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07/01/2010

Taiwan accorde trois nouveaux mandats de gestion

Le Bureau of Labour Insurance (LBI) de Taiwan vient de décerner trois mandats de gestion internationale pour un montant cumulé de 600 millions de dollars, selon Asian Investor. Le LBI a ainsi retenu trois sociétés de gestion américaines, Pimco, Standish Mellon et Wellington pour la gestion de mandats de poches obligataires internationales, chacune à concurrence de 200 millions de dollars pour une durée de cinq ans.Pimco et Wellington sont des habitués de la place de Taiwan, en tout cas pour ce qui concerne les délégations de gestion dans le fixed income. En revanche, Standish est un nouveau venu qui marque ainsi des points sur le marché institutionnel asiatique.
06/01/2010

Baring AM to scale up Asian activities

Baring Asset Management plans to expand its activities in Hong Kong, where it will add personnel to a team that currently includes 14 members within the next 12 to 18 months. The decision is a sign of the importance of the Chinese market for the firm, which has placed emerging markets at the core of its investment strategy. Asian Investor reports that the proportion of assets under management in China, which already represent one fifth of assets under management (USD27bn), will continue to increase. And data for assets under management do not tell the whole story. “For example, commissions are higher on emerging markets equities than on British equities,” points out the global head of sales, Marino Valensise. For this reason, more than half of Baring’s revenue comes from emerging markets products, particularly those focused on Asia and Eastern Europe.
06/01/2010

TIAA-Cref divests from companies involved in human rights violations in Sudan

TIAA-Cref has become the first large US asset manager to sell stakes in four Asian oil groups over concerns about human rights abuses in Sudan, says the Financial Times, adding that it will increase pressure on other investors to sever ties with those companies. The companies are PetroChina, CNPC Hong Kong and Sinopec – three state-controlled Chinese oil companies, and India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
06/01/2010

Brevan founder joins a hedge fund

Jean-Philippe Blochet, a founding partner of Brevan Howard Asset Management, is set to join Moore Europe Capital Management, the European arm of a hedge fund manager founded by Louis Bacon, as a senior portfolio manager, according to Bloomberg.
06/01/2010

Schroders head of trading leaves the firm

Schroders is set to replace Steve Wood, global head of trading, with Rob McGrath, currently the firm’s head of trading, says Financial News. Steve Wood is set to retire in March but will continue working as a consultant.
06/01/2010

Two promotions at Franklin Templeton France

Franklin Templeton France has announced the appointment of Ariane Hober as head of sales and of Julien Semonsu as head of marketing, effective from 1 December 2009. Since the end of 2006, Ariane Hober had been deputy director of sales, after previously holding the position of institutional client relationship manager for France, from October 2004. She joined Franklin Templeton Investments in November 2002 as coordinator of RFPs. In her new role, she will continue to develop sales to all client and distribution segments and managed accounts. Julien Semonsu, 35, had previously been head of marketing, since February 2007, when he arrived at Franklin Templeton Investments.
06/01/2010

Aviva Investors makes an acquisition in the United States

Aviva Investors announced on Tuesday, 5 January that it has acquired River Road Asset Management, a US asset management firm specialised in value type equities, with USD3.6bn in assets under management as of the end of November 2009. River Road AM, which held gross assets of USD6bn as of 31 December 2008, will continue to be based in Louisville, Kentucky, and will become a part of Aviva Investors North America (AINA). “The objective of this acquisition is to support the development of activities serving institutional third-party clients of Aviva Investors, by bringing together its existing expertise in fixed income management in North America with the investment capacities on US equities markets of River Road Asset Management,” says a statement from the insurer. For its part, River Road AM will also benefit from access to Aviva Investors’ investment capacities on fixed income markets. Aviva is the world’s fifth-largest insurer, on the basis of gross premiums as of 31 december 2008, with 50 million clients in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. It has total revenues of EUR64.3bn, and EUR393bn in assets under management as of 31 December 2008.
06/01/2010

