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18/01/2012

Open architecture losing momentum

Distributors of financial products, particularly banking groups, are burning their bridges with external asset management firms, preferring to tout their own funds, an article in Financial Times Fund Management first published in Ignites observes. In Germany, Deutsche Bank is reported to have forbidden Postbank from selling third-party funds, in France, Crédit Agricole is said to have asked its regional networks to stop offering funds from outside providers and to focus only on Amundi, its asset management affiliate. Mandarine Gestion says for its part that some fund platforms have stopped working with independent asset managers. Rémi Leservoisier, CEO, says “that could become a problem for boutiques if it becomes systematic.”
18/01/2012

Increase in convertible bond assets at LOIM

As of the end of 2011, Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) had assets of about EUR4.5bn, or 16% of its assets under management, in the area of convertible bonds. This asset class is considered an area of excellence for the Swiss group, which last year won a mandate for EUR900m from an Asian institutional investor, and has posted net subscriptions of about EUR130-150m for its three open-ended funds (LOF Convertible Bonds, with about EUR2.8bn, LOF Convertible Bond with EUR428m, and LOF III Recovery Convertible Bond, with EUR100m).In order to contribute to the growth of this type of management, which will be the subject of particular sales promotion this year, LOIM recruited two people in 2011 for its dedicated team (7 people), led by Nathalia Barazal, including one manager and one high yield credit analyst. The team now has four managers and three analysts, in addition to which there is one product specialist.Barazal stated on 17 January at a presentation in Paris that the portfolio of the global fund has about 100 to 110 positions, while the other two products have 60 to 70.
18/01/2012

EFG International is closing private banking activities in Lugano

EFG International on 18 January announced that it will be closing down its private banking activities in Lugano. EFG Bank, a private bank owned by EFG International, opened an office in the city in 2010. However, growth in activities was not up to expectations, largely due to difficult conjuncture. EFG Bank in Switzerland will focus its efforts on its private banking businesses in Zurich and Geneva, the bank says in a statement.
18/01/2012

Switzerland manages 27% of microfinance investments worldwide

After several years of double-digit growth, microfinance assets managed or advised by Swiss managers rose a further 7% in 2010, to a total of USD2.3bn, Agefi Switzerland reports. This is equivalent to 27% of the USD8.3bn in private funds managed by microfinance instruments worldwide. Assets placed with Swiss specialists may double in the course of the next five years, a study co-financed by Symbiotics and the Swiss Cooperation Office (Direction du Développement et de la Coopération, or DDC).
18/01/2012

Record profits for Wells Fargo

The fourth-largest US banking group, Wells Fargo & Company, in 2011 earned record net profits of USD15.9bn, up 28% compared with 2010.Assets in the wealth management division as of 31 December were down 2% compared with the end of 2010, to a total of USD198bn.Net profits for the wealth management/retirement/brokerage unit increased to USD325m last year, compared with USD199m in 2010.
18/01/2012

CalPERS sells a residential real estate portfolio

The pension fund CalPERS has sold a portfolio of undeveloped land for the construction of 16,300 homes in eleven US states, which represents about 20% of its residential land portfolio, to a joint venture by the real estate developer Newland Real Estate Group of San Diego and an affiliate of the Japanese firm Sekisui House, the Wall Street Journal reports.The transaction is reported to have gone through at a total price of USD500m to USD600m, which means that CalPERs, which acquired the land over a 5-year period beginning in 2002, has made a total loss of 30% to 50%, according to sources familiar with the matter.
18/01/2012

