In its latest weekly newsletter, TrimTabs shows a marked optimism about US equities. The research agency says that it is optimistic (“100% long”), wher eit had previous been cautiously optimistic (“50% long”), largely due to a strong increase in equity purchases last week totalling USD35.1bn, the highest level since September 2008.In April, TrimTabs remarks, acquisitions (including acquisitions of businesses paid in cash and equity buyback operations), totalling USD55.5bn, were USD31.8bn larger in volume than sales deals (sales and insider sale operations), which totalled a net USD23.7bn.TrimTabs also points to two other factors favourable to US equities: purchases of Treasury bonds this week by the Federal Reserve, and favourable demand indicators. However, TrimTabs points out, rising inflation in a slow economic context means that optimism must be limited at this time.
The independent company Assya compagnie financière on 2 May announced at a presentation of its annual results that it is expecting to take a major step in its development with the integration not only of an independent investment business based in Greece, Eurocorp Securities, but also with the opening of two new affiliates dedicated to wealth management in Geneva and Monaco.The new development brings a significant extension of the group’s perimeter in first half 2011, which now includes Asset Management activities, with nearly EUR350m in assets under management, and a position in the major asset management markets, the group says in a statement.Last year, net profits for the part of the group totalled EUR3.3m, compared with a negative bottom line of EUR9.1m the previous year. Capital gains from sales of the companies of the Privera group (which were non-strategic participations), associated with the revaluation of real estate assets held by the group, totalling EUR10.2m overall, make a full contribution to this result, the statement says. The firm also states that it is planning to “continue its external growth strategy, seize opportunities to create value around financial services, and to bring independent actors into its federation built around its planned expansion.”
The Dutch automotive firm Spyker Cars has announced that the asset management firm Gemini, based in the Bahamas, has lent it EUR30m for six months at 7%, to allow it to restart the activities of the Swedish car company Saab, Handelsblatt reports.Meanwhile, the CEO of Spyker, Victor Muller, is seeking “robust” investors in China who may be inclined to buy stakes in Saab. Talks are expected to conclude soon.
UBS Global Asset Management has recruited Clemens Bertram as head of distribution partners for Germany.In this position he will actually be responsible for all wholesale activities of the Swiss asset management firm on the German market, which corresponds to the experience he has been able to build up during his four years at Schroder Investment Management Germany as head of key accounts & insurances, and previously five years as head of key accounts, private banks and insurers at BlackRock (and Merrill Lynch) Germany.Bertram will report locally to Andreas Varnavides, CEO Global Asset Management Germany & Eastern Europe, and functionally to Rob Lay, head of distribution partners Europe & Middle East.
Uwe Diehl, who was most recently country head Germany at Lombard Odier, after previously serving as director of distribution at Henderson Global Investors, on 1 May joined Axa Investment Managers Germany as head of wholesale/retail distribution for Germany and Austria. He replaces Bernard Klocke, who has left the business after seven years there.
Currently, EUR28bn are invested in open-ended real estate funds in Germany whose redemptions are suspended. And in 2010, German real estate funds saw average losses of 2.7%. The best of them, the Inter Immoprofil from iii, earned only 3.6%, Die Welt reports.By comparison, Swiss real estate funds (CHF24.9bn, or EUR19.3bn in total assets), in which Germans are easily able to acquire shares, look like a field of dreams: in 2010, they generated returns of over 10%. There is, however, evidently currency risk.Nonetheless, unlike German real estate funds, Swiss funds invest primarily in Switzerland, not abroad, and they have a lot of residential properties on their books, which are less vulnerable than office properties to fluctuations in conjuncture.In addition, since its beginnings in 1938, Switzerland has adopted well-adapted legislation in this area. Shares in real estate funds may be redeemed only once per year on a set date, with an advance notice of at least one year. In addition, funds may issue shares only if they need capital in order to acquire a property.
Dow Jones Indexes has announced that its Global Dow index, which measures the performance of the 150 largest corporations in the world by market capitalisation, will serve as the benchmark index for the SPDR® Global Dow ETF from State Street Global Advisors.
