Le fonds NEIF (Next Estate Income Fund) vient de réaliser deux nouvelles transactions à Milan pour un montant global d’investissement de plus de 75 millions d’euros.La première acquisition, fin 2013, concerne un immeuble de bureaux d’environ 6000 m² Via Pergolesi à Milan pour un montant de 28 millions d’euros.La seconde acquisition porte sur un immeuble de bureaux loué en totalité, d’environ 14,689 m² et dont le prix d’acquisition est de près de 47,5 millions d’euros. Le bien a été cédé par Cloe Fund, un fonds d’investissement immobilier géré par Prelios SGR.Next Estate Income Fund a été lancé fin 2010 avec le concours de BNP Paribas Real Estate. Il s’agit d’un fonds d’investissement immobilier non coté de droit luxembourgeois dédié aux investisseurs institutionnels européens et dont la valeur du portefeuille dépasse, à ce jour, 280 millions d’euros. Il a pour objectif la constitution d’un portefeuille de bureaux modernes, de qualité environnementale, loués à des locataires de premier plan.Il vise par ailleurs une diversification paneuropéenne.
Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild Banque Italia vient de recruter Filippo Szegö dans son activité de banque privée, rapporte Bluerating. L’intéressé travaillait auparavant chez Citigroup.
Nick Hamilton, responsable de l’activité institutionnelle de Colonial First State à Sydney, va rentrer d’Australie pour travailler chez Oakley Capital Management au sein de l’activité de gestion d’actifs retail de Neil Woodford, l’ancien gérant star d’Invesco, rapporte Investment Week. Avant de rejoindre Colonial First State, Nick Hamilton a travaillé pendant 9 ans en tant que responsable des produits actions monde chez Invesco Perpetual. Craig Newman, l’ancien responsable commercial d’Invesco, a aussi rejoint Oakley en tant que responsable de la gestion d’actifs retail.
Les actifs sous gestion de la boutique britannique Cavendish Asset Management se sont accrus de 42,75% durant l’année à fin décembre pour s'établir à 1,16 milliard de livres.Durant l’année écoulée, deux des fonds de la boutique ont dépassé la barre des 100 millions de livres d’actifs, à savoir les fonds Opportunities et Asia Pacific. Le Worldwide Fund a vu ses actifs faire un bond de 45% à 98,1 millions de livres.Les dirigeants de Cavendish se montrent confiants pour 2014, notamment parce que leurs fonds sont désormais disponibles sur deux nouvelles plateformes, Fidelity depuis août dernier et Co-Funds depuis décembre.
Neptune a fermé le fonds Global Long/Short de Robin Geffen, deux ans après le départ du co-gérant Ted Alexander, rapporte Investment Week. Le fonds n’a pas réussi à intéresser les investisseurs, affichant à son plus haut un encours de 5 millions de livres.
Philip Rodrigs, le gérant du fonds UK Smaller Companies chez Investec, va quitter la société, est en mesure de révéler Investment Week. Il va rejoindre River & Mercantile en tant qu’associé en mars et va notamment reprendre la gestion du fonds UK Equity Smaller Companies.
M&G Real Estate renforce son état major. La filiale dédiée à l’immobilier de M&G Investments vient de recruter Tony Brown au poste de directeur des investissements (chief investment officer) et membre de son conseil d’administration. Ancien managing director pour l’Europe, le Moyen-Orient et l’Afrique chez Lend Lease, Tony Brown a rejoint la compagnie le 13 janvier et il travaille sous la direction d’Alex Jeffrey, directeur général de M&G Real Estate. Au sein de Lend Lease, Tony Brown était responsable des 2 milliards de livres d’encours en immobilier et de 2,5 milliards de livres d’actifs sous gestion en infrastructures pour le compte de 50 investisseurs institutionnels.
