Recherche
S'abonner
Connexion
Asset Management
Accueil Asset Management Actualités
04/02/2009

United Kingdom - Deutsche Bank launches a 130/30 fund

Deutsche Bank announced on Tuesday that it has raised EUR90m for the DB Platinum IV CROCI Global 130/30, which complies with the UCITS III directive and was launched on 19 January. Now that last week’s soft launch has proven successful, the product is also being made available to retail investors in European countries (the fund also has a class of institutional shares). The fund replicates the Deutsche Bank CROCI Global 10/30 index (CROCI stands for Cash Return on Capital Invested), and focuses on the 200 shares (excluding the financial sector) which have the strongest capitalisations on the US, European and Japanese markets.Management commission for the institutional shares is 1%, and fees total 1.16%.
04/02/2009

World - Threadneedle forms strategic partnership with StanChart

Threadneedle announced on Tuesday that it has acquired the World Express range of funds, which at the end of December had assets totalling USD2.7bn, from Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart). The transaction increases the number of Threadneedle Luxembourg sub-funds to 35, including already existing funds.Threadneedle (GBP51bn in assets) has also signed a distribution agreement with StanChart, by the terms of which the manager becomes the strategic partner and global provider of funds for the bank in Asia and Europe. StanChart has 1,700 offices in 70 countries.
04/02/2009

Spain - Hedge funds trim sails in stormy conditions

The fund of hedge funds Consulnor Multigestión Alternativa has become the most recent Spanish hedge fund to announce that it will be closing, Cinco Días reports. Santander, Bankinter, Barclays, UBS and Próxima Alfa (BBVA) have all decided to close their Spanish-registered hedge funds or funds of hedge funds. Since October, seven of these products have been liquidated. At the end of December, assets in hedge funds totalled EUR459.7bn, and funds of hedge funds had EUR917.6m, or 0.8% of total assets in funds on sale in Spain overall. The average losses in 2008 were 11.9% for the former, and 15% for the latter.Valorica and Cygnus are two managers which have nonetheless posted enviable performance: the Valorica Global fund gained 11.8% in 2008, while the Cygnus Long Short Utilities Paneuropas gained 5.3%.There are also new products being created; Epsilon will soon launch a fund of hedge fund entitled Brightgate Capital.
04/02/2009

Germany - Ice age for real estate funds

Of the twelve real estate funds which froze redemptions at the end of October, only the DEGI International and the Focus Nordic Cities are opening their windows back up this season. The other products, representing total assets of EUR30bn, or one third of the total market, remain frozen, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. Management firms claim they are planning to reopen their funds as soon as possible. But it is also possible that some of them will extend the redemption freeze for another year, until October 2010.
04/02/2009

United States - JPMorgan chief lets fly at politicians

At a conference on Tuesday in New York, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, declared that politicians should not lump all banks together when they criticise pay scales, and that they should distinguish between well-managed and troubled institutions, the Financial Times reports, citing Bloomberg.
04/02/2009

United States - UBS wants to sell PaineWebber

The Wall Street Journal reports that UBS is looking to sell its wealth management activity in the United States, PaineWebber. The Swiss bank was in negotiations last year with Morgan Stanley and Wachovia Securities over a possible deal. UBS is reported to have approached other major American banks.
04/02/2009

World - Madoff: 3 million victims worldwide

The Spanish law firm Cremades & Calvo Sotelo, which is already working with thirty of its counterparts in 25 countries in relation to the Madoff affair, argues that the fraud calls for a global response. It will hold a conference on 17th February in Madrid with 50 firms to co-ordinate their actions. According to the law firm’s estimates, ?the fraud exceds USD50bn, and the number of people affected is about 3 million.?
04/02/2009

World - Private equity must adapt or die

At a conference in Berlin on Tuesday, Henry Kravis, one of the best-known executives in private equity, declared that his sector will have to adapt, or it is in danger of disappearing in the context of the current crisis, the Financial Times reports.
04/02/2009

United States - TPG calls off plans of stake sale

The Financial Times reports that TPG has broken off talks to sell a stake in itself to investors, including the Kuwait Investment Authority and two California pension funds. The talks, which lasted two years, broke down over the valuation of the venture capital firm. TPG is reported to have abandoned all plans to launch an IPO, the FT says.
04/02/2009

United States - Dan Och Invests in his own company

Daniel Och, the CEO of Och-Ziff Capital Management Group has purchased about 1.57m class A shares of the company for USD7.1m between November 13th and January 29th, The Wall Street Journal reports. He presently own about 2.12% of the alternative fund manager’s class A shares but anyway controls the company through a special class of supervoting shares.
04/02/2009

United Kingdom - Deka invests in Enfield

The German management firm Deka Immobilien has announced that it has invested EUR73m in a logistical centre with 58,000 square metres of storage space and 6,300 square metres of office space in Enfield, 25 kilometres from the centre of London. The property, which will be added to the portfolio of the Deka-ImmobilienEuropa fund (EUR7.3bn), is leased in its entirety to Sainsbury’s Supermarket Ltd.
04/02/2009

