Destinée aux conseillers en gestion de patrimoine indépendants et à leurs clients, la nouvelle offre de gestion pilotée de Skandia, Skandia Perspectives, est une option accessible à la souscription ou en cours de contrat à partir de 30.000 euros. Elle permet de diversifier ses investissements en les répartissant sur le fonds en euros ACMN Sélection Rendement pour une part maximale de 50% et sur une orientation de gestion proposée par l’un des gérants partenaires, permettant ainsi selon Skandia de bénéficier du savoir-faire en allocation d’actifs des sociétés de gestion, parmi lesquelles Generali Investments, DNCA Finance, Primonial FundQuest, CPR Asset Management et OFI Asset Management.

Perial Placements a annoncé le 9 novembre qu’il s’est associé à Immovalor, la filiale du groupe Allianz, pour distribuer une SCPI Scellier, Domivalor 4. La SCPI Domivalor 4 investit dans un patrimoine diversifié afin de limiter les risques de vacance locative et de marché. «En sélectionnant Domivalor 4, nous permettons à nos partenaires privilégiés d’accéder au savoir-faire d’Immovalor en matière de SCPI fiscales. Appliquer le dispositif Scellier à une SCPI permet de bénéficier des avantages fiscaux de ce dispositif et de profiter des avantages des SCPI. » souligne Alexandre Claudet, Directeur Général Délégué de Perial Placements.

Le bureau d’analyse financière indépendant AlphaValue a annoncé le 9 novembre le lancement d’un service d’analyse financière accessible aux investisseurs individuels en Europe.Initialement conçue pour une clientèle d’investisseurs professionnels (gérants de fonds, hedge funds, directions financières, directions fusions-acquisitions…), l’offre d’analyse a été adaptée aux besoins spécifiques des investisseurs individuels et est diffusée, exclusivement par abonnement, via le site internet http://www.alphavalue.com/.AlphaValue souligne que la novation du service consiste à aller au-delà de l’approche classique de l’analyse fondamentale de sociétés considérées individuellement, pour permettre des comparaisons multi-critères et inter-entreprises dans un environnement européen.

Le fonds commun de placement Montbleu Etoiles va recevoir le 12 novembre prochain le label diversum qui atteste qu’une part significative (25 % au moins de l’actif net) du fonds est investie en titres d’entreprises ayant un impact favorable sur l’environnement culturel. Montbleu Finance fait partie des premières sociétés de gestion de portefeuille indépendantes à être récompensées par le label diversum dédié aux placements financiers.

466 pharmacies de la chaîne Apoteket sur un total de 946 ont été vendues par l’Etat suédois pour 6 milliards de couronnes (578 millions d’euros) à un consortium composé des capital-investisseurs suédois Altor, Segulah et Investor ainsi qu’à une co-entreprise du grossiste en pharmacie finlandais Oriala et de la coopérative suédoise KF, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Apoteket a réalisé en 2008 un bénéfice net de 90 millions d’euros pour un CA de 4 milliards.

Fitch Ratings a dégradé la note Asset Manager de Pioneer Investments de M2+ à M2, couvrant les activités de la société de gestion du groupe UniCredit à Milan, Dublin, Munich et Boston, mais exclut la gestion alternative.Cette baisse reflète principalement l’affaiblissement de la situation financière de la société et les ajustements qui s’en sont suivis en termes de stratégie, lesquels pourraient avoir un impact sur son organisation. L’agence de notation rappelle que Pioneer a vu ses encours sous gestion baisser fortement en 2008 et 2009, à 157,6 milliards d’euros à fin juin, en raison de la chute des marchés et de lourds rachats, notamment en Italie et en Allemagne. Les sorties ont totalisé 54,9 milliards d’euros en 2008 et au premier semestre 2009.Résultat, la société de gestion s’est lancée dans un «repositionnement» afin d’aligner ses coûts au niveau plus faible des encours et de stabiliser les flux. Pour Fitch, la décision de Pioneer de croître de manière organique, alors que précédemment elle avait une stratégie d’acquisitions, et les défis du secteur de la gestion d’actifs, pourraient accroître le risque d’une redéfinition de la société et de sa stratégie, ce qui aura un impact sur de nombreux domaines, y compris le personnel.

