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03/09/2012

Estate of Peregrine head will be sold off at auction

Michael Eidelman, court-appointed trustee for the Peregrine Financial Group, is planning to auction off the estate of Russell Wasendorf Senior, CEO of the firm, at auction, the Wall Street Journal reports.Peregrine, which entered bankruptcy protection on 10 July, left a hole in its finances estimated at USD215mThe trustee has already recuperated USD1m from a life insurance policy. He will now be selling off Wasendorf’s property at internet auction, including a wine cellar containing thousands of bottles at Opus One, an Italian restaurant in Cedar Falls, a Patek Philippe watch, jewelry, and several SUVs.It now remains to be determined whether the Peregrine CEO also had accounts abroad, in addition to his stake in a Romanian business.
03/09/2012

Hedge funds prefer Singapore

The status of London as a top destination for hedge funds appears to be under threat, according to a survey undertaken by the recruitment firm Astbury Marsden, FINalternatives reports. When asked about the preferred location for their activities, 462 British bankers and hedge fund managers placed Singapore on top, with 31% of votes, followed by New York (20%) and London (19%). The British capital comes only slightly ahead of Hong Kong (16%) and Dubai (15%).
03/09/2012

Credit Suisse recruits a head for ultra-high net worth clients

On 20 November, Matthew Haines will become the head of services to ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients in the United Kingdom/International at Credit Suisse, Wealth Briefing reports. He had previously been UK head of family office solutions at JP Morgan Private Bank.Haimes replaces Ian Dembinski who has been appointed head of UK domestic clients, and takes over a position left facant by Paul Sarosy when he left in May to go on to become head of investment solutions at Coutts.Haines will report to Blake Shorthouse, head of UNHW EMEA, and Eric Pfister, head of market area UK/International.
03/09/2012

BNY Mellon suggests that sovereign funds adapt their strategy

At a round table discussion organised by the sovereign institutions group at BNY Mellon, Rumi Masih, senior investment strategist in te investment strategy & solutions group (ISSG) reported that participants agree on the fact that sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have much to gain from heeding warning signs such as rising commodity prices to reduce the risk in their portfolios, before market shocks occur.That may appear counter-intuitive, but a sovereign fund with sensitivity to fluctuations in commodity prices should start with positions on more liquid assets at a time when these prices are peaking, rather than waiting for them to start to fall. Of course, these warning signs should be adapted to the driving factors for the economy of each SWF’s country.
03/09/2012

Strong demand for platinum ETFs

The Marikana platinum mine (Lonmin group) remains closed two weeks after tragic events caused 44 deaths, 34 of them strikers. Investors are predicting a shortage. The price of the metal has already increased 13%, and ETF providers are predicting that the trend will continue, Handelsblatt reports. The four groups which offer ETFs monitored by Reuters in August posted net inflows of 88,821 ounces, which represents USD133.2m, with the largest subscriptions going to ETF Securities.
03/09/2012

Some hedge funds rank France as a peripheral European country

Investors have this year generally given the benefit of the doubt to France, treating it as a “core” country of the euro zone economy, despite its high levels of debt. However, some hedge funds are questioning this way of seeing things, and are incstead tending to rank France as a peripheral European country, the news agency Reuters reports. Many macro hedge funds are now claiming that very low returns on French government bonds are not sustainable for a country on the verge of recession. Hedge funds are also sceptical of the fiscal policy of France’s new president Hollande. “The market appears to consider France a safe place, but we estimate that in reality, French returns should converge more towards Italian and Spanish returns and not towards German returns,” says Pedro de Noronha, managing partner at Noster Capital.
03/09/2012

FSA oversees implementation of RDR

The British Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the seventh issue of its newsletter on RDR regulations draws the attention of the finance community to the distinction between product cost and the cost of advising.RDR regulations require the largest firms, such offer both advising on products and products, to introduce “reasonably representative” advising fees for services offered. This, the FSA says, forbids these firms from hiding these advising costs with profits from other areas of their activities.The FSA is concerned that firms will apply too restrictive a vision of what should be included in the cost of advising, excluding, for example, IT costs, marketing budgets or costs related to the development of the activity.The case will remain at the centre of the FSA’s concerns until the end of the year, the FSA adds, adding that firms need to test their new pricing models.
03/09/2012

