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18/11/2010

Fund assets still EUR42bn below their late 2007 levels

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 30 September, assets in German open-ended funds totalled EUR689.4bn, compared with EUR731.1bn as of the end of 2007, although these assets have increased strongly since the crash of 2008, which brought EUR27.8bn in net outflows and EUR127.5bn in losses. In 2009, the Kommalpha agency reports on the basis of statistics from the BVI association of German asset management firms, net subscriptions represented EUR2.1bn and positive market effects came to EUR72.6bn. Since the beginning of this year, net inflows have totalled EUR19bn, on capital gains of EUR19.9b. Of the EUR42bn still needed to return to late 2007 levels, about EUR7bn correspond to net outflows, and EUR35bn to losses. Kommalpha also notes that since 2008, total assets in equities funds fell by half, losing more than EUR100bn, while a significant proportion of assets in real estate funds are currently iliquid. At first glance, there appears to be no noticeable modification to global allocation, as equities and bond funds still represent about 50% of the market, but diversified funds have doubled their share, to 16.7% compared with 8.1% at the end of 2007, while money market funds have fallen to 7%, compared with 13.8% of the total.
18/11/2010

Walewski to launch a Newcits

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Citywire reports that Nicolas Walewski is preparing to launch a UCITS III-compliant long/short fund of European equities, which will be available in January 2011. The fund will be entitled Alken Absolute Return Europe.
18/11/2010

Julius Baer launches a European absolute return fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Andy Kastner has been placed in charge of the new Absolute Return Europe Equity Fund, a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Julius Baer Multistock, managed by Swiss & Global Asset Management (GAM group), by Julius Baer. It is a market neutral UCITS-compliant absolute return fund, with fees of 1.2% and a performance commission of 10%. The management team relies on a neutral sectoral strategy with 50 to 80 positions, equally divided end weighted between long and short, though the fund may also make temporary tactical investments and use derivatives.
18/11/2010

Edram appoints a country head for German-speaking countries

After Benelux and Spain (see Newsmanagers of 27 September and 12 November), Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM) has concretised its plans to create a Frankfurt office, in Openturn, as the chairman of the board announced to Newsmanagers less than two months ago. The team will not be operational until January, however.The office will be led by Rupert Hengster, head of activities development for the German-speaking countries. Hengster was president of the executive committee at the asset management firm Oppenheim KAG in Cologne (2004-2010), and a member of the board of directors at the wealth management and asset management group Sal. Oppenheim in Luxembourg. He resigned from his position at the end of September (see Newsmanagers of 20 March).Hengster will focus in particular on the creation of a distribution network serving institutional and third-party clients. The office will have five members.The funds which will be made available in Germany, all of which are French-registered, in keeping with Edram’s doctrine, are the following:Europe RendementEurope Rendement FlexibleSaint-Honoré Europe SynergieTricolore RendementSaint-Honoré ConvertiblesSaint-Honoré US Value & YieldSaint-Honoré Chine
18/11/2010

Hard times for absolute return funds

As of 30 June, the number of absolute return funds on sale in Germany totalled 308. Since June 2007, 96 funds have been closed, while 172 have been launched. Total assets fell from EUR38.4bn as of 30 June 2007 to EUR23.4bn one year later, and then to EUR18.5bn as of the end of June 2009. Since then, they have returned to EUR20.9bn, a study from the Frankfurt-based Lupus alpha (EUR5.6bn in absolute return funds and EUR1.4bn in European small caps, as of the end of October) finds.Average returns of 0.57% per year for the three years to the end of June 2009 were transformed into losses of 0.31% per year for the three years to the end of June 2010. Only 50% of funds posted positive results. In first half 2010, average performance was limited to 0.07%, with about half of funds still in positive territory. But resluts for individual funds vary widely, from losses of 16.7% to positive returns of 24.2%.Lupus alpha reports that over three years, only 21% of absolute return funds show a positive Sharpe ratio.
18/11/2010