Strong growth for activities at Siparex in 2011

The Siparex group last year earned “excellent operating returns,” cementing its position in the financing of FrenchSMBs and ETIs, the chairman of the group, Bertrand Rambaud, announced on 17 January at a press conference. “We are highly satisfied with the year 2011, in which our objectives have been exceeded,” says Rambaud, adding that assets under management now exceed EUR1.1bn. Total investments last year totalled EUR85.5m, up 25% compared with 2010. Sales, up 44% to EUR160m, brought EUR79m in gains (+43%), for a sales multiple of 2. In terms of fundraising, the period ended with inflows of EUR170m, the closing of the Siparex MidCap II fund at EUR120m, and a partnership with Crédit Agricole, a reinvestment of 85% by subscribers of the previous vehicle and the presence of family offices representing 25% of the fund. The Crédit Agricole Centre Est and Predica, repeat and loyal subscribers to Siparex, with seven regional banks of the Crédit Agricole network, represent one third of subscriptions to the Siparex MidCap II fund, and top the list of institutional investors in this new vehicle, with a total of EUR40m. Fundraising was also driven by new ideas such as the creation of SCR Solid, and a first closing at EUR3m, with financing from employee savings. The Siparex gorup has also won two public requests for proposals for regional fund management, totalling EUR21m, and has also raised EUR20m from FIP and FCPI entities. EUR143m were returned to subscribers, up from EUR104m in 2010.
18/01/2012

Significant increase in assets for Midi Capital

Midi Capital last year posted a significant increase in its assets in low-tax products, to EUR60m, out of overall assets of EUR100m, up from EUR40m at the end of 2010. Inflows in 2011 totalled EUR22m, up 43% compared with 2010, while at the same time, overall French inflows fell by 20%. “We are highly satisfied with inflows for ISF and IR, which despite the changes ushered in by the Finance Law of 2011 and the government’s desire to reduce tax breaks this year demonstrate that subscribers are interests in these simple wealth diversification products, which are decorrelated from the financial marktes, anchored in the real economy, and which in addition to the tax advantage, also offer attractive potential returns. Our positioning at the core of regional economies, with a strong involvement in developing our participations, has been well-received by distribution networks, and has allowed us to gain market share,” says Karine Alet, director of distribution. In 2011, Midi Capital invested EUR18m in 20 regional SMBs, largely in capital development and transmission. The past year was also marked by a sale of 7 SMBs. The average internal rate of return on the sales is over 21%.
18/01/2012

BlackRock reshuffles Spanish team

Armando Senra, CEO of BlackRock for Spain and Portugal, is returning to the group’s New York headquarters, which he left in 2008, where he will be CEO for Latin America and the Iberian peninsula, and will also retain responsibility for Spain and Portugal, Funds People reports.For the management of day-to-day activities in Iberia, responsibility for the Madrid office is assigned to Iván Pascual for sales and Caridad Merlin for support. Ricard Comín has left the business. As of the end of September, BlackRock Iberia had assets of EUR5.1bn.
18/01/2012

Paloma Piqueras becomes director of global management at BBVA AM

Luisa Gómez Bravo, who became head of asset management at BBVA in September 2009, will be moving to a new position in the group and leaving her position to Paloma Piqueras, who had already been head of management for Europe, and CEO of BBVA Asset Management, Funds People reports.In her new role, Piqueras will be responsible for management of the banking group’s assets in Europe, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Argentina.
18/01/2012

Austrian funds lost 7.3% last year

As of the end of December, Austrian funds had EUR134.59bn in assets under management, compared with EUR133.2bn one month yearlier, and EUR145bn one year previously. Assets in 2011 fell by EUR10.66bn, or 7.34%, of which EUR4.68bn were due to net redemptions, EUR2.2bn to dividends, and EUR3.79bn in capital losses (market effects), the VÖIG association of management firms reports.The 24 asset management firms in the country as of the end of the year had 2,159 securities funds, of which 1,137 were retail funds, 265 were funds dedicated to groups of large investors, and 757 were institutional funds. Overall, 131 funds were liquidated, and 20 were merged, while 122 were launched.Assets at the five real estate fund management firms increased last year by EUR478.42m, or about 20%, to a total of slightly over EUR2.9bn. Net subscriptions totalled EUR427m, while dividends represented EUR47m, and average annual returns totalled 3.1%.
18/01/2012

