Recherche
S'abonner
Connexion
Asset Management
Accueil Asset Management Actualités
10/06/2009

CalPERS plans to scale up investment in private equity

The board at CalPERS will vote at a meeting next week on a proposed allocation that would increase the target exposure to private equity from 10% to 14% of total investment. The equities allocation would be reduced from 56% to 49%, while the bond allocation would be raised from 19% to 20%. Real estate would be kept at 10%, but for the first time, cash, which has traditionally been at zero, could be set at 2%. CalPERS reviews its investment objectives every three years. The current programme expires in December 2010. CalPERS has planned a more complete evaluation of its allocation policies in fall, before setting its objectives for the next three years.
10/06/2009

GLG to hire and launch new funds

GLG is planning to recruit the two founding partners of Pendragon Capital (Kaveh Sheibani and Julian Harvey Wood) and launch several funds this year, according to an article in Hedge Funds Review. Among the planned funds to be launched are GLG Atlas Value and Recovery Fund and GLG Convertible Basis Opportunities Fund.
10/06/2009

Nicola Horlick may be the mysterious buyer of Bramdean

Investment Week reports that Bramdean Alternatives informed the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday that the mysterious potential buyer from whom it received a bid in April may in fact be Petersfield Asset Management, which is owned by Nicola Horlick, herself CEO of Bramdean and manager of an alternative portfolio. The bid is reported to have been submitted on 17 March.
10/06/2009

Fibanc Mediolanum closes its fund of hedge funds

The fund of hedge funds Fibanc-Mediolanum Multiestrategia, launched in May 2008, will be closed by the Spanish unit of Italy based Mediolanum, according to Expansión. 80% of assets under management in the fund were invested in Optimal Global Strategy, which had invested part of its assets in Madoff.
10/06/2009

Lyxor hedge fund index up 2.16% in May

In May, the Lyxor Hedge Fund Index has posted gains fo 2.16%, which puts gains for the period from 31/12/2008 to 29/05/2009 at 2.13%. In the month under review, the alternative strategies which performed best were the L/S Credit Arbitrage Index (+11.30%), L/S Equity Long Bias (+10.25%) and CTAs Short Term Index (+5.14%). The thematic Lyxor Emerging Market index generated returns of +6.36% in May; it lost 4.93% in the first five months of the year. Of the fifteen strategies that make up the index, four posted losses in May, particularly the L/S Equity Short Bias, at -4.35%, the heaviest losses since the beginning of the year, putting it at -12.84% for the year.
10/06/2009

Strong increase in ETF assets in May

As of 31 May, total assets in 1,660 ETF funds listed 3,008 times on 42 stock markets worldwide represented USD775.20bn in total, compared with USD706.87bn one month earlier, an increase of 9.66%. In the first five months of the year, according to a monthly study by iShares (Barclays Global Investors, or BGI), assets rose 9%, while the MSCI World index in US dollars gained only 5.41%. The number of ETF funds launched since the beginning of 2009 totals 119, and there are currently plans to launch 767 more products of this type. The major issuers remain the same: iShares was the leader at the end of May with 382 ETFs and assets of Usd374.96bn, compared with 381 products and USD336.17bn, which represents a market share of 48.4%, up from 47.6% in April. State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) is in second place, with 104 ETF funds and USD115.29bn, a market share of 14.9% (compared with 15.6% the previous month), and Vanguard remains in third place, with 40 products (compared with 39) and assets under management of USD58.58bn, compared with USD51.04b, and a market share of 7.6% up from 7.2%.
10/06/2009

SEC creates an advising committee of investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 3 June announced the creation of a consulting committee of investors to provide a stronger representation to the regulator of the viewpoints of the investor community. The committee could advise the SEC about developments on the financial markets that could concern investors, and may also propose analyses and recommendations on regulatory issues. “I am happy to hear their point of view on issues such as new products, trading strategies, commission structures and the effectiveness of information requirements, among other things,” says the chairwoman of the SEC, Mary Shapiro. The committee will be co-chaired by Richard Hisey, president of AARP Financial Inc and AARP Funds, and Hye-Won Choi, senior vice president and director of corporate governance at TIAA-CREF.
10/06/2009

Samuel Israel III's girlfriend on probation

Debra Ryan, the girlfriend of the hedge fund manager Samuel Israel III, was sentenced to three years of probation on Tuesday, after admitting to having helped her boyfriend to flee last summer shortly before he was to be jailed, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ryan pleaded guilty to the charges. Samuel Israel III, the former CEO of Bayou Management, orchestrated a USD400m fraud.
10/06/2009

New rules for financial services

Barack Obama will unveil next week new rules for the financial services industry, according to Timothy Geithner, secretary to the US Treasury. This plan will seek to improve consumer and investor protection.
10/06/2009

