Tressis est en train de faire enregistrer en Espagne le premier fonds de hedge funds au format OPCVM III qu’elle conseille et qui est lancé par Merchant Capital, rapporte Funds People.Le Merchant European Equity Fund, qui offre une liquidité journalière, comportera 20 positions longues et 20 lignes courtes (au travers de CFD) en appliquant une approche market neutral à une stratégie long/short equity à des valeurs du DJ Eurostoxx 600.L’objectif de ce fonds qui sera commercialisé en Espagne par Tressis et dans le reste de l’Europe par Merchant Capital, est une performance de 12 % avec une volatilité inférieure à 6 %.
Selon les calculs de VDOS Stochastics, 37 fonds garantis espagnols, 32 d’actions et cinq obligataires, seront arrivés à échéance au premier trimestre. Ils pèsent 1,02 milliard d’euros et comptent 46.669 souscripteurs, rapporte Funds People. Au 19 mars, l’encours total des fonds garantis représentait plus de 46,2 milliards d’euros, soit 27,5 % du total des actifs sous gestion. C’est la seconde catégorie de fonds la plus importante après celle des fonds obligataires (38,5 %).
Funds People rapporte que le BBVA a indiqué aux quelque 3.000 souscripteurs particuliers qui ont conservé leurs parts du fonds immobilier Propriedad qu’il étudie la possibilité de scinder le fonds en deux, avec un produit pour les particuliers et un autre pour la banque, qui détient 96,69 % de l’encours. En tous cas, la banque confirme qu’elle ouvre exceptionnellement les remboursements jusqu’au 30 avril. Mais le prix auquel seront remboursées les parts n’est pas encore connu.
Six des dix fonds commercialisés en Espagne affichant les meilleures performances depuis le début de cette année sont des produits investissant dans des entreprises de biotechnologie. Celui de Dexia affiche un gain de 37 %, devant ceux de DWS (26 %) et d’UBS (25 %), rapporte Cinco Días. Cependant, les sociétés de gestion soulignent que la volatilité de ces fonds peut s’avérer plus élevée que la moyenne des fonds d’actions.
La neuvième édition du Baromètre de la gestion déléguée en France, réalisée par le cabinet de conseil en stratégie Image & Finance auprès de 153 institutions gérant environ 1.679 milliards d'euros, montre que les "zinzins" n'ont pas totalement cédé à la mode des ETF et continuent de favoriser les gestions de conviction. C'est ce que nous explique Richard Bruyère, président d'Image & Finance.
Avec effet au 16 mars, Jennifer Bolt a été nommée executive vice president et COO de Franklin Resources, annonce Franklin Templeton Investments. Elle demeure placée sous la responsabilité de Gregory F. Johnson, president et CEO de Franklin Resources.L’intéressée était jusqu'à présent executive vice president of operations & technology. En plus de ses attributions actuelles, elle sera responsable des ressources humaines et des rémunérations.
Un porte-parole d’Invesco Aim a annoncé qu’après le bouclage de l’acquisition de la gestion d’actifs retail de Morgan Stanley, l'équipe commerciale combinée que dirigera John Cooper sera ramenée à 375 personnes, soit 60 de moins qu’actuellement, rapporte Mutal Fund Wire.
Jeudi, Liontrust Asset Management a indiqué que ses encours se situait au 24 mars à 1,16 milliard de livres, contre 312 millions pour l’institutionnels, 781 millions pour les fonds retail et 67 millions pour les fonds offshore. Au 1er janvier, les actifs sous gestion se situaient à 1,18 milliard de livres, dont 316 millions pour l’institutionnel, 795 millions pour le retail et 69 millions pour les fonds offshore.Sur la période 1er janvier-24 mars, le gestionnaire britannique a subi des remboursements nets de 53 millions de livres, mais l’effet de marché a été positif de 33 millions d’euros.
Deux mois à peine après avoir fait enregistrer en Espagne son fonds de performance absolue au format OPCVM III, le SEB Asset Selection géré par Hans-Olov Bornemann, SEB Asset Management prépare le lancement à brève échéance d’une version plus défensive de ce produit, a indiqué Daniel Rubio, de Capital Strategies, la société qui représent SEB AM en Espagne.Le nouveau produit, rapporte Funds People, visera une volatilité moyenne limitée à 5 % au lieu des 10 % du fonds original.
Selon les Echos, la banque d’affaires Mediobanca, premier actionnaire de l’assureur Generali, réunit cet après-midi son comité des nominations. Celui-ci doit arrêter le nom du successeur d’Antoine Bernheim à la présidence du groupe. La position de Vincent Bolloré, membre du comité, s’annonce déterminante.
