p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: «Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Une équipe de huit traders va quitter Credit Suisse aux Etats-Unis pour démarrer un hedge fund avec l’aide de Blackstone Group, rapporte le Wall Street Journal citant des personnes proches du dossier. Ces départs font suite au renforcement de la réglementation outre-Atlantique qui limite le trading pour compte propre dans les banques. L’équipe est emmenée par George «Beau» Taylor, l’actuel responsable mondial de Credit Suisse pour le trading de l’arbitrage de matières premières, et Trevor Woods, responsable du trading de l’arbitrage d’énergie. Le lancement est prévu début 2011, et Blackstone investirait 150 millions de dollars. p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: «Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }
D’après les calculs de VDOS Stochastics, 65 fonds garantis avec un encours de 4,06 milliards d’euros vont arriver à échéance en Espagne durant le quatrième trimestre, rapporte Expansión (25 autres sont au contraire en phase de commercialisation).Le plus gros de ces fonds est le Foncaixa Garantia Renta Fija 15 avec 969 millions d’euros. L’encours total des garantis, avec 49,33 milliards d’euros, ce qui représente 32,14 % des actifs sous gestion de l’ensemble des fonds espagnols. Depuis le début de l’année, les garantis obligataires ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 3,81 milliards d’euros.
D’après les statistiques de l’association autrichienne VÖIG des sociétés de gestion, 1.421 fonds sur un total de 1.562 qui ont plus d’un an d’existance ont affiché une performance sur douze mois à fin août, soit 90,97 % du total. Seuls 141 étaient dans le rouge. En moyenne arithmétique, c’est-à-dire sans tenir compte des encours individuels, la performance moyenne des fonds autrichiens est ressortie à 8,26 %, contre 10,63 % en juillet et 13,85 % en juin.Le gain le plus important sur douze mois a été enregistré, comme les mois précédents, par le Kepler Asset Backed Securities Fund, avec 81,52 % alors que le plus mauvais score a été subi par le DoubleStock de la caisse d'épargne de Haute-Autriche (Sparkasse Oberösterreich KAG).Sur trois ans à fin août, le meilleur ratio de Sharpe a été affiché par le fonds immobilier Real Invest Austria (Bank Austria), avec 2,18, juste devant le EuroHighgrade de Pioneer Investments Austria (2,17) et le Tirolrent de Tirolinvest.
En plus de la création de sa filiale de gestion de fonds immobiliers institutionnels LaSalle Vermögensverwaltung à Munich (lire nos dépêches du 27 août et du 20 septembre, Jones Lang LaSalle réorganise son activité en regroupant dans un seul pôle «real estate advisory services», les segments investor consulting, project & development services et energy & sustainability services.Le nouvel ensemble démarrera début octobre avec 30 personnes sous la direction d’Ingo Weiß, qui était jusqu'à présent responsable du «property management» (160 personnes), fonction à laquelle il sera remplacée par Christina Hoffmann et Tina Reuter.D’ici à fin 2011, le pôle real estate advisory services devrait compter 45 salariés. Ingo Weiß sera directement subordonné à Andreas Quint, head of Germany.
Le 23 septembre, DWS (Deutsche Bank) a annoncé la création d’une équipe de 24 professionnels chevronnés dédiée à la gestion multi-classes d’actifs. Elle démarre avec un encours d’environ 7 milliards d’euros. Ce segment a déjà attiré en Allemagne plus de 10 milliards d’euros depuis le début de l’année, et DWS s’attend sur le moyen terme à une croissance moyenne d’environ 8 % par an dans ce domaine.L'équipe est dirigée par Christian Hille et Udo Rosendahl. Le pôle couvre quatre équipes spécialisées sur les actions, les obligations, les devises, la volatilité et les matières premières, qui partagent le même processus d’investissement sur la base des projections de DWS sur les classes d’actifs, les régions et les marchés. Au sein du dispositif de gestion de fonds, le nouveau groupe sera à égalité de droits avec les équipes actions et obligations.
