Groupama AM mise sur l’élargissement de sa base de clientèle
La société entend développer sa présence en Europe et se positionner sur de nouveaux clients tels que les distributeurs et les fonds souverains
Les obligations sécurisées cannibalisent partiellement les RMBS
D'après Bank of America Merrill Lynch, le transfert entre les deux classes d'actifs est plus probable en Italie et en Espagne
Les débiteurs reprennent la main sur Cœur Défense
La Cour de cassation a cassé l’arrêt de la cour d’appel sur l’annulation de la sauvegarde
La microéconomie soutiendra de moins en moins les marchés actions
Les révisions à la baisse effectuées par les analystes financiers se sont multipliées en février… et cela pourrait durer
Les débiteurs reprennent la main sur Cœur Défense
La Cour de cassation a cassé l’arrêt de la cour d’appel sur l’annulation de la sauvegarde
La frénésie immobilière se poursuit à Hong Kong
Alva To, responsable de la recherche chez DTZ, a indiqué au quotidien que le prix des résidences de luxe à Hong Kong pourrait bondir de 15 à 20% cette année. La hausse générale de l’immobilier dans la ville pourrait être limitée à 15%, accompagnée d’une hausse de 2 points des taux d’emprunt hypothécaire.
L'Espagne syndique une émission de dette à 15 ans
Selon les rumeurs de marché, ce matin, l’Espagne prépare une émission de dette syndiquée à 15 ans pour profiter des conditions de marché actuelles qui lui sont plus favorables, comparé à d’autres pays périphériques en difficulté et compte lever un montant de 3 à 5 milliards d’euros. Le syndicat bancaire serait composé de Caja Madrid, Citi, Credit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, HSBC et Santander. La marge à l'émission aurait été fixée entre 15 et 20 pb sur la dette espagnole d'échéance juillet 2025. Les premiers ordres aurait déjà atteint les 5 milliards d’euros, selon IFR. Les taux à 10 ans espagnols se sont tendus de 6 pb, portant le spread de taux à 10 ans Espagne-Allemagne, de 6 pb à 216 pb. Vendredi, Fitch avait abaissé la perspective de la note du pays de «stable» à «négative».
Le pétrole cher creuse le déficit commercial en France
La hausse des cours du pétrole attisée par les tensions en Afrique du Nord et au Moyen-Orient a affecté en janvier la balance commerciale de la France, qui affiche son plus important déficit depuis deux ans et demi, montrent les statistiques publiées mardi par les Douanes. Il s’est creusé à 5,89 milliards d’euros, dépassant les estimations les plus pessimistes, après 5,06 milliards (révisé) en décembre.
Le FMI met en garde contre la surchauffe dans les pays émergents
Les taux de croissance des grands pays émergents pourraient être trop élevés pour être sains comme le montrent les tensions inflationnistes en hausse. « Dans les économies émergentes, qui connaissent une croissance de 6,5% ou 7%, la marge de capacité excédentaire a largement été consommée, et nous observons en conséquence de premiers signes de surchauffe », a déclaré le directeur général adjoint du FMI, John Lipsky, lors d’un entretien à Reuters Insider.
La Banque de France confirme prévoir 0,8% de croissance au premier trimestre
La Banque de France a confirmé prévoir une croissance de 0,8% du PIB de la France au premier trimestre de cette année, dans son enquête mensuelle de conjoncture. Cette enquête sur le climat des affaires fait ressortir une poursuite de la croissance de l’activité industrielle en février, mais à un rythme plus modéré qu’en janvier, l’indicateur restant stable 110.
L'Opep discute d'une hausse de la production
Le Koweït et l’Iran ont confirmé l’existence de discussions au sein de l’Opep à propos d’un relèvement de la production pétrolière, mais le cartel n’a pas encore pris de décision sur une éventuelle hausse des quotas pour enrayer la flambée des cours du brut. Vers 13 heures, le baril de brut léger américain cédait 0,19% à 105,25 dollars après avoir touché lundi en clôture son plus haut niveau depuis septembre 2008. Le Brent de la mer du Nord perdait 0,11% à 114,91 dollars le baril.
Les commandes à l'industrie en Allemagne en hausse plus forte que prévu
Les commandes à l’industrie en Allemagne ont affiché une hausse supérieure aux prévisions en janvier par rapport à décembre, selon les données officielles publiées mardi, ce qui confirme la poursuite du redressement de la première économie européenne. Ces commandes ont augmenté de 2,9%, alors que les économistes avaient anticipé en moyenne une hausse de 2,4%. La progression de la demande intérieure (+4,5%) s’est avérée significativement supérieure à celle des commandes en provenance de l'étranger (+1,6%).
