Recherche
S'abonner
Connexion
Asset Management
Accueil Asset Management Actualités
02/03/2010

Net outflows of EUR1.8bn from funds in February

According to statistics from the Inverco association of management firms, assets in Spanish securities funds in February declined by 1.1% to EUR159.98bn (the lowest level since June 1997), following net outflows of nearly EUR1.8bn, the highest levels since June 2009, in addition to the EUR485m observed in January. Ahorro Corporación states that the most conservative funds, money markets and short-term bonds, saw net redemptions of EUR600m and EUR1.6bn, respectively. The largest net outflows were from BBVA Asset Management (EUR596m), Santander Asset Management (EUR287m), and InverCaixa (EUR177m).
02/03/2010

Franklin Templeton recruits a former Evergreen manager

Franklin Templeton Investments has announced that Aman Gupta has been appointed as an analyst for healthcare and its subsectors worldwide for Franklin Mutual Series, the group’s deep value affiliate. Gupta was previously at Evergreen investments, the management firm of the Wachovia group which was absorbed a month and a half ago into Wells Fargo Advantage Funds (see Newsmanagers of 15 January). Gupta will be based in Short Hills, New Jersey, at the headquarters of Mutual Series.
02/03/2010

CalPERS may lower projected return rate

CalPERS is considering reducing the projected rate of return used by the giant pension fund to make investment decisions. Since 2003, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System has assumed that the value of its stocks, bonds and other holdings would increase by 7.75% a year. The board has been encouraged to shrink its projected rate of return to as low as 6%.
02/03/2010

Changing of the guard at Dodge & Cox

Kenneth E. Oliver, who has been president of the firm since 2006, will additionally become CEO of Dodge & Cox from 31 March 2010. On 31 March 2011 he will become chairman, replacing John A. Gunn, who is chairman and CEO of the firm until 31 March 2010, and who will become chairman emeritus one year later. Olivier will remain a member of the investment policy committee at the management firm. Dodge & Cox also states that Dana M. Emery and Charles F. Pohl, currently executive vice president and senior vice president, will become co-presidents of the firm from 31 March 2011. They will retain their respective positions as head of fixed income and CIO.
02/03/2010

MSCI acquires RiskMetrics for USD1.55bn

The New York-based provider of corporate governance and risk management products and services RiskMetrics Group has agreed to be acquired by MSCI for a total of USD1.55bn in cash and shares, equivalent to USD21.75 per share. The index provider will pay USD16.35 per RiskMetrics share in cash, plus 0.1802 of a MSCI share per share in RiskMetrics. The new entity will have annual revenues of USD750m, with 2,000 employees in 20 countries. The transaction will be completed in third quarter.
02/03/2010

UCITS funds in a growth spurt

In 2009, UCITS funds saw inflows of EUR123bn, compared with outflows of EUR356bn in 2008, according to statistics from the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA). The association points out that this growth dynamic, which began in April 2009, has not lost momentum since that time. UCITS funds domiciled in Luxembourg and the United Kingdom represented 81% of these EUR123bn in inflows, with 54% and 27% of the market, respectively, far ahead of Germany, France and Sweden, which had 7% of the market each. Long-term UCITS funds (excluding money market funds) posted net inflows of EUR165bn for the year as a whole, due to positive inflows of EUR66bn to equities funds, EUR72bn to bond funds, and EUR44bn to diversified funds. The erosion of money market funds resulted in outflows of EUR43bn, following inflows of EUR64bn in 2008. Demand for non-UCITS funds was strong, however: dedicated funds for institutionals saw EUR48bn in inflows in 2009, while real estate funds saw inflows of EUR4bn.
02/03/2010

Asset managers launching financing funds

Management firms are seeking to fill a gap in the lending market ignored by the banking sector and governments, Financial Times Fund Management reports. Many firms are seeking to raise capital for funds which would offer loans to businesses with an urgent need for credit, or provide financing for infrastructure development. FT FM cites the examples of Hastings Fund Management, Trafalgar Capital Advisors, and Aviva Investors.
02/03/2010

