Deux semaines après avoir annoncé que son Global Agriculture Fund britannique (130 millions de livres au 29 janvier contre 139 millions au 12 janvier) a obtenu l’agrément de commercialisation en France (lire notre dépêche du 4 février), Barings a organisé à Paris mardi une présentation de ce produit par le gérant Jonathan Blake.Au moment où se multiplient les fonds agriculture (BlackRock, tout récemment, Petercam, Crédit Agricole, Sarasin, DWS), Jonathan Blake, qui gère également le Global Resources (735 millions d’euros fin 2009), a fourni le détail du processus de gestion et du montage de son fonds qui existe depuis un an déjà.Sur le plan technique, le portefeuille comporte entre 40 et 70 valeurs sur un univers de 350 titres, le taux de rotation souhaité se situe entre 40 % (actuellement) et un maximum de 70 %. L'écart de suivi devrait se situer entre 5 et 15 % tandis que la divergence en matière géographique peut aller jusqu'à +/6 30 %, par rapport à l’indice MSCI All Country World Total Return.D’après Jonathan Blake, le fonds (GB0083B9VB40) ne devrait pas être confronté à des contraintes de capacités avant d’atteindre le milliard de livres, même si 20 % du portefeuille sont investis en petites capitalisations (1 milliard de dollars et au minimum 500 millions). En tous cas, le gérant tient à souligner qu’il ne s’agit en aucune manière d’un fonds marchés émergents (la proportion d’actions des pays émergents représente 35 % et ne devra en aucun cas dépasser les 50 %). Le poids des dix premières lignes évolue entre 3,6 % (Marfrig Alimentos) et 2,6 %( Indo Food Agri ou Kuala Lumpur Keopong).Une approche planétaireConcernant les thèmes d’investissement, Jonathan Blake les résume avec les «3F» : food, feed et fuels, autrement dit l’alimentation humaine et celle du bétail ainsi que la production de biocarburants. Le fonds agriculture de Barings couvre toute la chaîne de valeur depuis la semence et les terrains jusqu’aux détaillants alimentaires. Ces derniers temps, le gérant a eu tendance vu la conjoncture à privilégier des investissements assez en amont.D’une manière générale, pour des considérations de long terme, l'équipe de gestion se positionne sur les semences et dans une moindre mesure sur les OGM, qui peuvent avoir des effets bénéfiques en cas de sécheresse.Pour l’heure, l’un des thèmes-phare du fonds est celui des engrais, parce qu’après deux très bonnes récoltes, il va falloir recourir à ce genre de produits. Le deuxième thème est celui de l’huile de palme, (trois des dix premières lignes) en raison de l'évolution des habitudes alimentaires et de l’effet El Niño. Enfin, le gérant est très positif sur le Brésil, d’autant qu’en cette année électorale les exploitants devraient continuer de bénéficier des aides publiques.D’une manière générale, Jonathan Blake souligne que le portefeuille est très diversifié sur les plans sectoriel et géographique afin de profiter au mieux des possibilités d’un gisement finalement quelque peu restreint. Depuis le lancement le 16 janvier 2009, le fonds affiche une performance de 40,8 % contre 29,3 % pour l’indice de référence. Et, depuis le début de l’année jusqu’au 29 janvier, il a perdu 0,6 % contre 1,2 % pour le benchmark.

Le sélectionneur de fonds autrichien Daniel Zeska quitte l'équipe de fonds de fonds de Volksbank Invest pour rejoindre Innovest Kapitalanlage AG, indique Citywire. Il a été nommé senior investment manager et intègre l'équipe d’allocation d’actifs de la société de gestion autrichienne spécialisée dans les fonds de fonds à destination des investisseurs institutionnels. Les encours d’Innovest totalisent 5 milliards d’euros.

Le groupe Macquarie a obtenu l’agrément de commercialisation en Autriche des trois compartiments de sa sicav luxembourgeoise Macquarie Funds Solutions qu’il distribue depuis peu en Allemagne (lire notre dépêche du 3 février). Il s’agit des Macquarie Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund, Macquarie Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund et Macquarie and Rogers China Agriculture Fund, a indiqué Heribert Geistler, country manager de Macquarie Funds Group pour l’Autriche. Ces fonds sont conformes à la directive OPCVM III.La clientèle visée est celle des gérants de fonds de fonds ainsi que des investisseurs institutionnels. La distribution auprès des particuliers sera confiée à des partenaires.Macquarie gère déjà environ 200 millions d’euros pour le compte de clients autrichiens, dans les domaines du private equity et des infrastructures.

