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03/01/2012

Default rates for high yield issuers in 2012 not a subject of concern

Taking into account five defaults in the second week of December, the default rate for high yield debt issuers will rise from 1.7% for the twelve months to the end of November to 1.9% for 2011 worldwide, Agefi reports. “This marks a break with an ongoing falling trend in default rates over the past eight months,” analysts at the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s point out. However, specialists are not worried. According to Deutsche Bank, the default rate will return to a level lower than or equal to the historic average, which is about 5%. AG CIB predicts that the rate will stabilise at about 2.5%.
03/01/2012

Large US corporations were the top performers on the stock markets in 2011

US blue chips dominate the 2011 rankings of global large caps, Les Echos reports. Of the top ten performers on the stock markets (as measured in US dollars), no less than seven are US firms. ExxonMibil and Apple – which took second place from PetroChina – lead the list. This is a strong comeback for Wall Street at the top of the list, as there had been onlye three “made in USA” giants in the top ten last year. There is only one European firm in the top 10, Royal Dutch Shell, reflecting the torments which have been afflicting the continent. Emerging market shares also suffered, as did the banking sector: the total cumulative market capitalisation for all banks in the euro zone (more than USD420bn) is close to that of ExxonMobil or Apple alone.
03/01/2012

Hedge funds had a hard time in a highly volatile 2011

According to Hedge Fund Research, hedge funds lost an average of 5% last year, while the S&P 500 index, for example, gained 2.1% TR (total return). The Wall Street Journal reports that 2011 was the third consecutive year in which hedge funds did worse than the stock markets.These disappointing results are largely due to huge fluctuations on the markets. Confronted with the falling markets in August and September, many managers reduced their exposure, which was the right thing to do from a risk management point of view, but meant that they missed out on the rally in October, one of the best months for the asset class in decades.
03/01/2012

Dark month in December for Spanish asset managers

In December 2011, asset management firms registered in Spain saw net redemptions of EUR1.05bn, compared with EUR1.25bn in November, the Inverco association for the sector reports.Of the 14 largest asset management firms by asset volume, only Ibercaja Gestión (EUR4.38bn in assets under management as of the end of the month) posted net subscriptions, and these totalled only EUR10m.The heaviest outflows were from Santander Asset Management (EUR21.22bn in assets), with EUR249.78m, BBVA Asset Management (EUR19.42bn) with EUR131.72m, and Ahorro Corporación Gestión (EUR5.03bn) with EUR130.44m.For their part, InverCaixa Gestión (EUR15.5bn in assets) and CatalunyaCaixa Inversió (EUR2.58bn) saw respective net redemptions of EUR105.63m and EUR106.16m, respectively.
03/01/2012

RBC GAM adds to US personnel

The new head of distribution for the United States at RBC Global Asset Management, Matthew Appelstein, is now recruiting five to seven people to strengthen his team, which already includes 15 people, MutualFundWire reports. Appelstein joined RBC GAM in September last year, to take up the newly-created position of head of distribution for the United States. He previously worked at Old Mutual Asset Management. Appelstein has told MutualFundWire that he would like to develop relationships with consultants in particular.
03/01/2012

Paul Orwicz returns to SAC Capital Advisors

After leaving SAC Capital Advisors to found the boutique Sursum Capital Management, a specialist in long/short management, Paul Orwicz will now be rejoining his former employer, Absolute Return reports. Results at Sursum were disappointing, and Orwicz has decided to close the fund, sources familiar with the matter say.
03/01/2012

Afer: 55,000 members seek restitution

Afer, which has been the subject of a fraud scandal involving the period from Deember 1986 to July 1997, which has been mandated by 55,000 of its members to recuperate EUR24m in assets confiscated by the courts, last Thursday submitted a restitution request before the Paris court of appeals, Les Echos reports, relaying a report by AFP on 2 January. In December 2009, the two founding directors of Afer, Gérard Athias and André Le Saux, were sentenced by the Court of Cassation to two years in prison, with suspended sentence, and a fine of EUR200,000 for abuse of trust. The Paris court of appeals found them guilty of having skimmed nearly EUR128m from Afer members, via a hidden remuneration agreement with the insurer Abeille Vie (which later became Aviva), the provider of retirement savings policies to members of the association.
03/01/2012

Allianz Real Estate buys a property in Paris suburbs

Allianz Real Estate has acquired an office property in Levallois-Perret on behalf of French companies of the Allianz group. The property, with about 20,000 square metres in area, is leased for a fixed 10-year term, a statement says. The sale price is about EUR115m.
03/01/2012

Ace Management continues its airline industry consolidation drive

Via the Aerofund, the portfolio management firm ACE Management has undertaken two large operations in the aviation subcontracting industry, acquiring the Toulouse-based company Mecahers from Mecachrome, via a capital increase of EUR17m, and an investment of EUR5m in the capital of the company Le Piston Français, to support its growth, partly via acquisitions. In the context of an increasing pace of production in the aviation industry, “these two operations reflect the strategy conducted for the past seven years by the Aerofund, focused on development and consolidation of businesses in the aviation industry, in order to strengthen the supply chain for major groups (Airbus, Safran, etc.)” the firm says in a statement released on 2 January. In order to be in a position to undertake the action, ACE Management is already at work on creating a new fund (Aerofund III), dedicated to the aviation sector. Ace Management has already made 15 investments in this area, representing earnings of EUR1.3bn and over 12,000 employees worldwide, and 5 more operations are in the process of being finalised by summer 2012.
03/01/2012

