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18/03/2010

Two former Madoff employees indicted

Two former computer programmers at convicted Bernard Madoff’s firm were indicted on charges they allegedly helped Mr. Madoff hide a massive fraud from regulators. The three-count indictment, returned Wednesday, charges Jerome O’Hara and George Perez with conspiracy, falsifying the books and records of a broker-dealer, and falsifying the books and records of an investment adviser.
18/03/2010

Hedge funds: Barclay Hedge confirms results from Credit Suisse/Tremont

The BarclayHedge hedge fund index (which includes 1,791 products that have published results as of 17 March) in February shows results of 0.77%, making it possible to establish a projection for first quarter results, with gains of 0.42%. In terms of general trends, this agrees with the general direction of the Credit Suisse/Tremont index (see Newsmanagers of yesterday), as it does in terms of individual strategies, as equity short bias shows the heaviest losses, at 2.02% for the month. Emerging markets show the worst results for the first two months of the year, with losses of 1.01%, nearly even with global macro (-1%). The largest gains in January-February were for distressed securities, with gains of 3.04%.
18/03/2010

db x-trackers launches an SMI short ETF

Germany’s db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) has announced the launch of the first short ETF based on the Swiss equities index SMI. The SMI Short Daily ETF is a Luxembourg-registered product (LU0470923532) with a management commission of 0.50%. The management firm plans to register and offer the fund in Switzerland. The new fund brings the number of db x-trackers short ETFs based on equities indices to 16. The management firm is planning to launch short and leveraged ETFs based on the Dax, the S&P 500, the DJ Euro Stoxx and the FTSE 100 in the coming weeks. The XTF segment of the Xetra platform now lists 611 ETF funds.
18/03/2010

Old Mutual releases a bond fund in France

The fund of global bond manager Stewart Cowley, who joined Old Mutual from Newton at the end of 2008, has been made available to investors in Switzerland, Sweden and France. Old Mutual Global Bond is a Ucits III fund which invests in an array of fixed income securities and currencies.
18/03/2010

Pimco launches six bond ETF funds

Allianz Global Investors (AGI) will release six bond ETF funds which its affiliate Pimco has recently registered with the SEC, but for which the managers and fee levels have not yet been determined. Of this group of products, only one, the Pimco Build America Bond Strategy Fund, will be actively managed. Pimco is the first management firm to offer an actively managed Build America fund, Mutual Fund Wire reports. The other five passively-managed products are the Pimco 0-3 Year Banking Sector Corporate Bond Index Fund, the Pimco 1-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond Index Fund, the Pimco Emerging Markets Aggregate US$ Denominated Bond Index Fund, the Pimco High Yield Corporate Bond Index Fund, and teh Pimco Investment Grade Corporate Bond fund. The products replicate indices from Merrill Lynch.
18/03/2010

Fondiaria-SAI sells asset management firm

The Italian insurance company Fondiaria-SAI has sold 90% of capital in its fund management firm, SAI Asset Management SGR, to Alberto Amilcare Foà, Roberto Brasca, Giordano Martinelli and Giovanni Brambilla, former partners at the asset management firm Anima. The acquisition price is EUR4.86m. The capital which paid to acquire the stake will come in equal parts from the four buyers (22.5% each). Fondiaria-SAI will retain a 10% stake in the firm. The new owners of the management firm will seek to develop collective and individual asset management activities, and to strengthen the quality of advising services.
18/03/2010

Solutions in sight for assets locked in by gates

Agefi Switzerland reports that Gamma Finance will be coming to the aid of institutionals whose assets are locked in by gates. The London-based firm, which was co-founded by a former employee of Société Générale and Deutsche Bank, Florian de Sigy, and a former Barclays Global Investors employee, Javier Rodriguez, will offer to stand as an intermediary between private banks which are seeking to sell off locked-in positions, and investors interested in buying up the shares at a discount that may range from 5% to 30%, depending on the quality of the fund. “This kind of intermediation previously existed mostly in the area of private equity. We were surprised that there were no equivalents in the hedge fund industry,” explains de Sigy, whose firm, founded in early 2009, now employs three people, and is seeking three more experts.
18/03/2010

Bestinver plans to diversify distribution channels

The value management firm Bestinver (Acciona group) has announced at its annual investors’ conference that it has signed an outsourcing contract with a distribution partner that will allow it to market its funds by Internet and telephone, says Beltrán Parages, director of sales. Meanwhile, Funds People reports, Bestinver is planning to cancel the withdrawal penalty for its two diversified funds, as it has already done for the Bestinver Renta.
18/03/2010

