Vendredi, Franklin Templeton ouvrira aux particuliers son Emerging Market Bond Fund, un compartiment de sa sicav luxembourgeoise qui est géré par Michael Hasenstab et dont l’encours de situe à environ 2,3 milliards de dollars. Deux classes de parts seront disponibles avec une souscription minimale fixée à 5.000 livres : une part distribution en livres et une part capitalisation en dollars.
Selon Investment Week, Fidelity a fait enregistrer le fonds de situations spéciales Chine que gérera Anthony Bolton à Companies House le 22 janvier, ce qui signifie que ce produit sera un «investment trust». Le fonds, qui doit être lancé en mars sera donc un fonds fermé, ce qui permettra au gérant de ne pas avoir à investir toutes les souscriptions immédiatement ; il pourra aussi recourir à l’effet de levier s’il le juge utile.
GLG Partners devrait lancer une version Ucits III de son fonds long/short UK Alternative, géré par John White et Jason Mackay. Le produit va répliquer la stratégie «market neutral» existante et sera limité à 200 millions de livres d’encours. GLG indique que le fonds se concentrera sur un stock picking fondamental, une analyse économique top-down et une gestion du risque très stricte.
Avec le DB Platinum Option Overwriting Plus Fund, la Deutsche Bank vient de lancer sur plusieurs marchés européens un fonds luxembourgeois conforme à la directive OPCVM III dont l’objectif consiste à réduire la volatilité et les pertes (drawdowns) par rapport aux marchés d’actions au moyen d’une stratégie dynamique d’options.Ce produit à liquidité quotidienne destiné aux investisseurs institutionnels réplique l’indice db Option Overwriting Plus. Il sera investi à 100 % dans un indice de référence (DJ Euro Stoxx LU0462953588, Dax LU0462953745 ou SMI LU0462954040) et se couvrira par des contrats d’options négociés en Bourse sur la performance de l’indice considéré.Chaque mois, la stratégie prévoit une évaluation de deux variables destinées à prévoir la tendance ultérieure de l’indice. Ces deux variables sont le momentum du cours et la volatilité implicite du marché.Les frais totalisent 1,16 % par an.
Le gestionnaire suisse SAM Sustainable Asset Management (groupe Robeco) a annoncé mardi la publication de son annuaire 2010 de l’investissement durable élaboré en collaboration avec PricewaterhouseCoopers. Il s’agit de la onzième livraison de ce document et le nombre de sociétés analysées a été augmenté à 1.237 unités (il se limitait initialement à 468 noms en 1999).Seules les sociétés figurant dans les 15 % des meilleures de leur secteur sont intégrées dans l’annuaire, l’univers de base comportant quelque 2.500 sociétés.Pour plus d’informations consulter le site http://www.sam-group.com/htmle/yearbook
La société de portefeuille de Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, va entrer dans la composition de l’indice Standard & Poor’s 500 dont l’entrée lui était interdite parce que le cours élevé de ses actions l’empêchaient de satisfaire aux critères de liquidité. Cela a changé depuis la subdivision d’actions à 50 pour 1 des titres de classe B, dans le cadre de l’acquisition de Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Berkshire remplacera Burlington Northern dans l’indice. La capitalisation boursière de Berkshire se situe autour de 160 milliards de dollars.
Durant les trois mois au 25 janvier, note The Wall Street Journal, le SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF a gagné 15 % pendant que le Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund perdait 5,6 % et, depuis le début de l’année, le SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF affiche une performance de 8,6 % contre une perte de 1,6 % pour le S&P 500. Cela tient au fait que les banques régionales ont pris de l’avance sur le secteur financier dans son ensemble depuis quelques mois parce qu’elles n’ont pas d’activités en compte propre ni de divisions de banque d’investissement qui risqueraient d'être touchées par un durcissement de la réglementation.Le portefeuille du SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF est équipondéré, ce qui augmente le poids des petites banques, et sa performance a été ces trois derniers mois presque le double de celle du iShares Dow Jones U.S. Regional Banks Index Fund, où les titres sont pondérés en fonction de leur capitalisation.