CMC Markets opens office in France

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British brokerage CMC Markets UK Ltd, one of the major specialists in contracts for difference (CFD) along with the British IG Markets and the Danish Saxo Bank, has announced that it has recently received a license from the AMF.The firm has opened an office in Paris on the Champs Elysées. It is the group’s 17th affiliate. The Paris location is operated by a team of 15 people, directed by Fabrice Cousté, who “previously occupied key positions, first at Boursorama (Société Générale group), and then at B*Capital (BNP Paribas group),” a statement says.CMC Markets has reported 26 million orders executed for 2009, for an amount of over GBP770bn, traded by 80,000 active clients worldwide.
18/11/2010

CalPERS on the offensive over transparency

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Californian pension fund CalPERS on 17 November announced new transparency requirements: all service providers will be required to divulge any potential use of an agent to win new contracts, and any family or financial ties which they may have to members of the CalPERS board of trustees. This new measure comes as a complement to those already adopted in the past 18 months, and will ensure that the fund’s decisions are “open and transparent,” says Rob Feckner, chairman of the board at CalPERS. The new rule comes into effect from 1 December, and applies to all contracts valued at USD10,000 or more.
18/11/2010

FSA publishes proposals for platforms

The Financial Services Authority on 17 November published proposals to bring platform services for purchase and management of investments into line with the requirements set forth by the new RDR regulations from January 2013. The proposals reflect the increasingly large role which platforms play on the retail market, the FSA says in a statement.From January 2013, the cost of advising will be decided by the client and the adviser, and not by the adviser and the provider of the product, as was previously the case, and these costs may not be hidden from the consumer in the cost of the product.The British market watchdog also proposes that independent firms should be allowed to use a single platform for most of their clients, if the choice is in the best interest of the client.
18/11/2010

US banks targeted by Fed

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US Federal Reserve announced on 17 November that it is continuing its close surveillance of the largest banks in the country. The Fed says that large US banks which would like to increase their dividend in 2011 will first need to prove their financial solidity and their ability to adapt to likely changes in regulation. It has published a directive laying out the way in which it plans to respond to demands from banks from among the 19 largest in the country seeking to increase their dividends or buy back shares this year. Among the criteria to be considered, the Fed says it will take into account the capacity of these banks “to absorb losses in the next two years in unfavourable scenarios.” The central bank would also like to highlight the ways in which the banks will respond to the standards set out by the Basel Committee for banking controls, when “they come into force in the United States,” as well as the ways in which the banks plan to adapt to Wall Street reforms passed in July.
18/11/2010

Christian Elsmark leaves Scottish Widows

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } IPE understands that Christian Elsmark, managing director, Europe, at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP), has left the firm after spending two years there. He was head for Scandinavia, Spain, Italy and Germany, and joined the company from FundQuest.
18/11/2010

TPG and Blackstone interested in Egg

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Agefi reports that the two private equity firms TPG and Blacktsone will make a joint offer for the British online bank Egg, which is owned by Citigroup. According to sources familiar with the matter, offers will be at around GBP300m.
18/11/2010

Pension funds turn to alternative investment

About two thirds of managers and trustees of British pension funds continue to be concerned by the current volatility of the markets, an annual online survey from Baring Asset Management of professionals in the industry reveals. The responses also reveal that half of pension funds have recently modified their asset allocation in response to these concerns, mostly (61%) reducing their exposure to equities in favour of alternative investments (69%). 61% of managers say that the modifications were intended to reduce the volatility of the funds, while the second most frequently cited reason (54%) is a desire to reduce the correlation between asset classes in the portfolio.The survey has also found that 44% of respondents are seeking to better diversify their assets. The other most frequently used solutions to reduce the impact of volatility are strengthening risk/return analysis and making more regular revisions of portfolios.In terms of the subsequent evolution of asset allocation, 65% of managers estimate that emerging Asian equities will have the highest potential for gains in the next ten years.
18/11/2010

