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19/11/2012

IPD and BVI launch index for RE institutional funds

In collaboration with the German fund association BVI, IPD (Investment Property Databank GmbH) on September 14th published a full IPD/BVI German quarterly Spezialfonds Index (SFIX) for the first time. The new index measures the performance of German Spezialfonds (institutional funds) and public real estate funds for institutional investors, not only in the current quarter, but also - and for the first time – back to December 2006 on a quarterly basis.For the third quarter of 2012 the SFIX covered 110 funds worth EUR27.5bn in terms of net asset value (NAV), implying a market coverage of 60%. In addition to the overall SFIX index, the data assembled allows for the production of regional and sector sub-indices, grouping the funds covered by investment focus. The SFIX measures the total return of the contributing funds at NAV level, net of leverage, liquidity and fund costs, and is published six weeks after the end of each quarter.The SFIX recorded a total return of 0.2% for July-September. Those funds with at least 70% of their real estate in Germany achieved a return of 0.8%, significantly better than funds predominantly investing in the rest of Europe, which lost 0.1%. Differentiated by type of use, funds invested mainly in retail properties returned 1.0%, significantly outperforming office-focused funds, which lost 0.1%. Sector-diversified funds stood in between with a return of 0.4%.Over the twelve months to September 30, the ranking of the sub-indices is identical. And over the last five years, SFIX Germany funds again lead the field with an annualised return of 4.3%, while the performance of diversified funds, at 3.6%, surpasses that of office funds, which returned only 2.5%.
19/11/2012

Lyxor AM to launch ETFs in physical replication

In September, Lyxor International Asset Management announced plans to launch a range of physical ETFs by the end of 2012. On December 6th and 11th, 4 ETFs based on the EuroMTS Macro Weighted AAA Government Index series will be converted to physical replication. As announced previously, Lyxor diversifies its offer to physically replicated ETFs in order to fully address investors’ needs.The funds will be managed using full replication: each fund will invest directly in all the sovereign bonds that make up the respective EuroMTS Macro Weighted AAA Government Index, without any sampling. Securities lending is not part of the management process as the performance benefit to investors would be negligible, and would not justify the addition of counterparty risk to the fund. The EuroMTS Macro-Weighted AAA Government Bond Indices are Eurozone sovereign indices grouped by maturity, and based on issuers with the highest credit ratings (denoted “AAA”) from 2 out of the 3 main ratings agencies. The “macro-weighted” strategy is an innovative weighting methodology that uses macroeconomic indicators. Country weights are primarily based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and then adjusted using the following 4 indicators: debt to GDP ratio; current account (as a % of GDP); quarter-on-quarter GDP growth; long-term interest rates. Characteristics : Lyxor ETF EuroMTS AAA Macro-Weighted Government 1-3YIsin code: FR0011146315Launch date: December 11; 2012 Lyxor ETF EuroMTS AAA Macro-Weighted Government 3-5YIsin code: FR0011146349Launch date:: December 6, 2012Lyxor ETF EuroMTS AAA Macro-Weighted Government 5-7YIsin code: FR0011146356Launch date: December 11, 2012 Lyxor ETF EuroMTS AAA Macro-Weighted Government BondsIsin code: FR0010820258Launch date: December 11, 2012
19/11/2012

Gains of more than 6% for hedge funds in January-October

On average, the 1,748 hedge funds and funds of hedge funds which had published their results for October as of 16 November have posted returns in October of 0.26%, bringing their gains to 6.04% in the first ten months of the year, according to estimates by BarclayHedge.Five strategies showed losses last month, including 26 tech funds (-1.98%) and 27 merger arbitrage funds (-1.96%), while the 98 global macro funds have lost an average of 0.95%. However, the 29 distressed securities funds gained 2.10%.Since the beginning of the year, the 7 equity short bias funds are the only class to show losses (-17.15%), while the 21 health and biotechnology funds have gained 13.51%, and 29 distressed funds have gained 9.70%.
19/11/2012

Veritas Asset Management UK restructures

Veritas Asset Management UK is restructuring, and separating its fund management activities from its private client activities, Fundweb reports. The private client activities will become Veritas Investment Management, while fund management activities, which include institutional management, will be renamed as Veritas Asset Management. Veritas Investment Management will be led by Mark Rayward. Veritas Asset Management will be led by chairman Charles Richardson, managers Andy Headley and Ezra Sun, and COO Richard Grant.
19/11/2012

