TCW, a US asset management affiliate of Société Générale (which controls 80%, while Amundi owns 20%), may be sold by SocGen, Bloomberg reported last week. According to La Tribune, Morgan Stanley has received five or six offers for the asset management firm.According to reports in the newspaper, the head of TCW, Marc Stern, is seeking an alliance with a private equity fund for a management buy-out (MBO). The newspaper names JC Flowers & Co and KKR.
Graham Tuckwell, founder, largest shareholder and president of ETF Securities, has put his company up for sale for about EUR1bn, Investment Week reports, echoing reports in the Financial Times. The founder of the firm has retained Goldman Sachs to sell the firm. Asset management firms and capital management groups are reportedly on the list of potential buyers. Their bids are to be submitted before Christmas. In early December, assets under management at ETF Securities totalled USD28.2bn, of which USD17.7bn, or 63% of total assets, are invested in physical precious metals.
The flormer global head of ETF research at BlackRock, Deborah Fuhr, did not ultimately join Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London as head of Global Delta One strategy, as previously announced (Newsmanagers of 12 August 2011).According to the Reuters news agency, Fuhr never began work at the US group, and has not given any reasons for her decision. According to sources familiar with the matter, differences in point of view between Fuhr and BofA Merrill Lynch about the perimeter of its activities are said to be the cause of the disaffection. For several weeks, Fuhr has been presenting herself in public as an independent ETF expert.Fuhr has not yet decided what direction she will give to her career, and has told Reuters that she will be taking some time to think before accepting a new position.
In two years, guaranteed funds in Spain have taken on more than EUR10bn, and have doubled their market share to 26.6% from 13.4%, Expansión reports. They have dethroned short-duration bond funds as the largest category of funds by asset volume, with EUR34.4bn in assets under management.This total may increase further, as some products are generating returns of over 4% per year due to the debt crisis. But that is a double-edged sword, since these funds hold EUR25bn in Greek, Spanish and Italian public debt.The strongest inflows for guaranteed products have been for InverCaixa, with net subscriptions of EUR3.5bn since the beginning of this year, following EUR2bn in 2010, while in second, third and fourth place are Santander (EUR1.15bn), Bankia (EUR750m) and Banca Civica (EUR400m).
Agefi reports that the court-appointed trustee for the M-Invest fund, a “feeder fund” for the fraud orchestrated by Bernard Madoff, are seeking USD900m from the auditing firm Ernst & Young, which it accuses of negligence in audits undertaken between 2003 and 2007. The M-Invest fund was created by Union Bancaire Privée, the newspaper notes.
According to the independent consultant Z-Ben, based in Shanghai, the collective management market in China accounts for CNY2.1trn (EUR245bn), and may more than triple to CNY6.9trn by 2016, Agefi reports. 26 foreign actors are now present in the country via joint ventures, up to a legal limit of 49%. The interest of actors is not letting up, the newspaper reports, as evidenced by the record 200 funds launched in 7 operating licenses issued this year, bringing the total number of managers to 69.
On Monday, the British Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced that it has fined HSBC a record GBP10.5m, The regulator claims that one of the bank’s affiliates, NHFA Limited, “inappropriately” sold complex securitisation products to 2,485 elderly and “vulnerable” clients between 2005 and 2010. These clients were investing largely to finance their health-care expenses. The FSA notes that in some cases, the life expectancy of these clients was less than five years, the recommended investment period for products of this type.In addition to the fine, HSBC must pay damages and interest totalling GBP29.4m, which NHFA will pay out to victims.
The Italian asset management association Assogestioni is proposing to create a category for “Italian bond funds.” The category would be reserved for products which invest at least 70% of their assets in Italian debt issuers, including the Italian treasury and Italian businesses. With this move, “we are proposing to facilitate household investment in government bonds,” explains Domenico Siniscalco, chairman of Assogestioni. The initiative follows calls from an entrepreneur and a footballers’ association to buy Italian government bonds. “Italians are not the BOT people of past years anymore [BOT are Italian treasury bonds -ed]. From 1997 to the present, the percentage they hold of Italian public debt has more than halved, from 32% to 13%,” Siniscalco adds.
Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP), the asset management affiliate of Lloyds Banking Group, is launching the SWIP Foundation Growth fund, a tracker fund which replicates the FTSE All-Share index, with a management commission of 0.07%, and a total expense ratio of 0.11%, making it the most inexpensive retail fund ever offered on the British market, the Financial Times repoorts.The most inexpensive fund previously available on the British market had been the MoneyBuilder from Fidelity, with a TER of 0.27%, while the Scottish Widow All-Share charges 0.36%.Vanguard is offering British investors an All-Share fund with a TER of 0.15%, but until recently, that fund had been available only with a minimal investment of GBP100,000. The Vanguard and SWIP tracker funds are now available on the Vantage fund platform from Hargreaves Lansdown, with an initial subscription of at least GBP1,000, and GBP50 per month. Eleven other low-cost funds from Vanguard are now available on Vantage, with total TER rates ranging from 0.25% to 0.30%.
As part of measures by the new Italian government, a new stamp duty on securities will be introduced, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. It will apply to all financial instruments, including funds (except pension funds). The duty will be proportional to the value of financial instruments. The proposed legislation, which is being debated by Parliament, proposes a rate of 0.1% per year in 2012 and 0.15% from 2013.
As part of measures by the new Italian government, a new stamp duty on securities will be introduced, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. It will apply to all financial instruments, including funds (except pension funds). The duty will be proportional to the value of financial instruments. The proposed legislation, which is being debated by Parliament, proposes a rate of 0.1% per year in 2012 and 0.15% from 2013.