Perella Weinberg Partners a annoncé le 22 septembre l’ouverture d’un bureau à Abu Dhabi aux Emirats Arabes Unis. Parallèlement, la firme spécialisée dans le conseil corporate et les services de gestion d’actifs a annoncé le recrutement de Jameel Akhrass et Nabil F. Lahham en qualité d’associés qui vont se concentrer notamment sur le développement des activités de gestion d’actifs et de conseil stratégique au Moyen Orient.Les deux nouveaux associés travaillaient précédemment chez Nomura International sur la région Mena (Moyen Orient, Afrique du Nord).En outre, Hesham Ali, depuis trois ans membre du groupe asset management chez Perella Weinberg Partners, a été nommé responsable du marketing et des relations investisseurs en tant que responsable de la gestion d’actifs au Moyen Orient.
Le fonds d’investissement de l'émirat pétrolier d’Abou Dhabi, Mubadala, a annoncé le 23 septembre des pertes de 4,5 milliards de dirhams, soit près de 1 milliard de dollars, au titre du premier semestre contre des bénéfices de 2,7 milliards de dirhams (550 millions de dollars) pour la même période en 2009. Selon le communiqué, ce résultat est lié pour l’essentiel à la chute des marchés financiers. A la fin du premier semestre, les actifs sous gestion du fonds d’Abou Dhabi s’élevaient à 86,1 milliards de dirhams, soit quelque 23,44 milliards de dollars, contre 48,9 milliards de dirhams (13,3 milliards de dollars) fin 2009.
La caisse de retraite suédoise AMF a acheté au fonds Deka-ImmobilienEuropa le complexe de bureaux City Cronan de Stockholm (42.000 mètres carrés). Le montant de la transaction, la plus importante réalisée en Suède ces trois dernières années, d’après Deka Immobilien, n’a pas été divulgué, mais la cession s’est effectuée à un prix supérieur à la valeur vénale de l’actif.Le gestionnaire allemand précise qu’il s’agit de sa douzième cession réalisée cette année au-dessus de la valeur vénale. Au total, ces ventes se sont effectuées en moyenne à 13 % au-dessus de la valeur vénale des immeubles concernés.
Au travers de sa filiale Santander Private Banking, l’espagnol Santander s’est renforcé en Italie par l’acquisition, annoncée le 23 septembre, de 100 % de Meliorbanca Private, la division de banque privée Banca Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna (BPER). Selon Expansión, le montant de la transaction n’a pas été divulgué mais serait voisin de 32 millions d’euros.
Lyxor va lancer en Italie une gamme de 10 ETF répliquant chacun un indice sectoriel MSCI Monde, portant ainsi à 101 le nombre de ses ETF cotés sur le segment ETFplus de la Bourse de Milan, rapporte Bluerating.
La société de compensation Fidelity Clearing Canada a annoncé des recrutements au sein de son équipe de direction. Thomas A. White, ancien directeur et vice-président des marchés mondiaux et services bancaires d’investissement de la division Global Markets & Investment Banking (GMI) Service de Merrill Lynch Canada, a été nommé Chief Operating Officer (COO). Ronald White devient Chief Financial Officer (CFO) et Bryan Moffitt Chief Compliance Officer (CCO). Les trois nouveaux arrivants travailleront sous la direction de William (Bill) J. Henderson, CEO de Fidelity Clearing Canada.
Schroders is preparing to launch the Schroder Opus Trading Fund on GAIA (Global Alternative Investor Access), its Luxembourg-based, UCITS III-compliant hedge fund platform. The new fund will bring the number of sub-funds in the Sicav to five, two of which are managed externally.The trading and macro fund, which invests in managed accounts and is managed by Schroders, is in fact already available in a UCITS-compliant form, but it is currently housed on the Credit Suisse platform. It is now being transferred to GAIA. By the end of the year, another fund – long/short credit – will be launched in the Sicav. And next year, three or four more funds will be added. The Sicav currently has assets of over EUR200m, as of 14 September.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Lyxor will launch a range of 10 ETFs in Italy, each of which will replicate a sector MSCI World index, bringing the number of ETFs listed on the ETFplus segment of the Milan stock exchange to 101, Bluerating reports.
Via its affiliate Santander Private Banking, the Spanish firm Santander has completed its acquisition, announced on 23 September, of 100% of Meliorbanca Private, the private banking division of Banca Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna (BPER). Expansión reports that the transaction price has not been disclosed, but was about EUR32m.
