Out of 424 international equity funds licensed for sale in Germany surveyed by Das Investment, only 5 showed positive returns since the beginning of the year as of 10 October.Returns ranged from +7.9% for the Federated Strategic Value Equity (whose minimal subscription is set at EUR0.3m) and -42.3% for the Global Trend Equity OP from the wealth management firm Globalinvest, based in Ingoldstadt.The other four funds that show positive returns are the Morgan Stanley Global Brands (+5.4%), Investec Global Franchise (+3%), Nordea Global Stable Equity (+0.9%), and the Quants Multistrategy (+0.6%).

Paradoxically, only one out of three high net worth investors in Germany already practices sustainable investment, respecting environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, even though three out of four are already considering sustainable development in the areas of electricity and heating, and 72% buy bio products. These are the findings of a survey published by Commerzbank.78% of respondents “would consider” investing “sustainably,” but the majority of respondents are only inclined to do so if the returns are at least equal to those of “normal” investments. 38% are prepared to accept a lower profit margin.Gustav Holtkemper, one of the heads of the wealth management unit at Commerzbank, says Germany lags far behind in the area of sustainable investment. In France, assets in financial assets with irreproachable economic, social and governance credentials total about USD2trn. In the United Kingdom, sustainable investments have about half this much, while in Germany they amount to less than USD100bn.

The CNMV on 29 September released the flexible Banesto Fondored Global Ambicioso fund, created by Santander Asset Maanagement on 26 August. This “ambitious” product, whose recommended holding period is three years, will invest at least 50% in other funds (of which up to 10% will be in absolute return funds), and will be benchmarked on the Euro Stoxx 50 and the Eonia. The average duration for the portfolio will be from -2 to +7 years.Exposure to bonds may vary between 30% and 100%, while exposure to equities will be limited to 60%. The prospectus states that at least 75% of the bond allocation will be composed of investment grade securities, while the equities allcoation will include a maximum of 15% emerging market shares. The fund may not exceed 30% investment in currencies other than the euro.CharacteristicsName: Banesto Fondored Global AmbiciosoISIN code: ES0113731006Direct management commission: 1.6%Indirect management commission: 2.15%Direct depository banking commission: 0.1%Indirect depository banking commission: 1%Minimal initial subscription: EUR10,000

Investment Week reports that Sridhar Chandrasekharan has been promoted to the position of chief executive officer at HSBC Global Asset Management, from 1 January 2012. He had previously been global head of wholesale at the firm. In his new role, Chandrasekharan replaces John Flint, who will now serve as chief of staff for the group.

Financial Times Deutschland reports that the Belgian private equity investor RHJ is in talks with its US counterpart General Atlantic Partners (GAP) over a partnership to jointly acquire BHF-Bank from Deutsche Bank. In order to raise the USD500m which are required, Handelsblatt says, RHJ has also contacted Pamplona, a London-based investment firm owned by Alex Naster, the Russian former star banker.The surprising element of this news is that one of the advisors to GAP is Klaus Esser, former head of Mannesmann. He is an old acquaintance of Josef Ackermann, chairman of the managing board at Deutsche Bank... and former chairman of the supervisory board at Mannesmann.

The position of director of third-party distribution at Goldman Sachs Asset Management for Germany and Austria, which has been left vacant by the departure of Michael Grüner (see Newsmanagers of 26 September), has been divided into two positions, with the internal promotions of David Erichlandwehr for Germany and Markus Weis for Austria, Fonds Professionell reports.

In an interview with Die Welt, Christian Stadermann, director of the multi-family office HQ Trust, owned by the Quandt family, says that he directs a team of 35 people in Bad Homburg (near Frankfurt), including 21 advisers and analysts who have recently joined the firm from UBS. The 220 people providing financial services to the Quandt family manage EUR16bn in assets.Portfolios (totalling at least EUR50m each) are managed with a horizon of 5 or more years, with only two to four changes per year. At least half of the performance objective of 7-8% per year comes form asset allocation, with 1 to 1.5 points coming from product selection, and 1-1.5 points from tactical management.The allocation of a model portfolio at HQ Trust presently includes 30% private equity, 20% real estate/commodities, 20% bonds, 15% hedge funds, 10% equities and 5% cash.

