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15/04/2010

Goldman director implicated in Galleon scandal

Prosecutors are examining whether a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. director, Rajat Gupta, gave inside information about the bank to Galleon hedge-fund founder Raj Rajaratnam during the height of the financial crisis, people close to the situation told The Wall Street Journal.
15/04/2010

CDC Infrastructure invests in Norwegian gas transport network

CDC Infrastructures, an affiliate of the Caisse des Dépôts dedicated to investment in infrastructure, and its UBS International Infrastructure Fund announced on Wednesday, 14 April that they have signed a purchase agreement via their affiliate Njord Gas Infrastructure AS, to acquire a 9.4% stake in the capital of Gassled, which was previously owned by ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway. The agreement is pending permission from the Norwegian authorities and the financial conclusion of the operation, which would allow CDC Infrastructure and UBS International Infrastructure Fund to be partners in the firm, with 18% and 22% stakes, respectively. In practice, the company and its staff will be based in Stavanger, Norway. Gassled is a joint venture providing a gas transport and export network for the Norwegian continental shelf. About 16% of European demand (93 billion cubic metres of gas per year) are transported by the company; it delivers about one third of the gas consumed in France.
15/04/2010

Robeco and Mirae launch a CTA fund in Korea

Thee South African company Mirae Asset Securities has launched the first CTA fund to be made available to qualified Korean investors, Asian Investor reports. The strategy is managed by Transtrend, a firm which is 100% controlled by Robeco Asset Management. Transtrend manages about USD8bn in assets. “One of the advantages of this CTA fund is its low correlation with other traditional asset classes, which provides a further improvement to an investor’s return/risk profile,” says Won Hwoi-ku, head of strategy and planning at Mirae Asset Securities, who would like to develop activities serving hedge funds.
15/04/2010

Pimco Total Return Fund reduces exposure to US debt

The Pimco Total Return Fund, a bond product with about USD220bn in assets, has reduced its exposure to US debt to 33% as of the end of March, compared with 35% one month earlier, according to figures from the firm. The total Return Fund has also increased its exposure to emerging markets from 5% to 6%, while it has maintained its exposure to corporate bonds at 16%, and high yield at 3%. The cash allocation has been raised to 5% from 2% at the end of February.
15/04/2010

Abu Dhabi sovereign fund appoints a new head

Sheikh Hamid bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has been named as managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, says the Financial Times. He replaces his brother, Sheikh Ahmed, who died when his glider crashed. Sheikh Hamid holds several government positions.
15/04/2010

Hedge funds attract USD16.6bn in investment in February

In the month of February, hedge funds attracted an estimated USD16.6bn in inflows, according to Hedge Week, citing data from Trim Tabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge. Assets in hedge funds totalled USD1.5trn as of the end of February.
15/04/2010

SAM kicks off annual screening of companies for sustainable development

The Swiss firm SAM Sustainable Asset Management, an affiliate of Robeco, announced on Wednesday that it is launching its twelfth annual operation to evaluate the world’s major corporations in terms of economic, ecological, and social criteria. The questionnaire, which covers 100 topics, will be sent out to the 2,500 largest companies in the world on the basis of the volume of publicly traded capital. The analysis of the firms from a sustainable development standpoint will allow the firms which receive the highest scores to be included in the sectoral Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). SAM states that, in the period from 2001 to 2008, the “sustainability leaders” in its rankings earned performance on average 148 basis points p.a. higher than those of the “sustainability laggards.”
15/04/2010

HVB prepares to merge iii real estate funds

According to reports in the Immobilien Zeitung, relayed by Handelsblatt, iii Investments, an affiliate of HypoVereinsbank (HVB), is planning to merge its two open-ended real estate funds. The Euro Immo-Profil fund will be absorbed by the Inter Immo-Profil. The products represent a total of EUR420m in assets, making the new structure the smallest open-ended real estate fund in Germany.
15/04/2010

Morgan Stanley to sell Sony Center in Berlin

Financial difficulties at the real estate fund MSREF VI International from Morgan Stanley, which faces a risk of losing USD5.4bn from a portfolio of USD8.8bn, will oblige the manager to sell the Sony Center in Berlin, a complex which is reported to have been acquired for EUR600m from Sony. The real estate management firm Corpus Sireo has acquired a 10% stake, which it intends to keep, Die Welt reports. The buyer is the National Pension Service of Korea (NPS, USD201bn in assets), which is reportedly prepared to spend EUR500m for the 132,500 square-metre property, according to a London broker. The MSREF VI fund also owns the new headquarters of the ECB in Germany.
15/04/2010

Schroders releases shares in an absolute return fund with set returns of 7%

In Germany and Austria, Schroders is launching a “Euro hedged” share class with a fixed dividend of 7% per year of the Schroder ISF Emerging Markets Debt Absolute Return fund, an absolute return product with assets as of the end of February of about USD6.55bn. The Luxembourg-registered fund (LU01777222394) invests primarily in bonds from emerging markets denominated in local currencies. Achim Küssner, head at Schroder Investment Management for Germany, Austria, Benelux and central and eastern Europe, has announced that other funds with fixed returns will be launched. With that said, it appears that sales of such products are not planned in France.
15/04/2010

