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04/09/2012

Gérard Roubach leaves CM-CIC Asset Management

Gérard Roubach, who had been chairman of CM-CIC Asset Management, left the asset management firm on 30 June. Roubach, 62, whose departure had been slated for 2012, is retiring. He has been replaced by Olivier Vaillant, who has been an executive at the group for 10 years. Vaillant, 41, has also served at Banque Transatlantique as head of financial savings at the establishment.
04/09/2012

Asset management unit at La Banque Postale shows poor results for first half

In its half-yearly financial report, published on 31 August, La Banque Postale reported a decline in net banking proceeds from its asset management activities of nearly 12%, to EUR60m, compared with EUR68m one year earlier.The net banking proceeds for La Banque Postale Asset Mangement fell 2.8% to EUR45m, “Equity assets at LBPAM suffered from falling equity markets in second quarter, while money market mutual funds did well,” the bank notes. Inflows to the segment form institutional clients have brought assets under management to EUR128bn as of the end of June 2012, the bank says.Assets and inflows at Toqueville Finance were below expectations, which has resulted in a decline of EUR4m to EUR9m in net banking proceeds for Tocqueville compared with June 2011, the document states, adding that profits at Tocqueville are now 90% integrated into La Banque Postale, following the departure of former director Marc Tournier, who controlled 15% of the firm.Management mandate activities, for their part, are down, resulting in a decline in net banking proceeds at La Banque Postale Gestion Privée of EUR2m, to EUR8m. In the new future, this area of activity may see modifications to its perimeter. Les Echos newspaper reports on 25 July that La Banque Postale has been in talks with Crédit Mutuel Arkéa to acquire its private bank for high net worth private clients.Lastly, in its semiannual financial report, La Banque Postal claims that it has brought costs under control (-EUR7m), which has allowed the asset management sector to earn a stable net profit as a part of the group compared with first half 2011 of EUR17m.
04/09/2012

Changing managers can be counter-productive

For institutional investors, changing managers after a period of underperformance of three years on average results in lower returns than those that would have been obtained by retaining an active manager or allocating the mandate to passive strategies, a Towers Watson study cited by the Financial Times finds. “The results and experience show that retaining an underperforming manager is more profitable than replacing him or her,” says Robin Penfold of Towers Watson. This year, pension funds may replace underperforming managers representing USD100bn in equity mandates.
04/09/2012

Investors have an appetite for Chinese equities and volatility

In the last week of August, investors made Chinese equities and volatility funds their top priorities. Volatility funds have posted subscriptions in the past few weeks totalling about USD1bn, according to statistics from EPFR Global. Emerging market equity funds absorbed fresh money for the fifth week running in late August, their longest inflow streak since the first quarter, with Asia ex-Japan equity funds absorbing the majority of the new money. Investors committed USD500 million to China Equity Funds during the week ending August 29. However, investors remained prudent about developed market equities, with net outflows of over USD1bn from European equity funds. Overall equity funds nonetheless absorbed USD2.1 billion and their first weekly inflow in four weeks. High yield bond funds continued to show inflows of over USD1bn in the week under review. Bond funds overall finished the week to 29 August with subscriptions totalling USD5.3bn, bringing net inflows since the beginning of the year to over USD270bn.
04/09/2012

Franklin Templeton is Ireland's biggest creditor

As of the end of June, funds from Franklin Templeton held Irish bonds totalling EUR6.1bn, according to figures by the Financial Times. The largest amount was in the name of the Templeton Global Bond fund, managed by Michael Hasenstab. The US asset management firm is the largest private creditor to Ireland.
04/09/2012

Japanese public pension fund shows losses for second quarter

The Japanese public retirement fund, GPIF, has announced that its asset portfolio between April and June generated JPY2.069trn in losses (EUR21bn), Les Echos reports. The public pension fund has reopened a debate in Japan over investment strategies. The fund, which controls a total of EUR1.09trn in assets, is considering new investment opportunities to increase its gains, and is seeking to confront an increasingly rapidly ageing Japanese population.Between April and June, foreign assets, which represent 11.14% of the fund’s investment portfolio, showed losses of 7.55%, while Japanese equities, which also account for 11.14% of the portfolio, lost 9.93%. Foreign bonds, which were punished by the European crisis, are equivalent to 8.86% of total investments, and lost 3.46%. However, Japanese government bonds, which represent 64.92% of the investments of the GPIF, gained 1.04%, and brought a total loss for the fund of only 1.85%.
04/09/2012

