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12/12/2011

Volcker rule may affect asset management firms

It may become illegal for asset management firms owned by US banks to manage money for European or Asian investors, according to one interpretation of the Volcker rule, Financial Times Fund Management reports. According to the current version of the bill, US mutual funds regulated by the Investment Company Act of 1940 are exempt from the Volcker rule, which means that asset management firms owned by banks may continue to offer these services without restrictions. But there are no exemptions for European UCITS funds or Japanese trusts.
12/12/2011

CDPQ well-positioned to acquire Axa PE

Agefi relays reports in the Journal du Dimanche that the Caisse des dépôts et placements du Québec (CDPQ) is said to be at an advanced stage in negotiations to acquire Axa Private Equity for EUR500m. Axa would retain a minority stake in the affiliate.
12/12/2011

China has another sovereign fund in the works

Agefi relays reports by the news agency Reuters that China is planning to create another investment vehicle, which will aim to provide it with higher returns than its traditional investments. The vehicle will be controlled by the central bank, and will manage two funds, one of which will invest in the United States, and the other in Europe, with combined total assets of USD300bn. The new Chinese sovereign fund will have to outperform the CIC. Since its inception four years ago, the CIC fund has earned average annual returns of 6.4%.
12/12/2011

Investors prefer US funds

In early December, at a time when the euro zone debt crisis continues to dominate headlines, investors have confirmed their preference for US funds, amidst timid but positive signs about the evolution of the macroeconomic environment in the United States. In the week to 7 December, funds dedicated to US equities posted their seventh week of net inflows in the past nine weeks, and US high yield bond funds posted net inflows of over USD2bn, according to statistics from EPFR Global. Overall, equity funds have seen net outflows of USD481m, while bond funds have posted net inflows of USD1.4bn. Money market funds have attracted USD36.4bn, for their fifth consecutive week of inflows. Some of these inflows are related to the liquidation of assets in European banks by some major US money market funds. EPFR Global finds that equity funds which emphasize dividends have posted net inflows of over USD35bn since the beginning of the year. Equity funds dedicated to emerging markets have seen net outflows since the beginning of the year of about USD36bn, while equity funds dedicated to developed countries have posted net inflows of USD79.9bn, compared with USD77.1bn in the corresponding period of 2010.
12/12/2011

EDRAM releases Asia Leaders fund in Germany

The Asia Leaders fund from Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM), managed by Thomas Gerhardt, the new head of the emerging markets team, and David Gaud, Asian equity manager, is now available for sale in Germany. The product was launched on 26 October (see Newsmanagers of 14 November).As of 31 October, EDRAM had assets of EUR13.1bn, compared with EUR14bn as of the end of 2010.
12/12/2011

Global X Funds launches a Greece ETF

Global X Funds has announced the launch of an ETF based on Greece, which it says is the first of its kind. The Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF fund, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, provides investors with exposure to the FTSE/ATHEX 20 Capped index, composed of the 20 largest caps on the Athens stock exchange. Total capitalisation of the Athens Stock Exchange has fallen off a peak of USD200bn by nearly 90%, to USD28bn as of November 2011.
12/12/2011

“We are in a consolidation phase, but there are not a lot of buyers in France!”

Alain Wicker, one of the emblematic figures at the French asset management firm La Française AM, discusses developments in the sector. The firm, facing strong competition from multiple sides, has already entered a consolidation phase. But there is a lack of candidates in France, despite the good reputation that the French asset management firm enjoys.
12/12/2011

French investors in Madoff fund listed

La Tribune has procured a list of the companies which were invested in the Madoff feeder fund Luxalpha in December 2008 (on behalf of themselves, their clients, or as a settlement market maker). La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild the European urology association, the French Senate, Téthys (the holding company for Liliane Bettencourt), the International Olympic Committee, HSBC Private Banking Paris, and Aforge Capital Management: the list includes asset management firms, private banks, family holding companies, family offices, associations, and one French public institution, La Tribune notes.
12/12/2011

Madoff: trustee seeking USD76bn from Julius Bär and Falcon

Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee for the business interests of Bernard Madoff, has filed suit in a New York court against Julius Bär and the Zurich-based private bank Falcon, the news agency Bloomberg reports. It is seeking USD37m from Julius Bär and USD39m from Falcon. Picard says these are the sums placed by various investors in the Bernard Madoff firm Fairfield Sentry, which were then placed in the two Swiss banks.
12/12/2011

Edrim releases Millésima 2016 in Spain

The French-registered fund EdR Millésima 2016, launched by Edmond de Rothschilid Investment Managers on 15 November 2011, was registered for sale in Spain by the CNMV on 25 November. The horizon fund (maturing on 31 October 2016) is based on carry trade strategies on senior industrial and financial sector bonds, with a maximum of 35% in high yield. Subscriptions are open until 29 February 2012. The fund will be available from Allfunds Bank and Banco Inversis.
12/12/2011