In third quarter 2011, the number of single hedge funds that comply with the UCITS III directive increased by 40 funds, or 6%, to a total of 705, the Geneva-based firm Alix Capital has announced in its latest newsletter (see Newsmanagers of 10 October). Since the beginning of this year, the population of UCITS-compliant single hedge funds has increased by 21.9%.As of the end of September, there were 73 UCITS-compliant funds of hedge funds, which represents a 7% increase in July-September, and 28% growth in the first nine months of 2011.Total assets in the UCITS-compliant hedge fund and fund of hedge fund sector as of 30 September totalled EUR121bn, 7% more than at the end of June, and nearly 32% more than at the end of December.

In August, UCITS funds posted a net outflow of EUR20bn, following EUR14bn in redemptions in July, according to the most recent statistics from the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA), which brings together 23 professional associations representing 97% of all UCITS-compliant or non-UCITS funds.Long-term UCITS funds (or all funds except money markets) posted net outflows of EUR53bn. Diversified funds posted redemptions of EUR11bn, while bond funds had redemptions of EUR13bn. Equity funds finished the month of August with outflows fo EUR26bn, compared with redemptions of EUR1bn in July.Money market funds saw net outflows of EUR33bn in August, compared with EUR25bn in July. For their part, dedicated funds posted net inflows of EUR8bn in August. UCITS funds finished August with total inflows of EUR5.556trn, down 4.7% from the end of July.

In September, the 1,273 Spanish single pension funds posted an average loss of 3.70% year on year, 0.14% per year over three years, and 0.72% per year over the past five years, the Inverco association of asset management firms reports. Not until looking back 10 years do the funds show positive results, and then of only 0.86% per year. Over 15 and 20 years, the annualised returns come to 2.55% and 4.28%, respectively.Assets, for their part, totalled EUR49.48bn as of the end of September, in 8.51 million accounts. According to estimates from VDOS, however, total assets represent EUR48.89bn. In the first nine months of the year, assets had contracted by nearly EUR1.84bn, or 3.62%, of which EUR517m were due to net outflows, and nearly EUR1.32bn to negative market effects.

Banca Leonardo is selling its research and intermediation business to Kepler Capital Markets, and acquiring a 5% stake in the financial services company, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. The divestment, which comes following a sale of a part of DNCA, in which the firm retains a 10% stake, comes as the Italian bank refocuses its activities on its core businesses, investment and private banking. Leonardo is also planning to pay a large coupon to its shareholders, out of a significant capital gain from the sale of DNCA.

BlackRock on 16 August launched the ETF iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index Fund (acronym on NYSE/Arca: EEMS), with assets as of 13 October of USD60.89m. The product, which charges fees of 0.69%, replicates the MSCI emerging markets small cap index, which is largely used by institutional investors. It complements the iShares MSCRI Emerging Markets ETF, with no reduplication of the major positions.

The Crèdit Andorrá group (EUR12.27bn in assets) has acquired 85% of the Madrid-based private bank Banco Alcalá, and will thus take control of the asset management firm Gesalcalá (EUR128m in 5 funds), Funds People reports.The total acquisition price has not been disclosed. Shareholders at Banco Alcalá will retain 15% of capital, and the chairman’s seat, which will be occupied by Diego Fernández de Henestrosa, currently CEO. The vice chairman will be Josep Peralba Duró, CEO of Crèdit Andorrá, while Jacobo Argüelles will remain as chairman of Gesalcalá.

The Swiss alternative management firm Gottex Fund Management has announced the recruitment of Steven Lee Nyungwk as marketing director for the Asia-Pacific region. He will report to Max Gottschalk (co-founder and son of the chairman and CEO of Gottex), head of Asia-Pacific since June. Nyungwk will be based in Hong Kong. Since 2001, he had been at Wellington Management Company, where he focused on marketing, client assistance and development in Asia, including Korea, Hong Kong and China.

New York city pension funds are planning to invest up to USd4bn in hedge funds in the next few years, hedgefund.net reports. The municipal pension system, which includes five pension funds (USD119.5bn in total assets under management), currently has USD140m invested in hedge funds.

