P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a letter to investors on Friday, Jeffrey Vinik announced that Vinik Asset Management will be liquidated, and that shareholders will be reimbursed yb the end of June, the Wall Street Journal reports.A restructuring was unsuccessful, and the hedge fund has lost 4.8% since the beginning of July 2012, while the S&P 500 has gained 19%. In April, the newspaper reported that investors had sought redemptions of USD1.5bn, equivalent to 18% of assets.Vinik has also stated that several members of the management team are planning to found their own firms.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For first quarter 2013, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the company of Warren Buffet, on 3 May announced net profits of USD4.892bn, which corresponds to an increase of 51% over USD3.245bn in January-March 2012, due to an improvement in profits from insurance activities, and a rise in profits from the railway unit.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Fondsprofessionell, the asset management firm Peacock Capital, founded in October 2012, with offices in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt, will soon be launching its first fund, a long/short absolute return product which will have a neutral exposure to the equity market, independently of the evolution of interest rates. The founder and manager Marc Seibel is planning to focus on a sample of about 200 European small and midcaps, out of a universe of 3,000 equities.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } State Street Global Advisors is launching five physical replication ETFs on the Milan stock exchange, all products already traded in London and Frankfurt, Bluerating reports. They are the SPDR MSCI EMU UCITS ETF; SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate ETF; BofA Merrill Lynch Emerging Markets Corporate Bond UCITS ETF; SPDR S&P 500 Low Volatility UCITS ETF; SPDR Citi Asia Local Government Bond UCITS ETF. According to Danilo Verdecanna, managing director of SSgA Italy, the new additions bring the number of SPDR ETFs available for trading on the Milan stock exchange to 32.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Funds People reports that the European Court of Justice in May 2012 sentenced the French finance minister to refund improperly frozen dividends from its products to Santander Asset Management. The total sum in question is EUR11.4m, unduly withheld from 84 investment funds, Sicav vehicles and pension funds.
The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions published on Friday, May 3 the final report on Principles for the Valuation of Collective Investment Schemes, containing a list of Principles intended to serve as a basis for both industry practitioners and regulators to assess the quality of regulation and industry practices regarding the valuation of collective investment schemes (CIS).The final report revises IOSCO’s Principles for CIS Valuation, originally developed in 1999, to take into account subsequent regulatory, industry and market developments. Many complex and hard-to-value assets are now eligible for CIS portfolios, including some that did not exist a decade ago. The value of such assets cannot be determined by using quoted prices (so- called mark-to-market), but instead CIS may rely on internal techniques which imply management’s judgment (so-called mark-to-model). The difficulty and subjectivity needed for certain valuations increases regulatory risks and calls for a set of principles to guide the identification of policies and procedures designed to ascertain the proper valuation of CIS assets.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The 2013 edition of the Fund Brand rankings by Fund Bayers Focus (FBF) reveal that for cross-border sales in Europe, the favourite brand for fund selectors is BlackRock, followed by Carmignac, JPMorgan, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, DWS, Pictet, M&G, Schroders, and Pimco.The second French cross-border actors is Amundi, in 15th place, followed by Axa IM (excluding AllianceBernstein) and BNP Paribas, at 19th and 20th place, respectively. Comgest and LCF Rothschild take 25th and 26th place, while Rothschild & Cie and Lyxor take 42nd and 44th place.Among the leading firms, Carmignac has gained 3 places compared with the 2012 results, while Pictet has gained one, M&G two, and Aberdeen three. In its statement, FBF states that BlackRock has adequate size to allow it to offer products to meet all types of demand. An appetite for high yield has helped Pictet, Aberdeen and Axa, while M&G and Aberdeen would appear to be in a position to improve the scores for their brand this year.French groups take the top spots in the “boutique” category, with Financière de l’Echiquier and DNCA Finance in the top two places in their category, along with Sycomore (7th), Mandarine (13th), Métropole (16th), Varenne Capital (18th) and Moneta (19th).In the general rankings for the French market, the top ten brands in the eyes of fund selectors are, in order, Carmignac Gestion, Pictet, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, Financière de l’Echiquier, LCF Rothschild, M&G Investments, DBCA Finance and Axa.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In April, the daily on-book trading volume for ETFs on the European markets of NYSE Euronext increased to EUR281.2m, compared with EUR248m in March. That represents an increase of 4.82% compared with the corresponding month of last year.The monthly on-book trading volume totalled EUR5.9bn, compared with EUR4.96bn the previous month.Block trading totalled EUR2.08bn last month, compared with EUR1.16bn in March.NYSE Euronext also states that the median spread in April totalled 35.41 basis points, which is 50% higher than its levels in March (23.5 basis points) and in April 2012.
