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17/03/2010

7% increase in assets under management at Close AM

Assets under management in the asset management unit of Close Brothers increased 7% in the half-year ending on 31 January 2010, to a total of GBP7.3bn, compared with GBP6.3bn as of 31 July 2009. Operating profits contracted to GBP2.7m from GBP6.6m previously, due to lower revenues from fund administration activities, and also to investments by the private clients unit. Close Asset Management, meanwhile, has announced the appointment of Nancy Curtin as chief investment officer. Curtin previously served in the same role at Fortune Asset Management, which has recently been taken over by Close AM.
17/03/2010

Russell builds global capacities in alternatives

To strengthen its presence in the area of “less traditional” strategies such as active management of commodities, investments in private equity and high-alpha strategies, Russell Investments is adding to its manager selection and advising services worldwide. To this end, the firm is planning to recruit more than 25 specialists in Australia, Japan, Europe, and the Americas. The recruitments will include senior consultants, senior investment strategists, and manager research analysts.
17/03/2010

BBB+ rating for Greece confirmed by Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor’s announced on 16 March that it has confirmed a long-term rating of BBB+ for Greece. The rating does, however, remain on negative watch. The country’s short-term rating of A-2 has also been retained. The agency calls teh debt reduction program adopted by the government appropriate to achieve the budgetary objectives set in 2010, in light of the deterioration of growth outlooks in Greece.
17/03/2010

Groupama registers Alpha Forex fund in Spain

On 12 March, Groupama Asset Management registered its absolute return fund Groupama Alpha Forex (Eonia + 200 basis points, with volatility of under 1%), bringing the number of funds on sale in Spain to 26. The French management firm is planning to register the Groupama Index Inflation Monde fund with the CNMV in the near future.
17/03/2010

Madoff's sons seek victim status

Bernard Madoff’s two sons believe they should be counted among the victims of their father’s crimes, according to court papers filed in a lawsuit brought by the court-appointed trustee for Madoff’s firm. Martin Flumenbaum, a lawyer for Mark Madoff and Andrew Madoff, said they went to the authorities shortly after their father revealed to them he had been running a Ponzi scheme, thus preventing the dissipation of USD170 million in funds.
17/03/2010

Basel Committee launches a consultation on corporate governance

The Basel Committee on 16 March published a series of principles which are intended to help improve corporate governance practices in the banking sector. The document is open to consultation until 15 June this year. The principles laid out in the document, which attempts to draw the lessons of the financial crisis, includes the role of the board of directors, qualifications of board members, risk management, and oversight of pay scales. The Committee points out in a statement that it composed the document in close collaboration with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), which has undertaken a revision of its core principles to better take into account corporate governance issues.
17/03/2010

BNP Paribas REIM launches an OPCI

BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management on 16 March announced the launch of a new OPCI RFA, entitled Shopping Property Fund 1, dedicated to commercial properties, and with a total objective of EUR500m in investments in three years. The OPCI, whose first phase of acquisitions was completed in February 2010, involves a partnership with the Casino group, which is also a shareholder, alongside several other investors, a statement says. At the conclusion of the first phase of acquisition, Shopping Property Fund 1 has assets with a total value at acquisition of about EUR159m, including commission and fees but excluding VAT, which is 50% financed by a loan from BNP Paribas.
17/03/2010

Vanguard launches a multi-management value fund

As a complement to the Vanguard Explorer Fund (USD8.6bn), which is managed with a growth style, Vanguard is releasing the Vanguard Explorer Value Fund, another actively-managed fund, which follows a value style, and which will specialise in US smidcaps, with less than 200 positions, and an average cap size comparable to that of its benchmark index, the Russell 2500 Value. At the end of the initial subscription period, which will run until 30 March, assets will be equally divided between Cardinal Capital Management (USD1.1bn in assets), Sterling Capital Management (USD12bn), and Frontier Capital Management (USD6bn), which is jointly controlled by the management and Affiliated Managers Group. Initial minimal subscription is set at USD10,000, and the fund will charge fees of 0.59%. Vanguard states that, including Sterling and Capital, it has 29 external managers. Of the 30 actively-managed equities funds in the Vanguard range, 15 are managed by two or more external management firms.
17/03/2010

