Pimco laisse Bill Gross aux manettes
Le gestionnaire obligataire doit rassurer après le départ de son directeur général Mohamed El-Erian dans un contexte de forte décollecte en 2013.
La justice conforte les pouvoirs des régulateurs européens
La Grande-Bretagne contestait des dispositions du règlement sur les ventes à découvert qui donnaient des pouvoirs importants à l'Esma
L'Espagne frappe fort sur les marchés
La demande pour la dette périphérique atteint des niveaux exubérants. En témoigne le livre d’ordres de 40 milliards d’euros pour l’emprunt de 10 milliards à 10 ans émis hier par l’Espagne, un record du genre seulement devancé par l'émission inaugurale du FESF, signature supranationale.
La justice conforte les pouvoirs de l'Esma
La Cour de justice de l’Union européenne a rejeté un recours introduit par la Grande-Bretagne contre des dispositions du règlement sur les ventes à découvert. L’arrêt conforte les pouvoirs des autorités européennes telle celle des marchés financiers (Esma) et pourrait faire jurisprudence.
BlackRock ferme un fonds multiclasse d'actifs
BlackRock met de l’ordre dans sa gamme de produits. Le gestionnaire d’actifs américain a décidé de fermer son fond multiclasse d’actifs Active Managed Porfolio, dont les encours ressortent à 11 millions de livres, faute d’avoir atteint la taille critique. Ce véhicule sera définitivement clos à compter du 21 février.
Émergence sélectionne un gérant pour son fonds d'incubation performance absolue
La SICAV Emergence et NewAlpha Asset Management annoncent la signature d’un quatrième partenariat d’incubation avec la société Rcube Asset Management. Grâce aux 30 millions d’euros apportés par Emergence, le fonds Rcube Global Macro UCITS atteindra dès son lancement le 31 janvier 2014 un encours sous gestion qui lui permettra de répondre aux exigences des investisseurs institutionnels. Agréé par la Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), le fonds Rcube Global Macro UCITS[1] met en ??uvre une stratégie d’investissement global macro sur l’ensemble des classes d’actifs hors matières premières, uniquement à travers des instruments liquides. Créée en 2010, la société Rcube fournit des analyses et des conseils d’investissement à une clientèle sophistiquée d’investisseurs institutionnels, et de gérants de hedge funds, nord-américains et européens. A la demande de nombreux clients institutionnels, les fondateurs, Cyril Castelli, Paul Buigues et Stéphane Alloiteau, ont décidé en 2013 de transformer Rcube en société de gestion afin de mettre en ??uvre eux-mêmes leur processus d’investissement dans leurs propres fonds. Au-delà de la performance financière attendue par tout investisseur, NewAlpha et Emergence souhaitent avant tout contribuer à la reconnaissance, en France et à l'étranger, de l’expertise unique des jeunes sociétés de gestion françaises innovantes, notamment dans le domaine de la gestion quantitative.
L'Espagne rencontre une demande énorme pour sa dette
La syndication du nouvel emprunt de référence à 10 ans du Royaume d’Espagne a rencontré mercredi un succès dans des proportions rarement vues. Le livre d’ordres aurait atteint 40 milliards d’euros, après avoir attiré 22 milliards immédiatement après son ouverture, selon des sources de marchés. Cette demande a permis au souverain de fixer à 10 milliards d’euros le montant de son émission. Les nouveaux titres ont été placés à un spread de 178 points de base au-dessus des swaps, ce qui correspond à un rendement d’environ 3,84%. Les taux à 10 ans espagnols, qui reculaient à 3,68% dans la journée, sont tombés cette semaine à leur plus bas niveau depuis 2009. Barclays, BBVA, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Santander et la Société Générale étaient en charge du placement.
Natixis AM va nommer Jean-François Baralon directeur général délégué
Le conseil d’administration de Natixis Asset Management (NAM) devrait nommer Jean-François Baralon directeur général délégué début février, a appris L’Agefi de sources concordantes. L’actuel directeur finances et opérations de NAM remplacera Philippe Zaouati, désormais patron de Mirova, le pôle d’investissement responsable de NAM devenu une filiale à part entière le 1er janvier dernier. Entré en 2007 au comité exécutif de NAM, Jean-François Baralon y siège au côté de Pascal Voisin, directeur général, et de Ibrahima Kobar et Emmanuel Bourdeix, co-directeurs des gestions.
