Quelques mois à peine après la perte de 120 millions d’euros subie lors de la revente du fabricant espagnol de jouets, Famosa, le Santander a remercié l’administrateur délégué du capital-investisseur Vista Capital, Ignacio Moreno, qui était à la tête de cette filiale depuis six ans, rapporte Funds People. Le partant est remplacé par un des directeurs de l’investissement, Rafael Garbito.

L'écossais Martin Currrie a annoncé le 6 juillet le renforcement de son équipe de ventes avec l’arrivée de John Long en qualité de sales manager avec pour mission de développer les activités intermédiées de la société à Londres.Il rejoindra Martin Currie le 2 août et sera rattaché à Alan Burnett, le patron de la distribution intermédiée pour le Royaume-Uni. John Long travaillait précédemment chez Stenham Group.

Selon Fund Strategy, Charles Wilson, managing director chez Lazard Asset Management, quitte la société pour rejoindre Investec.Charles Wilson travaillait chez Lazard AM depuis treize ans. Selon Fund Strategy, c’est Bill Smith, CEO pour le Royaume-Uni, qui devrait assumer les fonctions de Charles Wilson en attendant de leui trouver un successeur.

Selon une étude réalisée par l’association des sociétés d’investissement britannique (AIC), le TFE moyen (TER en anglais), y compris les commissions de performance, des sociétés d’investissement s’est élevé à 1,83% en 2009, contre 1,56% en octobre 2008 et 1,74% en juin 2007. En janvier 2010, quelque 54% des sociétés avaient mis en place une commission de performance contre 51% en octobre 2008.Hors commissions de performance, 60% des sociétés d’investissement affichent des TFE inférieurs à 1% et 58% d’entre elles ont des TFE inférieurs à 1,5%.

