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11/03/2011

Pension fund and BNY Mellon in disagreement

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal under the California Public Records Act, the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association pension fund is accusing BNY Mellon, its custodian, of failing in its fiduciary duty by making money on currency transactions initiated to facilitate the fund’s investments in foreign securities. The bank contests the conclusion, and claims that it was acting as a counterparty for the fund and its managers.
11/03/2011

AMF issues a warning over activities of Altanus

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French financial market watchdog, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), issued a warning on 10 March over the activities of the company Altanus Limited, whose headquarters are located in the Netherlands, and its websites, swissmoneyreport.net and smr-news.com.The firm sends faxes to machines at businesses, as well as the phone numbers of private individuals, entitled “Swiss Money Report,” which contain highly optimistic views of the financial situation of companies listed on foreign markets (with limited market capitalisation), and predicting potential returns on very large investments, with predictions that share prices will rise by more than 50% in the short term, and over 200% in the mid-term.The AMF has warned investors that “such potential gains also presuppose significant potential losses, which may be accompanies by very high price volatility.” The AMF also states that the Swiss Money Report mentions a conflict of interest, as the publishers of the Swiss Money Report reserve the right to buy or sell shares in the businesses contained in the reports at any time. As a result, “the AMF recommends a high level of caution on the part of investors, and in general, invites the public to examine suggested investments which promise high returns, and not to pass these on to others in any form.”
11/03/2011

Investment firms increase spending on lobbying

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A wave of regulation now washing over the asset management industry in the wake of the financial crisis is leading major players in the United States, who are generally quiet in political matters, to make their voices heard, the Wall Street Journal reports. OpenSecrets.org reports that BlackRock spent nearly USD1.7bn on lobbying activities in 2010, compared with USD390,000 in 2009, and nothing in 2006. Fidelity Investments has increased its spending from 21% last year to USD3.5m. Legg Mason, for its part, spent USD1.07m last year, compared with USD580,000 in 2009. Vanguard Group spent USD1.2m last year, which remains stable compared with 2009, but more than double its lobbying spending in 2006.
11/03/2011

Foreign UCITS IV funds will be tax-exempt in Ireland

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Irish government has stated its position on the adoption of the UCITS IV directive, Fund Strategy reports. According to the most recent proposals, a foreign UCITS IV vehicle managed by an Irish management firm would not be considered subject to Irish tax. Luxembourg, the largest competitor to Ireland, stated in December that funds domiciled in Luxembourg will be taxed. The Irish market is home to about EUR759bn in UCITS funds, representing 79% of all funds as of 31 December, out of EUR964bn in funds domiciled in Ireland.
11/03/2011

UIRE acquires Casal Bertone project in Rome

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For about EUR48m, the German management firm Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) has acquired the Casal Bertone gallery shopping centre under construction in Rome (9,830 square metres, 56 shops) from the Italian promoter Immobiliare Europea. The property will be added to the EUR4.5bn commercial real estate portfolio, and will belong to the open-ended real estate fund ImmoInvest: Europa.The Casal Bertone gallery is a part of a 21,000 square metre shopping centre, in which the largest space will be an Auchan hypermarket.
11/03/2011

RidgeWorth to shutter three 130/30 funds

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Mutual Fund Wire reports that the board of trustees at RidgeWorth Funds last week granted its approval for the liquidation of three 130/30 funds. They are the RidgeWorth International Equity 130/30 fund (USD133.15m), Real Estate 130/30 (USD12.3m), and US Equity 130/30 (USD14.1m).
11/03/2011

GAM launches a “catbonds” fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } GAM has announced the launch of the GAM FCM Catastrophe Bond Fund, which offers investors a way to gain from natural disasters such as earthquakes or tornadoes. The investment firm has formed a partnership with Fermat Capital Management, a specialist in catbonds. Minimal subscription for the fund is USD25,000.
11/03/2011