Le fonds Emergence incube Rcube Asset Management
La SICAV Emergence et NewAlpha Asset Management annoncent la signature d’un quatrième partenariat d’incubation avec la société Rcube Asset Management. Grâce aux 30 millions d’euros apportés par Emergence, « le fonds Rcube Global Macro Ucits atteindra dès son lancement le 31 janvier 2014 un encours sous gestion qui lui permettra de répondre aux exigences des investisseurs institutionnels», indique un communiqué.
22/01/2014
Sebastien Lemonier arrives at PGC, which becomes Mansartis
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The discreet asset management firm PGC, which in 2013 made waves with its recruitment of Cécile Imbert, former manager at Prigest, is now making news again. With the recruitment of Sebastien Lemonier, the firm has engaged the services of a widely-known manager. Lemonier, who worked for nine years at Tocqueville Finance, now part of La Banque Postale, spent five years working with Don Fitzgerald, during which time he managed one of the flagship funds of the range, Tocqueville Value Europe. After his departure in June 2012, the manager joined star manager Marc Tournier, formerly of Tocqueville Finance, with whom Newsmanagers understands he formed an ambition to found a joint company. The project was recently abandoned, and Lemonier is therefore returning to service at a small French “value” type asset management firm which is now changing names, as PGC will now be known as Mansartis. Mansartis, composed of two companies, Pgc Société Privée de Gestion et de Conseil and Pgc Colonne Vendôme, has nearly EUR600m in assets under management.
22/01/2014
Mohamed El-Erian leaves Pimco
Pimco announced yesterday that its chief executive officer and co-chief investment officer Mohamed A. El-Erian has decided to step down from his role and leave the firm in mid-March. He will remain a member of the Allianz International Executive Committee and, as of mid-March, also advise the board of management of Allianz on global economic and policy issues. Pimco’s founder William H. Gross will continue to serve as the firm’s CIO. At the same time, the firm has appointed a new portfolio management and executive leadership team. They will immediately begin to transition into their new roles.Douglas Hodge is promoted chief executive officer. He is a managing director in the Newport Beach office and is currently Pimco’s Chief Operating Officer. Jay Jacobs becomes president. He is a Managing Director in the Newport Beach office and is currently the Head of Talent Management globally. Finally Craig Dawson is appointed Head of Strategic Business Management: Mr. Dawson is a Managing Director and is currently Head of PIMCO Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, based in the Munich office. This departure comes as Pimco’s flagship fund, the Pimco Total Return Fund, which is also the biggest bond fund in the world, recorded net outflows of USD41.1bn in 2013.
22/01/2014
Third Point takes on Dow Chemical
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Daniel Loeb, manager of the hedge fund third Point, with USD14bn in assets under management, has sent a letter calling for the Dow Chemical group, in which he holds his largest investment position (USD1.3bn, according to CNBC), to be split up, Agefi reports. The hedge fund estimates that the activity, which primarily has divisions in “commodities and energy” and “plastics and performance,” could generate an EBITDA of USD9bn.
22/01/2014
LOIM reorganizes after departure of a fund manager to Carmignac
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lombard Odier Investment Management has given its global energy fund to the former analyst Pascal Menges, the asset management firm tells Citywire Global. He replaces Michael Hulme, who joined Carmignac Gestion this week.
22/01/2014
Anima sgr modifies its governance
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian asset management firm Anima sgr has modified its governance with an eye to an initial public offering, Bluerating reports. Marco Carreri, who is already managing director and CEO of Anima sgr, has also been appointed as deputy director of Am Holding, the shareholder of Anima. Giuseppe Zadra, already chairman of Am Holding, has also been appointed as chairman of Anima sgr. Maurizio Biliotti, top director of Banca Popolare di Milano, is resigning from his position as deputy director of Am Holding and as chairman of Anima sgr.
