Pour 450 millions d’euros, l’espagnol Sacyr a vendu la tour Adria de La Défense (54.000 mètres carrés, 39 étages) à sa filiale française Tesfran et à quatre fonds d’investissement français, rapporte Cinco Días. De fait, 224,7 millions d’euros iront dans les caisses de Sacyr et 225 millions serviront à rembourser un crédit contracté par le groupe auprès de Tesfranc.Les quatre fonds français ont participé à l’opération au travers de Primonial. La nouvelle société propriétaire d’Adria est l’OPCI Preim, et Tesfran détient une participation de 32 % dans l’ensemble.
Filiale de JPMorgan Chase, le gestionnaire alternatif new-yorkais Highbridge Capital Management (29 milliards de dollars, dont 7,1 milliards gérés par le brésilien Gávea Investimentos) a déposé auprès de la SEC une demande d’agrément pour le Highbridge Tactical Credit & Convertibles Fund un hedge fund crédit. Il prévoit aussi de lancer une version offshore de ce produit. La souscription minimale est fixée à 100.000 dollars, précise Institutional Investor’s Alpha.
Index Europe rapporte que iShares, le poôle ETF de BlackRock, a simplifié le 1er juillet la dénomination de 138 et de ses 290 ETF. L’objectif est de donner aux produits des noms immédiatement compréhensibles, dans le cadre d’une campagne de transparence lancée en octobre 2012 avec la présentation de la gamme «Core» de 10 ETF à faible coût.Parallèlement, iShares a reformulé en anglais simple («plain English») les objectifs d’investissement de 26 de ses ETF disponibles sur le marché américain. Ceux des autres ETF seront progressivement reformulés d’ici à la fin de l’année.
L’Union Mutualiste Retraite (UMR) a annoncé lundi 8 juillet avoir acquis une participation de 20 % dans la société de gestion d’actifs Egamo. «Depuis le 1er janvier 2013, l’UMR a décidé de confier un mandat de gestion à Egamo pour l’ensemble de son portefeuille obligataire, soit environ 4 milliards d’euros. Ce mandat a permis à Egamo d’atteindre un montant total d’encours géré de 7,3 milliards d’euros,» rappelle un communiqué. Or, l’UMR souhaitait être partie prenante à la stratégie d’Egamo et de contribuer à l’adéquation des moyens techniques et humains mis œuvre pour la gestion de ses encours. A la suite de l’attribution de ce mandat, les actionnaires d’Egamo – le groupe MGEN (64 % du capital), et OFI Partenaires (16 %) – ont proposé à l’UMR d’entrer au capital de la société de gestion. Un transfert d’actions a été opéré le 3 juillet 2013. En parallèle, deux représentants de l’UMR ont intégré le conseil d’administration d’Egamo : Alain Hernandez et Bernard Goujon, respectivement président et administrateur délégué de l’UMR.
L'équipe UBS M&A MidCap d’UBS France a annoncé, lundi 8 juillet l’arrivée de deux nouveaux analystes : Pierre-Eddy Sastre est arrivé le 1er juillet à Paris après avoir commencé sa carrière au sein de la direction générale du groupe Louis Delhaize et acquis une expérience en fusions & acquisitions chez DC Advisory et en capital investissement chez CDC Entreprises. Pour sa part, Julien Pascal a rejoint l’équipe UBS M&A MidCap le 1er juillet à Lyon après des expériences en fusions & acquisitions, au sein de Société Générale CIB puis de Goetzpartners.
La société de gestion OFI Reim a annoncé, lundi 8 juillet, la cession du 4 place de l’Opéra présent dans un fonds qu’elle gère en partenariat avec F&C REIT, à Generali Vie via Generali Real Estate. L’immeuble de bureaux et commerces de 10 600 m2, qui a obtenu la certification HQE, a été détenu pendant 8 ans par le fonds d’OFI Reim. Le montant de la transaction n’a pas été communiqué.