Selon Bloomberg, T. Rowe Price Group, qui gère 366,2 milliards de dollars d’actifs (242,2 milliards d’euros), vient de prendre une participation de 26 % dans UTI Asset Management, la plus ancienne société de gestion indienne, qui dispose de 768,5 milliards de roupies d’actifs (10,06 milliards d’euros). Depuis cinq ans, le montant des actifs sous gestion au sein des fonds indiens a été multiplié par cinq.

Robert McCann, le nouveau patron de la gestion de fortune d’UBS pour les Etats-Unis, a assemblé une équipe d’anciens dirigeants de Merrill Lynch pour l’aider à faire renouer le pôle avec la rentabilité, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. Il a annoncé lundi que quatre anciens collègues de Merrill, dont Bob Mulholland et Brian Hull, le rejoindraient chez UBS. John Brown et Paula Polito les suivent.

John Grayken, le patron du private equity immobilier de Lone Star Funds, veut lever 20 milliards de dollars pour acquérir de la dette «distressed», rapporte le Wall Street Journal. Pour obtenir cet argent, il réduit certains de ses frais de plus de 50 %.

Northrop Grumman a annoncé avoir vendu pour 1,65 milliard de dollars son activité de conseil regroupée dans la filiale TASC Inc à un groupe d’investisseurs animé par General Atlantic et ses filiales ainsi que par KKR. La plus-value après impôt de 1,1 milliard de dollars sera affectée à une extension du programme de rachat d’actions. A la fin du troisième trimestre, l’avionneur ne disposait plus que d’une marge de 280 millions de dollars sur son précédent programme de rachat d’actions de 2,5 milliards de dollars.

For third quarter 2009, the Allianz group has published a 143% increase in profits to EUR1.3bn, compared with EUR545m one year ago. The Financial Services division has posted a 22.5% increase in its assets, to EUR1.1bn, for operating profits of EUR332m in the quarter, nearly double their level one year ago. Assets under management for third parties in asset management activities rose by EUR65bn to a total of EUR878bn, a record, the group says, while assets under management for third parties increased by EUR175bn in the first nine months of the year. Bond products were the major driver of this growth, a statement says. Total assets, including tier 1 assets under management, totalled EUR1.175trn as of the end of September. The quarterly report also reveals that in third quarter, operating profits in asset management increased 97.8% compared with their levels in July-September 2008, to a total of EUR368m, compared with EUR246m in April-June, and EUR211m in January-March. Results for July-September include EUR15m in positive currency effects and EUR17m arising from the integration of Cominvest.

In view of the growing interest of clients in ETF products, the private bank DAB Bank is launching a promotion. On its website, at www.dab-bank.de/etf, the bank has assembled a body of informational material about tracker funds. From 9 to 13 November, 60 ETF products from iShares will be available with no management fee, for investments of EUR500 or more, Fondsprofessionell reports.

Frankfurt-Trust is launching FT Global Infrastructure Diversified, a fund which bets on infrastructure mega-trends. The portfolio, managed by Birgit Ebner, combines shares in businesses active in the transport, procurement, recycling, and communication sectors. There is no geographical limitation on the fund’s investments. However, Frankurt Trust emphasizes that small and midcaps will play a significant role in the portfolio, Fondsprofessionell reports.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Pioneer Investments’ Asset Manager rating to ‘M2' from ‘M2+'. The rating covers Pioneer’s Milan, Dublin, Munich and Boston operations, but excludes the alternative investments division. The downgrade primarily reflects the company’s weakened financial standing and the subsequent adjustment of its corporate strategy, which could adversely impact the organisation. Lower revenues in 2008 and the year to date have resulted from a significant decrease in assets under management, due to declining financial markets over the past 18 month but, more importantly, heavy redemptions recorded in 2008 and H109 (totalling EUR54.9bn excluding the alternative investment division). As a result, Pioneer has embarked on a «repositioning project» to align the cost base to the lower level of AuM and to stabilise asset flows. In Fitch’s view, Pioneer’s major strategic shift to grow organically (versus the previous acquisition-based global growth strategy) and ongoing challenges in the investment industry may increase the risk of a redesign of the company and its strategy, with impact on numerous areas, including staffing.