Old Mutual Wealth appoints a director of marketing

Old Mutual Wealth has appointed Graham Bentley as head of investment marketing, Fundweb reports. Bentley had previously been in charge of proposals by Skandia. In his new position, he will cover the United Kingdom, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
19/11/2012

Man Group sells exposure to Lehman for USD456m

The hedge fund management firm Man Group on 16 November announced the sale of its remaining exposure to Lehman Brothers for a total of USD456m. The operation strengthens owners’ equity at Man, which is also facing an erosion of its client base over the past several quarters. Hutchinson Investors, managed by the Baupost group, has agreed to acquire the portfolio at a 32% markup over its valuation on 30 June 2012. Man may receive an additional USD5m, if certain thresholds are met in the future. Man acquired the portfolio in July 2011 from funds managed by the affiliate GLG Partners, for a total of USD355m.
19/11/2012

Fiona Reynolds joins PRI

The international network of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) on 19 November announced the appointment of Fiona Reynolds as managing director. In this newly-created position, Reynolds will be responsible for development of the organisation and its day-to-day activities. She will begin in the position in London in February 2013. Reynolds is currently CEO of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, an organisation which defends the interests of the Australian pension fund sector.
19/11/2012

DJ Credit Suisse hedge fund index down 0.18%

The Dow Jones Credit Suisse hedge fun index finished the month of October down 0.18%, as six out of the 13 strategies of the index posted negative returns. Managed futures strategies fell by 4.64%, after a decline of 1.37% in September.
19/11/2012

Heavy outflows from US equity funds

The second week of November saw investors digesting an unpleasant cocktail of European data, US budget skirmishes, Japanese politics and renewed violence in the Middle East. They responded by pulling over USD7 billion out of US Equity Funds and over USD1 billion from US High Yield Bond Funds while slowing the pace of their commitments to Emerging Markets Equity and Bond Funds. Overall, EPFR Global-tracked Bond Funds took in $5.29 billion during the week ending Nov. 14 while net redemptions from Equity Funds hit their highest level since the week preceding the US Federal Reserve’s announcement of QE3. Money Market Funds recorded outflows of USD7.06 billion and Balanced Funds, which invest in both debt and equities, saw USD1.12 billion taken out.
19/11/2012

Franklin Templeton controls one tenth of Irish debt

Franklin Templeton funds have increased their exposure to Irish bonds by more than one third, to EUR.84bn in third quarter, the Financial Times reports. The US asset management firm holds about one tenth of the total market in Irish government bonds. Most of these bonds are in the hands of funds controlled by Michael Hasenstab, co-director of the international bonds department at Franklin Templeton.
19/11/2012

Basel Committee plans an agreement on liquidity ratios by the end of the year

The Basel Committee hopes to reach an agreement next month on liquidity ratios, including the highly controversial short-term Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), which will come into effect on 2015, and which would require banks to have sufficient asset levels to sell off to enable them survive a 30-day credit shortage. The chairman of the Basel Committee, Stefan Ingves, made statements on the subject in a speech given on Thursday. “Due to the implications and potential costs of not revealing liquidity levels and risk management requirements for banks, we would not be fully exercising our responsibilities if we did not make an effort to finalise these proposals in the near future,” Ingves says. The chairman of the Swedish central bank, Ingves sought to respond to criticisms, citing the example of Sweden, where the liquidity ratio appears to have been accepted by parties, and does not appear to have disrupted the operation of the inter-bank market, as some were concerned would be the case.
19/11/2012

IOSCO publishes recommendations for securitisation regulation

The International Organization of Securities Organizations (IOSCO) published on 16 November a final report on global developments in securitisation regulations (Global Developments in Securitisation Regulation), which proposes a series of recommendations aimed at ensuring securitisation markets develop, but «on a sound and sustainable basis». The efforts of IOSCO come in response to a request by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which would like to assemble a more precise analysis of certain aspects of securitisation, including risk retention, transparency, and standardisation. The FSB itself is in the process of reviewing reforms of securitisation markets, as part of its ongoing work for the G20 on the shadow banking sector. In a conference organized by the French regulator AMF on 15 November in Paris, the chairman of BNP Paribas, Baudouin Prot, cited the creation now underway of a PCS securitisation label, which would facilitate restarting the European market on a healthy basis. “Securitisations are dead in Europe, although this market is prospering in the United States, the country where all the trouble started,” Prot says, adding that it is important for French banks to bring this market back to life, with a highly demanding label which would introduce guarantees and eligibility conditions, which would make it possible to exclude speculative products in favour of vehicles which aim to help the real economy.
19/11/2012

