Ossiam joue la transparence pour le lancement de ses premiers ETF
En plein débat sur la complexité croissante de ces produits, la filiale de Natixis se lance sur le segment avec cinq fonds
S&P pose ses conditions au plan grec de Paris
L'agence prévient que la reconduction des créances privées se traduirait par un défaut sélectif
S&P pose ses conditions au plan grec de Paris
L'agence prévient que la reconduction des créances privées se traduirait par un défaut sélectif
Nyse Euronext-Deutsche Börse, une fusion mauvaise pour les marchés
Dans un entretien au quotidien, Michael Spencer, directeur général d’Icap, le principal courtier interbancaire au monde, se dresse contre le projet de rapprochement entre Nyse Euronext et Deutsche Börse. Une opération qui serait «fondamentalement mauvaise pour les marchés» du fait de la situation de monopole à laquelle elle donnerait naissance.
Angoulême paie ses emprunts toxiques
Deux prêts structurés souscrits en 2006 et 2007 auprès de Dexia et indexés sur le change font grimper le coût de la dette de la ville au 1er juillet.
L'Italie va faire participer banquiers et assureurs à sa cure d'austérité
Le plan de 47 milliards d'euros adopté la semaine dernière prévoit une hausse d'impôt de 0,75 % imposée aux établissements financiers
Tyrus choisit Monaco
Le quotidien croit savoir de source proche que le hedge fund londien lancé en 2009 Tyrus Capital entend ouvrir un bureau à Monaco. Une partie de l’équipe actuelle rejoindra cette nouvelle implantation, nouveau témoignage clair des craintes grandissantes des fonds alternatifs face au déploiement de nouvelles taxes et réglementations au Royaume-Uni. Les deux cofondateurs de Tyrus resteront à Londres.
La Bourse de Tokyo vise celle d’Osaka
En vue de tenir tête dans un contexte mondial de concentration des opérateurs boursiers, les Bourses d’Osaka et de Tokyo poursuivent leurs négociations en vue d’un rapprochement.Le Tokyo Stock Exchange, numéro quatre mondial en termes de volumes de transactions, aurait selon le quotidien nippon formulé une offre d’achat. Une offre qui devrait être rejetée.
Pour Standard & Poor’s un «rollover» de la dette grecque aurait valeur de défaut
Les deux solutions proposées par la Fédération bancaire française pour couvrir les besoins d’Athènes de 2011 à 2014 en rééchelonnant la dette grecque par des échanges de titres reviendraient à placer Athènes en situation de défaut sélectif, a prévenu l’agence de notation Standard & Poor’s. Selon S&P, l’une comme l’autre impliquent des pertes pour les créanciers privés de la république hellénique. «A défaut d’information complémentaire, nous abaisserions probablement la note souveraine grecque à «SD», ce qui indiquerait la restructuration dans les faits d’une partie, mais pas de la totalité, de sa dette obligataire.». Sur les marchés asiatiques, l’euro a touché un plus bas de séance face au dollar aussitôt après cette déclaration. Par ailleurs, aucune décision n’a encore été prise sur le mode de participation du secteur privé au plan d’aide à la Grèce, a annoncé lundi le ministère allemand des Finances.
L'indice Sentix en hausse en juillet dans la zone euro
L’indice Sentix du sentiment des investisseurs de la zone euro s’est accru contre toute attente en juillet pour atteindre 5,3, après être ressorti à 3,5 en juin. Les sept analystes interrogés par Reuters attendaient en moyenne un repli à 1,2. L’indice Sentix restait sur trois mois consécutifs de recul. L’amélioration de la conjoncture explique en partie cette remontée.
Les prix à la production en recul de 0,2% dans la zone euro
Les prix à la production dans les 17 pays qui forment la zone euro ont diminué de 0,2% au mois de mai, en raison notamment de la baisse du prix de l'énergie. Sur un an, ils affichent une hausse de 6,2%. Les prix à la production avaient progressé en avril de 0,9% par rapport à mars, et de 6,7% par rapport à avril 2010.
Pékin relève le cours-pivot du yuan à un niveau record
La Chine va s’en tenir à une politique monétaire «prudente» en raison des pressions inflationnistes élevées, a annoncé lundi la Banque populaire de Chine, au terme de sa réunion trimestrielle lors de laquelle le cours-pivot du yuan a été porté à 6,44661, un niveau record. La devise chinoise a ensuite rapidement atteint le niveau historique de 6,4599 pour un dollar. Le yuan ne peut évoluer que de 0,5% en hausse ou en baisse par rapport au cours-pivot, défini tous les jours par la banque centrale. Depuis que le yuan a été désarrimé du cour du dollar, en juin 2010, la devise chinoise a pris 5,67% par rapport au billet vert, et 2,13% depuis le début de l’année. La banque centrale chinoise a ajouté qu’elle aurait recours à divers outils pour maintenir le niveau de liquidité et la masse monétaire à des niveaux acceptables.