LDI becoming more popular with pension funds

63 percent of pension executives now employ an LDI investment approach – more than triple that of 2007 (20 percent), according to a new survey by SEI*.In terms of asset allocation, long-duration bonds continue to be a popular strategy (74 percent in 2011), as bonds and liability values are similarly sensitive to interest rates. Short-duration cash management is also commonly used with 40 percent of respondents using it this year. Newer LDI products, such as emerging market debt (37 percent), continue to grow in popularity, but investments in interest-rate derivatives remained low again this year (26 percent).*The global poll was conducted by SEI’s Pension Management Research Panel and included 100 pension executives from the United States, Canada, Netherlands, and United Kingdom.
12/12/2011

RBC Dexia recruits a head for securities lending

Guy d’Albrand, formerly of Société Générale and Newedge, has been appointed as head of securities lending at RBC Dexia Investor Services, which has also unveiled its new global Market Products & Services (MPS) business model. D’Albrand will begin in his new role in London in 2012. He will report to Susan Pike, global head, MPS.Meanwhile, Morgan McDonnell, head of foreign exchange, will assume the newly-created position of head of global foreign exchange, cash & credit markets. He will be in charge of the new grouping resulting from the merger of the product management and development teams of the forex and cash & investment finance (IF) unit.Susan Coleman, who had been head, cash & IF product management, becomes head of cross-product initiatives, a position in which she will be in charge of cross-product and collateral management strategy for the MPS division.Fay Coroneos, who had been head of risk & investment analytics, becomes head of MPS service delivery, the team which handles all delivery functions.Blair McPherson, currently head of portfolio solutions, has been appointed as head of market product innovation.
12/12/2011

Aberdeen continues to rationalise product range

The British asset management firm Aberdeen has confirmed to Newsmangers reports in Investment Week that the multi-management funds Aberdeen Multi-Manager Equity Managed Portfolio (GBP56m) and Aberdeen Multi-Manager Multi-Asset Distribution Fund (GBP16m) will be absorbing two and three other funds, respectively.The former fund will take over the assets of the Multi-Manager UK Growth fund (GBP17m), Multi-Manager International Growth (GBP25m), and the Multi-Manager Emerging Markets (GBP12m). The second fund will take over the assets of the Multi-Manager UK Income (GBP21m) and the Multi-Manager Sterling Bond (GBP14m).
12/12/2011

ABP sues JPMorgan

The Dutch pension fund ABP (EUR240bn in assets) has filed suit against the investment bank JP Morgan Chase over losses on MBS investments, IPE.com reports. According to a spokesman for the bank, the firm alleged to the fund that CDOs were less risky than they actually were.
12/12/2011

Pension funds bet on institutional funds

After insurers, pension funds are the largest investors in German institutional funds (Spezialfonds). Complementary retirement schemes, retirement funds and pension funds as of the end of October held nearly EUR138bn in assets of this type, the BVI association of asset management firms reports. Since 2004 (EUR49.4bn) these assets have nearly tripled.
12/12/2011

Thyssen Krupp sells Blohm+Voss to Star Capital

The supervisory board at Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS) on Friday decided to sell the civil operations of the Blohm+Voss shipyards o the British private equity firm Star Capital, according to reports in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The sale is reported to have been for a double-digit amount in millions of euros.The activities sold include construction, repair and engineering, with 1,500 employees and a turrnover of EUR500m.
12/12/2011

Fitch Ratings confirms M1 rating for Schroders

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Schroder Investment Management’s (Schroders) ‘M1' Asset Manager rating. The rating covers the company’s London-based investment activities with the exception of the alternative asset management business. Asset manager operations in the ‘M1' category demonstrate the lowest vulnerability to operational and investment management failure. According to the ratings agency, Schroders’ key strengths reside in its global, diversified, long-established franchise and a solid risk management framework. Disciplined, research-driven investment processes across asset classes and a robust operational infrastructure also differentiate Schroders from peers.
12/12/2011

Investors like private equity but not its managers

According to the most recent survey from Coller Capital, limited partners (LP) who have invested their assets with private equity funds remain confident for 2012.According to the study, undertaken in August and September, which covered 107 investors, 83% are planning to maintain or increase their allocation to the asset class in 2012, a percentage “similar to the intentions expressed in past years.” 24% of respondents are planning to increase their exposure. 68% of North American LPs and 56% of their European counterparts estimate that next year will be a good or excellent year.The study also finds that investors are planning to continue the skimming that they began two years ago. The study finds that 93% of LPs say they will refuse several managers «re-ups» in the next 18 months, meaning that they will not pledge them money for subsequent generations of a fund when requested.
12/12/2011

