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12/10/2011

Deutsche Bank revises growth outlooks for ETFs downward

Global ETF assets this year will grow by only 5% to 10%, down from the 30% growth predicted at the beginning of the year, Deutsche Bank has announced. In 2010 and 2009, assets incresaed by 27% and 40%, respectively. So far, assets under management as of the end of September totalled USD1.2trn, down 4% since 30 September 2010.Concerns due to the European and United States sovereign debt crises have provoked downward revisions to growth projections and increased uncertainty, an analysis by Christos Constandinides finds, Handelsblatt reports. These problems are slowing growth in the ETF sector in two ways. Firstly, the value of equities and other securities is falling, which reduces the assets managed by ETFs based on them. Secondly, investors have reduced their exposure. In first quarter, net subscriptions may have increased year on year, but they fell by 20% in third quarter.
12/10/2011

In Germany, professionals are buying, and retail investors are selling

In the month of August 2011, the investment fund sector has seen a net outflow of EUR4.1bn, according to statistics from the German financial management association (BVI). Open-ended funds finished the month with outflows of EUR5.4bn, but institutional investors placed EUR1.3bn in dedicated funds. Equity and diversified funds posted net redemptions of EUR4.1bn and EUR1.6bn, respectively. However, money market and bond funds profited from the weakness of the equity markets to post inflows of EUR1.4bn and EUR0.9bn, respectively. Assets under management as of the end of August totalled EUR1.7623trn, down 2.5% compared with July.
12/10/2011

BlackRock and Pimco lead on German market

According to statisics published on 11 October by the German BVI association of asset management firms, open-ended securities funds in the first eight months of the year underwent net outflows of EUR5.65bn. But this result conceals a considerable dispersion in results.The largest net inflows went to BlackRock, for iShares ETFs, for over EUR7.25bn, followed by Pimco Europe (AllianzGI), with nearly EUR6.42bn, and ETF funds from db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank), which took on about EUR1.55bn. However, ETFlab (Deka), an ETF specialist, has seen net redemptions of EUR1.03bn.Thanks to Pimco, Allianz GI is the only big player to post net subscriptions in January-August, totalling EUR2.45bn. Deka (savings banks) has seen net outflows of over EUR6.82bn, while DWS/DB Advisors (Deutsche Bank) has posted net redemptions of EUR2.31bn. Lastly, Union Investment (co-operative banks) has posted net redemptions of EUR1.3bn.
12/10/2011

First German micro-finance fund launched

Due to a modification to German investment legislation, the fund promoter Invest in Visions may now launch the first German micro-finance fund, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.The asset target is EUR100m, and minimal subscription is set at EUR100. Management commission will be 1.4%, and a commission of 20% will be charged on performance exceeding 4% per year, with high watermark.
12/10/2011

Mirabaud licensed as investment company

Mirabaud France has been granted a license from the authorities in France as an investment business with permission to undertake portfolio management activities, reception and transmission of orders, and investment advising, activities which had previously been exercised by Mirabaud Gestion, which will be disappearing in favour of Mirabaud France. The move will allow the firm to offer clients a way to entrust management of their accounts and custody for their assets to Mirabaud. Mirabaud opened its affiliate in Paris in 2003. Now, with 30 employees, including nine client managers and a dedicated team of wealth engineers, Mirabaud France manages assets of nearly EUR1bn.
12/10/2011

Over 5% of capital in SocGen held by Capital Research and Management

The Capital Research and Management Company, which acts as an investment adviser for mutual funds, has announced that its stake in the capital of Société Générale on 7 October 2011 passed the 5% threshold. According to the French financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the firm holds 40,613,168 shares in Société Générale, representing as many voting rights, equivalent to 5.23% of capital and 4.66% of voting rights in the firm.
12/10/2011

CDC establishes a socially responsible investment charter

The Caisse des dépôts (CDC) is in the process of putting the finishing touches on a responsible investment charter, Didier Janci, director of the research, strategic planning and sustainable development department at the CDC, announced on 11 October at the annual conference of the sustainable finance and responsible investment chair. The chair, under the supervision of the AFG and with the support of 15 asset management firms, brings together teams from the IDEL-Toulouse School of Economics and the economics department at the Ecole Polytechnique. The charter, which is now completing its internal validation process, establishes a framework for socially responsible investment and strategic allocation for all asset classes, Janci says. With the new initiative, the CDC has formulated a process which has already been going on for the past several years. The CDC, which has been a long-term investor since its creation, is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), to whose creation it actively contributed in 2005 and 2006.
12/10/2011

