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18/03/2013

Direxion recruits CFO from US Bancorp Fund Services

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Eric W. Falkeis, who is already a trustee at Direxion Funds, has been appointed as chairman and COO of the hedge fund management firm. He had previously been CFO of US Bancorp Fund Services.
18/03/2013

Anton Commissaris returns to Credit Suisse

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } For the newly-created position of head wholesale clients Switzerland/EMEA in the Asset Management Core Investment division, Credit Suisse has recruited Anton Commissaris, who will be based in Zurich, and will report to Martin Keller, finews.ch reports.Commissaris, who will be responsible for relationships with banks, insurers and partners who distribute Credit Suisse funds, had previously worked at the group, most recently as head, private banking advisory group, before in 2011 being transferred to Aberdeen Asset Management when Credit Suisse sold a part of its asset management activities to the Scottish firm. He had been responsible for business development for Switzerland at Aberdeen.
18/03/2013

UBS reshuffles UHNW client services

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } In an internal memo, UBS has announced that Axel Kilian, of the investment banking unit in London, has since 11 March been appointed as Market Head UNHW Germany, and reports to Christian Henke, head of UHNW Germany International, and Franz Angermann, head of UHNW Germany Domestic, finews.ch reports. Kilian, for his part, reports to Axel Hörger, head WM Germany & Austria, and Eva Lindholm, head UHNW Europe.Michael Frey, desk head Northern Europe & Swiss Clients at UBS Singapore, has been appointed as head UHNW Monaco and head UHNW Central and Eastern Europe & Turkey (CEET) Monaco.For France, Helena Jevans Silva is promoted to head UHNW France International, where she had previously been dead head Portugal in Geneva.For London, the new head global family office United Kingdom will be Susan Ward, who will join from JPMorgan in May.Lastly, Simon Leaver becomes senior relationship manager in the ultra-high net worth private client team. He had previously been in the investment banking unit.
18/03/2013

US and Japanese equities popular in mid-March

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The strong rise of stock markets worldwide in mid-March favoured US and Japanese equity funds and high dividend equities, to the detriment of European and emerging market equities. In the week ending on 13 March, Chinese equity funds posted levels of redemptions not seen for more than five years ,while US equity funds attracted more than USD10bn, and Japanese equity funds attracted nearly USD2bn, according to estimates by EPFR Global.In the area of Japanese equity funds, the rise in inflows is partly due to improved coverage of Japanese funds, the CEO of EPFR Global, Ian Wilson, says. “However, in terms of the flows expressed as a percentage of assets under management, the week under review has been the best on record since third quarter 2011,” he continues. Investors reacted well to the objectives announced by the new Japanese government to boost imports and domestic consumption through a devaluation of the yen and slightly higher inflation.Overall, equity funds posted net inflows of USD14.1bn in the week under review, while bond funds finished the week with a positive bottom line of USD30.3bn. Meanwhile, money market funds posted a net outflow of USD7.1bn.
18/03/2013

Highbridge raises a large mezzanine debt fund

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Highbridge Capital, the hedge fund firm controlled by JPMorgan Asset Management, has raised the largest fund to invest in mezzanine corporate debt since the financial crisis, the Financial Times reports. The Highbridge Mezzanine Partners Fund II was closed with USD5bn in assets. Half of the portfolio will be invested in financing for acquisitions of businesses by private equity firms, and the other half will be invested in direct financing to businesses.
18/03/2013

ETFs dedicated to high-dividend equities post strong growth in recent days

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } ETFs dedicated to equities that pay high dividends have posted massive inflows in the past few days, at a time when the bond market appears to be overvalued in many places, IndexUniverse reports. On Wednesday last week, the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF posted a 20% increase in its assets, to USD6.26bn, while the iShares High Dividend Equity Fund attracted USD281m, to USD2.85bn. More generally, the attraction of high-dividend equities has brought inflows to various strategies of over USD60bn in the past twelve months.
18/03/2013

“Flexible management will become an offensive weapon”

At the helm of Dorval Finance, Louis Bert is an adept in flexible management, whose advantages he enumerates. It is good for managing the risk it authorises, which is winning over a growing number of institutional invetors, who already represent 40% of assets under management by the asset management firm. In troubled times, the attraction of flexibility is apparent to the head, but not only that. In the period of sustained rising stock markets which Bert is convinced we have entered, flexibility can be an offensive weapon.
18/03/2013

