Selon L’Agefi suisse, le groupe Raiffeisen et la fondation Ethos coopéreront désormais dans le domaine des produits d’investissements du groupe bancaire coopératif. L’accord dévoilé mercredi par les deux sociétés stipule en effet que les droits de vote des fonds actionnaires seront exercés selon les recommandations d’Ethos pour les actions suisses. Pour Dominique Biedermann, le directeur de la fondation genevoise, «cet accord aura notamment pour effet de renforcer le poids d’Ethos dans le dialogue que mène la fondation avec les entreprises» dans le cadre de son combat pour l’amélioration de la gouvernance des sociétés cotées.

L’industrie des hedge funds continue de se développer à Hong Kong mais l’encours des actifs gérés a diminué au cours des douze derniers mois. Le nombre de hedge funds pilotés par des gérants enregistrés à Hong Kong a progressé à 542 au 31 mars 2009, soit une multiplication par presque cinq par rapport à 2004, la première année pour laquelle des statistiques sont disponibles, selon la dernière enquête réalisée par la Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) qui n’avait pas fait de sondage depuis 2006. Le nombre de fonds affiche également une hausse par rapport à l’an dernier (488 en mars 2008).Les actifs sous gestion ont également fortement progressé durant la même période, à 55,3 milliards de dollars américains au 31 mars 2009, soit une multiplication par six par rapport au niveau de 2004. Toutefois, l’encours au 31 mars dernier marque un recul de 39 % par rapport à mars 2008 où il avait culminé à 90,1 milliards de dollars.Les vingt premiers hedge funds gèrent quelque 32,7 milliards de dollars, soit un peu plus de 59 % du total des actifs. L’industrie emploie désormais près de 2.000 personnes à Hong Kong contre 1.053 en 2006, une hausse de 86,8 % sur trois ans. Côté stratégies, l’equity long/short (44,3%) et la multi-stratégie (18,3%) restent les plus prisées, les fonds de hedge funds représentant pour leur part 12,5 %.A la différence de Singapour, Hong Kong n’est généralement pas utilisé comme base de départ pour des produits internationaux. Les stratégies régionales dominent, avec 14,7 % des actifs consacrés à Hong Kong, 23,4 % à des stratégies pan-asiatiques, 12 % à la Chine continentale et 9 % au Japon. La clientèle est en revanche très internationale, avec 49,1 % issue des Amériques, 34,9 % de l’Europe, les investisseurs domiciliés à Hong Kong ne représentant que 1,9 % des actifs gérés par les hedge funds de Hong Kong.Le levier est généralement resté peu élevé. Au 31 mars 2009, près de 70 % des hedge funds affichaient un levier de 100 % ou moins. Le pourcentage des gérants de hedge funds utilisant plus d’un prime borker est passé de 39,6 % en 2006 à 52,5 % cette année. Une évolution qui reflète probablement une attention accrue au risque de contrepartie.

Les négociations entre Intesa Sanpaolo et Exor, holding de la famille Agnelli, pour la vente partielle de Banca Fideuram reprendront de manière formelle la semaine prochaine, rapporte Il Sole – 24 Ore. Selon les analystes, Fideuram vaudrait au moins 3 milliards d’euros. Si le rachat échoue, Intesa Sanpaolo pourrait opter pour une introduction en Bourse de sa filiale.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC Bank), la troisième plus grande banque à Singapour, a confirmé jeudi qu’elle achète les activités asiatiques de banque privée d’ING pour 1,46 milliard de dollars ou 1 milliard d’euros en numéraire. HSBC était l’autre candidat en lice. ING Private Banking gère environ 11 milliards d’euros et propose ses services dans onze pays asiatiques, dont Hong-Kong, les Philippines et Singapour.

BC Partners et Cinven ont choisi la Bourse de Madrid pour l’introduction au printemps prochain de 40 % du capital d’Amadeus dans lesquels Iberia, Air France et la Lufthansa détiennent des participations, indique Expansión. Les deux capital investisseurs contrôlent 53 % du groupe technologique. En 2005, BC Partners et Cinven avaient payé 4,34 milliards d’euros pour la totalité d’Amadeus. A présent, les banques du consortium de placement (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley) valorisent l’entreprise à 8 milliards, et les vendeurs espèrent pouvoir tirer 4 milliards d’euros des titres qu’ils vont mettre sur le marché.