On vient seulement d’apprendre que, fin 2009, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) a rétrocédé à la Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) le portefeuille Pegasus dont cette banque avait co-financé l’acquisition pour 2,1 milliards d’euros en mai 2007 auprès d’Union Investment Real Estate, indique la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Le Pegasus comporte 29 actifs, dont l’immeuble de bureaux Frankfurter Welle qui vaudrait à lui seul 703 millions d’euros. A l'époque de la transaction, les prix de l’immobilier étaient en fait au plus haut et MSREF comptait sur une poursuite de la hausse des loyers et des prix.Avant la crise, MSREF a acheté pour 10 milliards d’euros d’actifs immobiliers en Allemagne. Le patron des achats, James Lapsuhner, quittera l’entreprise fin mars.

Par un avis boursier, Qiagen indique que Fidelity (FMR LLC) lui a notifié le 12 février avoir franchi la veille le seuil des 10 % de son capital et détenir désormais 10,09 % des droits de vote. Cela posé, Fidelity était déjà le plus important actionnaire de la société de biotechnologie.

Mardi soir, la Deutsche Börse a annoncé que sur une base provisoire son chiffre d’affaires a diminué en 2009 de 16 % à 2.016,7 millions d’euros contre 2.455,1 millions, tandis que son bénéfice avant impôt et charges financières (EBIT) plongeait de 58 % à 637,8 millions d’euros contre 1.508,4 millions.Quant au bénéfice net, il s’est contracté de 52 % pour revenir à 496,1 millions contre 1.033,3 millions. Le directoire propose le versement au titre de 2009 d’un dividende inchangé de 2,10 euros par action.On notera en outre que, pour la première fois depuis l’introduction en Bourse de l’entreprise de marché (en 2001), le résultat avant impôt et charges financières a été négatif (de 166,3 millions d’euros) en octobre-décembre, contre un bénéfice de 322,5 millions d’euros pour la période correspondante de 2008.Par ailleurs, le directoire a décidé mardi de dégraisser les instances de direction du groupe et d’adopter des mesures d'économie supplémentaires pour réduire les coûts durablement de 50 millions d’euros par an, ce qui représentera dans un premier temps une charge de 40 millions d’euros qui sera comptablisée pour l’essentiel au premier semestre de cette année. D’autre part, la Deutsche Börse compte augmenter de plus de 50 % cette année le budget des «initiatives de croissance» à environ 100 millions d’euros.

Hartmut Leser, directeur général d’Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland, a indiqué au Handelsblatt que s’il ne parvient pas à convaincre les nombreux investisseurs institutionnels du fonds immobilier DEGI Global Business qu’il est possible d’escompter des performances maintenant que la valeur des actifs a été révisée à la baisse de 21,6 %, le fonds sera liquidé et l’argent rendu aux clients. Tous les investisseurs devraient avoir pu être contactés d’ici à fin mars (lire notre article du 11 février).

Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking a annoncé mardi 16 février la nomination de Mario Cortesi au poste de responsable des marchés primaires, financements et couvertures pour l’Italie. Il travaillera à Milan sous la responsabilité de Jean-Luc Parer, directeur global finance, ses adjoints Jean-François Mazaud, Pierre Palmieri et David Coxon ainsi que Giovanni Ortolani, responsable pays banque de financement et d’investissement pour l’Italie.Avant de rejoindre Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking, Mario Cortesi a exercé différentes fonctions au sein de la banque d’investissement à Londres chez Morgan Stanley et Citigroup dans les activités de marchés de capitaux et financements structurés, précise le communiqué de SGCIB.

Selon Bluerating, HSBC lance en Italie son fonds Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord, HSBC GIF Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Le compartiment, qui fait partie de la Sicav luxembourgeoise HSBC Global Investment Funds, est géré par Andrea Nannini.

