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06/01/2012

Two thirds of absolute return funds show losses

According to Feri EuroRating Services, only 253 of the 727 funds on sale in Germany in the “absolute return” category have posted a positive result for the past six months, meaning that barely 35% of these funds managed to fulfil their promise of absolute returns, Handelsblatt reports. Moreover, of these funds, 97 have lost money over the past one or three-year period.
06/01/2012

Pension fund coverage rate falls in December

The coverage rate for US pension funds fell by 2.7 percentage points in the month of December, to 72.4%, according to statistics from BNY Mellon Asset Management. This development is largely due to a significant rise in liabilities, which leapt 20% last year, while assets rose by only 2.7%. For the year as a whole, the coverage rate for pension funds lost 12.7 points overall.
06/01/2012

Pension fund returns average 3% in 2011

Pension funds have earned average returns of 3% in 2011, according to preliminary estimates for the WM UK Defined Benefit Pension Fund Universe and the WM UK Charity Fund Universe, reported by State Street.Pension funds which reduced their exposure to risk and have a large exposure to bonds are expected to earn over 3%. The majority of funds will nonetheless earn negative returns, due to the dominance of equities in their allocations. The proportion of equities in portfolios has fallen by 6%, but still represents 44% of the total, while bonds have increased from 34% to 39%.Estimates find that British equities, the largest component of most funds, lost 3% for the year as a whole, slightly better than the FTSE All Share index.International equities, which represent slightly under 25% of the average portfolio, have earned mediocre returns for British investors. Although North America shows a gain of 1%, Japan and developed markets of the Pacific region have lost 12%. Europe and emerging markets have lost 14% and 17%, respectively.
06/01/2012

Azimut hopes to triple inflows in 2012

The Italian asset management firm Azimut is expecting to post net inflows for 2011 of EUR500m, with inflows of EUR147m in October and EUR124m in November, Bluerating reports. The firm’s director, Pietro Giuliani, is hoping to triple that amount in 2012. Assets at Azimut total EUR11.1bn.
06/01/2012

Blackstone collects USD16bn for its new fund

After nearly four years, the private equity investor Blackstone has now raised slightly over USD16bn for its new private equity fund, and has decided to close the fund to new commitments, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. The volume of the fund is far lower than for the previous fund, which was launched during the credit boom, and which attracted USD21.7bn.
06/01/2012

Deutsche Bank seeks indicative bids for asset management activities

Deutsche Bank is inviting potential buyers of its asset management operation to submit initial bids by the end of this week, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. These “indicative” bids will allow the German bank to gauge who the contenders are for the acquisition, and what price they are prepared to pay, in order to faciliate a final decision in the next few weeks as to whether or not to sell the activity. Indicative bids are often non-binding.
06/01/2012

AXA WF Framlington Global High Income fund released in France

AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) is now making the UCITS III-compliant AXA World Fund Framlington Global High Income sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav, launched on 31 August 2011, available to French investors. The high income equity sub-fund, managed by Anu Narula, seeks opportunities in a universe of high quality equities that deliver high dividends and structural growth. The fund is global and diversified, and invests without geographical, sectoral, or market cap size constraints, a statement says. The AXA WF Framlington Global High Income fund aims to deliver dividend returns 1.5 to 2.5 times those of the MSCI AC World index, by investing in shares with high dividends with a strategy based on the use of an overlay. In addition to France, the Sicav fund is now on sale in Luxembourg and other European countries (Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy). Characteristics: ISIN code: All subscribers: USD: LU0645145474/EUR: LU0645145557/ Institutional investors: USD: LU0645146795/EUR: LU0645146878Actual management fees: 1.50%/0.60% Maximal front-end fee: 5.5%/0%
06/01/2012

Hedge funds attracted to Malta

The small island of Malta is attracting hedge funds. In early November, the number of hedge funds domiciled in Malta topped 500, with overall assets under management of about EUR8bn, compared with 165 funds weighing less than EUR5bn in 2006, according to statistics from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), Bloomberg Markets reports in an article to appear in its February issue. Compared with the end of 2010, the number of funds increased by nearly 30%, while assets increased by nearly 15% in early December. In addition to its sunny weather, Malta also has its membership in the European Union and increasing demand for transparency on the part of investors going for it. In 2010, nine hedge funds from the Virgin Islands, seven from the Cayman Islands, and six from Luxembourg chose to domicile themselves in Malta, according to the MFSA. However, compared with Luxembourg, the phenomenon remains highly marginal: there are over 700 hedge funds and funds of hedge funds based in the Grand Duchy, with assets under management of over EUR143bn. At least 12 British hedge funds and funds of hedge funds have moved some of their activities to Malta, including Clive Capital, whose assets under management total about USD4bn, Comac Capital (USd5.2bn), and Liongate Capital Management (USD2.8bn).
06/01/2012

Groupama Private Equity on the verge of being sold

According to various sources, Groupama is about to sell its private equity operation, although no such announcement has yet been made internally, Agefi reports.Groupama PE (Finama PE till 2009) has about EUR1.8bn in AUM in 16 funds, with three teams: Acto Capital (LBO) et ActoMezz (mezzanine debt) for investments mainly in French companies and Quartilium, for funds of funds covering Europe and North America. Agefi understands that the teams would favour separate solutions for each of them.
06/01/2012