On 23 September, DWS (Deutsche Bank) announced the creation of a team of 24 qualified professionals dedicated to multi-asset class management. The unit will start up with assets of about EUR7bn. The segment has already attracted over EUR10bn in investments in Germany since the beginning of the year, and DWS expects average growth in the mid-term of about 8% p.a. in this area.The team is led by Christian Hille and Udo Rosendahl. The unit includes four teams specialised in equities, bonds, currencies, volatility and commodities, which share a common investment process based on DWS projections for asset classes, regions and markets. In the fund management framework, the new group will have as much power as the equities and bond teams.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Perella Weinberg Partners announced on 22 September that it has opened an office in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. The firm, a specialist in corporate consulting and asset management services, has also announced the recruitment of Jameel Akhrass and Nabil F. Lahham as partners; they will concentrate largely on the development of asset management and strategic advising activities in the Middle East. The two new partners previously worked at Nomura International for the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Hesham Ali, who for 13 years has been a member of the asset management group at Perella Weinberg Partners, has also been appointed head of marketing and investor relations, as head of asset management in the Middle East.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In addition to the creation of its institutional real estate fund management affiliate LaSalle Vermögensverwaltung in Munich (see Newsmanagers of 27 August and 20 September), Jones Lang LaSalle is reorganizing its German activities, combining real estate advisory services, investor consulting, project & development services and energy & sustainability services into a single unit. The new division will start at the beginning of October with 30 people, led by Ingo Weiß, who was previously head of portfolio management (160 people), in which role he will be replaced by Christina Hoffmann and Tina Reuter. By the end of 2011, the real estate advisory services unit will include 45 employees. Weiß will report directly to Andreas Quint, head of Germany.
Mirabaud & Cie, private bankers, active since 2001 in the institutional client sector, is now developing this activity in Zurich, the bank announced in a statement on 23 September. Matthias Schroedter and Thomas Brun have recently joined Mirabaud and taken charge of distribution of funds and mandates to financial intermediaries and institutional clients in German-speaking Switzerland.Schroedter, Mirabaud’s new head of distribution in German-speaking Switzerland to financial intermediaries and banks (wholesale), has over 10 years’ experience in distribution to the institutional sector. He previously worked for Invesco, Banque Sarasin and WMPartners. Brun, in charge of institutional client relationship management for German-speaking Switzerland, has been working for over 20 years in fund and mandate distribution to institutionals. He held key roles at Lombard Odier, Eurofima and Swiss Bank Corp.
Schroders has appointed Tjeerd Voskamp as senior relationship director in the Global Financial Institutions Group with immediate effect. His role will involve expanding and deepening Schroders’ relationships with financial institutions that have global distribution and he will report to Robert Noach, head of Global Financial Institutions Group. Tjeerd has spent 10 years at Threadneedle Asset Management. He held several senior client facing roles with a particular focus on European distribution in Belgium, Holland and Scandinavia.
According to statistics from the Austrian VÖIG association of asset management firms, 1,421 funds out of a total of 1,562 which have been in existence for over one year show positive twelve-month performance to the end of August, equivalent to 90.97% of the funds overall. Only 141 funds show losses. By an arithmetical average, without taking into account the size of individual funds, the average performance of Austrian funds comes to 8.26%, compared with 10.63% in July and 13.85% in June.The largest gains of the past twelve months, as in previous months, were for the Kepler Asset Backed Securities Fund, with 81.52%, while the worst performer was the sDoubleStock from the savings bank of Upper Austria (Sparkasse Oberösterreich KAG). Over three years to the end of August, the best Sharpe ratio was for the real estate fund Real Invest Austria (Bank Austria), with 2.18, just ahead of the EuroHighgrade funds from Pioneer Investments Austria (2.17) and the Tirolrent from Tirolinvest (2.11).
As announced (see Newsmanagers of 13 September), Vanguard has extended its range of passive funds, with the launch of seven equities tracker funds with institutional share classes, and ETF shares exposed to value, growth and blend segments of the Russell 1000 large caps index, and the Russell 2000 index of small caps.The ETF shares carry commissions of 0.12%, for the fund based on the Russell 1000, and 0.15% for the funds based on the Russell 1000 Value and Growth indices and on the Russell 2000, and 0.20% for funds based on the Russell 2000 Value and Growth. The Russell 3000 ETF charges 0.15%. Vanguard has also announced plans to launch its first three tracker funds of municipal bonds, with traditional and ETF share classes, which will replicate indices of the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond series, and which will charge fees of 0.12%, in the next few months.
