La société Cortal Consors a annoncé jeudi 14 mars l’arrivée de Fabrice Flet en tant que directeur général de Cortal Consors France en remplacement de Benoît Gommard qui prend de nouvelles responsabilités au sein du groupe BNP Paribas.Fabrice Flet est également responsable de BNP Paribas Personal Investors France et membre du comité exécutif de BNP Paribas Personal Investors, indique un communiqué.Le nouveau promu est entré dans le groupe BNP Paribas en 1991 avant de rejoindre en 1994 Cortal Consors France. En 2005, il était directeur général de Cortal Consors Espagne avant de devenir en avril 2012, directeur général adjoint de Cortal Consors France.
Fin 2012, l’encours géré par Saxo Bank a atteint un record de 49 milliards de couronnes contre 33 milliards un an auparavant tandis que les dépôts de collatéral par la clientèle se sont accrus de presque 14 % l’an dernier à plus de 40 milliards de couronnes. Quant au bénéfice net, il est ressorti à 81 millions de couronnes contre 618 millions pour 2011. L’ebitda s’est inscrit à 606 millions de couronnes, en chute de 48 % sur l’année précédente, ce qui a incité les deux fondateurs et co-CEO Kim Fournais et Lars Seier Christensen à qualifier le résultat de 2012 d’insatisfaisant, encore qu’explicable par le climat économique général. Cela posé, le bénéfice net de Saxo Bank pour janvier-février 2013 est déjà supérieur à celui de l’ensemble de 2012.
Richard Buxton, le responsable des actions britanniques de Schroders, a démissionné après avoir passé 11 ans au sein de la société de gestion basée au Royaume-Uni, rapporte le Financial Times. L’intéressé va poursuivre sa carrière au sein d’un autre acteur de la gestion de fonds de la City, selon des sources proches du dossier. Le coéquipier de Richard Buxton, Errol Francis, quitte aussi Schroders. Le duo gérait ensemble des actifs de 6 milliards de livres. Schroders n’a pas encore décidé qui remplacera Richard Buxton, ajoute le FT.
Les deux anciens co-responsables des marchés émergents de Man Group, Bart Turtelboom et Karim Abdel-Motaal, ont commencé à lever des capitaux pour une nouvelle société de hedge funds, APQ Partners, rapporte le Financial Times. Le premier fonds de la structure s’appellerait Alexandria et devrait être centré sur les marchés émergents. Il fera l’objet d’un premier lancement au deuxième trimestre avec entre 100 et 200 millions de dollars de capitaux d’amis, de la famille et de certains investisseurs. Il sera lancé officiellement un peu plus tard avec plus de 500 millions de dollars.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2012, 873 hedge funds were liquidated, out of a total of 9,800, compared with 775 in 2010, the Financial Times reports, citing HFR. It is the third consecutive year in which the number of hedge funds closed has risen. Meanwhile, in 2012, 1,108 hedge funds were launched, down slightly compared with 2011.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After the United Kingdom, France and Germany, the four minimal volatility ETFs lauched recently by iShares have been admitted to trading on the Spanish stock exchange. They are the iShares MSCI Europe Minimum Volatility, iShares MSCI World Minimum Volatility, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility and iShares S&P 500 Minimum Volatility.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The CNMV has registered the Wealth Preservation USD wealth management sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav Schroders International Select Fund (ISF), the British firm Schroders reports in a statement published by Funds People. Sales of the product, managed by Malcolm Melville (see Newsmanagers of 5 February) have now begun in Spain.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to the HFR Market Microstructure Industry Report, average management and performance (incentive) commissions for hedge funds in 2012 were down to 1.56% from 1.57%, and 18.54% from 18.71% in 2011, respectively. Funds launched in 2012 had average management commissions of 1.62%, compared with 1.61% for the 2011 vintage, and the average performance commission dipped to 17.74% fro 18.08% the previous year, Hedge Fund Research (HFR) states.Meanwhile, the survey reports that 2012 brought the launch of 1,108 hedge funds, compared with 1,113 in 2011, while the number of liquidations increased to 873, from 775. This is the highest attrition rate in the sector since 2009, when more than 1,000 hedge funds were liquidated.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of 2012, assets under management by Saxo Bank totalled a record SEK49bn, compared with SEK33bn one year previously, while collateral client deposits increased by nearly 14% last year, to over SEK40bn.Net profits totalled SEK81m, compared with SEK618m in 2011. EBITDA came to SEK606m, down 48% compared with the previous year, which led the founders and ex-CEOs Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen to call the 2012 results unsatisfactory, albeit explicable by the general economic climate. However, profits at Saxo Bank in January-February 2013 are already higher than for all of 2012.