Following an agreement between the US based asset management firms Brandes Investment Partners and Sparinvest of Denmark earlier this year (see Newsmanagers of 13/01/2011), a new fund has been born. The two value style investment specialists announced on Monday, 2 May that they have launched the Sparinvest – Corporate Value Bonds fund, which will be jointly managed by the two firms. North American bond issuers will be selected by San Diego based Brandes, while Danish Sparinvest will select issuers from the rest of the world. The fund’s portfolio will include 80 to 120 bonds. Characteristics ISIN code (R share class): LU0620744002ISIN code (I (EUR) share class): LU0620744770 Management fees for R share class (private clients): 1% Management fees for I share class (institutional): 0.55% Front-end fee: up to 2% for R share class; 0% for I share class Exit fees: 0% for both share classes
From 2 May until, probably, 24 June, Union Investment is offering the UniGarant: Emerging Markets (2018) fund for sale in Germany. The product will be launched on 30 June, and will mature on 22 June 2018.As its name indicates, the product is a fund which guarantees 100% of initial capital at maturity, minus a front-end fee of 4%, and a share of the average evolution of a basket of indices of equities from BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), Latin America, and Asia. Early withdrawals are possible, but the guarantee does not apply in this case, and a 2% penalty will be charged and transfered to the fund.Union Investment (co-operative banks) is the German leader in guaranteed funds, with about 80 funds and assets as of the end of February of EUR16.6bn in this segment.CharacteristicsName: UniGarant: Emerging Markets (2018)ISIN code: LU0595487439Front-end fee: 4%Management commission: 1% (maximum 1.5%)
On 3 May, the Julius Baer group (CHF267bn in assets as of the end of December) announced that it has acquired a 30% stake in the largest independent wealth management firm in Brazil, GPS, which is the parent company of GPS Planejamento Financeiro Ltda. and CFO Administração de Recursos Ltda., for an undisclosed amount.GPS, which has 84 employees, has assets of BRL8.5bn, or USD5bn. The firm was founded in 1999 by José Eduardo Martins, Marco Belda and Roberto Rudge. The nine current partners at the firm will continue to direct its activities independently, with the same team, and will maintain the strategy employed thus far. Julius Baer will be represented by two members on the board of directors.The holding company which controls GPS and Pulsar Invest, which also includes a private equity and corporate finance division, via its Green Capital brand, that is not part of the partnership structured with Julius Baer.
Société Générale Private Banking has appointed Philippe Boutron as regional chief investment officer for the Middle East. Boutron will be based in Dubai, and will report to Eddy Abramo, chief executive officer of Société Générale Private Banking (Middle East). Boutron, 40, joined Société Générale in 1993 as head of marketing and commercial development for the retail bank.
During the week ending 27 April, a slowdown in US growth and continuing problems with sovereign borrowers on the periphery of the Euro zone showed little sign of dampening investors’ activities. According to EPFR Global, most fund categories posted net subscriptions, with USD3.04bn flowing into bond funds, USD7.89bn into equities funds, and nearly USD21bn – a level not observed for 20 weeks – into money market funds.Funds dedicated to emerging markets equities attracted USD1.8bn as of the end of April, though net outflows since the beginning of the year totalled USD7.4bn. Net inflows to Asia ex Japan equities ran to nearly USD3bn.Among the BRIC countries, interest in Russia has not let up, and net inflows to Russian equities funds since the beginning of the year have totalled over USD4.5bn.Concerns about the US dollar and inflation have continued to influence flows, with a particular interest being accorded to funds dedicated to gold and precious metals in the commodities sector, where, given the pace of subscriptions since the beginning of the year, assets may beat the all-time record set last year of USD32bn.Bond and emerging markets funds invested in local currencies have also posted a net inflows of USD403.7m, more than ten times higher than the inflows to funds of bonds denominated in major currencies. Assets in these funds now total USD52.8bn, higher than the total major currency bond assets (USD49.2bn).
Audley Capital, the London hedge fund run by Julian Treger, is to open up its flagship fund to new investments after withdrawals from long-term investors over the past few months, according to the Financial Times. The USD750m European Opportunities fund returned 140 per cent in 2009 and 100 per cent last year. Audley is also considering changing the liquidity terms on the fund.