Assets in Portuguese real estate funds down 2% in 2011

According to the Portuguese investment fund, pension and wealth association (Associação Portuguesa de Fundos de Investimento, Pensões e Patrimónios, or AFPIPP), liquid assets in Portuguese real estate funds as of the end of December totalled only EUR11.2762bn, 1.1% more than at the end of November, and 2% less than the EUR11.4918bn observed twelve months earlier. Real estate assets, for their part, totalled EUR14.3283bn, up 1.2% in November, and 1.5% compared with the end of December 2010.The three largest firms are Fundimo, with EUR1.565bn (-7% year on year), Interfundos, with EUR1.1295bn (+0.6%), and ESAF-FI, with EUR1.110bn (-14%).
18/01/2012

A new ETF and a new method of replication from Ossiam

The asset management firm Ossiam, specialised in the development of ETFs based on strategy indices, today released the FTSE 100 Minimum Variance ETF. The fund, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, is reserved exclusively for British investors. The product thus is constructed similarly to the “Minimum Variance” range. By simultaneously applying liquidity filters – in this case, 95% of the most liquid shares of the FTSE 100 index are used as the selection universe – and also limiting the maximum weight of any single stock in the portfolio to 4.5% and of any sector to 20%, while ensuring diversification of shares and undertaking a quarterly rebalancing of the index, volatility is reduced by more than 24% on average, compared with the benchmark index. Drawdowns are also significantly reduced.With the launch of this ETF, Ossiam is also for the first time offering a product that uses physical replication. Isabelle Bourcier has told Newsmanagers that the choice was a commercial one above all. “The FTSE 100 index is an indicator which is commonly used in the UK by private banks, wealth managers, etc., who are highly attached to physical replication.” The product has another particularity: shares held by Ossiam are not lent out. Clearly, physical replication has a cost: higher tracking error, averaging 0.25% per year, due to the cost of trading shares on the London Stock Exchange.
18/01/2012

CTA and macro hedge funds see largest inflows in 2011

The hedge funds that earned the largest inflows in 2011 were CTA or managed futures funds and macro funds, with a net total of USD19bn and USD17bn, respectively, Eurekahedge reports. In total, hedge funds have posted net subscriptions of USD51bn for the year, while they have lost 4.15% overall. However, 500 funds have made more than 10% in the twelve months under review. Despite an inglorious year, the pace of fund launches was sustained in 2011, with more than 1,100 new products on the market.
18/01/2012

Newton CIO becomes head of equities

Jeff Munroe, currently chief investment officer, is to step down in order to lead Newton’s global equities effort. Newton is redefining the role of CIO to ensure its focus on execution of the investment process and effectiveness of the firm’s idea generation. Simon Pryke, who has been responsible for private clients and charities at Newton since November 2009, will assume this new role.Caroline Tye will assume responsibility for Newton’s Private Clients business. She joined Newton in 1998 and is currently head of UK private clients. Subject to regulatory approval she will join Newton’s Board.Finally, Jon Bell, currently investment leader, global equities, will be joining Newton’s multi asset team in a new role.
18/01/2012

Lazard releases a controlled volatility fund

Lazard has launched a fund which aims to earn returns in line with the market, but with volatility 20% to 40% lower than the MSCI World index, Investment Week reports. The Global Controlled Volatility fund, based in Dublin, is managed by a team led by Susanne Willumsen in London and Paul Moghtader in Boston. The portfolio will include 250 to 350 shares, and will have a turnover of 40% to 60% per year.
18/01/2012

Liontrust launches an Asian income fund

The British asset management firm Liontrust will launch an Asian income fund in early March, Investment Week reports. It will be managed by Mark Williams, who recently joined the group when Linotrust acquired the specialist emerging markets boutique Occam. The fund, which will aim to earn high returns from capital appreciation and revenues, will have an objective of returns about 10% higher than the MSCI All-Country Asia ex Japan index. The fund will be domiciled in the United Kingdom, with a minimal investment of GBP1,000 and management fees of 1.5% per year.
18/01/2012

