Skandia a présenté le 15 février le modèle commercial de sa plate-forme d’investissement à destination des conseillers financiers, Skandia Investment Solutions. Le groupe souligne que pour être viable, une plate-forme doit maintenir ses coûts et ses marges bénéficiaires à 0,5% par an de l’encours des fonds sous gestion. Dans cette perspective, Skandia a mis en place un plan de transition qui débouchera sur une réduction des coûts d’exploitation d’environ 20% d’ici à la fin 2010. Sur l’ensemble de l’année, quelque 150 postes devraient être supprimés.Skandia souligne qu’il a déjà développé un certain nombre de caractéristiques indispensables pour intéresser et fidéliser les conseillers financiers, en proposant une plate-forme offrant un large choix d’investissements, des outils de back-up dédiés et des coûts limités pour les conseillers et leurs clients. Restait à mettre place un business model susceptible d’intégrer Skandia dans la catégorie des plates-formes à marges limitées.C’est désormais chose faite, estime Nick Poyntz-Wright, directeur général chez Skandia, qui espère ainsi maintenir le leadership de Skandia dans l’univers des plates-formes d’investissement.

Pour la deuxième année consécutive, les deux dirigeants de Barclays annoncent ne pas vouloir toucher leurs bonus, rapporte Le Temps. Le président Bob Diamond et le directeur général John Varley «ont informé le conseil d’administration de leur vœu de renoncer» à leurs rémunérations variables. Selon le quotidien suisse, cette décision tranche avec l’attitude de la plupart des autres grandes banquiers. Pratiquement aucun de ces derniers n’a accepté de renoncer à la part variable de leurs rémunérations pour 2009.

Au titre de 2009, le bénéfice net de Clariden Leu a bondi de 67 % sur un an, à 353 millions de francs suisses, pour un coefficient d’exploitation de 67 %, contre 56 % en 2008. A fin décembre, les encours sont en hausse de 9 % à 102 milliards de francs, contre 94 milliards sur l’année précédente. La filiale du Credit Suisse a accusé une sortie nette de 0,5 milliard de francs, contre 1,1 milliard.

La société de gestion Arrowstreet Capital, basée à Boston, cherche un responsable du développement pour le Royaume-Uni et l’Europe. «Cette personne sera une composante clé de l’initiative d’Arrowstreet d'étendre sa présence sur les marchés institutionnels du Royaume-Uni et de l’Europe», peut-on lire sur le site Internet de la société de gestion américaine. Le poste sera basé à Londres après une période de 6 à 18 mois à Boston. Arrowstreet gère plus de 21 milliards de dollars et entretient des relations avec plus de 50 clients en Amérique du Nord, en Europe et en Australie-Asie.

Bernard Lalière, gérant du Petercam L Bonds Higher Yield, table sur un taux de défaut de 4 % pour 2010, alors que l’agence de notation Moody’s anticipe 2,7 %. Mais quoi qu’il en soit, nous resterons bien éloignés des niveaux atteints durant la récente crise, et notamment des quasi 12 % enregistrés en 2009. Le gérant se dit aussi très satisfait des taux de recouvrement trimestriels qui sont en nette augmentation et atteignent les 60 %. Tant le taux de défaut que le taux de recouvrement sont des éléments positifs pour la stratégie gérée par Bernard Lalière. «L’année 2010 sera une bonne année pour notre fonds d’obligations à haut rendement», estime-t-il. «Même si on ne doit plus s’attendre à des returns identiques à ceux enregistrés en 2009, j’estime qu'à la fin de l’année, le rendement affiché par notre stratégie fluctuera entre 7 et 12 % en fonction de l’évolution de la situation macro-économique au second semestre. Toutefois, il faudra s’accommoder de la présence d’une volatilité accrue sur les marchés obligataires à haut rendement», poursuit-il. Afin d’atteindre son objectif de rendement, le gérant a diminué le poids des obligations à haut rendement européennes en faveur des marchés émergents, soit via les devises, soit via les gouvernementales ou les obligations d’entreprises.

Net profits at Clariden Leu for 2009 were up 67% compared with the previous year, at CHF353m, on an operating coefficient of 67%, compared with 56% in 2008. As of the end of December, assets were up 9% to CHF102bn, compared with CHF94bn the previous year. The Credit Suisse affiliate saw net outflows of CHF0.5bn, compared with CHF1.1bn.

