanced funds broke the trend and enjoyed an increase in net assets of 1.3 percent. Total net assets of non-UCITS increased by 1.2 percent in the first quarter to reach EUR 2,162 billion at end March 2011. Much of this increase is due to special funds reserved to institutional investors, which enjoyed net inflows during the quarter of EUR 28 billion. A country-by-country examination reveals that five countries had net inflows of over EUR1bn in first quarter: Luxembourg (EUR24bn), Ireland (EUR13bn), Switzerland (EUR6bn), and the United Kingdom (EUR5bn) among them. However, France had outflows of EUR15bn, reflecting net redemptions from equities funds as well as money market funds. Italy, meanwhile, has seen net outflows of EUR8bn.

NYSE Euronext on 24 May announced that it has admitted two sustainable development ETFs from iShares to trading on its Amsterdam platform, both of them Irish-registered products.The funds are the iShares Dow Jones Global Sustainability Screened (IE00B57X3V84), which replicates the Dow Jones Sustainability World Enlarged ex Alcohol, Tobacco Gambling, Armaments & Firearms and Adult Entertainment, which charges 0.60%, and the iShares Dow Jones Europe Sustainability Screened (IE00B52VJ196), which replicates the same index for European businesses. The management commission for the latter product is 0.45%.The European platforms of NYSE Euronext now list 561 ETF funds 652 times. Since the beginning of the year, 85 ETFs have been added to trading, and listed 111 times.

According to a recent survey by Axa Investment Managers of a representative sample of the German population, savings investments are once again becoming a subject of interest for Germans. When asked how they would use EUR50,000 if it suddenly became available to them, 57% said that they would invest the money. Among the potential savings investors, 24% said that they would place the money in investment funds. In the 2010 edition of the survey, only 24% had this response. According to Axa IM, it is primarily men between the ages of 40 and 59, with an income equal to or higher than average, who are most likely to choose an investment in funds.

From 1 June, the independent management firm Gamax Management AG (EUR439m) will contract max.xs financial services for marketing and distribution of its products to institutionals and intermediaries in Germany and Austria. The agreement extends to existing funds as well as new products. Gamax will remain responsible for fund conception and development, but will outsource distribution to max.xs, and asset management to DJE Kapital.

Laurent Guillet has been appointed as CEO of Amundi Alternative Investments (Amundi AI), replacing Andrew Watson, who has retired. Guillet had been deputy CEO of Amundi AI since March 2010. He joined Amundi Investment Solutions (formerly CASAM) in April 2007, as deputy CEO.

Following a statement by the French asset management association AFG (see Newsmanagers of 23 May), the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA) has also reacted to a paper from the Financial Stability Board (FSB) about risks related to ETFs. Like the AFG, EFAMA points out that the vast majority of European ETFs are UCITS-compliant vehicles, and that they are therefore subject to solid regulations, which guarantee a high level of protection to investors. Though it is true that the universes and strategies of UCITS products are evolving, due to demand on the part of investors for reduced risk and parallel improvement in returns, it is also trust that all strategies are required to remain within the constraints of the UCITS directive. These requirements will be further strengthened with the introduction of the UCITS IV directive on 1 July, particularly in the area of risk management. EFAMA also responds to the FSB’s concerns related to potential conflicts of interest, exposure to synthetic products, securities lending, and use of collateral. The professional association remarks that these issues are common to the entire financial services sector, and that from its point of view, they are under control and largely reduced by UCITS regulations. EFAMA does, however, say that discussion of regulations regarding collateral would be welcome, either in regard to synthetic ETFs or to securities lending, with the goal of reducing arbitrage risks. In order to address the issues pointed out in its paper, “we encourage the FSB not to limit discussions exclusively to ETFs, as most of these issues are not specific to ETFs,” EFAMA says; it encourages the board to undertake an exhaustive analysis of exchange-traded products (ETP), and to make clear distinctions between products and legal frameworks. “It is very important to maintain or establish an equitable environment for all financial products, and to avoid regulatory confusion between ETF, ETN, ETC and other products,” EFAMA says. EFAMA also recognizes the high level of growth and fast pace of innovation in ETFs, a phenomenon which nonetheless is quite limited compared with the larger fund market, and whose impact on secondary markets should be placed in perspective. Only 2.6% of all European funds are ETFs (3.5% of UCITS funds), and high growth rates are related to this lower baseline.

