Thomas Muhlberger and Jens Finkbeiner have joined forces to found f+m Financial GmbH, a new management firm which will specialize in the absolute returns approach, and which will soon launch its first investment fund, including an institutional share class, in early 2010. The two partners, both derivatives specialists, were previously managers at Lupus alpha, a Frankfurt-based management firm founded in late 2000 by former Invesco managers. f+m Financial will be the exclusive provider of products using the W.I.S.E. Model developed by Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, in cooperation with the new fund management firm. According to the initiators of the project, W.I.S.E. stands out for its highly reliable predictions of the evolution of relevant markets, which makes it possible to optimise allocation for the desired risk/reward ratio. The system includes a high proportion of investments in the form of government bonds, as well as hedging and performance optimisation strategies relying on futures markets such as Eurex and CME.

Three quarters of French and British institutional investors feel that pay scales for corporate management should be limited, and they are of the opinion that they themselves, as shareholders in the businesses, should be the ones to do it, according to a recent study by Novethic in partnership with BNP Paribas Investment Partners, which surveyed 60 French and British investors.* Investors in the two countries consider that shareholders should require corporations to supply clear information about their remuneration systems. Only half of them think that the subject should be raised at general shareholders’ meetings, with the British slightly more in favour of this than their French counterparts. However, “activism” should be nuanced, according to the study, which also found that there has been a net decrease in the level of desire on the part of institutional investors to influence environmental, social and governance policies at businesses in the 2009 study compared with 2008. 58% of respondents in France are in favour of doing so, compared with 71% last year, while 48% in the United Kingdom do, compared with 72% in 2008. Anne-Catherine Husson Traore, CEO of Novethic, comments that “this decrease is undoubtedly due to the fact that investors were surveyed in October 2008, at the most critical moment of the financial crisis.” However, all French investors and 84% of British investors say they are concerned about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, and the reason given by 90% of them is reduction of long-term risks. Improved financial performance is also a factor cited, although the French are more reserved than the British on this question. Despite this common ground between perspectives in the two countries, cultural differences persist, particularly in relation to the importance given to ESG issues, Novethic says. 65% of French investors consider these three areas in a global perspective, while only 45% of British respondents do so. For 19% of French respondents, social issues are the most important, while the British are not concerned with these. They also differ on the environment, which is a priority for only 35 of French and 10% of British investors. Lastly, only 13% of French investors consider governance important, compared with 45% of British respondents. * «Les investisseurs institutionnels sont-ils des actionnaires sensibles aux enjeux environnementaux, sociaux et de gouvernance»

The American private equity investor Carlyle, which owns the Spanish certification organization Applus+ and the travel agency and tour operator Orizonia, has teamed up with Magnum, the fund founded by the former deputy CEO of Santander, Ángel Corcóstegui, to bid in an auction to provide service to 300,000 natural gas customers whom Gas Natural has to sell off in order to finalise its acquisition of Unión Fenosa, Expansión reports. The other potential buyers include Morgan Stanley, Macquarie, and CVC Partners. According to financial industry sources, the operation for over EUR500m is also expected to interest the Portuguese Galp group, as well as the infrastructure fund RREEF (Deutsche Bank).

Thirty global financial institutions make up a list drawn up by regulators under the auspices of the Financial Stability Board, in an effort to preempt systemic risks from spreading around the world in any future financial crisis, the Financial Times has learnt. The list includes six insurance companies – Axa, Aegon, Allianz, Aviva, Zurich and Swiss Re – and 24 banks from the UK, continental Europe, North America and Japan. Société Générale and BNP Paribas are part of the list.

Z-Ben Advisors reports that E-Fund Management has scored a spectacular success with CNY19bn, or USD2.8bn, in subscriptions to its feeder ETF fund Shenzhen 100 ETF, making E-Fund the second-largest fund management firm in China, and relegating Bosera and Harvest to third and fourth place, respectively. Bosera is expected to regain some ground, however, as on Monday it was issued a license to launch an ETF based on Shanghai mega-caps, as well as a feeder fund.