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the largest bank in Liechtenstein, LGT, increased 18% last year to CHF102.1bn, due to the good performance of its investments and net inflows of CHF10.5bn, up 12% year on year, according to a statement released on 14 March. LGT last year tripled its profits to CHF216m, compared with CHF70m the previous year. This rebound is partly due to a basic effect, as the bank saw a 52% fall in its profits the previous year due to one-time charges related to the sale of its German affiliate. Last year, LGT also extended its activities in the Middle East, opening an affiliate in Dubai, which offers private banking services, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkey, and Africa. The bank also took over insurance-related investment activities from the wealth management firm Clariden Leu.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A planned tax on financial transactions (FTT) limited to 11 countries of the European Union has come in for criticism by the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA). According to estimates by the professional association, the new version of the FTT would have cost EUR13bn if the tax had been applied from the beginning of 2011. This total includes EUR7.3bn coing from countries in the FTT area, and EUR5.7bn from the non-FTT area.At a time when governments are expected to do more to encourage long-term financial savings and reduce dependency on the state to finance retirement, “the planned FTT is a move in the opposite direction, and punishes savers,” EFAMA claims. The application of FTT in a limited number of member states will lead to discussions about competition within the single European market which will lead asset management activities to move out of the FTT area.EFAMA “strongly opposes the FTT, which investors will have to pay (at least) twice, and which will considerably reduce the attractiveness of savings in funds and pension programmes. The result will be totally unjustified with regard to the important social role which investment funds play, and the international reputation acquired by UCITS funds as a model of excellence on the long-term savings market,” Peter de Proft, CEO of EFAMA, says.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The co-heads of European real estate funds at Carlyle, Eric Sasson and Robert Hodges, are leaving the firm, according to a letter to investors obtained by the Financial Times. The move has provoked anger on the part of investors in one fund, which has seen heavy losses. The second fund, raised in 2004, will pay only USD0.40 on each dollar invested.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to José María Marcos, CEO of the “entities” department at the CNMV, 28 of the 105 Spanish asset management firms posted losses in 2012, Funds People reports. Total pre-tax profits came to EUR286m, compared with EUR278m in 2011 but they were 62% lower than their 2007 levels (EUR771m). Returns on owners’ equity (ROE) totalled 20.1%, where they had been 60.5% five years previously.The regulator also found that revenues from management commissions last year fell 5.7% to EUR1.416bn, and that the average management commission fell to 0.87% from 1.08% in 2011.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } From 18 March, indices replicated by the Market Vectors Agribusiness and Market Vectors Solar Energy ETFs from Van Eck Global will be in-house products, the Market Vectors® Global Agribusiness Index and Market Vectors® Global Solar Energy Index, replacing the DAXglobal® Agribusiness Index ad Ardour Solar Energy IndexSM.The indices were developed by a German affiliate of Van Eck Associates Corporation, Market Vectors Index Solutions GmbH.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The asset management firm Cortal Consors on Thursday, 14 March announced the arrival of Fabrice Flet as CEO of Cortal Consors France, replacing Benoît Gommard, who is taking on new responsibilities within the BNP Paribas group.Flet is also head of BNP Paribas Personal Investors France, and a member of the executive board at BNP Pariba Personal Investors, a statement says.Flet joined the BNP Paribas group in 1991, and in 1994 joined Cortal Consors France. In 2005 he was CEO of Cortal Consors Spain, and in April 2012 became deputy CEO of Cortal Consors France.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Neuberger Berman has closed its second co-investment fund, with USD1.1bn in assets. The NB Strategic Co-Investment Partners Fund II, which will invest in all global regions including Asia-Pacific, had an initial objective of USD750m. The Fund II already has nine investments in its portfolio, for a total of about USD185m, in Latin America, the United States and Europe.
