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06/10/2009

Dix gestionnaires d'actifs européens figurent parmi les vingt premiers mondiaux

Selon le palmarès Pensions & Investments/Watson Wyatt World 500, l’encours total des 500 premiers gestionnaires d’actifs mondiaux a chuté l’an dernier de 23 % à 53,4 billions de dollars fin décembre. Parmi les 20 premiers par le volume des encours figurent dix européens et dix américains, les deux premiers étant Barclays Global Investors (BGI) et Allianz, avec respectivement 1 516,3 milliards et 1 462 milliards de dollars, State Street et Fidelity suivant avec 1 443,8 milliards et 1 389,1 milliards.Axa, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole et Natixis se situaient respectivement en cinquième, treizième, seizième et dix-neuvième positions avec 1 383,45 milliards, 809,77 milliards, 776,37 milliards et 630,06 milliards de dollars.Au total, l’encours des gestionnaires nord-américains parmi les 500 premières adresses mondiales a diminué de 24 % à 23,9 billions pendant que celui des européens affichaient une contraction de 25 % à 22,7 billions. Sur les dix dernières années, la part de marché des gestionnaires de pays en développement a doublé à environ 4 %.
06/10/2009

Net subscriptions down in August

While they remain high, at nearly EUR16.13bn, net subscriptions to Luxembourg funds fell in August from their levels of EUR22.45bn in July. In total, in the first eight months of the year, despite net outflows in February (over EUR4.37bn) and in March (EUR226m), net inflows totalled EUR56.79bn, compared with EUR37.39bn in the corresponding period of 2008. In January-August 2009, assets increased by EUR179.76bn, to EUR1.73942trn as of 31 August, compared with EUR1.55965trn as of the end of December, according to statistics from the Financial sector surveillance commission (CSSF).
06/10/2009

Gartmore recruits a team from GAM

Gartmore has announced the appointment of Asim Rahman and Christian Billinger as investment analysts and Eleanor Cameron as manager (dealing & operations) from GAM. They will report to John Bennett, Gartmore’s new senior portfolio manager, European equities, who joins in January 2010. At Gartmore, John Bennett and his team will assume lead management responsibility for the Gartmore European Selected Opportunities and Gartmore SICAV Continental European Funds. The Funds’ current managers, Roger Guy and Guillaume Rambourg, will concentrate on their growing list of alternative and institutional mandates. John Bennett will also develop a range of Pan European products for Gartmore.
06/10/2009

European banks will need USD78bn

In a prediction based on the hypothesis that Basel II will set a “hard” limit on owners’ equity ratios (tier one, excluding hybrid debt and all forms of quasi-capital) at 8%, JPMorgan estimates that European financial sector establishments will need a total of USD78bn (EUR53bn) by 2011, excluding public aid money, Agefi reports. USD38.3bn of this will need to be dedicated to repaying government aid. German banks alone will need USD26.6bn in capital, largely due to the USD16.8bn needed at Commerzbank. HSBC is doing best of the businesses in Great Britain, with a surplus of USD39.7bn. Among French banks, Société Générale has the most severe need for capital, which JPMorgan estimates at USD6.3bn.
06/10/2009

Santander freezes an infrastructure fund

Cotizalia relays reports in Europa Press that Santander has decided to temporarily freeze the Santander Infrastructure Fund II, until the economic situation improves. The Santander Infrastructure Fund I is continuing its normal operations. The bank was planning to raise EUR1.5bn from institutional investors for the Infrastructure II fund, which would have allowed investments of EUR5bn. Santander has already invested about EUR900m in three projects in Chile (two highways and one water company), which it will continue to manage, even though plans to launch the fund are on hold.
06/10/2009

Toxic asset funds kick off

Five investment funds that raised USD1.94 billion in private capital to purchase troubled assets through the Public Private Investment Partnership can start buying next week, says the Wall Street Journal. Many public pension funds have invested in the PPIP funds. Because prices have been rallying for months, investors are unlikely to get the 20% to 30% returns that were expected when the program was first announced. Instead, returns of 15% are more likely.
06/10/2009