Warren Buffett gives thumbs down to Kraft share issue

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has voted «no» on Kraft’s proposal to authorize the issuance of up to 370 million shares to facilitate the acquisition of Cadbury. Berkshire, taking into account both its own holdings and those of its pension funds, believes that the 138,272,500 Kraft shares it owns – 9.4% of the total outstanding – make it the company’s largest shareholder. «The share-issuance proposal, if enacted, will give Kraft a blank check allowing it to change its offer to Cadbury – in any way it wishes – from the transaction presented to shareholders in the proxy statement. And we worry very much that, indeed, there will be an additional change from the revision announced this morning. To state the matter simply, a shareholder voting «yes» today is authorizing a huge transaction without knowing its cost or the means of payment,» says a press release.
06/01/2010

S&GAM lists 24 ETFs on Swiss stock exchange

SIX Swiss Exchange has announced that it has admitted 24 Julius Baer precious metals funds (physical silver, platinum, and palladium) from Swiss & Global Asset Management to trading on its segment reserved for ETF funds. The products are registered in Switzerland, and will be available for trading from 8 January. The new funds bring the total number of ETFs traded on SIX to 299.
06/01/2010

Fund assets up by over one third in 2009

As of the end of December, investment funds in China had assets of CNY2.68trn, or USD392bn, which represents a 37.9% increase over their levels twelve months previously, Z-Ben Advisors reports. This increase is largely due to market effects, as the CSI 300 index gained 95.8% last year. 2009 was characterised by major redemptions from bond funds in the first half, and subscriptions were concentrated on the equities managers who turned in the best results. Without new launches of ETFs and other index-based products, the sector would have seen net redemptions. In general, the winners in 2009 were the largest asset management firms, while mid-sized and small firms lost market share more often than they gained any.
06/01/2010

Henderson head of sales joins Artemis

The former head of sales at Henderson New Star, Sam Mettrick, has joined the management firm Artemis as head of strategic allegiances, Investment Week reports. Mettrick, who has over 20 years’ professional experience, will develop the activities of Artemis in partnership with national intermediaries, major networks, life insurers and investment fund supermarkets.
06/01/2010

John Duffield launches Brompton AM

The one-time founder of New Star Asset Management, John Duffield, has launched Brompton Asset Management, an asset management firm specialised in real estate investments, which aims for absolute performance from a very wide range of asset classes (equities, bonds, commodities, hedge funds, private equity). For this new project, Duffield has surrounded himself with former colleagues from New Star, Investment Week reports. Rupert Ruvigny, former CFO of New Star, is the new CFO of Brompton, while Michael Astor and John Jay are technical partner and business development partner. Services on offer to clients cover a wide range, from individual savings accounts (ISA), SIPPS (self-invested personal pensions), onshore funds, and offshore bonds. Families and groups may choose an OEIC or a unit trust format, but the minimal investment has been set at GBP5m.
06/01/2010

Departure of UBS GAM UK CIO

John Harrison, the chief investment officer of UBS Global Asset Management in the UK, is to step down in March, says Financial News.
06/01/2010

WisdomTree launches at currency-hedged ETF

On Monday, Wisdom Tree Investments announced that its affiliate, Wisdom Tree Asset Management, will be advisor, and Mellon Capital Management will serve as sub-advisor for its 52nd ETF product, the International Hedged Equity ETF (HEDJ), which replicates the WisdomTree DEFA International Hedged Equity Index, with a management commission of 0.58%. The new product offers U.S. investors exposure to European, Australasian and far Eastern equities, while neutralizing the impact of local currencies against the US dollar.
06/01/2010

