P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } According to a study by the Luxembourg investment fund association (ALFI) and KPMG, assets in socially responsible funds in Europe increased between the end of 2010 and the end of 2012 by 19%, to EUR237.9bn, in 1,775 products compared with 1,558, which represents an increase of 14%.Cross-sector environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds as of the end of last year had total assets of EUR198.4bn, 83.3% of the total, for 63.9% of funds numerically, outpacing primarily environmental funds, with EUR28.1bn, or 11.8% of total assets and 21.7% of the fund population.By country of domicile, France led with 25.9% of assets, compared with 25.1% for Luxembourg, 7.9% for Norway, 7.6% for Denmark, and 6.6% for Finland.The study also points out that 23% of European SRI funds are available for cross-border sale.
Vanguard Asset Management has launched four new Irish-domiciled ETFs, complementing the five ETFs that it brought to the European market in 2012. The broadening of Vanguard’s ETF line-up underscores the firm’s commitment of providing low-cost, physically backed ETFs to investors, according to a press release. The four Vanguard ETFs newly listed on the London Stock Exchange are:Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe UCITS ETF, Vanguard FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan UCITS ETF, Vanguard FTSE Japan UCITS ETF and Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield UCITS ETF.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss firm Partners group (EUR28bn) has announced that it has resold its stake in the British firm Cabot Credit Management (GBP7.7bn in assets) to an affiliate of the private equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co, for a sum which has not been disclosed.In April 2011, Partners Group acquired a stake in Cabot in conjunction with AnaCap Financial Partners, to facilitate the merger between Cabot Financial and Apex Credit Management, in a transaction which is expected to be completed in the very near future.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Occitan Capital Partners, a hedge fund firm founded by former Nomura and Boussard & Gavaudan traders, is closing down after two years of losses, Financial News reports, citing four sources familiar with the matter. The firm had received investments from Reservoir Capital Group and Nomura.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Newton, which is part of BNY Mellon Investment Management, has announced the recruitment of Khuran Sharih to the newly-created position of high yield analyst in the Global Fixed Income team, according to a statement released on 21 May. Sharih will work alongside Sebastien Poulin, who joined the team in February 2012. He will report directly yo Parmeshwar Chadha, who is responsible for more than GBP1bn in assets under management in high yield. Sharih previously worked at Cairn Cpaital as a senior credit analyst.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aberdeen Asset Management and its affiliates have announced that they have completed the acquisition of Artio Global Investors Inc., a U.S. publicly-listed asset manager, effective as of the close of business on May 21, 2013. Aberdeen has paid consideration of USD179.7 million, based on a price of USD2.75 per share. This represents a premium of USD46.3 million over Artio’s unaudited net asset value as of March 31, 2013. This acquisition will expand Aberdeen’s U.S. business, deepen its distribution network in the region and add to its existing fixed income capabilities. As of May 17, 2013, Artio managed assets of approximately USD10.6 billion.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In first quarter 2013, hedge funds dedicated to emerging markets posted net inflows of USD1.8bn, according to the most recent edition of the HFR Emerging Markets Hedge Fund Industry Report. Inflows totalled USD3bn in fourth quarter 2012. Assets under management by emerging market hedge funds set a new record at over USD151bn, up by USD12bn compared with the end of December 2012. The HFRX Multi-Emerging Markets index gained 5.9% in the first four months of the year. Despite declines for the Chinese (Shanghai Composite) and Korean (Kospi) stock market indices, the HFR China and HFRX Korea indices have posted respective gains of 8.8% and 10%.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Scandinavian firm Tundra Fonder has launched an Asia ex-Japan equity fund for the former BankInvest emerging market specialist Jon Scheiber, Citywire Global reveals. Scheiber left BankInvest in May 2012, and joined Tundra in early 2013. The fund will have a quantitative approach, and will be entitled Tundra QuAsia fund.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For an undisclosed sum, the Hamburg-based Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) has acquired a 30,740 square-metre logistical property from BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions Immobilien Schweiz AG, located in Oftringer (60 km west of Zurich), which is leased ot Fiege Logistik Schweiz AG. The property will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate portfolio reserved for institutional investors UniInstitutional European Real Estate.Real estate funds from UIRE control a total of 18 logistical properties with a total value of EUR630m.