Arnaud Faller becomes chairman of technical management committee at AFG

The French financial management association AFG on 17 January announced that the chief investment officer at CPR AM, Arnaud Faller, has become chairman of the technical management committee at the professional association. He succeeds Bernard Descreux, who is leaving La Banque Postale AM. At the core of AFG’s activities the technical management committee relies on several specialist working groups. The main themes in the past few months have been work on transposing the UCITS IV directive and the MiFID II directive for markets and complex products, responses to consultations by ESMA about ETFs and structured funds (particularly about methods for calculating liabilities for formula funds), response to a European commission consultation on ratings, responses to consultations from the Financial Stability Board on money market funds and ETFs, and the measurement of global risk and risk management in relation to the AMF. THE AFG reporter for the committee is Adina Gurau-Audibert.
18/01/2012

Christian Schricke is appointed deputy CEO of ANSA

The Association nationale des sociétés par actions (ANSA) on 17 January announced the appointment of Christian Schricke as deputy CEO. In this position, he replaces Robert Baconnier, who had served in this position since January 2005, and who is retiring. Baconnier nonetheless remains as chairman of the association until the next meeting of the board of directors on 9 February 2012, when a new chairman will be elected. Schricke, who has been advisor to the chairman of the Société Générale group since September 2009, has been a member of the AMF college since May 2011.
18/01/2012

IOSCO and CPSS publish conclusions on over-the-counter derivatives

The Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the technical committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on 17 January published their final report on the operation of registries that would centralise and redistribute information about over-the-counter (OTC) derivative instruments. Some questions remain regarding how best to address current data gaps and define authorities’ access to TRs. As requested by the G20, two internationally coordinated working groups will address these questions in the coming year. The FSB will establish an ad hoc group of experts to further consider means of filling current data gaps, while the CPSS and IOSCO will establish a joint group to examine authorities’ access to trade repositories.
18/01/2012

Price of gold may top USD2,000 per ounce in one year

Thomson Reuters GFMS, which yesterday published its 2011 report on gold, is predicting more record peaks this year, Les Echos reports. The price of gold may exceed USD2,000 per ounce later this year or in 2013. In the short term, the institute is more prudent, as after a massive average increase of 28% in 2011, the price of gold may consolidate. It is predicting an average price in first half of USD1,640 per ounce.
18/01/2012

Markit adds to CDS range

The Markit group, specialised in financial information, on 17 January announced that it was adding to its CDS product range with the publication of a daily report on sensitivity, which will provide clients with information about relationships between CDS prices and other market variables. The new services, Markit CDS Sensitivities, will provide a way to evaluate the sensitivity of a CDS spread to fluctuations in interest rates and credit quality, among others.
18/01/2012

Amounts paid to CAC 40 shareholders up 15% in 2011

Companies of the CAC 40 index last year distributed EUR44.6bn in the form of dividends and share repurchases, up 15% compared with 2010, according to the newsletter vernimmen.net, Les Echos reports. Total and France Télécom are still at the top of the rankings of the biggest “payers.” Sanofi takes third place. These three giants represent about 30% of the amounts paid last year. A notable phenomenon is that share repurchases were the area that grew most overall, as share prices fell: buybacks (net of sales) totalled EUR5.7bn, nearly triple their level in 2010 (EUR1.95bn). Bouygues, which last year launched a vast share repurchasing programme, is the largest contributor to this total. For their parti, dividends paid last year increased by 6%, to EUR38.49bn, while 2010 results showed a net rebound.
18/01/2012

