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28/01/2011

New PRI initiative for inclusive finance

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) on 27 January in the Hague announced principles for investors in inclusive finance, known as the Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance (PIIF), which aim to make financial institutions more accessible to those most in need. The same day, 40 major international investors signed the principles at the responsible finance forum in the Hague. The first signatories of the PIIF are: Accion Investments in Microfinance, Achmea, APG, Bamboo Finance, Blue Orchard Finance, Blue Orchard Investments, Calvert Foundation, Caspian Advisors, Cordaid, Developing World Markets, Dutch Microfund, FMO, Finance-in-Motion, Goodwell Investments, Grassroots Capital Management, Incofin Investment Management, Leger des Heils, Microvest Capital Management, Minlam Asset Management, MN Services, Municipality of Eindhoven, Nedlloyd Pension Fund, Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI), Oikocredit, Pensioenfonds Vervoer, Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW), Pensionfund of the Ministers in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, PGGM, PMA, PNO Media, Reaal, responsAbility Social Investments, Sarona, SNS Asset Management, SPF Beheer, Stichting Pensioenfonds SNS Reaal, Symbiotics, TIAA-CREF, Triodos Investment Management, and Triple Jump.
28/01/2011

Unigestion earns a large part of its inflows in France in 2010

In 2010, the Swiss asset management firm Unigestion experienced net inflows of EUR658m, bringing its assets under management to EUR8.4bn. Of these total inflows, EUR300m were registered in France, where the Swiss establishment has been present since 1993, and where it has held an AMF license since 2004. France is the second-largest market for Unigestion, at EUR1.9bn, after Switzerland, which represents 32% of its activities, while the UK is in third place at 20%. Unigestion’s fund of hedge funds business worked particularly well in 2010, with a net inflow of EUR380m. “Two thirds of these inflows came from new clients, but at the same time, our ten largest clients reinvested with us in the past year,” says Jean-François Hirschel, managing director in charge of marketing. In total, Unigestion has EUR2.7bn in funds of hedge funds. The remainder is divided between minimum variance equities management (EUR2.9bn) and private equity (EUR1.5bn). To continue its development, particularly internationally, Unigestion will soon establish a more active sales team to better cover Europe.
28/01/2011

Swiss private banking: a quality export

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Agefi Switzerland reports that an independent recruitment specialist in Geneva for banking professionals, Astrid Bek & Associates, will open an affiliate in Singapore this November. According to Astrid Bek, there are real opportunities to export private banking to Asia, Brazil and the Middle East. Major Asian investors, both private and sovereign, are seeking to structure their investments, and Singapore is becoming the new global centre for private banking, a role that Switzerland once occupied. The wealth management model of Asian banks is in transition between mass-affluent and private banking, where Swiss expertise is highly valued.
28/01/2011

Amafi publishes a report on regulation of commodities markets

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French financial markets association (Amafi) has send a report to the prime minister of France, François Fillon, and the minister of the economy, Christine Lagarde, on international regulation of commodities markets. Market professionals were hoping to make a contribution to considerations in this area which the G20 are currently mulling under the leadership of France. The Association identifies twelve areas for action, where it estimates that “the efforts of the G20 should concentrate particularly, either as a top priority or in the mid-term.” Among these priorities are the question of the perimeter of application of the regulations, transparency and quality of data, and the conditions under which forwards enter into the category of commodity derivatives. Among the mid-term goals, the study points to compensation for commodities derivatives, the establishment of an ad hoc framework which would allow for market abuses to be shut down, and the potential influence of ETFs in volatility phenomena.
28/01/2011

GAM launches a UCITS-compliant convertibles fund

GAM continues to expand its UCITS III absolute return range with the launch of GAM Star Global Convertible Bond. The new fund is co-managed by in-house managers Ben Helm and Alex McKnight. They employ a flexible, value-driven investment approach designed to perform across market environments and to have low correlation to both equities and bonds. They aim to extract value during different stages of the market cycle using an active non-benchmarked style.
28/01/2011