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The CNMV has issued a sales license for Spain to Eurizon MM Collection, a Luxembourg-registered Sicav umbrella fund from the Italian firm Eurizon Capital, with three sub-funds specialised in Japan, China and Brazil, respectively, Funds People reports. They are Daiwa Equity Japan, managed by Daiwa AM, Itaú Equity Brazil Domestic Dynamics, managed by Itaú Unibanco, and Guosen RMB Fixed Income, managed by Guosen Securities.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The range of WisdomTree high dividend equity ETFs on 22 May gained an additional reference, in the WisdomTree U.S. Dividend Growth Fund (NasdaqGM ticker: DGRW).The product aims to replicate the fundamental weighting index WTDGI, which covers about 300 companies which pay dividends and combine the best characteristics for growth and quality as measured by long-term growth outlooks and returns on owners’ equity.The total expense ratio is 0.28%.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } NYSE Euronext has announced that on 22 May, two ETFs from Lyxor Asset Management were admitted to trading on the Paris stock exchange, bringing the total number of ETFs listed on European markets of NYSE Euronext to 660, of which 576 are primary listings.The products, both of which charge fees of 0.40%, are the LYX Unlev VIX EUR (ticker: ULVO), which replicates the S&P VIX Futures Enhanced Roll, and the LYX Unlev VIX USD (ULVX), which uses the same index.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Lyxor is offering a new investment strategy in senior European debt, “Lyxor European Senior Debt,” which will be released by the British affiliate of Lyxor, Lyxor AM announced on 22 May at a press conference.The LBO loans market is not highly trafficked by institutional investors, who are generally exposed to senior loans via collateralized loan obligations (CLO). “The asset class is not highly present among institutionals, but the market is rather large to construct diversified portfolios,” says Thierry de Vergnes, head of debt management at Lyxor AM. The European loan market was driven by 245 businesses in 2011 and 2012, which borrowed a total of about EUR72bn. In first quarter 2013, EUR15bn in loans were issued.The financial crisis has resulted in the emergence of more favourable conditions for purchasers of loans at a time when investment capacity in CLOs is in the process of fading away. Weaker demand by European CLOs, whose reinvestment periods are generally maturing, and higher capital needs on the part of banks have led to an increase in margins on primary issues. This improvement in investment conditions has modified the investor base, as debt funds and direct investors are gradually replacing CLOs and banks. A considerable advantage compared with high yield bonds which have a set coupon is that loans have variable rate coupons, which represent partial coverage in the event of a rise in interest rates.The strategy offered by Lyxor, whose capacity may reach EUR200m, aims to generate annual returns 6% to 7% above the Eurbor 3-month rate on a 6 to 8 year horizon. Retail shares will aim to deliver annual revenues of approximately the Euribor 3-month +5%.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In first quarter 2013, net profits for the private banking unit at ABN Amro totalled EUR35m, compared with EUR57m in the corresponding period of last year, which was marked by significant one-time profits. In addition, the decline is due to a slight decline in margins and a higher level of pension costs.As of 31 March, assets in the private banking unit totalled EUR165.1bn, compared with EUR163.1bn three months previously, with inflows and outflows evenly balanced.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Stefan Paulus, a specialist in funds at Bank Julius Baer, has been recruited as senior relationship manager at Dexia Asset Management, to serve institutional clients in German-speaking Switzerland and Liechtenstein. About 80 funds (equities, bonds, SRI, hedge funds) from Dexia AM are licensed for sale in Switzerland.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US investment firm Capital Group has opened a local branch in Milan as part of a development of its private management distribution in Europe, Investment Europe reports. At the same time, Vlasta Gregis has joined the firm as head of development for Italy. She had previously been at Aviva Investors. The move follows the recent appointment of Grant Leon, formerly of Aberdeen Asset Management, as head of sales for the Private Wealth Distribution activity at Capital.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Fundweb reports that Lloyds Bnaking Group will be selling an additional 15% stake in the asset management firm St. James’s Place (SJP) for GBP500m, in order to increase its capital.A stake of 20% was already sold in March, but the group is required to observe a 180-day minimum lock-in period before being allowed to sell its remaining 21% stake in SJP.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Emiel van den Heiligenberg, CIO of the multi-asset class solutions group at BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP), will be joining Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) later this year as head of asset allocation, replacing David North, who has left the business after twelve years, Fundweb reports.
