Un porte-parole de GIMS, le pôle qui regroupe la gestion d’actifs, la gestion et le métier titres de la Société Générale, a confirmé mardi à NewsManagers que le groupe maintenait le projet de cotation en Bourse de sa filiale californienne TCW. Depuis la décision annoncée en janvier dernier de rapprocher les activités de gestion traditionnelles de la Société Générale de celles du Crédit Agricole, «notre position n’a pas changé», a souligné le porte-parole. La banque de La Défense avait alors indiqué qu’elle souhaitait mettre en œuvre un «spin off» de TCW dans le cadre d’une introduction en Bourse au cours des cinq prochaines années. «Nous voulons que TCW soit un acteur de premier plan dans la consolidation de l’industrie de la gestion d’actifs aux Etats-Unis et dans cette perspective, nous continuons d’envisager une introduction en Bourse dans les cinq ans à venir», a expliqué le porte-parole. La Société Générale n’a pas souhaité commenter en revanche les informations du New York Post daté du 1er septembre qui laissait entendre que TCW, qui gère quelque 105 milliards de dollars, pourrait faire l’objet d’une recapitalisation ou d’un MBO avec le concours d’un fonds de private equity. Selon le quotidien américain, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts ferait partie des sociétés de capital investissement qui pourraient participer à un scénario de ce type. Dans un entretien au quotidien, le directeur général par intérim de TCW, Marc Stern, a indiqué que le private equity pourrait en effet participer à une opération de recapitalisation de la filiale, mais il a démenti toute cession de la société par la Société Générale. La Société Générale avait acquis une participation majoritaire dans TCW en 2001 qui, au fil des ans, a gonflé à 70 %.
En août, les plus fortes souscriptions nettes ont été enregistrées, avec 157,1 millions d’euros, par Ibercaja Gestión, devant BBVA Asset Management (74,8 millions), Invercaixa Gestión (45,8 millions) et Santander Asset Management (24,7 millions), selon les chiffres de l’association Inverco.En ce qui concerne les encours, le palmarès demeure inchangé : BBVA AM arrive en tête, avec presque 33 milliards d’euros, devant Santander AM (28,6 milliards) et Invercaixa Gestión avec 12,5 milliards.
Selon L’Agefi suisse, RBS Coutts, filiale du groupe bancaire britannique RBS, veut mettre en œuvre une stratégie de croissance organique en Suisse dans la gestion privée. Actuellement, la filiale britannique, qui compte 750 employés en Suisse et représente la cinquième banque spécialisée dans la gestion privée dans ce pays, cherche à engager de nouveaux spécialistes de ce domaine.
Au premier semestre, les souscriptions enregistrées par Partners Group ont porté sur 1,4 milliard de francs suisses en brut et de 0,6 milliard en net (lire notre article du 13 juillet) et le gestionnaire confirme une nouvelle fois son objectif de collecter entre 3 milliards et 4 milliards pour l’ensemble de l’année. Les souscriptions en provenance d’Asie ont représenté 11 % du total, contre 2 % en 2008. A fin juin, les encours se situaient à 24,9 milliards de francs, dont 19,59 milliards contre 18,16 milliards pour le private equity, 2,6 milliard contre 2,56 milliards pour le «private debt» et 1,62 milliard contre 1,81 milliard pour les fonds de valeurs cotées.L’ebitda de janvier-juin, avec 114,4 millions de francs, a été voisin du record de 115,9 millions enregistré pour la période correspondante de l’an dernier, mais le bénéfice net ajusté a diminué à 85,1 millions de francs contre 110,1 millions à cause principalement d’une perte de 20,4 millions du compte financier (contre un bénéfice de 4 millions) qui est due à des moins values provisoires sur les placements dans certains produits maison en tant que general partner. En outre, l’effet de change a été négatif de 8,7 millions de francs et la baisse des taux d’intérêt a réduit à 2,1 millions contre 5,5 millions les recettes d’intérêt sur les liquidités (156 millions de francs en moyenne).
La banque privée de HSBC basée à Genève a vu sortir de ses portefeuilles de hedge funds plus de 4 milliards de dollars en net au 1er semestre, rapporte le Financial Times. Les encours de HSBC Alternative Investments, l’activité de fonds de fonds de la banque, ressortent désormais à 22,27 milliards de dollars, contre 46,28 milliards au plus haut en septembre 2008.
