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06/02/2013

Macquare and Tikehau lend to Oaktree for acquisition

As part of a French credit programme for EUR200m approved last summer (see Newsmanagers of 17 July 2012), Macquarie Lending and Tikehau Investment Management have awarded a unitranche financing totalling EUR53m to Oaktree Capital Management to acquire the Finnish firm Evac OY, the global leader in the collection and treatment of waste water.The Macquarie group had EUR275bn in assets as of the end of September, while Tikehau IM had EUR1.3bn in assets under management as of the end of December.
06/02/2013

Vanguard CEO is sceptical of multi-asset class funds

In the post-financial crisis environment, one of the major risks for asset management firms is the emphasis being placed on macro type products, the global CEO of Vanguard, Mill McNabb, says. In an interview with Asian Investor, when asked whether multi-asset class funds represent an attractive variation on diversified architecture, McNabb replies that “the numerous tactical elements of these products make me nervous.”
06/02/2013

Eaton Vance launches bond fund

The US firm Eaton Vance Management has announced the launch of the high yield bond fund Eaton Vance Bond Fund. The fund may invest at least 80% of its assets in bonds and other high yield instruments, and up to 20% in ordinary shares. The fund may also invest up to 35% of its assets in bonds and other high yield instruments rated speculative grade.
06/02/2013

WisdomTree profits virtually quadrupled in 2012

For the fiscal year ending on 31 December, the ETF asset management firm WisdomTree Investments Inc has declared net profits of USD11m, compared with USD3.1m in 2011. Assets increased to USD18.3bn as of the end of 2012, compared with USD16.8bn three months earlier, and USD12.2n as of 31 December 2012.Jonathan Steinberg, chairman & CEO, points out that net subscriptions last year totalled USD4.7bn, compared with USD3.9bn in 2011.
06/02/2013

Soros veteran joins Keith Anderson's fund

Keith Anderson, former chief investment officer of George Soros, has recruited Doug Paul, who worked at Crédit Suisse for 40 years, as chairman of the hedge fund he launched after leaving Soros Fund Management in July 2011, the news agency Bloomberg reports. Anderson’s fund, based in New York, Anderson Global Macro, will track macro-economic trends, and will play the bond, currency, commodity and equity markets.
06/02/2013

Henderson rebuilds its German-speaking sales team

According to the German press, Daniela Brogt, director of sales Germany & Austria at Henderson Global Investors, will be promoted on 1 April to head of sales Germany. Ariane Dehn, head of sales Germanic Switzerland, meanwhile, will become head of sales Germanic Switzerland and Austria. The appointments follow the departure of Lars Albert, head of sales Germany & Austria, in January, to join Barings Germany.
06/02/2013

Bethmann Bank adds to its board

Following the departure for personal reasons of Roland Schubert, the supervisory board of Bethmann Bank has appointed Michael Arends as a managing board member from 1 February.Arends will be responsible for the range of products and services, as well as wealth management at the private bank. He joined Bethmann and the ABN Amro group (to which the German firm belongs) in 2010. Most recently, he was head of the global coordination team for the private wealth management unit at ABN Amro in Amsterdam, and a member of the extended management committee of Bethmann Bank.
06/02/2013

Templeton plans to sign up to UN PRI

Dirk de Vlaam, head of marketing and sales for the Netherlands, has announced that Franklin Templeton is planning to make a decision by the end of first quarter as to whether to sign the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), Fondsnieuws reports.The announcement follows requests from pension funds, then retail banks, he said. However, environmental, social and governance (ESG) accounting is already highly important in the investment process at Franklin Templeton, de Vlaam says.
06/02/2013

Assets under management up 5% at LLB

Assets under management by the Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB) as of the end of 2012 totalled CHF49.9bn, up 5% year on year, according to a statement released on 5 February. The development is largely due to positive market effects, as the bank has undergone a net outflow of CHF390m. LLB is expected to announce profits of CHF98m for 2012, a considerable increase compared with CHF15.4m the previous year. The bank will release detailed results on 22 March.
06/02/2013

