Depuis mi-février, la devise américaine s'est dépréciée de 15 % face à la monnaie unique

Actuellement, selon Morningstar, l’encours des 62 ETF quantitatifs/actifs existant aux Etats-Unis représente 2,67 milliards de dollars, rapporte The Wall Street Journal. Parmi eux figurent cinq Invesco powerShares avec environ 21,1 millions de dollaars d’actifs sous gestion, dont un obligataire, un immobilier et trois d’actions. Le 4 mai, Grail Advisors lançait le Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value ETF (GVT).D’une manière générale, observe The Wall Street Journal, les ETF gérés activement n’ont pas attiré des souscriptions aussi rapidement que certains ne l’avaient espéré, mais cela ne freine pas pour autant leur ardeur à se lancer en dehors de l’univers indiciel.

Selon the Wall Street Journal, Morgan Stanley a l’intention d’augmenter les salaires de base de ses principaux dirigeants ainsi que de ses salariés les mieux payés afin de compenser une diminution des primes que le gouvernement américain veut imposer aux banques et aux sociétés de courtage qui ont bénéficié d’une aide financière de l’Etat.Ainsi le fixe de ses deux co-présidents va être majoré d’un tiers à 0,8 million de dollars tandis que le CFO, le directeur juridique et le CAO verront leur salaire de base porté à 0,75 million de dollars. Jusqu'à présent ces cinq personnes percevaient un salaire de base compris entre 0,3 et 0,6 million de dollars. Le salaire du Chairman & CEO, John Mack, demeure cependant inchangé à 0,8 million de dollars.

Fidelity Investments a nommé Jacques Perold chief operating officer of asset management, rapporte the Wall Street Journal. L’intéressé, qui rejoint aussi le comité exécutif, sera subordonné à Michael Wiles, head of asset management. Auparavant, il a dirigé une société de gestion institutionnelle que Fidelity avait essaimé (spun-off).

Martin Gilbert, le CEO d’Aberdeen Asset Management (96,3 milliards de livres d’encours à fin mars), prépare l’acquisition de Delaware Group (120 milliards de dollars d’encours, 1.000 salariés) auprès de Lincoln Financial Corp, indique The Sunday Times. La cession rapportera au maximum 450 millions de dollars au gestionnaire américain. Parmi les autres candidats repreneurs figurent les capital-investisseurs Advent International et Hellman & Friedman ainsi que la société de gestion American Century Investments.

Le gestionnaire alternatif AQR Capital Management, dirigé par Clifford Asness, a lancé en janvier le mutual fund AQR Diversified Arbitrage Fund, dont le taux de frais sur encours (TER) se limite à 1,75 %. Sinistré par la crise et les mauvaises performance, AQR compte lancer en juin une nouvelle gamme de mutual funds qui utiliseront une stratégie «momentum» de hedge fund mise au point par Clifford Asness lorsqu’il était doctorant en finance à l’Université de Chicago, rapporte The Wall Street Journal. La différence est surtout que les mutual funds ne facturent pas de commission de 20 % sur la performance. AQR n’est pas seul à proposer des produits moins margés : le gestionnaire de fonds de hedge funds Permal a lancé son premier mutual fund en avril.

Jeudi, un groupe de capital-investisseurs comprenant Blackstone, Carlyle et WL Ross a investi 900 millions de dollars pour recapitaliser BankUnited FSB en Floride. Mais c’est le contribuable qui va supporter le plus gros effort, ce qui a certainement incité les firmes de private equity à s’intéresser au dossier. Selon les proches du dossier, le gouvernement prendra en charge 80 % des quatre premiers milliards de dollars de pertes et 95 % des pertes suivantes. Cela donne aux nouveaux propriétaires le confort de commencer avec un bilan dépollué l’exploitation et le développement de la banque (85 agences actuellement).