08/03/2011
Proposed AMP/AXA deal receives legal approval
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Axa Asia Pacific Holdings (AXA APH) on 7 March announced that the Victoria supreme court has granted approval for a proposed acquisition of the Australian and New Zealand activities of AXA APH by the Australian wealth management firm AMP, and the resale of the Asian activities of AXA APH by the acquirer to AXA.The permission from the supreme court will be submitted to the Australian antitrust authorities on Tuesday, 8 March, when the planned operation will become legally effective. At the end of trading on that day, shares in AXA APH will be suspended from trading. Ordinary shares issued to minority stakeholders in AXA APH will become tradeable from 9 March.
Les fonds rendement absolu sont un mythe
Selon une étude de Cerulli Associates citée dans le Financial Times Fund Management, les fonds à rendement absolu sont «un mythe». Ce rapport montre qu’aucune stratégie à rendement absolu n’est parvenue à préserver le capital dans toutes les conditions de marché, et que les rendements ont été plus ou moins conformes avec leurs marchés sous-jacents, même si la volatilité était moindre.
Schroders ferme son fonds US Mid Cap
Schroders a décidé de fermer aux souscriptions (hard close) son fonds de moyennes valeurs américaines US Mid Cap au premier avril, les encours ayant dépassé les 4,5 milliards de dollars, rapporte Investment Week. Au delà, Schroders estime qu’il n’est pas possible de réaliser des performances satisfaisantes. Géré par Jenny Jones, le produit avait déjà fait l’objet d’une fermeture provisoire en décembre. Lancé en avril 2005, le fonds a enregistré sur trois ans une performance de 44,3 %.
08/03/2011
Global X launches an Argentina ETF
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 3 March, Global X Funds (USD1.5bn in assets as of the end of February) launched what it claims is the first ETF in the world to track the Argentinian market. The product is the Global X FTSE Argentina 20 ETF, acronym ARGT. The new product charges fees of 0.75%.
08/03/2011
Jurors for Galleon trial questioned about their attitudes to Wall Street
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Wall Street Journal reports that potential jurors for the trial of the hedge fund Galleon and its founder, Raj Rajaratnam, on insider trading charges, are being asked about their feelings towards Wall Street directors and the US financial crisis, in order to determine whether they are likely to be prejudiced or to retain their ability to judge the case impartially.
08/03/2011
VCH launches an African equities fund
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The wealth management firm VCH Vermögensverwaltung, a member of the Altira group, on 23 February announced the launch of a Luxembourg-registered fund, whose management will be contracted out to Hauck & Aufhäuser Investmentgesellschaft, where it will be managed by a former DWS manager, Jens Schleuniger (see Newsmanagers of 25 January 2011). The product is an equities fund specialised in firms whose headquarters are located in Africa, primarily in South Africa, Egypt, Mauritius, Nigeria, Morocco, and Kenya. A significant portion of the portfolio will be placed in companies of the commodities sector in the broader senst (prospecting, refining, transformation, sales).CharacteristicsName: VCH AfricaISIN code: LU0563445195Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 0.40%Depository banking commission (Hauck & Aufhäuser Banquiers Luxembourg S.A.): 0.10%Advising commission: 1.45%Performance commission: 10%, with high watermarkMinimal subscription: EUR500
08/03/2011
Insitutional investors and ETFs still dominate subscriptions in Germany
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In January 2011, the German asset management industry posted net subscriptions of EUR6.62bn, compared with EUR6.56bn in December, and EUR13.51bn one year previously, according to figured published on 7 march by the German BVI association of asset management firms. These results are due to institutional funds, which attracted EUR5.6bn, open-ended real estate funds, which raised EUR599m, and mandates, which brought in EUR360m. Open-ended securities funds attracted only EUR65.6m, as bond products saw net outflows of over EUR1.62bn.Among the major asset management firms, Allianz Global Investors (AGI) saw net redemptions of EUR786.8m, while Deka (savings banks) and Union Investment (co-operative banks) posted redemptions of EUR513.2m and EUR123.6m, respectively. The DWS/DB Advisors/DB Group (Deutsche Bank) family, however, posted net inflows of EUR541m.Except ETFlab (Deka), which saw net outflows of EUR470m, ETF specialists took on net subscriptions: EUR349.4m for BlackRock (iShares), EUR78.7m for ComStage (Commerzbank), and EUR349.9m for db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank).
08/03/2011
ACPI IM registers three more funds in Spain
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After registering the Global Credit sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav ACPI Luxembourg Fund, an absolute return product, in Spain in April 2010, the British asset management firm ACPI Investment Managers (USD2.75bn in assets) has received permission from the CNMV to sell three sub-funds of its Irish Sicav ACPI Global Ucits Fund in the country. The products are two emerging markets bond funds, ACPI Emerging Markets Fixed Income UCITS and ACPI Global Fixed Income UCITS, and an international equities product, ACPI Global Equity UCITS.