Italian fund association concerned about liquidation of real estate funds

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset managers, is predicting that in the next few years, about EUR5bn in real estate assets will be returned to the market in Italy. A high number of closed, publicly-traded real estate funds will be maturing, and will therefore need to manage the asset liquidation phase. Due to the current economic conjuncture, it is likely that the excess supply this will create will not be absorbed efficiently by the market, Assogetioni predicts. That may have negative effects on the final returns for the funds, and on the value of redemptions on capital invested, it warns. As a result, the association has written and sent a position paper to regulatory authorities in the country on managing the liquidation phase for real estate funds aimed at retail investors. The objective is to discern an operational solution for the entire sector, and measures which may be adopted by each actor.
18/03/2013

DJ Credit Suisse index up 0.24% in February

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Dow Jones Credit Suisse hedge fund index has gained 0.24% in the month of February, and 2.30% since the beginning of the year, according to figures published in March by Credit Suisse and S&P Dow Jones Indices. Five of the 13 strategies making up the index were oriented downward in the month under review, including dedicated short bias strategies (-1.65%) and equity market neutral (-1.28%). However, emerging market and fixed income arbitrage strategies both have posted gains of 0.49%, while event-driven has posted returns of 0.46%.
18/03/2013

Bonuses up by 31% in hedge fund industry

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Bonuses in the hedge fund sector rose 31% last year, at a time when fixed salaries rose by 4%, according to the 2013 Hedge Fund Compensation Report. The average total compensation is up 15% to USD314,000.The size of the fund is not necessarily a guarantee of better performance, since smaller firms generally outperformed larger companies. However, the study finds a significant correlation between the profitability of the fund and the size of the bonus. “Employees at the best-performing funds were rewarded with average bonuses of slightly over USD200,000,” says David Kochanek, editor of the 2013 edition of the report.Recruitments have remained roughly at the same levels as last year, with 24% of firms reporting recruitments to the research departments, 20% to operational positions, and 12% to legal departments.
18/03/2013

CSRC head leaves job

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The chairman of the Chinese market regulator (CSRC), Guo Shuqing, will be leaving his job to become governor of the province of Shandong, Asian Investor reports. A period of uncertainty may therefore take place for the asset management sector, which is concerned about future market reforms planned by Guo. The head of research at Z-Ben Advisors, Zhang HowHow, nonetheless claims that it is not customary in China to rapidly modify major orientations following a change of leadership. In other words, though the departure of Guo is a certainty, the CSRC may be expected to maintain its orientation in reforms.
18/03/2013

Advisers dissatisfied with Fidelity ETF range

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Some financial advisers have told the Wall Street Journal that they were going to stop using the Fidelity Investments trading platform to buy ETFs, due to the high fees at sale. The asset management firm on Wednesday announced that it would be offering 65 iShares (BlackRock) ETFs without charging transaction commissions, extending a previous agreement concerning 30 ETFs. But Fidelity charges additional fees of USD7.95 per transaction to investors who sell their ETFs within 30 days, and to financial advisers who do so within 60 days. Advisers also complain that Fidelity has replaced 10 iShares ETFs with no commissions which had previously been available. The WSJ claims the episode represents a further setback for Fidelity which has missed out on the ETF boom of recent years.
18/03/2013

New hedge fund increases assets

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Hengistbury Investment Partners, the hedge fund firm founded by the former TCI partner Stuart Powers, has soft closed its flagship fund to new investors, with USD750m in assets, the Financial Times reports. This is a notable exception in the otherwise morose alternative management industry. The firm earned 22% for investors in 2012.
18/03/2013

SAC Capital to pay USD616m fine

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The hedge fund management firm SAC Capital Advisors has received from the SEC an administrative fine totalling a record USD616m to settle two insider trading cases.In the case concerning shares in Elan and Wyeth, which resulted in a settlement of USD602m, CR Intrinsic, an affiliate of SAC Capital, made gains or avoided losses of USD275m, and would have been exposed to fines of USD1.1bn, if the case had gone to court.In the second case, concerning shares in Dell and Nvidia, Sigma Capital Management, another affiliate of SAC Capital, made illicit gains, or avoided losses totalling USD6.5bn. The administrative fine for the case is USD14m.
18/03/2013

