Pictet & Cie a décidé selon fondsweb de limiter les souscriptions sur son fonds Pictet-Emerging Local Currency Debt, spécialisé dans la dette émergente en monnaie locale.Suite à une forte demande de la part des investisseurs, les encours du fonds sont passés de 1,5 milliard de dollars en décembre 2009 à 5,7 milliards au 16 avril, indique le quotidien électronique.
Les Echos reports that the world’s largest aluminium producer, Rusal, is planning to launch a fund to track the price of the non-ferrous metal in the second half of this year. The underlying asset which the aluminium mining company would mobilize to back the fund would be 1 million tonnes of aluminium, equivalent to one quarter of its annual production, and about 35 of global annual supply of virgin aluminium.
New York-based hedge fund Zweig Dimenna Associates is teaming up with Bank of America Merrill Lynch to bring its long short equity skills to Europe with a Newcits fund, Citywire can reveal. The new Ucits III fund, which has just received clearance from the Luxembourg regulator CSSF, will mirror Zweig Dimenna’s 23 year-old flagship hedge fund strategy. It will take a long/short approach to the US equity market, and will be managed by Joe DiMenna as well as Tom Keyes
The Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund index gained 2.22% in the month of March, after gains of 0.68% in February. The best performance went to managed futures strategies, with gains of 4.25%, followed by 3.89% for emerging markets and 2.85% for event-driven. As in the previous month, the short bias strategy finished in the red, with losses of 6.61%, following losses of 3.20% in February.
Equities funds in Germany have gained 54.4% in the twelve months to the end of March 2010, four percentage points more than the DAX 30, according to statistics from the German management association BVI. Equities funds focused on eastern Europe gained as much as 118.1% in the period under review, while equities funds specialised on emerging markets have gained 75.5%. For bonds, emerging market funds have gained 31.1%, while funds dedicated to corporate bonds have gained 25.9%. Euro bond funds have gained 8.8%. Open-ended real estate funds, with gains of 2% in the period under review, barely outperformed traditional Euro money market funds (1.5%).
The Private Banking unit of Credit Suisse, which includes the Wealth Management Clients and Corporate & Institutional Clients units, posted pre-tax profits for first quarter of CHF892m, down 10% on first quarter of last year, which the group notes included CHF100m in revenues from the settlement of a captive insurance activity. Excluding this one-time element, pre-tax profits this year are CFH53m, or 8%, higher than last year. Net proceeds also increased by CHF22m, a slight increase, bringing the total to CHF2.9bn. Net inflows totalled CHF18.6bn (of which CHF12.9bn were for wealth management activities), with extremely high inflows to Swiss clients and emerging market clients in particular. The Asset Management unit posted pre-tax profits of CHF166m in first quarter, following losses of CHF490m the previous year. Net inflows totalled CHF11.2bn, of which CHF4.4bn were for multi-asset class solutions, and CHF4.3bn for alternative investments. The group earned net profits of CHF2.1bn in first quarter, for returns on owners’ equity of 22.3%.
Domenico Sinicalco is prepared to give up his position as chairman of Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset managers, if he is appointed chairman of the board at the Intesa Sanpaolo bank, in order to avoid conflict of interest, Il Sole - 24 Ore reports. He made the declaration at a savings management conference in Milan. If this possibility comes to fruition, Sinicalco, who also formerly served as Italian finance minister, will undoubtedly resign from his position as head of Morgan Stanley for Italy, the Italian newspaper adds.
The US-based Citi group has announced the launch of the AutoTX Passive Hedge service, which offers shareholders in institutional funds the ability to automatically hedge their positions to reduce forex risks.
The British wealth management firm St. James’s Place has reported net inflows in first quarter of GBP700m. Assets under management as of 31 March totalled GBP23.3bn, or about EUR26.6bn, an increase of 9% since the beginning of the year, and of 52% in the past twelve months.
