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07/02/2013

SEB may part with fund managers

At SEB, other departures may follow that of Peter Norhammar, manager of the SEB Sverigefond and the SEB Swedish Focus Fund, following a decision to transition the funds to quantitative management, Affärsvärlden reports. Other funds may be affected by the changes, including the Global chans/risk and Stiffelsefond Utland funds. Thor Udenaes, Henrietta Theorell, Hans Johnsson and Magnus Högström are cited by the newspaper as having worked on the latter funds. Their future at the firm is thus in question.
07/02/2013

Good quarterly results for asset management at Credit Suisse

The private banking and wealth management division at Credit Suisse between October and Deceber 2012 has posted pre-tax profits of CHF911m, compared with profits of CHF467m in fourth quarter 2011, as net inflows totalled CHF6.8bn. The Wealth Management Clients unit posted net inflows of CHF2.9bn, as pre-tax profits totalled CHF238m, up 11% compared with third quarter 2011. The Asset Management unit, for its part, earned pre-tax profits of CHF183m, and net inflows totalled CHF2.5bn. For last year as a whole, the private banking and wealth management division earned pre-tax profits of CHF3.7bn, compared with CHF2.9bn last year. For 2012 as a whole, the group has reported net profits of CHF1.48bn, compared with CHF1.95bn in 2011.
07/02/2013

Cramer bank sells 52% of its stake in Cramer AM

The Cramer & Cie Bank, an affiliate of the Geneva-based Norinvest Holding (NIH), will eventually sell 52% of its stake in Cramer Asset Management SA (CAM) to current minority shareholders, NIH announced on 6 February. CAM, based in Lugano, is a collective capital investment manager licensed by Finma. It curreently manages the funds of the Pegaso Capital SICAV, based in Luxembourg. Alongside partly divesting from CAM, Cramer bank is planning to create its own SICAV infrastructure in Luxembourg. “The intention of the partis is to continue their current collaboration to develop Asset Management services for Banque Cramer & Cie SA,” a statement says.
07/02/2013

CHF8.6bn net inflows in 2012 for Vontobel

Net inflows at Vontobel totalled CHF8.6bn in the fiscal year 2012, compared with CHF8.2bn the previous year, according to a statement released on 6 February. Assets under management at Vontobel as of the end of December totalled CHF150bn, compared with CHF139.4bn at the end of first half 2012, an increase of 14%. Wealth management contributed 67% of the group’s pre-tax net profits, Vontobel states. Consolidated net profits for Vontobel were up 15% to CHF150.6m, of which CHF75.5bn were from wealth management activities. Vontobel also states that at its next general shareholders’ meeting, shareholders will vote on a proposed election to the board of directors of Dominic Brenninkeyer and Nicolas Oltramare. The two men will replace the outgoing Ann-Kristin Achleitner and Philippe Cottier, who have declined to seek new terms for personal reasons, after many years of activity on the board.
07/02/2013

Good quarterly results for asset management at Credit Suisse

The private banking and wealth management division at Credit Suisse between October and December 2012 has posted pre-tax profits of CHF911m, compared with profits of CHF467m in fourth quarter 2011, as net inflows totalled CHF6.8bn.The Wealth Management Clients unit posted net inflows of CHF2.9bn, as pre-tax profits totalled CHF238m, up 11% compared with third quarter 2011. The Asset Management unit, for its part, earned pre-tax profits of CHF183m, and net inflows totalled CHF2.5bn.For last year as a whole, the private banking and wealth management division earned pre-tax profits of CHF3.7bn, compared with CHF2.9bn last year. For 2012 as a whole, the group has reported net profits of CHF1.48bn, compared with CHF1.95bn in 2011.
07/02/2013

