p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The fate of Pioneer Investments, the asset management firm of the UniCredit group, has not yet been sealed, and all possibilities remain open, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. An Italian marriage with Eurizon (Intesa Sanpaolo) is still possible, but at the same time, the process to select an industrial partner from among the three foreign candidates (Amundi, Natixis and Resolution) is continuing. Federico Ghizzoni, CEO of UniCredit, has announced that final bids must be submitted by the end of March.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Harewood Solutions (BNP Paribas CIB) on 22 February launched an income fund aimed at British investors, the IFSL Harewood US Enhanced Income Fund, which is structured as an OEIC vehicle, Hedgeweek reports. The fund aims to earn annual returns of 8% with lower volatility than the S&P Total Return index. Front-end fee is set at a maximum of 1%, and management commission is 0.75% per year.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of January, assets at Eaton Vance totalled USD191.74bn, compared with USD185.24bn as of the end of October, and USD161.85bn one year previously, of which USD114.72bn, compared with USD107.5bn and USD98.46bn, respectively, were for equities products.USD15.84bn of a year-on-year increase of USD30.18bn in assets under management is due to positive market performance.Net profits for the quarter ending on 31 January totalled USD59.28m, compared with USD60.22m in August-November, and USD51.54m in the corresponding period of 2009/2010.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at Dexia AM totalled EUR86.4bn as of the end of December 2010, up 4.8% compared with December 2009, Dexia announced on 23 February. This increase of EUR4bn is due to large volumes of inflows to institutional and private mandates (EUR4.9bn), and to positive market effects (EUR4bn).These flows were partly offset by outflows from retail funds (-EUR2.2bn) and institutional funds (-EUR2.7bn). Private and retail clients continued to show a marked preference for low-cost products in an uncertain economic and financial environment.The French-Belgian banking group also announced a profit of EUR723m for 2010, down 28.4% year on year. This decline is due to alterations to the bank’s financial structure.
For 2010, Amundi had net inflows of EUR1.2bn (including asset management activities at BFT), the Crédit Agricole group announced in its annual results. This level is due to net outflows of EUR13.1bn from money market products. Excluding money markets, net inflows totalled EUR14.3bn, driven largely by bond and guaranteed funds. «This resilience in inflows was aided by strengthened positions in the institutional investor segment, especially abroad, and the build-up of ETFs, with 5.3 billion euros of funds under management at 31 December 2010", the bank says. Total assets under management advanced by 3.2% over the year to 710.3 billion euros at 31 December 2010. On a like-for-like basis, net banking income in asset management rose by 6.3% over the year to 1,517 million euros (including 356 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2010). Excluding restructuring costs and on a like-for-like basis, expenses contracted by 1.5% and gross operating income rose by 17.4% over the year to 691 million euros, including 157 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2010. Excluding restructuring costs, the cost/income ratio improved by 4.3 points between 2009 and 2010, falling to 54.4%. After restructuring costs of 81 million euros in 2010, including 10 million euros in the fourth quarter, net income for asset management amounted to 406 million euros. Net income, Group share rose to nearly 299 million euros (up 3.2% over the year on a like-for-like basis), including 73 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Apple shareowners have supported a proposal by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) that advises the company to adopt a majority vote standard for board candidates in uncontested elections. Proposal 6 at the computer company’s annual shareowners’ meeting in Cupertino, California asked Apple to require a majority of shares to replace the current plurality vote standard for election of unopposed board candidates. The company confirmed that the proposal passed. “As a company that thrives on innovation, Apple should have the best governance practices possible,” said Anne Simpson, the senior portfolio manager who heads the CalPERS corporate governance program. The current plurality vote rule allows shareowners who oppose candidates only to withhold votes, making it possible for election of an unopposed candidate by a single “for” vote. CalPERS owns 2.6 million Apple shares and is the nation’s largest public pension fund with approximately USD230 billion in assets.