Ces deux dernières années, les Japonais ont investi un total 8.000 milliards de yens (104,3 milliards de dollars) dans des fonds Brésil, selon Lipper. Mais cette «love story» pourrait bien ne pas durer, estime le Financial Times. Les fonds ont en effet subi un double revers. La récente aversion au risque a conduit les investisseurs à se défaire de leurs actifs émergents. Parallèlement, le yen a bondi tandis que le real brésilien chutait.
La société de gestion coréenne Mirae Asset Global Investments Group a recruté Karl Waltré en tant que responsable des pays nordiques dans le cadre de sa stratégie d’expansion en Europe. Il s’occupera des clients existants de la société et aura pour mission de développer l’activité «wholesale» et «retail». Placé sous la responsabilité d’Elliot Berman, il sera basé à Londres. Précédement, Karl Waltré était directeur du développement chez Aviva Investors où il était chargé de la clientèle dans les pays nordiques et les Etats baltes.
En 2009, Pimco (groupe Allianz Global Investors) avait recruté Neel Kashkari, un ancien du Département du Trésor et de Goldman Sachs, pour qu’il transforme le plus gros gestionnaire «obligations» du monde en un grand acteur sur les actions, note The Wall Street Journal. Depuis lors, Pimco n’a lancé que deux fonds d’actions qui ne pèsent qu’un peu plus de 0,1 % des 1.300 milliards de dollars de ses encours, et l'équipe de Neel Kashkari ne compte que 20 professionnels de l’investissement.Et les performances manquent de lustre : le fonds Pathfinder (1,5 milliard de dollars) géré par deux anciens de Franklin Templeton, Anne Gudefin et Charles Lahr, ne gagnait au 30 août que 0,4 % depuis le début de l’année contre 0,89 % pour son indice de référence, le MSCI monde. Quant au fonds d’actions émergents (376,1 millions de dollars) lancé en mars, il affiche une perte de 10 % au 30 août contre 8,04 % pour le MSCI marchés émergents.
Pimco tente de séduire les investisseurs avec un nouveau fonds obligataire censé dégager un rendement quel que soit l’environnement de marché grâce à une large palette de stratégies obligataires, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. Lancé mercredi, le Pimco Credit Absolute Return Fund pourra utiliser des stratégies de hedge funds, comme les positions vendeuses. Il sera géré par Mark Kiesel, le responsable des portefeuilles d’obligations d’entreprises de Pimco.
La division investment management de Morningstar (250 personnes implantées à Chicago, Londres, Melbourne, Paris, Shenzhen, Sydney, Tokyo et Toronto) a depuis le 31 août un nouveau patron de la recherche sur les gérants, William Harding.L’intéressé, qui sera subordonné à Thomas Idzoreck, CIO et directeur de la recherche pour la division, était depuis 2006 directeur de la recherche chez Morningstar Investment Services (MIS). Dans ses nouvelles fonctions, il sera chargé de promouvoir les meilleures pratiques en matière de recherche sur les gérants ainsi que de sélection de gérants.Peng Chen, president de la division investment management, a souligné que l’une des principales stratégies de croissance pour Morningstar consiste à faire du groupe un leader mondial dans le domaine des fonds de fonds.
Eaton Vance Management annonce avoir recruté Michael B. Kotarski et Joseph L. Furey comme co-directeurs pour les ventes aux institutionnels. Les intéressés viennent respectivement de Mellon Capital Management et de Eaton Vance Etats-Unis, précise un communiqué de la société.
Swiss Life France souhaite rendre la nature des bénéfices la moins dépendante possible des variations boursières, rapporte L’Agefi. Selon Charles Relecom, son président directeur général, c’est la raison pour laquelle, en assurance vie, la priorité a été donnée aux produits en unité de compte. L’assureur a également exclu de puiser dans sa réserve de participation aux provisions pour excédent [PPE] pour gonfler le rendement de nos produits. En chiffres, la part des contrats en unités de compte (UC) de l'établissement a augmenté de 9 points pour atteindre 31%, contre 15% pour la moyenne du marché.