Higher inflows for Pimco than all German asset management firms combined in 2012

Last year, net sales to German open-ended funds, excluding real estate funds, totalled EUR21.6675bn. The Allianz group alone had EUR27.0738bn in net inflows, of which EUR21.8024bn were for Pimco, which alone has taken on more capital than all German firms that provide statistics to the German BVI association of asset management firms put together.The other major firm to have posted net inflows is Union Investment (co-operative banks), with subscriptions of EUR3.1731bn.The other two major players had significant net outflows: Deka (savings banks) suffered net redemptions of EUR4.4782bn, and the asset management unit of Deutsche Bank has posted outflows of EUR3.1888bn.In ETFs, only ETFlab (Deka) has seen net subscriptions (EUR477.6bn). However, ComStage (Commerzbank), iShares (BlackRock), and db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) show respective net outflows of EUR1.0068bn, EUR629.6m, and EUR573.9m in 2012.
07/02/2013

German asset management firms had EUR103bn in inflows in 2012

As of the end of 2012, total assets under management by German asset management firms came to EUR2.03668trn, compared with EUR1.78327trn one year previously. Of this increase of EUR257.41bn, net subscriptions accounted for EUR102.88bn, while market effects accounted for EUR151.53bn. Net inflows from institutionals totalled about EUR75bn, an all-time record, while retail inflows totalled EUR25bn (compared with outflows of EUR15bn in 2011).Statistics published by the German BVI association of asset management firms on 6 February reveal that institutional funds (Spezialfonds) had a volume of EUR981.58bn as of the end of December, compared with EUR964.58bn twelve months previously, while open-ended funds had gained only EUR729.66bn, compared with EUR723.44bn, and that mandates outside of funds totalled EUR325.44bn, compared with EUR322.15bn.As to open-ended funds, bond products saw net inflows of EUR31.92bn, compared with net outflows of EUR5.8bn in 2011, while equity funds posted net outflows of EUR4.62bn, compared with EUR2.2bn. Net redemptions from guaranteed funds totalled EUR4.61bn, compared with EUR2.56bn the previous year, and money market funds saw outflows of EUR3.14bn, compared with net subscriptions of EUR0.98bn in 2011.Thomas Richter, director general of the BVI, said that negotiations with US authorities succeeded in convincing them to award the status of “deemed-compliant” to German open-ended funds, meaning that they are deemed to comply with FATCA laws.
07/02/2013

Handelsbanken acquires Heartwood

For an undisclosed amount, the Swedish firm Handelsbank is acquiring the wealth and asset management firm Heartwood Wealth Group (London and Tunbridge Wells), with assets totalling about SEK15bn, or GBP1.5bn. The transaction is pending clearance by the British FSA. Anders Bouvin, CEO of Handelsbanken UK, emphasized in a statement that the group already has 147 branches in the United Kingdom, the market in which the Swedish firm is experiencing its greatest growth. The transaction was approved in advance by a majority of shareholders in Heartwood, and Simon Lough, CEO, will continue to lead the firm after it becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Handelsbanken.
07/02/2013

30% increase in pre-tax profits for the half at Hargreaves

The wealth management platform Hargreaves Lansdown has reported pre-tax profits for the half year ending on 31 December of GBP93m, up 30% compared with profits for the corresponding half of 2011, according to a statement released on 6 February. Hargreaves attributes the increase to a trend for clients to invest directly, as a result of RDR regulations which were introduced on 1 January this year. Hargreaves notes in its statement that the number of financial advisers has fallen 4% in the past 18 months to 31 December, without citing sources. Assets under administration increased by 16% in the half, to GBP30.4bn.
07/02/2013

Henderson appoints a chairman of board of directors

Henderson Group on February 6 announced the appointment of Richard Gillingwater as a non-executive director and chairman designate of the Henderson Group Board with immediate effect. He will become chairman following the annual general meeting in May 2013.He will replace Rupert Pennant-Rea who will stand down from the board after the AGM. Richard Gillingwater is the non-executive chairman of CDC Group plc, senior independent director of Hiscox Ltd, Helical Bar plc and SSE plc. He was, until recently, dean of Cass Business School. Prior to this he spent 10 years at Kleinwort Benson, before moving to BZW, and, in due course, becoming joint head of corporate Finance and then latterly chairman of European investment banking at Credit Suisse First Boston. He was chief executive and later chairman of the Shareholder Executive and has also been a non-executive director of P&O, Debenhams, Tomkins, Qinetiq Group and Kidde.
07/02/2013

