p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 24 January, Pimco Source launched its first two Irish-registered ETFs, which are listed exclusively in Frankfurt on the XTF segment of the Xetra platform from Deutsche Börse. These include the PIMCO European Advantage Government Bond Index Source ETF (IE00B5VJLZ27), which charges 0.30%. It replicates the PIMCO European Advantage Government Bond Index, which is weighted according to GDPs, so as not to give excessive weight to countries with high levels of debt, as capitalisation-based indices may do.The other new product is the PIMCO EUR Enhanced Short Maturity Source ETF (IE00B5ZR2157), which is actively managed, and whose benchmark is the Eonia index. This product charges 0.35%, and is aimed at investors who have significant cash positions and who would like to improve performance without losing sight of capital preservation and liquidity. The actively-managed portfolio includes diversified bonds with maturities that may range up to one year.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Skandia Investment Group (SIG) on 24 January announced the launch of a local currency emerging market debt fund, the Skandia Local Currency Emerging Market Debt, which will aim to profit from long-term outlooks for emerging market bonds and currencies.SIG has awarded a management mandate for the fund to the fixed income specialist Stone Harbor Investment Partners, to which Skandia had already assigned a mandate for USD60m in September 2008, for the Skandia Emerging Market Debt fund. The fund now has nearly USD500m in assets.The fixed income specialist at SIG, Anthony Gillham, says in a statement that three factors make the fund an attractive investment. Firstly, it offers a good way to capture growth in emerging markets; secondly, local currencies are undervalued; and lastly, the emerging markets in local currencies are three times larger than the emerging markets denominated in US dollars.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 17 December 2010, Swiss & Global Asset Management launched a UCITS-compliant local currencies emerging markets inflation-linked bond fund, the Emerging Markets Inflation Linked Bond Fund, a sub-fund of the Sicav Julius Baer Multibond.The benchmark index is the Barclays Emerging Markets Government Inflation-Linked Bond Index ex Argentina, ex Colombia, constrained, unhedged USD. The reference currency is the US dollar, but the management firm also offers shares in Euros and Swiss francs, hedged for currency risks. The eligible investment universe totals USD350bn, and includes 10 countries.CharacteristicsName: Julius Baer Multibond - Emerging Markets Inflation Linked Bond FundISIN code: LU0564969805Front-end fee: 3% maximumManagement commission: 1.30%
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British management firm Nemesis Asset Management, which is 100% controlled by its CEO and principal fund manager Pier Alberto Furno, on 21 January registered five of its funds with the CNMV. They are the Nemesis Credit Opportunities, European Value, Global Value, Inflation, and USA Value.The products are on sale in Spain from MCH Investment Strategies, Agencia de Valores, S.A., which was founded in June 2010 by Tasio del Castaño and Alejandro Sarrate with partners from MCH Private Equity, and which has already signed distribution agreements for Spain with Ferox Capital, Fulcrum Asset Management and Odey Asset Management. It targets institutional clients in Spain and Portugal.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The 764th ETF to be listed on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform from Deutsche Börse is the db x-trackers S&P 500 (EUR) ETF (LU0490619193), which replicates the S&P 500 Total Return Net Index. The fund is hedged for currency risks on the euro/dollar currency pair. TER is 0.30%.
Paulson & Co has made more than USD1bn from its stake in Citigroup over the past 18 months. “Citigroup gained 43 per cent in 2010 and was our most profitable bank position,” the USD36bn hedge fund manager said in a letter sent to investors in his Advantage fund. Paulson & Co expects US growth to accelerate this year.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lyxor AM announced on Monday, 24 January that it has launched two ETFs, one of high yield bonds in euros, and one of emerging markets government debt in US dollars, on 20 January. The two products are listed on Euronext Paris and the London Stock Exchange. The Lyxor ETF iBoxx € Liquid High Yield 30 replicates the evolution of the Markit iBoxx EUR Liquid High Yield 30 index, composed of 30 high yield corporate bonds denominated in euros. The Lyxor ETF iBoxx $ Liquid Emerging Markets Sovereigns replicates the Markit iBoxx $ Liquid Emerging Markets Sovereigns index, which represents bonds issued in US dollars from governments whose revenues are considered low to moderate by the World Bank.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British governance research and proxy voting firm Manifest Information Services is planning to enter the US market, Responsible Investor reports.The US partner of Manifest, Proxy Governance International (PGI), pulled out of the market last year. Sarah Wilson, chief executive at Manifest, says that the sales of its North American product range will begin in the near future.The move takes the firm into a rapidly-growing market, where new SEC rules on proxy voting are under debate, and the field is in the process of a transformation. In addition to the withdrawal of PGI, the index provider MSCI has taken control of the largest player in this segment, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), as a part of its acquisition of RiskMetrics last year, while the Corporate Library and eGovernanceMetrics International announced their merger last July.