FATCA: Ernst & Young warns platforms

The auditing and consulting firm Ernst & Young has issued a warning to platforms that are planning to cease to accept operations from US taxpayers based in the United Kingdom on the pretext that the reporting required by the FATCA law is too costly, Money Marketing reports. According to Ernst & Young, the FATCA legislation will require platforms to set up new procedures for opening accounts, in order to more easily serve potential US taxpayer customers. In other words, it will be difficult for platforms to restrict itself to complying only with the requirements of this many-tentacled regulation. Dan Hall, a partner at Ernst & Young specialised in advising on financial services, says “platforms have manifestly been under multiple pressures recently, largely due to changes related to RDR regulations,” which come into effect on 1 January 2013. But there is still time to comply with requirements related to to the FATCA law, which also comes into effect in 2013.
03/09/2012

Asset management firm closes its UCITS funds

Matrix Group, an asset management firm based in London, will be shutting down its range of UCITS funds, launched in Dublin in May 2010, following a strategic review of its activities, Citywire reports. The decision is related to the fact that the firm is not able to realise the necessary economies of scale compared with its rivals. The funds will be closed on 7 September.
03/09/2012

Laffitte CM releases a third arbitrage fund

Laffitte Capital Management is planning to launch an arbitrage fund based on indices. The fund, entitled Laffitte Index Arbitrage, will be a UCITS-compliant European product, and will aim to detect arbitrage opportunities on the global stock markets on the basis of indices. It will have complementary drivers of performance: arbitrage of index re-balancing, arbitrage on dividends, and also securities trading arbitrage.“With this fund, we return to one of our first loves. From 1990 to 2006, we used index-based arbitrage for proprietary trading at Crédit Mutuel-CIC,” explains Eric Robbe, co-founder and chairman of Laffittee CM. “But it had previously been difficult to realise this activity within a regulated and liquid fund, since many products were traded over the counter. In addition, there was disparate fiscal treatment of dividends throughout Europe. These obstacles have been removed today. As many banks are withdrawing from this profession, we also have expertise on the market,” he continues. Laffitte has recruited Gregory Meyappen for the fund; he had previously directed operations of this type for proprietary trading at Crédit Agricole. He will co-manage the fund with two colleagues from Laffitte CM. The fund has a capacity of up to EUR1bn. With daily liquidity, it will be on sale to clients of all types, and will have an institutional and a retail share class to this end. It will also be listed on life insurance platforms. With the Laffitte Index Arbitrage, the firm diversifies its range, which now consists of two merger and acquisition arbitrage funds. This may help the firm to reach its objective of EUR500bn. Five years after its launch, the firm currently has slightly under EUR300bn in assets under management, and 10 employees.
03/09/2012

Steep fall in profits at US Global Investors

In the fiscal year ending on 30 June 2012, the Texas-based asset management firm US Global Investors, a specialist in commodities and emerging markets, posted net profits of USD1.53m, compared with USD7.83m in 2010-2011, with a loss of USD0.11m in April-June, compared with a net profit of USD0.49m the previous quarter, and USD1.54m in April-June 2011.Revenue for 2011-2012 fell to USD23.85m, compared with USD41.93m.Assets at the end of the fiscal year totalled USD1.62bn, compared with USD2.60bn one year previously. Average AUM over the past fiscal year totalled USD2.06bn, compared with USD2.82bn in 2010-2011.Frank Holmes, CEO, says that US Global Investors was not the only asset management firm to suffer from outflows from its money market and equity funds, as statistics from the Investment Company Institute (ICI) show that equity funds underwent net redemptions of USD171bn in the twelve months to the end of June. However, despite the scale of the redemptions, US Global Investors has strengthened its sales and marketing strategy, added to its institutional sales team, and beefed up its IT systems. “At the same time, the firm has lowered its overhead,” the manager says.
03/09/2012

Lyxor appoints a head of development for United States

Lyxor Asset Management has announced the appointment of Michael Bernstein to the position of head of development for North America. His primary responsibility will be to strengthen and develop relationships with institutional investors, consultants, distribution partners and other asset managers.Bernstein joined Lyxor in 2009 as head of Pension Fund and US Consultant clients.His appointment comes as part of an expansion of the firm on the North American market, “a key area of development for Lyxor,” a statement says. The “Business Development” team working under Bernstein will also be enlarged in due course.
03/09/2012

Charles Firmin-Didot leaves Axa IM

Charles Firmin-Didot, founder and manager of the Talents range of funds, is leaving Axa Investment Managers to “pursue other opportunities,” a spokesperson for the French asset management firm has confirmed to Newsmanagers, following reports in the British press. Firmin-Didot developed the Talents strategy, focused on entrepreneurs who hold a stake in their own firms. This strategy is now managed by Mark Beveridge, who has been supervising Firmin Didot over the past three years. He will rely on two analysts, one portfolio engineer, and the resources of Axa Framlington, a statement from the firm says. The departure of Firmin-Didot was revealed as it was announced that the UK domiciled OEIC Axa Framlington Talents Fund will be closed. But Axa IM states that the two events are unrelated. The fund is being closed due to its limited size GBP5.5m as of 24 August 20120, the asset management firm explains. Its liquidation will be effective from 29 October. AXA IM’s two other funds in the Talents strategy, the Luxembourg domiciled AXA WF Framlington Talents Global and AXA WF Framlington Emerging Markets Talents funds, will remain open.
03/09/2012