Russell Investments has announced the appointment of Chris Adolph as head of transition management for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. He will be part of the Investments division and will be based in London. After serving at a number of financial institutions, including First Quadrant and State Street, Adolph most recently held the position of head of transition management for the EMEA region at UBS in London.

According to reports in Citywire, Gartmore, which is preparing for its IPO, will impose a lock-in period on shares held by key managers, including the European star manager Roger Guy. But managers will be allowed to sell one third of their shares each year at the time annual results are announced, beginning in 2011. Citywire, which has obtained a document prepared by one of the banks which is assisting with preparations for the initial public offering, reports that Guy is the largest shareholder among Gartmore employees, who own a combined total of 42% of the firm. The document points out that the manager, along with his co-manager Guillaume Rambourg, represent 44% of revenues for the firm, including performance commissions.

Kim Winser, the British fashion designer who transformed Pringle into a prestigious international brand name, has been recruited as a senior adviser by the private equity firm 3i, to advise it in the areas of retail and consumer goods. 3i also owns the lingerie brand Agent Provocateur and the Hobbs brand of women’s fashions and shoes, the Sunday Times reports. Winser may join the board of Agent Provocateur, and assist 3i in its future investments, but she will also retain the freedom to work with other private equity investors.

On Friday, Permira announced that it has acquired Just Retirement, a pension fund management firm founded in 2004 which specializes in retirement savings for employees who are elderly or who have health problems, for GBP228m (EUR253.3m) in cash, Cinco Días reports. It is the second acquisition this year for the private equity investor, which in February acquired NDS, a pay-per-view television operator.

The Skandia Investment Solutions (SIS) platform since last Friday offers access to 36 passively-managed funds. To satisfy demand from IFAs, this range has been enlarged by one fifth, with the addition of six BlackRock tracker funds, whose total expense ratios (TER) range from 0.22% to 0.29%. Skandia points out that with the addition of these new funds, its SIS platform is now able to offer passively-managed funds covering all the major markets. The addition of a seventh BlackRock fund, the Emerging Market Tracker Fund, is still being negotiated. The newly-added funds are: Name TER BlackRock Continental European Equity Tracker Fund 0.24% BlackRock Fixed Income Tracker Fund 0.22% BlackRock Japan Equity Tracker Fund 0.25% BlackRock North American Equity Tracker Fund 0.23% BlackRock Pacific ex Japan Equity Tracker Fund 0.29% BlackRock UK Equity Tracker Fund 0.22%

The Royal Bank of Scotland will not escape a nearly total nationalization, Agefi reports. The bank will issue GBP25.5bn (EUR28.5bn) in B-class shares without voting rights to the British Treasury. This will bring the British govenrnment’s stake in the group from 70.3% to 84.4%, while voting rights will remain at 70.3%. The Treasury may also provide an additional GBP8bn in urgent financing to the bank, if the core tier 1 owners’ equity ratio falls below of RBS falls below 5%, the newspaper notes.

Anthony Bolton, who will once again take on the management of a portfolio of Chinese equities, has stated that he will cap asset volumes for the Fidelity China Fund, which will be launched in March, if subscriptions prove higher than expected, Moneymarketing reports. In terms of the fund’s approach, it will be more aggressive than the existing Chinese equity funds from the management firm. Bolton says that the strategy will be close to that of the Fidelity Special Situations Fund, which he has managed for more than 30 years.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered the Reserve Primary Fund to distribute its remaining assets to subscribers on a pro-rata basis, the Wall Street Journal reports. In other words, investors who sought redemptions of their shares at USD1 each on 15 September, one day before the fund announced that its net asset value had fallen below USD1 per share, will not receive any more than subscribers who claimed redemptions after that date. The verdict is likely to be appealed by investors who sought redemptions before 16 September.

