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17/11/2009

Team from Fortis joins Hermes

Hermes Fund Managers Ltd (Hermes) has recruited a global equities team joining from Fortis. The Boston-based team of six is led by Lode Devlaminck and John Chisholm and has an average of 19 years of investment experience. The recruitment is «a significant step in our development to become a multi specialist asset manager», says Hermes. The company will build a core active global equity business which will be structured as a specialist investment partnership. Hermes will own the majority share but the partners and employees will have a stake in both the long-term profitability and the enterprise value of the business. Following approval from the SEC the team will initially focus on the requirements of the BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) but will also be looking to market this new capability to institutional third parties. BTPS will provide a cornerstone investment of USD 500m.
17/11/2009

Assets up at Putnam in third quarter

As of the end of September, according to Great-West Lifeco, an affiliate of the Canadian firm Compagnie Financière Power, assets at Putnam Investments totalled CAD113.6bn, compared with CAD102.78bn as of 30 June. This total is lower than the total observed at the end of September 2008 of CAD136.59bn. During third quarter 2009, Putnam has undergone net redemptions of CAD1.8bn, compared with CAD8.76bn in April-June, and, in the first nine months of the year, net outflows totalled CAD13.31bn, compared with CAD 9.71bn. However, market effects were positive by CAD12.62bn in July-September, compared with CAD12.99bn in second quarter. In January-September, market effects were positive by CAD21.21bn, while they were negative by CAD32.21bn in the corresponding period of last year. Putnam Investments has seen losses in third quarter of CAD10bn, compared with CAD26m in second quarter, bringing the net loss for January-September to CAD45m, compared with CAD4m in the first nine months of 2008.
17/11/2009

Warren Buffett bets on US economy

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has bought shares in ExxonMobil and Nestlé, while almost doubling its stake in Walmart in a move that appears to increase Mr Buffett’s bet on both a US economic revival and what it might mean for energy prices, says the Financial Times. The investments were made in the quarter ending September 30.
17/11/2009

Another fraud scandal at Société Générale

Agefi reports that internal controls at Société Générale have uncovered a fraud at SGAM Banque, a unit of Société Générale Asset Management. The fraud, involving false receipts for general expenses, runs to EUR1.8m. The perpetrator fo the fraud was immediately dismissed. Part of the money is reported to have been recovered, and no clients or providers suffered financial damage as a result of the case. The newspaper notes that the discovery further discredits the quality of first-level controls at the group, and puts SGAM Banque in the spotlight once again, after the entity was previously involved in heavy losses at the asset management unit of Société Générale. SGAM Banque was called in by SGAM AI, the alternative management affiliate of SGAM, to set up and manage the unit’s structured products.
17/11/2009

Banque Heritage optimiste

La banque genevoise Banque Heritage constituée autour du «family office» baptisé Heritage Finance & Trust se dit optimiste pour l’avenir. En septembre, les actifs sous gestion du groupe s’élevaient à 7 milliards de francs suisses, contre 5,2 milliards à fin 2008. « Nous voulons doubler nos actifs sous gestion d’ici 2 à 3 ans», souligne Roland Knecht, directeur général adjoint et responsable de l’unité de banque privée.
17/11/2009

Banque Heritage steps up international development

Agefi Suisse reports that Banque Heritage, which was originally a family office, is raising the curtain internationally on its three distinct but interrelated professions, private banking, asset management, and private banking. In particular, it has recently opened an office in Zurich, its third location in Switzerland after Geneva and Lugano (an agency). It is also present internationally, with an emphasis on emerging markets, with affiliates in London, Gernsey, Paris, Lisbon (a branch office), Singapore, Sao Paulo, Montevideo, and the Cayman Islands. Wealth management remains its primary profession. As of the end of September 2009, Heritage had consolidated assets under management of CHF7bn, of which CHF5bn are related to private banking. Heritage aims to double this total amount of assets under management in 2 to 3 years, says Roland Knecht, global head of Private Bank, and a member of the executive board.
17/11/2009

Banque Heritage optimiste

La banque genevoise Banque Heritage constituée autour du «family office» baptisé Heritage Finance & Trust se dit optimiste pour l’avenir. En septembre, les actifs sous gestion du groupe s’élevaient à 7 milliards de francs suisses, contre 5,2 milliards à fin 2008. «Nous voulons doubler nos actifs sous gestion d’ici 2 à 3 ans», souligne Roland Knecht, directeur général adjoint et responsable de l’unité de banque privée.
17/11/2009

Mother Earth to launch a commodities fund

The Swiss management firm Mother Earth Investments is planning to launch a fund aimed at institutional investors and high net worth private investors in about three weeks, which will physically invest in 20 commodities, Handelsblatt reports. Roland Jansen at Mother Earth is concerned about the formation of a commodities bubble, as speculation now represents 50% of the market, compared with 20% ten years ago. Swaps, futures, ETFs and structured products dealing on commodities represent about USD95bn in assets, according to this specialist.
17/11/2009