La hausse de la Bourse aux deuxième et troisième trimestre se répercute sur la performance des fonds d’actions, constate le Handelsblatt. Sur la base du palmarès de Feri EuroRating Service, qui prend en compte environ 4 300 fonds distribués en Allemagne et répartis sur 36 catégories, quatre fonds affichent depuis le début de l’année des gains supérieurs à 100 % : le BSF Latin American Opportunities Fund A2 USD de BlackRock géré par Will Landers se classe premier, avec une performance de 142,11 %, devant le Earth Exploration Fund UI avec 128,26 %, le JPM Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund A Acc USD de JP Morgan géré par Greg Mattiko et le PF(LUX)-Eastern Europe-P Cap de Pictet géré par Agne Zitkute avec 101,98 %.A noter aussi, dans les obligations à haut rendement, le résultat du fonds Aberdeen Global - Euro High Yield Bond A Dist géré par Paul Reed, avec une performance de 98,27 %

La gamme Premium Selection d'Ökorenta compte désormais un fonds énergies renouvelables supplémentaire, le Ökorenta Neue Energien IV. Il s’agit d’un produit qui est destiné à lever jusqu'à 14 millions d’euros (plus 5 % de droits d’entrée) et qui doit distribuer 230 %. Le fonds a une échéance de 15 ans et devrait donc générer annuellement 10 % avant impôt. Les investisseurs qui souscriront (minimum 10.000 euros) avant le 31 décembre 2009 bénéficieront d’une rémunération supplémentaire de 4 %, ceux qui entreront avant le 31 mars profitant d’un bonus de seulement 2 %.Le portefeuille sera investi dans des parts du marché secondaire de sociétés de gestion de fonds allemandes dans le domaine des énergies renouvelables, l’accent étant mis sur l'éolien.

Jeudi matin, le capital-investisseur RHJ International a annoncé l’acquisition auprès de la Commerzbank de Kleinwort Benson, avec ses activités de banque privé, de gestion de fortune et son métier fiduciaire pour 225 millions de livres en numéraire. Les activités concernées (Kleinwort Benson Private Bank Limited et Kleinwort Benson Channel Islands Holdings Limited) représentaient 5,4 milliards de livres d’encours et des actifs sous administration de 15,7 milliards de livres au 31 décembre 2008.

A fin septembre, le déficit combiné des 7.400 fonds à prestations définies suivis par The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) était retombé à 148,9 milliards de livres contre 173,2 milliards fin août, mais il se compare aussi à une sous-couverture de 52,2 milliards de livres au 30 septembre 2008.D’après le PPF, le déficit total des fonds dans le rouge a diminué à 174,9 milliards de livres contre 194,6 milliards un mois auparavant et 98,4 milliards douze mois plus tôt.Quant à l’excédent total des fonds en territoire positif, il s’est accru à 25,9 milliards de livres contre 21,4 milliards fin août, mais il chute par rapport aux 46,2 milliards de livres constatés au 30 septembre 2008.

Mi-juin, la petite société de gestion Laffitte Capital Management a rouvert son fonds d'arbitrage de fusions Laffitte Risk Arbitrage qui avait été suspendu le 15 septembre 2008 suite au défaut de son prime broker, Lehman Brothers. Cette réouverture était intervenue à l'issue d'une procédure judiciaire longue et compliquée qui avait soulevée la question de la responsabilité des dépositaires en France. Dans un entretien à Newsmanagers, Eric Robbe, président de Laffitte CM, fait le point sur la société et sur le marché des fusions et acquisitions.

In 2008, the population of high net worth individuals (HNWI) in Asia-Pacific fell by 14.2%, to 2.4 million people, and their total wealth declined 22.3% to USD7.4trn, according to Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini in a new study. Despite this evaporation of wealth due to the financial crisis, the total wealth of high net worth indivisuals in the region is expected to increase by 8.8% per year until 2018, a pace faster than the global average of 7.1%. China and India are expected to drive this growth, thanks to solid domestic consumer spending and a growing middle class. In terms of asset allocation, high net worth individuals in the Asia-Pacific region have increased their exposure to safer and simpler investments. Their exposure to cash has risen from 25% to 29% in one year. Ownership of equities, meanwhile, has fallen from 26% to 23%. In geographical terms, domestic investments have risen from 53% to 67%.