GLG Partners has announced that Jason Mitchell will be rejoining the firm’s investment management team, where he will be working closely with Senior Managing Director and Co-Founder Pierre Lagrange and Adeline Diab. In his new role, he will be focusing on stock picking in the areas of global environment and social governance. After a number of years as a top-performing media and telecoms investor, Mitchell left GLG Partners in early 2008. Since then, he has worked in the private water treatment industry. He has also acted in advisory roles with a particular focus on water and telecoms infrastructure projects in developing countries. «Jason has built up specialist expertise that will be extremely valuable to GLG as we seek to expand our ESG capabilities,» said Lagrange. «I have been looking for some time for a way of enhancing the thematic basis of our research in this area by better stock-picking on a global basis, and I am delighted that Jason—strengthened by his industry experience—is now available to take this role.» «Under the direction of Adeline Diab, GLG has already made great progress in integrating sustainability research into the mainstream of our investment process,» Lagrange added. «Jason will also work with me and Adeline to develop additional investment products.”
According to the findings of the most recent survey by eFinancialCareers.fr of 741 finance professionals employed in France, 87% are planning to or could envision changing employers in 2010. Though these findings are a good omen for headhunters, businesses will need to face a sizeable challenge in the next few months to hold onto their employees. According to the eFinancialCareers.fr survey, there are two major factors motivating finance professionals to change jobs in 2010: limited outlooks for professional development (for 44% of respondents) and unsatisfactory remuneration (for 41%). More than half of finance professionals surveyed who are planning to change jobs in 2010 or who could imagine doing so, are looking for a job in France. Nearly one third are hesitating between France and international jobs, and 13% would prefer to work abroad. The major motivations for the latter are better pay (for 47% of respondents), or a more interesting position than recruiters in France are offering (for 37%). In terms of destinations, the top choices are London, Geneva and New York.
Challenges reports that the inter-ministerial economic intelligence delegation is preparing a bill for the end of this year which would grant increased legal protections to economic secrets, which would extend beyond the protection of patents. The bill, inspired by the Clinger-Cohen Act, passed by the United States in 1996, and by the work of Alain Juillet and Bernard Carayon in France, would make an arsenal of legal procedures and sanctions available to heads of businesses.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a prominent Miami Beach-based businessman and philanthropist with fraud for orchestrating a USD900 million offering Ponzi scheme. The SEC alleges that Nevin K. Shapiro, the founder and president of Capitol Investments USA, Inc., sold investors securities that he claimed would fund Capitol’s grocery diverting business.
Testimony from Paolo Pellegrini, a former executive at hedge-fund Paulson & Co., could weaken the U.S. government’s lawsuit against Goldman Sachs, says the Wall Street Journal. He told investigators from the Securities and Exchange Commission that he had informed ACA Management that his firm was betting against a transaction that is now at the center of the lawsuit, according to a person familiar with the matter.
According to Financial News Online, the head of North and Latin America at UBS Global Asset Management, Kai Sotorp, is to take three months leave after stepping down to make way for the firm’s former deputy global head of equities, Shawn Lytle.
Fitch Ratings announced on 21 April that it has awarded an Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating of ‘A’ to Groupama S.A., and to its main insurer affiliates: Groupama GAN Vie, GAN Assurances, GAN Eurocourtage and Groupama Transport. An Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘A-' and subordinate debt rating of ‘BBB’ have also been issued to Groupama S.A., with a stable outlook on all ratings. The agency says that the ratings for Groupama reflect the good solvency and moderate debt level in relation to the risk profile of the group, which has widely diversified activities and risks. The ratings also take into account the prudent management, solid commercial positioning and good profitability of the firm at a time when the markets are in a recovery phase. Fitch estimates that the major challenge for Groupama is now to successfully integrate recent acquisitions in order to realise synergies in the next three years and to justify the price of those acquisitions on its balance sheet.