James Polisson et Andrew Arenberg, qui ont été tous deux des artisans de la mise sur pied des activités internationales d’'iShares pour Barclays Global Investors (BGI), ont rejoint à la mi-janvier Russell Investments (176 milliards de dollars d’encours), le premier comme managing director of global ETF businesse et le second comme managing director of global ETF distribution. Ils sont basés à San Francisco.Les deux hommes seront chargés de piloter la conception de produits et services de nouvelle génération liés aux ETF, souligne Andrew Doman, CEO et president de Russell, soulignant que le groupe est déjà l’un des principaux fournisseurs d’indices aux gestionnaires d’ETF.
Alan Robertson, qui était CEO et president de Northern Trust Global Advisors (NTGA) a été promu au poste nouvellement créé de global head of sales and services de Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI), la société de gestion de Northern Trust. Il est basé à Chicago et sera subordonné à Stephen N. Potter, president de NTGI.Le successeur d’Alan Robertson à la tête de NTGA est Joseph McInerney, qui en était le COO depuis 2005. Il sera basé à Stamford dans le Connecticut et subordonné à Alan Robertson.Au 31 décembre, Northern Trust affichait 3.700 milliards de dollars d’actifs sous administration et 672,2 milliards de dollars d’encours sous gestion.
Le gestionnaire Van Kampen, qui va être cédé par Morgan Stanley à Invesco, est confronté à plusieurs changements dans son état-major. Mark Mc Clure et Mike Tobin reprennent la direction des ventes et des grands comptes qui était assurée par David Linton, ce dernier ayant quitté la société, rapporte Mutual Fund Wire.D’autre part, Brian Binder, le chief administrative officer, a pris la succession d’Elizabeth Hughes Eginton comme head of product and marketing. L’intéressée a en effet rejoint Morgan Stanley Smith Barney le 21 janvier comme director of marketing. Elle n’avait rejoint Van Kampen en provenance de Legg Mason Capital Management qu’en février 2009.
A peine l’encre séchée de l’accord conclu entre la société Delaware Investments et son nouveau propriétaire, le groupe australien Macquarie, la société de gestion vient de lancer un nouveau fonds sous sa nouvelle identité, rapporte Mutual Fund Wire. Géré activement, le fonds Delaware Macaquarie Global Infrastructure est destiné aux investisseurs institutionnels et particuliers et reste investi à 80 % (dans des conditions normales), comprenant des titres d’emprunt et des actions américaines ou non intervenant dans le secteur des infrastructures. Le fonds Delaware Macaquarie Global Infrastructure est géré par Andrew Maple-Brown, senior vice president de Macquarie Funds Group.
Fortis Investments a annoncé mardi que le fonds Greater China Environmental Fund développé avec le chinois Fortis Haitong Investment Management a été lancé au Japon le 18 décembre 2009 et qu’il a déjà drainé 106 milliards de yen ou 830 millions d’euros ou encore 1,18 milliard de dollars. Ce produit offre aux souscripteurs un accès à la «révolution verte» qui se déroule actuellement en Chine.
En décembre, les hedge funds australiens ont généré un performance de 1,11 %, soit une performance annuelle de 17,41 % pour 2009, indique Hedgeweek, citant des données de Australian Fund Monitors. Les hedge funds equity based ont gagné 2,08 % en décembre (+24,66 % sur 2009), les fonds alternatifs investis sur d’autres classes d’actifs ont perdu 0,69 %, et gagné 7,94 % en 2009.
Allfunds Bank sera l’organisme de commercialisation en Espagne des 14 premiers fonds que la Banque de Luxembourg (groupe Crédit Mutuel-CIC) vient de faire enregistrer par la CNMV, rapporte Funds People.Ces fonds sont les suivants : BL Bond Dollar, BL Bond Euro, BL Emerging Markets, BL Equities America, BL Equities Dividend, BL Equities Europe, BL Equities Horizon, BL Global 30, BL Global 50, BL Global Bond, BL Global Equities, BL Global Flexible, BL Optinvest et enfin BL Global 75.
