Le total des capitaux des investisseurs extérieurs au groupe ABC Arbitrage s'établissait au 1er juillet à plus de 440 millions d’euros, dépassant les ambitions de collecte annoncées en 2010, selon un communiqué de la société publié le 17 septembre.Au cours du premier semestre 2012, ABC arbitrage a étoffé son offre de gestion pour compte de tiers en ouvrant un nouveau fonds d’investissement (ABCA Inference Fund). L’activité a généré 3,7 millions d’euros de commissions sur le semestre contre 3,6 millions d’euros pour l’ensemble de l’année 2011.
Funds People rapporte que Goldman Sachs Asset Management vient de faire enregistrer en Espagne ses trois nouveaux fonds indiciels d’actions GIVI, pour Global Intrinsic Value Indices (lire Newsmanagers du 13 septembre), à savoir le Goldman Sachs GIVI Growth and Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio, le Goldman Sachs GIVI Europe Equity Portfolio et le Goldman Sachs GIVI Global Equity – Growth Markets Tilt Portfolio.
Funds People rapporte que le gestionnaire indépendant américain DCI vient de faire enregistrer pour la vente en Espagne sa sicav irlandaise à compartiments DCI Umbrella Fund. DCI a son siège à San Francisco et gère environ 4 milliards de dollars.
Les fonds coordonnés (Ucits) ont enregistré en juillet 2012 des souscriptions nettes de 6 milliards d’euros, alors qu’ils avaient accusé des sorties nettes de 33 milliards d’euros en juin, selon les statistiques de l’association européenne des gestionnaires d’actifs Efama.Une collecte qui a été dopée par les fonds obligataires, qui ont attiré 23 milliards d’euros en juillet, après 5 milliards en juin.Les fonds actions sont toujours en décollecte, mais moins qu’en juin : Ils perdent 2 milliards d’euros contre - 9 milliards.Les fonds monétaires ont quant à eux vu sortir, en net 18 milliards d’euros, après -24 milliards d’euros en juin. Les fonds non coordonnés ont par ailleurs enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 42 milliards d’euros après 11 milliards en juin.Au total, les encours des fonds coordonnés ont augmenté de 3,1 % à 6.183 milliards d’euros, tandis que les actifs des fonds non coordonnés ont progressé de 2,4 % à 2.447 milliards d’euros.Sur le deuxième trimestre, les fonds coordonnés ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes de 7 milliards d’euros, soit une chute par rapport aux 91 milliards d’euros au premier trimestre de l’année.
L'écossais Ignis Asset Management vient de lancer son second fonds obligataire de performance absolue (après le Ignis Absolute Return Government Bond Fund lancé en mars 2011), un produit «pure alpha», market neutral, dont l’objectif de volatilité est limité à 2-6 % avec des risques de duration et de taux nuls ainsi qu’une faible corrélation avec les autres classes d’actifs. Ce fonds vient d’obtenir de la BaFin l’agrément de commercialisation pour le marché allemand. Au moyen de CDS, le portefeuille sera investi en obligations d’entreprises catégorie investissement et haut rendement du monde entier avec 10 à 30 «pair trades». Le Absolute Return Credit fund est un fonds de «meilleures idées» Le gérant est Chris Bowie, assisté d’une équipe crédit de 15 personnes.
Fin 2011, dernier chiffre publié, Mirabaud gérait des encours de 24 milliards de francs suisses, le pôle gestion d'actifs pesant 9 milliards, dont 4 milliards dans les fonds traditionnels et 5 milliards dans l'alternatif. Depuis lors, la collecte nette a été modeste, mais de nouveaux produits "marchent" bien et d'autres sont dans les tuyaux.
The use of real rates in inter-bank lending is the most appropriate methodology to determine Libor, which is currently established on the basis of estimated rates, according to a survey of members worldwide undertaken by the CFA Institute. The financial sector should continue to be responsible for calculating Libor, but this calculation should be subject to official controls. 82% of respondents feel that regulators should also hae powers to introduce penal sanctions for manipulation of Libor. The survey suggests that there are possible alternatives to Libor. The most popular options are interest rates based on the market (for 43% of respondents) and repo rates (for 32% of respondents).
