Le britannique Henderson a annoncé la fermeture de ses stratégies quantitatives sur les devises, à savoir le fonds Henderson Horizon Global Currency, dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à 36,7 millions de livres, et le fonds Ucits III Henderson Global Currency (10 millions de livres), selon Fund Web.Conséquence de cette décision, les cinq membres de l'équipe qui gérait ces stratégies sont toutes sur le départ. Les deux fonds seront liquidés et les capitaux rendus aux actionnaires.
En août dernier, Ignis Asset Management, filiale de l’assureur britannique Phoenix, annonçait la réduction de sa participation de 50 % à 40 % dans sa coentreprise avec la société de gestion Argonaut. En 2010, rappelle La Tribune, Ignis AM réduisait sa participation dans Hexam à 35 % et se lançait dans une joint-venture avec Castle Hill Asset Management (49 %-51 %). Aujourd’hui, Ignis souhaite donner la priorité au lancement de nouveaux produits. Côté distribution externe, la société de gestion compte se renforcer au Luxembourg et en Italie, où un bureau vient d'être ouvert. L’ouverture d’un bureau à Paris n’est pas à l’ordre du jour.
Les banques suisses présentes à Singapour sont continuellement à la recherche de talents dans la gestion privée. Une quête qui alimente la volatilité des rémunérations sur le marché du travail à Singapour, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. Le type de gérant recherché est généralement local, avec cinq ans d’expérience, un portefeuille de clients issus d'économies à forte croissance, avoisinant 200 millions de francs. Selon certains professionnels du recrutement, présents en Europe comme en Asie, la fidélité de ces clients relationship managers plutôt juniors se joue souvent à 100.000 francs près. Les coûts générés par cette situation s’ajoutent à ceux venant des mesures de régularisation fiscale toujours plus strictes à Singapour.
Le fonds de pension du gouvernement norvégien (Government Pension Fund - Global, ex Fonds pétrolier) a subi au troisième trimestre une perte de 8,8%, soit une perte comptable non réalisée de 284 milliards de couronnes ou quelque 37 milliards d’euros. La crise de la dette souveraine en Europe a fortement pesé sur les actions au cours des derniers mois. Il s’agit de la deuxième plus mauvaise performance trimestrielle de l’histoire du fonds.Les actifs en actions (55,6% de l’encours du fonds) ont réalisé une perte de 16,9% alors que l’obligataire a dégagé un gain de 3,7%. La valeur de marché du fonds a diminué sur le trimestre 56 milliards de couronnes à 3.055 milliards de couronnes (près de 400 milliards d’euros). Sur les neuf premiers mois de l’année, le fonds affiche une perte de 6,6% ou 222 milliards de couronnes, avec une perte de 15,1% pour les avoirs en actions et une performance de 6,3% pour l’obligataire. L’Etat norvégien a doté le fonds au troisième trimestre de 78 milliards de couronnes de nouvelles recettes pétrolières. L’encours est ressorti à 3.055 milliards de couronnes (398 milliards d’euros) à fin septembre. A noter qu'à cette date, l’ex Fonds pétrolier détenait moins de 100 millions d’euros d’obligations émises par le Fonds européen de stabilité financière (FESF), soit environ 0,7% des titres émis jusqu'à présent pour venir en aide aux pays européens en difficulté, a précisé lors d’une conférence de presse Yngve Slyngstad, directeur général de la Direction des investissements de la Banque de Norvège (NBIM) qui gère le fonds. De nouveaux achats éventuels d’obligations du FESF devraient répondre exclusivement à des critères financiers, a-t-il répondu à la question de savoir s’il subissait des pressions politiques pour venir en aide au Vieux Continent.
L’opérateur espagnol d’infrastructures Globavia a passé un accord avec les fonds de pension néerlandais PGGM et canadien OPTrust pour qu’ils lui apportent 750 millions d’euros en prenant des participations dans la filiale Globalvia Inversiones où il a logé ses 18 meilleures concessions, rapporte Cinco Días. L’opération s’effectuera sous forme d’une émission d’obligations convertibles à cinq ans.
Le fonds de pension danois ATP a fait état pour les neuf premiers mois de l’année d’un bénéfice de 5,3 milliards de couronnes contre 18,9 milliards pour la période correspondante de 2010.Dans un contexte très difficile, le fonds de pension a dégagé un rendement de 4,2%. Les actions en portefeuille ont terminé la période sur une perte de 4,6%. En revanche, les stratégies de taux d’intérêt ont dégagé une performance de 7,5%, le crédit de 3,8%, l’inflation de 4,6% et les matières premières de 0,9%.Les actifs sous gestion s'élevaient fin septembre à 554 milliards de couronnes contre 516 milliards de couronnes un an plus tôt.