22/01/2014
Standard Life Investments launches a fund dedicated to emerging market corporate bonds
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British firm Standard Life Investments has launched a fund dedicated to emerging market corporate bonds, which will be managed by the team of Richard House, Citywire reports. The fund, which will be managed by House and Samantha Lamb, investment director for credit, will concentrate on bond issues denominated in US dollars, offered by financial establishments or businesses in emerging markets. The fund, domiciled in Luxembourg, will be based on the JP Morgan CEMBI Broad Diversified as a benchmark.
22/01/2014
Neptune closes a long/short fund
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Neptune has closed the Global Long/Short fund by Robin Geffen, two years after the departure of co-manager Ted Alexander, Investment Week reports. The fund did not succeed in interesting investors, and at its peak had GBP5m in assets.
22/01/2014
Lyxor adds to its range of ETFs in Spain
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lyxor Asset Management is building a presence in the Spanish market. The asset management affiliate of Société Générale has registered seven new exchange-traded funds (ETF), four of which are equity funds and four are bond funds, Funds People reports. Among the equity ETFs, Lyxor has launched a sectoral vehicle, the Lyxor Ucits ETF EuroStoxx Banks, and three others which replicate emerging market indices, the Lyxor Ucits ETF MSCI EM Beyond BRIC, Lyxor Ucits ETF MSCI Select OECD Emerging Markets GDP, and lastly, Lyxor Ucits ETF MSCI Mexico. Meanwhile, Lyxor AM is adding to its range with three other ETFs which allow investors to construct short positions on the main public debt indices in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom. They are the Lyxor Ucits Daily Double Short 10Y US Treasury, Lyxor Ucits ETF Daily Double Short 10Y Japan Govt Bonds and lastly, Lyxor Ucits ETF Daily Double Short 10Y UK Gilts.
22/01/2014
Schroders launches a corporate debt fund on the Spanish market
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Schroders is continuing its efforts to add to its product range aimed at Spanish investors. The asset management firm has registered the Schroder ISF Credit Conversion fund with the local regulator, a product which invests in investment grade corporate bonds, whose objective is to outperform euro zone corporate debt funds, Funds People reports. The vehicle invests primarily in bonds denominated in euros, and its benchmark index is the iBoxx Euro Corporate BBB Index. Its investment strategy is to concentrate on the best ideas from the European corporate debt team at Schroders, as part of an investment process that combines a top-down and a bottom-up approach.
22/01/2014
Assets in hedge funds set record at end 2013
Capital invested in the global hedge fund industry surged to a record in the fourth quarter, finishing a strong year of capital growth as hedge funds posted the best performance in three years, according to the latest HFR Global Hedge Fund Industry Report. Total capital increased in 4Q by USD120 billion on USD10.5 billion of net inflows to USD2.63 trillion.For the full year, total hedge fund capital increased by USD376 billion on USD63.7 billion of net inflows. Event Driven funds led capital inflows across all strategies for the first time since 2007, with investors allocating USD29.5 billion in 2013. Event Driven strategies grew by USD140 billion to more than USD698 billion for 2013. Capital invested in Equity Hedge strategies increased by USD48 billion in 4Q, driven by investor inflows of USD8.6 billion, with total capital invested in the strategy reaching a record USD734 billion; total assets invested in Equity Hedge increased USD136 billion for 2013. Total assets invested in fixed income-based Relative Value Arbitrage (RVA) increased by USD18 billion to USD684 billion in fourth quarter on USD2 billion of investor inflows. For the full year 2013, RVA increased by USD75.8 billion on inflows of USD22.6 billion. Macro funds experienced an outflow of USD13.3 billion in 4Q, resulting in a full year 2013 net redemption of USD6.3 billion. For the FY 2013, Macro assets increased by USD23.7 billion to USD511 billion.
22/01/2014
Carmignac Gestion adds to its investment unit in London
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Carmignac Gestion has announced the recruitment of Michael Hulme as commodity manager. He is now responsible for the management of the Carmignac Commodities fund, which represents EUR670m in assets. Hulme succeeds David Field, who has decided to take a sabbatical after 10 years as head of the commodity team. The new fund manager will begin in his role on 14 February. The commodity team Hulme leads will be based in London, where, according to a statement, “the manager and Simon Lovat, commodity analyst, will contribute investment ideas in one of the major themes for the firm.” Before joining the group, Hulme managed the Lombard Odier Global Energy Fund, launched in 2010. He previously aorked at MFS International, where he successfully launched the Global Energy Fund in 2009.
