Selon Mutual Fund Wire, le gestionnaire d’ETF Invesco PowerShares a annoncé lundi à ses clients que son chairman & CEO Bruce Bond renonce à son poste de CEO au profit de Ben Fulton, executive vice president chargé du développement de produits. Bruce Bond restera chairman. Il avait fondé PowerShares en 2003 puis vendu la société à Invesco en 2005.

Des dirigeants du California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) ont indiqué que le portefeuille immobilier du fonds de pension a subi au deuxième trimestre une perte de 4,2 milliards de dollars, l’encours ressortant fin juin à 13,4 milliards de dollars, rapporte IPE Real Estate. Il semble qu’une large majorité des moins-values concerne des investissements réalisés en 2005 et 2006 lorsque le marché de l’immobilier était à son pic.Récemment, le «board» a cependant maintenu la poche immobilières à 10 % de l’encours ; dès lors CalPERS ne se désengagera pas du secteur mais pourrait être amené à redistribuer les mandats de gestion. Cela pourrait concerner LaSalle Investment Management, MacFarlane Partners, Miller Capital Advisory, BlackRock et Hines, qui ont tous géré des fonds dont l’encours a très fortement diminué en avril-juin.

La Deutsche Börse a annoncé lundi l’admission à la négociation sur le segment XTF de sa plate-forme électronique Xetra de sept ETF d’actions de droit luxembourgeois lancés par UBS, qui répliquent tous des indices de la gamme MSCI.Deux sont assortis d’une commission de 0,18 %, le UBS-ETF MSCI USA I et le UBS-ETF MSCI Europe I. Le UBS-ETF MSCI World I facture 0,25 % de frais, pendant que le UBS-ETF MSCI Europe est chargé à 0,30 % et le UBS-ETF MSCI EMU Values à 0,35 %. Enfin, le UBS-ETF MSCI Pacific ex Japan comporte une commission de 0,40 % et le UBS-ETF MSCI Canada est assorti d’une commission de 0,45 %.Désormais, la cote du XTF compte 525 ETF.

L’agence Fitch Ratings a confirmé lundi la note de gestionnaire d’actifs M2 attribuée à SEB Investment GmbH (SEB AM) pour ses activités dans le domaine immobilier basées à Francfort. Cette note tient compte de l’affaiblissement de la situation bénéficiaire de SEB AM à cause de la crise, de la concentration de sa base de clientèle en Allemagne et, d’une manière plus générale, du besoin pour la société de trouver de nouveaux relais de croissance, principalement par une diversification de sa base de clientèle en direction des investisseurs institutionnels et étrangers.Fitch note aussi qu’après la réouverture aux remboursements du SEB ImmoInvest en mai, les sorties nettes ont atteint 500 millions d’euros mais que depuis août le fonds a constamment enregistré des souscriptions nettes.Enfin, l’agence de notation souligne qu’en raison à la fois de la baisse de l’encours et de la forte diminution des commissions de transactions immobilières, SEB AM affichera probablement pour 2009 un bénéfice d’exploitation réduit de moitié par rapport à celui de 2008.

La Tribune.fr reports that the liquidator of the disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, Irving Picard, has asked a judge to approve an invoice for USD22m from him and his law firm, Baker & Hostetler.

ING Investment Management Europe announced that it has appointed Michel van Elk CEO of ING Investment Management Europe. Michel van Elk succeeds Gilbert Van Hassel, who has taken on the role of global CEO ING Investment Management. Michel van Elk is currently Chief Marketing Officer at ING Investment Management Europe. Earlier this year ING announced that it is combining its regional investment management businesses and its real estate investment management business to form a leading global asset manager. The combined business has around EUR 400 billion in assets under management.

L’Echo reports that Fidelity International has announced that it now holds a 2.90% stake in Fortis Holding.

UBS Global Asset Management has put its managing directors Barbara Grunewald and Charlie Service in charge of an investment strategy advisory team, which will provide pension funds with solutions for the full range of risk and/or fiduciary management needs, Professional Pensions reports. The new service will include conception of investment policy, alternative management within the portfolio as a whole, analysis of risk for individual or multiple asset classes, and tactical global asset allocation.