Poor bottom line for “airbag” funds

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Christian Michel, director of fund analysis at Feri EuroRating, says the number of absolute return funds available in Germany has increased over the past six years from 53 to 188 products as of the end of 2010. This trend is likely to continue, and quality is not getting any better, Die Welt reports. Currently, assets in these funds totalled about EUR32bn.In the past three years, only 10 of the 188 funds met the expectations of investors, according to Feri: these both generated annual returns 100 basis points higher than the risk-free money market rates, and avoided losses of more than 10% in any half. Ten other funds managed to earn returns of over 2%, despite losses of more than 10% in some half years. But this is equivalent to returns on a savings account, which would involve no risk.
28/01/2011

Aviva Investors to launch a UCITS-compliant fund of inflation-linked emerging market bonds

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Aviva Investors currently manages about EUR2.5bn in three emerging market debt products. These include a UCITS-compliant fund of external bonds (in hard currencies), with USD660m in assets, a fund of emerging market bonds in local currencies, with USD680m, and an emerging markets inflation-linked LC bond fund which does not comply with UCITS, with USD780m (on a USD400bn market), launched in January 2010.The British asset manager is now working with its legal team to convert the last of these products into a UCITS-compliant fund by second quarter, as European regulations on the distribution of risk have been made more flexible. The fact of holding 55% Brazilian paper is no longer an obstacle, as it was at the time of launch. At the same time, Aviva wants to avoid to close the fund, in order to later open it within UCITS III standards, as in the second case the firm would have to pay the Brazilian 6% IOF tax on foreign investment again.
28/01/2011

Ecofi Investissements launches a horizon fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Ecofi Investissements announced on Thursday, 26 January that it has launched Ecofi Taux Fixe 2016, a bond fund with fixed income and a set maturity date, on 26 April 2016. Like the other three horizon funds managed by Ecofi Investissements, with a maturity date in 2011 for the first, 2012 and 2013 for the other two – the range is managed with environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria taken into consideration in the selection of issuers. Ecofi Taux Fixe 2016 will invest largely in bonds and securities issued by European national governments or private businesses, a statement says. Eligible issues will be largely fixed income, senior debt. Subordinated issues are disallowed, and the manager will seek to buy bonds rated higher than BBB- at the time of purchase.
28/01/2011

John Paulson personally made USD5bn in 2010

Hedge-fund manager John Paulson personally netted more than USD5 billion in profits in 2010—trumping the nearly USD4 billion he made with his «short» bets against subprime mortgages in 2007, according to The Wall Street Journal. Appaloosa Management founder David Tepper and Bridgewater Associates chief Ray Dalio each personally gained between USD2 billion and USD3 billion last year, according to investors and people familiar with the situation. James Simons, founder of Renaissance Technologies LLC, also produced profits in that range.
28/01/2011

Funds expected to show further net outflows in January

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the first three weeks of January, to 21 January, Spanish funds saw net outflows once again, according to FDOS Stochastics. Capital gains attributable to rising markets may have totalled USD922m, but assets increased by only USD566m, or 0.39%, to slightly under EUR144.68bn, as the balance of subscriptions and redemptions came out to a net redemption of EUR355m.
28/01/2011

Strong growth in inflows to bond funds in third quarter

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets in funds worldwide as of the end of September totalled EUR17.36trn, a slight decline compared with their levels at the end of June 2010 IEUR17.5trn), according to the most recent quarterly figures from the European asset management association (EFAMA). The decline is largely due to the appreciation of the euro against the US dollar, as the assets in funds as expressed in US dollars is up 10.5%. Global inflows totalled EUR156bn in third quarter, their highest level since first quarter 2008. This development is due to a slowdown in outflows from money market funds, and continuing significant inflows to bond funds. Inflows to long-term funds (in other words all funds except money market funds) increased slightly, to EUR190bn in third quarter, compared with EUR180bn in second quarter. This evolution is largely due to an increase in net inflows to bond funds, to EUR128bn from EUR83bn previously. Meanwhile, there has been an net outflow of EUR24bn from equities funds in the United States, compared with -EUR6bn in second quarter, and a net inflow of EUR4bn to European equities funds, following an outflow of EUR12bn in second quarter. Outflows from money market funds slowed in third quarter, with outflows of EUR34bn, compared with EUR194bn in second quarter. This movement is as marked in the United States as it is in Europe.
28/01/2011