CalSTRS increases exposure to real estate

The pension fund for Californian teachers CalSTRS invested USD1.2bn in real estate in second quarter, with 78.5% of its engagements invested in core strategies, CalSTRS announced in its quarterly activity report.
03/09/2012

Chinese sovereign fund sells nearly all of its stake in BlackRock

China Investment Corp has sold most of its stake in BlackRock, as part of a strategy to reduce its exposure to financial institutions, the Financial Times reports. The Chinese sovereign fund bought the stake of nearly 3% of BlackRock, representing about USD1bn, when the firm acquired Barclays Global Investors in 2009. In the past few months, it has been gradually selling off these shares, for a profit, sources familiar with the matter say.
03/09/2012

Natixis registers Souverains Euro R fund in Spain

The Natixis Souverains Euro R fund (EUR813m) from Natixis Global Asset Management has been reigistered by the CNMV and will now be made available for sale in Spain, Funds People reports.The product with 51 holdings, managed by Olivier de Larouzière, invests in public debt from euro zone countries. It aims to outperform the JPMorgan EMU Global index over a three-year period, through active management of duration, dynamic allocation to assets over the rate curve, and a balance between different countries in the euro zone.
03/09/2012

Ignis introduces a second hedge fund in Spain

The British asset management firm Ignis Asset Management has registered the Ignis Absolute Return Credit fund, managed by Chris Bowie, with the CNMV, Funds People reports. It is the second hedge fund launched in Spain by Ignis (following the Absolute Return Government Bond Fund). It is a corporate bond and absolute return fund which aims to be market neutral with low volatility, totalling between 2% and 6%. The portfolio is composed of 10 to 30 pair trades via highly liquid CDS.
03/09/2012

Viability of US ETFs in question

More than one quarter of ETFs and certificates listed in the United States which have been open for over six months have not attracted enough in assets to be economically viable, according to statistics compiled by the Financial Times. That represents an increase from 14.5% at the end of 2010, according to Invest with an Edge. The 377 products in question had no more than USD25m in assets in the past two months, or trading averaged under 100,000 shares per day. The average fund generates only USD35,000 per year in revenue.
03/09/2012

Kai Sotorp returns to UBS GAM

The CEO of UBS Global Asset Management, John Fraser, has convinced Kai Sotorp, former head for Asia-Pacific, to return to work for the firm, and to return to his former position, Financial News reports. Sotorp had been head for Asia-Pacific at UBS GAM Between 2002 and 2004 He left the group in 2010.
03/09/2012

UBS releases two ETFs on Swiss covered bonds

Since 30 August, SIX Swiss Exchange has added the first two ETFs replicating Swiss mortgage, or covered, bonds (Pfandbriefe) to trading. The funds are launched by UBS Global Asset Management. They are both Swiss-registered, physical replication funds.The underlying indices are constructed out of AAA-rated securities, which generate average returns 25 to 55 basis points higher than the returns for Swiss federal bonds.The market maker for the two ETFs is Commerzbank.CharacteristicsName: UBS IS - SBI® Domestic Pfandbrief 1-5 ETF (CHF) ABenchmark index: Swiss Bond Index® Domestic Pfandbrief 1-5ISIN code: CH0184305016TER: 0.16%Name: UBS-IS SBI Domestic Pfandbrief 5-10 ETF (CHF) ABenchmark index: Swiss Bond Index® Domestic Pfandbrief 5-10ISIN code: CH0184308952TER: 0.16%
03/09/2012
Fonds

Natixis fait enregistrer le fonds Souverains Euro R en Espagne

Le fonds Natixis Souverains Euro R (813 millions d’euros) de Natixis Global Asset Management vient d’être enregistré par la CNMV et pourra donc être distribué en Espagne, rapporte Funds People.Ce produit de 51 lignes, géré par Olivier de Larouzière, investit en dette publique des pays de la zone euro. Il est censé surperformer l’indice JPMorgan EMU Global sur une période de trois ans par la gestion active de sa duration, une allocation d’actifs dynamique sur la courbe de taux et un équilibre entre les différents pays de la zone.
Fonds
03/09/2012