Directeur général délégué de Swiss Life Asset Management, également responsable de l’activité commerciale et du marketing de la société de gestion, Alain Konrad a démissionné à la mi-juillet pour rejoindre la Société Privée de Gestion de Patrimoine (SPGP) où il occupera des fonctions analogues. L’arrivée d’Alain Konrad coïncide avec la volonté de la SPGP de développer son activité. Avec un milliard d’euros d’actifs sous gestion, essentiellement issus d’investisseurs privés, le nouveau promu – il s’agit d’une création de poste - s’est donné comme objectif d’accroître la part de marché de la société de gestion, principalement auprès des conseillers en gestion de patrimoine indépendants et des investisseurs institutionnels. D’autre part, la SPGP affiche également son intention de commercialiser ses fonds hors de France. Pour cela, Alain Konrad compte s’appuyer sur les services de Third party marketers ainsi que sur son expérience qui lui a permis, au cours des dix années passées chez Swiss Life AM, de porter les encours à 4 milliards d’euros (hors capitaux issus des mandats de gestion Swiss Life) – avec une collecte de 850 millions d’euros pour la seule année 2010. Enfin, selon nos informations, SPGP devrait également enrichir sa gamme d’OPCVM en lançant prochainement un fonds d’obligations innovant.
L’Agefi rapporte qu’Axa Private Equity (Axa PE) est entrée en négociation exclusive avec Astorg Partners en vue d’acquérir Photonis, le fabricant de systèmes de photo-détection, une société que la filiale de l’assureur avait elle-même vendue à Astorg en 2008. Le prix est légèrement supérieur à 500 millions d’euros, dont 51% en fonds propres, note le quotidien.
Selon le site H24 Finance, David Edmond a quitté son poste de directeur commercial chez UFG-LFP mercredi 31 août pour rejoindre l’Union Financière George V rachetée l’an dernier par Crystal Finance. L’Union Financière George V conçoit et distribue des produits financiers à plus de 400 conseillers en gestion de patrimoine indépendants.
Ancien directeur général adjoint de Caixa Manresa et en dernier lieu directeur général de CatalunyaCaixa Inversió, où il a dirigé la fusion entre les sociétés de gestion de Caixa Catalunya, Caixa Tarragona et Caixa Manresa, Oriol Delmau a été nommé président directeur général de la nouvelle entité, rapporte Funds People. La gamme des trois gestionnaires a été rationalisée, passant d’un total de 40 produits à 17 fonds traditionnels
Le CSI RMB Fund, lancé à la mi-juin par Citic Securities International Investment Management (CSIIM), a déjà collecté un encours de 50 millions de dollars, rapporte Asian Investor.Craig Lindsay, managing director et COO de CSIIM, espère drainer au moins 100 millions de dollars durant la première année et jusqu'à 1 milliard de dollars par la suite.Le fonds domicilié aux îles Caïman a, depuis son lancement, il est vrai seulement un peu plus de deux mois, enregistré des performances positives. Sur la base d’une appréciation du renminbi de 5 à 7% par an, le fonds devrait dégager un rendement de 15 à 20% par an.
The Wall Street Journal reports that on 31 August, the SEC launched a market consultation to gather the opinions of the public about the use of derivatives by mutual funds, an element which obviously had not been provided for in the law of 1940. The consultation will remain open for 60 days.The question is largely, on the one hand, of how leverage should be calculated for derivatives used by funds, and on the other hand, to determine whether the SEC should issue rules governing the way in which funds are to value derivatives in their portfolios. The SEC currently forbids the use of derivatives by ETFs as a precaution.
Prudential is to merge its Equity Income trust into the M&G Dividend fund, as part of a series of consolidations aiming to improve performance and lower costs, Investment Week reports. The merger of the Income trust, whose assets under management total GBP563m, and the M&G Dividend fund (GBP497m) will create a fund with assets of over GBP1bn. Several other mergers are planned, including that of the Prudential International Growth trust (GBP96m) with the Global Growth fund, managed by Greg Aldridge, which has about GBP855m. The operations are subject to the approval of shareholders in September, to go into effect in October.