The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on 14 September announced that it has set up a working group to consider financial market indices and identify problems related to the choice of these indices, and to develop principles for the development of appropriate indices. The initiative follows recent problems related to the Libor, Euribor and Tibor indices. The working group is composes of members of the board, and will be chaired by Martin Wheatley, director general of the British Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The working group plans to present a consultation document later this year or early in 2013.
The asset management firm GLG has announced the launch of GLG Financials Alternative, a UCITS hedge fund whose management is based on the firm’s long/short strategy for financial sector equities. The team manages a portfolio composed of 30 to 60 financial sector shares, most frequently with a neutral exposure to the market (market neutral type approach). The selection of stocks in the portfolio is determined by proprietary internal research combined with proactive and rigorous risk management, a statement says. Management aims to profit from numerous capital raising operations, sales of government stakes in financial sector businesses, and expected IPOs of those businesses. The GLG Financials Alternative Fund, a sub-fund of GLG Investments VI plc, is the twelfth UCITS hedge funds from the asset management firm, which has already received a license from the French regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) for sale in France. Characteristics: ISIN code: IE000B771GJ57 Front-end fee: 5% Management fee: 2% Administrative fees: 0.3% Performance commission: 20% of performance Minimum investment: EUR1,000
Creations of new hedge funds have fallen off by 19% in second quarter, to a total of 245 funds, a level not seen since fourth quarter 2010, according to statistics from Hedge Fund Research. The cause of this trend is mediocre returns in second quarter, aversion to risk, and uncertainty about reporting requirements and infrastructure costs. Hedge fund liquidations have also fallen in second quarter, to 192, down 17% compared with first quarter. The disparity in performance increased in second quarter, with average gains of 7% for the top tenth of the rankings, and average losses of 16.2% for the bottom tenth. Performance commissions for the sector overall increased by 4 basis points to 18.76%, while performance commissions for hedge funds launched in 2012 totalled 18.23%, up 15 basis points compared with 2011. Nearly 40% of funds charge total management commissions of 1.51% to 2%, while more than 80% charge total commissions of 16% to 20%.
Fidelity Investments has announced that it is now offering eight more countries and three new currencies on its international online investment platform. The new countries concerned are Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Poland, South Africa and Spain. The three new currencies are the Danish kroner, Polish zloty and South African rand.
Recent decisions by central banks on both sides of the Atlantic, and the ratification of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) by the constitutional court in Karlsruhe have given investors fresh appetite. In the week to 12 September, equity funds have posted inflows of slightly over USD12bn, a level not seen in over a year, EPFR Global reports. Bond funds have posted their highest inflows since the first week of May, with interest in high yield remaining high, and net subscriptions since the beginning of the year approaching USD56bn. However, European bond funds finished the week to 12 September with highly modest inflows of USD23m.
Funds People reports that Goldman Sachs Asset Management has registered its three new Global Intrinsic Value Indices (GIVI) tracker funds for sale in Spain (see Newsmanagers of 13 September), namely the Goldman Sachs GIVI Growth and Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio, Goldman Sachs GIVI Europe Equity Portfolio and Goldman Sachs GIVI Global Equity – Growth Markets Tilt Portfolio funds.
The New York-based Neuberger Berman (USD194bn in assets as of the end of June) has announced the launch of a diversified, actively-managed commodity fund, which will aim to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns, with low correlation with other asset classes, entitled Neuberger Berman Risk Balanced Commodity Strategy Fund. The portfolio will include 25 to 30 commodities in six sectors.The new product will be managed by Wai Lee, managing director, CIO, head of research, Quantitative Investment Group, and by Hakan Kaya, vice president.The fund is available in A and C share classes (acronyms NRBAX and NRBCX), which charge rates of 0.96%, and in an institutional share class (NRBIX) with a commission of 0.85%. Total fees are 1.48% for the A share class, 2.23% for the C share class, and 1.12% for I shares. Neuberger Berman charges a front-end fee of 5.75% on A shares.
Funds People reports that the US independent asset management firm DCI has registered its Irish Sicav DCI Umbrella Fund for sale in Spain. DCI is headquartered in San Francisco, and has about USD4bn in assets under management.