Selon le quotidien belge L’Echo, le fonds de pension de l’Inno a intenté une action en justice devant le tribunal de commerce de Bruxelles contre Petercam, en raison d’une mauvaise gestion et des pertes d’environ 20 % pour le fonds qui regroupe une partie importante des assurances groupe des travailleurs de l’Inno. Le fonds de solidarité réclame 2,3 millions d’euros de dommages et intérêts à Petercam, qui attribue les pertes à la mauvaise tenue des marchés financiers et non à une mauvaise gestion.
In December, Australian hedge funds generated returns of 1.11%, for annual performance of 17.41% in 2009, Hedgeweek reports, citing data from Australian Fund Monitors. Equity-based hedge funds gained 2.08% in December (+24.66% for 2009), while hedge funds investing in other asset classes lost 0.69%, and gained 7.94% in 2009.
The five SEC commissioners were scheduled to vote on Wednesday on draft regulations which would require money market funds to declare minor fluctuations in their net asset value around USD1, once per month and with a 60-day gap, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal reports that the move is a reaction provoked by the fact that in 2008, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Reserve Primary Fund became the first to “break the buck,” as its value fell below USD1 per share.
According to the ratings agency Moody’s, cited by Agefi, the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee, which would bring in USD90bn for the US government over the next ten years, would have a severe effect on banks. Moody’s claims that the tax would raise financing costs significantly for banks required to pay it. The maintenance of liquidity pools would also become more costly. “If a bank decides to reduce its pools due to increased costs related to the tax, its solvency would be weakened,” concludes Peter Nerby, an analyst at the ratings agency.
In order to maintain their lead on the Spanish ETF market as new foreign competitors arrive, BBVA and Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) will launch new products this year. Now that ETFs in Sicav vehicles will be allowed, iShares from BlackRock and db x-trackers from Deutsche Bank will become available in Spain. Lyxor is planning to launch 10 to 15 new products in first quarter, says Adrián Juliá, director of index products at Société Générale in Spain. Among the new ETFs, Lyxor is planning to release commodities products, “short” funds and, if the BME grants a license, a fund replicating one of the indices of the Ibex range. BBVA, for its part, is planning to extend its range largely with bond, commodity, and short ETFs. It is also planning to list its ETFs in other Latin American countries, following its entry into the Mexican market.
Warren Buffett’s portfolio management firm, Berkshire Hathaway, will be included in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, which it was previously not allowed to join as the high price of its shares made it unable to satisfy liquidity criteria. This has changed since shares were split, with 50 new shares for every 1 B-class share, at the time of its acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Berkshire will replace Burlington Northern in the index. The market capitalisation of Berkshire is USD160bn.
Allfunds Bank will be the sales platform in Spain for the first 14 funds from the Bank of Luxembourg (Crédit Mutuel-CIC group) to be registered by the CNMV, Funds People reports. The funds are the following: BL Bond Dollar, BL Bond Euro, BL Emerging Markets, BL Equities America, BL Equities Dividend, BL Equities Europe, BL Equities Horizon, BL Global 30, BL Global 50, BL Global Bond, BL Global Equities, BL Global Flexible, BL Optinvest, and lastly, BL Global 75.
Fidelity International in Hong Kong has suspended two of its most experienced managers, who are accused of violating the firm’s internal code of conduct. The market regulatory authorities have been informed, and Fidelity is conducting an internal enquiry. Asian Investor reports that Fidelity has confirmed the suspension of the two managers, but has not named them. According to a source who is understood to be a Fidelity client, the investigation is focusing on two well-known managers, Kevin Chang and Wilson Wong. Chang is responsible for the South East Asia Fund and several institutional portfolios, while Wong manages one of the Greater China retail strategies. Their portfolios will reportedly be managed in the interim by members of the Asia-Pacific equities team at Fidelity.
The US-based asset management firm American Century has announced the recruitment of Elizabeth Trinh as vice president of its Hong Kong office, Asian Investor reports. Since December she has been head of sales to institutional clients in Australia and South Asia. Trinh was previously associate manager and head of development for the Maquarie Professional Series fund range at Macquarie Bank in Australia. Assets under management by Macquarie worldwide total USD85.8bn. American Century specialises in actively managed equity strategies. The Hong Kong office opened in May to support the delivery of American Century’s equity growth strategies -- global growth, emerging markets and US growth equities -- in the Asia-Pacific region.