Invesco launches four funds in Italy

Invesco has launched four funds for the Italian retail market, Bluerating reports. They include the Invesco US High Yield Bond Fund, Invesco Renminbi Fixed Income Fund, Invesco Asian Focus Equity Fund and Invesco US Equity Fund.
04/09/2012

A departure from Vontobel Italy

Stefano Calvi has left Vontobel, where he was executive director in charge of private banking for Italy, according to reports in Bluerating. His new destination will be announced in early October.
04/09/2012

Outflows largest at three largest Italian asset management firms

In July, the three largest Italian asset management firms by the volume of assets under management in the country posted the largest redemptions. The largest group, Intesa Sanpaolo, with EUR215bn in assets under management, has seen net outflows of slightly over EUR1bn. In second place, Generali (EUR139bn) has seen net outflows of EUR507m, Lastly, in third place, Pioneer Investments (EUR99bn) has posted net redemptions of EUR507m.At the other end of the spectrum, Ubi Banca has posted net subscriptions of EUR644m. The firm has assets under management of EUR29bn. Banco Popolare has taken on EUR529m (EUR18bn in assets).Among French groups, Amundi has seen outflows of EUR135m, and BNP Paribas has seen outflows of EUR191.4m, while Axa shows inflows of EUR19m.
04/09/2012

Samsung AMC gets additional QFII quota

On Sunday, Samsung Asset Management Company announced that it has received a further Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) quota from the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) of USD150m, bringing the total quota for the asset management firm to USD450m, with quotas issued in 2008 and 2010.Z-Ben Advisors reports that the pace at which SAFE has been awarding quotas set a record in first half 2012, at CNY10.4bn, more than double the amount issued in January-June 2011.
04/09/2012

Taxation: UK passes withholding tax agreement

At a time when uncertainty reigns over the ratification of an agreement on withholding taxes between Switzerland and Germany, an agreement of the same type with the United Kingdom has been passed without any problem, Agefi Switzerland reports. The passage of the legislation was not even announced in a statement from the Swiss bankers’ association. Some have expressed surprise at the lack of publicity given to the ratification of an agreement which affects 6% to 8% of all wealth management clients in Switzerland, and which has similarities with an agreement with Germany which has been signed, but not yet ratified.
04/09/2012

Henderson takes the “gates” off its hedge funds

Investment Europe is reporting that Henderson has removed the possibility of limiting redemptions (known as a “gate”) for its AlphaGen Rhocas fund. The fund is part of the AlphaGen range taken over by Henderson with the acquisition of Gartmore. Paul Graham, global head of hedge funds, has announced that “gating” rules will be removed from all hedge funds except the AlphaGen Volantis, a fund specialised in British small caps. Gates have been removed for the Rhocas fund for more than a week; they will be removed from other funds gradually, at meetings of their respective boards of trustees.The manager says most hedge funds of the brand operate on deep enough markets to be encashed within three days if need be. Graham also says that some hedge funds currently in the process of being launched will allow investors a choice between share classes with or without a gate (which generally limits redemptions to 25%).
04/09/2012

Axa Framlington Japan veteran joins Martin Currie Pacific Trust

Anja Balfour, previously manager of the Aa Framlington Japan fund, has joined Martin Currie Pacific Trust, as non-executive director, Investment Week reports. The Martin Currie Pacific Trust, whose assets under management total GBP248m, is managed by Andrew Graham.
04/09/2012

BlackRock IM launches an income vehicle

BlackRock Investment Management has launched the North American Income Trust, which will offer an annual dividend of 4%, Money Marketing reports. The trust, which will focus on US large caps, will be listed on the London Stock Exchange, and will seek to outperform the Russell 1000 Value Index.
04/09/2012

Ignis recuits a former OMAM manager

Ignis
 Asset 
Management
 has hired 
Simon 
Cowan 
as
 Fund
 Sales
 Director.
 He 
will 
be 
responsible 
for 
wealth 
manager 
and 
discretionary 
accounts 
within 
London
 and 
will 
report 
to 
Austin 
McBride,
 Head 
of 
UK
 Retail.