Pictet and Lombard Odier change legal format

The two Swiss groups Pictet and Lombard Odier on 5 February announced plans to change their legal structure. From 1 January 2014, the two groups will opt for the legal format of a Swiss limited partnership with shares, which they say is better adapted to the growth they have achieved in recent years. The activities of Lombard Odier in Switzerland will be transferred to a limited company, like the other affiliates of the group.At Pictet, the new structure will include the management of all operational companies of the group, and will extend the ownership and management of the group of current managing partners. Pictet & Cie, the Swiss bank of the group, which currently is incorporated as a partnership, will become a limited partnership, like the other operational entities of the group.
06/02/2013

Rhenman & Partners AM recruits three

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management, an asset management firm based in Stockholm, specialised in the healthcare sector, has recruited three people, Fondbranschen reports. Ellinor Hult has joined the firm as an analyst and management assistant. Hult, formerly of Crdit Suisse, will work with Henrik Rhenman, Anders Grelsson has joined the firm as an institutional salesperson for Sweden, from Ålandsbanken. Lastly, Camilla Hermansson has been recruited as an assistant. She joins from Condender Kapital.
06/02/2013

Swiss & Global loses its chief investment officer

As a result of the recently-announced reorganisation of GAM Holding (see Newsmanagers of 16 January), Stefan Angele is leaving his job as head investment management at Swiss and Global, the asset management firm has confirmed to finews. The chief investment officers in four sectors (bonds, equities, multi-asset class and commodities) now report directly to CEO David Solo, meaning that the position held by Angele now becomes redundant.
06/02/2013

Baring Brothers Sturdza Bank acquires Swiss firm Coges

The Baring Brothers Sturdza bank in Geneva on 4 February 2013 announced that it has acquired all capital in Coges Corraterie Gestion SA< an independent wealth management firm based in Geneva. Assets under management and the sale price were not disclosed. “Coges will continue to operate independently, a staement says, ensuring that its relationships with its current clients will be preserved, while offering them a complementary platform of services and expertise,” a statement says. All personel at Coges will be retained, and Luca Micheli becomes CEO. The current CEO, Philippe R. Calame, will join the board of directors at Coges, and becomes a board member at the bank, where he will report directly to Eric I. Sturdza, its chairman.
06/02/2013

AUM at Banque Cantonale de Lucerne up 6.5%

Assets under management at the Banque cantonale de Lucerne last year rose 6.5% to a total of CHF26.8bn, according to a statement released on 5 February. Net inflows totalled CHF600m, compared with CHF382m the previous year, the bank says.
06/02/2013

Barings speaks out in favour of diversified management

The differences in returns between various asset classes persisted in 2012, increasing the attraction of a diversified approach to portfolio management, a study by Barings of the past five yearsa has found. Although European equities top the list in 2012, with +17.8%, they railed far behind in 2011 (-15.2%), 2010 (+5.3%), and 2008 (-24.4%). Percival Stanion, head of the multi-asset class team, says that “equity markets worldwide were positively oriented in 2012, as emerging markets profited from a rebound in activities in China. However, volatility remained high. Our study finds that the best-performing asset classes, like the worst-performing ones, were not the same from one year to the next. This strengthens the attraction of diversified funds, which have proven their effectiveness, as their asset allocation may develop strongly in line with conjuncture.”
06/02/2013

Deka signs Eurosif transparency code

Frankfurt-based Deka Investment has announced that it has signed the sustainable development fund code of the European Sustainable and Responsible Investment Forum (Eurosif) for its Nachhaltigkeitsfonds Deka-Stiftungen Balance, Deka-Nachhaltigkeit Aktien, Deka-Nachhaltigkeit Renten and Deka-Nachhaltigkeit Balance funds. By so doing, the asset management firm pledges to respect the transparency principles of the code, developed in 2008, which have now been signed up to by 350 funds in Europe. The products are also authorised to carry the corresponding transparency logo.Deka, which has been a member of the Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen, an organisation to promote sustainable investment in the German-speaking countries, since 2011, has since September 2012 been a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).Currently, assets in sustainable development funds from Deka total about EUR2bn.
06/02/2013