Capital invested in the global hedge fund industry surged to a record in the fourth quarter, finishing a strong year of capital growth as hedge funds posted the best performance in three years, according to the latest HFR Global Hedge Fund Industry Report. Total capital increased in 4Q by USD120 billion on USD10.5 billion of net inflows to USD2.63 trillion.For the full year, total hedge fund capital increased by USD376 billion on USD63.7 billion of net inflows. Event Driven funds led capital inflows across all strategies for the first time since 2007, with investors allocating USD29.5 billion in 2013. Event Driven strategies grew by USD140 billion to more than USD698 billion for 2013. Capital invested in Equity Hedge strategies increased by USD48 billion in 4Q, driven by investor inflows of USD8.6 billion, with total capital invested in the strategy reaching a record USD734 billion; total assets invested in Equity Hedge increased USD136 billion for 2013. Total assets invested in fixed income-based Relative Value Arbitrage (RVA) increased by USD18 billion to USD684 billion in fourth quarter on USD2 billion of investor inflows. For the full year 2013, RVA increased by USD75.8 billion on inflows of USD22.6 billion. Macro funds experienced an outflow of USD13.3 billion in 4Q, resulting in a full year 2013 net redemption of USD6.3 billion. For the FY 2013, Macro assets increased by USD23.7 billion to USD511 billion.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNY Mellon IM on 21 January announced the launch of the BNY Mellon Emerging Markets Debt Fund Opportunistic Fund in France. It is the 4th emerging market debt fund in the range managed by Standish, asset management affiliate of BNY Mellon Investment Management, the specialist in this asset class. The fund, with daily liquidity, is a sub-fund of the SICAV BNY Mellon Global Funds, plc, domiciled in Dublin and UCITS licensed. The fund is managed by Alexander Kozhemiakin, director of bond strategies for emerging markets at Standish, who has solid experience in emerging market bond management and an excellent track record.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The discreet asset management firm PGC, which in 2013 made waves with its recruitment of Cécile Imbert, former manager at Prigest, is now making news again. With the recruitment of Sebastien Lemonier, the firm has engaged the services of a widely-known manager. Lemonier, who worked for nine years at Tocqueville Finance, now part of La Banque Postale, spent five years working with Don Fitzgerald, during which time he managed one of the flagship funds of the range, Tocqueville Value Europe. After his departure in June 2012, the manager joined star manager Marc Tournier, formerly of Tocqueville Finance, with whom Newsmanagers understands he formed an ambition to found a joint company. The project was recently abandoned, and Lemonier is therefore returning to service at a small French “value” type asset management firm which is now changing names, as PGC will now be known as Mansartis. Mansartis, composed of two companies, Pgc Société Privée de Gestion et de Conseil and Pgc Colonne Vendôme, has nearly EUR600m in assets under management.
Pimco announced yesterday that its chief executive officer and co-chief investment officer Mohamed A. El-Erian has decided to step down from his role and leave the firm in mid-March. He will remain a member of the Allianz International Executive Committee and, as of mid-March, also advise the board of management of Allianz on global economic and policy issues. Pimco’s founder William H. Gross will continue to serve as the firm’s CIO. At the same time, the firm has appointed a new portfolio management and executive leadership team. They will immediately begin to transition into their new roles.Douglas Hodge is promoted chief executive officer. He is a managing director in the Newport Beach office and is currently Pimco’s Chief Operating Officer. Jay Jacobs becomes president. He is a Managing Director in the Newport Beach office and is currently the Head of Talent Management globally. Finally Craig Dawson is appointed Head of Strategic Business Management: Mr. Dawson is a Managing Director and is currently Head of PIMCO Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, based in the Munich office. This departure comes as Pimco’s flagship fund, the Pimco Total Return Fund, which is also the biggest bond fund in the world, recorded net outflows of USD41.1bn in 2013.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Daniel Loeb, manager of the hedge fund third Point, with USD14bn in assets under management, has sent a letter calling for the Dow Chemical group, in which he holds his largest investment position (USD1.3bn, according to CNBC), to be split up, Agefi reports. The hedge fund estimates that the activity, which primarily has divisions in “commodities and energy” and “plastics and performance,” could generate an EBITDA of USD9bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Standard Life Investments has launched a fund dedicated to emerging market corporate bonds, which will be managed by the team of Richard House, Citywire reports. The fund, which will be managed by House and Samantha Lamb, investment director for credit, will concentrate on bond issues denominated in US dollars, offered by financial establishments or businesses in emerging markets. The fund, domiciled in Luxembourg, will be based on the JP Morgan CEMBI Broad Diversified as a benchmark.