United Kingdom - RAB Capital sells Northwest to management

RAB Capital has announced that it is selling the Northwest brand to George Philips and David Rogers, who directed the firm and manage three funds specialised in Asia, Northwest Fund Limited, Northwest China Opportunities Fund Limited and Northwest Warrant Fund Limited, whose assets at the time the transaction is to be completed (on 2 April) are expected to total about USD300m, on the basis of assets under management as of 31 December and redemptions already requested. The sale price of the firm is GBP1m in cash. In addition, Philips and Rogers agree not to receive 6.7 million ordinary shares in RAB Capital out of the 13.4 million shares which were pledged to be issued when Northwest was acquired by RAB Capital. These 6.7 million shares will be used for employee incentives within the group.On a proforma basis, Northwest’s activities that have been sold back to its principals are estimated to have generated pre-tax profits of GBP9m in 2007 and are expected to post a loss in 2008.
04/02/2009

United States - Record institutional inflows for SEI

SEI announced on Tuesday that last year it registered a record GBP4.8bn in commitments from 35 new institutional clients, bringing the total to GBP9.6bn in the past 24 months. Among the firm’s new European clients are the Dutch Bpf Meubel and the British Higgins Group PLC Pension & Life Assurance Scheme.
04/02/2009

United Kingdom - Paul Griffiths to transfer to Aberdeen

Until the end of June, Paul Griffiths will remain global head of fixed income at the asset management division of Credit Suisse. Then, he will move to the same position at Aberdeen Asset Management in London, where he will also be a member of the management board, Professional Pensions reports. Griffiths will succeed Gary Bartlett, who will be leaving Aberdeen. In the interim, the position will be occupied by Anne Richards, chief investment officer at Aberdeen.
04/02/2009

Germany - Equities funds are only interesting after 25 years of performance history

According to the most recent statistics from the German BVI association of management firms, recent statistics suggest that these firms need 25 years to prove that German equities funds provide better performance than products specialised in other asset classes, Die Welt reports. Subscribers to bond funds in Euros or real estate funds in the past ten years have earned an average performance of 2.8%, while investors in German or global equities funds have lost an average of 3.4% or 8.1%. On 20 years, conservative and even boring products such as money markets have produced higher performance than equities funds.
04/02/2009

France - Paris Europlace seeks to develop Islamic finance market further

The commission at Paris Europlace dedicated to Islamic finance has issued an action plan for 2009 with eight points which would favour the development of Islamic finance in France. The French government has already passed measures in the past six months which aim to make the country a ?hub for Islamic finance in Europe,? and to make it ?at least as competitive, or even more competitive? than London in this area, particularly due to the access it offers to the Euro zone. Among the measures suggested are the ability to issue French-registered sukuks and to extend leasing laws to include retail clients, particularly on residential properties (ijara). Paris Europlace is also seeking to develop a special sub-market for the listing of sukuks and other indexed bonds on Euronext Paris, and to create a Sharia index similar to the Dow Jones or Footsie products in this area, to allow for the creation of mutual funds which invest in publicly traded Sharia-compliant shares on Euronext Paris.
04/02/2009

Germany - HSBC Investments has Madoff mail

Six German investment specialists have jointly sent an open letter to HSBC Investments on the subject of the Madoff scandal. BCA, Fondskonzept, netfonds, Top Ten, Carat Fonds Service, and Jung, DMS are asking HSBC Investments Germany to intervene at sister companies of Madoff in Luxembourg and Ireland for which they are responsible as fund depository, including the Thema and US Absolute Return funds, to prevent the fire from spreading to the entire European management sector. The signatories of the letter add that if the results of the move are not satisfactory, HSBC should warn all investors, financial advisers, wealth managers and fund of fund managers that HSBC is not in a position to provide adequate services as a depository bank, which would run the risk of triggering a wave of redemptions from HSBC securities funds on sale in Germany and Austria.
04/02/2009

France - Fitch to discontinue ratings of OFI and ADI

Fitch Ratings has withdrawn its ratings of OFI Asset Management (OFI AM) and ADI Alternative Investments (ADI), particularly the CDO Asset Manager rating of CAM2 for OFI AM’s structured management activities, its Asset Manager rating of M3 for OFI AM, and the Asset Manager rating of M3 for ADI.?The ratings of OFI AM and ADI are withdrawn as the agency no longer had information on the firms, the process of integrating ADI at OFI AM, nor the operational, risk management, and management processes which would make it possible to assign ratings,? says Fitch.
04/02/2009

World - Assets in pension funds fell 18% in 2008

According to a study by International Financial Services London (IFSL), estimated assets in pension funds totalled about USD25trn at the end of last year, down from USD30.4trn twelve months earlier. Exposure to equities contributed to negative performance in most countries. Diversification into alternative asset classes has been shown to have a much higher than expected correlation with equities in a sell-off environment on the markets. Meanwhile, assets in countries where pension funds are required to invest a large proportion of their assets in local government bonds have been the best protected.In virtually all countries, funds saw nominal losses in the first ten months of 2008, with an average loss of 19% for the countries of the OECD. In the United Kingdom, IFSL explains, losses are limited to 10% due to a reduction in exposure to equities and the depreciation of the pound sterling, which has increased the value of revenues from investments abroad.
04/02/2009