db-x funds (Deutsche Bank) at the beginning of this week announced the launch of the UCITS-compliant fund DB Platinum CROCI World, which absorbs the CROCI (Cash Return On Capital Invested) strategy of the DB Platinum CROCI World Giants with a more concentrated strategy.From the 450 large international corporations of the MSCI World index, the management team selects the 100 businesses with the lowest adjusted (“economic”) price/earnings ratio; weighting is then undertaken by geographical region and sector, so as to follow the MSCI World index as closely as possible, within a limit of 25% per industry.

Since 24 May, the electronic Xetra platform from Deutsche Börse offers a new oil ETC fund from db ETC Index plc (Deutsche Bank group), the db Brent Crude Oil Booster ETC (EUR), which replicates the db Brent Crude Oil Booster USD index.The product (DE000A1KYN55) charges fees of 0.45%. The ETC segment of Deutsche Börse now lists 180 instruments. Monthly trading volumes total about EUR550m.

Deutsche Börse has announced that it has admitted three more SPDR products from State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) to trading on the XTF segment of its Xetra electronic platform, which now includes 806 products.The three new products are Irish-registered bond funds, replicating Barclays Capital Euro indices. The first is the SPDR Barclays Capital Euro Aggregate Bond ETF (IE00B41RYL63) which charges fees of 0.20%; the second is the SPDR Barclays Capital Euro Corporate Bond ETF (IE00B3T9LM79), also with a management commission of 0.20%. The third product, with fees of only 0.15%, is the SPDR Barclays Capital Euro Government Bond ETF (IE00B3S5XW04), which replicates the Barclays Capital Euro Treasury Bond Index.

The portfolio of the open-ended fund WestInvest InterSelect has been lightened by one property, an 1,800 square metre building on the Frauenplatz in Munich, Deka Immobil has announced. The property was sold for EUR17m, higher than its book value. The operation comes as a part of Deka Immobilien’s ongoing policy of reducing the percentage of its open-ended fund portfolios invested in smaller properties.

Axa Investment Managers is now offering French clients seeking to make an allocation to corporate bond markets in order to earn regular returns over the entire economic cycle the AXA World Funds Global Credit Bonds fund, which was launched in Luxembourg on 23 March. Institutional investors will be able to subscribe to Redex shares with a reduced duration. The product is managed by Nicole Montoya, a senior manager at Axa Fixed Income (EUR124bn in assets), with the assistance of the credit teams at Axa IM in Paris, London, and Greenwich, Connecticut, USA, for the Europe, United Kingdom, and United States allocations, respectively. The fund combines allocations to these regional credit universes with an overlay strategy which relies on long and short positions and credit derivatives. The overlay may be used either in strategic or tactical allocation.

Following the completion of its acquisition of Grail Investors, finalised on Friday, 20 May, Columbia Management is changing the names of the actively-managed ETF products offered by the US-based asset management firm on ETF markets, Mutual Fund Wire reports. Former name New name Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value ETF Columbia Concentrated Large Cap Value Strategy Fund. RP Growth ETF Columbia Growth Equity Strategy Fund RP Focused Large Cap Growth ETF Columbia Large-Cap Growth Equity Strategy Fund Grail McDonnell Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF Columbia Intermediate Municipal Bond Strategy Fund Grail McDonnell Core Taxable Bond ETF Columbia Core Bond Strategy Fund

JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services (WSS) on 23 May announced that it has won an administration mandate from the Netherlands pension fund Stichting Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor de Groothandel in Levensmiddelen (Bpf GIL). The fund has total assets under management of over EUR500m.

