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28/05/2009

BNPP AM takes over full range of EasyETF products

BNP Paribas Asset Management and BNP Paribas Asset Management Luxembourg on 20 May signed an agreement by which AXA Investment Managers Paris and AXA Funds Management S.A. will transfer to them the operational management of EasyETF trackers of commodities, real estate, sectors, credit, and infrastructure. These include 22 products with total assets of EUR1.3bn as of 30 April 2009. The move ends a partnership which had existed between the entities since 2005. At the conclusion of the transfer, the full range of EasyETF products will be integrated and managed by a single management team at SIGMA, the index-based management, structured products and asset allocation department of BNPP AM. The EasyETF range now includes 55 funds, of which 54 are listed on Euronext Paris, 8 on Deutsche Börse, 2 on the Swiss stock exchange (SWX) and 7 on Borsa Italiana, with total assets under management of EUR3.37bn. The transaction will be completed by the end of 2009, pending approval from the regulatory authorities in France and Luxembourg.
28/05/2009

High subscriptions for corporate bonds at Standish Mellon

Standish Mellon Asset Management, an affiliate of BNY Mellon Asset Management specialised in bonds, has announced that since the beginning of the year, it has posted net subscriptions of over USD1bn from pension and corporate retirement savings funds seeking to position themselves on corporate bonds. Demand is strong for long-term investment grade bonds, which provide a way to protect portfolios against rising liabilities.
28/05/2009

Pershing adds to range on Nexus platform

Credit Suisse Asset Management Funds (UK) Ltd, J O Hambro Capital Management Limited, Legal & General (Unit Trust Managers) Limited, Standard Life Investments (Mutual Funds) Limited, Thames River Multi-Capital LLP, Threadneedle Investment Services Limited and WAY Fund Managers Limited are the seven asset management firms which Pershing Limited, an affiliate of Pershing LLC (The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation group) has added to the Nexus Funds range, an integrated, straight-through processing, no-fee solution available on the Pershing Nexus platform. This brings the number of partnered management firms to 28, and the number of available products to 922.
28/05/2009

Newton recruits a director from Lazard

Susan Gostick, director - institutions at Lazard Asset Management, has joined Newton Investment Management (BNY Mellon Asset Management group) as head of the institutional account management group. Newton currently managed about GBP34bn in assets.
28/05/2009

Skandia adds 8 ETF funds from L&G to Selestia platform

Skandia has announced that it has added eight ETF funds from Legal & General (L&G) to the range of products available on its Selestia Investment Solutions platform, which now carries 900 funds. The new additions are the L&G UK 100 Index Trust, L&G International Index Trust, L&G Ethical Trust, L&G European Index Trust, L&G UK Index Trust, L&G All Stocks Gilt Index Trust et L&G All Stocks Index Linked Gilt Index Trust, as well as the L&G Fixed Interest, which is now also available to the Life & Pensions product range. The L&G All Stocks Gilt Index Trust and the L&G All Stocks Index Linked Gilt Index Trust are the first funds on the Selestia platform to replicate British gilt bond indexes.
28/05/2009

"We provide safe absolute returns"

In an interview with Newsmanagers, Vincent Devlin, director of BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd, explains that the BSF European Absolute Return Strategies Fund, launched on 27 February, is the continuation of a UK fund created in 2005, which has assets of GBP4.3bn, largely due to subscriptions it received in 2008. Now, following the recruitment of seven people from SWIP, BlackRock has sufficient capacity to launch the fund, as the IT platform and risk management were already in place. The product, a long/short concept that complies with the UCITS III directive, has been in internal testing since June 2008, and it will now be placed on sale to outside clients for the first time. It is an equities fund trading in all cap sizes which limits risk in the portfolio (50-100 positions) while keeping exposure way below the limits set out by the directive. “From 12 June 2008 to 30 April 2009, we earned a fictive, and then a real, Sharpe ratio of 1.92,” says Devlin.
28/05/2009

SIG rebalances allocation for Global Best Ideas fund

Skandia Investment Group (SIG) has conducted its annual rebalancing of asset allocation for the Skandia Global Best Ideas fund, which has resulted in a reduction of one percentage point (to 15%) in its exposure to the United States, and a reduction of 0.1% (to 6.4%) for Asia ex Japan. Meanwhile, exposure to the United Kingdom has remained unchanged at 50%, as the product is aimed primarily at British investors. Exposure to Europe ex UK has been increased by 0.5% to 14.5%, while emerging markets have been increased to 9.4% from 9%, and Japan has been increased to 4.7% from 4.5%. Asset allocation is based on global GDP statistics as given by the MSCI AC World GDP Index.
28/05/2009