On Tuesday, the Julius Baer group announced that as of the end of October, assets under management for clients had risen 22% compared with the beginning of this year, to CHF234bn. Assets under management (AUM) incrased 17% to CHF150bn, excluding the acquisition of ING Bank (Switzerland), which will be concluded only in first quarter 2010. Performance improved for most asset classes, while currency effects were neutral overall. Net subscriptions evolved favourably in all regions, but at a slower pace than in first quarter. Julius Baer notes, however, that “the more tense regulatory environment in some European countries” led some clients to reallocate their assets. In addition, the Julius Baer group has begun a gradual withdrawal from the United States retail market.

Roughly 200 items belonging to Bernad Madoff - watches, his personalized Mets jacket and Post-it notes - will go on the auction block this weekend in a government-run sale designed to raise at least USD500,000 for the victims of his Ponzi scheme.

The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter, that SAC Capital Advisors, one of the largest hedge funds in the United States, is said to be caught up in the major investigation of insider trading on Wall Street now underway. Richard Choo Beng, a witness who is cooperating with investigators, is said to have agreed to provide information to prosecutors about a hedge fund he worked at from 1999 to 2004, which is said to be SAC.

An investigative report by La Tribune, published on 9 November, reveals that UBS could not have been unaware that Bernard Madoff was meaningfully involved in the management of the Sicav Luxalpha American Selection and US Equity Plus funds, as revealed in an “operating memorandum” from the US Equity Plus fund, in which Madoff’s name appeared more than 20 times. In this document, UBS named Madoff as sub-depository of the fund and guardian of its assets. But, as the CSSF found in January of this year, this management subcontract does not absolve UBS of its repsonsibilities as depository. If the information in the prospectus was inaccurate, then the bank would be open to charges of fraud, which could mean a criminal case and a nullification of the agreement. UBS Fund Services Luxembourg (UBSFSL) failed to fulfil its duties as the evaluator of the fund, by accepting falsified documents edited by Madoff to calculate the valuations which were then communicated to investors. The net asset value of the fund is now zero. As a result, as circular 2002/77, dated 27 November 2002, from the Luxembourg regulator (CSSF) indicates, UBSFSL is now obligated to reimburse investors for the difference between the overvalued net asset value applied to the fund shares subscribed to and the recalculated net asset value (which is now equal to zero). The circular also defines the responsibilities of the depository in cases when failure to observe investment regulations results in a loss. In this case, page 20 of the operating memorandum states that and investors or funds who experience a loss will be reimbursed by the party at fault, “in principle the portfolio manager,” which would mean UBS Third Party Management. If this entity fails to pay, the fund promoter is liable to do so in its place. Responsibility may also fall back on the manager - and the promoter is none other than UBS AG, La Tribune concludes.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the director of Burlington Northern Santa Fe has announced that Berkshire Hathaway, the investment fund owned by Warren Buffett, is liquidating its positions in rival rail transport firms Norfolk Souther and Union Pacific. Berkshire is preparing to conclude its acquisition of Burlington Northern.

The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index has fallen 0.50% in October, while the S&P 500 lost 1.98% in the same period, the Hennessee Group reports. Since the beginning of the year, the index now shows growth of 20.12%, compared with 14.72% for the S&P 500. The Hennessee Long/Short Equity Index lost 1.39% in October (+17.07% since the beginning of the year), while the Arbitrage/Event Driven index gained 0.81% (+24.45% since the beginning of the year). Global/Macro stagnated in October, with a loss of 0.12% (+21.15% for the year to the end of October).

The Spanish asset management affiliate of Banca Privada d’Andorra, BPA Global Funds AM, has registered the BPA Iberian Equities fund as a new sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav BPA International Selection Fund. The Spanish equities fund, aimed at international institutional clients, will be managed by the star manager Gonzalo Lardiés, Funds People reports. BPA is targeting the Chilean and Mexican markets, among others.

