Cinco Días rapporte que, deux semaines après avoir annoncé le gel des remboursements sous l’avalanche des demandes de rachat, les gérants du fonds immobilier Santander Banif Inmobiliario ont annoncé la mise en vente du centre commercial Plenilunio, l’actif le plus cher de son portefeuille. Cet ensemble était en effet évalué fin décembre à 319 millions d’euros.

Avec une louable transparence, Franklin Templeton a publié mardi un communiqué précisant que son encours en Allemagne a chuté de presque moitié à 8 milliards d’euros fin 2008 contre 15,6 milliards douze mois plus tôt. Néanmoins, précise Reinhard Berben, directeur général de Franklin Templeton Investment Services GmbH, cette contraction est imputable pour plus des quatre cinquièmes à l’effet de marché, puisque les remboursements nets se sont chiffrés à 1,3 milliard d’euros ou 17 % de la baisse des actifs sous gestion. Les plus fortes sorties nettes ont affecté le segment actions monde (1,1 milliard d’euros) dont 700 millions pour le fonds vedette de la gamme, le Templeton Growth Fund, qui a manifestement souffert du fait que les investisseurs ont été incités par le changement de réglementation fiscale à opter pour des Sicav actions de capitalisation.Le gestionnaire précise qu’en revanche, dans le segment actions Europe, il a enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 500 millions d’euros, grâce aux 540 millions collectés par le Franklin Mutual European Fund. Reinhard Berben a indiqué que pour 2009, qui a commencé avec la commercialisation en Allemagne de cinq fonds supplémentaires (lire notre article du 30 janvier), l’axe de développement sera de poursuivre les efforts commerciaux sur les stratégies Marathon I (Franklin Templeton Fundamental Strategies Fund) et Marathon II (Franklin Templeton Equity Strategies Fund). D’autre part, l’objectif de long terme consiste à faire accepter la marque Franklin Templeton Investments par les institutionnels en tant qu’experts tant pour les fonds offerts au public que pour les «Spezialfonds». Il faudra dans ce cadre améliorer la notoriété par-delà les actions, et mettre en exergue les compétences dans les domaines obligataire, du private equity et de l’immobilier.

Dans une lettre aux investisseurs, le patron de Fidelity Investments Edward C. Johnson III estime que le climat économique actuel est dû aux «politiques bien intentionnées... qui ont rendu l’argent ridiculeusement facile à obtenir», rapporte le Wall Street Journal. Il a qualifié 2008 d’année de gâchis en termes d’investissement. L’an passé, les encours de Fidelity ont chuté de 25 % à 1.200 milliards de dollars.

Selon Le Figaro, l"assureur AIG, est contraint renégocier les termes de son deuxième plan de sauvetage car le remboursement des intérêts qu’elle doit au Trésor US rend l’assureur exsangue. " AIG proposerait de s"acquitter d"une partie de ses dettes sous la forme de transferts à l"État d"actifs, de nouvelles obligations et de liquidités provenant de la vente de certaines activités», ajoute le quotidien pour qui une faillite de la compagnie américaine est toutefois inenvisageable.

Eiger Asset Management, une société de gestion basée aux îles Caïman, projette de lancer quatre fonds liés au café, dont deux produits indiciels, l’un «long», l’autre «court», investissant en synthétique et répliquant l’indice composite de l’organisation internationale du café (ICO), indique Hedge Week. La nouvelle gamme, qui est «conseillée» par Eiger Trading Advisors secondé par le consultant londonien en gestion alternative Laven Partners, comporte aussi un hedge fund long/short de performance absolue (Alpha fund) qui vise une performance de 15 % par an. Enfin, Eiger prévoit de lancer le Eiger Green Coffee Fund investi en café physique qui sera destiné à une clientèle désireuse d’investir de manière conforme à la charia.

En 2008, F&C a exercé ses droits de vote en assemblées générales sur 29.165 propositions de 2.553 sociétés dans 59 pays, annonce la société de gestion dans son dernier rapport «Responsible Investment Report». Le gestionnaire s"est opposé aux recommandations du management ou abstenu dans 14 % des cas, contre 17 % en 2007.Ses votes contre le management ont souvent reflété ses préoccupations vis-à-vis des faibles contrôles de risque et de la surveillance inadéquate des comités d"audit ou de rémunération. Sur le point plus particulier des rémunérations, aujourd’hui sur le devant de la scène, on constate une amélioration, avec des votes en faveur du management de 79 % en 2008, contre 76 % en 2007 et seulement 66 % en 2006. Cela s’explique par de nouveaux progrès sur le marché britannique, «où six ans de dialogue concernant le vote sur la rémunération entre actionnaires et entreprises ont conduit à des votes négatifs de seulement 10 %». F&C a aussi constaté une embellie sur d’autres marchés comme l’Allemagne et la France. Mais la société de gestion souligne que les votes 2008 ont été concentrés sur le début de l’année, et elle redoute que les entreprises qui n’atteignent pas leurs objectifs de performances essaient d’adapter les règles afin de garder un niveau élevé de rémunération. La vigilance s’imposera donc dans ce domaine.