The clearing specialist firm Fidelity Clearing Canada has announced recruitments for its management team. Thomas A. White, former director and vice president of global markets and investment banking (GMI) services at Merrill Lynch Canada, has been appointed chief operating officer (COO). Ronald White becomes chief financial officer (CFO), and Bryan Moffitt becomes chief compliance officer (CCO). The three new arrivals will report to William (Bill) J. Henderson, CEO of Fidelity Clearing Canada.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Warren Buffett is continuing to sell off his shares in Moody’s, via his investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, La Tribune reports. Early this week, he sold 56,000 shares, while earlier this month he sold 1.35 million shares. Since June 2009, his stake has fallen from 20.4% to 12.3%, in a less promising environment for ratings agencies, the newspaper notes.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } AQR Capital Management, which advises the AQR funds, has granted JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services a mandate for fund administration, prime custody and associated services for mutual funds representing assets of over USD2bn, out of total assets of about USD27bn.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A team of eight traders will be leaving Credit Suisse in the United States to start up a hedge fund backed by Blackstone Group, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The departures follow the passage of new regulations in the United States which limit proprietary trading. The team is led by George “Beau” Taylor, p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: «Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } currently Credit Suisse’s global head of commodities-arbitrage trading, and Trevor Woods, head of energy-arbitrage trading. The launch of the new fund is slated for early 2011, and Blackstone will invest USD150m.
Le Temps reports that the US market authority, the SEC, announced on 23 September that UBS had respected the requirements of the authority regarding its Auction Rate Securities (ARS), financial products which were described as safe, but which lost all of their value at the height of the crisis in February 2008. By the terms of the agreement with the SEC, UBS agreed to redeem USD18bn to clients who lost money on these products. This has now been achieved, and “nearly 100% of investors” have now received some compensation, the SEC notes. The agency will therefore not impose a fine on UBS.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to statistics from VDOS Stochastics, 65 guaranteed funds with assets of EUR4.06bn will mature in Spain in fourth quarter, Expansión reports. 25 more funds will remain in a sales phase at that time. The largest of the maturing funds is the Foncaixa Garantia Renta Fija 15, with EUR969m. Total assets in guaranteed funds, at EUR49.33bn, represent 32.14% of assets under management in Spanish funds overall. Since the beginning of the year, bond guaranteed funds have posted net subscriptions of EUR3.81bn.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The BNY Mellon group has announced promotions in its management team. Thomas (Todd) Gibbons has been appointed chief financial officer of the firm, while Timothy Keaney becomes CEO of BNY Mellon Asset Servicing. Karen Peetz has been promoted to CEO of the Financial Markets and Treasury Services division. Lastly, Brian Rogan becomes vice chairman, and James Palermo, also vice chairman, has been granted new responsibilities as co-CEO of BNY Mellon Asset Servicing.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to the most recent quarterly survey from Russell Investments, 57% of US managers estimate that the market is currently undervalued, one of the highest percentages in the history of the survey, and the highest level observed since March 2009. Only 7% of managers consider the market overvalued. However, the study finds that the fact that managers are talking about the undervaluation of the market does not necessarily mean that they expect a rally similar to the one which followed the low point of March 2009. But they do, however, seem to have recovered some optimism, based on the conviction that the economy will regain some of its health, although it is not necessarily at its best yet. Nearly half of managers (49%) estimate that the growth of the economy in the next 12 months will be led by investment spending. Only 9% predict a stagnation of the economy. This is a very low percentage in light of continuing widespread speculation that there will be a double-dip in the economy in the coming months.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swedish pension fund AMF has acquired the City Cronan office complex in Stockhom (42,000 square metres) from the Deka-ImmobilienEuropa fund. The acquisition price, the largest in Sweden in the past three years according to Deka Immobilien, has now been disclosed, but the sale took place at a price higher than the asset’s market value. The German management firm states that it is the twelfth sale this year above market value. In total, these sales have taken place at 13% above the market value of the properties concerned.