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31/05/2012

US hedge funds increasingly crossing the Atlantic

The Wall Street Journal cites the examples of P. Schoefeld Asset Management, Marathon Asset Management, Octavian Advisors and Strategic Value Partners, as signs that a growting number of US alternative management firms are “hopping the pond,“ i.e., crossing the Atlantic to invest or open offices in Europe at a time when high yield investments are becoming scarcer in the United States. Some hedge fund managers think that banks will be required to sell assets at fire sale prices, while others are looking for shares which have been driven too low, or corporate debt which will need to be restructured in times of crisis.
31/05/2012

BNY Mellon recruits for outsourcing team

BNY Melllon has announced the recruitment of two people for its team dedicated to outsourcing. Paul Gately has been appointed as head of global outsourcing business. He will report to John Lehner, who has also recently been appointed.
31/05/2012

Suitors for Dexia AM line up

According to Agefi, citing information from Reuters, Affiliated Managers Group, Federated Investors, New York Life Insurance and Permira are planning to make bids for Dexia AM. Macquarie is also reportedly in the process of evaluating the asset management firm. Dexia is hoping to sell off its asset management division, which as of the end of December had EUR78bn in assets, for about EUR750m.
31/05/2012

Direct financing by funds gaining momentum

The financial ratings agency Fitch Ratings estimates that fund financing will be likely to grow in size in the future, as debt reduction now being required of the banking sector will favour a strong desintermediation movement. Corporate and real estate loans will be the most highly financed by funds, which will often use debt to increase the returns paid out to pension funds or insurers. Fitch reports that these funds are often incorporated as limited partnerships, closed funds or vehicles with very limited regulations, and invest in private equity, loans, bonds and real estate. These funds, similar in many ways to structured products such as CLOs, nonetheless differ in several points, Fitch remarks, such as legal structure, flexibility of assets, and sources of financing.
31/05/2012

Nikko AM developing fund selection activities

The asset management group Nikko Asset Management has appointed Aoifinn Devill has head of the World Series Fund Platform, to direct and develop manager selection activities, first in Japan, and then in Europe and other parts of Asia, Hedge Week reports. Funds from the platform distributed under the Nikko AM brand name are currently sub-advised by more than 40 fund managers worldwide, including Pimco, Wellington, JP Morgan AM, Ashmore, Blue Bay and Franklin Templeton, and are distributed to retail and institutional investors throughout Asia. The platform currently has over USD29bn in products from third-party managers distributed in Japan, Australia and Singapore.
31/05/2012

Foreign banks in Switzerland hold out better in crisis

Foreign banks in Switzerland are surviving the crisis better than expected. Their cumulative net profits have increased 4%, to CHF2.04bn in 2011, the Association of foreign banks in Switzerland (ABES) reported on 30 May. Added value and personnel in the sector have both fallen by 1%. The number of businesses operating in Swiss territory fell last year, from 154 to 145 as of the end of December 2011. Foreign banks nonetheless employ about 20,000 people in Switzerland. The movement of consolidation means that there are now only 141 businesses as of the end of April 2012, which corresponds to about 45% of all banks in Switzerland. As last year, no new licenses were issued in 2011. This decline should nonetheless be viewed in perspective, due to the current economic and political turbulence, the Association notes. Assets under management have fallen 5% to CHF860bn, compared with CHF910bn one year previously. The largest foreign wealth manager is HSBC Private Bank (Suisse SA), followed yb Banque Sarasin & Cie SA, BSI SA, Crédit Agricole (Suisse) SA and Coutts Bank SA. The association also claims that Switzerland will soon be offering solutions to strengthen the attraction of the financial market. It defends withholding taxes, which “remain the only option, and which unite regularisation of wealth, future taxation, and protection of privacy.” In addition, “although self-declaration is considered an adequate proposal, Switzerland will offer it as an international standard at the OECD, and introduce it as such. Switzerland will call off plans to adopt more transparent standards which are not internationally recognized.”
31/05/2012

Credit Suisse recruits a big name from Barclays for Asia

Christopher Faddy, Asia head of distribution for the asset management unit at Barclays, has been recruited as head, asset management distribution, for Asia ex Japan (NJA distribution) by Credit Suisse in Hong Kong. He will be responsible for providing investment management services to sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors and third-party distributors.
31/05/2012