L’indice Nikkei a clôturé la séance en forte baisse de 7,32% à 14.483,98 points ce matin dans des volumes très importants,après la publication de l’indice HSBC traduisant les mouvements de l’activité manufacturière en Chine qui est tombé sous le seuil de contraction à 49,6 points pour le mois de mai, après 50,4 en avril. L’indice Topix plus large cédait de son côté 6,87% à 1.188,34 points.
Le fonds d’investissement et l’assureur Fidelity National Financial seraient de sources concordantes en négociations avancées pour l’acquisition du spécialiste des services en crédit hypothécaire Lender Processing. Le Wall Street Journal a le premier évoqué l’opération, misant sur une offre mixte équivalente à 33 dollars par action valorisant la cible à 2,9 milliards de dollars. Thomas H. Lee Partners prendrait 19,9% du groupe.
Les accords conclus entre l’Iran et les géants du courtage en matières premières Glencore Xstrata et Trafigura pourraient avoir aidé la République islamique à contourner les sanctions internationales prises en raison de son programme nucléaire, selon un rapport confidentiel d’experts de l’ONU dont Reuters a eu connaissance.
Un groupe de quatre sociétés d’investissement, emmené par Citadel Securities, a porté plainte contre cinq marchés boursiers les accusant d’avoir systématiquement surévalué le montant de certaines commissions sur transactions pendant des années. Sont mis en accusation le CBOE (Chicago Board of Options Exchange), l’ISE (International Securities Exchange, filiale de Deutsche Börse), les plateformes de Nyse Euronext Arca et Nyse Amex, ainsi que le Philadelphia Stock Exchange, propriété du Nasdaq. La plainte assure qu’«il n’y a aucun doute sur le fait que les marchés ont prélevé des commissions trop élevées pendant sept ans sur des millions d’ordres».
Selon les données de la Caisse des dépôts et consignations, la collecte nette du Livret A s’est établie à 3,05 milliards d’euros en avril, après 1,83 milliard en mars. La collecte du Livret de développement durable a atteint pour sa part 1,56 milliard d’euros le mois dernier, après 960 millions en mars. L’encours des deux produits s’élevait à 363,3 milliards d’euros en avril.
Varsovie ne taxera pas avant 2020 la production de gaz de schiste extrait de son sol, a indiqué mercredi le ministre des Finances, afin de rendre son exploitation plus attractive après le retrait de plusieurs acteurs internationaux du secteur au cours des derniers mois. Une quarantaine de puits d’essai ont été creusés mais aucun d’eux ne devrait entrer en production avant 2015.
L’indice PMI du secteur manufacturier calculé par HSBC est tombé en zone de contraction de l’activité au mois de mai, à 49,6 points, après 50,4 en avril. Un chiffre décevant puisque le consensus tablait sur une stabilité de l’indice. «Il y a à présent une forte probabilité que la croissance du PIB chinois au deuxième trimestre soit plus faible qu’au premier», estime Ken Peng, économiste chez BNP Paribas.
L’activité de capital-investissement du groupe Quilvest annonce jeudi la clôture de trois levées de fonds : QS PEP 2012, QS REP II et QS Capital Strategies, pour des montants respectifs de 150, 300 et 230 millions de dollars. QS PEP est un fonds de fonds annuel de private equity mondial, QS REP intervient dans l’immobilier non coté, là aussi au niveau mondial, et QS Capital Strategies mise sur les entreprises américaines de taille moyenne. Les 80 millions de dollars engagés par des investisseurs dans ce dernier véhicule peuvent être abondés de 150 millions additionnels, via un financement en dette par la Small Business Administration (SBA) aux Etats-Unis, ce financement supplémentaire restant soumis à l’octroi d’une licence par les autorités américaines. Par ailleurs, Quilvest lance la levée de QS PEP Core, qui succédera à QS PEP, avec un objectif de 400 millions de dollars. A lire, l’entretien de Michel Abouchalache, patron du groupe, dans L’Agefi Hebdo du 23 mai.