Les hedge funds redécouvrent les actions

Selon la dernière livraison du Hedge Fund Monitor de Bank of America-Merrill Lynch et sur la base des «13F-filings», l’exposition brute des hedge funds américains aux actions a augmenté de 14 % au troisième trimestre 2009 par rapport à avril-juin, pour ressortir à 825 milliards de dollars. En termes nets, cette exposition a même opéré un bond en avant de 130 % à 95 milliards de dollars. Sur cette base, les hedge funds contrôlaient 4 % du flottant de la capitalisation boursière. Parallèlement, BoA-ML a constaté une augmentation à 1,2 de l’effet de levier «long» ce qui est voisin du niveau constaté pour le second semestre 2008 tout en demeurant inférieur à la valeur de 1,7 % enregistrée pour 2007.Enfin, BoA-ML précise que son Hedge Funds Generals Index a gagné 62 % sur un an, battant ainsi le S&P 500 de 40 points. Cet indice est composé de manière équipondérée des 20 actions dans lesquelles les hedge funds sont le plus investis en «long». Cet indice calculé depuis juin 2008 a été développé du fait qu’une étude a montré que les lignes principales (core holdings) des hedge funds représentent environ 80 % de la performance de ces fonds. Sur la période de rétropolation (backtesting) entre juin 2003 et juin 2008, l’indice Merrill Lynch a régulièrement battu le S&P 500 de 0,9 point par mois.
06/01/2010

TCW liquidates USD500m fund

TCW Group (an affiliate of Société Générale) announced it has voluntarily withdrawn its UST/TCW Senior Mortgage Securities Fund, L.P. from the U.S. Treasury’s Legacy Securities Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP). TCW will conduct an orderly liquidation of the fund and distribute capital to the subscribers. The fund, which has approximately USD500m in assets under management, completed its initial closing on September 30, 2009."Given that we are at a very early stage of investment in this particular product, and in light of the recent changes in the portfolio management team, we believe this action is appropriate and in-line with TCW’s commitment to act in the best interests of our clients,» said Marc I. Stern, Chief Executive Officer. The Treasury had suspended the fund after Jeff Gundlach, the CIO, had been fired, which triggered a key-man clause.
06/01/2010

TCW launches an emerging markets equities product

After the TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund, a bond product specialised in sovereign debt and corporate bonds from emerging markets, TCW Group (an affiliate of Société Générale) has launched another emerging markets mutual fund, this time focused on equities, entitled TCW Emerging Markets Equities Fund. Chuck Baldiswieler, president & CEO of TCW Funds, says the fund, which has a TER of 1.71%, will be managed by Mark Madden and Dave Robbins. The managers, who will rely on the assistance of a team of five analysts, will focus on well-run companies of all cap sizes, and will focus on growth opportunities with a value bias. Madden joined TCW in 2009. He was previously portfolio manager at Ninth Wave Capital Management, after managing about USD14bn in emerging markets assets between 2004 and 2007 at OppenheimerFunds.
06/01/2010

Lazard AM opens infrastructure platform to retail clients

Institutional and retail investors will now be able to subscribe to the Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Portfolio, a mutual fund recently launched by Lazard Asset Management (LAM). The actively-managed product will focus on companies with a market capitalisation of over USD250m. The management team, led by John Mulquiney and Warryn Robertson, will focus on equities from companies with infrastructure holdings that represent a “longevity” characteristic for the business, low risk of capital losses, and revenues tied to inflation. In addition, LAM will aim to hedge for currency risks. Currently, the Global Listed Infrastructure platform from LAM represents assets of USD1.98bn for institutional clients.
06/01/2010

AQR aims for “regular Joe”

In less than one year, AQR Capital Management, an alternative management firm which has targeted the mom-and-pop investor niche, has attracted over USD1bn in assets. This Wednesday, the firm is launching its seventh mutual fund, AQR Managed Futures Strategy Fund. Last week, it released a global equities fund, the Wall Street Journal reports. The development appears to represent a new trend. Several other hedge fund managers have launched mutual funds for retail investors. Among them are Rady Asset Management, Bull Path Capital Management, and Permal (Legg Mason).
06/01/2010

Active ETF population beginning to increase

According to IndexUniverse, there were only 14 active ETF funds in the United States as of 1 December, with assets of USD93m, while there were USD743bn in 809 traditional ETF funds, the Wall Street Journal reports. However, the actively-managed ETF market appears to be growing rapidly: T. Rowe Price and John Hancock Funds have applied for licenses to launch several funds of this type, while Vanguard and Putnam have also indicated interest in this area. Pimco (Allianz) has recently launched actively-managed bond ETFs, and is planning to launch at least three more. The two largest actively-managed ETF products are the Pimco Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy, with USD45m, and Dent Tactical, with USD23bn, according to Morningstar. All other funds in the category have assets of under USD10m.
06/01/2010

