On Tuesday, Deutsche Börse announced the addition of six new ETF funds, based on the Eurogov German government bond indexes (see Newsmanagers of 24 March), bringing the number of products listed on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform to 426. The management firm also states that, in order to be included in the composition of the Eurogov indexes, bond issues must measure at least EUR4bn.The Eurogov indexes are calculated by the Market Data & Analytics division, which produces a total of more than 2,600 indexes, which serve as the underlying for assets totalling approximately EUR12.8bn.

Mandarine Gestin, the management firm founded by Marc Renaud, is launching a socially responsible investment fund, Mandarine Engagements. It is managed by Patrick Savadoux, a specialist in SRI management, who has recently joined the firm, after spending several years at Natixis AM.The new fund invests in Euro zone businesses of all cap sizes which satisfy environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. Savadoux’s method is to apply an SRI filter beforehand. In other words, the 700 companies in the investment universe are filtered for selected ESG criteria, to leave only 150. Financial analysis comes as a second phase after this. Lastly, Savadoux chooses 50 businesses for his portfolio (currently 40).?This is not a best in class fund,? says Savadoux, who claims that method is nothing but index-based management in disguise. Some sectors are absent from the portfolio, such as the automotive sector at present, for ?social? reasons. The Mandarine manager no longer invests in some sectors by conviction, such as tobacco and nuclear, although these areas are not subject to a systematic exclusion.On the other hand, certain themes may be preferred at certain times. Currently, the environment is one such theme. The manager says 2009 will be the year of governance and social awareness. However, the fund remains ?generalist,? and maintains an equal weighting of its six ESG criteria: human rights, social engagement, environment, governance, client/supplier relations, and human resources.The fund is aimed at all types of clients: institutionals, of course, and employee savings, but also independent financial advisors, in whom Renaud sees a growing appetite for SRI.Currently, the fund has assets of EUR1.85m. The goal is to bring in EUR50m to EUR100m for this SRI theme, once equities, now close to zero, bounce back, says Renaud. When the horizon brightens somewhat, an employee partnership fund will also be launched.Mandarine Engagements joins three other funds from Mandarine, each managed by a different specialist. The firm is neglecting to integrate SRI into the management of its other products even though Renaud admits that ESG criteria are gradually gaining importance in the analysis of businesses.As of 31 December, Mandarine managed EUR251m, slightly more than the seed money it received at launch (EUR270m), even though the firm has received investments of EUR170m. ?The year 2008 was frustrating,? admits Renaud, ?but we are not worried about the future, thanks to owners’ equity of EUR4.8m.?

Aon Consulting on Tuesday announced that it will be extending its range of services for trustees and employers, to offer an integrated retirement solution, Aon Pension Solution, which combines asset and liability management for pension funds. The product will be launched in July 2009, and has been developed in cooperation with Russell Investments.

Mellon Transition Management (MTM), an affiliate of BNY Mellon, on Tuesday announced the recruitment of Tim Wilkinson and the team of six people he leads. The seven new arrivals, who all join the firm from Citi Transition Management, the transition management activity from Citigroup Markets, will be based in London, and will strengthen an operation which already has 50 employees worldwide.Tim Wilkinson was managing director at Citi, where he was responsible for Asia-Pacific and the Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA) region. At MTM, he becomes managing director for the EMEA region.

Frank Dornseifer, legal director of the German alternative investment association (BAI), says the G20 summit in London will result in stricter regulation of hedge funds in the EU, but, even if the proposals of the European Commission are adopted, German chancellor Angela Merkel will not obtain complete and systematic control of all the financial markets, products and market actors, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Dornseifer points out that not all hedge funds are alike, and that one third of them use no leverage.

On Wall Street, shares in management firms gained ground after the announcement of the Geithner toxic asset buyback program, from which these firms would be the primary beneficiaries. Two management firms specialised in bonds, Pimco (Allianz group) and BlackRock, have already announced that they will participate in the plan, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Bill Gross, one of the heads of strategy at Pimco, says this is the first political initiative to remedy the crisis which will benefit all parties concerned. Laurence Fink, CEO of BlackRock, states that although the Geithner plan is not a panacea, it will at least have the positive effect of removing some excess supply from the market.

A spokesperson for Legg Mason has confirmed to Pensions & Investments that its affiliate, Western Asset Management (Wamco) has reduced its personnel by about 100 people, or 10%. The job cuts are largely in administrative services and operations. As of 31 December, assets at Wamco were down 13% compared with the end of September, at USD513bn, and down 19% over one year.