Vanguard slashes fees for sectoral ETFs

Vanguard is cutting the fees for some of its sectoral ETF funds, Mutual Fund Wire reports, relaying information from Seeking Alpha. The fees have been reduced to 19 basis points for the Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Energy, Utilities, Telecom, Materials, Technology, Industrials and Health Care ETFs. The Financials ETF now charges 0.23%.
06/01/2012

Direxion contracts with BNY Mellon for services to two more ETFs

Custody, accounting and administration for the ETF funds Direxion Large Cap Insider Sentiment (acronym: INSD) and All Cap Insider Sentiment (KNOW) have been contracted by Direxion Funds (Rafferty Asset Management group) to BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, which now serves 52 ETF funds from Direxion. Assets at Direxion totalled USD7.5bn as of the end of September. The asset management firm is specialised in ETF and tracker funds, either with leverage or specialised in alternative assets aimed at “sophisticated” investors and independent financial advisers.
06/01/2012

Société Générale may restructure private banking activities

According to reports by Reuters cited by La Tribune, Société Générale may soon restructure its private banking unit. The news agency has also announced the departure of Daniel Truchi, CEO of the activity. The change in management comes as part of a larger reorganisation at the bank. Société Générale had no comment on the reports when contacted by La Tribune.
06/01/2012

Matt Scanlan becomes CEO of RS Investments

Matthew H. Scanlan, former chairman and CEO of Renaissance Institutional Management (USD18bn), and previously head of institutional activities at Barclays Global Investors (BGI), has been appointed as CEO of RS Investments, a San Francisco-based asset management firm with total assets as of the end of December of USD2.02bn.Scanlan will replace Terry Otton, who last year announced plans to retire. Otton will remain as advisor to Scanlan “for the foreseeable future,” in order to ensure a smooth transition.RS Investments, which was founded in 1986, is controlled by Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, with a majority stake.
06/01/2012

Nearly 200 guaranteed funds to mature in Spain in 2012

According to figures by VDOS relayed by Funds People, 196 guaranteed funds representing assets of EUR11.58bn will mature in Spain this year, of which 18 are equity products (EUR6.78bn), and 78 are bond products (EUR4.71bn). According to our calculations, that represents nearly 9.1% of total assets in Spanish securities funds as of the end of December 2011.The biggest maturity dates will be in June (EUR1.58bn) and November (EUR1.25bn).By management firm, BBVA will have 37 funds maturing this year, with nearly EUR3.97bn in assets. The other asset management firms with the largest number of funds set to mature are Santander, Ahorro Corporación, Unigest and Bankinter.
06/01/2012

Credit Suisse recruits a head from Sabadell

Beatriz Herrero, head of communications for the capital markets and private banking divisions of Banco Sabadell, has been recruited for the private banking marketing team at Credit Suisse in Madrid, Funds People reports. She will join Marian Huerta on that team, and will report to Ilona Kirienko, head of marketing for the southern European region.
06/01/2012

ABP updates its blacklist: Wal-Mart and PetroChina are “out”

Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (ABP, EUR239bn in assets), the pension fund for public employees and teachers in the Netherlands, on 1 January updated its blacklist of companies and countries in which it is not permitted to invest due to the fund’s signature of the United Nations Global Compact. The blacklist now includes 17 companies and 10 government bonds. There are now no longer any French businesses on the list, as Zodiac Aerospace has been removed due to discontinuing its participation in the production of cluster bombs (as have General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Magellan Aerospace and Valentec Systems).Four new names have been added to the list, two of which are emblematic. For instance, ABP will now not invest in the US retail chain Wal-Mart, which is not comfortably in line with the directives of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on employee rights.The Dutch pension fund also refuses to invest in PetroChina, due to the implication of its parent company, CNPC, in Sudan and Burma.The other two additions to the list are the South Korean firm Poongsan Holdings Corp and the Israeli firm Ashdot Ashkelon, which are both involved in the production of “controversial” weapons.Government bonds barred from the portfolio of ABP are all due to weapon embargoes declared by the United Nations security council.
06/01/2012

Temasek recruits a former UBS officer as president for Europe

Temasek Holdings has recruited the former chief financial officer at UBS, John Cryan, as its European president, a newly-created position which reflects the Singapore sovereign fund’s interest in the region, the Business Times reports. Temasek has very limited exposure to Europe, and its largest investment in the region is Standard Chartered.
06/01/2012

Norwegian oil fund savings come out to EUR80,000 per inhabitant

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that Norway has never needed to amend its constitution or pass a law to limit the annual gains which governments are allowed to withdraw from the Oil Fund, founded in 1990, to 4%, and that successive governments of all political persuasions have adhered to the “moral rule” laid out by the social democratic government that created the fund. The Government Pension Fund – Global, which is supplied by public revenues from oil, now has assets equivalent to EUR80,000 for every Norwegian. In 2011, the Norwegisn government will dip into the fund for only 3.5% of its assets.
06/01/2012
Gestion d'actifs