Dans sa recherche de talents dans l’univers de la gestion de fonds, Citywire a étudié le marché pour retenir de «nouveaux visages» ne figurant pas encore sur ses radars. En se contentant d’observer ce mois les gérants qui interviennent sur un univers d’investissement européen, et qui bien que n'étant pas encore éligible à la notation et au classement de Citywire, n’en affichent pas moins un impressionnant ratio d’information sur un an, et des performances élevées, il ressort qu’ avec des marchés européens affichant en moyenne une performance moyennes, certains «nouveaux» gérants sortent nettement du lot. C’est le cas par exemple de Robrecht Wouters à la tête du fonds JOHCM European Select Values Inst Eur sur un an (58,39 %) avec un ratio d’information de 3,08, devant Rob Raddelaar qui pilote ING (L) Invest European Equity I Cap (45,59 %) avec un ratio d’information de 1,69, Michel Constantis qui gère BGF European Growth Fund A2 Eur (36,57 %) avec un ratio de 1,34, Françoise Labbé à la tête d’Aviva Actions Europe (40,42 %) avec un ratio de 1,34 ou Damien Lanternier qui gère Agressor (56,60 %) avec un ratio de 0,87.
Le Temps rapporte que Brady Dougan, directeur général de Credit Suisse, a touché 19,2 millions de francs en 2009 contre 2,86 millions en 2008. Il a donc bénéficié d’une augmentation de salaire de 671,3% ajoute le quotidien qui note que la banque a également renoué avec les bénéfices. Après une perte nette de 8,1 milliards de francs en 2008, son profit net a atteint 6,9 milliards de francs l’année dernière.
La société de hedge funds Man Group, basée à Londres, a approché plusieurs gestionnaires de hedge funds des Etats-Unis en vue de se développer Outre-Atlantique, rapporte le Financial Times. L’idée serait de nouer des accords de distribution ou de faire des acquisitions. Parmi les sociétés rencontrées par Peter Clarke, le directeur général de Man Group, figurent SAC Capital Advisors et Millenium Partners, précise le FT.
China Merchants a annoncé vendredi que son premier fonds QDII, le Global Resources Equity, a drainé 553 millions de yuans, ce qui n’est pas forcément de très bon augure pour les autres sociétés de gestion de fonds qui ont des produits QDII en préparation.Cependant, le cabinet de consultants Z-Ben Advisors fait remarquer que China Merchants a levé les 553 millions de yuans en 19 jours seulement, alors que les autres gestionnaires ouvrent la souscription pendant 30 jours. De plus E-Fund, qui est beaucoup plus gros que China Merchants, a mis 40 jours voici un mois pour lever un montant similaire (593 millions de yuans) pour son fonds Asia Ex-Japan Equity.
In an SEC filing dated 17 March, DWS Investments (Deutsche Bank) has announced that from May, the equities portion of its target-date funds in the Target range (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014) will be largely invested in large and liquid ETF funds.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management has announced that its unit, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (Morgan Stanley AIP), has raised USD370m for its fund Morgan Stanley AIP Phoenix Global Real Estate Secondaries 2009 LP (Phoenix), which is dedicated to opportunity-driven investments in private equity real estate funds. AIP had set itself an objective of USD250m.
In a press statement, the Austrian-German management firm C-Quadrat has announced that it is planning to add a range of ETF funds, entitled iQ Products, to its offerings. The funds will represent a new generation of ETFs which limit the risk of losses. The issuer of the first iQ ETF is Commerzbank. The products of the range will be unveiled in mid-April.
Barely two months after registering its UCITS III absolute performance fund in Spain, the SEB Asset Selection fund managed by Hans-Olov Bernemann, SEB Asset Management is preparing to launch a more defensive version of the product in the very near future, says Daniel Rubio of Capital Strategies, the firm which represents SEB AM in Spain. The new product will aim for average volatility of only 5%, down from the 10% of the original fund, Funds People reports.
Tressis is in the process of registering its first UCITS III compliant fund of hedge funds, which it advises and which is offered by Merchant Capital, for sale in Spain, Funds People reports. The Merchant European Equity Fund, which offers daily NAV, will include 20 long positions and 20 short positions (via CFD), applying a market neutral approach to a long/short equities strategy trading in shares of the DJ Eurostoxx 600 index. The objective of the fund, which will be offered in Spain by Tressis and in the rest of Europe by Merchant Capital, will be returns of 12%, with volatility of under 6%.
Six out of the ten funds on sale in Spain with the best returns since the start of this year are products which invest in biotech firms. The product from Dexia has gained 37%, while the DWS product has gained 26%, and the UBS fund 25%, Cinco Días reports. However, the asset management firms point out that the volatility of these funds may be higher than the average for equities funds.
Morningstar Australasia, the Australian affiliate of the Morningstar group, on 24 March announced the acquisition of the firm Aegis Equities Research, which produces independent research into equities from more than 200 firms listed on the ASX. The acquisition, for an undisclosed price, will be completed in the next few weeks.