Number of ETF funds up nearly 10% YTD

As of the end of May, assets in 693 European ETFs totalled USD168.3bn, as 69 products were launched since the beginning of the year, a growth rate of 9.7%. According to a monthly study by iShares (Barclays Global Investors or BGI), assets under management grew by 18.1% in January-May, an increase three times faster than the MSCI Europe index in US dollars (6%). iShares remains by far the largest provider of these products, with 158 ETFs and assets of Usd65.87bn, a market share of 39.1%. Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) has 114 products and a market share of 21.5%, with USD36.25bn in assets under management. Db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) has 102 ETFs and assets of USD28.14bn, representing 16.7% of the market. The three largest firms thus account for 77.3% of total assets.
10/06/2009

Skandia changes management providers for two sub-funds

The analyst teams at the Skandia group have selected two new companies to provide management of two sub-funds of the Sicav Skandia Global Funds. The Skandia European Opportunities Fund will be managed by SVM Asset Management; it was previously managed by Thames River. “Founded in 1990, SVM is an entrepreneurial management firm based in Scotland. It is a genuinely independent boutique known for its expertise in European and UK equities management. SVM managed EUR530m as of the end of December 2008,” says Skandia. The Skandia Japanese Equity Fund will be moving from JP Morgan to FuNNeX Asset Management. “Founded in 2000, FuNNeX provides management by conviction, based on fundamental research. Like its director, Masaru Nishizawa, FuNNeX promotes strong values in all its investments. Assets at FuNNeX totalled USD927m at the end of December 2008.”
10/06/2009

Baring AM adds to sales team

Baring Asset Management Germany has announced the appointment of Marion Wolf as relationship manager. She joins the sales team based in Frankfurt, which now includes 15 people.
10/06/2009

Emerging markets: Favourite regions of Mark Mobius (Franklin Templeton)

Since the beginning of the year, emerging markets have earned significant gains. But is the trend sustainable? Mark Mobius, manager and specialist in emerging markets at Franklin Templeton, says that investors should retain an awareness that volatility is still present on emerging markets, and that it will persist for some time to come. “We should take advantage of the next downturns in these markets to buy shares at reasonable prices in light of their valuation and their long-term outlooks for profit growth. We continue to identify potential rises on markets such as China, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, turkey and South Africa,” he continues.
10/06/2009

Emerging markets: Mark Mobius (Franklin Templeton) lays out the main principles

Mark Mobius, a specialist in emerging markets at Franklin Templeton, has recently celebrated the 40thanniversary of his career investing in these markets. To confront the current economic situation, which is characterized by volatility that continues to affect emerging financial markets, Mobius says it is very important “that investors keep several fundamental principles in mind.” Among these principles, Mobius cites diversification. The best move, he says, is to invest in diversified investment funds. In terms of geographical exposure, he says, “no country has a monopoly on good opportunities,” and for that reason, an international viewpoint must be maintained. The third virtue of a wise investor in these markets is patience. “Don’t wait for immediate gains: the best investors are the ones who adopt a long-term perspective,” the manager says. Lastly, Mobius recommends that investors place their money only in things that they genuinely understand.
10/06/2009

French banks not hiding interest in Swiss market

The issue of banking confidentiality in Switzerland will present difficulties for many small Swiss banks specialised in offshore private clients, L’Agefi predicts. The country thus appears to be an attractive hunting ground for French banks, particularly due to the fragmentation of the wealth management market. According to L’Agefi, the banks interested in Switzerland include CIC, via its local affiliate, the former Banque Cial, and SG Private Banking SA.
10/06/2009

Michael Baldinger joins SAM

The head of distribution Americas at Credit Suisse Asset Management in New York, Michael Baldinger, will join the management firm SAM Sustainable Asset Management (Robeco group) on 1 July as head clients & distribution. In this position, he will be a member of the executive board. His mission, as at CSAM in New York, will be to develop the base of institutional and wholesale clients, who are increasingly interested in SRI strategies and sustainable development.
10/06/2009

Hauck & Aufhauser acquires Dr. Holler Vermogensverwaltung

On Tuesday, the German management firm Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers announced that it had acquired 100% of the Swiss wealth management firm Dr. Höller Vermögensverwaltung AG, founded in 1982, which has become a specialist in ethical and ecological investment. Portfolio management for the new affiliate will remain in Zurich. Dr Höller Vermögensverwaltung invests in equities, bonds, and investment funds worldwide. Each business or issuer is subjected to an ethical analysis in the light of positive criteria as wellas exclusionary criteria (alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons). Concrete investment decisions are subject to the approval of an ethical committee composed of “interdisciplinary” experts in scientific and economic fields.
10/06/2009

