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01/06/2012

Nordea closes funds

Nordea will be restructuring its Swedish “generations” range of funds, which will be reduced from 10 products to four, Privata Affärer reports. Eight funds, with 180,000 savings investors, will be merged in October. The funds affected are those aimed at savers born between 1950 and 1985.
01/06/2012

Global Wealth Report: wealth managers have to be inventive

The 12th issue of the Global Wealth Report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has found that the global financial wealth of retail investors in 2011 increased by only 1.9%, to USD122,800, after increases of 6.8% in 2010 and 9.6% in 2009. BCG suggest that wealth managers have to proactively find new ways to combat adverse trends if they want to improve their performance. Globally, the asset bases of 130 institutions (private banks or wealth management units of large universal banking groups) analysed by BCG remained flat in 2011, compared with a gain of 11% in 2010. The lack of growth was mainly attributable to the deterioration in market values, which was not offset by net new inflows.“But wealth managers will still need to continue their cost-cutting and pricing initiatives, refocus on client discovery, master the ever-shifting regulatory environment, bolster risk management, and find ways to use alternative business models to their advantage», the report says.The report finds that wealth managers will need to continue to reduce their costs and the price of their services, refocus on the identification of new clients, master a perpetually changing regulatory environment, build risk management, and find means to use different business models to their advantage.
01/06/2012

CMA, Coudrée and CIF hedge funds sanctioned by AMF

The sanctions commission of the French financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), on 31 May announced that it has issued fines totalling EUR6.2m to three hedge funds, CMA, Coudrée and CIF, which short-sold shares in Natixis. The three funds which issued the orders in September 2008 decided to short-sell Natixis shares, two weeks after the announcement by the French bank of a capital increase of EUR3.7bn. The transactions were complicated by turbulence on the markets provoked by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, and the funds were not in a position to deliver the equities it had short-sold within the agreed time periods, which led to a suspension from trading and also contributed to a fall in the value of Natixis shares. The three major banks implicated in the affair, however, were not found guilty. The commission found that Goldman Sachs, UBS and Citibank had correctly fulfilled their duties as clearing members, while the AMF college had accused them of failing to prevent delays in the delivery of Natixis shares.
01/06/2012

Asset management industry remains highly dynamic

Despite the crisis, the asset management sector remains alive and well in France. “We have reached a fast pace of growth, with 40 new companies created already in 2012,” Xavier Parain deputy director of asset management at the French financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), commented on 31 May at a conference held jointly by the French financial management association (AFG), the French institutional investor association (AF2I) and the international association of risk management professionals (PRMIA).Parain also stated that since the beginning of the year, the AMF has had to withdraw one license, compared with 2 licenses withdrawn during 2011. The AMF exec says that the unique French ecosystem includes 600 asset management firms and offers a very rich selection of types of management. In this environment, the AMF is continuing to promote asset management firms which are “innovative and robust” and subject to a highly rigorous licensing process and very regular controls, including one routine control 12 to 18 months after licenses are issued, and more detailed controls over the life of the company.At the conference, which dealt with analysis of risks related to outsourcing of financial management, Parain defended the French approach, which is far from the “empty shell” that other European regulators accept. “We are probably the most rigorous regulator in Europe,” said Parain. Wholesale outsourcing of funds, which makes empty shells of asset management firms, is forbidden in France. “We will accept outsourcing up to 50%. And this outsourcing must clearly be justified as cases of a niche expertise which the asset management firm does not have. However, expertise has to remain internal,” Parain explains.
01/06/2012

Pimco launches a substitute for money markets with higher yields

With the Pimco Short Asset Investment Fund (acronym PAIDX), Pimco (Allianz group) on Wednesday launched a fund which uses a short-term strategy aiming to function as a substitute for money market products, offering higher returns with lower risk. The portfolio, managed by Jerome Schneider, will invest at least 65% of its assets in fixed income products, with a duration not to exceed one and a half years. The fund may use derivatives without restriction.Management commission ranges from 0.24% for institutional shares to 0.59% for D-class shares on sale from distributors.
01/06/2012