Rothschild & Cie Gestion a annoncé, mardi 7 juillet, l’ouverture d’une succursale en Suisse basée à Zurich avec pour objectif de développer la clientèle locale institutionnelle et d’accélèrer son développement à l’international. Interrogé par Newsmanagers, Jean-Louis Laurens, associé-gérant, président du directoire, a, dans un premier temps, donné les raisons de ce développement hors de l’Hexagone. «Lorsque je suis arrivé le 1er septembre 2009, j’ai été frappé de voir qu’en dépit de la qualité de notre gestion, celle-ci n'était pas exportée. Or, il faut bien reconnaitre que, désormais, la présence de prestataires de services financiers comme CACEIS ou l’expérience réussie de certains de nos concurrents de qualité ont facilité l’exportation de fonds de droit français.» Le moment semblait donc venu pour Jean-Louis Laurens de mettre en avant la qualité de la gestion de la maison, et ce d’autant qu’il s’agit d’une gestion de conviction dont l’associé-gérant souligne les atouts. «A l’heure où la part des ETF augmente, une gestion de conviction réactive avec des paris réfléchis a clairement des points à marquer, que ce soit dans le cadre d’une gestion cœur ou satellite, ou dans une allocation d’actifs à risques, à la place de trackers…" Outre la «fenêtre» dont profite la gestion de conviction, Jean-Louis Laurens a aussi relevé que le développement de l’architecture ouverte est devenu inéluctable et qu’elle est déjà la règle absolue dans des pays comme les Pays-Bas et l’Allemagne. «A ce titre, a-t-il insisté, elle profite aux établissements disposant d’une marque reconnue.» C’est en partie pour cette raison que la société de gestion justifie son installation à Zurich. Mais pas seulement. «Nous misons clairement sur la zone germanophone, explique Jean-Louis Laurens et la Suisse s’est imposée à nous car en étant en dehors de la communauté européenne, nous devions y créer une entité et faire agréer nos fonds. A cela, il faut également ajouter que le bureau suisse sera dirigé par Konstantin Nikiteas récemment nommé directeur Europe du Nord – de nationalité suisse également - et que Jean-Louis Laurens apprécie pour l’avoir déjà recruté lorsqu’il exerçait ses fonctions chez Axa IM. L’intéressé prendra en charge la stratégie de développement commercial et la distribution des fonds. Il y coordonnera également, en liaison avec Paris, le déploiement commercial en Allemagne et en Autriche. Reste à savoir avec quels fonds Rothschild & Cie Gestion compte, pour débuter, séduire l’Europe… «Le choix s’est porté sur une gamme ramassée de huit fonds que l’Autorité fédérale de surveillance des marchés financiers (FINMA) vient d’agréer et qui couvrent l’ensemble des classes d’actifs actions, obligations et diversifiés réactifs, sous la responsabilité de Didier Bouvignies, associé gérant, et directeur de la gestion, explique Jean-Louis Laurens (voir ci-dessous). Quant aux objectifs chiffrés de ce développement à l’international, le responsable de la société de gestion a pour ambition, à une échéance de quatre à cinq ans, de faire en sorte que le tiers des actifs sous gestion provienne de l'étranger. Ce qui, si l’on table sur un encours global de la société de gestion de 30 à 40 milliards d’euros d’encours, correspond à environ 10 à 15 milliards. «A cet horizon 2014-2015, conclut Jean-Louis Laurens, nous misons sur une Europe germanophone représentant 6 à 7 milliards d’euros. Entre temps, Rothschild & Cie Gestion aura sans doute poursuivi son développement hors de nos frontières, la société de gestion réfléchissant actuellement à prendre également pied en Italie dès l’année prochaine. Liste des fonds agrées en Suisse :Fonds actions•ELAN EURO VALEURS - FR0010187898 (class C) / FR0010207099 (class F) - Gestion de conviction - Zone Euro•ELAN SELECTION EUROPE - FR0010784835 - Gestion de conviction – Europe•MULTI SELECTION BIENS REELS - FR0010035592 (class C) / FR0010563064 (class F) – Fonds de fonds thématique – Biens Réels (Immobilier, Energie, matières premières, etc…) - InternationalFonds obligataires•ELAN 2013 - FR0010697482 (class C) / FR0010702902 (class D) - Gestion obligataire à échéance, crédit “Investment Grade” /Zone Euro•R OBLIGATIONS PRIVEES - FR0007008750 (class C) / FR0010134437 (class D) / FR0010807107 (class F)- Gestion obligataire crédit “Investment Grade”/Zone Euro•ELAN CONVERTIBLES EUROPE - FR0007009139 - Gestion obligations convertibles, Europe Fonds diversifiés•ELAN CLUB - FR000010541557 (class C) / FR0010523191 (class D) / FR0010537423 (class F) - Gestion diversifiée d’allocation flexible (exposition actions comprise entre 20% et 80%)•R VALOR - FR0000298762 (class C) / FR0000298911 (class D) / FR0010599118 (class F) - Gestion diversifiée d’allocation flexible (exposition actions comprise entre 0% et 100%)

BNP Paribas Wealth Management a annoncé le 7 juillet sa décision de faire évoluer son organisation en rassemblant l’ensemble des acteurs de la gestion privée au sein d’un même métier, Wealth Management, sous la responsabilité de Jacques d’Estais qui conserve ses fonctions de responsable du pôle Investment Solutions.Il a été ainsi décidé de créer une gouvernance regroupée, afin d’accentuer la transversalité entre les zones et les fonctions supports :- 5 zones géographiques sont définies : Asie Pacifique, Marchés Domestiques Euro et Nouveaux Marchés Domestiques, Europe Internationale (incluant Moyen-Orient et Amérique Latine) et Luxembourg. Elles sont confiées respectivement à Mignonne Cheng, Marie-Claire Capobianco pour l’ensemble des marchés domestiques, Pascal Boris et Patrice Crochet.- 3 fonctions transversales viendront appuyer le développement de ces zones : Produits & Services, sous la responsabilité d’Olivier Maugarny. Un pôle d’expertise UHNWI (Ultra High Net Worth Individuals) est constitué ; son organisation sera précisée ultérieurement. Enfin, un ensemble COO regroupant les fonctions du métier sera confié à Vincent Lecomte.Mignonne Cheng, Marie-Claire Capobianco, Pascal Boris, Patrice Crochet, Olivier Maugarny et Vincent Lecomte seront, au côté de Jacques d’Estais, membres du Comité Exécutif de BNP Paribas Wealth Management.