United States - Wealth management: rumours of a UBS/Wachovia merger

Handelsblatt relays reports in the New York Post that UBS is in negotiations with Wachovia to create a joint venture in wealth management, but the two firms have refused to comment. The operation would aim to stem the flow of clients leaving UBS in the United States.Meanwhile, the Swiss group is reportedly seeking to recruit wealth management advisors from Wall Street firms, offering them bonuses corresponding to 250% of their income. By comparison, Merrill Lynch paid bonuses of only 100% to win over employees in its acquisition of Bank of America.
04/02/2009

Spain - Madoff: Most victims may be accepting Santander offer

So far, Santander has not published the percentage of clients involved in the Madoff affair and the Optimal Strategy US Equity fund who have accepted its reimbursement offer, but according to the law firm Cremades & Calvo Sotelo, which represents 800 of these clients, the proportion appears to be high. According to Cinco Días, most victims in Spain will accept the offer.
04/02/2009

United States - Harry Markopolos accuses SEC of ?financial illiteracy?

Harry Markopolos this Wednesday testifies before a committee of the House of Representatives on the Madoff case. His 311-page report was published on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Markopolos, who alerted the regulator about Madoff nearly ten years ago, accuses SEC top brass of not having asked enough questions and of having made insufficient effort to understand derivative instruments which Bernard Madoff said he was using. He accuses them of ?financial illiteracy? and says that he did not contact the FBI since the SEC decided not to pursue the case. The did not go to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) due to its family ties with Madoff.
04/02/2009

United States - Hedge funds post gains in January

According to provisional data from HFR, hedge funds showed an average 1% positive return for January, The Wall Street Journal reports. The BVI Global Fund (Tudor Investment) showed a 2.5% performance while the OZ Master Fund (Och-Ziff Capital Management Group) returned 3.1% and Perry Partners International (Perry Capital) made about 1.3% to Januray 23rd.
04/02/2009

United States - Hedge funds post gains in January

According to provisional data from HFR, hedge funds showed an average 1% positive return for January, The Wall Street Journal reports. The BVI Global Fund (Tudor Investment) showed a 2.5% performance while the OZ Master Fund (Och-Ziff Capital Management Group) returned 3.1% and Perry Partners International (Perry Capital) made avout 1.3% to Januray 23rd.
04/02/2009

France - WCP licensed to manage OPCI funds

Weinberg Capital Partners (WCP) has announced that it has been granted a license by the French financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), to manage OPCI RFA funds (collective real estate investment organisms under the simplified rules of operation), and a license for a first OPCI RFA AL fund (leveraged OPCI RFA). The license allows WCP to make operations with preferential OPCI tax status, on behalf of clients it advises, ?particularly Weinberg Real Estate Partners? - and to go in on ?club deals? with other investors.Laurent Halimi, partner in charge of real estate activities, states that WCP will prioritise ?structured outsourcing operations with owner-occupants, for which the OPCI format presents real advantages.?
04/02/2009

France - FRR reassigns mandates

On 4 July 2008, the French state pension fund, the Fonds de réserve pour les retraites (FRR) launched two restricted calls for tenders, to replace mandates which have reached their term. For Japanese equities (active management of all cap sizes), the FRR ultimately selected Daiwa SB Investments Ltd, DIAM International Ltd and Fidelity Gestion SAS. The mandate is for a term of 4 years (renewable for 1 year), and the indicative size is EUR900m. For management of a portfolio of Asia-Pacific region equities (index-based management of all cap sizes), with an indicative size of EUR600m, the fund has selected Barclays Global Investors.For United States growth shares, Allianz Global Investors France (management outsourced to RCM Capital Management LLC) and ING Investment Management SA have been selected. The mandate is for a 4-year term (renewable for one year), and the indicative size is EUR800m. Lastly, the selection process is continuing for a mandate covering United States value equities.
03/02/2009

Etats-Unis - Harry Markopoulos va suggérer des améliorations à la SEC

Harry Markopoulos, l’homme qui dit avoir alerté depuis longtemps la SEC au sujet de la fraude Madoff, sera auditionné ce mois-ci par le Congrès pour présenter ses recommandations en vue d’améliorer le fonctionnement de la SEC, indique The Wall Street Journal. Il suggérera de créer un service acceptant les renseignements fournis par les «whistleblowers», comme le fait le fisc (Internal Revenue Service). Il préconisera aussi que la SEC transfère davantage d’activités à proximité des centres financiers et loin de Washington.
03/02/2009

Etats-Unis - La bad bank se fait attendre

Selon La Tribune, la mise en place d"une «bad bank» destinée cantonner les actifs toxiques des banques, traîne aux États-Unis. Du coup, le cours des banques a fortement chuté partout dans le monde, Société Générale, BNP Paribas UBS et Deutsche Bank reculant fortement lors de la séance du lundi 2 février.

Sujets d'actualité

Tous les sujets