Les Echos reports that the first hearings will be held today and tomorrow in a lawsuit that pits clients who lost money in the Luxalpha Sicav, which had ties to the Madoff fraud, against UBS entities which served as the depository, manager, and promoter of the Sicav fund. UBS has previously held out well in legal battles related to the fund, and this is not expected to change drastically. Investors’ case may ultimately run aground on the question of whether the courts are to recognize their status as shareholders. UBS maintains that only shareholders listed on the Luxalpha register are qualified to bring suit. Some of these registered shareholders are none other than the French financial establishments which served as market-makers and custodians under French law, by which they only hold shares on behalf of their clients, and do not hold the rights of ordinary shareholders under any circumstances. Despite all the efforts of these firms to obtain recognition from the regulators and liquidators responsible for the Luxalpha, they have not been successful in gaining recognition from them as shareholders.

Fitch Ratings on Monday confirmed its asset manager rating of M2 for SEB Investment GmbH (SEB AM), for its real estate management activities based in Frankfurt. The rating takes into account the weaker profits at SEB AM due to the crisis, the concentration of its client base in Germany, and more generally, a need for the firm to find new areas for growth, particularly through a diversification of its client base in the direction of foreign and institutional investors. Fitch also notes that since the reopening of redemptions for the SEB ImmoInvest fund in May, net outflows have totalled EUR500m, but since August, the fund has consistently posted net subscriptions. Lastly, the ratings agency points out that due to falling assets and a heavy decline in commissions from real estate transactions, SEB AM will probably post operating profits half as high as those it earned in 2008.

Trustees of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) have announced that the pension fund’s real estate portfolio in second quarter lost USD4.2bn, bringing assets as of the end of June to Usd13.4bn, IPE Real Estate reports. It would appear that a large majority of losses are from investments made in 2005 and 2006, when the real estate market was at its peak. Recently, the board has maintained its allocation to real estate at 10% of assets; CalPERS has no plans to withdraw from the sector, but it may redistribute some management mandates. These changes may affect LaSalle Investment Management, MacFarlane Partners, Miller Capital Advisory, BlackRock and Hines, all of which manage funds whose assets declined heavily in April-June.

Mutual Fund Wire reports that the ETF management firm Invesco PowerShares informed its clients on Monday that its chairman & CEO Bruce Bond has left his job as CEO to Ben Fulton, executive vice president in charge of product development. Bond will remain chairman. He founded PowerShares in 2003, and then sold the firm to Invesco in 2005.

Credit Suisse has appointed Enrico Camerini as head of Xmtch, its ETF platform, for Italy, Bluerating reports. He will be in charge of developing the Xmtch ETF portfolio after his arrival at Credit Suisse. He is currently head of the Advisory & Trading desk for Italy at UniCredit HVB.

The Canadian firm Manulife Financial has announced that it has acquired a 49% stake in ABN Amro TEDA Fund Management from BNP Paribas for EUR105m, far less than the EUR165m which Old Mutual offered for the stake last year. For BNP Paribas, the sale is an opportunity to reduce the number of investments on its books that do not comply with local legislation from three to two; it now has to choose which investment it will retain between a 49% stake in Fortis Haitong and a 33% stake in SYWG BNP Paribas, Z-Ben Advisors reports. The agency advised Manulife in the operation, which valued ABN Amro TEDA at CNY2.18bn, or 8.39% of average assets of CNY25.9bn. This is certainly high by international standards, but the price is close to the 8.6% paid by Generali for a 30% stake in guotai Asset Management, and the 7.8% paid by Bosera Fund Management. Old Mutual had offered the equivalent of 16.38% of assets.

A rebound on commercial real estate markets in Europe is already triggering concerns that the market may be overheating in some cities, Financial Times Fund Management warns. Management firms such as Hermes and Threadneedle are taking measures to limit subscriptions, after significant inflows. And although values on the commercial real estate markets in the United Kingdom have fallen 45% from their peaks, some are worried that top-shelf properties, particularly in central London and Paris, may already be at the high end of their appropriate valuation ranges, FT FM notes.

According to statistics established by Lipper FMI for Responsible Investor, net susbcriptions to SRI funds in Europe declined to EUR47.2m, from EUR822.3m in July, and EUR760.7m in June. The top 20 SRI funds all posted net inflows, but other management firms nearly all suffered net redemptions. As of the end of August, total assets in SRI funds totalled EUR47.62bn. Four of these funds, all of them registered in France, posted assets under management of over EUR1bn. They were: Allianz Securicash SRI, EUR2,93bn, SGAM Invest Monetaire ISR, EUR1,7bn, AGF Valeurs Durables (C) , EUR1,06bn and BNP Paribas Moné Etheis, EUR1,03bn.

More than half of European hedge fund firms are planning to launch onshore, UCITS III-compliant versions of their strategies, or have already done so, according to HedgeFund Intelligence, cited by Financial Times Fund Management. One fifth of European hedge fund management firms have launched, or are launching, an UCITS III product. Another third is planning to do so, the weekly news magazine reports.