Ibercaja/Liberbank merger creates Spain's sixth-largest asset manager

Instead of merging with the asset management firm Unicaja, as had originally appeared planned, Liberbank Gestión will be merging with Ibercaja Gestión (EUR4.43bn in assets under management as of the end of April), which will create Spain’s sixth-largest asset management firm, with assets in funds of EUR5.33bn, Funds People reports, putting it ahead of Ahorro Corporación (EUR4.78bn). Currently, Ibercaja Gestión is the seventh-largest Spanish asset manager, while Liberbank Gestión is 24th. The top five are, in order, Santander AM (EUR20.3bn). BBVA AM (EUR19.45bn), InverCaixa (EUR14.9bn), and Popuylar Gestió (EUR6.19bn).
31/05/2012

Spanish asset managers continued to lose weight in 2011

According to the CNMV annual report, assets at Spanish asset management firms and investment funds as of the end of December totalled EUR132.369bn, 8% less than at the end fo 2010. Of the EUR11.256bn by which assets under management declined, EUR10.853trn were due to net redemptions, and EUR673m to losses on portfolios. Overall, 207 funds ceased operations, of which 204 were absorbed into other funds, As of the end of 2011, the profession had 2,341 funds, 88 less than one year previously. Average assets were down to EUR56m from EUR59m in 2010. Profits at the 114 Spanish asset management firms wree down by 6.5% last year, to EUR194m, compared with EUR207.5m, due to an 8% contraction in management commission revenues, at EUR1.61bn, partly offset by a 3.8% reduction in personnel costs to EUR188.26m.
31/05/2012

Appointments at Investec

Investec Asset Management has recruited Tom Nelson and Charles Whall to manage the global energy fund, Money Marketing reports. They will replace Mark Lacey and Honathan Waghorn, whose departure was announced last month, and who will be leaving the firm in July. Nelson previously worked at Guinness Asset Management, Whall at Newton. They will begin in their new roles in September in the former case, slightly later in the latter.
31/05/2012

SEB AM launches an FCP fund of Asia-Pacific REITs

The German asset management firm SEB Asset Management (SEB AM) on 30 May announced the launch of the SEB Asia Pacific REIT Fund, a Luxembourg-registered FCP fund whose administration is provided by Universal-Investment-Luxembourg (an affiliate of the Frankfurt-based Universal-Investment), which will invest exclusively in real estate investment trusts (REIT) in the Asia-Pacific region. The product is compliant with UCITS IV, and is aimed at investors seeking high returns and regular distributions without “incalculable” risks. Management is provided by a team at offices in Frankfurt and Singapore, and led by Thomas Körfgen, head of real estate equities, and Julian Mittag, manager of REIT funds. Characteristics Name: SEB Asia Pacific REIT Fund ISIN codes: A share class: LU0753286219 C share class: LU0757781637 Minimal subscription: EUR5m (A share class) Distribution: February, May, August and November Management commission: 0.40% (A and C share classes)
31/05/2012

Partner Bank offers an ETF-based wealth management product

The Austrian Partner Bank is now offering the Kopernikus-Index-Korb, a wealth management model based exclusively on physical replication ETFs, launched in Austria in May 2011 and which in 2011 only made a maximal loss of 15%, while remaining 100% invested, in Germany, Fondsprofessionell reports. In the first four months of 2012, the product has posted gains of 6.3%, after fees.
31/05/2012

Seven new ETF funds from UBS Global AM listed in Frankfurt

Since Wednesday, the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform (Deutsche Börse) lists a total of 981 funds, with the addition of seven Irish-registered ETF funds launched by UBS Global Asset Management. There are in fact three new products which replicate the MSCI USA, USA Value and World indices and which are each are available in I (instutional) and A (retail) share classes. The seventh product replicates the S&P 500. The ETFs have total expense ratios ranging from 0.23% to 0.45%.
31/05/2012