The first Spanish-registered hedge fund (FIL) from Nordkapp Gestión is the Capitrade Systematic Global Futures, Funds People reports. The objective for the futures product is to outperform the Euribor 1-year by 1,400 to 1,800 basis points with average annual volatility of 13-17%, and a daily value at risk (VaR) of 6%. The fund will be advised by Capital Market, which will provide management and software to automate buys and sells of positions, but stock-picking and weighting of the markets will be handled by Jacobo Blanquer, an alternative specialist at Nordkapp Inversión.The portion of the portfolio not invested in futures will be placed in EU government bonds, deposits, or credit paper from EU lending institutions, with maturity in under one year. The average duration for the bond portfolio will be under 6 months

Hartmut Leser, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management Deutschland, has told Handelsblatt that if he cannot convince the many institutional investors in the DEGI Global Business real estate fund that it is possible to make up for negative performance now that the value of assets has been revised downwards by 21.6%, the fund will be liquidated and the money distributed to clients. All investors will habe been contacted by the end of March (see Newsmanagers of 11 February).

The British management firm Liontrust Asset Management will next month launch the European Value Fund, which will be compliant with the UCITS III directive. Investment Week reports that the fund will be managed by two former GAM managers, Ross Hollyman and Rob Cornish, who joined Liontrust last October. At the time of the launch, the fund will have about 70 positions, selected from a universe of 1,300 firms. The managers give priority to the search for pan-European high quality, liquid and inexpensive shares.

Arrowstreet Capital, a Boston based equity management firm, is looking for an individual in charge of business development, UK and Europe. This individual will be a key part of Arrowstreet’s initiative to expand its presence in the UK and European institutional markets, says the company.Arrowstreet Capital manages over USD21 billion and has relationships with over 50 clients located in North America, Europe, and Australasia.

For the year 2009 as a whole, the Investment Solutions arm of BNP Paribas, excluding the integration of Fortis, had net inflows of EUR25.5bn, of which EUR14.4bn in asset management, half of which was for money market products. Combined with positive market effects due to rising stock markets, these inflows will bring assets under management in the unit up 17% compared with 31 December 2008 to EUR588bn, putting them back at their levels at the end of 2007. Fortis Investments, which is now part of BNP Paribas, has seen a decline in its assets under management of EUR170bn, to EUR161bn. The private bank has seen a slight increase from EUR43bn to EUR44bn. Net banking proceeds for Investment Solutions are down 3.4%, at EUR4.768bn, compared with the 2008 figure, as “the strong rebound in assets under management made it possible to offset falling margins in asset management, an increase in general reserves in insurance, and a decline in transaction volumes and a shrinking margins in the equities profession,” says BNP Paribas in a statement released on Wednesday morning. Pre-tax profits total EUR1.29bn, down 1.5% compared with the 2008 results, after results for private banking in France and Italy are taken into account.

The Austrian fund selector Daniel Zeska is leaving the fund of funds team at Volksbank Invest to join Innovest Kapitalanlage AG. He has been appointed senior investment manager, and joins the asset allocation team at the Austrian management firm specialized in funds of funds for institutional investors. Assets at Innovest total EUR5bn, Citywire reports.

Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, whose assets under management rose by more than 50% last year to EUR11.9bn, earned net inflows of EUR1.8bn. Among the largest French and European equities funds was Tricolore Rendement, with assets of EUR3.1bn, saw outflows of EUR100m, but Europe Rendement, with slightly over EUR900m in assets, saw inflows of about EUR120m. Saint-Honoré Europe Synergie, with about EUR500m in assets, earned about EUR200m in inflows since last September. EDRAM states that last year it became the largest French manager of convertible bond funds, with more than EUR1.3bn in assets under management, as it tripled its assets under management in this area in one year (see Newsmanagers of 15/01/2010).