Paulson & Co anticipates redemptions

Paulson & Co, the US hedge fund firm managed by John Paulson, predicts that in the worst-case scenario, it may see redemptions equivalent to one fifth to one quarter of its assets by the end of the year, the Financial Times reports. But it adds that it would have no problem honouring those redemption demands, which would total about USD6bn.
12/10/2011

ECGS welcomes a new member

The European corporate governance and correspondence voting specialist ECGS has welcomed a new member, the Italian firm Frontis Governance, the ECGS announced on 11 October in a statement. In addition to Frontis, ECGS counts the Swiss firm Ethos the German firm DWS, the Dutch Shareholder Support and the French Proxinvest among its members. From 1 October, ECGS has changed its name to Expert Corporate Governance Service; it was previously European Corporate Governance Service.
12/10/2011

Inflows continue for SAM funds despite crisis

Robeco has taken the occasion of SRI week in Paris to unveil a series of funds from its Swiss affiliate Sustainable Asset Management, which is also known for its Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).Although assets in its products have suffered from the fall of the equities markets, and due to their fidelity to securities that promise good returns over the long-term, many of them are nonetheless still showing net inflows for the first nine months of the eyar. The SAM Smart Energy fund has EUR472m in assets (compared with EUR549m as of the end of August), but the fund with 60 positions has posted CHF180m in net inflows. However, the SAM Sustainable Water Fund EUR has seen net outflows, because a fund of fund has decided to reallocate its assets to the European banking sector and US companies. Assets total EUR672m in 75 positions, down from a peak of EUR742m as of the end of August.The SAM Smart Materials fund, which has EUR56m in assets, down from EUR63.6m one month earlier, has posted total net inflows of EUR10m to EUR15m. It has 51 positions.The SAM Smart Healthy Living EUR fund, which is focused on equities in firms which offer technologies, products or services in the food, health, physical activities and physical and psychological well-being industries, now has about EUR150m in assets, compared with EUR172.2m one month earlier. The portfolio, with 50-60 positions (currently 55) has attracted net subscriptions of about EUR20m since the beginning of the year.
12/10/2011

European mutual funds hit by worst redemptions since 2008

In August 2011, redemptions from European mutual funds (-EUR25.6bn) were the worst since October 2008 (-EUR 158.7bn) — the nadir of sales activity for the industry, according to Lipper’s latest Fund Flash. When one strips out money market activity (+EUR28.3bn), outflows even reach EUR 53.8bn. «The latest month is not only the worst month since October 2008 (-EUR 117.9bn), but also worse than most months that year, which averaged - EUR 32.4bn», Lipper comments.Investors’ fears were focused on equity funds (-EUR 31.2bn), but even bond funds endured panicked clients (-EUR13.9bn). Investors pulled money from High Yield funds (-EUR 9.2bn), € Corporate Bonds (-EUR3.6bn), as well as absolute return bond funds (-EUR 1.5bn).Apart from money market funds, apparently the most popular sector this month was German equities, but here ETFs — likely being used to short the DAX — accounted for EUR 2.4bn net sales. The only other equity sector to find some traction was Gold.Franklin Templeton’s fixed income products again attracted sufficient sales to put the group at the top of the group rankings with net sales of EUR 1.1bn, ahead of Standard Life (EUR 400m).
12/10/2011

PerTrac teams up with MondoAlternative platform

PerTrac, a software and services provider for the asset management and hedge fund sector, has signed a partnership with MondoAlternative, an Italian producer of databases that monitor more than 2,000 hedge funds (including Italian, European and Swiss hedge funds as well as UCITS hedge funds and investable indices). PerTrac subscribers will now have access to monthly rankings by MondoAlternative, and will receive a magazine every month dedicated to the Italian and European hedge fund industry.
12/10/2011

Outflows of nearly EUR54bn in Europe in August

Long-term funds in Europe, which include all funds except money market funds, have seen an outflow of EUR53.8bn in the month of August, according to statistics from Lipper. The only notable increase in the month under review, meanwhile, was for money market funds, which posted a net inflow of EUR28.3bn, reducing outflows for the sector as a whole to EUR35.6bn. For the third consecutive month, outflows have topped EUR20bn. Equities funds have seen an outflow of EUR31.2bn, while bond and diversified funds have seen net redemptions totalling EUR13.9bn and EUR3.7bn, respectively. Franklin Templeton leads for inflows, with net subscriptions of EUR1.1bn for the month, followed by Standard Life (EUR400m). Absolute return funds have seen a second consecutive month of outflows, totalling EUR2.4bn, bringing inflows since the beginning of the year to EUR7.1bn.
12/10/2011