FSA finalises new regime of financial sanctions

The British financial market regulator, the FSA, on 1 March published its new policies for fines. The new framework is more consistent and transparent, and may potentially result in maximum fines three times higher than previously.The new matrix for calculating fines ties penalties more closely to revenues, up to 20% of earnings from the activity deemed to be improper in the period concerned, and up to 40% of remuneration (including bonuses) for employees. A minimum fine of GBP100,000 will be set for serious market abuse cases. The new regime, which has received far from unanimous support from the financial industry, will come into force on 6 March. According to the FSA, record fines were already levied in 2009, but the new approach will increase the dissuasive effect of fines.
02/03/2010

CESR establishes MIF database

The Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) on 1 March announced that it has established a specific database on its website to meet the transparency requirements of the MIF directive for information on shares added to trading on regulated markets, which will be available to all market participants. With this in view, the CESR has announced that it will establish an amended protocol describing the cooperation agreements between CESR members, and the Committee secretariat to manage the calculation and publication of data which ensure the transparency of the market, as required by the MIF directive. The guide states that collection of market data also concerns the three largest trading platforms in terms of market share, which are BATS, Chi-X and Turquoise.
02/03/2010

Sovereign funds opt for passive management

Sovereign funds are turning away from active management in favour of passive management, according to a study by State Street Global Advisors, cited by Financial Times FM, which has surveyed ten European, Middle Eastern and Asian sovereign funds. In September 2009, the funds had 11 mandates for active management, compared with 15 in December 2008, while the number of passive management mandates increased from 14 to 16.
02/03/2010

Bill Gross (Pimco) fears degradation of government credit

In the most recent edition of Investment Outlook, published on Monday, Bill Gross, the star manager of the Pimco Total Return Fund (USD200bn) predicts that returns and spreads on government bonds will gradually come into line with those of the markets they are seeking to prop up with their stimulus plans, the Wall Street Journal reports. This places a potential cap on the debt which can be issued as a way out of the debt crisis, and retail investors can no longer rely on an assumption that sovereign debt is airtight. Investors will therefore need to focus on those government bonds whose fundamentals involve lower levels of credit or inflation risk. Germany and Canada are at the top of this list, while the worst choices would include Greece, other comparable members of the Euro zone, and the United Kingdom.
02/03/2010

Good outlooks for bond funds

A rise in interest in bond funds which began last year is expected to continue this year, but with a more moderate pace of inflows, Moody’s predicts in a report on the sector. Spreads have contracted after reaching all-time highs. Corporate debt issues are expected to decrease in this environment, and selection will be the key to performance, Moody’s estimates. The credit profiles of bond funds will stabilise due to an expected decline in defaults and a return to normal trading conditions. For bets on duration, Moody’s expects little movement in first half, but adds that second half may offer more custom trading opportunities as central banks call off their expansionist monetary policies. In the first nine months of 2009, bond funds attracted about EUR190bn in the United States and EUR50bn in Europe. The trend is expected to continue for most bond segments, and will be more pronounced for short-duration funds, absolute return funds and ETFs.
02/03/2010

Goldman Sachs AM adds to Scandinavian staff

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has made an addition to its Scandinavian team with the recruitments of Mårten Bäck and Philip Mikkelsen. The management firm now has six personnel to cover Scandinavia. Bäck, who will be based in Stockholm, was previously head of manager research at SEB Wealth Management. At GSAM, he will be in charge of building relations with the major distributors in Northern Europe. Mikkelsen joins the firm from Danske Bank, where he was jead of Scandinavian institutions. He will now occupy the same position at GSAM. Sheila Patel, co-head of GSAM for Europe, says in a statement that the Scandinavian countries are a priority for the management firm. The recruitments appear to be part of a European expansion strategy, according to an article in Financial News Online on 1 March, which adds that GSAM has more than doubled the size of its distribution team in Europe in the past six months, to 70 total. Recruitments are also planned in France.
02/03/2010

Standard Chartered appoints a head of sales in Singapore

The former hedge fund manager Paul Absalom has joined Standard Chartered, according to Asian Investor, in the newly-created position of head of distribution for Singapore. He will report directly to Adrian Walkling, international head of distribution to financial institutions. In his new responsibilities, Absalom will be in charge of major accounts in the Asian region and clients served from Singapore. Absalom previously worked for HSBC in Hong Kong as head of sales to hedge funds and central banks.
02/03/2010