Fidelity may launch ETFs

After ignoring them for years, Fidelity Investments now appears to be preparing a push on the ETF market, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal. The group has recently submitted an application to the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer a wide range of the exchange-traded funds. If the file is approved, Fidelity may offer nearly every type of ETFs available, including international and long/short ETFs.
03/01/2012

Absolute return funds disappoint

Absolute return funds, which are intended to perform well in falling as well as rising markets, did not manage to measure up to investors’ expectations last year. More than half of these funds lost money in 2011, the Telegraph reports.Among the worst performers in the sector are the UK Absolut Alpha fund from BlackRock, which lost 7% of its value in the past twelve months. The UK Absolute Return fund from Polar Capital lost as much as 15% in one year.The Liontrust European Absolute Return fund is one of the rare funds to have finished the year with gains, returning 8% over the twelve-month period. The manager of the fund, James Inglis-Jones, claims the most managers specialised in absolute returns are too closely correlated to the stock markets to be able to perform better than him.
03/01/2012

Bets against the euro increasing

Hedge funds upsized their bets against the euro at the end of 2011, the Financial Times reports. The number of short positions on the European single currency outnumbered long positions by 127,900 contracts as of 27 December, a record level. One week earlier, the difference had been 113,700 contracts, according to figures frm the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But analysts stay divided on the projected evolution of the currency in 2012.
03/01/2012

Lazard registers its Objectif range in Spain

Funds People reports that the French asset management firm Lazard Frères Gestion has registered the entirety of its “Objectif” range of investment funds for sale in Spain. Nine of the funds have had a sales licence in Spain since late October.
03/01/2012

Bankinter launches a guaranteed fund that pays 3.80% per year

With the Bankinter Renta Fija 2 Garantizado, FI, Bankinter has launched a bond fund which guarantees both 100% of net asset value as of 24 January 2012 on 1 February 2014, and also a coupon of 7.85% at maturity, which represents an overall return of 3.80% per year, Cinco Días reports.Subscriptions will be open until 23 January 2012, but may be closed sooner if target asset levels are reached.The portfolio will be invested in bonds issued or guaranteed by public borrowers, and in corporate bonds with a maturity similar to that of the fund.Minimal subscription is set at EUR600, and management commission is 0.20% (up to the beginning of the guarantee period), while depository banking commission will be 0.10%.
03/01/2012

L'industrie européenne s’installe dans la crise

Selon l’indice PMI de Markit pour la zone euro, la contraction de l’activité ralentit en décembre. Mais la demande est en baisse, la plus importante depuis le 2e trimestre 2009, et les entreprises rognent sur leurs coûts. En France, l’activité se contracte pour le 5e mois consécutif.
03/01/2012

L’immobilier australien intéresse les investisseurs étrangers

Un consortium réunissant le fonds souverain de Singapour GIC et un fonds de pension canadien public, conseillés par Macquarie, auraient fait une offre de rachat sur un portefeuille immobilier de 18 actifs australiens détenus par Charter Hall Office d’une valeur comptable de 1,85 milliard de dollars pour un prix de 2,49 dollars par titre, représentant une décote de 4,2%.
03/01/2012

Goldman Sachs réduit son exposition à Hollywood

Goldman Sachs Capital Partners a mandaté Bank of Montreal pour la cession d’Alliance Films, dont la filiale de private equity de la banque américaine détient les deux tiers du capital environ aux côtés de la société publique Investissement Québec. Alliance détient des réseaux de distribution au Canada, au Royaume-Uni et en Espagne.
03/01/2012

L'Afer lance une requête en restitution

L’association d’épargnants a déposé une requête en restitution devant la cour d’appel de Paris après avoir obtenu le mandat de ses adhérents, a rapporté hier l’AFP. L’Afer entend récupérer 24 millions d’euros saisis par la justice. Il s’agit d’un «ensemble de procédures individuelles», a précisé l’avocate de l’association, la voie du mandat permettant une «mutualisation importante».
03/01/2012

Temasek lance un nouveau véhicule d’investissement

Le fonds souverain de Singapour a annoncé la création d’une nouvelle entité détenue en totalité et destinée à investir sous la houlette de son ancien responsable de la gestion Tow Heng Tan dans des sociétés privées dans les marchés de l’Asie du Nord. Baptisée Pavilion Capital, le fonds sera ainsi particulièrement attentif aux petites et moyennes entreprises chinoises.
03/01/2012

Allianz Real Estate acquiert un immeuble à Levallois-Perret

Allianz Real Estate a acquis un immeuble de bureaux à Levallois-Perret pour le compte de compagnies françaises du groupe Allianz. L’actif d’environ 20.000 m² est loué à une société de premier ordre à travers un bail d’une durée ferme de dix ans, indique le communiqué. Le montant de la transaction s'élève à environ 115 millions d’euros.
02/01/2012

L'emploi en Allemagne a atteint un niveau record en 2011

Le nombre d’actifs ayant un emploi en Allemagne a atteint un niveau record en 2011 avec en moyenne 41,04 millions de personnes employées, soit 1,3% de plus que l’année précédente, a annoncé lundi l’Office fédéral de la statistique.

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