A l’occasion de la présentation de ses résultats semestriels, Partners Group, dont l’effectif a gonflé de 60 % depuis juillet 2007 à 355 personnes (au 30 juin), a annoncé la création au 1er janvier 2010 d’un nouveau poste de Head Operations Development». Le titulaire en sera Kurt Bichler, qui est actuellement directeur financier (CFO) et sera remplacé dans cette dernière fonction par Cyril Wipfli, associé de Partners Group et directeur de la communication.Kurt Bichler sera en particulier chargé de l’expansion des activités de Partners Group à Singapour.
It is the largest real estate transaction year to date in Germany : for EUR164m, Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE, co-operative banks) has acquired the Mercado shopping centre in Hamburg (Altona-Ottensen) from a joint venture of Pirelli & C. Real Estate SpA and Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing. The 24,000 square metre property will be entrusted to the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo:Deutschland, and for the next five years, its day-to-day management will be contracted out to Pirelli & C. Real Estate Deutschland GmbH.
The private equity firm BC Partners has made one of the largest acquisitions of the year, with the purchase of a 40 % stake in Synlab, a company based in Augsburg, and a 100% stake in the Viennese firm Futurelab, for EUR400m, of which EUR300m are provided from its own equity, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. Evernal financing will come from the Austrian Raiffeisen-Bank, UniCredit, and WestLB.This is only the second large-scale operation in Germany since the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, following the acquisition of Kalle by Silverfleet.
Les Echos reports that since the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, all the major activist hedge funds have been in serious difficulties including closures, negative performance, departure of clients. Cerberus, Atticus, The Children’s Investment Fund Management, Knight Vinke and others are going through a rough patch, and are no longer in a position to put pressure on companies to incite them to restructure and improve their profitability. Shareholders, rendered immune to much pressure by the crisis, are now less receptive to activists’ talk, and less inclined to follow them. Capital is rare, and time is money, even though funds need time in order to function correctly. In Europe, the number of deals concluded by activist funds fell to 19 last year, compared with 73 in 2007.
At a presentation of its half-yearly results, Partners Group, whose staff increased 60% since July 2007 to 355 (as of 30 June), has announced the creation of a new position for a Head of Operations development, effective from 1 January. Kurt Bichler, who is currently CFO, will assume the new position, and will be replaced in his current role by Cyril Wipfli, a partner at Partners Group and head of communication. Bichler will be in charge of the expansion of Partners Group’s activities in Singapore.
In first half, subscriptions to Partners Group totalled CHF1.4bn gross, and CHF0.6bn net (see Newsmanagers of 13 July), and the manager has once again confirmed that it aims to bring in between CHF3bn and CHF4bn for the year as a whole. Subscriptions from Asia represented 11% of the total, compared with 2% in 2008. As of the end of June, assets totalled CHF24.9bn. EBITDA for January-June, at CHF114.4m, approached the record of CHF115.9m in the corresponding period of last year, but adjusted net profits were down to CHF85.1m, from CHF110.1m, largely due to losses of CHF20.4m (compared with profits of CHF4m) due to provisional capital losses on investments in certain inhouse products for which the company is a general partner. Currency effects were also negative for CHF8.7m, and falling interest rates reduced revenues from interest on liquidity (CHF156m on average) to CHF2.1m from CHF5.5m.
HSBC’s Geneva-based private saw net outflows of over USD4bn from the hedge funds portfolios in first half, the Financial Times reports. Assets at HSBC Alternative Investments, the fund of fund business of the bank, now total USD22.27bn, compared with USD46.28bn at their peak in September 2008.
Companies of the CAC 40 have posted EUR21.2bn in earnings in total in first half, a decline of 57% compared with the corresponding period of last year, according to tallies by Ricol-Lasteriye for Les Echos. This decline is partially the fault of heavyweights of the index such as Total, whose profits were virtually halved to EUR4.459trn.
According to sources familiar with the matter, cited by the Wall Street Journal, Morgan Stanley is planning to integrate its fund business Van Kampen into a joint venture, which would be founded in partnership with a larger ally. Among the firms that may team up with Morgan Stanley in asset management are Invesco, Franklin Resources, Aberdeen AM, Federated Investors, and Nuveen Investments.