Guotai launches a QDII tracker fund based on Nasdaq 100

Guotai Fund Management has announced that it will be launching its QDII fund on 22 March. It will be the first QDII tracker fund, and will replicate the Nasdaq 100 index. The QDII portion of the product will total USD700m, or CNY4.8bn. A-Ben Advisors reports that the fee structure is “aggressive,” with a management commission of only 0.80%, the lowest level for any existing QDII fund. Several other passively-managed QDII funds are in the pipeline: an ETF from China AMC focused on Hong Kong, an S&P 500 ETF from China Southern Fund Management, and a Topix 30 ETF from Fortune SGAM. A-Ben Advisors also reports that Fortis Haitong is planning to launch a product which will invest in both A and H share classes.
17/03/2010

MEAG opens FairReturn to retail investors

The Munich-based management firm MEAG Munich Ergo Asset Management on Tuesday announced the creation of a retail (A) share class in its MEAG Fair Return fund, a German-registered diversified product managed with an absolute return approach and in accordance with sustainable development principles, which was initially created with institutional investors (see Newsmanagers of 30 June 2009), especially foundations, in mind. MEAG states that the fund is suitable for investors who are seeking to reinvest life insurance or pensions which have matured. Front-end fee and management commissions are 3%. and 0.9%, respectively.
17/03/2010

Amundi lists a series of new ETF funds in Germany

Onemonth after announcing the listing of 17 ETF funds on the Germanmarket, Amundi ETF announced on Tuesday, 16 March that it will befurther increasing its presence in Germany by listing 21 more ETFfunds, bringing the total number of its products available onDeutsche Börse to 38.Ofthe 21 ETF funds listed currently, 12 are being released for thefirst time on Xetra. They include10sectoral ETF funds previously unreleased on Xetra offering exposureto the major sectors of the MSCI Europe index.2Style ETF funds previously unreleased on Xetra, which allowinvestors exposure to equities with the highest dividend returns inEurope and the Euro zone.9of the ETF products being listed stand out for their management fees,lower than those generally charged by competitors on Xetra, astatement from the management firm states (0.14% to 0.16%, dependingon the product). Seven of them are invested in Euro zone governmentbonds (from 3 months to 15 years). In addition to this, the AmundiETF Euro Inflation and Amundi ETF Euro Corporates funds are composedof about 40 corporate bonds each, selected on the basis of liquiditycriteria, with a credit rating higher than or equal to BBB- from S&P.
17/03/2010

Hedge funds: Europe fails to reach agreement

Les Echos reports that the Spanish finance minister, Elena Salgado, chairwoman of the Council, opted to withdraw her proposed compromise on regulations for the alternative management industry in the AIFM directive, in the face of continued differences of opinion between the United Kingdom, on one hand, and France and its partners on the other. Paris and London disagree as to whether a European passport should be granted to asset management firms from outside the European Union. Though the UK favours this proposal, France, supported by Germany, would prefer not to risk opening the European market to offshore funds.
17/03/2010

Hedge funds gained 0.68% in February

Hedge funds included in the Credit Suisse/Tremont index in February ultimately achieved lower returns than the 0.87% announced (see Newsmanagers of 11 March), on the basis of results from 76% of funds: returns now average 0.68%, compared with 0.17% in January, bringing total gains for the first two months of the year to 0.85%. The worst results were -3.87% for dedicated short bias strategy, which has also seen the heaviest losses (3.61%) in the first two months of the year, followed by managed futures (-2.07%), which, however, saw the highest gains in February, at 1.81%. In January-February, distressed strategies have the best results, with gains of 2.32%.
17/03/2010

Assets in funds of hedge funds still sliding

Combined assets of funds of hedge fund groups with more than USD1bn under management slipped to USD625bn from USD744bn a year earlier, says the Financial Times Fund Management. Figures, from the InvestHedge Billion Dollar Club’s most recent survey are still an improvement on 2008, when assets dropped by a third.
17/03/2010

Rgulators may touchen conditions for access to "New-CITS"