Rising stock markets in second and third quarters have resulted in good performance for equities funds, according to Handelsblatt. On the basis of rankings from Feri EuroRating Service, taking into account results from about 4,300 funds on sale in Germany in 36 categories, four funds have posted gains of over 100% since the beginning of the year: the BSF Latin American Opportunities Fund A2 USD from BlackRock, managed by Will Landers, is in first place, with returns of 142.11%, ahead of the Earth Exploration Fund UI, with 128.26%, the JPM Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund A Acc USD from JP Morgan, managed by Greg Mattiko, and the PF(LUX)-Eastern Europe-P Cap from Pictet, managed by Agne Zikute, with 101.98%. Also notable in the high yield bond category is the Aberdeen Global - Euro High Yield Mond A Dist, managed by Paul Reed, with returns of 98.27%.

BC Partners and Cinven have chosen the Madrid stock exchange as the site of their initial public offering next spring of a 40% stake in Amadeus, in which Iberia, Air France and Lufthansa own stakes, Expansión reports. The two private equity investors control 53% of the IT group. In 2005, BC partners and Cinven paid EUR4.34bn for a 100% stake in Amadeus. Now, the banks in the investment consortium (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley) value the business at EUR8bn, and the vendors hope to make EUR4bn from the sale of the shares to be offered on the stock market.

According to Eurekahedge, hedge funds may attain assets as of the end of the year of USD1.5trn, and may turn in performance of 21%, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. As of the end of September, assets under management increased by USD26.3bn, from USD21.4bn in August. In the seven months to the end of September, performance totals 16.1%, and hedge funds are likely to turn in their best performance since 2003 for the year 2009 as a whole.

Supporters of SRI can breathe a sigh of relief. According to Les Echos, a study by Andreas Hoepner at Saint Andrews university and Stefan Zeume of Insead has found that the “Vice Fund” which invests in tobacco, alcohol, gaming and weapons, does not bring real value to investors. Instead, managers of the fund are more likely to destroy value for clients. The only previous study of the Vice Fund reached the opposite conclusion, but that study dealt with a shorter time period (three years rather than six), and did not correct for the style bias in products of this type. In fact, the outperformance of the fund compared with their benchmarks is due only to its very high exposure to small and midcaps, at a time when these were fashionable, as well as to its heavy bets on the tobacco industry.

Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone, speaking in Dubai, has claimed that private equity has now passed through the toughest straits of the crisis, and that investment opportunities and IPOs will now increase, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. He predicts that his company will be in a position to make transactions totalling USD3-4bn in the near future.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS, USD200bn in assets) on Wednesday announced that it has opened a special investigation of commissions paid by its external managers to placement agents. The investigation was provoked by reports from investment funds that more than USD50m in commissions were paid over five years to ARVCO Financial ventures, a placement agent led by Al Villalobos, who was director of CalPERS between 1993 and 1995. The special investigation will be carried out by Steptoe & Johnson LLP and other independent agencies.

On Thursday morning, the private equity investor RHJ International announced that it has acquired Kleinwort Benson, including its private banking, wealth management and lending activities, from Commerzbank, for GBP225m in cash. The activities included in the deal (Kleinwort Benson Private Bank Limited and Kleinwort Benson Channel Islands Holding Limited) had GBP5.4bn in assets under management and GBP15.7bn in supervised assets as of 31 December 2008.

OCBC, Singapore’s third largest bank, on Thursday confirmed that it would buy the Asian private banking operations of ING, for USD1.46bn in cash, says the Financial Times. HSBC was the other main contender for the assets.

In October, investors’ appetite for risk is at its highest levels in more than three years, while fears of a W-shaped recession have dissipated, according to the most recent BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers (October). A majority of respondents estimated that a global recession in the next twelve months was unlikely, compared with 47% one month earlier. A net 72% of respondents estimate that corporate profits will improve in the next twelve months, compared with 68% in September. The corollary of this optimism is that exposures to cash are at their lowest levels since January 2004, and respondents are now overweight in equities (a net 38%) compared with 27% in September. Optimism for Europe is also notable. 30% of managers estimate that Euro zone equities are undervalued compared with other regions, the highest level of respondents to think so since April 2001. 9% of respondents want to go overweight in the region in the next twelve months, compared with 7% one month earlier. Japan, however, is seen as the least attractive region for the next twelve months, while outlooks for China remain excellent.

Negotiations between Intesa Sanpaolo and Exor, the holding company for the Agnelli family, to sell a part of the Banca Fideuram to the former, will formally restart next week, Il Sole - 24 Ore reports. Analysts estimate the value of Fideuram to be at least EUR3bn. If the acquisition talks are not successful, Intesa Sanpaolo may opt for an IPO for its affiliate.

