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12/01/2010

M&A: 2010 will be the year of the independent asset managers, says Jefferies

In 2009, merger and acquisition activities in asset management were dominated by divestitures, but the acquisition of Advisory Research by Piper Jaffray, and that of MetWest by TCW, both strategic transactions, are a sign that 2010 will be a year in which independent management firms will take the lead, Jefferies predicts. Last year, only 61 independent asset management firms changed hands, the lowest number in a decade, and a contraction of 57% compared with 2008. In 2009, Jefferies counted a total of 143 merger and acquisition operations worldwide, compared with 219 the previous year. However, assets which changed hands hit an all-time high of USD4trn, compared with USD1.95trn in 2008. This also represents a total 51% higher than the previous record, set in 2006. There were nine mega-deals involving management firms with more than USD100bn in assets under management, including the acquisition of BGI by BlackRock (USD1.44trn), the creation of Amundi by CAAM and SGAM (USD839bn), and the acquisition of Sal. Oppenheim by Deutsche Bank (USD201bn). The total declared value of these deals came to USD24.9bn, compared with USD15.9bn in 2008. The three largest deals were the acquisition of BGI by BlackRock for USD13.5bn, the acquisition of Sal. Oppenheim by Deutsche (USD1.9bn), and the acquisition of the retail activities of Morgan Stanley, including Van Kampen Investments, by Invesco (USD1.5bn).
12/01/2010

AGI planning to launch two absolute returns funds in March

Investment Week reports that Nick Smith, managing director and head of fund distribution at Allianz Global Investors (AGI) in the United Kingdom, has announced that an equities fund and a multi-asset class fund, both with an absolute returns approach, will be launched in March, and will probably be managed in London. AGI is planning to rely on its expertise in 130/30 management and multi-asset class funds for its first absolute returns products on the British market. AGI is also planning to launch regional funds based on the concept of the BRIC Stars Fund from Allianz RCM (GBP699m).
12/01/2010

Veritas opens Global Real Return Fund

Veritas Asset Management has for the first time decided to open its international hedge fund to retail and institutional investors, Hedge Week reports. The fund, with GBP30m in assets, was previously available only to a small group of investors which included partners at the firm and private clients. Since its launch in July 2004, the fund has earned 68% returns, compared with 38.39% for hte MSCI World index. The fund has been restructured as a UCITS III vehicle, and renamed as Veritas Global Real Return Fund. It was launched in early January, and provides daily liquidity. The fund will aim to provide annualised returns of 6% on average over the long term, through long and short positions on global equities, bonds, cash, and derivatives. The fund is open to retail investors with a minimal investment of GBP7,000, and to institutional investors from with investments starting at GBP30,000.
12/01/2010

Increase in assets in ETFs listed in Madrid

According to statistics from Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), the number of ETF trades in 2009 rose 99% to 50,789, and the volume of these transactions totalled EUR3.47bn. Assets in ETF funds listed in Spain, for their part, represented EUR13.68bn as of the end of December, 28.7% higher than one year previously. This increase was largely due to the introduction of the Lyxor ETF Euro Corporate and Lyxor ETF Ibex 35 Inverso funds during the year.
12/01/2010

CRM stake in Deutsche Bank “mechanically” exceeds 3% threshold

Deutsche Bank on Monday announced in an ad-hoc filing that Capital Research and Management (CRM) notified it on 7 January that it held over 3% of its capital, and now controls 3.53%. However, the German bank states, the fact that the investor has passed the 3% threshold is merely due to the mechanical effect of a reshuffle of Deutsche Bank shares between various CRM funds.
12/01/2010

Frank Asbeck invests in Hauck

Michael Schramm, managing partner at Hauck & Aufhäuser, has confirmed to the Börsen-Zeitung that Frank Asbeck, chairman of the managing board of Solarworld, at the end of last year bought a 9% stake in the capital of the private bank.
12/01/2010