Acropole Asset Management a annoncé le 7 juillet le lancement de son premier fonds thématique Acropole Euro Converti’i dont l’objectif est de participer à la hausse des marchés actions sans prendre le risque d’une remontée des taux. Acropole propose en outre un fonds à rendement Acropole Mix Income. Acropole Euro Convert’i et Acropole Mix Income seront respectivement lancés les 8 et 13 juillet 2010.La stratégie adoptée pour Acropole Euro Convert’i consiste à construire un portefeuille d’obligations convertibles européennes, privilégiant les valeurs et secteurs particulièrement corrélés à l’inflation, avec au lancement, une couverture du risque de taux (sensibilité entre 0 et 2)Dans le cadre de sa gestion de conviction, Acropole Asset Management retient ainsi les thèmes suivants : minerais, matières premières, agriculture, actifs réels/immobilier et pricing power.Pour réaliser cette stratégie, le processus d’investissement est principalement basé sur l’appréciation de 3 paramètres : - analyses conjuguées top down et bottom up du gisement des obligations convertibles et des sous-jacents (130 noms suivis)- analyse crédit sur les recommandations de Cheyne Capital associées au rating interne d’Acropole AM - analyse des paramètres techniques des obligations convertibles (volatilité, convexité, gestion du delta, concentration des risques). Sur le thème du rendement et dans la continuité d’Acropole Convertible Optimum et d’Acropole 2012 lancés en février 2009, Acropole Asset Management propose par ailleurs Acropole Mix Income, fonds d’obligations convertibles et privées High Yield, dont le taux de rendement actuariel est aujourd’hui de l’ordre de 10% (taux brut et en l’absence de tout défaut). La stratégie adoptée par Acropole Mix Income consiste à construire un portefeuille d’obligations convertibles et d’obligations privées High Yield. Pour réaliser cette stratégie, le processus d’investissement s’appuie sur : - la sélection des obligations convertibles et corporate High Yield grâce à une analyse fondamentale sur les zones européenne, Etats-Unis et Asie l’utilisation de filtres crédit, liquidité et valorisation, la revue de la concentration des risques avec le suivi des limites géographique, émetteur, secteur et % d’investissement. En complément de l’analyse crédit de son actionnaire Cheyne Capital avec lequel elle possède un partenariat exclusif, Acropole Asset Management a également développé un modèle de rating interne de crédit qui permet d’attribuer une note à toutes les obligations convertibles qui ne disposent pas d’un rating d’agence de notation soit plus de 40% du gisement mondial.

Selon L’Agefi, l’étude annuelle du cabinet Scorpio Partnership (Global Private Banking KPI Benchmark 2010) montre que les dix acteurs les plus importants de la gestion de fortune concentrent désormais près des deux tiers du marché. Le montant des encours mondiaux a progressé l’an dernier de 17% pour atteindre les 16.500milliards de dollars. Bank of America reste en tête du classement avec des encours de 1.740 milliards de dollars, devant UBS et Morgan Stanley.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management on 7 July announced its decision to develop its organisation, bringing together all private management actors within a single professional unit, Wealth Management, which will be led by Jacques d/Estais, who will also retain his responsibilities as head of the Investment Solutions unit. The firm has also decided ot create a new governance format, to accentuate the transversality of geographical regions and support functions. 5 geographical regions have been defined: Asia-Pacific, Euro Domestic Markets and New Domestic Markets, International Europe (including the Middle East and Latin America), and Luxembourg. These regions will be led by Mignonne Cheng, Marie-Claire Capobianco for all domestic markets, Pascal Boris and Patrice Crochet. 3 transversal functions will aim to develop these regions: Products & Services, led by Olivier Maugarny; an UGNWI )ultra high net worth individuals) expert unit, which has recently been created, and whose organisation will be announced subsequently; and a COO unit, which will include the professional functions overseen by Vincent Lecomte. Cheng, Capobianco, Boris, Crochet, Maugarny and Lecomte will join d’Estais as members of the Executive Board of BNP Paribas Wealth Management.