04/07/2011
Madoff: Criminal suit against managers of Alpha Prime Funds
The Austrian city of Hartberg is seeking EUR457,000 in damages from Stefan Sapotocky and Peter Fischer, former CEOs of Alpha Prime Funds, Fondsprofessionell reports. The criminal case, filed in the Vienna courts, also names the Viennese lawyer Christian Hausmaniger, and accuses the defendants of failing to undertake the necessary due diligence. The plaintiff claims that Alpha Prime Funds passed nearly all of its assets to Madoff without adequate analysis.
04/07/2011
Amber acquires 3.5% of FonSai
According to Italian financial sector sources, the US asset management firm Amber Capital has recently acquired two blocks of shares in subscription rights to new shares in Fondiara Sai, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports.Following the capital increase, Amber Capital is expected to control about 3.5% of capital in the insurance company, making it the third-largest shareholder after Premafin (41%) and UniCredit (6.6%).Amber Capital already holds stakes of under 2% in Italian businesses valued at a total of EUR426.7m, including investments in Iride, Cofide and Banca Popolare di Milano.
04/07/2011
Asset management firms of the Rothschild family compete on the German market
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that the French asset management firms Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM) and Rothschild & Cie Gestion have both recently initiated assaults on the German market.EDRAM (EUR14bn in AUM) has chosen the more costly option of an office in Frankfurt, in the Opern Turm, with two CEOs (Rupert Hengstler, former CEO of Oppenheim KAG, and Stefan Zayer) and contracting a communications agency.Rothschild & Cie Gestion (EUR22.4bn), meanwhile, has opted for a lower-profile option, without a local office, and a distribution agreement with max.xs.The newspaper reports that people at both firms careful avoid to speak about competition from the family’s other entity.
04/07/2011
Sal. Oppenheim opens an office in Hanover
In August, the Sal. Oppenheim private bank (Deutsche Bank group) will open its tenth branch office in Germany, in Hanover. It will be led by Michael Jänsch, who has been recruited along with his entire team from Credit Suisse in the capital city of the Lower Saxony region, and who began work at his new employer on 1 July.
04/07/2011
Natixis Global AM adds to Iberian staff
With the recruitment of Sophie del Campo as CEO of Natixis Global Associates in Spain, Natixis Global Asset Management has added a big name to its European distribution personnel. Del Campo, who will now report to Hervé Guinamant, chairman and CEO of Natixis Global Associates International, will oversee commercial strategy and marketing for Spain and Portugal, and will assist with strategic development in Latin America. Del Campo has left Pioneer Investments, where she was head of Iberian operations, and previously worked in the Spanish arm of Crédit Agricole Asset Management.Christian Rouquerol, who has been head of distribution for Spain and Portugal at Amundi Iberia, will become head of sales at Natixis Global AM for the Iberian peninsula.
04/07/2011
Barclays Spain forms partnership with Allfunds
On 1 July, Jaime Echegoyen, CEO of the Barclays retail bank in Spain (Barclays Global Retail Banking España), and Juan Alcaraz, CEO of Allfunds Bank, have signed a cooperation agreement which will allow Barclays to offer a range of products and services from the Allfunds fund distribution platform as part of its new discretionary fund portfolio management service for clients of Barclays Gestión de Carteras Premier.
04/07/2011
Offer"to invest in several good stewards of the square is diversifying and therefore protective"
As the amLeague championship turns one year old, Antoine Briant, themind behind it, discusses the reasons for the net differences in
performance between various management firms competing for the title in
the hopes of winning over institutional investors belonging to the
amLeague club. Only affiliates of major French banks are still missing
from the competition, even though Briant predicts that they will
eventually enter it, as some other major establishments have already done.
04/07/2011
Mediolanum releases a fund of funds with a semiannual coupon
Mediolanum International Funds has registered eight classes of shares in the Irish-registered fund Mediolanum Coupon Strategy Collection, the eighth product of its Best Brands range, with the CNMV. The product will be available in Spain from Banco de Finanzas e Inversiones.The fund is a flexible product, which invests in income funds, and will will pay out a half-yearly dividend. Initially, the portfolio, composed of products from the world’s largest management firms, will invest 75% in equities funds, 15% in high yield funds, and 10% in real estate funds.In its prospectus, Banca Mediolanum names 23 partner management firms: Aberdeen AllianceBernstein, Axa IM, BlackRock, BNY Mellon AM, DWS Investments, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs AM, Henderson, ING IM, Invesco, JP Morgan AM, M&G, MFS IM, Morgan Stanley, Natixis Global Associates, Pictet, Pimco, RCM, Schroders, T. Rowe Price and UBS.The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in equities, and up to 30% in real estate, convertible bonds, high yield, government or corporate bonds, or cash.Backtesting reveals that in the years 2007-2010, the strategy would have generated average annual dividend returns of 5.68%.
04/07/2011
F&C Thames River registers AR fund in Spain
The CNMV has issued a sales license to the absolute return bond fund Thames River Global High Yield Bond Fund, from the British asset management firm F&C (see Newsmanagers of 28 March), Funds People reports. The UCITS-compliant product with 30 positions, launched in May, is overweight on European high yield bond issues. The performance objective is 10%, with ex ante volatility of 10-12%.Minimal subscription is GBP10,000/EUR10,000/USD10,000 for the retail share class, and GBP/EUR/USD10m for the institutional share class. Management commission is 1.5% for retail shares, and 1% for institutional shares, in addition to which there is a performance commission with a hurdle rate and high watermark.