Henderson Global Investors vient de recruter un analyste senior en la personne de Graeme Clark qui va renforcer l'équipe spécialisée sur les valeurs technologiques, rapporte Citywire. A noter en outre que Niall Holleran, jusqu’ici stagiaire dans l'équipe, a été promu assistant de recherche.Au cours des trois dernières années, le fonds Henderson HF Global Technology, dont les actifs s'élèvent à quelque 3 milliards d’euros, a dégagé une performance de 23,3% contre 25,9% sur la même période pour le MSCI AC World/Information Technology.
Aviva Investors Londres vient de recruter Adeline Diab en qualité de responsable de l’intégration au sein de son équipe internationale d’investissement socialement responsable, a annoncé la société de gestion vendredi. Elle est rattachée à Steve Waygood, directeur de l’investissement socialement responsable.Avant de rejoindre Aviva Investors, Adeline Diab occupait la fonction de gérante, chargée d’intégrer les problématiques ESG (Critères Environnementaux, Sociaux, et de Gouvernance) au processus d’investissement sur différentes classes d’actifs chez APG Asset Management aux Pays-Bas. Auparavant, elle avait travaillé pour GLG Partners comme responsable de la mise en œuvre d’une stratégie de gestion privilégiant le développement durable. Elle a également cofondé l’équipe de recherche ESG chez HSBC Asset Management à Paris.Dans le cadre de ses fonctions chez Aviva Investors Londres, Adeline Diab pilotera le réseau d’analystes spécialisés en investissement socialement responsable. Elle participera à l’identification des principales problématiques ESG et à la recherche d’opportunités à l’échelle mondiale, permettant d’intégrer les facteurs ESG au processus d’investissement.
Les actifs sous gestion du spécialiste de la gestion alternative Man Group s’inscrivaient fin mars à 54,8 milliards de dollars contre 57 milliards dollars à fin décembre 2012, selon un communiqué publié le 3 mai. Ce recul des actifs est lié à une décollecte nette de 3,7 milliards de dollars, résultant de souscriptions de 2,5 milliards de dollars et de rachats pour un montant de 6,2 milliards de dollars. Cette augmentation des rachats est due à la perte de trois mandats importants faiblement margés, précise le CEO de Man Group, Manny Roman, cité dans le communiqué. A ce la s’ajoute un impact négatif de 1,6 milliard de dollars sur les mouvements de change, résultant de la vigueur du dollar contre yen, euro et sterling.
Les actifs sous gestion du pôle gestion de fortune du groupe britannique RBS s’inscrivaient fin mars à 30,8 milliards de livres, en progression de 7% par rapport à fin décembre 2012, selon le rapport intérimaire publié le 3 mai par RBS.Cette évolution est due pour beaucoup au rebond des marchés intervenu au premier trimestre, souligne RBS, ce qui a permis de compenser la décollecte d’actifs peu margés ou encore des transferts de fonds résultant de la vente des activités en Amérique latine, aux Caraïbes et en Afrique.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Franklin Templeton has opened three offices in Italy, in Rome, Florence and Padua, Bluerating reports. These locations come in addition to the Milan offices. The US asset management firm, which as of the end of March had EUR27.4bn in assets under management in Italy, is preparing to launch its roadshow in Italy to meet professional investors throughout the country.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Azimut Global Advisory, the new division of the Italian asset management firm Azimut dedicated to fee-based financial advising, has recruited several professionals, Bluerating reports. They are Leonardo Abbate and Paolo Bonavita, two veterans of MPS Private Banking, Luca Pitton and Davide Semprini, formerly of Deutsche Bank Private Banking, Daniela Iachini, Davide Zambello, Mara Lunghini and Giovanni Panno, formerly of UniCredit Private Banking, and Roberto Salvi, who has left Deutsche Bank Private Banking.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Last year, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) intensified its efforts to combat excessive pay scales, voting against 126 pay policies and 22 chairmen of remuneration committees at companies it had invested in, Financial Times Fund Management (FTfm) reports.Among the firms concerned are WPP, Barclays, Pendragon, novartis, UBS, Credit Suisse and UniCredit.LGIM states that it has extended its voting rights policy to emerging markets, now that it is more exposed to these countries.