The New York-based ETF provider Global X Funds has launched two new ETFs, one of which is based on silver, and the other on copper. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (ticker: SIL) is the only ETF in the world dedicated to mining companies specialised in silver, a statement from the company says. It tracks the Soloactive Global Silver Miners Index, which includes the largest and most liquid companies in the sector. As of 31 March, the largest firms in the index were Fresnillo, Industrias Penoles, Silver Wheaton and Pan American Silver. A statement says that according to BMO Capital Markets, global industrial demand for silver is expected to increase 19% this year. The Global X Copper Miners ETF (ticker: COPX), for its part, replicates the Soloactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes the largest and most liquid mining companies specialised in copper. As of 31 March, the largest positions of the index were Freeport-McMoran, Xstrata, Grupo Mexico and Southern Copper. Global X Funds says demand for copper will continue to be strong in the near future, not only due to the needs of China, the world’s largest consumer, btu also because governments worldwide are expected to dedicate about USD30trn to infrastructure projects in the next 20 years.
The Global Wealth Management unit of Morgan Stanley has reported pre-tax profits in first quarter of USD278m, compared with USD119m in first quarter 2009, largely due to the integration of Smith Barney into the firm’s joint venture with Citigroup. Net earnings totalled USD3.1bn, compared with USD1.3bn one year earlier. Client assets as of the end of the quarter totalled USD1.6trn. Net inflows in the quarter totalled USD5.8bn. The Asset Management unit has earned pre-tax profits of USD173m, compared with losses of USD283m in first quarter 2009. Net earnings totalled USD653m, compared with USD22m one year earlier. Net earnings for “core” activities taken on their own (traditional asset management, hedge funds and funds of funds) rose 47% to USD414m. Assets under management or administration as of the end of the quarter totalled USD262bn, compared with USD250bn one year earlier. This development reflects positive market effects partially offset by net outflows, largely from money market funds. The Morgan Stanley group, which is now hoping to focus its growth in wealth management and asset management and less in trading, earned net profits in first quarter of USD1.4bn, after losses of USD578m in first quarter 2008.
Agefi reports that Covéa, a business of the mutual insurance group SGAM, which includes MMA, MAAF and GMF, will on 1 May create a single asset management firm, born of the merger of Covéa Finance and MMA Finance. It will manage nearly EUR67bn, of which EUR23bn will come from MMA. This is less than Groupama AM, which has EUR81bn in assets, but as much as CM-CIC AM, and three times more than Ofi AM, the management arm of the mutual insurers Macif and Matmut.
Mellon Capital Management, a part of BNY Mellon Asset Management, on 21 April announced the appointment of Anjun Zhou as managing director in charge of asset allocation research. In his new role, Zhou will focus on ways to improve investment strategies and risk controls for global asset allocation strategies at Mellon Capital. She will report directly to Jeff Zhang, managing director and head of multi-strategy. Zhou was previously at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, where she was in charge of global macro allocation and also managed a portfolio. As of 31 March 2010, Mellon Capital had USD184.4bn in assets under management.
Citi has launched an international platform dedicated to hedge funds. The platform is in the form of an integrated infrastructure covering the entire operational cycle of a hedge fund, including daily transaction processing, reporting, and onshore and offshore allocations, including side pockets.
Nomura Holdings Inc. on Wednesday announced the appointment of Tarun Jotwani as chief executive officer and director for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. He will report to Jesse Bhattal, president and chief operating officer for the Investment Banking, Equities and Fixed Income divisions, and will retain his responsibilities as director of international Fixed Income activities, according to a statement from the firm. Jotwani joined Nomura in December 2008, and was head of the Capital Markets unit for the Asia-Pacific region, at Lehman Brothers, in charge of Fixed Income, Equities and Principal Investing Groups activities. Nomura has also announced the appointments of William Vereker and Hiroyuki Suzuki as Co-Heads of Global Investment Banking.