James Polisson and Andrew Arenberg, both of whom were involved in the setting up of the iShares operation at Barclays Global Investors (BGI), in mid-January joined Russell Investments (USD176bn in assets), Polisson as managing director of global ETF business, and Arenberg as managing director of global ETF distribution. They will be based in San Francisco. The two men will be responsible for the design of new-generation products and services related to ETFs, says Andrew Doman, president and CEO of Russell, who says the group is already one of the largest providers of indices to ETF management firms.
The management firm Van Kampen, which will be sold by Morgan Stanley to Invesco, is undergoing several changes to its personnel. Mark McClure and Mike Tobin will become the joint heads of sales and major clients, a position which was previously held by David Linton, who has left the firm, Mutual Fund Wire reports. Brian Binder, chief administrative officer, will succeed Elizabeth Hughes Eginton as head of product and marketing. Eginton joined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney on 21 January as director of marketing; she had joined Van Kampen from Legg Mason Capital Management only in February 2009.
Alan Robertson, who was previously president and CEO of Northern Trust Global Advisors (NTGA) has been promoted to the newly-created position of global head of sales and services at Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI), the asset management firm for Northern Trust. He will be based in Chicago, and will report to Stephen N. Potter, president of NTGI. Robertson’s successor as head of NTGA is Joseph McInerney, who was previously COO, a position he had held since 2005. He will be based in Stamford, Connecticut, and will report to Robertson.
Institutional investors are starting 2010 on a hesitant note. The global institutional investor confidence index has gained only 0.2 points, to 104.5 in January, from a corrected level of 104.3 for December. The mood has been optimistic in North America, however, where the regional confidence index has gained 4.4 points, from 103.5 in December to 107.9 in January. However, European institutional investors are more uncertain, and the index has fallen 5.6 point to 98.9, from a corrected level of 104.5 in December. In Asia, the level of institutional investor confidence has increased slightly, from 97.5 in December to 98.1 this month. “Although activity has recovered strongly on developed markets, some factors tend to show that it will likely be difficult to maintain the pace of growth observed recently, and all the more so when these factors are viewed in the context of uncertainty related to monetary policy and to regulatory changes more generally,” says Harvard professor Ken Froot, one of the two designers of the index. “The divergence this month between the North American and European confidence indices to a certain extent reflects the underlying fundamental data,” the other creator of the index, Paul O’Connell, adds. “Although the economic data for Europe showed some relatively positive surprises, concerns remain about the way forward to resolve fiscal difficulties in some peripheral economies, which has chilled investor enthusiasm. The improvement in confidence in Asia brought the regional index back up to the level observed last September.”
What are the high-risk countries that investors would do better to avoid in 2010? In the most recent issue of the publication Investment Outlook, entitled “The Ring of Fire,” Pimco strategist Bill Gross does not mince words. “Great Britain is a must to avoid. Its Gilts are lying on a bed of nitroglycerine. High debt, combined with potential for a devaluation of the currency present high risks for investors in bonds. In addition, its interest rates are already artificially influenced by accounting standards which at one point last year produced long-term interest rates of 0.5% or less,” Gross writes. Also in the Ring of Fire are Ireland and Spain. The safest countries, Gross claims, are Canada and Germany. To capture the highest and surest returns, Gross recommends that investors look to Asia and to developing countries, for both equities and bonds.
Fortis Investments announced on Tuesday that the Greater China Environmental Fund, developed with the Chinese management firm Fortis Haitong Investment Management, was released in Japan on 18 December, and that it has already attracted JPY106bn, or EUR830m, equivalent to USD1.18bn, in assets. The product offers subscribers access to the “green revolution” now taking place in China.
La Tribune reports that, according to the chairman of CEBS, Giovanni Carosio, speaking at a hearing before the European Parliament in Brussels, European banks will undergo more stress testing in 2010. The tests will take in the major European banking groups, the newspaper adds.