Les Echos reports that José Manuel Barroso has appointed Michel Barnier the new French member of the European Commission, as head of internal markets, including financial services. The choice is being viewed as a victory for French president Sarkozy, who considers the decision a “triumph” for the French perspective on financial regulation. “The English are the big losers in the affair,” the French president told Le Monde.

The De Agostini group is in exclusive talks with the Italian co-operative banks to take control of Arca Sgr, an asset management firm with assets of about EUR18bn, whose major shareholders include Banco Popolare (28%), Ubi Banca (23%), Bper (20.18%), Popolare Vicenza (10.92%), and Popolare di Sondrio (5.8%), Il Sole - 24 Ore reports. The potential buyer is negotiating to acquire a majority stake in the asset manager, but only on condition that it be allowed to retain a distribution agreement for Arca products via branches of the banks which would remain as minority shareholders. It is also asking for the co-operative banks to include their own asset management firms in the sale along with Arca.

According to a study by the Kommalpha agency, about four fifths of assets under management in ETF funds in Germany come from institutional investors. A survey of 122 of them finds that 70% expect this type of product to grow in volume in the coming months and years. However, about 90% of respondents are less than 20% invested in ETFs, which could represent an area of considerable growth. According to data from Deutsche Börse, in Germany there are currently 463 ETF funds with assets of EUR90.06bn, while the average per fund comes to EUR194.51m, which is lower than the average observed in the United States, but much higher than the European average. The category with the largest number of products is sectoral ETF funds, with 97 products, but assets in these funds average only EUR49.34m. Management fees average 0.38% with a low of 0.15% for money market and Pfandbriefe ETFs, and a high of 0.70% for alternative ETFs.

Private bank Clariden Leu (Credit Suisse group) has pleased many clients by registering its range of funds domiciled in Guernsey in Luxembourg. Previously, only 4 funds were registered in the Grand Duchy. Funds People reports that the move will allow the bank to increase its range of products on offer in Spain, where 13 Clariden Leu funds are registered with the CNMV: there are plans to register 10 more in the next few months, including Asia, Europe, United States, Eastern Europe and Latin America equities funds. Clariden Leu manages about USD20bn in its funds, and its range includes about 80 products.

Alors que la BCE tient jeudi une réunion très attendue, les gérants privilégient un long statu quo

Un éventuel durcissement de ton de la part de la BCE et de la BoE jeudi prochain pourrait toutefois changer la donne en 2010

Les gérants sont un peu moins nombreux à surpondérer les obligations d’entreprises. Mais leurs fonds sont toujours quasi intégralement investis

Les gestions se sont très légèrement renforcées sur les actions et demeurent à «surpondérer». Sur le crédit leur position reste « neutre »

Le retour à 2.960 points puis une hausse jusqu’à 3.170 points restent les objectifs pour la fin 2009 ou le début 2010

Les gestions ont légèrement revu à la baisse leurs anticipations sur les marchés parisiens et japonais. La volatilité reprend sur les actions

Gartmore a augmenté la capacité du fonds European Absolute Return de Roger Guy et Guillaume Rambourg à hauteur de 78 millions de livres, rapporte Citywire. Sa capacité totale est de 374 millions de livres.

Jeudi, Standard Life Investments (SLI) a annoncé le lancement prochain d’un fonds fermé à cinq ans, le Standard Life Investments Property Recovery Fund LPI, qui aura pour vocation de miser sur la reprise du marché immobilier commercial pan-européen. La souscription minimale sera de 5.000 livres.Le fonds, géré par Will Fulton, visara une performance nette d’impôts et de frais de 12 % en annualisé. SLI vise une collecte de 75 millions de livres et un inverstissement brut de 180 millions de livres en tenant compte de l’effet de levier.

Henderson New Star a indiqué que les plates-formes d’administration de Henderson et de New Star vont être fusionnées au début du deuxième trimestre 2010, ce qui se traduira par une réduction du nombre de fonds de la marque fusionnée, rapporte Investment Week.

