La société de gestion ERAAM, spécialisée dans la sélection de fonds alternatifs et la construction de portefeuilles de fonds de fonds destinés à des investisseurs institutionnels, vient de lancer Eraam European Debt Opportunities (EEDO). Le fonds a pour objectif de saisir des opportunités d’investissement créées par la réduction de la taille du bilan des banques et les contraintes de solvabilité (Bâle III) en Europe. «Les banques ont un besoin impératif de faire baisser le risque dans leur bilan (Risk Weighted Assets) afin de satisfaire les exigences prudentielles en termes de capitaux propres et de ratio de solvabilité (Bâle III)», explique t-on chez ERAAM, «et ce d’autant que leur rentabilité est en baisse et que le risque souverain augmente fortement. Les établissements sont donc incités à trouver des investisseurs pour transférer une partie du risque de leur portefeuille de prêt». Compte tenu des contraintes réglementaires et du moindre appétit d’importants acteurs (hedge funds, etc.), cette situation crée un environnement favorable pour les prêteurs privés capables d’offrir des solutions de financement aux entreprises (vente d’actifs décotés, prêts collatéralisés, direct lending…) Dans ce cadre, EEDO se présente comme un SIF Luxembourgeois, doté d’une structure de fonds de private equity, qui investira dans des stratégies centrées autour de l’arbitrage de capital réglementaire et dans des solutions de financement aux entreprises. Le fonds vise un profil de rendement supérieur à 10% net, y compris le paiement d’un coupon dès la deuxième année. L’appel des capitaux sera étalé sur 18 mois à partir de septembre 2012 avec une échéance cible de 6 ans à partir de la clôture (avec deux options de prorogation de 2 ans). La taille prévisionnelle du fonds est de 100 à 150 millions d’euros. Deux opportunités d’investissement ont déjà été identifiées, précise un communiqué : un fonds qui investira dans des transactions de capital réglementaire, géré par une équipe de spécialistes du crédit et un fonds de créances décotées cogéré par ERAAM et une équipe spécialisée dans le conseil aux entreprises. Le closing du fonds est prévu en septembre prochain.

Société de gestion indépendante fondée en 2001 par Olivier Combastet, Pergam ajoute à présent un troisième pilier à son activité, à côté des mandats et du private equity. Erik Alme, directeur de la gestion et de la clientèle privée, ainsi que Caroline Gaudry, associée et gérante obligataire, ont indiqué à Newsmanagers que la maison aborde la gestion collective avec le lancement le 13 juin d’un premier fonds, Pergam Obligations 2017. Il s’agit d’un fonds «sur mesure» à échéance (30 juin 2017), qui a obtenu de l’AMF son agrément de commercialisation le 9 mai.La création de ce produit part de la constatation qu’il existe sur le marché une demande pour un investissement obligataire au profil plus prudent que l’essentiel de l’offre actuelle de fonds à échéance, souvent largement investis en haut rendement, Pergam propose avec Obligations 2017 un fonds de droit français qui allouera au minimum 80% de son portefeuille à des titres de catégorie investissement (actuellement 84%), le reliquat se répartissant entre «le segment supérieur» du haut rendement et le non noté. Le portefeuille (40 lignes) au démarrage n’investira ni en financières ni en valeurs de l’automobile ni non plus en valeurs d'émetteurs dont le siège social est situé en Grèce. Les obligations sélectionnées proviennent d'émissions supérieures à 500 millions d’euros et il n’y a pas de risque de change.Le positionnement de ce fonds se présente comme une alternative aux fonds en euros qui offrent un rendement autour de 3%, et aux fonds spécialistes du high yield, au rendement supérieur mais qui présentent un niveau de volatilité parfois difficile à maitriser. Pour ce premier fonds, Pergam vise une performance supérieure à celle de l’OAT échéance 25 avril 2017, soit un rendement net proche de 4% dans les conditions actuelles. Le produit offre d’une liquidité hebdomadaire et la souscription sera close le 31 octobre.L’objectif de collecte annoncé est de 50 millions d’euros. La gestion en est déléguée à Aviva Investors, qui dispose d’une équipe de recherche crédit forte de 40 analystes. Pergam devrait prochainement lancer un deuxième fonds de gestion collective, qui devrait être un produit actions typé géré en interne, et donc renforcer ses équipes de gestion.La société de gestion affiche actuellement un encours de quelque 800 millions d’euros répartis pour moitié à peu près entre mandats (2/3 d’actions hors Europe et 40 % d’obligations européennes) et private equity (foncier agricole, immobilier américain et matériel roulant, notamment). Actuellement, le portefeuille sous mandat est investi dans une vingtaine de fonds de quinze maisons différentes, dont cinq gérants entrepreneuriaux, le restant étant alloué à des gérants réputés de grands groupes. L’objectif, en comptant le pôle gestion collective, est d’atteindre le milliard d’euros d’actifs sous gestion pour l’ensemble des métiers sous trois ans et 1,2 milliard sous cinq ans.CaractéristiquesDénomination : Pergam Obligations 2017Codes Isin :FR0011223106 (part C)FR0011223114 (part D)Droit d’entrée : néantCommission de gestion : 0,80 %Pénalité de sortie:1 % jusqu’au 31 octobre 20120,5 % du 1er novembre 2012 au 30 juin 2014 inclus, puis néant