Principal, private equity investments chez ArcLight Capital Partners, Matt LeBlanc a été recruté par JPMorgan Asset Management, rapporte FTfm. L’intéressé devient CIO for OECD infrastructure equity.
La plate-forme de fonds B2B ebase, dont les actifs administrés représentent actuellement plus de 21 milliards d’euros, conserve son nom de marque abrégé, mais la raison sociale est modifiée. European Bank for Fund Services GmbH devient European Bank for Financial Services GmbH.Ce changement doit refléter l’obtention d’une licence bancaire complete et l’élargissement de la gamme des produits et services, au delà de seuls fonds d’investissement, a souligné Rudolf Geyer, directeur général. Autrement dit, ebase reste une plate-forme de fonds mais propose aussi des comptes titres, des comptes gérés, des crédits ainsi que des transactions sur valeurs mobilières.ebase est une filiale de comdirect bank, la banque directe du groupe Commerzbank.
La société indépendante de gestion de fortune Salmann Investment Management, basée à Vaduz ainsi qu'à Zurich, annonce avoir élargi à Georg Wohlwend le cercle de ses associés-actionnaires. L’intéressé a été chargé de la clientèle de banque privée et de la gestion d’actifs de 1994 à 2012 chez VP Bank Vaduz.Georg Wohlwend devient également directeur général de Salmann (1 milliard de francs d’encours) aux côtés des associés gérants René Frank et Alfons Thöny. Cela permet de rajeunir l'état-major de Salmann IM et de préparer sur le long terme la succession à la tête de l’entreprise.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Index Europe reports that iShares, the ETF arm of BlackRock, on 1 July simplified the names of 138 of its 290 ETFs. The objective is to give the products immediately comprehensible names, as part of a transparency campaign initiated in October 2012 with the unveiling of the “Core” range of 10 low-cost ETFs.Meanwhile, iShares has reformulated the investment objectives for 26 of its ETFs available on the US market in “plain English.” Other ETFs will have their objectives gradually reformulated by the end of the year.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The New York-based alternative asset management firm Highbridge Capital Managment (USD29bn, of which USD7.1bn are managed by the Brazilian firm Gávea Investimentos), an affiliate of JPMorgan Chase, has filed a license application to the SEC for the Highbridge Tactical Credit & Convertibles Fund, a credit hedge fund. The firm is also planing to launch an offshore version of the product. The minimal subscription is set at USD100,000, Institutional Investor’s Alpha reports.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Comments by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke about a slowdown in bond purchases by the Fed on 22 June led many investors to pull out of certain asset classes, and many of them used ETPs to deploy their tactics. According to the BlackRock Institute, this led to net outflows of USD8.2bn in June, and strong trading activity, so that as of June, ETFs represented only 31% of trading volume on equity markets in the United States in June, compared with 20-25% in previous months. By comparison, ETFGI has estimated net outflows from global ETPs at only USD3.98bn in June (see Newsmanagers of 8 July).ETFs specialised in emerging market equities underwent net redemptions of USD6.6bn, giving them their fifth consecutive month of net outflows.Bond ETFs saw their first net outflows since December 2010, while short-duration bond ETFs attracted USD5.5bn in June.As to gold, ETPs for the sixth consecutive month continued to see net outflows, totalling USD4.1bn in June, bringing net redemptions in first half to USD28.2bn.However, ETPs of developed market equities saw net inflows of USD11.8bn in June, compared with USD30.3bn in May, and USD13.2bn in April.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Last month, the performance of hedge funds was negatively affected by the de-risking and re-pricing of all asset classes due to the rise in bond yields. Hedge funds were hit due to a lack of refuge investments, and by an increase in the correlation between asset classes.Overall, all 13 strategies monitored by Lyxor Asset Management finished June with losses, with the heaviest for CTA long term (-2.64%), long/short equity market neutral (-2.45%), and long/short equity credit arbitrage (-2.40%). However, long/short equity statistical arbitrage has lost only 0.11%.Overall, the Lyxor hedge fund index has seen a loss of 1.63% in June, but it shows returns of 1.85% since December 2012.Since the beginning of the year, the best returns have been for long/short equity market neutral (+7.72%) and long/short equity long bias (+6.77%). However, CTA short term shows a loss in first half of 5.38%.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Investment Europe reports that the French financial market authority, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), has granted its first clearance for an alternative management firm specialised in dividend futures, Melanion Capital, based in Paris.On its website, Melanion Capital states that it is also a member of the French financial management association (AFG).