Le gestionnaire indépendant Lupus alpha (4,8 milliards d’euros d’encours fin décembre contre 5,8 milliards un an plus tôt) annonce mardi la nomination d’Egbert Sauer comme associé. Il est gérant de portefeuille senior depuis mars, avec la responsabilité des stratégies obligataires quantitatives ; il gère également depuis avril le fonds de performance absolue (de droit allemand) Lupus alpha LS Duration Invest.La nomination de l’impétrant porte à six le nombre de collaborateurs de Lupus alpha qui sont devenus associés aux côtés des quatre fondateurs restants (tous transfuges d’Invesco). Ralf Lochmüller, le directeur général, a précisé que les dirigeants de la société de gestion ont l’intention de continuer à élargir le cercle des associés, parce que l’on ne peut pas retenir les talents uniquement par des primes.

Selon La Tribune, L’agence S&P a annoncé qu’elle jugeait désormais négative et non plus stable la perspective qui était attachée à la dette à long terme indienne, ce qui signifie que cette dernière risque de se voir reléguer dans la catégorie «spéculative». De son côté, Fitch a laissé entendre qu’elle pourrait abaisser la note (pour l’instant un cran au-dessus de #spéculatif#) de la Lettonie si elle ne se conforme pas aux préconisations du FMI.

L'AMF propose une classification plus stricte des OPCVM de trésorerie dans un texte de compromis

Les maisons ont vu leur valeur tomber de 18,5% en décembre d’après l’indice Case-Shiller. Seul signe positif, les saisies ont ralenti en janvier

Depuis fin janvier, le dollar s’est apprécié de 7% par rapport à la monnaie japonaise pour laquelle la demande ralentit

Selon le président de S&P, les investisseurs souhaitent, entre autres, une échelle de notation séparée entre titres classiques et complexes

L'AMF propose une classification plus stricte des OPCVM de trésorerie dans un texte de compromis

The Wall Street Journal reports that a fund of hedge funds owned by the brother and the son of US vice-president Joe Biden was sold exclusively by companies controlled by R. Allen Stanford, the financier accused of a USD8bn fraud. The USD50bn fund, entitled Paradigm Stanford Capital Management Core Alternative Fund, was the fruit of a collaboration with Paradigm Global Advisors, the company owned by the Biden family, and Stanford Financial Group. The fund has offered to refund the USD2.7bn it received from the Stanford company, the WSJ reports.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Alternative Management Association (AIMA) will Tuesday propose measures to require hedge fund firms to increase their levels of openness. The measures will include a requirement that funds register with regulators and maintain regular contact with the authorities. The move comes at a time when there is a trend towards increased regulation of hedge funds.

According to a report by bfinance UK, the 133 defined-contribution pension funds in Britain suffered average losses of 16.5% in 2008, going by the State Street WM All Fund Universe index, while their Canadian counterparts lost 15.9%, according to the RBC Dexia Universe. The approximately 1,200 United States pension funds covered by the Trust Universe Comparison Service from Wilshire Analytics showed average losses of 22.1%, while according to Rubicon, their Irish counterparts fell by 34.8%. Japanese pension funds, for their part, lost 20.1%.

Investment Week reports that M&G Investments has posted net subscriptions of GBP3.4bn, which represents a contraction of 31% from their levels in 2007, although they doubled in fourth quarter to GBP0.7bn. Gross subscriptions come in at a record GBP16.2bn (+10%). Total assets, including GBP94bn managed on behalf of Prudential, were down at the end of December by 15% compared with their levels at the end of 2007, to GBP141bn. Net subscriptions to retail funds rose 62% last year, to GBP1.9bn.

The ?large buyout? group within the BVK association of private equity investors on Monday unveiled a private equity database for use by researchers. The data, available free of charge and presented in anonymous form, covers 35 acquisitions followed by resales in the period 1997-2007. The data were provided by Advent International, Allianz Capital Partners, Apax Partners, Bain Capital, BC Partners, The Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, Cinven, CVC Capital Partners, KKR, Permira and TPG Capital.Average revenues for companies at the time of sale measured EUR1.05bn, which represented a 16% increase over their levels at the time of acquisition by the private equity firms. The number of employees increased by an average of 4%, to 4,424, and the average duration of private equity ownership was 4.8 years.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has announced that it has lowered its long-term credit rating for the private equity investor 3i Group PLC from ?A-? to ?BBB+?. The downgrade is explained as a result of uncertain profit outlooks and a financial profile which is ?not solid enough for a company rated in the A category,? the ratings agency says.

According to Hedge Fund Research (HFR), hedge funds investing in emerging markets last year saw their worst results since the beginning of the statistical series, with losses of nearly 37%, Hedgeweek reports. Assets fell by 43% from their levels at the end of 2007, to finish 2008 at USD67bn, largely due to net redemptions of USD6.7bn in fourth quarter. However, HFR states that in the twelve-year period from 1990-2008, hedge funds specialised in emerging markets posted annual performance of 13%, with volatility similar to that of the S&P 500 index, which, for its part, gained only 7.3% per year in the same period.