Following the completion of the acquisition of PNC Global Investment Servicing, BNY Mellon has announced the creation of a new GFI (global financial institutions) group, which will concentrate on banking, mutual fund and insurance clients. The unit will be directed by Nadine Chakar, previously head for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Steve Wynne, previously CEO of PNC Global Investment Servicing, becomes CEO of US fund services (mutual funds, closed funds, ETFs).

Palatine Asset Management, the asset management entity from Banque Palatine, the business and wealth management bank of the BPCE group, in collaboration with C&M Finances, an independent management firm, on 7 July announced the launch of the FCP Export Europe Palatine, the first French-registered common investment fund (FCP) dedicated exclusively to European exporters. The objective is to profit from the performance of European, Euro zone businesses which are exposed to markets in which currencies are being revalued. The businesses the fund invests in export to the United States, Japan, China, and the major emerging markets. In the course of first half 2010, the currencies of these countries (dollar, yen, Yuan, Indian Rupee, Brazilian Real, Mexican Peso and others) have been revalued by an averge of 15%. Currently, the exposure of European publicly-traded groups to emerging markets alone, which are undergoing very strong economic growth, is 25%. Companies in the Exposure Europe Palatine fund will thus fully profit from the attractiveness of the Euro. The FCP Export Europe Palatine is currently concentrated on industrial shares and consumer goods, and excludes the following sectors completely: finance, banking, insurance, telecommunications, oil, and gas. Characteristics ISIN: FR0010915181 Legal format: French-registered FCP fund eligible for PEA AMF classification: Equities from within the European community Date of creation: July 2010 Benchmark index: Stoxx Europe 50 Valuation: Daily Management fees: 1.20% TTC max +10% outperformance of the benchmark index with dividends reinvested +3% Front-end fee: 2.00% maximum Exit fees: none Allocation of results: Capitalisation Minimal recommended investment duration: 5 years Subscriptiond and redemptions: Centralised daily before 11 am at Banque Palatine, and executed on the basis of the next daily net asset value

Acropole Asset Management on 7 July announced the launch of its first themed fund, Acropole Euro Convert’i, which will aim to profit from rising equities markets, without exposing itself to risk of rising interest rates. Acropole will also offer the Acropole Mix Income fund for higher yields. Acropole Euro Convert’i and Acropole Mix Income will be launched on 8 and 13 July, respectively. The strategy adopted for Acropole Euro Convert’i will be to construct a European convertible bond portfolio, which will privilege shares and sectors which are particularly highly correlated to inflation, with currency risks hedged at launch (with sensitivity of 0 to 2). As part of its conviction-based management, Acropole Asset Management has chosen the following themes: minerals, commodities, agriculture, real estate and realty assets, and pricing power.

Last week, BlackRock lowered the management commission for its iShares Comex Gold Trust ETF (acronym IAU) be more than one third, to 0.25%. The fund has assets of only USD3.3bn, though it is nearly identical to the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) fund from State Street, which has USD50.6bn, and charges a management commission of 0.40%, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to specialists, the new range from BlackRock is highly attractive, but those who make frequent trades and who already have shares in SPDR would probably do best, for tax reasons among others, to stay put. However, the new range from BlackRock is priced more attractively than the ETF Securities offering, with the ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (SGOL), with USD587m, which charges 0.39%.

On Wednesday, Deutsche Börse admitted four Luxembourg-registered ETFs from ComStage (Commerzbank) to trading, including three equities funds, the ComStage ETF DAX FR and the ComStage ETF EURO STOXX 50 FR, which charge fees of 0.15%, and the ComStage ETF FTSE 100 TR, with management commissions of 0.25%. The last product is a bond fund: the ComStage ETF iBoxx € Germany Covered Capped Overall TR, with management commission of 0.17%. With these four funds, the XTF segment now lists 678 ETFs.