The London-based fund of hedge funds Permal (which was acquired by Legg Mason in 2005) is now offering shares denominated in Chinese renminbi for two of its funds of funds, Permal Fixed Income Holdings (USD5.7bn) and Permal Macro Holdings (USD6bn). Renminbi shares in the Permal Fixed Income Holdings fund will be launched at the end of September, with a launch of shares in the second fund to follow soon after. Permal has recently intensified its focus on the Chinese market, with the recruitment in June of a China expert, Zhiwu Chen, professor of finance at Yale, as chief advisor.
Prudential va fusionner son trust Equity Income (563 millions de livres) dans le fonds M&G Dividend (497 millions) dans le cadre d’une réorganisation de sa gamme de fonds, créant ainsi un portefeuille de 1 milliard de livres, rapporte Investment Week. Le gérant du fonds sera Alex Odd.
Pimco is seeking to win over investors with a new bond fund which is intended to earn positive returns in all market environments, by relying on a wide range of bond strategies, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Pimco Credit Absolute Return Fund, launched on Wednesday, may use hedge fund strategies such as short positions. It will be managed by Mark Kiesel, head of corporate bond portfolios at Pimco.
Oriol Delman, the former deputy CEO of Caixa Manresa and most recently CEO of CatalunyaCaixa Inversió, who oversaw the merger of the management firms of the Caixa Catalunya group, Caixa Tarragona et Caixa Manresa, has been appointed as president and CEO of the new entity, Funds People reports. The product range from the three management firms has been rationalised, and reduced from a total of 40 products to 17 traditional funds.
Global Pensions reports that as of the end of June, total assets at Robeco were down slightly, to EUR149.3bn from EUR149.6bn twelve months previously, due to a heavy depreciation of the US dollar and falling markets. CEO Robert Munsters says that in first half, net subscriptions from institutionals represented 47% of total net inflows (see Newsmanagers of 31 August), which totalled EUR4.9bn, following institutional net outflows of EUR4.9bn in January-June 2010. Robeco’s objective is to increase the proportion of assets managed for institutional investors from 50% to 60% by 2014.
In the past two years, Japanese clients have invested a total of JPY8trn (USD104.3bn) in Brazil funds, Lipper reports. But this love story may not last, the Financial Times predicts. Brazil funds have suffered a double setback. Investors’ recent aversion to risk has led them to pull back from emerging markets; and meanwhile, the Japanese yen has risen while the Brazilian real has fallen.
The Korean management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments Group has hired Karl Waltré as its head of the Nordic region, as part of its expansion strategy in Europe. Waltré will handle existing clients of the firm and will aim to develop wholesale and retail activities. He will report to Elliot Berman, and will be based in London. Waltré had previously been director of development at Aviva Investors, where he was in charge of clients in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
Eaton Vance Management has announced the recruitment of Michael B. Kotarski and Joseph L. Furey as co-directors of sales to institutionals. Kotarski and Furey join from Mellon Capital Management and Eaton Vance United States, respectively, a statement from the firm says.
The situation on the markets remains extremely tense on both sides of the Atlantic, largely due to a stalemate on sovereign debt, but it is no longer certain that the worst is yet to come. “The market has already taken into account many elements, and the dark scenario of another crisis is not the most likely one,” Philippe Delienne, president of Convictions Asset Management, said on 31 August. In the current market environment, which remains highly vexed, Convictions AM estimates that it is a time to privilege stock-picking, particularly since equities now offer higher returns than bonds, and valuations have never been so attractive. However, due to the chronic volatility of the markets, re-exposure to equities may only be progressive. Convictions AM is focused on emerging equities markets, and more recently, on US equities. In sectoral terms, tech stocks, media, energies, brands, and health are the best bets, along with companies which need a limited amount of capital, as access to bank financing is likely to become more difficult for some time. Convictions AM is also positive on corporate bonds rated investment grade or better, bonds with a AAA rating, and emerging market currencies.