The venture capital branch of Lehman Brothers Holdings will become an independent company, the Wall Street Journal reports. The entity will drop the name Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, and will become known as Tenaya Capital. The firm will have USD750m in assets under management.

The Financial Times reports that Lord Skidelsky, a historian an biographer of John Maynard Keynes, is planning to leave the board of directors of Greater Europe, a hedge fund managed by the German firm Wermuth Asset Management, which lost more than 90% last year on investments in Russian assets. Another high-profile board member is also planning to leave the fund: Garret Fitzgerald.

Apax Partners has sold 7.7% of its management firm to GIC Special Investments, an affiliate of the Singapore sovereign fund, and Future Fund, the Australian sovereign fund, the Financial Times reports. Negotiations are underway over a sale of a further 2.3% stake in the capital of the firm. The proceeds of the sale will be placed in a fixed-capital vehicle which will participate in future rounds of fundraising at Apax.

While BGI recently estimated that assets in European ETF funds had increased 11.2% in US dollars in 2008 to a total of USD142.82bn (see Newsmanagers of 16 January), db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) reports that the European market has grown in Euros by 24.3%, or EUR22.1bn, to EUR112.9bn as of the end of December. Three issuers account for more than three quarters of the market: 38% for Barclays Global Investors (with its iShares range), Lyxor (Société Générale), with 22% of the market, and db x-trackers (with 16%). In total, ETFs in Europe registered net subscriptions of EUR52.4bn, while all other categories of funds saw net outflows of EUR357.4bn. db x-trackers emphasizes that net inflows compensated for negative market effects in an environment in which the MSCI Europe index lost 48.2% last year.db x-trackers estimates that the European ETF market will continue to expand, to measure as much as EUR150bn by the end of next year. This will be driven by innovations in ETFs based on swaps in the area of bonds, and importantly, by subscriptions from pension funds.

Thorsten Michalik, head of ETF activities at Deutsche Bank, has not ruled out the possibility that these funds will have assets of over EUR150bn as soon as this year (rather than the end of 2010, as officially predicted by his company), and as much as EUR180bn by the end of next year, Handelsblatt reports. The ETF boom is attracting providers. Credit Suisse, whose assets under management in ETFs total EUR4bn, is planning to launch several products in Europe, in Germany and other countries, in the middle of this year. Crédit Agricole Asset Management is planning to extend its range to 70 products by the end of the year, from 24 currently.There are also a lot of rumours about US management firms (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, State Street, and Vanguard) seeking to enter the European market, but nothing concrete has been announced so far.

According to a Lipper study, revenues from commissions and other fees at European management firms tripled between 2001 and 2007, to EUR18bn, but they fell back to EUR15bn in 2008, and are in danger of falling further to EUR11bn this year, Expansion reports. The study also reveals that management commissions charged to retail investors for a European equities fund have increased from 1.3% in 1994 to 1.6% in 2008, while fees charged to institutional investors have fallen from 1.5% in 1995 to slightly less than 1% at the end of last year. Lipper also predicts that mergers of funds provoked by the crisis will lead to a fall in overall commissions of 5 to 15 basis points.

The Herald reports that the hedge fund which was the catalyst for the sale of ABN Amro earned profits of GBP158m (on revenues of GBP181m) in 2007, the year in which the Dutch bank was acquired for GBP49bn by a consortium including the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Fortis, and Santander. Toscafund is an affiliate of Old Oak Holdings, whose chairman is Sir George Mathewson, who was also CEO and chairman of RBS until April 2006. Toscafund had declared a stake of 1% in RBS. If the fund sold its shares to the victorious consortium, it could have earned gains of as much as GBP200m in only six months.

The Spanish hedge fund management firm Valorica (Valorica Global, Valorica Macro and Valorica Alfa) is preparing to make its debut in the world of traditional management, and will be registering its products in Ireland, Funds People reports. The firm has also recruited Carlos Oses, who left BNY Mellon Asset Management a few months ago, as its new head of client relations. In this position he will apparently replace Andrés Lantero Moreno.

The government of Singapore has passed legislation to create a special reduced tax status, with effect from 1 April 2009 until 31 March 2014, which will apply to wealth managers, hedge funds, and private equity funds which manage more than SGD50m (EUR25m), Wealth Bulletin reports. In addition, subscription limits for Singapore citizens investing in funds managed in the city-state will be raised. In addition to tax exemptions for investment funds, Singapore is offering a preferential 10% tax rate for managers of registered funds; this rate is reduced further to 5% for managers of Sharia-compliant products.

The major hedge fund management firms are aggressively developing their UCITS-compliant product ranges, to operate within a structure that provides increased protection to investors, Financial Times Fund Management reports on 23 February. Brevan Howard, which manages Usd25bn in assets, will launch its first UCITS III fund on Monday. GLG Partners and Ocey Asset Management, for their part, attracted subscriptions to their UCITS ranges in fourth quarter of last year.