On Wednesday, BNY Mellon and the International Derivatives Clearing Group (ICDG) announced that the BNY affiliate BNY Mellon Clearing LLC will become a clearing member of the International Derivatives Clearinghouse LLC, a derivatives clearing structure regulated by the US Commodity Futures trading Commission (CFTC). BNY Mellon says that joining the body will allow it to offer clients central counterparty clearing for fixed income derivatives, which are an important tool in the management of financial risk for businesses, investors, and municipalities.

On Wednesday, State Street announced that in second quarter it recorded a second quarter 2010 after-tax charge of USD251m or USD0.50 per share, including a related cash contribution to certain common and collective trust funds managed by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) that engage in securities lending (the SSgA lending funds). The USD330m transfer will allow SSgA to raise restrictions on redemptions from its lending funds from August 2010. State Street has also announced that in second quarter it had a revenue of USD2.3bn, and profits per share of USD0.87, taking into account the one-time charge of USD251m mentioned above, and a tax expense of USD180m for restructuring of assets in non-US conduits.

Nielsen has found that Franklin Resources was the US mutual fund manager which spent most on advertising in first quarter, with USD3.7m, compared with nearly USD0.51m in the corresponding period of last year, Mutual Fund Wire reports. Franklin Resources was followed by T. Rowe Price (USD2.97m), Vanguard (USD2.13m), Fidelity (USD2.05m), and Power Corp of Canada (the owner of Putnam Investments) with USD2.03m.

Fabrice Cuchet, head of alternative management at Dexia Asset Management, says UCITS III hedge funds, known as newcits, “do not aim to replace hedge funds, but to bring a complementary range of products, more liquid and more regulated.” But there are many pitfalls, and one should not assume that newcits create liquidity. “Newcits are not miracle products which will deliver the same performance as hedge funds while offering more liquidity and less risk,” he says. It is likely, in fact, that the average performance of UCITS hedge funds will be lower than those of the hedge fund industry, partly due to a more restrictive UCITS environment for managers, and partly since not all strategies and assets are eligible for UCITS, which reduces the potential sources of performance. Dexia AM offers 22 UCITS III funds, covering 15 different alternative strategies in all asset classes.

The head of emerging markets at Axa Framlington, William Calvert, is leaving the group, along with two of his managers, Ming Kemp and Neil Denman. Calvert is lead manager of the Framlington Emerging Markets fund (GBP241.4m). The team will continue to provide management of the product for three months, and will then be replaced by Mark Beveridge and Irina Topa-Serry until successors for the trio can be found.

BNY Mellon Asset Management announced on Wednesday that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has authorised BNY Mellon and Western Securities to create a fund management joint venture in China, BNY Mellon Western Fund Management Company Limited. The joint venture will be 49% controlled by BNY Mellon, and 51% by Western Securities. BNY Mellon FM will start out managing Chinese “domestic” securities in several funds aimed at retail investors. It will later develop new products, relying on the expertise of the BNY Mellon group. Distribution will focus on banking and brokerage networks in China. The CEO of the new firm is Bin Hu.

Since the beginning of the month, Alexander van den Berg has become sales manager Germany at Henderson, where he will be in charge of wealth manager, fund of fund, and IFA clients. He will report to Lars Albert, head of sales, Germany. Van den Berg was previously head of wholesale distribution for Germany and Luxembourg at the German fund management firm SEB Asset Management.

According to a survey of 60 German institutional investors, of whom 17% have assets of over EUR10bn, the Kommalpha agency has found that professionals are clearly intending to increase their exposure to the health sector. 68% of them say this taste is due to a megatrend which profits the sector, while 50% are attracted by the potential for growth, and only 29% cite an attractive return/risk ratio as a motive in their investment decision, while 15% explain it as related to the low correlation of the sector with other asset classes. The three best-known funds in the sector are the BB Biotech Lux from Bellevue Asset Management (cited by 56% of those surveyed), the PF (Lux) Biotech I from Pictet Funds, and the DWS Biotech-Aktien from DWS, cited by 50% and 46%, respectively.