Pour le compte du gestionnaire de fortune colonais Schneider, Walter & Kollegen (SWuK)), Universal-Investment vient de lancer le fonds obligataire de droit allemand SWuK Renten Flexibel UI. Ce produit est géré par Peter Schneider tandis que Winfried Walter est chargé de la sélection de la poche crédit.Le fonds, dont le portefeuille comportera au minimum 80 % de titres de catégorie investissement, utilisera le système matriciel développé par Peter Schneider et qui permet de déterminer l’intérêt relatif d’abord du segment et ensuite de chaque valeur. Entrent en compte la qualité de la signature, le volume de l'émission, l'échéance, la monnaie et un spread de taux attrayant.Actuellement, le portefeuille ne comprend pratiquement pas d’emprunts d’Etats, mais des obligations d'émetteurs para-gouvernementaux comme la KfW ou la Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank allemandes ainsi que des obligations d’entreprises de plusieurs secteurs. Il comporte également des Pfandbriefe, des obligations indexées sur l’inflation et des obligations convertibles.SWuK a été créée en août 2011 et gère environ 100 millions d’euros. CaractéristiquesDénomination ; SWuK Renten Flexibel UICodes Isin : DE000A1H72L9 (part retail)DE000A1H772M7 (par institutionnelle, souscription minipmale 0,1 million d’euros)Droit d’entrée : 3 % maximumCommission d’administration et conseil et de dépôt : 1,6 % maximum
HSBC Global Asset Management vient de lancer un fonds obligataire en renminbi (yuans), rapporte Citywire. Le HSBC GIF RMB Fixed Income fund sera géré par Cecilia Chan, gérante basée à Hong Kong.
Le mexicain BBVA Bancomer a fait admettre le 27 octobre l’ETF CHNTRAC à la négociation sur la Bourse de Mexico (BMV). Ce sixième ETF de Bancomer réplique l’indice BMV China SX20 des plus grandes capitalisations chinoises de tous secteurs, disponibles sur le marché mexicain et cotées sous forme d’ADR au NYSE ou au Nasdaq. Il s’agit d’un produit à réplication physique.CaractéristiquesDénomination : CHNTRACCode Isin : MX1BCH080000Commission de gestion : 0,50 %
Et c'est fort de ce constat que l'AFG œuvre pour lui donner la place qu'elle mérite en Europe, chiffres à l'appui, comme le rappelle Pierre Bollon, délégué général de l'association. Dans ce cadre, l'association professionnelle était récemment à Londres. Elle ne compte pas en rester là. Un récent recrutement à Paris d'une personne dédiée à l'international, la prochaine naissance d'un site internet, d'autres manifestations en France et à l'étranger font également partie de la stratégie de l'association pour promouvoir la gestion française.
The Mexican firm BBVA Bancomer on 27 October admitted the ETF CHINTRAC to trading on the Mexican stock market (BMV). The sixth ETF from Bancomer replicates the BMV China SX20 index of the largest Chinese caps in all sectors, available on the Mexican market, and is listed in the form of an ADR on the NYSE or Nasdaq exchanges. It is a physical replication product. Characteristics Name: CHNTRAC ISIN code: MX1BCH080000 Management commission: 0.50%
In August this year, Ignis Asset Management, an affiliate of the British insurer Phoenix, announced that it is reducing its stake in its joint venture with the management firm Argonaut from 50% to 40%. In 2010, La Tribune reports, Ignis AM is reported to have reduced its stake in Hexam to 35%, and to have launched a 49%/51% joint venture with Castle Hill Asset Management. Now, La Tribune reports, Ignis would like to make the launch of new products a priority. And the asset management firm is hoping to strengthen its presence in Luxembourg and Italy, where an office has recently been opened. There are currently no plans to open a Paris office.
The Wealth Management division of the Scandinavian bank SEB which inludes the private bank and institutional clients, has earned an operating profit up 8% to SEK1.053trn in the first nine months of the year, compared with the corresponding period of last year. The unit has earned net subscriptions of SEK22bn since the beginning of the year in private banking, and of SEK10bn for institutionals. Assets have fallen due to negative market effects, to SEK1.174trn, from SEK1.321trn as of the end of 2010.