Fidelity offers new bond funds

Fidelity Investments has announced the launch of two bond funds which are directly available to investors, the Fidelity Global Bond Fund and Fidelity International Bond Fund, and two other funds which are available via independent financial advisers, Fidelity Advisor Global Bond Fund and Fidelity Advisor International Bond Fund. Fidelity has also published a study of the bond environment worldwide, “Transformations in Country Dynamics and the Implications for Global Bond Markets,” which analysts structural changes now underway in the international bond markets.
01/06/2012

Fund launches to decline

The number of new funds launched will fall 30% in the next few years in Europe, according to a study by Cerulli Associates, cited by Citywire. This comes at a time when the region is suffering from an overabundance of funds, which are either too small, or of too poor quality. In 2011, the pace of new fund launches had already slowed, but fund closures have not yet returned to 2009 levels.
01/06/2012

Go-ahead for two hydroelectric funds from DWS

According to reports in Fondsprofessionell, DWS has reached the minimal subscription level required for institutional (beta) and retail (alpha) share classes in its hydroelectric fund, DWS Access Wasserkraft (see Newsmanagers of 3 November 2011 and 10 April 2012). The Deutsche Bank affiliate is reported to have seen inflows of EUR30m in investment pledges for beta shares, and over EUR5m for alpha shares. The closure of subscriptions, which has already been postponed twice, is now set for 28 June.
01/06/2012

EFAMA publishes its fifth annual atlas of asset management

The European financial and asset management association (EFAMA) on 31 May published the fifth edition of its annual atlas of the asset management sector in Europe (“Fith Annual Review Asset Management in Europe: Facts & Figures”), on the basis of statistics from the end of 2010.In addition to the usual statistics, the document underscores the importance of the sector and its role in the management of long-term savings and in financing the economy. Asset managers as of the end of 2010 controlled 23% of all debt issued in the euro zone, and 31% of corporate equities in the region.Institutional investors remain the largest category of clients for asset management firms, representing 69% of assets under management in Europe, of which 42% are managed for insurers, and 27% for pension funds. Meanwhile, the sector remains concentrated, as the three largest countries by asset volume – the United Kingdom, France and Germany – account for 65% of all assets under management in Europe.
01/06/2012

Inflows continue for Invesco in France

“Our assets in Paris remain stable at over USD2bn, as at the end of 2011, but since then we have taken on a gross total of USD300bn and our subscriptions are positive overall,” Nicolas Bouët, deputy CEO for development at Invesco in Paris, explained on Thursday. Demand is coming mostly from institutional investors, as well as, to a lesser extent, from private banks and multi-managers.The Euro Corporate Bond fund was particularly popular with clients seeking income, as was the Balanced Risk Allocation fund for decorrelation and diversification.In terms of asset allocation, Barnard Aybran, deputy CEO for multi-management, reports that the wealth management time portfolio currently includes about 25% “safe heaven government bonds (US Treasuries, gilts and bunds), 40% investment grade corporate bonds and emerging market debt in local currencies, 15% equities, only 2.5% of them European (with the rest divided between Asia and US tech stocks), and the remainder, equivalent to about 20%, in cash and money market products.”
01/06/2012

Promotion for Thomas Idzorek at Morningstar

Thomas Idzorek, who is already CIO of Morningstar Investment Management, has been promoted to chairman of the Investment Management division of Morningstar, whose assets under management and advising total about USD190bn. Idzorek replaces Peng Chen, who leaves Morningstar at the end of June to return to Asia. The division in includes advised and managed assets, retirement solutions and management of investments in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.Idzorek joined Morningstar six years ago, when the group acquired Ibbotson Associates.
01/06/2012

BNP Paribas increases staff in private management

BNP Paribas Private Bank yesterday inaugurated its fourth regional wealth management office, in Toulouse, following offices in Bordeaux, Lille and Marseilles, Les Echos reports. Offices will open in Lyon in September and Rennes by the end of the year to complement these offices, dedicated to clients with assets of over EUR5m. A private bank has also been founded in Poland.
01/06/2012

Hedge funds slash budget for equity research

According to a survey by Greenwich Associates, institutional investors have reduced their spending in the twelve months to the end of March on research such as analysts notes and trading ideas by 9%, to USD6.2bn, the Financial Times reports.Hedge funds have been particularly severe with their reductions, with research spending as a proportion of brokerage commission budgets down 20%.
01/06/2012