Returns of over 11% for Chinese sovereign fund in 2010

According to the news agency Chine Nouvelle, the China Investment Company (CIC), the sovereign fund of the Chinese government, on Tuesday announced that it earned returns of 11.7% on its portfolio of international investments in 2010. This rate has remained unchanged compared with the 2009 results. Since its inception in 2007, the average return rate for the fund is 6.4%.
12/10/2011

Uram recruits two specialists

The Geneva-based asset management firm Uram, a specialist in commodities and energies, has recruited two people. They are Robert Galuba, who has spent 10 years as a manager and financial analyst at Lombard Odier, Bordier and HSBC, and Pierre Martin, who joins from Deutsche Bank, where he managed natural resource funds. The recruitments come at a time when Uram has recently lost one of its co-founders, Patrick Pittaway, Citywire reports. He co-founded the firm in 2007 with Dominique Casaï.
12/10/2011

Gottex appoints a new head of marketing for Asia Pacific

Gottex Fund Management has appointed Steven Lee Hyungwk as Marketing Director for the Asia Pacific region, Agefi Switzerland reports. Hyungwk previously worked at Wellington Management, where since 2001 he had been a member of the Marketing team. Hyungwk will be based in Hong Kong, and will play an active role in the development of activities in the Asia Pacific region, with priority given to institutional clients.
12/10/2011

Julius Baer under investigation by US Justice department

Two former advisors at the Julius Baer bank are under investigation by the US Department of Justice. The New York prosecutor has made accusations, obtained by the news agency AWP, that the two ex-bankers assisted US taxpayers to dodge taxes. The Zurich bank has told AWP that it intends to cooperate with the US authorities. The two advisors are alleged to have helped US taxpayers and others to conceal USD600m in offshore accounts, which allowed them to avoid taxes, according to the US prosecutor.
12/10/2011

Man launches a long/short fund of hedge funds

Man, the listed hedge fund provider, announced on October 10 the launch of Man Long Short Fund, a new long/short equity fund of hedge funds with scheduled monthly liquidity in a Registered Investment Company format. Man Investments (USA) LLC serves as the fund’s investment adviser and is part of Man’s Multi-Manager Business which has approximately USD12.7 billion in funds under management globally as of September 30, 2011.Man Long Short Fund, available only to the high net worth clients of the top-tier broker dealers and advisers with an investment minimum of USD50,000, provides a way to access up to 30 leading long/short equity managers.The fund seeks to capture 60% to 70% of the potential upside return of equities but more importantly only to participate in 30% to 40% of the downside.
12/10/2011

AXA IM asks Deloitte to audit its SRI funds

Axa Investment Managers has asked Deloitte to check the compliance of six socially responsible investment funds with its Responsible Investment Principles. The products concerned are the AXA Euro Valeurs Responsables, Label Europe Actions, AXA WF Framlington Human Cap, Label Euro Obligations, AXA Trésor Court Terme, AXA Ethical Distribution Fund. “For several years, we have formalised the principles which govern our RI philosophy. Now, in the absence of formal standards in this area, we wanted a single entity to verify and validate the compliance of investment processes and the management of our RI funds with the principles on the basis of which our clients place their trust in us. The detailed work undertaken by Deloitte on six of our RI funds brings the transparency which our clients expect, and with this contributes to the credibility of our funds,” explains Pascale Sagnier, head of research for the responsible investment department at AXA IM. Deloitte experts analysed the principles used to manage the composition of portfolios and procedures and mechanisms related to the investment process. In a second phase, consultants verified the composition of the portfolio and the transactions undertaken over the past year, fund by fund.
12/10/2011

BBVA may sell financial products in South Korea

The Spanish firm BBVA (which controls the country’s second-largest asset management firm, BBVA AM), on Tuesday signed a preliminary agreement with the Korean firm Woori Finance Holdings, for a strategic partnership, Expansión reports, citing internal sources at BBVA.The alliance will allow the Spanish group to sell its financial products covering “non-Asian” markets in South Korea. Woori expects that the agreement will give it access to international and Latin American markets, where BBVA has a vast network.
12/10/2011

Spanish investors still in a bad mood

According to the confidence index calculated by JPMorgan Asset Management, which stood at -2.17 for third quarter, Spanish investors remained pessimistic in July-September for the ninth consecutive quarter. The fall of -2.17 for the index (compared with -1.18 in April-June) is the worst result since March 2009, Funds People reports.This negative attitude is largely motivated by the economic situation, with 92% of investors estimating that the crisis will not end for two years at least. The deterioration of the index is largely due to an increase in the number of people predicting that the markets will fall in the next six months, while investors predicting that the markets will rise are at an all-time low.
12/10/2011

Asset management firms are recruiting

According to a survey by Financial News, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Ignis Asset Management, Russell Investments and Investec Asset Management are all recruiting staff. Other firms say they are not enclined to reduce staff but rather to hire at present.
12/10/2011