Le gestionnaire de Nuremberg Shedlin Capital a annoncé mardi le lancement le 1er mars du fonds de fonds immobilier et d’infrastructure de droit luxembourgeois Shedlin Real Estate & Infrastructure qui est confié au gérant-star de Shedlin, Stefan Thomas-Barein, l’ancien directeur de la gestion d’actifs de Wallberg Invest. Le promoteur est Shedlin Investment Managers GmbH tandis que Hauck & Aufhäuser (H&A) administre le nouveau produit.Le nouveau fonds de fonds investira à l’international dans des fonds immobiliers offerts au public, en actions de sociétés immobilières ainsi que dans des fonds thématiques immobilier et infrastructures. Shedlin a prévu aussi une classe de parts institutionnelle.Pour l’instant, le Shedlin Real Estate & Infrastructure ne dispose d’un agrément de commercialisation qu’au Luxembourg. Des autorisations ont été sollicitées de la BaFin allemande et de la FMA autrichienne.Caractéristiques Dénomination : Shedlin Real Estate & InfrastructureCode ISIN : LU0447028357Droit d’entrée : 5 %Commission de gestion : 1,2 %Commission de surperformance : 20 % de la surperformance par rapport à l’euribor 1 mois, avec high watermarkSouscription minimale initiale : 1.000 euros

Le premier hedge fund de droit espagnol (FIL) de Nordkapp Gestión est le Capitrade Systematic Global Futures, rapporte Funds People. L’objectif de ce produit de futures consiste à surperformer l’euribor 1 an de 1.400 à 1.800 points de base avec une volatilité annuelle moyenne de 13-17 %, avec une VaR journalière de 6 %.Le fonds sera conseillé par Capital markets pour la gestion et pour le logiciel automatisant les achats et ventes de lignes, mais la sélection et la pondération des marchés seront confiés à Jacobo Blanquer, le spécialiste de l’investissement alternatif de Nordkapp Inversión.La partie du portefeuille non investie en futures sera placée en obligations d’Etat de l’UE, en dépôts à vue ou en papier d’instituts de crédit de l’UE avec une échéance inférieure à un an. La duration moyenne du portefeuille obligataire sera inférieure à 6 mois.

The Macquarie group has received sales licenses in Austria for three sub-funds of its Luxembourg Sicav Macquarie Funds Solutions, which it recently released in Germany (see Newsmanagers of 3 February). The funds are the Macquarie Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund, Macquarie Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund and Macquarie and Rogers China Agriculture Fund, says Herbert Geistler, country manager at Macquarie Funds Group for Austria. The funds comply with the UCITS III directive. The target clientele consists of fund of fund managers and institutional investors. Distribution to retail investors will be outsourced to partners. Macquarie already manages about EUR200m for Austrian clients, in the areas of private equity and infrastructure.

OFI Asset Management has awarded a management mandate to General Electric Asset Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric, to manage the Single Select Platform GE US Equity, a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Single Select platform which invests in US large caps. The management firm which previously managed the sub-fund, created in March 2004, was Dreman. “GEAM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric, has been awarded a mandate to manage the Single Select Platform GE US Equity fund, to provide the ‘core’ positioning of its management strategy and regular outperformance in the long term. General Electric AM has more than 80 years of experience in management for institutional investors, and has USD118bn in assets under management, of which USD24bn are invested in US equities (December 2009),” a statement from OFI AM points out. Under the agreement, OFI Asset Management will provide exclusive distribution in France of the US equities product “US Equity Select” from General Electric AM, within the Single Select Platform GE US Equity. Characteristics of the fund • ISIN codes: I-class EUR shares*: LU0185280459; I-class USD shares: LU0185280533; A-class EUR shares*: LU0185278040 • Depository/Valuation provider: JPMorgan Bank Luxembourg • Created: 15 March 2004, with a change in managers on 12 February 2010 • Currency: EUR or USD • Valuation: Daily • Maximum management commission: I-class shares: 1.30% TTC max; A-class shares: 1.70% TTC max • Maximum front-end fee: I-class shares: 1% TTC max; A-class shares: 5% TTC max *Not hedged for currency risks.

A hedge fund launched by Renaissance Technologies - Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (Rief) - closed 2009 down 6 per cent, according to investors, missing out on the hedge fund industry’s best year in more than a decade, says the Financial Times. In all, the fund, which trades across asset classes and securities using computer programmes, has lost 4.42 per cent since it was set up in July 2005.

Bluerating reports that HSBC is launching its Middle East and North Africa fund, HSBC GIF Middle East and North Africa (MENA), in Italy. The sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav HSBC Global Investment Funds is managed by Andrea Nannini.