ICBC Credit Suisse launches a second QDII fund

ICBC Credit Suisse will on 15 April become the first fund management firm in China to launch a second QDII fund, the Global Enhanced Equity Fund, which will charge a management commission of 1.80%. The fund will invest 60% to 95% of its assets in equities. It will have the same portfolio manager as the first QDII fund from ICBC Credit Suisse, which is focused on Asia and which is currently trading below its initial net asset value of CNY100. According to the agency Z-Ben Advisors, the fund is an ambitious project at a time when E-Fund and China Merchants managed to attract only CNY592m and CNY553m for their latest funds. However, ICBC Credit Suisse has the advantage of size, and the sales force of its parent company ICBC, which, according to Z-Ben Advisors, will allow the firm to raise between CNY800m and CNY1bn during the initial offer period.
15/04/2010

Schroders launches an Asian version of its Income Maximiser

Schroders announced on 13 April that it is launching a fund dedicated to Asia, the Schroder Asian Income Maximiser, which offers retail investors a way to participate in growth in this region through exposure to equities from Asia ex Japan. The fund, which will be available to investors from June 2010, aims for gross initial returns of 7%, via active management of Asian high yield equities with an overlay (a hedged call option) on the shares in order to improve returns.
15/04/2010

Former Schroder Tokyo manager joins Morant Wright

Denis Clough, a former star manager from Schroder Tokyo, who left the management firm in 2004, has joined the management team at Morant Wright specialised in Japanese equities, which is composed of six people. Morant Wright manages GBP1.86bn in assets.
15/04/2010

Partners Group plans share buyback

For the AGM of Partners Group to be held on 6 May 2010, the fourth point on the agenda authorizes the board of directors to proceed with a public share buyback program, which will aim to buy back up to 10% of the floated capital or voting rights in the company over a period of three years. The equities will then be cancelled. The volume of repurchases will be determined on the one hand by available liquidity, and on the other by the board of directors’ estimation of market conditions. The ensuing reduction in capital will be subject to approval by vote at subsequent general shareholders’ meetings. Partners Group is also proposing to pay out a dividend for 2009, on 14 May, of CHF4.50 per share, up from CHF4.25 in 2008.
15/04/2010

Chinese social security fund awards mandates

On Thursday, the Chinese National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF) announced the names of foreign management firms selected in 2009 to manage an offshore portfolio of more than USD5bn. The NCSSF announced 13 active equities mandates, and the names of the 12 winning managers, all of whom are multi-asset class management firms, but only two of which (Martin Currie and Bosera) were previously known to have ties to the NCSSF, which as of the end of 2009 managed about CNY776.9bn, or USD113.7bn, in assets. For Chinese equities traded abroad, the winning bidders were Schroders, Bosera and Barings. For Asia-Pacific ex Japan equities, the NCSSF retained Martin Currie, JF and principal, while for emerging markets equities, the winners were Batterymarch, Morgan Stanley and Schroders. For European equities, the management firms selected were Fidelity and Newton, while for global equities, the two management firms selected were Prudential and Wellington.
14/04/2010

Perusa achète Kammann

Le fonds Perusa Partners I (155 millions d’euros) du capital-investisseur munichois Perusa a acquis pour un montant non divulgué, avec le management de l’entreprise, la société Werner Kammann Maschinenfabrik de Bünde (Rhénanie du Nord-Westphalie) qui avait déposé son bilan et appartenait précédemment au capital-investisseur Arcadia. La société, qui prend le nom de Kammann Maschinenbau, abandonne son activité dans le domaine des machines pour décorer les cédéroms et les DVD mais poursuit ses activités «Optical Disc», «Container», «Web» and «Service and Parts». Les 150 salariés restants conserveront leur emploi.Kammann est la cinquième PME allemande achetée par Perusa.
14/04/2010
Fonds

Wertgrund lance un fonds d'immobilier résidentiel

Thomas Meyer, directeur général de Wertgrund Immobilien, a annoncé pour le 20 avril le lancement du premier fonds immobilier offert au public investi uniquement en immeubles résidentiels situés en Allemagne, le Wertgrund Wohnselect D, dont l’objectif de collecte est d’environ 300 millions d’euros, rapporte la Börsen-Zeitung. Cela correspond à un volume de 4.000-5.000 logements.
Fonds
14/04/2010

Lavin Mok rejoint EDRAM pour développer les ventes en Asie

Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM) vient d’annoncer que Lavin Mok rejoint la société en tant que responsable des ventes pour l’Asie. Lavin Mok aura la responsabilité des ventes et du marketing de EDRAM Hong Kong, avec pour objectif de développer les relations commerciales à travers l’Asie, de promouvoir EDRAM et de distribuer la marque et les produits gérés à Paris et à Hong Kong. Il va ainsi poursuivre la stratégie de développement et de commecialisation des fonds en Asie, notamment à Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapour et au Japon, auprès de clients institutionnels et de réseaux de distribution.Lavin Mok était depuis 2006 chez Tremont Capital Management où il avait pris la direction de la commercialisation des fonds de hedge funds dans plusieurs pays asiatiques.Au 31 mars 2010, Edmond de Tothschild Asset Management gérait quelque 1,9 milliard d’euros sur l’Asie et les pays émergents.
14/04/2010