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Agefi Switzerland reports that the pan-European platform Chi-X, based in London, last year processed EUR1.58trn in equities trades, putting it ahead of NYSE Euronext, which handled approximately EUR1.533trn in the same period, according to statistics compiled by the European stock market federation. Chi-X Europe, which was founded in 2007, and which is owned by Instinet and a dozen financial institutions (including BNP Paribas and Société Générale), has had a spectacular rise, making it a top player in Europe in a few short years. Chi-X has also become the second-largest stock market in Europe in terms of trading volumes, after the London Stock Exchange, which is host to more than 2 trillion trades a year.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Fundstrategy reports that JP Morgan Asset Management is to launch a fund dedicated to the mining sector on 1 February, only a few weeks after the closure of the JPM Global Natural Resources fund, domiciled in Luxembourg, to new investors.The new fund will invest in mining companies, or companies whose activities are related to the mining sector, as its top priority. The number of positions will be between 50 and 100, and businesses may be of any size.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss management firm GAM will launch two funds of funds that comply with UCITS III, entitled GAM Star Composite Global Equity and GAM Star Composite Equity and Trading, Hedgeweek reports.The funds will be managed by Graham Wainer, head of private clients and portfolio manager.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Carlo Mazzola, a financial consultant in Milan, has formed an association including 13% of investors in the Crescita real estate fund, to oppose BNP Paribas and its affiliate in Italy, BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management (REIM), Agefi reports.The group of investors is seeking sanctions against BNP Paribas REIM for violations of regulations, as the management firm liquidated the fund six months after its closing, at disadvantageous conditions. The association claims that investors were disadvantaged by the management affiliate of BNP Paribas, which also made EUR35m in commissions on the real estate fund. Investors estimate that the damages come to EUR700 per share, for a total of EUR6m.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Danish asset management firm Jyske Invest International on 24 January announced that it has signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), fulfilling a decision which had been made in December 2010. Currently, 829 investors from 45 countries have signed the Principles.
Le FRR lance ce jour un appel d’offres pour sélectionner de nouveaux gestionnaires de mandats investis en actions des pays développés (gestion passive). Pour ce marché, la procédure de marché public retenue est celle d’un appel d’offres restreint composé de 2 lots : Lot 1: actions des pays développés-indices standards Lot 2: actions des pays développés-indices optimisés
La ministre de l’Economie et des finances a indiqué souhaiter réformer l’impôt au profit des PME sur les sociétés mais pas en 2011. A 33,3%, le taux nominal d’impôt sur les sociétés en France est le plus élevé d’Europe après Malte. «Nous avons un système de fiscalité, en particulier d’impôt sur les sociétés, qui a un taux facial élevé et toute une catégorie de niches fiscales diverses et variées», a déclaré la ministre.
Le gestionnaire alternatif américain a informé ses clients qu’il avait engrangé un gain de plus d’un milliard de dollars grâce à sa participation au sein de la banque au cours des dix-huit derniers mois. Cet investissement a été le plus rentable au sein du fonds vedette Advantage. Le hedge funds assure n’avoir aucun souci de taille, face aux «énormes» opportunités de marché.
Le rachat en LBO par Advent de la chaîne de cliniques Priory pour 925 millions de livres sera refinancé à hauteur de 600 millions sur le marché obligataire, avec des titres de maturité 2018 et 2019. Une ligne revolving de 70 millions d’échéance 2017 est aussi prévue. Deutsche Bank, RBS et Credit Suisse dirigentle refinancement.
La banque centrale hongroise a décidé de relever son principal taux directeur d’un quart de point à 6%, ce qui représente la troisième hausse consécutive. La banque centrale prévoit que l’inflation devrait rester au-dessus de son objectif de 3% durant les deux prochaines années.
Nicolas Sarkozy, président de la République, «espère un accord dès février prochain» sur une définition commune des critères de déséquilibres mondiaux entre ministres des Finances du G20. Ce G20 Finance se tiendra les 17 et 18 février prochains à Paris. La mise en place d’un étalon commun de mesures des déséquilibres mondiaux, appelé «lignes directrices», est vue comme une étape préalable à la réforme du système monétaire international. Nicolas Sarkozy a réitéré lundi le souhait de la France d'élargir les pouvoirs du FMI pour que celui-ci puisse exercer sa surveillance sur ces critères. Il a aussi renouvelé son appui à une éventuelle taxation des transactions financières, n’excluant pas que la France, avec d’autres pays, puisse «donner l’exemple».
Le hedge fund Macquarie Asian Alpha Fund de la banque australienne Macquarie a enregistré en 2010 une performance de 15,97 %, indique Hedgeweek. Investi selon la stratégie du market neutral equity, le fonds a triplé ses encours à 640 millions de dollars australiens l’an dernier.
L’indice DB Hedge Fund a progressé de 2,33% en décembre, selon les dernières statistiques communiquées par la Deutsche Bank.Les stratégies ayant contribué à la performance de l’indice ont été l’Equity Hedge, l'évenementiel, le Systematic Macro, le Global Macro et les indices crédit et convertibles.