Amundi, via la plateforme de comptes gérés d’Amundi Alternative Investments, vient de confier à l'équipe Taux et Devises de Macquarie Investment Management (MIM) un mandat de 80 millions d’euros, afin de négocier («trader») activement les devises du G10 (*). Amundi Alternative Investments, , précise un communiqué, gère près de 8 milliards d’euros, dont 1,7 milliard d’euros sur sa plateforme de comptes gérés. La société emploie une centaine de professionnels à travers le monde (Paris, New York, Londres, Tokyo). Amundi Alternative Investments conçoit et structure des solutions et des produits de multigestion alternative dans un cadre européen et réglementé en Irlande, en vue de la directive AIFM.MIM, pour sa part, gère des portefeuilles de Taux et Devises depuis plus de 40 ans et s’appuie aujourd’hui sur une équipe de plus de 100 professionnels basés à Sydney, Philadelphie et Londres. Son encours est supérieur à 120 milliards d’euros sur ses produits de Taux et Devises. (*) US, Canada, UK, région Euro, Suisse, Suède, Norvège, Japon, Australie et Nouvelle-Zélande

La société de gestion alternative SAC Capital, dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à quelque 14 milliards de dollars, vient de recruter Louis Villa en tant que gérant de portefeuille, rapporte Reuters. Louis Villa travaillait précédemment chez Edoma Partners, le fonds monté par un ancien de Goldman Sachs, Pierre-Henri Flamand, qui ne brille pas particulièrement depuis son lancement en 2010.Louis Villa a quitté ses fonctions chez Edoma en avril dernier. Le hedge fund event driven d’Edoma, dont les actifs s'élèvent à quelque 1,8 milliard de dollars, a perdu 0,85% au premier trimestre 2012, ce qui porte son recul depuis son lancement à 3,1%. Une stratégie event driven se situant dans la moyenne a dégagé au premier trimestre une performance de 4,62%.

En mai, les fonds actions commercialisés en Suède ont pour le deuxième mois consécutif accusé des rachats nets, à hauteur de 9,7 milliards de couronnes suédoises, soit 1,09 milliard d’euros, selon les dernières statistiques de l’association suédoise des fonds d’investissement, Fondbolagens Förening.Cette hémorragie sur les actions a profité aux fonds obligataires et monétaires qui ont enregistré des souscriptions nettes de respectivement 4 milliards (0,45 milliard d’euros) et 4,6 milliards de couronnes (0,52 milliard d’euros). Les fonds diversifiés ont quant à eux vu rentrer 1,1 milliard de couronnes (0,12 milliard d’euros).Cette collecte n’a toutefois pas été suffisante pour compenser les rachats et au global, les fonds commercialisés en Suède ont vu sortir 0,7 milliard de couronnes suédoises (0,08 milliard d’euros). A fin mai, les fonds suédois géraient un total de 1.892 milliards de couronnes (213 milliards d’euros), dont 998 milliards (112,4 milliards d’euros) dans des fonds actions.

Amundi, via the managed account platform Amundi Alternative Investments, has awarded the fixed income and currencies team at Macquarie Investment Management (MIM) a mandate for EUR80m, in order to actively trade G10 currencies (US, Canada, UK, euro region, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Australia and New Zealand).Amundi Alternative Investments has nearly EUR8bn in assets under management, according to a statement, of which EUR1.7bn are on its managed account platform. The firm employs 100 professionals worldwide (Paris, New York, London, Tokyo). Amundi Alternative Investments, designs and structures alternative multi-management product solutions within a European regulatory framework, domiciled in Ireland under the MiFID Directive.For its part, MIM has been managing fixed income and currency portfolios for over 40 years, and now has a team of over 100 professionals based in Sydney, Philadelphia and London. Its assets total over EUR120bn for fixed income and currency products.