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } According to the Wall Street Journal, Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is proposing to partially delay the introduction of controversial new rules applicable to cross-border derivatives trading, which were supposed to go into effect from Friday this week.The move comes as an about-face for the CFTC chairman, who had previously rejected requests for US banks active abroad which had been soliciting a delay on the application of the US swap rules. According to sources familiar with the matter, Gensler is now proposing to apply some of the new rules immediately, and to delay the introduction of other clauses until the end of the year.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 30 June, assets under management by the Swiss convertible bond specialist Fisch Asset management totalled CHF9bn, which represents an increase of 23% compared with the end of December, largely due to net subscriptions of CHF1bn in first half.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The sale of the real estate platform of Bankia, Bankia Habitat, is taking shape, El Confidencial reports: there are now only three finalists in the running: Cerberus, Centerbridge and TPG. Previously, Morgan Staley, Fortress, Oaktree and Apollo had either given up or been eliminated. In total, Bankia received some 20 bids.Bankia Habitat (500 employees) is one of the assets which the European Commission is requiring Bankia to sell. It has EUR2.9bn in assets in its real estate portfolio and a portfolio of credit to developers of EUR2.6bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Spanish firm Sacyr has sold the Adria tower at La Défense (54,000 square metres, 39 stories) for EUR450m to its French affiliate Tefran and four French investment funds, Cinco Días reports. EUR224.7m will be paid to Sacyr, and EUR225m will go to pay off a loan to the group from Tesfran.The four French funds participated in the deal via Primonial. The new owner of Adria is the OPCI fund Preim, and Tesfran holds a stake of 32% in the property.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The hedge fund activity UBS O’Connor will lay off 16 employees from its long/short fundamental management team, based in the United States, Finews reports, citing information from Bloomberg. However, the corporate credit team will add 10 members to grow to 15.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Union Mutualiste Retraite (UMR) on Monday 8 July announced that it has acquired a 20% stake in the asset management firm Egamo.“Since 1 January 2013, UMR has decided to award a management mandate to Egamo for its complete bond portfolio, about EUR4bn. This mandate has allowed Egamo to reach a total volume of assets under management of EUR7.3bn,” a statement says. UMR would like to be a participant in the strategy of Egamo and to contribute to the improvement of technical and human resources deployed to manage its assets. Following the awarding of a mandate, the shareholders of Egamo, the group MGEN (64%) of capital, OFI Partenaires (16%), offered UMR an opportunity to enter the capital of the asset management firm. A transfer of equities was carried out on 3 July 2013.Meanwhile, two representatives of UMR have joined the board of directors at Egamo: Alain Hernandez and Bernard Goujon, respectively chairman and deputy head of UMR.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Chinese social security fund (NSSF) has announced in its annual report, published on 27 June, that its assets for the first time hae topped CNY1trn as of the end of 2012, and that the returns on its investments last year totalled 7.01%, the best result in the past two years. Earnings on interest and dividends represent the lion’s share of returns, and contributed CNY32.84bn, Z-Ben Advisors reports. The contribution of private equity was CNY356m, 233% more than in 2011. Market effects were positive to the tune of CNY64.66bn, which brings total market effects since the inception of the NCSSF to CNY349.2bn, and corresponds to an average annualised return of 8.29%.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The independent wealth management firm Salmann Investment Managemnet, based in Vaduz and Zurich, has announced that with Georg Wohlwend, it has extended its circle of managing partners. Wohlwend had been responsible for private clients and asset management at VP Bank Vaduz from 1994 to 2012.Wohlwend also becomes MD of Salmann (CHF1bn in assets), alongside managing partners René Frank and Alfons Thöny. This will bring fresh blood into the management at Salmann IM and prepare for the long-term succession of the business.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Commerz Real has sold the Lloyd’s building in London for GBP260m “to an Asian asset management firm affiliate of a larger Chinese insurance group.” It may thus be supposed that the property in question has been sold by the closed-end fund CFB-Fonds 154 to an affiliate of Ping An. It was purchased in 2005 for GBP231m.The CFB-Fonds 154 initially had a duration of 11 and a half years, but investors authorised the management in September 2012 to resell the property if an occasion should arise.Annual pre-tax returns will have been 7.8%, says Michael Kohl, CEO of Commerz real Fonds Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH (CFB).