Regulators launch a consultation on shadow banking

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) on 18 November published a series of recommendations which will be subject to consultation, which aim to strengthen surveillance and regulation of shadow banking activities. Regulators concentrated on five major areas: interactions of banks with the shadow banking system, money market funds, other entities which have banking activities in unregulated environments, securitisation, securities lending, and pensions. All of these subjects are treated in multiple consultation documents, while a general presenttation lays out the philosophy of the FSB in relation to shadow banking, as well as recommendations overall, while a specific report deals with all entities other than money market funds, and another deal with securities lending and pensions. All of these texts are subject to consultation until 14 January 2013, and the Basel Committee may propose recommendations on the interaction of banks with the shadow banking system until mid-2013. The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has already produced recommendations for money market funds and securitisations just before the weekend (see elsewhere in Newsmanagers). The FSB, which will continue to monitor the efforts of the various working groups, is planning to publish its final recommendations in September 2013.
19/11/2012

Hedge funds may lose out in UPS-TNT talks

Several hedge fund managers will lose hundreds of millions of dollars if the merger of UPS and TNT Express falls through, the Financial Times reports. Merger arbitrage funds bought positions in TNT this year, anticipating gains at a time when the operation was about to be completed. But since then, the European Commission has surprised observers by raising objections.
19/11/2012

More than 250 new signatories sign PRI since September 2011

The international network of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has published an updated list of signatories to the Principles. As of 9 November 2012, the network had 254 new signatories since 12 September 2011, bringing the total number of signatories to over 1,100, from 50 countries, representing assets under management of over USD32trn. In the same period, 61 signatories were removed from the list for various reasons (voluntarily, failure to pay contributions, or failure to participate in the annual evaluation).
19/11/2012

London may lose GBP66bn on RBS and Lloyds bailouts

The British government, which in 2008 bailed out the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group, with an injection of GBP66bn, or about EUR82bn, may never get its money back, it warned a Parliamentary commission on 16 November. The government currently controls 81% of RBS and 39.6% of Lloyds.The Parliamentary commission on public finances has also denounced errors in the government’s management of the Northern Rock bailout in 2007-2008. The Treasury lacked the expertise to understand the situation at Northern Rock. It took too long to nationalise the bank, the commission has found. The Northern Rock bailout is expected to have cost taxpayers about GBP2bn, according to Labour MP Margaret Hodge, chairwoman of the committee.
19/11/2012

Funds struggle to outperform deposits

On the basis of statistics provided by the Spanish Inverco association of asset management firms, Cotizalia has found that no money market funds can compete with the returns from bank savings.In the current environment of a “war for deposits,” only 6.95% of short-term bond funds, or 16 productss out of a total of 230, have posted returns of over 5% in the twelve months to the end of October, compared with 57% of long-term bond funds, which are more risky. The Leaseten RF Corto and Eurovalor Bonos Corporativos show respective returns of 10.4% and 10%, putting them ahead of the foncaixa RF Corporative with 9.39%. Of diversified funds with a predominant exposure to bonds, only 13% beat savings deposits.However, 39.7% of guaranteed bond funds (146 out of 368) show returns of over 5%.
19/11/2012

Aberdeen wants to grow in funds of hedge funds

Aberdeen Asset Management is planning to more than double the size of its funds of hedge funds business to USD10bn in the next few years, from USD4bn currently, Financial Times Fund Management reports. The news comes at a time when the alternative multi-management industry is under pressure. Andrew McCaffery, global head of hedge funds at Aberdeen, tells FTfm that the growth may come via acquisitions, or through the winning of new mandates.
19/11/2012

Barclays Wealth adopts a regressive RDR fee structure

The wealth management firm Barclays Wealth has unveiled the structure of the fees it will be adopting in the RDR regulatory environment, Fundweb reports. Management commission will be 0.75% for the first GBP1m, and then 0.6% for accounts with GBP1-3m, and 0.5% for the GBP3-7m category, and 0.25% thereafter.Execution fees for structured products will be set at 0.7% up to GBP100,000, and then 0.4% for higher amounts. In the same classes, fees will be 1% and 0.65% for equities, while clients who rely on the services of a dedicated portfolio manager may be 1.25% up to GBP5m, and then 1% for the next category from GBP5-10m.Barclays Wealth has set the minimum investment for new clients at GBP3m, and is planning to introduce a minimal charge of GBP37,500. Clients to whom a portfolio manager is assigned must pay a financial planning fee of 2% on the first GBP250,000, while the fee will be reduced to 1% above that amount.
19/11/2012

