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24/03/2014

Standard Life in takeover talks with Ignis Asset Management

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Consolidation in the asset management sector is gathering pace. The British life insurance group Standard Life has announced that it is in “advanced and exclusive” talks with the insurer Phoenix Group to acquire its asset management affiliate Ignis Asset Management, the Financial Times reports. Analysts estimate the value of Ignis at about GBP400m, the British newspaper says.
24/03/2014

Newton IM reshuffles its management teams

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Newton Investment Management (Newton IM), an asset management based in London affiliated to BNY Mellon, on 20 March announced a reshuffle of its asset management teams for two funds, the Newton Higher Income Fund and Newton Oriental Fund. After a strategic review, the asset management firm has decided that the roles of the lead managers for its active equity and equity income vehicles would be more effective if they were separated. As a result, for the management of the Global Equity and Emerging Equity funds, Newton IM has decided to have separate lead managers, as it has for the Newton Higher Income Fund and Newton UK Equity Fund. Consequently, Christopher Metcalfe is appointed to the position of lead manager for the Newton Higher Income fund. Metcalfe had previously served as manager of the Global Growth & Income fund and the Newton Managed Fund. Metcalfe replaced Richard Wilmot, who will continue to manage the Newton UK Equity Fund while serving alongside Paul Stephany, who remains the lead manager for the vehicle, as manager of the Newton UK Opportunities Fund. Meanwhile, Caroline Keen has been promoted to the position of lead manager of the Newton Oriental Fund. Since 2013, she had served in a role supporting Jason Pidcock as co-manager of the vechile, and since 2009 she had also been “an important member” of the team dedicated to Asian equities.
24/03/2014

Compensation for sales varies worldwide

Compensation based on sales varies significantly from one region to the next, according to new research from Cerulli. On average, a US salesperson in charge of wholesaling relationships will derive 40% of their pay from gross sales commission and 17% from net sales. In contrast, European managers place equal importance on tracking net and gross sales for compensation, whereas in Asia, 60% of the managers track net sales for compensation, writes the consultant. Meetings with specific firms and key influencers may not rank highly for compensation purposes, but they are monitored to determine the quality of a relationship. Managers in the United States use CRM systems to determine the number of touch points before a sale is made. In Europe, however, these measures are used selectively."Measuring success is a nebulous and imprecise task because of the number of factors involved in clinching a sale. However, managers are becoming more inventive and resourceful in nailing down each department’s contribution,» said Yoon Ng, director of Asia research at Cerulli.
24/03/2014

Swedish hedge fund closed after poor results

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swedish asset management firm CB Fonder, managed and owned by Carl Bernadotte, is closing its hedge fund CB Hedge, Privata Affärer reports. The fund, launched in 2007, had aimed to earn returns of 10-15% per year. Last year, the fund lost 9.5%, while its benchmark index was gaining 21.2%. The liquidation of the fund will take place on 31 March, and investors will be redeemed on 9 April, pending the permission of the Luxembourg authorities.
24/03/2014

“Since January, we have posted net inflows of EUR2bn”

In 2013, French boutique DNCA Finance recorded net inflows of EUR3bn and doubled its assets under management, which have topped EUR11bn. Joseph Châtel, chairman of the asset management firm, discusses the reasons for his success and lays out his plans for 2014. On the agenda: opening offices in Geneva and Madrid.
24/03/2014

French regulator cracks down on references to ratings in asset management prospectuses

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to Agefi, for several weeks, the prospectuses for new products have been frozen by the French regulator AMF, a manager warns. “We have asked for some further information but this is certainly not happening in the majority of cases,” says Xavier Parain, deputy secretary general in charge of the asset management directorate at the French financial market authority Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), who says that this occurs in only a few cases per week. The point at issue is new rules concerning reference to ratings in documentation from asset management firms. This concerns OPCVM Funds, alternative investment funds (FIA) and management mandates. The European text has been transposed into French law, and was then transposed into AMF regulations on 25 July last year. It has now been in practical application by the AMF since the beginning of the year. The regulation aims to prevent managers from referring only to ratings in their management decisions.
24/03/2014

Changes to come in Asset Management at UBS

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } UBS may be making changes in its Asset Management activities. Ahead of the publication of its first quarter results and its investors’ day on 6 May, the newspaper SonntagsZeitung has reported that speculation is surrounding the subject. Several investors are expecting strategic measures on the part of the bank, for example, withdrawing from unprofitable products and markets where profits are too low and volumes too small. Analysts, for their part, are predicting information about cost reduction programmes in progress and about a reorientation in Asset Management. UBS is declining to comment.
24/03/2014

Pay scales up at asset management firms

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Double-digit growth in profits at several major asset management firms have led to major pay raises for employees at all levels, Financial Times fund management reports. A study by FTfm covering the 10 largest publicly-traded asset management firms reveals that Allianz Asset Management, the parent company of Pimco and Allianz Global Investors, was the most generous group last year, paying its employees an average of GBP436,000. Man Group takes second place, with GBP232,000, and Henderson third, with GBP215,000. These figures top the average salaries in the banking sector, which were GBP212,000 last year, according to PwC. BlackRock, Schroders and Aberdeen fall just below this level.
24/03/2014