The name of the Liontrust funds «CF Walker Crips UK Growth,” «CF Walker Crips Equity Income» and «CF Walker Crips UK Hight Alpha funds» have been changed to «CF Liontrust Macro UK Growth,» «CF Liontrust Macro Equity Income» and «CF Liontrust Macro UK Hight Alpha funds» respectively, a statement announced yesterday. The decision follows the acqusition of Walker Crips Asset Managers Limited (WCAM) by Liontrust Asset Management PLC on 12 April 2012. The funds in question will continue to be managed by Stephen Bailey and Jan Luthman.

Demand by hedge fund managers for solutions from third party marketers (TPM) is on the rise, according to Agecroft Partners, Investment Europe reports. This development is reportedly related to small and mid-sized hedge funds, which with the financial crisis, have become aware of the importance of distribution and marketing of their product ranges via TPM providers. Between third quarter 2008 and 2010, net inflows in the hedge fund sector have remained concentrated on a small group of actors whose assets under management total over USD5bn. But from 2011, mid-sized structures have managed to drive their brands and compete with major alternative management actors, Agecroft Partners observes.

Alstom and the Strategic Investment Fund (FSI) on 11 June announced in a joint statement that they are taking over Translohr, a guided bus manufacturing affiliate of the Alsacian business Lohr, for a total of EUR35m. Alstom and the FSI have announced in a joint statement that they are taking over 51% and 49%, respectively, of capital in Translohr as part of an agreement which will be finalised “at the conclusion of current procedures, information processes and approval by the relevant authorities.” The Lohr grou[, based in Duppingheim (lower Rhine), has a total of 940 employees, and submitted its balance sheet on 4 June. The future of the business, which is facing debts of EUR94m and earnings which have fallen to one third of their 2008 levels since the onset of the economic crisis, is the subject of negotiations with the productivity recovery ministry.

BNP Paribas is in the process of studying alternatives for its asset management activities, according to Financial News, citing several sources. Fauchier Partners, a fund of hedge fund firm with USD7bn in assets under management, is considered a clear candidate for sale, due to its relative indepenndence. Fischer Francis Trees & Watts, a bond management firm owned wholly by BNP Paribas, is also seen as an attrractive candidate for sale by investment bankers.

“Due to differences of opinion about the management of the business,” Geneviève Werner on 8 June 2012 resigned from her positions as deputy CEO and director of the asset management firm Efigest Asset Management, which she joined in late August 2011 from IT Asset Management. According to reports received by Newsmanagers, Werner is now considering other projects, and has not ruled out founding her own firm.Efigest for its part, claims it has been a victim of unfair competition from Geneviève Werner.

The hedge fund industry may more than double in size in the next five years, to more than USD5trn in assets, according to a recent Citigroup study cited by the Wall Street Journal. Hedge funds may attract USD2trn in new subscriptions, due to enlargements of their product ranges to make them able to compete with traditional asset management firms. Pension funds and institutional investors may invest a further USD1trn as they adjust to the various risks posed by hedge funds.

Fidelity Worldwide, BlackRock and Norges Bank Investment Management are the best asset management firms for active engagement with businesses in which they invest to earn long-term shareholder value, according to a survey of 780 selected companies in Europe and the United Kingdom, cited by Financial Times Fund Management. The top three finish ahead of four US asset management firms: Capital International, JPMorgan, Wellington and Capital Research Global Investors.

European mid-sized asset management firms are in fragile financial health, and will be under increasing pressure from dominant asset management firms, according to a study by McKinsey & Co, cited by Financial Times Fund Management. European groups in the top quartile increased their share of profits in the sector from 50% to 58% between 2007 and 2011, and this percentage may rise to 70% by next year.

India may be the first of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) to lose its status as an investment grade country (BBB-) Standard & Poor’s announced on 11 June, two months after putting the rating on a negative watch. “The slowdown in GDP growth and political obstacles to economic decisions are among the factors which are increasing risk, and may see India lost its investment grade rating,” the ratings agency says. Growth in Indian GDP totalled 5.3% in first quarter, the lowest level in nine years, and “inability to more extensively liberalise the economy may reduce long-term growth potential for India, and thus affect its sovereign rating,” Standard & Poor’s indicates.