Managers kick back 78% of their commissions to distributors

According to statistics from the CNMV compiled by Funds People, Spanish asset management firms last year paid EUR1.6bn to their distribution network, out of EUR2.03bn which they took in in commissions. Of the 89 management firms which pay a part of their commissions to distributors, 5.6% paid more than 90% of these revenues. The most generous are Barclays Wealth Managers, UBS Gestión, Gesnavarra, BBVA Asset Management et Mapfre Inversión. 34% of asset management firms pay between 70% and 90% of their commission revenues, 29% pay between 50% to 70%, and lastly, 30% pay less than 50% of their commission revenues to distributors. Lastly, 31 management firms say they pay no distribution commissions, including Cygnus AM, Siitnedif, and Valira.
16/11/2009

SGAM victime d'une fraude interne

Le contrôle interne de la Société Générale a mis au jour une fraude au sein de SGAM Banque, l’une des filiales du pôle de gestion d’actifs SGAM, a appris l’Agefi de sources concordantes. Cette fraude, réalisée sous forme de fausses factures de frais généraux, porterait sur un montant de 1,8 million d’euros dont une partie aurait été récupérée depuis.
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16/11/2009

Serious Fraud Office opens investigation of Gilher

On Friday, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that with the assistance of the Surrey police force, it has undertaken a search of the business premises of Gilher Inc. There were no arrests. The investigation is focusing on the firm’s relations with British expatriate citizens resident in Majorca. Following a complaint from a retail client, the SFO launched an investigation into the investment fund, which has attracted GBP20m in investments through promises of guaranteed returns of 20% per year.
16/11/2009

150 victims of suspected Gilher fraud

The Sunday Times reports that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation of the investment fund Gilher Inc, operated by the British financier John Hirst, has uncovered a GBP20m fraud which claimed more than 150 victims, many of them British expats living in Majorca. Gilher Inc is registered in Cyprus and the Seychelles. An organisation to defend the interests of 40 victims has been formed under the leadership of Jan Fitzgerald, who personally invested EUR80,000 with Gilher. Hirst is believed to have returned to the United Kingdom, and had claimed to be suffering from leukemia.
16/11/2009

Bonuses: Bill to be announced Wednesday

Les Echos reports that the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, yesterday pledged to unveil proposed legislation to “transform” pay scales at financial sector businesses. The bill, which will grant the regulatory authorities new powers to sanction banks who abuse bonuses, will be announced on Wednesday in the Queen’s speech.
16/11/2009

Advent in takeover bid for Matalan

Richard Baker, the former head of Boots, will this week launch a GBP1.5bn takeover bid for Matalan, with the private equity investor Advent International, at which he has been appointed operating partner. Matalan is the owner of the discount retail business Poundland, the Sunday Times reports. Matalan, which has been put up for sale by its founder and owner, John Hargreaves, is expected to attract rival bids from TPG, Blackstone, and CVC.
16/11/2009

Natixis Global Associates appoints a head of retirement strategies

Matt Raynor, director of global sales at Natixis Global Associates, is changing positions within the group, He will now be head of the retirement strategies unit. His former responsibilities will now be filled by his former colleagues Ed Farrington, Dan Santanello, and Josh Bogen. They will report to David Guinta, president and CEO of Natixis Global Associates.
16/11/2009

Barclays Capital continues to strengthen presence in Asia

After several recruitments last summer, Barclays Capital has recruited Kevin Ho, previously at UBS (where he was head of futures in Hong Kong), as head of futures activities for Asia-Pacific, Asian Investor reports. BarCap has also added to its futures product management team with the recruitment of Seng Mow Leong. Rod Banus, the former head of futures in Hong Kong, becomes head of futures products, and will continue to develop the Asia product range, in which role he will report to Ho.
16/11/2009

Madoff: two programmers arrested

La Tribune reports that two computer programmers, Jerome O’Hara and George Perez, both of whom had been employed by Madoff, were arrested by the FBI on Friday. They are accused of complicity in the Madoff fraud and of fabricating false documents and false trading registers, and of providing IT support for the production of these fraudulent documents, the newspaper states.
16/11/2009

Madoff's personal belongings fetch top dollar at auction

An auction at the Sheraton hotel in New York by the auction house Gaston & Sheehan, of Pflugerville, Texas, of 200 personal belongings of Bernard Madoff and his wife, Ruth, raised nearly USD1m on Saturday, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Among the items which fetched the highest prices were a pair of diamond pendant earrings, which were sold for USD70,000 each, though their value was estimated at between USD9,800 and USD21,400. A “prisoner Rolex” made for allied air force pilots imprisoned in Germany during World War II went for USD65,000, while a blue satin New York Mets jacket with the name “Madoff” on the back found a buyer at USD14,500, though its catalogue price was a maximum of USD720.
16/11/2009

United States: Pay Czar hopes to avoid brain drain

Les Echos reports that the controller of remuneration in the United States, Kenneth Feinberg, has expressed a desire to “take into account” the growing risk of a brain drain as talent leaves the United States. After calling for an average reduction of 50% to the pay scales of the 25 top directors of 7 major firms which received federal aid money, the “Pay Czar,” who will announce his decision about pay scales for 75 top directors at 8 firms within his jurisdiction by the end of the year, may not impose overly severe restrictions on the businesses in light of the brain drain risk he describes.
16/11/2009

