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19/03/2012

Polar Capital merges two funds

Polar Capital is merging two vehicles (UK fund and Ratio European Opportunities) to create a new high-yield fund, Investment Week reports. The Polar Capital Market Neutral fund aims for net returns of 10% per year.
19/03/2012

PRIPS directive to be published in late April

The Packaged Retail Investment Products (PRIPS) directive may be unveiled by the end of the month of April, Claude Kremer, current president of the European finance and asset management association (EFAMA) announced at a press conference on 16 March.The document would define cross-border legislation applicable to all investment products, whether they originate from the banking or insurance sectors, or if they are pure financial products.Kremer claims that the PRIPS directive needs to be put in place at the same time as the revised financial markets directive (MiFID 2) and the insurance mediation directive (IMD 2), in order to insure equivalence in sales conditions.The director general of EFAMA, Peter De Proft, for his part, says that the working group on ETFs at the association, which broke up in disagreement in December last year, is making progress towards a consensus on issuers which have since been dissected by the European securities markets authority (ESMA).The president of the French financial management association (AFG), Paul-Henri de la Porte du Theil, for his part, insists that there is a need to keep competition in mind with these regulations. “We are increasingly seeing a competitive dimension in regulations by the Americans and the Chinese, while Europeans are considering relatively pure regulations for entirely legitimate reasons. But Europeans also need to consider this dimension of competitiveness, if they don’t want to get left in the dust,” he says.“We need to ensure that our products are not perceived as complex and unclear due to intense effort at transparency. Be careful: too much transparency can result in a lack of clarity,” de la Porte du Theil continues.
19/03/2012

Daniel J. Sauter elected as chairman of the board at Julius Baer

The board of directors at Julius Baer has chosen to propose Daniel J. Sauter, a board member since 2007, for election as the non-executive chairman of Julius Baer Groupe SA and Banque Julius Baer & Cie SA, from the date of the annual general shareholders’ meeting to be held on 11 April 2012, the bank announced in a statement on 19 March. After nearly 25 years at Julius Baer, the current chairman, Raymond J. Baer, will not stand for reelection to the board, but will remain at the Julius Baer Group as honorary chairman, from the date of the annual shareholders’ meeting. Sauter began his career in the financial and banking sector in 1976, and joined the commodities sector in 1983. He served as CFO at Glencore International from 1989 to 1998, and as CEO and Managing Director of Xstrata AG from 1995 to 2001. Since then, he has had a seat on the boards of directors of several public and private firms. In his role as honorary chairman, Baer will continue to support the Bank with the development of constructive solutions to issues which have affected Julius Baer and the financial sector in general in the past. He has been elected to lead a Special Committee to oversee collaboration with the US authorities.
19/03/2012

China Cinda AM sells 16.5% stake in its capital to four major asset management firms

The asset management firm China Cinda Asset Management, seeking to make itself “presentable” for its IPO, has announced that it has sold stakes totalling 16.5% of its capital for a total of EUR7.66bn. Handelsblatt reports that the buyers are Standard Chartered, Citic Capital and the Chinese social security fund (NCSSF), while the fourth buyer is UBS, which is reported to have spent EUR1.2bn.
19/03/2012

UBS acquires a stake in the Chinese wealth management firm Cinda AM

The Swiss asset management firm UBS and three other investors have acquired 16.5% of capital in the Chinese wealth management firm Cinda Asset Management, for CNY10.4bn, equivalent to about CHF1.5bn, according to a statement from the Chinese firm, which is preparing for its forthcoming IPO. The other three investors are the British bank Standard Chartered, the Chinese financial firm CITIC Capital, and the largest Chinese pension fund, the National Social Security Fund, Cinda reports. The sale values one of the four largest asset management firms in China at nearly USD10bn. The largest shareholder remains the Chinese finance ministry. The four asset management firms were all created in 1999, after the Asian financial crisis, and played a crucial role in the elimination of toxic assets from banks and reducion of government-held corporate debt.
19/03/2012