Axa IM has produced and distributed 4,500 KIIDs

Axa IM has announced that it has finalised the production and distribution of 4,500 key investor information documents (KIIDs). This figure includes all the UCITS funds in the Axa IM Luxembourg ranges, notably AXA World Funds (AXA WF) and AXA IM Fixed Income Investment Strategies (FIIS), in addition to most of the funds covered by French law. The KIIDs for Axa IM’s UK and Irish ranges will be published in June 2012. “Axa IM is therefore on track to meet the 1 July 2012 deadline for the implementation of the KIID directive, including those for non-coordinated funds for which the regulator expects compliance by 1 July 2013,” a statement says. Axa IM rolled out its KIID compliance project in October 2010
01/06/2012

Axa betting on a rebound for its asset management activities

After net redemptions of EUR5.4bn in first quarter, asset management at Axa will win back some strenght in the next few months. After EUR2.7bn in capital outflows as of the end of March, “Axa Investment managers will have positive inflows in first half,” Denis Duverne, deputy CEO for the French group, has told Agefi. AllianceBernstein (EUR2.7bn in outflows at the beginning of this year) is expecting to return to positive net inflows in third quarter.
01/06/2012

JPMorgan AM scales up presence in Brazil

Richard Titherington, CIO for emerging market equities at JPMorgan Asset Management in London, on Thursday announced at a presentation in Paris that the US asset management firm is planning to scale up its presence in Brazil, where it already has a small affiliate (USD50m) specialised in local bonds. The firm is now planning to build its holdings in Brazilian equities, which currently represent 15.2% of the portfolio of the Emerging Market Opportunities fund, compared with 14% in the MSCI Emerging Markets TR index. The product currently has USD437m in assets, in 61 holdings, and has seen inflows of about USD150m since the beginning of this year.
01/06/2012

Berkshire Hathaway enters DJ Global Titans 50 Index

The BASF SE, Berkshire Hathaway, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, MacDonald’s and Qualcomm companies have joined the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 index, the index provider Dow Jones Indexes has announced. However, the five companies leaving the index include the German firm Allianz and the French BNP Paribas. The other three outgoing companies are E.ON, Hewlett-Packard and Petroleo.
01/06/2012

Union Investment harshly critical of Deutsche Bank

At the Deutsche Bank AGM on Thursday, Ingo Speich, a portfolio manager at Union Investment, announced that he would be voting agains the discharge to Clemens Börsig, chairman of the supervisory board at Deutsche Bank, in which the asset management firm for the German co-operative banks is one of the largest shareholders, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. He accuses Börsig of having poorly managed the succession of Josef Ackermann as chairman at the bank, and of appointing a chief risk officer who was rejected by BaFin.Union has also been critical of a lack of transparency in acquisitions by Deutsche Bank (Noris and Berliner Bank), and of making unfortunate investments in the United States, as Scudder was absorbed by DWS and must now be resold along with RREEF and all asset management activities in North America.According to the Börsen-Zeitung, a motion to discharge the supervisory board received only 77.7% of votes in favour.
01/06/2012

SWIP merges several equity funds

Following the departure of Peter Cockburn, head of UK equities, a victim of resizing of the equity team, (which has been reduced from 38 to 15 people; see Newsmanagers of 16 April 2012), Scottish Widows Investment Partnership will be merging the UK Select Growth Fund (GBP371m) with the UK Opportunities fund (GBP124m) managed by James Clunie, Investment Week reports. Five other mandates managed by Cockburn will also be merged into the UK Opportunities fund.
01/06/2012

SSgA wins a GBP1.5bn mandate

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has won at GBP1.5bn mandate from the British asset management firm Family Investments, Investment Europe reports. The mandate is for passive bond and equity strategies, and a tactical allocation overlay strategy. Assets under management at Family Investments total slightly over GBP3bn.
01/06/2012

Appointment at Credit Suisse Banque Privée

Britta Häberling, who had previously been managing director and head of investment solutions at Clariden Leu, will no 1 June begin as head of ultra-high net worth individuals in the Zurich region at the Credit Suisse private bank, according to reports in Finews. Initially, Mike Baur had agreed to take the position, before deciding to leave the company.
01/06/2012

UBS receives a banking license in China

The Chinese banking sector regulatory commission (CBRC) has authorised UBS to transform its Beijing office into a Chinese-registered bank under the name UBS (China) Ltd. The new entity, which is 100% controlled by the Swiss group, will begin its activities in third quarter, Z-Ben Advisors reports. UBS has now launched an “aggressive” campaign to promote its wealth management activities, which will be a strategic area in China, alongside asset management and investment banking.
01/06/2012