Foreign banks vie for German depository banking business

Jörg Ambrosius (State Street) and Dirk Werthmann (BHF Asset Servicing) have both told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that they are expecting to see a concentration in the next three to five years on the German depository banking market, which currently includes 60 establishments serving investment funds, with assets of about EUR1.2trn. Ambrosius says only five to eight providers will survive, and the smallest firms are the most vulnerable. For the moment, State Street is the largest actor in this market, with EUR260bn, followed by BHF Asset Servicing (EUR85bn), JP Morgan (EUR72bn), Caceis (EUR68.5bn) and BNP Paribas (EUR57.4bn), while BNY Mellon has less than EUR30bn. The major foreign firms, including State Street, JP Morgan, BNY Mellon, HSBC and BNP Paribas, will continue to gain market share. The smallest actors are the Landesbanken, and professionals are predicting that BayernLB and HSH Nordbank will be the first to sell their custody activities.
10/06/2009

DEFO becomes Union Investment Institutional Property

On 29 May, the institutional real estate fund management firm DEFO - Deutsche Fonds für Immobilienvermögen GmbH (EUR2.5bn in assets) changed its name to Union Investment Institutional Property GmbH, denoting the firm’s membership in the Union Investment group (German co-operative banks). The board of directors, composed of Martin Eberhardt and Wolfgang Kessler, is strengthened with the arrival of Ingo Hartlief, who becomes chairman of the board of directors. He will also remain a member of the board at Union’s other real estate affiliate, Union Investment Real Estate (open-ended funds), a position he has occupied since 2002.
10/06/2009

SRI and Islamic finance go together nicely

Products that combine socially responsible investment and Islamic finance are beginning to appear. Novethic looks at the connections between the two approaches and their possible convergence in a paper published in May, entitled “Islamic Finance and SRI: possible convergence?” SRI and islamic finance have several points in common. With their source in religions, “they rely on extra-financial parameters and are considered by the financial centres in London and Paris to be attractive areas of development,” says Novethic. The agency analyses the two approaches in more detail and finds that “though these types of ‘finance’ are united by an overall outlook which is favourable to social well-being and respect for human rights and the environment, Islamic finance is a more normative system which includes both financial and extra-financial directives,” which, says Novethic, “converge more closely with ethical finance and wealth sharing.” Novethic concludes that the two approaches are not contradictory in their aims, and could therefore be “not only compatible, but also complementary.” The agency then calls on actors in the financial industry, research centres, ratings agencies, NGOs and regulators to favour combinations of these approaches. “This would allow for a joint development of these approaches, which would encourage more ethical, responsible and transparent practices, and to find new clients, particularly for SRI in countries where it is absent today.”
10/06/2009

BNP Paribas builds new executive team for Fortis Investments

Jacques d’Estais, head of the Investment Solutions unit at BNP Paribas, the interim occupant of the position left vacant by the decease of Gilles Glicenstein (director and CEO of BNP Paribas Investment Partners) has now constructed a team which will take over the operational direction of Fortis Investments, according to sources close to the firm. There are reportedly still some legal issues which prevent the two entities from making public statements on the subject. The CEO, Richard Wohanka, has left the board (along with Stéphane Monier, head of fixed income management), and the chairmanship of the executive board for the interim ab imo pectore will be given to Guy de Froment, vice chairman, BNP Paribas Investment Partners, who will be in charge of the transition, assisted by Philippe Marchessaux and Pascal Biville as deputy CEOs of BNPP IP. The executive team will also include Vincent Camerlynck, Christian Dargnat and Charlotte Dennery (all of whom join from the BNP Paribas group), while the former Fortis Investments team will be represented by Niolas Faller (global head of distribution partners) and William De Vijlder (global CIO).
10/06/2009

Ten US banks to repay Tarp funds

Ten financial groups including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs were on Tuesday allowed to repay a combined USD68bn to the US Treasury. The companies also include Morgan Stanley and American Express, says the Financial Times. Citigroup and Bank of America have not yet been allowed to repay the combined USD90bn in Tarp money they have received.
10/06/2009

Le retour du "stock picking"

La sélection de valeurs au cas par cas regagne les faveurs des investisseurs, analyse La Tribune. Selon Olivier Baduel, responsable de la gestion stock picking chez Crédit Agricole Asset Management, «le marché semblant être entré dans une phase de normalisation, les performances boursières des sociétés, au cours des dix-huit ou vingt-quatre prochains mois, devraient être davantage liées à leurs fondamentaux qu’au cours des derniers mois».
10/06/2009