Several money market ETFs in preparation in China

Several Chinese asset management firms, including China Universal, E-fund, Harvest, ICBC-Credit Suisse, Full Goal and Yinhua, are currently in talks with the Shanghai (SSE) and Shenzhen (SZSE) stock exchanges to launch money market ETFs, ahead of applying to the Chinese regulator (CSRC) for a license, Z-Ben Advisors reports. If the plans are approved by the authorities, cash deposits in securities accounts could be used to buy shares in these money market ETFs. Currently, asset management firms are still facing several technological problems such, for example, as T+0 transactions, which would then help to ensure liquidity.
31/05/2012

Imbroglio autour de la prime de l'ex-patron d'Air France-KLM

La polémique autour de la prime de non-concurrence de 400.000 euros versée à l’ex-patron d’Air France-KLM pourrait bien se transformer en casse-tête juridique, voire même en crise de gouvernance pour l’entreprise, rapporte Les Echos. Car, même si la majorité des actionnaires, réunis demain en assemblée générale à Paris, se rangeait derrière la décision de l’Etat actionnaire de voter contre, la convention prise en octobre dernier entre Pierre-Henri Gourgeon et son ancienne entreprise ne sera pas annulée pour autant. Quel que soit le vote des actionnaires, ce contrat d’une durée de trois ans, dont l’exécution a déjà commencé puisque les 400.000 euros ont déjà été versés à Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, resterait en effet parfaitement valide et rien n’obligerait ce dernier à rembourser, selon les juristes d’Air France-KLM.
31/05/2012

French regulator issues a warning

The French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) yesterday issued a warning in relation to unlicensed web guides to high yield investment programmes (HYIP). The AMF has found that there are a number of websites which contain information on supposed high yield investment programmes (HYIP), which offer web surfers what claims to be advice about the quality of these HYIP> the websites rank or categorise the HYIPs on the basis of selected qualitative or quantitative criteria. The AMF warning is particularly in relation to the following sites, for which no authorised provider was clearly identified: www.hyip-france.com www.hyip-top-monitor.com www.hyip.com www.top-placements-hyip.com As a result, the AMF recommends that investors disregard advice from these sites, and not redistribute it to third parties in any form.
31/05/2012

Basel III timetable remains unchanged despite crisis

The timetable to enact Basel III legislation remains unchanged, despite the euro zone debt crisis, the head of the financial stability board (FSB), Mark Carney, stated on 30 May. The new Basel III standards, passed in 2010, will gradually be enacted from 2013, and will be fully in force by 2019, the head said following a meeting in Hong Kong of the banking regulatory organism. “I would not call this timetable aggressive. It is a timetable established by consensus. It will not change,” the head, who is also governor of the Canadian central bank, told the press. Many US banks are said not yet to have fully applied Basel III standards, published in 2004, which have been rolled out in Europe. Some actors in the sector nonetheless claim that the rules adopted are too strict at a time when the world is facing a credit drought provoked by the debt crisis in Europe. “It is absolutely essential … that banks be correctly capitalised,” says Carney. Applying the measures “will contribute to financial stability and growth worldwide, including in Europe,” the head adds.
31/05/2012

Funds net sales up in April

Funds domiciled in the United Kingdom in April posted net retail subscriptions of GBP2.07bn, compared with GBP1.4bn in March and GBP3.21bn one year previously, according to statistics from the Investment Management Association (IMA). This is the highest amount since April 2011.However, institutional investors in the same period withdrew GBP1.31bn, following net subscriptions of GBP231.7m the previous month, and GBP536.7m in April of last year.Total assets in retail funds domiciled in the United Kingdom, for their part, fell to GBP607.3bn as of 30 April, compared with GBP613.3bn as of the end of March, although it has increased compared with GBP605.2bn twelve months previously.Meanwhile, assets under management by funds domiciled abroad as of the end of April totalled GBP36.8bn, compared with GBP37.1bn one month earlier, and GBP34.7bn as of 30 April 2011. Net subscriptions totalled GBP592.5m, compared with GBP282.4m in April and GBP418.8m in the corresponding month of last year.
31/05/2012

db x-trackers launches 8 ETFs on LSE

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) on 30 May announced that db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank group) has launched eight new fixed income ETFs which replicate Markit CDX North American indices in the investment grade and high yield categories of credit derivatives. The new funds bring the number of newly listed bond ETFs listed since April to 25. Overall, the LSE lists over 100 fixed income ETFs.
31/05/2012