Brice Perin is manager of the new absolute return, long/short, UCITS IV-compliant FCP fund Acropole Vol Opportunités, which on 26 October received a sales license from the AMF.The asset management firm is confident enough that there will be enough interest in the new product, which offers daily liquidity and decorrelated performance, to have provided EUR20m in seed capital, out of total assets of EUR750m. The volatily objective is comparable to the LFP Long Vol fund, which is also managed by Perin. This will be achieved by exploiting the volatility of indices and equities with a wide variety of liquid instruments such as plain vanilla options, variance swaps, forward start variance swaps, volatility swaps, and options and futures on the VIX.The minimal recommended investment duration for the product is three years.CharacteristicsName: Acropole Vol OpportunitésISIN codes: FR 0011134550 (institutional I share class)FR 0011120922 (A share class for “all subscribers”)Minimal initial subscription: EUR500,000 (I share class)EUR10,000 (A share class)Front-end fee: maximum 4%Management commission: I share class: 0.70%A share class: 1.40%Performance commission: 20% of performance exceeding the capitalised Eonia, with high watermark
HSBC Global Asset Management has launched a bond fund denominated in Chinese renbimbi (yen), Citywire reports. The HSBC GIF RMB Fixed Income fund will be co-managed by Cecilia Chan, a manager based in Hong Kong.
The Coutts private bank announced a relaunch this Tuesday. In order to revitalise its image, the bank is dropping the name Royal Bank of Scotland, which it had used outside the United Kingdom (Switzerland, Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong and India) since 2008, the Financial Times says. It will now operate as a single brand throughout the world: Coutts. The goal is to modernise the institution, founded in 1692, and to give a more dynamic image of its investment management.
GLG is interested in a type of market floor activity known as market maker, its CEO, Pierre Lagrange, who is also a member of the executive board at Man Group, has said in an interview with Les Echos. “In general, it doesn’t lose money, it is highly disciplined, methodical, and it works on low margins. It’s the expertise in short-term flow management that interests us,” explains Lagrange.
Henderson Global Investors has teamed up with José Mourinho, the Real Madrid trainer, in a new advertising campaign which will run in the UK and countries across Continental Europe and Asia from 31 October 2011. The campaign will feature the “special one” in outdoor, online, national and trade press and below-the-line promotions.
The British asset management firm Henderson has announced the closure of its quantitative currency strategies, including the Henderson Horizon Global Currency fund, whose assets under management totalled GBP36.7m, and the UCITS III fund Henderson Global Currency (GBP10m), Fund Web reports. The consequence of this decision is that the five members of the team which had managed these strategies will all be leaving the firm. The two funds will be liquidated and their capital refunded to shareholders.
The French financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), and the Overseas Issuing Institute (Institut d'émission d’outre-mer, or IEOM) on 28 October issued a statement drawing the attention of the public to the activities of the company SECURCORP LIMITED, headquartered in Australia.The firm offers investors in New Caledonia financial products, often via advertisements in the local press, which promise returns of as much as 9.25% per year. The product is claimed to be exposed to risk related to the Australian real estate market.Although it would seem that the firm is registered with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission in the “Securities Dealers” category, the AMF and IEOM state that Securcorp is not authorised to provide investment services, and is not licensed to provide banking or financial activities in the domestic territories of France, or in its overseas territories. In addition, none of the products which the firm offers has any form of license for sale in French territory.As a result, the AMF and IEOM recommend that investors not respond to investment solicitations from this firm, and not to relay its communications to third parties in any form.
Pierre Bollon, executive officer of the French management association (AFG), claims the association needs to provide French management with the position it deserves in Europe, and to this end, the AFG has recently been active in London, and is not planning to stop there. A recent recruitment in Paris of someone dedicated to international markets, a forthcoming website, and other development in France and other countries provide illustrations of the association's strategy to promote French management.
The French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), has accused the asset management firm Tocqueville Finance, and its deputy CEO, Marc Tournier, of manipulating the price of the auto rental firm ADA in 2009, Les Echos reports. The trades in question took place on 26 June 2009, when Tocqueville Finance, at the instruction of Tournier, massively bought up ADA shares, provoking a 41.25% increase in its share price, according to the findings of a study by the market regulator’s sanctions committee.Tocqueville Finance and Tournier reject the accusations and claim that the publicly-traded capital in the firm at the time of the transactions was stable. A representative of the AMF college has called for a fine of EUR150,000, and a reprimand, against Tournier, and is seeking a fine of EUR100,000 against Tocqueville Finance.
Bonuses handed out to City golden boys in London in 2011 will be down 38%, to GBP4.2bn, according to the Center for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), Les Echos reports. They are thus returning to their levels of 10 years ago, far off their peak of GBP11.6bn in 2007. The CEBR predicts that the total level of bonuses will rise gradually to GBP4.6bn by 2015.