Avenir Finance Investment Managers (AFIM) doit lancer fin mai un fonds obligataire investi exclusivement sur des titres d’Etat de la zone euro. Le choix des émissions dans les différents pays et la courbe des taux appelée à évoluer vont constituer les principaux moteurs de performance du fonds. En pratique, ce fonds viendra rejoindre la «ligne» de produits OFP de la société de gestion qui en compte quatre, chacune étant composée d’une équipe indépendante constituée d’une à quatre personnes. La ligne OFP gère d’ores et déjà deux fonds AFIM OFP 150 et AFIM OFP 400, deux fonds de type «absolute return» reposant sur une stratégie global macro dont l’objectif de performance est respectivement fixé à Eonia + 150 points de base et Eonia + 400 points de base. A côté d’OFP cohabite une ligne Agata constitué d’un fonds devises (de type «momentum forex») et une ligne Opéra (long-only) composée de deux fonds actions de type value suivant une gestion quantitative – Opéra Euro et Opéra US. Une ligne Eonos regroupe également, entre autres, AFIM Eonos 5 – un fonds de future. Enfin une ligne " multistratégies» rassemble un fonds de fonds Sélection Trésorerie Moyen Terme dont l’objectif de performance est Eonia + 400 points de base ainsi qu’un fonds de fonds d’allocation d’actifs à la gestion flexible ayant recours à une sélection de gérants tiers, baptisé Harmonis . Au total AFIM affichait 520 millions d’actifs sous gestion en mars 2010 avec une collecte nette en 2009 de 101,18 millions sur ses fonds de performance absolue, 6,89 millions d’euros sur ses fonds long-only et 3,78 millions d’euros sur son activité d’allocation d’actifs.
Selon les résultats de la dernière enquête menée par eFinancialCareers.fr auprès de 741 professionnels de la finance travaillant en France, 87% d’entre eux ont l’intention ou pourraient envisager de changer d’employeur en 2010. Si les résultats de l’enquête sont de bon augure pour les chasseurs de tête, les entreprises devront faire face à un défi de taille dans les mois à venir : retenir leurs employés.Selon l’enquête eFinancialCareers.fr, deux raisons principales motivent les professionnels de la finance à changer d’emploi en 2010 : leurs perspectives d’évolution limitées (pour 44% d’entre eux) et leur rémunération insatisfaisante (pour 41% d’entre eux). Plus de la moitié des professionnels de la finance interrogés qui ont l’intention de changer d’employeur en 2010 ou qui pourraient l’envisager, chercheraient un emploi en France. Si près d’un tiers hésite entre l’Hexagone et l’international, 13% souhaiteraient un emploi à l’étranger. Les motivations principales de ces derniers sont une rémunération plus avantageuse (pour 47% d’entre eux) ou un poste plus intéressant (pour 37% d’entre eux) que ce que proposent les recruteurs en France. En ce qui concerne la destination, leur choix se porterait en priorité sur Londres, Genève et New York.
BNP Paribas Securities Services a annoncé mercredi la nomination de Patrick Colle au poste de chief executive officer, avec effet fin mai. Cet ancien de JP Morgan qui a rejoint BNP Paribas Securities Services en 2006 occupait la fonction de responsable du métier en Grande-Bretagne depuis mars 2008. Il remplace Jacques-Philippe Marson, licencié à la suite d’une affaire où la banque dénonçait un conflit d’intérêts entre les affaires personnelles et professionnelles de l’intéressé (voir Newsmanagers du 29/01/2010). Jacques d’Estais reste Président de BNP Paribas Securities Services et James McAleenan, actuellement chief operating officer de BNP Paribas Securities Services en Grande-Bretagne, doit remplacer Patrick Colle à Londres, dont la nomination est en attente d’approbation par la FSA, précise la banque dans un communiqué.