France has lost a decision before the European Court of Justice, and will be required to put French and foreign-registered mutual funds on an even footing. Currently, foreign mutual funds investing in French companies are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends earned. French-registered funds are exempt from the tax.The French government is planning to impose a withholding tax on all funds, a proposal which is not satisfactory to professionals in the sector. The French financial management association will visit Bercy (the Finance ministry) this afternoon for talks about the various options on the table.

Assets under management in the ETF sector in Europe in this year’s first quarter rose by 8.71% to EUR250.81bn, according to statistics from Lipper. For 2011 as a whole, assets under management rose 3.75%.In Q1 2012 equity ETFs saw inflows of over EUR3 billion in new assets under management, followed by EUR1.5 billion into bond funds and EUR770 million into commodity funds. Money market ETFs experienced outflows of over EUR90 million.In Q1 2012, 62 ETFs were launched - half in the equity space. 19 bond funds were launched in the first quarter, but these have gathered 63% of assets among new ETFs. Inflows to new ETFS totalled EUR490m in first quarter, of which EUR311m were for bond ETFs, and EUR102m for equity ETFs.Lipper reports that out of the 1,711 ETFs registered for sale in Europe, 241 funds may be on a so-called ETF “Death List”, in other words under review for profitability reasons by fund promoters. These funds are older than 3 years, but have less than €100 million in assets.

The alternative asset management firm Man Group on 11 June announced that the ETF Man GLG Europe Plus Source, launched in January 2011, topped USD565m in assets on 31 May 2012. That makes it one of the largest ETFs in the world seeking to outperform an equity index. It is also one of the most attractive European ETF funds in 2012, both in terms of performance and inflows.The ETF replicates the Man GLG Europe Plus index, created by Man Systematic Strategies (MSS). The index is a long-only total return equity index, designed to capture outperformance through recommendations from brokers on behalf of Man GLG.The exposure of the Man GLG Europe Plus index to large caps is near that of the European equity market overall, while also presenting potential for optimised performance. Between the creation of the index on 30 December 2010 and 30 April 2012, the Man GLG Europe Plus index has outperformed the MSCI Europe by 2.1%. Since 2007, MSS has a managed account, which is based on a similar strategy and provides a track record for the index. Between its launch on 31 December 2007 and 30 april 2012, the performance of the strategy exceeds that of the MSCI Europe index by 13.2%, or 2.9% in annualised figures.

The asset management affiliate of Rabobank, Robeco, appears to be generating some strong interest, Agefi reports. Since April, offers to acquire the firm have been flooding in. According to the Netherlands newspaper Het Financieele Tagblad, several dozen potential acquirers have expressed interest. Among these are private equity funds from outside the euro zone, including the British (widely international) funds CVC Capital Partners and Apax Partners, and the US firm Hellman & Friedman. Buyers in continental Europe are less interested, Agefi reports.

The wealth management firm Vestra, based in London and Jersey, has appointed David Campbell as managing partner. Campbell previously worked at Deutsche Bank, where he was director of the British wealth management unit. Assets under management at Vestra total about GBP2.5bn.

UK asset management firms are pushing major banks and businesses to reform their practices in the area of pay scales, the Financial Times reports. Fidelity Worldwide Investment, Standard Life Investments and Hermes Equity Ownership Services are encourging remuneration committees to model their long-term incentive plans on those rolled out by HSBC, which require the top 100 employees on the pay scale to hold onto the shares issued to them under long-term plans until they leave the bank.

The Boston-based Putnam Investmnts (USD124bn in assets as of the end of April) has announced the opening of a representative office in Beijing, which will be directed by Michael Luo, formerly of Invesco Great Wall, where he helped to set up a fixed income team, has he had previously done at China Investment Corporation. Luo will report directly to Joseph T. Phoenix, head of global institutional management.The Beijing office will be in charge of establishing and managing relationships with government and private institutions in China. Luo will also be responsible for developing Putnam’s long-term strategy in the country.

The board of directors at the banking group Valartis has appointed Vincenzo Di Pierri as CEO of Valartis Bank AG Switzerland. He succeeds Daniel Reptsis, who took over the position for the interim following the departure of Stefan Holzer in May, according to a statement published on 11 June by Valartis. Reptsis will concentrate on his role as chief financial and risk officer for the finance & risk and banking operations units.Di Pierri worked from 2003 to 2011 at Privat Bank Finter, as CEO. Currently, he is head of the Italian chamber of commerce for Switzerland (CCIS).Valartis, formerly a simple brokerage firm, has recently refocused on wealth management. Its assets under management total about CHF6.8bn.