As of late 2011, when the most recent figures were released, Mirabaud had CHF24bn in assets under management, while the asset management unit had CHF9bn, of which CHF4bn were in traditional funds and CHF5bn in alternative investments. Since then, net inflows have been modest, but new products have been “working” well, and others are in the works.
In collaboration with the Munich-based Institut für Vermögensaufbau, Swiss Benchmarking has created an independent portfolio certification for quality and price in wealth management, finews.ch reports. The service, available to Swiss banks, aims to provide clients, particularly retail clients, with assistance in deciding on and analysing the risk/return profile for template portfolios provided by banks.The first two firms to apply for certification have been the cantonal banks of Basel and Zurich.
Last month, assets under management by AllianceBernstein, Franklin Templeton, Invesco and Legg Mason increased by a total of USD29.9bn.Most of the increase was due to an increase in assets at Franklin, at USD12.3bn, of which USD6.8bn went to pure equity products, for a total of USD731bn, compared with USD718.7bn as of the end of July.At Invesco, the increase totalled USD10.2bn, of which USD6.6bn went to equity funds, for a total of USD669.7bn, compared with USD659.5bn.The increase was more modest at AllianceBernstein (+USD4bn to USD411bn) and at Legg Mason (+USD3.4bn to USD639.2bn).
The French financial management association (AFG) has announced in the most recent edition of its Gestion Info newsletter that it has admitted three new members: Russell Investments France, Oak Field Partners, and Balbec Asset Management. Odixel Advisory Services joins the professional association as a corresponding member.
The alternative asset management firm Abrams Capital Management, based in Boston, has announced that it has raised USD2.9bn for its new fund, Abrams Capital Partners II, the Boston Globe reports. The fund plans to pick undervalued equities and bonds.
The Brazilian asset management firm Bradesco Asset Management, whose arrival in France was previously announced by Newsmanagers, will soon receive permission from the French regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), to release sub-funds of its Luxembourg Sicav fund for sale in France. The firm’s product range will include a Brazilian bond fund, which will not be subject to a tax on capital investment, since it invests in papers issued abroad, and a Brazilian midcaps fund. Bradesco AM will direct its development in France from its London offices, where three people are responsible for international activities. Ileana Salas, in charge of Europe and the Middle East, will be responsible for the French market, with a focus on institutional investors. France is not the only country in which the Brazilian firm is planning to develop. It has also registered its Sicav, founded in 2009, in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. So far, the products are available only in Luxembourg and Portugal. Bradesco is also developing in the United States, where a large Latin American population will be likely to be interested in Brazil. A New York office will be opened soon.
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) on 14 September announced that it has recruited Lance Philips as head of active equities. He will begin in early 2013, and will report directly to the CEO, Mark Zinkula. Philips has recently left Standard Life Investments (SLI), where he was head of overseas and global equities (see Newsmanagers of 14 September), at a time when Invesco has announced that it has recruited three multi-asset class managers from the same firm.
London based Kames Capital (with GBP50 billion under management) has appointed Marcus Chandler as a senior portfolio manager, US equities. He will report to head of North American equities Ian Cooke.Chandler was previously a portfolio manager at LV= Asset Management with responsibility for US and UK equities. Prior to LV= Asset Management, Chandler worked at Credit Suisse Asset Management and Sarasin.
The London-based asset management firm Alken Asset Management has recruited two people as additions to its distribution team. Olaf Grüneke has joined Alken to serve German and Austrian clients. Grüneke, who will be based near Hamburg, previously worked at Sparinvest, and recently left the firm due to cutbacks in Germany. Alken has also recruited Alasdair Bell, previously of Ignis, to serve the British market, which has previously been neglected, despite the fact that the firm has several British clients. Personnel at Alken now include six people for sales, nine in management (two managers, five analysts and two traders) and six people in legal and administrative roles. Assets under management at the firm now total EUR3bn, of which EUR2bn are int eh Alken European Opportunities fund, up 22% since the beginning of the year, and EUR230m in the Absolute Return fund, up 10% since the beginning of the year.