Qatar sovereign fund eyes Marks & Spencer

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Qatar sovereign fund is planning to launch a GBP8bn bid for the British retail chain Marks & Spencer, the Sunday Times reports. The Qatar fund has approached investment funds and banks to put together a consortium. The Qatar sovereign fund acquired Harrods in 2010, and also holds a 26% stake in the J Sainsbury supermarket chain.
18/03/2013

Third party assets account for over 50% of SLI's AUM

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } In 2012, Standard Life Investments (SLI) indicates, third party assets (GBP83bn, compared with GBP71.8bn at the end of 2011) for the first time exceeded 50% of total assets (GBP167.7bn, compared with GBP154.9bn), while the percentage was limited to 9.4%, or GBP5.9bn in November 2008, when SLI was launched.Net subscriptions from outside the group totalled GBP6.1bn, compared with GBP4.3bn in 2011 (see Newsmanagers of 8 March). SLI states that 44% of third party subscriptions were generated by strategic partners such as the US firm John Hancock, the Indian HDFC Asset Management, the Japanese Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, and the parent company, Standard Life.
18/03/2013

Richard Buxton of Schroders joins Old Mutual

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Richard Buxton, whose departure from Schroders was announced on Friday, has joined Old Mutual Global Investors, as head of UK equities, Investment Week reports. He will report to Julian Ide, CEO of Old Mutual Global Investors, and will head the UK equity teams at the asset management firm. He will also join the management team at the company.
18/03/2013

Guernsey signs FATCA agreement with UK

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The territory of Guernsey has signed a tax agreement with the British authorities, modelled on the American FATCA law, Investment Europe reports. Meanwhile, Guernsey is expected to join the signatories of FATCA regulations in the near future.
18/03/2013

Jersey soon to roll out AIFM directive

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Jersey will be introducing the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) directive in April, Investment Europe reports, citing participants at a conference held by Jersey Finance in London. The hedge fund sector in Jersey as of the end of 2012 represented about GBP192bn in assets, or 70% of all fund management activities based on the island.
18/03/2013

Guernsey and United Kingdom sign tax agreement

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Guernsey has signed a tax convention with the United Kingdom on tax liabilities for foreign accounts, inspired by the American FATCA law, Investment Week reports. The agreement will allow “non-dom” UK clients not domiciled in the country for tax purposes to file a special tax delcaration. Meanwhile, Guernsey is preparing to sign an agreement of the same type with the United States. The two agreements have yet to be approved by the Guernsey Parliament.
18/03/2013

Pension funds to increase exposure to ETFs

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to a survey by FinEx, which at the end of February launched the first ETF of Russian bonds on the main market in London, 38% of the 144 European pension funds surveyed are planning to increase their investments in ETF shares this year, while 17% say they are planning to increase the allocation by more than 10%, FundsEurope reports. When asked about their predictions for the next three years, 42% of directors surveyed say they would like to increase their exposure to ETFs.
18/03/2013

Agriculture funds said to be the most dangerous in Europe

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to a jury of European ecological and consumer organisations which has organised a competition to find the most dangerous financial products in Europe, funds which “speculate on food” received 71.4% of votes in category 2, while products that damage the environment for the poor and third parties took second place, according to the website dangerous-finance.eu, led by the German Sven Giegold, Green MEP. This includes the category of products such as the tracker fund DB Platinum Agriculture Euro from the Deutsche Bank group, as well as, in second place, the RBS Sands TR Equity Index Certificate, WDS Go Uranium Exploration Index Certificate, and Solit2 Gold & Silver.Funds of this type are potentially damaging to the environment and the poorest populations in the world, since it channels a large volume of capital to the commodity futures market, and may have a negative effect on the price of basic commodities.In category 1, 46.8% of votes went to CDS of public debt as the most dangerous products for consumers and investors, followed by credit cards with very high interest rates, loans in currencies payable at final maturity, and reversible convertible bonds.According to the website, these products could be forbidden by the banking supervisory authorities (EBA), the financial supervisory authority (ESMA) or insurance authorities (EIOPA), which since their creation have been authorised to ban such products. This authorisation has not yet really been used, since a prohibition on naked shorts was achieved with a specific law.
18/03/2013