Schroders launches an emerging markets high yield fund

Schroders has launched a new fund which aims to provide investors with a high level of income through investing in a blend of emerging market sovereigns, corporates and developed market high yield bonds. Warren Hyland, a global bond fund manager at Schroders, will coordinate management of the fund and will aim to achieve the high income objective by actively allocating assets between the three broad high yield fixed income sectors as well as using active currency management. Warren will be supported by Schroders’ fixed income team, including a global network of 25 credit analysts and 30 specialised portfolio managers.
28/01/2011

BNPP IP aims to double assets in Germany by the end of 2012

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Martin Theisinger, head of distribution in Germany for retail and wholesale products, has told Fonds Professionell that BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) is aiming to double its assets under administration in Germany by the end of next year, from a current total of EUR7bn. The French asset management firm has a team of asset allocators, German-speaking economists and a specialist wholesale team in Frankfurt.The priorities for 2011 are European, emerging and US equities and bonds. In terms of themes, BNPP IP will insist in Germany on megatrends (globalisation, infrastructure, and urbanisation), and on security needs, with the protected products of the STEP Parvest range, including the STEP Parvest 90 Euro and the STEP 80 World Emerging Euro.
28/01/2011

Sovereign wealth funds seek German real estate investments

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Christian Ulbrich, director of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region at Jones Lang LaSalle, says sovereign wealth funds in the past few months have reconsidered their position on Germany, as it is undergoing a stronger-than-expected economic recovery, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. They are now seeking properties in Germany, generally larger complexes with good rental assets, focusing on the larger cities of Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. These funds are not all from China or India; the Norwegian sovereign fund also has investment needs, along with other countries rich in commodities, such as Indonesia and Angola.
28/01/2011

Former head of Pioneer returns at Citi

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } There is once again talk of Dario Frigerio, the former CEO of Pioneer Global Asset Management, more than a year after he left the management firm of the Italian UniCredit group, which is now up for sale. His position there was subsequently given to the British Roger Yates, former CEO of Henderson. Frigerio has now been appointed by Citi as senior advisor to its investor services in the Global Transaction Services activity at the bank, a newly-created position. Frigerio will be based in Italy, and will provide strategic advising and will be involved in extending the firm’s client base in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
28/01/2011

Profits at Invesco up by nearly one third

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } For 2010, Invesco Ltd on 27 January reported a net profit of USD639.7m, compared with USD378.1m the previous year, an increase of 31.1%. Profits per share leapt 55.1%, which Martin L. Flanagan, president and CEO, attributes to strong performance, improvement of the market environment, and the successful integration of the retail asset management activities of Morgan Stanley. Operating margins were 34.5%, compared with 28.5% in 2009.Assets totalled an average of USD532.3bn, 28% higher than the USD415.88bn recorded the previous year. As of 31 December, assets totalled USD616.5bn, compared with USD604.5bn as of the end of September, and USD459.5bn twelve months earlier.Net subscriptions to long-term funds totalled USD5.5bn, while net redemptions from institutional money market funds totalled USD15.5bn. Net capital gains related to market appreciation totalled USD43.8bn, while acquisitions/dispositions had a net positive effect of USD121.5bn, and forex gains brought in USD1.6bn.
28/01/2011