This Thursday, the Spanish congress will pass a law which will create Spanish REIT funds, «sociedades cotizadas de inversión en el mercado inmobiliario» (Socimi), Cinco Días reports. Though experts say the bill comes quite late, at the peak of the real estate crisis, they have nonetheless welcomed the legislation. SOCIMI vehicles will be subject to an 18% tax, lower than the current 30% rate, as long as they distribute at least 90% of their profits.

From 1 October, the US Large Cap Alpha sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Schroders ISF has been renamed as Schroder ISF US All Cap. The fund may now invest in US equities of all cap sizes, rather than concentrating on large caps. Management will be provided by Jonathan Armitage, head of US equities, with the assistance of Jenny Jones, head of US small/midcap equities. The allocation will be one third to smidcaps and two thirds large caps, though the fund will retain a bottom-up stock-picking approach. Management commissions for all classes of shares in the fund will also be reduced by 25 basis points (to 1.25% for A class shares, for example), and the risk classification of the fund has been lowered to “moderate” from “high.”

As of the end of September, the combined deficits of 7,400 defined-contribution pension funds monitored by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) had shrunk to GBP148.9bn, compared with GBP173.2bn as of the end of August, but this compared with a shortfall in coverage of GBP52.2bn as of 30 September 2008. According to the PPF, the total deficit of funds which have a shortfall has decreased to GBP174.9bn, from GBP194.6bn one month previously, and GBP98.4bn twelve months earlier. The total surplus at funds in positive territory rose to GBP25.9bn, from GBP21.4bn as of the end of August, but has decreased compared with the surplus of GBP46.2bn as of 30 September 2008.

Aviva and the United Nations will announce an initiative in November which will encourage global stock markets to modify the rules for publicly traded companies. The aim will be to require firms to publish a sustainable development report, and to submit the document to a vote of shareholders.

Principal Financial has awarded management of a portfolio of USD300m in large cap equities to Legg Mason, and Bill Miller’s team has obtained an equities mandate from SEI, says Kimberly Mustin, director of the institutional sector at Legg Mason, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Assets under management at the firm have fallen from USD1.01trn as of the end of September 2007 to USD695bn as of the end of August 2009, but redemptions have fallen to USD30bn in second quarter, from a record USD77bn in October-December 2008.

In third quarter, the asset management division of JP Morgan Chase has earned net profits of USD430m, compared with USD352m in second quarter, and USD351m in the corresponding period of last year. Assets increased by 9% in second quarter, to USD1.3trn, largely due to subscriptions to money market, bond and equities funds, which were partially offset by negative market effects and net redemptions for the group’s hedge funds. The bank has posted total net profits for July-September of USD3.59bn, compared with USD2.72bn in April-June, and USD527m for the corresponding period of last year.

The board of directors at Prudential Financial (USD580bn in assets as of the end of June) has decided to introduce an advisory, non-binding vote of shareholders each year on remuneration for executives of the group as well as procedures employed by the remuneration committee. The first vote will come at the 2010 AGM.

The major non-British banks based in the City, including Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley Nomura and UBS, were yesterday compelled by an injunction from Paul Myners, secretary of state in charge of the City, to issue a joint statement expressing their “complete support” for the G20 agreement on remuneration, La Tribune reports. Top directors at the banks agree to defer “40% to 60%” of their bonuses for a three-year period, while these bonuses will be paid “at least 50% in equities.” BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Deutsche Bank are dragging their feet. With branches and not affiliates in the United Kingdom, they are not regulated by the FSA. They have announced instead that they “will apply the G20 agreements in accord with regulators in their home countries.”

Bruce Wassterstein, president and CEO of Lazard and a Wall Street legend, died on Wednesday, 14 October, at the age of 61, Lazard has announced in a statement. The French-American bank revealed on 11 October that its chief had been hospitalised in a serious condition following a cardiac arrest. Wasserstein was particularly involved in the recent history of the prestigious US business bank, taking an active role in all strategic decisions ever since he arranged the firm’s IPO and took over as director of the firm in 2005. More recently, he had been active in Cadbury’s bid to acquire the US firm Kraft Foods. Lazard shares were suspended from trading for a few minutes before the end of the trading day, following the news of Wasserstein’s decease. Lazard has appointed Stephen J. Golub, Vice Chairman of Lazard Ltd., to serve as interim CEO, effective immediately. Golub, 63, joined Lazard in 1984, and was CFO and chairman of Lazard’s advising activities.