Invesco plans to extend ETF range in United Kingdom

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Invesco is planning to add to its range of Powershares ETFs in the United Kingdom, with the launch of bond products based on smart indices, Citywire Wealth Manager reports. The group, which already has 15 equity ETFs listed in London, is seeking to launch a high yield ETF. The range will be designed in partnership with Research Affiliates (RAFI).
18/03/2013

Fidelity reduces commission on Bolton Chinese fund

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Fundweb reports that Fidelity Worldwide Investment has reduced the management commission on the Fidelity China Special Situations investment trust, managed by Anthony Bolton, from 1.5% to 1.2%, in order to preserve the competitiveness of the product.
18/03/2013

Allianz prévoit des bénéfices stables ou en légère hausse en 2013 et 2014

L’assureur allemand Allianz prévoit des bénéfices net stables ou en légère augmentation en 2013, ainsi qu’en 2014, selon son rapport annuel publié le 15 mars.Par ailleurs, le groupe indique que son bénéfice opérationnel devrait augmenter en 2014 par rapport à 2013, année où il devrait atteindre 9,2 milliards d’euros, à 500 millions d’euros près. En annonçant ses résultats annuels en février, l’assureur s'était seulement dit «prudemment optimiste» pour 2013 et avait formulé une prévision de bénéfice d’exploitation annuel compris entre 8,7 et 9,7 milliards d’euros, soit 9,2 milliards d’euros en moyenne. Cette prévision est confirmée dans le rapport annuel mais le groupe va plus loin en évoquant son bénéfice net. «En principe, mais aussi vu les incertitudes inhérentes évoquées, nous ne donnons pas de prévision précise de bénéfice net. Cependant, comme nos prévisions ne présument aucune perturbation majeure sur les marchés de capitaux, nous attendons un bénéfice net stable ou en légère augmentation pour 2013", indique le rapport annuel. En 2012, Allianz a réalisé 5,2 milliards d’euros de bénéfice net et 9,5 milliards de bénéfice d’expoitation.
18/03/2013

Capital@Work recruits in Netherlands

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Fondsnieuws reports that the asset management firm Capital@Work (EUR4.6bn in assets), an affiliate of the Hamburg-based firm Foyer, has recruited Michael Zandbergen as client relationship manager for the Netherlands. He had most recently been a private banker at Staal Bankiers.
18/03/2013

BrightGate Capital recruits

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } The Spanish hedge fund management firm BrightGate Capital has recruited Ana Fernández Garrido, who had been a specialist in the sale of equity derivatives at UBS in London, as a member of its institutional and retail sales team, Funds People reports.BrightGate is currently working to launch a buy & hold bond fund in Luxembourg in second quarter. The firm, led by José Brujó, Bertrand de Montauzon and Jacobo Arteaga, currently offers the BrightGate Absolute Return, a fund of Permal AM funds.
18/03/2013

Morgan Stanley may acquire the remainder of its joint venture with Citigroup

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Morgan Stanley may acquire the remainder of its joint venture in wealth management with Citigroup as soon as next month, now that the bank has received approval from the Federal Reserve for its plans for its proprietary capital, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing a source familiar with the matter.
18/03/2013

Azimut creates a position for a director of sales

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian asset management firm Azimut has created an office of the director of sales, led by Paolo Martini and Silvano Bramati, who have been appointed as head of sales and co-head of sales, Bluerating reports. Martini joined Azimut in 2007, and currently serves as head of marketing and wealth management, while Bramati has been part of the group since 2000, and has always worked with the Azimut Conzulenza network.
18/03/2013

Richard Buxton de Schroders rejoint Old Mutual

Richard Buxton, dont on annonçait vendredi le départ de Schroders, a rejoint Old Mutual Global Investors en tant que responsable des actions britanniques, rapporte Investment Week. Sous la direction de Julian Ide, CEO d’Old Mutual Global Investors, il dirigera les équipes actions UK de la société de gestion. Il rejoindra également l’équipe de direction de la structure.

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