Henderson recruits at Challenger in Australia

Matt Gaden, CEO in charge of institutional clients and strategic alliances at Challenger Limited, has been recruited as director of distribution at Henderson Global Investors (HGI) for Australia, Funds People reports. He will report directly to Rob Adams, the new executive chairman of HGI Australia. He will be responsible for both retail and institutional clients.
19/11/2012
Gestion d'actifs

Le GMPA envisage de placer deux à trois millions d'euros dans des OPCI

Le Général Patrick Felten, secrétaire général du Groupement Militaire de Prévoyance des Armées (GMPA), à la rédaction de www.institinvest.com : Nous avons évoqué en comité de placements la possibilité de faire passer nos actifs en gestion déléguée mais nous avons finalement choisi de les conserver en gestion directe. En terme de produits, nous envisageons de placer deux à trois millions d’euros dans des OPCI proposées par BNP Paribas ou A Plus Finance. Même si nous n’avons pas à proprement parler de besoin de diversification, nous étudions attentivement cette proposition.
Gestion d'actifs
16/11/2012

Le président de la Buba n’exclut pas un effacement de la dette grecque

La Grèce aura peut-être besoin d’un nouvel effacement de sa dette mais une telle mesure ne doit être envisagée qu’une fois qu’Athènes aura mené les réformes structurelles nécessaires, a déclaré vendredi le président de la Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann. «Je considère le besoin d’un nouvel effacement de la dette comme une question ouverte», a-t-il dit lors d’une conférence organisée par le Süddeutsche Zeitung. Jens Weidmann a précisé « qu’un effacement de la dette seule ne résoudra rien. Je peux effacer les dettes et me retrouver dans 10 ans au même point qu’aujourd’hui ? La Grèce doit se réformer de fond en comble ».
Jens Weidmann, président de la Bundesbank. Photo: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
16/11/2012

L’Afic et l’AFG demandent aux députés de revoir leur copie

L’AFG (Association française de la gestion financière) et l’Afic (Association française des investisseurs pour la croissance) regrettent que l’amendement sur les FIP et les FCPI, adopté en commission des finances à l’Assemblée nationale, ait finalement été vidé de sa substance lors de la séance publique du jeudi 15 novembre. Cet amendement proposait de loger les FIP et les FCPI dans une enveloppe de défiscalisation plus souple (plafond de 18.000 euros, 4% du revenu imposable) aux côtés des investissements en outre-mer. La réintégration dans le plafond de 10.000 euros va accentuer la baisse de la collecte des FIP et des FCPI, souligne le communiqué.
16/11/2012

L'AFT adjugera 5,8 à 7 milliards d’euros de BTF lundi

Cette opération portera sur des montants compris entre 3,6 et 4 milliards d’euros de bons à 12 semaines qui arriveront à échéance le 14 février 2013, entre 1 et 1,4 milliard d’euros de bons 21 semaines, à échéance du 18 avril 2013, et entre 1,2 et 1,6 milliard d’euros de bons à 51 semaines, à échéance du 14 novembre 2013.
16/11/2012

Yves Mersch pourrait être nommé le 22 novembre au directoire de la BCE

Les dirigeants européens pourraient prendre une décision lors du sommet de la semaine prochaine sur la nomination d’Yves Mersch au directoire de la Banque centrale européenne (BCE), dont le processus a été retardé par l’opposition de l’Espagne et du Parlement européen. Le sommet programmé le 22 novembre «traitera brièvement de la nomination d’un membre au directoire de la BCE», lit-on dans le compte-rendu d’une réunion de diplomates européens en vue de ce sommet.
16/11/2012

Les courtiers en énergie sont sous pression

JPMorgan a écopé aux Etats-Unis d’une suspension de trading de six mois sur l’électricité pour transmission d’informations trompeuses aux autorités. Les régulateurs des marchés de l'énergie multiplient les enquêtes sur d'éventuelles manipulations de cours.
16/11/2012

Les portes du gré à gré s’ouvrent aux particuliers chinois

Le China Securities Journal indique que les autorités chinoises devraient confirmer leur souhait d’ouvrir le marché du gré à gré aux investisseurs particuliers, tout en imposant des règles plus strictes qu’attendu. Le régulateur pourrait notamment exiger un investissement d’au moins un millions de yuans, l’équivalent de 125.000 euros. Pékin pourrait mettre en place un système d’animateurs de marché.
16/11/2012

La réforme bancaire se précise

Le ministre Pierre Moscovici a expliqué que certaines activités spéculatives seraient interdites et qu’une nouvelle autorité macroprudentielle serait créée.

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