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09/08/2012

Institutional outflows of EUR900m from ING IM in second quarter

At a publication of its quarterly results, the Netherlands-based ING group on 8 August announced institutional outflows of EUR0.9bn in second quarter. Due to positive market effects of EUR0.5bn and a positive currency effect of EUR1.5bn, assets under management for institutional clients finished the quarter at EUR82.8bn, comapred with EUR81.8bn as of the end of March 2012. In retail, assets under management are down EUR72.2bn as of the end of June, a decline of EUR300m in the quarter, due to outflows of EUR0.8bn, combined with a negative market effect of EUR1.7bn and a positive forex effect of EUR2.2bn. Proprietary assets under management on the general account, for their part, have posted net inflows of EUR2.2bn, due to a positive market effect of EUR2.5bn and a positive forex effect of EUR4.2bn. Assets under management as of the end of June totalled EUR138.2bn, compared with EUR129.4bn three months earlier. Total assets under management as of the end of June totalled EUR293.2bn, compared with EUR293.2bn previously. The group has reported profits in second quarter down 22.3% in annual terms, to EUR1.17bn, Pre-tax profits for the banking unit are down 13.1%, to EUR995m, while the insurance unit, which includes asset management, is down 51.5% to EUR229m.
09/08/2012

RBC IS appoints a head

RBC Investor Services announced on August 8 the appointment of Martin Anderson as head of network management. He becomes a member of the Global Operations Leadership Team.In his new role, Martin Anderson, who has been with RBC Investor Services since July 2007, will be responsible for managing all relationships with RBC Investor Services’ network of sub-custodian banks, prime brokers and other key bank providers around the world. Based in Dublin, he will also be responsible for managing operations teams in London, Luxembourg, Toronto and Singapore.
09/08/2012

Asset managers expected to benefit from European banks deleveraging

Credit-oriented investment managers are expanding their assets under management (AUM) by acquiring bank-loan portfolios for their third-party clients, says Moody’s Investors Service in a new Special Comment published on 8 August (“Select Asset Managers Benefit from European Bank Deleveraging.”) These managers are also stepping in to lend third-party funds to corporates and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have been traditionally served by European banks. Moody’s says that asset managers with the necessary credit-analysis experience are best placed to take advantage of this opportunity to engage in bank loan portfolio acquisitions and direct lending for their third-party clients. However, Moody’s notes that this opportunity is not without challenges as banks may face hurdles in selling these portfolios due to the challenges of agreeing on valuation; and several regulatory challenges will have to be overcome in order for managers to fully realise the opportunities left by deleveraging European banks. The number of jurisdictions and legal regimes within Europe requires a unique expertise to participate in both loan portfolio acquisitions and direct lending. According to the IMF’s April 2012 Global Financial Stability Report, European banks will need to reduce their assets by about EUR2trn over the course of 2011-2013.
09/08/2012

Fitch maintains Germany's AAA rating

The ratings agency Fitch Ratings on 8 August announced that it is maintaining its long-term debt rating of AAA for Germany, with a stable outlook. The country’s credit rating is being maintained due to the “strength of tis debt and its robust economic performance in the past two years,” the financial ratings agency explains in a statement. “Despite a context of fragile global economic recovery and an intensification of the crisis in the euro zone, Germany has shown strong growth in GDP and a falling trend in unemployment, plartly thanks to previous structural reforms,” Fitch says. “Germany has all the ingredients to reduce public debt,” the agency estimates. “The ecnomy is growing, the public deficit is moderate, and nominal interest rates have reached all-time lows.”
09/08/2012

Generali repudiates contract with AWD

The German financial services provider AWD, an affiliate of Swiss Life, is facing the defection of a partner, as Generali Switzerland has repudiated a contract it had signed associating with AWD until the end of this year, entitled «Neue Zürcher Zeitung» (NZZ). Generali Switzerland claims the collaboration is no longer in line with what was expected, and that activity volumes have been falling for several years, which, NZZ reports, is the grounds for the repudiation of the contract.
09/08/2012

German retail investors return to stock markets

As a result of the euro zone debt crisis, German retail investors are regaining some appetite for investment in equities. According to the Deutsche Aktien Institut (DAI), which represents businesses and institutionals active in the German capital markets, about 10.2 million investors were invested either directly or indirectly in equities in first half, which represents an increase of 1.9 million investors compared with the corresponding period of 2011, and of 1.5 million over the end of December 2011. Of this 10.2 million total, equivalent to 15.7% of the population, 2.9 million (4.5% of the population) are direct shareholders, while 5.3 million (8.1% of the population) are shareholders who hold shares in equity funds, and 2 million (3.1% of the population) are both direct and indirect shareholders.
09/08/2012