French authorities are investigating funds with ties to the Madoff fraud case, the International Herald Tribune reports on 22 March. The Journal du Dimanche reports that one of these investigations concerns BNP Paribas. According to the French newspaper, the investigations are seeking to determine whether the bank deceived some investors with the subscription documentation for the fund.

The government plan to buy up toxic assets from banks will require companies such as Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo to write down large amounts on their loans, which will require them to raise more capital, according to directors in the sector and analysts cited by the Financial Times.

High net worth investors in guaranteed hedge funds from Man Group are paying commissions of 8.5% per year, according to a UBS study cited by the Financial Times. The bank is not sure that the management firm will be able to maintain its current fee levels, given falling returns.

Bob Diamond, the chairman of Barclays, is one of a number of directors who would make millions of pounds if the bank sells iShares for GBP6.5bn, the Financial Times reveals. Diamond, who is also chairman of Barclays Global Investors, is part of a virtual employee incitement program, in which he and 200 other directors own 4.5% of BGI Holdings.

From 48.2 in December, the global index of investor confidence calculated by State Street Global Markets rose to 72.7 in February (adjusted from a previously-announced level of 72.9). In March, the index is down to 70, due to a fall of 4.8 points to 59.4 for confidence of institutional investors in the United States, and of 3.2 points to 64.5 for European institutional investor confidence. However, the Asian index is up 2.5 points, to 86.6.From 26 May 2009, the index will provide additional information about the level of institutional investors’ appetite for risk. The base level of the index will be recalculated, so that a level of over 100 indicates a stronger exposure to high-risk assets, while a figure below 100 will indicate a lesser exposure to these assets.

The sale of iShares by Barclays comes at a time when the ETF firm’s influence in the US market is beginning to weaken, the Wall Street Journal claims. The newspaper considers that several other ETF firms made far more impressive gains than iShares in 2008.

Mediolanum has finished 2008 with net profits of EUR23.6m, compared with EUR212m in 2007. Pro forma, i.e. excluding the effects of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, profits are down 38% to EUR131m. Assets under management are down 15% to EUR29.5bn, while net inflows were positive to the tune of EUR2.49bn.

Banco Popolare de Milano is reported to have finished the year 2008 with losses of EUR330m, Il Sole - 24 Ore reports. The bank has applied for government aid totalling EUR500m, and announced an issue of convertible bonds for EUR700m.

According to reports in Il Sole - 24 Ore, Banca Monte dei Paschi may request EUR2bn from the Italian government in the form of bonds.

According to CercleFinance.com, Philippe Brosse, who was previously CEO of SGAM Alternative Investments, is joining DB Alternative Investments, as chairman of the strategic committee.

Two big names in analysis are leaving Merrill Lynch, the Financial Times reports. David Rosenberg, the North American economist for Merrill, will be leaving in May, and will return to Toronto, where he will join the firm Gluskin Shef & Associates. Richard Bernstein, chief investment strategist and head of the investment research committee for global private clients, is also leaving the company.

Le plan gouvernemental pour les actifs toxiques va contraindre les banques telles que Citigroup, Bank of America et Wells Fargo à passer d"importantes dépréciations sur leurs prêts, ce qui les obligera à lever davantage de capitaux, selon les dirigeants du secteur et des analystes cités par le Financial Times.

A Wall Street, les actions des sociétés de gestion ont gagné du terrain après l’annonce du plan Geithner de rachat des actifs toxiques, dont elles pourraient être les principales gagnantes. Deux gestionnaires spécialistes des obligations, Pimco (groupe Allianz) et BlackRock, ont déjà annoncé qu’elles y participeraient, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Bill Gross, l’un des responsables de la stratégie de Pimco, a estimé qu’il s’agit du premier plan politique qui promette un profit pour toutes les parties concernés. Quant à Laurence Fink, CEO de BlackRock, il souligne que si le plan Geithner n’est pas la panacée, il aura au moins le mérite de retirer une partie de l’excédent d’offre sur le marché.

Selon Lipper, les actifs gérés par les ETF européens se sont accrus l’an dernier de 17,05 % à 108,42 milliards d’euros, même si l’encours des ETF d’actions, les plus nombreux, ne s’est accru que de 0,07 %. En revanche, ceux de la catégories «autres classes d’actifs» ont vu leurs actifs opérer un bond en avant de 130,16 % grâce entre autres au succès de certaines stratégies comme les fonds de vente à découvert, rapporte Funds People.

Selon La Tribune, la FED a indiqué qu’elle commencerait à acheter des obligations du Trésor américain à long terme (échéance 2016-2019) dès ce mercredi. Le montant de ces achats pourrait atteindre 300 milliards de dollars dans les six prochains mois, précise le quotidien.