Nearly two years after launching its French operations, M&G Investments, the asset management affiliate of the Prudential group, has decided to outsource its fund sales activities serving French institutional investors to the Compagnie Financière Jacques Cœur, a third party marketing provider which assists managers with their sales operations. By the terms of the partnership signed between the businesses for a renewable period of three years, the Compagnie Financière Jacques Cœur will “represent and develop” M&G Investments’ presence serving French institutional investors managing their own assets, according to a statement. The Paris office of the British management firm, led by Brice Anger, will continue to serve existing institutional clients, as well as independent wealth management advisors, for whom a person has recently been recruited. The partnership will include sales of funds of the complete range of open-ended funds on offer from M&G Investments. Management mandate opportunities will be targeted on a “case by case” basis, the statement says. M&G says the partnership will allow it to accelerate its development in the French institutional market, as the Compagnie Financière Jacques Cœur knows this market well. Compagnie Financière Jacques Cœur, for its part, adds to its range of clients in France, who already include products from East Capital and Sparinvest.
The US asset management arm of Société Générale, TCW, which manages about USD105bn in assets, may be involved in a recapitalisation or an MBO in partnership with a private equity fund. The New York Post reports on 1 September that Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is among the private equity funds that may participate in an operation of this type. In an interview with the New York Post, the interim CEO of TCW, Mark Stern, says that private equity may be involved in a recapitalisation operation at the affiliate, but denies that Société Générale is planning to sell the firm. Société Générale acquired a majority stake in TCW in 2001, and has gradually increased its stake to 70%. The French bank, which did not comment the article, confirmed yesterday that at a time when its management activities are being merged with those of Crédit Agricole, it would like to spin off TCW with an IPO in the next five years. After the merger of its management activities with those of Crédit Agricole, the firm expects to hold a 20% stake in TCW.
Fund Channel, founded four years ago by Crédit Agricole Asset Management, has opened its capital to BNP Paribas Investment Partners, which has acquired a 49.96% stake. The purchase price for the stake has not been disclosed. With its network of 196 locations, the business will provide “a purchasing core which will make it possible to take advantage of reduced price agreements with distribution commission calculation and recovery services,” Fund Channel explains. The platform has been the subject of interest on the part of BNP Paribas, whose multi-management activities are provided by FundQuest. With the entry of BNP Paribas into its capital, Fund Channel will see an increase in its assets from EUR8bn to over EUR20bn. The allegiance is also a sign that the two firms do not adhere to open architecture. However, the partnership comes at a time when the world of asset management is undergoing a phase of unprecedented consolidation.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has recruited two executive directors as of 1 September, who will be in charge of banking client relationship management (commercial banks, savings banks, co-operative banks). The team, led by Michael Gruener, director of distribution for retail funds, now consists of seven people, with the arrival of Thorsten Saemann (ex senior manager business development at Standard Chartered Bank), and of Erik Drollinger, who was previously a retail specialist at Henderson Global Investors for Germany.By the end of the year, five more recruitments are planned, which will allow GSAM to quadruple its sales force. The new recruits will also be in charge of banking client relationship management.
Le taux de défaut des prêts logés dans les titrisations d'immobilier commercial pourrait dépasser les 7 % d’ici fin 2009, selon la société d'analyse Reis
Fidelity International estimates that office real estate markets in western Europe are in the process of stabilizing. Prices have already levelled out in the United Kingdom, while in Germany and France, a growing number of investments are being made in the market once again. Professional real estate properties offer an exceptionally attractive return compared with government or corporate bonds (with a spread of over 200 basis points over ten years). However, buyers continue to be cautious about risks, and transactions are concentrating on top-quality properties, but in volumes of under EUR50m.Fidelity points out that defensively oriented investors should wait until at least the end of 2010 before taking up positions on the Spanish or Italian real estate markets again, due to the economic situation prevailing in those countries.
On Monday, representatives of the Norwegian government announced at a conference on the architecture of the financial environment in Delhi that the Government Pension Fund - Global has decided to allocate about 1% of its USD400bn to “green” equities in developing countries, the Financial Times reports. As a part of this major change to its investment policy, the fund has already invested USD1.2bn in 232 Indian companies in environmental and clean energy sustainable development sectors.
L’Agefi Switzerland reports that the Swiss federal tax authority, the Administration fédérale des contributions (AFC), on Monday received a request for administrative assistance tfrom the US tax agency (IRS), in relation to about 4,450 accounts at UBS. In keeping with an agreement signed on 19 August between Switzerland and the United States, the UFC now has 90 days to make a final decision to deliver the information requested in relation to the first 500 cases. For all remaining cases, the final decision must be taken within 360 days.