Man Group to leave FTSE 100

Man Group is expected to be removed from the FTSE 100 at the next update of the index in June, Investment Week reports. The firm will reportedly be replaced by Babcock. Man Group, which has a market capitalisation of GBP1.305bn, has seen a fall in its share price during a difficult first quarter in which its AHL strategy underperformed.
01/06/2012

Axa IM launches a global bond fund

Axa Investment Managers announced on Thursday the launch of Axa WF Global Strategic Bonds, a diversified and flexible global bond fund. The manager, Nick Hayes, will capitalise on what he considers to be the best alpha-generating opportunities available, throughout the macroeconomic cycle. «The fund will have a well diversified portfolio, leveraging from the best ideas from across the highly experienced AXA Fixed Income team and positioned as to where the fund manager sees value rather than benchmark lead», according to a press release.AXA WF Strategic Global Bonds Fund which launched on 11 May 2012 is UCITS III compliant and domiciled in Luxembourg. The Fund has both retail and institutional share classes with no minimum investment into the retail share class and EUR5 million into the institutional share class. The fund is not currently registered for sale in any other jurisdiction other than Luxembourg and AXA IM is considering registration across a number of countries in Europe.
01/06/2012

Berkshire Hathaway entre dans le DJ Global Titans 50 Index

Les sociétés BASF SE, Berkshire Hathaway, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, McDonald’s et Qualcomm entrent dans l’indice Dow Jones Global Titans 50, a annoncé le fournisseur d’indices Dow Jones Indexes. En revanche, cinq sociétés sortent de l’indice dont l’allemand Allianz et le français BNP Paribas. Les trois autres sortants sont E.ON, Hewlett Packard et Petroleo.
01/06/2012

EFG International finalise la vente de ses actions propres

EFG International a finalisé la vente de ses actions propres à EFG Bank European Financial Group. La transaction avait été annoncée le 21 mai dernier. La cession portait sur un montant de 10,2 millions d’actions EFG International, selon un communiqué publié le 1er juin par le groupe bancaire.Les autres actionnaires avaient un droit d’achat prioritaire basé sur un prorata. Ce droit a été utilisé à raison de 68.188 actions. Les actions restantes seront par conséquent vendues à EFG Bank European Financial Group, dont la participation augmentera à environ 56% dans EFG International.
01/06/2012

Man Group devrait sortir du FTSE 100

Man Group devrait sortir du FTSE 100 lors de la prochaine révision de l’indice en juin, rapporte Investment Week. La société serait remplacée par Babcock. Man Group, qui affiche une capitalisation boursière de 1.305 milliards de livres, a vu son cours chuter après un premier trimestre difficile pendant lequel sa stratégie AHL a sous-performé.
01/06/2012
Fonds

SSgA remporte un mandat de 1,5 milliard de livres

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) a remporté un mandat de 1,5 milliard de livres auprès du britannique Family Investments, rapporte Investment Europe.Il s’agit de stratégies obligataires et actions passives ainsi que d’une stratégie overlay d’allocation tactique. Les actifs sous gestion de Family Investments s'élèvent à un peu plus de 3 milliards de livres.
Fonds
01/06/2012
Fonds

SWIP fusionne plusieurs fonds d'actions

Après le départ de Peter Cockburn, head of UK equities, victime du redimensionnement de l'équipe actions (qui tombe de 38 à 15 personnes, lire newsmanagers du 16 avril), Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) va fusionner le UK Select Growth Fund (371 millions de livres) avec le UK Opportunities (124 millions) que gère James Clunie, rapporte Investment Week. Cinq autres mandats gérés par Peter Cockburn devraient également être intégrés dans le UK Opportunities.
Fonds
01/06/2012
Fonds

DWS commercialise son High Income Bond Fund en Espagne

Le 25 mai, DWS Investments (Spain) a fait enregistrer par la CNMV le fonds obligataire de droit allemand DWS High Income Bond Fund (DE0008490913, 92,9 millions d’euros d’encours au 30 mai), qui investit en dette d’entreprises des pays développés ou émergents de catégorie investissement.
Fonds

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