At a second visit to Paris following a first visit in May, Edwin Lugo, senior portfolio manager at Franklin Global Advisers, announced on Monday that assets under management by the small caps team had risen to USD500m, from USD150m six months earlier. For the Franklin European Small-Cap Growth Fund from the Luxembourg Sicav FTIF, assets under management rose from EUR30m to EUR135m, while assets in the European Growth Fund rose to EUR90m from EUR17m. This strong increase in assets is only partially due to positive market effects, with respective returns of 42.25% and 38.78% in the first nine months of the year: net subscriptions were also very high. The two funds apply the same strategy, with a 3-5 year investment horizon for a bottom-up conviction portfolio of 25-45 positions and a low turnover rate (25-50%). As a matter of principle, the management team follows the most pessimistic scenario in its projections, and equities which are included in the portfolio must show potential for a minimum of 10% returns per year.

The manager of the international fund Standard Life Investments announced on 23 November that assets under management in the European Corporate Bond Fund from the management firm had topped EUR1bn. The fund aims to outperform the European credit markets by investing in a wide range of investment grade-rated corporate bonds. The fund has outperformed its benchmark, the iBoxx European Corporate Bond, on one, three and five years.

Jupiter Unit Trust Managers Ltd is to offer investors in the Jupiter Financial Opportunities Fund the ability to switch some or all of their investment into one or both of the new UCITS III funds being launched for Philip Gibbs in December - Jupiter Absolute Return and Jupiter International Financials. This facility will not incur the usual switching costs. The Jupiter Absolute Return Fund will seek to generate an absolute return independent of market conditions by investing on a global basis. It will be managed in a similar style to Philip’s hedge fund, albeit with the aim of less leverage and lower volatility. The Jupiter International Financials Fund will seek to achieve long term capital growth principally through investing in financial companies on an international basis.

With the release of seven new products on the NASDAQ, Vanguard has doubled the number of ETF bond funds it offers in one fell swoop. The funds all charge 0.15% commissions. They are: Name of ETF fund Barclays Capital index Vanguard Short-Term Government Bond Index Fund (VGSH) U.S. 1–3 Year Government Float Adjusted Index Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond Index Fund (VGIT) U.S. 3–10 Year Government Float Adjusted Index Vanguard Long-Term Government Bond Index Fund (VGLT) U.S. Long Government Float Adjusted Index Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund (VCSH) U.S. 1–5 Year Corporate Index Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund (VCIT) U.S. 5–10 Year Corporate Index Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund (VCLT) U.S.Long Corporate Index Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities Index Fund(VMBS) U.S. MBS Float Adjusted Index Vanguard states that the ETFs have posted net subscriptions of USD21bn in the first ten months of the year, during which time assets increased by nearly 95% to a total of EUR78bn as of 31 October. In total, assets under management by Vanguard in mutual funds (including ETFs) saw net inflows of USD85bn this year, bringing total assets as of the end of October to USD1.3trn, of which USD600bn are in tracker funds.

Les Echos reports that Rio Tinto is in negotiations to sell its Alcan manufacturing arm, which has about 10,000 employees. An exclusive agreement has been signed with the Apollo fund, a source familiar with the matter says. The Strategic Investment Fund (FSI) is planning to participate in the transaction, with an investment in 10% of capital in Alcan Engineered Products, a firm which includes some of the former Pechiney factories, which make aluminium parts for aviation, defence, automotive, and other industries.

The Sturgeon Fund, a hedge fund focused on central Asia, which has been managed since 2006 by Clemente Capello, has selected BNY Mellon Alternative Investment Services as its international custodian. The Sturgeon Fund states that the decision is part of a modernisation plan which also includes the opening of a London office, registration with the FSA, and a move of the investment manager’s domicile from the Cayman Islands to Malta.

Deutsche Börse announced on Monday that it has added seven new Luxembourg-registered equities ETF products from UBS to trading on the XTF segment of its electronic Xetra platform, which replicate all the indices of hte MSCI range. Two of the funds carry commissions of 0.18%, namely, the UBS-ETF MSCI USA I and the UBS-ETF MSCI Europe I. The UBS-ETF MSCI World I charges 0.25% fees, while the UBS-ETF MSCI Europe carried a 0.30% fee, and the UBS-ETF MSCI EMU Values charges 0.35%. Lastly, the UBS-ETF MSCI Pacific ex Japan carries a 0.40% commission, and the UBS-ETF MSCI Canada charges a 0.45% commission. The XTF segment now lists 525 ETF funds.