Santander sells off Colombian assets

The Chilean bank Corpbanca SA on 30 May bought a 51% stake in Banco Santander Colombia SA and Santander Investment Trust Colombia, for USD624m, Investment Europe reports. The remaining shares and the Colombian affiliates of Santander will be acquired by 30 June. The total transaction price totals USD1.23bn, which Corpbanca will finance with a capital increase of USD650m.Cinco Días reports that the sale will generate capital gains for Santander of EUR615m.
31/05/2012

Old Mutual appoints a head of distribution

The British arm of the Old Mutual Asset Managers group has appointed Steven Brown as head of distribution to advisers, with priority given to strategic partners on the UK wholesale market, with an eye to the introduction of RDR regulations on 1 January 2013. Brown previously worked at RBS Global Banking & Markets. He will begin on 1 June.
31/05/2012

High frequency trading: German government

The Börsen-Zeitung has obtained a copy of proposed legislation to govern high frequency trading, which the German federal finance ministry has completed much earlier than expected. The proposals would require high-frequency traders to register with BaFin, and would subject them to banking and securities laws. In addition, BaFin would have the power to demand information including details of algorithmic trades and the systems used as well as their strategies, parameters and trading limits. The proposals could be passed by the Cabinet and put before Parliament for a first debate even before the summer break.
31/05/2012

Greek banks will have to restructure in three months

The four major Greek banks, currently in the process of being recapitalised, will have to unveil restructuring plans in the next three months, including layoffs or closures of branches, the Hellenic financial stability fund announced on 30 May. The Greek national bank, the largest bank in the country, Alpha Bank, Eurobank and the Bank of Piraeus will have to lay out restructuring plans within three months, Anastasios Gagalis, vice-president of the Hellenic financial stability fund, said at a press conference. The chairman of the Fund, Panayiotis Thomopoulos, has confirmed that some job losses will be a part of this phenomenon. The requirement to restructure came on Monday as the four banks received EUR18bn from the European financial stability fund (EFSF) to recapitalise them, as provided for in the second phase of the support plan agreed in March by Greece and its creditors, the EU and the IMF. The amounts are part of an allocation of EUR25bn paid by the EFSF to the Hellenic Financial Stability fund to recapitalise Greek banks following losses of about EUR28bn, caused by a debt restructuring operation in March. Overall, the money handed out to Greek banks under the second phase of the support plan total EUR50bn.
31/05/2012

Les banques étrangères en Suisse résistent à la crise

Les banques étrangères en Suisse résistent mieux que prévu à la crise. Leur bénéfice net cumulé a progressé de 4% à 2,04 milliards de francs en 2011, a indiqué le 30 l’Association des banques étrangères en Suisse (Abes). La valeur ajoutée et les effectifs du secteur ont tous deux diminué de 1%. Le nombre d'établissements opérant sur le sol helvétique a reculé l’an dernier, de 154 à 145 fin décembre 2011. Les banques étrangères emploient malgré tout quelque 20.000 personnes en Suisse.Mouvement de consolidation oblige, on ne comptait plus que 141 établissements à fin avril 2012, ce qui correspond à environ 45% de toutes les banques en Suisse. En outre, comme l’année précédente, aucune licence nouvelle n’a été octroyée en 2011. Un recul qu’il faut toutefois relativiser, au vu des turbulences économiques et politiques actuelles, souligne l’Association. Quant aux actifs sous gestion, ils ont fléchi de 5% à 860 milliards de francs, contre 910 milliards un an plus tôt. Le plus grand gérant de fortune étranger est HSBC Private Bank (Suisse SA), suivi par Banque Sarasin & Cie SA, BSI SA, Crédit Agricole (Suisse) SA et Coutts Bank SA.L’association estime par ailleurs que la Suisse doit proposer des solutions qui renforcent l’attractivité de la place financière. Elle défend l’impôt libératoire, qui «reste la seule option qui allie la régularisation des patrimoines, leur imposition dans l’avenir et la protection de la sphère privée». En outre, «si l’autodéclaration est considérée comme proposition adéquate, la Suisse doit la proposer comme standard international dans l’OCDE et l’introduire comme tel. La Suisse doit renoncer à adopter des standards propres qui ne sont pas reconnus internationalement».
31/05/2012