Hartmut Leser, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland, has told Handelsblatt that if he cannot convince the many institutional investors in the DEGI Global Business real estate fund that it is possible to make up for negative performance now that the value of assets has been revised downwards by 21.6%, the fund will be liquidated and the money distributed to clients. All investors will habe been contacted by the end of March (see Newsmanagers of 11 February).

It has only recently come to light that at the end of 2009, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) returned the Pegasus portfolio to Royal Bank of Scotland, which co-financed the acquisition of the portfolio for EUR2.1bn in May 2007 from Union Investment Real Estate, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The Pegasus portfolio includes 29 properties, including the Frankfurter Welle office building, which alone is valued at EUR703m. At the time of the acquisition, property values were at their peak, and MSREF predicted that rents and values would continue to rise. Before the crisis, MSREF spent EUR10bn on acquisitions of properties in Germany. The head of acquisitions, James Lapsuhner, will be leaving the firm at the end of March.

The British management firm Liontrust Asset Management will next month launch the European Value Fund, which will be compliant with the UCITS III directive. Investment Week reports that the fund will be managed by two former GAM managers, Ross Hollyman and Rob Cornish, who joined Liontrust last October. At the time of the launch, the fund will have about 70 positions, selected from a universe of 1,300 firms. The managers give priority to the search for pan-European high quality, liquid and inexpensive shares.

Arrowstreet Capital, a Boston based equity management firm, is looking for an individual in charge of business development, UK and Europe. This individual will be a key part of Arrowstreet’s initiative to expand its presence in the UK and European institutional markets, says the company.Arrowstreet Capital manages over USD21 billion and has relationships with over 50 clients located in North America, Europe, and Australasia.

The Austrian fund selector Daniel Zeska is leaving the fund of funds team at Volksbank Invest to join Innovest Kapitalanlage AG. He has been appointed senior investment manager, and joins the asset allocation team at the Austrian management firm specialized in funds of funds for institutional investors. Assets at Innovest total EUR5bn, Citywire reports.

Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, whose assets under management rose by more than 50% last year to EUR11.9bn, earned net inflows of EUR1.8bn. Among the largest French and European equities funds was Tricolore Rendement, with assets of EUR3.1bn, saw outflows of EUR100m, but Europe Rendement, with slightly over EUR900m in assets, saw inflows of about EUR120m. Saint-Honoré Europe Synergie, with about EUR500m in assets, earned about EUR200m in inflows since last September. EDRAM states that last year it became the largest French manager of convertible bond funds, with more than EUR1.3bn in assets under management, as it tripled its assets under management in this area in one year (see Newsmanagers of 15/01/2010).

Growth must be sought where it can be found. Pierre Nebout, deputy director in charge of French equities management at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM), and Philippe Lecoq, deputy director and head of Large Caps Europe management, identify three major themes with this in mind: the attraction of “visible growth” and undervalued shares; defensive shares; and a rebound in activity in mergers and acquisitions.After the wave of popularity of cyclical shares last year, many opportunistic investors are now looking for firms that show what is called “visible growth,” i.e., the ability to grow independently of economic cycles, without major revisions in profit outlooks, EDRAM explains. Many attractive shares have lost their valuation premiums, and are trading slightly, 10% to 20% below their value. From this point of view, the sectors which offer the best prospects are agro-business, healthcare and software. In terms of specific equities, the major convictions in Europe are Nestlé, Heineken, Novartis, and lastly SAP, where a new president may stimulate speculation on shares. The second major theme is shares in defensive sectors, which tend to become a secondary priority as profit outlooks rise. Shares in telecoms, utilities, media and pharmaceuticals will be likely to show growth in profits of only 2% to 7%. EDRAM estimates that modest growth outlooks for these defensive sectors are a form of insurance in a macroeconomic environment which is difficult to predict. From this point of view, lower sensitivity to cycles on the stock markets may be a reason for the attraction of these shares to rise in a market which is less concerned with locating “recovery” than in visibility.The third major theme is a rise in mergers and acquisitions, as all the conditions are present for such a scenario to play out. The good health of businesses and their ability to generate cash flow will lead them to adopt a more offensive strategy to maintain their competitiveness and ensure their growth. From this standpoint, EDRAM points to the significant rise in the number of British firms which represent potential buyout targets, at a time when the regulatory and political environment in the UK present no major obstacles to buyouts. British shares are rendered more fragile in terms of their valuation by a 25% decline in the value of the pound Sterling against the Euro in the past three years. Potential targets identified by EDRAM include Burberry, BG Group, International Power and Invensys.