Nearly 80% of institutional investors estimate that the commissions charged by hedge funds are too high, according to the 2010 edition of the Preqin Hedge Fund Investor Review. HedgeWeek reports that in the past few months, several major investors in hedge funds, including CalPERS, have publically called on hedge fund managers to revise their management fees and their performance commissions. Preqin states that only 24% of institutional investors estimate that hedge fund management fees are justified at their current levels. About 60% of institutionals say that fees are too high, while 17% say that they remain too high despite having been lowered already. About one in two institutional investors has sought to renegotiate commissions, and of these, 62% were successful in their efforts. However, 72% of institutionals are satisfied with the performance hedge funds earned in 2009, compared with 62% in 2008. And 29% of institutional investors are planning to increase their investments in hedge funds in 2010, while 51% are planning to maintain their exposure at current levels, and 20% are planning to reduce their exposure.

Les émetteurs périphériques, à l'image de la Grèce, suscitent un regain de défiance

Des raisons techniques empêcheront les indices de se resserrer fortement d’ici la fin d’année. Le rebond prévu en 2010 n’est pas sans risque

Les investisseurs diversifiant leurs portefeuilles grâce à cette classe d’actifs, les flux atteindront un niveau record cette année

Le 9 novembre, l’AMF a décerné son agrément de distribution au compartiment US High Yield de la sicav luxembourgeoise Pictet Funds dont le groupe helvétique a confié la gestion à Metropolitan West Asset Management (MetWest), un gestionnaire californien créé par des transfuges de Pimco qui affiche 28 milliards de dollars d’encours, dont 2 milliards en «high yield» américain.Alexandre Ris, directeur produits obligataires, explique que Pictet Funds en Suisse a commencé d'étudier cette classe d’actifs en juin 2008 puis fait tourner un portefeuille interne délégué à un gestionnaire extérieur. En juin 2009, après l’habituelle phase de «due diligence», le groupe a retenu MetWest, dont la philosophie de gestion, l’approche, la performance et la structure d’entreprise lui convenaient le mieux. Cerise sur le gâteau, le gestionnaire sélectionné n’avait pas d’activité hors des Etats-Unis. MetWest est donc devenu, après Westwood, Sectoral AM et Waddel & Reed la quatrième boutique spécialisée sélectionnée par Pictet pour assurer une gestion que le groupe helvétique ne maîtrisait pas.Laird R. Landmann, managing director et associé de MetWest, souligne que MetWest a désormais pratiquement reprofilé à sa guise le portefeuille de 300 millions de dollars qui lui a été confié par Pictet, en enlevant du risque tout en conservant la même performance (46,78 % depuis le début de l’année, en dollars) que son prédécesseur.Un processus empreint de prudenceRésumant le processus de gestion, qui combine les approches macro-économique (top-down) et de sélection de valeurs (bottom-up), Laird Landmann souligne que «tous les high yield ne sont pas nés égaux» et que le taux de défaut du portefeuille se situe à peu près un tiers de celui du marché, parce que MetWest a pour principe de ne jamais prendre une dose de risque excessive. De plus, s’il est important de maintenir les défauts au niveau le plus bas possible, il est encore plus important de minimiser les pertes potentielles. Aussi l'équipe de gestion s’attache-t-elle à sélectionner les titres en fonction de trois critères : le degré de protection offert par la valeur, les actifs réels qui nantissent l’obligation choisie et la liquidité.Dans ce contexte, MetWest s’appuie pour construire le portefeuille d’une centaine de lignes avec un taux de rotation plutôt faible (entre 30-40 % en phase de calme et un peu plus de 75 % en période très active) en fonction de son propre système et de sa propre grille de notation, l’objectif étant d’obtenir une performance constante, même si le fonds sous-performe logiquement en période de marchés particulièrement euphoriques.Dans l’environnement économique présent, le portefeuille est surpondéré dans les domaines des services publics et des télécommunications et sous-pondéré dans celui des biens de consommation.Le Pictet Funds (Lux) US High Yield utilise comme indice de référence le Barclays Capital US High Yiels 2% Cap et comporte des parts couvertes du risque de change. La commission de gestion pour la part retail se situe à 1,10 %.

Lundi matin, la Banque Sarasin a rejeté dans un communiqué les allégations du magazine allemand Focus selon lesquelles l'établissement suisse aurait subrepticement acheté des actions de Douglas Holding pour le compte du milliardaire Erwin Müller. La banque rappelle qu’elle a notifié le 22 juillet 2009 à la BaFin et à Douglas le fait qu’elle avait acquis pour compte propre 10,80 % du groupe de distribution.