FRR has earned 3% returns since 2004

The French pension fund Fonds de réserve pour les retraites (FRR)'s annualised performance net of expenses (determined as at 31st December 2010) since it commenced investment operations in June 2004 is +3%1. The Fund’s performance over the year 2010 is +4.2%.As at 31 December 2010, the FRR’s assets totalled 37 Bn euros : - performance assets represented 38.8% of net assets (of which 32.3% equities, 3.2% commodities, 2.1% real estate and 1.2% emerging markets debts); - liability hedging assets accounted for 61.2% of net assets. Pension reforms in 2010 clarified the FRR’s liabilities which now entail 14 annual payments of 2.1 billion euros to the Caisse d’amortissement de la dette sociale –CADES– (2011 to 2024) and confirmed the lump sum contribution owed by CNIEG to the CNAV in 2020. The FRR therefore adopted its strategic allocation plan on 13 December 2010 with a view to meeting its liabilities and achieving as high as possible a return on its investments by 2024. The search for performance will be driven by its assets (equities and bonds of developed and emerging economies, high yield bonds, real estate and commodities) which represent 40% of its portfolio (37.5 Bn euros) as at the beginning of March 2011.
11/03/2011

Dexia AM launches Dexia Global Opportunities

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Dexia Asset Management has announced the launch of Dexia Global Opportunities, its 25th UCITS III-compliant hedge fund, with the objective of outperforming the Eonia over a recommended investment period of 3 years, with average volatility of about 6%. The mutual fund will rely on arbitrage strategies (long/short) and directional strategies (either long or short), investing in various asset classes (equities, fixed income, credit, currencies, commodities), either in European or international financial markets.
11/03/2011

Solit releases a silver mine fund in Germany

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Hamburg-based wealth management firm Solit Management GmbH on 11 March will unveil the Liechtenstein-registered, UCITS-compliant fund FS Gold & Silver Reserve Fund, founded on 22 June last year, which has received a sales license for Germany. The product will be denominated in Swiss francs, and will specialise in shares in companies that operate silver mines (which represent 70% of the portfolio). The product is managed by Adrian Morgen at Everest Wealth Management (Liechtenstein). As of 3 March, the performance of the fund was 73%. Characteristics Name: FS Gold & Silver Reserve Fund ISIN code: LI0112163931
11/03/2011

Aviva Investors obtains a license in Taiwan

Aviva Investors has announced that it has received a Securities Investment Consulting Enterprise (SICE) licence for Taiwan from the Financial Supervisory Commission. The licence allows the asset manager to open its own subsidiary and offer a broad range of products in Taiwan to both retail and institutional clients. Since entering Taiwan market in 2008, the licence means that Aviva Investors will have an official presence in Taiwan that allows it to provide on the ground services to local distributors and clients. Aviva Investors has two segregated mandates - Global High Yield and Emerging Market Bonds - and 13 registered SICAV funds in Taiwan.Aviva Investors also recently received its Capital Markets Services licence in Fund Management for Singapore.
11/03/2011

Assets up at Legg Mason and Invesco

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Legg Mason has announced that its assets as of the end of February totalled USD672.7bn, compared with USD671.8bn two months earlier. Equities assets totalled USD188.7bn, compared with USD185.6bn at the end of January, and USD184.2bn at the end of December, while bond assets totalled Usd353.4bn, compared with USD352.9bn and USD355.8bn, respectively. Money market funds, meanwhile, were down to USD130.6bn, compared with USD133.3bn at the end of January, and USD131.8bn as of the end of December.The fund manager explains that its assets were set back by the exit of an Asian equities manager, which reduced the total by about USD2.2bn.At Invesco, total assets as of 28 February totalled USD641.1bn, compared with USD623.1bn one month earlier, and USD616.6bn as of the end of December, while equities products accounted for USD304bn, compared with USD300bn at the end of January, and USD294.1bn two months earlier. Assets in UIT ETF and passive funds totalled USD88.7bn, compared with USD85.5bn and USD80.8bn, respectively.February’s increases are due to market appreciation, institutional investment subscriptions, and appreciation of other currencies against the US dollar.
11/03/2011

Russell recruits a head of defined contribution from AllianceBernstein

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Richard Davies, senior managing director, defined contribution & sub-advisory relationships at AllianceBernstein, will be joining Russell Investments on 1 June as managing director, defined contribution. He will become the new head of Russell’s activities in the area of defined contributions, which as of the end of December represented USD67bn in advisory assets and USD20bn in assets under management worldwide.
11/03/2011

Franklin Templeton appoints a head of sales to RFAs

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Franklin Templeton has announced the appointment of Pierre Caramazza as head of sales to Registered Financial Advisers in the United States. Caramazza has several years of experience at the firm, most recently as head of the Fixed Income Product Management division.
11/03/2011