Grupo Banca March dans le rouge au premier semestre

Grupo Banca March déclare au premier semestre une perte nette de 41,6 millions d’euros contre un bénéfice net de 39,5 millions pour la même période en 2011. La détérioration est due à l’amortissement des moins-values accusées par ACS, dont March détient 18,3 %), dans Iberdrola. En revanche, Banca March, qui ne consolide pas le holding de participations Corporación Financiera Alba, affiche un bénéfice net de 34,2 millions d’euros.Au 30 juin, le nombre de clients en banque privée et en banque «patrimoniale» (au-dessus de 100.000 euros) était supérieur de 14,3 % à son niveau d’un an auparavant. L’encours a augmenté à 5,87 milliards d’euros (+ 11,9 %).
03/09/2012

Kai Sotorp retourne chez UBS GAM

Le directeur général d’UBS Global Asset Management, John Fraser, a convaincu Kai Sotorp, l’ancien responsable de l’Asie-Pacifique, de revenir travailler pour la société et de reprendre son ancien poste, rapporte Financial News. Kai Sotorp était responsable de l’Asie-Pacifique d’UBS GAM entre 2002 et 2004. Il a quitté le groupe en 2010.
03/09/2012
Fonds

Une société de gestion ferme tous ses fonds Ucits

Matrix Group, société de gestion basée à Londres, va fermer sa gamme de fonds Ucits, lancée en mai 2010 à Dublin, après avoir effectué une revue stratégique de ses activités, rapporte Citywire. Cette décision est liée au fait que la société n’est pas parvenue à réaliser des économies d’échelle nécessaires par rapport à ses concurrents. Les fonds seront fermés le 7 septembre.
Fonds
03/09/2012

Credit Suisse recrute un patron pour sa clientèle très haut de gamme

Le 20 novembre, Matthew Haimes deviendra le patron de ses services à la clientèle très haut de gamme (ultra high net worth ou UHNW) pour le Royaume-Uni et l’international chez Credit Suisse, selon Wealth Briefing. Il était jusqu'à présent UK head of family office solutions chez JP Morgan Private Bank.Le nouvel arrivant remplace Ian Dembinski, qui a été nommé head of UK domestic clients, et reprend le poste laissé vacant par Paul Sarosy qui est parti en mai pour devenir ensuite head of investment solutions chez Coutts.Matthew Haimes sera subordonné à Blake Shorthouse, head of UNHW, EMEA, et à Eric Pfister, head of market area UK/international.
03/09/2012
Fonds

Ignis introduit en Espagne un deuxième fonds alternatif

Le gestionnaire britannique Ignis Asset Management a fait enregistrer par la CNMV le fonds Ignis Absolute Return Credit, géré par Chris Bowie, rapporte Funds People. Il s’agit du deuxième fonds alternatif introduit en Espagne par Ignis (après l’Absolute Return Government Bond Fund). C’est un fonds d’obligations d’entreprises et de performance absolue qui se veut market neutral et vise une volatilité basse, comprise entre 2 et 6 %. Le portefeuille se compose de 10 à 30 pair trades au travers de CDS très liquides.
Fonds
03/09/2012

Vontobel ouvre sa plate-forme Veritrade à de nouveaux émetteurs

Le groupe suisse Vontobel a confirmé des informations de l’agence finews selon lesquelles la plate-forme dédiée aux produits structurés Veritrade pourrait être ouverte à des nouveaux émetteurs.Société Générale et Morgan Stanley figurent parmi les premiers participants potentiels de cette plate-forme désormais multi-émetteurs. Avec cette nouvelle initiative, Vontobel espère consolider sa position d’acteur de tout premier plan dans le domaine de la distribution de produits structurés.
03/09/2012

Swisscanto renforce son équipe haut rendement

Analyste financière chez Lombard Odier, Ju Lee rejoint l'équipe haut rendement d’Omar Saeed et Roland Hausheer chez Swisscanto, rapporte Das Investment. Elle sera responsable des fonds Swisscanto Institutional Bond Fund Global High Yield et Swisscanto Bond Invest Global High Yield.
03/09/2012

Caceis choisi par une société de gestion allemande spécialisée dans l'immobilier

Caceis est devenu cet été la banque dépositaire de la société de gestion de Patrizia GewerbeInvest KAG pour ses portefeuilles immobiliers. Le mandat concerne le segment des fonds immobiliers dédiés aux investisseurs institutionnels selon la loi d’investissement allemande et représente plus de 1,3 milliard d’euros d’actifs, transférés en juillet 2012.L’encours en conservation de sociétés de gestion allemandes spécialisées dans l’immobilier chez Caceis s'élève désormais à plus de 19 milliards d’euros.

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