Regulators are growing increasingly concerned that retail investors are being put at risk by the wave of hedge fund-like investment strategies being launched in the Ucits format, says the Financial Times Fund Management. Patrice Berge-Vincent, head of the asset management policy department at the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the French regulator, called for higher minimum investments for some Newcits to deter retail investors.
17/03/2010

Amundi real estate arm plans to double AUM in five years

In a statement, Amundi Immobilier, which had EUR5.2bn in assets under management as of 40 September 2009, announced on Tuesday, 16 March that it is planning to double its market share in the next 5 years to more than 25% of the private client market in France. To achieve this, the firm is turning to external distribution and IFAs, offering a range of products through these channels. The firm is planning to release the SCPI Scellier Premely Habitat 2 fund, which is licensed by the AMF, and also to launch a retail OPCI fund in second half 2010.
17/03/2010

MFC Global IM recruits former CIO, equity from Evergreen

Chris Conkey has been appointed as chief investment officer, global equities, at MFC Global Investment Management. He will report to JF Courville, global president and CEO of MFC, the asset management affiliate of Manulife Financial. The new recruit is based in Boston, and will work in close collaboration with Barry Evans, CIO, fixed income, and with Mark Schmeer, CIO, asset allocation, strategy & research, who was previously also CIO, global equities. In the past three years, Conkey was CIO, equity at Evergreen, after the merger of Keystone Investments and Evergreen.
17/03/2010

Appointment at Goldman Sachs

Financial News reports that Goldman Sachs has appointed a new head of principal strategies, following the annountment of the departure of the former head Pierre-Henri Flamand. Morgan Sze, head of principal strategies at Goldman Sachs for Asia, will take over the management of the group worldwide, according to an internal memo sent around at the firm this week. He will continue to report to David Heller, one of the four heads of securities at Goldman Sachs in New York.
17/03/2010

Neuberger Berman chooses JP Morgan as custodian

Neuberger Berman (USD171bn in assets) has announced that it has selected J.P. Morgan Clearing Corp as provider of clearing and custody services, for about 50,000 accounts. The migration will take place in second quarter. The value of the contract has not been disclosed.
17/03/2010

AXA pulls NYSE listing

AXA announced on Tuesday, 16 March that it has submitted a Form 25 document to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) to voluntarily end listing of its American Depository Shares (ADS) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The last say of trading for the ADS on NYSE will be 25 March 2010. “The withdrawal from listing will be effective from 26 March 2010. Following that date, ADS will be traded on the US over-the-counter (OTC) market, and will be listed on the OTC QX platform,” a statement from the group explains. The listings will be available at www.otcqx.com.
17/03/2010
Fonds

Le Baring MENA sera chargé à 1,50 %

Baring Asset Amanagement a annoncé mardi que son fonds Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord (MENA) qui doit être lancé le 29 mars (lire nos articles du 4 mars 2009 ainsi que des 15 décembre et 17 juillet 2009) sera assorti d’un droit d’entrée de 5 % et d’une commission de gestion de 1,5 %.Ce sera un Open Ended Investment Company (OEIC), domicilié à Dublin et géré par Ghadir Abu Leil-Cooper. La souscription minimale est fixée à 2.500 livres ou 5.000 dollars ou 3.500 euros.Dans un premier temps, le nouveau fonds investira principalement en Egypte, dans les Emirats arabes unis, le Qatar et la Turquie ainsi que l’Arabie saoudite (au travers de P notes et de swaps).
Fonds
17/03/2010

Progression de 7% des actifs sous gestion de Close AM

Les actifs sous gestion du pôle asset management de Close Brothers se sont accrus de 7% durant le semestre au 31 janvier 2010 pour atteindre 7,3 milliards de livres, contre 6,8 milliards de livres au 31 juillet 2009.Le résultat d’exploitation s’est contracté à 2,7 millions de livres contre 6,6 millions précédemment en raison de moindres revenus dans les activités d’administration de fonds mais aussi en raison des investissements engagés sur le pôle clientèle privée.Close Asset Management a par ailleurs annoncé la nomination de Nancy Curtin en tant que chief investment officer. Nancy Curtin occupait précédemment les mêmes fonctions chez Fortune Asset Management, passé récemment dans le giron de Close AM.
17/03/2010
Fonds