 
Prior 
to 
joining
 Ignis, 
Simon 
was 
Regional 
Sales 
Manager 
at 
Old 
Mutual 
Asset 
Managers 
where
 he
 looked 
after 
multimanager, 
global
bank, 
private 
bank 
and
 wealth
 manager
 accounts 
in 
London
 and
 the 
Channel 
Islands.
04/09/2012

Strong growth in Asian inflows for Citi

Net inflows to Citi in the Asia-Pacific region have totalled over USD3bn in the past twelve months, an increase of nearly 80% year on year, Asian Investor reports. Assets under management in the regino now total over USD200bn. Paul Hodes, head of wealth management for Asia-Pacific at Citi, says that unlike many distributors, his group has not reduced the number of providers it works with, which currently total about 100, not counting ETF providers. However, Citi has reoriented its asset allocation to an approach less focused on the United States.
04/09/2012

Pioneer recruits for northern European distribution

Rogier Westhuis, head of distribution at ING Investment Management, has been recruited as director of distribution for the Netherlands and Nordics at Pioneer Investments, Westhuis will be based in Amsterdam, and will work with Michel van Mazijk, head of institutional clients, and will report directly to Fabien Madar, head for North and West Europe.
04/09/2012

Tough half for HSBC in Switzerland

The Swiss private banking unit of the HSBC group has reported profits for fits half of CHF188m, down 4.1% compared with the first six months of 2011, the news agency Bloomberg reports. The news agency points out that this development is due to redemptions from clients, but also to the various factors which are affecting HSBC in Switzerland, including the resignation of its CEO, Alexander Zeller, and theft of data, as well as, at group level, suspected tax fraud in the United States.
04/09/2012

Nick Ford joins MAM Funds

The British fund management firm MAM Funds, listed on the AIM exchange, has recruited Nick Ford, previously of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP), Fund Web reports. Ford will be joining MAM Funds as a manager of the asset class he has long been specialised in: US equities.
04/09/2012

Schroders adds to multi-asset class team

Matthew Joyce (ex Occam Asset Management) and Jingjing Cui (ex JPMorgan Asset Management) have been recruited as senior analysts in the multi-asset class team at Schroder Investment Management (Schroders), which has 90 members. They will report to Nicolaas Marais, head of multi-asset investments & portfolio solutions.
04/09/2012

Nine people leave SSgA in London

Nine senior partners have left the asset management activity of State Street Global Advisors in London, Financial News reports. They include Ben Clissord, who had been liability manager, Moira Gorman, head of relations with local authorities, and Vin Battacharjee, head of European intermediated activities.
04/09/2012

Man Group in partnership with Nomura

The British firm Man Group has signed a partnership agreement with Nomura to launch a bond hedge fund, Citywire reports.The Nomura Man Systematic Fixed Income fund is based on a strategy managed by the Systematic Strategies unit at Man, which tries to identify directional opportunities on swap, future and emerging and developed forex markets.
04/09/2012

LGIM recruits from WestLB Mellon AM

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has recruited Marion Stommel as head of the global credit division, Money Marketing reports. Stommel previously worked at WestLB Mellon Asset Management, where she was head of the credit team and international development of activities.
04/09/2012
Gestion d'actifs

MutRé recherche plus de diversification sur l'immobilier et les obligations et souhaite déléguer sa gestion actions

Guillaume Chatelet, directeur financier, technique et des risques de MutRé dans un article paru dans Option Finance numéro 1186 : Nous allons augmenter dans un futur proche notre exposition à l’immobilier au détriment des convertibles et des obligations. Nous souhaitons encore diversifier ce portefeuille en termes géographique ou sectoriel. Notre objectif est encore d’accroître nos investissements en immobilier sans excéder une exposition supérieure à 15% de nos fonds propres. La part d’actions n’a quant à elle pas vocation à évoluer en exposition mais, au vu de la petite taille de la poche, nous passons d’une logique de titre détenus en direct vers une logique de fonds et de trackers afin d’obtenir un niveau de diversification optimal. Au sein de la poche obligations, nous réfléchissons à l’avenir de notre important portefeuille d’emprunts d'États de haute qualité, actuellement fortement en plus-value. Nous réfléchissons à nous diversifier par exemple vers d’autres formes de risque obligataire sur lesquelles nous sommes actuellement pas ou peu exposés, comme le high yield ou la dette émergente. Pour rappel, MutRé gère 250 millions d’euros d’actifs financiers dont 120 millions au titre de nos fonds propres. A la fin juillet 2012, l’allocation d’actifs se répartissait entre 69% d’obligations, 11% de convertibles, 7% d’actions, 4% d’immobilier et 9% de cash. Les investissements en actions et en obligations sont confiés à OFI Mandat. Par contre, MutRé gère en interne les investissements en immobilier et les opérations de trésorerie.
Gestion d'actifs
03/09/2012