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Neptune has closed the Global Long/Short fund by Robin Geffen, two years after the departure of co-manager Ted Alexander, Investment Week reports. The fund did not succeed in interesting investors, and at its peak had GBP5m in assets.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lyxor Asset Management is building a presence in the Spanish market. The asset management affiliate of Société Générale has registered seven new exchange-traded funds (ETF), four of which are equity funds and four are bond funds, Funds People reports. Among the equity ETFs, Lyxor has launched a sectoral vehicle, the Lyxor Ucits ETF EuroStoxx Banks, and three others which replicate emerging market indices, the Lyxor Ucits ETF MSCI EM Beyond BRIC, Lyxor Ucits ETF MSCI Select OECD Emerging Markets GDP, and lastly, Lyxor Ucits ETF MSCI Mexico. Meanwhile, Lyxor AM is adding to its range with three other ETFs which allow investors to construct short positions on the main public debt indices in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom. They are the Lyxor Ucits Daily Double Short 10Y US Treasury, Lyxor Ucits ETF Daily Double Short 10Y Japan Govt Bonds and lastly, Lyxor Ucits ETF Daily Double Short 10Y UK Gilts.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Schroders is continuing its efforts to add to its product range aimed at Spanish investors. The asset management firm has registered the Schroder ISF Credit Conversion fund with the local regulator, a product which invests in investment grade corporate bonds, whose objective is to outperform euro zone corporate debt funds, Funds People reports. The vehicle invests primarily in bonds denominated in euros, and its benchmark index is the iBoxx Euro Corporate BBB Index. Its investment strategy is to concentrate on the best ideas from the European corporate debt team at Schroders, as part of an investment process that combines a top-down and a bottom-up approach.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Henderson Global Investors has promomted Paul O’Connor as co-director of its multi-asset class unit, Investment Week reports. He will assist Bill McQuaker to develop the firm’s international presence in institutional and retail markets. O’Connor’s promotion comes one year after he joined Henderson.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } M&G Real Estate is adding to its management. The affiliate dedicated to real estate at M&G Investments has recruited Tony Brown as chief investment officer and a member of its board of directors. Brown, former managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Lend Lease, joined the company on 12 January, and will report directly to Alex Jeffrey, CEO of M&G Real Estate. At Lend Lease, Brown was responsible for GBP2bn in assets in real estate, and GBP2.5bn in assets under management in infrastructure for 50 institutional investors.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Philip Rodrigs, manager of the UK Smaller Companies fund from Investec, will be leaving the firm, Investment Week reveals. He will join River & Mercantile as a partner in March, and will take over the management of the UK Equity Smaller Companies fund.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nick Hamilton, head of institutional business at Colonial First State in Sydney, will move to Australia to work at Oakley Capital Management as part of the retail asset management activity of Neil Woodford, former star manager at Invesco, Investment Week reports. Before joining Colonial First State, Hamilton worked for 9 years as head of global equity products at Invesco Perpetual. Craig Newman, head of sales at Invesco, has also joined Oakley as head of retail asset management.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the British boutique Cavendish Asset Management have increased by 42.75% in the year to the end of December, to a total of GBP1.16bn. In the past year, two funds from the firm have topped GBP100m in assets: Opportunities and Asia Pacific. The Worldwide Fund has seen its assets increse by 45%, to GBP98.1m. The directors of Cavendish are confident for 2014, particularly since their funds are now available on two new platforms, Fidelity since August last year, and Co-Funds since December.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } There has been a change of directors at the head of the Chinese sovereign fund. Gao Xiging, current vice president and CEO of China Investment Corp (CIC), which has USD575bn in assets under management, will soon be retiring, according to the website Shanghai Securities News. He will be replaced in this position by Li Keping, executive vice president and chief investment officer.