22/01/2014
Departure of a fund manager from BlackRock
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The natural resources specialist from BlackRock, Richard Davis, has resigned from his responsibilities in fund management after 19 years, Citywire reports. A spokesperson for the firm tells Citywire Wealth Manager that Davis took the decision “to explore other career opportunities at BlackRock and elsewhere.”
22/01/2014
Invesco veteran joins Neil Woodford at Oakley
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nick Hamilton, head of institutional business at Colonial First State in Sydney, will move to Australia to work at Oakley Capital Management as part of the retail asset management activity of Neil Woodford, former star manager at Invesco, Investment Week reports. Before joining Colonial First State, Hamilton worked for 9 years as head of global equity products at Invesco Perpetual. Craig Newman, head of sales at Invesco, has also joined Oakley as head of retail asset management.
22/01/2014
Assets under management at Cavendish up by more than 40%
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the British boutique Cavendish Asset Management have increased by 42.75% in the year to the end of December, to a total of GBP1.16bn. In the past year, two funds from the firm have topped GBP100m in assets: Opportunities and Asia Pacific. The Worldwide Fund has seen its assets increse by 45%, to GBP98.1m. The directors of Cavendish are confident for 2014, particularly since their funds are now available on two new platforms, Fidelity since August last year, and Co-Funds since December.
22/01/2014
BNY Mellon launches an emerging market debt fund in France
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNY Mellon IM on 21 January announced the launch of the BNY Mellon Emerging Markets Debt Fund Opportunistic Fund in France. It is the 4th emerging market debt fund in the range managed by Standish, asset management affiliate of BNY Mellon Investment Management, the specialist in this asset class. The fund, with daily liquidity, is a sub-fund of the SICAV BNY Mellon Global Funds, plc, domiciled in Dublin and UCITS licensed. The fund is managed by Alexander Kozhemiakin, director of bond strategies for emerging markets at Standish, who has solid experience in emerging market bond management and an excellent track record.
22/01/2014
Henderson appoints O'Connor as co-director of multi-asset
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Henderson Global Investors has promomted Paul O’Connor as co-director of its multi-asset class unit, Investment Week reports. He will assist Bill McQuaker to develop the firm’s international presence in institutional and retail markets. O’Connor’s promotion comes one year after he joined Henderson.
22/01/2014
M&G Real Estate recruits a new CIO
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } M&G Real Estate is adding to its management. The affiliate dedicated to real estate at M&G Investments has recruited Tony Brown as chief investment officer and a member of its board of directors. Brown, former managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Lend Lease, joined the company on 12 January, and will report directly to Alex Jeffrey, CEO of M&G Real Estate. At Lend Lease, Brown was responsible for GBP2bn in assets in real estate, and GBP2.5bn in assets under management in infrastructure for 50 institutional investors.
22/01/2014
Philip Rodrigs leaves Investec
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Philip Rodrigs, manager of the UK Smaller Companies fund from Investec, will be leaving the firm, Investment Week reveals. He will join River & Mercantile as a partner in March, and will take over the management of the UK Equity Smaller Companies fund.
22/01/2014
Chinese sovereign fund CIC gets a new head
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } There has been a change of directors at the head of the Chinese sovereign fund. Gao Xiging, current vice president and CEO of China Investment Corp (CIC), which has USD575bn in assets under management, will soon be retiring, according to the website Shanghai Securities News. He will be replaced in this position by Li Keping, executive vice president and chief investment officer.
22/01/2014
JP Morgan AM appoints head of intermediaries
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } JP Morgan Asset Management (AM) has announced the appointment of Travis Spence as head of strategic relationships for the group in Asia-Pacific (ex Japan), in order to build its presence serving major intermediary clients, including third-party instituitonals such as banks, insurers and private banks, Asian Investor reports. Spence, based in Hong Kong, will report directly to Jed Laskowitz, CEO for Asia-Pacific at JP Morgan AM. Spence had previously been head of liquidity for Asia-Pacific, in charge of short-term bond activities primarily for institutional clients.