La MACSF s'oriente vers des investissements à duration courte, inférieure à 5 ans

Côté investissements, la MACSF épargne retraite a choisi de privilégier les obligations corporate et bancaires à 75%, d’alléger l’exposition aux pays périphériques européens, l’investissement à la Grèce, l’Espagne, l’Italie, le Portugal et l’Irlande représentant 4,29% de l’actif total. Pour 2012, la MACSF s’oriente vers des investissements à courte durée, inférieure à 5 ans, et vers des pays « core », c’est-à-dire non périphériques de l’Europe. 15% de l’allocation d’actifs sont maintenus en obligations convertibles.
Gestion d'actifs
06/01/2012

Le président de la BNS rejette toute idée de démission

Philipp Hildebrand, le président de la Banque nationale suisse (BNS), a rejeté hier toute idée de départ après les transactions de change controversées imputées à son épouse. «Je n’ai pas l’intention de démissionner aussi longtemps que je jouis du soutien du Conseil fédéral», a-t-il déclaré. Philipp Hildebrand a reconnu des erreurs mais a estimé qu’il avait toujours agi conformément aux règlements et qu’il n’a pas eu connaissance de manquements. La Banque Sarasin avait reconnu en début de semaine s'être séparé d’un de ses employés qui avait enfreint les règles de la confidentialité en remettant à un avocat proche de l’Union démocratique du centre (UDC) des documents liés à des transactions effectuées par la famille du président de la BNS. Le ministère public du canton de Zurich a décidé d’ouvrir une enquête contre cet employé.
06/01/2012

Les investisseurs dans les fonds nourriciers de Madoff déboutés

Un juge fédéral américain a estimé hier que les investisseurs dans les «fonds nourriciers» liés à la société de Bernard Madoff ne pouvaient pas prétendre au statut de client de l’ex-financier déchu. Cette décision, qui confirme celle déjà prise en juin dernier, est une victoire pour Irving Picard, le liquidateur judiciaire en quête de fonds pour les anciens clients de Madoff.
06/01/2012

Les fonds de pension britanniques dans le rouge

D’après une étude de BNY Mellon, les fonds de pension britanniques ont dégagé un rendement annuel moyen négatif pour la première fois depuis 2008. Pour 2011, il s’établit à -0,9% en raison notamment d’une contre-performance de -4,8% au troisième trimestre. «2011 a été une année très volatile pour les actifs des fonds de pension», explique Alan Wilcock, en charge de l’analyse de la performance et du risque chez BNY Mellon Asset Servicing.
06/01/2012

Le FESF réussit son pari sans gloire

S’il attire moins les investisseurs que lors de ses toutes premières émissions, le Fonds européen de stabilité financière, menacé de perdre son AAA, a réussi à placer ses titres à 3 ans. Mais il a dû consentir un bon prix, et cette opération laisse entier le débat sur sa capacité d’action.
05/01/2012

La croissance des services britanniques s’accélère en décembre

Le secteur britannique des services a vu sa croissance s’accélérer en décembre à la faveur d’une hausse des nouvelles commandes, apaisant quelque peu les craintes d’une rechute en récession de l'économie du pays. L’indice PMI Markit/CIPS des services a grimpé à 54,0 en décembre contre 52,1 en novembre, alors que les économistes tablaient sur un recul à 51,5.
05/01/2012

Les commandes à l'industrie ont crû moins que prévu dans la zone euro

Les commandes à l’industrie ont crû à un rythme plus faible que prévu en octobre dans la zone euro, annonce l’agence de statistique de l’Union européenne Eurostat. Les commandes ont augmenté de 1,8% en octobre, alors que les économistes interrogés par Reuters projetaient une hausse de 2,4%. Eurostat ajoute qu’elles ont augmenté annuellement de 1,6 alors que le consensus Reuters donnait une hausse de 3,3%.
05/01/2012

L’AFT lève comme prévu près de 8 milliards d’euros d’OAT

La France a émis jeudi, sans difficulté majeure, un total de 7,963 milliards d’euros de dette à long terme (10, 12, 15 et 30 ans), soit dans le haut des objectifs annoncés. Toutefois, la demande pour l’obligation assimilable du Trésor (OAT) 2021 a été inférieure à celle de décembre et son taux moyen s’est tendu à 3,28% contre 3,19%. La demande globale a atteint 14,956 milliards, ce qui donne un taux de couverture de 1,9 contre 3,01 en décembre où l’Agence France Trésor (AFT) n’avait cependant émis que 4,35 milliards d’euros d’OAT.
05/01/2012

L’euro à un plus bas depuis 16 mois

L’euro s’est nettement replié jeudi en matinée, l’adjudication par la France de 7,96 milliards d’euros n’ayant pas eu d’effet notable sur la devise. La monnaie unique a atteint 1,2847 dollar, son plus bas niveau depuis septembre 2010, avec des ordres de ventes évoqués autour de 1,29. L’euro a atteint 82,58 pence, plus bas depuis septembre 2010 également, et 98,67 yens, nouveau plus bas de 11 ans.

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