Le gestionnaire londonien de hedge funds Trafalgar Capital Management a annoncé le recrutement comme associé et gérant de portefeuille senior de Josh Jacobson, qui était également associé et gérant de portefeuille senior chez Cheyne Capital, indique Hedge Week. L’intéressé gérait notamment un portefeuille acheteur/vendeur d’actions européennes pour le Cheyne Value Fund. Chez son nouvel employeur, il participera à la gestion du Trafalgar Trading Fund aux côtés du fondateur et CEO Chris Aarons ainsi que d’Arjuna Gamage.

D’après les calculs de VDOS Stochastics, l’encours au 20 novembre des fonds commercialisés en Espagne a augmenté de 0,2 % ou de 343 millions d’euros depuis le début du mois. C’est le résultat d’un effet de marché positif de 723 millions d’euros et de remboursements nets de 380 millions d’euros imputables à l’arrivée à échéance de certains fonds garantis, rapporte Funds People. Depuis le début de l’année, l’encours total a baissé de 1,9 % à 170,68 milliards d’euros.

«Alors qu’elle n’intéressait pratiquement pas les investisseurs en gestion alternative en 2008, la transparence est désormais au cœur de leurs préoccupations ", estime Hakim Bendriss, responsable du marché français de Man Investments, société de gestion spécialisée dans l’alternatif. Ce besoin, révélé par la crise et l’affaire Madoff, concerne à la fois les actifs (liquidité, sécurité et affectation) et l’activité (manière dont les activités de fonds alternatifs elles-mêmes sont gérées). Pour Hakim Bendriss, «il est important que les investisseurs comprennent ce dans quoi ils investissent, et qu’il n’y ait pas une inadéquation entre les attentes et la réalité». En plus de favoriser une plus grande communication avec les investisseurs, cette exigence de transparence entraîne le développement des comptes gérés (ou managed accounts) et des Ucits III. Man Investments mise surtout sur les comptes gérés, qui suscitent un grand intérêt de la part de ses investisseurs. Il ne s’agit pas d’une activité nouvelle pour la société de gestion, puisque sa plate-forme de managed accounts a 12 ans. Mais aujourd’hui, cette activité grossit très vite, et est passée de 4 à 6 milliards de dollars d’encours en six mois à fin septembre 2009. Et s’il y a quelques temps, seulement un tiers des gérants de hedge funds acceptaient de faire du managed accounts, Pierre-Yves Moix, chief risk officer de Man Investments, estime que plus de la moitié sont désormais prêts à le faire. La crise a aussi encouragé Man Investments à se réorganiser, et notamment à renforcer le pôle gestion des risques. Un aspect important dans la multigestion alternative, comme le souligne Philippe Gougenheim, plus de 50 % des hedge funds qui ont dû fermer l’ont fait pour des problèmes opérationnels. «En 10 ans, nous sommes passés d’une simple équipe quantitative à un système multidimensionnel, composé notamment d’un service juridique, d’une équipe en charge de la due diligence, d’une équipe chargée de l'évaluation du risque», explique Pierre-Yves Moix. Ce dernier a par ailleurs déclaré que Man Investments, dont les encours ressortent à environ 44 milliards de dollars, envisageait éventuellement une acquisition dans la gestion alternative directe.

Le BNY Mellon Brazil Equity Fund, un produit de droit irlandais, atteignait fin octobre 226,59 millions de dollars contre 174,9 millions fin septembre et les souscriptions nettes depuis le début de l'année ont porté sur 155,74 millions de dollars. Ce fonds lancé le 31 août 2007 utilise comme indice de référence le MSCI Brazil 10/40, mais le gérant Rogerio Poppe ne se prive pas de sortir de ce cadre rigide parce que, comme l'explique Alexander Gorra, associé et directeur de l'international de la société de gestion BNY Mellon Arx (plus de 5 milliards de dollars d'encours), les pondérations sont