Hedge funds deep in the red in October

The HFR composite weighted index of hedge funds in November has posted a loss of 0.92%, bringing losses since the beginning of the year to more than 4%, while the BarclayHedge index, which covers 1,034 funds that have submitted results as of 9 December, shows losses of 0.94%, and losses of 4.59% in the first eleven months of the year. The BarclayHedge index of (104) UCITS-compliant hedge funds lost 1.64% last month, and 8.20% in the first eleven months of the year.For hedge funds overall, only three strategies out of 17 show gains in November: 0.32% for equity market neutral; 0.07% for health/biotech, and 0.57% for merger arbitrage.In the first eleven months of the year, the heaviest losses have been for emerging markets, at 11.37%, followed by equity long bias (-8.56%). The two best-performing strategies were fixed income arbitrage, at 3.94%, and equity short bias (+3.40%).Among UCITS-compliant hedge funds, the heaviest losses in January-November were for the 12 emerging markets products, with 15.33%, and for 13 equity long bias funds, at 11.76%.
12/12/2011

iShares snaps up two thirds of all inflows to ETPs

Of USD26.67bn in net inflows in January-November to European ETP products (ETF, ETC, and ETN), iShares (BlackRock) has accounted for EUR17.8bn, or two thirds. With EUR104.6bn in assets as of 30 November, the asset management firm has a market share of 33.9%, or 1.7 percentage points more than at the end of 2010.According to the most recent issue of the «ETF Landscape» newsletter from BlackRock, the second-best in terms of net subscriptions in the first eleven months of the year has been UBS Global Asset Management, with USD4.8bn in subscriptions, and assets as of the end of November of USD13.8bn. It is followed by Amundi ETF (USD2.6bn in net subscriptions and USD8.5bn in assets), Source Markets (USD2.5bn and USD7.6bn), and Credit Suisse Asset Management (USD2.3bn and USD16.2bn).db x-trackers/db ETC (Deutsche Bank) had net outflows of USD1.1bn in November, limiting net subscriptions in the first eleven months of the yar to USD1.8bn. Its assets totalled USD44.8bn as of 30 November, and its market share has fallen by one point since the beginning of 3011, to 14.5%. Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale), with USD36.6bn as of the end of November, has seen a contraction of USD15.8bn in its assets under management from January-November, of which USD8.4bn were due to net redemptions. Its market share has fallen 4.7 percentage points, to 11.9%.
12/12/2011

Moody's keeps EU countries on watch

The financial ratings agency Moody’s on 12 December confirmed that it will be reevaluating its sovereign debt ratings for euro zone and European Union countries, in first quarter 2012, due to the lack of decisive action at the European summit last week. The lack of measures to staibilize the markets in the short term is a sign that the euro zone, and the European Union more broadly, continues to run the risk of more shocks, and the cohesion of the euro zone continues to be in danger, the agency explains in a statement.
12/12/2011

Ahead gets first UCITS license in Liechtenstein

Ahead Wealth Solutions AG has announced that it has become the first local asset management firm to have been issued a license under UCITS standards from the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority (FMA), concluding an application process of several months and a reorganisation to meet the requirements of the authority.Ahead may now create and administer investment funds in the 30 countries of the European Economic Area (EEA), where its previous license had limited it to Liechtenstein. In addition, compliance with the European directive allows the firm to sell its funds to retail investors in all EEA countries without seeking local licenses.As part of the move to European standards, the managing board at Ahead has been enlarged from two to four members, CEO Wolfgang Mayer says.
12/12/2011

Locked out

Londres avait une main bien faible pour aborder cet historique sommet européen et David Cameron l’a mal jouée. Il est vrai que sa situation intérieure limitait sa marge de manœuvre et qu’après l’accord franco-allemand de lundi, celle-ci tendait vers le zéro absolu. Reste que l’idée que la Grande Bretagne pût espérer bénéficier d’une clause d’« opt out » tout en exigeant des engagements de ses partenaires en matière de régulation financière était inconcevable pour tout Etat continental tant soit peu conscient de ses intérêts. La logique du « un pied en dedans, un pied en dehors » a trouvé sa limite. Il n’est pas sûr que la City de Londres, qui a beaucoup poussé Downing Street à cette erreur, trouve son avantage à la perte d’influence dont le Royaume-Uni va souffrir à Bruxelles. Reste pour l’Europe à limiter les conséquences de cette rupture majeure dans l’histoire de l’Union. Pour que celle-ci ne signifie pas une rupture dans l’Histoire européenne tout court, il importe essentiellement que le dialogue avec Londres soit maintenu par tous les moyens possibles pour que notre voisin d’outre-Manche puisse, sans déchoir, retrouver quand il le décidera la place éminente qui est la sienne dans le concert européen. La France doit y veiller en premier lieu, elle dont les intérêts et l’influence s’entremêlent si inextricablement en toutes matières avec ceux de sa voisine, y compris dans la défense comme la victoire en Libye vient tout juste de le rappeler.

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