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lombard Odier Investment Management has given its global energy fund to the former analyst Pascal Menges, the asset management firm tells Citywire Global. He replaces Michael Hulme, who joined Carmignac Gestion this week.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian asset management firm Anima sgr has modified its governance with an eye to an initial public offering, Bluerating reports. Marco Carreri, who is already managing director and CEO of Anima sgr, has also been appointed as deputy director of Am Holding, the shareholder of Anima. Giuseppe Zadra, already chairman of Am Holding, has also been appointed as chairman of Anima sgr. Maurizio Biliotti, top director of Banca Popolare di Milano, is resigning from his position as deputy director of Am Holding and as chairman of Anima sgr.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The activist investor Elliott Management Corp has increased its stake in the German medical retailer Celesio, in which it now holds the equivalent of 24.08% of voting rights, compared with less than 20% previously, according to documents subitted to the Frankfurt stock exchange, the news agency Reuters reports. Elliott has increased its stake in the German business following the failure of a bid by McKesson for Celesio. Elliott also states in its documents submitted to the stock market that it holds convertible bonds representing an additional 7.93% of voting rights. In other words, Elliott has a theoretical total of 32.01% voting rights. As the convertibles have not yet matured, Elliott is not immediately required to submit a buyout offer, which is required under German lay whenever a stake exceeds 30%.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UBS is adding to its team dedicaed to high net worth clients and family offices in Germany, according to Finews. The bank has receuited a complete team from Morgan Stanley for its Munich office. Carl von Wrede is joining UBS as head of ultra-high net worth clients. He will lead a team of 9 people. He will be assisted by two of his former colleagues from Morgan Stanley, Wolfgang Reuter and Ingo Stegmaier. A fourth person will join them during the year.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } J.P. Morgan Asset Management has announced that it has “successfully” implemented the asset management firm passport in Luxembourg and France, and selected BNP Paribas Securities Services as its depository and valuator for the management of its first French-registered fund with this model. The new contract strengthens the historic partnership between BNP Paribas and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. In order to develop fund distribution in France to French institutionals, the asset management firm already relies on the capacity of BNP Paribas to offer global solutions, providing local expertise and proven experience in the area of risk management, via a dedicated “Fund hosting” product. With the implementation of this passport, the bank offers a new solution to assist asset management firms with their international distribution. “France is the first country where we has put in place this passport created by the UCITS IV directive, in order to offer our clients a range of locally-registered products which benefit from integrated management and a French depository,” explains Jon Griffin, manager at JPMorgan Asset Management (Europe) SARL.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Carmignac Gestion has announced the recruitment of Michael Hulme as commodity manager. He is now responsible for the management of the Carmignac Commodities fund, which represents EUR670m in assets. Hulme succeeds David Field, who has decided to take a sabbatical after 10 years as head of the commodity team. The new fund manager will begin in his role on 14 February. The commodity team Hulme leads will be based in London, where, according to a statement, “the manager and Simon Lovat, commodity analyst, will contribute investment ideas in one of the major themes for the firm.” Before joining the group, Hulme managed the Lombard Odier Global Energy Fund, launched in 2010. He previously aorked at MFS International, where he successfully launched the Global Energy Fund in 2009.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The natural resources specialist from BlackRock, Richard Davis, has resigned from his responsibilities in fund management after 19 years, Citywire reports. A spokesperson for the firm tells Citywire Wealth Manager that Davis took the decision “to explore other career opportunities at BlackRock and elsewhere.”
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } JP Morgan Asset Management (AM) has announced the appointment of Travis Spence as head of strategic relationships for the group in Asia-Pacific (ex Japan), in order to build its presence serving major intermediary clients, including third-party instituitonals such as banks, insurers and private banks, Asian Investor reports. Spence, based in Hong Kong, will report directly to Jed Laskowitz, CEO for Asia-Pacific at JP Morgan AM. Spence had previously been head of liquidity for Asia-Pacific, in charge of short-term bond activities primarily for institutional clients.