RBS Coutts builds presence in Hong Kong

The British private bank RBS Coutts, which last year lost about 70 employees in Singapore, is rebuilding its presence in the region with the transfers to Hong Kong of Nick Cringle, co-chief investment officer for the London firm, in the next few weeks. Asian Investor reports that RBS Coutts has also appointed Manfred Liechti as head for South-East Asia.
02/03/2010

Deutsche Bank granted an Islamic banking license in Malaysia

Deutsche Bank announced on Monday that it has obtained an international Islamic banking license from the Bank Negara Malaysia, which will allow it to provide commercial banking and currency investment services to institutional clients throughout Asia. The agreement will allow Asian clients to have easier access to the German group’s global Islamic banking platform and to its Sharia-compliant products, says Raymond Yeoh, Chief Country Officer for Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad.
02/03/2010

HSBC private banking loses momentum

Taxable profits from private banking activities at the HSBC group were down 21% last year to USD1.1bn. “Private banking clients, facing a period of great uncertainty, lost much of their appetite for risk in terms of investments as well as their demand for credit, which led to a reduction in revenues for us,” HSBC explains in a statement. Overall net inflows were down last year, but the group, which increased its presence in emerging markets, says that net inflows from emerging countries and from within the group totalled USD6.6bn. Assets under management increased 6% to USD460bn. Taxable profits for the HSBC group, for their part, were down by nearly 24% to USD7.1bn.
02/03/2010

JOHambro bets on emerging markets

The British management firm JOHambro Capital Management (JOHCM) on 1 March announced the recruitment of two emerging markets specialists, Emery Brewerr and Ivo St Kovachev. The appointments come at a time when JOHCM is preparing to launch the JOHCM Global Emerging Markets Fund. Brewer, who previously managed the Driehaus Capital Management Emerging Markets Growth Fund, has 15 yeasr of experience in emerging markets. St Kavachev, who was co-manager of the Driehaus European Opportunities Fund, has more than 15 years of experience in the asset management industry.
02/03/2010

EUR35bn in subscriptions for asset management in 2009

With subscriptions of EUR20.8bn in fourth quarter, the Italian asset management sector finished 2009 with net inflows of over EUR35bn, Assogestioni, the Italian association of management professionals, reports. As of the end of 2009, assets under management by the sector overall totalled EUR950bn, of which 82% was managed by Italian firms. Open-ended funds finished the year with assets of EUR438bn, thanks to net subscriptions of EUR6.4bn. Assogestioni emphasizes that assets in foreign-registered funds outweighed those in Italian-registered products, with 52% of assets in the former, totalling EUR226bn, and 48% in the latter, at EUR212bn.
02/03/2010

Assets in China ETFs more than doubled in 2009

After a one-year contraction of 16.75% to USD15.9bn as of the end of 2008, assets in ETF funds which replicate China indices more than doubled last year to a total as of 31 December 2009 of USD32.3bn, in 53 products from 28 issuers, listed on 21 stock markets worldwide. Deborah Fuhr (BlackRock) says that the United States alone account for USD12.47bn, with 21 ETF funds, while Hong Kong represented assets of USD9.97bn in 12 ETF funds, and in China, the eight local ETFs had USD5.87bn in assets under management. Net subscriptions represented USD3.1bn last year for ETFs domiciled in the United States and Europe, in addition to which USD3.7bn in net inflows came into emerging market funds replicating indices such as the MSCI Emerging Markets index, in which the Chinese market represents 18.3% of the total. iShares is the largest asset management firm in the Chinese ETF segment, with 11 products and assets of USD18bn, which represents a market share of 55%. The second-largest management firm, far behind the leader, is China Asset Management, with only two funds and USD3.8bn in assets, or 11.7% of the market. These two actors between them thus account for two thirds of the market. Hang Seng Investment Management and E Fund Management are in third and fourth place, respectively, with assets of USD2.2bn and USD1.3bn, and respective market shares of 6.7% and 4.1%.
02/03/2010