La BCE n'a pas racheté de dette la semaine passée

La Banque centrale européenne n’a pas activé son Programme pour les marchés de titres (SMP) la semaine dernière, mettant la dernière main à un nouveau dispositif de rachat de dette assorti de conditions strictes de réforme et de gestion des finances publiques pour les Etats qui doivent en bénéficier. Cela fait maintenant six mois que la BCE n’a pas eu recours à ce programme inauguré en mai 2010. Il représente encore à ce jour un encours de 209 milliards d’euros de dette rachetée.
03/09/2012

Gérard Roubach a quitté CM-CIC Asset Management

Président de CM-CIC Asset Management, Gérard Roubach a quitté la société de gestion le 30 juin dernier. Agé de 62 ans, le dirigeant dont le départ était d’ores et prévu en 2012 a fait valoir ses droits à la retraite. Il a été remplacé par Olivier Vaillant, un cadre entré dans le groupe depuis une dizaine d’années. Agé de 41 ans, le nouveau promu qui a effectué un passage à la Banque Transatlantique était en charge du développement de l'épargne financière au sein de l'établissement.
03/09/2012

Mario Draghi s'exprime sur les achats obligataires

Selon des parlementaires européens cités par Reuters, le président de la BCE Mario Draghi a déclaré devant une commission du Parlement que les achats par la BCE d’obligations souveraines de 3 ans d'échéance maximale ne représentent pas une aide publique.
03/09/2012

Madrid estime respecter les conditions d’une aide

L’Espagne évaluera l’opportunité de solliciter une aide européenne complémentaire à celle déjà prévue pour ses banques mais elle exclut de se soumettre à de nouvelles conditions, a déclaré son Premier ministre, Mariano Rajoy. Une déclaration faite quelques jours avant la visite d’Angela Merkel à Madrid, prévue jeudi, le jour même de la réunion du Conseil des gouverneurs de la BCE.
03/09/2012

Deutsche Bank recrute chez UBS France

La banque allemande a fait part de la nomination d’Emmanuel Duclos en tant que responsable des ventes institutionnelles pour la France (au sein d’ICG). Il a pour mission de développer et coordonner la couverture des clients institutionnels en France sur les marchés actions, obligataires et changes. Agé de 41 ans, Emmanuel Duclos était précédemment directeur général délégué d’UBS Investment Bank en France.
03/09/2012

Wolfgang Schaüble confiant pour le MES

Le ministre allemand des Finances s’est dit certain que la Cour constitutionnelle de Karlsruhe n’entraverait pas la mise en œuvre du Mécanisme européen de stabilité (MES). Wolfgang Schäuble s’exprimait dans le cadre d’une conférence à Strasbourg sur le thème «Quelle sortie de crise pour la zone euro ?». La cour de Karlsruhe doit décider le 12 septembre si l’existence du MES, futur organe permanent d’aide aux pays en difficulté de la zone euro, est légitime au regard du droit allemand. En visite en Chine, la chancelière Angela Merkel a déclaré de son côté que la zone euro affichait une «volonté politique absolue» de stabiliser la monnaie unique. Enfin, toujours concernant le dossier européen, le président du Conseil européen Herman Van Rompuy a annoncé sur Twitter la tenue d’un sommet extraordinaire à Bruxelles sur le budget pluriannuel de l’UE pour la période 2014-2020 les 22 et 23 novembre.
Wolfgang Schäuble. Photo: Jock Fistick. Bloomberg News.

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