UBS struggling to stem outflows from funds

Agefi Switzerland reports, citing Bloomberg, that the CEO of UBS, Oswalf Grübel, has repeated in an internal memo sent out yesterday and obtained by the US news agency that it is imperative for the firm to put a stop to outflows from funds after six consecutive negative quarters. The UBS CEO says the firm should give clients “no reason to leave the bank.” The bank has also set up a new ethical code of conduct, the memo says, to ensure that “what happened in the last few years never happens again.”
12/01/2010

Calrlyle to launch a fund denominated in Chinese renminbi

Carlyle Group on Tuesday unveiled plans to work with city authorities in Beijing to establish a renminbi fund that will enable it to make local currency investments across China, says the Financial Times. The US private equity fund expects the fund to begin operation later this year.
12/01/2010

First Eagle seeks a distribution partner in Asia

The New York-based management firm First Eagle Investment Management is seeking a distribution partner in Asia ex Japan, to complement its partnership with Nikko Securities, Asian Investor reports. In 2010, the other strategic priority of the firm, which manages about USD38bn in assets, would be to find a global credit management team with a value orientation which would be integrated into the firm. It already has an internal credit analysis team which focuses on capital structure and its impact on equities, but not with a direct investment perspective.
12/01/2010

UBS strengthens presence in UHNW segment in Asia

UBS has reinforced its activities in the UHNW (ultra high net worth) segment in Asia with the appointment of Reto Marx as managing director and head of the UHNW team in Singapore, Asian Investor reports. He will report directly to Daniel Harel, head of UHNW activities in south Asia. Marx was previously head of the south-east Asia region at the Sarasin-Rabo (Asia) bank.
12/01/2010

Jeff Gundlach responds to TCW accusations

Jeffrey Gundlach on Monday refuted accusations by his former employer, TCW, in a letter addressed to clients and partners of DoubleLine, his new firm, the Wall Street Journal reports. He has announced that he will soon be filing suit against TCW.
12/01/2010

Asset Allocation Advisors and NOAM to merge

As part of its reorganisation, Neuflize OBC has simplified its asset mangaement product range. The affiliate of the ABN Amro private bank will merge with Asset Allocation Advisors, the group’s international centre of excellence in multi-management and selection of third-party managers, and the management firm Neuflize OBC Asset Management, whose sale had been planned for some time. The new entity, which will also include the bank’s financial management activities, will be known as Neuflize OBC Investissements, and will be led by Stéphane Corsaletti, the current head of AAA. “This affiliate will, from January, offer 20 flagship products, which will carry the NOBC name,” says Neuflize OBC. “It will have a full complement of resources in mandated management, traditional and multi-management funds registered in France and Luxembourg, dedicated funds, and manager selection, and will make increased use of open architecture, which will also be offered to institutionals.” The new entity will exist alongside Neuflize Private Assets, directed by François Mouté, which “will offer clients of the bank an original range of products aimed at clients seeking a conviction and opportunity-based management style with high added value,” Neuflize OBC states. Currently, the two asset management affiliates manage a total of EUR30bn. Their objective is to reach EUR34bn in assets under management in 2010, by bringing in more than EUR2.4bn by the end of this year.
12/01/2010

Hedge fund directive is not a top priority for Spanish EU presidency

There are doubts as to whether the Spanish presidency of the European Union will be able to complete the ongoing alternative investment management directive (AIFM) project by the end of June as planned, Expansión reports. There are disagreements about the draft legislation between France and Germany on one hand, and the UK on the other, and Spain lacks experience in the area of hedge funds, which have only been incorporated into Spanish law since 2006. In addition, the directive would have only a limited impact on Spain (local hedge funds only have EUR900m in AUM), which provides the Spanish government with little incentive to make a major effort to keep within the deadlines initially set out for the passage of the directive.
12/01/2010

Hedge funds perform well in 2009

According to HFR and Hennessee, hedge funds in 2009 posted their best results of the past decade. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite index, which gained another 1.25% in December, came out with performance of 20.04% for last year as a whole, still below the all-time record set in 1999 (31.29%), but higher than the second-best ever result of 19.55% in 2003. Hennessee confirms that with performance of 24.6%, hedge funds have seen their strongest gains since 1999. In both cases, convertible arbitrage was the best-performing strategy, with gains of 58.53% for HFR and 39.9% according to Hennessee.
12/01/2010