Richard Pease to manage a special situations fund at Henderson

Henderson Global Investors is planning to launch a European special situations fund, according to reports in Citywire which have been confirmed by the management firm. The fund will be managed by Richard Pease, who was previously at New Star, previous to its acquisition by Henderson. The fund will be more concentrated and flexible than the European Growth fund, currently managed by Pease. It will invest in companies which have undergone a severe market correction, on the basis of fundamental criteria.
28/05/2009

Fitch affirms M2 rating for Metzler AM

On Wednesday, Fitch Ratings confirmed its asset manager rating of M2 for Metzler Asset Management, including the entities Metzler Investment GmbH and Metzler Asset Management GmbH. Among the points which require further monitoring, according to the ratings agency, are the slowdown which is currently affecting the asset management industry in Germany, particularly for retail funds, although Metzler AM has demonstrated its ability to maintain subscription flows in a difficult market environment. Fitch also observes that efforts to diversify into foreign markets, in Asia (China) and Eastern Europe (Russia and the CIS), generate country-specific risks. Investors’ current risk aversion may mean that these efforts to develop outside Germany will need some time to generate returns.
28/05/2009

Surprising underlying assets in ETFs

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the 2008 annual report from db x-trackers, the ETF specialist firm of the Deutsche Bank group, reveals that the ETF fund from the promoter based on the Dax includes 33% Japanese shares, 30% Swiss shares, and also Israeli, Danish and Norwegian shares, while shares of the Dax index represent only about 19% of the total. The same is true of the Dax tracker from Lyxor, about half of which consists of French shares, followed by Italian shares, with 10% Swiss and 10% German shares. This is not against the rules, and the general conditions set out by comstage (Commerzbank) state that the funds may use technical derivatives such as swaps. A precise replication of the Dax would be too costly and would result in disadvantageous tax status in Germany, which explains the fact that for the past eight years, the performance of the iShares product which faithfully replicates the Dax is several percentage points behind the index. Neither iShares nor ETFlab (Deka) are hardline about precise replication of indexes, and ETFlab is planning to offer trackers that rely on swaps in the future.
28/05/2009

Walter Riester appointed to supervisory board at Union AM Holding

Shareholders at the AGM of Union Asset Management Holding AG, the holding company for the asset management firms that make up Union Investment (German co-operative banks), have elected the former German federal minister of labour and social affairs, Walter Riester (after whom the Riester retirement savings plans are named), as a member of its supervisory board. He will begin in his new responsibilities on 1 October.
28/05/2009

Fortress to invest in a retail bank

The Financial Times reports that the private equity and hedge fund firm Fortress Investment Group is about to inject USD800m in fresh capital, in partnership with other investors, into a small retail bank in Florida entitled First Southern. The bank would be a good vehicle for subsequent acquisitions in the banking sector, according to sources close to the operation.
28/05/2009

Pequot hedge fund shuts down

In a letter to clients dated 27 May, the hedge fund manager Arthur J. Samberg announces that he will be closing the Core fund from his management firm, Pequot, and reimbursing investors. The other two funds from the management firm, Matawin and Special Opportunities, will remain active, but will become independent from Pequot. “I am writing to you, our loyal clients and friends, to let you know that I have reached the painful conclusion that it is necessary to wind down Pequot’s business,” Samberg writes. The manager explains that he has been under investigation by the SEC and the US Attorney’s Office for transactions undertaken in 2001 by the Core fund. “Those agencies closed their investigations in 2006 without bringing any charges, but Pequot nonetheless suffered from adverse publicity. In late 2008, the government reopened its investigation. Public disclosures about the continuing investigation have cast a cloud over the firm and have become a source of personal distraction. With the situation increasingly untenable for the firm and for me, I have concluded that Pequot can no longer stay in business as an investment advisor,” the letter explains.
28/05/2009

Majid Al Futtaim Asset Management lance un fonds actions

Majid Al Futtaim Asset Management, le pôle dédié à la gestion d’actifs du groupe éponyme, vient de lancer The Elite Mena Equity Fund, un fonds actions domicilié au Luxembourg centré sur le Moyen Orient et l’Afrique du Nord. Le family office Majid Al Futtaim a doté le fonds d’un montant de 150 millions de dollars, ce qui en fait l’un des plus gros fonds consacré à la zone.
28/05/2009

Des emplettes italiennes pour Danone à confirmer

Selon le quotidien « Il Sole 24 Ore », rapporte la Tribune, le projet d’augmentation de capital de Danone pourrait lui permettre de mettre la main sur son concurrent Parmalat. D’où une nette hausse du cours de l’italien. Il est vrai que les trois milliards d’euros que Danone souhaite lever corresopondent à la capitalisation boursière de Parmalat. Reste que l’opération paraît osée, ajoute le quotidien français. Non seulement l’emission a pour objectif d’abaisser l’endettement et de financer des petites ou moyennes acquisitions du groupe selon ses dirigeants, mais l’acquisition de Parmalat par Danone poserait des problèmes de concurrence en Italie. En cas de non réalisation de l’opération, « Il Sole 24 Ore » indiquait que le groupe Français pourrait s’intéresser à la société Granarolo.
28/05/2009