Lyxor Hedge Fund Index up in May

In May, the Lyxor Hedge Fund Index has gained 2.16%. Since the beginning of the year, the index has earned 2.13%. In the past month, the alternative strategies which earned the best returns are L/S Credit Arbitrage Index (+11.30%), L/S Equity Long Bias (+10.25%), and CTAs Short Term Index (+5.14%). Meanwhile, the worst results were for the L/S Equity Short Bias Index (-4.35%), the CTAs Long Term Index (-0.96%), and the L/S Equity Market Neutral Index (-0.75%). The thematic Lyxor Emerging Market Index, meanwhile, generated returns of 6.36% in May.
09/06/2009
Fonds

Schroders lance un fonds mondial devises

Schroders a annoncé le lancement du compartiment Global Managed Currency de sa Sicav luxembourgeoise Schroder ISF. Ce fonds monétaire multi-devises sera géré par Clive Dennis de manière active et vise à générer une performance supérieure à celles des obligations d’Etat ou des instruments du marché monétaire.Concrètement, le gestionnaire britannique vise une superformance de 3 points de pourcentage par an par rapport au Global Currency Index développé spécialement par JP Morgan et qui comprend plus de 30 monnaies différentes, pondérées en fonction du PIB.Actuellement, le fonds est surpondéré en papier d’Europe de l’Est (zloty, couronne tchèque et forint). Les parts sont libellées en euros et en dollars.
Fonds
09/06/2009
Fonds

DWS Invest Commodity Plus privilégie le gaz

Pierre Martin est gérant du fonds DWS Invest Commodity Plus,investi directement via des contrats futures sur les matières premières. Il se montre positif à moyen terme sur le secteur des matières premières, indique L’Echo. «Même s’il estime certains niveaux de stockage trop élevés (comme ceux du pétrole par exemple), la réduction drastique de l’offre (mines, OPEP) devrait permettre au marché des matières premières de se stabiliser, voire de repartir à la hausse d’ici quelques trimestres», ajoute le quotidien. Le marché préféré du gérant à l’heure actuelle est celui du gaz naturel en Amérique du Nord.
Fonds
09/06/2009

Rio Tinto confie un important mandat à State Street

State Street Corporation a annoncé lundi avoir été sélectionné par Rio Tinto, pour la prestation, à partir de ses centres opérationnels de Londres et de Montréal, de services d’investissement portant sur 8 milliards de dollars d’actifs. Il s’agit de services de conservation de titres, de comptabilité de fonds, prêt de titres et d’analyse des investissements destinés aux fonds de pension du groupe minier au Canada, aux Etats-Unis ainsi qu’au Royaume-Uni.
09/06/2009
Fonds

Bonnes performances pour les hedge funds en mai

Sur la base des résultats publiés par des fonds représentant 62 % de l’encours habituel, Credit Suisse/Tremont a estimé lundi que les hedge funds ont affiché en moyenne une performance de 3,61 % en mai, contre 1,68 % en avril. Pour les cinq premiers mois de l’année, ils enregistrent ainsi un gain moyen de 6,25 %.En dehors des fonds de futures, qui ont accusé une perte moyenne de 0,20 % après 3,24 % en avril (- 6,22 % pour janvier-mai), toutes les stratégies de l'échantillon ont bénéficié de résultats positifs le mois dernier.La plus forte hausse a été signée par les fonds marchés émergents, avec une performance de 7,04 % contre 5,17 % pour avril, le gain sur les cinq premiers mois de l’année atteignant 12,52 %. Pour janvier-mai, toutefois, la meilleure performance est inscrite avec 19,38 % par l’arbitrage de convertibles, qui ont gagné 6,03 % en mai après 4,52 % le mois précédent.
Fonds
09/06/2009
Fonds

Les hedge funds subissent encore d'importants retraits

D’après Hedge Fund Research (HFR), les hedge funds ont affiché pour mai leur plus forte performance depuis février 2000 avec 5,2 %. Depuis le début de l’année, leurs gains se situent à 9 %, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Les performances les plus élevées pour janvier-mai ont été enregistrées par les fonds d’arbitrage de convertibles (24,8 %) ainsi que par ceux qui investissent en Europe de l’Est et en Russie (23,3 %), en Asie (19,5 %) ou en Amérique latine (18,7 %. Ceux qui sont spécialistes de l'énergie et des matières premières ont gagné 22,7 %.Les souscriptions mensuelles sont passées de 4 milliards de dollars en février à 12 milliards en mars et 15 milliards en avril, selon Eurekahedge, mais en avril les investisseurs ont retiré 40 milliards de dollars. Pour janvier-mars, les remboursements se sont montés à 104 milliards de dollars, et l’encours total à fin mars est revenu à 1,3 billion de dollars, soit 600 milliards de moins qu’au pic de l'été 2008.Quant au nombre de hedge funds dans le monde, il était tombé fin mars à 8.860 contre 10.096 fin 2007, souligne HFR.
Fonds

Sujets d'actualité

Tous les sujets