Libor: RBS finds money for USD615m in fines

Following Barclays and UBS, the British bank Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has set aside provisions to cover large penalties due to its role in the libor inter-bank lending rate manipulation scandal. It will pay a total of USD615m (CHF359m), according to a statement released on 6 February.In detail, GBP87.5m will go to the British Financial Services Authority (FSA), USD325m will go to its US counterpart (CFTC), and USD150m will go to the US Department of Justice, to “settle enquiries,” RBS states.From 2006 to 2010 at the latest, brokers at RBS in London, Singapore and Tokyo participates in manipulations of the money market benchmark rate. These actions continued even after they learned that an initial investigation was underway.The manipulations, primarily in Japanese yen and Swiss francs, were carried out by 21 RBS employees, all of whom have left the group or been subjected to idsciplinary measures.RBS, which is 81% controlled by the British government since a GBP45.5bn bailout during the financial crisis of 2008, has decided to finance the fines by reducing the bonuses paid to RBS personnel. RBS on 6 February states that reductions or cancellations of bonuses had allowed it to save about GBP300m.
07/02/2013

Handelsbanken acquires a UK wealth management firm

Sw Sweden’s Handelsbanken on February 6 announced the acquisition of British wealth and investment management company Heartwood whose assets under management total GBP1.5bn at the end of January 2013. The agreement will see Heartwood become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Handelsbanken, forming the foundation of its UK wealth management offering. The bank has also reported net profits for 2012 of SEK14.5bn, or about EUR1.7bn, up 18% over the previous year.
07/02/2013

Rumours of restructuring boost share price of Man Group

Agefi reports that the share price for the asset management firm Man Group rose 4.8% to 95.1 pence per share after UBS announced that its new CEO would be announcing significant strategic changes at a presentation of annual results on 28 February. A sale of the firm remains a possibility, UBS adds.
07/02/2013

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena details losses due to derivative trading

Banca Monte die Paschi di Siena yesterday announced that the final amount of losses due to derivative trading is estimated at EUR730m as of the end of 2012, Agefi reports. The Alexandria product, structured with the Japanese bank Nomura, led to EUR308m in losses, while the Santorini product, created in collaboration with Deutsche Bank, lost EUR429m. The third incriminated product, Nota Italia, created with JPMorgan, had a negligible impact. For the first nine months of 2012, Monte dei Paschi has reported a cumulative net loss of EUR1.66bn, the newspaper reports.
07/02/2013

HSBC Emerging Markets index goes monthly

On the basis of the GDP of the 16 largest emerging markets (Saudi Arabia, Brazil, China, South Korea, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam), the HSBC Emerging Markets index (HSBC EMI) will move to a monthly, rather than quarterly, frequency, HSBC has announced. In January, the index rose to 53.9, from 53 in December. “This is the highest level since February 2012, which is a sign of real acceleration in growth in emerging markets,” the firm has stated, adding that the growth is particularly strong in the manufacturing sector, and in China, where the EMI growth rate is the most dynamic it has been for 2 years.
07/02/2013

Raiffeisen Capital Management registers two funds in Switzerland

Raiffeisen Capital Management is now offering two additional funds to Swiss investors. The Austrian asset management firm has received a sales licence for the Raiffeisen-Europa-HighYield fund (ISIN code AT0000796529) and the Raiffeisen 337 – Strategic Allocation Master I, a tactical risk allocation product (ISIN code: AT0000A090G0).
07/02/2013

NYSE Euronext agitates for more transparency

In the interests of greater transparency on the financial markets and improvements to governance, the market operator NYSE Euronext has called on the SEC to shorten the deadline for announcement of stakes in companies for investors with over USD100m in assets to two days, from 45 currently.
07/02/2013