Three new asset managers join public-private investment program

Three new asset management firms have opened their doors to US government financing as part of the public-private investment program (PIPP), Agefi reports. The firms are Wellington Capital Management, AllianceBernstein, and BlackRock. Nine institutions in total were selected this summer by the US authorities as eligible to participate in the toxic bank asset repurchasing program. Since the announcement of the public-private partnership in March this year, banks have shown their ability to raise capital without having to clear out their balance sheets, the newspaper reports. Though it had an initial objective of up to USD1trn, the Treasury is now looking at a volume of USD40trn in repurchases through the PIPP program.
06/10/2009

FRR names members of investment strategy committee

In connection with the Fund’s new investment strategy, which was unveiled last June, the FRR’s Supervisory Board has formed a Committee whose role is to assist the Board in the performance of its duties relating to defining, monitoring the implementation of, and adapting the strategic asset allocation. The Committee is composed of the following individuals: representing employee trade unions: Jean-Christophe Le Duigou; representing employer trade unions: Alain Leclair; representing the Ministry of the Economy: Hervé de Villeroché; representing the collège of qualified individuals: Jean-Louis Beffa and Raoul Briet. Raoul Briet, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and Augustin de Romanet, Chairman of the Executive Board, have designated the two individuals chosen to serve as experts, assisting the Committee in its work. They are: Bertrand Jacquillat, university professor at the Institut d’Etudes politiques de Paris, and Marc de Scitivaux, economist.
06/10/2009

EUR4.8bn capital increase at SocGen

Société Générale this morning announced the launch of a capital increase of about EUR4.8bn, maintaining preferential subscription rights. “This transaction will allow Société Générale to pay off preferential shares (B class) and super-subordinated securities of indeterminate duration (TSSDI) subscribed by the French government, and to increase the level and improve the quality of its regulatory ratios. It will also allow Société Générale to seize opportunities for external growth if they should emerge,” says a statement, adding that the increase will be likely to have no impact on net profit per share in 2010. As to external growth opportunities, the firm states that they may involve international retail banking and private banking.
06/10/2009

Credit Suisse goes into alternative management business in Japan

Agefi Switzerland reports that Credit Suisse Securities (Japan) on 2 October received a license from the Japanese market surveillance authorities to operate as an investment firm. This authorization follows the recruitment in August of Shinichiro Sato, from BlackRock, who will lead a team of six people. This represents a “strange strategic reorientation,” the newspaper comments, pointing out that at the end of 2008, Credit Suisse sold its “Global Investors” asset management division to Aberdeen Asset Management in exchange for a 24.5% stake in the enlarged capital of the British wealth management firm. But Credit Suisse is seeking to develop its alternative management activities in order to attract the savings of Japanese pensioners, which total nearly CHF800bn. This represents a considerable challenge, as Japanese pension funds are increasingly inclined to invest in alternative assets, including hedge funds and private equity.
06/10/2009

10 European actors among the world's top 20

According to rankings from Pensions & Investments/Watson Wyatt World 500, total assets at the 500 top asset management firms in the world fell last year by 23% to USD53.4trn as of the end of December. Among the top 20 by asset volumes, there are 10 European and 10 US firms, with the top two firms being Barclays Global Investors (BGI) and Allianz, with USD1.5163trn and USD1.462trn, followed by State Street and Fidelity with USD1.4438trn and USD1.3891trn. Axa, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole and Natixis come in fifth, 13th, 16th and 19th place, with USD1.38345trn, USD809.77bn, USD776.37bn, and USD630.06bn. In total, assets at North American management firms in the top 500 global firms fell 24% to USD23.9trn, while European firms lost 25%, to finish at USD22.7trn. Over the past ten years, the market share belonging to managers in developing countries has doubled, to about 4%.
06/10/2009

The top three managers of the past 12 months, according to Citywire

Citywire reveals the three fund managers out of 3643 managers who have returned the most in the 12 month period up to the end of August. The top performer in absolute terms is Dr Joachim Berlenbach, who runs Earth Gold Fund UI at Earth Resource Investment Group. He has returned 45.21% in euro terms. The second best performer was Thomas Bobek, manager of Erste Sparinvest’s ESPA Alternative Emerging Markets fund, who has returned 41.6%. Making up the trio of managers out in front for their year’s returns is Abhijig Sarkar from Hamon Investment Group, who co-manages the BNY Mellon Vietnam, India & China, with returns of 33.28% in dollar terms.
06/10/2009