Pioneer Investments is rationalizing the Luxembourg-registered fund range from Pioneer Asset Management S.A. From 27 November, the number of sub-funds in the Pioneer CIM fund will be reduced from eight to two. Only the Pioneer CIM- Euro Fixed Income, which will absorb the Pioneer CIM - Euro Convertible Bond, and the Pioneer CIM - Global Equity, which will absorb the Pioneer CIM - US Quant Equity, Japanese Quant Equity, India Equity, Latin America Equity and Global Gold Mining sub-funds, will remain.

In September, funds in Luxembourg had net inflows of EUR10.467bn, according to the financial regulator (CSSF). With the positive impact of financial markets amounting to EUR23.95bn, assets in the industry have increased to EUR1.773834trn, an increase of 1.98% in one month. Compared with September 2008, assets are down 1.27%. The number of funds taken into consideration is 3,457, compared with 3,449 the previous month, the CSSF adds. 2,082 vehicles have adopted a multiple sub-fund structure, with a total of 10,832 sub-funds. With the addition of 1,375 vehicles with a classic structure, there is a total of 12,207 entities active on the financial market.

According to statistics from Ahorro Corporación, assets in Spanish guaranteed funds have contracted by 10.7%, or EUR5.78bn since the beginning of the year, to a total of EUR48.44bn, Cinco Días reports. This decline represents 87.3% of the contraction in assets for all funds in the period under review (EUR6.62bn). In September alone, net redemptions from guaranteed funds totalled EUR667m. Specialists predict that a good part of the EUR3.07bn which will mature in November and December (according to estimates from VDOS Stochastics) will be redirected to more lucrative asset classes such as direct investment in equities, or funds with higher-risk profiles. The average performance of guaranteed funds totals 3.4%, which is lower than those of diversified funds investing primarily in bonds (5.6%), or even mid/long term bond funds (4.5%). The two management firms whose assets in guaranteed funds have fallen most severely are BBVA (-EUR2.5bn), and Santander (-EUR1.8bn).

US money-management firm Affiliated Managers Group acquired a 5% stake in Hong Kong-based Value Partners Group, an independent money manager with about USD4.6 billion in assets under management, for about USD36 million. It thus gains a toehold in the Chinese market.

Prudential on Thursday announced the launch of Prudential Al-Wara’ Asset Management, a management firm based in Malaysia, wholly dedicated to management according to the Islamic principles of Sharia, Asian Investor reports. Zulkifli Ishak, former director of Sharia investments at Prudential Fund Management, becomes CEO and CIO of the new structure, which will offer Malaysian institutional investors offshore and onshore mandates.

On 4 November, Pioneer Investments launched the Pioneer Funds - Emerging Market Bond Local Currencies fund, a new sub-fund of the Luxembourg-registered Pioneer Funds Sicav, investing primarily in debt from emerging countries denominated in local currencies, the Italian website Bluerating reports. The manager of the fund will be Greg Saichin, head of emerging markets and high yield.

The Chinese National Social Security Fund (NSSF), one of the pension funds for the People’s Republic, may initiate a series of changes, as it approaches CNY1trn in assets, a level it expects to reach in the next two years, Asian Investor reports. One of the innovations may be the transformation of the professional status of those working in fund management, who have previously been state functionaries. The creation of a private management team may help the fund to attract new talent. The fund is also talking about a new allocation which would reduce its exposure to bonds and increase exposure to alternative assets.

Quirin Bank has decided to discontinue management of the db x-trackers Quirin Wealth Management Total Return Index ETF (EUR46.27m in assets as of the end of September), launched on 1 December 2008, in order to underline its independence. The product is part of the db x-trackers product range, from the Deutsche Bank group. The name “Quirin” will now be removed from the name of the fund, which will now be known simply as db x-trackers Wealth Management ETF.

IMS Health, which claims to be the global leader in market intelligence for the pharmaceutical and health industries, has announced that its board of directors has unanimously approved the sale of the firm for USD5.2bn, including debt, to a consortium of investment funds managed by TPG Capital (USD45bn in assets) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP IB, USD116.6bn in assets, of which USD18.4bn are in private equity). Shareholders will receive USD22 per share in cash, which represents a premium of about 50% over their closing price on 16 October, the last day before rumours broke that IMS was studying variuos strategic options, and 31% over their closing price on Thursday. TPG and CPP IB will finance the transaction with equity and debt provided by affiliates of Goldman Sachs.