Mirabaud launches a high yield bond fund

The asset management arm of the Swiss firm Mirabaud has announced the launch of a traditional global high yield bond fund, Mirabaud – Global High Yield Bonds, which is managed by Andrew Lake, who has recently been recruited from Aviva Investors (see Newsmanagers of 8 November). Lake will be assisted by Alexander Lushnikov, an analyst who had worked at Crédit Agricole.The new Luxembourg-registered product will combine active management and stock-picking. The portfolio will be based around 80 positions. Assets already total USD125m.CharacteristicsName: Mirabaud – Global High Yield BondsISIN codes:A share class (all investors)A cap USD: LU0862027272AH cap EUR: LU0862027439AH cap GBP: LU0862027868AH cap CHF: LU0862028080(AH shares are hedged for currency risks)Institutional share classesI cap USD : LU0862028247IH cap CHF : LU0862029724 (hedged)Management commissions:A share class: 1.20%I share class: 0.60%Licensed for sale in: LU, FR, ES, UK, (CH in progress)
06/02/2013

Dundee International REIT acquires portfolio from SEB AM

For USD568m, or EUR420m, the US firm Dundee International REIT will acquire a portfolio of 11 properties (137,200 square metres) in Germany from the Frankfurt-based SEB Asset Management. The transaction may be completed by the end of March, as the buyer will first be required to raise USD220m through a capital increase, and obtain mortgage-backed credits from four German institutions of USD354m at an average interest rate of 2.74% for a period of 6.8 years.Two of the properties to be purchased belong to the portfolio of the semi-institutional real estate fund SEB ImmoPortfolio Target Return Fund, while the other nine are office properties of the open-ended real estate fund SEB ImmoInvest (DE0009802306) fund, which SEB AM nine months ago decided to liquidate by 30 April 2017 (see Newsmanagers of 8 May 2012). The new sale will bring in liquidity to pay off creditors and partially reimburse subscribers.The Frankfurt-based asset management firm points out that in 2012, SEB ImmoInvest distributed about EUR1.3bn to its shareholders, equivalent to over 20% of its initial assets (EUR6.35bn).
06/02/2013

Barclays makes a further GBP1bn in provisions

The British bank Barclays will make further provisions totalling GBP1bn overall, to cover legal costs related to abusive sales of financial products, according to a statement released on 5 February. The bank will also announce an additional provision of GBP400m to reimburse SMEs to which it abusively sold products, such as interest rate coverage products, like other British banks. The British Financial Services Authority (FSA) last Thursday announced that Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS would be required to reimburse SMEs. The financial regulator reviewed sales of 173 financial products of this type, and concluded that over 90% of them contravened its rules. Barclays has also announced that it will be required to make an additional provision of GBP600m to cover legal actions related to forced sales of credit insurance. The total bill for the bank now comes to GBP2.6bn.
06/02/2013

Alliance Trust officially becomes a British SRI actor

The transfer from Aviva Investors to Alliance Trust Investments of the status of Authorised Corporate Director (ACD) for a portfolio of seven OEIC SRI funds with assets of GBP1.2bn has been completed.The Sustainable Future funds will continue to be managed by the former SRI team from Aviva Investors, led by Peter Michaelis, who transferred to Alliance Trust in August in 2012.Alliance Trust remains as sub-advisor to the Sustainable Future Pan European Equity Fund Sicav.
06/02/2013

Santander AM takes over hedge fund firm Equilibria

The “free investment fund” ( management firm of Spanish-registered hedge funds) Equilibria Investments has sold control of its assets to Santander Asset Management, Funds People reports. Carlos Arenilla, who had been the sole manager remaining at Equilibria following the departure of Alvaro Sanmartin, becomes an adviser, a prospectus published on the CNMV website on 1 February indicates.Assets at Equilibria at the end of December totalled EUR32m, while Spanish hedge funds at Santander AM represented EUR75m.
06/02/2013