Lyxor withdraws five ETFs from Milan stock exchange

Lyxor International asset management has confirmed a decision to withdraw five ETFs from the Milan stock exchange, due to a lack of interest from investors, Investment Europe reports. The funds are the Lyxor ETF wise quantitative strategy, Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Automobiles and Parts Daily Short, Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Banks Daily Short, Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Basic Resources Daily Short and Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Daily Short. The withdrawal of the funds from trading will take place on 4 September. Some of the ETFs affected will also be withdrawn from Nyse Euronext Paris, Deutsche Boerse, NYSE Euronext Brussels and Six Swiss Exchange.
09/08/2012

Lyxor hedge fund index gains 1% in July

The Lyxor hedge fund index has gained 1% in the month of July, and for the first seven months of the year, shows gains of 1.54%, according to the most recent barometer of the alternative management sector, published by Lyxor. Twelve of the 14 strategy idices monitored by the barometer finished the month in positive territory. The Lyxor Long Term CTA and Lyxor L/S Equity Statistical Arbitrage indices earned returns of 3.2% and 2.1%, respectively. The Lyxor Distressed Securities index lost 0.2% in July, but in the first seven months of the year, shows returns of 4.68%. The Lyxor Merger Arbitrage has also disappointed, with losses of 0.32% in July, but gains of 2.39% since the beginning of the year.
09/08/2012

BofA Merrill Lynch recruits for Global Transactions Services activity

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has announced the recruitment of two senior heads, who will come as additions to the group’s Global Transactions Services activity. Bill Borden, previously of Citigroup, has been appointed as managing director, in charge of North America Product Solutions, while Dennis Sweeney, previously of General Electric, becomes managing director and head of Treasury Solutions. Both will join the firm in September and will be based in New York.
09/08/2012

Larry Fink quashes rumours of BlackRock departure

Larry Fink has sought to put to rest rumours that he may be leaving his position as CEO of BlackRock, the Financial Times reports. The media are suggesting that the director may be approached to become the next US Secretary of the Treasury if Barack Obama is re-elected as President in November. BlackRock has also announced a reshuffle of its activities into five specialised investment groups, and separated its unit responsible for clients into two parts. The iShares activity will be grouped with retail funds. All of these will be served by a single sales force. BlackRock has also created a group to manage strategic products, led by Rich Kushel.
09/08/2012

Axa IM accentuates shareholder engagement

Axa Investment Management has begun to unveil the names of businesses affected by its shareholder engagement policy, IPE.com reports. Votes by the asset management firm against proposals will also be retroactively disclosed.
09/08/2012

Janus manager leaves firm

John Eisinger, a specialist in US equities, has left Janus Capital, Investment Week reports. He had been manager of the Janus US All Cap Group fund since January 2008. He joined Janus in 2003 as an analyst.
09/08/2012

First State plans to launch other emerging market debt funds

First State Investments is planning to extend its range of emerging market debt funds with a fund denominated in local currency, and another fund investing in corporate bonds, FundWeb reports. First State has an emerging market debt team with four members, led by Helene Williamson.
09/08/2012

AMF publishes guidelines on fees, employee savings funds and private equity

The French financial market authority, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), on 8 August published several reference texts for the asset management sector, including a guide to fees, a guide for private equity investment funds, and a guide for employee savings funds. On the subject of kickbacks of subscription and redemption and management fees for funds of funds, the AMF observes that internationally, French regulations are in line with standard best practices defined by IOSCO in November 2004. “In the mid-term, the wider adoption of this standard in European law would clearly be the preferable solution, since it is already applied in some countries,” the AMF claims. The other two guides adopt a highly pedagogical tone, and lay out a series of recommendations. For example, the AMF observes that it is common practice for FCPR funds aimed at institutional investors to charge significantly reduced management fees when the process of liquidating the portfolio has been initiated. “The AMF recommends that asset management firms extend this practice to funds aimed at retail investors,” the guide on private equity mutual funds says.
09/08/2012

Nordea to sell Deutsche UFG funds in Russia

The offices of Nordea Bank in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other Russian cities have begun offering funds from Deutsche UFG Capital Management in Russia, Investment Europe reports. The German asset management firm is the first to have its products distributed by the Scandinavian bank in Russia.
09/08/2012

