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17/03/2010

Rgulators may touchen conditions for access to "New-CITS"

Regulators are growing increasingly concerned that retail investors are being put at risk by the wave of hedge fund-like investment strategies being launched in the Ucits format, says the Financial Times Fund Management. Patrice Berge-Vincent, head of the asset management policy department at the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the French regulator, called for higher minimum investments for some Newcits to deter retail investors.
17/03/2010

Hedge funds: Europe fails to reach agreement

Les Echos reports that the Spanish finance minister, Elena Salgado, chairwoman of the Council, opted to withdraw her proposed compromise on regulations for the alternative management industry in the AIFM directive, in the face of continued differences of opinion between the United Kingdom, on one hand, and France and its partners on the other. Paris and London disagree as to whether a European passport should be granted to asset management firms from outside the European Union. Though the UK favours this proposal, France, supported by Germany, would prefer not to risk opening the European market to offshore funds.
17/03/2010

Assets in funds of hedge funds still sliding

Combined assets of funds of hedge fund groups with more than USD1bn under management slipped to USD625bn from USD744bn a year earlier, says the Financial Times Fund Management. Figures, from the InvestHedge Billion Dollar Club’s most recent survey are still an improvement on 2008, when assets dropped by a third.
17/03/2010

Russell builds global capacities in alternatives

To strengthen its presence in the area of “less traditional” strategies such as active management of commodities, investments in private equity and high-alpha strategies, Russell Investments is adding to its manager selection and advising services worldwide. To this end, the firm is planning to recruit more than 25 specialists in Australia, Japan, Europe, and the Americas. The recruitments will include senior consultants, senior investment strategists, and manager research analysts.
17/03/2010

BBB+ rating for Greece confirmed by Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor’s announced on 16 March that it has confirmed a long-term rating of BBB+ for Greece. The rating does, however, remain on negative watch. The country’s short-term rating of A-2 has also been retained. The agency calls teh debt reduction program adopted by the government appropriate to achieve the budgetary objectives set in 2010, in light of the deterioration of growth outlooks in Greece.
17/03/2010

Hedge funds gained 0.68% in February

Hedge funds included in the Credit Suisse/Tremont index in February ultimately achieved lower returns than the 0.87% announced (see Newsmanagers of 11 March), on the basis of results from 76% of funds: returns now average 0.68%, compared with 0.17% in January, bringing total gains for the first two months of the year to 0.85%. The worst results were -3.87% for dedicated short bias strategy, which has also seen the heaviest losses (3.61%) in the first two months of the year, followed by managed futures (-2.07%), which, however, saw the highest gains in February, at 1.81%. In January-February, distressed strategies have the best results, with gains of 2.32%.
17/03/2010

Basel Committee launches a consultation on corporate governance

The Basel Committee on 16 March published a series of principles which are intended to help improve corporate governance practices in the banking sector. The document is open to consultation until 15 June this year. The principles laid out in the document, which attempts to draw the lessons of the financial crisis, includes the role of the board of directors, qualifications of board members, risk management, and oversight of pay scales. The Committee points out in a statement that it composed the document in close collaboration with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), which has undertaken a revision of its core principles to better take into account corporate governance issues.
17/03/2010

Madoff's sons seek victim status

Bernard Madoff’s two sons believe they should be counted among the victims of their father’s crimes, according to court papers filed in a lawsuit brought by the court-appointed trustee for Madoff’s firm. Martin Flumenbaum, a lawyer for Mark Madoff and Andrew Madoff, said they went to the authorities shortly after their father revealed to them he had been running a Ponzi scheme, thus preventing the dissipation of USD170 million in funds.
17/03/2010

Groupama registers Alpha Forex fund in Spain

On 12 March, Groupama Asset Management registered its absolute return fund Groupama Alpha Forex (Eonia + 200 basis points, with volatility of under 1%), bringing the number of funds on sale in Spain to 26. The French management firm is planning to register the Groupama Index Inflation Monde fund with the CNMV in the near future.
17/03/2010

Schroders releases first products in London, via Gaia

Fund Strategy reports that the Schroder Gaia Egerton European Equity fund is now available on the British market, via the Luxembourg-based Gaia platform for UCITS III-compliant hedge funds from Schroders. The fund is managed by Egerton Capital Limited Partnership, an independent management firm based in London, which focuses primarily on pan-European equities. Schroders has already exported its platform to Spain, Germany and Austria. Minimal investment is set at GBP5,000, while management fees are 2%, and performance commission is 20%.
17/03/2010

Baring MENA to charge 1.50% front-end fee

Baring Asset Management announced on Tuesday that its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fund, which will be released on 29 March (see Newsmanagers of 4 March 2009, 17 July 2009, and 15 December 2009), will charge a management fee of 5%, and a front-end fee of 1.5%. The fund will be an Open Ended Investment Company (OEIC), domiciled in Dublin and managed by Ghadir Abu Leil-Cooper. Minimal subscription is set at GBP2,500, or USD5,000, or EUR3,500. Initially, the new fund will invest primarily in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia (via P notes and swaps).
17/03/2010