Guggenheim Partners (USD100bn) is acquiring Security Benefit Corp, which has four divisions, including Security Global Investors and Rydex, and about USD22bn in assets, for USD400m.

The Harvard University endowment, which has USD26bn in assets, is seeking to sell off 10% of its real estate portfolio, valued at USD5bn, in order to invest the money in more attractive investments and to reduce its exposure to a troubled market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sources familiar with the matter say the heads of the endowment have said they are hoping to retain at least 51% in their real estate partnerships.

Fortress Investment Group, a specialist in private equity and hedge funds (USD32bn) on Tuesday announced that it has acquired Logan Circle Partners, a traditional management firm previously owned by Guggenheim Partners, for USD21m in cash, the Wall Street Journal reports. The transaction brings bond fund assets at Fortress to about USD12bn.

For the year 2009 as a whole, the Investment Solutions arm of BNP Paribas, excluding the integration of Fortis, had net inflows of EUR25.5bn, of which EUR14.4bn in asset management, half of which was for money market products. Combined with positive market effects due to rising stock markets, these inflows will bring assets under management in the unit up 17% compared with 31 December 2008 to EUR588bn, putting them back at their levels at the end of 2007. Fortis Investments, which is now part of BNP Paribas, has seen a decline in its assets under management of EUR170bn, to EUR161bn. The private bank has seen a slight increase from EUR43bn to EUR44bn. Net banking proceeds for Investment Solutions are down 3.4%, at EUR4.768bn, compared with the 2008 figure, as “the strong rebound in assets under management made it possible to offset falling margins in asset management, an increase in general reserves in insurance, and a decline in transaction volumes and a shrinking margins in the equities profession,” says BNP Paribas in a statement released on Wednesday morning. Pre-tax profits total EUR1.29bn, down 1.5% compared with the 2008 results, after results for private banking in France and Italy are taken into account.

Net profits at Clariden Leu for 2009 were up 67% compared with the previous year, at CHF353m, on an operating coefficient of 67%, compared with 56% in 2008. As of the end of December, assets were up 9% to CHF102bn, compared with CHF94bn the previous year. The Credit Suisse affiliate saw net outflows of CHF0.5bn, compared with CHF1.1bn.

The first Spanish-registered hedge fund (FIL) from Nordkapp Gestión is the Capitrade Systematic Global Futures, Funds People reports. The objective for the futures product is to outperform the Euribor 1-year by 1,400 to 1,800 basis points with average annual volatility of 13-17%, and a daily value at risk (VaR) of 6%. The fund will be advised by Capital Market, which will provide management and software to automate buys and sells of positions, but stock-picking and weighting of the markets will be handled by Jacobo Blanquer, an alternative specialist at Nordkapp Inversión.The portion of the portfolio not invested in futures will be placed in EU government bonds, deposits, or credit paper from EU lending institutions, with maturity in under one year. The average duration for the bond portfolio will be under 6 months

The British bank Barclays earned pre-tax profits last year of GBP11.6bn, in which a positive influence was attributable to a profit of GBP6.3bn on the sale of its asset management affiliate BGI (Barclays Global Investors). Taxable earnings from BGI excluding these profits on the sale were up 26% to GBP748m. Barclays Wealth, meanwhile,. finished the year with pre-tax profits down 78% to GBP145m. This development is largely due to the sale of its life insurance activities. Results at Barclays Wealth were also affected by the integration of Barclays Wealth Americas, which lost GBP39m. Client assets totalled GBP151.3bn as of December 2009, compared with GBP145.1bn one year earlier.

Skandia on 15 February unveiled the commercial model for its investment platform aimed at IFAs, Skandia Investment Solutions. The group states that in order to be viable, a platform needs to keep its costs and margins at a level where profits are equivalent to 0.5% of assets in management funds each year. With this in mind, Skandia has set up a transition plan which will involve a reduction in operating costs of about 20% by the end of 2010. Over the year as a whole, about 150 jobs will be cut. Skandia states that it has already defined several characteristics which are needed to attract and win the loyalty of IFAs, which it will put to use by offering them a platform that provides a wide selection of investments, dedicated back-up tools, and limited costs for advisors and their clients. A business model then needed to be set up which would bring Skandia into the category of low-cost platforms. This has now been achieved, says Nick Poyntz-Wright, CEO of Skandia, who hopes that the move will keep Skandia in a leading position among investment platforms.