German tax authorities have reportedly bought other CDs of banking information

Several CDs containing banking information from Swiss firms are reported to have been bought up by the tax authorities of the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia, the German press reports. Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) claims there are two CDs, one of which concerns clients at the bank UBS, while the Süddeutsche Zeitung claims there are four CDs. The Bavarian newspaper cites an “expert connected with the case,” who says information on the CDs, concerning German citizens who have attempted to defraud German tax authorities with Swiss bank accounts, is “extremely interesting.” A source familiar with the matter tells FTD that the CD containing data stolen from UBS is “heavy,” as it contains evidence of the use of foundations to help German clients avoid taxes, and also includes “known names.” In addition to the data in the strict sense, the German authorities are also thought to have obtained internal training documents from UBS, which demonstrate that it actively helped its clients evade taxes.
09/08/2012

Schroders to sell a low volatility equity strategy in Germany and Austria

The British firm Schroders on 7 August announced that it has received approval to distribute a total return fund (ISIN code LU0748063764 A, EUR) in Germany and Austria. The fund is a low-volatility strategy dedicated to European equities, which offers investors a way to participate in low valuations on European equity markets while minimising risks related to current market volatility. The Schroder ISF European Total Return fund, launched in March this year, shows annualised volatility of 13.6%, compared with volatility of 20% for the MSCI Europe index. “Over the long term, European equities represent an attractive investment opportunity due to the low valuations related to problems in the euro zone,” manager Nicholette MacDonald-Brown says in a statement.
09/08/2012

Libor: United States signs deal with former UBS employees

US prosecutors have agreed to an amnesty for several former employees of the Swiss bank UBS in exchange for their cooperation with an investigation into manipulation of the interest rates used to determine Libor, the Wall Street Journal reports. The agreement including a guarantee of indulgence from investigators was offered to two former employees who had served in relatively low positions at UBS, the financial newspaper reports. Only a few of the employees affected by the investigation still work at UBS, as the bank has laid off or dismissed about 20 traders and directors following a four-year internal investigation, a source familiar with the matter cited by the Wall Street Journal says.
09/08/2012

Shanghai stock exchange eases ETF rules

The Shanghai stock exchange will now allow multiple ETF managers to replicate the same index, which will boost the growth of the market, AsianInvestor reports. ETF providers had previously had exclusive rights to indices. Shanghai and Shenzhen have 43 ETFs, representing assets of about USD19bn as of the end of June, the website notes.
09/08/2012

Salesperson leaves Old Mutual

Simon Cowan, one of the regional sales managers at Old Mutual Asset Managers, will be leaving the firm, Fundweb.co.uk reports. He is one of 30 employees to be leaving the firm as part of its merger with Skandia Investment Group.
09/08/2012

F&C veteran joins Axa IM

Stewart McAndiw, former head of sales at F&C, will be joining Axa Investment Managers in October, the French asset management firm has confirmed to Fundweb. McAndie will be in charge of relationships with global financial institutions in the United Kingdom, and will report to the head of sales for the United Kingdom, Rob Bailey. In this position he replaces James Wallace, who is moving to the United States.
09/08/2012

Diamond ETFs soon to be created?

GemShares, a financial firm based in Chicago, is seeking a patent in the United States to allow it to turn diamonds into publicly-traded shares, the Wall Street Journal reports. The firm has created an index which could be used for an ETF. The problem with diamonds is that their price depends on the carat, the colour, the clarity and the cut of the stone, but also on the appreciation of those who buy and sell them.
09/08/2012

Décollecte institutionnelle de 900 millions d'euros au T2 pour ING IM

A l’occasion de la présentation de ses résultats trimestriels, le groupe néerlandais ING a annoncé le 8 août une décollecte institutionnelle de 0,9 milliard d’euros au deuxième trimestre. Compte tenu d’un effet marché positif de 0,5 milliard d’euros et d’un impact devises positif de 1,5 milliard d’euros, les actifs sous gestion pour le compte de la clientèle institutionnelle ont terminé le trimestre à 82,8 milliards d’euros contre 81,8 milliards à fin mars 2012.Côté retail, les actifs sous gestion ont reculé à 72,2 milliards d’euros à fin juin, soit un recul de 300 millions d’euros sur le trimestre lié à une décollecte de 0,8 milliard, conjuguée un effet marché négatif de 1,7 milliard d’euros et à un impact devises positif de 2,2 milliards d’euros. Les actifs sous gestion propriétaires inscrits au compte général ont pour leur part enregistré une collecte nette de 2,2 milliards d’euros, un effet marché positif de 2,5 milliards d’euros et un impact devises positif de 4,2 milliards d’euros. Les actifs sous gestion se sont ainsi établis fin juin à 138,2 milliards d’euros contre 129,4 milliards d’euros trois mois plus tôt. Les actifs sous gestion totaux s’inscrivaient fin juin à 293,2 milliards d’euros contre 293,2 milliards d’euros précédemment. Le groupe a fait état pour le deuxième trimestre d’un bénéfice net en baisse de 22,3% en glissement annuel à 1,17 milliard d’euros. Le bénéfice avant impôts du pôle bancaire a reculé de 13,1% à 995 millions d’euros, tandis que celui du pôle assurance, qui inclut la gestion d’actifs, a chuté de 51,5% à 229 millions d’euros.
09/08/2012