Former McKinsey partner testifies in Galleon trial

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Anil Kumar, a former partner at McKinsey, has testified in the trial of Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of Galleon, that he shared confidential client information with Rajaratnam, because he felt indebted due to personally receiving USD500,000 per year in consulting fees from him, the Financial Times reports. He told of how Rajaratnam advised him to open a Swiss bank account and an offshore account invested with Galleon, using the name of his housekeeper in order to avoid detection.
11/03/2011

Strong growth for Standard Life in 2010

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of December, assets under administration by the Standard Life group totalled GBP196.8bn, up 16% year on year. Net inflows excluding British and Indian money market funds rose by 46% to GBP8.3bn, while long-term savings inflows rose 77% to GBP4.7bn. Assets under management for third parties at Standard Life Inestments (SLI) increased by 26% to a record GBP71.6bn.
11/03/2011

Henderson to slough off some funds and managers at Gartmore

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to reports in Citywire, the managers Dan Roberts, John Anderson and Leigh Himsworth and their teams will not be joining Henderson when the firm completes its acquisition of Gartmore. Their funds will be merged into other products over the summer. In total, Citywire reports, 14 Gartmore funds will be closed down. However, John Bennett, Charlie Awdry, Chris Palmer, Ben Wallace and Luke Newman will be joining Henderson.
11/03/2011

Schroders doubles net inflows in 2010

In 2010, Schroders had net new business inflows of GBP27.1 billion (2009: GBP15.0 billion) taking funds under management at the year end to an all time high of GBP 196.7 billion (2009: GBP 148.4 billion). Net revenue was GBP 1.16 billion (2009: GBP 749.8 million) and profit before tax was GBP 406.9 million (2009: GBP 137.5 million).Net inflows into fixed income were particularly noteworthy at GBP 9.8 billion taking fixed income assets under management to GBP 33.8 billion, almost double the level of two years ago. Schroders also had GBP 5.0 billion of net inflows in multi-asset with major new mandates from UK and international clients.
11/03/2011

Le FRR s’adapte à son nouveau modèle

Face à ses engagements envers la Cades, le fonds articule sa stratégie autour de deux poches, de couverture (60% de l’actif net) et de performance.
11/03/2011

L'immobilier en manque d'actifs sécurisés

Le Mipim, salon international de l’immobilier, se clôt sur un bilan plutôt positif. Mais derrière la stabilisation du marché, les investisseurs - au rang desquels les fonds souverains montent en puissance - sont confrontés à une pénurie de biens de premier choix.
11/03/2011

Schroders signe un grand millésime 2010

Le gérant britannique a quasiment triplé son résultat avant impôt l’an dernier, à 406 millions de livres. A fin 2010, Schroders affichait 197 milliards de livres d’actifs (contre 148 milliards fin 2009). A 27 milliards, la collecte nette a presque doublé.
11/03/2011

Duke Street investit dans la gestion

Le fonds de capital-investissement a pris une participation majoritaire dans la société UK Wealth Management, un spécialiste de la gestion de patrimoine et de l’épargne salariale en Grande-Bretagne. Le montant n’est pas communiqué. Duke Street, qui a déjà investi en 2010 dans Payzone (paiements) et Marlin (rachat de crédits), a fait des services financiers un secteur privilégié.
11/03/2011

UFG Rem augmente ses investissements

La filiale de gestion immobilière d’UFG LFP prévoit d’investir 500 millions d’euros en 2011, soit 25% de plus que l’an dernier. Une enveloppe minimale de 300 millions est prévue pour les SCPI et OPCI du groupe, ainsi qu’un plan d’arbitrage de 80 millions, et enfin 120 millions dans le résidentiel neuf.
11/03/2011

Le déficit commercial américain se creuse plus qu'attendu

Le déficit commercial des Etats-Unis s’est creusé plus que prévu en janvier en raison de l’envolée des importations de pétrole, d’automobiles et de biens d'équipement, selon le département du Commerce. La balance des échanges affiche un déficit de 46,34 milliards de dollars, alors que le marché attendait un «trou» de 41,5 milliards. En décembre, le déficit s'était élevé à 40,3 milliards.
11/03/2011

Le Conseil de coopération du Golfe aide deux de ses membres

Le Conseil de coopération du Golfe réuni jeudi à Ryad a annoncé le déblocage d’une aide de 20 milliards de dollars sur dix ans destinée à améliorer les infrastructures et les logements d’Oman et de Bahreïn, ses deux Etats membres les moins riches, touchés par la vague de révoltes qui souffle sur le monde arabe.

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