La FDIC propose des stress tests auto-administrés

Le Fonds de garantie américain des dépôts a proposé que les banques détenant plus de 10 milliards de dollars d’actifs conduisent eux-mêmes des tests de résistance chaque année. La FDIC soumettrait ainsi avant mi-novembre trois scénarios économiques auxquels les établissements seraient tenus de se confronter. Ils renverraient alors un rapport en début d’année. Cette proposition, soumise à consultation, fait écho à un dispositif du même type présenté par la Fed l’an dernier.
18/01/2012

L’augmentation des ressources du FMI en discussion

Le conseil d’administration du FMI, qui dispose actuellement d’une capacité de 350 milliards de dollars, a évoqué hier l’augmentation des ressources du fonds, a déclaré hier sa directrice générale Christine Lagarde. Ce matin, le Chancelier de l’Echiquier britannique a déclaré avoir discuté avec son homologue japonais des moyens d’une contribution des deux pays à la crise européenne.
18/01/2012

L’activité manufacturière à un plus haut de 9 mois aux Etats-Unis

La croissance manufacturière dans l’Etat de New York s’est accélérée en janvier, pour atteindre son niveau le plus élevé en neuf mois dans un contexte de progression à la fois des commandes et de l’emploi, a fait savoir la Réserve fédérale de New York. L’indice dit «Empire State» est ressorti à 13,48 contre 8,19 (révisé) en décembre et un consensus le donnant à 11. Il est au plus haut depuis avril 2011.
18/01/2012

Bruxelles ouvre une triple procédure d'infraction contre la Hongrie

La Commission européenne a ouvert hier une triple procédure d’infraction contre la Hongrie pour ses lois sur la banque centrale, le pouvoir judiciaire et l’autorité de contrôle des données. Le collège des commissaires européens a par ailleurs décidé de ramener à un mois - contre deux en temps normal - le temps octroyé à Budapest pour répondre à ces inquiétudes et modifier ces lois. «Nous espérions que les autorités hongroises feraient les changements nécessaires pour se conformer au droit européen. Cela n’ayant pour l’instant pas été le cas, nous avons lancé une procédure contre ces violations», a expliqué hier le président de la CE. Le Premier ministre Viktor Orban doit venir à Bruxelles le 24 janvier pour évoquer ces question, a précisé José Manuel Barroso. Budapest a assuré vouloir répondre à la totalité des inquiétudes de la Commission, sans passer par la case judiciaire.
18/01/2012

Madrid reprend la main sur ses régions

Le gouvernement central espagnol a décidé d’octroyer des lignes de crédit aux 17 régions endettées dans le but de rembourser leurs créances externes et compte allonger de 5 ans la durée de remboursement des 31 milliards d’euros de dette contractée auprès de l’administration centrale. En contrepartie, le gouvernement imposera des sanctions aux régions qui n’auront pas respecté leurs objectifs budgétaires. «Nous sommes tous dans le même bateau » a indiqué Cristobal Montoro, le ministre du budget.
18/01/2012

Les investissements étrangers en Chine ont atteint un record

Les investissements directs étrangers (IDE) en Chine ont progressé de 9,7% en 2011 à 116 milliards de dollars malgré une chute de 12,7% en décembre à 12,24 milliards, selon les données publiées ce matin par le ministère du commerce. Les IDE provenant des Etats-Unis ont plongé de 26,1% à 3 milliards et les IDE européens ont progressé de 3,65% à 6,3 milliards.
18/01/2012

BNP Paribas REIM fusionne deux SCPI

Les associés des SCPI Accès Pierre, Valeur Pierre Union et Valeur Pierre Alliance, d’une part, et Investipierre et Immobilière Privée-France Pierre, d’autre part, gérées par BNP Paribas REIM France, ont approuvé leur fusion. La SCPI fusionnée « Accès Valeur Pierre » devient ainsi l’une des toutes premières SCPI en France en termes de capitalisation avec 133 actifs représentant une valeur de réalisation de l’ordre de 1,3 milliard d’euros.

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