Strong growth in assets under custody in Asia

Despite turbulence on the markets, assets under custody in Asia increased by 20% year on year to USD6.6trn, according to statistics from Asian Investor. Although these estimates, based on figures from seven banks (Brown Brothers Harriman, BNY Mellon, Citi, HSBC, JP Morgan, Northern Trust and State Street) are not absolutely precise, they are signs of exceptional growth in the region in the context of a market that remains highly difficult.
12/10/2011
Gestion d'actifs

Crédit Agricole SA doit se renforcer dans l'immobilier

Crédit Agricole SA (Casa), entité cotée du groupe Crédit Agricole, doit se renforcer dans l’immobilier afin d’accroître sa puissance et ainsi consolider le groupe dans son ensemble, a déclaré mardi 12 octobre 2011, le secrétaire général de la Fédération nationale de la banque verte. «Vis-à-vis de Casa, nous pensons qu’il faut conforter encore notre tête de réseau, accroître sa puissance et son effet d’entraînement», a souligné Philippe Brassac, dans un entretien au quotidien économique Les Echos. «La Fédération et les caisses régionales ne peuvent pas être fortes si l’ensemble du groupe ne l’est pas», a-t-il relevé. «Cette consolidation devrait ainsi passer par un renforcement de Casa dans l’activité immobilière», a estimé le secrétaire général de la FNCA, l’instance politique représentant les sociétaires du groupe mutualiste. «A l’image de ce que nous avons fait avec les métiers de l’assurance, nous voulons intégrer les métiers de l’immobilier dans Casa dans toute leur palette», a-t-il précisé. Crédit Agricole SA, coté depuis fin 2001, détient 25% du capital des caisses régionales ainsi que les filiales du groupe en banque de détail (LCL en France, Emporiki en Grèce, Cariparma FriuAdria en Italie, ...), en métiers financiers spécialisés (gestion d’actifs, assurances, banque privée, crédit à la consommation, crédit-bail, affacturage) ainsi que la banque de financement et d’investissement, selon le site internet du groupe.
Gestion d'actifs
12/10/2011

L'Opep anticipe un ralentissement de la demande de pétrole

L’organisation des pays exportateurs de pétrole (Opep) a abaissé hier de 180.000 barils par jour pour 2011, soit la capacité d’une raffinerie de taille moyenne, sa prévision de croissance mondiale de la demande de pétrole, et ce pour le quatrième mois consécutif. L’Opep a notamment mis en cause le ralentissement économique dans les pays développés.
12/10/2011

Emergence d’un nouveau fonds sino-russe

Le fonds souverain chinois CIC s’est engagé à apporter un milliard de dollars à un nouveau fond sino-russe. Son homologue Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) contribuera à la même hauteur et compte trouver 2 milliards d’euros supplémentaires auprès d’autres investisseurs chinois. Ce fonds sera principalement géré par RDIF et réalisera au moins 70% de ses investissements en Russie, au Kazakhstan et au Bélarus.
12/10/2011

Les Etats-Unis sanctionnent deux banquiers suisses

Le procureur fédéral américain du district de Manhattan à New-York a accusé deux anciens banquiers suisses chez Julius Baer d’avoir favorisé l’évasion fiscale des 180 riches ménages américains pour un montant total de la fraude de 600 millions de dollars.
12/10/2011

L’Italie face au risque politique

Le gouvernement de Silvio Berlusconi a perdu d’une voix un vote clé au parlement italien concernant les dépenses de l’Etat en 2010, incitant des membres de la coalition à réclamer un nouveau vote de confiance. La suite de la séance a été remise à aujourd’hui sur décision du président de la chambre basse, Gianfranco Fini, pour qui ce vote avait «des implications politiques évidentes». «Je pense que le gouvernement doit être ouvert au débat et voir s’il y a bien un consensus politique» a même indiquéFabrizio Cicchito, le chef de file des députés de la majorité.
12/10/2011

Rebond des commandes de machines au Japon

Les commandes de machines sous-jacentes japonaises, indicateur avancé de l’investissement des entreprises, ont rebondi de 11% au mois d’août. Un chiffre nettement supérieur au consensus Reuters qui tablait sur une hausse de 4,9% après une chute de 8,2% en juillet.
12/10/2011

Démission du ministre égyptien des Finances

Le ministre égyptien des Finances, Hazem el Beblaoui, nommé par le Conseil suprême des forces armées à la suite de manifestations en juillet, a remis sa démission. Il négociait avec les pays arabes du Golfe une aide financière pour soutenir le budget de l’Etat égyptien, qui a considérablement augmenté en conséquence des troubles politiques du début de l’année.

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