Eaton Vance has announced the birth of Navigate Fund Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the group, which will be dedicated to actively-managed ETFs. The group has appointed Stephen Clarke as chairman of the new firm; Clarke is a former vice chairman of Old Mutual Asset Management.

Edmond de Rothschild in France has sold 75% of its private equity fund of fund business, Private Equity Select, with EUR200m in assets, according to reports in the Financial Times. The buyer is David Seligman, founder of the firm, and his management team.

The activist investor Nelson Peltz, via his fund Trian Fund Management, has called on State Street to become more profitable and to consider selling off its asset management division, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal citing a letter sent to the board of directors of the group on Sunday evening. Peltz claims that a sale of State Street Global Advisors would free up value for the group.

Lyxor AM has responded to recent criticisms of synthetic replication ETFs. Its argument takes two forms. The first is to demonstrate that the asset management firm’s synthetic replication ETFs are “the most transparent in the world,” pointing out that for every ETF from the management firm, assets held are detailed daily on the firm’s website, along with counterparties and the swap used in the construction of the product.Security is also made a high priority, in response to investor concerns. At a recent Lyxor ETF Investor Day, the firm pointed out that all the swaps were managed “back to back” with the parent company, Société Générale, regardless of the ultimate counterparty. In other words, for all Lyxor ETFs, the counterparty risk related to swaps, which is limited by law to a maximum of 10% of the fund’s assets, is assumed by SocGen.Lyxor AM also insists that it undertakes a daily rebalancing of swaps to 0%, de facto cancelling out the risk of loss in case of bankruptcy of the counterparty bank. “And this is our constant modus operandi,” says Alain Dubois.The second arm of Lyxor AM’s argument is to claim that direct competition – physical replication funds – do not present equivalent transparency, though they have a better image with investors. “Some information about these ETFs is not published,” the Lyxor chairman claims, “particularly about establishments to whom the securities are lent, and on returns the manager mades from its ‘lending agent,’ which are not included in the total costs laid out in the Key Investor Information Document (KIID).” The counterparty risks for investors are identical for a synthetic replication ETF and a physical replication ETF which lends its securities. “It’s the same thing with different contracts,” Lyxor AM continues. “With one exception,” Dubois notes: “tracking error between the ETF fund and its benchmark index. Due to the workings of physical replication, the risk of tracking error is higher, and in this case, the risk is assumed by the investor.”

Sogecap est la compagnie d’assurance de personnes de Société Générale Insurance, groupe d’assurances vie et non vie présent dans 16 pays. Sogecap gère 70 milliards d’euros en partenariat avec plus de 200 gestionnaires financiers. L’approche de multigestion de SOGECAP combine des analyses quantitatives et qualitatives sur les OPCVM et aboutit en moyenne à 150 due diligence de fonds par an pour l’ensemble des réseaux (Retail, Banque Privée, Entreprises, CGP). Dans un article paru dans l’Agefi Hebdo, Delphine Proal, responsable de l’ingénierie financière de Sogecap déclare que l’un des intérêts de la gestion quantitative est la possibilité, via l’analyse des modèles, d’appréhender les limites de ces derniers, donc les risques sous-jacents. La proximité avec les équipes de gestion est donc essentielle et nous permet, en cas de décrochage des performances, d’en comprendre la cause et d’apprécier la réactivité de la société de gestion.