Départ d’un commercial d’Old Mutual

Simon Cowan, l’un des sales manager régionaux de Old Mutual Asset Managers, va quitter la société, croit savoir Fundweb.co.uk. Il fait partie des 30 collaborateurs à quitter la société dans le cadre de la fusion avec Skandia Investment Group.
09/08/2012

Un ancien de F&C rejoint Axa IM

Stewart McAndie, un ancien responsable commercial chez F&C, rejoindra Axa Investment Managers en octobre, a confirmé la société de gestion française à fundweb. Il s’occupera de gérer les relations avec les institutions financières globales au Royaume-Uni, sous la responsabilité du responsable commercial pour le Royaume-Uni, Rob Bailey. Il remplacera à ce poste James Wallace, parti aux Etats-Unis.
09/08/2012
Fonds

First State veut lancer d’autres fonds dette émergente

First State Investments prévoit d’élargir sa gamme dette émergente avec un fonds en devises locales et d’un autre investi dans des obligations d’entreprises, rapporte FundWeb. First State a une équipe dette émergente de quatre personnes dirigée par Helene Williamson.
Fonds
09/08/2012
Fonds

Lyxor retire cinq ETF de la Bourse de Milan

Lyxor International asset management a confirmé la décision de retirer de la Bourse de Milan cinq ETF face au manque d’intérêt des investisseurs, rapporte Investment Europe. Ces fonds sont : Lyxor ETF wise quantitative strategy, Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Automobiles and Parts Daily Short, Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Banks Daily Short, Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Basic Resources Daily Short and Lyxor ETF Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Daily Short.Le retrait de la cote s’opérera le 4 septembre. Certains des ETF concernés seront aussi supprimés de Nyse Euronext Paris, Deutsche Boerse, NYSE Euronext Brussels et Six Swiss Exchange.
Fonds
09/08/2012
Fonds

Schroders va distribuer une stratégie actions à faible volatilité en Allemagne et en Autriche

Le britannique Schroders a annoncé le 7 août qu’il avait obtenu le feu vert pour la distribution d’un fonds total return (code ISIN : LU0748063764 A, EUR) en Allemagne et en Autriche. Il s’agit d’une stratégie à faible volatilité dédiée aux actions européennes et qui se propose de tirer parti des faibles valorisations des actions européennes tout en minimisant les risques liés à la volatilité actuelle des marchés.Lancé en mars dernier, le Schroder ISF European Total Return affiche une volatilité annualisée de 13,6%, à comparer à une volatilité de 20% pour l’indice MSCI Europe. «Sur le long terme, les acrtions européennes constituent une opportunité d’investissement intéressante en raison des faibles valorisations liées aux problémes de la zone euro», estime la gérante Nicholette MacDonald-Brown, citée dans un communiqué.
Fonds
09/08/2012

BofA Merrill Lynch renforce son activité Global Transactions Services

Bank of America Merrill Lynch vient d’annoncer le recrutement de deux responsables senior qui vont renforcer l’activité Global Transactions Services du groupe.Bill Borden, précédemment chez Citigroup, a été nommé managing director, responsable de North America Product Solutions, tandis que Dennis Sweeney, précédemment chez General Electric, devient managing director et responsable des Treasury Solutions. Tous deux rejoindront la société en septembre et seront basés à New York.
09/08/2012

Larry Fink fait taire les rumeurs de départ de BlackRock

Larry Fink a cherché à faire taire les rumeurs selon lesquelles il pourrait quitter son poste de directeur général, rapporte le Financial Times. Les médias laissent entendre que le dirigeant pourrait être approché en tant que prochain Secrétaire au Trésor américain si Barack Obama est réélu en tant que président en novembre.Par ailleurs, BlackRock a annoncé une réorganisation de ses activités en cinq groupes d’investissements spécialisés et divisé son pôle chargé de la clientèle en deux parties. Ainsi, l’activité iShares sera alignée avec celle des fonds retail. L’ensemble sera servi par une force commerciale unique. BlackRock a aussi créé un groupe de gestion des produits stratégiques dirigé par Rich Kushel.

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