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After a two year pause, Goldman Sachs AM is planning to increase its staff in India and to offer new products during the year, Asian Investor reports. GSAM (India) currently has a team of eight people in Mumbai, for research, deontology and administration. GSAM received an operating license for the Indian market in September 2008, and then built a team of 20 people, which has been subject to reductions since February 2009. Despite the decline in assets under management observed in the past 12 months, the head of Indian activities, Prashant Khemka, says the Indian market has considerable potential.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2010, Henderson saw an increase in its underlying pre-tax profits of 37%, to GBP100.7m, compared with GBP73.7m in 2009, on earnings up 35% to GBP485.9m. Assets increased over the year by 6%, to GBP61.6bn, due to positive market and currency effects of GBP5.1bn. However, the firm saw net redemptinos of GBP1.4bn. It says that it has nonetheless posted net subscriptions of GBP2bn to high-margin products. Henderson has a profit margin of 30%, up 9%, due to rising markets, subscriptions to high-margin profits, gains on the acquisition of New Star, and continued cost reduction measures. In its 2010 report, Henderson points to its ongoing acquisition of Gartmore, which has also recently published its results. Gartmore reports net redemptions of GBP7.2bn in 2010; it is having difficulty in stemming these outflows, as in January the firm saw net redemptions of GBP390m, and GBP402m to 18 February. Assets are down from GBP22.2bn in 2009 to GBP17.2bn in 2010.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Legg Mason has signed a distribution agreement with Allfunds, by which three of its funds will be made available on the Italian market, Bluerating reports. The funds are the Legg Mason Permal Global Absolute Fund, the Legg Mason Western Asset Global Multi Strategy Fund, and the Legg Mason Capital Management Opportunity Fund.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Euro securities department of Natixis has become the first client to use the new hedge fund services available on the FundSettle platform from Euroclear Bank, Hedgeweek reports. FundSettle offers order routing, settlement and clearance, and custody for about 300 fund administrators active in hedge funds.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } François Pérol, chairman of Natixis SA, on 23 February confirmed at a press conference that the group is interested in acquiring Pioneer, the asset management affiliate of UniCredit SpA, but declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations with the Italian bank.At a press conference in Milan, UniCredit announced that final bids for the affiliate should be submitted by the end of March.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }a:link { } GFM has launched Globalfunddata, a free platform offering quantitative data on over 34,000 funds (hedge funds, long-only funds, ETFs, and others). The platform, at www.globalfunddata.com, includes information on the strategy, manager, ISIN code, date of launch, fees, and more for each fund.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Swiss financial services provider Ceros Holding AG, of Lucerne, has acquired a majority stake in the Turkish brokerage firm Pozitif Menkul Degerler AS of Istanbul from Bank Pozitif AS, as of 22 February 2011. Pozitif Menkul Degerler offers securities services such as brokerage, asset management and research, Fonds Professionell reports.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British commodities specialist ETF Securities is hoping to develop its activities in Asia this year, Asian Investor reports. The new head of Asian activities at ETF Securities, Nigel Phelan, would like to offer ETCs in Singapore and Hong Kong initially, followed by Shanghai. Phelan, currently based in Sydney, is planning to move to Hong Kong in second half 2011.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee for the business activities of Bernard Madoff, has accused David Becker, the top lawyer at the SEC, of making money off of “fictive profits” and “other people’s money,” Expansión reports. He is seeking USD1.54bn of the over USD2bn left by his mother, Dorothy Becker, who died in 2008. The Wall Street Journal reports that Becker surprised observers with his decision to resign from his position at the SEC in early February, but that the regulator is at pains to counter the impression that the two facts may be related.
Reuters croit savoir que la famille Pritzker est toute proche de sceller la cession de la société de location de containers Triton Container International à deux fonds de private equity, en l’occurrence Warburg Pincus et Vestar Capital Partners. Le montant de la transaction pourrait atteindre un milliard de dollars.
Tony Tan, vice-président du fonds souverain singapourien, a assuré que les Etats-Unis, qui représentent un tiers des investissements de GIC, resteront une destination privilégiée au cours des prochaines années. En dépit de la rapide croissance des marchés émergents, le pays reste en effet à ses yeux «la plus importante source individuelle de prospérité mondiale».