The Scottish asset management firm Ignis Asset Management is planning to launch its second absolute return bond fund (following the Ignis Absolute Return Government Bond Fund, launched in March 2011), a “pure alpha,” market neutral product, whose volatility objective is limited to 2-6%, with zero duration and interest rate risks, and a low correlation with other asset classes. The fund has recently received sales license for the German market from BaFin.With the use of CDS, the portfolio will invest in investment grade and high yield government bonds worldwide, with 10 to 30 pair trades. The Absolute Return Credit fund is a “best ideas” fund. The manager is Chris Bowie, with a credit team of 15 people.
Nearly three quarters (72%) of fund managers consider the AIFM directive a threat to their activities, according to a survey by Deloitte. The most often cited threats are costs related to depository functions (84%), management outsourcing (78%), modifications to contractual arrangements, and access to the market (67%). The asset management firms which consider the AIFM directive an opportunity generally have at least GBP1bn in assets under management. Smaller firms estimate that the directive instead runs the risk of penalising their activities. The survey also finds that the AIFM directive will favour improvements in transparency. More than 50% of respondents to the survey say that they are planning to offer additional information to investors to comply with the terms of the reporting directive.
In July, net inflows into UCITS totalled EUR 6 billion, compared to net outflows of EUR 33 billion in June, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA). This reflected an increase in net sales of long-term UCITS, from net redemptions of EUR 9 billion in June to net inflows of EUR 25 billion: Net sales of bond funds jumped to EUR 23 billion during July, up from EUR 5 billion in June. Balanced funds registered net inflows of EUR 3 billion, against net outflows of EUR 3 billion in June, while equity funds recorded reduced net outflows of EUR 2 billion, compared to EUR 9 billion in June. Money market funds recorded net outflows in July for the second month in a row (EUR 18 billion, compared to EUR 24 billion in June). The lowering of the ECB’s deposit rate to zero on 5 July may have contributed to the continued net outflows. Total net sales of non-UCITS recorded a significant increase leap in July, to EUR 42 billion from EUR 11 billion in June. Total net assets of UCITS increased in July by 3.1 percent to EUR 6,183 billion, whilst non-UCITS net assets increased 2.4 percent in the month to stand at EUR 2,447 billion. In the second quarter of 2012, UCITS recorded net inflows of EUR 7 billion, down from net inflows of EUR 91 billion in the first quarter of the year. This drop was mainly attributable to a reduction in net inflows into long-term funds.
The Italian asset management industry is hostage to traditional models, according to the independent asset management firm Nextam Partners. 97% of the sector is controlled by insurers and banks, Investment Europe notes. In order to stand out in this market, the strategy of Nextam is to “create a boutique within a boutique,” its CEO, Carlo Gentili, explans. The firm is outsourccing management of its funds to other asset management firms (Citic, Mario Gabelli, Bestinver, etc.) In April this year, Nextam launched an incubation Sicav entitled Mantex. The structure of the fund of funds is designed to attract managers who are hoping to start up their activities without worrying about administration.
La Caisse de Prévoyance du Personnel de l’Etat de Fribourg s’est lancée dans « une vaste réflexion qui devrait la conduire à modifier en profondeur son allocation d’actifs d’ici trois à six mois » selon Claude Schafer, son directeur administratif. Une allocation qui n’a pas évoluée depuis 2008, avec l’introduction dans les placements de la CPPEF d’un pourcentage de 3% de fonds alternatifs, sous la forme d’un hedge fund directionnel et un hedge fund non directionnel. L’allocation stratégique de la CPPEF se répartit actuellement comme suit : 3% de liquidités (14,7% à fin 2011), 27% de débiteurs francs suisses (22,5% à fin 2011), 10% d’obligations étrangères (9,92% à fin 2011), 3% de placements alternatifs (1,58% à fin 2011), 10% d’actions suisses (11,1% à fin 2011), 10% d’actions étrangères (8,8% à fin 2011) et 37% d’immobilier (31,3% à fin 2011). Les mandats de gestion d’actifs sont confiés à la Banque Cantonale de Fribourg, FTI Suisse, Crédit Suisse, UBS, IAM, Rouiller, Zurkinden & Cie, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsh et Pictet. Le consultant en placements est Coninco Advisory.
Une première réunion de son conseil d’administration se tiendra le 8 octobre. Les ministres des finances de la zone euro réunis à Chypre ont décidé que les Etats membres verseront 32 milliards d’euros en deux tranches.