Manuela Fröhlich leaves F&C

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a letter to distributors and clients, Manuela Fröhlich, director and head of global wholesale, has announced that she will be leaving F&C at the end of the month, Fondsprofessionell reports. In the past two years, she has also been head of sales support/wholesale for the German-speaking countries and wholesale marketing. She joined the UK asset management firm in May 2001. She will be replaced by James Young (formerly of Thames River) and Angela Lo Mascolo, effective immediately.
18/11/2010

La Chine s'attaque à l'inflation

Le gouvernement chinois a indiqué qu’il voulait stabiliser les marchés du blé, du pétrole, du coton et du sucre, ajoutant que la lutte contre la spéculation allait être intensifiée. Pour les marchés, ces propos accréditent la thèse d’un durcissement imminent de la politique monétaire.
18/11/2010

L’immobilier sourit à Cerberus

Le quotidien souligne que Cerberus Capital a engrangé depuis l’an passé un gain de près de 2 milliards de dollars grâce à ses investissements sur les RMBS, ces titres adossés à des créances hypothécaires. Son fonds vedette Cerberus Institutional Partners LP Series IV a enregistré une performance voisine de 20% cette année.
18/11/2010

TPG et Blackstone candidats au rachat d'Egg

Les deux sociétés de private equity devraient soumettre une offre pour la banque en ligne britannique Egg, détenue par Citigroup, d’ici la date limite de candidature fixée ce jour, ont fait savoir des sources proches du dossier à Reuters. Selon l’une des sources, les offres devraient avoisiner les 300 millions de livres.
18/11/2010

Lactalis dépose une offre sur Yoplait

Le groupe français a annoncé avoir déposé une offre de rachat sur la totalité du capital de Yoplait, numéro deux mondial des produits laitiers frais. Selon Reuters, Lactalis serait prêt à débourser 1,3 milliard d’euros pour racheter Yoplait, détenu à parts égales par la coopérative agricole Sodiaal et PAI Partners.
18/11/2010

Au moins quatre candidats pour Takko

Apax Partners, Bain Capital, EQT et TPG devraient participer cette semaine au premier tour d’enchères pour le distributeur allemand de vêtements, selon Reuters. Takko, détenu par Advent International, pourrait aussi être mise en Bourse. Sur la base d’un multiple d’Ebitda de 10, un niveau observé lors d’opérations comparables, la valorisation de la cible ressort à 1,25 milliard d’euros environ.
18/11/2010

Un ancien trader de la Société Générale reconnaît avoir volé un code

Un ancien trader de la Société Générale a reconnu avoir dérobé une copie du code de trading haute fréquence de la banque française et de l’avoir partagé avec son futur employeur. Samarth Agrawal, un indien de 27 ans, a été arrêté aux Etats-Unis le 19 avril dernier, au premier jour de son travail auprès du hedge fund Tower Research Capital.
18/11/2010

Près de 15 milliards de dollars pour le fonds de Blackstone

Le responsable des opérations de Blackstone, Tony James, a indiqué que l’actif du fonds que la société de private equity met actuellement en œuvre, BCP VI, sera proche de 15 milliards de dollars. Un montant supérieur aux 13,5 milliards précédemment visés par Blackstone. Le dirigeant s’est félicité de pouvoir ainsi évoquer l’un des principaux fonds jamais levés, qui plus est dans un environnement hostile.
18/11/2010

CMC Markets obtient l’agrément AMF

La société spécialisée sur les CFD a annoncé l’obtention de l’agrément AMF qui lui permet de s’implanter en France. CMC Markets rejoint ainsi ses concurrents les plus directs, Saxo Bank et IG Markets.
17/11/2010

La Grande Bretagne prête à soutenir l'Irlande

La Grande-Bretagne est prête à soutenir l’Irlande, a déclaré le ministre britannique des Finances George Osborne. «Nous allons faire ce qui relève de l’intérêt national britannique. L’Irlande est notre voisin le plus proche et il relève de l’intérêt national britannique que l'économie irlandaise rencontre le succès», a déclaré le chancelier de l’Echiquier en marge d’une rencontre des ministres des Finances européens.

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