Newsmanagers: How have emerging markets been performing since the beginning of the year?Aham: For the past few years, emerging markets have got investors used to double-digit growth, produced by structural reforms and major savings in developing economies. However, 2008 was a truly disappointing year, as emerging markets were contaminated by trouble on developed markets.. Now, we are expecting the situation to calm down, as there has been a burst of nearly 30% since the beginning of the year, on average. This is the asset class which has performed best since the beginning of 2009. Newsmanagers: What are the most significant advantages of emerging markets today? Aham: The fundamentals on emerging markets continue to be very solid overall. Significant effort has been put into taxation and interest rates, which have remained at historically low levels. But the major attraction of emerging markets currently resides in their potential for growth, particularly compared with growth outlooks for 2009 for GDP in the Euro zone and the United States. Most emerging countries will continue to be able to stimulate their economies through tax incentives, as is the case in China. These countries know that they will need to become less dependent on consumption in developed countries, and they are making a particular effort in the area of domestic comsumption to generate significant growth rates. These moves will contribute to the confidence of investors in the solidity of growth in these countries. Newsmanagers: Which emerging markets look most attractive to you? Aham: First of all, there are India and China, of course, where activities not related to exports are occupying a larger place in the economies. But they are not the only ones! Latin America is also showing unparalleled advantages, particularly thanks to strengthening inter-regional trade between the various countries on the continent. In Russia, calm has returned after several very difficult months. With oil at USD60 per barrel, the country can perform honourably. What our investors are looking for, particularly institutionals, is an asset allocation adapted to their situation. But we are also there to make them understand that there is a new world order. 10% of market capitalisation is now on the stock markets of emerging markets, but institutionals’ exposure to these regions is still far lower than that. With financial volatility declining, institutionals will have to make a decision now, in order not to miss the boat when the economy rebounds. There will necessarily be a reallocation to emerging markets. There is also considerable interest in frontier markets, composed of countries which have been under-invested in the past. Two major high-potential regions stand out: the countries of the Gulf, such as Qatar or Abu Dhabi, driven by oil, on the one hand, and countries of Africa, Central America, and Asia, on the other.

The German management firm deka Immobilien (German savings banks) has announced the acquisition for EUR186m of the Bentall V building in Vancouver, which contains office and retail space. The 33,000 square-meter, 33-story skyscraper will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilianGlobal. The vendor is the Canadian real estate firm SITQ, an affiliate of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Cinco Días reports that Carmignac Patrimoine stands out for its exposure to equities of under 50%, which, says Frédéric Leroux (who manages coverage) makes it a highly appropriate fund for investment of retirement savings. The objective is to generate consistent and regular returns over the long term, which the fund has achieved, with 10% annual performance since its launch about 20 years ago. Leroux confirms that between October and March, net exposure to equities was zero; in early March, allocation to this asset class was slightly over 40% and was then reduced. But this has allowed the fund to profit largely from the current rally.

La Tribune reports that the German investment and realty firm Union Investment Real Estate, which owns the Marriott hotel in Paris and the TFI building in Boulogne, is planning to invest EUR250m to EUR500m in France this year, of the EUR1.5bn to EUR2bn which it is planning to spend worldwide. Union Investment Real Estate has EUR13.9bn in real estate assets under management in 24 countries.

Currently, according to Morningstar, assets in 62 quantitative/active ETF funds total USD2.67bn, the Wall Street Journal reports. Among the products are five Invesco PowerShares products with about USD21.1m in assets under management, including one bond fund, one real estate fund, and three equities products. On 4 May, Grail Advisors launched the Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value ETF (GVT). In general, the Wall Street Journal observes, actively-managed ETFs have not attracted subscriptions as rapidly as some had hoped, but this has not affected their enthusiasm for launching non-tracker ETF products.

Handelsblatt reports that the Luxembourg affiliate of UBS has won a lawsuit against the French bank VP Banque, which sought USD1.4m invested in Madoff funds, or that its suit be overruled. UBS was the depository bank in this case.