Des emplettes italiennes pour Danone à confirmer

Selon le quotidien « Il Sole 24 Ore », rapporte la Tribune, le projet d’augmentation de capital de Danone pourrait lui permettre de mettre la main sur son concurrent Parmalat. D’où une nette hausse du cours de l’italien. Il est vrai que les trois milliards que Danone souhaite lever corresopondent peu ou prou à la capitalisation boursière de Parmalat. Reste que l’opération paraît osée, ajoute le quotidien français. Non seulement l’emission a pour objectif d’abaisser l’endettement et de financer des petites ou moyennes acquisitions du groupe selon ses dirigeants, mais l’acquisition de Parmalat par Danone poserait des problèmes de concurrence en Italie. En cas de non réalisation de l’opération, « Il Sole 24 Ore » indiquait que le groupe français pourrait s’intéresser à la société Granarolo.
28/05/2009

La Société Générale attachée au marché russe

En dépit de ses difficultés sur le marché russe, indique la Tribune, la Société Générale persiste et signe et croit à la capacité de rebond de ce dernier, et à ses perspectives de croissance à long terme. Ainsi, rapporte le quotidien, la banque française a augmenté sa participation dans sa filiale locale Rosbank de 7 %. Elle s’élève désormais de 64,7 %. Le prix du bloc d’actions acquis n’a pas été dévoilé. A noter qu’outre Rosbank, l’établissement de la Défense détient déjà une filiale de services financiers spécialisés, Rusfinance, ainsi que BSGV, regroupant les activités de banque de détail de la Société Générale en Russie avant l’acquisition de Rosbank.
28/05/2009
Fonds

Le Banif Inmobiliario avait acheté deux immeubles peu avant de geler les remboursements

Les 20 et 26 janvier, le fonds immobilier Banif Inmobiliario de Santander Real Estate a acheté deux immeubles pour 45,6 millions d’euros alors qu’il a annoncé un gel de ses remboursements le 16 février, en attendant de vendre des actifs pour générer des liquidités, rapporte Expansión.Au moment des achats, le Banif Inmobiliario avait déjà des problèmes de liquidités à cause des importantes demandes de remboursement enregistrées durant la «fenêtre de liquidité» de novembre 2008, demandes qui ont été supérieures à 500 millions d’euros, soit 14 % de son encours.
Fonds
28/05/2009

Luxembourg authorities approve measures adopted by UBS

The Luxembourg financial sector surveillance commission (CSSF) finds that UBS (Luxembourg) “provided evidence and guarantees of having in place the necessary infrastructure and internal organizational rules to comply with injunctions addressed to it in accordance with the professional standards applicable in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,” according to a press statement published on Tuesday by the commission, following a review of a report submitted to it by the bank, concerning “improvements in infrastructure and substantial modifications to internal procedures in the functioning of the depository bank.” The Luxembourg regulator also says in its statement that it will monitor continued respect and practice of the measures adopted by the bank, particularly concerning spot controls. The CSSF also states that UBS Lux is liable to reimburse any claims filed against it in accordance with the obligations of a Luxembourg-registered depository bank.
28/05/2009

Sonja Kohn (ex Bank Medici) accused of money-laundering

According to the Austrian magazine Profil, the Luxembourg office of the public prosecutor in mid-January received allegations that Herald Asset Management Ltd (Cayman Islands), a company with ties to Sonja Kohn, founder of Bank Medici, was involved in money-laundering. Herald, which managed one of the funds controlled by Bernard Madoff, is accused of having made two transfers of EUR11m to a law firm located in Gibraltar, which was a front for Kohn herself.
28/05/2009

Les bonnes idées a minima de la BCE

A en croire les humeurs publiques d’Axel Weber, les dernières décisions de la Banque centrale européenne (BCE) semblent avoir été prises dans la douleur et du bout des lèvres. Quoi qu’il en soit, ce sont deux bonnes idées. Enfin !
27/05/2009

iShares lists five new ETFs in Frankfurt

Deutsche Börse announced on Tuesday that it has admitted five new German-registered iShares ETF products to trading on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform. This brings the number of ETF products listed on Xetra to 450. The five funds have been listed since March on the London Stock Exchange. The new funds include four bond products and one equities ETF. The first of the bond funds, the iShares Barclays Euro Aggregate Bond ETF, carries a management commission of 0.25%. The other three, which charge management commissions of 0.20%, are the iShares Barclays Euro Corporate Bond ETF, the iShares Barclays Euro Treasury Bond 0-1 ETF, and the iShares Citigroup Global Government Bond ETF. The equities fund is the iShares MSCI GCC Countries Ex-Saudi Arabia ETF, which is an addition to the range of emerging markets products, and invests in countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), excepting Saudi Arabia, with a marked preference for the financial sector. Management commission is set at 0.80%.
27/05/2009