Forum GI: SEB AM to launch other funds in France

At the end of January, SEB Asset Management officially announced the launch of its first fund in France, SEB Asset Selection, a product which complies with the UCITS III directive, launched in October 2006 and with about EUR1.5bn in assets. The asset management firm from the Swedish banking group SEB, which this year is present for the first time at the Forum Gestion Institutionelle in Paris, is not planning to stop there, and also plans to release other funds on the French market. Peter Branner, global head of SEB Investment Management, told Newsmanagers. In addition to the SEB Asset Selection, which will be available in several versions with different risk profiles, SEB AM is planning to release a mandate fund based on currencies, managed in London. The firm is also planning to bring its expertise in local real estate in Germany to France, as well as its fund of hedge funds managed by its affiliate Key in Lolndon. In terms of more traditional products, SEB AM is also planning to release its Eastern Europe and Russia funds in Europe, which cover an area where Swedish establishments have traditionally had a strong presence, due to their proximity to these countries. SEB AM is approaching the French market from its offices in London, where its international sales team is based. The asset management firm currently has no plans to open a physical office in Paris, but, of course, depending on the volume of inflows, that strategy may change.
18/03/2010

Unigestion participates at Forum GI in France

Though it has been present in France for several years with an office in Paris, Unigestion was for the first time present at the Forum GI this year. This occasion provided a way for the Swiss management firm to show the importance of the French market, which represents 20% of its assets, or EUR1.4bn. Unigestion, which has 10 personnel in Paris, has been relatively active recently, with the launch of a French Aria III fund of hedge funds, Uni-Hedge Selection, specially for the French market. It has also offered French investors its most recent UCITS III fund, Uni-Global Minimum Variance Emerging Markets, which aims to capitalise on opportunities related to economic growth in emerging markets. The firm is also active in private equity.
18/03/2010

Spécial Forum GI - SEB AM va lancer d'autres fonds en France

Fin janvier, SEB Asset Management annonçait officiellement le lancement de son premier fonds en France, SEB Asset Selection, un produit conforme à la directive OPCVM III lancé en octobre 2006 et qui affiche environ 1,5 milliard d’euros d’encours. La société de gestion du groupe bancaire suédois SEB, présente cette année pour la première fois au Forum Gestion Institutionnelle à Paris, ne compte pas s’arrêter là et projette de commercialiser d’autres fonds sur le marché français, nous a confié Peter Branner, global head de SEB Investment Management. Outre que le SEB Asset Selection sera disponible en plusieurs versions, plus ou moins risquées, SEB AM a l’intention de distribuer en France son fonds de devises SEB Multi Manager Currency, qui est un fonds de mandats sur le thème des devises, géré à Londres. La société veut aussi importer son expertise immobilière localisée en Allemagne, ainsi que ses fonds de hedge funds, gérés par sa filiale Key à Londres. Côté plus traditionnel, SEB AM souhaite aussi commercialiser en France sa gamme Europe de l’Est et Russie, une zone géographique où les Suédois sont généralement très présents compte tenu de leur proximité avec ces pays. Pour aborder le marché français, SEB AM passe par Londres où son équipe commerciale internationale est basée. La société de gestion n’a pour le moment aucun projet d’implantation physique à Paris. Mais bien sûr, en fonction des capitaux collectés, cette stratégie pourra changer...
18/03/2010

Carmignac's Napoleonic tactics begin to show their limitations

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that, although the Carmignac Patrimoine fund, which underwent a rapid growth spurt, bringing its assets to EUR16.5bn, up from EUR10bn nine months earlier, is still one of the best mixed fund selection products, it is no longer the outright leader, with returns of 15%, while competing funds are earning gains of 30% or more. The large size of the fund is certainly a handicap, as Carmignac is no longer as free in its choice of investments as its was in the past. As soon as it enters an investments, it must plan how it is getting out of it. Its aggressive tactics are beginning to reach their limits, but it is not yet a foregone conclusion that the campaign will end in a defeat reminiscent of Waterloo.
18/03/2010

MLP cuts dividends

The financial services provider MLP is planning to pay out a dividend for 2009 of EUR0.25 per share, compared with EUR0.28 in 2008. Andreas Dittmar, CFO, says that the dividend payout will total EUR27m, very near the EUR27.2m in net profits the firm earned from its retained activities last year.
18/03/2010

Profits up at DBAG

For the first quarter of the current fiscal year, covering the three months ending on 31 January, the private equity firm Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) has posted net profits of EUR9.3m, compared with losses of EUR9m in the corresponding period of last year, and owners’ equity per share has increased 3.8% to EUR19.61, compared with a decrease of 3.8% in the corresponding period of 2008-2009. However, for the complete fiscal year, ending on 31 October 2009, DBAG has posted net profits of EUR19.6m, and ROE of 8.2%.
18/03/2010

