The Swedish hedge fund firm Brummer & Partners has recruited two big names for its new global macro fund, Tim Attias as Santiago Alarco, Dagens Industri reports. The two men made their names in London for their strong returns and their luxurious lifetyles. They are also famous for beeing sued by Rubicon. They are accused of attempting to steal clients and assets totalling about EUR14bn. Attias and Alarco will become managers and partners at the new Brummer macro fund.
The British firm Henderson Global Investors and the German firm Union Investment will lay off employees, Financial News reports. About 10% of their personnel will be affected.
Major asset management firms are in the habit of holding internal trades to avoid funds suffering from significant outflows to have to sell shares at knock-down prices, Financial Times Fund Management reports. The newspaper refers to a study, Co-Insurance in Mutual Fund Families, by Luis Goncalves-Pinto at the National University of Singapore, and Breno Schmidt at Emory University, of the US market between 1995 and 2009. The authors found that funds were more likely to be assisted if they charged high commissions.
Le taux de défaut des entreprises notées en catégorie spéculative s’est établi à 2,7% en novembre, contre 3,1% en octobre, a annoncé le 10 décembre l’agence d'évaluation financière Moody’s.En Europe, le taux de défaut s’est inscrit à 2,3% contre 2,8% en octobre alors qu’aux Etats-Unis, il revenait à 3,1% contre 3,5% précédemment. Moody’s prévoit un taux de défaut de 2,7% à fin 2012, avec des taux de 3,2% aux Etats-Unis et de 2,2% en Europe.
Relatively high owners’ equity costs under Solvency II requirements may lead European insurers to reduce their exposure to securitisations spectacularly, and to invest in guaranteed bonds instead, according to a study published on 10 December by Standard & Poor’s (“Solvency II Could Push European Insurers Away From Securitizations.”) The capital requirements for a senior securitisation operation may be ten times higher than the requirements for guaranteed bonds of the same credit rating, which generally means a lower return on capital for securitisations, the ratings agency explains. Standard & Poor’s points out, of course, that Solvency II rules are far from set in stone, and that a transitional period may reduce the consequences of the new rules. But in the event, insurers have already begun to cut back their investments in securitisation operations, and there is no reason why this trend would not continue if the current draft of the directive is not modified.
Les régulateurs britannique et américain ont dévoilé le 10 décembre leur stratégie commune d’encadrement des faillites des banques «systémiques» afin de forcer les actionnaires à absorber les pertes pour que les contribuables n’aient plus à payer comme lors de la crise financière.Dans un document conjoint, la Banque d’Angleterre et la Compagnie fédérale d’assurance des dépôts bancaires (FDIC) indiquent avoir «travaillé au développement de stratégies de résolutions des faillites des institutions financières d’importance systémique et actives mondialement (G-SIFIs) ayant des activités significatives des deux côtés de l’Atlantique». «La crise financière qui a commencé en 2007 a fait comprendre l’importance d’un processus ordonné» de gestion des faillites de ces banques «systémiques», dont un effondrement menacerait l’ensemble de l'économie, ajoutent les deux régulateurs. «Les stratégies de résolution doivent maintenir les opérations d’importance systémique et contenir les menaces pour la stabilité financière. Elles doivent aussi faire prendre en charge les pertes par les actionnaires et les créanciers du groupe afin d'éviter le besoin d’un sauvetage par les contribuables», insistent la Banque d’Angleterre et la FDIC. Soulignant que les réformes déjà prévues ou mises en place aux Etats-Unis et au Royaume-Uni «attribuaient de nouveaux pouvoirs» aux autorités pour gérer les faillites bancaires, les deux régulateurs indiquent qu’ils «continuent à travailler pour que leurs stratégies de résolution respectives soient pleinement opérationnelles».
After restoring EUR10.25 per share, or a total of EUR1.195bn to investors, the open-ended real estate fund SEB ImmoInvest (DE0009802306), whose gradual liquidation by 30 April 2017 was decided on 7 May this year, will distribute another EUR1.24 per share on 28 December, which represents a total of EUR145m, or 3% of current total assets of EUR4.8bn. The portfolio still includes 131 properties in 18 countries.
Assets in funds on sale in Sweden at the end of November for the first time topped SEK2trn, or about EUR232bn, the Swedish investment fund association Fondbolagens Förening has announced. The news comes following net inflows of SEK1.4bn in the month of November. Equity funds saw outflows of SEK4.6bn, but these were offset by net subscriptions to diversified funds (SEK2.9bn), bond funds (SEK1.8bn) and money market funds (SEK1.8bn).
Surveying over 50 executives from almost 30 major buy-side firms across North America, the SimCorp poll revealed that 63% of firms experience data reconciliation errors that impact the accuracy of their portfolio values.Additionally, more than half of respondents stated that tracking and reporting on assets and exposures occurs with errors. In light of these challenges, the majority of firms surveyed do have plans to evaluate and make technology changes in the back-office, with 63% citing investment in improvements within a two year timeline. However a significant 35% of respondents stated that they have no plans to modernize their back-office infrastructure in the near future.