Amundi real estate arm plans to double AUM in five years

In a statement, Amundi Immobilier, which had EUR5.2bn in assets under management as of 40 September 2009, announced on Tuesday, 16 March that it is planning to double its market share in the next 5 years to more than 25% of the private client market in France. To achieve this, the firm is turning to external distribution and IFAs, offering a range of products through these channels. The firm is planning to release the SCPI Scellier Premely Habitat 2 fund, which is licensed by the AMF, and also to launch a retail OPCI fund in second half 2010.
17/03/2010

MFC Global IM recruits former CIO, equity from Evergreen

Chris Conkey has been appointed as chief investment officer, global equities, at MFC Global Investment Management. He will report to JF Courville, global president and CEO of MFC, the asset management affiliate of Manulife Financial. The new recruit is based in Boston, and will work in close collaboration with Barry Evans, CIO, fixed income, and with Mark Schmeer, CIO, asset allocation, strategy & research, who was previously also CIO, global equities. In the past three years, Conkey was CIO, equity at Evergreen, after the merger of Keystone Investments and Evergreen.
17/03/2010

Appointment at Goldman Sachs

Financial News reports that Goldman Sachs has appointed a new head of principal strategies, following the annountment of the departure of the former head Pierre-Henri Flamand. Morgan Sze, head of principal strategies at Goldman Sachs for Asia, will take over the management of the group worldwide, according to an internal memo sent around at the firm this week. He will continue to report to David Heller, one of the four heads of securities at Goldman Sachs in New York.
17/03/2010

Neuberger Berman chooses JP Morgan as custodian

Neuberger Berman (USD171bn in assets) has announced that it has selected J.P. Morgan Clearing Corp as provider of clearing and custody services, for about 50,000 accounts. The migration will take place in second quarter. The value of the contract has not been disclosed.
17/03/2010

AXA pulls NYSE listing

AXA announced on Tuesday, 16 March that it has submitted a Form 25 document to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) to voluntarily end listing of its American Depository Shares (ADS) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The last say of trading for the ADS on NYSE will be 25 March 2010. “The withdrawal from listing will be effective from 26 March 2010. Following that date, ADS will be traded on the US over-the-counter (OTC) market, and will be listed on the OTC QX platform,” a statement from the group explains. The listings will be available at www.otcqx.com.
17/03/2010

Alessandro Costa reported to have quit Eurizon Capital

Citywire reports that one of the best selectors of European funds, Alessandro Costa, has left his position at Eurizon Capital in Milan. The manager, who has several times been cited with distinction by Citywire, was director of the multi-management unit at Eurizon, and controlled more than EUR10bn in assets. The website states that Costa previously served as senior investment manager at Citibank in London and Lugano, before joining Sanpaolo AM, where he set up the multi-management activities.
17/03/2010

Appointment at bfinance

The consulting firm bfinance has announced the appointment of Jean-François Milette as CEO for its Canadian operations. Milette, who has more than 23 years of experience in the asset management industry, and who served as vice president and senior director of commercial relations with Canadian institutional investors at Dexia AM, will head the Montreal and Toronto offices, and will report to the president and CEO of bfinance international, David Vafai, based in London.
17/03/2010

M&G puts three funds in hands of Mike Riddell

The UK management firm M&G has made Mike Riddell manager of three bond funds, Investment Week reports. The funds are the M&G Emerging Markets Bond, Index-Linked Bond and International Sovereign Bond, previously managed by Jim Leaviss, head of retail fixed income at M&G. Leaviss, who will now serve as deputy manager of the products, will continue to work in close collaboration with Riddell to manage the three funds, with about GBP200m in assets.
17/03/2010

7% increase in assets under management at Close AM

Assets under management in the asset management unit of Close Brothers increased 7% in the half-year ending on 31 January 2010, to a total of GBP7.3bn, compared with GBP6.3bn as of 31 July 2009. Operating profits contracted to GBP2.7m from GBP6.6m previously, due to lower revenues from fund administration activities, and also to investments by the private clients unit. Close Asset Management, meanwhile, has announced the appointment of Nancy Curtin as chief investment officer. Curtin previously served in the same role at Fortune Asset Management, which has recently been taken over by Close AM.
16/03/2010

Des bonus et une exception chez UBS

La Tribune rapporte qu’UBS va verser 54,9 millions de francs suisses (37,6 millions d’euros) de bonus à ses dirigeants pour l’année 2009. Le président du conseil d’administration, Kaspar Villiger, a quant à lui renoncé à une prime en actions et a réduit son salaire de base de 2 millions de francs suisses à 850.000 francs (583.000 euros).
16/03/2010

Le bénéfice net de Partners Group augmente de 20 %

Si les recettes d’exploitation se sont tassées à 325 millions de francs suisses contre 328 millions et si l’ebitda a baissé à 227 millions de francs contre 240 millions, le gestionnaire helvétique Partners Group a enregistré pour 2009 une hausse de 20 % de son bénéfice net aux normes comptables IFRS, à 205 millions de francs.Le dividende va être majoré à 4,50 francs par action contre 4,25 francs au titre de 2008. Cela correspond à un rendement du dividende de 3,1 % sur la base du cours de clôture du 12 mars.L’encours se situe à environ 25 milliards de francs suisses, et les dirigeants de Partners Group confirment qu’ils escomptent pour cette année des souscriptions nettes de 4-5 milliards de francs.
16/03/2010
Fonds