The Gonet private bank has appointed Alex Jagmetti as head of its activities in Asia. Following the opening of the Gonet Asia Pte Ltd company in Singapore in November last year, the group has strengthened its involvement in Asia and is now entering a new phase in its development. Jagmetti has 10 years of experience in Asia, where he has served as Managing Director at HSBC and then at UBS, before becoming head of Asia-Pacific at Falcon Private Bank.

Andreas Kuschmann, head of investment consulting & product marketing for Europe at Invesco Asset Management, will be joining the managing board at Feri EuroRating Services, alongside Tobias Schmidt, chairman, and Matthias Klöpper.Kuschmann will be responsible for developing relationships with institutional and retail clients, and for enlarging the portfolio of products and services, particularly in the area of systematic selection of products and managers.

In only seven years, the French asset management boutique Comgest has built up assets under management in Germany of EUR2.5bn, which is a good result considering that Comgest invests exclusively in equities, while Germans are particularly circumspect about this asset class, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. The sales team led by Christoph Zitt is convincing because Comgest practices stock-picking for shares likely to be successful in the long term, without frequent modifications to the portfolio, and because there has been no change of fund managers for 25 years.In Düsseldorf, the five institutional sales staff at Comgest cover the German, Austrian, Swiss and Luxembourg markets.

Norbert Braems, chief economist at Sal. Oppenheim (Deutsche Bank group), has decided to leave his position on 1 July, while remaining as senior economic adviser to the private bank. His role will be held in the interim by Frank Hübner, head of the economics department.By January 2013 at the latest, his successor will be Martin Moryson, who has most recently been director of corporate advisory at HSH Nordbank, after serving as adviser to institutional investors at Feri Institutional Mangement, and as head of empirical research and econometric analysis for the German Council of the Wise.

In May, equity funds on sale in Sweden for the second consecutive month have recorded net outflows, totalling SEK9.7bn, or EUR1.09bn, according to the most recent statistics from Fondbolagens Förening, the Swedish investment fund association. Outflows form equities profited bond and money market funds, which posted net inflows of SEK4bn (EUR0.45bn) and SEK4.6bn (EUR0.52bn), respectively. Balanced funds, meanwhile, have seen inflows of SEK1.1bn (EUR0.12bn). These inflows, however, were not enough to compensate for overall redemptions, as funds on sale in Sweden saw outflows of SEK0.7bn (EUR0.08bn). As of the end of May, Swedish funds managed a total of SEK1.892trn (EUR213bn), of which SEK998bn (EUR112.4bn) were in equity funds.

About 10% of the total wealth of high net worth retail investors are held in the form of precious metals, according to a study published on 11 June in Geneva in the Barclays Wealth Insights series. This figure is 18% for high net worth invetors in the United Arab Emirates.In Brazil, China and Singapore, precious objects represent an average of one sixth of total wealth, while the percentage is lower in Switzerland (6%), the United Kingdom (7%) and India (3%). For its survey, the bank spoke to 2000 high net worth retail clients worldwide. One third of them have confirmed that they currently have a larger range of precious objects than five years ago.Despite growing public interest in collectible objects and record prices at auctions, the report finds that investors are more likely to buy assets for sentimental than financial reasons. 62% of precious objects owned by respondents worldwide were bought for pleasure, compared with 60% in Switzerland, as much as 79% in Monaco and 75% in the United Arab Emirates.Greg Davies, head of the department dedicated to behavioural finance at Barclays, remarks that “it is a good idea to be prudent before considering assets as a direct alternative to traditional asset classes, given that they carry numerous risks, ranging from insurance and maintenance costs to the subjective nature of markets.”

With Global Markets Intelligence (GMI), S&P Capital IQ has created an advisory operation which provides asset managers with risk-based, non-discretionary services for equity and fixed portfolio strategies, asset allocation and fund review. Currently, GMI advises assets totalling USD18bn. The new service is distributed by S&P Investment Advisory Services in the United States, and by McGraw Hill Research Europe Ltd in the United Kingdom and Western Europe, relying on the proprietary resources of S&P Captial IQ in data, analysis and research. The characteristic of GMI is that its methodologies integrate risk mitigation as a core element, and not as a separate overlay, a statement released on 11 June states.