47% of hedge funds and 45% of investment bankers feel that working conditions and outlooks are worse in the United Kingdom than in other jurisdictions, according to a survey of over 9,000 members of the CFA Society of the United Kingdom, relayed by Financial Times Fund Management.
Nasdaq OMX Group et IntercontinentalExchange ont lancé officiellement hier le processus d’une offre hostile de 11,1 milliards de dollars sur Nyse Euronext. Les deux prétendants ont donc choisi de s’adresser directement aux actionnaires. Cette décision était attendue après que le conseil d’administration a rejeté par deux fois les avances des deux groupes pour privilégier une offre de l’opérateur allemand Deutsche Börse à 10,3 milliards. «Le lancement de cette offre devrait convaincre le conseil d’administration de Nyse que nos intentions sont sérieuses», selon Robert Greifeld, directeur général de Nasdaq OMX. Le président du conseil d’administration de Nyse Euronext Jan-Michiel Hessels avait qualifié jeudi l’offre de Nasdaq OMX d'«illusoire». «Nous pensons que (Nasdaq OMX et ICE) n’obtiendront pas l’approbation nécessaire et nous pensons que leur offre est une stratégie pour entraver (notre fusion)», avait-il alors déclaré.
Le gérant new-yorkais a fait état d’une baisse de 8% sur un an de son bénéfice au premier trimestre, à 43,92 millions de dollars. Les actifs sous gestion s’établissaient à 477,3 milliards de dollars à la fin du mois de mars, un niveau stable par rapport à celui observé à la fin de 2010.
Aequam Capital, une société de gestion quantitative indépendante, qui vient d’être créée par Arnaud Chrétien (ex-SGAM AI), propose une gamme de programmes d’investissement quantitatifs et systématiques, visant à tirer parti de tendances et d’opportunités d’investissement sur les principaux marchés à terme de taux, d’indices actions, de devises et de matières premières, selon un communiqué diffusé hier. L’équipe compte neuf collaborateurs.
La société, dont l'activité et la valorisation ont suivi l’envolée des prix du secteur, espère lever un milliard de dollars en s’introduisant en Bourse
La Bourse des métaux de Chicago a relevé vendredi ses marges initiale et de maintenance de 13,16% pour les positions spéculatives. En réaction, les futures sur l’argent ont chuté hier un moment de 13%. La décision, la deuxième en une semaine, contraint les traders à mobiliser plus de cash.
La BCE s’est déclarée en faveur de ce projet vendredi dernier. Les professionnels travaillent aussi à une amélioration de la transparence sur les produits.
Le hedge fund londonien Audley Capital, dirigé par l’activiste sud-africain Julian Treger, va selon le quotidien permettre à de nouveaux investisseurs d’entrer au sein de son fonds vedette European Opportunities, dont l’actif s’élève à 750 millions de dollars. Une initiative inspirée par le retrait de certains clients de long terme au cours des derniers mois. Le fonds a affiché des performances de 140% en 2009 et de 100% l’an passé.
Les citoyens britanniques qui possèdent des milliards de livres dans des comptes non déclarés au fisc logés dans des banques suisses devront s’acquitter d’une taxe de 50% selon un accord qui aurait été passé, selon le quotidien, entre les autorités des deux pays et pourrait être annoncé au cours du mois. L’Etat britannique compte ainsi récolter quelque trois milliards de livres qui s’ajouteront au paiement d’une taxe rétroactive.
Légèrement ralentie en mars, la croissance de l’activité dans le secteur manufacturier en France est repartie de l’avant en avril, montrent lundi les résultats définitifs de l’enquête mensuelle Markit auprès des directeurs d’achat. L’indice PMI industriel est remonté à 57,5 (son plus haut niveau depuis novembre) contre 55,4 en mars.
«Il n’est pas question de restructurer» la dette publique de la Grèce, qui suscite l’inquiétude d’une partie des investisseurs, déclare le ministre grec des Finances dans un entretien publié lundi par Libération. Pour Georges Papaconstantinou, «il vaut mieux que l’on allonge encore les délais de remboursement des 110 milliards d’euros que nous ont prêtés nos partenaires et que l’on baisse davantage le taux d’intérêt».