Raj Rajaratnam paid tipster, prosecution claims

Prosecutors allege that Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of the alternative management firm Galleon Group, paid an informer in 2006 for insider information about the acquisition of ATI Technologies by Advanced Micro Devices. The information is said to have allowed Galleon Technology Funds to make illicit profits of USD19m, the Wall Street Journal reports.
06/01/2010

Les défaillances des émetteurs classés "High Yield" en baisse

Selon les chiffres préliminaires publiés par Standard & Poor’s (S&P), le taux de défaillance des entreprises américaines placées en catégorie spéculative a baissé en décembre 2009 par rapport au mois précédent (10,9% contre 11,28%), rapporte l’Agefi. Le nombre de défauts des entreprises américaines notées en dessous de «BBB-» s’est élevé à 189 l’année dernière. S&P s’attend à une poursuite du repli du taux de défaut de cette catégorie d’entreprises, note le quotidien.
06/01/2010

Decline in defaults by US high yield bond issuers

According to preliminary statistics published by Standard & Poor’s (S&P), default rates for US businesses rated in the speculative category fell in December 2009 compared with the previous month (10.9%, down from 11.28%), Agefi reports. The number of defaults by US businesses with ratings below “BBB-” came to 189 last year. S&P predicts that the default rates for this category of businesses will continue to decline, the newspaper reports.
06/01/2010

Mutuactivos launches a hedge fund

The CNMV has announced that on 18 December it issued a sales license to Mutuactivos to sell the “free investment fund” (Spanish-registered hedge fund) with license (ISIN) number ES0165112006. The fund is the Mutuafondo Argali, with daily liquidity, from Mutuactivos, the asset management affiliate of insurer Mutua Madrileña. The performance objective of the long/short equities product, the first hedge fund from Mutuactivos, is set at 8%, with limited risk. The prime broker and depository bank are Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas, respectively. The Mutuafondo Argali began to invest EUR10m in seed capital on 4 January. Backtesting puts the fund’s gains at 4.72% for 2008, while its performance would have totalled 7.25% for January-November 2009.
06/01/2010

98.3% of German funds made money in 2009

According to rankings established by eFundresearch on the basis of statistics from Lipper as of 31 December for a total of 11,628 funds and classes of shares in funds available in Germany, Austria, and Switzrerland, 98.3% of products posted positive returns in 2009. In addition, 7,048 of these, or 62.55%, posted gains of over 10%, while 1,085 funds, or 9.63%, gained over 50%. 114 funds or classes of shares in funds, slightly over 1% of the total universe, posted gains of over 100%, with the champion in all categories being the BSF Latin American Opportunities Fund A2 USD from BlackRock, with gains of 202.65%.
06/01/2010

Popularity of equities funds in UK continues in November

According to the most recent statistics from the British investment management association (IMA), net retail sales in November topped GBP2bn for the eighth consecutive month. Over eleven months, net sales totalled GBP23.6bn, ten times higher than the levels observed in the same period last year (GBP2.3bn). Assets under management in funds as of the end of November totalled GBP467.3bn, a 38% increase over November 2008, due to record sales and a recovery on the markets. British investors’ taste for equities funds did not let up in November, with net sales of GBP930m, nearly five times higher than sales of bond funds (GBP187m). Over eleven months, however, net sales of bond funds totalled GBP9.6bn, compared with GBP6.8bn for equities funds. For institutional investors, net sales totalled GBP385m in November, while equities funds saw outflows of GBP215m, and bond funds saw inflows of GBP341m.
06/01/2010

Positive bottom line for British pension funds in 2009, according to BNY Mellon

According to estimates by BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, British pension funds posted average returns of 14% in 2009 up to 31 December, their best annual performance since 2005. Compared to the consumer price index and to the index of average earnings, the performance of pension funds in 2009 totals 14.9% and 12.8%, respectively. In 2008, pension funds lost an average of 13.6%. Over three years to 31 December 2009, average gains total only 1.7%, though they stand at 6.4% over five years and 3.2% over ten years.

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