Schroders lance sa première offre à Londres par le biais de Gaia

Selon Fund Strategy, le fonds Schroders Gaia Egerton European Equity est désormais disponible sur le marché britannique au travers de la plate-forme luxembourgeoise de hedge funds Gaia au format OPCVM III de Schroders. Le fonds est géré par Egerton Capital Limited Partnership, un gérant indépendant basé à Londres et s’intéressant en priorité aux actions paneuropéennes.Schroders a déjà exporté sa plate-forme en Espagne, en Allemagne et en Autriche. L’investissement minimal a été fixé à 5.000 livres, les frais de gestion à 2% et la commission de performance à 20%.
Fonds
17/03/2010
Fonds

M&G confie la gestion de trois fonds à Mike Riddell

La société de gestion britannique M&G a confié la gestion de trois fonds obligataires à Mike Riddell, selon Investment Week.Il s’agit des fonds M&G Emerging Markets Bond, Index-Linked Bond et International Sovereign Bond pilotés jusqu’ici par Jim Leaviss, patron du fixed income retail de M&G. Jim Leaviss, désormais deputy manager sur ces produits, continuera de travailler en étroite collaboration avec Mike Riddell pour gérer ces trois fonds qui pèsent quelque 200 millions de livres.
Fonds
17/03/2010

MFC Global IM recrute l'ancien CIO actions d'Evergreen

Chris Conkey a été nommé directeur des investissements actions mondiales (chief investment officer, global equities) de MFC Global Investment Management. Il est subordonné à JF Courville, global president et CEO de MFC, la filiale de gestion d’actifs de Manulife Financial. Le nouvel arrivant est basé à Boston et travaillera en étroite coopération avec Barry Evans, CIO, fixed income ainsi qu’avec Mark Schmeer, CIO, asset allocation, strategy & research, qui était jusqu’ici également CIO, global equities.Ces trois dernières années, Chris Conkey a été le CIO, equity, d’Evergreen, après la fusion entre Keystone Investments et Evergreen.
17/03/2010
Fonds

Vanguard lance un fonds value multigéré

En guise de complément au Vanguard Explorer Fund (8,6 milliards de dollars) qui est géré sur le mode growth, Vanguard lance le Vanguerd Explorer Value Fund, un autre fonds géré activement mais selon une approche value et qui se spécialisera sur les petites et moyennes capitalisations américaines, avec moins de 200 lignes et une capitalisation moyenne comparable à celle de son indice de référence, le Russell 2500 Value.A l’issue de la période initiale de souscription qui s’achèvera le 30 mars, les encours seront divisés à parts égales entre Cardinal Capital Management (1,1 milliard de dollars d’encours), Sterling Capital Management (12 milliards) et Frontier Capital Management (6 milliards), qui est contrôlée conjointement par son équipe dirigeante et Affiliated Managers Group.Vanguard précise qu’avec l'élargissement à Sterling et Capital, le nombre de gérants externes atteint 29 unités. Sur les 30 fonds d’actions gérés activement qui font partie de la gamme Vanguard, 15 sont confiés à deux conseillers externes ou davantage.La souscription minimale initiale est fixée à 10.000 dollars et le fonds devrait afficher un taux de frais de 0,59 %.
Fonds
17/03/2010

Neuberger Berman choisit J. P. Morgan comme conservateur

Neuberger Berman (173 milliards de dollars d’encours) a annoncé avoir choisi J.P. Morgan Clearing Corp comme fournisseur de services de compensation et de conservation. Cela concerne environ 50.000 comptes. La migration devrait intervenir dans le courant du deuxième trimestre. Le montant de la transaction n’a pas été dévoilé.
17/03/2010

Nomination chez Goldman Sachs

Financial News rapporte que Goldman Sachs a nommé un nouveau «head of principal strategies» après l’annonce du départ l’ancien responsable Pierre-Henri Flamand. Morgan Sze, head of principal strategies de Goldman Sachs en Asie, prendra en charge le management du groupe au niveau mondial, selon une note interne de l'établissement cette semaine. Il continuera de rapporter à David Heller, l’un des quatre responsables titres chez Goldman Sachs à New York.

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