04/07/2011
Smart-ISH fund of funds aims for returns of 10%
Cinco Días analyses the composition of the Smart-ISH d’Abante Asesores fund (see Newsmanagers of 7 and 29 June), concluding that the unstated objective is to generate annualised returns of 10%. The paper states that the selection does not aim to construct a balanced portfolio, but rather to have “a slightly aggressive slant.” The article goes on to list the various funds selected, and the qualities of each, as perceived by Ángel Olea, chief investment officer at Abante.
04/07/2011
Rapid growth in assets under administration at GlobeOp in first half
Assets under administration at GlobeOp Financial Services totalled USD174bn as of 31 May 2011, up 17% compared with 31 December 2010 (USD149bn).
04/07/2011
Solid inflows to emerging markets group at Franklin Templeton
At a presentation in Paris on 1 July, Mark Mobius, a star manager at Franklin Templeton, announced that since the beginning of the year, Templeton Emerging Markets Group alone (excluding assets in other divisions of the group) has posted inflows of about USD20m per day.Assets now total about USD54bn, of which 60% are in Asia (11% in India), and 15% in Latin America (with 11 points for Brazil). Southern Europe and Africa each represent 2% of the portfolio, while the Middle East represents 1%.Client inflows have largely gone to China funds, while the corresponding sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav had about USD2.36bn in AUM as of the end of May, followed by the Asia fund (USD17.93bn), global emerging markets (USD1.31bn), and the frontier markets fund (USD1.13bn).Mobius also states that the turnover rates for portfolios from the group are very low, at under 20%.
04/07/2011
Global macro strategies have difficulty making sense of a confused environment
Some hedge funds which are emblematic of the sector have been losing money since the beginning of this year, particularly in the global macro strategy, which is facing an unusual and unstable conjuncture and environment, Les Echos reports. In the first five months of the year, global macro has lost an average of 1.5%, according to the Edhec-Risk Alternative indices, making it one of the three worst performers among the major alternative strategies.
04/07/2011
F&C plans to scale up closed fund activities
The British management firm F&C has decided to place open-ended funds and investment trusts under the responsibility of Charlie Porter, who is already responsible for the former, Fund Web reports. Ed Morse will take up the newly-created position of head of development for activities related to investment trusts, while Mike Woodward will remain in his position as head of the unit dedicated to investment trusts.
04/07/2011
F&C moves to a new operating model
Very soon, F&C will choose a subcontractor from two final candidates, to receive administrative funds at a price which will depend on assets under management and the size of transactions. The arrangement will result in annual savings of GBP12m, of which GBP9m will be the result of restructuring, and GBP3m from reductions in rental costs associated with staff reductions, the firm announced on 1 July.The outsourcing agreement will affect about 110 people, 70% of administrative personnel (thus not affecting investment, distribution or customer service). A significant portion of these personnel will be transferred to the subcontracting firm.The reshuffle arises from a desire on the part of F&C to diversify and to extend its activities beyond its historic base of insurance mandates, says CEO Alain Grisay.
04/07/2011
Alken gets a fourth partner
Funds People reports that Isabel Ortega, who joined Alken Asset Management in 2007, has been appointed as global head of sales, and on 1 July became a partner at the management firm, joining Nicolas Walewski, Antoine Badel and Marc Festa. Festa has recently been appointed as co-head of strategy.
04/07/2011
UCITS IV transposition: only four countries taking initiative
According to a survey by RBC Dexia Investor Services, Luxembourg, since 1 January 2011, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Ireland will be the four major European markets to have met deadlines to transpose the UCITS IV directive into law by 1 July 2012.Soon thereafter, they will be followed by Spain, which has begun an urgent process to pass a bill approved by the Council of ministers on 20 April, and Switzerland, which will follow on 15 July, even though it is not a member state of the European Union.Three other countries lag behind; France, Italy, and Belgium.
04/07/2011
Sycomore AM recruits long/short expertise
The independent management firm Sycomore Asset Management on 1 July announced that Olivier Mollé has joined its long/short team as manager of the Long/Short Conservative fund, which has been renamed as Sycomore Long/Short Market Neutral. Mollé previously worked at Neuflize OBC Investissements, where he had managed the NOBC Europe L/S fund since 2009. Mollé will continue this management strategy, which aims to generate absolute returns by profiting from differences in performance between equities in a single sector, and systematically hedging its residual exposure with rigorous management of market risk. He will be assisted by the management team at Sycomore Asset Management with fundamental analysis, and the internal decision-making tool SycoValo. The fund, which offers daily liquidity, will invest in a universe of 300 Euro zone equities. The fund, which offers daily liquidity, will invest in a universe of 300 Euro zone stocks. Assets under management at Sycomore AM total over EUR2bn.