Bolton to invest GBP2.5m in China fund

Anthony Bolton will personally invest GBP2.5m in the new Fidelity China Special Situations fund, Citywire reports. Fidelity International will put GBP15m in the fund. The group is hoping to raise a total of GBP650m.
02/03/2010

JP Morgan AM plans to launch a Brazil fund

Investment Week reports that JP Morgan Asset Management is planning to launch a fund dedicated to Brazil, the JP Morgan Investment Trust, to take advantage of economic growth in the region. The fund will have a target volume of GBP50m, and its two managers, Sebastian Muparia and Luis Carillo, are planning to maintain 25 to 50 positions, selected with a bottom-up approach. The benchmark will be the MSCI Brazil 10/40.
02/03/2010

Sanjiv Sawhney returns to Citigroup

On Monday, Citigroup announced that it has taken Sanjiv Sawhney back on board as global head of funds services in its securities & fund services division. Sawhney will report to Neeraj Sahai, global head of securities & fund services, and will be in charge of hedge fund, private equity and mutual fund administration worldwide. Sawhney was previously head of fund services at JP Morgan for Europe, and managing director and administrator of JPMorgan Bank Luxembourg. With 17 years of experience in securities services, Sawhney has already spent 15 years at Citigroup, where among other positions he was director of fund administration for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
02/03/2010

JPMAM recruits a director from T. Rowe Price

John Holcombe, head of wealth management services for the external distribution division of T. Rowe Price, on 1 March joined JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) in the newly-created position of senior relationship manager specialised in distribution to banks and trust departments, Mutual Fund Wire reports. Holcombe will report to Jed Laskowitz, head of distribution to broker-dealers, insurers, banks and registered investment advisers (RIAs).
02/03/2010

Stoxx indices to be renamed

Stoxx Limited announced on Monday that it is dropping the “Dow Jones” prefix to the name of all its indices. The changes, which will take effect immediately, will affect European regional and thematic indices. The removal of the name reflects the new shareholder structure of Stoxx: Deutsche Börse and Six Group have acquired Stoxx Limited, which was previously owned by Dow Jones. The use of the Dow Jones name in the names of licensed financial products is authorised until the end of 2010. All Stoxx regional indices covering European markets will also now include the word “Europe” in their names.
01/03/2010
Fonds

L'essor des ETF freiné par le système de rémunération

Selon La Tribune, l ‘un des freins au développement des ETF auprès des particuliers en France tient au fait qu’ils ne sont absolument pas distribués au sein des réseaux des grandes banques françaises. «Ce n’est pourtant pas par manque d’offre puisque BNP Paribas via EasyETF, Crédit Agricole via Amundi ETF et Société Générale via sa filiale Lyxor en proposent», note le quotidien. Ce sont les faibles frais de gestion qui bloquent la distribution de ces produits dans les réseaux. Mais le développement de la distribution des ETF en France pourrait, selon La Tribune, passer par une évolution de la réglementation en s’inspirant du modèle américain, où le système rémunère les conseillers sur la base du contenant et non plus du contenu, à savoir les fonds.
Fonds
01/03/2010

Mario Frontini rejoint Sator

L’ancienne star de Fidelity, Mario Frontini, fait son retour à la gestion d’actifs, en rejoignant la société de gestion alternative italienne Sator SpA en tant que directeur des investissements, rapporte Citywire. Il gérera le hedge fund de la société dirigée par Matteo Arpe, l’ancien CEO de Capitalia. Il vient aussi avec Sam Myhrman, avec lequel il travaillait chez Citywire, et qui deviendra analyste senior chez Sator.
01/03/2010

Carlyle ouvre une société de gestion immobilière italienne

Carlyle lance une société de gestion immobilière en Italie, rapporte Il Sole – 24 Ore. Le groupe américain a obtenu l’agrément de la Banque d’Italie à cet effet. L’entité gérera et développera des investissements dans l’immobilier italien grâce à de nouveaux fonds dédiés aux investisseurs institutionnels. Initialement, les capitaux devraient tourner autour de 150 millions d’euros. Mais la collecte auprès des investisseurs devrait permettre d’augmenter cette somme.

Sujets d'actualité

Tous les sujets