Credit Suisse Group cesse l’activité de sa filiale Asset Management Finance qui investissait dans des hedge funds et d’autres sociétés de gestion, en réponse aux règles plus sévères pour les banques, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. Le groupe voulait vendre une partie de son portefeuille à Blackstone et Carlyle, mais sans succès. Aussi la banque conservera la filiale mais ne fera plus d’investissements. De ce fait, la plupart des dirigeants de la structure sont partis. Le portefeuille d’AMF inclut des participations dans Reservoir Capital Group et Brigade Capital Management.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Credit Suisse Group is winding down the activities of its affiliate Asset Management Finance, which had invested in hedge funds and other asset management firms, in response to stricter rules governing banks, the Wall Street Journal reports. The group had sought to sell a part of its portfolio to Blackstone and Carlyle, but were unsuccessful. The bank will retain the affiliate, but will no longer make investments. As a result, most of the management of the structure have left. The portfolio at AMF includes stakes in Reservoir Capital Group and Brigade Capital Management.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Andrea Sturm, most recently director of sales & relationship management at the depositary banking unit at Portigon (formerly WestLB), has been recruited as head of sales for asset servicing activities at BNY Mellon for the German-speaking countries, and for central and eastern Europe. She will report to Thomas Brand, head of investment services for these regions.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Frank W. Straatman, CEO in charge of private mandates at Feri Trust GmbH, has been appointed as a managing board member at Feri AG, a body which has been extend to four people. He joins Arnd Thorn (chairman), Matthias Klöpper (finances) and Heinz-Werner Rapp (CIO).Straatman joined the Feri group in 2001, and has been a board member at Feri trust since 2006.Feri AG is part of the MLP group, with whom it has assets under management or administration of EUR21bn.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Tom Keaney, global CEO for the investment services unit at BNY Mellon, has added two global CEOs for the asset servicing and depository receipts divisions, with the promotions of Samir Pandiri, who had previously been CEO Americas asset servicing, and Chris Keams, previously deputy CEO for the division.Lou Maiuri, for his part, will report to Pandiri as deputy CEO for global asset servicing, while retaining his role as head of the global financial institutions group within the asset servicing activity, alternative investment services group and asset servicing activities for Latin America.Michael Cole-Fontayn, who had been head of the depositary receipts division worldwide since 2008, will now focus full-time on his activities as chairman of Europe, Middle East & Africa, and as a member of the executive board at BNY Mellon. With the investment services unit and the creation of an integrated front office, BNY Mellon is uniting operations in a single entity positioned for various stages of the investment cycle, Keaney says.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } External assets under management by the Generali insurance group last year increased 14.4% to EUR96.38bn, compared with EUR88.20bn previously, according to statistics released on 14 March at a publication of annual results by the Italian group. Operating profits at the financial group rose 21.7%, to EUR408m, while the operating ratio improved to 69%, from 73.2% previously. As of 31 December 2012, investments by Generali totalled EUR392.7bn, up 11.2% year on year. The group last year continued its policy of reducing sensitivity to risk for all portfolios. Exposure to bonds increased to 81.1% compared with 77.6% as of the end of 2011, while exposure to equities was reduced to 4.6% from 5.5%.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Alcentra Limited, a boutique of BNY Mellon Asset Management, has appointed Jack Yang to the position of managing director of development for the Americas. Michael Johnson meanwhile becomes managing director and head of UK direct lending. Yang had previously been head of business development at Onex Credit Partners and Highland Capital. Johnson most recently served as head of European leveraged capital markets at Cantor Fitzgerald.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Amundi has opened a representative office in Stockholm, the Swedish website Fondsbraschen reports. The objective for the office is to sell ETFs from the French asset management firm to Nordic clients. As a part of that endeavour, Björn Sandberg has been recruited as head of the Amundi Sweden representative office and head of ETF Client Relationships for the Nordic region.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The real estate unit at Henderson Global Investors on 14 March announced the recruitment of Anna Sjöberg as a manager in its Swedish team. Sjöberg will be based in Stockholm, where she will report directly to Johan Aström, head of the real estate unit in Sweden, a statement from the firm says. Sjöberg, previously of Fortin Properties, where she was responsible for the Swedish retail portfolio, will be responsible for the management of the Scandinavian portfolio for Henderson.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Ian Pollock has joined ABN Amro as director of the private bank for Asia. He left VP Bank in October Asian Investor states. He will begin in his new role on 13 May. He will be responsible for the private bank in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Pollock is based in Hong Kong, and in his new position replaces Arjan de Boer, who has been promoted to a global operational role in the management of ABN Amro.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Richard Buxton, head of UK equities at Schroders, has resigned after 11 years at the British asset management firm, the Financial Times reports. Buxton will continue his career at another fund management firm in the City, according to sources familiar with the matter. Buxton’s teammate, Errol Francis, is also leaving Schroders. The pair together managed assets of GBP6bn. Schroders has not yet decided who will replace Buxton, the FT adds.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The two former co-heads of emerging markets at Man Group, Bart Turtelboom and Karim Abdel-Motaal, have begun raising capital for a new hedge fund firm, APQ Partners, the Financial Times reports. The first fund from the structure will be entitled Alexandria, and is expected to be focused on emerging markets. It will be soft-launched in second quarter, with USD100m to USD200m in capital from friends, family and a few investors. It will officially be launched slightly later, with over USD500m.
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The UK asset management firm F&C in 2012 saw a 4.9% contraction in its assets, to GBP95.2bn, which did not prevent it from posting an 11% increase in its underlying pre-tax profits to GBP52.4m.This decline in assets is largely related to net redemptions of GBP11.4bn from «strategic partners,» and GBP1.9bn from consumer and institutional branch. This also resulted in a decline in revenues, from GBP267m in 2011 to GBP243.5m in 2012.But the underlying operating costs (excluding one-time elements) were reduced from GBP202.1m to GBP172.1m, largely due to a restructuring by the firm which is now “complete.”
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US firm Legg Mason has announced that, with its affiliate Permal, it has completed the acquisition of Fauchier Partners from BNP Paribas Investment Partners. The European hedge fund management firm as of 28 February had estimated assets of USD5.4bn.