According to the most recent statistics from the Sustainable Business Institute (SBI), as of 30 June, there were a total of 301 sustainable development funds in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with total assets of EUR25.5bn, which represents a market share of about 1%. As of the end of March, the SBI counted only 294 founds, with assets under management of about EUR21bn.Most assets were managed by 181 equities funds, with EUR17.57bn in assets, compared with 177 funds and EUR13.55bn three months previously. Bond assets represented EUR4.13bn in 42 funds, compared with EUR3.98bn in 41 funds as of the end of March, while the 50 diversified funds (compared with 49 as of 31 March) managed EUR2.96bn, compared with EUR2.62bn.The remainder of assets were in 17 funds of funds (EUR117m), 9 ETFs (EUR355m) and 2 microfinance funds (EUR389m).
According to the August edition of a monthly survey by Feri Institutional Management for Financial Times Deutschland, nearly one third of German managers are planning to reduce their allocations to equities for at least five years, or possibly longer. 80% of the 67 managers surveyed (EUR285bn in assets overall) are of the opinion that equities will eventually regain their advantage in terms of returns over government bonds. According to Feri, German institutional investors have considerably reduced their allocation to equities: before the crisis, these investments represented an average of 15% of the portfolio, and in early 2009, this percentage was 8%, or 3% for insurers. Allocations to equities probably increased in line with the market gains observed in March.
According to Hedge Fund Research, net redemptions from hedge fudns totalled about USD300bn in the nine months to 30 June, while assets at their peak totalled nearly USD1.9trn in 2007. However, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung notes, the pace of outflows has slowed in second quarter compared with first quarter, as redemptions totalled only USD43bn. In the same time period, due to positive performance on the markets, assets under management increased by USD100bn, to USD1.4trn.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, a fervent defender of the interests of the City, will meet on Wednesday with members of the European Parliament and Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, in an effort to protect the British hedge fund and private equity industries.
HSH Nordbank et la Commerzbank ont accepté de rééchelonner la dette de HCI Capital jusqu’au 30 juin 2013 sous réserve que les autres banques créancières adhèrent à ce moratoire. Les deux actionnaires principaux, MPC Capital et Döhle, garantissent de leur côté une augmentation du capital de 22 millions d’euros, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.La société, spécialiste du financement des navires et des quirats, a accusé au premier semestre un doublement de sa perte à 36 millions d’euros pendant que le chiffre d’affaires chutait des deux tiers à 22 millions d’euros.
Dans un entretien avec la Börsen-Zeitung, Marc Renaud estime que, lorsqu’on est parvenu à survivre à une période aussi difficile que Mandarine Gestion, laquelle a obtenu son agrément en février 2008, il n’y a pas trop de soucis à se faire. Le dirigeant de la boutique française reconnaît qu’on n’attend pas particulièrement Mandarine en Allemagne, mais il ajoute que, si la société de gestion fait du bon travail en matière de performance et de suivi de la clientèle, il doit lui être possible de s’imposer des deux côtés du Rhin.
Le distributeur indépendant de produits financiers Aragon AG affiche pour le premier semestre un chiffre d’affaires pro forma de 29,6 millions d’euros contre 38,6 millions pour la période correspondante de 2008 ; pour le deuxième trimestre, il est resté inchangé à 14,3 millions d’euros. Le résultat avant impôt et charges financières (Ebit) s’est détérioré à 1,17 million d’euros de perte contre un bénéfice de 8,33 millions. Compte tenu des mesures d’optimisation des coûts, le résultat a été positif avant éléments exceptionnels pour le deuxième trimestre.Aragon indique par ailleurs que son encours sous administration s’est accru pour atteindre 2,8 milliards d’euros fin juin contre 2,1 milliards six mois plus tôt. Actuellement, il se situe aux alentours de 3,2 milliards d’euros.
Pour la période janvier-juillet, le fonds LGT Multi Manager Convertible Bonds a affiché une performance de 25 %. Ce produit de droit du Liechtenstein (LI0102278962) libellé en dollars dispose désormais d’un agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne. Au travers de différents gérants spécialisés, l'équipe de LGT investit soit directement en obligations convertibles soit en obligations convertibles synthétiques.