The pension fund managed by the Norwegian government in third quarter earned returns of -8.8%, or -NOK284bn. The sovereign debt crisis in Europe has strongly weighed down equities in the past few months. Assets in equities have earned returns of 016.9%, while bonds have gained 3.7%. The market value of the fund has lost NOK56bn, to EUR2.055trn. In the first nine months of the year, the fund has earned 06.6%, or -NOK222bn, with returns of -15.1% for assets in equities, and +6.3% for bonds.
The US ETF specialist WisdomTree as of the end of September posted assets of USd11.18bn, compared with USD12.93bn three months earlier, due to a negative market effect of USd1.93bn, though it still had positive net subscriptions of USD178.5m. Since the beginning of this year, WisdomTree has earned net inflows of USD3.14bn. Assets under management stack up to USD9.89bn as of the end of December, and USd8.26bn as of the end of September 2010. Net profits in third quarter totalled USd1.36m, compared with USD0.69m in April-June, and a loss of USD1.52m in the corresponding period of last year. In January-September, WisdomTree earned net profits of USD2.2m, compared with a loss of USd6.97m in the first nine months of 2010. At a presentation of its retuls, the CEO of the fund, Jonathan Steinberg, insisted that the market share of net subscriptions to US ETFs represented by WisdomTree totalled 4.1% in third quarter, compared with 2.7% in July-September 2010, Mutual Fund Wire reports.
The medical doctor Dr. Bruce C. Turner has been recruited by Lombard Odier Investment Management (LOIM) in New York to manage the health segment of the multi-strategy fund 1798 Fundamental Strategies Fund and Global Equity Long/Short Fund. Turner has 15 years of experience in the management of health sector funds at First Manhattan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. At LOIM, he will report to Aziz Nahas, a partner and CIO for equities. He replaces Jim Patricelli as portfolio manager. As of the end of September, LOIM had total assets of USD37bn.
The co-founder of the hedge fund Ikos (USD3bn), Martin Coward, is preparing to launch a rival hedge fund, which may further increase tensions with the CEO of the fund, Elena Ambrosiadou, his current wife whom he is in the process of divorcing, the Financial Times reports. Like Ikos, the new fund will use extremely complex software, devised by Coward, to trade on markets worldwide.
The US-based alternative management firm SAC Capital Advisors is planning to open an office in Tokyo in first quarter 2011, the Bloomberg news agency reports, in order to seize opportunities on the Japanese market. In 2011, SEC recruited four portfolio managers in Asia, bringing the total number of Asian experts to 13. In Asia, the firm already has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing. Assets under management at SAC total about USD13bn. The firm has earned returns of about 7% in the first nine months of the year, compared with losses of 10% for the S&P 500. The SAC portfolio has highly limited net exposure, with total leverage of 3 to 3.5.
The European fund and asset management association (EFAMA) on 28 October published an update to its European Fund Classification (EFC) system.The primary objective for the classification is to offer all participants a transparent classification structure. In the short term, the objective is to classify all investment funds availabe for sale in the various European jurisdictions. In the longer term, the effort will aim to offer complete coverage of UCITS-compliant products.The EFC working group has announced that it has now set the guiding categorical principles which will be sub-divided into sectoral categories. By the methodology chosen, the equities, bonds, diversified and money market fund universes are divided according to eight criteria: country/region, sector, market capitalisation size, currency, quality of credit, interest rate, exposure to emerging markets, and asset allocation.EFAMA is planning to release a report presenting the principles and categories in first quarter 2012.
Universal-Investment has recently launched a German-registered bond fund on behalf of the Cologne-based wealth management firm Schneider, Walter & Kollegen (SwuK), entitled SwuK Renten Flexibel UI. The product is managed by Peter Schneider, while Winfried Walter selects the credit allocation.The fund, whose portfolio will contain at least 80% investment-grade securities, will be based on a proprietary system developed by Schneider, which allows for the relative attractiveness of a segment and then of each individual share to be determined. The system also takes into consideration the quality of the issue, the volume of the issue, maturity, currency and attractive rate spreads.Currently, the portfolio includes virtually no government bonds, but it does contain bonds from para-government issuers such as KfW and the German Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank and corporate bonds from several sectors. It also includes Pfandbriefe, inflation-linked bonds and convertible bonds.SwuK was founded in August 2011, and manages about EUR100m in assets.CharacteristicsName: SwuK Renten Flexibel UIISIN codes: DE000A1H72L9 (retail share class)DE000A1H772M7 (institutional share class; minimal subscription EUR0.1m)Front-end fee: maximum 3%Administration, advising and depository commissions: maximum 1.6%