The Cantonal Bank of Geneva (BCGE), minuscule compared with the giants of Swiss finance, and which, like most other Swiss cantonal banks, has been largely spared from the crisis, and even profited from a wave of capital in search of higher quality, is now planning to develop its international presence, particularly in Asia. The BCGE opened an office in Hong Kong on 1 January of this year, Asian Investor reports. The bank is also planning to open a Dubai office.
The French-American financier Guy Wyser-Pratte has denounced the law of limited partnership of shareholders which allows Arnaud Lagardère to completely control his group Poussielgue with only a 10% stake in its capital, Les Echos reports. He claims that the partnership has a negative impact on the value of shares. He is seeking a place on the supervisory board of the group, and to reform the group’s statutes.
Les Echos reports, citing AFP, that UBS has been summoned before the Paris courts on charges of defrauding 80 investors who lost money they had invested in the Luxembourg-registered fund Luxalpha, which was offered for sale by the bank, and which invested in companies operated by Bernard Madoff. The investors accuse UBS of having presented Luxalpha as a low-risk investment, and of having neglected its responsibilities as a manager and depositary for the product, which funnelled investments to the firm of the frauster Madoff without informing clients. The savings investors, who lost all of their investments in Luxalpha, have “strong grounds to seek reparation for the prejudice they suffered as a result of the deception of which they were victims and of the serious errors committed by UBS,” says the summons, of which a copy was obtained by AFP.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the SEC has announced that it has launched a review into the use of derivatives by mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investment companies. The review effectively means that any new or pending exemptive requests under the Investment Company Act submitted by ETF management firms that are seeking to heavily invest in derivatives will be suspended until the results of the study are clear, the SEC says. The regulator is seeking to verify that current market practices using derivatives respect the regulations of the Investment Company Act in relation to leverage and risk distribution. The regulator will also seek to determine what risk control instruments are used by funds which invest in derivatives.
China Merchants announced on Friday that its first QDII fund, the Global Resources Equity Fund, has attracted CNY553m, which is not necessarily a good sign for other fund management firms which have QDI products in the pipeline. The consultant Z-Ben Advisors, however, points out that the China Merchants fund raised CNY553m in only 19 days, while other asset management firms will open subscriptions for a period of 30 days. In addition, E-Fund, which is much larger than China Merchants, opened a fund for 40 days a month ago, and raised a similar amount (CNY593m) for its Asia Ex-Japan Equity fund.
Franklin Templeton has announced that the fund platform Metzler Fund Xchange is unilaterally delisting the Templeton Growth Fund from 30 June, Das Investment reports, adding that the management firm had anticipated the move. The measure concerns only assets in the fund which are invested directly through the Metzler platform as custodian. Franklin Templeton says in a letter to intermediaries that it will continue to provide free depositary services for clients of the Templeton Growth Fund as well as for Franklin Templeton Investment Funds (FTIF). It adds that there are no plans to “de-register” the Templeton Growth Fund in Germany.
In 2009, Banca Mediolanum has announced net profits of EUR217m, up 66% on the pro forma results for 2008, when net profits including the impact of the Lehman collapse came in at EUR24m. Pre-tax profits are up 56%, to EUR258m. Net subscriptions rose 177% compared with 2008 to total EUR6.94bn, which represents an all-time high. Assets increased 37% last year, to total more than EUR40.39bn. In terms of the Italian market, including the group’s 50% stake in Esperia, net profits increased 55% to EUR224m, and assets increased 38%, to a total of EUR38.53bn as of the end of December. For Banca Mediolanum, net subscriptions rose 122% to EUR5.795bn, while net inflows to managed accounts totalled EUR1.99bn (+1.01%), of which 57% went to equities products. In Spain, 2009 saw losses of EUR0.1m, compared with losses of EUR6.3m the previous year, but Fibanc Mediolanum earned profits of EUR0.5m. In Germany, losses remained similar to those in 2008, at EUR6.8m, while activities retained at Bankhaus August Lenz brought losses of EUR7.6m. In total, foreign banking affiliates of the group as of the end of December had assets of EUR1.86bn, which represents a 13% increase in one year.
Amundi ETF is planning to list up to 50 products in Italy by the end of 2010, an article from Soldi published on the Italian website Bluerating states. In early March, the firm launched 15 new equities products.
Sovereign funds, which have accumulated more than USD3.5trn in assets worldwide, now have cash allocations that are not doing anything for them. They are thus planning to make a further increase in their allocation to higher risk investments, but their investments will be for far lower amounts each, and far more diversified. In addition, says Bernard Eschweiler, senior economic advisor for the German independent investment bank Silvia Quandt & Cie AG, the centre of gravity for these investments will move from industrialised countries towards emerging markets, and from financial institutions to infrastructure and alternative energies. According to the study by Eschweiler, sovereign funds in 2008-2009 lost nearly 15% of their assets, while incoming amounts fell due to the recession and the falling price of oil. However, even at a more moderate rate of growth, assets will probably exceed USD6trn in five years.