For 2009, BHF-Bank has declared net profits of EUR13m, compared with EUR198m, and a cost-income ratio up to 95% from 52.4%. At the end of last year, the private bank had assets of EUR43bn, and profits of EUR18m, compared with EUR21m. Assets under management at the affiliates Frankfurt Trust Investment Gesellschaft (Allemagne) and Frankfurt Trust Invest Luxembourg as of the end of December represented EUR17.1bn, of which EUR7.7bn were in open-ended funds, and EUR9.4bn in institutional funds and mandates. The total represents an increase of about 8% over their levels at the end of 2008. Profits for asset management are down to EUR12m from EUR14m. In 2010, BHF, which was taken over by Deutsche Bank at the time of its acquisition of Sal. Oppenheim, is planning to open a private banking affiliate in Singapore. In asset management, Frankfurt Trust will continue to develop quantitative and asset allocation products.

Agefi reports that an annual study by the Scorpio Partnership agency (Global Private Banking KPI Benchmark 2010) has found that the ten largest actors in wealth management now account for nearly two thirds of the market. The volume of assets worldwide increased last year by 17%, to USD16.5trn. Bank of America retains its place at the top of the list, with assets of USD1.74trn, followed by UBS and Morgan Stanley.

Henderson Global Investors and Aviva Investors on 7 July announced that Aviva Investors will become the manager and “Authorised Corporate Director” of the Henderson International Property Fund, from 2 August 2010. Aviva Investors is planning to merge the assets of the Henderson International Property Fund (GBP183m as of 30 June) with the GBP223m (also as of 30 June) in its European and Asia-Pacific real estate funds. The larger size will allow for more diversification and reliance on the expertise of regional teams.

According to a study by the British association of investment companies (AIC), the average TER of investment companies, including performance commissions, came to 1,83% in 2009, compared with 1.56% in October 2008, and 1.74% in June 2007. In January 2010, 54% of companies charged a performance commission, compared with 51% in October 2008. Excluding performance commissions, 60% of investment companies had TERs of less than 1%, and 58% had a TER under 1.5%.

In the first five months of the year, German fund management firms posted net subscriptions of EUR37.2757bn, compared with EUR15.6862bn in the corresponding period of 2009.In May, net subscriptions totalled over EUR3.86bn, compared with EUR2.37bn for Spezialfonds and EUR1.83bn for open-ended funds, despite net redemptions of EUR1.44bn for real estate funds, and EUR1.11bn for money market funds. Despite net subscriptions, total assets in funds and mandates fell by more than EUR4.8bn in one month, to EUR1.75717trn as of the end of May.

Allianz Global Investors (AGI) announced on Wednesday that its US affiliate Pimco has recently released its value equities funds PIMCO EqS Pathfinder Fund™ et PIMCO EqS Pathfinder Europe Fund™ (see Newsmanagers of 21 June and 19 April) in Germany. The products are sub-funds of the Irish-registered, UCITS-compliant Sicav Global Investor Series (GIS).

In the first five months of the year, open-ended securities funds in Germany attracted nearly EUR11.08bn. Of this total, Allianz Global Investors (AGI) took in EUR6.09bn, of which EUR5.6bn went to Pimco Europe. The second-largest inflow went to BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland, whose iShares brand ETF funds drew in EUR3.17bn. ETF promoters have seen significant net inflows, as ComStage (Commerzbank) has attracted EUR565.1m, db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) has posted net inflows of EUR756.7m, and ETFlab (Deka) has posted net subscriptions of EUR2.26bn. Among the major management firms, the DWS/FB Advisors family (Deutsche Bank) is the only one, aside from AGI, to post net inflows, with EUR810m. Deka (savings banks) and Union Investment (co-operative banks) saw respective net outflows of EUR3.37bn and EUR2.72bn.

The alternative management firm Salus Alpha on Wednesday announced that its Austrian-registered UCITS-compliant fund Salus Alpha RN Special Situations (see Newsmanagers of 22 February) has been approved by BaFin for sales in Germany, and that it has attracted USD25m since its launch on 22 March, when it already had USD20m in assets. Its performance comes in at 2.85%.