Hedge funds lash back at Goldman Sachs

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } An appeal in Davos by Gary Cohn, president of Goldman Sachs, for stricter rules governing hedge funds, has provoked some sabre-rattling in the sector, the Financial Times reports. “Hedge funds are regulated. We didn’t cause the financial crisis, and we weren’t saved by the government,” says Richard Baker, president and CEO of the Managed Funds Association.
28/01/2011

Jurgen Stegmann (NBIC) to join Robeco as CFO

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As Constant Korthout, CFO and director of risk management since 2002, has been appointed chief financial officer and chief risk officer at Van Lanschot NV / F van Lanschot Bankiers NV (see Newsmanagers of 26 August 2010), he will be replaced from 15 March as CFO of Robeco. Jurgen Stegmann was previously chief risk officer at NIBC in the Hague, a position he has held since 2000.Stegmann joins the board of Robeco (EUR150bn in assets as of the end of December), alongside Roderick Munsters (CEO), Hester Borrie (Sales and Marketing), Leni Boeren (COO), and Hans Rademaker (CIO). He will be responsible for legal, fiscal, financial, corporate development & planning, risk management, treasury and facilities & purchasing activities.
28/01/2011

N+1 founds another brokerage affiliate

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The management firm Nmas1 (N+1), in which Banque Syz acquired a stake in 2009, on 21 January obtained a license from the CNMV to create the brokerage firm N+1 Equities, which will focus on Spanish equities, and may trade on its own behalf, Cinco Días reports. The new structure will not overlap with the group’s existing brokerage firm, which will focus on private banking activities.
28/01/2011

Wolfgang Engshuber elected president of PRI

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The consulting committee of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) on 27 January announced the election of Wolfgang Engshuber, chief administrative officer at Munich Resinsurance America, as president of the United Nations principles body. He succeds Donald MacDonald, trustee of the British Telecom pension fund. Engshuber had been a member of the consulting board of the PRI for 18 months.
28/01/2011

Janus adds to international personnel

Janus Capital Group has announced the appointment of Augustus Cheh as president of Janus Capital International, the firm’s non-U.S. business arm, effective March 29, 2011. Janus also announced that effective April 1, 2011 Hiroshi Yoh will join the firm as portfolio manager of Asian equity strategies and, subject to regulatory approval, CEO of the firm’s Singapore subsidiary. These appointments mark an important step in the firm’s plans to build out its global investment capabilities and business for the benefit of its clients worldwide.As president of Janus Capital International, Augustus Cheh will be based in Hong Kong and will report directly to Janus Capital Group CEO Dick Weil. Working with the regional management teams of Janus’international businesses, he will oversee all of Janus’ businesses based outside of the U.S., including key regions of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. Prior to joining Janus, Augustus Cheh was CEO of AllianceBernstein Hong Kong. Hiroshi Yoh, who will be based in Singapore, will report directly to Janus Co-CIO Jonathan Coleman. He will be responsible for managing Janus’ Asian equity portfolios and helping to drive the investment team build out in Asia. Hiroshi Yoh comes to Janus from Tokio Marine Asset Management, a Singapore-based asset management firm where he served as the CEO and Chief Investment Officer, with responsibility for the Asia Pacific ex-Japan business.
28/01/2011

Alan Flanagan becomes head of global product management at BNY Mellon AIS

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 26 January, BNY Mellon Alternative Investment Services (AIS), a provider of services to hedge funds with more than USD350bn in assets under administration, announced the promotion of Alan Flanagan to become its head of global product management, replacing Rick Stanley, who in June 2010 was appointed executive vice president of the global structured finance group at BNY Mellon.Since June, Flanagan, who joined the group in 2008, has already been serving as the interim director of AIS, while continuing to direct the group’s activities in the area of private equity administration. He was also the one primarily in charge of the integration of the global investment servicing activities of PNC in Europe, after the acquisition in July 2010.Flanagan will continue to be based in Dublin.
28/01/2011