Former head of equities at UBS launches a firm dedicated to Africa

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Yassine Bouhara, a former head at UBS, where he had been co-head of the equity team, is preparing to launch a consulting and brokerage firm dedicated to Africa, Financial News reports. Bouhara, who resigned from UBS in October 2011 during the scandal surrounding trader Kweku Adoboli, without facing any charges, would like to recruit 30 people for his new activity, and open offices in Paris, Dubai and Algiers, He is also considering opening a London office. His company is expected to offer consulting and brokerage services in French-speaking African countries, while also planning to launch an asset management and private equity activity. Although the name of the business has yet to be finalised, Bouhara is aiming for a launch in early June, and is expecting to gain a few consulting contracts, the English language website adds. The firm is also planning to launch a brokerage activity in Algiers dedicated to domestic equities. Bouhara is following in the footsteps of Bob Diamond, former CEO of Barclays, who recently created the firm Atlas Merchant Capital, and who recently brought in GBP200m with an IPO on the London Stock Exchange in December for his vehicle Atlas Mara, dedicated to Africa.
24/03/2014

HSBC Private Bank appoints a head for Asia

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } HSBC Private Bank has promoted Bernard Rennell to the position of head of private banking for Asia-Pacific as part of a reshuffle of its management, Asian Investor reports. Rennell, who is currently serving as CEO of private banking for Northern Asia, will now serve as head for the entire region, as the bank has decided to merge its two Northern and Southern Asian centres. The appointment comes at a time when Amit Gupta, currently CEO of private banking for Southern Asia, has decided to take a leave of absence for personal reasons. Rob Ioannou and Sandeep Sharma have been promoted to co-heads for South-East Asia. Ioannou had previously been head of private banking activities in Singapore, while Sharma had serevd as head for India.
24/03/2014

Community Capital Mangement launches a multi-strategy mutual fund

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US asset management firm Community Capital Management is launching an open-ended multi-strategy mutual fund, the CCM Alternative Income Fund (CCMNX), which combines absolute return and return strategies. The strategy seeks a high level of returns, compatible with preservation of capital, while also reducing correlation to equity and bond markets.
24/03/2014

Legg Mason is considering soft closing subscriptions to US small cap fund

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Legg Mason has fallen victim to its own success. The US-based asset management firm is considering soft closing its Legg Mason Royce US Small Cap Opportunity fund, a vehicle with USD1.3bn dedicated to US small caps, to all new subscriptions, Fundweb reports. The fund has reached 90% of its capacity, and the firm is therefore seeking to stop subscriptions to protect existing investors, even if no decision has been made yet. The vehicle, managed by William Hench, had over 300 positions on small and micro caps as of the end of January 2014.
24/03/2014

ESMA holds consultation on shareholding disclosure

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on March 21 launched a consultation on draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) under the revised Transparency Directive relating to the notification of major shareholdings and the indicative list of financial instruments subject to notification requirements. The revised Directive harmonises transparency requirements relating to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on an EU regulated market.The consultation runs until 30 May 2014.
24/03/2014

Heavy outflows from emerging market equity funds

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Tensions between Russia and Western countries over Ukraine moved into the background in mid-March, as investors were much more concerned by the condition of the Chinese economy and efforts by Beijing to rebalance its growth model without triggering a hard landing. Over USD1.5 billion flowed out of China equity funds during the week ending March 18, while European equity funds were continuing to post inflows, according to the most recent statistics from EPFR Global. Overall, a net USD9.1 billion flowed into equity funds despite redemptions in excess of USD4 billion from emerging markets equity funds. Bond funds absorbed USD3.46 billion during the week while outflows from money market funds totaled USD31.8 billion.
24/03/2014

L'AMF filtre les prospectus des gérants

Les gérants ne peuvent plus utiliser les ratings des agences de notation de façon unique et systématique dans leurs processus. L’Autorité des marchés financiers veille depuis le début de l’année à ce que cela apparaisse bien dans leurs nouveaux prospectus et dans leurs programmes d’activité.
24/03/2014

La Place planche sur le «corporate access»

Alors que le débat faire rage outre-Manche sur la facturation de l’accès aux émetteurs qu’offrent les courtiers aux gérants, la Place de Paris cherche à établir une position consensuelle à travers un guide de bonnes pratiques, avant que le régulateur français ou européen ne s’empare du sujet.
24/03/2014

Les retraites menacent le budget allemand

Selon la publication, le gouvernement allemand doit réduire les dépenses liées aux retraites à un niveau compris entre 3 milliards et 15 milliards d’euros par an jusqu’en 2020 afin de pouvoir assumer les engagements sur le long terme. Der Spiegel cite un rapport prospectif qui doit être publié par le ministère des Finances dans le courant de la semaine.

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