Santander negotiating sale of its offshore private bank to Credit Suisse

Its efforts to sell Santander Asset Management having ended in failure, Santander is now negotiating a sale of its offshore private banking affiliate which manages about EUR100bn in Geneva, Miami and the Bahamas, mostly for Latin American clients, Cotizalia reports. Potential buyers are said to include Credit Suisse, represented at the negotiations by Walter Berchtold, the head of wealth management. Negotiations on the Santander side are Rodrigo Echenique, who is director of the bank and who has the confidence of Emilio Botín, and Javier Marín, CEO of the private banking division. Taking the multiple ratios in use before the crisis as a guide, for example, those used at the acquisitions of Urquijo or the Morgan Stanley private bank, the deal could be worth EUR6-8bn.
06/10/2009

Fitch published new ratings criteria for money market funds

The Fitch agency on 5 October published its new ratings criteria for money market funds, particularly for funds which invest in short-term debt instruments issued by financial institutions, non-financial sector businesses, and ABCP programs. The publication of the new criteria coincides with recent proposals by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to strengthen the regulatory framework governing money market funds. A new ratings scale and new definitions have been defined by Fitch, with an “AAAmmf” rating which will replace the “AAA/V1+” rating. This will aim to improve transparency, and to better differentiate ratings applicable to money market funds from those covering other debt instruments. Fitch has also set up a measure of global portfolio risk, which takes into account the quality of credit and its maturity, an analysis of the diversification of the fund, which takes into account direct and indirect exposure to credit risk, a daily and weekly measure of portfolio liquidity, a revision of recommendations which aim to reduce risks related to securities lending, and an evaluation of the role of the sponsor (investment management, risk monitoring, governance, administration, etc).
06/10/2009

HSBC launches an ETF based on the Euro Stoxx 50

Zurich-based Stoxx Ltd on Tuesday announced that it has licensed HSBC to use the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 index as the underlying index for an ETF fund which will be listed from this Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Farley Thomas, global head of wholesale at HSBC Global Asset Management, states that HSBC gives priority to the launch of ETF funds replicating indexes which serve as an underlying for large volumes of assets, of which the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 is by far the largest in Europe.
06/10/2009

Seven new mandates for Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) in 2009

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) announced on Monday that it has won seven mandates in Italy since the beginning of the year 2009, including mandates from several pension funds. With EUR760bn in assets in custody and EUR26bn in assets under administration as of 30 June 2009, SGSS is the second-largest provider of securities services on the Italian market in terms of custodial, fund administration and settlement and clearance. Italian mandates include CAAM SGR Pension, Fund FON.TE Pension Fund, Priamo Pension, Fund Previmoda, Pension Fund Byblos Raetia and RE Sator SGR.
06/10/2009

SEB AM releases a defensive version of Asset Selection

Frankfurt-based SEB Asset Management (SEB AM) on Monday announced that it has obtained a license to sell its new Luxembourg fund SEB Asset Selection Defensive, which is the defensive version of its SEB Asset Allocation fund, in Germany. The product is characterized by a volatility objective of only 5%, rather than 10% for the original fund launched in 2006. The manager of the total return fund, which complies with UCITS III, is Hans-Olov Bornemann, head of the quantitative management team, based in Stockholm. His base portfolio is invested in money market assets, with an overlay portfolio which uses futures and other derivatives. The manager invests in equities, bonds, currencies and commodities, with both long and short positions. Characteristics Name: SEB Asset Selection Defensive ISIN: LU0425992988 Minimal subscription: EUR50 per month Front-end fee: 5% Management commission: 1.1%
06/10/2009

Direxion moves leveraged ETF funds to monthly performance calculations

Direxion Funds (Rafferty Asset Management) announced on Friday that, in response to market demand, it has changed the investment objectives for all of its leveraged index-based mutual funds, from 30 September. Concretely, the basis of the calculations for these ETF funds will become monthly rather than daily. Meanwhile, Direxion also states that funds which aim for performance of 250% on the basis of daily calculations, of both “long” and “short” types, will now aim for returns of 200% on a monthly basis.
06/10/2009