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Edwin Voerman, hitherto vice president and one of the founders of the asset management firm Alpha Plus Gestora (USD170m in assets) in 2008, has been appointed as CEO, a position which he will occupy in addition to his role as chief investment officer, Funds People reports. Javier Arno, who had been director general, becomes vice president.Voerman manages mandates for pension funds (Nationale Nederlanden Crecimiento Global and Alpha Plus Previsión) as well as the multi-asset class fund range Alpha Plus Gestión Flexible.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Henderson Global Investors has recruited a senior analyst, in the person of Graeme Clark, as an addition to its team specialised in tech sector equities, Citywire reports. Niall Holleran, who had previously been an intern on the team, has also now been promoted to research assistant.In the past three years, the Henderson HF Global Technology fund, whose assets total about EUR3bn, has earned returns of 23.3%, compared with 25.9% in the same period for the MSCI AC World/Information Technology.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Ewgeni Smuskovich has been appointed as director of the Vienna location of the Swiss firm Julius Baer, succeeding Erich Gröger, who is retiring. Smuskovich joined the Swiss group in 2011, and led the team in Vienna which serves Russian and Eastern European clients.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the US firm Och-Ziff totalled USd35.6bn as of 1 May, compared with USD30.1bn as of the end of March 2012. Two factors contributed to this development, a positive market effect of USD1.8bn, and a net inflow of USD1.2bn compared with 31 December 2012. The OZ Master Fund, whose assets under management totalled USD22.2bn as of the end of March 2013, earned returns of 5.4% in the first four months of the year.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } While remaining as co-manager of the “intermediate tax-free” strategy, John Boritzke will now act as managing director, with the role of head of fixed income at BMO Global Asset Management (USD125bn as of the end of January), the firm has announced. Boritzke joined the firm in 1983. He will report to Craig Rawlins, Cio of BMO Asset Management US.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After winning an auction held in 2012 by the Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB) for the Catalan business Unnim, BBVA has absorbed the firm Unnim Gesfonds SGIIC, which has now been liquidated, Funds People reports. As a result, the number of asset management firms registered with the CNMV has declined to 102.BBVA Asset Management, the largest security management firm in Spain, has assets of EUR19.13bn in 207 products. Unnim at the time of its demise had 15 funds.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The London-based real estate fund management firm Pradera has announced that due to the passage of a new German law on investments, it is modifying the status of its German-registered open-ended real estate fund Pradera Open-Ended Retail Fund (DE000A0RG928), whose assets total EUR145m in institutional funds (Spezialfonds), Das Investment reports. The move is due to the fact that the German legislation no longer allows large institutional investors to subscribe to shares in open-ended funds. The asset objective for the fund remains at EUR500m, with target returns of 7% to 10% over 10 years, and a distribution of 5-6% per year.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the alternative management boutique Man Group as of the end of March totalled USD54.8bn, compared with USD57bn as of the end of December 2012, according to a statement released on 3 May.This decline in assets is due to a net outflow of USD3.7bn, resulting from subscriptions of USD2.5bn, and redemptions totalling USD6.2bn. This increase in redemptions is due to the loss of three major low-margin mandates, the CEO of Man Group, Manny Roman, says in a statement.In addition to this currency effects had a negative impact of USD1.6bn, due to the strength of the US dollar against the yen, euro and pound sterling.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management by the wealth management unit of the British RBS group, including the Coutts private bank, as of the end of March totalled GBP30.8bn, up 7% compared with the end of December 2012, according to an interim report released on 3 March by RBS. This development is largely due to a rebound on the markets in first quarter, RBS says, which offset outflows of low-margin assets and transfers of funds due to the sale of activities in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.