HFRU hedge fund index up 0.83% in January

UCITS-compliant hedge funds in January posted their seventh increase in the past eight months. The HFRU Hedge Fund Composite index earned gains of 0.83% in the first month of the year, according to figures released by Hedge Fund Research. The HFRU Equity Hedge index rose 1.31% in January, as contributions from European, emerging markets, Asian and Japanese equities were only partially offset by statistical arbitrage strategies.
06/02/2013

CalPERS supports lawsuits against S&P

The Californian pension fund CalPERs on 5 February welcomed a decision by the US authorities to file lawsuits against the financial ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (Newsmanagers of 4 February). “We welcome efforts by the Attorney General to determine the liability of S&P concerning its ratings methodologies, which resulted in significant losses for California public pension funds, and for other investors,” CalPERS says in a statement.
06/02/2013

Three new sub-funds at Banca Generali

Three more asset management firms will offer sub-funds in the Banca Generali Sicav available in Italy, according to reports from Bluerating. They are DWS Investments, which offers the DWS Emerging Markets Concept fund within BG Selection. BlackRock, for its part, has created the Global Opportunities bond fund, a sub-fund of the GB Sicav. Franklin Templeton has launched the Global Multibond Fund as part of BG Sicav.
06/02/2013

Natixis AM launches its Indian fund in Italy

Natixis AM is launching its IDFC India Equities Fund, managed by its affiliate IDFC Asset Management Company, in Italy, Bluerating reports. The product invests in equities from Indian companies.
06/02/2013

Universal offers southern European equity fund

Based on the starting assumptions that the debt crisis has opened up opportunities for entry to attractive businesses, and that it is possible to invest in financially solid businesses in a region which has good chances of subsequent growth, Universal-Investment (EUR158bn in assets) has launched the Aktien Südeuropa UI fund, which focuses on southern Europe.The fund is managed by Matthias Habbel, Andreas Hauser and Bernd Haferstock of the equity team at the wealth management firm Habbel, Pohlig & Partner (HP&P), based in Wiesbaden (EUR500m in assets). The portfolio will include about 40 positions.CharacteristicsName: Aktien Südeuropa UIISIN code: DE000A1J9A74Front-end fee: Maximum 5%Management commission: currently 1.68%Performance commission: 10% of performance exceeding the hurdle rate, with high watermark
06/02/2013

NordLM Am launches German equities long/short fund

On 1 February, NordLB Asset Management launched an open-ended, UCITS-compliant long/short fund, aimed primarily at family offices and institutional investors (minimal subscription: EUR250,000), the NordLB Aktien Deutschland LS. The equity fund will invest up to 100% of its assets in ETFs based on the Dax index; in the event of neutral positions, the management team will sell Dax futures in an amount coresponding to these ETFs. If managers choose to sell short, they will sell twice as many futures contracts.CharacteristicsName: Nord/LB AM Aktien Deutschland LSISIN code: DE000A1J3WL9Management commission: 0.33%Performance commission: 20% of performance exceeding the hurdle rate (Dax + 500 basis points)
06/02/2013

Returns of over 12% for Belgian pension funds in 2012

Belgian pension funds earned average returns of 12.3% last year, according to provisional estimates from the Belgian association of pension associations (ABIP). The association points out that pension funds returned to equities, investing most of their assets in the real economy. Portfolios are now 37% invested in equities, compared with 34% six months ago. Meanwhile, the proportion of bonds has fallen from 53% to 49% as of the end of December. As of the end of 2012, assets in pension funds totalled EUR18bn.
06/02/2013

L'Allemagne adjuge 3,27 milliards de dette à cinq ans

L’Allemagne a adjugé pour 3,269 milliards d’euros de dette à cinq ans (Bobl), suscitant une demande un peu supérieure à celle d’une précédente émission en novembre, les investisseurs, encore circonspects, continuant à rechercher la sécurité. Le ratio de couverture a été de 1,9 contre 1,8 lors de l’adjudication du 28 novembre, montrent des données de la Bundesbank. En revanche, l’Allemagne a payé plus cher pour placer son papier, l’adjudication ayant dégagé un taux de rendement moyen de 0,68% contre 0,53%.

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