FSA CEO to step down at the end of June

The Financial Services Authority on 16 March announced that its CEO for the past five years, Hector Sants, has announced plans to leave his job at the end of June 2012, as he has completed his mission to deploy the necessary changes to apply the government’s plans to split the regulatory body into two agencies («twin peaks» scheme), one focused on prudential control, and one on “financial conduct,” to be known as the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The new structure will be operational from 2 April 2012, but the creation of the PRA and the FCA will legally come into effect only at the beginning of 2013, if the parliamentary process proceeds as expected.Following the departure of Sants, Andrew Bailey will succeed him as CEO of the Prudential Business Unit (PBU), which will become the PRA. Martin Wheatley will remain as head of the Conduct Business Unit (CBU), and will then become the CEO of the FCA. The two managers will report directly to Lord Adair Turner, chairman of the FSA.
19/03/2012

“We need to work more on the image of Schelcher Prince”

Shortly after the entry of Federal Finance into the capital of the asset management firm one and a half years ago, Sébastien Barbe took over as CEO of Schelcher Prince Gestion. He discusses the recent changes at the firm, synergies realised with its major shareholder, which is preparing to increase its stake to 85% from this summer, and the advantages his firm presents. The director says the task now is to give the firm more visibility, particularly in the management of bond credit, among institutional investors.
19/03/2012

Michele Faissola, new head of the Asset and Wealth Management unit at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank on 16 March announced the appointment of Michele Faissola as head of the Asset & Wealth Management unit.Kevin Parker, head of Asset Management, and Pierre de Weck, head of Private Wealth Management, will be leaving their respective roles on the Group executive committee on the day of the general shareholders’ meeting, scheduled for 31 May 2012.The appointment of Faissola comes as the executive committee is being enlarged from 12 to 18 members, from 1 June 2012.The executive committee will be co-chaired by Jürgen Fitsch, co-chairman, and Anshu Jin, co-chairman.
19/03/2012

Deutsche Bank does some spring cleaning at Sal. Oppenheim

According to reports in Financial Times Deutschland, Sal. Oppenheim is said to have offered 12 of its over 100 wealth management advisers a negotiated cancellation of their employment contracts.Since Deutsche Bank acquired the private bank, it has imposed stricter performance criteria for profit margins, recruitment of new clients and satisfaction of existing clients. Those who have not met the new requirements are being asked to leave the firm.
19/03/2012

Achmea sells 9.6% of F&C AM

The Dutch insurer Achmea announced on Thursday that it has agreed to divest 51,128,190 shares in the UK asset manager F&C Asset Management plc, representing its entire shareholding of 9.6% of the outstanding share capital of the company. The sale is expected to be settled on 20 March, 2012."The sale is in line with Achmea’s de-risking policy and has no effect on Achmea’s relationship with F&C Asset Management as one of Achmea’s principal asset managers.», says the insurer in a press release.
19/03/2012

Barclays Wealth recruits from Chelsea Financial Services

Matthew Woodbridge, head of investment products at Chelsea Financial Services, will be leaving the firm to join Barclays Wealth, Money Marketing reports. Woodbridge will be leaving the firm on 5 April, to join Barclays Wealth as vice president. He will work with low-tax vehicles and structured products.
19/03/2012

Former Norwegian Oil Fund lost 2.5% in 2011

Falling equity markets have resulted in a loss of NOK86bn, or 2.5% for the Government Pension Fund – Global (GPFG), the former Norwegian Oil Fund.Losses on equities totalled 8.8%, while the bond allcoation generated returns of 7%, due to the rising value of US, British and German bonds.Performance overall was 0.1 percentage points lower than those of the GPFG’s benchmark indices, says Yngve Slyngstad, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the asset management firm of the Bank of Norway.Assets in the fund increased over the year by NOK234bn, to total NOK3,312bn as of the end of December, with postive forex effects of NOK49bn due to a falling Norwegian kroner. Inflows of capital from the Norwegian government totalled NOK271bn, the highest level since 2008. The portfolio was 58.7% invested in equities, 41% in bonds, and 0.3% in real estate.The GPFG states that assets whose management has been outsourced were reduced to NOK145bn from NOK283bn.
19/03/2012