Coverage rate for pension funds continues to rise

The average coverage rate for the liabilities of US corporate pension funds rose by 4.9 percentage points in the month of January, to a total of 81.2%, its highest level since March 2012, according to BNY Mellon. In the month under review, assets in pension funds increased by 3%, due to the strength of the stock markets, which gained more than 5% in the United States and other international developed markets. Liabilities fell by 3.2%, as the discount rate increased by 24 basis points to 4.13% for businesses rated Aa.
07/02/2013

Commodity hedge funds have lost 20% of their assets

Commodity hedge funds lost at least 20% of their assets last year, due to significant redemptions from investors in the wake of poor returns, the Financial Times reports. On average, commodity hedge funds lost 3.7% in 2012, according to a Newedge index. It is the largest decline since the creation of the index 10 years ago.
07/02/2013

Safe awards USD1.2bn in QFII quotas

In January, the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) issued qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) quotas for an additional USD500m and USD700m, respectively, to the sovereign wealth funds Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). This brings their total quotas to USD1bn each, Asian Investor notes.Meanwhile, SAFE has also awarded “primo-quotas” of USD300m to ABS Asset Management and Hillhouse Capital Management, USD200m to CDH Investment and Genesis Asset Managers, USD150m to JP Morgan Asset Management Taiwan, USD100m to EFG Bank, USD60m to Public Mutual, and USD50m to Uni-president Assets Management Corp.
07/02/2013

La BoE et la BCE maintiennent leur politique monétaire

La Banque d’Angleterre (BoE) s’est abstenue jeudi de prendre de nouvelles mesures de soutien à l’activité et a maintenu son taux directeur à 0,5%, le niveau auquel il est fixé depuis mars 2009. La banque centrale, qui également a annoncé qu’elle maintenait le montant total de ses rachats d’actifs à 375 milliards de livres, a toutefois ajouté qu’elle se tenait prête à prendre d’autres mesures si nécessaire. La BoE souligne que la reprise de l'économie du pays serait remise en cause si elle mettait un terme à son programme de soutien à l’activité, estimant que l’inflation devrait augmenter à court terme et rester au-dessus de la barre de 2% pour les deux prochaines années. Sans surprise également la Banque centrale européenne à maintenu ses taux directeurs sans changement. Le taux de refi reste à 0,75%, le taux de prêt marginal à 1,5% et le taux de facilité de dépôt à 0%.
07/02/2013

L'Espagne place sa dette à des rendements en hausse

L’Espagne a adjugé jeudi 4,611 milliards d’euros de dette à moyen et long terme, un montant supérieur à l’objectif annoncé de 4,5 milliards, avec des rendements moyens en hausse. Madrid a émis 1,948 milliard d’obligations à échéance du 31 mars 2015, avec un rendement moyen de 2,823%, en hausse par rapport aux 2,476% à la dernière adjudication du 10 janvier. Le ratio de couverture a été de 2,2 contre 2,1 le mois dernier. Le Trésor espagnol a vendu 2,070 milliards d’obligations au 31 janvier 2018, avec un rendement moyen de 4,123% contre 3,77% lors de la dernière adjudication du 17 janvier. Le ratio de couverture a été de 2,2 contre 2,3 le mois dernier. Il a adjugé 593 millions d’euros de titres à plus terme, échéance du 31 janvier 2029, dont la dernière adjudication remonte à 2010, avec un rendement moyen de 5,787% contre 4,849%. Le ratio de couverture a été de 2,0 contre 2,2 il y a trois ans.
Photo: PHB
07/02/2013

Les émissions de dette hybride au plus haut

Les émissions de dette hybride par les sociétés ont atteint un montant de 14 milliards de dollars sur le seul mois de janvier, soit un record historique quatre fois plus élevé que le précédent, selon le journal qui cite des chiffres fournis par Dealogic. «La liquidité sur les obligations hybrides s’est améliorée et se rapporche de celle du marché senior non sécurisé» estime Tom Mondelaers, gérant chez BlackRock.
07/02/2013

S&P joue gros aux Etats-Unis

Alors que les Etats-Unis attaquent le groupe, un nouveau règlement non rétroactif engage aussi, depuis cette année, la responsabilité civile des agences en Europe.

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