CASAM launches 10 new equities ETFs

The ETF product range from Crédit Agricole Structured Asset management (CASAM) now includes 65 funds, as the manager on Monday announced the launch of 10 new products, with management commissions varying form 0.15% to 0.35%. The new additions to the product range include three funds based on popular European indices, the FTSE 100 (0.25% commission) and the Dow Jones Stoxx 50 and 600, with fees of 0.15% and 0.18%, respectively. CASAM, in keeping with its demonstrated penchant for MSCI, is also launching sectoral products basedon the MSCI World Energy and MSCI World Financials indexes (0.35%), while an ETF replicating the MSCI Europe Materials carries fees of 0.25%. The Real Estate REIT IEIF fund carries a management commission of 0.35%. The three new European short products also carry fees of 0.35%. They are the Short Dax 30, Short MSCI Europe Daily, and Short MSCI USA Daily. Like other ETF products from CASAM, these new funds will be distributed by a dedicated team at CA Chevreux and by sales teams from Crédit Agricole Asset Management (CAAM).
06/10/2009

Changes on the way in banking surveillance

The directors of the Bundesbank this weekend voted to set up an integrated structure to which all banking supervisory functions which it currently shares with BaFin, the German market regulator, will be transferred. The head of the Bundesbank, Axel Weber, says that a complete absorption of BaFin could put an end to the two-headed structure created a decade ago, which is currently viewed as ineffective.
06/10/2009

Aberdeen brings together securities and real estate activities

Aberdeen Asset Management has announced the creation of Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland AG, which will be headquartered in Frankfurt, and will serve as the holding company for securities and real estate activities in Germany and Austria. These activities represent about 120 employees and more than EUR8bn in assets. The managing board includes Patrick Walker (chairman), who is also head of European business development at Aberdeen, Michael Determann, Hetmut Leser (client management & business development), and Bärbel Schomberg, head of real estate.
06/10/2009

AUM at the largest asset managers fell by USD16trn in 2008

Last year, the 500 largest asset management firms in the world saw a contraction of more than 23% in their assets, which represents the first decline since 2002, and the largest contraction since statistics began in 1996. These are the findings of the Pensions & Investments/Watson Wyatt World 500 ranking, which put total assets as of the end of December at USD53.4trn, compared with USD69.4trn twelve months previously. The study finds that the 20 largest global actors alone accounted for one third of declines in assets under management, at USD5.6trn, but that the share of total assets at these firms remains high, at 38%. This has had a negative impact on their profitability, as performance commissions have suffered, and there is no room to raise fees. However, overheads have fallen, as many asset management firms have made cuts in their headcount. Carl Hess, global head of investment consulting at Watson Wyatt, notes that the asset management industry is facing three problems: a wave of consolidation, toughening regulations, and the loss of client confidence.
06/10/2009

Private bankers on the defensive

Major actors in wealth management are meeting in Singapore to consider the future of their industry, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Chris Meares, CEO of HSBC Private Banking, says 60% of client assets are in cash or in liquid accounts, compared with 35% in 2006; clients are gradually beginning to become interested in assets other than bonds, such as equities and simple structured products. The sector is also expecting strong growth in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore, where the number of high net worth clients (more than USD5m in assets) and ultra high net worth clients (over USD100m) are rising at 13% per year, compared with 8% in the rest of the world. However, Daniel Truchi, head of SG Private Banking, notes that clients are increasingly inclined to sue their banks, which necessitates reserves to be set aside and cuts into margins. Meanwhile, some clients in Hong Kong, for instance, are willing to take enormous risks, and banks sometimes need to reason with them, in order to avoid having trouble later.
05/10/2009

Le Santander développe sa distribution de fonds dans le Grand-Duché

Dolores Ybarra, administrateur délégué de Santander Asset Management, a indiqué à Expansión que son objectif est de commercialiser des fonds d’actions et d’obligations latino américaine au Luxembourg, ce qui est compliqué parce que les investisseurs institutionnels exigent que ces produits aient des encours importants avant d’y investir.La filiale de la banque espagnole dispose depuis 1993 d’une Sicav luxembourgeoise qui compte à présent 23 compartiments et affiche un encours de seulement 750 millions d’euros. Dès lors, le Santander a décidé de doper les ventes de parts au travers du réseau en Espagne afin que les fonds atteignent un volume suffisant pour les investisseurs institutionnels s’y intéressent. Les souscriptions nettes depuis le début de l’année ont porté sur 180 millions d’euros.Parallèlement, Santander Asset Management a fait enregistrer ses fonds au Royaume-Uni et a entamé la procédure pour faire de même dans deux pays asiaitques.
05/10/2009