More UCITS III hedge funds to come this year

80% of fund of hedge funds managers intend to launch a UCITS fund of hedge funds in the next year, according to a survey conducted by KdK Asset Management among 30 of the largest fund of hedge fund managers. Despite the fact that the survey participants generally expect UCITS hedge funds to underperform their equivalent offshore funds, the fund of UCITS appears to be the preferred way to structure such offering for a UCITS investor base.
12/01/2010

ADIA is 40-60% invested in global equities

In an interview with Handelsblatt, Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), says that the sovereign fund has historically been 40-60% invested in global equities, while bonds represent between 15% and 30% of the portfolio, and the remainder is divided between real estate, private equity, alternative investments, and infrastructure projects. The sheikh confirms that about 60% of ADIA’s assets are invested through index-based strategies; for US equities, ADIA uses S&P indices, and for the rest of the world, MSCI indices. For bonds, the fund uses customised versions of various indices, including the inflation-linked and corporate bond indices from Barclays, and the government bond indices from JPMorgan. The managing director points out several times that ADIA is careful to remain a minority stakeholder wherever it invests, and says the portfolio is 35%-50% invested in the United States, 25%-35% in Europe, and 10%-20% in Asia. Emerging markets represent 15% to 25%.
11/01/2010

Nomination officialisée à la BFI de BPCE

L’Agefi rapporte que la filiale de BPCE a officialisé le 8 janvier la nomination de De Doan Tran en tant que membre du comité de direction en charge des activités de banque de financement et d’investissement (BFI).
11/01/2010
Fonds

Latitude Capital Management lance un fonds de performance absolue

Latitude Capital Management a annoncé le 8 janvier le lancement d’un fonds UCITS III : Euro Market Neutral (Code Isin : FR0010815886). Ce FCP diversifié a un objectif de performance absolue sur un horizon de 24 mois. Le processus de gestion exploite systématiquement la divergence entre l’évolution des cours des actions de la zone euro et leurs fondamentaux. La stratégie est strictement non directionnelle, la performance étant recherchée indépendamment de l’orientation des marchés. Eligible au PEA, ce fonds a une liquidité quotidienne.Le fonds a été créé le 30 novembre 2009. Le prospectus complet est disponible auprès de la société et sur le site de l’AMF.
Fonds
11/01/2010

Deminor prépare une plainte aux Pays-Bas

Selon L’Echo, l’association de défense des minoritaires Deminor est en train de préparer une plainte aux Pays-Bas contre le gestionnaire de fortune Wijs & Van Oostveen qui a vendu des obligations émises par la banque américaine faillie Lehman Brothers.
11/01/2010

Jean-Philippe Blochet chez Moore Capital

Selon Les Echos, Jean-Philippe Blochet, ancien associé fondateur de Brevan Howard, vient de rejoindre Moore Capital, le «hedge fund» fondé par Louis Bacon. Il travaillera sur la stratégie «global macro» qu’il pratique depuis toujours.
11/01/2010

2009, une année calamiteuse pour les dividendes

L’année 2009 a été la plus mauvaise année jamais enregistrée pour les dividendes, malgré une amélioration au quatrième trimestre, selon Standard & Poor’s. Sur les trois derniers mois de l’année, seulement 74 sociétés sur les 7.000 notées par l’agence ont revu leurs dividendes à la baisse, contre 288 au quatrième trimestre 2008. Les relèvements de dividendes sont demeurés stables. Ils ont été 484 établissements à procéder de la sorte tandis qu’ils étaient 475 dans ce cas un an plus tôt. Cependant, sur l’ensemble de l’année, les révisions à la baisse des dividendes ont coûté aux investisseurs quelque 58 milliards de dollars. En nombre, les relèvements de dividendes ont concerné 1191 titres, soit un recul de 36,4% par rapport à 2008. Les réductions de dividendes ont de leur côté touché 804 valeurs, soit une augmentation de 631% par rapport à 2007. Selon Standard & Poor’s, le pire est peut-être passé même si l’agence estime que le redressement des dividendes sera lent, et qu’il faudra attendre jusqu’en 2012 ou 2013 pour retrouver les niveaux de 2007 ou 2008", selon Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst chez S&P Indices.
11/01/2010