Mirabaud allies alternative management and charity

With the Luxembourg-registered fund of hedge funds Mirabaud Opportunities Emerging Markets, launched in late 21011, which has already raised USD100m in assets but does not yet have a sales license in France, the Swiss firm Mirabaud has released a product which “allies the theme of domestic consumer spending in emerging markets with active alternative management to reduce volatility, and to the concept of sharing,” Lionel Aeschlimann, a partner at Mirabaud and head of asset management at the firm, explains to Newsmanagers.The portfolio of the fund, including about 20 positions, is allocated to traditional funds and alternative managers (largely global emerging markets, tactical alpha and global macro strategies). In its selection process, the Swiss asset management firm has opted for a global environmental, social and governance (ESG) approach, based on a best-in-class design. Aeschlimann says that “one of the original qualities of the fund is that we have been able to get all the managers of underlying funds to agree to exclude business which are involved in the production of weapons.”Mirabaud has also given the fund a sharing dimension, which contributes to Interpeace, an NGO which acts to mediate conflicts, and deliberately maintains a low media profile. As Aeschlimann explains, with this fund, “it is not the client who makes the donation directly: the investor decides the percentage of the management commission and the performance commission which Mirabaud donates to Interpeace. And we also have share classes for clients who are not interested in this sharing concept.”
19/03/2012
Gestion d'actifs

La Carpimko a renforcé sa poche immobilière en 2011 au moyen de 3 OPCI

Selon nos informations, la Carpimko, Caisse Autonome de Retraite et de Prévoyance des Infirmiers, Masseurs- Kinésithérapeutes, Pédicures-Podologues, aurait sélectionné trois OPCI (OPCVM ouverts) dans le cadre de la diversification de sa poche immobilière, par le biais d’un appel d’offres mené en novembre 2011 avec l’aide du consultant Amadeis. Le montant total de cet investissement serait de l’ordre de 40 millions d’euros.
Gestion d'actifs
19/03/2012

Le yen reste sur une pente descendante

La devise nipponne est tombée cette nuit à son plus bas niveau depuis octobre dernier contre euro à 110,15, avant de revenir à 109,91. Elle est restée stable contre dollar, à 83,46. Les positions courtes sur le yen ont atteint la semaine dernière leur plus haut niveau depuis onze mois, à 42.380 contrats, après 19.358 la semaine précédente, selon les données de la Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
19/03/2012

Lehman se désengage de Neuberger Berman

850 millions de dollars, c’est le montant qu’a déjà retiré Lehman Brothers Holdings de la cession de sa participation dans la société de gestion Neuberger Berman. L’opération devrait lui rapporter au bout du compte autour de 1,5 milliard de dollars. Les fonds ainsi récoltés pourront être reversés aux créanciers non sécurisés. Lehman avait acquis Neuberger Berman en 2003 pour 2,6 milliards de dollars.
19/03/2012

Deux fonds se penchent sur Afflelou

Selon le Journal du Dimanche, Bain Capital et Lion Capital s’intéressent à l’opticien détenu par Bridgepoint et Apax malgré un prix d’environ 700 millions d’euros. Le journal indique que les candidats doivent faire à des conditions difficiles, et composer notamment avec Alain Afflelou, «très manœuvrier».
19/03/2012

Privatisation en vue du réseau routier britannique

Dans le cadre de l’annonce du budget 2012/2013, le gouvernement britannique entend céder le réseau autoroutier du pays à des acteurs privés, selon le quotidien qui évoque un discours que le Premier ministre David Cameron devrait prononcer dès aujourd’hui. A ses yeux, «nous avons besoin d’approches innovantes pour le financement de nos routes nationales, pour accroître les investissements et réduire l’engorgement».
19/03/2012

Bruxelles tend une main aux assureurs

Les eurodéputés pourraient voter mercredi des assouplissements à Solvabilité 2 qui limiteraient la volatilité du cadre prudentiel applicable en 2014.
19/03/2012

Edmond de Rothschild se rapproche de Londres

Après l’ouverture du bureau allemand de sa société de gestion EdR Asset Management, le groupe Edmond de Rothschild va créer une société commune avec RIT Capital Partners, une entité proche de la branche britannique des Rothschild. Il souhaite s’implanter durablement au Royaume-Uni
19/03/2012

Blackstone à l’affût de prêts de la Société Générale

La société américaine de private equity est selon le quotidien en négociations exclusives avec la banque française concernant un portefeuille de 100 millions d’euros de créances dans l’immobilier commercial. La transaction pourrait être scellée au cours des prochaines semaines. Le quotidien souligne que la Société Générale cherche à réduire son exposition à l’immobilier dans le monde.

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