For its fifth quarterly dividend of 2012, Morningstar is planning to pay 12.5 cents per share on 28 December compared with 10 cents previously, to shareholders registered as of 17 December. The payment replaces the one which was schedules for january 2013. The next dividends will be paid on 30 April, 31 July and 31 October 2013. Meanwhile, the board of directors has approved an increase to USD500m from USD300m for the equity repurchase programme announced in October 2010. Since then, the firm has bought back 4.7 million shares for about USd281m. The programme thus has yet to buy back USD219m.
The board of directors at T. Rowe Price has decided to pay a special cash dividend of USD1 per share, on 28 December, to shareholderes registered as of 17 December.After the distribution the asset management firm will retain cash and investments in mutual funds totalling about USD2bn, and T. Rowe Price has no debt, says James A.C. Kennedy, CEO.Assets as of the end of September totalled USD574.4bn.
Alexandre Dussaucy has joined Wells Fargo Asset Management, an asset management affiliate of the US financial services firm, according to reports in Newsmanagers. Dussaucy will initially be based in London, and will handle the launch of the firm in France and French-speaking Europe, and its commercial development. Dussaucy previously worked at Markov Processes International, where he was executive vice president, in charge of sales and professional services, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He spent 5 years at the firm.
The US bond manager Matthew Marra has left BlackRock, where he spent 15 years, Citywire Global reports. He had been co-principal manager of the BGF US Dollar Core Bond fund (USD472bn), since October 2006. Eric Pellicciaro, junior manager of the fund, has also left the firm. The managers, Rob Rieder and Bob Miller, will be responsible for managing the BGF US Dollar Core Bond.
In a license application to the SEC dated 7 December, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Fidelity Distributors Corportaion and Fidelity Merrimack Street trust have announced plans to launch a range of actively-managed ETFs, the first of which is expected to be the Fidelity Corporate Bond ETF. The new funds, which may use a master-feeder formula, may be listed on the NYSE-Arca platform.
Ossiam has recruited Julien Valarcher for its commercial development team led by Isabelle Bourcier. Valarcher will be in charge of developing French clients of private banks and wealth managers, diversified management and multi-management, a statement says. Before joining Ossiam, Valarcher served for four years as a salesman at Oddo Corporate Finance. The appointment follows the recent arrival of Michel Prouteau on the same team.
Index Universe reports that State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has filed a license application for two volatility ETFs which would use the indices which were the basis for ETFs which Russell liquidated (see Newsmanagers of 21 August).The SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility ETF will replicate the same index as the Russell 1000 Low Volatility ETF, which tracks about 200 low volatility shares, as well as the SPDR Russell 2000 Low Volatility ETF, which is based on the same index as the former Russell 2000 Low Volatility ETF, which covered about 400 securities.
BaFin and the FMA have issued sales licenses for the Legg Mason Brandywine Global Opportunistic Fixed Income Fund in Germany and Austria. It is an Irish-registered bond product, managed by Brandywine Global, an affiliate of Legg Mason, which may invest in all bond segments.The fund will be managed by David Hoffman and Stephen Smith, and has been actively managed since 25 June 2010, since which date it has generated returns of 28.06% as of the end of November 2012, which represents a gain 9 points higher than the Citigroup World Government Bond Index, and 10 points higher than its Morningstar peer group.CharacteristicsName: Legg Mason Brandywine Global Opportunistic Fixed Income FundISIN code: IE00B3V5M979Currency of reference: USDBenchmark index: Citigroup World Government Bond Index 25%Front-end fee: Maximum 5%Management commission: 1.15%Minimal initial subscription: USD1,000
Pékin a octroyé un quota d’investissement en Chine d’un milliard de dollars à Qatar Holding, le bras armé du fonds souverain du Qatar, soit le maximum possible pour un investisseur étranger. Le quota, que Pékin vient également d’accorder à une dizaine d’autres investisseurs non résidents, fait partie du schéma QFII (Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor).
Après les tensions de lundi liées à la démission surprise du Premier ministre italien Mario Monti, le calme a fait son retour sur les marchés obligataires souverains. Vers midi, les rendements italiens et espagnols à 10 ans se détendent de 7 et 6 pb respectivement à 4,73% et 5,46%. L’Espagne a par ailleurs adjugé mardi 3,9 milliards d’euros de bons du Trésor à 12 et 18 mois à des rendements en baisse par rapport aux opérations précédentes. Le montant est supérieur à la fourchette de 2,5 à 3,5 milliards que le pays visait.
La demande de pièces d’or frappées de l’aigle américain a explosé de 131% au mois de novembre, pour atteindre son niveau le plus élevé depuis plus de deux ans, rapporte le journal. Terry Hanlon, président chez Dillon Gage, indique au quotidien que la demande aurait augmenté fortement les jours suivant la réélection de Barack Obama à la Maison blanche.
Le Français Emmanuel Roman prendra en février la direction générale du fonds d’arbitrage à la place de Peter Clarke. La nouvelle a fait rebondir l’action Man, en chute libre en Bourse.
Les volumes d'échanges sur les marchés européens au comptant de l’opérateur ont chuté de 30% en novembre. Sur un mois, par rapport à octobre 2012, les volumes quotidiens moyens se sont contractés de 8,2% à 1,2 million de transactions. Sur les onze mois écoulés, les volumes quotidiens moyens ont baissé de 27% par rapport à 2011.