Growth must be sought where it can be found. Pierre Nebout, deputy director in charge of French equities management at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM), and Philippe Lecoq, deputy director and head of Large Caps Europe management, identify three major themes with this in mind: the attraction of “visible growth” and undervalued shares; defensive shares; and a rebound in activity in mergers and acquisitions.After the wave of popularity of cyclical shares last year, many opportunistic investors are now looking for firms that show what is called “visible growth,” i.e., the ability to grow independently of economic cycles, without major revisions in profit outlooks, EDRAM explains. Many attractive shares have lost their valuation premiums, and are trading slightly, 10% to 20% below their value. From this point of view, the sectors which offer the best prospects are agro-business, healthcare and software. In terms of specific equities, the major convictions in Europe are Nestlé, Heineken, Novartis, and lastly SAP, where a new president may stimulate speculation on shares. The second major theme is shares in defensive sectors, which tend to become a secondary priority as profit outlooks rise. Shares in telecoms, utilities, media and pharmaceuticals will be likely to show growth in profits of only 2% to 7%. EDRAM estimates that modest growth outlooks for these defensive sectors are a form of insurance in a macroeconomic environment which is difficult to predict. From this point of view, lower sensitivity to cycles on the stock markets may be a reason for the attraction of these shares to rise in a market which is less concerned with locating “recovery” than in visibility.The third major theme is a rise in mergers and acquisitions, as all the conditions are present for such a scenario to play out. The good health of businesses and their ability to generate cash flow will lead them to adopt a more offensive strategy to maintain their competitiveness and ensure their growth. From this standpoint, EDRAM points to the significant rise in the number of British firms which represent potential buyout targets, at a time when the regulatory and political environment in the UK present no major obstacles to buyouts. British shares are rendered more fragile in terms of their valuation by a 25% decline in the value of the pound Sterling against the Euro in the past three years. Potential targets identified by EDRAM include Burberry, BG Group, International Power and Invensys.

Guggenheim Partners (USD100bn) is acquiring Security Benefit Corp, which has four divisions, including Security Global Investors and Rydex, and about USD22bn in assets, for USD400m.

The Harvard University endowment, which has USD26bn in assets, is seeking to sell off 10% of its real estate portfolio, valued at USD5bn, in order to invest the money in more attractive investments and to reduce its exposure to a troubled market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sources familiar with the matter say the heads of the endowment have said they are hoping to retain at least 51% in their real estate partnerships.

Fortress Investment Group, a specialist in private equity and hedge funds (USD32bn) on Tuesday announced that it has acquired Logan Circle Partners, a traditional management firm previously owned by Guggenheim Partners, for USD21m in cash, the Wall Street Journal reports. The transaction brings bond fund assets at Fortress to about USD12bn.

It has only recently come to light that at the end of 2009, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) returned the Pegasus portfolio to Royal Bank of Scotland, which co-financed the acquisition of the portfolio for EUR2.1bn in May 2007 from Union Investment Real Estate, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The Pegasus portfolio includes 29 properties, including the Frankfurter Welle office building, which alone is valued at EUR703m. At the time of the acquisition, property values were at their peak, and MSREF predicted that rents and values would continue to rise. Before the crisis, MSREF spent EUR10bn on acquisitions of properties in Germany. The head of acquisitions, James Lapsuhner, will be leaving the firm at the end of March.

The Macquarie group has received sales licenses in Austria for three sub-funds of its Luxembourg Sicav Macquarie Funds Solutions, which it recently released in Germany (see Newsmanagers of 3 February). The funds are the Macquarie Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund, Macquarie Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund and Macquarie and Rogers China Agriculture Fund, says Herbert Geistler, country manager at Macquarie Funds Group for Austria. The funds comply with the UCITS III directive. The target clientele consists of fund of fund managers and institutional investors. Distribution to retail investors will be outsourced to partners. Macquarie already manages about EUR200m for Austrian clients, in the areas of private equity and infrastructure.

OFI Asset Management has awarded a management mandate to General Electric Asset Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric, to manage the Single Select Platform GE US Equity, a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Single Select platform which invests in US large caps. The management firm which previously managed the sub-fund, created in March 2004, was Dreman. “GEAM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric, has been awarded a mandate to manage the Single Select Platform GE US Equity fund, to provide the ‘core’ positioning of its management strategy and regular outperformance in the long term. General Electric AM has more than 80 years of experience in management for institutional investors, and has USD118bn in assets under management, of which USD24bn are invested in US equities (December 2009),” a statement from OFI AM points out. Under the agreement, OFI Asset Management will provide exclusive distribution in France of the US equities product “US Equity Select” from General Electric AM, within the Single Select Platform GE US Equity. Characteristics of the fund • ISIN codes: I-class EUR shares*: LU0185280459; I-class USD shares: LU0185280533; A-class EUR shares*: LU0185278040 • Depository/Valuation provider: JPMorgan Bank Luxembourg • Created: 15 March 2004, with a change in managers on 12 February 2010 • Currency: EUR or USD • Valuation: Daily • Maximum management commission: I-class shares: 1.30% TTC max; A-class shares: 1.70% TTC max • Maximum front-end fee: I-class shares: 1% TTC max; A-class shares: 5% TTC max *Not hedged for currency risks.