Après un an et demi d’existence, Turgot Asset Management se développe. La société de gestion indépendante, qui s’adresse à une clientèle privée via les conseillers en gestion de patrimoine, s’est fixée comme objectif de tripler ses encours d’ici à la fin de l’année. «Actuellement de 7 millions d’euros, nous pensons atteindre les 30 millions d’euros avant fin 2010", assure Arnaud de Champvallier, directeur général de Turgot AM. Plusieurs projets sont actuellement en cours. D’ici quelques semaines, l'équipe de la société de gestion devrait récupérer la gestion d’un fonds de fonds diversifié, qui pèse autour de 20 millions d’euros. Un produit sur l’Asie est également en préparation, indique Arnaud de Champvallier. Actuellement, en plus d’un peu de gestion sous mandat, la gamme de Turgot AM se compose du fonds Turgot Multicaps Europe, un produit flexible lancé en janvier 2009. Eligible au PEA, il est investi en actions de la «Grande Europe» (zone euro, Royaume-Uni, Suisse, Scandinavie, Pays de l’Est).
Fitch Ratings a annoncé le 21 avril avoir attribué la note de solidité financière (Insurer Financial Strength – IFS) ‘A’ à Groupama S.A. ainsi qu’à plusieurs de ses principales filiales d’assurances : Groupama GAN Vie, GAN Assurances, GAN Eurocourtage et Groupama Transport. La note de défaut émetteur (Issuer Default Rating – IDR) ‘A-’ et la note de dette subordonnée ‘BBB’ ont également été attribuées à Groupama S.A. La perspective des notes est stable. Selon l’agence, les notes de Groupama reflètent sa bonne solvabilité et son niveau de dette modéré eu égard au profil de risque du groupe qui bénéficie d’une grande diversification de ses activités et de ses risques. Les notes tiennent également compte du caractère prudent de son management, de son solide positionnement commercial et de sa rentabilité en phase de redressement. Fitch considère que le principal enjeu consiste désormais, pour Groupama, à réussir l’intégration en cours des acquisitions récentes afin de dégager les synergies espérées dans les trois prochaines années et de justifier les survaleurs accumulées sur son bilan.
Selon L’Agefi, Covéa, la société de groupe d’assurance mutuelle (Sgam), qui rassemble MMA, Maaf et la GMF, sera dotée le 1er mai d’une seule société de gestion née de la fusion de Covéa Finance et MMA Finance. Elle gérera près de 67 milliards d’euros, dont 23 milliards en provenance de MMA. C’est moins que Groupama AM avec 81 milliards d’euros d’actifs, mais autant que CM-CIC AM, et trois fois plus qu’Ofi AM, l’outil de gestion des mutuelles Macif et Matmut. Les deux sociétés de gestion en cours de rapprochement travaillent quasi exclusivement pour le compte de leurs maisons mères, ajoute le quotidien. Leur portefeuille se trouve en conséquence constitué à près de 80% de produits de taux. Cependant, certains s’attendent, vu la taille de la nouvelle société, que celle-ci tente de développer progressivement sa gestion pour compte de tiers.
Les fonds actions dédiés à l’Allemagne ont progressé de 54,4% sur les douze mois à fin mars 2010, soit quatre points de pourcentage de plus que le DAX30, selon les données communiquées par l’Association allemande de la gestion (BVI).Les fonds actions sur l’Europe de l’Est ont même fait un bond de 118,1% sur la même période alors que les fonds actions spécialisés sur les marchés émergents affichent une progression de 75,5%.Du côté de l’obligataire, les fonds sur les marchés émergents ont enregistré un gain de 31,1% alors que les fonds dédiés aux obligations d’entreprises progressaient de 25,9%.Les fonds obligataires en euro ont réalisé un gain de 8,8%. Les fonds immobiliers ouverts, avec une avance de 2% sur la période, n’ont guère fait mieux que le monétaire classique en euro (1,5%).
Schroder Property, filiale spécialisée dans l’immobilier de la société de gestion britannique, a nommé Michael Joachim Ruhl au poste de directeur. Il rejoint l'équipe basée à Francfort en Allemagne. Auparavant, il était directeur des gestions chez LB Immo Invest GmbH, précise das Investment.