RepRisk publishes list of businesses reputed for poor environmental and social practices

In September and October, a list of businesses to be avoided from an environmental and social perspective, published by RepRisk, a specialist in reputational risk, was headed by Vedanta, Chevron, Nestlé, Shell, Red Industries, Bhushan Power & Steel, ExxonMobil, Beef Products, Greater Omaha Packing co, Lone Star Beef Processors, and Cargill. The ‘black list’ is based on the RRI index of reputational risk, which is extrapolated directly from the incidence of negative reports in the press.
16/11/2009
Fonds

Lancement d'un fonds sur des actifs... émotionnels

La boutique londonienne Emotional Assets Management & Resarch vient de lancer son premier fonds, Emotional Assets Fund I, investi sur quinze «actifs émotionnels», c’est-à-dire l’art, la photographie, le design contemporain, les vieux tapis, les instruments de musique, les bijoux anciens, les céramiques, l’architecture, les pièces de monnaie rare, les diamants, les timbres rares, les cartes et atlas, les manuscrits rares et les antiquités rares. L’objectif de ce fonds fermé d’une durée de cinq ans est de délivrer un taux de croissance de 15 % par an, avec une volatilité prévisible, tout en préservant le capital. Domicilié à Guernesey, le produit n’emploiera pas de levier. L’investissement minimum est de 100 000 livres.
Fonds
16/11/2009
Fonds

Fonte de l'encours des fonds ISR

D’après les statistiques de Vigeo, l’encours des fonds ISR britanniques avait diminué fin juin en raison d’une forte exposition aux actions (74 %) à 10,5 milliards d’euros contre 12,5 milliards douze mois plus tôt, l’actif moyen sous gestion se situant à 107 millions d’euros par fonds, rapporte Investment Week.
Fonds
16/11/2009

Advent lancerait une OPA sur Matalan

Richard Baker, l’ancien patron de Boots, pilote une OPA de 1,5 milliard de livres que le capital-investisseur Advent International, dont il est devenu operating partner, va lancer cette semaine sur Matalan, qui possède le discompteur Poundland, rapporte The Sunday Times. Matalan, qui a été mis en vente par son fondateur et propriétaire John Hargreaves, devrait susciter aussi des offres de la part de TPG, Blackstone et CVC.
16/11/2009

JPMorgan va prendre le contrôle de Cazenove

JPMorgan Chase va prendre le contrôle de Cazenove pour 940 millions de livres, rapporte le Financial Times. La banque d’investissement américaine est en négociations avancées pour acquérir pour 500 pence – 525 pence par action les 50 % d’une joint venture avec le courtier qu’elle ne détient pas encore, selon des personnes proches du dossier.
16/11/2009

Natixis Global Associates nomme un responsable des stratégies de retraites

Matt Raynor, directeur des ventes mondiales de Natixis Global Associates, change de poste au sein du groupe. Il est dorénavant responsable du pôle stratégies de retraites. Ses anciennes fonctions seront assurées par ses anciens adjoints Ed Farrington, Dan Santaneillo et Josh Bogen. Ils travailleront sous la direction de David Giunta, président et CEO de Natixis Global Associates.
16/11/2009
Fonds

Hermes et l'ABI rappellent Volkswagen à l'ordre

Dans un courrier adressé le 14 novembre à Ferdinand Piëch, à la fois président du conseil de surveillance de Volkswagen et l’un des actionnaires les plus influents de Porsche, le gestionnaire britannique de fonds de pension Hermes a critiqué l’insuffisance des informations fournies aux minoritaires et s’est interrogé sur l’existence d'éventuels conflits d’intérêts dans l’acquisition projetée de Porsche par Volkswagen, rapporte le Financial Times.De son côté, l’Association of British Insurers (ABI) a également adressé une lettre à Ferdinand Piëch pour exiger des informations sur la manière dont Porsche est valorisé pour cette acquisition et sur la justification économique de la transaction.Le journal rapporte que, selon un analyste de la Commerzbank, Porsche fait l’objet d’une valorisation «ambitieuse» de 12,4 milliards d’euros, alors que sa juste valeur serait plutôt de 9 milliards.
Fonds
16/11/2009

Ses créanciers consentent une ristourne à Karstadt

Selon Der Spiegel relayé par Die Welt, le consortium Highstreet, composé des fonds des divisions immobilières de la Deutsche Bank (RREEF) et de Pirelli (PRE) ainsi que de la banque d’investissement de Goldman Sachs, est apparemment prêt à renoncer à 80 millions d’euros de créances sur les grands magasins Karstadt : il accepte de ne pas facturer les majorations de loyers prévues pour les cinq ans à venir. Highstreet avait acheté les immeubles de Karstadt du temps où le groupe Arcandor était dirigé par Thomas Middelhoff.

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