Selon l’Agefi, près de 8,2 milliards de dollars d’ABS éligibles au TALF ont été émis depuis la semaine dernière, ce qui traduit la fin de la léthargie du marché de la titrisation américaine.Le secteur profite du Talf, dispositif piloté par la FED et qui offre aux investisseurs la possibilité de financer les achats de titres adossés à des actifs (ABS) éligibles. Le Trésor, qui pourrait porter le Talf à 1.000 milliards de dollars, a récemment «ouvert son éligibilité aux titrisations existantes pour nettoyer les bilans bancaires», rappelle notamment le quotidien numérique.

Le Banco Sabadell a offert aux investisseurs institutionnels de leur racheter la moitié d’une émission de 500 millions d’euros de titres préférentiels effectuée en 2006, rapporte Cinco Días. Ce rachat s’effectuerait à 42,5 % de la valeur faciale alors que les titres se négocient actuellement aux alentours de 30 %. C’est la première fois que la Banque d’Espagne autorise ce genre d’opération qui réduira légèrement le quotient prudentiel de fonds propres de premier rang.

Deux grands noms de l"analyse quittent Merrill Lynch, rapporte le Financial Times. Ainsi, David Rosenberg, l"économiste nord américain de Merrill, va partir en mai et retourner à Toronto où il rejoindra la société Gluskin Sheff & Associates. Richard Bernstein, chief investment strategist et patron du comité de recherche en investissement de la clientèle privée mondiale, est aussi sur le départ.

Les fonds dédiés souffrent d’une désaffection significative depuis l’automne dernier. Sur l’ensemble de l’année 2008, la collecte nette s’est inscrite en baisse de 25% à 8,32 milliards d’euros, selon les chiffres communiqués par la fédération professionnelle des fonds fermés (VGF Verband Geschlossene Fonds). Si les fonds placés dans l’assurance vie ou le private equity affichent des reculs de respectivement 58% à 359 millions d’euros et 60% à 742 millions d’euros, les fonds placés dans l’aéronautique font un bond de 165% à 703 millions d’euros. Les deux plus grosses lignes, l’immobilier et le maritime marquent des reculs de respectivement 26% à 3,05 milliards et de 22% à 2,48 milliards. Les réseaux de CGPI et les banques ont cumulé l’an dernier une part de marché de 81% dans la distribution des fonds dédiés

A fin 2008, indique le rapport annuel de la Deutsche Bank, le capital de la banque était détenu à 71 % par des institutionnels et 29 % par des particuliers, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Les actionnaires allemands sont redevenus majoritaires (55 % contre 45 % un an plus tôt). Le nombre d’actionnaires a augmenté de 60 % à un record de 582.000 environ, un gonflement qui est presque exclusivement attribuable aux particuliers allemands, qui ont surtout investi au quatrième trimestre, donc après la faillite de Lehman, lorsque le titre a plongé de 44 %. La rémunération du directoire a plongé de 86 % à 4,5 millions d’euros, le bénéfice net record de 6,5 milliards d’euros de 2007 ayant été suivi d’une perte record de 3,9 milliards pour 2008.

Josef Ackermann, président du directoire, indique dans le rapport annuel publié mardi que la Deutsche Bank compte redevenir bénéficiaire cette année après la perte record de 3,9 milliards d’euros subie en 2008, rapporte le Handelsblatt. Cela s’il n’y a pas de nouvelles turbulences sur les marchés des capitaux comme après la faillite de Lehman Brothers et si la récession ne s’avère pas plus sévère qu’on ne l’escompte déjà.

? Les fonds dédiés souffrent d’une désaffection significative depuis l’automne dernier. Sur l’ensemble de l’année 2008, la collecte nette s’est inscrite en baisse de 25% à 8,32 milliards d’euros, selon les chiffres communiqués par la fédération professionnelle des fonds fermés (VGF Verband Geschlossene Fonds). Si les fonds placés dans l’assurance vie ou le private equity affichent des reculs de respectivement 58% à 359 millions d’euros et 60% à 742 millions d’euros, les fonds placés dans l’aéronautique font un bond de 165% à 703 millions d’euros. Les deux plus grosses lignes, l’immobilier et le maritime marquent des reculs de respectivement 26% à 3,05 milliards et de 22% à 2,48 milliards. Les réseaux de CGPI et les banques ont cumulé l’an dernier une part de marché de 81% dans la distribution des fonds dédiés

La Deutsche Bank indique dans son rapport annuel que les rémunérations du directoire ont totalisé pour l’exercice écoulé 4,48 millions d’euros contre 33,18 millions en 2007. Le président du directoire, Josef Ackermann, a vu sa rémunération tomber à 1,39 million d’euros contre 13,98 millions en 2007.