LGT group sees net outflows in Liechtenstein

Agefi Switzerland reports that LGT Group, the largest banking group in Liechtenstein, controlled by the royal family of the principality, finished the 2009 fiscal year with a net outflow of assets to clients of CHF3.7bn, largely to clients in the principality. However, LGT earned positive net inflows in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Asia. In asset management one of the two core strategic areas for the group, alongside private management, the takeover of Dresdner Bank (Switzerland) last year added CHF8.2bn in client assets for LGT, bringing the total to CHF89bn as of the end of 2009, an increase of 14% compared with the previous year, including positive returns from investments of CHF6.5bn. Net profits were down 35% to CHF106m.
18/03/2010

Former Aviva Investors manager joins TCF

Jeremy Bezant, former head of retail structured products at Aviva Investors, has been appointed a member of the investment board at TCF Fund Managers. The board is in charge of due diligence on ETFs and passive mutual funds used by TCF.
18/03/2010

Saxo plans to release closed real estate funds in UK

Saxo Properties, an affiliate of the Danish financial group Saxo Bank, is planning to release up to five closed real estate funds on the British retail market. The first of these funds is expected to be launched within a month. It will invest primarily in real estate in Copenhagen, in the residential or office sectors. The fund will be closed after a three-month subscription period.
18/03/2010

British Airways reaches agreement in principle over pension fund

British Airways on Tuesday evening reached a tentative agreement with the labour unions Unite, BALPA and GME over how to make up a deficit for the pension fund that now comes to about GBP3bn (see Newsmanagers of 15 December 2009). The solution will need to be approved both by the manager of the fund and the regulator. The proposed solution involves two options. Either employees will continue to pay contributions at current levels, but will agree to a reduction in future benefits, or they will agree to a 4.5% increase in contributions to preserve the current level of benefits. British Airways will pledge to continue its annual contributions to the fund at their current level of GBP330m.
18/03/2010

Ashmore launches eight sub-funds

Ashmore has released eight sub-funds of its Luxembourg Sicav, bringing the total number to 12, Citywire reports. All of the new products are invested in emerging markets, Ashmore’s specialty.
18/03/2010

Oil sector lobbies for creation of Indian sovereign fund

India is facing demands from the local state-owned oil industry to create the country’s first sovereign wealth fund to compete with China in the race to secure global energy assets, according to government and industry officials, says the Financial Times.
17/03/2010

AEW Europe s'intéresse à la performance de ses fonds immobiliers

Le gestionnaire de fonds immobiliers européens AEW Europe a annoncé mardi 16 mars la signature d’un contrat de 4 ans renouvelable avec IPD, société internationale dédiée à l’analyse de performance pour l’immobilier d’investissement et d’exploitation. L’objectif d’AEW Europe est de mesurer et analyser la performance de ses vingt trois fonds «core» et «value-added» ainsi que ceux que la société de gestion créera dans l’avenir.Dans le détail, les 23 fonds mesurés par IPD comprennent 5 SCPI et 18 fonds fermés destinés à des investisseurs institutionnels. A noter que quinze d’entre eux investissent exclusivement en France, quatre sont dédiés à un seul autre pays européen, et quatre sont des fonds pan-européens. L’ensemble représentant un encours de 8,9 milliards d’euros.
17/03/2010
Fonds

Amundi fait coter un nouveau bouquet d'ETF outre-Rhin

Un mois après avoir annoncé la cotation de 17 ETF sur le marché allemand, Amundi ETF a annoncé, mardi 16 mars, qu’elle renforçait sa présence outre-Rhin en faisant coter 21 ETF supplémentaires, portant le nombre total de ses produits cotés sur Deutsche Börse à 38.Parmi les 21 ETF cotés aujourd’hui, 12 sont inédits sur Xetra :- 10 ETF Sectoriels inédits sur Xetra offrant une exposition aux principaux secteurs MSCI en Europe. - 2 ETF de Style inédits sur Xetra, permettant aux investisseurs de s’exposer aux valeurs ayant les taux de dividendes les plus importants en Europe et au sein de la zone euro. A noter que 9 ETF se singularisent par des frais de gestion moins élevés que la moyenne de leurs concurrents sur Xetra, précise le communiqué de la société de gestion (0,14 % et 0,16 % selon les produits). Sept d’entre eux sont investis dans des emprunts d’Etats de la zone euro (de 3 mois à 15 ans). A cela s’ajoute Amundi ETF Euro Inflation et Amundi ETF Euro Corporates composé de 40 obligations d’entreprises environ, sélectionnées sur la base de critères de liquidité et d’une note de crédit supérieure ou égale à BBB- (S & P).
Fonds

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