08/03/2011
Moody's lowers rating for Greece by three notches
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The ratings agency Moody’s on Monday announced that it has downgraded the sovereign rating for Greece from “Ba1” to “B1,” a downgrade of three places, with a negative outlook. The agency cites risks to the enactment of budgetary reforms, and restructuring of the country’s debt.
08/03/2011
Union Investment launches a five-year bond fund
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The central management firm for the German co-operative banks, Union Investment, on 7 February announced the launch of the Luxembourg-registered bond fund UniRentaEurolandPlus 5J, which will reach its first maturity on 31 January 2016, after which the life of the fund may be extended.The product will invest primarily in government bonds, corporate bonds and European securitised bonds from very highly-rated issuers, but may also invest up to 40% of its asstes in government or corporate bonds from emerging markets in local currencies. However, for the moment, Union has not invested the fund in any of the peripheral countries of the Euro zone (PIIGS).The fund, managed by Dmitri Barinov, invests solely in assets whose maturity falls before the end date of the fund at the latest. Before this date, the fund may adopt a more defensive policy and invest in money market instruments.CharacteristicsName: UniRentaEurolandPlus 5JISIN code: LU0578911900Front-end fee: 2%Management commission; 0.7% (maximum 1%)Depository banking commission: 0.05%
08/03/2011
PowerShares launches a senior loans ETF
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 3 March, Invesco PowerShares launched what it claims is the first ETF of senior bank loans (see Newsmanagers of 3 March). The product, the PowerShares Senior Loan Portfolio (US73936Q7694, acronym BKLN), charges a management commission of 0.75%. The product replicates the S&P/LSTA U.S. Leveraged Loan 100 Index, and will invest at least 80% of its portfolio in assets drawn from this benchmark. It is authorised to invest up to 20% in closed funds, which in turn will invest in senior loans and other liquid instruments such as high yield bonds.
08/03/2011
Absolute return funds are a myth
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to a study by Cerulli Associates, cited by Financial Times Fund Managemnet, absolute return funds are “a myth.” The report finds that no absolute return strategy has been able to preserve capital in all market conditions, and that returns were more or less in line with their underlying markets, although volatility was lower.
08/03/2011
Schroders closes US Mid Cap fund
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Schroders has announced a hard closure of its US Mid Cap fund to subscriptions from 1 April, as its assets now exceed USD4.5bn, Investment Week reports. Schroders estimates that above this level it would not be possible to earn satisfactory returns. The product, managed by Jerry Jones, had already been provisionally closed in December. The fund was launched in April 2005, and has earned returns over three years of 44.3%.
08/03/2011
Schroders recruits for German sales team
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UK-based Schroder Investment Management has announced the recruitment of Caterina Zimmermann for its German and Austrian distribution team; she will be based in Frankfurt. Zimmermann will be in charge of assisting wholesale clients, largely funds of funds and wealth managers.Zimmermann, who will report to Joachim Nareike, head of distribution, spent four years at ABN Amro in Singapore, firstly as an international client representative, and then as a private banker specialised in European clients in Asia and Europe.
08/03/2011
2010 was a good year for Delbrück Bethmann Maffei
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of December, the German private bank Delbrück Bethmann Maffei had EUR16.5bn in assets under management, EUR3.7bn more than one year previously, largely thanks to EUR1.35bn in new inflows, Horst Schmidt, chairman of the board, states. Schmidt reports that clients are not concerned by the fact that the firm has a guarantee from the Dutch government, as its parent company is ABN Amro, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.The manager says that about 40% of assets come from clients with financial savings of at least EUR25m. In the past two years, Delbrück Bethmann Maffei has recruited 40 client advisers, bringing the total number to 100 specialists, out of total personnel of 550, of whom 330 are in private banking.
08/03/2011
Threadneedle loses its head of distribution for Asia
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } William Lowndes has resigned from his position as head of distribution for Asia at Threadneedle Asset Mangaement, Asian Investor reports. A replacement will soon be appointed. Lowndes is seeking a new employer in the Hong Kong area, in asset management or private banking, Asian Investor reports.
08/03/2011
Credit Suisse transfers Francesco de Ferrari to Singapore
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Francesco de Ferrari, managing director and CEO of Credit Suisse Private Banking Italy, will begin on 1 August 2011 as head of market area for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. He will report to Marcel Kreis, head of private banking Asia Pacific, and will be based in Singapore.
08/03/2011
Julius Baer appoints a chief risk officer for Asia and the Middle East
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Peter Siber, head of credit advisory & structuring at the Zurich headquarters of Bank Julius Baer, has been appointed as chief risk officer for Asia and the Middle East, effective immediately. He will be based in Singapore, and will report regionally to Thomas R. Meier, CEO Asia & Middle East, and functionally to Bernhard Hodler, group chief risk officer. Bank Julius Baer has over 500 employees in Asia and the Middle East.