Aviva Investors has hired Adeline Diab as head of integration for its global responsible investment team, the asset management company announced on May 2. She reports to Steve Waygood, chief responsible investment officer.Adeline Diab joins Aviva Investors from APG Asset Management in the Netherlands where she was responsible for embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) into the investment process across asset classes. Her role also involved active engagement with companies across a broad range of areas. Prior to this, she held roles with London-based hedge fund, GLG Partners, where she managed a sustainable investment strategy in addition to two equity funds, and HSBC Asset Management in Paris, where she co-established the ESG research team.In her role at Aviva Investors, Adeline Diab will lead the responsible investment officer analyst network, supporting them in identifying material ESG issues and seeking out global opportunities to integrate ESG into mainstream investment processes.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Frankfurt-based third-party marketer accelerando associated on 1 May recruited Michael Geier as director of third-party marketing in Frankfurt, and Chrisian Parrado Myrom as associate director & analyst in Valencia. Geier has 20 years of experience in the area of fund sales. He was most recently head of Germany & Austria at Standard Life Investment in Edinburgh, after working for ABN Amro Asset Management Germany and Mellon Global Investment. Parrado had previously worked at Allfonds Bank.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The SPDR Gold Trust ETF is the most popular ETF with hedge funds, according to the most recent rankings by Insider Monkey. Paulson & Co, First Eagle Investment Management and Empyrean Capital Partners are some of the major hedge funds which have bet on the ETF. Unfortunately for them, the fund has lost about 12% since the beginning of this year. The second most popular ETF with hedge funds is the Financial Select Sector SPDR, which has gained nearly 14% since the beginning of the year, and has been selected by Renaissance Technologies, Moore Global and Tudor Investment, among others. Ishares MSCI Emerging Markets Index, the third product in the rankings, is the favourite of Duquesne Capital and Arrowstreet Capital, among others. It has lost nearly 3% since the beginning of the year. In fourth place, iShares FTSE/Xinshua China 25 index is down more than 7% since the beginning of the year, while the iShares Russell 2000 Index, selected by Dreman Value Management and D.E. Shaw & Co, has gained more than 11% since the beginning of the year. SAC Capital and Caxton Associates can be glad to have put their money on the iShares MSCI Japan Index, which takes sixth place, and which has gained 19.64% since the beginning of the year. However, the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF, held by Soros Fund Management and Tiger Management, has lost more than 36% since the beginning of the year.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } CIMB-Principal Asset Management, a joint venture of CIMB Bank and the US firm Principal Global Investors, based in Kuala Lumpur, has appointed a new CEO for its Malaysian and Thai activities and its Islamic funds, Asian Investor reports. Following the departure of the CEO of CIMB-Principal AM Campbell Tupling, who left in early April, and who was replaced by Pedro Borda, Asian Investor reports that Jumpon Saimala will take over as director of activities in Thailand. He had previously been CEO of ING Funds Thailand. Meanwhile, Noripah Kamso has left his position as CEO of Islamic funds at the firm. She has been replaced by Ramlie Kamsari, who had been approached for the position several months ago.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Five former private bankers specialised in proprietary trading at JP Morgan in Singapore have launched a new asset management firm, with the support of one of the largest fund managers in Canada, Mackenzie Investments, whose assets under management total USD64bn, the news agency Reuters reports. The firm is planning to launch two funds dedicated to credit markets. Mackenzie will contribute seed capital of USD100m for a long-only bond fund, and USD20m for a long/short hedge fund which will combine credit and macro strategies.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } European investors are continuing to seek returns, according to the most recent statistics on European inflows from Morningstar. Long-term funds (excluding funds of funds and feeder funds) have posted record net inflows of EUR115.12bn in first quarter. And money market funds have seen redemptions in the first three months of 2013, which means that investors are continuing to seek returns rather than security despite the euro zone crisis. In the month of March alone, investors continued to invest in bond funds, which posted inflows of EUR15.1bn. Allocation funds posted a net inflow of EUR8.8bn, and equity funds took in EUR4.2bn in new money. Diversified bond funds denominated in US dollars or euros and British mixed large cap funds posted the heaviest outflows in March. Redemptions totalled over EUR2bn for bond funds, and EUR843m for the British funds. Templeton Global Total Return Fund takes first place among long-term funds in Europe, both in March and for first quarter, with inflows of EUR1.72bn and EUR4.29bn, respectively. For first quarter, it is followed by the Pimco GIS Unconstrained Bd, with EUR2.538bn, JP Morgan Asia Pacific Income Fund (EUR2.47bn) and Templeton Glb Bond (EUR1.99bn).