State Street Corporation has been selected by Fundsmith LLP to provide fund administration and custody services and shareholder services to its new UCITS IV-compliant Luxembourg-registered feeder fund.State Street has provided the Fundsmith Equity Fund EIOC with securities custody, fund accounting, and depository services, as well as processing of portfolio transactions, since the launch of the fund in the United Kingdom in November 2010.
Dans les documents remis par l’assureur au 30 septembre dernier, il est indiqué que la politique d’investissement sur des obligations à taux fixe a été maintenue sur les trois premiers trimestres 2011. Nos achats sont répartis essentiellement sur les emprunts d’Etat européens ou supranationaux (36% des achats) et les émissions d’entreprises industrielles (64% des achats). Au 30 septembre 2011, le portefeuille obligataire, qui représentait 83% des investissements, était constitué à 30,1% d’obligations du gouvernement et à 19,7% d’obligations financières. A la fin juin 2011, une provision de 5 millions d’euros a été passée sur des dettes souveraines gracques sur une exposition de 12 millions d’euros. Depuis, aucun autre incident de crédit n’est intervenu, mentionne l’assureur.
Avis de pré information: Gestion d’actifs de la Caisse des dépôts pour le compte du régime d’allocations viagères des gérants de débits de tabac (Ravgdt). Mise en place et la gestion de deux FCP. Le montant global des encours est de l’ordre de 350 millions d’EUR. Il s’agit d’un marché à bons de commande multi-attributaires. Pour lire l’avis complet: cliquez ici
Le programme d’austérité annoncé dimanche par le Premier ministre a contribué à la détente record enregistrée sur les rendements italiens hier, en marge du sommet franco-allemand. Au passage, l’Italie a annoncé la mise en place de garanties pour la dette de ses banques.
Le fonds souverain norvégien, très présent dans certaines grosses sociétés américaines, ferait pression auprès du comité de direction de Wells Fargo et de cinq autres groupes pour remplacer les dirigeants, selon le quotidien qui cite des propos de Anne Kvam, responsable chez Norges Bank Investment Management. Ces groupes «doivent établir une meilleur confiance auprès des actionnaires» explique-t-elle.
L’accord franco-allemand annoncé hier sera-t-il endossé vendredi par leurs partenaires ? Espérons-le car il apporte enfin de vraies réponses aux questions posées. Techniquement, les deux pays contournent la crise du Fonds européen de stabilité financière. Ne pouvant lui donner le levier de 4 à 5 envisagé, Paris et Berlin ont avancé à la mi-2012 l’entrée en action de son successeur, le Mécanisme européen de stabilité, qui pourra agir à la majorité qualifiée et se refinancer auprès de la BCE. Confirmation allemande en forme de concession, le secteur privé ne sera plus appelé à prendre ses pertes sur la dette souveraine, comme ce fut le cas pour la Grèce. Voilà une précision fort bienvenue pour les investisseurs. Politiquement, le volet budgétaire de l’accord est un modèle de compromis. La Cour européenne de Justice jouera bien un rôle, non de surveillance directe mais de vérification que la règle d’or, dont la création sera demandée aux pays signataires, est bien conforme au nouveau traité. Quant à l’automaticité des sanctions que souhaitait Berlin, elle sera effective sauf majorité politique qualifiée contraire. Paris peut ainsi se flatter que le politique gardera le dernier mot. Mario Draghi verra-t-il dans cet accord le «pacte fiscal» qu’il appelle de ses vœux ? A lui de dire jeudi les conséquences qu’il compte en tirer. Si elles laissent prévoir plus de soutien de la BCE dans la résolution de la crise, la réaction des marchés pourrait être spectaculaire.
Les liquidateurs du fonds M-Invest, qui a servi de «fonds nourricier» au schéma frauduleux monté par Bernard Madoff, réclament 900 millions de dollars au cabinet d’audit Ernst & Young, lui reprochant des négligences dans les audits conduits entre 2003 et 2007. Le fonds M-Invest avait été fondé par l’Union Bancaire Privée.
Selon une source proche du dossier citée par Reuters, le groupe de private equity TPG ne peut plus prétendre au rachat d’une participation majoritaire dans l’épicier britannique Iceland Foods, son offre ayant été jugée trop basse. Bain, BC Partners, ainsi qu’Asda et Wm Morrison participent au deuxième tour d’enchères.
La Commission des sanctions de l’Autorité des marchés financiers a prononcé à l’encontre de la société de gestion un avertissement et une sanction pécuniaire de 10.000 euros pour avoir fourni une information inexacte à ses clients en ce qui concerne le service d’« emploi de fonds en report ». Selon l’AMF, cela a eu pour effet de fausser l’appréciation des risques par la clientèle.
La branche française du fonds d’investissement a bouclé la reprise du groupe pharmaceutique en association avec son management. ING Parcom Private Equity et les actionnaires historiques du groupe, CM-CIC Investissement et Picardie Investissement, réinvestissent significativement et accompagnent le groupe en tant qu’actionnaires minoritaires.
Le régulateur américain des marchés à terme (Commodity Futures Trading Commission – CFTC) a voté à l’unanimité en faveur d’une règle qui instaure des limites plus strictes sur la manière dont les sociétés de courtage peuvent utiliser les fonds de leur clientèle. Une mesure que le courtier MF Global, aujourd’hui en faillite, souhaitait voir retardée.