The Austrian management firm Sparinvest (EUR23.2bn in assets) on Friday announced that its local affiliate Banka Sparkasse has been athorised to sell 21 Espa funds in Slovenia. The Slovenian fund market at the end of 2008 represented assets totalling about EUR1.6bn. Banka Sparkasse, whose headquarters are located in Ljubljana, employs 225 people and operates 9 locations.

After changes in the management of DWS, observers in the banking sector are expecting more changes to come in asset and wealth management at Deutsche Bank, where Kevin Parker’s power seems to be growing, Handelsblatt reports. Deutsche Bank denies the rumours, but they nonetheless persist: some predict that private wealth management (PWM) will be divided between asset management and retail banking, while others predict that active management will be divided between retail banking and PWM.

Shawn Modifi, head of high net worth clients for the Middle East at Citigroup Private Banking, is joining GWM SA, a Geneva-based family office, as president, Il Sole - 24 Ore reports. The entity manages EUR2bn in assets for 30 multi-millionaire families in Europe and the Middle East. GWM SA is currently planning to extend its services to other high net worth families.

Sarasin & Partners is launching the Sarasin EquiSar Global Thematic Fund (Sterling Hedged) and Sarasin Global Equity Income Fund (Sterling Hedged) funds, which will offer British investors shares which are on average 90% hedged against currency risks in pounds Sterling. The funds are clones of the EquiSar Global Thematic Fund and the Sarasin International Equity Income Fund.

Liontrust has announced that at the end of June, it will launch the European Absolute Return Fund, a British-registered product that complies with the UCITS III directive, and which will use the same strategy as the European Long/Short hedge fund, also managed by Gary West and James Inglis-Jones. The concept is to be long on businesses with high cash flows which managers predict will beat market expectations, and short on companies with limited potential to earn profits. In all cases, market capitalisation will be over EUR1bn. Investment Week reports that net exposure will be limited to +/- 20%, and gross exposure will be limited to 180%. Minimal subscription and management commission are set at GBP1,000 and 5%, respectively, while management commission is set at 1.5%, and a commission of 20% will be charged on performance exceeding the Libor 3-month, with high watermark

On Friday afternoon, negotiations between Paternoster, which controls pension funds representing GBP2.7bn in assets, and Pension Corporation broke down due to a disagreement over price, the Sunday Times reports. The CEO of Paternoster, Mark Wood, is now in negotiations with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to acquire a suspension of the license, which would prevent Paternoster from taking on other members. However, there is reported to be no challenge to Paternoster’s ability to pay the pensions of its roughly 60,000 members.

Expansión reports that the publicly traded management firm SVG, the largest subscriber to funds from the private equity Permira, has written down the book value of its investments in Dinosol (SuperSol supermarkets) to GBP20.42m, from GBP24.18m in 2007, and of its investment in the clothing retailer Cortefiel (which has been reduced to zero). However, an investment in Telepizza has been revised upward to more than GBP19.15m in 2008, from GBP18.8m.

Unigestion will launch three funds of funds in the next few months. Horizon Credit Hedge, a fund of hedge funds which will bring together “the best managers in the world of credit,” will be put on sale on 1 June 2009. Uni-Hedge Selection, a an ARIA III diversified fund of hedge funds aimed at the French market, will combine tactical trading, arbitrage, and equity hedge strategies. It will be launched on 1 July. Lastly, in third quarter 2009, Unigestion will launch Unigestion - Ethos Environmental Sustainability, whose portfolio will be concentrated on funds which invest in companies that are active in the environmental sector. “The fund will be exposed to the production, storage and distribution of alterantive energies, energy efficiency, reduction of pollution, water treatment, and recycling,” says Unigestion.

Fidelity Investments has appointed Jacques Perold as chief operating officer of asset management, the Wall Street Journal reports. Perold, who also joins the board of directors, will report to Michael Wiles, head of asset management. Previously, he was head of an institutional management firm spun off from Fidelity.

Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management (GBP96.3bn in assets as of the end of March) is preparing to acquire Delaware Group (USD120bn in assets, 1,000 employees) from Lincoln Financial Corp, the Sunday Times reports. The sale will bring in up to Usd450m for the US-based management firm. Among the other potential buyers are the private equity investors Advent International and Hellman & Friedman, and the management firm American Century Investments.

The alternative management firm AQR Capital Management, led by Clifford Asness, in January launched the mutual fund AQR Diversified Arbitrage Fund, whose TER will be limited to 1.75%. AQR, which has been hit by the crisis and poor returns for its products, is planning to launch a new range of mutual funds which will use momentum hedge fund strategies created by Asness when he was a graduate student in finance at the University of Chicago, the Wall Street Journal reports. The difference is largely that mutual funds will not charge a 20% commission on performance. AQR is not the only management firm to be moving towards products with slimmer margins: the fund of hedge fund manager Permal launched its first mutual fund in April.

The private bank Reuschel & Co, which was owned by Dresdner Bank and will be resold by Commerzbank, has posted net profits for first quarter of EUR4.7m, compared with EUR3.3m, and net operating profits of EUR6m, compared with EUR0.7m. Operating expenses haver been reduced by 2.6% to EUR15m, and the bank has been able to reduce its risk provisions by EUR0.2m.

Robert Bergmann will be leaving his job as manager of the Luxembourg-registered FCP Schroder European Logistics Fund (EUR577.2m), but will remain as a member of the board of directors at the fund, and will dedicate himself to responsibilities other than fund management in Amsterdam. He will be replaced in Germany by Buddy Roes, who will take over management of logistical funds, and particularly the Schroder European Logistics Fund. He will report to Neil Turner, head of real estate funds at Schroder Property. Roes spearheaded the development of asset management at ING in Germany.

In the past six months, premiums paid by hedge funds to insure themselves against the risk of employee errors has increased by about 20%, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. This type of insurance is provided by companies such as AIG, Allianz, and Brit Insurance.

Les Echos reports that the Alpha League Table 2009, established by Europerformance-Groupe Fininfo and Edhec on the basis of 2008 performance of products invested in equities, shows that French managers invested in equities added considerably less value in 2008. Alpha is down by nearly 30%, to 1.78% in monthly terms, from 2.5% in 2007 and 3% in 2006. The rankings are topped by Carmignac Gestion, State Street Global Advisors France SA and Comgest SA, but the differences between the leaders in the rankings is smaller than last year. Management firms for insurance companies have withstood the downturn more successfully than others.

In light of the currency difficulties recently encountered in traditional asset classes, La Tribune reports, interest in currency markets has recently risen. Low transaction costs, the diversity of market actors and the applicable strategies offer a wide range of investment opportunities. In addition to this, there is very low correlation between currencies and with other asset classes. Hence their attractiveness as a means to diversify portfolios. Despite these qualities, the newspaper adds, there are currently only 50 US management firms specialised in this asset class. Some studies by consulting firms reveal that institutional investors have only limited interest in this area. According to the most recent European Asset Allocation Survey from Mercer, 5% of British pension funds invest 5% of their assets in currencies - 50% more than one year ago. For the rest of Europe, the proportion allocated by 1% of investors totals 2%.

Les cinq Sicav de Ram Bhavnani ont accusé des pertes comprises entre 13 % et 87 % (Kalyani, gérée par Bankinter) en 2008. Pour réduire ses charges, le milliardaire indien de Ténériffe a décidé de fusionner les deux véhicules qui sont gérés par Banco Madrid, Inversiones Kishoo (2,93 millions d’euros fin 2008, - 26,29 % en 2008) et Inversiones Valle Pallín (42,08 millions d’euros, - 13,08 % en 2008), rapporte Expansión. Sa plus grande Sicav, Laxmi (88 millions d’euros, - 20,81 %) est gérée par Banif (groupe Santander).Au total, les cinq véhicules représentaient 147,19 millions d’euros. Depuis fin 2008, l’allocation aux obligations a été augmentée à 80-85 % contre 53-66 %.