BNP Paribas Wealth management and Essex launch Essec Philanthropy chair

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BNP Paribas Wealth Management and ESSEC on 27 January announced the launch of the Philanthropy Chair, with a three-year term. “BNP Paribas Wealth Management was the first private bank to get involved in philanthropy, with both a range of philanthropic services for clients, and an action to raise awareness and exchange,” BNP Paribas Wealth Management says in a statement. The Philanthropy Chair, which will be at the Institute for Innovation and Social Enterprise (IIES) at ESSEC, will aim to study, value and promote knowledge of the role of philanthropy.
28/01/2011

US residential real estate not expected to recover for fice or six years

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } High levels of mortgage debt, payment defaults, repossessions: none of these factors argues in favour of the US residential real estate sector. According to a research note from TrimTabs, it is unlikely that the US real estate market will recover for five or six years. “The stock market will continue to lead the way, but the real estate depression is a limiting factor for growth in the economy,” says Madeline Schnapp, director of macroeconomic research at TrimTabs. “We estimate that up to 20% of growth in GNP and 40% of growth in the job market were related to the real estate sector in some way between 2002 and 2007, but in the years to come, that sector will hold the economy back,” she says. According to TrimTabs, several considerable obstacles stand in the way of a recovery in residential real estate. The ratio of mortgage debt to available income now stands at 89%, meaning that households will need to pay off USD1.5bn to USD2.5bn to return to a more sustainable level of 65%. About 7 million mortgages are now in default, and each quarter 250,000 new default notifications are sent out. Another subject of concern is that nearly 11 million homeowners, or about 25% of all homeowners, have a higher level of debt than the value of their property. Borrowers owe EUR8.9trn on mortgages on properties valued at USD12.7trn. This adds up to a loan/value ratio of 70%, well above the ratios of 45% to 50% before the crisis. The repossession process has also been slowed to 499 days, up from 319 days two years ago.
28/01/2011

Credit Suisse launches an all-terrain bond fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 11 February, Credit Suisse will launch a new sub-fund of its Luxembourg structure Credit Suisse Fund (Lux), the Fixed Income Cycle Invest, which will use a cycle-monitoring model to make full use of all four phases of the conjuncutral cycle (overheating, cooling, depression, and growth) to select the most attractive bond assets.The fund, a UCITS-compliant FCP fund, may invest worldwide, and may access all segments, from money markets to high yield, including government and corporate bonds with the full spectrum of ratings. The turnover will exploit the potential of the most promising assets depending on the position in the economic cycle.The fund, which is now available in Germany and Austria, has a strategic allocation determined by the global investment committee at Credit Suisse, with constant care to actively limit risk, the portfolio manager, Oliver Gasser, says.CharacteristicsName: Credit Suisse Fund (Lux) Fixed Income Cycle InvestISIN Codes: A share class: LU0563098960B share class: LU0563099182R share class (USD): LU0563100378R share class (CHF): LU0563100022Management commission: 1% for A, B and R share classes
28/01/2011

BNPP IP vise un doublement de son encours en Allemagne pour fin 2012

Martin Theisinger, directeur de la distribution en Allemagne pour les produits retail et wholesale, a déclaré selon Fonds Professionell que BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) ambitionne de doubler d’ici à la fin de l’an prochain ses encours administrés en Allemagne, qui se situent actuellement à 7 milliards d’euros. La maison française dispose à Francfort d’une équipe d’allocation d’actifs, d'économistes germanophones et d’une équipe spécialisée de wholesale.Les priorités pour 2011 sont les actions et les obligations européennes, émergentes et américaines. Sur le plan thématique, BNPP IP va insister en Allemagne sur les «mégatendances» (mondialisation, infrastructures et urbanisation) et sur les besoins de sécurité avec des produits protégés de la gamme STEP Parvest, notamment le STEP Parvest 90 Euro et le STEP 80 World Emerging Euro.
28/01/2011
Fonds