La filiale de private equity de La Banque Postale a fait part hier du lancement de son premier fonds d’investissement de proximité (FIP) d’un montant de 15 millions d’euros. Il couvre les régions Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne, Ile-de-France, et cible dans les secteurs de l’industrie, des services et de la distribution des PME comptant moins de 250 salariés et réalisant un chiffre d’affaires inférieur à 50 millions d’euros.
Le groupe coté de private equity a décidé de relever à 29 cents par action son dividende du quatrième trimestre, alors qu’il s’établissait à 15 cents le trimestre précédent. Le résultat net économique, un indicateur largement employé par les fonds de capital investissement, a atteint 714,6 millions de dollars au dernier trimestre, contre 515,3 millions un an plus tôt. Ses actifs sous gestion s’élevaient à 61 milliards de dollars à fin décembre 2010.
L’Indonésie va mettre aux enchères cette année 16 projets d’infrastructure d’une valeur globale équivalente à 24 miliards d’euros, selon le quotidien qui cite les propos de Dedy Priatna, ministre délégué chargé de la planification. Ces projets concerneront la construction d’autoroutes, de ponts, de chemins de fer, de centrales électriques et d’usines de traitement d’eau.
La filiale suisse de banque privée de la Société Générale refuse selon le quotidien suisse des documents à un juge américain en charge d’un volet d’une escroquerie à 7 milliards de dollars, à savoir l’affaire d’escroquerie pyramidale Allen Stanford. La position de la banque serait motivée par le secret bancaire. Son responsable a indiqué au quotidien que la banque ne commentait pas les affaires en cours dans les tribunaux.
Tandis que les marchés anticipent des sorties proches des politiques à taux zéro, et réagissent nerveusement aux moindres déclarations, il nous semble utile de rappeler l’histoire monétaire pour relativiser la situation actuelle.
Selon les minutes de la Banque d’Angleterre, son chef économiste, Spencer Dale, a rejoint Martin Weale et Andrew Sentance, qui sont en faveur d’une hausse de taux de 25 et 50 pb. Les six autres membres ayant voté le statu quo attendent de voir comment l’économie évoluera début 2011.
L'économie japonaise va bientôt sortir de sa torpeur malgré la quasi-stagnation des exportations en janvier, a déclaré le vice-gouverneur de la Banque du Japon (BoJ) Hirohide Yamaguchi. Les exportations n’ont augmenté que de 1,4% sur un an en janvier, soit leur plus faible rythme depuis novembre 2009. Ce chiffre est bien inférieur à la prévision médiane du ministère des Finances à 7,4%.
Trois membres sur neuf du comité de politique monétaire de la Banque d’Angleterre (BoE) ont voté en faveur d’un relèvement des taux d’intérêt en février en février, indique le compte-rendu de la réunion des 9 et 10 février. Une fois de plus, Andrew Sentance et Martin Weale ont plaidé en faveur d’un renchérissement du loyer de l’argent et ont été rejoint en ce sens par un autre membre du comité de politique monétaire, l'économiste en chef de la banque centrale Spencer Dale. On apprend également que certains des membres opposés à une hausse des taux ce mois-ci pourraient changer d’avis si l'économie montrait des signes de reprise après un recul inattendu de la production fin 2010. Selon le document, la plupart des membres s’accordent à penser qu’au regard de l'évolution de l’inflation ces derniers mois, « la possibilité du retrait de certaines mesures monétaires exceptionnellement accommodantes est de plus en plus envisagée. » Un autre membre, Adam Posen, a de nouveau appelé à un renforcement de 50 milliards de livres du programme d’assouplissement quantitatif de la BoE.
Selon La Tribune, la vente de Foncia, le leader français de l’administration de biens, filiale à 100 % du groupe bancaire BPCE, pourrait surtout intéresser des fonds d’investissement. Une quinzaine d’entre eux manifesteraient de l’intérêt pour le dossier, dont des français, comme Eurazeo et LBO France, mais aussi des anglo-saxons, tels que Bridgepoint, Carlyle, Cinven et KKR. D’après les informations de La Tribune, ils seraient prêts à mettre entre 600 et 700 millions d’euros sur la table.