BNY Mellon boucle l'absorption de sa filiale néerlandaise par sa banque belge

Ayant désormais obtenu toutes les autorisations des régulateurs, BNY Mellon a procédé à l’absorption au 1er octobre de sa filiale néerlandaise BNY Mellon Asset Servicing BV par la banque belge qu’il a créée en mai. Cette dernière reprend toutes les activités de la filiale néerlandaise à Londres, Amsterdam, Breda, Luxembourg et Francfort. L’effectif est d’environ 1.400 personnes, dont 500 provenant de la filiale néerlandaise.La banque belge a été créée pour devenir la plate-forme leader du groupe en Europe pour l’asset servicing. Elle affiche environ 36 milliards d’euros d’actifs.
05/10/2009

La Banque Postale et Tocqueville Finance devraient conclure très prochainement

Selon nos informations, les négociations exclusives engagées entre la Banque Postale et la société de gestion Tocqueville Finance en vue d’une cession de la majorité du capital de Tocqueville Finance à la Banque Postale seraient sur le point d’être bouclées. Sauf imprévu, elles pourraient même s’achever dès la fin de la semaine. Les discussions semblent en tout cas ses dérouler sous les meilleurs auspices et la conclusion d’un accord dans les prochains jours serait conforme à la volonté des deux partenaires. Lors de la présentation de ses résultats intérimaires, début septembre, la Banque Postale avait ainsi indiqué que les deux partenaires avaient pour objectif «de conclure les accords définitifs dans les meilleurs délais».
05/10/2009

Des anciens d'UBS lancent une société de gestion originale

Réconcilier banque privée et transparence. Telle est l’ambition de deux anciens conseillers à la clientèle d’UBS, Olivier Forgues et Thomas Le Forestier, qui viennent de créer une société de gestion «responsable». Appelée La Nouvelle Finance, la structure indépendante, qui a obtenu son agrément de l’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) en juillet dernier, n’est pas une énième société d’investissement socialement responsable. L’idée des deux fondateurs est de proposer en architecture ouverte des produits de divers prestataires à une clientèle privée fortunée ou d’entrepreneurs dans un cadre qui se veut éthique et transparent. Et cela se traduit notamment dans le mode de rémunération. «Nous voulons offrir ce qui va dans l’intérêt de nos clients, et donc nous rétrocédons l’intégralité des rétrocessions sur produits structurés ou OPCVM à nos clients», explique à Newsmanagers Olivier Forgues, président de La Nouvelle Finance. Les frais de transaction et de droits de garde sont refacturés sans marges. Et les banquiers se payent par le biais d’une rémunération unique d’honoraire de conseil fixe calculée sur les avoirs sous gestion. «Plutôt que d’avoir un semblant de gratuité, nous préférons être transparents», insiste Olivier Forgues. L’autre credo de La Nouvelle Finance est d’offrir des produits simples. Le tout, dans l’intérêt du client. La société propose les produits d’autres entités. Mais ayant un agrément, elle n’exclut pas de lancer ses propres fonds toujours avec un souci d'éthique. D’ailleurs, elle s’apprête à lancer un fonds d’investissement de proximité qui sera investi dans des entreprises créant de l’emploi en région.Aujourd’hui, les deux fondateurs ont été rejoints par un associé et deux gérants privés, et la société gère un encours de 5 millions d’euros.
05/10/2009

Modification du bureau de la SFAF

Le Conseil d’administration de la SFAF, réuni le 29 septembre 2009, a procédé à la constitution d’un nouveau Bureau, désormais composé de Geoffroy de Coatparquet, en qualité de Président, d’Antoine de Montille, en qualité de Trésorier, et de Gaël Faijean en tant qu’Administrateur.Après avoir exprimé ses remerciements au Conseil pour la confiance qui lui est ainsi manifestée, Geoffroy de Coatparquet a déclaré qu’il assumera cette présidence jusqu’à la fin de son mandat d’Administrateur arrivant à échéance le jour de l’Assemblée Générale du 23 novembre 2009. Le Conseil a remercié Patrick Leguil pour la mission qu’il a menée jusqu’à ce jour, en conformité avec la profession de foi qu’il avait exprimée au moment de sa campagne il y a trois ans: «rendre la SFAF à ses membres». «Avec le concours actif des membres du Conseil d’administration, de nombreux chantiers ont ainsi été lancés au cours de son mandat de Président. Ils attestent l’aura de la SFAF au sein de la Place Financière de Paris et son implication aux cotés des Instances de Place qui régissent nos professions d’analystes et de gérants», souligne la SFAF dans un communiqué.

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