Maigre bilan pour les fonds "à airbag"

Selon Christian Michel, directeur de l’analyse des fonds chez Feri EuroRating, le nombre de fonds de performance absolue disponibles en Allemagne est passé en six ans de 53 à 188 produits fin 2010. Le mouvement devrait se poursuivre, et la qualité n’augmentera pas, rapporte Die Welt. Actuellement, l’encours de ces fonds représente environ 32 milliards d’euros.Sur les trois dernières années, seuls 10 des 188 fonds ont répondu aux attentes des investisseurs, selon Feri : ils ont à la fois généré une performance annuelle supérieure de 100 points de base au taux sans risque (monétaire), et évité d’accuser une perte supérieure à 10 % sur un semestre. Dix autres fonds sont parvenus à un rendement supérieur à 2 % par an malgré des pertes passagères de plus de 10 %. Mais cela correspond au rendement d’un compte à vue, qui -pour sa part- ne présente aucun risque.
Fonds
28/01/2011

L’ancien patron de Pioneer refait surface chez Citi

Dario Frigerio, l’ancien directeur général de Pioneer Global Asset Management, refait parler de lui un peu plus d’un an après avoir quitté la société de gestion du groupe italien UniCredit, aujourd’hui en vente. Son poste avait par la suite été confié au Britannique Roger Yates, ex-CEO de Henderson.Dario Frigerio vient en effet d’être nommé par Citi en tant que senior advisor pour les services aux investisseurs dans l’activité de Global Transaction Services de la banque, un poste nouvellement créé. Basé en Italie, il fournira du conseil stratégique et s’occupera d’élargir la clientèle de la société en Europe, au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique.
28/01/2011

Hausse de près d'un tiers du bénéfice d'Invesco

Pour 2010, Invesco Ltd a fait état le 27 janvier d’un bénéfice net de 639,7 millions de dollars contre 378,1 millions pour l’année précédente, ce qui représente un gonflement de 31,1 %. Le bénéfice par action a bondi en avant de 55,1 %, ce que Martin L. Flanagan, president & CEO, attribue aux fortes performances, à l’amélioration de l’environnement de marché et au succès de l’intégration des activités retail de la gestion d’actifs de Morgan Stanley. La marge d’exploitation s’est inscrite à 34,5 % contre 28,5 % en 2009En ce qui concerne les encours, ils sont ressortis en moyenne à 532,3 milliards de dollars, soit 28 % de plus que les 415,88 milliards de l’année précédente. Au 31 décembre, ils atteignaient 616,5 milliards de dollars contre 604,5 milliards fin septembre et 459,5 milliards douze mois plus tôt. Les souscriptions nettes pour les fonds de long terme ont porté sur 5,5 milliards de dollars pendant que les remboursements nets des fonds monétaires institutionnels représentaient 15,5 milliards de dollars. Les plus-values liées à l’effet de marché se sont situées à 43,9 milliards de dollars, les acquisitions/ventes ont eu en net une incidence positive de 121,5 milliards de dollars et les gains de change se sont chiffrés à 1,6 milliard.
28/01/2011

Janus se renforce à l'international

La société de gestion américaine Janus Capital a annoncé le 26 janvier deux recrutements qui marquent la volonté du groupe de se renforcer à l’international.Augustus Cheh a été recruté en tant que président de Janus Capital International, l’entité regroupant les activités non américaines de Janus. Augustus Cheh prendra ses fonctions le 29 mars prochain et sera basé à Hong Kong où il dépendra directement du CEO du groupe, Dick Weil. Il était précédemment CEO d’AllianceBernstein Hong Kong. Par ailleurs, Hiroshi Yoh rejoindra Janus le 1er avril prochain en qualité de gérant des stratégies actions asiatiques et CEO de la filiale à Singapour, Janus Capital Singapore. Il travaillait précédemment chez Tokio Marine Asset Management à Singapour, en tant que CEO et chief investment officer.

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