Un nouveau CEO chez le britannique Witan

La société de gestion Witan Investment Trust vient de recruter Andrew Bell en tant que CEO, en remplacement de Robert Clarke, en poste depuis septembre 2008, selon Investment Week.Andrew Bell est actuellement responsable de la recherche et de la stratégie chez Rensburg Sheppards à Londres.
11/01/2010

Les banques britanniques font fi de la nouvelle taxation

La Tribune rapporte que selon un sondage du Financial Times » de samedi 9 janvier réalisé auprès de dix grandes banques de la City, les banquiers ne souffriront que très peu de la taxe exceptionnelle de 50 % (au-dessus de 28.000 euros) imposée par Londres. Six des banques interrogées vont augmenter leurs bonus, afin que leurs employés touchent la somme prévue initialement. Indécises, aucune des quatre autres banques n’a choisi de laisser les employés subir l’intégralité de cet impôt.Alistair Darling, le chancelier de l'Échiquier, espérait que la nouvelle taxation pousserait les banques à choisir d’utiliser leurs liquidités pour renforcer leur capital, encore fragile, plutôt que de verser des bonus. Le contraire s’est produit, rapporte le quotidien. Cependant, une étude du CBI - le patronat britannique - indique que la santé insolente des grandes banques ces derniers mois pourrait ne pas continuer. Au quatrième trimestre 2009, 32 % des entreprises affirment que leur volume d’affaires a progressé, tandis que 28 % l’ont vu baisser.
11/01/2010

Hugh Osmond monte un nouveau fonds d'investissement

Cette semaine, le financier Hugh Osmond devrait, selon The Sunday Times, annoncer son intention d’introduire au London Stock Exchange un véhicule d’investissement de 500 millions de livres, Horizon, pour lancer une grande OPA sur une société pouvant valoir potentiellement jusqu'à 5 milliards de livres.Il s’agit d’acquérir une ou des grandes sociétés qui ont été achetées par les capital-investisseurs et dont les affaires ont mal tourné. L’une des cibles idéales serait de restructurer Gala Coral, qui est fondamentalement saine mais a été plombée par un endettement excessif.
11/01/2010

3i cherche à lever 1 milliard de livres

Le capital-investisseur 3i (8 milliards de livres) sollicite actuellement des investisseurs potentiels afin de lever 1 milliard de livres pour un fonds de capital-développement investissant notamment en Asie, rapporte The Sunday Times. Cela permettrait au CEO Michael Queen de rééquilibrer ce portefeuille par rapport à celui des autres divisions. L’activité de capital-développement n’affiche en effet que 28 millions de fonds externes sur 1,6 milliard de livres d’encours, alors que les divisions infrastructures et acquisitions de taille moyenne gèrent respectivement 1,1 milliard et plus de 2 milliard de livres pour le compte de clients.
11/01/2010

L'ex-patron d'AIG pointe du doigt Goldman Sachs

La Tribune qui cite le «Wall Street Journal» de samedi 9 janvier, rapporte que l’ex-patron d’AIG a appelé à une enquête approfondie sur la banque d’investissement Goldman Sachs, responsable pour partie selon lui de la quasi-faillite de l’assureur.
11/01/2010
Fonds

Sycuan va liquider son Value Fund

Sycuan Capital Management, société de gestion appartenant aux Indiens de la tribu Kumeyaay, a annoncé qu’elle va fermer au plus tard le 29 janvier son unique fonds le US Value Fund, qui a été lancé en novembre 2003 et qui ne pèse que 5,3 millions de dollars d’encours.
Fonds
11/01/2010
Fonds

Goldman Sachs se lance dans les ETF

Goldman Sachs a déposé à la Securities and Exchange Commission un dossier en vue d’obtenir l’autorisation pour lancer une série d’ETF, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. La banque devrait se focaliser sur les ETF indiciels plutôt que sur les fonds activement gérés. Ses premiers produits devraient couvrir les actions brésiliennes, indiennes, chinoises et coréennes.
Fonds

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