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Rob Thorpe, head of UK retail at Cazenove, will on 30 September join Sarasin & Partners, also as head of retail, Investment Week reports.Thorpe, who refused to move to the acquirer of Cazenove, Schroders, will be accompanied by two colleagues from Cazenove, Tom Hanafin and Paul Pugh.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Hermes is planning to recruit a director of development for the Asian region in the next three months. The position is based in Singapore, Asian Investor reports. The British asset management firm, which has GBP25.6bn in assets under management as of the end of March, had previously overseen commercial development from its London offices, under the direction of Harriet Steel, global head of business development. The Asian team has 10 managers.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The B2B fund platform ebase, whose assets under administration currently represent over EUR21bn, is retaining its shortened brand name, but is changing the name of the business, as European Bank for Fund Services GmbH becomes European Bank for Financial Services GmbH.The change is expected to reflect the issuance of a complete banking license and an extension of the range of products and services, beyond mere investment funds, says Rudolf Geyer, CEO. In other words, ebase remains a fund platform, but also offers securities accounts, managed accounts, credits and securities trading.ebase is an affiliate of comdirect bank, the direct bank of the Commerzbank group.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } In an interview with the Börsen-Zeitung, Gerald Noltsch, who is head of the Securities Services unit at BNP Paribas for Germany, estimates that growth will continue for his firm, whether or not it manages to acquire the custody activities of Commerzbank (EUR92bn).BNPP SS, which is already number one in Germany, has grown from EUR187.5bn in assets under administration as of the end of 2012 to EUR192bn currently, due to existing clients as well as to new clients. BNPP SS aims to increase its lead over its rivals, as State Street was in second place as of the end of December with EUR177bn.Compared to other European countries, the structure of the custody market in Germany is now more open to foreign actors, Noltsch remarks.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Achim Lüder, who had previously been COO for Retirement, Risk and Finance at Mercer Germany, has been appointed as CEO of the consulting group in Germany. He has been in the new role since March. He will be responsible for the activities of Mercer in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Institutional Money reports.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Principal, private equity investments at ArcLight Capital Partners, Matt LeBlanc has been recruited by JPMorgan Asset Management, FTfm reports. LeBlanc becomes CIO for OECD infrastructure equity.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } One of the key points at the introduction of the European hedge fund directive (AIFMD) will be the importance which devolves upon the depository in the decision-making process for fund managers. The text aims to provide a solution which protects investors, and, in a study, Deutsche Bank claims that an integrated model would better serve those ends and be less costly for the manager, as Mike Hughes, global head, fund services in the global transaction banking unit at Deutshe Bank, points out.The author says that in his opinion the service provided to hedge fund managers will be of a higher quality when they work with depository teams which are able to work with all their prime brokers, and that can also act as fund administrators, cash managers, transfer agents, and sub-custodians within a framework of appropriate “Chinese walls” and segregation of duties.”Deutsche Bank has also announced that it is holding an event dedicated to AIFMD in Dublin on 22 July, the day that the directive comes into force.