Union Investment invests in Zurich

Union Investment Real Estate has invested about EUR104.3m in the West-Park office property in Zurich, measuring 26,900 square metres. The property, which is 94% occupied, will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fune UniImmo: Global. The building is home to the offices of the Swiss post office, Barry Callebaut and BearingPoint. The portfolio of the fund currently represents about EUR2.4bn, invested in properties located in fourteen countries of Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
27/05/2009

SEB launches a real estate fund of funds

SEB Asset Management has launched SEB Real Estate Portfolio, a Luxembourg-registered real estate fund of funds (part II) which has recently been licensed for sale in Sweden. The fund is an innovation on the local market, where open-ended real estate funds did not exist, says Barbara Knoflach, chairman of the board at SEB Asset Management Deutschland, the unit responsible for developing the fund, which manages EUR10bn in real estate assets. The new product, managed by Thorsten Schilling, formerly of Feri Rating & Research, who joined SEB AM in October 2006 as global real estate strategist and fund manager, will follow a defensive strategy. It will invest 60% to 90% of its assets in open-ended real estate funds, up to 20% in shares in real estate companies, and up to 20% in cash. In terms of sector allocation, the SEB Real Estate Portfolio will focus principally on office properties, over commercial and logistical/other properties.
27/05/2009

Consolidation programmée dans la gestion d’actifs

Selon L’Agefi suisse, l’annonce il y a quelques jours par Julius Baer d’une scission de sa gestion d’actifs en une société cotée séparée, GAM Holding, amène les professionnels de l’asset management à revoir leurs scénarios. Car une consolidation est attendue par les experts, jugée même «inévitable » par certains. Fusion ou rachat, un rapprochement devient en effet le dernier moyen pour nombre de sociétés de gestion d’actifs de retrouver la taille critique requise pour être rentable dans ce métier. A côté de Barclays, qui envisage de céder son pôle gestion d’actifs pour quelque 10 milliards de livres, l’intérêt de la banque allemande de gestion privée Sal. Oppenheim pour la gestion d’actifs en Suisse suscite des interrogations.
27/05/2009

Franklin Templeton met désormais en avant la marque Franklin

En France, Franklin Templeton (420 milliards de dollars d’encours) était jusqu'à présent connu essentiellement pour ses fonds Mutual Series et Templeton, avec des biais value, voire deep value. A présent, le gestionnaire américain va s’attacher à faire connaître une autre facette de ses talents, la marque Franklin et Franklin Global Advisors (80,02 milliards de dollars, 60 professionnels de l’investissement) qui était surtout focalisée sur les Etats-Unis.Le CIO en est Edward Jamieson à San Mateo (Californie), assisté de deux directors pour la gestion portefeuille et d’un patron de la recherche mondiale sur les actions. L'état-major comprend également Coleen Barbeau, également directrice pour la gestion de portefeuille, basée à New York et, depuis juin 2007, Uwe Zoellner, qui vient de la partie Templeton (Edimbourg) et que director pour la gestion de portefeuille. La recherche sur les actions européennes emploie actuellement trois personnes, dont deux à Londres, et l’on peut s’attendre que cette équipe atteigne sept personnes d’ici à la fin de cette année, si la situation s’y prête.
27/05/2009
Fonds

Le marché européen des ETF souffre de sa fragmentation

Selon Michael John Lytle, directeur du marketing de Source, interrogé par Le Temps, deux problèmes freinent le développement des ETF en Europe : une grande fragmentation de la liquidité sur les produits, due à la multiplication des ETF sur un même indice, et le risque de contrepartie. Les banques cumulent en effet selon Hector McNeil, managing partner chez ETF Securities, le rôle d'émetteur, de promoteur et de contrepartie. «Mais si elles viennent à rencontrer un problème, le tracker va lui aussi souffrir», souligne-t-il.
Fonds
27/05/2009

La gestion automatisée en question

Selon L’Agefi suisse, les tentatives de se passer des gérants pour faire de la gestion privée restent limitées et peu concluantes. La banque en ligne belge Keytrade a ainsi développé un logiciel d’aide à la décision qui permet de construire un portefeuille en fonction du profil de risque. De son côté, Swissquote a choisi un modèle de type analytique, qui fait intervenir des algorithmes mathématiques sur des séries de données historiques. Les autres acteurs du trading en ligne se montrent plutôt dubitatifs face à ces logiciels d’aide à la décision et préfèrent laisser aux clients le soin de choisir où investir.

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