Le Groupe AGRICA, à travers sa filiale de gestion d’actifs AGRICA Epargne, s’affirme en tant qu’investisseur responsable. AGRICA Epargne compte 85,6 % de ses actifs gérés dans le cadre de la politique d’ISR, initiée dès 2006. Si l’on ajoute les actifs gérés par les sociétés de gestion d’actifs qu’elle sélectionne notamment pour leur adhésion aux PRI (Principes pour un Investissement Responsable), ce sont au total 91,3%, soit 4,6 milliards d’euros qui sont investis dans le cadre de la démarche responsable. La filiale de placements financiers poursuit ses actions pour renforcer encore cette politique. Jean-Claude Guimiot, Directeur Général Délégué d’AGRICA Epargne, souligne que La force de notre démarche est qu’elle s’inscrit dans la politique RSE globale du Groupe. La finance seule ne peut rien, il est essentiel que la démarche d’ISR s’appuie sur des valeurs partagées par tous au sein de l’entreprise pour garantir sa mise en ??uvre concrète. Notre démarche originelle allie les notions d’investisseur responsable et de gestion à long-terme ». En matière d’ISR, le Groupe AGRICA a défini ses propres critères, représentatifs des préoccupations du Groupe, pour sélectionner les valeurs éligibles. 5 domaines ont été retenus parmi la base de données de l’agence de notation extra-financière Vigéo : Droits humains : respect des droits fondamentaux, de la liberté syndicale, de la négociation collective et de la non-discrimination... Comportements sur les marchés : sécurité des produits, informations des clients, coopération durable avec les fournisseurs, prévention de la corruption... Ressources humaines : promotion du dialogue social, de l’employabilité, qualité du système de rémunération... Environnement : définition de la stratégie environnementale, maîtrise de l’impact de l'énergie, de l’eau et de l’air... Engagement sociétal : engagement en faveur du développement économique et social du territoire d’implantation.

Le gouvernement portugais a annoncé la création en 2012 d’une taxe d’au moins 5% pour les entreprises nationales dont les profits annuels excèdent 10 millions d’euros. Cette nouvelle mesure complète les efforts supplémentaires auxquels le pays compte s’engager dans son budget présenté la semaine prochaine, pour atteindre les objectifs de redressement des finances publiques fixés par le programme d’aide de l’Union et du FMI. Le gouvernement a aussi annoncé que les primes des fonctionnaires seraient supprimées, que le temps de travail serait rallongé et que la TVA sur de nombreux produits serait relevée. Le pays doit réduire le déficit à 5,9% du PIB cette année et à 4,5% en 2012. Mais la Banque centrale du pays a déjà prévenu la semaine dernière qu’à moins d’un nouveau tour de vis, ces objectifs ne seraient pas atteints. Notamment parce que la croissance a été moins forte que prévu.

«Il faut réfléchir à l’avenir. Demain, à mon avis il faut changer le traité pour être capable d’empêcher un membre de la zone euro de vagabonder et de créer des problèmes pour tous les autres», a déclaré hier sur Europe 1 le président de la BCE, à deux semaines de la fin de son mandat.

L’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) vient d’annoncer l'édition de guides pratiques qui ont pour objectif d’informer le public sur le fonctionnement des marchés financiers. Ils sont répartis en cinq thèmes principaux : l’AMF, les clés de votre investissement, les marchés financiers et leurs acteurs, les produits d'épargne et les sociétés cotées.

«Il a été clairement dit que nous devons mettre en oeuvre cette taxe en Europe parce qu’il n’y a pas de soutien à le faire sur un plan global», a reconnu le ministre allemand des Finances, Wolfgang Schäuble, après la réunion du G20 Finances. Les délégations américaine, canadienne, japonaise, indienne ou brésilienne se sont prononcées contre une telle mesure.

Dans sa première déclaration depuis le vote par le Sénat américain de la proposition de loi contre le yuan, le premier ministre chinois a indiqué hier à l’agence Xinhua que les autorités conserveront la devise globalement stable pour éviter de pénaliser les exportations du pays. «Même si nous devons soutenir notre croissance économique en stimulant la demande intérieure, nous ne comptons pas abandonner si facilement notre poids dans le commerce international» a-t-il prévenu.

Les exportations de Singapour, hors pétrole, ont chuté de 4,5% sur un an en septembre après une hausse de 3,9% en août du fait d’une baisse de la demande dans l’électronique et la pétrochimie. Le consensus établi par Bloomberg projetait pourtant une hausse de 3,5%. Le gouvernement a révisé sa prévision de croissance à la baisse à 5% cette année.

Nicolas Forest, responsable de la stratégie taux chez Dexia AM

Le pays a déjà atteint une bonne partie des objectifs fixés par l'Union et le FMI mais la crise bancaire et le chômage persistent

Après une détente fin septembre, les rendements longs sont repartis à la hausse sur fond de retour de l'appétit pour le risque