Barclays Wealth recrute chez UBS

Barclays Wealth vient d’annoncer le recrutement de Helen Pun en tant que director, market head à Hong Kong. Dans ses nouvelles fonctions, Helen Pun, qui était précédemment chez UBS à Hong Kong, aura la responsabilité de l'équipe de banquiers privés couvrant Hong Kong ainsi que du développement des activités sur ce marché.Ces derniers mois, Barclays Wealth a déjà recruté plusieurs responsables pour la zone Asie-Pacifique.Fin 2009, les actifs sous gestion de Barclays Wealth s'élevaient à 151,2 milliards de livres. La répartition géographique n’a pas été divulguée.
14/04/2010
Fonds

Un fonds de private equity migre à Londres

Le manque de liquidité frappant les actions de sociétés de private equity cotées sur Euronext Amsterdam a poussé HarbourVest, l’un des plus gros fonds de fonds de private equity au monde, à lancer une offre secondaire de titres à Londres. Le groupe, basé à Boston et gérant plus de 30 milliards de dollars, va ainsi devenir le sixième membre du Specialist Fund Market.
Fonds
14/04/2010

SSgA ouvre un bureau de representation à Séoul

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) a annoncé mardi l’ouverture d’un bureau de représentation à Séoul. Cette démarche souligne l’intention du gestionnaire américain de développer son activité en Corée du Sud. Scott Powers, president & CEO, a souligné que si SSgA est surtout connu pour ses stratégies passives et ses ETF, la maison peut également fournir des solutions de placement pour des investissements actifs et des produits alternatifs. Les clients sud-coréens était traités depuis l'étranger depuis 2005.State Street Global Advisors Asia Ltd bénéficie de licences à la fois pour la gestion discrétionnaire offshore et pour le conseil d’investissement en Corée.En Asie-Pacifique, SSgA est présent à Hong-Kong depuis 1990. Le gestionnaire est également présent à Tokyo, Sydney et Singapour.
14/04/2010

Gestion alternative : BarclaysHedge lance un service vidéo

Le fournisseur de services et de données dédié à la gestion alternative a annoncé le lancement de BarclaysHedge TV, un service vidéo en ligne conforme aux exigences de la Securities & Exchange Commission, qui pour la première fois va permettre aux gérants de hedge funds ou de fonds de fonds de proposer des présentations en ligne à destination de leurs clients.
14/04/2010

Nomination chez BNY Mellon

BNY Mellon a annoncé la nomination de James Malgieri en tant que chief executive officer des services de broker-dealer.James Malgieri, chez BNY Mellon depuis 2002, était précédemment executive vice president et responsable de la gestion produit pour les services de collateral management.
14/04/2010
Fonds

Les hedge funds auraient gagné plus de 2 % en mars

Selon une estimation provisoire de Credit Suisse/Tremont portant sur environ 70 % de l'échantillon habituel, l’indice des hedge funds aurait affiché pour mars une performance de 2,09 % après un gain de 0,68 % pour février.De la sorte, pour le premier trimestre, les hedge funds auraient enregistré une performance de 2,96 %, malgré la perte de 8,97 % accumulée par la stratégie dedicated short bias et le repli de 0,69 % de l’equity market neutral.En revanche, l’arbitrage de convertibles affiche un gain de 3,68 % depuis le début de l’année, tandis que les stratégies événementielles signent une performance de 5,29 % (avec une mention spéciale pour le distressed, qui s’adjuge 5,92 %).
Fonds
14/04/2010

Deux autres responsables quittent Amundi après Bruno Crastes

Bruno Crastes ne quitte pas Amundi seul, révèle L’Agefi. Vincent Chaillet, responsable de l’activité obligataire international et performance absolue ainsi que Jean-Noël Alba, directeur général adjoint de CAAM London Branch, ses plus proches collaborateurs, partent aussi. Le premier a passé quinze ans chez Crédit Agricole Asset Management (CAAM) et le second dix ans. Leurs départs seront effectifs dans quelques mois.Selon un observateur cité par le quotidien, les trois gérants laissent 22,5 milliards d’euros d’encours et devraient se lancer ensemble dans un projet entrepreneurial.
14/04/2010

Varenne Capital Partners recrute un directeur du développement

La société de gestion Varenne Capital Partners vient de nommer Franck Hervé au poste de directeur du développement. Il aura pour responsabilité la commercialisation de la gamme d’OPCVM français de la société. L’intéressé a précédemment travaillé chez Acofi Gestion, Ecofi Investissements, Crédit Coopératif et Cholet Dupont. «Varenne Capital Partners envisage un développement significatif sur le marché français et complète son organisation avec une équipe commerciale interne, secondée par un département de Relations Investisseurs entièrement dédié aux besoins d’information spécifiques de ses client», précise un communiqué.

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