Bonne performance pour le Fonds de la Sécurité sociale

Le National Social Security Fund (NSSF) chinois a annoncé avoir gagné 84,9 milliards de yuans en 2009, ce qui correspond à une performance de 16,1 %, l’allocation aux actions étrangères générant un gain de 53,26 %. En 2008, le fonds avait seulement gagné 5,25 % à cause d’une perte de 39 milliards de yuans sur son portefeuille actions.Z-Ben Advisors précise que le NSSF affiche pour les neuf dernières années, donc depuis sa création, une performance moyenne annualisée de 9,75 %. L’encours à fin décembre représentait 776,5 milliards de yuans, soit 38 % de plus que fin 2008. L’objectif est d’atteindre 1.000 milliards pour la fin de cette année.
Fonds
16/03/2010

L'amélioration des comptes passe avant la consolidation du secteur

Les dirigeants des plus grandes sociétés de gestion britanniques (Aberdeen AM, Gartmore, F&C, etc) ont douché les espoirs de consolidation dans l’industrie de la gestion d’actifs cette année, rapporte le Financial News. Après avoir interrogé plusieurs d’entre eux, il ressort que ces derniers préfèreraient se concentrer sur le renforcement de leurs bilans plutôt que de réaliser des affaires de cette nature.
16/03/2010

Lancement d'une structure dédiée à l'immobilier distressed

Une équipe dirigée par l’ancien banquier d’UBS Bill Hancock et l’ex-juriste spécialisé dans l’immobilier Robert Kingsmill vient de lancer Resolute Asset Management, une structure de gestion et de conseil sur toutes les problématiques liées à l’immobilier distressed, selon Hedge Week. Resolute s’est dotée d’un comité consultatif qui lui fournira entre autres du conseil stratégique.
16/03/2010
Fonds

Ignis AM et Argonaut lancent un fonds

Ignis Asset Management et sa boutique Argonaut Capital, spécialisée dans les actions européennes, vont lancer début avril au Royaume-Uni, sous réserve de l’obtention des autorisations nécessaires, le fonds Ignis Argonaut European Enhanced Income. Géré par Oliver Russ, le fondateur d’Argonaut avec Barry Norris, le fonds utilisera une stratégie de «covered call» qui consiste à vendre des options d’achat contre les actions du fonds pour dégager un rendement plus élevé. D’après le communiqué de presse, il s’agit du premier fonds britannique «onshore» de ce style. Sur la première année le fonds vise un rendement annuel d’environ 7 %. L’objectif sera ensuite révisé chaque année, dans une fourchette de 5-9 %. Les rendements d’Ignis Argonaut Enhanced Income Fund seront couverts contre le sterling. Le fonds sera concentré sur 30 à 55 valeurs et se focalisera sur les actions «value» offrant des dividendes élevés et un potentiel d’appréciation du capital, les actions «growth» présentant une croissance élevée des bénéfices et ayant l’habitude de distribuer de l’argent aux actions, et les situations spéciales où les dividendes sont faibles, mais qui affichent un potentiel de croissance grâce à une restructuration ou une autre action. Ce fonds, qui est un unit trust Ucits III britannique, sera un complément au Ignis Argonaut European Fund, également géré par Oliver Russ, et qui compte un encours de 460 millions de livres.
Fonds
16/03/2010
Fonds

Les fonds à horizon continuent de séduire

Les fonds à horizon continuent de séduire les investisseurs en dépit des critiques virulentes et des pertes accusées en 2008. Selon la dernière étude annuelle de Morningstar consacrée à ces fonds (2010 Target-Date Series Industry Survey), les fonds à horizon ont malgré tout fait mieux que les autres categories de mutual funds. «Les fonds à horizon sont devenus le véhicule d’une génération pour la retraite, et pour quelques bonnes raisons. Ces fonds ont des avantages structurels par rapport aux mutual funds traditionnels, y compris des frais généralement moins élevés et une allocation d’actifs dynamique qui devient progressivement plus conservatrice parallèlement au vieillissement des investisseurs», souligne Laura Pavlenko, editorial director chez Morningstar du groupe de recherche sur les mutual funds.L’an dernier, les fonds à horizon ont ainsi drainé plus de 45 milliards de dollars d’argent frais.Les auteurs de l'étude soulignent que les gérants de fonds à horizon ont généralement tenu compte des critiques formulées à leur égard, en réduisant leurs coûts et leur profil de risque. L'étude indique aussi que l’architecture ouverte ne constitue ni un avantage ni un désavantage en termes de performance, contredisant ainsi les allégations de certains membres du Congrès. L'étude relève toutefois que le niveau d’information communiqué sur le fonctionnement, la stratégie, les objectifs, les risques des fonds à horizon reste insuffisant. Beaucoup de fonds ne fournissent même pas ce que l’on pourrait considérer comme un «niveau élémentaire» d’informations.
Fonds

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