Alain Konrad, deputy CEO of Swiss Life Asset Management, who is also head of sales and marketing activities at the management firm, resigned in mid-July in order to join the Société Privée de Gestion de Patrimoine (SPGP), where he will have identical responsibilities.The arrival of Konrad coincides with an ambition on the part of SPGP to develop its activities. At the firm with EUR1bn in assets under management, largely from private investors, Konrad, who occupies a newly-created position, has been assigned the objective of increasing the market share for the management firm, largely in the IFA, independent wealth manager, and institutional investor segments. Meanwhile, SPGP has also declared its intention to release its funds outside France.In order to achieve that, Konrad will rely on the services of third party marketers and, where possible, on his own experience, gained during ten years at Swiss Life AM, where he helped to increase assets to EUR4bn (excluding capital associated with management mandates from Swiss Life), with inflows fo EUR850m in the year 2010 alone. According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, SPGP is also planning to add to its range of mutual funds, with the launch of an innovative bond fund in the near future.
The investment management division of Morningstar (250 employees in Chicago, London, Melbourne, Paris, Shenzhen, Syney, Tokyo, and Toronto) has a new head of manager research as of 31 August: William Harding.Harding, who will report to Thomas Idzoreck, CIO and head of research for the division, had been head of research at Morningstar Investment Services (MIS) since 2006. In his new role, he will be in charge of promoting best practices in the area of manager research and manager selection.Peng Chen, president of the investment management division, says that one of the main growth strategies for Morningstar is to make the group a global leader in the area of funds of funds.
In 2009, Pimco (Allianz Global Investors group) recruited Neel Kashkari, formerly of the US Treasury Department and Goldman Sachs, to transform the major global bond manager into a front-runner in equities, the Wall Street Journal recalls. Since then, Pimco has launched only two equities funds, which account for only slightly over 0.1% of the USD1.3trn in assets at the management firm, and the team led by Kashkari has only 20 investment professionals.The performance of the funds also lacks lustre: the Pathfinder fund (USD1.5bn), managed by two former Franklin Templeton managers, Anne Gudefin and Charles Lahr, had earned only 0.4% since the beginning of the year as of 30 August, compared with 0.89% for its benchmark index, the MSCI World. The emerging markets equities fund (USD376.1bn), launched in March, had lost 10% as of 30 August, compared with 8.04% for the MSCI emerging markets index.
The CSI RMB Fund, launched in mid-June by Citic Securities International Investment Management (CSIM), has already attracted assets of USD50m, Asian Investor reports. Craig Lindsay, managing director and COO of CSIIM, hopes that the fund will take in at least USD100m in the first year, and up to USD1bn eventually. The fund, domiciled in the Cayman islands, has posted positive returns, though this is only in the two months since its launch. On the basis of a projected 5% to 7% per year appreciation for the Chinese renminbi, the fund is expected to earn returns of 15% to 20% per year.
The index provider S&P Indices has launched the first in a series of indices designed to measure the performance of the MILA (Mercado Integrado Latino Americano) Integrated Market platform, a trading vehicle which combines the stock markets of Chile, Colombia and Peru. The S&P MILA 40 measures the performance of the largest and most liquid caps on the MILA platform.
Fundweb reports that, as part of its “ambitious growth plans” following the acquisition of Border Asset Management this year, Sanlam Fund Solutions (Principal Investment Management group) has recruited Barry Cowen, who had been director of Titan Fund Management (Mauritius), after also serving at SocGen Investment Management and George Pech International. Cowen will be in charge of management and development of the retail product range for the British market.
In the United Kingdom, wealth management advisers (independent financial advisers, or IFAs, and multi-tied advisers) maintained their market share in the year 2011 to the end of March at 43%, according to a study published on 31 August by the FSA.However, banks and building societies increased their market share from 22% to 29% in the year 2011 to the end of March, while the market share for insurers held stable at about 13%.The FSA points out that these statistics do not take into account sales via platforms, which are widely used by advisers, and whose market share is thus probably above 43%.Retirement policies were the best-selling product in the year under review, representing 36% of total sales. Advisers sold 58% of these retirement products.