Nikko AM développe son activité de sélection de fonds

Le groupe de gestion Nikko Asset Management vient de nommer Aoifinn Devitt en qualité de responsable de la World Series Fund Platform afin de diriger et développer l’activité de sélection de gérants d’abord au Japon, puis en Europe et dans d’autres parties de l’Asie, rapporte Hedge Week.Les fonds de la plate-forme distribués sous la marque Nikko AM sont actuellement sous-conseillés par plus d’une quarantaine de gestionnaires de fonds dans le monde, dont Pimco, Wellington, JP Morgan AM, Ashmore, Blue Bay et Franklin Templeton, et distribués à des investisseurs institutionnels et retail dans toute l’Asie. La plate-forme dispose actuellement de plus de 29 milliards de dollars de produits de gérants tiers distribués au Japon, en Australie et Singapour.
31/05/2012

BNY Mellon renforce son équipe d'externalisation

BNY Mellon annonce le recrutement de deux personnes pour son équipe dédiée à l’externalisation. Paul Gately a été nommé head of global outsourcing business. Il sera sous la responsabilité de John Lehner, également nommé récemment.
31/05/2012
Fonds

Un fonds en préparation chez Bain Capital

Le groupe de private equity compte lever 6 milliards de dollars pour son nouveau fonds Bain Capital Fund XI, dont le lancement est attendu d’ici la fin juin, rapporte L’Agefi. Le précédent fonds a atteint 10,7 milliards de dollars.
Fonds
31/05/2012

Appels d'offres, un début d'année dynamique en épargne salariale

«Nous constatons une accélération des appels d’offres en épargne salariale depuis le début de l’année», indique à L’Agefi Hebdo Frédéric Petiniot, directeur général du cabinet de conseil Amadeis, qui dénombre dix appels d’offres au premier trimestre 2012, contre 22 sur l’ensemble de l’année 2011. Plusieurs tendances se dessinent dans le marché des appels d’offres de ce type. «L’architecture ouverte s’impose de plus en plus : certaines entreprises choisissent une société de gestion différente pour chacun de leurs FCPE (fonds communs de placement d’entreprise)», relève Dominique Dorlipo, président de Russell Investments France. Par ailleurs, «de plus en plus d’entreprises s’intéressent à la multigestion au sein des fonds diversifiés, ajoute Dominique Dorlipo. Il s’agit aussi bien de petites que de grandes entreprises, tous secteurs d’activité confondus». Pour Xavier Collot, directeur du développement commercial d’Amundi Epargne Entreprise, les entreprises cherchent des sociétés de gestion capables d’accompagner les salariés dans la bonne compréhension de leur épargne entreprise. Elles demandent également de la simplicité en matière d’offre de placements. «Les gammes doivent être courtes et lisibles», souligne-t-il.
31/05/2012

Reprise de Technicolor : l'assemblée générale sera déterminante

Selon une source proche du dossier citée par L’Agefi, la proposition initiale de recapitalisation du groupe de technologies Technicolor par le fonds d’investissement Vector était «très loin de celle de l’autre prétendant, JPMorgan, tant d’un point de vue financier que dans le soutien apporté à la stratégie de la direction de Technicolor». Mais l’offre dévoilée lundi par Vector a été améliorée. Sans rejeter formellement sa proposition, le conseil d’administration de Technicolor juge «non sollicitées» les propositions de résolutions de Vector et réaffirme son soutien à l’offre de JPMorgan. Il ne ferme pas pour autant totalement la porte au fonds : «Dans l’hypothèse où les résolutions JPMorgan ne seraient pas adoptées par l’assemblée générale, les contrats JPMorgan seraient caducs» a-t-il précisé.
31/05/2012

Des prétendants à la reprise de Dexia AM se précisent

Selon L’Agefi qui cite une information de Reuters, Affiliated Managers Group, Federated Investors, New York Life Insurance et Permira envisagent de déposer une offre sur Dexia AM. Macquarie est également en train d'évaluer le gestionnaire d’actifs. Dexia espère céder sa division de gestions d’actifs, qui gérait à fin décembre 78 milliards d’euros d’encours, pour environ 750 millions.

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