Ignis Asset Management has enlarged its presence in Italy, where the UK asset management firm has had a presence since 2009, with the addition of Riccardo Villa in sales support. The new recruit joins from Sydema, a firm specialised in credit and asset management software, where he was sales manager. At Ignis AM, he will report to Arcangelo Barletta, regional head of Italy and Ticino. Ignis AM has also received retail sales licenses in Italy for five of its twelve Irish-registered funds (which were already licensed for sale to institutional clients): Ignis International Argonaut Pan European Alpha, Ignis International Argonaut Pan European Dividend Income, Ignis International Global Equity, Ignis International Emerging Markets Select Value and Ignis International Asia Pacific. Currently, funds from the UK asset management firm are available via the Allfunds Bank platform.

The Swiss hedge fund market is stabilising. First quarter 2011 saw a slight increase in subscriptions to Swiss funds (+3%), Le Temps reports. The Swiss fund of hedge fund industry has a market share of 30%, and weighs in at USD200bn. The newspaper reports that there has been a strong movement of institutionalisation in this market. In Switzerland, the percentage of private clients has fallen from 54% in 2000 to 24% currently.

The Julius Bär bank on 25 May announced the official opening of its new branch office in Ascona, which has in fact been operational since 18 April, and has been directed since 1 May by Andreas Zwikirsch. The location offers the full range of private banking services in a highly touristed region of Ticino, on the banks of Lake Magiore. If necessary, the local team may call in the assistance of the Lugano office. Agefi Switzerland also reports that Julius Bär is recruiting for its office in Saint-Gall. The banking group is planning to increase its long-term presence in the region, with the addition of new personnel. From 1 September 2011, Rolf Brunner, Raphael Capol and Daniel Zürcher will join the banking team in place at Saint-Gall. The new team will redouble its development efforts in private banking in eastern Switzerland.

The Goldman Sachs investment bank is adding to its Asset Management team in Switzerland. Alain Barthel has been appointed as director of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) Switzerland, the bank announced on 24 May in a statement. Barthel previously worked for Morgan Stanley, where he was head of the portfolio management service, in charge of setting up a local Swiss sales department. He will begin in his new position in June, and will be based in Zurich. Pascal Mischler, who joined Goldman Sachs in 2010, has been appointed as head of Third Party Distribution at Goldman Sachs Asset Management in Switzerland. Mischler will be based in Geneva.

«Nous prenons vraiment en compte Solvency 2 en cédant des actions et en renforçant les portefeuilles obligataires et nous essayons de limiter les prises de risque même à l’intérieur des poches obligataires, en étant plutôt souverains que crédits», expose Stéphane Cros, responsable de la gestion des actifs chez Groupama Loire-Bretagne. La caisse sait d’ores et déjà que la nouvelle règlementation va influer sur sa gestion d’une manière assez contraignante et qu’elle aura moins de latitude pour investir sur des actifs à risques. Son second objectif est une exigence groupe: «Nous favorisons les produits qui ont une rémunération récurrente comme l’obligataire», précise Stéphane Cros. Pourtant, un quart des actifs de la caisse est investi en actions. Mais sa gestion a tout de même été modifiée par la crise dans le sens où la caisse s'était abstenue d’investir pendant les deux dernières années. Elle a donc stocké de la trésorerie et sa poche monétaire est relativement importante puisqu’elle représente environ 10 à 12% des investissements. Pour ce qui est des partenariats, la caisse privilégie de manière assez importante, la gestion du groupe à travers Groupama AM, afin de jouer le jeu de la cohérence du groupe mais ne s’interdit pas pour autant, d’avoir d’autres gestionnaires. «Les thématiques qui nous intéressent aujourd’hui ne sont pas nombreuses et nous investissons sur des obligations, notamment convertibles », observe Stéphane Cros.

L’autorité des marchés à terme outre-Atlantique a engagé hier des poursuites à l’encontre de deux traders et de leurs sociétés de courtage (James Dyer chez Parnon Energy et Nick Wildgoose d’Arcadia Energy) pour manipulation des prix du marché du pétrole en 2008. Ils auraient engrangé un bénéfice de 50 millions de dollars.