A hedge fund launched by Renaissance Technologies - Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (Rief) - closed 2009 down 6 per cent, according to investors, missing out on the hedge fund industry’s best year in more than a decade, says the Financial Times. In all, the fund, which trades across asset classes and securities using computer programmes, has lost 4.42 per cent since it was set up in July 2005.

The British bank Barclays earned pre-tax profits last year of GBP11.6bn, in which a positive influence was attributable to a profit of GBP6.3bn on the sale of its asset management affiliate BGI (Barclays Global Investors). Taxable earnings from BGI excluding these profits on the sale were up 26% to GBP748m. Barclays Wealth, meanwhile,. finished the year with pre-tax profits down 78% to GBP145m. This development is largely due to the sale of its life insurance activities. Results at Barclays Wealth were also affected by the integration of Barclays Wealth Americas, which lost GBP39m. Client assets totalled GBP151.3bn as of December 2009, compared with GBP145.1bn one year earlier.

Skandia on 15 February unveiled the commercial model for its investment platform aimed at IFAs, Skandia Investment Solutions. The group states that in order to be viable, a platform needs to keep its costs and margins at a level where profits are equivalent to 0.5% of assets in management funds each year. With this in mind, Skandia has set up a transition plan which will involve a reduction in operating costs of about 20% by the end of 2010. Over the year as a whole, about 150 jobs will be cut. Skandia states that it has already defined several characteristics which are needed to attract and win the loyalty of IFAs, which it will put to use by offering them a platform that provides a wide selection of investments, dedicated back-up tools, and limited costs for advisors and their clients. A business model then needed to be set up which would bring Skandia into the category of low-cost platforms. This has now been achieved, says Nick Poyntz-Wright, CEO of Skandia, who hopes that the move will keep Skandia in a leading position among investment platforms.

For the second year in a row, the top two executives of Barclays have given up their bonuses, Le Temps reports. Bob Diamond, president, and John Varley, CEO, “have informed the board of directors that they will foreswear” their variable pay packages. The Swiss newspaper reports that the decision runs counter to the attitude of other top bankers. Virtually none of the other major bank chiefs have agreed not to receive the variable portion of their pay packages in 2009.

Bluerating reports that HSBC is launching its Middle East and North Africa fund, HSBC GIF Middle East and North Africa (MENA), in Italy. The sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav HSBC Global Investment Funds is managed by Andrea Nannini.

The Nuremberg-based asset management firm Shedlin Capital on Teusday announced the launch on March 1st of the Luxembourg-registered real estate and infrastructure fund of funds Shedlin Real Estate & Infrastructure, which will be managed by the Shedlin star manager Stefan Thomas-Barein, former head of asset management at Wallberg Invest. The promoter of the fund is Shedlin Investment Managers GmbH, while Hauck & Aufhäuser (H&A) will serve as administrator for the new product. The new fund of funds will invest internationally in open-ended real estate funds, shares in realty firms, and real estate and infrastructure themed funds. Shedlin also plans to offer an institutional share class. For the moment, the Shedlin Real Estate & Infrastructure fund has no sales licenses outside Luxembourg. License applications have been submitted to the German regulator BaFin and the Austrian FMA. Characteristics Name: Shedlin Real Estate & Infrastructure ISIN: LU0447028357 Minimal initial subscription: EUR1,000 Front-end fee: 5% Management commission: 1.2% Performance commission: 20 % of performance exceeding the Euribor 1-month, with high watermark

Des investisseurs, notamment les banques centrales, ont commencé à alléger leur exposition aux actifs sans risque en décembre 2009

Les banques devront refinancer 319 milliards de livres de titres adossés à des prêts immobiliers d'ici à avril 2014, sans soutien public

Chris Barrow, précédemment chez Nomura où il était responsable des ventes à l’international pour les services de prime brokerage, vient de rejoindre HSBC en tant que global head of sales pour l'équipe de prime services du groupe.Il est directement rattaché à Clan Burke, responsable de HSBC Prime Services, et Brian Heyworth, responsable des ventes au sein de la division marchés internationaux pour l’Europe, le Moyen Orient et l’Afrique, ainsi qu'à Paul Stillibower, responsable international du développement des activités chez HSBC Securities Services.

Selon les statistiques élaborées par Lipper pour Funds People, les single hedge funds (FIL) espagnols affichaient fin décembre un encours de 588 millions d’euros, soit à peu près le même volume qu’en juillet 2008, contre 400 millions en mars 2009.En revanche, l’encous des fonds de hedge funds sont tombés d’un milliard d’euros en juillet 2008 à 400 millions en mars 2009 et ils ont terminé l’année dernière avec seulement 310 millions d’euros.